WEBVTT 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:09.720 And Kirstie to come and read. So if you'd like to come up the front, you can put your 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:13.560 Bibles here and use this. Just hold it up to your mouth so we can all hear. 00:00:21.500 --> 00:00:29.660 It's Joshua chapter 24, verses 1 to 13 I'll be reading. That's page 240 on the church 00:00:29.660 --> 00:00:39.899 Bibles. Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, 00:00:40.219 --> 00:00:45.700 leaders, judges, and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. 00:00:46.480 --> 00:00:53.480 Joshua said to all the people, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. Long ago your 00:00:53.480 --> 00:00:59.140 forefathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the river, 00:00:59.140 --> 00:01:04.920 and worshipped other gods. But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the river, 00:01:05.420 --> 00:01:11.840 and led him throughout Canaan, and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:18.960 Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Ther to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:26.439 Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:33.179 out. When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them 00:01:33.179 --> 00:01:38.719 with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:45.219 darkness between you and the Egyptians. He brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with 00:01:45.219 --> 00:01:51.420 your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the desert for a long time. I brought you 00:01:51.420 --> 00:01:56.939 to the land of the Amorites, who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them 00:01:56.939 --> 00:02:03.420 into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. When Balak, 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:09.699 son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam, son of Beor, 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:15.099 to put a curse on you. But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, 00:02:15.099 --> 00:02:21.840 and I delivered you out of his hand. Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:27.639 of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, 00:02:28.079 --> 00:02:34.439 Gergashites, Hivites, and Jebusites. But I gave them into your hands. I sent the hornet ahead of you, 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:40.759 which drove them out before you. Also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword 00:02:40.759 --> 00:02:45.899 and bow. So I gave you a land in which you did not toil, and cities you did not build, 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:50.699 and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant. 00:02:55.739 --> 00:03:03.259 Let's continue in verse 14. Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the 00:03:03.259 --> 00:03:09.959 gods of your forefathers, worship beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the 00:03:09.960 --> 00:03:14.860 Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether 00:03:14.860 --> 00:03:20.080 the gods of your forefathers serve beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:26.580 living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Then the people answered, 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:34.080 Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods. It was the Lord, our God himself, who 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:39.740 brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs 00:03:39.740 --> 00:03:45.580 before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey, and among all the nations through which 00:03:45.580 --> 00:03:51.860 we traveled. And the Lord drove out before all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the 00:03:51.860 --> 00:03:59.400 land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God. Joshua said to the people, You are not able to 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:06.080 serve the Lord. He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:12.740 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and will make 00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:19.699 an end of you, after he has been good to you. But the people said to Joshua, No, we will serve the 00:04:19.699 --> 00:04:25.500 Lord. Then Joshua said, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord. 00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:32.080 Yes, we are witnesses, they replied. Now then, said Joshua, throw away the foreign gods that are among 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:38.560 you, and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel. And the people said to Joshua, We will serve 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:45.240 the Lord our God and obey him. On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:50.779 he drew up for them decrees and laws. And Joshua recorded these things in the book of law of God. 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:55.919 Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak, near the holy place of the Lord. 00:04:55.920 --> 00:05:03.360 See, he said to all the people, this stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:07.780 the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God. 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:37.900 Thank you, Jonathan and Kirstie for reading. Let's talk to God, let's pray. As we finish 00:05:37.900 --> 00:05:41.360 off this great book of Joshua, let's pray together. 00:05:41.360 --> 00:06:03.520 Our Father God, you are very great. You are creator and ruler over our lives. And we are small 00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:13.599 and insignificant. And we come before you humbly and ask that you would speak to us. 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:26.599 We ask that you would change our lives. That you would cause us to be a people who live in response 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:40.200 to you in worship. Teach us what that means. And help us in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:06:43.160 --> 00:06:50.439 So all the hard work has been done. Battles have been fought, cities have been captured, 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:58.399 and the lands have all been divided. Finally, God's people can sit back and take things easy 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:06.579 in the promised land. That's the expectation as we reach the concluding chapter of Joshua chapter 24. 00:07:07.339 --> 00:07:14.879 After 600 years of patiently waiting for God's promise to be realized, it seems that at long 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:22.579 last they can rest and relax they can rest and relax. Perhaps it's time to build a nice new home 00:07:22.579 --> 00:07:29.060 along the Mediterranean coast. Maybe to upgrade their car or their chariot or whatever they used. 00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:38.579 Join the gym and take a few holidays. But God is not finished with his people. Far from settling down, 00:07:38.579 --> 00:07:48.439 it's time to start serving. The sight that Joshua has chosen to speak to the people is full of 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:58.560 significance. Let's read verse 1. Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. Not just 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:06.740 individuals. Everybody was included. All God's people. He summoned the elders, the leaders, the judges, 00:08:06.740 --> 00:08:14.500 and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. Well, you say, what's significant about 00:08:14.500 --> 00:08:22.319 that? Well, Shechem was the place where God first met Abraham way back in Genesis chapter 12. It was the 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:31.120 place that God spoke promises to Abraham. He said to Abraham all those years ago, I promise you that you 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:37.740 will be a great nation. You will have a land in which to live and you will be a blessing. 00:08:39.740 --> 00:08:49.720 Now here they are, 600 years later, gathered together as a nation, gathered together in the land that God 00:08:49.720 --> 00:09:01.060 had promised to hear Joshua's speech. What's he going to say to them? Well, to our surprise, look at what he does 00:09:01.059 --> 00:09:15.579 say in verse 14. Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Rather than settling down, it's a time to get up 00:09:15.579 --> 00:09:27.199 and start serving. The work is just beginning. You see, God has brought his people into the land so that they can bring 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:37.060 God to the surrounding nations. They are to serve God by speaking and living the salvation that they've experienced 00:09:37.060 --> 00:09:44.480 and come to know. They are to begin to live out amongst the people around them. So it's not a case of Israel 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:51.820 sitting back and putting the feet up and watching TV. It's a case of God has so blessed you. 00:09:51.820 --> 00:10:01.560 Now go and be a blessing to all the other nations. Go and be a blessing to the world. Go and serve your God. 00:10:03.220 --> 00:10:13.820 So Joshua chapter 24 reminds us that while God has saved us, it's only the start. Our salvation is only the beginning. 00:10:13.820 --> 00:10:22.700 He has saved us so that we can go and serve him together as a community wholeheartedly. 00:10:23.760 --> 00:10:30.140 And sometimes we lose sight of that. We are very individualistic in our thinking about things that I want to do. 00:10:30.920 --> 00:10:35.900 There's none of that here. The whole nation of Israel was gathered together. 00:10:35.899 --> 00:10:45.000 We are all gathered together this morning to hear what God is saying to us together, not individually. 00:10:46.279 --> 00:10:49.879 It's a message for his church today. 00:10:52.179 --> 00:10:59.519 Well, what does he have to say to his church? Well, let's look at what God has done, first of all, his amazing salvation. 00:10:59.720 --> 00:11:00.559 Look at verse 2. 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:23.199 Now let's go back in time to where Abraham was. 00:11:24.019 --> 00:11:26.639 He was the kind of guy who you would never see in church. 00:11:27.459 --> 00:11:30.419 If you showed Abraham a Bible, he wouldn't know what it was. 