SPEAKER_05: Let's say it was worth it today.
SPEAKER_05: Amazing grace.
SPEAKER_07: Amazing grace.
SPEAKER_07: How sweet and saved like me.
SPEAKER_07: But no sea.
SPEAKER_07: See, there's no change on me.
SPEAKER_07: Thank you, Jesus.
SPEAKER_07: You have set me free.
SPEAKER_07: You will call me in.
SPEAKER_07: Call me by name.
SPEAKER_07: I was dead in my sin.
SPEAKER_07: I'm dancing on that way.
SPEAKER_07: And grace my feet really singing all a there's no change on me.
SPEAKER_07: Thank you, Jesus.
SPEAKER_07: You have set me free.
SPEAKER_07: You won't call me it.
SPEAKER_07: Call me by name.
SPEAKER_07: I was dead in my sin.
SPEAKER_07: I was dancing all that grace.
SPEAKER_07: It really is amazing, grace.
SPEAKER_07: I testify of what he did.
SPEAKER_07: He gave me life.
SPEAKER_07: I'm born again.
SPEAKER_07: Martin's free.
SPEAKER_07: My soul is safe.
SPEAKER_07: I testify of what he did.
SPEAKER_07: He gave me life.
SPEAKER_07: I'm born again.
SPEAKER_07: Martin's free.
SPEAKER_07: My soul is safe.
SPEAKER_07: It really is.
SPEAKER_07: It really is amazing, Chris.
SPEAKER_07: It really is.
SPEAKER_07: See it all.
SPEAKER_07: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_07: There's no change on me.
SPEAKER_07: Thank you, Jesus.
SPEAKER_07: Should I set me free?
SPEAKER_07: You will call me.
SPEAKER_07: Call me by name.
SPEAKER_07: I will stand in my sin.
SPEAKER_07: I will dance in all that break.
SPEAKER_07: Is it really is amazing, Grace?
SPEAKER_07: Oh, yes.
SPEAKER_07: Is it really is amazing, Grace?
SPEAKER_07: It really is.
SPEAKER_07: Is it really it's amazing, Grace?
SPEAKER_09: Well, good morning.
SPEAKER_09: My goodness, I went up north for two weeks, and then we moved buildings.
SPEAKER_09: We would love to get to know who you are and give you a chance to get to know who we are.
SPEAKER_09: Also, for every connect card that's filled out, we donate an additional$25 to one of our mission partners.
SPEAKER_09: And this month it is Restoration Community Development Corporation.
SPEAKER_09: So help us help others.
SPEAKER_09: Over the next hour or so, we are going to sing some songs.
SPEAKER_09: We're going to hear a message.
SPEAKER_09: We're going to have a chance to respond to what we've heard.
SPEAKER_09: And today is an especially special Sunday because we get to celebrate new life with baptisms at the end of the service.
SPEAKER_09: So we are excited for that.
SPEAKER_09: Yeah, let's cheer.
SPEAKER_09: We're excited for that.
SPEAKER_09: Let's continue in worship with a word of prayer.
SPEAKER_09: God, we are grateful for who you are and we are thankful for the amazing grace that you have shown each of us.
SPEAKER_09: Lord, I pray that no matter what is going on outside of these doors for each person in here, God, I pray that they would take this next hour to experience your peace and experience the rest that you give us.
SPEAKER_09: God, I pray that we would bring you a sacrifice of worship this morning.
SPEAKER_09: In your name we pray.
SPEAKER_09: Amen.
SPEAKER_06: Born and raised back to life.
SPEAKER_06: I was a bave more.
SPEAKER_06: So why would I make dead in my shame with a fountain of grace?
SPEAKER_06: I know why.
SPEAKER_06: I was bave.
SPEAKER_07: I have a future, and it's worth living.
SPEAKER_07: I was made to be tended a grave.
SPEAKER_07: I was caught by day born and raised back to life again.
SPEAKER_07: I was made for more So why would I make better my shame with the fountain of break?
SPEAKER_07: You call out my name, so I'll sing out your praise.
SPEAKER_07: So I'm not going back.
SPEAKER_07: You call out my name, so I'll sing out your prayers.
SPEAKER_07: Born and I raised back to life again, singing.
SPEAKER_07: With a fountain of grace is running my way.
SPEAKER_07: I know I am yours.
SPEAKER_07: So I'm not gonna be You caught up my name, so I sing out shop.
SPEAKER_07: So it's made squat on me.
