Sermon
Community Service
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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And Kirstie to come and read. So if you'd like to come up the front, you can put your
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Bibles here and use this. Just hold it up to your mouth so we can all hear.
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It's Joshua chapter 24, verses 1 to 13 I'll be reading. That's page 240 on the church
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Bibles. Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders,
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leaders, judges, and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
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Joshua said to all the people, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. Long ago your
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forefathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the river,
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and worshipped other gods. But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the river,
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and led him throughout Canaan, and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave
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Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Ther to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
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Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you
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out. When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them
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with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put
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darkness between you and the Egyptians. He brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with
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your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the desert for a long time. I brought you
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to the land of the Amorites, who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them
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into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. When Balak,
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son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam, son of Beor,
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to put a curse on you. But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again,
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and I delivered you out of his hand. Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens
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of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites,
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Gergashites, Hivites, and Jebusites. But I gave them into your hands. I sent the hornet ahead of you,
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which drove them out before you. Also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword
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and bow. So I gave you a land in which you did not toil, and cities you did not build,
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and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.
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Let's continue in verse 14. Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the
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gods of your forefathers, worship beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the
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Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether
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the gods of your forefathers serve beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are
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living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Then the people answered,
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Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods. It was the Lord, our God himself, who
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brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs
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before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey, and among all the nations through which
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we traveled. And the Lord drove out before all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the
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land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God. Joshua said to the people, You are not able to
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serve the Lord. He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.
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If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and will make
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an end of you, after he has been good to you. But the people said to Joshua, No, we will serve the
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Lord. Then Joshua said, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.
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Yes, we are witnesses, they replied. Now then, said Joshua, throw away the foreign gods that are among
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you, and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel. And the people said to Joshua, We will serve
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the Lord our God and obey him. On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem
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he drew up for them decrees and laws. And Joshua recorded these things in the book of law of God.
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Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak, near the holy place of the Lord.
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See, he said to all the people, this stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words
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the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.
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Thank you, Jonathan and Kirstie for reading. Let's talk to God, let's pray. As we finish
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off this great book of Joshua, let's pray together.
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Our Father God, you are very great. You are creator and ruler over our lives. And we are small
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and insignificant. And we come before you humbly and ask that you would speak to us.
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We ask that you would change our lives. That you would cause us to be a people who live in response
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to you in worship. Teach us what that means. And help us in Jesus' name. Amen.
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So all the hard work has been done. Battles have been fought, cities have been captured,
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and the lands have all been divided. Finally, God's people can sit back and take things easy
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in the promised land. That's the expectation as we reach the concluding chapter of Joshua chapter 24.
Joshua 24 chapter mention
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After 600 years of patiently waiting for God's promise to be realized, it seems that at long
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last they can rest and relax they can rest and relax. Perhaps it's time to build a nice new home
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along the Mediterranean coast. Maybe to upgrade their car or their chariot or whatever they used.
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Join the gym and take a few holidays. But God is not finished with his people. Far from settling down,
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it's time to start serving. The sight that Joshua has chosen to speak to the people is full of
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significance. Let's read verse 1. Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. Not just
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individuals. Everybody was included. All God's people. He summoned the elders, the leaders, the judges,
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and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. Well, you say, what's significant about
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that? Well, Shechem was the place where God first met Abraham way back in Genesis chapter 12. It was the
Genesis 12 chapter mention
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place that God spoke promises to Abraham. He said to Abraham all those years ago, I promise you that you
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will be a great nation. You will have a land in which to live and you will be a blessing.
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Now here they are, 600 years later, gathered together as a nation, gathered together in the land that God
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had promised to hear Joshua's speech. What's he going to say to them? Well, to our surprise, look at what he does
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say in verse 14. Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Rather than settling down, it's a time to get up
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and start serving. The work is just beginning. You see, God has brought his people into the land so that they can bring
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God to the surrounding nations. They are to serve God by speaking and living the salvation that they've experienced
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and come to know. They are to begin to live out amongst the people around them. So it's not a case of Israel
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sitting back and putting the feet up and watching TV. It's a case of God has so blessed you.
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Now go and be a blessing to all the other nations. Go and be a blessing to the world. Go and serve your God.
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So Joshua chapter 24 reminds us that while God has saved us, it's only the start. Our salvation is only the beginning.
