Choose for Yourself

1 (2m 12s): I give my whole life to honor this. Who was, say crown him for 0 (2m 35s): she . 1 (10m 54s): Jeez, His mercy and the Jeez, we cried the whole. 1 (12m 39s): Thank you God, for your holiness. Thank you for the gift Of salvation. Thank you for the gift of 0 (12m 50s): Just 1 (12m 52s): Covering for our sentence. Lord, I can be made right with you. 2 (13m 42s): All right. You may be seated. Well, good morning. Glad to see so many of you here. We had a debate among staff. How many people would come the day after Christmas? So it's glad to glad to see you all. I love about you, but why am I driving this morning? And just seeing the sun on the green Hills was just amazing. Anybody else see that and enjoy that. Nice to see that fresh grass, you know, starting to grow. And just seeing that as I was driving in, reminds me of the road trips that I used to go on. 2 (14m 24s): We haven't been able to go on as many road trips with our girls and they tend to get car six, where I'm looking forward to the age where we get to go on road trips as a family. I can remember all the road trips growing up, going to Yellowstone or driving out to Minnesota with a family. It was just a good time. And I think over the years, road SERPs have changed in my mind a little bit. They've changed because now we use Google maps or different or car navigation systems to get there. I can remember the day before the days when, when you had to write out the directions on a piece of paper or have a roadmap next to you. So you knew where you were going, which road to take or intersection or highway. 2 (15m 5s): And, and I think we've lost a little bit of the road trip. The fun that comes with that kind of a sense of adventure as you're going out there. And I think we were more focused too, because I can remember like, okay, need to turn on, need to turn on this highway and you have to be focused. Okay, don't pass that highway. Cause there's no, there's no nothing that pops up a red light that says, you've, you've missed your exit. You've missed your exit. And so I just, over the years, going on this road trips, you, you look for the intersections. You look for the fork road, the forks and the rows of the change in highways. And now we kind of set the program and our car just yells at us, which way to go and which way to turn if only life was that easy. 2 (15m 53s): If only there was a big right-hand turn right in front of us, that says, you need to go this way. Now, if only life was that easy, it also makes me think of something that was very, very popular twenty-five years ago, twenty-five years ago, the Christmas and Thanksgiving season that the tickle me Elmo doll was the hot ticket. Does anybody remember the tickle me Elmo doll? Yes. Okay. I was, I was in high school, so I, I didn't get a tickle me Elmo doll, but it's this doll that you, you, you, you touched her, you squeeze the nose and it would say Elmo would laugh. And he would make funny noises. 2 (16m 34s): It sold for 29, 28, 99 in the store. But for whatever reason, that year, 25 years ago, it went bonkers. They sold out nearly of the 400,000 Elmos that they made. And it's reported that that doll began to scalpers were selling them for $1,500. Each there's a report that in Denver, one was sold for $7,100. Over $7,000 was paid for this Elmo doll. It was the gift for that year's Christmas season, 25 years ago, there's even a report that on December 20th, there was a raffle charity that had one and it was purchased for $18,000. 2 (17m 20s): This is how hot the tickle me Elmo doll was a man at Walmart. Working at Walmart was injured by a stampede of 300 people trying to get to the tickle me, Elmo dolls, all for this doll that you squeeze his nose or tickle on it. And it laughs and giggles. And it's programmed to do that. The next year they made a doll that was called love me, Elmo. And you, what that Elmo does is when you squeezed it, when you push the button, it said, it would say your Elmo sweetheart, or Elmo loves you or hugs and kisses. That's what was programmed into this Elmo doll. If only life were that simple, where God says worship me and he pushes a button on us. 2 (18m 4s): And we say, we worship you God, but it's not right. It's not that easy. We weren't created that way. We weren't created with a button with which God pushes and we instantly respond in worship and adoration to him. That's not the way that we are. We have choices and we are, we weren't programmed by God. We're not programmed by our DNA. Our DNA will tell us if we're male or female or tell us our height or our color of our eyes, the color of our hair, but it won't tell us it won't give us directions on the choices that we have in front of us. And so this morning, we come to the text in Joshua chapter 23 in chapter four, and I titled it, choose for yourselves, choose for yourself. 2 (18m 51s): That was a choice that was put in front of the people. Let's pray. Before we open up the scripture Lord, we want to consider the year that is almost past us and consider 20 20, 20 22. That is at our doorstep. Lord. I pray that this, this text just from Joshua 23 and 24 would be our, really our guideposts, our, our, our, our signs posts telling us which way to go. Lord prayed. You speak to us each individual in this room, each individual who's watching online or in the law for, in patio. 