We PURPOSEFULLY CHOOSE to Share Faith Together
Notes
Transcript
Fallen Condition Focus: The focus is on God’s call to undivided allegiance.
FALLEN CONDITION FOCUS
The question before all of us is - will we fully and faithfully align our lives with the Lord, or will we be swayed by competing allegiances?
Have you ever faced a decision that felt bigger than just logistics—one that shaped your future, your family, and your faith?
For many couples and parents, one of the most defining choices is where to live and what kind of home to build. It seems practical on the surface—square footage, school districts, commute times. But underneath, it reveals something deeper: What do we value most? Whom do we serve? What kind of legacy are we building?
This morning, we’re not just talking about homes—we’re talking about hearts. The subject before us is purposeful faith-sharing, rooted in undivided allegiance to Christ. It’s about choosing God not just in belief, but in lifestyle, priorities, and public witness.
Why this message? Because we all wrestle with competing loyalties. That’s our fallen condition. From Israel’s idolatry to our own modern distractions—comfort, materialism, diluted devotion—the battle for our allegiance is real. And if we’re honest, each of us has felt the tension between what the world offers and what God calls us to.
Scripture speaks directly to this. In Luke 16:13, Jesus says, “No servant can serve two masters… Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” The choice is clear. The consequences are eternal. And the call is urgent.
SERMON PROPOSITION
So here’s our proposition:
Because God calls us to undivided allegiance, we must purposefully choose to share our faith together.
Let’s begin with the first truth that anchors this call:
MAIN POINT 1
We CHOOSE Whom We Serve
We CHOOSE Whom We Serve
I mentioned Israel’s struggle. A struggle that continues with many today. However, in the early formation of this nation, God uses Joshua to challenge them in their allegiance, just as He does today. Israel biggest battle was with idolatry. While living in Egypt, they had tasted idol worship. There is no doubt that the Egyptians made in impact upon them. Their faith in God was far removed from that of their forefathers - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. As they grew numerically, the further the wandered away from God. Moses arrived on the scene. He challenged their faith with great miracles and redemption. They followed him into the wilderness. Yet, it wasn’t long before they were back to choosing a false gods over Jehovah God. While Moses was on the mountain receiving God’s instructions, Israel abandoned God enticing Aaron into making them a golden calf to worship. This battle for their allegiance was quite the roller coaster ride. They would make the right choice and worship God, then, in a matter of time, they would be right back to worshipping idols. Thankfully, God did not abandon them which is testament to His grace and mercy. Instead, He challenges them to make the right choice. He provided them with a promise and a warning.
19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Note the promise. If you make the right choice by serving and worshipping me, it will be life for both you and your children. Now note the warning. If you make the wrong choice by not serving and worshipping me, it will be death and cursing for you and your children. The choice was clear and remains clear even today.
They eventually made their way across the wilderness, entered Canaan, and conquered the land promised to them. It was Joshua who led them in this campaign. The same Joshua who watched as Israel struggle with their allegiance to God and His promises. Now, as they were finished with their conquest of Canaan, Joshua knew their hearts. He knew their struggles. He understood that now with peace on their doorstep and place to belong as a nation, complacency would set in. Consequently, he gives them this challenge.
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
We serve an amazing and gracious God. I say that for one simple reason. God loves us, made us in His image, and gave us the ability to choose our own direction. He didn’t have to do that. He could have made us mindless robots. Yet, He choose not to do so. He gave us the ability to reason, understand, and make choices. Early, before the original sin of man, the choice was quite easy. Adam and Eve willingly and joyfully choose God. Satan’s temptation, Eve’s choice, and Adam’s failure led to sin. Since then, the choice has been harder. In fact, the introduction of sin was the also the introduction of fleshly desires and pride. We now face two major spiritual enemies - our sinful desires in the flesh and Satan, the father of sin and rebellion. Since that fateful day in the Garden of Eden, the battle for men’s allegiance has been all out. The flesh is constantly desiring pleasure. Satan is skillfully at work demanding allegiance to him. Then there is God, who is righteous, holy, and filled with everlasting love, saying to us, “Serve me. Choose me. I created you. I love you. I want nothing but life for you.” The choice is laid out before us.