Joshua 24 chapter mention
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He has saved us so that we can go and serve him together as a community wholeheartedly.
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And sometimes we lose sight of that. We are very individualistic in our thinking about things that I want to do.
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There's none of that here. The whole nation of Israel was gathered together.
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We are all gathered together this morning to hear what God is saying to us together, not individually.
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It's a message for his church today.
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Well, what does he have to say to his church? Well, let's look at what God has done, first of all, his amazing salvation.
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Look at verse 2.
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Now let's go back in time to where Abraham was.
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He was the kind of guy who you would never see in church.
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If you showed Abraham a Bible, he wouldn't know what it was.
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Verse 2 tells us that he and his family worshipped other gods.
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God wasn't on his radar. He wasn't looking for him and he wasn't wanting him.
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In fact, Abraham's whole life was lived serving someone else or something else.
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Because that's what worship is.
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That's what it says in verse 2.
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They worshipped other gods.
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Worship is not about singing songs and getting excited with the praise time.
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As much as it's good to sing, that's not what worship is.
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Worship is all about what or who you serve.
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What you give your life to.
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What you give your life to.
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Or who is most important to you becomes the object of your worship.
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So, whatever you love the most, whoever you trust the most, that's where you serve.
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And for Abraham, it was certainly not the creator god.
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He had a god of his own invention or making.
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People of Abraham's culture, well, they depicted everything as a god.
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They had hundreds of gods.
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They had sex gods.
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They had work gods.
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They had money gods, nation gods.
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Gods all over the place.
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And in reality, all of these different gods were just replacements for the one true god.
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They were god substitutes.
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And that's how Abraham and his family lived.
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They were ruled by the gods that they made and therefore they worshipped them.
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They served them.
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Now, the problem with worshipping other gods is they're not actually good to you.
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They enslave you.
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They begin to control you and to consume you.
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And isn't that what happens when we make money and work and family a god,
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when we put that as the priority in our lives?
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They begin to control your life.
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They begin to overtake you.
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And so you live your life for that.
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And rather than your gods giving you something,
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they begin to take from you.
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They take of your life.
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They suck you dry.
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And the trouble with these kind of gods is that you make and create for yourself,
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they can't free you.
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They can't do anything for you.
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Of course they give us some pleasure for a time,
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but they're powerless.
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Rather than save you,
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they actually enslave you.
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And this is the life that Abraham was stuck in.
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He was living a life where he was worshipping other gods.
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And it's the kind of life that we're in as well.
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It's how society operates.
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Oz Guinness, you may have heard of him as a well-known apologist,
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comes from the great line of the Guinness family.
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He wrote in one of his books,
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No God but God.
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Listen to this quote.
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He says,
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When we cease to worship God,
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we do not worship nothing.
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We worship anything.
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We don't just eliminate God.
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We don't just put God to one side.
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We erect God's substitutes in his place.
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A God's substitute can be anything.
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It can be a physical object,
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a property.
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It can be a person,
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like your spouse.
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It can be an activity,
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like sport.
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It can be a role,
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an institution,
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like church.
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It can be a hope,
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an image,
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like beauty,
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an idea,
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or a pleasure,
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a hero.
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Anything can substitute for God.
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And so, like Abraham,
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we need to be people who are set free
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from the gods that we worship
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so that we can be free to serve
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and worship the true living God.
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And that's exactly what God did in Abraham's life.
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Look at verse 3.
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He says,
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But I took your father Abraham
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from the land beyond the river
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and led him throughout Canaan
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and gave him many descendants.
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I gave him Isaac.
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And to Isaac,
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I gave Jacob and Esau.
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I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau.
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Do you see what's going on here?
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It is God who makes the move.
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He says,
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I took you, Abraham.
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God intervenes.
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God takes the initiative.
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And when we're stuck worshipping
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and serving something
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or someone else,
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we need somebody from outside
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to come into our lives,
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to break into our lives,
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to free us.
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And this is illustrated so well for us
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in the next few verses.
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Look at the end of verse 4.
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We learn that, yes,
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he had taken Isaac and Jacob
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and they had had many families,
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but Jacob and his sons
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went down to Egypt
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where they were enslaved.
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Verse 5.
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Then I sent Moses and Aaron
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and I afflicted the Egyptians
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by what I did there
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and I brought you out.