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:36.479 Verse 2 tells us that he and his family worshipped other gods. 00:11:37.239 --> 00:11:42.119 God wasn't on his radar. He wasn't looking for him and he wasn't wanting him. 00:11:42.739 --> 00:11:48.679 In fact, Abraham's whole life was lived serving someone else or something else. 00:11:49.099 --> 00:11:51.359 Because that's what worship is. 00:11:51.579 --> 00:11:52.939 That's what it says in verse 2. 00:11:53.299 --> 00:11:55.079 They worshipped other gods. 00:11:55.080 --> 00:12:00.000 Worship is not about singing songs and getting excited with the praise time. 00:12:00.139 --> 00:12:04.200 As much as it's good to sing, that's not what worship is. 00:12:05.580 --> 00:12:10.500 Worship is all about what or who you serve. 00:12:10.500 --> 00:12:14.340 What you give your life to. 00:12:14.340 --> 00:12:14.360 What you give your life to. 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:20.419 Or who is most important to you becomes the object of your worship. 00:12:22.100 --> 00:12:31.940 So, whatever you love the most, whoever you trust the most, that's where you serve. 00:12:31.940 --> 00:12:36.440 And for Abraham, it was certainly not the creator god. 00:12:36.740 --> 00:12:39.560 He had a god of his own invention or making. 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:44.620 People of Abraham's culture, well, they depicted everything as a god. 00:12:44.700 --> 00:12:45.900 They had hundreds of gods. 00:12:46.020 --> 00:12:47.140 They had sex gods. 00:12:47.300 --> 00:12:48.320 They had work gods. 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:50.280 They had money gods, nation gods. 00:12:50.660 --> 00:12:51.980 Gods all over the place. 00:12:51.980 --> 00:12:59.680 And in reality, all of these different gods were just replacements for the one true god. 00:13:00.800 --> 00:13:02.960 They were god substitutes. 00:13:03.980 --> 00:13:06.460 And that's how Abraham and his family lived. 00:13:07.139 --> 00:13:12.720 They were ruled by the gods that they made and therefore they worshipped them. 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:14.580 They served them. 00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:22.780 Now, the problem with worshipping other gods is they're not actually good to you. 00:13:22.900 --> 00:13:24.200 They enslave you. 00:13:25.020 --> 00:13:28.020 They begin to control you and to consume you. 00:13:28.340 --> 00:13:33.960 And isn't that what happens when we make money and work and family a god, 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:36.540 when we put that as the priority in our lives? 00:13:37.100 --> 00:13:39.040 They begin to control your life. 00:13:39.140 --> 00:13:40.680 They begin to overtake you. 00:13:40.920 --> 00:13:43.100 And so you live your life for that. 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:48.800 And rather than your gods giving you something, 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:50.540 they begin to take from you. 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:52.220 They take of your life. 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:53.840 They suck you dry. 00:13:55.180 --> 00:13:59.420 And the trouble with these kind of gods is that you make and create for yourself, 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:00.980 they can't free you. 00:14:01.060 --> 00:14:02.620 They can't do anything for you. 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:06.240 Of course they give us some pleasure for a time, 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:08.019 but they're powerless. 00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:11.539 Rather than save you, 00:14:12.059 --> 00:14:14.079 they actually enslave you. 00:14:14.699 --> 00:14:17.620 And this is the life that Abraham was stuck in. 00:14:17.980 --> 00:14:21.139 He was living a life where he was worshipping other gods. 00:14:21.139 --> 00:14:27.059 And it's the kind of life that we're in as well. 00:14:27.059 --> 00:14:29.419 It's how society operates. 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:34.259 Oz Guinness, you may have heard of him as a well-known apologist, 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:37.220 comes from the great line of the Guinness family. 00:14:38.460 --> 00:14:40.379 He wrote in one of his books, 00:14:40.379 --> 00:14:41.779 No God but God. 00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:42.840 Listen to this quote. 00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:44.279 He says, 00:14:44.360 --> 00:14:46.120 When we cease to worship God, 00:14:46.860 --> 00:14:48.840 we do not worship nothing. 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:51.200 We worship anything. 00:14:52.259 --> 00:14:54.059 We don't just eliminate God. 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:55.939 We don't just put God to one side. 00:14:56.679 --> 00:15:00.700 We erect God's substitutes in his place. 00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:05.379 A God's substitute can be anything. 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:06.920 It can be a physical object, 00:15:07.040 --> 00:15:07.540 a property. 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:09.120 It can be a person, 00:15:09.800 --> 00:15:10.860 like your spouse. 00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:12.740 It can be an activity, 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:14.400 like sport. 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:15.980 It can be a role, 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:16.920 an institution, 00:15:17.780 --> 00:15:18.960 like church. 00:15:19.540 --> 00:15:20.759 It can be a hope, 00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:21.720 an image, 00:15:22.660 --> 00:15:23.540 like beauty, 00:15:24.100 --> 00:15:25.020 an idea, 00:15:25.300 --> 00:15:26.180 or a pleasure, 00:15:26.379 --> 00:15:27.020 a hero. 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:31.840 Anything can substitute for God. 00:15:33.500 --> 00:15:34.899 And so, like Abraham, 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:39.240 we need to be people who are set free 00:15:39.240 --> 00:15:42.039 from the gods that we worship 00:15:42.039 --> 00:15:45.899 so that we can be free to serve 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:48.639 and worship the true living God. 00:15:49.779 --> 00:15:54.659 And that's exactly what God did in Abraham's life. 00:15:54.659 --> 00:15:55.939 Look at verse 3. 00:15:57.019 --> 00:15:58.199 He says, 00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:00.779 But I took your father Abraham 00:16:00.779 --> 00:16:02.419 from the land beyond the river 00:16:02.419 --> 00:16:04.279 and led him throughout Canaan 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:06.299 and gave him many descendants. 00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:08.039 I gave him Isaac. 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:09.100 And to Isaac, 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:10.960 I gave Jacob and Esau. 00:16:11.220 --> 00:16:14.399 I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau. 00:16:15.899 --> 00:16:17.600 Do you see what's going on here? 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:19.819 It is God who makes the move. 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:21.039 He says, 00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:23.240 I took you, Abraham. 00:16:23.699 --> 00:16:25.039 God intervenes. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:26.620 God takes the initiative. 00:16:27.720 --> 00:16:29.579 And when we're stuck worshipping 00:16:29.579 --> 00:16:30.840 and serving something 00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:32.259 or someone else, 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:34.659 we need somebody from outside 00:16:34.659 --> 00:16:36.159 to come into our lives, 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:37.559 to break into our lives, 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:38.399 to free us. 00:16:39.299 --> 00:16:41.299 And this is illustrated so well for us 00:16:41.299 --> 00:16:42.299 in the next few verses. 00:16:43.199 --> 00:16:44.579 Look at the end of verse 4. 00:16:45.439 --> 00:16:46.600 We learn that, yes, 00:16:46.659 --> 00:16:48.559 he had taken Isaac and Jacob 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:50.360 and they had had many families, 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:51.919 but Jacob and his sons 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:53.139 went down to Egypt 00:16:53.139 --> 00:16:54.980 where they were enslaved. 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:56.639 Verse 5. 00:16:57.139 --> 00:16:59.779 Then I sent Moses and Aaron 00:16:59.779 --> 00:17:01.860 and I afflicted the Egyptians 00:17:01.860 --> 00:17:03.680 by what I did there 00:17:03.680 --> 00:17:06.319 and I brought you out. 00:17:08.099 --> 00:17:09.980 Now not only were they rescued 00:17:09.980 --> 00:17:11.940 and set free from slavery. 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:13.559 Verse 8. 00:17:13.559 --> 00:17:16.679 I brought you to the land 00:17:16.679 --> 00:17:18.139 of the Amorites 00:17:18.139 --> 00:17:19.659 who lived east of the Jordan. 00:17:20.039 --> 00:17:21.559 They fought against you, 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:23.859 but I gave them into your hands. 00:17:24.139 --> 00:17:26.599 I destroyed them from before you 00:17:26.599 --> 00:17:28.139 and you took possession 00:17:28.139 --> 00:17:29.019 of their land. 00:17:29.919 --> 00:17:30.960 Look at verse 11. 00:17:31.539 --> 00:17:32.339 Keep with me. 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:34.759 Then you crossed the Jordan 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:36.240 and you came to Jericho. 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:37.940 The citizens of Jericho 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:38.940 fought against you 00:17:38.940 --> 00:17:40.400 as did the Amorites, 00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:41.099 the Perizzites, 00:17:41.220 --> 00:17:41.759 the Canaanites, 00:17:41.859 --> 00:17:42.240 the Hittites, 00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:42.900 the Girgashites, 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:43.359 the Hivites, 00:17:43.460 --> 00:17:43.880 Jebusites, 00:17:44.140 --> 00:17:45.299 and all the other ites 00:17:45.299 --> 00:17:46.140 that there would have been. 00:17:46.660 --> 00:17:48.920 And I gave them into your hands. 