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The Choice of a New
Generation
Joshua 24:1-28
In 1984 Pepsi
Cola was neck deep in the cola wars with Coke a Cola. For the last 20
years, Coke and Pepsi had gone back and forth as the best selling soft
drink in America. Realizing that their target consumer were teenagers
Pepsi enlisted the help of TV, music and sports stars like Michel
Jackson, Joe Montana, and Michael J Fox. Young talent, with a voice that
would be listened to all told us to drink Pepsi, since it was The Choice
of a New Generation.
The slogan was so appealing to our fast food world because it offered us
what we wanted: First, it said that we had a choice. Is there anything
more freeing than the ability to make a choice? Tonight you had the
choice of what to wear, whether you are going with us to the park after
church or not, what you will eat, and according to Pepsi what you will
drink.
The second thing we were offered was the ability to make the right
choice. So many times, we long for the ability to choose but we struggle
with making the right decision. Have you ever had one of those
experiences at a fast food restaurant, where you have waited in line and
now there is one person between you and two all beef patties special
sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame seed bun. And the person
in front of you freezes. They just stand there looking at the menu like
it is the first time they have ever seen it. Sure, we all have, and it
is because the person wants the choice but they are afraid of making the
wrong choice.
There is one more thing that Pepsi was telling us, they were going to
encourage us to make the right choice, Billy Crystal, and Tina Turner
were going to encourage us to make the right choice, but they knew that
they couldn’t make it for us. You see the only person who can make that
decision for me is me.
Turn with me to the book of Joshua. At the end of this book Joshua is
telling the Children of Israel that they also have a choice and he is
encouraging them to make the right choice but he is differentiated
enough to know that he can’t make the choice for them. Look with me at
Joshua 24:15 "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."
We live in a day and time when it is getting harder and harder to make
the right choice because we are scared of the commitment that comes with
that choice. We like to keep all our options open. But the Lord says we
have to make a choice, and we have to renew our commitment to that
choice. We need to say, "You know, Lord, twenty years ago, I made a
choice to follow you. I made a commitment to put you first in my life, a
decision to turn from my sinful ways and dedicate my life to you. And I
want you to know that I meant what I said, and I am just as committed to
you now as I was twenty years ago."
It’s too easy for all of us to fall back and not be as fired up for God
as we once were. As things slow down we have to make the choice again
that, "This is who I am and this is what I’, going to do."
Tonight with this text as our background I want to look at what it takes
to make a great choice.
A Reason For Confidence
I want you to notice how Joshua helps them make the right decision.
Starting in verse 2, he reminds the people of Israel of all the
wonderful things God has done for them. He talks about how God blessed
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Then he talks about Moses and Aaron. He talks
about how God brought the plagues on the Egyptians. He talks about how
the Lord led the Israelites through the Red Sea and how the Red Sea
closed down on the Egyptians and what a great victory it was. And then
he takes them to the edge of Canaan and he talks about how God gave them
the promised land.
Basically he gives them a quick historical account of God’s dealings
with his people, and how faithful God had been through the years. The
reason that he did this was whenever you’re about to make a big
decision, it’s important that you have a reason to choose with
confidence. So Joshua tells them what God has done for them. He tells
them about the faithfulness of God, and he says, "You guys know these
stories as well as I do. Think about how God has treated you. God has
been faithful. On every turn, when we have trusted God we have been
victorious."
We get the opportunity to make a choice to follow God everyday, but we
will only make the right choice if we have the confidence to make the
right choice. But, where do we find this kind of confidence? The key
word that Joshua uses over and over, is "remember". He says, "You guys
need to remember." You see, God knows this -- if you’ll simply remember
what he’s done, if in your mind you’ll remember his faithfulness, and
then you will be faithful to him.
It is only by remembering that we see the work of God in our lives. If
we can remember, then out of a heart of gratitude we’ll want to make the
right choice. If you boil it down to the simplest terms, why do we serve
God? Really out of gratitude. Rules and regulations will only take you
so far. Doing it because it’s the right thing will only last a while.
