As For Me and My House

Intro

For our family service this morning I wanted to take a pause from our study of the book of Romans. And spend a short time this week looking at the words of the Lord’s Servant Joshua. So I’ll invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to Joshua 24:14-15.

Context

I’m sure most of you are familiar with the story of Joshua.

After the Nation of Israel had finished their 40 years of wandering in the desert, and after the Moses had died,

God used Joshua to lead Israel in their campaign to conquer the promised land.

The entire book of Joshua is full of battles, and God doing great works as the people of Israel claimed the land that God promised to Abraham.

It was my grandfather telling me these exciting stories that really got me interested in the Bible, and reading it for myself.

Near the end of the book of Joshua, after God had given Israel the victory, and the entire land of Canaan had been conquered, and the Israelites were at peace.

Joshua was near the end of his life.

But before he died, Joshua gathered the elders and the heads of their clans and families together.

This was a huge gathering of thousands and thousands of people.

And at that gathering, Joshua began to remind the people of what God had done for them:

How God had taken Abraham from far off in the east and had promised him the land that they were living in now.

How God had, from a single son built up Abrahams family into a nation.

How God had heard that nation’s cries as they were enslaved by Pharoah in Egypt.

How God had plagued the Egyptians through the his servant Moses until the Israelites were set free.

How God had brought the Israelites through the parted waters of the red sea, but had cause the sea to close on and swallow up the armies of Pharoah.

How God had provided for and protected his people in their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.

And How God had driven out of the land of Canaan many of the wicked people who lived there

And how God had given his people victory as they followed Joshua to war against the rest of nations who dwelled in the land.

Joshua reminded the people of all that God had done for them.

Then we read Joshua’s challenge to the people of Israel in,

Joshua 24:14-15

Joshua 24:14–15 ESV

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Exposition

Therefore

Our passage begins in v. 14, with

Joshua 24:14 (ESV)

“Now therefore,”

Often times we easily skip over the word “therefore” in the Bible in order to get to what to the real stuff, where the action is.

We want to get to the point.

We want to know “what do I need to do.”

So often we don’t think much of the word “therefore” when we encounter it in the Bible.

But when we see the word “therefore” in a passage, it means that everything that follows it depends on what came before it.

Recognizing what the therefore points to makes all the difference.

And in our passage in Joshua 24, what that “therefore” points to is all of the works of God that Joshua had listed for the people..

God had rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt,

He had provided for them and protected them as they wandered in the wilderness,

and He had given them victory as they entered the promised land.

God had done all of this.

Joshua reminded them of all of this before he called them to action.

What the Israelites were now being called to do, was in response to what God had already done.

Their action, is in response to God’s action

And this is the action that they were being called to.

Fear the Lord

Joshua 24:14 (ESV)

“Now therefore fear the Lord.”

The first action that Joshua called the Israelites to was to “fear the Lord”.

Now, there are many people nowadays who really don’t like the idea of fearing God.

“I mean, we are supposed to Love God. Isn’t it the opposite to fear him?”

But the fear of God is spoken of throughout the Bible as the proper response to who God is.

Think about this for a moment:

Let’s say you had a best friend, but there was something different about this best friend.

Lets say your best friend was 1000 feet tall.

Clouds made him sneeze. He had to dodge airplanes. He was terrifyingly big and immensely strong. He could crush you like a bug.

But he really loved you, cared about you, wanted the best for you.

He was a friendly giant.

Some of us watched a guy like this on t.v. as kids. And we had to look up, waaay up, to see him.

But think about it even if the giant was friendly, even if he was your best friend,

if you were actually in his presence, standing beside him, or maybe even being held in his hand.

Would you fear him?

Just because of his raw power and size you would be a fool not to fear him, even if he was a friendly giant.

Well think about who God is. To him a giant 1000 feet tall is nothing. He is far far greater!

He is the creator of the heavens and the earth. God even says in Isaiah 66:1,

Isaiah 66:1 (ESV)

“Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool.”

And it’s not just his power and might that are worthy of fear, but his holiness is also worthy of fear.

