Joshua 24:14-28
Joshua Series: Message 14
By Pastor Brian
Fort Bend Community Church
2015.12.27
Mandarin Service
English Service
Whom Do You Serve?
1. Life is a series of choices. We make choices every day. What clothes do we wear? What food do we eat? What church do we go to? Who is going to be my friend? Where do I go to college? Whom do we serve? Where do we go after this? Some decisions have not so far reaching consequences and other decisions are far reaching. Our choices determine our character, our destiny and our life.
God has given us the power of choice. The freedom to choose. Learning what to choose, and how to choose, maybe the most important knowledge we will ever receive.
2. Today in Joshua 24, the final chapter and the climax of the book, Joshua gathered the people of Israel at Shechem and challenged them to choose. "Whom do you serve?" It was a big gathering. Commentators estimate that there were over 2 million people gathered to hear Joshua's final challenge: Whom do you serve? Joshua was with them in the wilderness for 40 years and led them to cross the Jordan River and conquered Canaan. The people had lived peacefully in the Promised Land since Joshua distributed the land to the 12 tribes 25 years ago. Now Joshua was 110 years old, ready to meet His Maker. He asked them this most important question, "Whom do you serve?"
The answer to this question determines your character, your destiny and ultimately your life. Of all the choices we face in our life, this is it, the most important choice of eternal consequence.
3. The verb, "to serve" has a variety of meanings. In some instances, the verb carries the idea of “to serve” (e.g., Gen 29:15; Exod 1:13; Psa 22:30). In other instances, the term carries the idea of “to worship or honor” (e.g., Gen 2:15; Exod 3:12; 2 Kgs 17:41). But the verb also carries the basic sense of toil or working the ground (e.g., Gen 2:5; Deut 21:4; Zech 13:5). (Williams, W. A. (2014). Agriculture. D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.)
When you get up in the morning, go to work. Labor and working the ground. For whom do you work? Every day of our life, for every breathe we take, what are we doing? And why are we doing what we are doing?
Who is going to write your story? Who gives you your identity? To whose music will you dance? Whom do you serve?
The Gods At War
1. The gods beyond the River and in the land, v. 14-15
14 "Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living."
Who are "the gods beyond the River and in Egypt and the gods in the land"? Three sets of gods here:
1) The gods beyond the Euphrates River: referring to as early as the time of Abraham when he left Ur for the Promised Land
2) The gods in Egypt, when Israel were slaves for 400 hundred years
3) The gods in Canaan referring to the problems now.
In other words, idolatry is a problem any time any where in the history of Israel.
2. Idolatry is one the most frequently referenced challenges in the Bible. Still, we dismiss idolatry as being antiquated, irrelevant. Nothing could be more relevant in our culture than idolatry. Behind every sin struggle we have—behind our discontentedness, our hopelessness—is a false god that is winning the war in our lives. Idolatry isn't just an issue; it is the issue.
It is the number one problem in the Bible—more than 1,000 verses speak of it. More than 50 of the laws in the first five books of the Bible are directed against it. In Judaism it was one of only four sins to which the death penalty was attached. Yet we skip over it as an antiquated or irrelevant issue. But nothing could be further from the truth. It's the war that is being waged for our worship. The Bible calls it idolatry.
These are the gods at war within each of us. They battle for the place of glory in our lives. Much is at stake, for whichever god is victorious, that god wins control and power over us. Ultimately, the god you choose determines your destiny.
On the surface this doesn't seem to be what we struggle with. But in fact this is the struggle. You might say, "I struggle with being anxious and worried." But why is that? Maybe it's because you've made comfort and security your god. If you keep loosing your battle with lust, maybe it's because sex is your god. If you struggle with legalism, maybe religious rules are your false god. If you're discontent, maybe it's money. If you lack self-control, maybe it's pleasure. Underneath every sin is a false god that is sitting on the throne of your heart—and until that god is dethroned, you won't have victory. So, what are the gods at war in your life?
Why do we want to worship an idol?