For Joshua, it was an easy choice - “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” That is the same choice set before us today.
But choosing God isn’t a one-time declaration—it’s a daily decision to reject all competing loyalties. The battle for our hearts doesn’t end with a choice; it intensifies. Let’s look at what Jesus says about divided allegiance and the danger of serving two masters.
MAIN POINT 2
We must REJECT Divided Loyalties
We must REJECT Divided Loyalties
Choosing to follow Christ means abandoning all other loyalties. It is not a choice of serving our flesh and serving the Lord. For Israel, the choice was clear. Choose God and not false gods.
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Christ was on point here as He always is. He gets right to the heart of the matter. Whatever choice you make, it can only be one. You must choose either God and nothing else. In this verse, the choice between material goods or money versus choosing God is contrasted. This is a great example. The flesh loves pleasure. It demands pleasure. It wants to feel good. It wants the nice house, a two-car garage, two cars maybe three, a boat, a place on the lake, comfortable furniture, and nice yard. The flesh wants to life like a king. This brings me to an interesting realization.
IDOL PROGRESSION
Over the past month, in our Wednesday Bible Study, we have been focused on this thought. What is an idol and what is the progression of loyalty an idol demands? In a very broad sense, an idol is anything we worship or place before God. The progression of an idol is this. An idol desires that you worship it and not worship God. From there, the idol demands that you give your time, talent, and treasure to it rather than God. Eventually, the idol judges you if you don’t do what it demands. In the end, the idol punishes you for any failure to worship it and it alone.
I see this same progression when we choose to server something other than God. Let’s take for example money and material possessions. For simplicity, let’s say that the house of our dreams becomes our idol. We choose it over God. What does that look like for most people who make that choice? Your desire for a beautiful home becomes greater than your desire to please God. Soon, you are demanding of yourself that you are going to have a beautiful home no matter what it takes. If it means I have to give up attending church on Sunday, so be it. It is one day more to work on my house and make it what I want it to be rather than coming to church, worshipping the Lord, and being with other believers. Eventually, you are so wrapped upon this thing that you start judging others who do choose God and you start saying things like, “No wonder they have such dump to live in. They give more money and time to the church than they do to their own house. It is no wonder it looks that way.” The jump to punishment is a small step from there. You are now in danger of God’s punishment and, if you are not careful, you end up with a bitter spirit not just towards God, but even others. In fact, your house has become your God. Any person who steps on your lawn, doesn’t take off their shoes when entering the front door, and, Lord forbid, gets your carpet dirty, is quickly judged and punished for even coming to your house. I could go and talk about how this idol is now ruling you and ruining vital relationships both with God and others. However, I think that you get my point. You are now serving mammon and not God. O, by the way, how different is house worshipping from true idolatry? There is no difference. Your house is made of wood and metal. It has no life. It has no eyes or ears. It cannot speak or have a relationship with you. You are serving a dead, inaminate object. In doing so, you have come to despise the God of the Universe.
Now consider this verse.
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
MAIN POINT 2
Here is the choice. Give your time, talent, and treasure to a house, hobby, or whatever you want to fill in the blank with. You can do that. It is your choice. However, please realize that each choice comes with consequences. Choosing anything other that God has poor consequences. But what if we choose God?
In this verse, God say choose Him. Present yourself to Him as a LIVING sacrifice. I emphasize the word “living.” My reason is that we serve a living God, not a dead idol. In turn, He has given us eternal life. And, even now, as we live this life, our service to Him is through a life of spiritual vitality and blessing. The word “present” means near the arrival time of the harvest. In other words, we give ourselves to the Lord as living sacrifices knowing that in doing so we are going reap bountiful spiritual blessings. It is our reasonable (rational) service. To put it plainly, choosing God is spiritually rewarding. These rewards transcend anything the flesh, world, and Satan have to offer. Instead of conforming to the miserable existence the world offers, choose God who will renew your mind and prove to Him His good, acceptable, and perfect will.
Now, if we’ve chosen God and rejected idols, what’s next? Our faith isn’t meant to be hidden—it’s meant to be shared. In a world full of hopelessness, we are called to be living witnesses. Let’s explore how our allegiance to Christ becomes a testimony of hope.
