We Too Will Serve the Lord
We Too Will Serve the Lord
Joshua 24:1-2; 14-18
24 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! 17 It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our fathers 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. 18 And 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.”
Introduction: How did you feel when you heard the words of our text? How did you react when you heard the people of Israel say, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other Gods” (v 16)? Or how did you feel at hearing Joshua’s confession of faith, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (v 15)? Or the words of Simon Peter in today’s Gospel, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn 6:68–69)? Did you say, “Amen! That’s my confession too! I will serve the Lord! Far be it from me to forsake the Lord! He is our God”?
Or did you say, “Oh yes, that’s what I believe all right. Now, if I could only live and act out that faith¼I wish I could be as strong as God’s people of old—Joshua, Peter, Paul, and all the other heroes of faith”?
Did you experience despair, or envy, or awe?
We really would like to be able to say what those people said, wouldn’t we? But so often we feel as though we can’t. And even if we do become bold enough to make such a confession of faith, we wonder whether we will be able to follow through. You see, we often don’t believe that we, personally, can make such a confession, or live up to it.
We are right when we feel that way! By ourselves, on our own, we can’t say, “Far be it from me to forsake the Lord!” For we are sinful and selfish and weak and stupid human beings, who all too easily go back on our promises. We become confused about God’s Word to us, and about the direction our lives should take.
When that happens, we become like the children of Israel who, a few years after Joshua’s death, forsook the true God and began to serve other gods. We fall and, like Peter, deny our Lord because we fear what others might think of us. Faced with the unknown or a hardship in our lives, we are unsure of our faith or of our ability to keep serving God faithfully.
On our own, by ourselves, we simply cannot make such a confession. No amount of human dedication, or commitment, or practice making decisions, will enable us to make this confession and make it last! But there is help. Let’s look at the story.
1) We cannot do it alone.
a) Joshua tried to warn the people about this in the verses which follow our text (vv 19–20).
19 Joshua 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. 20 If 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.”
b) But the people wouldn’t listen, and they set off to do it on their own.
i) The motivation was correct.
ii) But their own resolve and determination weren’t enough to keep them faithful.
iii) In the end, they failed, as their history shows (cf. Judges).
c) Peter too fell.
d) We too will fail if we try to do it on our own, relying on our own strength and willpower.
Transition: Is it hopeless then? Are we doomed to failure? No!
2) History shows that God continues to love his fallen people.
a) Throughout the OT God repeatedly raised up judges, prophets, and kings to bring the people back to himself.
b) God fulfilled his promise to send the Savior, who died and rose for us; his kingdom has been established, and will endure forever.
c) Just as Peter reached out to the Savior for help, and was forgiven and restored, even so we today are forgiven daily and restored.
3) The kingdom of God is visible among us in the church.
a) The church is the bride of Christ, who “gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:25).
b) We have been made holy “by the washing with water through the Word” in Baptism (Eph 5:26).
Transition: As mother and father nurture, support, and comfort their children so that they grow up to mature adulthood, even so Christ, through the church, nurtures, leads, and guides us so that we confess with Israel, “We too will serve the Lord.”
4) By ourselves we can’t do it, but the Spirit enables.
a) Joshua told the people, “You can choose God, because he has already chosen you.”
b) Jesus in today’s Gospel says it this way: “It is the Spirit that gives life” (Jn 6:63 RSV).
c) Toward the end of his ministry, Jesus said it again: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit” (Jn 15:16).
Transition: That’s the point of our lessons today: it is always God himself, working through his Spirit, who enables us to say, “We will serve the Lord; by his grace we will remain faithful to him.” Our emphasis to one another must ever be on his grace, his love, his mercy! None of us should boast as Israel and Peter did, claiming, “I will never fail.” It is Jesus, and Jesus alone, who suffered and died for us, who rose again, who gave us his Spirit, who made us members of his church, who moves and enables us to say, “We will serve the Lord our God.”
5) The call of our text is a call to remember the greatness of God’s love for us so that he can make our faith grow.
a) With this call is the call to make use of the gifts he has given us.
i) Use his Word daily.
ii) Come to church frequently, for we are his children, the visible signs of his love to one another. Participate in the church, worship with Christ and fellow believers, study at every opportunity.
b) We can faithfully serve God because we have been called and enabled by him. With Israel and Peter, we too affirm, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord¼You have the words of eternal life¼You are the Holy One of God.”
Conclusion: God does and will enable us to use and remain close to his Word, so that at his command and by his leading, we may always confess, “We too will serve the Lord.”