1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:05,200 Good morning St. City, it is so good to worship 2 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:07,600 Jesus with you all. If you are new to Saint City, 3 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:10,680 one of our values is we are allowed with our love here. 4 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,440 Sometimes that comes out with passionate praise like it just 5 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:15,960 did. But what we want you to know is 6 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:19,440 there is a God who loves you. Like when we say around here 7 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:23,560 that you are loved, that we mean it, that God has demonstrated 8 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:26,400 His love toward you and He is worthy of song. 9 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:28,800 He is worthy of praise. And guess what? 10 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:33,080 As his people, we love you. We are so glad that you are here 11 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:36,760 joining us today and singing songs and hearing from His Word. 12 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:40,560 In fact, if you could turn to Joshua chapter 24 in your Bible, 13 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:42,920 if you don't have a Bible, there's one on the seat nearby 14 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:45,320 in front of you. It's going to be on page 198 in 15 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:46,520 there. And if you don't have a Bible 16 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:50,480 that's yours, congratulations, Oprah, up in Saint City today. 17 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:52,160 You just got a Bible under your seat. 18 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,720 Joshua is God's, one of God's letters to US, one of the 19 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:58,640 stories of his work in the world. 20 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,440 And he's trying to tell you just how much he loves you to the 21 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:04,080 lengths he has gone to save you, the lengths he has gone to 22 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,200 reveal himself to you. That is what Joshua was in your 23 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:09,840 Bible for. And we have gone through this 24 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:14,040 story chapter by chapter, by chapter by chapter. 25 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:20,160 We are now at the end of Joshua, Joshua chapter 24, and we're at 26 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,720 the end of Joshua's life at the end of this story, and he is 27 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,320 pulling George Washington and Hamilton. 28 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,360 He's singing one last time. I got to tell you guys 29 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,000 something. I need a farewell address for 30 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:32,880 you all. I need to tell you about what 31 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,520 God has to say to you. So we're going to get here in 32 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:40,960 Joshua chapter 24 and we're going to learn about the freedom 33 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:44,120 it is to serve Jesus. Today we're going to experience, 34 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:50,560 I'm titling this message service God wants, service that God 35 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,240 wants. When I was 16 years old, like 36 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:58,680 many of you, I got the incredible freedom of getting a 37 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:01,400 driver's license. That was a good day. 38 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:03,800 I could not wait for that day. I was the oldest of four 39 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:06,760 siblings, four boys in my family, and I was the oldest and 40 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,880 that came with a lot of freedom. I was very excited to go to Taco 41 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:14,600 Bell by myself without having to wait for my mom to go pick it 42 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:16,840 up. I was very excited, you know, to 43 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,040 go take the car out, maybe meet a girl at the movie theater, ask 44 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:22,320 her out on a date or something. If I had known there was a 45 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,160 beautiful blonde about 40 miles away, I would have driven to Des 46 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:28,000 Plaines, IL, where Maddie grew up, and asked her on a date. 47 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,800 It probably would have gone well for me then because when I was 48 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:33,080 16 years old, I was like 5 feet tall. 49 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,520 And so if I'd asked Maddie on a date that day with my squeaky 50 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,520 voice, she would have like stood over me because she was taller 51 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:42,600 than me. At that point, she'd be like, 52 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,240 no, bro. So I'm glad that we waited a 53 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:47,200 bit. But I was excited about the 54 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,160 freedoms of having a car. But I did not know it was being 55 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,040 the oldest in the family was that it came with 56 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:55,240 responsibility. It came with responsibility 57 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:59,360 because suddenly my mom had a chauffeur at her disposal for 58 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:01,720 free. Now, that's how I felt. 59 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:03,560 It wasn't actually free. They were helping with my car 60 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:05,040 insurance. You're helping with my gas, all 61 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:06,640 these things, right? So it'd be like, hey, I need you 62 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:08,680 to go pick up your brother here. Hey, I need you to go to the 63 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,680 grocery store and get this. Suddenly, I felt like a servant 64 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:13,680 to my mom in a way I'd never felt like before. 65 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:15,200 And I did not like that very much. 66 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:17,840 Nobody put Brandon in a corner, OK? 67 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,280 Like, that's how I felt with a driver's licence. 68 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:27,360 What I learned is that I wanted all the freedom with none of the 69 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:33,120 responsibility. I wanted to experience the 70 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,320 promotion without all that came with it. 71 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:42,800 Listen to me as a Christian. We have freedom from the slavery 72 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:44,560 to sin. We have been transferred from a 73 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:46,440 Kingdom of darkness, of slavery to sin. 74 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,920 And with Thanksgiving now with appreciation, God is inviting us 75 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:55,840 into a voluntary servitude of Him that we get to serve Him. 76 00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:59,680 But in our hearts. Often when we say that we're a 77 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,560 servant of the Lord, it isn't layered with the gratitude, with 78 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:08,840 the appreciation, with the ability to look at God and say I 79 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:14,920 get to be your servant. Because servant leadership seems 80 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:19,720 like a great idea until people begin to treat us like 1. 81 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:25,400 When we get the experience of being treated like a servant, 82 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:29,200 treated like somebody who needs to serve, guess what? 83 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:33,720 It presses on our selfishness. It presses on our entitlement. 84 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,160 It presses upon the parts of our heart we didn't even know we're 85 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:40,600 there. So how can our hearts grow to 86 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,880 love serving where it's not just something being asked of us and 87 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:50,320 taken energy from us and taking our joy or our energy, but 88 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:54,480 rather how can we be filled by serving others? 89 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,880 I think that's Joshua's call to us in this farewell address is a 90 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,720 service that God wants. I want you to start at the end 91 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:04,440 of the chapter with me in chapter 24. 92 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:06,760 I want you to jump down to verse 29. 93 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:10,800 There's three funerals at the end of Joshua. 