SPEAKER_06: Oh, your mercy never fails me.
SPEAKER_06: All my days I've been held in your hands that awake until I lay my head, I will sing of the goodness.
SPEAKER_06: Oh my life you have been faithful.
SPEAKER_06: Oh my life you have been so so good with every breath that I am evil, I will sing of the goodness of God.
SPEAKER_06: I love your voice.
SPEAKER_06: You have led me through the fire in darkest nights, you are close like no other.
SPEAKER_06: I've known you as a friend.
SPEAKER_03: I have lived in the goodness, all my life you have been faint all my life you have been so so good with every birth that I am I will see that the goodness Come on your goodness is running at running dead to me your goodness is running at It's running dead to me My life lay down and surrender now I give you everything It's your goodness is running at It's running dead to me Signa game It's your goodness is running dead It's running dead to me Your goodness is running dead It's running out to me While I play down surveying now I give you everything Your goodness is running out It's running out to me Oh my life you have been faith Oh my life you have been so so good every breath that I am in the same of the goodness All my life you have been faith All my life you have been so so clear every birthday I am evil Oh I will sing of the good day to God I will sing of the good day to God Father God we come to you now and we ask you to please be near to us Lord as your word is preached and proclaimed God that it would search the depths of our hearts that Lord you would work in us and among us as a people of God as a people that gather together to do the good work that you've laid before us to lift your name enthroned on our hearts, God.
SPEAKER_03: We pray that you receive all of our glory and we love you and in your name.
SPEAKER_10: Today I'm reading from Joshua chapter 23, starting in verse 1.
SPEAKER_10: A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, and the judges and officers, and said to them, I am now old and well advanced in years, and you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations over your day.
SPEAKER_10: For it is the Lord your God who is not over you.
SPEAKER_10: Therefore be very strong and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from it, neither to the right hand nor to the left, that you may not make with these nations remaining among you, or make a mention of the names of their gods, or swear by them, or deserve them, or bow down to them, but you shall cling to the Lord your God, and just of you that you have done to this day.
SPEAKER_10: Now therefore, fear the Lord and deserve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.
SPEAKER_10: Put away the gods that your father deserve beyond the river, and in Egypt and deserve the Lord.
SPEAKER_10: And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, it is a day whom you will serve.
SPEAKER_10: Whether the God of your father deserved in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the Airmond.
SPEAKER_01: Joshua chapter twenty-three.
SPEAKER_01: Lots of kids.
SPEAKER_01: I know we have a number of guests, and just a special welcome to you.
SPEAKER_01: I hope you feel what we all know that this is a great place with lots of love and good people.
SPEAKER_01: A couple of things I want to tell you about before I get into my message, and that is there's two things going on today and right now that can help you take a step into the life of the church.
SPEAKER_01: And the first one is a workshop that we have right after this service.
SPEAKER_01: It's about 75 minutes, something like that.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna provide lunch for you.
SPEAKER_01: It's called Discover Near Town.
SPEAKER_01: So that's how you take a step in the life of the church.
SPEAKER_01: This is for people that have been coming for a little bit and go, you know what, I want to hear more about this church, and I want to consider the possibility of like making a commitment to the church.
SPEAKER_01: And you'll hear also what commitment we would make to you if you become what we call is a mission partner.
SPEAKER_01: And so it's very clear, but you know, certainly we're going to challenge you to make a commitment.
SPEAKER_01: That's good for you.
SPEAKER_01: And we care a lot about uh meaningful church membership, and so I want to invite all those of you, even if you did not register, you can attend.
SPEAKER_01: We have extra lunches.
SPEAKER_01: Also, if this is your church.
SPEAKER_01: You want to take a step in the life of the church, we have midweek coed small groups called loop groups, and now's the time to be signing up for them.
SPEAKER_01: And so you can sign up by the code that is supposed to be on the screen.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not seeing it, but it's where just figure it out.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, that's how we're gonna do this.
SPEAKER_01: That's how we're gonna do this.
SPEAKER_01: All right, here we go.
SPEAKER_01: So Joshua chapter 23 and 24 is where we are this morning.
SPEAKER_01: I want to begin by asking you a question.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, there we go.
SPEAKER_01: All right, go ahead and scan that if you want to.
SPEAKER_01: All right, not not a good start so far.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, here we go.
SPEAKER_01: I want to ask you a question.
SPEAKER_01: When do you think you're the most spiritually vulnerable?
