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September 14, 2003
14th Sunday after Pentecost
Joshua 24:1,2a, 14-18
Pastor Ben Berger

Choose Whom You Will Serve

Commitment often makes us uncomfortable, and well it should. Some think it's scary; most can't carry it out. Nevertheless, commitment often signals important pieces of our lives. I can think of at least three times where we make a commitment before God: baptism, confirmation and marriage. At baptism parents, sponsors and the congregation commit themselves to instruct a child in the truths of God's word. At confirmation each of us commits ourselves to keep learning God's truths and to live faithfully by them. At marriage man and wife commit themselves to each other. There are times when those commitments need to be reviewed and renewed. Today is one of those times. Today is can be a turning point in your life. Today you have a very difficult choice to make. The correct choice will seem obvious, but it will involve a commitment that is very difficult to carry out. Here is the choice. Choose Whom You Will Serve. 1) other gods OR 2) the LORD.

Let me state right now that this is not a choice of whether to believe or not believe. You cannot CHOOSE to believe in Jesus. Only the Holy Spirit can give you faith. However, after you have faith, you can and do choose whom you will serve. You choose how much and how often you will serve. This is nothing new. From the moment God called Abraham to faith until he delivered Israel from Egypt and now after God has given them the Promised Land, the LORD has asked his believers to renew their commitment to him.

Let me also remind you that this is a very serious matter. "Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and the presented themselves before God," (1). Although I have not summoned you, you are gathered here today in the presence of the LORD. And the LORD wants to know whom you will serve.

The choice seems easy, but it is not. The easy choice is to do nothing. The easy choice is to stay right where you are and do nothing. You were born in a sinful condition. You were without true fear of God and without true faith in God and condemned to eternal death. The easy choice would have been to do nothing. Instead the people who loved you committed themselves to teaching you God's word. After you had faith the easy choice would have been to say, "I believe, that's all I need." Instead, you kept learning God's word and you committed yourself to be faithful to that word for your life. Now you are a confirmed believer. The easy choice is to do nothing. Three weeks ago I encouraged you to eat the Bread of Life by meditating on God's word daily. I encouraged you to read a small portion of Scripture and find one thought for the day. I wonder how many of you did it. My guess is that most of you took the easy choice and did nothing.

Joshua knew that the Israelites most often made the easy choice. When Moses came to deliver them from slavery in Egypt, they wanted to stay. They were afraid of dying at the hands of Pharaoh; they were afraid of starving in the desert. It was easier to do nothing and remain a slave. After wandering in the wilderness for forty years, Joshua was ready to take them into the Promised Land. They wanted to stay in the desert. They were afraid of the people; they didn't think they could do it. It was easier to do nothing. Now they had conquered the Promised Land and Joshua knew that it would be easiest for them to forget the LORD, to become lazy and to do nothing. So Joshua gave them that option, "If serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living," (15).

Joshua also gave them the hard choice, "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness," (14). The hard choice is to change. The hard choice is to make a commitment. The hard choice is to serve completely and faithfully. The Israelites were still serving gods from over 500 hundred years ago. Everywhere they went, they picked up another god. They always wanted to serve the LORD and other gods at the same time. That is not complete faithfulness. Joshua commanded them to make the hard choice, "Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD," (14). And Joshua declared that even if he was the only one, "As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD," (15).

Will we make the hard choice? Will we make a commitment to serve the LORD? Will we serve him alone, completely and faithfully? This does not happen by itself. The hard choice is to do something. We will have to throw away our gods of comfort zone and laziness and excuses: of complacency and apathy; of self-righteousness and self-indulgence. We will have to give up our lives in this world. We will have to fight the devil, the world and our sinful flesh. We will have to read, study and learn God's word. And we will have to use all we have to serve the LORD.

Why would we ever make such a hard choice? How will we ever be able to make such a hard choice? God himself gives us the answer.

I need to tell you the part of the story that we didn't read. After Joshua gathered all of the people, he began by saying, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:" (2). From verse two through verse thirteen God told the people why they should choose to serve the LORD. God reminded the people of all he had done for them. God called Abraham to faith and showed him the Promised Land. God gave him a son, Isaac, through whom would come the Promised Messiah. God sent Moses and Aaron to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt. God led them to the Promised Land and helped them overcome all of their enemies. God wanted Israel to commit themselves to serving him because of all he had done for them.

God wants us to commit ourselves to serving him because of all he has done for us. While God was busy preserving and protecting the nation of Israel, he was thinking of you. While God was keeping his promises and commitments to the nation of Israel, he was keeping his promises and commitments to you. Jesus, your Savior, came from the nation of Israel. The history of Israel shows us how God preserved the line of the Savior.

When the time had fully come, God sent his Son. As promised to Adam and Eve, as promised to Abraham, as promised to you, God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Jesus willingly committed his life to you. He lived for you perfectly. He died for you innocently. He rose from the dead for you triumphantly. Even now, as he sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty, Jesus still commits himself to you. He intercedes for you, continually asking God to forgive your sins. He rules over the world for you, making sure that everything works out for your eternal good. And, he is waiting for just the right time to take you to heaven.

My dear fellow believers, these are the things God has done for you. These are the ways that God has served you and made a commitment to you. After hearing such things, how can you not proclaim with Joshua, "As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD," (15). The Israelites said the same, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods!…We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God," (17-18). Now it's our turn.

Here's a turning point in our lives. This day, as believers, we can recommit ourselves to the LORD. We can renew the commitment made by our parents, sponsors and fellow believers at our baptisms. We can renew the commitment we made at our confirmations. We can commit to serving the LORD completely and faithfully all of our lives.

Choose this day whom you will serve. I pray that you will serve the LORD with all your heart and all your strength and all your mind. But beware! This is the hard choice. In the very next verse after our text, Joshua told the people that they would not be able to serve the LORD. They insisted that they would. I pray that every day you will renew your commitment to the LORD. Insist on serving the LORD. Refuse to do otherwise.

God himself will give you the motivation you need to serve him. Every time you hear his Word you will again hear all he has done for you. God will also give you the power you need to serve him. Every time you hear his Word the Holy Spirit will help you drown the sinful nature that wants to do nothing. Through the Word the Holy Spirit will strengthen you to throw away your other gods and to serve the LORD.