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Now not only were they rescued
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and set free from slavery.
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Verse 8.
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I brought you to the land
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of the Amorites
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who lived east of the Jordan.
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They fought against you,
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but I gave them into your hands.
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I destroyed them from before you
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and you took possession
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of their land.
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Look at verse 11.
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Keep with me.
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Then you crossed the Jordan
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and you came to Jericho.
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The citizens of Jericho
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fought against you
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as did the Amorites,
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the Perizzites,
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the Canaanites,
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the Hittites,
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the Girgashites,
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the Hivites,
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Jebusites,
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and all the other ites
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that there would have been.
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And I gave them into your hands.
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Verse 13.
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So I gave you a land
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on which you did not toil
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and cities you did not build
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and you live in them
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and you eat from the vineyards
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and from the olive groves
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that you did not plant.
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Do you see what he's saying here?
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It's crystal clear.
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Salvation is God's work.
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We can't free ourselves
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from our own slavery.
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We need God to rescue us.
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Now I want to drive this home
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for us this morning
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because many people
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like to think
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that we can free ourselves.
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That somehow
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when it comes to salvation
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it's our choice
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and our decision.
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That we have the power
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and the resources
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within ourselves
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to change us.
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But that's not what God is saying.
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Look at the emphasis.
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It's all I.
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I took you.
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I sent Moses.
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I brought you into the land.
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I fought for you.
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I delivered you.
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I gave what you did not have.
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In other words
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you cannot save yourself.
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You can't free yourself.
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Abraham and his family
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couldn't do it
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and neither can we.
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It's not your decision.
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It's not even your desire.
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It's all by God's grace.
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Now of course
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some of you will be thinking
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they're going
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yeah but don't I decide
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to follow Jesus?
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Yeah I know this thing
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about God choosing
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and all the rest of it.
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But don't I decide
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to follow Jesus?
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Don't I decide
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to be a Christian?
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Well no you don't decide.
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One of the most well-known verses
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that we often quote
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from Ephesians 2.
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It says by grace
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you have been saved
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and it's through faith
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which is the gift of God.
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Even faith
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the faith to believe in God
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is a gift from God.
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It comes from Him.
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And this is the point
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that He's making.
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You made no move towards me.
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You were off serving
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your own gods
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and doing your own thing
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but I intervened
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into your life
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and caused you.
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I called you.
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I chose you.
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It's all by God's grace.
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Why?
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So that He would humble us.
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He would remove
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any ounce of pride
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any sense of superiority
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because as soon as I say
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well I did something
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or I chose
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or I responded
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then we're saying
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I did something
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what somebody else can't do.
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It removes all pride
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and all sense of superiority.
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superiority.
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But the big point is
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if God has done this for us
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as God has intervened
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into our life
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if God has saved us
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and freed us
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and blessed us
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then the only reasonable
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and right response
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is to give our lives
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in service
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to the only true God.
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God has done this for you
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if God has saved us
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and freed us
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then the only right response
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is to give our lives
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in service
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to the true God.
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So having looked at
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God's amazing salvation
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let's look at how we respond
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our loving service.
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there's a few things
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that we need to look at here.
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The first one is
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choose who you serve.
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Joshua gives a very simple
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but yet direct choice
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to God's people.
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Look at verse 15.
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He says there
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but if serving the Lord
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seems undesirable to you
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then choose for yourselves
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this day
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whom you will serve
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whether the gods
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your forefathers
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served beyond the river
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or the gods
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of the Amorites
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in whose land
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you are living.
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But as for me
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and my household
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we will serve the Lord.
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Now read that carefully.
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Look at the verse.
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Read it carefully.
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It does not say
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choose to serve God
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and then serve nothing.
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No it says
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choose whom
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you will serve.
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In other words
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if you don't serve God
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you will end up
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serving someone else
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or something else.
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Because you can't serve
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nothing.
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Every one of us
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are born into this world
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as servers
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and worshippers.
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We all worship
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someone or something.
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And since we're all
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very good this morning
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and we've all gotten
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out of our beds
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and we're here in
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church together
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and we're reading
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our Bibles
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and listening
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and paying attention
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we're all going to say
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I serve God
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I worship God
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that's me
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that's who I've chosen.