SPEAKER_01: Most of us would say, probably, when life is difficult or when life is falling apart, when we're hurting or disappointed or afraid.
SPEAKER_01: But what we're gonna see in the passage today is we're gonna see Joshua, we're gonna hear Joshua say something that might make you think differently.
SPEAKER_01: But just think about when you as a human being are most vulnerable.
SPEAKER_01: So in our home, it is uh football season, and so two of my boys play football.
SPEAKER_01: And if you've been a part of this church for any length of time, you know that I never hesitate to brag on my sons.
SPEAKER_01: My son Price is right down here.
SPEAKER_01: He's a senior St.
SPEAKER_01: Thomas High School.
SPEAKER_01: Eagle fight never dies.
SPEAKER_01: He's the rover back, and they won 75 to 47, and we let him have a few.
SPEAKER_01: You know, we didn't want to send him all the way back to the woodlands crying.
SPEAKER_01: But one thing about football is interesting on in the game Friday night.
SPEAKER_01: Uh we scored right away, our offense did very well.
SPEAKER_01: We scored right away, and then on the kickoff, they ran it back and scored a touchdown, which I wasn't bothered by.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, everybody's kind of panicking.
SPEAKER_01: I wasn't bothered by.
SPEAKER_01: Here's why I know.
SPEAKER_01: When you think things are going to be easy, you relax.
SPEAKER_01: And you you maybe in the game of football, you can fail to execute, fail to remain disciplined, fail to remain focused.
SPEAKER_01: When do you think you're most vulnerable in your life?
SPEAKER_01: Oftentimes it is when your life is at ease.
SPEAKER_01: When you think things are going really, really well.
SPEAKER_01: So all summer we've been in the book of Joshua.
SPEAKER_01: This is actually the twelfth message in this series, and the story that we find in Joshua is that God is leading his people.
SPEAKER_01: It happens in about 1406 BC.
SPEAKER_01: God is leading his people called the Israelites through or into a promised land.
SPEAKER_01: And in these stories that we've talked about, we have watched walls fall, we've seen battles won, we've seen sins exposed, failures redeemed, promises fulfilled, and an inheritance of the promised land received.
SPEAKER_01: And beneath it all, God has been teaching his people one central truth that the greatest gift of the promised life is God's presence among his people.
SPEAKER_01: And here we are at the end of the book.
SPEAKER_01: Not only at the end of the book of Joshua, but at the near the end of Joshua's life.
SPEAKER_01: And what Joshua's going to do is he's going to give two speeches in chapter 23 and chapter 24.
SPEAKER_01: The 23rd chapter is a speech to Israel's leaders, and chapter 24 is a speech to all of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Now think about it.
SPEAKER_01: What would you expect this speech to be like?
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'd expect like a farewell address, maybe a list of all the victories that he's seen in these 25 years, but this is not at all what happens at the end.
SPEAKER_01: In these two chapters, what Joshua does is he calls them once again to think about and to renew their lives before the Lord, renew their commitment to the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And if you're reading this, this call by Joshua here at the end, it's a little bit jarring because by every visible measure, Israel has never been better off.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, things are going quite well.
SPEAKER_01: It seems like they're just like totally synced up with the Lord and enjoying the inheritance that they've received.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, they have houses and land and vineyards and cities and they're experiencing rest.
SPEAKER_01: The battles to get here are over, the difficulty of getting there is over, and this is precisely where a different kind of danger has begun for them.
SPEAKER_01: The ease of their lives is softening the intensity of their devotion.
SPEAKER_01: They are vulnerable.
SPEAKER_01: And the idols of the surrounding nations, as we'll see, may already be creeping into their worship.
SPEAKER_01: And what's happening here with Israel during this time period, it's not unique to them.
SPEAKER_01: It can also apply to us.
SPEAKER_01: Don't you know that difficulty reveals our dependence?
SPEAKER_01: Like we're very aware of our dependence on God when life is difficult.
SPEAKER_01: But ease can test our allegiance to God.
SPEAKER_01: Like when the money is there, our relationships are enjoyable, and nothing feels urgent, we can become spiritually soft or unfocused, lazy.
SPEAKER_01: And we may not be deliberately rejecting God, but we can slowly allow these competing allegiances into our heart.
SPEAKER_01: And all this leads me to what is the main idea from my message today, which is this God's faithfulness to us deserves our allegiance in every season.
SPEAKER_01: God's faithfulness to us deserves our allegiance in every season.
