Pastor Cal Lord's Recent Sermons
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“What’s Your Bottom Line?”
Joshua 24: 14-28 August 23, 2009
Do you know who Alanis Morrisett is?
I didn’t until I heard her in a recent interview on Entertainment Tonight. She is a contemporary
singer and actress. This past season she has also starred in the Showtime series Weeds as Dr.
Audra Kitson. What caught my attention was her answer to a question about her music. When
asked to characterize it she replied, “I sing about truth.” And then she added, “My truth.”
In this day and age of political correctness I thought that was a good safe answer. But then I
thought about it and realized that she really believed what she was saying. She believes that all truth
is subjective and that there is no one standard above all else.
Now there is a lot of that going around today. Our society is becoming more and more pluralistic.
With cable television and the internet we now live in a global community. We are exposed to
hundreds of different philosophies on life. No wonder we get confused and begin to buy into this
idea that what I believe and what you believe are equally valid and that there is no absolute.
This has even affected the mainline church where evangelism has dropped off the radar because
we’ve bought into the idea that many ways lead to God. The particularism of our forbears doesn’t
seem relevant to today’s situation.
Yet people are searching. There is a spiritual hunger. They try meditation and yoga. They go from
church to church. They buy books and look to spiritual guides and mentors. All of this is done in an
effort to find something that will satisfy them.
The idea that Jesus Christ is the answer has become just one avenue among many streets that
people try as they search for meaning in life and a path to God.
I mention this because, believe it or not, this is not something new. This spiritual restlessness also
characterized the final years of Joshua leadership.
Who is Joshua? Let me set the stage. Moses was called by God to lead the Israelites out of
slavery in Egypt. Moses is the one who confronted the king and told him to let the people go free or
else they would suffer ten plagues. The king didn’t listen and there were locusts and frogs and all
kinds of nasty things unleashed against the land. So finally the King told them to go. They crossed
the Red Sea and headed to a place that became known as the Promised Land because God told
them he had set it aside for them.
Moses was the leader when God gave them the ten commandments and when he fed them with
manna from heaven. All this time Moses had good men around him. Joshua was his number two
man. When Moses died it was Joshua who became the leader of the people.
Joshua was a great leader and he spent a lot of his time as a kind of commander in chief as the
Israelites fought off enemies and settled in the promised land.
Now these people Joshua served had seen some great things. The stories were forever in their
minds. Yet they seemed to be slow to embrace the faith of their fathers.
Don’t get me wrong. Some of the people were strong in the faith. They stood out as examples of
what God was calling all of them to be. But there was still a large group of people who didn’t know
what they believed after all they had been through. They kind of just went with the flow. One day
they practiced the religion of Baal. The next day they offered sacrifices to God. Then the next day
they would look to the stars to discern what they should do. It was as if each religion had its own
value and there was not one to be preferred over the other.
This is what Joshua addresses in our text today. He says it is time to make a decision. This is
important. You can no longer just go on as if everything is relative. I think this speaks to us today
as well.
Dave Murray, God bless him, used to tell how he drifted from thing to thing as a younger man.
Then one day he discovered Christ. It changed his life. His life suddenly had meaning. He began to
look for ways to make a difference in the world. And he touched many of us. His favorite song,
and our praise team sang it at his funeral, was “I have decided to follow Jesus!”
Why is it that right decisions are more difficult to make than wrong ones? Some of the decisions
that we make in life are not that earth shattering. History will see little difference in the cereal we
chose to eat for breakfast. Yet there are choices that important, even life altering. Choosing to
follow God is one of them.
Joshua understands this and he calls for a decision. But before he does, he reminds them of all
that God had done for them. Beginning in verse three Joshua speaks for God and says, “… I took
your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan,
and (I) multiplied his descendants and (I) gave him Isaac. (4) To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau…..
(5) I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward
I brought you out…... (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…. (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.’”
Just the facts… Joshua asks them to examine the facts and then decide. God is real and he cares
about them. It is not with the might of their swords or bows that the victory has been won, but by
the power of God. God had done it all. Now he wanted them to acknowledge that and choose God
and live accordingly.
This is the God who made heaven and earth. This is the God who loved man too much to leave
him in his sin. This is the God who demonstrated His love by sending His only son to earth to earth
to live among us. This is the God who knew that we could never earn our way into heaven by good
works, so he went to the cross bearing our sins. This is the God whom the grave could not hold,
and rose victoriously from the grave. This is the God who established the church and who is
coming back in the form of His Son to bring all of human history to its culmination. This is the
God, that we too are called to serve.
The word “serve” appears seven times in verses fourteen and fifteen. Joshua that day called for a
decision that would help end the spiritual, intellectual and moral restlessness that marked so many
lives. Joshua demands a commitment when he says, “And now love the Lord and serve him whole
heartedly and without reservation.”
