The Call to Faithful Commitment

Choose This Day: The Call to Faithful Commitment

In the throws of World War II, a watchmaker helped rescue Jews in the German-occupied Netherlands. In February 1944, she was arrested and imprisoned in the Scheveningen prison. Later she was sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camps. 

Does anyone remember who that was?

During World War II, many Christians faced choices that challenged their faith. Corrie ten Boom and her family risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis. It is believed that their efforts prior to their arrest resulted in over 800 Jewish lives being saved. In interviews Cori and her family credit their faith in Christ as their motivation to risk thair lives to save the lives of over 800 Jews. Their choice to serve the Lord in the face of danger was radical and immidiate. Corrie's testimony reminds us that serving God often means standing up for what is right, even when it's unpopular or dangerous. Cori and her family made an immidate decision as soon as the raids in the Netherlands had started to act on their convictions that came dirrectly as a result of their faith in Jesus Christ.

As we look into the last chapter of Joshua today, we are looking at the final adress that is recorded that Joshua will have with the the people he has lead for 28 years after Moses died in the desert.

In this time there is not a single recorded reference to anything Joshua did that didn’t honor the Lord.

This is amazing considering the Bible as we know does it shy away from putting on display all of the bumps, bruises and missteps of the heros of the faith, which is one of many reasons why the bible is unlike any other relegeous text!

There is not a sinlge mention of a misstep, or a time when Joshua was not fully committed to the Lord.

In Chapter 23 Joshua is adressing the leaders and now for his final adress he is speaking to not only the leaders as many of the people of Isreal that could make it to Shechem.

In 24 Joshua addresses the nation of Isreal.

Bible Passage: Joshua 24

1. Gathering before God

Joshua 24:1–2 ASV

And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

In the first 2 verses Joshua gathers as many people as he could Now it should be noted that it was not possible that Joshua could have gathered all 2 million people so he gathered all the leaders, elders judges in otherwords the representitives for all of the tribes and as many people so that eventually all would hear. but how exactly would they hear what he had to say?

It is interesting because of Shechem’s unique location it was perfectly located at the base of 2 mountains mout Garizim and Mt Ebel. creating the perfect aphathetre making it so Joshua would be heard by all who gathered to present themselves to the Lord

There are 2 other ocations that the Isrealites presented themseves to God.

The first time In Exodus 19:17 Moses brought the Isrealites out of Egypt and presented them to God at Mount Saini. It was here that God made the original covanant with Isreal and reveals his plan for Isreal Gods chosen people.

The secound time is earlier in Chapter 18 of Joshua when the people were presented to God with the tabernacle in Shilo.

This final time Joshua presents the people to God to renew the covanant at Shechem.

Is there times that God asks us to present ourselves before him?

Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

To present oneself as a living sacrifice, according to Romans 12:1, means to offer our body, mind, and actions as a devoted and pleasing offering to God. It involves aligning one's will and desires with God's, rather than living according to worldly patterns. This act of surrender is considered a reasonable and spiritual act of worship. 

Isreal is being presented to God to renew the covenant first made in Exodus but before the covanat is renewed the Lord wanted to remind Isreal why they needed to renew the covanant.

Joshua 24:1–7 ERV

And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; and Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did in the midst thereof: and afterward I brought you out. And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen unto the Red Sea. And when they cried out unto the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness many days.

Joshua starts with 4 words that are extremely important as Joshua’s roll in Chapter 24 actually shifts. Did you catch it?

It says “This sayith the Lord”

These four words are critical to understand because up to this point in Joshua we have known him first as an assistant to Moses and Arron coming out of Egypt. Than after Moses death he took on the roll of leader of Isreal, He was a leader, Millitary Genera, and a spiritual leader, fully devoted to the Lord. He brought Isreal accross the Jordan, was successful in the battle of Jericho, concoured the amorites, faught many battles removing a multitude of kings and ultimatly brought them into the promised land!

Joshua lead the people of Isreal for a total of 28 years and but this us the first time he said hhe said he was speaking for the Lord.

In other words for this time and in this place Joshua is a prophet for the Lord.

