And when these things begin to come to pass,
then look up, and lift up your heads;
for your redemption draweth nigh.
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March 20, 2008:Traditions | Just a few more weary days and then... I'll fly away... And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. |
| December 29, 2007:New Year's 2008 | ||
| November 3, 2007:How To Be Successful in Christian Ministry | ||
| October 23, 2007:Salmon |
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| As for Me and My House... William H. Haller |
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Due to the monthly fellowship dinner, this will be an abbreviated Sunday School class, so we'll do the best we can.
In this lesson, we have moved much farther along in the history of the Israelites. The first lesson covered the covenant with God and His creation that he would not wipe the known world out again by a flood. Then He spoke to Abraham and told him he would father a great nation. Then He spoke to Moses and told him He would lead Abraham's descendants, the Israelites, out of bondage. They made a covenant with Him at Mt. Horeb and commit to serve Him.
In the following years, they have conquered the land of Canaan, and have had it divided up by lot amongst them. The chief leader in this was Joshua, who, along with Caleb, had originally scouted out the land and had brought back a good report of the land and the ability of God to overcome the people of the land. Unfortunately, the Israelites believed the ten other spies, and that entire generation of Israelites was condemned by God to die wandering around the wilderness without ever setting foot in the promised land. Now, after leading the people for many years, Joshua is dying of old age and gathers the people to Shechem, his home, to commit themselves to God once again. Shechem is where Abraham received his original calling to be the chosen ancestor of the Israelites (Gen. 12:5-7) and where Jacob commanded his family to reject all other foreign gods (Gen. 35:2).
Joshua challenges the people in chapter 24 of Joshua, recounting the mighty acts that God has performed for them. Let's go ahead and read that chapter now.
Joshua offers the people a choice that they had to make that day as to whether they would follow God or whether they would follow the gods of the people around them. He makes it clear in the last two verses that God was a strict, holy, and jealous God and that if the nation turned from Him, He would turn against them and actively move against them, hurt them, and consume them even after all of the good He may have done for them in the past. (Josh. 24:19-20)
That isn't the sort of feel good sermon you hear from most pulpits today. God is jealous, holy, and strict. He does actively get involved in the affairs of the world, even today, and move against those who don't serve Him. Jesus shares His attributes and is declared to be the same yesterday, today, and for ever in Heb. 13:8. That is really one of the nice things about God. He doesn't change. You know right where you stand with Him. You might not like to acknowledge just how far you have sunk away from or how far you still have to climb to be where He wants you to be, but the Holy Spirit witnesses in your heart to let you know where you are at in your relationship with God.
Today, many reading this short study face the same choice. Choose today, who you are going to serve. Are you going to accept Christ as your Saviour, and just as importantly, serve Him in whatever He wants you to do, or are you going to serve the pleasures of the world for a little bit longer and hope Christ doesn't return in the meantime or that you will be alive and in a condition in which you can still consciously accept Christ a while from now after you've had a bit more fun. The choice is yours. Nobody else can make it for you. You must decide. Ignoring the call the Holy Spirit is placing on your heart is a choice, and it is the wrong choice. Choose God! Choose life! Choose today!
Joshua confidently stated, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Today, there is a whole generation of people my age who turned their backs on God at an early age and haven't looked back. Their children didn't grow up in church - they grew up with only the influences of the world only upon them. My wife's parents, for example, didn't attend church due to some problems between them and their church when they were in need of help and compassion. My wife didn't have that early influence and had to find God on her own in college. Most people will not make the effort. Where do you stand today? If you have children, where do they stand today?
Have you raised up your children in the way that they should go, so that when they are old they will not depart from the way? If so, rely on that promise from Proverbs 22:6, even if they are not where they should be right now. When evaluating whether or not they have a proper relationship with God, remember that it doesn't matter if they are still attending your denomination. It does matter that they are attending some Christian denomination or non-denominational church that is soundly based on the Holy Bible. If they are, support them and give them your blessing. If they have drifted away from God, and you have tried your best to raise them up properly, then trust in God, pray, and do as He instructs. We don't know how much time we have left. God could return at any time. Don't let your friends and relatives be left behind.