00:17:50.620 --> 00:17:51.759 Verse 13. 00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:54.920 So I gave you a land 00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:57.039 on which you did not toil 00:17:57.039 --> 00:17:59.599 and cities you did not build 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:01.120 and you live in them 00:18:01.120 --> 00:18:02.920 and you eat from the vineyards 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:04.420 and from the olive groves 00:18:04.420 --> 00:18:06.620 that you did not plant. 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:10.700 Do you see what he's saying here? 00:18:11.860 --> 00:18:13.300 It's crystal clear. 00:18:14.500 --> 00:18:17.320 Salvation is God's work. 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:20.279 We can't free ourselves 00:18:20.279 --> 00:18:21.840 from our own slavery. 00:18:21.840 --> 00:18:24.960 We need God to rescue us. 00:18:26.980 --> 00:18:28.960 Now I want to drive this home 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:29.900 for us this morning 00:18:29.900 --> 00:18:32.960 because many people 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:34.240 like to think 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:36.519 that we can free ourselves. 00:18:37.400 --> 00:18:38.200 That somehow 00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:39.980 when it comes to salvation 00:18:39.980 --> 00:18:41.519 it's our choice 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:43.259 and our decision. 00:18:44.500 --> 00:18:46.299 That we have the power 00:18:46.299 --> 00:18:47.259 and the resources 00:18:47.259 --> 00:18:48.299 within ourselves 00:18:48.299 --> 00:18:50.059 to change us. 00:18:51.019 --> 00:18:52.900 But that's not what God is saying. 00:18:53.779 --> 00:18:55.039 Look at the emphasis. 00:18:55.240 --> 00:18:56.160 It's all I. 00:18:56.460 --> 00:18:57.740 I took you. 00:18:58.259 --> 00:18:59.759 I sent Moses. 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:02.039 I brought you into the land. 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:03.519 I fought for you. 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:04.940 I delivered you. 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:07.299 I gave what you did not have. 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:09.019 In other words 00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:10.980 you cannot save yourself. 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:12.599 You can't free yourself. 00:19:13.579 --> 00:19:14.740 Abraham and his family 00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:15.480 couldn't do it 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:16.940 and neither can we. 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:21.180 It's not your decision. 00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:24.500 It's not even your desire. 00:19:24.500 --> 00:19:27.980 It's all by God's grace. 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:30.920 Now of course 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:31.819 some of you will be thinking 00:19:31.819 --> 00:19:32.299 they're going 00:19:32.299 --> 00:19:33.819 yeah but don't I decide 00:19:33.819 --> 00:19:34.700 to follow Jesus? 00:19:35.220 --> 00:19:36.119 Yeah I know this thing 00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:37.059 about God choosing 00:19:37.059 --> 00:19:37.759 and all the rest of it. 00:19:37.980 --> 00:19:39.200 But don't I decide 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:40.240 to follow Jesus? 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:42.440 Don't I decide 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:43.160 to be a Christian? 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:45.480 Well no you don't decide. 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:48.799 One of the most well-known verses 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:49.779 that we often quote 00:19:49.779 --> 00:19:50.940 from Ephesians 2. 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:53.000 It says by grace 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:54.960 you have been saved 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:58.460 and it's through faith 00:19:58.460 --> 00:20:01.000 which is the gift of God. 00:20:01.319 --> 00:20:02.259 Even faith 00:20:02.259 --> 00:20:04.279 the faith to believe in God 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:05.759 is a gift from God. 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:07.620 It comes from Him. 00:20:08.460 --> 00:20:09.400 And this is the point 00:20:09.400 --> 00:20:10.059 that He's making. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:12.140 You made no move towards me. 00:20:12.380 --> 00:20:13.380 You were off serving 00:20:13.380 --> 00:20:14.079 your own gods 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:14.940 and doing your own thing 00:20:14.940 --> 00:20:16.299 but I intervened 00:20:16.299 --> 00:20:17.100 into your life 00:20:17.100 --> 00:20:18.140 and caused you. 00:20:18.279 --> 00:20:19.100 I called you. 00:20:19.259 --> 00:20:20.039 I chose you. 00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:21.680 It's all by God's grace. 00:20:22.620 --> 00:20:23.039 Why? 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:25.759 So that He would humble us. 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:27.019 He would remove 00:20:27.019 --> 00:20:28.420 any ounce of pride 00:20:28.420 --> 00:20:30.140 any sense of superiority 00:20:30.140 --> 00:20:31.799 because as soon as I say 00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:33.320 well I did something 00:20:33.320 --> 00:20:34.680 or I chose 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:35.860 or I responded 00:20:35.860 --> 00:20:37.160 then we're saying 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:38.299 I did something 00:20:38.299 --> 00:20:39.700 what somebody else can't do. 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:42.799 It removes all pride 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:44.920 and all sense of superiority. 00:20:44.940 --> 00:20:45.460 superiority. 00:20:47.160 --> 00:20:48.600 But the big point is 00:20:48.600 --> 00:20:50.559 if God has done this for us 00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:52.400 as God has intervened 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:53.160 into our life 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:54.880 if God has saved us 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:55.759 and freed us 00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:56.720 and blessed us 00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:59.220 then the only reasonable 00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:01.039 and right response 00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:03.620 is to give our lives 00:21:03.620 --> 00:21:04.900 in service 00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:08.920 to the only true God. 00:21:08.920 --> 00:21:16.039 God has done this for you 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:17.860 if God has saved us 00:21:17.860 --> 00:21:18.900 and freed us 00:21:18.900 --> 00:21:21.620 then the only right response 00:21:21.620 --> 00:21:23.680 is to give our lives 00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:24.360 in service 00:21:24.360 --> 00:21:26.200 to the true God. 00:21:27.800 --> 00:21:29.120 So having looked at 00:21:29.120 --> 00:21:30.800 God's amazing salvation 00:21:30.800 --> 00:21:33.279 let's look at how we respond 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:35.480 our loving service. 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:37.920 there's a few things 00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:38.980 that we need to look at here. 00:21:39.059 --> 00:21:39.819 The first one is 00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:41.980 choose who you serve. 00:21:43.259 --> 00:21:45.099 Joshua gives a very simple 00:21:45.099 --> 00:21:46.960 but yet direct choice 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:48.299 to God's people. 00:21:48.460 --> 00:21:49.380 Look at verse 15. 00:21:51.700 --> 00:21:52.740 He says there 00:21:52.740 --> 00:21:54.200 but if serving the Lord 00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:56.500 seems undesirable to you 00:21:56.500 --> 00:21:58.579 then choose for yourselves 00:21:58.579 --> 00:21:59.140 this day 00:21:59.140 --> 00:22:00.019 whom you will serve 00:22:00.019 --> 00:22:00.900 whether the gods 00:22:00.900 --> 00:22:01.859 your forefathers 00:22:01.859 --> 00:22:02.960 served beyond the river 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:04.079 or the gods 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:05.160 of the Amorites 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:06.680 in whose land 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:07.380 you are living. 00:22:08.380 --> 00:22:09.140 But as for me 00:22:09.140 --> 00:22:09.920 and my household 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:11.759 we will serve the Lord. 00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:14.759 Now read that carefully. 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:15.579 Look at the verse. 00:22:15.700 --> 00:22:16.440 Read it carefully. 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:19.600 It does not say 00:22:19.600 --> 00:22:21.500 choose to serve God 00:22:21.500 --> 00:22:23.420 and then serve nothing. 00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:25.200 No it says 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:26.700 choose whom 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:27.900 you will serve. 00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:29.240 In other words 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:31.140 if you don't serve God 00:22:31.140 --> 00:22:33.200 you will end up 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:34.620 serving someone else 00:22:34.620 --> 00:22:35.980 or something else. 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:38.759 Because you can't serve 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:39.440 nothing. 00:22:40.200 --> 00:22:41.019 Every one of us 00:22:41.019 --> 00:22:42.420 are born into this world 00:22:42.420 --> 00:22:43.539 as servers 00:22:43.539 --> 00:22:44.700 and worshippers. 