Its interesting because we wouldn’t normally consider Joshua to be a prophet. When we think of prophets we might think of the Major Prophets  Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. or the Minor Prophets, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi . Joshua is not somone we think of as a prophet.

We often think of a prophet as somone who The Lord gives a vision for the future, but we need to understand although there are very specific biblical expectations for a prophet, a prophet is

A person who speaks divinely inspired messages regarding the will of God, which is exactly what Joshua is doing in Chapter 24 a role that up to this point he hasn’t had.

Joshua speaking for the Lord starts with by recounting God’s faithfullness to the forefathers even though they started as a pegan people, he says they started on the other side of the river which would be the river, this would have referred to the river Euphrates and they worshiped other gods. What did God do in return? God raised up Abraham and he was known as a man who worshiped God in the land of pegan idol worshipers.

Abraham being the first Jew worshiped God in the face of a culture that was going completely in the opposite dirrection and a covanant was given to him and as a result of that promis Isreal came as a result of that covanant.

The way in which Joshua spoke of the forefathers especially Abraham would have been shocking to the Isrealites!

Why?

They would have reviered Abraham and the forefathers with the highest esteme but Joshua was directed to shared the forefathers humble beginnings as idol worshipers!

What Why would he do this?

to remind the people of God’s did in spite of their past starting with Abraham all the way to the conquest of Caanan.

David Guzik commented The message was not, “We are all really amazing, so now we must live for God.” Instead, it was “We were all a real mess, but God did many amazing things for us and in us. Now, we must live for the God who did such amazing things.”

The same principle should motivate Christians today.

He than continues in the review of their past with the exodus from Egypt. This is somthing many would have remembered maybe as kids but they would have rememberd.

God did not leave them in in their bondage in Egypt forever, God brought up Moses to take them out of Egypt. Not only did the Lord bring them out but he also sustained them in the desert.

As interesting as what Joshua included (the pegan worship of the forefathers) is what he did not include! Notice he ends the review the forefathers in verse your eyes saw what I did in Egypt and you dwelt in the wilderness a long time.

Did you notice what he didn’t include? there is no mention of the peoples turning from God, their sin or their shortcomings.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus remides us that he is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Joshua did not bring up their failures as a reminder of Gods grace, mercy and love. This historical and personal narritive of grace is the very nature of God and was true for Isreal than and is the same nature presented to us through Jesus Christ. When you present yourself to Christ, repent of sin, turn from it acknoage Jesus as Lord and follow him, He remembers your sin no more! That is the very nature of God.

Joshua continues from their past history and connects it to the present remiding the people what he has done for those gathered at Shechem.

Joshua 24:8-11

8Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan. They fought against you, but I delivered them into your hand, that you should possess their land when I destroyed them before you. 9Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10but I would not listen to Balaam. So he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you from his hand.

11After this, you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I delivered them into your hand. 12I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you, but not by your own sword or bow. 13So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities that you did not build, and now you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’

Joshua is now connecting Isreal’s past they would have been either taught or told about to their current history of how the Lord has blessed them and gave them victory!

If we remember in the previous chapters did Joshua achieve or accomplish anything in their own power?

No

In fact the only time they were ever sucessful was when the Lord won their battles for them! Remember back in Chapter 10 when God kept the sun from going down, so the isrealites would gain the victory over the Amorites?

Joshua 10:14 “And there was no day like that before it or after it, that Jehovah hearkened unto the voice of a man: for Jehovah fought for Israel.”

The Promise Land

In fact as Joshua recounts the victories they have won because first Joshua trusted the Lord and than Isreal trusted the Lord he than takes it a step further, God is saying you know those battles I won for you? I didn’t stop there, he drove the point home when The Lord through Joshua addressed the promise land saying you know those cities you didn’t build that are giving you shelter, and those trees you didn’t plant, the vinyards and olive groves you enjoy but you don’t deserve, I did that for you because I love you and want to bless you.

Parenting 101

As a parent this hit me hard, how many parents do we have here today raise your hands

Growing up I was raised in a house the rules were set out we knew what to expect and although it was a loving home if you broke the rules there was consequence and oh you didn’t get out of those.