2 (19m 32s): Lord, may your word go forth powerfully in Jesus name? We pray. Amen. So I, I often go back this time of year, as we're looking into the next year, you know, new year's is a time to think of your goals for next year and all the, the things that you want to do that you want to change in your life. And I always, I often come back to this text, consider 2022. And these are the words of 110 year old man. Who's on, who's going the way of the earth. He is at the end of his life. And he recognized that, and he has these things to say, I think we need to take them with some weight. 2 (20m 16s): Joshua 24 verse 29 says now it came to pass. After these things that Joshua, the son of nun, servant of the Lord died being 110 years old. And this is the Joshua that was born in Egypt as a slave. And he knew what it was to S to have to build idols or do things for the Egyptian gods. He, he, he was a slave in Egypt. He saw what the gods of Egypt required for those who worshiped him. That was his first 40 years of his life for the next 40 years of his life. He served at as Moses, his right-hand man, his assistant. 2 (20m 57s): He served Moses for those 40 years and he witnessed what the God of Israel would do and where the God of Israel wanted to take the people. And he saw the way that the, the people for those 40 years, as they wandered in the wilderness, continued to serve these other gods. The last 30 years of his life could be the most exciting. It was the 30 years as that he was the leader over Israel. After Moses had passed away, he was put in charge of the leadership. He was the one that was to bring the people into the new promised land. He was the one that was to go forth and, and fight these battles against the, the, the people that live in that land, those nations. 2 (21m 40s): And he has some very heavy words. And because these are his dying words, I think they have some weight to him. Now, just as a side note, we see that he dies at 110 and on his tombstone, if he had a tomb. So it would say Joshua son of nun, servant of the Lord. And this week I got to get coffee with a friend. And I, and I, and I asked him a few directive questions. What do you want your headstone to say, what do you want to read on your headstone? Because if you know how you want you at the end of your life to go, then you know, what path and what directions to take along the way. 2 (22m 20s): Joshua says servant of the Lord, Solomon and Ecclesiastes he's. He looks back on his life in that book. And he looks back on his mistakes and his failures, his, the vanities of life and the values that he, that he wanted to have the, he looks at pleasure and the practical wisdoms. And he says this at the end of . He said, let us hear the con the conclusion of the whole matter fear God, and keep his commandments for this is man's all for God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, they all gave on blessings to their sons. 2 (23m 4s): As they're dying words, Jesus, on the cross, his dying words were, it is finished to tell a star there's a weight to that. So we come to Joshua chapter 23, and let's look at these verses. As we recognize that these are the words of a, of a dying man who served as the Lord, his whole life, Joshua 23 verses one through three. It says now it came to pass a long time. After the Lord had given rest Israel from all their enemies roundabout, the Joshua was old and advanced in age and Joshua called for all of Israel, for their elders, their heads for their judges and for their officers and said to them, I am old and well advanced in age. 2 (23m 52s): You've seen all that. The Lord, your God has done to all these nations because of you for the Lord, your God is he who fought for you. And as you go on in Joshua chapter 23 and 24, which we won't cover every verse this morning. So I would encourage you to read that maybe over the next coming days, as you look down at the new years, but Joshua 23 chapter, 20 days full of reminders and warnings for the people, Joshua had assembled a number of the leaders. And he said, these are the reminders that I want you to have. And these are also the warnings and Joshua in verse six of 23, he says, therefore, be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, Les, you turn to aside to the left-hand or to the right-hand or to the left, Joshua Joshua was reminding them to mind the crossroads of life. 2 (24m 46s): Keep those in mind, don't turn to the left or don't turn to the right, keep away from those alternative paths. You, the word of God is, is a straight and narrow path and we don't want, and Joshua is reminding them not to turn to the left to the right. Speaking of the GPS roadmaps a year, a number of years ago, I had a very, one of the firsts GPS is out there that gave directions and it was really rudimentary. And it was a little tiny scream about this, about this