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But do we?
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Do we worship God?
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Do we serve God?
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Well
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I help stack up
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a few chairs
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and I kind of
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I do my bit
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and I serve the tea
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and coffee
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and well I'm even there
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on a Wednesday
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sometimes handing out
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the flyers.
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I do my bit.
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But is that it?
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Is that what service?
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Is that what worship is?
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Now I want us to do
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some really hard
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self-examination here
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and I ask myself
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the same questions.
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I'm going to ask
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two big questions
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and I want you to
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think about it
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very carefully.
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Here's the first one.
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It's to find out
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who we serve.
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To find out
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where our worship
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is lying.
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Here's the first question.
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What is
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your greatest
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nightmare?
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What causes you
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the most amount
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of worry?
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Okay?
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Stay with me.
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I'm over here.
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Okay?
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What's your greatest
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nightmare?
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What causes you
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the most amount
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of worry?
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Is it losing
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your job?
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Is it maybe
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getting cancer?
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Is it your
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children's future
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and what's
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going to happen
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then?
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Is it maybe
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losing your spouse?
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And here's
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the next question
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and it's related
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to it.
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So you've all
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got something
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there that
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causes you
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the biggest
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worry.
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What do you
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look to
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to comfort
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you or
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give you
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happiness
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when those
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worries come
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or when
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things go
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wrong in
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your life?
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Where do you
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look to?
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What do you
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go to to
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give some
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little comfort
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to yourself?
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Is it in
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relationships?
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Maybe it's
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sex.
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Maybe you run
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to family.
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Maybe it's
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all about
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comfort spending
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and buying
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yourself
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little treats.
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Maybe it's
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even in
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religion,
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in church.
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Now your
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answer to
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those questions
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will tell you
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what or who
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you serve.
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What's most
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important to you
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in life?
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What do you
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dream about
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and long for
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when you're
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sitting down
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daydreaming?
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Where does
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your mind
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go to?
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anything that
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takes priority
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over God,
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anything that
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is more
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important to
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you than
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God is
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what we
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serve.
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And the
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reality is we
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serve many
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gods.
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We worship
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our job.
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It consumes
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us.
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It's what we
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live for.
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We worship
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our children.
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Our children
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tell us,
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control us.
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They absorb
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us.
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Our health
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becomes a
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God.
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Our
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relationships,
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the need
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for a
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partner,
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the need
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for a
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boyfriend or
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a girlfriend
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or a
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wife or
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a husband,
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that becomes
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the priority
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and the
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goal of
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our life.
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And God
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gets pushed
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out.
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As we said
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earlier in the
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quote,
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God is
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eliminated.
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We push
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him to one
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side and
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we erect
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God's
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substitutes.
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Something to
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take the
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place of
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God.
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Something that
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we look to
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for our
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meaning and
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our purpose.
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So there's a
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challenging
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question,
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verse 15.
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In the
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light of
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God's
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amazing
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salvation,
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choose who
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you will
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serve.
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Is it the
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God who
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frees you
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or the
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gods that
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fail you?
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So choose
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who you
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serve.
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Second,
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know the
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cost.
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God's
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God.
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Because
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serving
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God is
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not going
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to be
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easy.
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This next
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point is
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an attempt
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to stop
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anybody from
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becoming a
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Christian.
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You've heard
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me.
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It costs
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your life.
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It's
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serious if
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you are
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going to
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be a
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Christian.
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Verse
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16.
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The people
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answered,
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far be
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it for
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us to
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forsake
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the
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Lord to
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serve
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other
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gods.
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Verse
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19.
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Then Joshua
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said to
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the people,
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you're not
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able to
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serve the
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Lord.
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He is a
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holy God.
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He is a
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jealous God.
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He will
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not forgive
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your rebellion
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and your
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sins.
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If you
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forsake the
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Lord and
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serve other
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gods,
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he will
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turn and
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bring disaster
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on you and
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make an
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end of you
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after he
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has been
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good to
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you.
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You see,
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serving God
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is serious.
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It's not
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for half-hearted
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people.
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We can't
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treat God
-
with an
-
attitude that
-
says something
-
like this,
-
sure,
-
God is
-
loving and
-
forgiving.
