"Your Choice." (Est Tu Ellecion.) (Na digidi e nomu.)

I. Text

The Covenant at Shechem

24 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.’

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! 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.”

II. Scripture Setting.

As we read about about this meeting of the elders of the tribes of Isreal, perhaps you are wondering: “What is really going on here?”

“What is happening in this text and what does it have to do with me on a Sunday morning, far away and thousands of years later?”

A lot Actually! Let me show you:

When we think about Moses and those millions of people travelling through the desert, we think of a Sea parted by almighty God!

There were pillars of fire!

Manna, for the people!

We remember Mt. Siani and the law, a Tabernacle, to house the Shekinah glory of God.

And then, eventully, we follow God’s people through the years to the very moment that God brings them into the Promised land.

Now this part is better than any blockbuster!

As you read, you see one miracle after another until the people have been established in a large place.

A place of opportunity and growth, promised them by God!

And so we arrive at the the big pow wow, the big meeting that makes up our text this morning.

And the heading in my NKJV, reads: “The Covenant at Schechem.”

Perhaps the word “Covenant” is not very commonly used today, but the words “Treaty” and “Contract “ is, and they basically mean the same thing.

So we are looking at what amounts to a contract, a treaty, or official committment between God and his people.

I really do appreciate that our God communicates so well!

When He makes a covenant with His people, He makes the relationship official!

In this, he legally obligates himeslf to the people, and removes any guess work!

Through the covenants, God lets the people know what to expect and how to live!

I really appreciat that!

Years ago, when I was required through my job to hire and fire and do all of the human resource aspects of my job, I would always start a new employee with this statement:

“You should know that as your manager, I do not intend to manage you.”

They’d look at me a little strange and then I would go on to explain:

“People don’t want to be managed!”

“I mean, we manage inventories and budgets and resources, but you are more than that, you are a person! I respect that!”

And so, I will not manage you. We will simply manage the agreement between you and this company and myself as its representative.

“So let’s sit down and set the agreeement. Here is what you can expect from me, and here is what I expect from you.”

So it was, in the covenants, that God legally obligated himself to the people!

And wise leaders would remind the people of this and call them together at times, assembling all of the people, to affirm their committemnt once more.

This was the purpose of the assembly that day!

When you read a document, like a lease or a contract, you notice there are words that are considered legal language.

So it is in our text.

A covenant, a contract if you will, a Committemnt reaffirmed at a specific place, called Schecem.

This was the place where Jacob had buried the idols brought by his family from Haran a long time ago.

A decision had been made in that long ago: “We will serve one God, and beside Him, there is not other.”

And now, walking into the promises of God so many years later, What better place to re affirm a committment and covenant with the One true God!

Folks, this is a good place to bury idols!

Uh huh, I said it: Bury the little gods...

The things that we make gods by virtue of our worship, bury those things!

This assembly, this moment of faith today, is a good place to bury your idols!!!

Its simple! Take those things your flesh wants to worship, and put them on the altar!

Let God consume them in fire and flame!

Today is your day of comittment to worship Jesus Christ alone!

So, Vs 1-14 is a powerful summary of God’s protection and provision, all the things that He did, living up to His end of the bargain, and giving his very best to the relationship!

This is Legal language, the language of a treaty

Then we arrive at Vs. 14 and 15 which are built upon that!

Kind of like saying: “Based on all these thing that God has done for us, knowing that He has done his part, now, let us talk about our part of the deal!”

Our part of the relationship!

This is the context when Joshua says:

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! 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.”

III. Application

(Including Scripture Support.)

And so today, as we speak of choice, and the power of your choice , you need to know, that just as in our text, there are two ways that you can go:

1. TWO WAYS

The right way and the wrong way

Just like those people long ago, you have a choice!

You can go the wrong way, make no mistake about it!

And if you do choose the wrong way, I’ve learned that you will have company!

You won’t be alone!

In fact, there will almost always be more people doing the wrong thing than those who choose to do the right thing~

“Broad is the way the leadeth to desctruction, and many there be which go in thereat.)

And if you choose to walk after the flesh and those carnal appetites of sin, no angel will stop you!

You do realize:

No flaming, angelic sword, will knock the needle or the spoon or the joint from your hand!

God won’t keep you from the liquor aisle, or the carton store, “Cheap smokes, buy in bulk.”

Let me remind you that God gave Adam and Eve access to the tree!

There was no moat surrounding the tree!

No vicious beast or angel of fire!

And the same God who gave them choice in the Garden, gives you choice at your job, at your friend’s house or in the lonely motel room, late at night.

There is a wrong choice, and if you insist, with tears in HIs eyes, God will allow you to choose sin and the wages thereof!

But friend, if you’ll just stop for a moment, and remember the covenant!

¡Recuerda el pacto!

Nanuma na veiyalayalati!

Remember what God has done for you!

When I was a wretch and undone, Jesus loved me!

He loved you! And brought you out of the miry clay!

