At a 1999 conference in Houston, speaker Marti Ensign, a missionary to Africa, spoke of bringing some African pastors to the United States for a big meeting.
During their free time, these Africans wanted to go shopping, but Marti knew there was a chance someone might have difficulty or get lost. So she gave them her phone number for such an emergency. In less than an hour the phone rang and the African said, “I am lost.”
Marti said, “Lay the phone down, go to the street corner, find out the names of the two streets at the corner, come back and tell me, and I will come and get you.”
In a few minutes he returned to the phone and reported, “I am at the corner of ‘Walk’ and ‘Don't Walk.’” (Phillip Gunter, Round Rock, Texas, www.PreachingToday.com)
There are times when people feel like they’re at the same corner. They find themselves lost and don’t know which way to go. Sometimes, they don’t even know whether they should walk or stay put. So what do you do at those times? What do you do when you don’t know what to do?
That may have been the situation when Jesus told a couple of disciples to go into town and get Him a donkey. Take a look. (Show The Disciples and the Donkey Skit Guy video)
Disciple 2: Look, this is a no brainer. We do exactly what he said. Go into town, find the donkey and her colt and we take—
Disciple 1: (grabs Disciple 2’s arm) I just don’t understand why Jesus asked us to commit a crime. We’re supposed to steal a donkey.
Disciple 2: What? No! Not steal. Borrow.
Disciple 1: Just casually stroll up, untie the donkey and—
Disciple 2: —say exactly what he told us to say—
Disciple 1: —that the Lord has need of it and will—
Disciple 2: —send it back shortly.
Disciple 1: What does that even mean? The Lord has need of it.
Disciple 2: It’s self-explanatory. Why are you being so…so…
Disciple 1: So, me? We all know I’m the rule follower of the bunch. Why didn’t he send Peter?
Disciple 2: (under his breath) I’m asking myself the same question.
Disciple 1: (ranting on) This is right up Peter’s alley. Steal a donkey, cause an uprising. That’s his thing. Peter’s the reason they chain pens at the bank.
Disciple 2 just looks at him. There are no words.
Disciple 1: I DON’T WANNA GO TO JAIL! You know how I feel about one-ply toilet paper.
Disciple 2: Would you lower your voice?! Jesus said we’ll return it. What could go wrong here?
Disciple 1: What could go wrong? A cracked rib. A busted lip. The kind of name calling that takes you into therapy down the road.
Disciple 2: (losing it) Stop freaking out! Just stop it! Stop it! Stop talking! Stop whining! Stop all of it!
Disciple 1: I mean…not judging here but there seems to be a log in your eye.
Disciple 2 grabs Disciple 1 by the collar and shakes him.
Disciple 2: You have trust issues! Serious trust issues!
Disciple 1: Do you know how many germs are in a jail cell???
Disciple 2: (still high strung) Look! I don’t know why he wants the donkey. I also don’t know why everyone is gathering branches and lining the streets. It just seems like an important moment, like something big is about to happen!
Disciple 1: Wait a minute.
They stop.
Disciple 2: (excited) Right? See…?
Disciple 1: What do you mean, I have trust issues?
Disciple 2: Fine. Sure. We’ll focus on you. Here it is. We’ve seen Jesus heal a blind man. Cure leprosy. Raise people from the dead. The dead. I can’t even raise you from a nap. Don’t you think you can trust him to work out the donkey situation?
Disciple 1: (he’s slowly getting it) You know…I see the way Jesus trusts the Father. (points up) He trusts Him more than I trust the ground I’m standing on. (emotional beat) To have that kind of trust… hard to imagine.
Disciple 2: But if you’re going to trust anyone, He’s the one, right?
Disciple 1 smiles and nods. He’s come around.
Disciple 1: Let’s do this. I’m ready. We got this. (beat) You go first.
Disciple 2: (patting him on the back) Baby steps.
They walk a little bit.
Disciple 1: Hey, when we get there and we grab said donkey, maybe I could leave a Benjamin—
Disciple 2: No.
