The Pastor's Heart for the Church is to Serve the LORD.

Opening:

Good morning again Connection Church. I am so glad you have come together to worship God. I talk every week that it is important for us to gather. I think it can become easily wrote for me to talk about this. It is expected for me to speak about gathering. It is almost like white noise. Of course the pastor talks about the importance of being in church. But I hope this is not heard in that light. The reason I say it is important to gather for worship is because it is. It is important. Why is it important? Because we claim to be the people of God. We claim to be Christians. That word literally means little Jesus’. If we are the people of Christ, it’s probably pretty important for us to gather. So please hear my heart when I say that I am very glad you are here to worship Jesus on the Lord’s day.

Introduction of the New Series:

This morning we are doing something different. If you are newer here, the typical way I handle preaching is by working verse by verse through a book of the Bible. Since our start as a church, we have been working through the gospel of Matthew. The only breaks we have taken are for special occasions like Christmas and Easter or the time my ear exploded and Thomas was gracious and filled in. There are several reasons I preach this way. I believe it is the best way to preach the full council of God. If we preach verse by verse, we will eventually hit every topic, and we will cover them in the way Scripture talks about them. We have seen this. We covered what the Bible talks about with tax laws because Matthew addresses it. It also keeps things in context. It is so much harder to twist things when the whole congregation has been walked through the context of each passage.

Yet another reason is that I am a young pastor. This is my first church I have pastor-ed. Beyond this, it is not just a church, it is a church plant. This church is as young as I am as a pastor. I don’t have it all figured out. So I preach verse by verse to be held accountable to the Word of God. It is my heart that you will hear the word of God over my own words. I am more concerned with the fact that you hear what God has said, not just my thoughts.

With that said, there are times where we must step away from how we normally do things. There are times where we must address something specific. We must not be so married to a particular style that we neglect things that must be done and said. So because of this, we are going to take a short break from Matthew to cover a few specific topics. Once we finish this short break, we will continue on in Matthew. When we finish Matthew, we will move on to another book of the Bible. But I think it is important for me to cover a specific topic.

What topic is that? I want to express my heart for the church. I am a young pastor. This is a young church. As the shepherd of this young congregation, I want to express a few thoughts on my deepest heartfelt desires for this congregation. We are going to cover several passages over the coming weeks that express my heart for you. As your pastor, what is my heart? Well, this series is the pastor’s heart for the church.

Introduction of the Text:

This morning we will be in Joshua 24:1-28. If you do not have a Bible, we have Bibles on the table by the door. Joshua is very fascinating book of the Bible. We will be in the last chapter of Joshua. Joshua recounts the life of its titular character, Joshua and his leadership of the children of Israel. Joshua lead the children of Israel after Moses died. Moses handed down leadership to Joshua. Joshua lead the children of Israel in the wilderness and eventually to take the promise land. Joshua is one the epitomes of a man. He is warrior ruler. He was a spy. He was charged by God to be strong and courageous repeatedly, one of the greatest descriptions of manhood. Joshua is well worth studying.

In the account of the book of Joshua, he leads the Israelites to the promise land. They conquer the land and depose the existing peoples there. They take the land that God had given them. Joshua leads them into righteousness. He rules well and divides the land according the tribes. He gives each of the tribes of Israel their inheritance. He is a righteous man who fears God and has lead well. As we approach the last chapter, we see in it, the final address of Joshua to Israel. It is a long address, but I encourage you to pay close attention. This is not included in Scripture for no reason. It is there for a purpose. Beyond this, it is the Word of God. By being the Word of God, it is worth paying attention to.

Reading of the Text:

With this in mind, I would ask the congregation to stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Joshua 24:1-28 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac. 4 And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and 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 And when they cried to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness a long time. 8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. 9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. 11 And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. 12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’

14 “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond 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.”

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods, 17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18 And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”

19 But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” 28 So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

The Word of God, let’s pray.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for who you are. We are so rarely in awe of you. We so rarely consider all you have saved us from. You have saved us from our sin. You have adopted us into your kingdom. We are now saved. We are now your people. We are in the covenant of grace with you. Through your intervention, we are no longer in our sins. Help us to live faithfully to you. If we claim to be your people, help us to live righteously. May we put away our idols. May we abandon our false gods and worship you alone.