94 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:15,840 Joshua, Joseph and Eliezer are the three dudes who have are 95 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:19,480 pivotal for Israel. They're symbols not only of 96 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:22,480 their role. It means something about Jesus 97 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:24,560 later on. But I want to zero in on is 98 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:28,240 verse 29 and it says this about Joshua after all these things, 99 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:30,520 after the whole book of Joshua, after his farewell address that 100 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:31,800 we're going to read about in a second. 101 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,760 Joshua, the son of Nun, which is what he's called over the whole 102 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:40,080 book, gets a new title, the servant of the Lord. 103 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:45,640 Underline that in your Bible. He died being 110 years old. 104 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:50,720 Joshua, the son of nun. Now Moses, his predecessor, the 105 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:52,720 guy he took over for leading Israel for, he was called the 106 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,320 servant of the Lord all over Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 107 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:59,240 Deuteronomy, that's Moses, his title, Joshua, go back to Joshua 108 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:00,240 one. We're going to have another 109 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:02,040 screen right here. But I want you to see this 110 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:06,880 incredible way that the story of Joshua's written Joshua 11 111 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:10,320 starts right here after the death of Moses, the servant of 112 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,160 the Lord. There's that title again given 113 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,840 to Moses the Lord said to Joshua, the son of Nun. 114 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,720 What's his title there? Moses's assistant. 115 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:27,480 Now that might feel that might feel like a a bad job. 116 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:30,080 I mean, he's the number 2IN Israel, OK, like he's leading 117 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,280 out, leading a nation. It's a pretty good job still. 118 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:34,200 But here's what I want you to see. 119 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:37,320 Here's the first principle I want to show you a 5 this 120 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,680 morning of service that God wants. 121 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:42,600 The first principle I want you to see is that serving the Lord 122 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:49,240 is a promotion. Being a servant of the Lord is 123 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:51,640 not a demotion, it's a promotion. 124 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,080 You are upgrading your title when you become a servant of the 125 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:59,200 Lord, that even though you've gone down in terms of the social 126 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,440 hierarchy, guess what, you are going up in the Kingdom of God. 127 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:07,520 You have been promoted to servant of the Lord. 128 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,360 Joshua 11. He starts off as Moses's 129 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,120 assistant, not like an assistant to the regional manager type 130 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,160 situation. No, he is an assistant to the 131 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:20,240 one leading Israel. Like he's got real leadership, 132 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:24,280 real influence. He is got a very great gig. 133 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:30,720 But at the end of the book of Joshua, he gets a new title, The 134 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:36,400 Servant of the Lord, which begs the question for each and every 135 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:40,400 one of us, why be an assistant for a man when you can be a 136 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:45,760 servant of the Lord? That one of the principles that 137 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:47,880 we have to live by if we're going to be servants that God 138 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:52,880 wants is we have to embrace that serving the Lord is a promotion. 139 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,680 That word Lord, it's, it's God's covenant name, Yahweh. 140 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,080 It's, it's, it's he has a personal relationship with you. 141 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:04,960 But in the New Testament, it's often used also as God is our 142 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,520 master, He's our boss, He's our ruler. 143 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:12,360 And over the course of Joshua 2417 times, the word serve is 144 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:14,320 going to come up. Like if you're studying your 145 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,080 Bible for yourself and you're in a chunk of Scripture, repetition 146 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:19,560 is one of the best ways to understand what God's getting at 147 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:22,760 17 times over the course of this chapter. 148 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:26,240 And it's going to talk about serving, serving, serving, 149 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:27,480 serving. In case you didn't get it the 150 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:29,360 first five times, here's 12 more. 151 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:34,000 Verse 31. Israel served the Lord all the 152 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:38,200 days of Joshua. It takes a servant to lead 153 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:43,600 people to serve, and serving the Lord is a promotion from 154 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,960 whatever job you find yourself in, whether you're ACEO here 155 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,440 today, a vice president, a dad, a mom, a student. 156 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,640 I don't know what title you have, but I know this, that 157 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:57,880 you're in that job to work for Christ. 158 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:00,800 You're in that job as a sales Rep. 159 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:03,320 You're in that job in that restaurant. 160 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:05,000 Why? Because you were there to work 161 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,560 for Christ, It doesn't feel like it's for the Lord because you 162 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:09,920 have a boss breathing down your neck. 163 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:11,800 But listen to me. That's what your work is 164 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:14,640 ultimately for. You're in your Home Office for 165 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:17,040 the Lord. You are serving the Lord. 166 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,080 And if you lose that, that work will get real training real 167 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,120 fast. You won't feel like you're 168 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:23,720 serving the Lord. You feel like you're serving 169 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,720 man. So God's invitation to each and 170 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:30,000 every one of us today is to reinterpret our roles in this 171 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,360 world, whether we're a mom or a dad, whether we are a sales Rep 172 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:36,880 or a student, whether we are applying for a job or whether or 173 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:39,520 not we're waiting on a job. I don't know where God has you 174 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:43,880 today in your work, but I know this, that whatever your title 175 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:46,920 is, there's a better one on the table for each and every one of 176 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:56,160 us, servant of the Lord. And so when you go from at Saint 177 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:58,480 City just worshipping in our services to joining A-Team, 178 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:00,040 guess what? That's a promotion. 179 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:05,200 And what I would offer to as many of you guys as I was just 180 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:07,640 wrestling with the text and realizing what it would mean for 181 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:12,280 my life is this, that when I realized that I'm a servant of 182 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:14,560 the Lord, one of the things I need to protect most is my 183 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:19,440 prayer time. I need to protect my prayer time 184 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:22,040 because that's why I'm serving. That's like my one-on-one with 185 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,800 my boss. And So what if our prayer time 186 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:28,560 was protected, like we had a meeting with a big time leader? 187 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:31,520 What if we protected our prayer time like that? 188 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,000 What if we cared about meeting with God like that because 189 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:36,360 that's who we're all to be working for. 190 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:40,720 Maybe that's how we should consider it more and more this 191 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:44,320 week is serving the Lord as a promotion. 