Just this week Crystal and I were talking about this and she was saying it was the same in her house you broke the rules there was concequences but as we thought back on it she told me about a time as a kid she wanted to go to a birthday party for a friend but before she could go she needed to clean up the basement. Did she want to clean the basement No! so she wasn’t going to get to go end of story. So there was crying and stomping and everything BUT cleaning it got to the point that her parents started thinking if you want a job done right you do it yourself! so now they are down side by side cleaning up, and together things calmed and the job got done! No one was happy about it but as they walked upstairs her dad pulled her aside and said I didn’t like how this was handled but you pulled her aside and said I told you, you can’t go you don’t deserve to go based on your behavior but I am going to let you go because you pulled yourself together. Nearly 20 years later she still remembers this, not because of the punishment, not because of the event but because of the grace that was show to her that she didn’t deserve.

God is doing this for Isreal saying I provided this to you not because you deserve it but because I love you

There is a sense in which every blessing from God is undeserved, but some are more obviously so. When Israel enjoyed vineyards and olive orchards in Canaan, it should have made them especially grateful for those undeserved blessings.

That sentiment expected of the isralites that were given the promised land should be the same for us today!

How much should we be thankful to the Lord for the redemtive work of Jesus and the abounding grace shown to us?

As I prepared today I just kept coming back to that truth that we can stand on the Truth of who Jesus is because he is the same yesterday, today and forever.

I don’t know about you but as I parelleled my walk with the Lord to this passage it leaves me in awe of how loving caring our God truly is and instills a deeper sence gratitude and trust in him because of what he has done for me and for you! Amen?

Now Joshua after summerizing all of the blessing the Lord has provided Isreal when they turned their hearts to Him

He makes a dealy serious shift

2. Reassess Your Allegiance

Joshua 24:14-15

14“Now Therefore 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. 

He starts: “Now Therefore”

and when there is a Therfore we need to ask what is it there for?

Joshua started with the history of where the forfathers came out of idoltry and pegan worship, than showed a long history of blessing when Isleal commited themselves to the Lord.

This shift is happening now that puts Isreal in the hot seat God is saying ok you have seen all the good I have done and in light of all of that so commit to me get rid of all of the idols get rid of anything that is not honoring.

The amazing thing is that the request to Isreal isn’t just jump in and believe in me with a “blind faith” They were reminded what the Lord has done and said because of this being asked please believe, please commit to me not only because I ask but because what I am asking is resonable based on the evidence! What I have done for you.

How many of you have run into that when talking to your unsaved friends or family?

You start talking and get oh you just have blind faith, The god of the gaps, you just don’t understand science so you need a crutch!

Did you know the man with the highest IQ ever recorded was discoved

According to a report from 2024, YoungHoon Kim, South Korea, has the highest recorded IQ, with a score of 276. His intelligence has been verified by various organizations, including the Giga Society and the World Genius Directory.

Do you know what he just went on record saying? you can look this up!

Why is Jesus Christ God?

He said he was God, he forgave sins and accepted worship and said I and the father are one.

Jesus rose from the dead which is supported by historical evidence. Hundreds saw him alive and were willing to die for not a belief but for what they claimed to have seen a risen Christ rose from the dead.

Science says the univers has a beginning “the big bang” but everything that begins to exist must have a cause. So the universe needs a cause beyond time space and matter. That cause must be powerful, given the magnitude of the creation event, it has to be Intelegent to create somthing so finly tuned, and personal to have the desire to create and Loving. Human reason, reality and freewill also point towards somthing beyond physics. Jesus matches this logic that entering his own creating to reviel truth and love

So using reason, history and science the conclusion is Jesus Christ is God. This is the smartest man in recorded history delaring that reason, logic, history and science points to the truth of our faith. It is not a blind faith!

Now you might be thinking I am not the smartest man in the world I can’t explain to my athiest friends or family why science, history and reason point to God although they do!

God revealed to Joshua and asked the Isrealites to remember what the Lord has done!

