Standing Between the Times

Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father, We come before You this morning with grateful hearts. You are the God who has gone before us, the God who has sustained us, and the God who has been faithful in every season. As we stand between the times—looking back on Your mercy and looking ahead to Your will—we ask that You would speak to us through Your Word.

Search our hearts, Lord. Clear our minds of distraction. Turn our eyes from lesser things and fix them upon You. Give us ears to hear, hearts to obey, and wills ready to choose You alone. May Your Spirit guide us into truth, convict us where we have wandered, and draw us closer to Christ.

We ask all of this in the name of Jesus, our Savior and our Lord. Amen.

Text: Joshua 24:14–15 Big Idea: Every generation must choose whom they will serve.

Introduction: Living at the Crossroads of Time

Church, there are moments in history when God’s people stand at a crossroads. One foot is planted in yesterday, the other reaching toward tomorrow. The last Sunday of December is one of those moments. We look back at what God has done, we look honestly at where we are, and we look ahead to what lies before us.

Joshua and the children of Israel were standing between the times. Moses was gone. The wilderness was behind them. The Promised Land lay before them. And Joshua gathers the people at Shechem—not to reminisce, but to decide.

This is not a suggestion. It is a summons.

“Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:15).

Every generation must make that choice for itself.

Joshua 24:1–13 NKJV

1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 Also I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out. 6 ‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 So they cried out to the Lord; and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, and covered them. And your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time. 8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you. 9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 But I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand. 11 Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the men of Jericho fought against you—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand. 12 I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow. 13 I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

vs. 1-13 we see a remembrance of God’s works...

I. A Remembrance of God’s Works (Joshua 24:1–13)

Before Joshua ever calls the people to choose, he reminds them of something vital: what God has already done.

Joshua recounts their history—how God called Abraham out of idolatry, how He multiplied his descendants, how He delivered Israel from Egypt, parted the Red Sea, sustained them in the wilderness, defeated their enemies, and gave them land they did not earn.

Notice this truth: God never asks for commitment without first reminding us of His grace.

Israel’s story was not a record of their faithfulness—it was a testimony of God’s faithfulness.

God chose them when they were nothing.

God saved them when they were helpless.

God sustained them when they were ungrateful.

God secured for them what they could never obtain on their own.

Joshua is essentially saying, “Before you decide what you will do with God, remember what God has done for you.”

Church, pause for a moment between the times and look back.

God has been faithful this past year.

God has provided when resources were thin.

God has sustained when strength was low.

God has saved souls and steadied hearts.

“We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Any call to obedience that is not rooted in grace becomes legalism. But when we remember God’s works, obedience becomes worship.

Transition: But remembering God’s works always leads to a necessary confrontation—what competes with God in our hearts?

II. A Rejection of False Gods (Joshua 24:14)

Joshua now moves from remembrance to repentance.

Joshua 24:14 NKJV

14 “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!

Think about this. These were God’s covenant people. They had seen miracles. They had crossed the Jordan. They had conquered Jericho. And yet Joshua says there are still false gods among them.

Here’s the sobering reality: spiritual proximity does not guarantee spiritual purity.

False gods had followed them from Egypt and lingered in Canaan. Some were inherited. Some were absorbed from the culture. Some were simply tolerated.

False gods don’t always look like statues. Sometimes they look like:

Comfort

Control

Security

Tradition

Success

Self

Anything that competes with God for ultimate allegiance is an idol.

Joshua says, “Put them away.” Not manage them. Not rename them. Not balance them. Remove them.

Jesus would later say it this way:

“No man can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24).

Church, standing between the times requires honest inventory. What has crept into our homes? What has captured our attention? What has subtly replaced devotion with distraction?

Ridgemont, if we want God’s blessing in the future, we must confront divided loyalties in the present.

Transition: But Joshua doesn’t stop with rejection. He presses toward a decisive declaration.

III. A Resolve for the Future (Joshua 24:15)

Joshua now draws a line in the sand.

Joshua 24:15 NKJV

15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of 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.”

Joshua makes it clear: neutrality is not an option.

You will serve something. You will give your life to someone. The only real question is whom.

Joshua speaks first personally: “As for me…” Then he speaks pastorally: “…and my house.”

This is spiritual leadership. He does not wait for consensus. He does not blame the culture. He does not delegate responsibility.

Joshua stands between the times and says, “The future of my house is settled. We will serve the LORD.”

This resolve is:

Personal — not inherited faith

Public — not private conviction

Present — “this day,” not someday

Every revival in Scripture begins when God’s people stop drifting and start deciding.

Fathers, this is a call to lead your homes. Mothers, this is a call to shape the spiritual climate of your families. Church, this is a call to unified obedience.

“If the LORD be God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21).

IV. A Response at the Table (Preparing Our Hearts)

Church, before Joshua ever dismissed the people, he called them to covenant renewal. Words alone were not enough—there had to be a response.

Today, as we stand between the times, we are about to respond not only with words, but at the Lord’s Table.

The Lord’s Supper is not an add-on to our worship; it is a visible sermon. It calls us to remember, to reject, and to resolve.

Remembering His Works

When we take the bread and the cup, we are doing exactly what Joshua did—we are reviewing the mighty works of God.

“This do in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).

We remember that our salvation was not earned by our faithfulness, but purchased by Christ’s sacrifice. His body was broken. His blood was shed. We stand here today because Jesus stood in our place.

Rejecting False Gods

Paul warns us that the Lord’s Supper is a sacred moment of examination.

“Let a man examine himself…” (1 Corinthians 11:28).

At the Table, we cannot pretend. Idols must be confessed. Divided loyalties must be surrendered. We cannot cling to false gods with one hand while reaching for the cup with the other.

This is a holy moment to put away what competes with Christ.

Resolving for the Future

The Lord’s Supper is also a declaration.

When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord—over our lives, our homes, and our church.

It is our way of saying, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD—because the LORD first served us at the cross.”

Conclusion: Choosing at the Crossroads

Church, we are standing between the times.

Behind us are mercies remembered. Before us are decisions to be made.

Some need to choose salvation—for the first time, to stop trusting religion and start trusting Christ.

Some need to choose repentance—to put away idols that have quietly taken root.

Some need to choose leadership—to stand and say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

In just a moment, we will take communion. This is not a ritual for the perfect, but a refuge for the redeemed.

If you are a believer walking in repentance and faith, this Table is open to you. If you are not yet saved, this moment is an invitation—not to the elements, but to Christ Himself.

The God who was faithful yesterday is the God who will walk with us tomorrow.

The question is not whether God will be faithful.

The question is—will we be faithful to Him?

“Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”

And may it be said of Ridgemont Baptist Church, as we come to this Table and as we step into the days ahead: We will serve the LORD.

Closing Prayer (Leading into the Lord’s Supper)

Gracious Father, We thank You for Your Word, which has reminded us of Your faithfulness and called us to a clear and holy choice. As we come now to the Lord’s Table, we do so humbly and reverently, remembering the body of Christ given for us and the blood of Christ shed for our sins.

Examine our hearts, O God. Where there is sin, bring repentance. Where there is division, bring unity. Where there are idols, give us grace to put them away. Renew our devotion to You and strengthen our resolve to serve You in our homes, in this your church, and in our daily lives.

May this time at the Table be a moment of remembrance, repentance, and renewed commitment. And may it be said of us, as individuals and as a church, that we will serve the Lord.

We pray this in the precious name of Jesus Christ. Amen.