A CALL TO COMMITMENT
JOSHUA 24:14-27
INTRO: several years ago I was flipping through the channels on the TV and ran across the country and western version of American Idol. I don’t remember what they called the program but it was basically a talent show for people who wanted to be country music stars. I like all kinds of music so I hung out there for a few minutes. The biggest difference in this show and others like it was that they had to sing a song that they had written. There was one song title that night that I believe I will remember forever. This guy got up to sing and told the story of the song and then gave the song title. The song title was” If it wasn’t for the whiskey, daddy would have been a good man.”
. Country music has produced many songs with rather odd titles. Let me share a few of them with you this morning.
. "May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose"
"You Can’t Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd"
"Thank God And Greyhound She’s Gone "
"How Can I Miss You If You Won’t Go Away?"
"If Love Were Oil, I’d Be A Quart Low "
"If The Phone Don’t Ring, Baby, You’ll Know It’s Me "
"She Done Tore My Heart And Stomped That Sucker Flat"
. I’m sure there’s a story behind each and everyone of those songs.
. There’s one more song I want to mention this morning. The singer songwriter is George Jones. Many of us are probably familiar with his lifestyle of what is called “ Honkey Tonking” and drinking. Back in 1999 George came out with a new album and one of the songs on it was called choices and the line that was prominent in it was “ living and dying with the choices that I’ve made”
[ sermon central, Lee Huddleston, Living and dying … ]
. That line is so true, we all live and die with the choices that we make.
. This morning, I want us to look and what gods word has to say about choices.
. The bible teaches that we have free will. That we all make choices in our lives that will make an impact on our lives and our eternity.
. If you look all the way back to Adam and Eve, you will see that God wants mankind to choose to worship and obey Him.
. In Genesis chapter 3 wee see where mankind chose to disobey God and set our destiny of being separated from God until we choose to come back to Him through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the sacrifice for our sins.
.Since that day, mankind has been allowed to choose their own individual relationship with God.
. Our scripture this morning talks about this choice.
. We see Joshua, the man who took over leading the children of Israel after Moses died, about to die and he wants to talk to the people one last time and give them a word from God.
. Joshua 24: 14-27:
. 14“So fear the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD alone.15But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.”
16The people replied, “We would never kabandon the LORD and serve other gods.17For the LORD our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, he preserved us.18It was the LORD who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the LORD, for he alone is our God.”
19Then Joshua warned the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not aforgive your rebellion and your sins.20If you abandon the LORD and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.”
21But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will serve the LORD!”
22“You are a witness to your own decision,” Joshua said. “You have chosen to serve the LORD.”
“Yes,” they replied, “we are witnesses to what we have said.”
23“All right then,” Joshua said, “destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
24The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God. We will obey him alone.”
25So Joshua made a bcovenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to follow the decrees and regulations of the LORD.26Joshua recorded these things in the Book of God’s Instructions. As a reminder of their agreement, he took a huge stone and rolled it beneath the terebinth tree beside the Tabernacle of the LORD.
27Joshua said to all the people, “This stone has heard everything the LORD said to us. It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to God.”
. The first thing we see here is that you have to Choose to serve God.
. We see this in verse 14 and part of 15.
14“So fear the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD alone.15But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live?
. They had all kind of distractions and other choices around them.
. They could worship the idols that their ancestors had carved out while they were in the desert.
. They could resort to the idol worship that had taken place while the children of Israel were in Egypt.
. The lands that they had conquered were full of idols and idol worshippers.
. They could choose to worship them.
. Joshua was telling them that once and for all, you need to choose who you are going to worship.
. Folks we have a choice here this morning.
. Just because you are sitting here listening to me, doesn’t mean that you have made the right choice.
. The people of Israel were given a choice of choosing God or basically choosing everything else.
. The choice that you have this morning is the same.
. You make a choice one way or another.
.
. You either choose God through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the sacrifice for you sins placing you in a right relationship with God.
. Or you choose everything else.
. Not now is a Choice. You are choosing not to accept Jesus.