192 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:47,160 I think our our prayer life would be amplified. 193 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:48,520 That's the first thing I want you to see in the text. 194 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:50,040 A second, we're going to jump back to the beginning of the 195 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:54,880 chapter now, Joshua 24, verse one, and I'll show you the 196 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:56,160 second principle. Here's what it says. 197 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:59,160 Joshua, he gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem. 198 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:02,160 That's a big deal because Abraham, their ancestor, that's 199 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:04,760 where the whole thing started. That's where like the Jewish 200 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:06,600 people were born basically with Shechem. 201 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:09,720 And he summoned all the elders, the heads, the judges, and the 202 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:12,640 office of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. 203 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:17,560 And Joshua said to all the people, thus says the Lord, the 204 00:11:17,560 --> 00:11:22,480 God of Israel long ago your father's they were pagans. 205 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:25,240 That's what that's saying. He's saying, hey, they, they 206 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:28,920 worshipped other gods, Tara, the father of Abraham and Novanejar, 207 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:33,360 they served other gods. These guys did not want me for 208 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:34,600 myself. They didn't like God, they 209 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:36,200 didn't love God, they didn't worship God. 210 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:40,560 But here's what I did I'm God. Verse 3 Listen to all the ways 211 00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:45,240 that God saves the people. Then I took your father Abraham 212 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:48,440 from beyond the river, and I led him through all the land of 213 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:53,480 Canaan, and made his offspring many I being God, gave him 214 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:58,640 Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and I gave Esau the 215 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:00,560 Hill Country of Sayer to possess. 216 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:04,680 But Jacob and his children went down to Egypt, and I sent for 217 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:07,920 Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the 218 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:10,600 midst of it, and afterward I brought you out. 219 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:13,680 Why am I repeating myself with I? 220 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:17,120 Because God did. God wants you to know, He wants 221 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:19,600 every single servant to know that the way that you're 222 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:22,720 anchored in servitude is you have to look at the God who has 223 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:27,000 done all the great things. Your eyes have to be set upon 224 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,240 him and all He has done and look where he goes on. 225 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:31,440 He's not done yet because he hasn't. 226 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:33,680 He didn't stop doing things. He just kept working, kept 227 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:36,320 moving, kept doing stuff. He's got motion. 228 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:42,320 Verse 6 Then I brought your father's out of Egypt, and you 229 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,800 came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued your fathers 230 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,040 with Chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 231 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:52,600 And when they cried to the Lord, he put darkness between you and 232 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:56,040 the Egyptians, and made the sea come upon them and cover them in 233 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:59,880 your eyes. This generation you saw what I 234 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:03,200 God did in Egypt. And when you lived in the 235 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,040 wilderness a long time, then I brought you to the land of the 236 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:07,960 Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. 237 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:12,640 They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you 238 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:17,280 took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. 239 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:21,280 They're black. The son of Zipper, king of Moab, 240 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:24,760 arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and invited Balaam, 241 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,440 the son of Bayor, to curse you. And I would not listen to 242 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:29,760 Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. 243 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:33,080 So I delivered you out of his hand. 244 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:35,880 And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. 245 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:38,880 And the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the 246 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:41,160 Amorites, the Parasites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the 247 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:43,120 Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 248 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:46,120 And I gave them all into your hand. 249 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:50,400 And I sent the Hornet before you, which drove them out before 250 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:51,840 you, the 2 kings of the Amorites. 251 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:53,960 It was not by your sword or by your bow. 252 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:58,640 I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that 253 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:01,800 you had not built, and you dwell in them. 254 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:05,080 Now you eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards 255 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:10,000 that you did not plant. Listen to me. 256 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,160 We are stepping into the same story of what God has been 257 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:18,720 writing since this very day that the Bible he just recapped. 258 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:22,000 God just recap through Joshua, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 259 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:23,360 Numbers, Deuteronomy, and now Joshua. 260 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:27,400 He's telling the story of how we got here to Joshua 24 in 13 261 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:29,760 verses. So if you're wondering about 262 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:31,480 what happened in the Old Testament, there's your starting 263 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:33,560 spot is, hey, that's the story that God wanted you to grab. 264 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:36,560 What did God do a whole lot? Why did he do it? 265 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:41,000 Because he's gracious and kind. What does that mean for us in 266 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:42,880 our service? I think this is what God wants 267 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:48,840 us to see. Big me, small God, big God, 268 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:53,760 small me. We're meant to feel like a grain 269 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,520 of sand in the Galaxy when we hear about what God has done 270 00:14:56,520 --> 00:15:02,320 there. What do you mean He did all 271 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:06,040 this? He conquered nations. 272 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:10,200 He brought people out of slavery, He parted seas and 273 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,800 rivers. He sent plagues. 274 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:16,920 He saved. How can he do that? 275 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:23,640 Because he's God, I think we all agree to this principle in 276 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:30,440 theory until it presses upon our schedule that wait a second, I'm 277 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:33,480 being asked to do something, I'm being asked to go to another. 278 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:35,520 I don't know in church like service time. 279 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:39,840 I'm being asked to, you know, think through my home a little 280 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:41,880 bit differently. I'm being asked to serve in this 281 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:43,560 way. I don't know how you fill in the 282 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:48,960 blanks, but I know this that the way to get a heart more in love 283 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:53,000 with serving the Lord is you make serving about the Lord. 284 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:57,240 You make everything you do for the Lord. 285 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,840 Whether you're hosting a community group, serving on a 286 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:05,600 team, holding a door, taking care of a kid in our kids 287 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:12,440 ministry, greeting at the tent, setting up and tearing down that 288 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,480 the pronouns that you talk about your service have to flip from 289 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:20,680 I, I, I talking about you to he, he, he, he, him that if you're, 290 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:23,560 you can know that you're struggling in the service. 