SPEAKER_01: But how do we develop this kind of wholehearted allegiance that remains steady in both difficulty and ease?
SPEAKER_01: I mean, some of you are here because you're in a difficult season of your life, and you know that, hey, I gotta go and like hear from God and take my concern before God.
SPEAKER_01: But others of you are here, if you were just to assess your own life, you might think, well, you know, I'm kind of like in a season of ease.
SPEAKER_01: Both are dangerous.
SPEAKER_01: And what Joshua's gonna speak to is for those of us that are in either situation, but especially those that are in seasons where it's like life is, you know, kind of okay.
SPEAKER_01: Three practices that must continually shape our hearts for us to be fully committed, wholeheartedly committed to God in every season.
SPEAKER_01: First one is this we remember God's faithfulness, then we recognize the rival gods competing for our allegiance, and then we renew our commitment to serve Him.
SPEAKER_01: So let's look at this first one.
SPEAKER_01: Remember God's faithfulness.
SPEAKER_01: So Joshua begins his speech in chapter 23 by deflecting any attention that he might be getting from himself, deflecting it to God.
SPEAKER_01: Look with me at verse 3 of chapter 23, and I'm just gonna be able to read a few verses.
SPEAKER_01: That's a lot in these two chapters, but just start with verse three.
SPEAKER_01: Joshua says, And you have seen all that the Lord the God has done to you, has done to all these nations for your sake.
SPEAKER_01: For it is the Lord your God who has fought for you.
SPEAKER_01: This is important.
SPEAKER_01: Then in verse 14, it's not gonna be on the screen.
SPEAKER_01: I hope you're looking at your Bible.
SPEAKER_01: It says, You know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the thing, of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you.
SPEAKER_01: All have come to pass for you, not one of them has failed.
SPEAKER_01: So Joshua is saying, like, you saw it, you experienced it, you know it in your heart and souls, like God has not failed you.
SPEAKER_01: He's telling Israel this.
SPEAKER_01: He's at the end of his life giving his speech, getting them to think back over the course of the last 25 years, you saw it, you experienced it, you know in your hearts and souls that God has not failed you.
SPEAKER_01: These victories were not ultimately the result of Israel's strength or Joshua's leadership.
SPEAKER_01: It's all about God.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord fought for them.
SPEAKER_01: The land was not their achievement.
SPEAKER_01: Like they didn't receive this land, this promised inheritance representing the promised life for them because of their efforts.
SPEAKER_01: It was a gift from God.
SPEAKER_01: Every good promise that God made, God kept.
SPEAKER_01: And in chapter 24, as Joshua begins recounting this history to all the people of Israel, God begins to be the subject of nearly every sentence.
SPEAKER_01: I don't have time to read chapter 24, 2 through 13.
SPEAKER_01: You can read it later, but here's a quick glimpse of what it says.
SPEAKER_01: God is saying, I took your father Abraham, I, this is God speaking, I gave him Isaac, I sent Moses and Aaron, I brought your fathers out of Egypt, I brought you to the land, I delivered you, I gave you a land on which you have not labored and cities that you've not built.
SPEAKER_01: So eight times 18 times in chapter 24, in this section where God is speaking, God speaks in the first person.
SPEAKER_01: I took, I gave, I sent, I brought, I delivered.
SPEAKER_01: Israel's story and the story in Joshua is not primarily about what the people do for God, it is the story of what God has done for people.
SPEAKER_01: Now, listen, today, in this moment, God has done something for you.
SPEAKER_01: He created you.
SPEAKER_01: He pursued you.
SPEAKER_01: He loved you while you were still a sinner.
SPEAKER_01: Like if I were to go around the room and just kind of survey, like, why are you here?
SPEAKER_01: There are a few of you that would say something like, I I just felt like I should come.
SPEAKER_01: I felt like I should be here.
SPEAKER_01: That is God's Spirit working to draw you to Himself.
SPEAKER_01: He did it.
SPEAKER_01: He created you, He pursued you, He loved you while you're still a sinner.
SPEAKER_01: And then the gospel, the message of Christianity is that He sent His Son Jesus for you.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus lived a life that you cannot live.
SPEAKER_01: He died a death that you deserved.
SPEAKER_01: And then he was raised from the dead to offer the forgiveness of new life.
SPEAKER_01: Forgiveness of new life.
SPEAKER_01: God was faithful to you before you ever felt your need for him.