When the Prophet Isaiah was given a vision of the throne-room of God in Isaiah 6,

and he encountered the holiness of God, he said:

Isaiah 6:5 (ESV)

“Woe is me! For I am ruined; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

God’s very nature, as the all powerful, all Holy God, evokes fear.

Because compared to him we are not powerful, we are not holy.

To know God is to fear him.

Proverbs 9:10 tells us it is the very basis of wisdom.

Proverbs 9:10 ESV

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

And the fear of God is not just for people in the old testament.

Acts 9:31 says,

Acts 9:31 ESV

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

See the fear of the Lord is for God’s people.

It was for God’s people in the days of Joshua, it was for God’s people in the days of the early church, and it is for God’s people today.

Those who don’t fear the Lord, don’t know him.

Though God loves us, and comforts us, and saves us, he is still God.

Though God is kinder, more gracious, more loving, and more merciful than the friendliest Giant, he is still worthy of fear.

And a God not worthy of fear, is no God at all.

So Joshua, instructs the Israelites, to “fear God.”

When we fear God, we won’t walk so easily into sin.

Having a true fear of God will make us think twice before we give into temptation and do something evil.

And when we do sin, the fear of God will bring us to repentance for that sin.

But the fear of God also does something else.

True fear of God will lead us to not fear other things.

This is why Joshua began his message by reminding the Israelites of all of those great works that God had done for them.

When we know God and fear him we will not have fear of man, or the culture, or the circumstances that we find ourselves in.

Fear of God makes us bold to serve him.

Serve Him

This is the second thing that Joshua charges the Israelites to do.

Joshua 24:14 (ESV)

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him

“Serve him.”

Now we need to take a moment and think about this, because there is a wrong way to serve God.

We need to recognize a few things.

The first thing we need to recognize is that: God does not need us, or anything from us.

God is the source of all good things, he is the giver of all good gifts.

He is self sufficient

He does not need us to do anything for him, and he does not need anything from us.

2. The second thing we need to recognize is that: We cannot put God in our debt.

If we do something for God, we cannot look back at it and say to God, “I did this for you, now you owe me.”

That is how the pagans treated their gods.

They offered up worship and sacrifices in order to get something back,

their worship was a transaction.

God is never put in our debt.

3. And here is the third thing to recognize: Serving God is always done in response to his work of salvation.

Remember that important word “therefore” at the beginning of our passage.

Joshua’s charge to serve God is based on what God had already done for the Israelites.

God had rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt,

He had provided for them and protected them as they wandered in the wilderness,

and He had given them victory as they entered the promised land.

God had done all of this.

Their service to him, was in response to his action.

So how do we serve God?

I found John Piper helpful in my study of this question. He points to 1 Peter 4:11 where it says,

1 Peter 4:11 (ESV)

whoever serves, [let them] as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

So how do we serve God?

1. First of all we serve God by his power.

We serve God through the strength that he supplies.

He empowers us to serve him.

As this passage says, “Whoever serves [let them serve] as one who serves by the strength that God supplies.”

We serve God by his power.

2. Secondly, we serve God for his glory.

We also see this in 1 Peter 4:11, that we serve:

1 Peter 4:11 (ESV)

in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Did you hear that? “In everything.”

That means that you can serve him in every righteous thing you do.

I remember as kid, and even as a teenager, that I felt like I was waiting for life to begin.

Maybe there’s even adults who feel like this.

But I think many of you know what I mean.

Life hadn’t really started because I was young.

That when I was older I would be able really live and serve God.

But let me tell you kids and teenagers and maybe adults who feel like this.

You can serve God in anything that you do that isn’t sin.

That means the obvious things, like helping with the chores, obeying your parents, working hard at school, or at your job, helping others out, worshipping at church, sharing the Gospel.

But it also means the things that you enjoy.

When you play

When you make music

When you hang out with your friends

When your playing basketball or whatever sport

Whatever you do, if you do it in his power and for his glory, it can be worship.

Don’t wait until you think life has begun. You can serve God now!