-
It really
-
doesn't matter
-
how I
-
treat God
-
and,
-
well,
-
if I
-
want to
-
live my
-
life this
-
way and
-
God is
-
second best,
-
that's okay
-
because God
-
always forgives
-
us,
-
doesn't he?
-
He's kind
-
and compassionate
-
and gracious
-
and,
-
well,
-
God may be
-
forgiving,
-
but it
-
doesn't give
-
us a
-
right to
-
abuse his
-
forgiveness
-
or take
-
it for
-
granted.
-
And I
-
think Joshua
-
is putting
-
it up to
-
them.
-
He's
-
challenging
-
them and
-
he's putting
-
it up to
-
us as well
-
as we
-
listen in.
-
It requires
-
careful thinking
-
for each one
-
of us to
-
respond.
-
He's
-
challenging
-
us of
-
the cost.
-
Can you
-
do it?
-
He is a
-
great God.
-
God,
-
can you
-
give your
-
life to
-
him?
-
But yet
-
he's urging
-
us on in
-
his commitment.
-
You can't
-
serve him.
-
You can't
-
serve this
-
God.
-
Yes,
-
we can.
-
He's urging
-
them on in
-
their commitment.
-
Isn't that
-
exactly what
-
Jesus said?
-
Let me read
-
to you from
-
Mark's
-
Gospel.
-
Jesus said,
-
whoever wants
-
to save
-
his life
-
will lose
-
it.
-
Whoever
-
loses his
-
life for
-
me and
-
for the
-
Gospel
-
will save
-
it.
-
What good
-
is it for
-
a person
-
to gain
-
the whole
-
world yet
-
forfeit
-
his soul?
-
What can
-
a person
-
give in
-
exchange for
-
his soul?
-
If anyone
-
is ashamed
-
of me,
-
says Jesus,
-
and my
-
words in
-
this
-
adulterous
-
and sinful
-
generation,
-
then I
-
will be
-
ashamed of
-
him when
-
he comes
-
in my
-
Father's
-
glory.
-
Before we
-
start making
-
great and
-
grand promises,
-
before we
-
start waving
-
our flags
-
around and
-
saying,
-
oh, I'm
-
going to
-
serve the
-
Lord,
-
or I'm
-
committed to
-
him,
-
know the
-
cost of
-
serving a
-
God who
-
saves.
-
It's
-
serious.
-
It costs
-
your life.
-
The third
-
thing there
-
then is,
-
know the
-
cost.
-
Second,
-
deal with
-
your
-
gods.
-
If we're
-
going to
-
choose to
-
serve God,
-
we must
-
first deal
-
with our
-
God
-
substitutes
-
that we
-
have in
-
our lives.
-
Look at
-
verse 14,
-
he says,
-
fear the
-
Lord,
-
serve him
-
with all
-
faithfulness,
-
throw away
-
the gods
-
your
-
forefathers
-
worshipped.
-
And the
-
people,
-
verse 21,
-
the people
-
said to
-
Joshua,
-
we will
-
serve the
-
Lord.
-
Then Joshua
-
said,
-
you are
-
witnesses
-
against
-
yourselves
-
that you
-
have chosen
-
to serve
-
the Lord.
-
Yes,
-
we are
-
witnesses,
-
they replied.
-
Now then,
-
said Joshua,
-
throw away
-
the foreign
-
gods that
-
are among
-
you and
-
yield your
-
hearts to
-
the Lord,
-
the God
-
of Israel.
-
This is a
-
call to
-
repentance
-
and faith.
-
We are
-
first of all
-
to repent.
-
That means
-
we are to
-
turn from
-
the things
-
that we
-
worship and
-
serve.
-
Look at
-
what it
-
says,
-
verse 23,
-
throw away
-
your gods.
-
we must
-
take active
-
steps to
-
remove
-
whatever it
-
is that
-
has become
-
the priority
-
in our
-
life and
-
replace it
-
with God.
-
The answer
-
to the
-
questions that
-
we gave
-
earlier,
-
what is that
-
thing that
-
drives you?
-
What is it
-
that consumes
-
your thinking?
-
Put it
-
to one
-
side and
-
replace it
-
with God,
-
the only
-
true God.
-
Repent.
-
second,
-
we must
-
have faith.
-
That means
-
that in
-
trusting,
-
that means
-
that trusting
-
in God,
-
we have
-
everything
-
that we
-
need.