SPEAKER_01: If you reject this message or you forget it, you will flirt with other other idols of this world in search of hope.
SPEAKER_01: And this is especially true in seasons where lives feel relative your life feels relatively easy.
SPEAKER_01: You see, God's past faithfulness gives us confidence to trust Him with our future.
SPEAKER_01: This is what we're doing here in this part of the passage.
SPEAKER_01: And this isn't the first time that we've heard Joshua speak in such a way that it makes us aware of how the lives that we're called to live, it what an important part of it is for us to remember regularly how good God has been to us.
SPEAKER_01: Like, what has God done for us in the past?
SPEAKER_01: The last time in Joshua, when I was preaching a few weeks ago, I preached Joshua 14, and one of the takeaways was to remember what God has done.
SPEAKER_01: Think about what God has done.
SPEAKER_01: One of the families that was here went home and they took a piece of butcher paper and they wrote in the middle of it something like, Remember what God has done.
SPEAKER_01: And then they just wrote all around it the things that God has done for them as a reminder that God is faithful, God is working, God is doing something.
SPEAKER_01: We are as a people in our day so focused on our own lives that sometimes we can forget, you know, God is doing something in the world.
SPEAKER_01: God is doing something in you.
SPEAKER_01: God has done things in the world, God has done something in us.
SPEAKER_01: We need to remember this.
SPEAKER_01: Like we remember God's faithfulness.
SPEAKER_01: How do we remain fully, wholeheartedly devoted to God in seasons that are at ease and difficult seasons?
SPEAKER_01: It is critical that we're regularly replaying in our minds the things that God has done in us and for us, not the least of which is provide a way of salvation through Christ.
SPEAKER_01: So maybe that's something you can do actionably even this afternoon, is like go home and just take a piece of paper and say, God has been faithful and just list out all the ways that God has been faithful to you in recent memory.
SPEAKER_01: So we remember God's faithfulness, but we have the question still on the table like, how do we stay locked in to this lifestyle of allegiance in seasons that are difficult, in seasons that we would consider at ease?
SPEAKER_01: We certainly cannot forget God's past faithfulness as we think about the future, but we must also, point number two, is recognize rival gods.
SPEAKER_01: And so we get into verse six here of chapter 23.
SPEAKER_01: Joshua speaking, he says, This, therefore, be strong and to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses.
SPEAKER_01: And he's this is for those of you that have been around the whole series, you might remember that this is what was written about in chapter one.
SPEAKER_01: Similar.
SPEAKER_01: Be strong to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from it, neither to the right or to the left.
SPEAKER_01: And what Joshua is doing here is, and we've seen this throughout the book of Joshua, is like there's a warning not to mix with the gods of surrounding nations.
SPEAKER_01: They're not to invoke the names of their gods or to serve them or bow down to them.
SPEAKER_01: Like this is very serious.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, if these people of God are going to become his as his chosen people, fully devoted to him, like set apart for him, they cannot allow the worship of rival gods to enter into the way that they think about worship.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 8.
SPEAKER_01: He says, You shall cling to the Lord your God just as if you have done to this day.
SPEAKER_01: This is describing the kind of relationship that and tenacity that they're to have in their relationship with Almighty God, and certainly it applies to us also.
SPEAKER_01: This word cling here is translated from the Hebrew.
SPEAKER_01: It describes much more than just like an add-on kind of idea with God.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, when we think about our relationship with God and wholehearted allegiance to Almighty God, if you think of it as like an add-on to your life, like it's one of the things that you have in your life that's going to kind of help you get through the life and make the most of your days, then you then that's not what he's talking about here.
SPEAKER_01: Like this idea of clinging is more than just believing in God or occasionally turning to him for help.
SPEAKER_01: It's this language of an enduring relational attachment and covenant loyalty.
SPEAKER_01: It's the same word used in Genesis chapter 2, verse 24, which says, A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's it's the language here is like marriage covenant, like commitment.
SPEAKER_01: He's using this word cling to give us the intensity of the idea of what he's calling Israel to and their allegiance.
SPEAKER_01: They're not just supposed to obey God, like follow this list of rules, but they're to be in an intimate personal relationship with Almighty God, remaining faithful, joining him in this exclusive covenant love.
SPEAKER_01: And this is all made more rich by verse 11.
SPEAKER_01: Be careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God.
SPEAKER_01: So, this relationship that we're talking about, when we're thinking about what it means to give our total allegiance to God, it's not some cold, distant sort of following of a list of rules.