We serve God in all things, when we do them for his glory and in his power.

In the movie “Chariots of Fire”, Eric Liddell who was an Olympic runner and Christian missionary says, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

We can glorify God in every good thing, because he made us to glorify him in every good thing.

When we look at the words of Joshua in our passage this morning, he urged the Israelites to serve the Lord in sincerity and faithfulness.

If we are to serve God, it needs to be done with sincerity.

it needs to be done from the heart.

Serving God is done genuinely by God’s power, and for God’s glory.

If it is not done sincerely for his glory, it is not service to him.

We need to serve from the heart.

And it needs to be done faithfully.

This means, it needs to be done God’s way.

We cannot serve God through sin.

This is why Joshua in our passage tells the Israelites to “Put away the gods” that their fathers had brought from Egypt.

And he warned them not to worship the god’s from the nations who they pushed out of the land.

If we want to serve God, we need to rid ourselves of those sinful things that get in the way of that.

God is so good that he is willing to forgive sin and free us from it so that we can serve him, if we repent of it.

Sometimes like the Israelites, that means getting rid of things in your household.

Or repenting from sinful habits, or actions that are in your life.

God is eager to forgive, and he has made a way for all sin to be forgiven.

Gospel

This Joshua in our passage this morning is not the only Joshua in the Bible.

Joshua (Yeshua) is also the Hebrew name of Jesus.

But what God did through Jesus did was far greater than what God had done for the Israelites in Joshua’s day.

In Joshua’s day, God had rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt,

But through Jesus, God has rescued us from sin and death.

In Joshua’s day, God provided for the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness,

But through Jesus, God provided eternal life for all who call on him.

In Joshua’s day, God had given the Israelites the promised land.

But through Jesus, God has given us a new heaven and a new earth where we can enjoy God forever.

God has done all of this through sending his son Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. Then raising him from the dead, so that if we believe in him, we can have eternal life.

This is why we serve God!

Because he has done all this for us, because he empowers us, and because he deserves all the Glory.

Application

Choose this day

So let me challenge you the same way Joshua challenged the Israelites.

“Choose this day whom you will serve.”

All of us, at every stage of our lives has a choice to make - will we serve the Lord or will we serve something else.

Many people in our society server something else.

they serve other gods,

they serve cultural movements,

or they serve themselves.

But what about you? Whom will you serve?

If your a kid, and you see somebody who needs a good friend, who will you serve?

If your a teen, and the culture is trying to get you to buy into lies and serve yourself, who will you serve?

If your an adult and God is calling you to serve him somewhere, whether that is overseas or in your own household, who will you serve?

This applies to all of us. Whoever you are in your household, will you serve the Lord?

Conclusion

Choose this day whom you will serve!

But as for me and my house,

and I hope for you and yours,

By God’s power, and for God’s glory

We will serve the Lord!

Sermon Title: As for Me and My House

Passage Joshua 24:14-15

Discussion Questions:

What does it mean to fear the Lord? Is it a positive thing? Why is the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom? (Prov. 9:10, Ps. 111:10) What does a person’s life look like if they fear the Lord?

What does it mean to serve the Lord? Is it merely a mindset or is there action involved? How does one “serve the Lord with sincerity and faithfulness”?

Why do you think some of the Israelites held on to idols from Egypt? Why were they tempted by the gods of the nations they had defeated? Are we tempted in a similar way in our own context?

What does it look like for a household to serve the Lord? What would it look like for your household?

How did serving the lord make the Israelites distinct from the nations that surrounded them? How does serving the Lord as individuals and households make us distinct from the individuals and households surrounding us?

What is something that you can change/repent of/become obedient in to move towards greater service to the Lord in your own life or household?

When I was a kid, about 9 or 10 years old, my grandparents came and lived with us for a few months at our house out in B.C. My grandfather would take me to a bike track and watch me ride around. When I got tired we would sit down and he would tell me stories from the Bible. I would especially love stories about God’s warriors in the books of Joshua and Judges and 1st and 2nd Kings.