Lord, I pray for this congregation. May this church grow in righteousness. May the people draw closer to you. May they swear to you only. May they pledge their lives to you. May they be your people and may you be their God. In a world of faithlessness, may they be faithful to you. May they put away anything that they bow to and may they only bow to you. God, this is my heart for them. May they hear my broken heart for them. May they hear the love that you have for them. May they hear the love that you have given me for them. Please help me to express the truth and my heart for them. Help me to be faithful and true. Keep my lips from lies. Keep my heart from pride. And help me to express the heart you have given me for this church.

We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Transition:

This is a unique text. It opens with a grand historical narrative. Joshua gathers all the people. All the leaders from all the tribes and he gives a final address. It says they presented themselves before God. God speaks to the people through His prophet Joshua. And Joshua gives a history of God’s faithfulness.

Joshua Gives a History of God’s Faithfulness.

Explanation:

Joshua speaks for God. He opens by saying, “Thus says the LORD.” This means that this is a direct address from God. This is why all the pronouns used are “I”. “I took Abraham.” And also notice that the word “LORD” is in all caps. This means it is the divine name of God. This is the name of God that was given to Moses. The name of God, I am that I am. The name of the Lord, given to His people. The name of God being Yahweh. It is spelled YHWH. The people of Israel knew God’s name. It was an intimacy as well as a responsibility. They were not to use it in vain on pain of death. There is much history there I don’t have time to get into, but it is important to notice that this is not just an arbitrary “lord.” No, the one speaking to them is God. The one and the same God who did all these things. This is YHWH, the one true God. The maker of heaven and earth.

And God walks them through redemptive history. He is God, He is the one who brought Abraham out from beyond the Euphrates. He called Abraham away from the worship of false gods. He called Abraham to follow Him, the one true God. He chose Abraham. He elected Him to the be the father of many. God led Abraham through all the land of Canaan, where Israel now was. He made Abraham’s offspring many. And notice what God did for Abraham. He gave Abraham Issac. He gave Issac Jacob and Esau. Notice the word “give.” God gave them the children of promise. Issac was the gift of God. Issac was given from God to Abraham in his old age. The covenant promise was a gift and the fulfilment of that promise was also a gift.

God continues and speaks of Jacob and his children, the twelve, going to Egypt. God then raised up Moses and Aaron. God plagues Egypt and brought Israel down to the Red Sea. The Egyptians pursued them to kill them, but Israel cried out to God. They cried out to YHWH, their God. God put darkness between them and the Egyptian army. He parted the Red Sea. He led Israel across and crushed Pharaoh and his army under the waves. Israel then lived in the wilderness a long time. But God was faithful. He brought them out of the wilderness. The children of Israel fought the Amorites, but God brought victory. God destroyed them. He led them into possession of the land. Then Balak and all Moab rose against them. The pagan Balaam was called to curse Israel but God caused him to speak blessing over Israel. God delivered all Israel.

God led Israel over the Jordan to Jericho where God delivered Jericho into their hands. The Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites all warred against Israel. But God fought for them. He even raised up hornets to drive the people out before Israel. It was not by the bow or the sword. It was not the might of the people that won the day. It was the faithfulness of God. God gave them cities they did not build and fruit they did not plant. God did this. It was the hand of God that saved Israel again and again. It was the hand of God that won. God was faithful to them from the outset. He brought them into the land that they were in.

Argumentation:

It is so easy for us to skip past passages like this one. These first fourteen verses are vital. They are so important. If we are not careful, we read these and think, “Okay, so God gave them land. What’s the big deal? How does that affect me?” It is a big deal! It does affect us. This is the story of redemption. It is speaking to the faithfulness of God. Joshua is giving them a very brief account of the faithfulness of God to them in their history.