At the beginning I mentioned Cori Temboon it was not her logic, reasoning or scientific discoveries that we remember her. It was the testimony of what the Lord did through her and her willingness to commit to the Lord fully even unto the threat of death!

However, in order to have a testimony and not be considered a

Hipocrite

Joshua pleads verses 14-15 with Isreal to put away the gods your forefathers worshiped or the gods of the ammorites in the land and serve the Lord.

He is pleading with them saying if you are going to serve God truly commit to serving him with your whole life, forget the things you learned growing up!

Get rid of the influences of the culture around you!

Devote yourself to serving me!

The amazing thing is God doesn’t demand commitment but gives a choice.

Joshua 24:15 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.”

Joshua lead by example he knew his time on earth was short and wanted to ensure that Isreal would commit after he was gone to serving the Lord.

Joshua offered an alternative for those who did not want to serve the LORD as he encouraged in Joshua 24:14. Yet his course was clear and sensible – he chose to serve the LORD.

Francis Schafer noted that the word “Serve” here

i. “The English uses a future tense here, but the Hebrew tense has a fuller meaning. It expresses continuous action. It involves the future, but it can also point to the past. Joshua was undoubtedly affirming, ‘I have chosen, and I will continue to choose.’”

ii. Joshua could make this statement because he had lived a life in which he continuously chose to serve the LORD.

This is a call to each of us as Bob Dylan sang Everybody’s gotta serve somebody.

Who are you serving?

The Lord through Joshua calls for a full and complete devotion to the Lord in every aspect of our lives and not only for ourselves but notice he says

“As for me and my house” He understood to serve God as a leader it starts in the home.

As a Pastor if my home life is a mess what kind of testimony of the Lord am I giving if my life is a mess?

As believers, if we claim to love the Lord and represent Christ as ambassitors it starts at home. Joshua knew this.

These statements “Choose this day who you will serve” and As for me and my house we will serve the Lord challenges us to evaluate what truly directs our lives.

Is it the Lord? or are there things pulling us away?

For some it might be money, status, weath, pleasure or security.

See deciding to be a Christian a Christ like one, emphasises that faith requires more than just a proclimation or mental choice but requires our whole lifes complete alligence.

Corri Temboom when she was caught by the Germans was completely committed to what the Lord had called her to. As she hid the jews in her own home she knew fully the consiquences of her entire families actions if they were caught.

Serving the Lord is not for the faint of heart.

Paul emplores us in 2 Corinthians 13:5 5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?

The beauty of our God is although what he askes is extreme full commitment to him, we are not going through it alone.

He simply asks with our whole hearts to decide chose today whom you will serve?

Joshua has shown where the people of isrreal came from, what happened when they fully committed to him, the blessings of God than asked them in the face of all of the evidence to renew that commitment. How did they respond?

3. Renew Your Commitment

Joshua 24:16–28 “16Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! 17It 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. 18And 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.”

19Joshua 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. 20If 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.”

21But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”

22Then 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.”

24And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”

25On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. 26And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the Lord.

27“See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”

28Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.

Isreal had the right response here!

Yes we will serve the Lord!

They reflected on what God did for them in Egypt and their response was “How could we not serve such a great God?

but Joshua’s response was interesting wasn’t it?

He says OK GUYS look what God has done commit your life to Him

Yes we will serve the Lord!

This was the big moment of Joshua’s address to the people and I don’t know about you but have you ever been a rock concert and everyone is singing along and all the sudden you find yourself singing along? And maybe that is totally out of character for you but you got caught up in the moment and the emotion of it all.

Although Isreals response was the right one Joshua quickly squashes anything can be considered emotionalism or group think.

Joshua takes their comments seriously and calls them out! and lets them know once again God will not be mocked by flattery or hollow words. He is looking for honest commitment.

How often today do we see celebrities, public figures and even people in the church profess the name of Jesus and yet their lives reflects somthing completely different?

Joshua is holding them to account that the words the say hold wait and their lives better reflect those words.

It is not wrong to hold the feet of other believers to the fire to help them realize the weight of their walk with a loving but it says holy and jelous God….. IT IS LOVE

Our declaration to Christ is not one we should take lightly and Joshua is putting the isrealites feet to the fire.