Hundreds of years later, the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel gave a similar challenge. We read it a
few weeks ago. He said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God,
follow Him, but if Baal, follow him.”
Jesus himself said, “You can’t serve two masters…”
Joshua urged them to consider the options.
1. They could follow the old gods of Mesopotamia, the gods which their fathers served on the
other side of the River, as Abraham did before his call.
2. They could worship the gods of Egypt which they are so familiar with from 400 hundred years
of slavery in Egypt.
3. Or if they preferred they could adopt the gods of the Canaanites whom they had just spend
seven year defeating.
4. But the choice was the real God, the one who had delivered them from their enemies.
Reflecting on all that God has done (vv. 1-13) it is the only reasonable response to God’s
goodness. The same kind of appeal is made by the apostle Paul in the New Testament. All that God
has done is depicted in Romans 1-11 and then Romans 12:1 calls all the people to the only rational
response. He says
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
God is good. When we look back at our own lives, we can begin to see the ways he has been
involved and the blessings we have received. Yet some people are still waiting. Well if that’s you,
then Joshua is calling you to make a decision today.
Quit Straddling the Fence
You can’t keep on foot in the world and one foot in the church. God can offer you s much more
happiness once you embrace him and let him lead the way.
.
Make the decision for now and forever.
To Joshua serving the Lord was a daily choice. It wasn’t a one day thing. Some have said that
every day we wake up we need to choose again.
Let your decision be a public one.
Don’t say that you believe in Christ if you are not willing to identify yourself as one of his
disciples, in your home, in your business, in your social life, in fact wherever you go!
Some people believe that faith is a private matter between them and God. I’ m going to let you in
on a secret. God doesn’t believe that.
What you believe has the power to not only affect your life but the lives of others. That’s why
Joshua was up front about his faith and his choice when he called others to make a choice. Joshua
ends his address with what has become known as one of the most powerful and courageous
testimonies and witness in all of Scripture. Joshua said, “But as for me and my house, we will serve
the LORD.”
This statement is the culmination of a life lived in obedience to God and His word. There were
times when Joshua failed. There were times when he was discouraged, but once Joshua had
committed his life to God everything was in God’s hands from that day forward.
So it is with you and me. So what’s your bottom line? Who have you chosen to serve? If its God,
have you invited him to come into your heart and your life? Now is the time to choose.
Amen.
Joshua 24: 14-28 August 23, 2009
Do you know who Alanis Morrisett is?
I didn’t until I heard her in a recent interview on Entertainment Tonight. She is a contemporary
singer and actress. This past season she has also starred in the Showtime series Weeds as Dr.
Audra Kitson. What caught my attention was her answer to a question about her music. When
asked to characterize it she replied, “I sing about truth.” And then she added, “My truth.”
In this day and age of political correctness I thought that was a good safe answer. But then I
thought about it and realized that she really believed what she was saying. She believes that all truth
is subjective and that there is no one standard above all else.
Now there is a lot of that going around today. Our society is becoming more and more pluralistic.
With cable television and the internet we now live in a global community. We are exposed to
hundreds of different philosophies on life. No wonder we get confused and begin to buy into this
idea that what I believe and what you believe are equally valid and that there is no absolute.
This has even affected the mainline church where evangelism has dropped off the radar because
we’ve bought into the idea that many ways lead to God. The particularism of our forbears doesn’t
seem relevant to today’s situation.
Yet people are searching. There is a spiritual hunger. They try meditation and yoga. They go from
church to church. They buy books and look to spiritual guides and mentors. All of this is done in an
effort to find something that will satisfy them.
The idea that Jesus Christ is the answer has become just one avenue among many streets that
people try as they search for meaning in life and a path to God.
I mention this because, believe it or not, this is not something new. This spiritual restlessness also
characterized the final years of Joshua leadership.
Who is Joshua? Let me set the stage. Moses was called by God to lead the Israelites out of
slavery in Egypt. Moses is the one who confronted the king and told him to let the people go free or
else they would suffer ten plagues. The king didn’t listen and there were locusts and frogs and all
kinds of nasty things unleashed against the land. So finally the King told them to go. They crossed
the Red Sea and headed to a place that became known as the Promised Land because God told
them he had set it aside for them.
Moses was the leader when God gave them the ten commandments and when he fed them with
manna from heaven. All this time Moses had good men around him. Joshua was his number two
man. When Moses died it was Joshua who became the leader of the people.
Joshua was a great leader and he spent a lot of his time as a kind of commander in chief as the
Israelites fought off enemies and settled in the promised land.
Now these people Joshua served had seen some great things. The stories were forever in their
minds. Yet they seemed to be slow to embrace the faith of their fathers.