And notice who is doing all the work. God is claiming every gift, every victory, every win as His own. He did this. This was all His doing. God won. God was victorious. The Israelites are simply along for the ride and to be obedient. God is showing His hand in fulfilling every promise He made to them. He promised them the land. Hence why it is called “the promise land.” And God is showing them how He fulfilled His promise. Not once was God unfaithful to them. They were repeatedly unfaithful to Him, but He was faithful to them.

Passages like this matter because they show the faithfulness of God to His people. How much rests on God’s faithfulness? Everything rests on this! What if God just decided that He no longer wanted to save anyone? What if God just decided to break His covenant with us. “He would never do that!” you say. But how do you know that? Because the Bible teaches us that He never changes. The immutability of God is one of the most comforting things about Him. Hebrews 13:8 “8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” James 1:17 “17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” In Scripture is the record of God always being faithful. These passages are direct records of God’s faithfulness. And we should remind ourselves of the faithfulness of God.

I think it would be good if once in a while we did what Joshua did here. It would be wise of us to recount the story of grace. We should recount the story of salvation. We should remind ourselves and each other of what God has done. God is faithful.

Transition:

And God was faithful to Israel. After this reminder of God’s faithfulness and power, Joshua calls the Israelites to choose whom they will serve.

Joshua Calls The Israelites to Choose Whom They Will Serve.

Explanation:

Joshua 24:14-15 “14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond 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.”

These are powerful words. Joshua starts,“Now therefore” Therefore, because of what I just said, because of the faithfulness of YHWH, “fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.” This seems like a pretty straight forward thing. God has been perfectly faithful to you. So serve Him! How do you do this?

“Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.” Put away the false gods. Remove the idols from among you. This also makes sense. Stop bowing down and offering service to idols and serve the one true God who has been perfectly faithful to you. There is no bizarre nature to this command. It is perfectly in line with what should happen. Why would anyone want to serve a false god when the one true God has been so faithful to them? This is the question, isn’t it? Why would anyone want to serve a false god when the one true God has been so faithful to them? We will come back to that. But that leads us into the bizarre nature of the rest of Joshua’s address.

“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.” Who in their right mind would abandon God when He has been so faithful? Who would choose false, fake gods who can do nothing over the one true and living God? That seems nonsensical. And yet, Joshua speaking for God gives them a chance to abandon all and follow their own desires. If they want false gods, they can abandon YHWH and follow them. They can abandon the one true God and pursue false gods. They can serve their old gods that YHWH had saved them out of. They can serve the gods of the land That YHWH had just defeated. Or they can serve the one True God.

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua concludes this section by saying that he and all his house will be faithful. Even if all Israel leaves, he will be faithful. In essence, Joshua is saying that if the covenant must be remade between his house and God alone, so be it. Though all abandon, he and his house will be faithful. There is that covenantal language. As for me and my house. As for me and my children, we will serve God. We will uphold the covenant. We will serve God. Go, leave, and yet we will be faithful. Stay and be faithless, we will be faithful.

Transition:

Then comes very strange conversation. The Israelites and Joshua Dialogue.

The Israelites and Joshua Dialogue.

Explanation:

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods, 17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18 And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”

The Israelites say that they will be faithful to God. They will not follow false gods. They will serve YHWH alone. He will be their God and they will be His people. They swear allegiance. One would expect this to be the end. Joshua has recounted the history of redemption. He told them of the faithfulness of God. He challenged them to be faithful and they accept. But this is not the end. Joshua responds in such a strange way.

19 But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.”

Joshua tells the people that they cannot serve YHWH. This is a strange tactic. This is a poor evangelistic tactic. Imagine having an entire nation swear allegiance to God and then telling them that they cannot do what they have just sworn to. It seems as though Joshua is attempting to deter the people from following God. But we must remember that God is speaking through Joshua and ultimately what he says is true and right. Joshua says they cannot serve God, why? Because He is holy and jealous.

God is perfectly holy. This is something we miss. To paraphrase R.C. Sproul, “The chief problem in the church is that we have no idea who God is.” We do not know what it means that God is holy. He is completely other than us. He is holy. We are as Israel. We cannot serve a holy God. They could not serve a holy God. Beyond this, God is jealous. God will not allow any worship of any other. They are swearing to be completely devoted to a holy God. God is jealous. He will not allow any other gods. And Joshua tells them this. When they abandon God and serve foreign gods, He will turn and do them harm. He will punish them. The one who had done so much good for them will turn and consume them. This is a terrifying thing.