big. And I was on a Roach, a motorcycle road trip from here all the way out to Houston, Texas. I was going to go visit my brother out there. And it ended up being a very long day. 2 (25m 29s): I left Los Cruces, New Mexico at about six in the morning, ran out of gas in the middle of Texas, went through a rain storm. And as I'm pulling into Houston, Texas about midnight, this my GPS begins to give me directions and I wasn't paying close enough attention. It had given kind of two directions right in a row. And I missed the second one. And so it began to reroute me and I pulled me off the interstate and I'm going through, it's raining and I'm going. And I'm going in. I pull off into this neighborhood. And I later I found out that the, the GPS had taken me into a neighborhood. I should not have been at at nine o'clock or that late at night. And that section of town, my brother who lived there, it was like, that's not the neighborhood to be in because as I didn't mind the directions that were right there in front of me, we have to mind the crossroads. 2 (26m 17s): Joshua was saying Joshua 23, verse eight also says, but you shall hold fast to the Lord. Your God, as you have done to this day to keep the course, keep the course, a friend of mine in Santa Barbara. He, he he'd, he'd sailed to Hawaii. He got a little schooner and he'd sailed to Hawaii. He said, one of the things you have to do when you're aiming for an island, that's thousands of miles away is make sure that every day, your course is true. He said to miss Hawaii, by a degree or two would have been hundreds of miles and he would have altogether missed it. But so you have to keep the course hold fast to the Lord, your God, Joshua 23, verses 11 and 12. 2 (27m 3s): He says, therefore, Terek take careful heed to yourselves that you love the Lord, your God, or else. Indeed, if you will go back and clean to the remnant of these nations, Joshua was saying, if you don't devote yourself to the Lord, you'll begin to wander. You'll begin to stray from the path. You'll be go back into all the things that you were doing. All the things that the nations around you were doing worshiping these other gods verse 14 says behold, this day, I'm going the way of the earth. And you know, in your hearts and in all your souls, that not one good thing has failed. You not want a good thing has failed of all the good things, which the Lord, your God spoke concerning. 2 (27m 46s): You all have come to pass for you. Not one of them has failed. Josh was reminding them to remember that God is so good. God is so good. God keeps his promises. He promised them that they would have this land. He promised them that they would give God would give them rest over these other nations. As we come to chapter 24, Josh was going to give a proclamation at this place called Shekim. And whether these are two different speeches or one there's some debate. It, it they're, they're the, they're the last speeches. 2 (28m 26s): They're the last declarations of a dying man. So Joshua chapter 24 verse one says, and Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to check him. And he called for the elders of Israel for their heads, for their judges and for the officers. And they presented themselves before the Lord check him was a historical place. Check them is where Abraham having left or of the Kaldi's left his Homeland. God made him promises. And God called him out of that country to go into the land of Canaan, to give, go into land. A promised land and years of delay had, had, had kept him back until he entered into Keenan. 2 (29m 7s): The land of promise. And there, once Abraham was in where God had called him to go, God appears to him a second time. And after God appeared to him, Abraham set up an altar and worship God there and check them, check them is, is a historical place. It's where previously Joshua 30 years prior as they entered into the promised land that he had had them set up another altar there at Shekim. So at Shekem he is, he's going to give them once again, he's going to re remind them of God's goodness, in verses 12 or two through 13, we'll summarize it. And just say that God brings to mind all the things that God has done for them. 2 (29m 48s): He reminds them of his goodness. He reminds them of that. They were chosen people. He reminds them that they were taken to this special place. He reminds them that all that they were given in this land is good land flowing with milk and honey, a land where they didn't have to build walls. It was all there for them. He reminds them how they were delivered from their enemies, how God fought for them. And he reminds them of their history. And I think so often we forget our history too. We forget our own individual histories. Have you forgotten what God's done for you? 2 (30m 29s): Maybe as we look into 2022, we re remember all that God has brought us through this past year and years prior, God has done so much for us. And it's easy to forget those things. As you look in to the future, as you try to, as we try to look into the future, we forget all that God has done for us and with us and through