00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:47.259 We all worship 00:22:47.259 --> 00:22:48.360 someone or something. 00:22:49.740 --> 00:22:50.519 And since we're all 00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:51.539 very good this morning 00:22:51.539 --> 00:22:52.319 and we've all gotten 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:53.100 out of our beds 00:22:53.100 --> 00:22:53.940 and we're here in 00:22:53.940 --> 00:22:55.039 church together 00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:56.140 and we're reading 00:22:56.140 --> 00:22:56.819 our Bibles 00:22:56.819 --> 00:22:57.480 and listening 00:22:57.480 --> 00:22:58.460 and paying attention 00:22:58.460 --> 00:22:59.680 we're all going to say 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:01.380 I serve God 00:23:01.380 --> 00:23:02.740 I worship God 00:23:02.740 --> 00:23:03.319 that's me 00:23:03.319 --> 00:23:05.480 that's who I've chosen. 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:07.900 But do we? 00:23:09.259 --> 00:23:10.740 Do we worship God? 00:23:10.860 --> 00:23:11.900 Do we serve God? 00:23:11.900 --> 00:23:14.280 Well 00:23:14.280 --> 00:23:15.759 I help stack up 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:16.560 a few chairs 00:23:16.560 --> 00:23:17.740 and I kind of 00:23:17.740 --> 00:23:18.480 I do my bit 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:19.440 and I serve the tea 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:19.980 and coffee 00:23:19.980 --> 00:23:21.940 and well I'm even there 00:23:21.940 --> 00:23:22.420 on a Wednesday 00:23:22.420 --> 00:23:23.600 sometimes handing out 00:23:23.600 --> 00:23:24.100 the flyers. 00:23:24.180 --> 00:23:25.040 I do my bit. 00:23:26.560 --> 00:23:27.259 But is that it? 00:23:27.340 --> 00:23:28.180 Is that what service? 00:23:28.460 --> 00:23:29.860 Is that what worship is? 00:23:32.080 --> 00:23:33.140 Now I want us to do 00:23:33.140 --> 00:23:34.300 some really hard 00:23:34.300 --> 00:23:35.900 self-examination here 00:23:35.900 --> 00:23:37.259 and I ask myself 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:38.420 the same questions. 00:23:38.420 --> 00:23:40.180 I'm going to ask 00:23:40.180 --> 00:23:41.360 two big questions 00:23:41.360 --> 00:23:42.220 and I want you to 00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:43.360 think about it 00:23:43.360 --> 00:23:44.140 very carefully. 00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:45.980 Here's the first one. 00:23:46.580 --> 00:23:47.440 It's to find out 00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:49.120 who we serve. 00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:50.400 To find out 00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:51.500 where our worship 00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:52.720 is lying. 00:23:53.800 --> 00:23:55.000 Here's the first question. 00:23:55.740 --> 00:23:56.820 What is 00:23:56.820 --> 00:23:58.140 your greatest 00:23:58.140 --> 00:23:59.160 nightmare? 00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:01.860 What causes you 00:24:01.860 --> 00:24:02.800 the most amount 00:24:02.800 --> 00:24:03.920 of worry? 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:04.980 Okay? 00:24:05.320 --> 00:24:06.080 Stay with me. 00:24:06.560 --> 00:24:07.240 I'm over here. 00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:07.740 Okay? 00:24:08.620 --> 00:24:09.539 What's your greatest 00:24:09.539 --> 00:24:10.000 nightmare? 00:24:10.579 --> 00:24:11.740 What causes you 00:24:11.740 --> 00:24:12.819 the most amount 00:24:12.819 --> 00:24:13.359 of worry? 00:24:14.220 --> 00:24:14.859 Is it losing 00:24:14.859 --> 00:24:15.539 your job? 00:24:16.900 --> 00:24:18.220 Is it maybe 00:24:18.220 --> 00:24:19.120 getting cancer? 00:24:20.700 --> 00:24:21.720 Is it your 00:24:21.720 --> 00:24:22.859 children's future 00:24:22.859 --> 00:24:23.900 and what's 00:24:23.900 --> 00:24:24.380 going to happen 00:24:24.380 --> 00:24:24.740 then? 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:27.160 Is it maybe 00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:28.460 losing your spouse? 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:32.079 And here's 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:32.859 the next question 00:24:32.859 --> 00:24:33.559 and it's related 00:24:33.559 --> 00:24:33.920 to it. 00:24:33.960 --> 00:24:34.380 So you've all 00:24:34.380 --> 00:24:34.900 got something 00:24:34.900 --> 00:24:35.480 there that 00:24:35.480 --> 00:24:37.120 causes you 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:37.539 the biggest 00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:37.939 worry. 00:24:38.699 --> 00:24:39.359 What do you 00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:40.059 look to 00:24:40.059 --> 00:24:41.419 to comfort 00:24:41.419 --> 00:24:42.299 you or 00:24:42.299 --> 00:24:42.699 give you 00:24:42.699 --> 00:24:43.219 happiness 00:24:43.219 --> 00:24:45.259 when those 00:24:45.259 --> 00:24:46.000 worries come 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:46.519 or when 00:24:46.519 --> 00:24:47.239 things go 00:24:47.239 --> 00:24:47.619 wrong in 00:24:47.619 --> 00:24:48.119 your life? 00:24:48.639 --> 00:24:49.039 Where do you 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:49.399 look to? 00:24:49.459 --> 00:24:49.819 What do you 00:24:49.819 --> 00:24:50.359 go to to 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:50.779 give some 00:24:50.779 --> 00:24:51.519 little comfort 00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:52.219 to yourself? 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:53.779 Is it in 00:24:53.779 --> 00:24:54.359 relationships? 00:24:56.659 --> 00:24:57.500 Maybe it's 00:24:57.500 --> 00:24:57.919 sex. 00:24:59.619 --> 00:25:00.539 Maybe you run 00:25:00.539 --> 00:25:01.219 to family. 00:25:02.259 --> 00:25:02.779 Maybe it's 00:25:02.779 --> 00:25:03.199 all about 00:25:03.199 --> 00:25:04.139 comfort spending 00:25:04.140 --> 00:25:04.660 and buying 00:25:04.660 --> 00:25:05.140 yourself 00:25:05.140 --> 00:25:06.000 little treats. 00:25:07.980 --> 00:25:08.520 Maybe it's 00:25:08.520 --> 00:25:08.940 even in 00:25:08.940 --> 00:25:09.300 religion, 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:10.140 in church. 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:13.420 Now your 00:25:13.420 --> 00:25:14.060 answer to 00:25:14.060 --> 00:25:14.880 those questions 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:15.660 will tell you 00:25:15.660 --> 00:25:16.700 what or who 00:25:16.700 --> 00:25:17.480 you serve. 00:25:18.500 --> 00:25:19.400 What's most 00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:20.460 important to you 00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:21.000 in life? 00:25:21.600 --> 00:25:22.320 What do you 00:25:22.320 --> 00:25:23.020 dream about 00:25:23.020 --> 00:25:23.680 and long for 00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:24.080 when you're 00:25:24.080 --> 00:25:24.680 sitting down 00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:25.300 daydreaming? 00:25:25.640 --> 00:25:26.040 Where does 00:25:26.040 --> 00:25:26.560 your mind 00:25:26.560 --> 00:25:27.140 go to? 00:25:27.140 --> 00:25:32.060 anything that 00:25:32.060 --> 00:25:33.040 takes priority 00:25:33.040 --> 00:25:33.900 over God, 00:25:34.220 --> 00:25:35.240 anything that 00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:35.620 is more 00:25:35.620 --> 00:25:36.420 important to 00:25:36.420 --> 00:25:36.800 you than 00:25:36.800 --> 00:25:37.759 God is 00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:38.740 what we 00:25:38.740 --> 00:25:39.600 serve. 00:25:40.900 --> 00:25:41.400 And the 00:25:41.400 --> 00:25:42.300 reality is we 00:25:42.300 --> 00:25:43.080 serve many 00:25:43.080 --> 00:25:43.560 gods. 00:25:44.300 --> 00:25:45.160 We worship 00:25:45.160 --> 00:25:46.000 our job. 00:25:47.020 --> 00:25:47.800 It consumes 00:25:47.800 --> 00:25:48.140 us. 00:25:48.180 --> 00:25:48.660 It's what we 00:25:48.660 --> 00:25:49.340 live for. 00:25:50.500 --> 00:25:51.320 We worship 00:25:51.320 --> 00:25:52.100 our children. 00:25:52.440 --> 00:25:53.000 Our children 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:53.660 tell us, 00:25:53.780 --> 00:25:54.500 control us. 00:25:54.500 --> 00:25:55.860 They absorb 00:25:55.860 --> 00:25:56.700 us. 00:25:57.140 --> 00:26:00.700 Our health 00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:01.900 becomes a 00:26:01.900 --> 00:26:02.240 God. 00:26:02.620 --> 00:26:03.020 Our 00:26:03.020 --> 00:26:03.660 relationships, 00:26:03.880 --> 00:26:04.300 the need 00:26:04.300 --> 00:26:04.660 for a 00:26:04.660 --> 00:26:05.080 partner, 00:26:05.600 --> 00:26:05.920 the need 00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:06.220 for a 00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:06.900 boyfriend or 00:26:06.900 --> 00:26:07.360 a girlfriend 00:26:07.360 --> 00:26:07.759 or a 00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:08.140 wife or 00:26:08.140 --> 00:26:08.500 a husband, 00:26:08.780 --> 00:26:09.720 that becomes 00:26:09.720 --> 00:26:10.520 the priority 00:26:10.520 --> 00:26:10.880 and the 00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:11.220 goal of 00:26:11.220 --> 00:26:11.740 our life. 00:26:12.780 --> 00:26:13.480 And God 00:26:13.480 --> 00:26:14.200 gets pushed 00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:14.600 out. 00:26:15.700 --> 00:26:16.640 As we said 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:17.320 earlier in the 00:26:17.320 --> 00:26:17.600 quote, 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:18.680 God is 00:26:18.680 --> 00:26:19.280 eliminated. 00:26:19.460 --> 00:26:19.940 We push 00:26:19.940 --> 00:26:20.640 him to one 00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:22.160 side and 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:22.780 we erect 00:26:22.780 --> 00:26:23.580 God's 00:26:23.580 --> 00:26:24.400 substitutes. 00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:25.400 Something to 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:25.800 take the 00:26:25.800 --> 00:26:26.259 place of 00:26:26.259 --> 00:26:26.440 God. 00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:27.340 Something that 00:26:27.340 --> 00:26:27.860 we look to 00:26:27.860 --> 00:26:28.340 for our 00:26:28.340 --> 00:26:28.880 meaning and 00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:29.640 our purpose. 