The conversation continues. 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”

The people say they will serve only the LORD. They will be faithful to Him. Despite Joshua’s warning, they commit to serve God. So Joshua tells them that they are witnesses against themselves. In other words, when they eventually abandon God and serve other gods, their witness here is against themselves. They will be breaking their oath to God.

Transition:

What this is, and what happens next is the renewing of the covenant.

The Renewing of the Covenant.

Explanation:

The covenant between God and Abraham was made long before this. Moses renewed this covenant with the people on several occasions. Joshua also has done this before. What this means is that the people commit to God once again. They swear to Him alone. They will serve Him alone. They are saying yes and amen to the covenant God made with them as His people.

23 He (Joshua) said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” 28 So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

Joshua tells the people to put away their false gods. Be rid of the false gods they serve and serve with all their heart the one true God, YHWH. Serve the one who is God. This rings of Elijah's dealings with the people before confronting the prophets of Baal. 1 Kings 18:21 “21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.” Put away your false gods and follow God.

The people tell Joshua that they will follow God. So Joshua renews the covenant and writes the record that we just read. He binds them to this word. He then erects a stone to be the witness. This may seem odd to us, but the stone would last generations. It was a monument to this covenant promise. The people had sworn to serve God and when they abandon their oath, that stone will be standing as a condemnation against them. They agree again and Joshua sends them away, then he dies.

Transition:

This seems like such a melancholy way to end an account. Serve God, even though you can’t. Put away idols and if you don’t, the stone present for the swearing will bear witness against you to God. Now leave. So how on earth does this communicate my heart for this church? Let me explain my heart for the church.

My Heart For The Church.

My heart for the church is that it would be faithful to God. My heart is that this church would be faithful to God. We have such a bizarre view of idolatry. We do. We don’t view idolatry as a big deal. The amount of people who casually admit to idolatry is staggering to me. These are Christians I’m talking about. I cannot honestly tell you how many times I have heard professing Christians say “We all have idolatrous hearts.” This is true, but it is said with no remorse. It is stated as just a matter of fact. I am guilty of this. “We all have idols.” Imagine what that scene would look like in Israel. Imagine if someone had spoken to Joshua and said, “look, Josh, we all have idols. I’ve got three back in tent. What matters is that I am slowly growing closer to the one true God. One day, I won’t bow down to one of my idols. Eventually I’ll be close enough to God to be rid of all of them. It’s no big deal.” How might Joshua have reacted?

I can tell you exactly how. They would have stoned that man and the entire family just like they did with Achan. Idolatry is serious and yet we see it as a small issue. That fake conversation is frighteningly similar to most conversations that happen within the church about discipleship. I kid you not, that is exactly how many conversations I have had with church leaders have gone. “Eventually their hearts will be bound to God.” In essence they are saying “Eventually they will be rid of their idols.” This is evil and wrong. Not to mention it is the death of the church. We are so slow to deal with Idols and we think it will only get better.

“Look, we only bow to Baal three days a week.” Pretty soon, that becomes, “Look, its no big deal. We only bow to Baal four days a week. God still has Sunday morning, Monday night, and Wednesday night.” “Look it’s no big deal, I started bowing down to a new Idol on Wednesday night, but God still has Sunday and Monday.” “Look, I bow to different god’s each night, but God still has two out of seven days. That puts Him in the majority.” This is our justification. If we boil it down to what we are really saying, this is it. People try to twist it, but at least be honest. This is what is being said. And what do you want from me? Do you want me to tell you that it’s okay to bow down to idols just so long as you bow to YHWH more often than the other gods you worship? Well, I have bad news for you. It is never okay, not even once, to bow down to another God.

What is my heart for you? What is the pastor’s heart for the church? Choose this day whom you will serve.

Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve.

