LIVING GODLY

Bible Text: Joshua 24:14-25

Subject: Choices

Title: Living Godly Means Making The Right Choices

INTRODUCTION

Biblical Orientation:

This is Joshua’s final final address to the people. He reminds them of what God has done to establish them as a nation. He tells them they have been blessed greatly. Then he gives a final exhortation and statement of faith

It all begins with this phrase, “Now therefore fear the LORD”

Sermon Orientation:

Verse 15 has some of the most famous words ever written outside of John 3:16; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Joshua teaches much about living godly and here he shows us that living godly means making the right choices

EXPOSITION/MAIN TEXT

I. LIVING GODLY MEANS MAKING THE CHOICE TO BE SINCERE V 14

A. The Meaning And Application Of The Word “Sincere”

1. Definition- what is complete, entirely in accord with truth and fact[1]

a. Perfection

ü Genesis 6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God

b. Complete

i. How much has to be missing for something not to be complete?

i. Will it make a difference? Depends…

ü 1 out of 10,000 cookies: no

ü 1 portion of holiness required to go to heaven: yes

2. Joshua is speaking of how God’s children can serve Him in perfection and completeness

a. Jesus served His Father in absolute perfection and completeness

b. John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do

c. The tasks God has given us individually, they are possible to achieve

i. Matthew 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible

ii. To sincerely serve the Lord, we must perfectly and completely give ourselves over to Him

B. Sincerity Is Shown In Truth

1. This has to do with that which is accurate

a. The word is properly translated “firmness”

b. To be firm means to be certain

c. Certainty in life comes from faith

2. The godly man or woman must be completely sincere in their life with God

a. Would you call your relationship with the Lord complete?

b. Would you say that you are so firm in your relationship with the Lord that nothing can even move your foundation?

3. Joshua says, if you are going to live godly; you are going to have to be sincere in your service

a. Some people cannot decide if they are really going to serve God

b. They go back and forth, they serve God one day and serve self the next

c. That is not a sincere relationship with God

d. One of the things you need to choose this day: is to quit playing around and sincerely live for the Lord

C. You Will Truly Know Your Sincerity By Your Purity

1. Joshua tells the people, “put away the gods which your fathers served”

a. Get the gods out of your life

b. No, they were not in gross idolatry; they only had what people call the “normal” things in their lives

i. They had not completely kept themselves away from the heathen and their ways

ii. Just like when Christians refuse to give up their worldly things and ways

c. How much corruption is corrupt? Any, when you compare yourself to God

2. Get the sins out of your life

a. Does a preacher have to preach on every sin there is before the Holy Spirit speaks to your heart?

b. It would be a shame

c. You know what sins are in your life

i. Go to war against those sins

ii. Battle to defeat them

3. Get sinful things out of your life

a. How many Christians refuse to get rid of the stuff they had as a worldling?

b. No God, no, I can hold on to that and still be a Christian; that will not make me unholy

c. If that will not make you unholy then why does God tell us Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon

4. Until you begin to sincerely serve God; you will not have the godly life you desire

II. LIVING GODLY MEANS MAKING THE CHOICE TO SERVE THE LORD V 15

A. The Meaning And Application Of The Word “Serve”

1. As you would think, it means to labor and to do work

a. Service has to do with one who is not just about being enslaved

b. Service is a result of worship

2. Think of how well this fits our context

a. Joshua is telling the Jews to serve God

b. He tells them to get the false gods of the world out of their lives

c. Getting falsehood, being sincere in truth and in purity is essential if you are going to worship God

3. To live godly, you will have to become a servant of the Lord and a worshipper of the God of heaven

B. It Is A Choice Of Serving Good Or Evil

1. Joshua tells the Israelites they have a choice

2. Choice by its very nature means to make a selection

a. You cannot have both and have made a choice

b. Failing to voice your selection is also a choice

3. Many fail to live godly because they will not make the choice to serve the Lord

a. They think that having some evil in their life will not hurt

b. They believe that they can wait until the end and then choose God

c. That is so short sighted

i. We get so mad at politicians who forget their promises and why we are in the messes we are in, in the first place

ii. Then why do we think, it does not matter if I am laying up treasures in heaven

iii. We promise God and promise God we will live holy, tithe, give to missions and serve Him; then we break promise after promise after promise

iv. That makes us no better than a politician

C. It Is A Choice To Serve The LORD

1. Joshua was much like you and me

a. Not perfect, but he was definitely sincere and pure

b. He came to a place in his life that promises were not enough

c. He decided to live godly, and that meant serving God no matter what

2. When you call on Christ to save you from your sin; you are making a choice

a. It is a choice of realizing you cannot save yourself

b. It is a choice that you are going to repent of sin

c. It is a choice that you will live in God’s ways and not your ways or worldly ways

3. There is no going back, the choice has been made

a. To live godly, you must continue to serve God

b. It is not possible to serve the world and the Lord

ü Matthew 6:24 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

III. LIVING GODLY MEANS MAKING THE CHOICE TO SURRENDER V 16-25

A. The Meaning And Application Of The Word “Surrender”

1. The word “surrender” means to yield power and control to another

a. The one to whom you surrender has demanded or by compulsion asked for you to acquiesce

b. Surrender happens when a person gives up all of their rights and claims to be in control

c. In order to be saved and go to heaven, you must surrender all you are

i. In the desert, Philip told the Ethiopian Eunuch that he must surrender himself completely to be saved

ii. Acts 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God

2. A committee of ministers in a certain city was discussing the possibility of having D. L. Moody to serve as the evangelist during a city-wide evangelistic campaign. Finally, one young minister who did not want to invite Moody stood up and said: “Why Moody? Does he have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit?” There was silence. Then an old, godly minister spoke up: “No, he does not have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit; but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on D. L. Moody” [2]

a. Surrender lets God have the monopoly in your life

b. Surrender says, not my will but thine be done

B. A Surrendering To Your Choice

1. Read verse 23

a. There is no “if” in that sentence

b. Surrender has no if

c. To be surrendered to your choice, you must give up

2. If you desire to live godly, you must give up

a. Give up the idea that you know what is best for your life, realizing God knows what is best for you

b. Give up the idea of living your life as you wish and live as God wishes

c. Wake each day and live every moment as your Master wishes

2. Surrendering is part of Paul’s “I die daily”

a. Quit resisting the work of the Holy Spirit

b. There is no surrender as long as you say within your heart; “God, do you know what that would mean to my life?”

3. When we fail to surrender we are playing games

a. God gave His holy Son and we are playing games at the foot of the cross

b. When it comes to living godly, surrender is the only option

LESSONS IN LIVING GODLY

HAVE YOU BEEN MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES?

If You Want A Godly Life, Get Sincere

Be truthful and firm in your convictions of God’s Word

Be pure and get sin and sinful things out of your life

If You Want A Godly Life Make The Choice To Serve The Lord

Quit whining about what others are or are not doing and live for God

Serve- get in the game

Make the choice between good and evil, stick with that choice

If You Want A Godly Life Surrender

Yield all that you have and desire to God

Let the Holy Spirit have a monopoly on your life

Do not turn back from your choice to get saved and live for the Lord

CONCLUSION

Therefore, there are no “ifs” in living godly. Choose you this day and choose right

If you have any doubt, ask for help, but you do not want to choose wrong

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[1]Brown, F., Driver, S. R., & Briggs, C. A. (2000). Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Strong's, TWOT, and GK references Copyright 2000 by Logos Research Systems, Inc. (electronic ed.) (1071). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems

[2]Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations: A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers. Garland TX: Bible Communications.