But there must come a moment if you’re life when you say, "Out of an
appreciation that I have for God and all that’s He’s done for me, I want
to serve Him."
A Great Challenge
In verse 14, Joshua said, "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 Egypt. Serve the Lord!"
Joshua comes to these people and challenges them to make a tough
decision, throw away the gods that you’ve accumulated and serve only the
Lord. I believe that people will make hard choices in response to a
great challenge. And one of the great problems in this country is that
people are afraid to challenge us.
Why was Churchill such an effective leader in World War II?
It wasn’t because he promised the British people a life of ease. It was
because he said, "I promise you nothing but blood, sweat, toil and
tears." And people responded to that message. People seem to respond to
great challenges. People don’t respond well to mediocrity. People don’t
get excited about maintaining the status quo.
Why was Jesus so effective with people? Because he challenged them to
their core. You never see Jesus compromise, you never see Jesus begging.
Rather, you see Jesus saying, "If any man will come after me, let him
deny himself, take up his cross and follow me."
In Tony Campolo’s book Growing Up in America, the author explores why so
many churches are losing their teenagers by the droves. And he makes
this point: "Our teenagers aren’t leaving us because we’ve asked too
much. They’re leaving our churches because we’ve asked too little." I
think that’s true. They don’t have a desire to give themselves to
something mediocre. They don’t have a desire to give themselves to an
organization that’s unwilling to challenge and motivate and say, "Let’s
go for it." And so they leave,. It’s not because we’re asking too much
but because we’re asking too little.
Ability to Choose
Look again at verse 15, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will
serve."
This might be one of those points that seems obvious but if you are
going to make a choice you need the ability to chose. One thing we need
to understand about serving God is that it’s always voluntary. You don’t
have to do it. If you don’t want to, don’t do it. I think there’s a
great freedom in that. The Lord never created any of us to be robots. He
doesn’t want any of us to do it just because we’ve got to do it. But
rather he wants us to freely choose.
I love the fact that Jesus never begged anybody. You never see Jesus
chase anybody down? The rich young ruler, when the Lord saw something
very good in him, but when he left the Lord, you don’t see Jesus going,
"Oh, please come back, please, you need this, you’ve got to have this."
Because the Lord understands that at the very core this is everybody’s
choice. You know, sometimes I have a hard time with that. When there’s
someone I really love, someone whom I want to see go to heaven more than
anything else, I have a problem with allowing it to be their choice. I
wish I could force people to do what’s right, but I can’t. We can
express our love and the love of God, but in the end it’s their choice.
That can be a hard thing to accept.
But it’s called being differentiated, where we want someone else to make
the right choice but we know that we can only choose for us. We see it
in Jesus and in Joshua. "You choose what you’re going to do. I know what
I and my family are going to do. But you do whatever you want to do."
There’s a freedom to that. Every now and then we need to say to
ourselves, this is my choice. Do you ever get discouraged at your job?
Sometimes I do. I know you find that hard to believe, working with you
guys. But sometimes I get discouraged, and I get so tired of doing this.
And you know what I have to do? I sit myself down and I say, "OK,
Jeremy, you don’t have to do this. If you don’t want to, then go do
something else."
If you feel like you’ve got to do something, you feel so hemmed in. So I
say to myself, "If you really don’t like this, then don’t do it. Try
something else." But then there’s always something within me that goes,
"No! I want to do this. This is how I feel God wants me to use my
talents." There’s a great exhilaration in being able to say, "This is my
choice."
I want to tell you something, if you’re struggling in your commitment to
God, why don’t you give yourself a choice. You don’t have to be here.
You don’t have to do this. If you don’t want to do it, don’t. You say,
"I can’t believe Jeremy’s saying that!" That’s what Joshua said. He
said, "I’m not forcing you into anything, it’s your choice."
