GET OFF THE FENCE!
Joshua 24:14-28
Put yourself in this situation:
You’ve just learned from your Dr. that you only have a few weeks to live. Your pastor, knowing of your situation, invites you to give a farewell address to your church. What do you tell him?
What do you tell the church? What are your last words that you would like to leave with your loving church family?
The man Joshua found himself in a similar situation. He knew he would soon die, so he gives a farewell speech to the people of Israel and its leaders. You can be sure he won’t fritter away these precious moments in small talk. Every word will be loaded with importance. His words are recorded for us in Joshua 24. Let’s listen in... because his challenge to the people of Israel is our challenge as well.
(Turn there and read 24:14-31)
Joshua challenges the people of Israel to make a decision.
There’s no room for half-heartedness... no place for the lukewarm heart.
Joshua asks the people to make a decision.
And, this morning, God is asking you to make a decision.
Before describing what exactly Joshua was asking the people of Israel to do and what God is asking us to do today, let’s back up a little and see where Joshua and the people were and what kind of person was giving this
charge & challenge.
(1) Background to where the people of Israel were:
The land was now conquered for the most part, except for pockets of resistance here and there. The land had been divided up to the different tribes to finish taking the land. Joshua was dying. He was ready to pass on.
(2) The person of Joshua:
What kind of person was he? He was a man who practiced what he preached. He was telling the people, "You may be hesitant to follow God, but my mind is made up. AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD! We’re on God’s side! We’re following God!"
Was he just saying that? NO! He lived it! Like his good friend and buddy Caleb, he "followed the Lord wholeheartedly." He belonged to God lock-stock-and-barrel. He belonged to God with all his heart, mind, soul, and spirit. He wasn’t making some sort of idle boast here. He truly did serve the Lord.
Now, here you might be thinking, "Boy, you know what, that is really nice! Doesn’t Joshua show the courage of commitment? I need that kind of courage to commit myself to God in that way. I should really decide to give myself totally to God."
And, you know what? You’re right! It’s not enough to admire it in another person! You’ve got to move beyond that point to where you personally take a stand for God.
But, what specifically is God asking you to do? What is the choice that needs to be made? Let’s examine in more detail the charge given to Joshua:
I. THE CHARGE GIVEN (24:14-15)
So, what was the charge given? What was the challenge Joshua was offering the people?
Joshua was talking specifically to the FENCESITTERS.
Joshua was talking to the BETWEENITES.
He was talking specifically to the people who want the best of both worlds,
Those people who want the praise of the world, but yet want Jesus.
He was talking to those people who really haven’t given their all to God.
He was talking to those people who haven’t really made up their minds about their commitment to God.
Joshua was bringing these people to a point where they were forced to make a decision. The time is now to make up your mind! Decide now!
If it seems undesirable for you to serve the Lord,
...if you don’t want to lay your life on the line...if you don’t want to live for Him...if you don’t want to worship Him... if you don’t want to serve Him
...if you don’t want to put Him first in everything ... If that’s not what you want to do, then at least make up your mind who you are going to serve.
Who or what are you going to worship?
Make your choice! Make up your mind!
What’s involved in making up your mind? For the Israelites, it meant getting rid of some idols in their lives (see Joshua 24:14).
Isn’t that amazing and unbelievable that they still had idols after all that God had done for them? Look at all that God had done for them: (Read 24:2-13) Notice the 18 times "I" is mentioned.
Isn’t it unbelievable that they still had idols?
After the crossing of the Jordan River,
After the walls of Jericho came down,
After their victories in their new land,
In spite of all this, they still had idols!
But before we are too critical, aren’t we just like the Israelites?
In spite of all that God has done for us in the past,
How many of us are bowing down to the god of money?
How many of us are bowing down to the god of covetousness?
How many of us are bowing down to the god of "just a little bit more"?
Now is the time to decide who you will serve!
Now is the time to make up your mind!
Joshua made up his mind. He set the example. Let’s look at the decision Joshua made. (Read 24:15)
Three observations about this decision:
(1) NO HESITATION
In any decision, there is a time to weigh the pros and cons, the plusses and the minuses, to determine which way to tip the scale. Some like to use the old Benjamin Franklin approach by drawing a line down the middle and listing all the reasons for the decision on one side, with reasons against the decision on the other side.
But, for Joshua, that time was over.
Without hesitation, Joshua tips the scales totally on the side of God.
Without reservation, he again makes his commitment to God.
How about you? Isn’t it time for you to make your commitment to God?
Haven’t you had enough time of delaying?
Haven’t you had enough time deliberating?
Haven’t you had enough time hesitating?
The time for you to make your commitment to God is long overdue.
You know it.
There comes a time in your life when you’ve got to decide
WHO you are WHOSE you are And WHERE you are going
Oh, that each and every person here this morning would come to the point in their lives where they can say today,
"AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!"
Notice, secondly, that Joshua’s decision involved:
(2) SAYING "YES" TO GOD, AND "NO" TO THE WORLD
It’s all right when we are children to be influenced by others. We need to be somewhat pliable in the hands of our parents, teachers, and those older, like grandparents.
But when we are adults, it is time to put away childish things. It’s time for us to make up our own minds as to what direction we want to go in life.
Instead of seeking advice from God, I wonder how many of us are looking to society to tell us what to do? How many seek the advice of Dr. Phil or Dear Abby instead of God’s Word?
How many seek the advice of horoscopes instead of God’s Word?
How many seek the advice of friends instead of God’s Word?
Are we so preoccupied with what people think that we care so little of what God thinks? What comfort will it be for you to lose heaven, just to be with your friends? What consolation will that be?