Disciple 1: A 20 spot?
Disciple 2: No.
Disciple 1: A thank you card.
Disciple 2: Stop it. (walks off )
Disciple 1: (it hurts, but…) Alright, I’ll trust Him!
That’s the real dilemma, isn’t it? What do you do with Jesus? Do you trust Him enough to obey Him, or do you do what YOU think is best?
About 1,400 years before that first Palm Sunday, Joshua presented the people of Israel with a similar choice. They had just conquered and possessed the land of Canaan. Joshua is old and about to die, so he gathers the entire nation together for one last charge before he leaves them. They have a choice to make: do they continue to serve the Lord, who gave them that land, or do they serve other gods?
It’s a timeless question, which not only ancient Israel had to answer, but you and I must answer, as well. What do you do with the Lord? If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Joshua 24, Joshua 24, where this choice is set before all of us.
Joshua 24:1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God. (ESV)
Joshua gathered everybody together at Shechem, a very important place in Israel’s history. It was first place in the Promised land to which God led Abraham (Genesis 12). It was the first place to which Jacob had returned after running away from home (Genesis 33). And it was the first place to which Joshua led the nation after their initial victories in the Promised Land (Joshua 8), from which they went out to conquer the rest of the land God had given them. Now, they’re back in this very important place…
Joshua 24:2-13 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac. And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out. “ ‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. And when they cried to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness a long time. Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, but I would not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’ (ESV)
Joshua rehearses all that God has done for them from Abraham, the founder of their nation, to the present time. GOD brought Abraham there. GOD brought Israel out of Egypt. GOD brought them through the Red Sea. GOD drove their enemies away, and GOD provided them a land for which they did not work. GOD did all the work. All they had to do was believe God and move on into the victory He had provided.
As Joshua gets ready to call Israel to make a decision, he wants them to remember God’s faithfulness to them. And so must you as you consider what to do with the Lord.
REMEMBER GOD’S FAITHFULNESS TO YOU.
Recall how the Lord saved you. Bring to mind all that God has done for you!
He did all the work! All you have to do is believe God and move on into the victory He has provided. When Jesus died on the cross, He cried out, “It is finished!” The work is done! The sin debt is paid in full! There is nothing left for you and me to do, but to believe it and live in the victory He provided for us.
Ephesians 1 says, “[He] has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…” (Ephesians 1:3). Ephesians 2 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). 2 Peter 1 says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…” (2 Peter 1:3). God did it all! All you have to do is believe it and live in the victory He provided for you.
Please, don’t forget that. Remember all that God has done for you, and let it profoundly change the way you live your life.
Fyodor Dostoevsky (Fi-a-dor Dost-o-yevski) was one of the most famous and accomplished Russian writers of the 19th century.
Early in his life, Dostoevsky was arrested for belonging to a group judged treasonous by Tsar Nicholas I. He sentenced them to death and staged a mock execution to impress upon them the gravity of their errors. Their captors dressed them in white death gowns and led them to a public square, where a firing squad awaited. A gawking crowd watched as the young rebels were blindfolded and tied to posts. They heard the order, “Ready, aim!” The firing squad cocked their rifles and lifted them upward. Then at the very last moment, a man on horseback galloped into the square with a message from the tsar: He would mercifully commute their sentences to hard labor.
Dostoevsky never recovered from that experience. He had peered into the jaws of death, and from that moment life became for him precious beyond all calculation. “Now my life will change,” he said; “I shall be born again in a new form.” As he boarded the convict train toward Siberia, a devout woman handed him a New Testament, the only book allowed in prison. Believing that God had given him a second chance to fulfill his calling, Dostoevsky pored over that New Testament during his confinement. After 10 years he emerged from exile with unshakable Christian convictions, so much so that he once said, “If anyone proved to me that Christ was outside the truth, then I would prefer to remain with Christ than with the truth.” (Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, Zondervan, 1995, pp. 140-141; www.PreachingToday.com)
Fyodor Dostoevsky could never forget how God delivered Him, and it profoundly changed his life. Don’t you forget it either! Oh, you might not have faced a firing squad, but you faced the fires of hell when God provided a way out through faith in His Son.