00:26:31.600 --> 00:26:32.500 So there's a 00:26:32.500 --> 00:26:32.860 challenging 00:26:32.860 --> 00:26:33.420 question, 00:26:33.539 --> 00:26:34.220 verse 15. 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:35.299 In the 00:26:35.299 --> 00:26:35.700 light of 00:26:35.700 --> 00:26:36.059 God's 00:26:36.059 --> 00:26:36.500 amazing 00:26:36.500 --> 00:26:37.140 salvation, 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:39.420 choose who 00:26:39.420 --> 00:26:39.820 you will 00:26:39.820 --> 00:26:40.360 serve. 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:42.519 Is it the 00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:42.960 God who 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:43.860 frees you 00:26:43.860 --> 00:26:46.200 or the 00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:46.779 gods that 00:26:46.779 --> 00:26:47.480 fail you? 00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:51.660 So choose 00:26:51.660 --> 00:26:52.019 who you 00:26:52.019 --> 00:26:52.259 serve. 00:26:52.380 --> 00:26:52.640 Second, 00:26:52.840 --> 00:26:53.220 know the 00:26:53.220 --> 00:26:53.720 cost. 00:26:53.720 --> 00:26:54.720 God's 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:54.759 God. 00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:54.860 Because 00:26:54.860 --> 00:26:55.279 serving 00:26:55.279 --> 00:26:55.799 God is 00:26:55.799 --> 00:26:56.240 not going 00:26:56.240 --> 00:26:56.519 to be 00:26:56.519 --> 00:26:56.940 easy. 00:26:58.620 --> 00:26:59.500 This next 00:26:59.500 --> 00:27:00.319 point is 00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:01.000 an attempt 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:02.559 to stop 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:03.839 anybody from 00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:04.460 becoming a 00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:04.839 Christian. 00:27:05.640 --> 00:27:06.400 You've heard 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:06.640 me. 00:27:07.980 --> 00:27:08.980 It costs 00:27:08.980 --> 00:27:10.019 your life. 00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:11.720 It's 00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:12.740 serious if 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:13.240 you are 00:27:13.240 --> 00:27:13.680 going to 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:14.640 be a 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:15.039 Christian. 00:27:15.700 --> 00:27:16.140 Verse 00:27:16.140 --> 00:27:16.700 16. 00:27:17.380 --> 00:27:17.920 The people 00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:18.339 answered, 00:27:18.339 --> 00:27:19.699 far be 00:27:19.699 --> 00:27:20.059 it for 00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:20.639 us to 00:27:20.639 --> 00:27:21.039 forsake 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:21.240 the 00:27:21.240 --> 00:27:21.679 Lord to 00:27:21.679 --> 00:27:21.959 serve 00:27:21.959 --> 00:27:22.240 other 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:22.679 gods. 00:27:24.839 --> 00:27:25.359 Verse 00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:25.819 19. 00:27:25.919 --> 00:27:26.480 Then Joshua 00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:26.919 said to 00:27:26.919 --> 00:27:27.359 the people, 00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:28.740 you're not 00:27:28.740 --> 00:27:29.319 able to 00:27:29.319 --> 00:27:29.779 serve the 00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:30.059 Lord. 00:27:30.659 --> 00:27:31.220 He is a 00:27:31.220 --> 00:27:31.859 holy God. 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:32.539 He is a 00:27:32.539 --> 00:27:33.119 jealous God. 00:27:33.379 --> 00:27:33.679 He will 00:27:33.679 --> 00:27:34.339 not forgive 00:27:34.339 --> 00:27:34.959 your rebellion 00:27:34.959 --> 00:27:35.399 and your 00:27:35.399 --> 00:27:35.879 sins. 00:27:36.919 --> 00:27:37.779 If you 00:27:37.779 --> 00:27:38.819 forsake the 00:27:38.819 --> 00:27:39.319 Lord and 00:27:39.319 --> 00:27:40.079 serve other 00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:40.459 gods, 00:27:40.639 --> 00:27:41.159 he will 00:27:41.159 --> 00:27:41.740 turn and 00:27:41.740 --> 00:27:42.720 bring disaster 00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:43.619 on you and 00:27:43.619 --> 00:27:44.019 make an 00:27:44.019 --> 00:27:44.799 end of you 00:27:44.799 --> 00:27:46.019 after he 00:27:46.019 --> 00:27:46.439 has been 00:27:46.439 --> 00:27:46.839 good to 00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:47.079 you. 00:27:48.339 --> 00:27:49.500 You see, 00:27:49.639 --> 00:27:50.139 serving God 00:27:50.139 --> 00:27:50.799 is serious. 00:27:51.419 --> 00:27:51.799 It's not 00:27:51.799 --> 00:27:52.559 for half-hearted 00:27:52.559 --> 00:27:53.039 people. 00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:56.119 We can't 00:27:56.119 --> 00:27:56.759 treat God 00:27:56.759 --> 00:27:57.099 with an 00:27:57.099 --> 00:27:57.779 attitude that 00:27:57.779 --> 00:27:58.299 says something 00:27:58.299 --> 00:27:58.799 like this, 00:27:59.159 --> 00:27:59.339 sure, 00:27:59.399 --> 00:27:59.819 God is 00:27:59.819 --> 00:28:00.439 loving and 00:28:00.439 --> 00:28:00.819 forgiving. 00:28:01.879 --> 00:28:02.500 It really 00:28:02.500 --> 00:28:03.240 doesn't matter 00:28:03.240 --> 00:28:03.720 how I 00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:04.419 treat God 00:28:04.419 --> 00:28:04.579 and, 00:28:04.980 --> 00:28:05.139 well, 00:28:05.179 --> 00:28:05.459 if I 00:28:05.459 --> 00:28:05.819 want to 00:28:05.819 --> 00:28:06.139 live my 00:28:06.139 --> 00:28:06.699 life this 00:28:06.699 --> 00:28:07.819 way and 00:28:07.819 --> 00:28:08.299 God is 00:28:08.299 --> 00:28:08.959 second best, 00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:09.799 that's okay 00:28:09.799 --> 00:28:10.539 because God 00:28:10.539 --> 00:28:11.819 always forgives 00:28:11.819 --> 00:28:12.079 us, 00:28:12.139 --> 00:28:12.459 doesn't he? 00:28:12.599 --> 00:28:12.980 He's kind 00:28:12.980 --> 00:28:13.659 and compassionate 00:28:13.659 --> 00:28:14.319 and gracious 00:28:14.319 --> 00:28:14.659 and, 00:28:17.339 --> 00:28:17.579 well, 00:28:17.619 --> 00:28:18.220 God may be 00:28:18.220 --> 00:28:18.680 forgiving, 00:28:19.640 --> 00:28:20.500 but it 00:28:20.500 --> 00:28:20.940 doesn't give 00:28:20.940 --> 00:28:21.200 us a 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:21.600 right to 00:28:21.600 --> 00:28:22.680 abuse his 00:28:22.680 --> 00:28:23.240 forgiveness 00:28:23.240 --> 00:28:24.579 or take 00:28:24.579 --> 00:28:24.900 it for 00:28:24.900 --> 00:28:25.259 granted. 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:27.680 And I 00:28:27.680 --> 00:28:28.259 think Joshua 00:28:28.259 --> 00:28:28.880 is putting 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:29.360 it up to 00:28:29.360 --> 00:28:29.519 them. 00:28:29.779 --> 00:28:30.079 He's 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:30.579 challenging 00:28:30.579 --> 00:28:31.519 them and 00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:32.059 he's putting 00:28:32.059 --> 00:28:32.539 it up to 00:28:32.539 --> 00:28:33.140 us as well 00:28:33.140 --> 00:28:33.460 as we 00:28:33.460 --> 00:28:34.180 listen in. 00:28:35.140 --> 00:28:35.940 It requires 00:28:35.940 --> 00:28:36.960 careful thinking 00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:37.839 for each one 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:38.339 of us to 00:28:38.339 --> 00:28:38.839 respond. 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:39.799 He's 00:28:39.799 --> 00:28:40.299 challenging 00:28:40.299 --> 00:28:40.759 us of 00:28:40.759 --> 00:28:41.380 the cost. 00:28:43.380 --> 00:28:44.039 Can you 00:28:44.039 --> 00:28:44.600 do it? 00:28:45.559 --> 00:28:46.259 He is a 00:28:46.259 --> 00:28:46.980 great God. 00:28:46.980 --> 00:28:47.019 God, 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:47.980 can you 00:28:47.980 --> 00:28:48.440 give your 00:28:48.440 --> 00:28:49.000 life to 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:49.299 him? 00:28:50.740 --> 00:28:51.180 But yet 00:28:51.180 --> 00:28:51.880 he's urging 00:28:51.880 --> 00:28:52.500 us on in 00:28:52.500 --> 00:28:53.480 his commitment. 00:28:53.779 --> 00:28:54.420 You can't 00:28:54.420 --> 00:28:54.839 serve him. 00:28:54.900 --> 00:28:55.440 You can't 00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:55.920 serve this 00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:56.200 God. 00:28:57.000 --> 00:28:57.279 Yes, 00:28:57.360 --> 00:28:57.980 we can. 00:28:58.299 --> 00:28:59.180 He's urging 00:28:59.180 --> 00:28:59.740 them on in 00:28:59.740 --> 00:29:00.299 their commitment. 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:03.880 Isn't that 00:29:03.880 --> 00:29:04.599 exactly what 00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:05.380 Jesus said? 00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:08.059 Let me read 00:29:08.059 --> 00:29:08.640 to you from 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:09.299 Mark's 00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:09.660 Gospel. 00:29:09.660 --> 00:29:17.560 Jesus said, 00:29:17.660 --> 00:29:18.259 whoever wants 00:29:18.259 --> 00:29:19.140 to save 00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:19.820 his life 00:29:19.820 --> 00:29:20.460 will lose 00:29:20.460 --> 00:29:20.759 it. 00:29:21.700 --> 00:29:22.220 Whoever 00:29:22.220 --> 00:29:23.340 loses his 00:29:23.340 --> 00:29:24.019 life for 00:29:24.019 --> 00:29:24.420 me and 00:29:24.420 --> 00:29:24.779 for the 00:29:24.779 --> 00:29:25.140 Gospel 00:29:25.140 --> 00:29:25.980 will save 00:29:25.980 --> 00:29:26.279 it. 00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:27.720 What good 00:29:27.720 --> 00:29:28.300 is it for 00:29:28.300 --> 00:29:28.779 a person 00:29:28.779 --> 00:29:29.220 to gain 00:29:29.220 --> 00:29:29.800 the whole 00:29:29.800 --> 00:29:30.960 world yet 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:31.519 forfeit 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:32.019 his soul? 00:29:32.460 --> 00:29:33.220 What can 00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:33.700 a person 00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:34.160 give in 00:29:34.160 --> 00:29:35.080 exchange for 00:29:35.080 --> 00:29:35.600 his soul? 00:29:35.599 --> 00:29:38.279 If anyone 00:29:38.279 --> 00:29:38.959 is ashamed 00:29:38.959 --> 00:29:39.519 of me, 00:29:39.679 --> 00:29:40.259 says Jesus, 00:29:40.419 --> 00:29:40.839 and my 00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:41.519 words in 00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:41.859 this 00:29:41.859 --> 00:29:43.099 adulterous 00:29:43.099 --> 00:29:43.839 and sinful 00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:44.559 generation, 00:29:45.439 --> 00:29:46.639 then I 00:29:46.639 --> 00:29:47.039 will be 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:47.719 ashamed of 00:29:47.719 --> 00:29:49.159 him when 00:29:49.159 --> 00:29:49.679 he comes 00:29:49.679 --> 00:29:50.059 in my 00:29:50.059 --> 00:29:50.559 Father's 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:50.939 glory. 