Now when he says “You can’t serve the Lord” he is not discouraging or disparaging their faith but ensuring it is not simply lip service.

David Guzzik made the comment They needed to be reminded that they served God under a covenant that promised they would be cursed for disobedience.

i. “Joshua seemed to detect a note of insincerity, or at least glibness, in this predictable and ready response. Did he suspect they were taking the whole thing too lightly? Were they supposing they had the power in themselves to serve God, instead of acknowledging that only God himself could keep them faithful?” (Boice)

ii. Jesus later expressed the same kind of warning, explaining that following Him took total commitment (Luke 14:25-33). It wasn’t that Jesus didn’t want followers, but He did not want lightly made and easily broken commitments.

Although we are no longer under the same covanant as Isreal they are under the old covanant and with Christ we are under the new covanant we are promised when we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord the promise is we will be saved. It is not a commitment we make lightly.

Our salvation is secure we are marked with seal of the Holy Spirit and we are promised that we will not be plucked from His hand. but like Isreal it is because of what Jesus has done in our lives that we have the choice to honor him with our lives.

James reminds us that faith without works is dead. Our faith is not static but an active, daily choice that aligns our actions with our proclaimed beliefs and the will of God.

It was not enough that Isreal simply professed with their mouths their commitment to God.

Joshua said they were witnesses to their own commitment and than he set up a stone a tangible to mark and a reminder to when Isreal commited to the Lord.

Corrie Temboon did’t take her commitment to the Lord lightly and neither should we.

Today the Lord may be speaking to you asking you to commit yourself to serving Him. Not with some of our life but with everything. That could be serving in the world through witnessing, or in the church like on the worship team.

But before you serve this might mean He is calling you to clear out the stuff in your life like he did Isreal, removing the idols from your life.

Joshua’s life marked by being fully commited to the Lord and it was because of his life that he was able to hold Isreal to task and renew their covanat.

The Lord is calling you today to fully commit to him not just in words but in action, get rid of the things in your life that you know does not please him! This could be jelousy, lust, envy sexual immorality, greed or pride. All of these things we are to remove from our lives and although we can not do it on our own and it wont be perfect, He has promised the a helper an itercessor the Holy Spirit.

Buried in the Promised Land Joshua 29-33

29After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 30And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah  in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

31Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.

32And Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver  from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.

33And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.

Joshua’s completed what he was tasked to do and died at the age of 110 and was burried in the promise land. Joshua’s life was the example of the commitment he wished Isreal to have and the quality of his leadership was shown by Isreals response to him. They committed to serving the Lord long after her died,

His life was marked by more than just to being a great millitary leader, his life was to first honor the Lord and through that keep the tregectory of Isreal serving the Lord which they continued to do after his death.

As Pastors this is our heart to see the people of God commiting to going forward for the Lord and commiting your life to serving him after our ministry ends.

As parents we want to raise our children to continue on for the Lord long after we are gone.

Joshua a Godly man, was laid to rest in the land that God promised that is no small thing.

We are promised that as believers when we commit our lives to the Lord we will find our final rest in the promised land of our inharitance Hevean!

Cori was remembered for her commitment to the Lord in the face of the Nazi’s, Joshua was remembered for His commitment to the Lord through every battle my prayer for each of you is that each of us will be remembered for our commitment to what the Lord has called each of you to do.

We each have a book that is being written and when the time comes they will be opened and reviewed. How will you be remembered?

There may be some of you today that have not commited youself to the Lord. You might be thinking my life is a mess!

Today is the day of salvation if you haven’t ever committed your life to the Lord today is the day!

Here is the beautiful hope of Jesus Christ that when you choose him, confess with your lips, believe in your heart, confess of the sin that is in your past that seperates you from him and commit your life to him. It says when those books are opened all of the things we did that seperated us from Him will be covered with the blood of Christ that was shed on the Cross and they will be remembered no more.

I can’t wait for the day we hear those words well done good and faithful servant.

Lets Pray,