291 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:26,520 If your heart is all about what you're doing and what you're 292 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:28,680 giving. But if you make it about him, 293 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:31,200 guess what? It will stay about him and it 294 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:37,920 will fuel you in your service. He says, the Lord says, I took, 295 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:42,200 I sent, I brought, I saved, I gave because he wants to 296 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:45,480 emphasize for us that we are called to make ourselves 297 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:49,000 gloriously small so he can make himself infinitely big. 298 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:54,720 And if we get too big on ourselves, here's what happens. 299 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,840 We get eyes on ourself and eyes on people and we get caught up 300 00:16:57,840 --> 00:16:59,960 in fear of man. We get caught up in what they 301 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:03,040 think about us. We get caught up on our energy 302 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:05,440 level. We get caught up on XYZ thing. 303 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:07,960 We get looking at ourselves. And if we would just look to 304 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:14,760 God, we can run on that all day. We can serve in a way God wants, 305 00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:18,240 and when God speaks, he's trying to encourage you. 306 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:22,560 He's trying to challenge you. He's trying to boost you toward 307 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:24,760 more ministry. Every single one of us should 308 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,640 have a ministry. Then I'm like, hey, how's your 309 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:29,080 ministry? That's not just for the people 310 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:31,040 on staff. That's for every single person 311 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:32,400 in this church. How's your ministry? 312 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,640 You should be able to fill that in with, hey, here's how my kids 313 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,280 are doing, here's how I'm doing on my team, Here's how my 314 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:38,640 community group people are doing. 315 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:41,080 We should be able to fill that in as a church family. 316 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:49,280 We are here to make God as big as possible, not because our 317 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,280 words make him big, but because we're magnifying just how large 318 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,560 he is to others. And when God says that he's 319 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:58,280 doing all the things, I think he's doing a thing that happens 320 00:17:58,280 --> 00:17:59,720 in homes with young kids all the time. 321 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,000 Just the other night, it's it's bedtime in the large household. 322 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:07,840 And we have a a daughter who is a very good rule rule follower. 323 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:14,280 She is first born classic and she really does not like being 324 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,720 in trouble because she's a already budding perfectionist. 325 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:22,280 And then we have a son, a second born who rules are a bit more 326 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:25,320 optional for specifically bedtime rules. 327 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:27,920 Hey, mom and dad said the lights need to go off at 8. 328 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:31,840 He's like, but what about this little night light that I have? 329 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:33,680 Can I put that on? You know, like, can I do a 330 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:35,080 little reading? Can I do a little more talking? 331 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:40,560 And so just the other night, Blair is trying to lovingly help 332 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:42,880 her younger brother Brooks and say, hey, mom and dad said the 333 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:44,920 lights go out at 8. I don't want to get in trouble. 334 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:47,840 And then they have this moment where they come on out because 335 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:48,880 Blair's getting upset. She's not. 336 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:50,400 He's not listening to her and he is. 337 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:51,600 She doesn't want to get in trouble. 338 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:55,640 But then this magical moment happens where I'm standing 339 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:59,120 before them and I go, hey, if Blair says that it's time for 340 00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:02,480 bed at 8:00, you can consider Brooks that she's trying to say 341 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:07,320 what dad said. Why is that helpful for our 342 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:09,240 service? What am I getting at? 343 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,440 I'm saying that there are words that God has given you service 344 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:15,680 roles. God's invited you to that. 345 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,520 Sometimes it comes through a messenger, sometimes it comes 346 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:20,760 through a leader on a team or in a group. 347 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,720 But if your service is about the Lord, then you can take it as 348 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:28,440 it's from the Lord that they're going to invite you in the steps 349 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:30,640 of discipleship. They're going to invite you into 350 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:32,600 repentance. They're going to invite you into 351 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:34,240 forgiveness. They're going to invite you into 352 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,600 conflict resolution. They're going to invite you into 353 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:38,720 integrity. They are going to invite that 354 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:41,200 because guess what? We are all servants of the same 355 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:45,280 master. And servants expect their work 356 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:51,480 to be about the master's job, what he wants to get done, and a 357 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:54,680 God who did all that for us. He deserves to call the shots 358 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:59,280 for our life. And the problem is in our 359 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,040 hearts. Sometimes as we get, we're good 360 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:04,400 about serving God because he's big and he's awesome. 361 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:06,840 We know he's done a lot, but often times he asked us to look 362 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,480 to others to serve them, having their interest in mind instead 363 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:14,920 of our own. But we're called to serve, and 364 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,120 that's one of the ways we make ourselves small. 365 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:22,280 We humble ourselves. We shrink ourselves down so that 366 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:26,040 others and God could be big. We're allowed with our love. 367 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:30,560 If you are too big to serve at Saint City, you are too small to 368 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:33,760 lead. This is just the way of the 369 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:38,080 Kingdom, that we want our God to be big in ourselves, to be 370 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:41,440 small. It's a perfect posture for every 371 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:43,240 servant. That's two principles. 372 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:45,120 Now let's look back at the text, verse 14. 373 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:47,280 You might have heard of this, this little chunk of verses. 374 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:49,400 Joshua picks back up where he left off. 375 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:53,000 He says, hey, you're laboring in the cities that you hadn't 376 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:54,080 built. You dwell in them. 377 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,240 You're eating a vineyards in olive orchards that you did not 378 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:58,680 plant. You were reaping the harvest of 379 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:00,680 somebody else's hard work. You were standing on the 380 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:03,800 shoulders of another generation of God's work on it. 381 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:06,400 Guess what? Listen here now, therefore, what 382 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:10,760 are we called to do? Fear the Lord and do what? 383 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:14,520 And serve him in in sincerity and in faithfulness. 