Title: Choose For Yourself
Text: Joshua 24:14-15
Date: 10/26/08
Location: Sulphur Spring Baptist Church
Introduction: Today is the last Sunday in our month long emphasis of “Praying 4 America,” but I hope you will continue to pray for our nation. We have a Presidential Election in 9 days that is very important and whoever is elected will have a difficult job ahead of them. Not only are we in one of the most critical economic downturns since the Great Depression but as a nation we a more divided now than we’ve been since the Civil War. You may find that hard to believe that but let me give you something to think about.
It may not be 1860 but social issues like abortion and gay marriage have divided us in the same way that slavery divided America back in the 19th Century.
It may not be the 1960’s but like it or not we are still divided in many respects along racial lines. Only now it’s not just white and black, it’s white, black, and Hispanic.
It may not be 1970 but we are just as divided today over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as we were about the war in Vietnam then.
As bad as it was during all three of these periods in American History there was something that united us, something that held us together. I believe that something was our faith in God, and our understanding that He had something to do with making this country into the greatest nation on the face of the earth.
Today, however I’m convinced that we are no longer “One Nation Under God” but instead are a polytheistic nation that serves and worships many gods.
A growing number of people in America want to take the words “In God we Trust” off of our currency and I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before they succeed in doing it.
So I personally believe that one of the most difficult tasks our new President will have during his first 4 years in office is not just trying to unite our nation but keeping it from falling apart.
That’s one of the things that Politicians and Pastors have in common. Dr. Glenn Armstrong the former Pastor of Beaver Dam Baptist church, in Beaver Dam where my wife Mary Anne grew up is a good example. Some of you may remember that Brother Armstrong came and did a revival for us about 8 years ago. Anyway Bro. Armstrong was the pastor of that church for 40 years, before retiring a couple of years ago. I believe one of the reasons that he didn’t retire sooner was he was afraid of what might happen to the church after he retired and I guess I can kind of understand that. When you put that much of your life and energy into something you certainly don’t want it to fall apart or split after you’re gone.
It wouldn’t surprise me if that wasn’t how Joshua felt after leading the nation of Israel for so long. Joshua had been a young man when Moses came back to Egypt and led the Israelites out of slavery. Moses quickly saw that there was something special about Joshua and put him in charge of military. In time it became evident that God had his hand on Joshua and Moses made him his right hand man.
From that day forward everywhere Moses went Joshua went. He was even on Mt. Sinai when God gave Moses the 10 Commandments.
Joshua loved the people of Israel and since becoming their leader after Moses died he had done his best to be a godly leader. God had promised him that He would be with him, just as He had been with Moses and God had kept His word. Under Joshua’s leadership God had enabled the Israelites to conquer the Promise Land.
But now, Joshua was no longer a young man, in fact he was somewhere between 100-110 years of age. Like Moses before him Joshua realized that his time on earth was drawing to a close so He called the nation of Israel together one last time. He called all of the elders, the leaders of the people from the greatest to the smallest to meet him at the foot of Mt. Ebal near the city of Schehem. The same place where 20 years earlier he had stood before them and led them in thanking God for defeating their enemies and giving them the Land of Caanan. The same place where he encouraged the Israelites to renew their covenant with the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Twenty years had passed each tribe and each family had been given a portion of the Land. The Lord had kept His promise to them and the nation of Israel had enjoyed an extended period of peace in their new Homeland. But Joshua had an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He remembered how quickly the Israelites had turned their backs on God when they first came out of the Land of Egypt. He remembered walking down Mt. Sinai with Moses and seeing the Israelites bowing down and worshipping a golden calf.
As Joshua stood before the nation of Israel one last time I’m sure he must have been reminded of Moses words on that tragic day. As Moses entered the camp that fateful day he shouted “Whoever is on the Lord’s side, come to me.” The Levites came to him and Moses ordered them to go throughout the camp killing those who had rebelled against God. That day 3,000 Israelites were killed.
As Joshua stood there before the people at Schechem those words were ringing in his ears. Why do I say that, well look back with me at verses 14-15 of our text? Joshua says,
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seem undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
In Chapter 23 Joshua had already reminded them of everything that God had done for them.
How he had delivered them from slavery in the land of Egypt.
How he had provided for them while they were in the Wilderness.
How He had defeated their enemies, and
how He had given them this Land that was flowing with milk and honey.
But Joshua knew the Israelites all too well. He knew how weak and vulnerable they were to temptation. He knew how easy it would be for them to compromise their beliefs or rationalize their sin.
Which is why he told them how important it was for them to follow the Law of Moses and keep it before them at all times.
He also warned them about associating with the people from the nations around them, and above told them not to intermarry with them.