Dont forget friend!

Remember the goodness of God! Remember!

When the time comes to make a choice, choose the God of your covenant!

Choose Jesus!

Listen to me please, you don’t have to live a life of sorry and loss!

You don’t have to live a life of regret and shame!

And you do not need to go to Hell!

If you’ll allow God to help you, make a choice to put Jesus frist, I promise, you won’t regret it!

Put Jesus first, and you will never be sorry!

I told you that there are two ways that you can go!

And nobody can chooose for you!

The choice is yours.

Two ways that you can go!

And not only are there two ways, but there are two deaths.

2. TWO DEATHS

The death of the saints and the death of the sinners.

It is said that time and tides wait for no man, and surely this is true!

The other day, I told Sis Thea: “I wish there were more hours in my day!”

But as much as I try, time is a thing I cannot control!

People try to preserve their youth with various costly techniques.

It’s a big industry! The money flows freely, trying to stop time and yet it never works.

Yes, I might be able to smash the downstairs clock with a golden hammer and stand back and say “my best efforts and my wealth have stopped time.”

But really, I’d just be fooling myself!

The Scruiptures tell us that it is appointed unto man, once to die, and after that the judgment.

Each of us have an appointment with death one day!

And you could spend your time and treasure trying to hold it off, or you could take the time that we have, make it good, and invest yourself into eternity!

You see, if you choose the wrong way, the way of man and not the way of God, you will forever be sorry!

The wrong life leads you to the wrong death!

Death outside of the covenant!

If you have not repented of your sins, If you have not been born again, when you die, you will not go to heavenly light!

You will not go to that place of joy and peace!

You will not escape the tribulation!

(Tell story of Dad’s vision, his BIL’s suicide, “AG Here, vergewe my.”

The story does not have to end that way!

Your story does not have to end that way!

There are two deaths!

One is the death of the unrightesous.

The other is the death of the righteous!

What’s the difference ?

Only Jesus! Jesus and the choices that you make!

If you will simply obey the Gospel in faith, identify with Him in His death, burial and resurrection, This God of heaven, counts you righteous!

And when you die, it is a release from this earthen vessel!

Call it an upgrade!

Say “One day, I’ll be trading in this model for another! And there is no pain in the new one! No sorrow! No tears!

Choose the right path! Square your shoulders and tell all the devils of hell:

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!”

“I’ve made a covenant with Almighty God, and He’s got my back!”

Jesus Christ will help you!

He will give you power to overcome!

When the Holy Spirit comes into your life, that Spirit inside of you, is very much God!

You find life so much better!

God helps you to make the right choices!

I finally got some life insurance last year, JIC, because I dearly love my family. If something were to happen to me, I want them to be safe.

And yet, that’s not where I put my trust! No way!

Let me tell you where I put my faith and rest my hope:

Ps 121

1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

3. TWO JUDGMENTS

One for Christians, one for sinners.

Ok! So we agree: The choice is yours!

Two paths.

Two deaths

Now let me speak of two judgements:

If you are born again, living for Jesus when he raptures the church, the first place you will go in your new glorified body, is judgement of works,

And there, God is going to account for the things you have done!

This is not a judgement of salvation, you are already saved. But it is a judgement of works!

Where God rewards you according to your works!

Those right and noble things that nobody else saw you do?

When you were willing to be humble and just do the right thing?

God saw that!

He sees it all! And He knows who He can trust!

This judgement is where your role in the Millenium is decided!

But friend, if you do not choose the right path, your judgement takes place at the great white throne!

It’s right here in Rev CH 20

The Great White Throne Judgment

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

See you are going to burn one way or another!

Either you let the fire of God burn you clean and right in this life, or that fire will consume you in the next!

Burn now or burn later, the choice is yours!

Es Tu Ellecion! Decidete!

I know what I’d rather: I want to burn now!

I want God to use me !

I want God to use you!

Let the fire of God fall into your life!

Do something for God while you can!

Two paths! Two deaths & two judgements!

Choose well! Choose right!

Don’t take a chance with your soul!

Because there are two places, and when this life is over, you will spend forever in one of them!

4. TWO PLACES

Heaven and hell.

There is a heaven, and there is a hell and where you go, is up to you!

Elaborate.

IV. Conclusion

So, Will you embrace the covenant?

Will you remember what He has done for you?

Will you choose: “Whatever happens, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!

Joshua didn’t give them time to think about it!

“Choose you this day.” That’s what He said!

You are gonna have to choose! Today!

Be a Ruth, who left everything in her past, to follow a new life and find her redeemer!

Be a Moses, who stormed out of Egypt, because God had something better for him!

Be a Rahab, go all in!!!!!

Save yourself and save your family!

Two paths, Two deaths, two judgements and two places.

Hey, maybe you wanna let God know how you feel?

“I choose you Jesus!”

I am opening this altar today.

For anyone who wants Jesus to know: I choose the right path!

I choose the right life, the right death, the right judgement and the right place!