I challenge everyone, but I particularly challenge younger parents, to get involved in church yourself. Make the time for Sunday School. Make studying your lesson a priority, that your children may learn by example. Don't just go to church when it is convenient. Don't be one of the Easter and Christmas majority. Don't just put in the minimum time you can. Be like Joshua and serve the Lord. Live your life as a witness before your kids the rest of the week. Whether at work or at home, whether shopping, driving, recreating, et cetera, live a holy example for your kids. Do something for God. Everyone has some way in which God wants them to serve. Find that way and do the best job you can at it. Keep tuned in to Him and when He directs you along another path, take the path.
For the young people out there who didn't have a Christian influence growing up, either in the family or as a close neighbor, I am truly sorry for you. It will be much harder for you to make the right choices, simply because you didn't get grounded in the truth at an early age. But God is powerful and in control. Find a church or other group of Christians where you feel comfortable, and reach out to God. He will reach out to you. Be the first Joshua in your immediate family or perhaps amongst all the relatives you know of. Get into a good Sunday School and Bible study group and begin learning from the Word. Ask God to open the Bible to your eyes and He will do so. He wants you to succeed. He is on your side, even if the world is not, and many days it will truly seem that the world is totally against you. Don't give up. Lean on His strength. Ask questions. Don't be satisfied with stock pat answers if they don't line up with scripture.
Be the priest of your home. Lead your family in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Don't shirk your responsibilities or push them off on another. Make a firm stand and declare to the world that as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. I know that that is an easier thing to say in the United States than in many parts of the world. But it is still what God calls us to be and do.
It is clear from the scripture reading that the people of Israel had been dabbling with other gods. They were instructed to make a clean break from these things. How about you? Are you sold out for God? Are you doing things that you shouldn't be doing? Are you not doing things that you know you should be doing? Perhaps you aren't strong enough to fix every problem all at once. If so, I urge you to pray to God for strength and ask Him what one issue you want to try to fix this week. Work on whatever He says. Sometimes it is like getting out of debt and it would be His choice to take the biggest thing and tackle it just like you try to get rid of the highest interest rate debt first. Sometimes, thought, that one thing is too big and God will instruct you to build up your strength and weaken that one big thing by addressing several things that may seem smaller at first. Like fighting cancer, if you cut off the blood supply to the big cancerous growth, it might just wither and die on its own, where trying to attack it directly would not be successful but would lead to a greater spread of pain and suffering. God knows best.
Be a separate and peculiar people once again. Christ came and died for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works (Tit. 2:14). Set yourselves apart once again. If you are in a position of leadership, stop trying to please the world. The world is at enmity with us if we are doing what Christ called us to do (Jas. 4:14). If the world has been beating a path to your church, and the power of the living God isn't clearly the drawing influence, but it is instead your facilities, music, fellowship, traditions, et cetera, then you are probably not where God wants you to be.
Take the stands that God wants you to take and don't back down. I'm not sure what God told Pope Benedict to say this week, but I am sure that the Crusades were not the way to spread the Gospel message any more than those who call themselves Christians and bomb abortion clinics or try to kill doctors are doing what God is telling them to do. If Christianity isn't allowed to disavow the works of those extremists attempting to do God's work through spreading hate, then I see no reason that Islam should not be painted with the same broad brush. There is no reason they can't be responsible for the excesses committed in their religion's name either. The fact is the bulk of the Christians would not have supported the Crusades today any more than the bulk of the adherents to Islam support the work of terrorists. To the Pope, I say, speak boldly and stand for God. Don't let politics bog you down. Be the leader for God that has called you to be. Your time may be short. Don't waste a moment of it. To all Christians, remember that vengeance belongs to the Lord.
To all leaders in all denominations - be the leaders that God has called you to be. To whom much is given, much will be expected in that day when you all stand before God and hear his pronouncements on all you have said, done, and left undone. Don't be ashamed in that day. Be righteous and upright as examples for your people to follow. Be the Joshua God needs you to be.
Easy gospel messages are easy to listen to and easy to swallow. We in America have forgotten the concept of what kingship is all about. God is our King. He desires that we treat Him as one. Decide this day who you will follow. Make the right decision, even if it is hard and costs you. Eternity will occur regardless of your decision. It is your position in eternity that is at stake.
