{"id":13927,"date":"2021-01-28T21:00:22","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T04:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/joshua_23_6-16-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-01-24T17:22:47","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T00:22:47","slug":"joshua_24_11-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/joshua_24_11-21\/","title":{"rendered":"The Right Reason to Serve God"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joshua 24:11-21 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Joshua 24:11-21.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Joshua 24:11-18 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you–also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Now fear the\u00a0LORD\u00a0and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the\u00a0LORD.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But if serving the\u00a0LORD\u00a0seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the\u00a0LORD.”
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the\u00a0LORD\u00a0to serve other gods!
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0It was the\u00a0LORD\u00a0our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the\u00a0LORD, because he is our God.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 11-18:\u00a0\u00a0Here Joshua continues his final address to the Israelites.\u00a0\u00a0He recalls events that are well known to the Israelites, because most of these Israelites would have experienced these events personally: how God helped them to cross the Jordan, gave different cities and peoples into their hands, drove out enemy nations before them, and gave them land that they did not work for and cities they did not build.\u00a0\u00a0On this basis Joshua commands the Israelites to serve the Lord and not any other god (v14), and personally commits his own household to serving the Lord (v15).\u00a0\u00a0The people respond similarly, saying that they will serve the Lord because it was He who rescued them from slavery, protected them in the wilderness, and drove out the nations so that they could have the promised land (v16-18).<\/p>\n

Notice that it was on God\u2019s amazing grace shown to the Israelites is the reason Joshua calls the Israelites to serve the Lord and the reason the Israelites agree to do so here.\u00a0\u00a0In other words, Joshua calls the Israelites to serve the Lord, and the Israelites agree to serve the Lord, all as a response to the undeserved goodness and kindness that God has already shown to them, and not as a way to curry favour or to earn anything from God.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Like the Israelites here, we too have received amazing grace from God.\u00a0\u00a0Through Christ\u2019s death on the cross, we have received one undeserved blessing after another: we are forgiven of our sins, we are declared righteous and blameless in God\u2019s sight, we are included in God\u2019s family as His children, we are called priests who get to serve Him, and we are given citizenship in heaven and access to God\u2019s holy presence forever.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the words of Joshua 24:13, by God\u2019s grace we have received land that we did not work for, cities we did not build, and vineyards we did not plant.<\/p>\n

So remember that\u00a0whenever we serve God, it is a response to the undeserved grace God has already shown to us.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0If the reason you are serving God is because you want to earn His love or you think that by doing so God will then owe you, your mindset when it comes to serving God is faulty and unhealthy at its foundation.\u00a0\u00a0That is because serving God was always meant to be a response to the amazing and undeserved love and kindness God has already shown to us.\u00a0\u00a0We can never repay God for all that He has done, how He gave His only Son for us.\u00a0\u00a0What we give to God can never compare to what God has already given to us.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0So serve God as a loving, thankful response to His love, not as an attempt to blackmail God into doing what we want.<\/strong><\/p>\n

By the way, I love Joshua\u2019s statement in verse 15, \u201cBut as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0In other words, regardless of what others around him would do, Joshua was committed to leading his family in serving God.\u00a0\u00a0Parents, be committed to leading your family to serve God, regardless of how your peers or the people around you choose to run their lives.\u00a0\u00a0In serving God and living for Him, there is peace, joy, hope and blessing that the world cannot give.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joshua 24:19-21 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the\u00a0LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If you forsake the\u00a0LORD\u00a0and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the\u00a0LORD.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 19-21:\u00a0\u00a0What is Joshua doing here?\u00a0\u00a0Is Joshua trying to discourage the Israelites from serving God?\u00a0\u00a0No.\u00a0\u00a0Rather, Joshua is testing and firming up the Israelites\u2019 commitment to serve the Lord.\u00a0\u00a0He is telling the Israelites not to take serving God lightly, but to see serving God as a serious commitment and a long-term responsibility.\u00a0\u00a0He is warning the Israelites not to say yes to serving God, only to go back to serving other gods, lest they incur God\u2019s wrath by doing so.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t take serving God lightly.\u00a0\u00a0See it as a serious responsibility.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Also, Joshua is absolutely right to say that God is a holy and jealous God.\u00a0\u00a0Were it not for Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, we couldn\u2019t stand a chance in God\u2019s holy presence because of our sin.\u00a0\u00a0But praise God!\u00a0\u00a0Even when we stumble and fall after we commit our lives to Jesus, we are protected from ultimate disaster because of the blood of Jesus.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0In this way we are even more fortunate than the Israelites of Joshua\u2019s day, for we have the blood of Jesus constantly covering our sin and failure.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding me today that the reason we serve You is not to blackmail You or to make You owe us something.\u00a0\u00a0Rather all of our service is simply a loving, thankful response to what You have already done for us, the amazing grace which You have shown us and which we can never repay.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You that because of the blood of Jesus which covers our sins, we can serve You with confidence, even when we fall and make mistakes along the way.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You that Your mercy outlasts our mistakes.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Joshua 24:11-21.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Joshua 24:11-18 (NIV)\u00a0
\n11\u00a0\u00a0“‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands.\u00a0
\n12\u00a0\u00a0I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you–also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow.\u00a0
\n13\u00a0\u00a0So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’\u00a0
\n14\u00a0\u00a0“Now fear the\u00a0LORD\u00a0and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the\u00a0LORD.\u00a0……<\/p>\n

On verses 11-18:\u00a0\u00a0Here Joshua continues his final address to the Israelites.\u00a0\u00a0He recalls events that are well known to the Israelites, because most of these Israelites would have experienced these events personally: how God helped them to cross the Jordan, gave different cities and peoples into their hands, drove out enemy nations before them, and gave them land that they did not work for and cities they did not build.\u00a0\u00a0On this basis Joshua commands the Israelites to serve the Lord and not any other god (v14), and personally commits his own household to serving the Lord (v15).\u00a0\u00a0The people respond similarly, saying that they will serve the Lord because it was He who rescued them from slavery, protected them in the wilderness, and drove out the nations so that they could have the promised land (v16-18).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13932,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13927"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13928,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13927\/revisions\/13928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}