384 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:19,320 Put away the gods that your Father served beyond the river 385 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,200 and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 386 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:27,200 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this 387 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:32,200 day whom you will serve. Not if you're going to serve, 388 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:36,400 who are you going to serve whom, Whether the gods your father 389 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:38,200 served in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the 390 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:39,640 Amorites and whose land you dwell? 391 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:44,120 But As for me, in my house as Joshua, we will serve the Lord. 392 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:50,120 This whole farewell address is climaxing right here. 393 00:21:50,120 --> 00:21:55,200 He's saying, hey, listen up. Serving someone is the posture 394 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:57,800 of human beings. We will serve somebody's agenda, 395 00:21:57,800 --> 00:21:59,880 somebody's mission, even if it's our own. 396 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:04,040 But you are called to serve the God of the ages, the God who has 397 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,440 done all this for you. Go serve him. 398 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:10,960 Go live for him. Go be obedient to him seven 399 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:12,880 times. In fact, in these 3 verses, it 400 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:15,800 says the word serve. And seven is a very significant 401 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:18,200 number in Scripture. It's the number of completion. 402 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:21,840 So when Joshua says for the 7th time, but As for me and my 403 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:24,640 house, we will serve the Lord. He's saying this. 404 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:28,680 The ways of the world is serving everything else. 405 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:30,880 But As for me and my house, guess what? 406 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:34,240 This is the best way to live. It's serving the Lord. 407 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,760 So jot down this principle. Lead your house to follow the 408 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:41,920 Lord, even if you're the only house. 409 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:50,400 Lead your house to follow the Lord even if you're the only 410 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:53,400 house. Josh was carving out him's 411 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:55,920 family as a minority here. He's like, I don't know what 412 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:57,760 y'all are doing, but I know I'm about. 413 00:22:58,240 --> 00:22:59,800 I don't care if you all reject me right now. 414 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:02,680 I am not going back on this God. I've seen who he is. 415 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:05,280 I've seen what he's done. I've recounted all to you now 416 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:07,520 and guess what I am going to live for? 417 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:15,720 I'm going to serve him no matter what and it's going to be an 418 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:20,920 exclusive service. It's like you're the only, he's 419 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:23,000 the only table at the restaurant that you have to take care of. 420 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:26,360 There's nobody else you're worrying about, nobody else's 421 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:28,280 agenda. You only care about what God 422 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:30,120 wants and what He's ordering up for your life. 423 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,480 You cannot serve both God and money. 424 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,880 You cannot serve both God and beauty. 425 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:43,840 You cannot serve both God and power. 426 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:49,360 You cannot serve both God and worship your family. 427 00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:58,280 We lead our house to follow and serve the Lord, even if we're 428 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:01,200 the only one. Even if you're the only person 429 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,160 in your company who's leading your family to serve the Lord, 430 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:06,280 you're in good company with Joshua. 431 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,800 If you're the only person on your street following Jesus, 432 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:14,640 you're honoring Jesus. If you're the only person in 433 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:21,880 your family who follows Jesus, lead your house to follow him, 434 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:27,680 even if you're the only one. Men, listen to me. 435 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:29,040 You are the leaders of your homes. 436 00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:31,560 Go lead your families to follow Christ. 437 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:36,280 Lead them to follow and serve Jesus. 438 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:39,720 I'm so thankful to be surrounded by so many men who do this, but 439 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:41,800 I want to encourage you. Here's what this looks like to 440 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:43,920 go serve, to go lead your homes to follow Jesus. 441 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,080 It's like this. It's getting in the word daily. 442 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:50,840 Men go be men of the book. Joshua was a man who didn't let 443 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:54,200 the law depart from his mouth. In fact, one of the times in in 444 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:56,720 the book of Joshua, he sat down and wrote down all of Genesis 445 00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:59,680 through Deuteronomy. Go be a man of the book. 446 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:02,960 Go get in the word daily. Get into church weekly. 447 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:05,760 It's your job meant to lead your family here. 448 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:09,480 Go get them here. Third, serve at church 449 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:12,440 regularly. Does that have to be every week? 450 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:14,760 But your life needs to be marked by service. 451 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:17,040 If your kids look at you and go serving, what's that? 452 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:22,400 You're missing the mark. We serve. 4th prayer always. 453 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:29,280 Your family needs to know you as a man, a man of prayer, that you 454 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:35,000 would be a House of prayer because you're dependent upon 455 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:38,560 God. Go lead your house to follow the 456 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:41,440 Lord men, even if you're the only house, if you're single 457 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:43,680 here, you're just responsible for you. 458 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:46,760 Congratulations. Go lead yourself in all those 459 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:49,080 things. Go lead yourself to in the word 460 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:53,560 daily, to church weekly, serving regularly and praying always. 461 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:59,200 Go lead yourself, go lead your family to follow God because As 462 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:01,760 for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. 463 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:06,280 Families that do that change a city, they change a 464 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:08,200 neighborhood, they change a workplace. 465 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:10,640 Go be that man, go be that woman. 466 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:17,320 Go be them for Jesus. 4th in the text here, we're marching 467 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:18,960 through Joshua's farewell address. 468 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:23,800 We're now in verse 18 and the Lord over 16. 469 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:26,440 Excuse me, Then the people answer, far be it from us that 470 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:28,360 we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods. 471 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:31,600 They're like, hey, we're not going to be dumb like our 472 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,160 parents were in forsake, forsake this God. 473 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:37,560 We want to serve him. For it is the Lord our God who 474 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:41,720 brought us and our fathers out from the land of Egypt and out 475 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:45,360 of the House of slavery. And he did those great signs in 476 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:48,920 our sights, and he preserved us in all the way that we went. 477 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:52,000 And among all the peoples whom we passed, they're like saying, 478 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:56,120 hey, we've seen what God can do. We've seen who he is. 479 00:26:56,360 --> 00:26:58,200 We are not about to go against him. 480 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:00,400 That'd be taking a stupid pill when we wake up. 481 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:03,760 We're not going to do that. And the Lord drove out before us 482 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:05,760 all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. 