Jer 10:2-6 "2 Thus says the LORD, "Do not learn the way of the nations, And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens Although the nations are terrified by them; 3 For the customs of the peoples are delusion; Because it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. 4 "They decorate it with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails and with hammers So that it will not totter. 5 "Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can they do any good."
1) Idols we can control or influence. A scarecrow in a cucumber field... easy to control. And we can ignore him if we want to. They are made of wood, decorated with silver and gold, and fastened with nails and hammers so that it will not move. Like a toy, we are in control.
2) The gods like Baal offers practical helps. He is the weather god in Canaan. He controls the rains and the winds. We prefer the tangible and visible. "What we want is something with skin."
3. Who are your gods?
"What are you most disappointed with?" or "Where do you turn when you hurt?" or "What do you dream of?" The answers to these questions identify the gods that might be winning the war for your heart.
- The god of pleasures: fun and a good time.
- The god of money: it gives us the control and influence.
- The god of health: the older we are, I realize that our conversation is more and more on our health. What to do; what to eat so that we can be healthier. There is nothing wrong with a healthy lifestyle. But health can be a god we worship. It offers tangible and visible benefits. It gives us worry-free happy life it seems.
Verse 16-18 The first response of the people, "We will serve the LORD who did great things for us. Therefore we will serve the LORD."
Joshua's reply is harsh. Verse 19-20. "You are not able to serve the LORD," Why not able? "For God is a holy God and He is a jealous God." Two attributes of God, holy and jealous. The Holy One of Israel would not share the bed with another god.
He is a holy God and also a jealous God (v. 19). Both of these characteristics are part of God’s very nature and set him apart from all other gods and from his people.
5. Holy, "qados," an adjective, describing God as separate, apart, from human infirmity and sin. The Holy One of Israel (以色列的聖者) is the divine name of Yahweh. He is the only true God and is compared to no other gods. Because God is holy, the Israelites could not serve him when they persisted in their idolatrous practices. Those who serve God must be holy, separated from any evil and idolatry. (Mccomiskey, T. E. (1999). 1990 קָדַשׁ. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 788). Chicago: Moody Press.)
6. God’s jealous nature also set him apart from other gods. He would not brook any competition for his people’s loyalties.
This is clear in the First and Second Commandment in Exod 20:3–6: "3 "You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God."
“God loves his people so much that he wants their undivided love in return. He will not share them with any other god.”
That is the problem of the Israelites. Of course, they wanted to worship the powerful Yahweh who saved them from their enemies. We too. We wanted a powerful God to protect us and to save us. But at the same time, they wanted the convenience of an idol.
7. Examples of our tendency to wanting the gods of both/and.
A recent conversation with a young man... wants spirituality but also wants to live out his desire. A choice needs to be made. Whom do you serve?
Many want spirituality--the feeling of purpose and meaning yet they don't believe in God. There is no allegiance.
8. In v. 14 the NIV’s “serve him with all faithfulness” is literally “serve him with integrity (tāmîm) and truth (ʾĕmet).” The NASB renders the phrase here as “sincerity and truth,” the NRSV as “sincerity and … faithfulness,” the REB as “loyalty and truth,” the NLT as “wholeheartedly.” The word tāmîm connotes the idea of wholeness, blamelessness, integrity, even “perfection,” and thus Joshua’s exhortation is a passionate one that the people should be totally devoted—blameless—in their worship of their God. (Howard, D. M., Jr. (1998). Joshua (Vol. 5, p. 435). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Wholehearted devotion: King Saul verses King David;
1. "Whom do you serve"?
Patrick Henry, one of the founding fathers of this nation, is best known for the speech he made in the House of Burgesses on March 23, 1775, in Saint John's Church in Richmond, Virginia. With the House undecided on whether to mobilize for military action against the encroaching British military force, Henry argued in favor of mobilization and ended his speech with words that have since become immortalized:
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!"
Henry was 38 years old at the time, a wealthy lawyer with 6 children. Later on he was elected as the first governor of Virginia. "As for me, give me liberty or give me death" is a declaration of the choice he made which could have costed him everything he had.