-
Look at
-
verse 23
-
again,
-
it says,
-
yield your
-
hearts
-
to the
-
Lord.
-
When we
-
worship God,
-
when He
-
alone is
-
our object
-
of trust,
-
when He
-
alone is
-
the person
-
we look
-
to for
-
our
-
confidence,
-
we will
-
find that
-
He
-
fills us,
-
that He
-
satisfies
-
us,
-
that He
-
frees
-
us.
-
If
-
everything
-
in your
-
life that
-
surrounds
-
your life,
-
if all
-
of that
-
was to
-
be
-
zapped
-
in one
-
moment,
-
all taken
-
from you,
-
lose your
-
job,
-
lose your
-
health,
-
lose your
-
family,
-
and all
-
you're left
-
with is
-
God,
-
and you
-
can still
-
say,
-
He is
-
my
-
everything.
-
I am
-
completely
-
satisfied and
-
content because
-
I have
-
God.
-
in Him
-
we rest.
-
And here
-
is a
-
double action
-
to deal
-
with our
-
gods.
-
Throw
-
away your
-
gods and
-
yield your
-
hearts to
-
the Lord.
-
Now we
-
need to
-
take time
-
to think
-
this through.
-
What is it
-
that controls
-
us?
-
What is it
-
that you're
-
building your
-
life around?
-
What right
-
now is your
-
number one
-
desire or
-
priority?
-
What's the
-
dream that
-
you have
-
for life?
-
If it's
-
not God
-
and His
-
glory,
-
deal with
-
it now.
-
Deal with
-
it now.
-
I think
-
we all,
-
myself
-
included,
-
need to
-
repent
-
and have
-
faith.
-
look at
-
verse 25.
-
On that
-
day Joshua
-
made a
-
covenant
-
for the
-
people and
-
I'll read
-
again,
-
sorry.
-
On that
-
day Joshua
-
made a
-
covenant
-
for the
-
people and
-
there at
-
Shechem he
-
drew up for
-
them decrees
-
and laws.
-
He's saying
-
to the
-
people,
-
if you
-
keep your
-
promise,
-
if you
-
keep your
-
promise to
-
serve God
-
as you
-
have said,
-
then blessing
-
will come
-
to you.
-
But if
-
you break
-
your
-
promise,
-
if you
-
fail to
-
serve,
-
then curses
-
will fall
-
on you.
-
That's what's
-
going on
-
here,
-
verse 26.
-
And Joshua
-
recorded these
-
things in the
-
book of the
-
law of God
-
and he took
-
up a large
-
stone and
-
he set it
-
up under
-
the oak
-
near the
-
holy place
-
of the
-
Lord.
-
See,
-
he said
-
to all
-
the people,
-
this stone
-
will be a
-
witness against
-
us.
-
It has
-
heard all
-
the words
-
the Lord
-
has said
-
to us.
-
In other
-
words,
-
it serves
-
as a
-
reminder of
-
what's
-
going on
-
here.
-
It will
-
be a
-
witness
-
against
-
you if
-
you are
-
untrue
-
to your
-
God.
-
At the
-
very
-
site
-
where God
-
made and
-
kept his
-
promise,
-
the people
-
now make
-
their promise
-
to serve
-
God.
-
But you
-
know something
-
about this
-
promise?
-
It's
-
terrifying.
-
It's
-
really
-
terrifying.
-
terrifying.
-
Because if
-
they break
-
their promise,
-
if they
-
are untrue
-
to God,
-
if they
-
should fail
-
and begin
-
to serve
-
other gods,
-
then look
-
what happens.
-
Look back
-
at verse
-
20.
-
If you
-
forsake the
-
Lord and
-
serve foreign
-
gods,
-
he will
-
turn and
-
bring disaster
-
on you and
-
make an end
-
of you.
-
That's why
-
it's terrifying.
-
And we
-
know the
-
sad history
-
as we
-
read on
-
through our
-
Bibles.
-
That Israel
-
made this
-
great promise,
-
oh, we
-
will serve
-
you, oh, we
-
will give our
-
lives to you,
-
oh, we
-
will never
-
turn to
-
anybody else.
-
And they
-
failed.
-
They were
-
untrue.
-
And disaster
-
did come.