The amazing thing about this account is that there is no middle ground. There is NO middle ground. Do you want to serve the old gods you used to serve before God saved you? Then go and serve them. Abandon your faith and go to them. Do you want to serve the gods of the land we are in? Then serve them. Abandon your faith and serve them. Leave God and serve your other gods. But if you will serve the one true God, then do it. If you are going to serve God, then serve Him. If not, then don’t. Stop pretending to serve God. Do it, if you’re going to.

Remove the False gods.

Remove the False gods.

Remove the false gods from among you. I do not know what you were worshipping when God saved you, but whatever it was, remove it from among you. Be committed to the one true God.

Joshua talked about the gods Abraham was saved from but also about the gods of the Amorites. The gods of the Amorites were the gods of the land. We may say, “We have no gods in our land.” But I’m sure if we thought about it for just a moment, we would be flooded with false gods our land worships. We must remove these false gods from among us as well. It has been said that when a people cease to worship God they don’t worship nothing, they worship everything. I think it is painfully obvious that this is the state of our nation. This nation was established under the idea of worship to the one true God. In fact, one of the chief reasons we have a president rather than a king is because the founders felt they could not establish any king under Jesus. They claimed Jesus was the true king of our nation.

Those days have long past. One cannot imagine anyone in the current political establishment saying anything of that nature. So, we as a nation no longer acknowledge Christ as our King. So what do we worship here in the pagan nation we now live in? What are the modern day gods?

What are the Modern Day gods?

That is the question isn’t it? If we don’t see what they are, it is almost sure that we will inadvertently end up worshipping them. So let’s examine what is worshipped in the pagan place we live. And I warn you, this is not politically correct.

God was at one time acknowledged to be the highest power in this place, but that honor has been moved away from Him. God is no longer seen as almighty in our culture. So what is? What has filled that power vacuum? What is the chief authority in our land? I think that one is clear. The state. The government has attempted to dethrone God from His rightful place and take His seat of authority. That would be the chief false god. Rather than “Thus says the LORD.” We now have “Thus says the state” as the chief command. Is it moral? Is it in line with the principles God has laid out? “Doesn’t matter, just obey.” The state has attempted to become God. They have seized power that is not theirs and are attempting to lord it over all. Is that not the definition of tyranny?

What other gods are prominent? Under the tyranny of the new chief god in our pagan land there have been many lesser gods come up. The lesser god of safe-ism has reared it’s head. It is the false god that promises you will always be safe if you just bow down to it and the chief false god. But you cannot be truly safe. All will die. And true eternal safety can only be found in the one true God. The lesser god of entertainment has come in and promised that it will distract you from all the troubles if you just bow down to it. The lesser god of sexual immorality has for certain worked it’s ways up the ranks. It cannot even be questioned anymore without punishment. Speak against it and you will be taken to court.

There are many false gods in our land. And you may have noticed a pattern. These false gods have been fashioned from good materials. Government is good. God established it! But it has been fashioned into a raging monster. Being safe is good. But we are sacrificing our freedoms to the monster that has been formed from safety called Safe-ism. Sex is good. But it has become a false god, twisted and misused. Make no mistake, these things are false gods and false religions in our land. They are filled with their own orthodoxy, creeds, and sacraments. Some of them even demand blood sacrifice.

What is my heart for the church? Well, sadly the church as a whole has begun to bow down to these false gods. They have justified it by saying that these idols are fashioned out of good things. This is like justifying bowing to a baal because the tree is was fashioned from was a good tree. It is nonsense. God is punishing the church for it’s idolatry. So here is my heart for the church. Reject the false gods. Do not serve them. Do not bow down to them. Obey the one true God. Bow to Him only. Treat the trees these false gods were made from as trees, not idols. Follow God’s commands concerning government, safety, sex, and all other things. But do not bow to them as idols. This is my heart for this church. My heart is that this church will abandon all Idols and serve the LORD.

Give no one and no thing honor, service, or love that is reserved for God.

Serve the LORD.