00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:55.259 Before we 00:29:55.259 --> 00:29:56.019 start making 00:29:56.019 --> 00:29:57.379 great and 00:29:57.379 --> 00:29:58.559 grand promises, 00:29:59.219 --> 00:29:59.839 before we 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:00.559 start waving 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:01.199 our flags 00:30:01.199 --> 00:30:01.659 around and 00:30:01.659 --> 00:30:01.899 saying, 00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:02.439 oh, I'm 00:30:02.439 --> 00:30:02.839 going to 00:30:02.839 --> 00:30:03.279 serve the 00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:03.459 Lord, 00:30:03.539 --> 00:30:04.039 or I'm 00:30:04.039 --> 00:30:04.639 committed to 00:30:04.639 --> 00:30:04.919 him, 00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:07.039 know the 00:30:07.039 --> 00:30:07.859 cost of 00:30:07.859 --> 00:30:08.480 serving a 00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:09.699 God who 00:30:09.699 --> 00:30:10.279 saves. 00:30:11.619 --> 00:30:12.179 It's 00:30:12.179 --> 00:30:12.779 serious. 00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:14.500 It costs 00:30:14.500 --> 00:30:15.740 your life. 00:30:18.539 --> 00:30:19.359 The third 00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:19.839 thing there 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:20.339 then is, 00:30:20.639 --> 00:30:21.079 know the 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:21.359 cost. 00:30:21.559 --> 00:30:21.659 Second, 00:30:21.859 --> 00:30:22.699 deal with 00:30:22.699 --> 00:30:22.919 your 00:30:22.919 --> 00:30:23.459 gods. 00:30:24.459 --> 00:30:25.179 If we're 00:30:25.179 --> 00:30:25.559 going to 00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:26.299 choose to 00:30:26.299 --> 00:30:26.879 serve God, 00:30:26.959 --> 00:30:27.319 we must 00:30:27.319 --> 00:30:28.019 first deal 00:30:28.019 --> 00:30:28.419 with our 00:30:28.419 --> 00:30:28.759 God 00:30:28.759 --> 00:30:29.799 substitutes 00:30:29.799 --> 00:30:30.219 that we 00:30:30.219 --> 00:30:30.599 have in 00:30:30.599 --> 00:30:31.199 our lives. 00:30:31.779 --> 00:30:32.159 Look at 00:30:32.159 --> 00:30:32.779 verse 14, 00:30:32.879 --> 00:30:33.199 he says, 00:30:33.299 --> 00:30:33.679 fear the 00:30:33.679 --> 00:30:33.919 Lord, 00:30:34.059 --> 00:30:34.439 serve him 00:30:34.439 --> 00:30:34.839 with all 00:30:34.839 --> 00:30:35.379 faithfulness, 00:30:35.599 --> 00:30:36.539 throw away 00:30:36.539 --> 00:30:37.139 the gods 00:30:37.139 --> 00:30:37.399 your 00:30:37.399 --> 00:30:38.019 forefathers 00:30:38.019 --> 00:30:38.759 worshipped. 00:30:41.679 --> 00:30:42.339 And the 00:30:42.339 --> 00:30:42.639 people, 00:30:42.779 --> 00:30:43.619 verse 21, 00:30:43.799 --> 00:30:44.199 the people 00:30:44.199 --> 00:30:44.659 said to 00:30:44.659 --> 00:30:45.019 Joshua, 00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:45.919 we will 00:30:45.919 --> 00:30:46.480 serve the 00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:46.799 Lord. 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:48.579 Then Joshua 00:30:48.579 --> 00:30:49.000 said, 00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:49.759 you are 00:30:49.759 --> 00:30:50.179 witnesses 00:30:50.179 --> 00:30:50.919 against 00:30:50.919 --> 00:30:51.759 yourselves 00:30:51.759 --> 00:30:53.259 that you 00:30:53.259 --> 00:30:54.240 have chosen 00:30:54.240 --> 00:30:54.779 to serve 00:30:54.779 --> 00:30:55.240 the Lord. 00:30:55.619 --> 00:30:56.039 Yes, 00:30:56.119 --> 00:30:56.459 we are 00:30:56.459 --> 00:30:56.939 witnesses, 00:30:57.119 --> 00:30:57.699 they replied. 00:30:58.740 --> 00:30:59.359 Now then, 00:30:59.419 --> 00:31:00.019 said Joshua, 00:31:00.339 --> 00:31:01.119 throw away 00:31:01.119 --> 00:31:01.699 the foreign 00:31:01.699 --> 00:31:02.339 gods that 00:31:02.339 --> 00:31:02.779 are among 00:31:02.779 --> 00:31:03.720 you and 00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:04.639 yield your 00:31:04.639 --> 00:31:05.319 hearts to 00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:05.859 the Lord, 00:31:06.500 --> 00:31:07.019 the God 00:31:07.019 --> 00:31:07.619 of Israel. 00:31:09.680 --> 00:31:10.480 This is a 00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:10.940 call to 00:31:10.940 --> 00:31:11.379 repentance 00:31:11.379 --> 00:31:12.160 and faith. 00:31:14.579 --> 00:31:15.240 We are 00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:15.839 first of all 00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:16.460 to repent. 00:31:17.420 --> 00:31:18.079 That means 00:31:18.079 --> 00:31:18.559 we are to 00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:19.339 turn from 00:31:19.339 --> 00:31:19.839 the things 00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:20.339 that we 00:31:20.339 --> 00:31:21.059 worship and 00:31:21.059 --> 00:31:21.480 serve. 00:31:22.200 --> 00:31:22.519 Look at 00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:22.779 what it 00:31:22.779 --> 00:31:23.000 says, 00:31:23.079 --> 00:31:23.779 verse 23, 00:31:23.779 --> 00:31:25.619 throw away 00:31:25.619 --> 00:31:26.839 your gods. 00:31:26.839 --> 00:31:28.519 we must 00:31:28.519 --> 00:31:29.419 take active 00:31:29.419 --> 00:31:30.220 steps to 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:30.919 remove 00:31:30.919 --> 00:31:31.720 whatever it 00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:32.159 is that 00:31:32.159 --> 00:31:32.619 has become 00:31:32.619 --> 00:31:33.319 the priority 00:31:33.319 --> 00:31:34.220 in our 00:31:34.220 --> 00:31:35.579 life and 00:31:35.579 --> 00:31:36.279 replace it 00:31:36.279 --> 00:31:36.899 with God. 00:31:37.539 --> 00:31:38.259 The answer 00:31:38.259 --> 00:31:38.599 to the 00:31:38.599 --> 00:31:39.339 questions that 00:31:39.339 --> 00:31:40.159 we gave 00:31:40.159 --> 00:31:40.659 earlier, 00:31:40.980 --> 00:31:41.559 what is that 00:31:41.559 --> 00:31:42.039 thing that 00:31:42.039 --> 00:31:42.679 drives you? 00:31:42.740 --> 00:31:43.159 What is it 00:31:43.159 --> 00:31:44.019 that consumes 00:31:44.019 --> 00:31:44.720 your thinking? 00:31:46.839 --> 00:31:47.639 Put it 00:31:47.639 --> 00:31:48.039 to one 00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:49.439 side and 00:31:49.439 --> 00:31:50.159 replace it 00:31:50.159 --> 00:31:50.879 with God, 00:31:52.099 --> 00:31:53.139 the only 00:31:53.139 --> 00:31:54.059 true God. 00:31:55.319 --> 00:31:55.939 Repent. 00:31:56.839 --> 00:31:58.559 second, 00:31:58.720 --> 00:31:59.059 we must 00:31:59.059 --> 00:31:59.759 have faith. 00:32:00.939 --> 00:32:01.539 That means 00:32:01.539 --> 00:32:01.959 that in 00:32:01.959 --> 00:32:02.599 trusting, 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:04.740 that means 00:32:04.740 --> 00:32:05.500 that trusting 00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:06.779 in God, 00:32:06.939 --> 00:32:07.759 we have 00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:08.339 everything 00:32:08.339 --> 00:32:08.839 that we 00:32:08.839 --> 00:32:09.279 need. 00:32:10.459 --> 00:32:10.819 Look at 00:32:10.819 --> 00:32:11.519 verse 23 00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:11.859 again, 00:32:11.919 --> 00:32:12.259 it says, 00:32:12.259 --> 00:32:13.139 yield your 00:32:13.139 --> 00:32:13.759 hearts 00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:14.899 to the 00:32:14.899 --> 00:32:15.299 Lord. 00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:16.959 When we 00:32:16.959 --> 00:32:17.959 worship God, 00:32:18.619 --> 00:32:19.439 when He 00:32:19.439 --> 00:32:20.019 alone is 00:32:20.019 --> 00:32:20.859 our object 00:32:20.859 --> 00:32:21.419 of trust, 00:32:21.539 --> 00:32:21.919 when He 00:32:21.919 --> 00:32:22.419 alone is 00:32:22.419 --> 00:32:22.859 the person 00:32:22.859 --> 00:32:23.259 we look 00:32:23.259 --> 00:32:23.599 to for 00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:23.799 our 00:32:23.799 --> 00:32:24.319 confidence, 00:32:25.139 --> 00:32:25.740 we will 00:32:25.740 --> 00:32:26.259 find that 00:32:26.259 --> 00:32:26.379 He 00:32:26.380 --> 00:32:27.260 fills us, 00:32:27.360 --> 00:32:27.640 that He 00:32:27.640 --> 00:32:28.300 satisfies 00:32:28.300 --> 00:32:28.820 us, 00:32:28.980 --> 00:32:29.380 that He 00:32:29.380 --> 00:32:30.000 frees 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:30.500 us. 00:32:32.080 --> 00:32:32.480 If 00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:33.020 everything 00:32:33.020 --> 00:32:33.440 in your 00:32:33.440 --> 00:32:33.980 life that 00:32:33.980 --> 00:32:34.640 surrounds 00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:35.280 your life, 00:32:35.440 --> 00:32:35.980 if all 00:32:35.980 --> 00:32:36.300 of that 00:32:36.300 --> 00:32:36.620 was to 00:32:36.620 --> 00:32:36.800 be 00:32:36.800 --> 00:32:37.240 zapped 00:32:37.240 --> 00:32:37.720 in one 00:32:37.720 --> 00:32:38.180 moment, 00:32:38.380 --> 00:32:39.000 all taken 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:39.480 from you, 00:32:39.560 --> 00:32:39.960 lose your 00:32:39.960 --> 00:32:40.280 job, 00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:40.820 lose your 00:32:40.820 --> 00:32:41.080 health, 00:32:41.400 --> 00:32:41.820 lose your 00:32:41.820 --> 00:32:42.200 family, 00:32:42.380 --> 00:32:42.780 and all 00:32:42.780 --> 00:32:43.160 you're left 00:32:43.160 --> 00:32:43.580 with is 00:32:43.580 --> 00:32:44.060 God, 00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:44.620 and you 00:32:44.620 --> 00:32:45.180 can still 00:32:45.180 --> 00:32:45.620 say, 00:32:45.940 --> 00:32:46.660 He is 00:32:46.660 --> 00:32:46.900 my 00:32:46.900 --> 00:32:47.460 everything. 