I Am Resolved

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Joshua 24:14–15 NASB95

“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. “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; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

I wish to challenge us to develop and cultivate a dogged determination to follow God wherever He takes us.

I Am Resolved

Resolved means

To decide firmly and unwaveringly on a course of action

It describes a firmness/decisiveness in purpose

Now. . .

Israel are set to hear the address of Joshua

They have a shared history (slavery, oppression, salvation, victory, discipline and blessing NOW REST)

This was a place they should have been any decades ago, but through the unbelief of some, they failed to get there

And while this is the point where some say, “some people will have to die in the wilderness” - there were two types of people in the wilderness

Those destined to die

Those destined to develop

They have the two sides of God’s proverbial coin; obey and live / disobey and perish

They must now choose

I submit to you this morning. . .

I Am Resolved

To be resolved to go, grow, change, serve IN SPITE OF WHO’S AROUND US, WHAT’S AROUND US, AND WHO GOES WITH US.

Joshua, as their leader must point them in the way of God

Joshua does an excellent job in helping them see their way has been made possible by God. This should make the choice an easy one.

This is what he says. . .

Joshua 23:1–3 “Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years. “And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you.”

Joshua reminds them that they didn’t get here becasue of any other reason than God

I am resolved to stop fighting who God is fighting for

Deuteronomy 3:22 “‘Do not fear them, for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.’”

Exodus 14:14 ““The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.””

2 Chronicles 20:15 “and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.”

God is fighting for all of us, not some of us. Therefore we need to avoid fighting amongst ourselves.

In this spiritual war, “we battle not against flesh and blood”

Philippians 4:2 “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord.”

Galatians 5:13–15 “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”

We need to be careful with our words - Are they devouring? Are they taking little bites out of brethren every time we speak?

We need to be careful with our actions - favourtism, being unforgiving (this will devour you as well)

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Joshua 23:6–8 ““Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you (this implies reason) may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them. “But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.”

They couldn’t go into this new space with an old attitude

They couldn’t embrace this blessing whilst holding on to the nations

I am resolved to put away what’s keeping me away from God, and cling to God

1 Thessalonians 1:9 “For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God,”

1 Timothy 6:11 “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”

2 Timothy 2:22 “Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

Colossians 3:5 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.” Colossians 3:10 “and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—”

The reason for this stated further down - Joshua 23:11–13 ““So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God. “[For if you ever go back and cling] to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you.”

The state of the circumstances never impacted the quality of God’s power

In barren land God gave terrific blessing; in good land God can dispense terrible judgement

Sometimes my unwillingness to leave what was, turns around to ensnare us

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Joshua 24:7-13. [READ]

Notice, that whenever there was a problem God was the solution

I am resolved to let God provide the solutions to the problems

The Egyptians - Joshua 24:5–7 “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. ‘I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. ‘But when they cried out to the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness for a long time.”

The Amorites - Joshua 24:8–10 “‘Then I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land when I destroyed them before you. ‘Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. ‘But I was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I delivered you from his hand.”

Jericho - Joshua 24:11–13 “‘You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus I gave them into your hand. ‘Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but not by your sword or your bow. ‘I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’”

Preacher, what do I do in the meantime?

Joshua 24:14–15 ““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. “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; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.””

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I am resolved to serve God in spite of

Fear God - this deals with how you think of God

Is God a tyrant/dictator - I will hate God

Is God soft and easy going - I will never take God seriously

Is God just one of the options out there - I will never truly be committed to God

Is God a great and mighty God unmatched by any - I will honour God

Serve God - give energy to a work in order to finish it

Reconciling ministry - saving others, living holy

I do so in sincerity and truth

Sincerity - Mark 7:21–22 ““For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.” Sincerity (Heb. word means a heart not blemished)

Truth - everyone seems to have one of this today. We need to get back to the place where we are honest with scripture and willing to put aside what “we’re accustomed to” if it means being right with God (c.f. vs 14 “they served other gods beyond the river”)

Joshua 24:15 ““If it is disagreeable [do you harm] in your sight to serve the Lord, choose [examine carefully and choose] for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River [what you are accustomed to], or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living [what you’re surrounded with]; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.””

The choice is not by proxy

The choice is not vicarious

As great a leader that Joshua was they had to choose for themselves

Do in spite of [PRESSURE, PEOPLE, PERSONAL FEELINGS]

Hebrews 11:36–37 “and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated”

Serving God is not always pleasant esp. if I keep focus on now and not where God is taking me

This is the problem Joshua’s generation had with seeing the giants

But here’s what the Scripture says

Hebrews 4:8–11 “For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.”

What are you resolved to do about your life?

Joshua told everyone to choose, and you can only choose for yourself

You cannot choose for others, fix others, change others (the word of God will do that)

However you can choose God, and let Him fix you and change you