us. I think that's especially true for, for those of us. Who've grown up in the church. I shared this with the youth group. I think we have to keep a sensitive heart. When you've grown up in the church, you forget all that God has saved you from and all that God has kept you from all the hurt and the pain, the loss Psalm 1 0 3 is an amazing song. 2 (31m 13s): It says this. It says, bless the Lord. Oh my soul. And forget not all of his benefits who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is restored or renewed. Like the Eagles, forget not his benefits, but after reminding them, Joshua now brings him to the place of the choice where Josh was going to say, choose for yourselves. It's going to be a charge as well as a choice in Joshua 24, verses 14 and 15, it says now therefore, fear the Lord serve him in sincerity and truth and put away the gods, which your fathers served on. 2 (32m 2s): The other side of the river in Egypt serve the Lord. Joshua has to say, put away those idols. Those idols are there in and amongst you put those away, get rid of those things. And I believe our culture today still saturates us with idols. No, not the little idols, as much as they, maybe they had back in those days, no longer little figurines or statutes or those, those are still around. We can still see those, but the idols are those things that we put so much identity in. I believe at our, I had our identity can become an idol. It can become a God that we begin to serve when it's something other than God, when our identity is identified or attached to something outside of God, when our identity, our identity is wrapped up in our political affiliation, it becomes an idol. 2 (32m 53s): When our social media following becomes our identity or our position at work or our abilities or skills or achievements, those things can become the idols of today. It became our identity. I remember when I was a swimmer at UCFB, I wore a sweater. I wore that shirt like almost every day or the sweatshirt. I walked around campus with that big UCS B swimmer jacket. I wanted everyone to know I was a swimmer. I identified as a swimmer. I was proud to be a collegiate athlete until the Lord began to show in my heart that you are, that is you become your identity. Tell the day that I had to go and tell the coach, the coach, I need to step down from the swim team. 2 (33m 35s): I want to get involved more with this group called campus crusade for Christ. And I took that sweatshirt up and I folded it up. And I didn't allow myself to wear that because I didn't want to be identified as that anymore. I wanted to be identified as a follower of Christ. Those things that we just begin to, I, they begin to become idols in our life. And they're, they're tough. They're harsh masters. When we allow those idols to rule our life, what about money or consumerism? Letting that become an idol? It doesn't matter how much money or if you have a lot of money or you're broke the pursuit of money in the acquisition of these things is an idol for many in our culture. 2 (34m 19s): Many people trust their money more than they trust God. And it's not that money is bad. We don't want to say that it's not, it's a tool and it's something to be used correctly. I quit. I guess the question I ask is, do you, do you have money or does money have you entertainment? I believe in, in our culture has become an idol. It's just, we're just obsessed with entertainment. And we have Netflix and all these different things, which we can just be entertained around the clock. I mean, I still remember the days where the TV went blank and I'm not that old. I don't think I remember the TV went blank at night and there was no program on here. 2 (35m 0s): What do I do now? But now we have around the clock, just a myriad of different things to entertain us. And not that that's bad once again, it's not that entertainment is bad, but it's when it's let, when we let it become all consuming in our lives is where we need to have some caution comfort. I believe is another one of those things. Are we seeking to make our lives as comfortable and safe as possible? When comfort becomes your idol, that's all you seek for. And these things, I don't believe they're evil in and of themselves. They're just the improper focus of time that we put into them. And we make these things become greater than they should be in our lives. 2 (35m 44s): Let's look at verse 15. Joshua gave the warning to put those things away. Now in verse 15, it says, and if, 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 whose land you live. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. I saw some of you of your mouth. That verse that's it's it's one of those verses that's memorized in me. It's it was, it was a plaque on my door growing up. It was a plaque that went to after my dad passed away. 2 (36m 25s): My mom bought a new house that went onto her door, and now it rests. And it's posted on our door as well. And Joshua gives the charges has choose for yourselves. He says, whom will you serve for Joshua? That choice was easy. Joshua had made that choice long ago in, in, in the English. We use the future tense to choose, to make that choice. Choose for yourselves. We, we, we say that's a future sense, but in the Hebrew tent has a fuller meaning. 