Are You Really Sure?

Transcript

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[0:01] Our God, we ask for your blessing over the hearing of your word. God, we ask that all of us would come to you. And when you ask, do you want to be well? Our answer would be a resounding yes. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

[0:27] So I have in my bedroom a little placard that has the verse on it, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And I know that probably most of you have heard that verse before and are familiar with it, and we're going to be hearing it again in just a bit. But I just want you to pay attention. Because sometimes we hear a verse often and it stops sinking in. So I'm willing to assume that actually there must be at least one other household in our congregation who has those words written somewhere.

[1:11] They really are words to live by. But because they're words to live by, they've been painted in pictures and embroidered on towels, and Bible cases. I've seen them on welcome mats and coffee mugs. And that's good on one hand. But when we see them every day, even though they're meant to challenge us anew, they become so widely printed that we kind of stop truly noticing them in the way that really significantly influences the way we think about God. And that's the reason we live our lives.

[1:55] But we can't stop noticing them. We can't let a phrase like that lose its emphasis. So if we've ever made, if any of us have ever made that proclamation, that as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, our challenge today is to truly recommit to that, and to embrace the full weight of that daily.

[2:28] It was on his deathbed that Joshua spoke these words to the Israelites, and on behalf of himself and his household. Because to him, that statement really was a matter of life and death. And it ought to be for us as well.

[2:50] So my little plaque here, my plaqueard has become such a part of my everyday scenery, that in my life, the importance of these words, or the importance of, I guess, seeing these words every day, rarely challenges me the way they ought to anymore.

[3:10] I think I just get used to seeing it. And I say, I am a Christian, and I serve God. And maybe that's the end of my inner dialogue when I see that plaqueard these days. But it's recently come to my attention that I have not been fully honoring God in one area of my life, and specifically in how I use my time. So our youth pastor cohort was investigating what it meant to be truly humble. And we were using Deuteronomy 6-5 as our basis for what it means to be truly humble. By giving away every piece of our hearts, and our minds, and our souls, and our strength, over to God. And so we were given a few minutes to reflect with God, and speak with God, to determine what areas of our lives we were not doing that in. Because every person is not doing that in some area.

[4:22] So we were given these few minutes worth of silence, but I didn't need a few minutes. In fact, I didn't even need seconds. It was instantaneous. It was like the Holy Spirit was standing there with a waving banner and fireworks, just like shouting, you're not giving me your time.

[4:46] And maybe it seems like such a simple concept to have to do that. But I didn't have to give over to God. But when I stopped to think about it, I realized it wasn't so simple. It had become a very complex issue. And it was even beginning to impact multiple areas of my life. And most especially, my daily quiet time with God.

[5:12] But then, instead of taking on the full responsibility of that in the moment, I kind of began to think, I was kind of on Christian autopilot. Like, I prayed a prayer of repentance, and I prayed for forgiveness, and I asked God to help me to use my time in a more God-honoring way.

[5:35] But I don't think I really meant it. Because I didn't want to give up what free time I had, and I didn't want to go through the work of reorganizing my life in order to be more God-honoring. And I didn't want to go through all of what this meant for me.

[5:56] I wanted to honor God, and I wanted that area of my life to be well, but I didn't want to work for it. And then I was reading in John, in fact, the words of John, which Steve just spoke to us. And it convicted me. Specifically, this phrase, do you want to be well? And I realized that my answer to that question in that moment was this really anticlimactic, uninspiring, lukewarm and feet-dragging sort of, I guess?

[6:43] And it struck me, just like a ton of bricks, that that was the very problem that I was facing. There are no sort of I guesses when it comes to giving yourself over to God, even a small part of yourself. But the fact is that there are countless moments in our lives when we come dragging our feet at the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

[7:15] So here's a really fitting interjection. Yesterday I was talking with Nicole, and she said that the girls had recognized that every generation of the Israelites went through a season of being unfaithful to God.

[7:30] But the life of the people of Israel is just like our own lives. Certainly we have committed to serving God for his glory. But there are places, or times, or parts, or seasons in each of our lives where we just need to take a serious inventory. And even sometimes recommit. And this is what we will find in our scripture today, that Joshua wanted to challenge the Israelites into a covenant of commitment, of recommitment. It was so crucial, and so absolutely vital, that Joshua used his dying energies and his last words to the Israelites to make sure they understood the utmost import of those words and of their decision. So with that, let's go ahead and turn to Joshua 24.