-
And they
-
ended up in
-
exile.
-
And the
-
curse of
-
God fell
-
on that
-
nation.
-
And you
-
know what?
-
We are
-
no better.
-
Don't we
-
replace God
-
with God's
-
substitutes?
-
Haven't we
-
all made
-
promises?
-
Haven't we?
-
We all make
-
promises, I'm
-
going to serve
-
God, I'm
-
going to do
-
this, and
-
we fail.
-
And we
-
fail.
-
And it
-
seems that
-
serving this
-
God is an
-
impossible task
-
for us to
-
do.
-
But God
-
knows our
-
hearts.
-
He knows
-
that we are
-
just like
-
Abraham that
-
we read at
-
the beginning,
-
that we
-
worship other
-
gods and we
-
can't save
-
ourselves.
-
so that the
-
God that
-
deserves our
-
service, the
-
God who
-
deserves our
-
worship, comes
-
down to
-
serve us.
-
The God
-
who made
-
us and
-
deserves our
-
worship, bowed
-
before us.
-
The God who
-
rules over all
-
served us by
-
dying for us.
-
He worshipped by
-
obeying his
-
father's call and
-
going to the
-
cross.
-
And the
-
curse and
-
the disaster
-
that should
-
fall on us
-
fell on God
-
so that the
-
blessings might
-
come to us.
-
That the
-
blessings might
-
come to us
-
that we might
-
be able to
-
go and serve
-
God without
-
fear, without
-
condemnation, in
-
complete joy.
-
Tell me, the
-
gods that we
-
have, the
-
gods that we
-
worship, the
-
gods that we
-
serve, would
-
they die for
-
you?
-
The gods that
-
we make and
-
create, do
-
they love you
-
and would they
-
give their life
-
for you?
-
In your
-
minds, look
-
at the one
-
and only true
-
God as he
-
hangs on the
-
cross, broken
-
for you,
-
destroyed for
-
you, crushed
-
for you under
-
the weight of
-
God's curse.
-
As we
-
create God's
-
substitute, he
-
becomes our
-
substitute.
-
In your
-
mind, see the
-
love and the
-
grace and the
-
mercy as blood
-
flows from his
-
hands and from
-
his feet and
-
from his head
-
and his side.
-
Hear him as he
-
cries out on the
-
cross in agony
-
and pain.
-
My God, my
-
God, why have
-
you forsaken
-
me?
-
He came to
-
serve you.
-
He came to
-
die for me
-
and for you.
-
And listen to
-
his promise
-
that all who
-
come to him
-
will not die
-
but will live.
-
This God
-
served you
-
and this
-
God saved
-
you.
-
How can we
-
not give
-
our lives
-
in service
-
to such
-
a great
-
God?
-
Let's just
-
take time to
-
be quiet
-
before we
-
sing our
-
closing song.
-
There's a lot
-
to think through,
-
a lot to
-
contemplate.
-
but we're
-
just going to
-
have a
-
moment's
-
quietness
-
now.
-
An
-
opportunity
-
for us
-
to think
-
about the
-
gods that we
-
serve and
-
worship.
-
where do
-
we need
-
to repent?
-
Ask God
-
to forgive
-
you and
-
to replace
-
those gods
-
with the
-
one and
-
true living
-
God.
-
God.
-
our
-
Father God,
-
may you be
-
our
-
priority.
-
May you be
-
our desire.
-
May you be
-
what controls
-
us and
-
consumes us
-
every day.
-
Forgive us,
-
Lord, for the
-
times we put
-
job and
-
family,
-
even church
-
and other
-
things and
-
people in
-
front of you.
-
Help us to
-
serve you and
-
to worship you
-
as we ought.
-
To center our
-
hearts around
-
you and to
-
make you the
-
focus of our
-
lives.
-
Teach us what
-
it is to
-
serve you.
-
Thank you
-
that we
-
can serve
-
you.
-
Thank you
-
that Jesus
-
died to
-
take the
-
blame for
-
all of our
-
failure so
-
that we can
-
now go and
-
serve you
-
without fear
-
and in
-
complete joy.
-
Thank you
-
for Jesus.
-
Amen.
-
Amen.
-
Amen.
-
Amen.
-
Amen.
-
Amen.
-
Amen.
-
Amen.
-
Amen.