2 (37m 9s): Francis Schaeffer said, he said it expresses a continuous action involves the future, but it also can point to the past. Joshua's undoubtedly affirming. I have chosen and I will choose Joshua had done that by the small and big choices that he had made along the path of 110 years of living. Joshua could make this statement because he had lived a life that continuously chose to serve the Lord. Joshua chose to fight against the Amalekites choosing when it might cost and everything, including his life. 2 (37m 50s): Joshua chose to reject the golden calf. Choosing when the flesh might be satisfied. Joshua chose to serve the Lord by serving Moses, choosing a humble place. Joshua chose to be believed. God's promises about the promised land choosing against the majority. Joshua chose to recognize the leadership of the captain of the Lord's army there on that bank, choosing to surrender to God and Joshua chose to take leadership of Israel to lead them into the land, choosing faith, instead of unbelief, those are the decisions that Josh Joshua had made. But now he says, but as for me and my house, and he was saying, I am willing to go alone. 2 (38m 37s): Are we willing to go alone? When the culture around us goes different directions, Joshua had made this decision. It didn't matter what others would choose to do. It didn't matter that if he and his house were the only ones that would continue to serve the Lord, a song came to mind as I was studying. That says, though, no, the no, the, no one go with me still yet. I will follow. We'll get to sing that later. Joshua and the decision had been made. He had put his hand to the plow, as Jesus mentioned, and he would not turn back. There was a guy named Mike rider, who, who DISA, discipled me throughout college and, and, and afterwards, and he called this a super decision. 2 (39m 26s): He called this a super decision as decisions. You, you, a decision you make once that you will not stray from, from Mike rider, the decision that he shared with us, one of those decisions was that he would have a daily devotion time with the Lord. Didn't matter if he had, you know, had to get on a plane ride at 4:00 AM, he would wake up early enough to have a quiet time with the Lord. That was one of his super decisions. One of his other super decisions that he shared with us was that he was going to be at church on Sundays, whether he felt like it or not, he was not going to let the circumstances affect him being at church and the fellowship. Good job, everybody. Christmas day after Christmas day, his other super decision was that he and his wife and his family would allow a college group to meet at his house every week. 2 (40m 17s): And he did that. They did that for about 15 years, even when their kids were little, until her kids were in college and pass college, he held a, a college group at his house in which with a lot of my me and my friends were discipled. Those are the super decisions that he had made. And I think about the super decision that these 40 martyrs of Sebastian made it back in 3 28 D there were a Roman Legion, which is now modern day Turkey, Turkey, and it was these 40 Christian soldiers. There were in the Roman army. And so the, the, the, the commander realized, Hey, we might have an Allegiant allegiance issue. Are these Christians gonna, you know, take this, take, which, which side are they gonna take? 2 (41m 1s): If things really go down. And so he said, we can no longer have these 40 Christian soldiers here in my army. I want you to bow down and pledge to Caesar is Lord the Caesar's God. And these 40 soldiers said, we will refuse. We are 40 Christian soldiers. So the commander had them beaten and scourged, they will not turn back. So he said, I will punish you then by putting on a frozen lake naked, it was 40 Christian soldiers saying a tune of 40 Christian soldiers for Christ. 2 (41m 43s): And they were there on that naked on that frozen lake, no one turned out. They were there huddled together, forties, Christian soldiers for God, surrounded by guards, not allowing them to leave. They decided to let's let's up the ante. So they put up hot tubs, they put up these tubs of hot water around it. So if you got too cold and you just want to jump out, you wanted to claim the authority of Caesar and renounce your Christian faith, and you can do that. And they made it easier with having these little hot tubs around. Well, for one of those soldiers, back in 3 20 80, it was all too much. And he, and he ditched his fellow soldiers and he ran, he jumped into a hot tub. 2 (42m 23s): And sadly, because of the temperature he died instantly, he was, he was overcome and they began singing the song 39 brave soldiers for Christ. What was all too much for one of the soldiers, one of the guards that was on the edge and hearing 39 soldiers for Christ. And he said, no, it needs to be 40. And he said, I once made that profession of faith to believe in Christ. And so what he did is he took off his, his uniform stripped off his clothes and he jumped back into and he jumped into those forties, 1 39 soldiers making it once again, 40 foot soldiers for Christ and those 40 soldiers for Christ all died in the ice that night, they took a stand. 