Oh, my dear friends, if you have not yet trusted Christ as your Savior from sin, please do it today. The Bible says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Please, call on Him today and let Him save you from your sins.
Then don’t ever forget what He did for you. As you consider what to do with the Lord, remember His faithfulness to you; recall how He saved you. Then…
REMAIN FAITHFUL TO HIM!
Choose to serve the Lord, and only Him, the rest of your life. Dedicate your life fully and completely to God. That’s what Joshua urges Israel to do.
Joshua 24:14-15 “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (ESV)
Joshua calls Israel to make a choice: Serve the Lord or worthless idols, because you cannot serve both.
It reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 6: “No man can serve two masters, for 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 God and money” (Matthew 6:24).
You cannot serve God and… anything else. You cannot serve God and idols. You cannot serve God and money. You cannot serve God and pleasure. You cannot serve God and power. So make a choice!
Joshua 24:16-18 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods, for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.” (ESV)
The people respond, “We will serve the Lord, because of all He has done for us: He delivered us from slavery. He preserved us in the wilderness, and He drove our enemies away.
Joshua 24:19-20 But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” (ESV)
Joshua warns the people about going back on their commitment. Why? Because they’re making a commitment to serve God with idols in their tents. They’re not sincere!
Joshua 24:21-23 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” (ESV)
Joshua calls their bluff and tells them to put away their idols if they really mean what they say.
Joshua 24:24 And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” (ESV)
The people declare, “We do mean it! We will serve the Lord!”
Joshua 24:25-28 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance. (ESV)
To solidify their commitment, Joshua writes it down, sets up a stone to remind them of their commitment, and sends them home to get rid of their idols.
Joshua urges Israel to dedicate their lives fully and completely to the Lord, to remain faithful to God, because He has been faithful to them.
Now, that’s what the Bible urges every believer to do. Romans 12:1 says, “I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (NIV) – literally, your logical service.
In view of God’s mercy, what other choice is there? It’s the only choice that makes sense: Give your all to God, because He gave His all to you on the cross.
Charles Allen talks about being with Billy Graham in the second crusade he ever conducted in Augusta, Georgia. Graham was just a young man at the time, and he said to Allen, “I never dreamed God would give me the ministry he's given me today. I just said, ‘God I'm going to give you all I have now. And you lead the way.’” (Charles Allen, “Lessons from the Lepers,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 147; www.PreachingToday com)
Billy Graham gave his all to the God who gave His all to him. What will you do with the Lord this morning? You see, when you don’t know what to do, start by giving yourself wholly and completely to God. Then see where He leads. He may not lead you to be a preacher like Billy Graham, but He will lead you to a place where your life will count for eternity.
When you don’t know what to do, remember God’s faithfulness to you. Then remain faithful to Him.
Nearly 200 years ago, there were two brothers in Scotland named John and David Livingstone. John decided he wanted to make a lot of money in life, so that’s what he did. He dedicated himself to making money, and he became very wealthy. But under his name in an old edition of the “Encyclopedia Britannica” John is listed simply as “the brother of David Livingstone.”
And who was David Livingstone? He was just one of the greatest missionary explorers who ever lived. He explored the continent of Africa, sharing the good news about Jesus everywhere he went. He became famous in the 1800’s, and people still talk about the great things he did today.
You see, while John had dedicated himself to making money, David dedicated himself to serving the Lord. Surrendering himself to Christ, he resolved, “I will place no value on anything I have or possess unless it is in relationship to the Kingdom of God.”
On his 59th birthday David Livingstone wrote, “My Jesus, my King, my Life, my All; I again dedicate my whole self to Thee.” (Billy Graham in “Breakfast with Billy Graham, “Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 6; www.PreachingToday.com)
Choose this day whom YOU will serve!