[8:34] I'm going to just read verses 1-3, then 14-25, and I will be reading from the NLT this morning. Then Joshua summoned all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, including their elders, leaders, judges, and officers.

[8:55] So they came and presented themselves to God. Joshua said to the people, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River. And they worshipped other gods.

[9:23] But I took your ancestor Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him into the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants through his son Isaac. Then we jump to verse 14. So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever your the idols of your ancestors, worshipped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. But 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?

[10:16] But, for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. The people replied, we would never abandon the Lord and serve other gods. For 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. It 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.

[11:05] Then Joshua warned the people, you are not able to serve the Lord for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If 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.

[11:28] But the people answered Joshua, no, we will serve the Lord. 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. All right then, Joshua said, destroy the idols among you and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel. The people said to Joshua, we will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him alone. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to follow the decrees and the regulations of the law.

[12:20] So remember how we remember how we remember our So remember how we remember how we remember how we remember how we remember how we remember how we remember how we remember how we remember how we remember how we remember strength. Fear the Lord wholeheartedly. It encapsulates all of those things. In modern day we've also changed this a little to add the word mind, but that is what wholehearted means. It's not just I really really really love God, it's I love God with my entire being. So are you giving over your entire mind in in order to glorify God? Or is there something that you think about either that is ungodly or that you think about more than God? Are you giving your whole heart over? Or is there something that you love or care about more?

[13:32] I love God. Are you using all of your soul? What do you honor and worship? And are you using your whole strength? That means all of the abilities that you have. Are you using your whole being to fully and wholly worship God? And that is a tall order. And we are human. So there will always be ways in which we falter from that. And there will always be ways for us to end up ways in which we can do better. Joshua challenged Israel to put away their idols, and they rose to that challenge and agreed to do so. But Joshua didn't stop there, because again, this is a tall order. And so he gave them a warning and a second chance to change their minds.

[14:24] Are you going to commit to God? Okay, but are you absolutely sure? And this was not a hypothetical question, and it was not a question of mockery or of judgment, and it was not a leading question. It was a legit question for the Israelites, and honestly, it's a legit question for us too. It's like Jesus asking the lame man, do you want to be made well? And we would think the obvious answer is yes, but it really requires actual thought. Like in the case of the lame man, he had been lame for decades. The only lifestyle he really knew was begging to get by. He had never trained for a trade, and getting better, getting well, would be better in the long run, in fact, it would be much better in the long run. But in the short term, it would mean difficulty, and it would mean putting in some real effort. And that's scary. There was uncertainty. Begging was not a good life, but he knew what the results were. He knew what it meant for him. Being well wasn't as certain.

[15:52] And so Joshua really is legitimately asking Israel if they are willing to take on the full weight of what it means to serve God. Now, serve God is repeated five times in this passage. It means to worship God alone, and not other gods.

[16:13] He does very literally mean to stop worshiping idols in favor of worshiping God. the gods of their ancestors and even more recently the gods that they had left behind in Egypt, they may have served and they were a big problem for the communities. Some of them still carried around like carved idols. It was a problem but the word that is used here for serve, abad, has some other meanings as well. It can mean worship but it can also mean to show loyalty toward and to obey. So to worship, to show loyalty toward and to obey sounds an awful lot like the servitude that they just left behind in Egypt. And they are now being asked by God to move from being Pharaoh's servants in Egypt to becoming the God's servants.

[17:20] And they didn't have a choice in being Pharaoh's slaves. But here, in order to gain this freedom God is offering to them, which is uncertain, they don't fully comprehend what the entirety of this freedom means because they can't because it's unknown. They know servitude to people. In order to gain this freedom though, they must choose to become servants to God. And why would you choose to become someone's servant when you just got done being someone's servant?

[18:02] So it's the same concept as with what we see with the lame man. The ultimate outcome is really incredible. In fact, it's incredible beyond understanding. But there's a change. There's a challenge. And there's discomfort in the foreseeable future. For Israel to give up their idols would make life difficult for them in the world of trade and commerce where the rest of the world does worship these idols. And they would stick out in the world.

[18:34] And they could not put their hope in their idols the way they might have tried to do in the past. And we can say, well, that hope was false hope. But if you've always put your hope into something, you don't necessarily know that yet. And so there's a life change that they have to make. And it's not easy.

[19:00] Now, if we take a look at Joshua 24, 15, most of our translations are going to say something like, if you are unwilling, or if it is undesirable to you. But the Hebrew version is a little bit different. It's a little better translated. It's more, it may be evil in your eyes to serve God.