483 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:07,280 Therefore, here's what we're going to do. 484 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:10,000 We also Joshua will serve the Lord, for he is our God. 485 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:13,680 But Joshua must have instinct here. 486 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,040 He must see that the way that they're living, He must see 487 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:17,440 something into their heart prophetically. 488 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:20,840 We don't know exactly why he says this next thing, but bear 489 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:23,000 with me as I explain it. Because Joshua says next to the 490 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:27,640 people, you are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy 491 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:30,160 God. He is a jealous God. 492 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,080 He will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 493 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:37,960 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will 494 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:42,440 turn and do you harm and consume you after having done you good. 495 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:49,480 And the people said to Joshua, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, 496 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:52,440 no, no, no, nae nae Joshua, we will serve the Lord. 497 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:55,920 And Joshua said to the people, OK, then you are witnesses 498 00:27:55,920 --> 00:28:00,200 against yourselves, that you have chosen the Lord to serve 499 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:03,480 Him. And they said, we are witnesses. 500 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:06,400 We testify that that's what we want for our life. 501 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:08,640 We are saying we align with Jesus. 502 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,600 He said, OK, then put away the foreign gods that are among you 503 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:15,480 and incline your heart to the Lord the God of Israel. 504 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:19,080 The people said to Joshua, the Lord our God, we will serve in 505 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:23,520 his voice we will obey. So Joshua made a covenant with 506 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,320 the people that day and put in place the statutes and rules for 507 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:29,360 them at Shechem. OK, let's go back to that for a 508 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:30,200 second. We got to make sure we 509 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:33,400 understand what happened there with Joshua's speech. 510 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:38,600 There is Joshua saying that God is an unforgiving being. 511 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:42,000 No, he's saying there's a certain type of thing that 512 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,880 doesn't get forgiven. He's is Joshua saying Israel is 513 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:48,160 incapable of serving God like he's asking them to. 514 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,720 Obviously not because the verses go on and say, hey, you can do 515 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:53,080 it. And as you read at the end of 516 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:55,680 the chapter, they serve God all the days of their life. 517 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:58,480 So it is possible. So what is Joshua saying? 518 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:02,600 He's saying what each of us, all of us know about human hearts, 519 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:09,120 that we are quick to claim something, claim that we belong 520 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:13,600 to God, while our life looks entirely different than that, 521 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:17,520 entirely opposite, that people in our hearts, we will say we 522 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,520 are claiming that we follow Jesus. 523 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:22,240 We are a Christian, we are a believer. 524 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:23,840 Put whatever word you want around it. 525 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:28,320 There are people even here today who would say I believe with my 526 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:30,800 mouth and my heart that Jesus is Lord. 527 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:33,200 You would say that you believe that, but your life actually 528 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:36,880 doesn't reflect it at all. We call that an apostate. 529 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:38,840 That's what the book of Hebrews is all about. 530 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:41,960 It's somebody who claims to be a believer but doesn't live as 531 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:45,840 God's servant at all. He's getting at those people 532 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:49,240 right now and it's his warning for some of us here today. 533 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:52,640 I want you to get this 4th principle that watch your mouth 534 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:54,960 because it can write checks your soul can't cash. 535 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:05,200 Watch what you claim to be. Watch what you claim, because 536 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,120 some of our mouths have write written checks that our souls 537 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:13,520 can't cash. The theater people in Israel 538 00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:14,880 right here. There are people here at Saint 539 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:18,560 City today. They are loyal to God only with 540 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:23,440 their lips, but not their actual life, which is not loyalty at 541 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:27,280 all. A servant who says he will do 542 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:31,640 what the master asked him to do but doesn't do it is no servant 543 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:35,640 at all. The kind of service God wants is 544 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:40,640 complete and total devotion. There's no partial commitment to 545 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:44,880 God. God is just not a leftover part 546 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:46,920 of your life. He is the whole thing. 547 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:52,400 And chances are, I, I just need to warn some of you, chances are 548 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:55,440 if you only come to church on Sundays, if you have no 549 00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:58,200 relationships inside the church, that this is only a check box 550 00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:02,040 for Sunday mornings from 10 to maybe 11-15, maybe 11-10 if you 551 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:04,800 cut out early. And it's like a just a part of 552 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:12,040 your life. Joshua's warning, you today hear 553 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:19,720 me turn, turn, turn away from living a life of partial 554 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:24,120 commitment to God and turn toward him and say, Jesus, I get 555 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:26,160 it. You are worth my everything. 556 00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:30,240 With all that I am and all that I have, I'm giving myself to 557 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:32,960 you. That's what repentance is. 558 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:37,680 That's what faith that saves us. As you're saying, I have no hope 559 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:42,240 apart from you, God. And so write the check that only 560 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:45,480 Jesus can cash. It's saying, Jesus, I need you 561 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:48,080 to save me because I can't wholly obey you. 562 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:51,240 I can't fully follow you because you are a jealous God. 563 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:55,040 You are a holy God and I stand no chance because I am a Sinner 564 00:31:55,040 --> 00:32:00,120 in deep need of salvation. The only way to be saved from 565 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:03,400 your sin is to look to Jesus to save you from it. 566 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:09,640 And when he saves you, you can't help but be his servant. 567 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:12,480 You can't help but live for the Lord. 568 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:20,120 Don't be that guy. Don't be that guy who hears what 569 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:22,240 God has done for him and says, you know what? 570 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:24,320 He's only worth one hour of my week. 571 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:28,200 Listen to what he says about how to get involved in the church. 572 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:30,800 Listen to what he says about what it means for your work 573 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:32,960 life, your parenting, your family, your marriage. 