SPEAKER_01: It is this relationship with God that's deep and intimate and ever-growing.
SPEAKER_01: God wants Israel's loyal love.
SPEAKER_01: God wants yours and mine also.
SPEAKER_01: And what these rival gods do is they always come in and seek to undermine the depth of this love.
SPEAKER_01: For Israel, these surrounding nations are very dangerous because their gods offer this alternate love, this alternate way of worshiping.
SPEAKER_01: And and like all of us, Israel would be tempted to like keep some of these rival gods as backup or side pieces.
SPEAKER_01: But but Joshua's saying, no, it cannot be like that at all.
SPEAKER_01: This is not what God has for you.
SPEAKER_01: And for Israel, what they could do if they chose to allow these rival gods to be a part of the way that they live and worship, I mean, they they could, in theory, turn to one God for rain and another for fertility.
SPEAKER_01: These are the point of these rival gods in that day.
SPEAKER_01: They might turn to another for military protection.
SPEAKER_01: And they could maybe still claim that they are the people of God worshiping Almighty God Yahweh.
SPEAKER_01: But but God is saying, and Joshua's saying, like, this is not the way you're allowed to do it.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because the Lord has done for Israel what no other God can do.
SPEAKER_01: Those other gods had not rescued Israel from slavery, had they had not, he had not opened the sea, they had not opened the sea.
SPEAKER_01: The other gods had not fed Israel in the wilderness or parted the Jordan or given them the land.
SPEAKER_01: God had given them all that they needed.
SPEAKER_01: An undivided covenant love, a promise to them that he fulfilled, as evidenced by the land that they now possess.
SPEAKER_01: He deserved their undivided allegiance.
SPEAKER_01: The same is true of us.
SPEAKER_01: God loves us too much to allow us to casually share our hearts with the things that will ultimately destroy us.
SPEAKER_01: Now, as I mentioned, there were two speeches here.
SPEAKER_01: From chapter 23 to 24, in chapter 24, the speech kind of intensifies.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, chapter 23 is a bit more of an approach of like warning Israel's leaders of what can happen to them if they accommodate the nations around them in the worship of these other gods, these rival gods.
SPEAKER_01: But in chapter 24, when Joshua gathers the entire nation, his language becomes more urgent.
SPEAKER_01: And the reason for this is because it seems as if the worship of these rival gods has already begun to enter the people of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: What was a danger in theory is becoming a problem in reality already for Israel.
SPEAKER_01: And this is why he says in chapter 24, verse 14, these words.
SPEAKER_01: Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.
SPEAKER_01: Put away the gods that your fathers serve beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And then later in verse 23, he says, put away the foreign gods that are among you, incline your heart to the Lord, a God of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Notice these phrases, like among you.
SPEAKER_01: These rival gods have already begun to seep into the lives of the people that are the nation of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Again, their lives, they were experiencing relative ease, and they probably just kind of let down a little bit, got unfocused.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, they're experiencing the spoils of war, this land that God had given them, and they just relaxed.
SPEAKER_01: And maybe it wasn't as big of a deal to do all that God had commanded them to do in terms of exposing and eradicating the rival gods.
SPEAKER_01: And so they kind of were just allowing these things to creep into their lives.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to know that I am concerned for the people of God today.
SPEAKER_01: Rival gods are wooing our hearts, and the reality is we are vulnerable.
SPEAKER_01: Rarely do these rival gods march through the front door, but instead they they like slip in through the windows that we choose to leave open through the friendships we allow to shape us, the media that forms our desires.
SPEAKER_01: They slip in when we kind of are experiencing relative ease in our life, and so we begin to neglect a daily reading of scripture or prayer or gathering with the church.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the thing about rival gods they're wooing us, but they rarely demand that we reject God, like publicly reject God.
SPEAKER_01: Instead, they simply ask us to divide our allegiance.
SPEAKER_01: You see, when Joshua is calling these people to a commitment, calling them to think about what's already among them, he knows that if they he was to survey Israel and say, Who do you worship?
SPEAKER_01: They would say, We worship Yahweh.
SPEAKER_01: We worship the God of the Bible, the God who's been faithful to us.
SPEAKER_01: And at the same time, we have backups.
SPEAKER_01: So the big question for us in this moment is like, how do we identify rival gods?
SPEAKER_01: Well, I've got a suggestion on how you might do that.
SPEAKER_01: Ask yourself this.
