Message Title
“What God Shall You Serve”
Scripture Reading
Joshua 24:14-24 (Read Aloud)
Prayer For Service
A few years ago I had the privilege of having a friend of mine come from Russia and stay with us for a couple of days. I realize that the majority of people have not been to Russia, but they do not really have a lot of worldly things to draw them away from God. In the environment and cultural that they live in, they have to depend on God everyday for food, shelter, heat, little things like hot water, basic survival. Well, he told me that after spending a month in the States that he was very concerned about the Americans. He said that we have so much that he could see where we could easily be drawn away from our day to day dependency on Christ. My question to you is, “Do you have ‘so much’ that you find it hard to keep a grip on your day to day dependency on Christ?” Or worse, have you lost that grip?
We find that throughout the Bible that people lost their dependency on the One and only true God. We find that they served different gods. We find, also, that today in many households that we are serving the wrong god.
First, we find that some serve the “god of matrerial things”
In I Timothy 6:10 we read this, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief’s.” One of many examples of this would be the lottery, gambling. The philosophy that it takes money to make money. What does God say in the Bible about gambling? Look at Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two master; for either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Mammon refers to wealth, money or property. I am not saying that it is bad to have these things…but I think it depends on the motives that we have when we are trying to gain it. Last month or so the Power Ball was over $200 million dollars. I had some friends I work with ask me to get in a lottery pool with them. I told them thanks but no thanks. That I don’t believe in that. They said they only play $5 a week. I said…I have a different outlook on that. I feel that is taking money that could be used for God’s work. You see, as you know, God has given me several opportunities to travel to several countries. In 1995 when I traveled to Russia I had children that were refuges from the Chesynia war stealing food off my plate. I have been to other parts of Eastern Europe and the Middle East where there are people dying every day from starvation. And, lets not fool ourselves, we have the same problem right here in the United States, and closer that that we have people right here in Ballard county that are going to bed hungry. Just think, that one lottery ticket that you buy once a year could be that dose of medicine, plate of food, or buy the chemicals to clean water sources that makes a difference of life and death. Did you know that everyday almost 10,000 children under the age of 5 in Third World countries die as a result of illness contracted by the use of impure water?
Second, some people serve the “god of pleasure”
If we look in Luke 15:11-13 we find a portion of the prodigal son. In vv. 11-13 is says, “there was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.” We have this problem from our houses to the White House. We are teaching our children if it feels good, do it. What makes us feel that we can be faithful to our God, if we can’t be faithful to our spouse and family. Who are we trying to kid. You know with all that went on with the previous President it showed me something. It showed me that the Christian world had forgotten something. And that is, that God can still performs miracles, even in the life of the ex president. And also, that God still forgives. We have to remember what Jesus said in John 8:7 “…if any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone…” Also, in Romans 12:19 “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for Gods wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord” After looking at the legacy that our previous president has set. Ask yourself, what kind of an example am I setting? We like to point fingers at him, but sin is sin. It says in Romans 14:10 “You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgement seat.” We will all be held accountable for our sins. Whether sins of the flesh, disobedience or whatever. Also, when I speak of some serving god of pleasure it could be the lake, boating, fishing, hunting, golfing, shopping, etc.. Anything like this that takes you away from worshipping God. Want to know if you fall into this category, look and see what you are doing when the doors of the church open for worship service…and I don’t mean to be rude. But, I am not only talking about on Sunday mornings. I mean Sunday nights, Wednesday nights and Business meetings.
Last, we see some serve the “god of self and pride”
You see, I think that this is the most common and most dangerous of all the God’s. This one draws us into serving the other gods that we mentioned. You see, we get this attitude, that as long as we make it to at least one church service a week, that we have done our Christian duty. We feel that the only time we have to “act” like a Christian, and I use that term loosely, is when we are at the church service. But, first of all, to be a Christian, a child of God, it is not an act, it is not a convenience issue, but it is a life style, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is a continuing humbling experience. And we take it for granted. We all complain about how terrible our country is, and yes, it aint’ no bed of roses. But, it could be a lot worse. I think that has been pointed out to us in the last few weeks. We are blessed to live in the country. And by being citizens of this country we do have the freedom to worship God anytime, anyplace and any way we choose. I personally know a man that stood up for Christ and he spent 4-5 years in Siberia. The officials had heard that he was a believer and they came to him to find out for sure. They gave him 2 chances to rebuke Christ. But, even though he knew the penalty, he professed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He spent weeks in a box the size of a washer machine. It was too little to sit down or stand up. Could you imagine?
We have the attitude that we can talk like a sailor when we are at work and away from church, and we say, well that’s different. Well, that’s bologna! It should not be any different. The Southern Baptist Convention, which we are a part of, was founded for the purpose of missions. And whether we you realize it or not, our work environment for the majority of us, will be the only mission field we will ever see. We see the “god of self and pride” pulling members out of Gods churches. Throughout the entire Bible we see the importance of church. Church was extremely important to Jesus. If it wasn’t, why would He had sent Paul, Peter, John Mark, Barnabas and others to travel from city to city to preach the gospel and to start churches. It was so important that these men gave their lives, literally, for the purpose of Christ to spread His word and start new churches. Why would God create us for fellowship with Him, if church were not important? We need fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters, daily. Church should be like a booster shot in the arm. It should be a time to recharge. We need church!
We as Christians are being watched by non-Christians. If we talk Jesus Christ and then we do not live Christ, including the way we act on the job and out in public or not attending church regularly, then we are sending out the wrong message to the ones that we are witnessing to. You see, “the world hears the gospel when the world sees the gospel.”
One other attitude that one sometimes gets when they become a child of God is that they feel they can live their own life. Well, let me tell you something. It is not your life. It is Gods. Look at Romans 14:7-8 “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
Now, let’s look at a few reasons why we should serve the God of Heaven
1. We should Him because He is the One and only True God. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
2. We should serve Him because His service is more satisfying. In II Co. 9:12-13 it reads, “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but it is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the Gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”
3. We should serve Him because there are no bad after-effects in His service. But, there are bad after-effects out of His service. Look in Luke 16:27-26 where the rich man died and went to hell and the beggar died and went to Heaven. In vv. 27-28 the rich man said, “…then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have 5 brothers. Let him warn them, so they will not also come to this place of torment.” Hell is real!
The after-effect of serving Him is Eternal Life in Heaven with God Almighty! Look at the promise in John 14:2-4, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Conclusion
Do you? Do you know way to the place Jesus was talking about? Is says in Romans 11:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” That is the ONE and ONLY way to the place Jesus was talking about.
God promises us all the good in the world and the world to come. He just asks us to love Him with all our hearts, then He knows we will serve Him. Won’t you say today, “I forsake all other God’s. From now on, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Invitation
Dad’s, husbands, is it time to come to the altar and make a renewed commitment to God and your family to be the spiritual leader in your family that God commands? Is it time to show your family, your children how to be humble in the presence of the Lord? Is it time to show your family, your children what God they should be serving?
Listen, people are saying that children are not affected by what they see on TV, movies, videos and music. But, let me tell you that children ARE imitators of what they see and hear. How do you think they learned how to walk and to talk and to eat? It’s time to quit saying, “do as I say” and start saying, “do as I do.” It says in Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” We can also look at what Paul wrote to Timothy and apply it to our lives. Paul said in I Timothy 4:10 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and purity.” Fathers, we are called to set the examples!
As we prepare for the invitation let us PRAY!
I can honestly say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” As we have the invitation, can you say that? Will you say that?
