Bible Text: Joshua 24 | Preacher: Pastor Steve | Series: Abiding in the Lord
The Call and Challenge
Joshua 24:14-15 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! 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!
The Conditions of the Covenant Renewal
Fear the Lord (love and respect)
Serve Him (worship and obey)
How do we Abide in the Lord?
Abiding: Choose to View Life from God’s Perspective
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding
The choice is to either put the Lord at the center of our lives or not. Remember if everything is first then nothing is first.
3 John 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Abiding: Practice a Lifestyle that ALWAYS involves Jesus!
There are three characteristics, priorities that can put God second rather than first:
Self
Family
Possessions
Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple
We need to put God first ALWAYS and with all honesty and humility give honor to the Lord our God!
Luke 14:33 So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own
ABIDING: POWER FROM ON HIGH
Luke 24:49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.
You will never move an enemy out from his fortified position apart from the impact of a force that is more powerful
A Truce with the Enemy is NEVER an Option!
Philippians 3: 10-12 Now I have given up everything else I have found it to be the only way to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought him back to life again…So, whatever it takes, I will be one who lives in the fresh newness of life…
 
2-D versus 3-D Processing, thinking and solving
Abiding: Always Together
Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
The Response of the People
Joshua 24:16-18 So the people answered and said: Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods…We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.
Our Commitment Needs to be Clear
Joshua 24:19-20 Then Joshua warned the people…If you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.
I, _____, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
Call to Commit:
Joshua 24:22 So Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him…
Call to Action:
Joshua 24:23-24 …put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel. And the people said to Joshua, The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!
Joshua 24:25-28 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to follow the decrees and regulations of the Lord. Joshua recorded these things in the Book of God’s Instructions…