Now here in chapter 24 Joshua lays it all on the line. The first thing He tells them is…
I. TO FEAR THE LORD AND SERVE HIM FAITHFULLY.
Now I want to take a minute here and talk about what Joshua meant here when He told the Israelites to “Fear God.”
Joshua is repeating something here that He heard Moses say over and over again.
In Deuteronomy 10:12, Moses said, “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all of your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?”
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 NKJV
The Bible has a lot to say about Fearing God. The Old Testament alone has over 150 references to the fact that we are to Fear the Lord our God.
Most people today would much rather emphasize God’s Love and Mercy than talk about His Wrath and Judgment. But the truth of the matter is we need to have a Healthy Fear of God.
Now what do I mean by that?
Let me see if I can illustrate it for you like this. The main thing that keeps people from breaking the Law is the fear of going to jail or being punished for their crime. So the fear of punishment serves as a deterrent.
God Loves us and wants what is best for us, consequently one of the reasons He wants us to Fear Him is to keep us from committing sins that would be harmful to us, and to our relationship with Him.
We often think of the Fear of the Lord in a negative light. That we better not sin against God or else He will punish us in some way. But the positive side of a Healthy Fear of the Lord is that it keeps us from sinning against Him and allows us to maintain a good, healthy relationship with Him.
In my opinion this is one of the main problems we have in America today. Nobody fears God anymore. Christians as well as unbelievers live their lives the way they want to, doing whatever they want to do, whenever they want to, without giving God a second thought.
We certainly need to Respect God and have a sense of Awe about being in His Presence, but we also need to have a healthy fear of His power and holiness.
Jesus himself said, “I tell you my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him, who after the killing of the body, has the power to throw you into Hell. Yes, I tell you fear Him.” Luke 12:4-5 (NIV)
So Joshua reminded the Israelites that they needed to Fear The Lord, but He also challenged them to “serve the Lord with all faithfulness.”
I like the way the New American Standard Version translates verse 14 it says, “Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth.” NASV
Joshua is reminding them that they were to serve God with sincerity. The word sincerity means: genuine in feeling, the absence of hypocrisy or any falsifying embellishment or exaggeration.
In other words Joshua was saying that they needed to serve God with their whole hearts, and to serve Him because they wanted to not simply because they felt obligated to do it.
The same goes for us, we should not serve God halfheartedly but with all of our heart, with all of our soul and with all of our strength. We need to put everything we’ve go into serving Him, and we need to do it because we love Him and want to serve Him not because we feel obligated to do so.
But I think Joshua’s saying something else in this passage of scripture that we might overlook if we aren’t careful. I believe Joshua understood that worship and service go hand in hand. He knew if the Israelites were worshipping God that they would also serve Him. But at the same time he knew if they were worshipping the gods of their forefathers that they would in turn serve them.
In fact the Holman Christian Standard version even uses the word worship instead of service. It says….
“Therefore, fear the Lord and worship Him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship the Lord. But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord, choose for yourselves today the one you will worship; the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.”
Joshua 24:14-15 (HCSV)
Which brings me to the next thing I want to point out this morning and that is….
II. JOSHUA CHALLENGED THEM TO MAKE A CHOICE,
Our lives are full of choices. In fact most of you here this morning have already made several choices.
You chose to get out of bed and get dressed.
You chose to eat breakfast.
You chose to come to Sunday School and Worship.
Some of you are getting ready to make a choice as to where you are going to eat lunch and what you’re going to have.
Life is full of choices some of those choices are rather insignificant, while others are very important.
For instance the choice of whether to have water or a soft drink with your meal is not as significant of a choice as the choice to stay in school and get an education.
The choice of watching the World Series game on T.V. tonight instead of your favorite show isn’t all that significant.
On the other hand the choice of whether to get married and to whom you are going to marry is a very significant decision.
The choice of whether you are going to wear one outifit or another is not very significant, but the choice of whom you are going to worship and serve is important. In fact I believe it is the single most important decision that you will ever make in your life.
Everyone has to choose. Joshua knew that. He knew He couldn’t choose for them.
He said, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…., but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”
He told them to decide once and for all who they were going to serve and then serve Him with all of their heart.
Each one of you here today must make the same choice. I can’t make it for you any more than Joshua could make it for the Israelites. You’ve got to decide who is going to be your God and whom you are going to serve?
The Prophet Elijah called upon the people of his day to make the same choice. Standing on the top of Mt. Carmel he said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God follow him.”
1 Kings 18:21 (NIV)
Jesus himself said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
So the question is whom are you going to serve?
Are you going to serve the gods of this world?
Are you going to serve Allah, Buddah, the Dalli Lama, or are you going to serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Are you going to serve the gods of materialism and self-centeredness or are you going to serve The Almighty Creator of the Universe.
The choice is yours, and only you can make it. BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!