But, once you do that I think you’ll realize something. I know there are
times in my life when I question my commitment to the Lord. Do I really
want to live this lifestyle? And when I finally say, "Well, Jeremy, go
do something else", everything in me goes, "No, I can’t do that. I
believe this. This is right. This is true. I couldn’t turn my back on
Jesus for anything." There’s something healthy about giving yourself
that choice.
If you’ve been living for a while in mediocrity, sort of half-heartedly
doing this thing, give yourself a choice. Get out of it if you don’t
like it. But if you do want serve the Lord, then do it. As Joshua would
say, "Go for it. Throw away those foreign gods and accept only the Lord
God." You’ve got to have that choice.
Example of Passion
The other side of being differentiated, I can’t make your choice for
you, but I am going to make the right choice. Then Joshua says at the
end of verse 15, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
That’s an example of passion. Joshua says, "You guys do whatever you
want to do, but let me tell you this. I know what me and Mrs. Joshua and
our little ones are going to do. We’re going to serve the Lord." We need
that in the church today, don’t we?
We need some adults to stand up and say, "I’m going to serve God. I
don’t care what you think about me. I don’t care if people think I’ve
gone fanatical and berserk, I’m serving the Lord. And I’m not going to
be ashamed of it."
We need some teenagers who’ll take a stand at school. I know it’s tough,
you know it’s tough. But we need those who say, "I’m making this
commitment if anybody else does or not. I’m going to serve the Lord."
That type of passionate choices will get you noticed and make it easier
for others to make the right decision as well.
Finally We See A Picture of the Consequences
If you keep reading, you see here a picture of the consequences. It’s
interesting. At the end of verse 18, the Israelites scream out, "We also
will serve the Lord, for he is our God." And then look what Joshua says
in verse 19, "But Joshua said to the people, ’You cannot serve the Lord,
for he is a holy God."
I find that interesting. Joshua challenges these guys. He says, "You
need to go for it, you need to choose." And they say, "We’ve chosen,
Joshua. Let’s do it." And then Joshua says, "Sorry, guys, you can’t."
I believe what Joshua is doing here is making these people fight for
their choice. He’s saying, "Guys, do you really want this? Do you really
want it? Or are you saying this because I just preached a fired up
sermon today and I said you need to choose. Or are you doing this
because this is what you really want to do?"
Then he says in verse 20, "If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign
gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after he has
done you good." He’s saying, "Guys, if you’re really serious about this,
you need to look at the consequences. In the long run, what’s it going
to be like to serve God, and what’s it going to be like to serve these
foreign gods?
I believe that we’d do well if we’d look more at the consequences of our
lifestyle. You know, when you give yourself a choice you need to also
raise the question, where will this lead?
If I determine to live a life of selfishness, for my satisfaction and
pleasure, then in the long run what kind of person will I be? Even on
this earth, how happy will I be? And in eternity, where will I be? We
need to look at those consequences.
In 1982 we were living in New Orleans when the unthinkable happened. A
man was on death row for the murder of a family. As he awaited his
execution his attorneys made appeal after appeal trying to save this
mans life. As the hour approached all hope seemed to fade, but at 11:30,
30 minutes before the man was to die in the gas chamber, Governor Edwin
Edwards extended a full pardon to the man.
Overjoyed the attorneys raced to the man’s prison cell to share the
wonderful news. As they told him of his freedom something happened that
brought the state of Louisiana to a standstill. He refused the pardon.
At precisely 12:00 midnight, they strapped the man to the chair and
within a few moments he was dead. The entire state was in shock. The man
had a full pardon, yet chose to die anyway.
A fierce legal battle soon erupted over this issue: Was the man pardoned
because the governor offered the pardon, or was he pardoned only when he
accepted the pardon? The highest court in the state of Louisiana was the
arena for the debate. Ultimately it was decided that the pardon cannot
go into effect until the choice is made to accept it.
And so it is for us. Tonight If you decide that it’s a bad thing to
worship God, then choose a god you’d rather serve—and do it today, but
know that me and my family, we’ll worship God.
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