Decision Upon A Hill

Decision upon a Hill

Dear loving families, as a family service today let us meditate from the Old Testament passage of Joshua 24:15b “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”.

As we all know, Joshua was a great military leader. He was the successor of Moses, when Moses, the servant of the Lord, died in the land of Moab. Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem. He's getting ready to die, and this was his farewell address. And during this address, he warns the people about their idolatry. He warns them that the judgments of God will fall upon them unless they live for the Lord. He says, ‘if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your father served that were the other side of the river, or the gods of Amorites, in whose land you dwell.’ But then Joshua says, ‘as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’

Joshua said even if every one of you serves idols and other gods, it will make no difference. Because as for me and my house, we've already made a decision. We will serve the Lord. And that's a decision that every single person has to make. You may serve the gods of materialism, which are all around us, or in the true living God. Joshua was warning the people in this passage; to choose God and to follow him instead of those other gods.

Moses had warned Israel, the earlier generation, when he was dying. He said, Deu.30:19 “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” Moses had said the same thing that Joshua is saying separated by many years. And every generation has to hear it over and over and over again. That's why the gospel never grows old. It applies to every generation, even this generation today.

James says in 1:6, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.” He said, ‘a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:8 & 4:8) Are you unstable about your relationship to Christ? Do you waver in your relationship to Christ? Are you totally committed to Christ as your Lord and Savior? What do you waver about, and do you waiver by the way you live? My dear brothers and sisters in Christ! Today, this morning service I would like to address how we should make the decision to follow and serve God. And to proclaim we are His children in this world.

I. Decide without a Wavering Heart

Jesus warned the hypocrites of people who pretend one thing and live another. For they say, but do not do (Matthew 23:3). This was his great battle with the hypocrites in the church. We have an old proverb; He who hesitates is lost. Don't waver to make a decision, do it now. That's what Joshua said, the great military hero, led them from victory to victory. Reminding them of all the victories that God had given. He said serve God and live, serve these other gods and you'll die. You should come to the judgment of God or come to the Lord to serve Him . The message has not changed. Choose life or death for He is your life and the length of your days (Deu.30:20). The grass withers, and its flower falls away. But the Word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:25)

The people of Israel were well settled in Cannon and now the wars were over, but Joshua found that the people were going toward idolatry. Many times the problems of peace are greater than the problems of war. Joshua had called all these leaders to Shechem. On one mountain he put six of the tribes, and on the other mountain he put the other six. And Joshua spoke with a mighty voice even though he was an old man. He spoke of the history of Israel and how God had blessed them? How they had won their victories not by their own power and their own strategies and their own talent and their own strength, but by the power of God. The people should have been grateful to God, but instead they were now going to other gods.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! I plead you, we should be grateful to God for the blessings that he has given us. But we find that sadly some people are worshipping other gods; the gods of pleasure, the gods of pride, and greed. Hate the gods of materialism and even the gods of war. Joshua tells them that such a condition cannot continue. They must decide whether they want to serve the idols or to serve the Living God. He will not allow any open-mindedness or impartiality. Joshua said, ‘you have to decide immediately now. You choose this day, not tomorrow, this day whom you're going to serve.’ “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). What is the number one priority in your life? Is your priority Christ, or is your priority something else? There's no room on the throne of your heart for two gods. There is only one room in your heart. It's either you have Christ or the other idol.