Monument of Resolution - Joshua 24:15-27 Go through and run cross references
Intro. A monument is a stone or a building that is set up to remember a person or an event. Today we come to a monument of Resolution - A choice is to be made.
Army - older slogan, Be all you can be. Marine office had a sign that said, “Be more than you can be.”
I heard about a husband who really enjoyed the meat his wife had served for dinner one night. He asked her, "What did you marinate this in?" Well, his wife immediately went into a long explanation about how much she loved him and how life wouldn’t be the same without him, and so on. Eventually, his puzzled expression made her interrupt her answer with a question of her own: "Why did you ask me that?" When he told her, she chuckled and said, "I thought you asked me if I would marry you again!" As she left the room, he called out, "Well, would you marry me again?" Without hesitation, she replied, "Vinegar and barbecue sauce."
Would you marry me again? Sometimes you’ll hear about a couple who’ve been married for 30, 40, or 50 years. They’ll have another wedding ceremony and repeat their vows once again to renew the pledge they made years ago.
And a similar thing happens in the passage that was read this morning. In Joshua 24:15. I was concerned as I prepared this message, as the text is so familiar that people do not hear or see the challenge as strongly. Read text
I. Chronicle of God’s Goodness - Vss. 1-13 Reviewed history
A. The Remembrance of the Goodness of God
Do You Remember? Remember how good God has been to you.
It is always good to remember past blessing and blunders. Joshua reminds Israel of God’s blessing on them in the past.
B. The Reminder of the Grace of God - PAGE - It was all HIM!
Please don’t tell me how good you have made it, it is the Lord!
Do you remember how good God has been?
II. A Challenge to be Genuine- Vss. 14-15
A. The Charge - vs. 14 - Now therefore - because He has been so good to you!
If He has not been good to you, then do as you please. But if He has -
1. Wholehearted Service - Senceity - whole heart Truth - according to exact instructions, by the Truth of His Word.
2. Worship Him Solely - Never acceptable - first command of the Law
Exodus 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
- There was a problem of secret idol worship (vs. 23)
they had seen all the mighty works of God They had seen His provision, yet they
still bowed to false gods!
Am 5:25 Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? 26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.
I thought of those that forsook Christ - Jesus had declared He was the bread from heaven, and that He was the only way to heaven. Some that had followed Him said, “his is an hard saying; who can hear it?” (John 6:60)
Jesus had already performed miracles, like water into wine, the man at the pool of Bethesda, and the feeding of the 5000!
Then Jesus challenged His disciples - John 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. We will worship God solely, or not worship at all.
B. The Choice - it is time to choose - vs. 14
We choose whom we will serve - vs. 15. 1 Kings 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
1. It’s a Personal Choice - Choose YOU
2. It’s a Prompt Choice - this day
3. It’s a Particular Choice - Will you serve the Lord or not?
C. The Conviction - As for me and my house
George Whitfield preached on this passage and called it “the Great Duty of Family Religion - We influence others with our choices
1. Again, a Personal Choice - As for me!
2. It’s a Paternal Choice - We need some dads that will lead, some moms that will live it, and some children that will follow.
3. It’s a Passionate Choice - WE WILL! - Won’t happen by accident
God’s blessings require our OBEDIENT cooperation. Because He has been so good to us, we should chose to serve Him now.
III. Comprehending the Challenge - Remember, this was God’s People
A. A Readiness to Repent - vs. 16
When Joshua gave his challenge to the people to chose whom they would serve, they evidently answered quickly. We know they had been wrong.
B. A Rest in Remembering - vs. 17-18 It is the Lord!
C. A Reality of Retribution - vs. 19-20
1. The Danger of Self Reliance - vs. 19
In Vs. 19 he reminds them of their bent towards sin. He basically tells the Israelites that they can’t do what they were promising to do. And it’s true for us as well. In our own strength we can not live Godly lives. We need God’s strength.
2. The Danger of Sinful Rebellion - vs. 20
IV. Commitment to Surrender Vss. 21-24
A. The Determination - vs. 21 (and they did all the days of Joshua) Oh what joy it must have been to Joshua to see the people respond to the message!
B. The Declaration - vs. 22
C. The Cleansing - vs. 23-24
V. Commemoration of a Decision - Vss. 25-27
A stone was put up as a reminder. People would see the stone and remember their commitment. Reminders of our commitments are good as well.
A. Covenant of Purpose - vs. 25, a covenant that “ We will serve the Lord!”
B. A Cleansing of Purpose - vs. 26 - The Oak
This is believed to be a place that had been used before to reject false Gods
We are Back at BETHEL! - Gen 35:3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. 4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. Joshua took the place that Jacob had renounced the false gods and made a monument for all that said they would follow God.
It was where Jacob found a relationship with God. It is where He found revival Now it is where they had Resolved to wholly follow the Lord.
C. Construction with a Purpose - A Stone was set, a memorial, a monument of the Grace of God that allowed His people to return to Him!
A stone was set in place so that they would remember this commitment.
They were witnesses against themselves, and the stone reminded them.
Abe Lincoln told the story of a blacksmith who heated a piece of iron in the forge, not knowing what he was going to make. At first he thought of shaping it into a horseshoe but changed his mind. After hammering on the iron for a while, he decided to try to make it into something else. By this time the metal was no longer malleable. Holding it up with his tongs and looking at it with disgust, the blacksmith tossed it into a vat of water. "Well," he shrugged, "at least I can make a fizzle out of it!" Joshua would have seen an important lesson in that story. He knew that a meaningful life must have clear purpose. "Choose!" If you’re not going to live for God, then decide against Him. If you are going to live for God, then let your life reflect that decision. But whatever you do, decide! Joshua made it clear that he and his family had made their choice to serve the Lord (24:15). What about you? If you don’t choose to trust Christ and serve Him, all you will have to show for the living of your days will be a loud fizzle.--
Concl. We have made many commitments. Did we set up monuments to remind us. Have we kept our commitments that we have made in this altar or other places?
Have we kept our commitments? Is it important?
A young man by the name of James Taylor had lived a worldly life, and was a leader in opposing a revival that had swept his neighborhood. The morning of his wedding day he awoke with the words of Joshua 24:15 on his mind. In earlier years he had memorized that verse. Unlike our modern customs, he put in a full day’s work before his wedding that evening. As he went about his labors, the Holy Spirit convicted his heart, and he accepted Jesus as his Savior. He said, “Yes, we will serve the Lord!” At first his bride was dismayed by this decision, but she soon became a believer, and a Christian home was established.
You say, “What’s so unusual about that story?” Well, that young man was the great-grandfather of J. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, now called the Overseas Missionary Fellowship. Nor has the influence of that first decision been without present-day consequences. The newly appointed general director of that organization is the great-grandson of the founder.
Though saving faith cannot be transmitted from parents to children, God does use the holy influence of fathers and mothers upon their offspring and upon successive generations. What if James Taylor hadn’t yielded to Christ? What if his decision had been different? It is possible that a company of dedicated missionaries would not be serving in the Orient now under an organization whose founding was a direct result of that man’s conversion.
The path of a right choice in your home may lead to great blessings many years down the road.- The path of a right choice in your life will effect you and others!