May we be a church that truly dedicates itself to serving the LORD. Even if every other church begins to abandon the Lord. May we be faithful. Though we be hated, may we serve the Lord. Though all be against us, may we serve the Lord. Though our denomination fall away, may we be faithful. Though we be alone I pray that we would repeat what Joshua said over this church. As for me and this house, we will serve the LORD. As the pastor of this church, that is my cry for this church. When I go before God in tears, I beg that He would make this a faithful church. As I cry out to God, I beg that He would make us faithful.

But how shall we serve the Lord?

How Shall We Serve the Lord?

What does this look like? What does it look like to serve the Lord. It means obeying Him. The Israelites swore to obey God and then the very next account is the book of Judges. Judges is a record of their faithlessness to God. May we not be that way. We are part of a better covenant. We have a better High Priest. Christ came and died for us. He came and paid for every sin. Every time we sin and bow down to false gods has been paid for. We are washed clean through the blood of Christ. Every sin has been paid for. Every sin is washed white.

Does this mean that we are free to worship idols? By no means. We were not saved to live unrighteous lives. We were saved so live holy lives. We were saved to worship God. We have the Spirit within us to conform us. We should no longer bow to idols. We should ever more declare Christ is King. We should ever more be faithful to our great God who has reconciled us to Him.

Do you want to know why we should be faithful? Do you want to know why this church will not bow to idols?

Long ago, God almighty called Abraham out of idol worship. He chose him among all the people and promised to make a great nation out of his descendants. In him all the nations of the world will be blessed. God preserved His promise to Abraham. He raised up Issac and then Jacob whom He renamed Israel. Israel and his children went to Egypt but God remembered His promise to Abraham and brought them out to the promised land through Moses and Joshua. The people of Israel were faithless to God.

They would worship other gods. God would remove His hand from them and punish them. They would cry out to Him and He would forgive them and heal them. Then they would stray again. Eventually Israel abandoned God for an earthly king. But God in His sovereignty had ordained this. It was through His king that the messiah would come. Through the time of kings the cycle would remain. Israel would worship other gods and He would punish them. He would remove His hand and war against them. They would repent and God would heal them.

Eventually the wickedness and disobedience became so evil that God drove them out of the land and into captivity. He promised that they would be brought back when the time was right. He promised that later He would send His redeemer. God the Son would come. Israel was brought back to the land and waited for the Messiah. God was silent and they waited for the promise.

The promise was fulfilled. Jesus came. He came and perfectly kept the Law. He died in the place of our sins. He bore the sins and idolatry we committed on the cross. He paid our debt. His body was broken. His blood was shed. But death was not the end. He rose on the third day in victory. He charged His followers to go to the ends of the earth and announce His Kingship. He bodily ascended and He will come again in the same way.

God who has perfectly kept all His promises to us deserves full devotion. So abandon your idols. Reject your false gods and serve the LORD. If it is evil in your eyes to follow Christ, then go after your idols. As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord. As for this community, we will serve the Lord. We will bow to no one but Christ. Whenever we fail, we will repent and come back to Him. He is our God and we are His people.

This is the pastor’s heart for the church. Serve the LORD.

Amen. Let’s pray.

Prayer:

Communion:

One way we serve the Lord is by obeying Him. He commanded us to observe His death until He comes. If He is your Lord, then you are welcome to partake with us of communion. But if you are worshipping other gods, reject them. Turn from them before you come. Come to the Lord. In Him there is mercy and forgiveness for all sins. We all are sinners. But it is in the blood of Christ that we are saved. It is through His broken body and His shed blood we are forgiven.

Communion is an act of great comfort to the Christian. You may say, “I am an idolater, how can I partake?” If you are convicted of this, then I say to you, peace. Let your heart be stilled. Your sins are payed for through Christ’s death. Confess to Him your idolatry. He will forgive you. And you can remember through the body and blood that you are forgiven.

But a word of warning. If you are here and you know you are guilty of idolatry and you have no desire to repent, do not partake with us. Do not take the body and blood. If you are unwilling to repent, you are still in your sins. Repent and the table is open to you. Cry out to God and be forgiven.

Let us pray and confess our sins.

Matthew 26:26-28 “26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Doxology:

Closing Benediction:

Phil 4:20 “20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.”