SPEAKER_01: What or who do I first turn turn to when I'm stressed or afraid?
SPEAKER_01: When I am stressed or afraid, what is the first thing that I turn to that could be a rival God that you've allowed to slip into your life?
SPEAKER_01: Another question.
SPEAKER_01: What do I believe I need more of in order to be at peace or finally happy?
SPEAKER_01: Like, do you think if I had more money, I would finally be at peace or finally or happy?
SPEAKER_01: Could be rival God or whatever it might be.
SPEAKER_01: Like ask yourself the question: what do I think about when my mind is free?
SPEAKER_01: Where do I turn to when I'm angry or lonely or tired?
SPEAKER_01: These are questions that can get us thinking about rival gods that have snuck into our lives.
SPEAKER_01: You see, God's faithfulness to us deserves our allegiance in every season.
SPEAKER_01: Let me illustrate this with a contrasting idea.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to think about your financial investments.
SPEAKER_01: So in investing, we we would all understand the wisdom of diversification of your investments.
SPEAKER_01: So an advisor might tell you something like, Don't put all of your money in one investment.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Why is this?
SPEAKER_01: Like, why would you want to spread it out?
SPEAKER_01: It's because if one thing fails, you have something else to depend on, right?
SPEAKER_01: And that's that's wise.
SPEAKER_01: That is wise financially, but it's disastrous spiritually.
SPEAKER_01: But but that's how some of us treat our treat our relationship with God.
SPEAKER_01: Like, God, I'm investing in you, but I have these other investments out here, these other rival gods I'm gonna run to, I'm gonna turn to, I'm gonna rely on in the moments of my greatest need, or to get direction for my life.
SPEAKER_01: Because really what we're saying is, God, I don't know that I can really trust you.
SPEAKER_01: It's wise financially, but it's disastrous spiritually to think of it in this way.
SPEAKER_01: Like, I trust God for heaven, but I trust money for security and achievement for significance and relationships for worth and politics for hope.
SPEAKER_01: So that would be a diversification of our spiritual lives.
SPEAKER_01: And we're not like out and out rejecting God, we're just diversifying.
SPEAKER_01: We have backups.
SPEAKER_01: What Joshua is saying is that you cannot divide your allegiance.
SPEAKER_01: God, God doesn't want one portion of your heart's portfolio.
SPEAKER_01: It's a little cheesy, but just go with it with me, all right?
SPEAKER_01: He wants your whole heart.
SPEAKER_01: And Joshua is not saying, hey, hey, y'all, Israel, like be careful because there's these rival idols that are a part of the people that are not the people of God that have seeped into the nation of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Like, be careful and just make sure you're managing that wisely.
SPEAKER_01: No, what does he say?
SPEAKER_01: Put them away and incline your heart to the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: We're to remove the external rival and redirect the internal affection.
SPEAKER_01: Because the greatest threat to the promised life, which has been the offer to you all summer, how can you experience the promised life?
SPEAKER_01: The greatest threat to the promised life is not always something attacking you from the outside, it may be something competing for your allegiance on the inside.
SPEAKER_01: A divided heart cannot produce a wholehearted life.
SPEAKER_01: But how do we develop this kind of wholehearted allegiance?
SPEAKER_01: This is the question on the table.
SPEAKER_01: We remember God's faithfulness, we recognize rival gods, but there's one more thing that we see here in the passage, and that is that we choose to renew our commitment, and I'm going to say daily.
SPEAKER_01: Joshua chapter 24, when he's before the nation of Israel again with this speech, says these words, therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness.
SPEAKER_01: Put away the gods that your fathers serve beyond the river and in Egypt and serve the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.
SPEAKER_01: So what he's saying here is he is saying, Hey, if you want to serve these rival gods, make a choice.
SPEAKER_01: I had a hard conversation with a person that's been a part of our church recently.
SPEAKER_01: And this person essentially, who had been coming very faithful in discipleship, essentially said to me, I'm just not so sure that I want to do this relationship with God thing anymore.
SPEAKER_01: And every part of me wanted to beg and plead and weep and just go and chase after him.
SPEAKER_01: But I essentially said this I said, choose today who you're gonna serve.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you get to choose the life.
SPEAKER_01: And this is what Joshua is doing.
SPEAKER_01: Like he's saying, like, hey, there are a lot of gods that you think are very attractive to you.
SPEAKER_01: There are a lot of God, rival gods that this world offers.
