Fresh Start

A Fresh Start

Good morning! And Welcome! Isn’t it great to be in the house of the Lord this morning? I am so glad that you chose to worship with us here this morning.

First, I want to thank each and every one of you who have made meals for my family this past week! I love that God has called me to pastor a church full of cooks! God is good isn’t He!! Also, I want to thank you again for praying for our trip up here last weekend, and especially for all the help unloading the truck Sunday afternoon of last week. We could not have done that without you! Thank you.

This morning is my first Sunday in the pulpit as your new pastor. As I was praying and pondering what text to choose for the message today, my mind has continually been pulled to the nation of Israel as they journeyed out of Egypt. They wondered around the desert for 40 years and then eventually entered the Promised Land. I was thinking about the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. I thought about the different leaders they followed as they journeyed. I thought about Moses, Aaron, Eliezer, and Joshua.

I was thinking on these things, I couldn’t help but think, Man, the good people of Baptist Fellowship must feel a bit like the Nation of Israel for the past few years! Changes in leadership, searching for a pastor, the plague of Covid effecting every area of ministry… You have really been through it! Constant changes in leadership, trials around every corner! I would imagine that there was real temptation to just give up! Maybe just go find another church. Maybe just quit church altogether! I am sure that there have been times over the last few years where you asked yourself, “what are we doing here?!” I know I would have been tempted as well.

I am so impressed that you have persevered! It speaks volumes about your faith and your commitment to God’s Church and to one another. That is a beautiful thing!

I want to go to the book of Joshua. The book of Joshua describes the transfer of leadership from Moses to Joshua and chronicles Joshua’s leadership of the people of Israel as they enter and occupy the promised land. Each chapter is an exciting story of the struggles, trials, and victories experienced by God’s chosen people.

I thought that this was an appropriate topic to explore since that is what we are doing here today. Changing leadership. You have asked me to come and fill the position, role, and duties of Senior Pastor. Really it is a new chapter for all of us here today. A new chapter for me. I get to learn how to best serve and lead this congregation as I seek to obey God and listen to His guidance. And it is a new chapter for you, you get to learn about me and get used how I lead. I believe it is going to be a fun and awesome time!

Before I jump into our text this morning, let me share something I found this week in my studies. I actually found the qualifications for the perfect Pastor! I am glad that the search committee did not find this before I was asked to come, or else I would not have been invited. Here it is, the qualifications for a Perfect pastor.

The Perfect Pastor (Humor)

In Uncategorized on January 3, 2006 at 9:18 am

1. Preaches exactly 20 minutes and follows it with an invitation in which everyone is convicted but no one is offended.

2. Works from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. in every type of work from counseling to custodial service.

3. 27 years old with 30 years of preaching experience.

4. Tall and short.

5. Thin and heavy set.

6. Handsome but not overpowering.

7. One brown eye and one blue eye.

8. Hair is parted in the middle and is straight on one side and wavy on the other side, with a balding spot on top revealing his maturity.

9. Has a burning desire to work with teenagers and spends all his time with the older folks.

10. He smiles constantly with a straight and sober face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously at his work.

11. Invests 25 hours a week in sermon preparation, 20 hours in counseling, 10 hours in meetings, five hours in emergencies, 20 hours in visitation and evangelism, 6 hours in weddings and funerals, 30 hours in prayer and meditation, 12 hours in letter writing, and administration, and 10 hours in creative thinking.

12. Spends 5 evenings at home with his family, plus a day off, and always stops for interruptions.

13. A seminary graduate, but uses only one- and two-syllable words.

14. Makes 15 calls a day.

15. Spends all his time evangelizing the unchurched.

16. Attends all retreats, goes to all youth retreats.

17. Is always available in his office.

18. His kids are perfect.

19. His mother is rich.

20. His wife plays the piano.

21. His house is large.

22. His bank account is small.

23. His car is in the shop.

24. He is paid too much, too little, and he gives it all away.

25. He is talented, gifted, scholarly, practical, popular, compassionate, understanding, patient, level headed, dependable, loving, caring, neat, organized, cheerful, and above all, humble.

Whew! I am certainly not that guy! But if there ever was a near perfect leader it was Joshua. Let us look at Joshua Chapter 24. This is the last chapter in the book of Joshua. In this passage we find the nation of Israel has been called to gather to hear a message from their leader Joshua. Joshua is well up in years, nearing his death. He has called the nation of Israel together for a summit. His desire is to confront the Nation and have them make some important choices as the sun sets on his leadership and rises with someone else.

Let’s read that chapter together.

Joshua 24:1–32 (ESV)

1Joshua 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.

2And 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.

3Then 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.

4And 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.

5And 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.

7And 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.

8Then 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.

9Then 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,

10but I would not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand.

11And 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.

12And 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.

13I 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.

15And 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.”

16Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods,

17for 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.

18And the Lorddrove 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.”

19But 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.

20If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.”

21And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.”

22Then 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.”

23He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

24And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”

25So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem.

26And 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.

27And 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.”

28So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

In verses 1-13, Joshua teaches the nation a history lesson. He discusses their history going all the way back Abraham and reminds them of all the times God has provided and intervened in their lives to create and preserve the nation of Israel.

I think it is important to remember what God has done for us.

We need to Reflect what God has done for us.

Moses told the nation to Israel in Duet. 32 verse 7

7Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

King David meditated on the idea of remembering the mighty works of God.

Psalm 143:5 (ESV)

5I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.

The Israelites looked back and saw what God had done for their nation, their families. And the point was for them to then look forward with faith at what God was going to do for them int eh future. That the past actions of God would instill a forward-looking faith that He would do it again.

They expected God to provide and behave in the future like He had in the past and that is good.

We need to know that God does not change. One of my favorite attributes of God is His immutability. The fact that He never ever changes! His promises have not changed, He will behave and provide today and tomorrow just like He did in the past.

If you know anything about the history of the nation of Israel, it is easy to see that this is an area that they often went wrong. They would often wonder away from the path God has set for them because they would forget God and his mighty works in their lives.

I wonder what mighty works, what amazing victories do you remember this morning? How has God showed His power, His love, His grace, His mercy here at this church?

Ask for testimony?

Verse 14 is our Therefore verse. Verse 14 is what this passage is “there for.”

“Now therefore fear the Lordand serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.

Fear the Lord… What does that mean? It means We must respect the Lord.

As you read the history of the people of Israel, you will find that they often took God for granted. They treated God like a genie in a bottle. Judges, the book immediately after our text today, tells of a people who lived according to what was right in their own eyes, not caring what God wanted. They only called on God when times were urgent, and they needed something. Sound familiar? Doesn’t our culture do the same thing? Don’t we do the same thing? How many times a day do we stop and remember what God has done for us and then base our daily decisions on what we think He would want us to do rather than what we want or what we think is right? Or perhaps more relevant, what we think our society thinks is right?

As we start this new chapter in the history of the Baptist Fellowship of Randolph, we need to be certain that we are making decisions and choices that are centered in and reveal our respect for our God.

Peter reminds the early church of this in the book of Acts.

Acts 10:34–35 (ESV)

34So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,

35but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

We must take the time to remember what God has done for us, and as Peter reminds us, we must fear and respectthe Lord.

Peter and Joshua also give us a final task. Peter put a qualifier on his statement in Acts, a person is acceptable to God IF they fear him AND do what is right.

Joshua says fear the Lord and Serve Him. Peter and Joshua and a host of other Biblical authors share a similar theme. The nation of Israel, you, and I, must learn to relinquish control of our lives. We must learn to surrender ourselves, our goals, our ambitions, our desires, and serve our God.

Joshua understood leadership. He was one of the greatest leaders that ever stood before the nation of Israel. He understood that he needed to lead by example.

When calling upon the people of God and asking them if they would serve the Lord their God, he leaves no doubt as to where he stood.

Joshua 24:15 (ESV)

15And 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.”

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua is such a leader! He says, you know what you need to do. You need to forsake the gods and the temptation of this land. I don’t know what you are going to choose. But I do know one thing. As for me and my family. We are going to choose correctly. We are going to choose to serve God and God alone. End of discussion.

I promise you that is my heart as well. That is how I am going to attempt to lead this church. I am going to do my best to serve the Lord my God with everything I have. I am going to love my family and I am going to love God’s church, and I will serve Him.

Now the rest of the chapter is a back and forth of Joshua and the people of Israel. Israel is reassuring Joshua that they are going to serve God and Joshua is telling them what will happen if they do not. The book of Judges and the rest of the Old Testament reveal that their promise to serve God and God alone was not honest. They fell away into sin and idolatry.

But that does not have to be our choice this morning. Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary, we have been given power over sin. If you know Jesus as your personal savior, if you have repented of your sin and surrendered your life to Him, you have the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. The Holy Spirit’s power (dunamis in the Greek, the root for dynamite) gives us the ability to choose to serve the Lord and then actually be able to do it! You cannot live the life He wants for you without that power.

So let me close with these thoughts.

Baptist Fellowship of Randolph. We have a great opportunity here. We have an opportunity to see God’s blessing on this church and this community. We have spent time remembering what God has done in the past. We know God has not changed, He is the same and wants to pour out the same blessings on us. We must respect Him, revere Him. Worship Him as our God. We must relinquish our faulty idea of control over our lives, over our church, over one another, and give that control back to God. We must choose to serve Him as our God, our King, and our Savior.

Who will you serve?

I am going to Serve the Lord.

I Will/Will Not Choose to Serve the Lord.