Don’t get me wrong. Some of the people were strong in the faith. They stood out as examples of
what God was calling all of them to be. But there was still a large group of people who didn’t know
what they believed after all they had been through. They kind of just went with the flow. One day
they practiced the religion of Baal. The next day they offered sacrifices to God. Then the next day
they would look to the stars to discern what they should do. It was as if each religion had its own
value and there was not one to be preferred over the other.
This is what Joshua addresses in our text today. He says it is time to make a decision. This is
important. You can no longer just go on as if everything is relative. I think this speaks to us today
as well.
Dave Murray, God bless him, used to tell how he drifted from thing to thing as a younger man.
Then one day he discovered Christ. It changed his life. His life suddenly had meaning. He began to
look for ways to make a difference in the world. And he touched many of us. His favorite song,
and our praise team sang it at his funeral, was “I have decided to follow Jesus!”
Why is it that right decisions are more difficult to make than wrong ones? Some of the decisions
that we make in life are not that earth shattering. History will see little difference in the cereal we
chose to eat for breakfast. Yet there are choices that important, even life altering. Choosing to
follow God is one of them.
Joshua understands this and he calls for a decision. But before he does, he reminds them of all
that God had done for them. Beginning in verse three Joshua speaks for God and says, “… I took
your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan,
and (I) multiplied his descendants and (I) gave him Isaac. (4) To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau…..
(5) I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward
I brought you out…... (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…. (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.’”
Just the facts… Joshua asks them to examine the facts and then decide. God is real and he cares
about them. It is not with the might of their swords or bows that the victory has been won, but by
the power of God. God had done it all. Now he wanted them to acknowledge that and choose God
and live accordingly.
This is the God who made heaven and earth. This is the God who loved man too much to leave
him in his sin. This is the God who demonstrated His love by sending His only son to earth to earth
to live among us. This is the God who knew that we could never earn our way into heaven by good
works, so he went to the cross bearing our sins. This is the God whom the grave could not hold,
and rose victoriously from the grave. This is the God who established the church and who is
coming back in the form of His Son to bring all of human history to its culmination. This is the
God, that we too are called to serve.
The word “serve” appears seven times in verses fourteen and fifteen. Joshua that day called for a
decision that would help end the spiritual, intellectual and moral restlessness that marked so many
lives. Joshua demands a commitment when he says, “And now love the Lord and serve him whole
heartedly and without reservation.”
Hundreds of years later, the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel gave a similar challenge. We read it a
few weeks ago. He said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God,
follow Him, but if Baal, follow him.”
Jesus himself said, “You can’t serve two masters…”
Joshua urged them to consider the options.
1. They could follow the old gods of Mesopotamia, the gods which their fathers served on the
other side of the River, as Abraham did before his call.
2. They could worship the gods of Egypt which they are so familiar with from 400 hundred years
of slavery in Egypt.
3. Or if they preferred they could adopt the gods of the Canaanites whom they had just spend
seven year defeating.
4. But the choice was the real God, the one who had delivered them from their enemies.
Reflecting on all that God has done (vv. 1-13) it is the only reasonable response to God’s
goodness. The same kind of appeal is made by the apostle Paul in the New Testament. All that God
has done is depicted in Romans 1-11 and then Romans 12:1 calls all the people to the only rational
response. He says
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
God is good. When we look back at our own lives, we can begin to see the ways he has been
involved and the blessings we have received. Yet some people are still waiting. Well if that’s you,
then Joshua is calling you to make a decision today.
Quit Straddling the Fence
You can’t keep on foot in the world and one foot in the church. God can offer you s much more
happiness once you embrace him and let him lead the way.
.
Make the decision for now and forever.
To Joshua serving the Lord was a daily choice. It wasn’t a one day thing. Some have said that
every day we wake up we need to choose again.
Let your decision be a public one.
Don’t say that you believe in Christ if you are not willing to identify yourself as one of his
disciples, in your home, in your business, in your social life, in fact wherever you go!
Some people believe that faith is a private matter between them and God. I’ m going to let you in
on a secret. God doesn’t believe that.
What you believe has the power to not only affect your life but the lives of others. That’s why
Joshua was up front about his faith and his choice when he called others to make a choice. Joshua
ends his address with what has become known as one of the most powerful and courageous
testimonies and witness in all of Scripture. Joshua said, “But as for me and my house, we will serve
the LORD.”
This statement is the culmination of a life lived in obedience to God and His word. There were
times when Joshua failed. There were times when he was discouraged, but once Joshua had
committed his life to God everything was in God’s hands from that day forward.
So it is with you and me. So what’s your bottom line? Who have you chosen to serve? If its God,
have you invited him to come into your heart and your life? Now is the time to choose.
Amen.