 |
 |
|
who will you serve? Daniel Patz, Lead Pastor Grace Church, Sunday Worship Joshua 24:14-33 March 20th, 2011
INTRODUCTION Time machine – 30 years ahead. Nightmare – I find my self in my future with my grown up kids -now 38, 36, 35, 32, and 30 and they are living their lives with good jobs, husband or beautiful spouses, cute children – but not radically devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ. I find them or even one or two of them comfortable in the profess that they made when they were young children or teenagers, but for all practical purposes – bearing no fruit. SUMMARY of Text Joshua had led the nation of Israel into the promised land after they had been in the wilderness for 40 years. God led them into victory against their enemies and they had taken the land and started to settle. They had not defeated every single enemy but the large contingents at the time were defeated. Of course we will see that there are plenty of enemies prowling around. God’s promise was this: if you are faithful to me and my covenant; if you stay away from deals with the other nations and do not take their gods; if you are pure in your worship and obedience to my law I will give you victory, peace and blessing. This passage has Joshua giving a charge to the leaders of Israel. MAIN POINTS Main Point: “THE CHURCH IS CALLED TO AN ABSOLUTE DEVOTION TO GOD.” This call to absolute devotion has three components to it: 1. The call to absolute devotion is a call to DECISIVE COMMITMENT. (vv. 14-15) (Jos 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." Joshua tells them that they must choose. There is not middle ground. Choose to serve the other gods or serve the true and living God. Men struggle with commitment, and yet Joshua calls the men of Israel to make a decision. If they choose God it means an absolute abandonment of other gods. If they choose God it means a absolute devotion and love to God and God alone. In the giving of the Law, God made this very clear: Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ESV "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (5) You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. The reality is this – If you don’t serve God – You are serving other gods. You are on a current that is moving fast down stream and serving God requires you to choose to fight the current. You are climbing up Hill – you don’t just fall up hill. What will you choose? Please chose God! Grace Church, God is so good! If I could declare to you with accuracy and well delivery all the works of God that are revealed in Scripture and all the works in human history they would be great and glorious and we would be in much greater awe and wonder and joy than we are right now. But the works are merely (and I use that word carefully) a small beam of radiance compared to the sun of who God really is. He is infinitely glorious and from that flows works of love, mercy and kindness that are unfathomable. 2. The call to absolute devotion is a call to LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY. (v. 15). (Jos 24:15) 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." This passage is talking to the elders and leaders of Israel and to the heads of the households – the Husband/fathers. Joshua makes it clear that this devotion is not some individualistic decision – He is a leader of His house and He is declaring a devotion to lead His family to serve the Lord. Fathers/Husbands – you have a responsibility to lead your home – Ephesians 6:4 You have a responsibility and you will be held responsible. This responsibility was given to the people when they were given the Law. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 ESV You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (6) And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. (7) You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (8) You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. (9) You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:20-25 ESV (20) "When your son asks you in time to come, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?' (21) then you shall say to your son, 'We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. (22) And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. (23) And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. (24) And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. (25) And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.' This commandment is clearly proclaimed in many Psalms – including Psalm 78: Psalms 78:4-8 ESV We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. (5) He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, (6) that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, (7) so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; (8) and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. The call to devotion to God is not some call that only includes yourself. You are called to follow Jesus and you are called to call your children to follow Jesus. Men – take this seriously. You are leading your family to serve something or someone – what is it? If you are not actively pursuing God with your family you are passively serving sin and foreign gods. 3. The call to absolute devotion is a call to RECOGNIZE OUR DEPENDENCE ON GOD. (v. 19) (Jos 24:19) 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. What is the point of this verse – “You are not able to serve the LORD” Verse 20 makes it clear that this is not a last word – it is a statement of gravity. I don’t think you realize how impossible it is to do what you are saying you will do. You will not serve God rightly and truly without my help. You must understand first that you cannot and God must do it through you. You must die to Christ and live to another. John 15 – apart from me you can do nothing. What did Israel choose and what was the long term outcome? They chose to serve God we read in these verses – vv. 21ff Joshua seems to challenge them because He is skeptical that they really get it. Their long term outcome what failure. Judges 2:6-13 ESV When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. (7) And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. (8) And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. (9) And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. (10) And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. (11) And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. (12) And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. (13) They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. One generation from Joshua – they did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel: how can this be? Did they truly obey the Lord in responsibility and in recognizing dependence – did they truly obey Deut 6 and Psalm 78? What are we called to, and what is different because of Christ? Today, we live on the other side of a great deliverance. The Israelites were on the other side of the deliverance from Egypt and victory into the promise land. We are on the other side of deliverance through Jesus Christ. We are called to the same devotion, leadership responsibility and recognition of our dependence – but there is a big difference. Another Joshua came on the seen and He did what the first Joshua could not do. He defeated the Enemy in a decisive way and perfectly obeyed God. He took on a responsibility for His family in a way that Joshua and the elders could not do and He has made us a people by His SPIRIT. We have been given the work of the Cross and our identity and the Spirit as our constant help and power. Application: My Vision: If you were to ask me - “pastor Daniel, what is your vision for Grace Church?” I would say this now without hesitation or rival – that God would be glorified by raising up a faithful generation of saints who will faithfully (in desperate faith towards God) raise a generation of saints who in tern will raise a faithful generation of saints; and instead of the quality of faith in each generation getting gradually diluted or weakened (as is often the case), it will grow with greater strength and vigor by the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words: I pray that EVERY one of our kids at Grace (in and out of the womb – even those not yet conceived) will be grow up to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ because they were raised by sinful but humble and God-fearing parents. That EVERY one of their children will grow up to love and serve the Lord and that their children will follow them in the same way – enjoying the fruit of every one of their kids serving and fearing the Lord...and the serving and the loving will escalate to greater joys, heights and spiritual power and fruitfulness with each passing generation. In other words -may we go to our graves (if the Lord wills and allows us to live so long) with only faithful children, grandchildren and great grandchildren – to the praise of His glorious grace I realize that this vision is far too small for the magnitude of our God of the Bible – He is able to far more abundantly than we could every ask or think. Fasting and praying for this we must! Grace Church Ministry – Blueprint for Biblical ministries and Family Worship Seminar Non-married (not singles): - Men – aspire to this - Women – marry a man like this or cling to the church or a family that will help you - You people – pray for your parents and dads Married: - Dads and Husbands - Moms and Wives - Young with no kids - Young with kids - Not so young with kids - Not so young without kids or no kids in the house Follow Jesus Call your family to follow Jesus – help your husband We need to do this together as a body.
|