574 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:36,480 Listen to the Lord. Follow the voice of the Lord as 575 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:40,240 he said, and that's what serving that God wants. 576 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,640 It's total surrender, total worship. 577 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:48,600 Now finally, Joshua's like, OK, we want to, we want to make a 578 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:50,680 covenant. You want to serve the Lord. 579 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:53,640 Well, here's what I want to do. He's like, hey, let's build a 580 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:55,040 monument. Not a moment. 581 00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:58,600 That's the fifth principle. If you want service that God 582 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:01,040 wants, if you want a heart that loves serving, you need 583 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:03,440 monuments in your life of what God has done. 584 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:08,040 Not just moments that you are fleeting, that you forget, but 585 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:14,240 monuments, altars, built out things that say this is who God 586 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:15,760 is and this is what he's done for me. 587 00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:18,920 This is what he's done for the world in Joshua. 588 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:21,400 Again, there are 7 monument moments. 589 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:24,400 The Bible is a really well written book, just so you know, 590 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:26,720 and Joshua's a really well written one too because God's 591 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,280 the writer of it. So Joshua chapter 4, he builds a 592 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:31,720 monument at Gilgal after they cross the Jordan River. 593 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:36,080 Joshua Chapter 7, after one of their dudes committed some sin 594 00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:38,640 in Chapter 7, they built a monument over Aiken to say, hey, 595 00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:40,640 we are going to hate sin because this is what it does. 596 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:42,320 It costs you more than you're willing to pay. 597 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:45,600 Joshua chapter 8, after the victory over the king at AI 598 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:49,880 monument, also over the king of AI, Joshua builds a monument 599 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:52,920 just for the word of God. He literally transcribes all the 600 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:54,840 written Bible at the time and he's like, hey, this is a 601 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:58,200 monument for God. Joshua chapter 10, after this, 602 00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:01,080 all the kings conspire against them in a confederacy. 603 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:02,640 Guess what? He's like, you know what? 604 00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:06,000 God did that again, we're going to have another monument over 605 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:09,600 the kings of the Amorites. Joshua chapter 22, which we 606 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:10,719 learned about a couple weeks ago. 607 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:12,840 What did they do? They built another monument. 608 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:14,840 Why? Because there was peace in the 609 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:17,719 land. Now we get to the 7th monument 610 00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:20,679 and Joshua's like, hey, if we're going to serve the Lord, if 611 00:34:20,679 --> 00:34:22,280 we're going to live for the Lord, we're not just going to 612 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:24,159 make this a moment. We're going to make it a 613 00:34:24,159 --> 00:34:30,199 monument. We are going to remember who God 614 00:34:30,199 --> 00:34:32,760 is so we won't forget what He's done. 615 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:38,120 Not just us, the next generation. 616 00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:41,120 That was the goal with this monument. 617 00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:46,560 The next book Judges. This proves our hopelessness. 618 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:47,960 Without Jesus. They forget. 619 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:50,159 They forget who God is. They need him. 620 00:34:50,159 --> 00:34:51,719 But listen to me. We have Jesus now. 621 00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:53,679 We have the cross. We have the empty tomb. 622 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:56,000 We have the occupied throne. We have the gospel. 623 00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:59,200 The good news that Jesus Christ saved sinners and our 624 00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:02,480 entrustment from God himself is this, that we would build 625 00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:05,880 monuments testifying of what Jesus has done for the world. 626 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:11,280 That we wouldn't be people who build just careers or families 627 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:15,880 or habits, but we'd be a people who build monuments for God 628 00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:21,840 keeping his promises to us. Now this can look all kinds of 629 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:25,240 ways. One way that I've started 630 00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:29,280 building a monument in my life is this is this is my Romans 631 00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:33,120 book. But every single book of the 632 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:36,640 Bible, this is the 1718 series that in Deuteronomy 1718, one of 633 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:39,280 the instructions God gave to the future kings is to write down 634 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:41,400 all of the written Bible at the time. 635 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:45,880 One of my goals before I'm 40 is to write down every Bible verse 636 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:48,760 in the Bible. And this is just my Romans book. 637 00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:50,920 So what am I doing? I'm working my way through the 638 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:53,600 New Testament over the next couple years, writing them down. 639 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:54,680 Why? Because I want to build a 640 00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:58,520 monument for my kids that my kids are going to get these. 641 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:00,640 This is something that's going to outlive me. 642 00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:06,320 It's a monument of praise. So here's that's one little tip 643 00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:12,040 for you another y'all are going to laugh at me for this one. 644 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:21,120 I'm a hat guy. I love wearing hats. 645 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:24,240 I have since I could get in the like literally since 3rd grade 646 00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:26,760 and I bought my first hat. That's what I did is I would 647 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:29,720 work around the house to save up money to go to lids and buy a 648 00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:34,600 $20 hat. And each of these hats actually 649 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:39,440 bear more than just a brim and some threading. 650 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:44,360 They actually tell stories in my life like this is some of y'all 651 00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:47,360 don't have the Chicago, you don't have sports like I do. 652 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:50,600 I'm from Chicago and this is what's called the Stanley Cup 653 00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:51,560 hat. So for those of you from 654 00:36:51,560 --> 00:37:01,080 Minnesota in the room, you don't have that 2010 I was a junior 655 00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:03,400 high school and the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. 656 00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:07,800 And this isn't just a hat commemorating that. 657 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:11,400 This was this is the year that me and my one of my best friends 658 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:15,480 really became best friends and I'm so grateful for my 659 00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:18,120 friendship with my buddy who would take me to games and I 660 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:21,200 fell in love with a sport at the perfect time. 661 00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:29,320 This hat is the Chicago Cubs World Series hat. 662 00:37:30,240 --> 00:37:33,960 There was generations of men who never got to experience this, 663 00:37:33,960 --> 00:37:36,680 but I I haven't been alive at the right moment, the opportune 664 00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:39,800 time. But 2016 was more than just the 665 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:41,560 Cubs. This hat, when I see it on my 666 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:44,240 shelf, I don't just remember a Cubs World Series. 667 00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:45,880 I remember the summer I met my wife. 668 00:37:47,240 --> 00:37:50,880 One of the best gifts God has given me that that year is a 669 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:55,920 mile marker for me of God's faithfulness and generosity and 670 00:37:55,920 --> 00:38:01,200 good baseball. This hat, it's broken. 