Morning Message Text: Joshua 24: 1-3a, 14-25
The Covenant Renewed at Shechem
1 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.
3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac,
14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods!
17 It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.
18 And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.”
19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.
20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”
21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.”
22 Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” “Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied.
23 “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.”
25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.
Morning Message:
We celebrated Veterans Day yesterday. How many of you had a celebration? I guess celebration is the wrong term; it is more a day of remembrance. Did you stop and remember the sacrifice that so many made for you? It was famously said by someone, “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.” Do you know who said that? The original quote was made by writer and philosopher George Santayana who wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” It is more famously attributed to Winston Churchill who said, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” No matter how you say it, the meaning is clear, remembering the cost of our freedom and those who paid the price for it is something that we all need to do.
Today more than ever, we need to be prepared for what God is doing in our midst. The illustration in Matthew this morning shows us very clearly how important it is to be vigilant and ready for the return of Jesus. Being prepared for
Jesus is not something to be taken for granted. Oil in the Bible is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The virgins who took extra oil with them represent true Christians who have the Holy Spirit. Those virgins who are less prepared represent so many in our world today who are simply playing at Christianity. They know about Jesus, and they may even be looking for his return. They grew up in the church and fully expect to be included in the rapture of the church because, well, because the church belongs to them, and it is their inherited right. Okay, here is the same old thing that I have been repeating from the pulpit for twenty years now, you must accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you must be born again.
Joshua had a message for the people in his final public statement before his death at age 110. Joshua always had a heart for the Lord and as the leader of
Israel he knew that the people needed to hear these things from him. There is a process that he lays out for them that I believe is useful for us, the church today.
First, he caused them to remember what God had done for them. He brought the people together and he reminded them, not about what he had done, but about what God had done. This is so important for our nation and for our faith. The problem in this country today is that instead of remembering our history people want to rewrite it. You can’t solve the problems of today by blaming everything on things that happened in the past. We don’t remember the past in order to try and change it, we remember it to learn from it and move forward. As Christians we need to remember what God has done for us. It is so easy to become so far removed from what God has done for us that our faith grows weak. Remember what God has saved you from. Remember what God has brought you through. Remember why you have made it in life to this point. Do you know why Christians fall away from the church? Do you know why there are so many people who have found more important things to do with their Sunday than being here? They have forgotten.
The second very wise thing that Joshua called Israel to do that would also benefit us: He called them to serve God and to serve him only. Every day as believers we are confronted with plenty of alternatives, and we must continually choose to serve God. I want us to think about this today. What do you do every day to serve God? Let’s remove prayer and Bible reading from the list of possibilities. Now what do you do just to serve God? We spend most of our day serving ourselves, then we wonder why we are so self-absorbed. If we would do one thing every day to serve God’s kingdom, then God would never be too far from our minds.
Next Joshua confirmed the renewal of their covenant with God. Joshua placed a stone as a memorial because a covenant and a commitment before God means something. It needs to be remembered. Symbols of your commitment to
Jesus. This altar that I introduced to you some time ago. Maybe they are just plain stones to you, but they could be so much more. I know that you might be thinking; I don’t need to renew my salvation. No, if you have accepted Jesus you are saved, but renewing your commitment is always necessary. Every day this world pulls at us and draws us away from God. The only way to counteract that is by disciplining ourselves through recommitment to our faith and God’s purpose for our lives.
The last point that Joshua is making is so very important for us. Every person must choose every day who he or she will serve. If we are going to serve
God, then we must serve him wholeheartedly, in sincerity and truth. This faith must be a daily commitment. Anything less than that, is an empty lamp.
Do you know what I thought of when I was writing this message? Wash, rinse, and repeat. Listen, I don’t come up with something often that seems to hit the nail on the head. I love having a process to follow. Don’t worship the process, but use it to guide you into a deeper faith. Remember what God has done for you. Serve. Find a way to serve God. Renew your commitment to God regularly. Choose to serve him every day. Then repeat as needed. Remember, serve, be renewed, choose daily, repeat.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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