2 (43m 12s): So Joshua brings us to this thing, or you have to choose for yourself, choose for yourself this day, whom you will serve. But he says, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, I guess, looking at 2022, what and whom will you serve the culture around? This is long departed from serving the Lord. It's becoming actually, serving the Lord. What will your choice be? You're not an Elmo doll. You're not an Elmo loves you there. God gets to push a button. And you said, Lord, I'm choosing to obey. You know, it's a free will choice. 2 (43m 54s): And it's a place this morning where we get to look back on the choices and where they've OLED. And to look into the, into the distant horizon and say, Lord, where do you want me to go? What choices do you want me to make this year? So who or what we choose to serve this year? So transition now to communion it's commune and Sunday, the fact is that none of us are strong enough. None of us are strong enough to live out this journey day by day. None of us have the wisdom that we need to even direct our own paths or our own lives. 2 (44m 38s): None of us have a lived or able to live a perfect life as Jesus did. That's why recalled to remember Jesus, his perfect sacrifice that he paid the penalty for our sin. We need to remember that the lamb of God's body was broken for us, that the lamb of God's blood was shed for us. Remember that by his death, we have been freed from the penalty of sin. Remember his resurrection and chew and choose to live in a way that speaks that he is coming back with that. We walk in freedom, righteousness, obedience, faith, hope, love. So with the elements in our hand in John chapter six, Jesus made the first of his seven. 2 (45m 25s): I am statements. And the first of his seven, I am statements. He said, I am the bread of life. And Jesus was speaking to all his disciples. He had a large group disciples outside of, outside of the 12. And Jesus said to them, assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink of his blood, you will have no life. Whoever eats of my flesh and drinks, my blood has eternal life. And I will raise him up at the last day. Many of his disciples heard that eating his flesh and drinking his blood. And they were, they turned away. Many of his disciples, the larger group of disciples began to leave him. 2 (46m 9s): It was too hard of a statement to S to take. So Jesus looks at the 12 and John six, and he said this, he said, do you also want to go away? So do you also want to go away? What are you going to choose? You're going to choose to follow those others. You got to love Simon Peter, because he's the one who, who, who sings out and speaks to the 12. He says, Lord to whom, shall we go? Or to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And also we have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the son of the living, God, that's what we do, but eating of the bread and drink of the cup. 2 (46m 59s): When we realize how good we have it to where else, or to whom else would we serve? Where else would we go? Let's take the bread. First Corinthians, Paul writes a letter to them and says for, I received from the Lord, which I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed, he took bread. And we had given thanks. He broke. And he said, take eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Let's do this this morning. And remember it. So Jesus, In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper saying this cup is my new covenant in my blood. 2 (47m 58s): Do this. As often as you drink in remembrance of me for us, often as you eat this bread and drink of the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Let's pray. Lord, help us not to forget your benefits. What would help us not to forget your blessings that come along with serving you, Lord, oh God, you are good. 2 (48m 43s): And you do good. And you have paved the path you've gone before us Lord. And you were the light unto our feet and the light into our path. Lord would give us wisdom to recognize those things in our lives this morning that have become idols or, or gods help us to realize the path that they have taken the path that they have made a stray down. Let us renounce those things, Lord and get rid of those things in our lives. Lord, give us wisdom to recognize your goodness in the path that leads to eternal life, help us to make the choice. 2 (49m 29s): Lord that honors and serves you. Lord Jesus name. We pray. Amen. 1 (49m 47s): Did you all stand with me? I have decided to follow the cheese. I have to follow cheese. I have to follow the cheese. 1 (50m 15s): Still alive. 1 (51m 27s): I have decided to follow and cheese. I have these two follow on cheese. I have to follow the cheese. No attorney, no turning, no turning 0 (51m 56s): Back. 1 (52m 2s): No turning back.