MAIN POINT 3
We are to Give a Reason for Our Hope
We are to Give a Reason for Our Hope
Essentially, this is the purpose of making the right choice. The overwhelming majority of people are making the wrong choice. Unfortunately, they are doomed to make the wrong choice. Their wrong choice has an extremely dire consequence - eternal damnation. If we truly love others, then we have this overwhelming desire to help them make better choices. In turn, this means we must make the right choice and remove any idols from our life so that our focus is completely on serving Christ. When we do, others will take note and begin to ask how we are able to live so differently than they especially during difficult times of life.
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
We started the month with the reality that each of us are DIVINELY CALLED to share our faith. It is a commission to us straight from Christ Himself. One day, He is going to return. One day, we are all going to stand before Him. One day, He is going to ask what did we do with our stewardship of the gospel. One day, we are going to admit to Him our struggle with divided loyalties. Now, today, we are challenged to choose. Are we going to choose satisfying our flesh, conforming to the world’s desires, or simply allowing Satan to dominate our lives? Or will we choose God? Choosing God is life. Choosing anything else is death.
You say, “Pastor, I get it. I with you. I stand with Joshua and I choose to serve God. How do it do this practically?” That is a great question. The answer is in the verse that I just read.
Start this morning by sanctifying the Lord God in your heart. The word “sanctify” simply means to set apart. You must decide this morning that you are going to follow, worship, and obey Christ alone. There are to be no other idols in your life. Worship and obey Him alone. Set Him apart. Do it from the heart and say it with your mouth.
Unbeliever, commit to Christ as your person Savior and say to Him right now, “Lord Jesus, I willing admit that I am sinner and incapable of righteous living. I truly believe that You came to earth and died for my sin. Even now, as best as I know how, I invite you into my life to save me and change me spiritually. I believe in your death, burial and resurrection as salvation for my soul. I choose you and none other. Amen.”
Believer, recommit to Christ. You may have wandered away from Him and chased some false idols. Such is life and it happens to all of us. The great tragedy is when refuse to admit that it happens and repent. That is what I am asking of you this morning. Repent of the idols and return to God. Say to Christ this morning, “Lord, forgive me. Forgive me for (fill-in-the-blank) and the idol that it has become to me. I recommit to worshipping, following, and obeying only you from this point forward. Help, Lord, to do just that. Help me to keep my focus on you. I choose you.”
So where do we go from here? Whether you’re making this choice for the first time or returning after a season of wandering, today is the day to respond. Let’s make this personal—let’s make it purposeful.
APPLICATION SLIDE
Conclusion
Conclusion
Church family, today we’ve stood at the crossroads of allegiance. We’ve seen how Scripture calls us to choose whom we serve, reject divided loyalties, and boldly give a reason for our hope. This isn’t just theology—it’s a summons to live with purpose.
So here’s the final application: Sanctify Christ in your heart. Let your life declare, “I have decided to follow Jesus.” Not just in song, but in sacrifice. Not just in belief, but in behavior. Let your home, your habits, and your relationships reflect undivided devotion.
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Now, let the climax rise in your soul: This is your moment. Heaven is watching. Your family is watching. Your future is waiting. Will you choose comfort—or Christ? Will you serve mammon—or the Master? Will you live for now—or for eternity?
And here’s the final word—one that echoes beyond this room:
DON’T JUST BELIEVE IT - COMMIT! DON’T JUST SPEAK - LIVE! DON’T JUST WALK ALONE - SHARE YOUR FAITH!
ALTAR CALL
ALTAR CALL
Church family, we’ve heard the Word. We’ve felt the Spirit. Now it’s time to respond.
If today you’ve recognized divided loyalties in your heart—if comfort, career, control, or any idol has taken the place of Christ—this is your moment to return. The altar is open. Come forward in repentance. Come forward in recommitment. Say with your life, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
If you’ve never made the choice to follow Jesus, today is the day of salvation. Don’t wait for another Sunday. Don’t wait for a quieter moment. Come now. Choose life. Choose hope. Choose Jesus.
And if you’re standing in agreement—ready to live with purpose and share your faith together—come forward as a declaration. Let your step be your statement. Let your voice be your vow.
As we sing “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus,” let it be more than melody—let it be your movement. No turning back. No turning back.