[19:23] So this is a genuine choice. Slavery feels evil, even if it's to a God that promises ultimate freedom. So that choice is hard. There are real consequences of both serving and not serving God. And Joshua is not going to make that choice for them.

[19:45] It is deeply important to them, to Joshua. He's called them together in order to give them this one last urgent message. He even has an argument for trusting in the God who has always led them and been with them.

[20:04] But ultimately, he really wants them to make this choice for themselves. That doesn't seem tempting entirely. And sometimes the choice is difficult for us too. We want to serve God, but he asks us to make hard choices in life. And choices that will ultimately make us well, but that may feel difficult or even oppressive in the moment.

[20:34] But if you choose to serve God with your whole being, I imagine Joshua speaking here, he's asking you, are you sure? But if you choose, are you sure? Because he gives them a list of consequences. And there are two parts to this. If we ask ourselves the question, are you sure? There are really two parts to this. And the first is, do you really want to serve God, knowing the full weight of these consequences that Joshua lists here?

[21:14] But there's another part to that, are you sure? And that is, do you really want to serve God, knowing you must do so with your whole being? You must put your absolute all into following him. Now, do we fail sometimes?

[21:33] Yes. But if you truly choose to be well, God will never fail you. He will never fail to meet you where you are. Israel acknowledged that as they reviewed their history with God, they looked at his goodness. And I really like how this chapter begins. It begins with a review of God's work, not just with Abraham, but with Terah. And so most places in the Bible would say something like, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. But this place includes Terah. And that's interesting, because it's not just the God of Israel, because Terah absolutely worshiped idols. In fact, he would have brought his children to worship the same idols as well. And so for Abraham to suddenly hear God meeting him where he was, is really incredible.

[22:31] God met Abraham from a place of idol worship, where he maybe didn't even know anything about who the true God was. God met him in that place. And Abraham responded in faith. So if you want to be well, whatever area in your faith that you need to grow in, all you need to do is respond to God's prompting.

[23:04] The extent to which Christ heals us, and the amount of times which we can turn to him, and repentance and forgiveness is endless. Didn't Israel, as the Gribstads had pointed out, didn't Israel fall away from their walk with God time and time again after they made this very declaration? And yet they were God's chosen people. So our spiritual walk is not this straight path, but it's a path marked with curves and hills and bumps. And we do not obtain that. We do not obtain salvation based on our ability to never falter on this path, but based on Christ's unwavering sacrifice.

[23:52] And yet we need to be sure that we want to be well. We need to mean it. And this is not a message to take lightly. So next time you see on a placard or a pillow or a towel, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

[24:14] It is not a message to glance at and say, that's nice. It is a message to take to your heart. This text today came from the lectionary. And while I had Steve read from John today, the original text that it was paired with was the parable of the bridesmaids, which is an excerpt from the Bible and the eschatological passage.

[24:45] It's a passage preparing us for the return of Christ. This is a passage preparing us for Christ's return. And that's not something we can put to the back of our minds. And that's not something we should shrug and say, that's nice, too. This is something that is urgent. This is something that is important. We need to daily examine our lives before God. Where is God prompting us to do better? Where is God prompting us to serve wholeheartedly with all of our hearts and minds and souls and strength?

[25:31] We need to do this now as we prepare for Christ's return. As we move into a time of offering, I want to invite you to also take it as a time of personal inventory. What does it mean for you and your house to recommit to serving the Lord at this time? Now, verse 1 says that they came and presented themselves before God, and so that's where we start. Present yourself before God and investigate with him different areas in your life.

[26:10] And first, and this I think is important, too, although we didn't talk about it as much, but I think this is, it's important to celebrate with God in victory. So first, what are the areas of your spiritual life or your commitment to God where you've been doing well? Where are those areas?

[26:33] But second, where are those areas where you've been giving yourself wholeheartedly? Where are the areas of your spiritual life or your commitment to God where you have not been giving yourself wholeheartedly?

[26:43] And you can either at this time write it out in a journal or maybe a paper, or maybe you could take a moment to discuss this within your household. We'll have a time of offering music where you can use that as a reflection, but you can also choose to pause the service now and just think about it. But for now, let us pray.

[27:11] God, we thank you that you meet us where we are. We thank you that you sent your Son to die for our sins, our frailty, and that no matter how many times we fail, God, you meet us, and you forgive us when we repent.

[27:38] God, would you meet us where we are today? These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.