00:32:48.080 --> 00:32:48.600 I am 00:32:48.600 --> 00:32:49.260 completely 00:32:49.260 --> 00:32:50.280 satisfied and 00:32:50.280 --> 00:32:51.300 content because 00:32:51.300 --> 00:32:51.840 I have 00:32:51.840 --> 00:32:52.220 God. 00:32:52.220 --> 00:32:55.839 in Him 00:32:55.839 --> 00:32:57.000 we rest. 00:32:59.059 --> 00:32:59.819 And here 00:32:59.819 --> 00:33:00.120 is a 00:33:00.120 --> 00:33:00.860 double action 00:33:00.860 --> 00:33:01.539 to deal 00:33:01.539 --> 00:33:01.980 with our 00:33:01.980 --> 00:33:02.319 gods. 00:33:02.539 --> 00:33:02.799 Throw 00:33:02.799 --> 00:33:03.339 away your 00:33:03.339 --> 00:33:05.259 gods and 00:33:05.259 --> 00:33:05.920 yield your 00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:06.539 hearts to 00:33:06.539 --> 00:33:07.000 the Lord. 00:33:09.880 --> 00:33:10.559 Now we 00:33:10.559 --> 00:33:10.920 need to 00:33:10.920 --> 00:33:11.480 take time 00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:11.920 to think 00:33:11.920 --> 00:33:12.539 this through. 00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:15.559 What is it 00:33:15.559 --> 00:33:16.299 that controls 00:33:16.299 --> 00:33:16.779 us? 00:33:17.880 --> 00:33:18.720 What is it 00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:19.079 that you're 00:33:19.079 --> 00:33:20.200 building your 00:33:20.200 --> 00:33:20.980 life around? 00:33:22.100 --> 00:33:23.200 What right 00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:23.980 now is your 00:33:23.980 --> 00:33:24.779 number one 00:33:24.779 --> 00:33:26.059 desire or 00:33:26.059 --> 00:33:26.620 priority? 00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:27.299 What's the 00:33:27.299 --> 00:33:28.140 dream that 00:33:28.140 --> 00:33:28.539 you have 00:33:28.539 --> 00:33:29.140 for life? 00:33:31.759 --> 00:33:32.640 If it's 00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:33.340 not God 00:33:33.340 --> 00:33:33.840 and His 00:33:33.840 --> 00:33:34.400 glory, 00:33:36.220 --> 00:33:37.000 deal with 00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:37.480 it now. 00:33:39.180 --> 00:33:40.039 Deal with 00:33:40.039 --> 00:33:40.480 it now. 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:42.840 I think 00:33:42.840 --> 00:33:43.519 we all, 00:33:43.940 --> 00:33:44.279 myself 00:33:44.279 --> 00:33:45.019 included, 00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:45.580 need to 00:33:45.580 --> 00:33:45.980 repent 00:33:45.980 --> 00:33:48.200 and have 00:33:48.200 --> 00:33:48.759 faith. 00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:52.840 look at 00:33:52.840 --> 00:33:53.740 verse 25. 00:33:55.980 --> 00:33:56.620 On that 00:33:56.620 --> 00:33:57.259 day Joshua 00:33:57.259 --> 00:33:57.819 made a 00:33:57.819 --> 00:33:58.120 covenant 00:33:58.120 --> 00:33:58.559 for the 00:33:58.559 --> 00:33:59.240 people and 00:33:59.240 --> 00:34:01.000 I'll read 00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:01.259 again, 00:34:01.360 --> 00:34:01.600 sorry. 00:34:02.240 --> 00:34:02.779 On that 00:34:02.779 --> 00:34:03.440 day Joshua 00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:03.960 made a 00:34:03.960 --> 00:34:04.240 covenant 00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:04.680 for the 00:34:04.680 --> 00:34:05.779 people and 00:34:05.779 --> 00:34:06.240 there at 00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:06.799 Shechem he 00:34:06.799 --> 00:34:07.620 drew up for 00:34:07.620 --> 00:34:08.720 them decrees 00:34:08.720 --> 00:34:09.559 and laws. 00:34:10.760 --> 00:34:11.280 He's saying 00:34:11.280 --> 00:34:11.539 to the 00:34:11.539 --> 00:34:11.860 people, 00:34:12.300 --> 00:34:12.659 if you 00:34:12.659 --> 00:34:13.240 keep your 00:34:13.240 --> 00:34:13.800 promise, 00:34:14.159 --> 00:34:15.119 if you 00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:15.500 keep your 00:34:15.500 --> 00:34:16.059 promise to 00:34:16.059 --> 00:34:16.840 serve God 00:34:16.840 --> 00:34:17.139 as you 00:34:17.139 --> 00:34:17.539 have said, 00:34:17.820 --> 00:34:18.400 then blessing 00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:18.900 will come 00:34:18.900 --> 00:34:19.320 to you. 00:34:19.320 --> 00:34:19.920 But if 00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:20.500 you break 00:34:20.500 --> 00:34:20.700 your 00:34:20.700 --> 00:34:21.100 promise, 00:34:21.200 --> 00:34:21.500 if you 00:34:21.500 --> 00:34:22.140 fail to 00:34:22.140 --> 00:34:22.500 serve, 00:34:22.900 --> 00:34:23.740 then curses 00:34:23.740 --> 00:34:24.260 will fall 00:34:24.260 --> 00:34:24.700 on you. 00:34:25.300 --> 00:34:25.820 That's what's 00:34:25.820 --> 00:34:26.240 going on 00:34:26.240 --> 00:34:26.420 here, 00:34:26.500 --> 00:34:27.280 verse 26. 00:34:27.640 --> 00:34:28.300 And Joshua 00:34:28.300 --> 00:34:29.220 recorded these 00:34:29.220 --> 00:34:29.840 things in the 00:34:29.840 --> 00:34:30.320 book of the 00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:30.940 law of God 00:34:30.940 --> 00:34:31.780 and he took 00:34:31.780 --> 00:34:32.420 up a large 00:34:32.420 --> 00:34:32.980 stone and 00:34:32.980 --> 00:34:33.500 he set it 00:34:33.500 --> 00:34:33.880 up under 00:34:33.880 --> 00:34:34.300 the oak 00:34:34.300 --> 00:34:34.740 near the 00:34:34.740 --> 00:34:35.360 holy place 00:34:35.360 --> 00:34:35.620 of the 00:34:35.620 --> 00:34:35.820 Lord. 00:34:36.240 --> 00:34:36.640 See, 00:34:36.820 --> 00:34:37.280 he said 00:34:37.280 --> 00:34:38.000 to all 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:38.539 the people, 00:34:38.920 --> 00:34:39.740 this stone 00:34:39.740 --> 00:34:40.600 will be a 00:34:40.600 --> 00:34:41.400 witness against 00:34:41.400 --> 00:34:41.820 us. 00:34:42.200 --> 00:34:42.539 It has 00:34:42.539 --> 00:34:43.460 heard all 00:34:43.460 --> 00:34:43.980 the words 00:34:43.980 --> 00:34:44.400 the Lord 00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:44.840 has said 00:34:44.840 --> 00:34:45.420 to us. 00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:46.300 In other 00:34:46.300 --> 00:34:46.500 words, 00:34:46.559 --> 00:34:46.960 it serves 00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:47.280 as a 00:34:47.280 --> 00:34:48.019 reminder of 00:34:48.019 --> 00:34:48.300 what's 00:34:48.300 --> 00:34:48.740 going on 00:34:48.740 --> 00:34:49.019 here. 00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:49.860 It will 00:34:49.860 --> 00:34:50.300 be a 00:34:50.300 --> 00:34:50.620 witness 00:34:50.620 --> 00:34:51.160 against 00:34:51.160 --> 00:34:52.140 you if 00:34:52.140 --> 00:34:52.700 you are 00:34:52.700 --> 00:34:53.440 untrue 00:34:53.440 --> 00:34:53.980 to your 00:34:53.980 --> 00:34:54.400 God. 00:34:55.600 --> 00:34:56.440 At the 00:34:56.440 --> 00:34:56.780 very 00:34:56.780 --> 00:34:57.380 site 00:34:57.380 --> 00:34:58.400 where God 00:34:58.400 --> 00:34:58.960 made and 00:34:58.960 --> 00:34:59.519 kept his 00:34:59.519 --> 00:35:00.019 promise, 00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:01.460 the people 00:35:01.460 --> 00:35:02.059 now make 00:35:02.059 --> 00:35:02.660 their promise 00:35:02.660 --> 00:35:03.180 to serve 00:35:03.180 --> 00:35:03.580 God. 00:35:04.980 --> 00:35:05.480 But you 00:35:05.480 --> 00:35:06.000 know something 00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:06.539 about this 00:35:06.539 --> 00:35:06.880 promise? 00:35:07.460 --> 00:35:07.960 It's 00:35:07.960 --> 00:35:08.700 terrifying. 00:35:09.600 --> 00:35:10.180 It's 00:35:10.180 --> 00:35:10.660 really 00:35:10.660 --> 00:35:11.780 terrifying. 00:35:11.780 --> 00:35:11.880 terrifying. 00:35:13.560 --> 00:35:14.360 Because if 00:35:14.360 --> 00:35:14.920 they break 00:35:14.920 --> 00:35:15.700 their promise, 00:35:16.740 --> 00:35:17.380 if they 00:35:17.380 --> 00:35:18.380 are untrue 00:35:18.380 --> 00:35:19.080 to God, 00:35:19.280 --> 00:35:19.800 if they 00:35:19.800 --> 00:35:20.560 should fail 00:35:20.560 --> 00:35:21.300 and begin 00:35:21.300 --> 00:35:21.860 to serve 00:35:21.860 --> 00:35:22.600 other gods, 00:35:22.720 --> 00:35:23.240 then look 00:35:23.240 --> 00:35:23.840 what happens. 00:35:23.940 --> 00:35:24.320 Look back 00:35:24.320 --> 00:35:24.640 at verse 00:35:24.640 --> 00:35:25.100 20. 00:35:25.100 --> 00:35:27.260 If you 00:35:27.260 --> 00:35:28.040 forsake the 00:35:28.040 --> 00:35:28.640 Lord and 00:35:28.640 --> 00:35:29.420 serve foreign 00:35:29.420 --> 00:35:29.800 gods, 00:35:30.080 --> 00:35:30.600 he will 00:35:30.600 --> 00:35:31.640 turn and 00:35:31.640 --> 00:35:32.700 bring disaster 00:35:32.700 --> 00:35:33.820 on you and 00:35:33.820 --> 00:35:34.380 make an end 00:35:34.380 --> 00:35:34.760 of you. 00:35:35.560 --> 00:35:36.360 That's why 00:35:36.360 --> 00:35:37.200 it's terrifying. 00:35:37.199 --> 00:35:41.299 And we 00:35:41.299 --> 00:35:41.779 know the 00:35:41.779 --> 00:35:42.579 sad history 00:35:42.579 --> 00:35:43.000 as we 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:43.500 read on 00:35:43.500 --> 00:35:44.019 through our 00:35:44.019 --> 00:35:44.439 Bibles. 00:35:45.799 --> 00:35:46.679 That Israel 00:35:46.679 --> 00:35:47.259 made this 00:35:47.259 --> 00:35:48.019 great promise, 00:35:48.239 --> 00:35:48.879 oh, we 00:35:48.879 --> 00:35:49.619 will serve 00:35:49.619 --> 00:35:50.439 you, oh, we 00:35:50.439 --> 00:35:51.039 will give our 00:35:51.039 --> 00:35:51.619 lives to you, 00:35:51.699 --> 00:35:52.119 oh, we 00:35:52.119 --> 00:35:52.539 will never 00:35:52.539 --> 00:35:53.139 turn to 00:35:53.139 --> 00:35:53.939 anybody else. 00:35:55.339 --> 00:35:56.039 And they 00:35:56.039 --> 00:35:56.399 failed. 00:35:57.519 --> 00:35:58.119 They were 00:35:58.119 --> 00:35:58.819 untrue. 00:35:59.719 --> 00:36:00.599 And disaster 00:36:00.599 --> 00:36:01.359 did come. 00:36:01.619 --> 00:36:02.019 And they 00:36:02.019 --> 00:36:02.739 ended up in 00:36:02.739 --> 00:36:03.219 exile. 00:36:03.460 --> 00:36:03.939 And the 00:36:03.939 --> 00:36:04.500 curse of 00:36:04.500 --> 00:36:05.719 God fell 00:36:05.719 --> 00:36:07.059 on that 00:36:07.059 --> 00:36:07.559 nation. 00:36:10.340 --> 00:36:11.019 And you 00:36:11.019 --> 00:36:11.460 know what? 00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:13.599 We are 00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:14.239 no better. 00:36:16.059 --> 00:36:16.679 Don't we 00:36:16.679 --> 00:36:18.119 replace God 00:36:18.119 --> 00:36:18.900 with God's 00:36:18.900 --> 00:36:19.679 substitutes? 