A Question Of Loyalty
Sermon
Sermons On The First Readings
Series II, Cycle A
Object:
Lookout Mountain is a popular tourist destination located in the northwest corner of Georgia, just six miles from Chattanooga, Tennessee. From high atop the mountain, on a clear day seven states are visible with the naked eye. Most photographs fail to capture the beauty of this panoramic view. Information boasts of an unforgettable journey ... "where each step reveals natural beauty and wonders." Lookout Mountain also played a role in the American Civil War.
Nearing the end of his life, Joshua called a summit on the mountain. The call was heard both near and far with everyone who was anyone traveling to the historically significant site. Joshua, as you recall, led the people into the promised land after Moses had died. The people had lived in the promised land for quite sometime when our lesson unfolds.
The view from the mountaintop was spectacular. On a clear day, from the top of Ebal, the people could see almost all the way to Jerusalem some forty miles to the south. To the north, the snowcapped Mount Hermon was visible. Looking westward was the great sea and the long ridge of Mount Carmel. To the east was the cavity exposing the Jordan valley. There on the mountain most of the promised land would be visible. It must have been a breathtaking view.
Besides being strategically important as a trade route, Shechem also held historical significance as well. It is the place where Abraham migrated and where God first told him that all the land in his sight would one day belong to his numerous descendents. It is believed that Shechem is where Jacob built an altar. It was there that Jacob saw a vision of angels descending a ladder from heaven. And centuries later, Jesus would converse with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well in that same general vicinity.
There was one thing Joshua wanted to be absolutely certain about before he died, and that was if the people would remain loyal to the Lord God. In the role of a prophet Joshua tells the people, "Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord." Perhaps it was easier for the people to trust God when they were traveling out in the desert, depending on God to meet their every need during their long journey, than it was once they settled in the promised land where they were more self-sufficient. Once there, they became distracted with other things that began to crowd God out of their lives.
Joshua knew how difficult it would be for the people of Israel to devote themselves totally to God. He knew that their ancestors before them had made similar promises that they failed to keep. There on the mountain Joshua wanted the people to remember all that God had done for them in their recent past. He wanted them to commit themselves to God.
Joshua called for the people to put aside all the objects that got in the way of their relationship with God, including foreign gods. He wanted them to remain loyal to the God who loved them and had led them to the promised land. Today there continues to be many voices as well as activities that seem to constantly draw us away from our relationship with the Lord Jesus. Many of us have good intentions and do not purposely allow other things to crowd out our devotional life but eventually they do nonetheless. There was one question Joshua wanted the people to answer before he was gone: Will the people remain loyal to the Lord God? That is a question that all of us need to ask ourselves. Will we remain loyal, committed Christians or will we unintentionally stray in some other direction?
This passage reminds us that something is expected from each one of us. We are not mere spectators or pew potatoes. Notice how many times Joshua uses the word "serve" in this passage -- a total of fifteen times in eleven verses. To serve the Lord is more than just paying lip service.
In Joshua's mind it was all or nothing. Just as there is no such thing as a part-time believer, Joshua urged the people to commit to the Lord God. Joshua challenged the people, "Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve." At the same time, Joshua was clear about his own priorities, "as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua wanted the people to follow his example. We all need role models whose positive example we can follow.
A young woman, Allison, had just returned to her hometown where she was greeted by her younger sister whom she had babysat when her sister was only three to five years old. Allison had become the state tennis champion at her high school, set a number of athletic records, then unfortunately fell into drug use and scuffles with the law before giving her life to Jesus Christ. Her young sister looked to Allison as a role model. "I decided that I was going to become just like you," she told her older sister. "I, too, became the state tennis champion, and wherever there was an athletic record posted with your name on it," she said, "I either matched or beat it. I figured it was in my genes."
Then Allison was astonished to learn that her sister had also drifted into drugs and trouble with the law, "just like you did," said the young woman. Allison then took her aside and shared with her a new story, about her new life in Christ. In retelling this story, Allison was amazed how her sister had literally walked in her footsteps, believing that her story was Allison's story, and vice versa. Allison hoped her younger sister would continue to follow in her footsteps and accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.1
Joshua wanted the people to follow his example and "serve the Lord." There was good reason for the people to respond and serve the Lord God. God was responsible for bringing the people to the promised land as Joshua reminded them, "for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery ..." And further, the Lord God, "protected us along all the way that we went."
The people had entered into a covenant relationship with God. One thing we have learned about covenants is that God always takes them seriously. They could not and would not be broken. The people were required to serve the Lord God and in return God would continue to be their God.