Listen to these words from our Lord Jesus Christ:
Matthew 7:13-14
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Don’t follow the crowd! They are on the broad road!
Choose the narrow road!
Do it for your own sake!
...for your own soul
...for your own life
Mark 8:36
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Are you willing to forfeit your life, just to go along with the crowd?
Joshua chose to follow God. Joshua is saying, in essence, "As for me and my house we will, despite the crowd...despite peer pressure...
we will, despite temptations...despite trials...
WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!"
Oh, how I wish that we could all say that this morning!
A third observation about Joshua’s decision:
(3) IT WAS MADE OPENLY, IN PUBLIC
How many of us here this morning have said in our hearts, "Yes, I will serve the Lord" but you keep it a secret!?
Are you keeping your commitment to Christ a secret?
What kind of commitment is that?
It’s like saying you are married to someone, but never stating it publicly, before others. You say, "Oh, they’ll know we are married by the way I live!"
Don’t be too sure!
Do you think Jesus Christ is in the business of making secret arrangements with you? Do you really think that you can keep it in a corner somewhere?
It’s like that song we learned to sing in Sunday School: "Hide it under a bush, OH NO!" How in the world can we keep something like that hidden?
What excuse do you have for not coming out and publicly stating your commitment to Christ?
I wonder, what is the good of a decision, no matter how firm and deep, if it is not publicly stated?
What good is it to your family?
What good is it to your church?
What good is it to your society?
What good is it to yourself?
Just in passing here, since we mentioned your influence on your family... notice how Joshua speaks for his family as well as himself?
Many dads today cannot speak for themselves, and, as a result, you can pretty well guess why they cannot speak for their families!
Joshua’s commitment was so strong...he was so on fire for God...that he set his family on fire for God.
Oh, that we would burn with such a desire to serve God that our family would get the sparks from the flame!
How about it, dads? And not just us fathers, but all of us...
Are we ashamed to stand up for God?
Is God’s love for you a secret?
Is He ashamed to tell you how much He loves you? NO!
He loves you so much He stretched out His hands for you. He stretched out His hands for you on the cross.
Romans 5:8
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
So why is it that we hesitate in showing our love for Him?
Are we not ashamed that we are ashamed of Christ?
Remember the words of our Lord Jesus in Matthew 10:33
But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven.
You have a choice to make. Who or what will you choose? Life is made up of choices, isn’t it? Just think about the many choices you’ve already made today. You are free to choose. So choose!
Listen to the words of Max Lucado from his book "When God Whispers Your Name":
"For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.
I choose love. No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.
I choose joy. I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical, the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.
I choose peace. I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.
I choose patience. I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complaining that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.
I choose kindness. I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.
I choose goodness. I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.
I choose faithfulness. Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.
I choose gentleness. Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice, make a demand, may it be only of myself.
I choose self-control. I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will not rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ.
I choose love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest."
Joshua made his choice. And after challenging the people to make the same choice he did, they made their choice...
II. THE CHOICE MADE (24:16-24)
And here we are, at the end of a series on the life of Joshua.
I can’t help but believe that some decisions for Christ have been made in one way or another.
Perhaps you’ve made a decision that you will spend more time reading and meditating on God’s Word.
Maybe you’ve decided to you’ll spend more time communicating with God in prayer.
Maybe you’ve decided to earnestly seek to live a life of holiness.
Those kinds of decisions are easy to make here on Sunday morning sitting in church.
But how about Monday morning? Thursday night? Saturday morning?
That’s why there is a warning to us in verse 19.
You can’t do it on your own. You will need to depend upon God working in and through you. You will also need to realize that God is a jealous God. He doesn’t want to share you or your affections with anybody or anything. He wants all of you!
When you make a decision for Christ, COUNT THE COST!
Are you willing to give your all to Him?
He wants nothing less.
SALVATION IS FREE, DISCIPLESHIP IS COSTLY!
Are you willing to pay the cost? Listen to Christ’s words about this:
Luke 14:27-33
And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ’This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
Like Jesus (the ultimate Joshua) Joshua wanted to make sure the people of Israel knew what kind of commitment they were making. That’s why he warns them. Notice that they make their vow 4X! After all that, then Joshua does something interesting... (Joshua 24:25-28)
III. THE DECISION WITNESSED (24:25-28)
Note in v. 27 the purpose of this stone. It was to be a witness.
What can be our witness this morning? I believe our witness this morning can be for us to make a stand publicly...
before God and those around us...
of our commitment to Christ.
That’s right! I’m going to ask you to come forward this morning.
If you feel that at this point in your life you need to make a public commitment to Christ, now is the time!
For some of you, you might be making a decision to acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Coming forward doesn’t save you.
You are saved by the grace of God when you put your faith in Christ’s death on the cross for your sins. It’s not the coming forward that saves you. But coming forward is a way to demonstrate to yourself, to God, and to others, that you mean business with God.
Some of you dads might want to come forward this morning. And bring your families with you. Maybe it’s time for you to make stand and say, like Joshua, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!"
Don’t misunderstand me here. I’m not saying that if you don’t come forward, that you are not strongly committed to the Lord. I just want to give you the opportunity, as dads, to publicly make that commitment if you feel so led.
There might be others that need to come forward this morning.
You BETWEENITES.
You FENCESITTERS.
It’s time to GET OFF THE FENCE!
There is no room for neutrality. Christ said in Revelation 3, in the passage read earlier in the service, that He wishes we were either cold or hot.
So, where are you with Christ? Where are you now, today, this morning? Honestly, before God: Are you serving yourself?
Or, can you say, like Joshua,
"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!"?