.If you are here this morning and have never made the choice of giving your life to Jesus, my prayer is that you will do that today.
. Maybe you are here and you say preacher. I have already done that. Great, praise God for that but:
. You still have a choice today.
. You must choose to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your life.
. We looked last week at walking in the spirit. The act of allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our lives.
. How we fight this sin nature that is in all of us through surrender to the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit.
. We choose to do that.
. We choose to serve the Lord.
. That is what Joshua is saying to the children of Israel here.
. You must choose for yourself who you will serve.
. When we choose to serve God, there is something that goes along with that. We see that in the last part of verse 15 here through verse 18.
. But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.”
16The people replied, “We would never kabandon the LORD and serve other gods.17For the LORD our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, he preserved us.18It was the LORD who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the LORD, for he alone is our God.”
. Joshua is saying that this choice requires a commitment.
. That’s what we see next here. After we make this choice, there is a commitment that comes along with it.
. Notice that Joshua here is committing himself and his family to service to God.
. The people are committing themselves to the service of the Lord.
. Joshua says that he and his family will Serve the Lord.
. The children of Israel in verse 18 say that they too will serve the Lord.
. They committed themselves to God.
. Back when I was in elementary school and they were introducing the parts of sentences and we were diagramming sentences I always had trouble. I couldn’t tell an adverb from a adjective from a noun or a verb or conjunction or preposition.
. As I was reading and studying this scripture, something stood out to me.
. Even someone as dumb as I am could tell that a commitment requires action. Now I don’t know if the word is a verb or an adverb but I do know that a commitment is a call to action.
. Folks Joshua and the children of Israel realized that if they chose to follow God, the they should also commit them selves to serving God. Not just acknowledging who He is.
. I was reading an article this week about our mobile society and how people are spending so much time away from home that they just didn’t have the time that people used to have to spend in their commitment to God.
. The article stated that their analysis was that people had only three hours a week available to serve in the church.
. Folks I tell you that if everyone in the church gave these three hours, you would be amazed at the transformation in them and God’s church.
. Most of us come for one hour on Sunday morning and don’t give a whole lot of thought to what God wants us to do until the next Sunday and we come and listen to the preacher for another hour and do the same thing again.
. Folks God is calling for a commitment from His people.
. A commitment to serve, not just a commitment to attend.
. A commitment calls for action.
. If you tell me that you have made the choice to accept the sacrifice that Jesus gave on the cross and have given your life to Him and that you have committed yourself to Him but there is no action on your part, can people really believe that the commitment that you say you have is there.
. Maybe we are just giving lip service to your choice and are not really committed to God and to living the way that He has instructed us to live.
. Joshua said that he will serve the Lord, not just acknowledge.
. We need to commit ourselves to God
. CHOOSE THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE
. Make a commitment, a call to action and service.
. The next thing we see here is that Joshua called for a way to commemorate this day.
. a way to remember their pledge to God.
. We see this here in verse 26& 27
. 26Joshua recorded these things in the Book of God’s Instructions. As a reminder of their agreement, he took a huge stone and rolled it beneath the terebinth tree beside the Tabernacle of the LORD.
27Joshua said to all the people, “This stone has heard everything the LORD said to us. It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to God.”
. Joshua placed a stone under a tree in order for the people to see and remember what they had committed to that day.
. He wanted a way to commemorate the fact that they had decided to serve the Lord.
. I have a brother who is a civil war buff. When he and his wife travel, every time they pass one of the plaques or signs that you see on the side of the road they stop and read it .
. It is a way for them to be reminded of their history and their heritage.
. We as a church have a commemorative stone. Its this brick building here on this hill on Mountain Creek Church Rd.
. Every time we see this church, it should remind us of our commitment to God.
. It should remind us of the choice that we made when we chose to serve God here in this church.
. Church, I challenge you this day.
. CHOOSE THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE.
. Can you say that you and your house will serve the Lord.
. Will you commit to serving God this day.
. It is the time of the year when we set our teams up for the next church year.
. Will you make the choice today to use the gifts and talents that God has blessed you with to serve Him here in this place.