Kathleen Kolar was an experienced hiker, having hiked in several popular west coast locations. When visiting Hawaii, she decided to hike a trail that was a grueling eleven miles long. The trail has stream crossings, lava ridges, lush valleys, and 100-foot drop-offs to rocky beaches below.
The trek was everything Kathleen had heard -- "difficult but spectacular." On her way back, she found herself a "little off trail." She wasn't concerned, all she would have to do is retrace her steps and she would be fine. She was sure the trail would loop around. She continued for a while before realizing that she was well off the trail -- in other words, lost. She climbed a steep wall, which used to be a waterfall, hoping to once again find the trail. "It's just you and me, Lord," she prayed. "You alone can get me out of this mess."
Things went from bad to worse. She found herself on a small foot-and-a-half perch. She was horrified. It was then that Kathleen realized that she needed to stop so rescuers could find her. It was getting dark; she would have to spend the night on the perch. "I cried and was angry at myself for being so stupid."
The next morning, she felt God show her that this hike was similar to her life. She realized how at times her choices had led her away from God. And how those choices would affect her "further down life's path." "On that tiny ledge, I realized that if I were to truly live for God," she explains, "I would have to get to know him better." It took most of the day before anyone found her because of where she was. Unfortunately, the rescuers could not reach her. She would have to spend a second night on that ledge. "I was tired, thirsty, very sunburned and spent," she recalled.
Before she was rescued by a helicopter the next day, she felt God remind her of the two greatest commandments, love of God and love of neighbor. "I'd loved Jesus since I was eleven," she said, "but I hadn't yet surrendered my claim on my life. I was still going my own way. Those nights on the ledge, I determined to make knowing God's heart, thoughts, and purposes my passion in life." Another lesson she learned from her experience was that you cannot continue down a wrong path and remain untouched by the consequences. From now on Kathleen says, "I'm letting God lead -- and following his path for my life."2
Joshua challenges us today asking what kind of people will we be and to whom will we commit ourselves? Commitment is one of those words that either makes us feel uncomfortable or something that we can easily dismiss as not all that important. While Jesus calls us to be faithful, the choice remains with us this day. In a sense it is a daily choice, a daily commitment, because there are so many things that deceive us, tempt us, and lead us astray. Choose the Lord. Amen.
____________
1. Laurie Beth Jones, Jesus Life Coach (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004), p. 260.
2. Today's Christian Woman magazine, July/August 2005, Vol. 27, No. 4, p. 22.
Nearing the end of his life, Joshua called a summit on the mountain. The call was heard both near and far with everyone who was anyone traveling to the historically significant site. Joshua, as you recall, led the people into the promised land after Moses had died. The people had lived in the promised land for quite sometime when our lesson unfolds.
The view from the mountaintop was spectacular. On a clear day, from the top of Ebal, the people could see almost all the way to Jerusalem some forty miles to the south. To the north, the snowcapped Mount Hermon was visible. Looking westward was the great sea and the long ridge of Mount Carmel. To the east was the cavity exposing the Jordan valley. There on the mountain most of the promised land would be visible. It must have been a breathtaking view.
Besides being strategically important as a trade route, Shechem also held historical significance as well. It is the place where Abraham migrated and where God first told him that all the land in his sight would one day belong to his numerous descendents. It is believed that Shechem is where Jacob built an altar. It was there that Jacob saw a vision of angels descending a ladder from heaven. And centuries later, Jesus would converse with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well in that same general vicinity.
There was one thing Joshua wanted to be absolutely certain about before he died, and that was if the people would remain loyal to the Lord God. In the role of a prophet Joshua tells the people, "Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord." Perhaps it was easier for the people to trust God when they were traveling out in the desert, depending on God to meet their every need during their long journey, than it was once they settled in the promised land where they were more self-sufficient. Once there, they became distracted with other things that began to crowd God out of their lives.
Joshua knew how difficult it would be for the people of Israel to devote themselves totally to God. He knew that their ancestors before them had made similar promises that they failed to keep. There on the mountain Joshua wanted the people to remember all that God had done for them in their recent past. He wanted them to commit themselves to God.
Joshua called for the people to put aside all the objects that got in the way of their relationship with God, including foreign gods. He wanted them to remain loyal to the God who loved them and had led them to the promised land. Today there continues to be many voices as well as activities that seem to constantly draw us away from our relationship with the Lord Jesus. Many of us have good intentions and do not purposely allow other things to crowd out our devotional life but eventually they do nonetheless. There was one question Joshua wanted the people to answer before he was gone: Will the people remain loyal to the Lord God? That is a question that all of us need to ask ourselves. Will we remain loyal, committed Christians or will we unintentionally stray in some other direction?