00:36:21.360 --> 00:36:22.079 Haven't we 00:36:22.079 --> 00:36:22.739 all made 00:36:22.739 --> 00:36:23.259 promises? 00:36:23.820 --> 00:36:24.320 Haven't we? 00:36:25.119 --> 00:36:25.840 We all make 00:36:25.840 --> 00:36:26.679 promises, I'm 00:36:26.679 --> 00:36:27.239 going to serve 00:36:27.239 --> 00:36:27.840 God, I'm 00:36:27.840 --> 00:36:28.340 going to do 00:36:28.340 --> 00:36:29.440 this, and 00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:30.039 we fail. 00:36:31.179 --> 00:36:31.719 And we 00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:32.139 fail. 00:36:33.259 --> 00:36:33.679 And it 00:36:33.679 --> 00:36:34.460 seems that 00:36:34.460 --> 00:36:35.380 serving this 00:36:35.380 --> 00:36:36.900 God is an 00:36:36.900 --> 00:36:38.260 impossible task 00:36:38.260 --> 00:36:39.119 for us to 00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:39.340 do. 00:36:40.639 --> 00:36:41.420 But God 00:36:41.420 --> 00:36:41.900 knows our 00:36:41.900 --> 00:36:42.340 hearts. 00:36:43.720 --> 00:36:44.639 He knows 00:36:44.639 --> 00:36:45.180 that we are 00:36:45.180 --> 00:36:45.860 just like 00:36:45.860 --> 00:36:46.639 Abraham that 00:36:46.639 --> 00:36:47.139 we read at 00:36:47.139 --> 00:36:47.579 the beginning, 00:36:47.740 --> 00:36:48.340 that we 00:36:48.340 --> 00:36:49.139 worship other 00:36:49.139 --> 00:36:49.980 gods and we 00:36:49.980 --> 00:36:50.700 can't save 00:36:50.700 --> 00:36:51.280 ourselves. 00:36:51.280 --> 00:36:53.560 so that the 00:36:53.560 --> 00:36:54.300 God that 00:36:54.300 --> 00:36:55.940 deserves our 00:36:55.940 --> 00:36:56.840 service, the 00:36:56.840 --> 00:36:57.380 God who 00:36:57.380 --> 00:36:58.500 deserves our 00:36:58.500 --> 00:36:59.880 worship, comes 00:36:59.880 --> 00:37:00.840 down to 00:37:00.840 --> 00:37:01.600 serve us. 00:37:02.400 --> 00:37:03.060 The God 00:37:03.060 --> 00:37:03.760 who made 00:37:03.760 --> 00:37:04.180 us and 00:37:04.180 --> 00:37:04.960 deserves our 00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:06.620 worship, bowed 00:37:06.620 --> 00:37:07.620 before us. 00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:10.100 The God who 00:37:10.100 --> 00:37:11.100 rules over all 00:37:11.100 --> 00:37:12.300 served us by 00:37:12.300 --> 00:37:13.380 dying for us. 00:37:13.720 --> 00:37:15.100 He worshipped by 00:37:15.100 --> 00:37:15.900 obeying his 00:37:15.900 --> 00:37:17.160 father's call and 00:37:17.160 --> 00:37:17.820 going to the 00:37:17.820 --> 00:37:18.260 cross. 00:37:18.260 --> 00:37:19.720 And the 00:37:19.720 --> 00:37:20.520 curse and 00:37:20.520 --> 00:37:21.380 the disaster 00:37:21.380 --> 00:37:21.940 that should 00:37:21.940 --> 00:37:22.880 fall on us 00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:24.680 fell on God 00:37:24.680 --> 00:37:25.760 so that the 00:37:25.760 --> 00:37:26.660 blessings might 00:37:26.660 --> 00:37:27.620 come to us. 00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:29.140 That the 00:37:29.140 --> 00:37:30.020 blessings might 00:37:30.020 --> 00:37:30.680 come to us 00:37:30.680 --> 00:37:31.440 that we might 00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:32.100 be able to 00:37:32.100 --> 00:37:32.980 go and serve 00:37:32.980 --> 00:37:34.000 God without 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:35.100 fear, without 00:37:35.100 --> 00:37:37.060 condemnation, in 00:37:37.060 --> 00:37:38.600 complete joy. 00:37:42.600 --> 00:37:43.480 Tell me, the 00:37:43.480 --> 00:37:44.180 gods that we 00:37:44.180 --> 00:37:45.220 have, the 00:37:45.220 --> 00:37:45.880 gods that we 00:37:45.880 --> 00:37:47.620 worship, the 00:37:47.619 --> 00:37:48.339 gods that we 00:37:48.339 --> 00:37:50.519 serve, would 00:37:50.519 --> 00:37:51.279 they die for 00:37:51.279 --> 00:37:51.539 you? 00:37:53.699 --> 00:37:54.759 The gods that 00:37:54.759 --> 00:37:55.500 we make and 00:37:55.500 --> 00:37:58.380 create, do 00:37:58.380 --> 00:37:59.259 they love you 00:37:59.259 --> 00:37:59.819 and would they 00:37:59.819 --> 00:38:00.699 give their life 00:38:00.699 --> 00:38:01.339 for you? 00:38:05.239 --> 00:38:06.019 In your 00:38:06.019 --> 00:38:07.019 minds, look 00:38:07.019 --> 00:38:07.880 at the one 00:38:07.880 --> 00:38:08.960 and only true 00:38:08.960 --> 00:38:11.059 God as he 00:38:11.059 --> 00:38:12.039 hangs on the 00:38:12.039 --> 00:38:13.900 cross, broken 00:38:13.900 --> 00:38:14.880 for you, 00:38:15.639 --> 00:38:16.960 destroyed for 00:38:16.960 --> 00:38:18.579 you, crushed 00:38:18.579 --> 00:38:20.019 for you under 00:38:20.019 --> 00:38:20.659 the weight of 00:38:20.659 --> 00:38:21.480 God's curse. 00:38:21.840 --> 00:38:22.460 As we 00:38:22.460 --> 00:38:23.679 create God's 00:38:23.679 --> 00:38:24.920 substitute, he 00:38:24.920 --> 00:38:26.320 becomes our 00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:26.960 substitute. 00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:30.260 In your 00:38:30.260 --> 00:38:31.300 mind, see the 00:38:31.300 --> 00:38:32.480 love and the 00:38:32.480 --> 00:38:33.720 grace and the 00:38:33.720 --> 00:38:35.199 mercy as blood 00:38:35.199 --> 00:38:36.179 flows from his 00:38:36.179 --> 00:38:37.659 hands and from 00:38:37.659 --> 00:38:38.800 his feet and 00:38:38.800 --> 00:38:39.619 from his head 00:38:39.619 --> 00:38:40.500 and his side. 00:38:41.679 --> 00:38:42.720 Hear him as he 00:38:42.720 --> 00:38:43.720 cries out on the 00:38:43.720 --> 00:38:44.539 cross in agony 00:38:44.539 --> 00:38:45.159 and pain. 00:38:45.539 --> 00:38:46.779 My God, my 00:38:46.779 --> 00:38:48.300 God, why have 00:38:48.300 --> 00:38:48.980 you forsaken 00:38:48.980 --> 00:38:49.279 me? 00:38:50.279 --> 00:38:51.039 He came to 00:38:51.039 --> 00:38:51.659 serve you. 00:38:52.699 --> 00:38:53.539 He came to 00:38:53.539 --> 00:38:55.059 die for me 00:38:55.059 --> 00:38:56.159 and for you. 00:38:57.300 --> 00:38:58.440 And listen to 00:38:58.440 --> 00:38:59.199 his promise 00:38:59.199 --> 00:39:00.480 that all who 00:39:00.480 --> 00:39:01.300 come to him 00:39:01.300 --> 00:39:02.860 will not die 00:39:02.860 --> 00:39:04.380 but will live. 00:39:06.259 --> 00:39:07.340 This God 00:39:07.340 --> 00:39:08.980 served you 00:39:08.980 --> 00:39:10.699 and this 00:39:10.699 --> 00:39:11.760 God saved 00:39:11.760 --> 00:39:12.119 you. 00:39:13.679 --> 00:39:14.639 How can we 00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:15.599 not give 00:39:15.599 --> 00:39:16.340 our lives 00:39:16.340 --> 00:39:17.820 in service 00:39:17.820 --> 00:39:19.519 to such 00:39:19.519 --> 00:39:19.960 a great 00:39:19.960 --> 00:39:20.340 God? 00:39:24.980 --> 00:39:25.760 Let's just 00:39:25.760 --> 00:39:26.579 take time to 00:39:26.579 --> 00:39:27.219 be quiet 00:39:27.219 --> 00:39:28.599 before we 00:39:28.599 --> 00:39:29.179 sing our 00:39:29.179 --> 00:39:30.579 closing song. 00:39:32.619 --> 00:39:33.500 There's a lot 00:39:33.500 --> 00:39:34.300 to think through, 00:39:34.440 --> 00:39:34.960 a lot to 00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:35.760 contemplate. 00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:37.440 but we're 00:39:37.440 --> 00:39:37.960 just going to 00:39:37.960 --> 00:39:38.280 have a 00:39:38.280 --> 00:39:38.780 moment's 00:39:38.780 --> 00:39:39.360 quietness 00:39:39.360 --> 00:39:39.740 now. 00:39:52.260 --> 00:39:52.880 An 00:39:52.880 --> 00:39:53.380 opportunity 00:39:53.380 --> 00:39:54.340 for us 00:39:54.340 --> 00:39:56.860 to think 00:39:56.860 --> 00:39:57.380 about the 00:39:57.380 --> 00:39:58.100 gods that we 00:39:58.100 --> 00:39:58.980 serve and 00:39:58.980 --> 00:39:59.460 worship. 00:39:59.460 --> 00:40:06.820 where do 00:40:06.820 --> 00:40:07.179 we need 00:40:07.179 --> 00:40:07.920 to repent? 00:40:12.599 --> 00:40:13.400 Ask God 00:40:13.400 --> 00:40:13.940 to forgive 00:40:13.940 --> 00:40:14.400 you and 00:40:14.400 --> 00:40:15.260 to replace 00:40:15.260 --> 00:40:17.380 those gods 00:40:17.380 --> 00:40:17.780 with the 00:40:17.780 --> 00:40:18.179 one and 00:40:18.179 --> 00:40:18.720 true living 00:40:18.720 --> 00:40:19.119 God. 00:40:19.119 --> 00:40:19.220 God. 00:40:29.460 --> 00:40:47.460 our 00:40:47.460 --> 00:40:48.079 Father God, 00:40:48.179 --> 00:40:49.039 may you be 00:40:49.039 --> 00:40:50.179 our 00:40:50.179 --> 00:40:50.880 priority. 00:40:51.820 --> 00:40:52.760 May you be 00:40:52.760 --> 00:40:53.559 our desire. 00:40:55.720 --> 00:40:56.840 May you be 00:40:56.840 --> 00:40:57.760 what controls 00:40:57.760 --> 00:40:58.380 us and 00:40:58.380 --> 00:40:59.300 consumes us 00:40:59.300 --> 00:40:59.900 every day. 00:41:01.740 --> 00:41:02.640 Forgive us, 00:41:02.860 --> 00:41:03.320 Lord, for the 00:41:03.320 --> 00:41:04.160 times we put 00:41:04.160 --> 00:41:05.539 job and 00:41:05.539 --> 00:41:06.059 family, 00:41:07.300 --> 00:41:08.320 even church 00:41:08.320 --> 00:41:10.820 and other 00:41:10.820 --> 00:41:11.559 things and 00:41:11.559 --> 00:41:12.240 people in 00:41:12.240 --> 00:41:12.960 front of you. 00:41:13.579 --> 00:41:14.200 Help us to 00:41:14.200 --> 00:41:15.039 serve you and 00:41:15.039 --> 00:41:16.059 to worship you 00:41:16.059 --> 00:41:16.880 as we ought. 00:41:18.640 --> 00:41:19.780 To center our 00:41:19.780 --> 00:41:20.500 hearts around 00:41:20.500 --> 00:41:21.160 you and to 00:41:21.160 --> 00:41:21.760 make you the 00:41:21.760 --> 00:41:23.579 focus of our 00:41:23.579 --> 00:41:24.059 lives. 00:41:25.900 --> 00:41:26.820 Teach us what 00:41:26.820 --> 00:41:27.360 it is to 00:41:27.360 --> 00:41:27.900 serve you. 00:41:27.900 --> 00:41:28.660 Thank you 00:41:28.660 --> 00:41:29.599 that we 00:41:29.599 --> 00:41:30.559 can serve 00:41:30.559 --> 00:41:30.780 you. 00:41:30.940 --> 00:41:31.320 Thank you 00:41:31.320 --> 00:41:31.860 that Jesus 00:41:31.860 --> 00:41:32.680 died to 00:41:32.680 --> 00:41:33.099 take the 00:41:33.099 --> 00:41:33.680 blame for 00:41:33.680 --> 00:41:34.240 all of our 00:41:34.240 --> 00:41:36.019 failure so 00:41:36.019 --> 00:41:36.619 that we can 00:41:36.619 --> 00:41:37.280 now go and 00:41:37.280 --> 00:41:37.880 serve you 00:41:37.880 --> 00:41:38.700 without fear 00:41:38.700 --> 00:41:39.980 and in 00:41:39.980 --> 00:41:40.900 complete joy. 00:41:42.119 --> 00:41:42.760 Thank you 00:41:42.760 --> 00:41:43.320 for Jesus. 00:41:45.180 --> 00:41:45.619 Amen. 00:41:45.619 --> 00:41:45.740 Amen. 00:41:45.740 --> 00:41:45.780 Amen. 00:41:45.780 --> 00:41:45.800 Amen. 00:41:45.800 --> 00:41:45.820 Amen. 00:41:45.820 --> 00:41:45.840 Amen. 00:41:45.840 --> 00:41:45.860 Amen. 00:41:45.860 --> 00:41:47.860 Amen. 00:41:47.860 --> 00:41:49.760 Amen.