"Whom Do You Serve?" is the kind of choice which would define you.
2. "Whom do you serve" is your decision to make.
It is your choice. You cannot afford to let your tendency, your desire, your peers, your possessions, your ancestors, even your parents, to write your story. Your story is not written yet. It is in your hands. It is up to you to choose. Whom do you serve?
As for me... I serve Christ. I came to this country 40 years ago as a teenager looking for answers. In the course of three years in my college career, I made the choice. As for me, I serve Christ. This is my destiny. This is my created purpose. Every cell in my body is created for the purpose of serving Christ. My gifts and talents, my time on the face of this earth, my possessions, everything I have are prepared for this purpose--to serve Christ.
Our created purpose is to serve Christ.
As For My House
1. Challenge to the fathers
If ever there was a time and fathers like Joshua need to say, "As for me and my house," whatever
the neighbors on the block may do and however they may live and whatever society may
do and whatever the trend may be and the style and the fashion of the in crowd, “as for me
and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Make it known to your house as earlier as possible, as firm as possible, as clear as possible.
2. As for my house... we serve Christ. The story in my house... not the most perfect home, not without problems, not without worries, but one thing is certain: we serve Christ. Every decision we make, every crisis we face, every challenge we have, it is for the purpose of serving Christ.
2015 is the 150th anniversary of the founding of China Inland Mission. I would like to tell the story of the Taylors and how Joshua 24:15, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" has led the Taylor family for 9 generations and make huge impact to the world in serving Christ.
1) James Hudson Taylor (戴德生) (1832-1905)
He was one of the great heroes of the modern missionary movement. Hudson Taylor was a British Christian missionary to China and founder of the interdenominational China Inland Mission, which wound up sending more than 800 missionaries, building 125 schools and establishing 300 local churches or “stations.”
Taylor adopted Chinese dress and Chinese culture while serving as a missionary. That was somewhat controversial — an early challenge to more colonial models of missiology. Taylor wasn’t looking to produce good colonial subjects. He was trying to tell people about Jesus, and Jesus never dressed like a proper Victorian gentleman either.
Taylor and his mission agency also campaigned against the opium trade — during a time when his country was fighting wars in order to force China to import more of the drug.
Taylor’s devotion and the scale of his work in China made him world-famous during his lifetime and he remains a cherished icon and inspiration for mission-minded evangelical Protestants.
2) Herbert Hudson Taylor (戴存仁) (3 April 1861 – 6 June 1950):
4 years old when Hudson Taylor founded CIM. Herbert served in China for 50 years, the last three as one of the prisoners of the Japanese at the Weifang internment camp during World War II along with Eric Liddell and 1500 others.
3) James Hudson Taylor II (戴永冕)
One story: images of genocide in the Nanking massacre, in December 1937, were to become seared on everyone’s minds, invoking great fear as the Japanese began to invade more cities. In 1939 James Hudson Taylor ll managed to secure a sea passage back to the United States for the whole family; plans were set in motion to leave China. Then one day, nine-year-old Jim was asked by his father if he would like to accompany him to the shipping office. This was not, as the boy thought, to collect the tickets. It was instead to cancel them. James Taylor recalled the episode in his booklet God’s Grace to Nine Generations. It was to leave a deep mark on his life and ministry. His parents had resolved that this was no time for missionaries to leave China; instead they would move to the North West to train church leaders; the cost would be high as they would need to leave their four children as boarders at the China Inland Mission’s Chefoo School in eastern China.
4) James Hudson Taylor III (戴紹曾) (1929 ~ 2009)
Born in Henan, China. Missionary all his life.
5) James Hudson Taylor IV (戴繼忠) wife a Chinese, 戴柯悅敏師母, now serves with OMF (former CIM) in Taiwan.
Succeeding generations of Taylors grew up in homes where the Lord’s name was honored.
Conclusion
The book and the stone, verse 22-27. "We are the witnesses."
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