This passage reminds us that something is expected from each one of us. We are not mere spectators or pew potatoes. Notice how many times Joshua uses the word "serve" in this passage -- a total of fifteen times in eleven verses. To serve the Lord is more than just paying lip service.
In Joshua's mind it was all or nothing. Just as there is no such thing as a part-time believer, Joshua urged the people to commit to the Lord God. Joshua challenged the people, "Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve." At the same time, Joshua was clear about his own priorities, "as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua wanted the people to follow his example. We all need role models whose positive example we can follow.
A young woman, Allison, had just returned to her hometown where she was greeted by her younger sister whom she had babysat when her sister was only three to five years old. Allison had become the state tennis champion at her high school, set a number of athletic records, then unfortunately fell into drug use and scuffles with the law before giving her life to Jesus Christ. Her young sister looked to Allison as a role model. "I decided that I was going to become just like you," she told her older sister. "I, too, became the state tennis champion, and wherever there was an athletic record posted with your name on it," she said, "I either matched or beat it. I figured it was in my genes."
Then Allison was astonished to learn that her sister had also drifted into drugs and trouble with the law, "just like you did," said the young woman. Allison then took her aside and shared with her a new story, about her new life in Christ. In retelling this story, Allison was amazed how her sister had literally walked in her footsteps, believing that her story was Allison's story, and vice versa. Allison hoped her younger sister would continue to follow in her footsteps and accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.1
Joshua wanted the people to follow his example and "serve the Lord." There was good reason for the people to respond and serve the Lord God. God was responsible for bringing the people to the promised land as Joshua reminded them, "for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery ..." And further, the Lord God, "protected us along all the way that we went."
The people had entered into a covenant relationship with God. One thing we have learned about covenants is that God always takes them seriously. They could not and would not be broken. The people were required to serve the Lord God and in return God would continue to be their God.
Kathleen Kolar was an experienced hiker, having hiked in several popular west coast locations. When visiting Hawaii, she decided to hike a trail that was a grueling eleven miles long. The trail has stream crossings, lava ridges, lush valleys, and 100-foot drop-offs to rocky beaches below.
The trek was everything Kathleen had heard -- "difficult but spectacular." On her way back, she found herself a "little off trail." She wasn't concerned, all she would have to do is retrace her steps and she would be fine. She was sure the trail would loop around. She continued for a while before realizing that she was well off the trail -- in other words, lost. She climbed a steep wall, which used to be a waterfall, hoping to once again find the trail. "It's just you and me, Lord," she prayed. "You alone can get me out of this mess."
Things went from bad to worse. She found herself on a small foot-and-a-half perch. She was horrified. It was then that Kathleen realized that she needed to stop so rescuers could find her. It was getting dark; she would have to spend the night on the perch. "I cried and was angry at myself for being so stupid."
The next morning, she felt God show her that this hike was similar to her life. She realized how at times her choices had led her away from God. And how those choices would affect her "further down life's path." "On that tiny ledge, I realized that if I were to truly live for God," she explains, "I would have to get to know him better." It took most of the day before anyone found her because of where she was. Unfortunately, the rescuers could not reach her. She would have to spend a second night on that ledge. "I was tired, thirsty, very sunburned and spent," she recalled.
Before she was rescued by a helicopter the next day, she felt God remind her of the two greatest commandments, love of God and love of neighbor. "I'd loved Jesus since I was eleven," she said, "but I hadn't yet surrendered my claim on my life. I was still going my own way. Those nights on the ledge, I determined to make knowing God's heart, thoughts, and purposes my passion in life." Another lesson she learned from her experience was that you cannot continue down a wrong path and remain untouched by the consequences. From now on Kathleen says, "I'm letting God lead -- and following his path for my life."2
Joshua challenges us today asking what kind of people will we be and to whom will we commit ourselves? Commitment is one of those words that either makes us feel uncomfortable or something that we can easily dismiss as not all that important. While Jesus calls us to be faithful, the choice remains with us this day. In a sense it is a daily choice, a daily commitment, because there are so many things that deceive us, tempt us, and lead us astray. Choose the Lord. Amen.
____________
1. Laurie Beth Jones, Jesus Life Coach (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004), p. 260.
2. Today's Christian Woman magazine, July/August 2005, Vol. 27, No. 4, p. 22.