671 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:07,680 Now there's a hat from a friend in a small group. 672 00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:11,480 And what, what this hat symbolized for me, there was 2 673 00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:15,360 years from Maddie and I spent in Denver and this friend, I didn't 674 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:17,080 have really any friends in Denver. 675 00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:19,560 I was like that guy without friends. 676 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:23,480 But he came back and he gave me this hat and it gave me hope 677 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:26,080 that God was going to deliver to me what had always been a part 678 00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:29,240 of my life, which was friends. And so I look at this hat, I 679 00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:31,720 look at God's faithfulness to be a friend to me even when I 680 00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:35,040 didn't have a lot of friends. Two more. 681 00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:44,960 This hat you see me wearing on this stage, I got this the 682 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:48,040 moment I was certain that we were planting here in Tempe. 683 00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:55,480 We are here so that the gospel would confront and change the 684 00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:59,760 lives of some devils that I believe that a campus that is 685 00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:01,760 less than 2% of them following Jesus. 686 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:04,440 Do you know why we're here? So we can give them a gospel 687 00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:07,240 outpost so they can hear about what Jesus Christ has done for 688 00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:09,040 the world. And so when I look at this hat, 689 00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:12,640 I will always see the reality that Jesus Christ called me here 690 00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:15,560 to lead us toward what? Toward the Kingdom of God 691 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:18,280 advancing in this city, that we are going to be a gospel 692 00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:21,280 movement for the city, for the campus, for the fame of Christ. 693 00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:23,600 And so whatever I put on this hat, I just say thank you to God 694 00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:25,880 that this is what I'm called to do and who I'm called to be. 695 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:30,160 But after after we got called, there was a crazy thing that 696 00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:34,640 happened in my life. December of 2020. 697 00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:37,120 What a year, Maddie, 2024. Yeah. 698 00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:39,680 Math, maths. A year and a half ago. 699 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:45,160 You can do the math. I had a knee surgery, got a 700 00:39:45,160 --> 00:39:48,840 blood clot in my calf. That blood clot is what's called 701 00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:50,600 medically a deep vein thrombosis. 702 00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:53,280 That's a very dangerous thing if it doesn't get dealt with and it 703 00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:55,200 didn't get dealt with. So for the month of December, 704 00:39:55,200 --> 00:40:00,120 that blood clot worked its way up my body into my heart and 705 00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:01,760 lungs. Didn't get to my heart, 706 00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:04,600 actually, just got to my lungs. We're on Christmas Eve. 707 00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:10,240 That night I suffered from a bilateral pulmonary embolism. 708 00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:14,400 That's really serious because you have a lot of fluid in your 709 00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:18,840 lungs and 98% of people who get there don't even live to make 710 00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:22,120 it. So on Christmas Eve night, I was 711 00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:25,680 rushed to the hospital and should have died, quite frankly. 712 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:29,520 But through prayer and through the power of God, I'm a living 713 00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:31,000 testimony that miracles still happen. 714 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:33,160 And in that hospital bed, I just wore this hat. 715 00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:40,040 And whenever I see this hat now, I'm just thankful to be here. 716 00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:45,760 I'm thankful to be your pastor. It's a monument for me. 717 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:52,840 It's not just a hat, it is God saved my life and I want you to 718 00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:58,800 have monuments like this. Like I'm not an emotional guy. 719 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:03,320 I'm not trying to cry right now, but it's so significant to me. 720 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:06,480 And I think you have moments like that too, is my point. 721 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:10,000 And it could just be a hat, it could be a pen, it could be, I 722 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:11,280 don't know what you want to collect. 723 00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:14,000 I don't know what you want to build for God, but I know this, 724 00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:19,000 that we have a promise keeping God and we are in good company 725 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:20,920 when we trust Him to keep His promises. 726 00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:24,080 Do you know why? That the spine of the Bible is 727 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:25,760 actually written in covenant blood. 728 00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:30,880 That's His promises, that in Genesis chapter 12, he makes a 729 00:41:30,880 --> 00:41:33,880 covenant with Abraham and he says, hey, I'm going to make you 730 00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:35,760 a great nation. You don't even really know what 731 00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:37,640 a nation is yet, but guess what? I'm going to do that. 732 00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:39,960 You can't really have kids because you're a geezer. 733 00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:42,080 But guess what? I'm going to make you have kids. 734 00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:44,480 You're going to make a great nation, and you, all the 735 00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:46,080 families of the earth, shall be blessed. 736 00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:49,440 He looked at Moses in Exodus 19 and said, hey, guess what, 737 00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:52,840 Israel, you, you shall be my treasured possession among all 738 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:56,760 peoples, and you shall be to me a Kingdom of priests and a holy 739 00:41:56,760 --> 00:41:59,800 nation foreshadowing what Jesus Christ would do. 740 00:42:00,120 --> 00:42:03,840 David in second Samuel 7 that your house and your Kingdom 741 00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:06,880 shall be made sure forever before me that your throne shall 742 00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:10,400 be established forever. New Covenant in Jeremiah 31 743 00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:14,000 prophesied promise to you and I that this that he will put his 744 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:17,600 law within us and he will forgive our iniquity and he will 745 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:20,720 remember our sin no more. Don't you realize that God was 746 00:42:20,720 --> 00:42:24,680 promising all across the Old Testament that in Jesus Christ, 747 00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:27,440 every single one of those promises will find their yes and 748 00:42:27,440 --> 00:42:29,840 their Amen? That He was keeping promises not 749 00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:32,440 for 10s of years, not for hundreds of years, but for 750 00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:35,200 thousands of years? That you and I could be certain 751 00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:39,360 and sure that God is worthy of trusting? 752 00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:42,560 That when we're serving Him, guess what? 753 00:42:42,560 --> 00:42:45,240 The promises are there to fuel us in our service. 754 00:42:45,960 --> 00:42:50,440 That as we're loyal to the Lord, as we serve the Lord, His 755 00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:54,360 promises will be the energy for us to keep us going. 756 00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:58,440 In fact, I'm going to invite the worship team out now as we can 757 00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:05,480 close our service here. That God has made great and 758 00:43:05,480 --> 00:43:10,560 precious promises to us, says the Word, like the best promises 759 00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:14,160 you can ever think of. And if he can keep the great 760 00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:18,160 ones, if he can make Abraham a great nation, if he can make 761 00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:23,160 Moses people his treasure possession, if he can make 762 00:43:23,160 --> 00:43:27,280 David's throne rule forever in Jesus, if he can give us a new 763 00:43:27,280 --> 00:43:31,440 heart, if he can make dry bones live, those are his great ones. 764 00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:35,680 Guess what? The personal ones are so easy 765 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:36,040 for him.