SPEAKER_01: And if you want to serve one of those, go serve him and see how where that takes you.
SPEAKER_01: But what's available to you in Christ is the promised life.
SPEAKER_01: And what Joshua does is he stands up and says, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And I love this passage on today because two of the three people being baptized today are kids of two faithful sets of parents that are in this church, who have said many years ago, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And now they're getting to kind of witness the evidence of the beauty of that.
SPEAKER_01: And Joshua brings them to this final decision, the second part of verse 15.
SPEAKER_01: Choose this day who you'll serve.
SPEAKER_01: This is an interesting part of the passage.
SPEAKER_01: Choose this day who you'll serve.
SPEAKER_01: And what the people do in response right away is they they say, Hey, we'll do it.
SPEAKER_01: We'll do it.
SPEAKER_01: Like we're in.
SPEAKER_01: They immediately respond by saying, We're gonna serve the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, they're excited in this moment.
SPEAKER_01: But Joshua responds in verse 19 by saying this.
SPEAKER_01: He says to the people, You're not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God, he is a jealous God.
SPEAKER_01: This is so interesting to me.
SPEAKER_01: It's startling in the passage.
SPEAKER_01: He responds, he says, Choose the day who you're gonna serve.
SPEAKER_01: Turn away from these gods that have seeped into the nation of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Choose today who you're gonna serve.
SPEAKER_01: There's gonna be a renewal of the covenant between the people of Israel and God Almighty.
SPEAKER_01: Choose today who you're gonna serve, and the people say, We will serve the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And Joshua says, No, you won't.
SPEAKER_01: He says, No, you won't.
SPEAKER_01: Like you're not able.
SPEAKER_01: What Joshua isn't looking for here is a quick burst of religious enthusiasm.
SPEAKER_01: Like he knows it's easy to make a promise in this powerful moment, but it's harder to choose allegiance with God Almighty on an ordinary Tuesday when obedience is costly, when other people aren't doing, when temptation is strong, when God feels distant, and every other surrounding voice is pulling you in a different direction.
SPEAKER_01: Choose today who you'll serve.
SPEAKER_01: We will.
SPEAKER_01: No, you won't.
SPEAKER_01: It is easy in a moment to say, Oh, I'm in.
SPEAKER_01: Me and God, I'm in.
SPEAKER_01: But what this illustrates is it's easy to say, I commit.
SPEAKER_01: The harder thing is to every single day commit.
SPEAKER_01: Twenty-seven years ago, this Thursday, this last Thursday, as I've mentioned recently, Jeannie and I got married 27 years ago.
SPEAKER_01: We celebrated our 27-year anniversary on Friday.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: You excited about that, Bryce?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you wouldn't be here.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the thing about a wedding vow, and I remember it like it was yesterday.
SPEAKER_01: It is one moment of enthusiasm.
SPEAKER_01: But you but you know what's by God's grace giving us a really beautiful, wonderful marriage, it's the choice every single day to be allies, to commit to one another.
SPEAKER_01: This is what Joshua knows true of the people of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: It's easy to say, oh yeah, we're in.
SPEAKER_01: But when he's saying, No, you're not, and they say, No, no, no, we are in, and Joshua says, Okay, so he allows them to renew this covenant.
SPEAKER_01: But as we move past the book of Joshua, if you read the story of Israel, it does not take long for the people to allow these rival gods to become a part of their everyday lives.
SPEAKER_01: You get to the book of Judges, one compromise day begins, another and then another, until their allegiance is so divided that it's miserable for the nation.
SPEAKER_01: God raises up judges and kings and prophets to call them back, but this pattern continues for generations.
SPEAKER_01: Their promise in the moment may have been sincere, but their strength is insufficient.
SPEAKER_01: You see, here's the thing for Israel, they could not sustain wholehearted allegiance to God on their own.
SPEAKER_01: And so the same is true for us.
SPEAKER_01: Because what you might be doing in this moment is you might be thinking, Today I'm gonna choose to serve the Lord, but we're we're leaving one very important part out of this equation.
SPEAKER_01: Determination alone cannot produce lifelong devotion.
SPEAKER_01: You know how it goes.
SPEAKER_01: Like you recognize an idol that comes into your life, you surrender it to the Lord, and then all of a sudden something else creeps into your life, right?
SPEAKER_01: If you're trying to do it in your own strength, you cannot do it.
SPEAKER_01: Even after everything that God has done for you, even if you remember God's faithfulness to you, we all of us tend to drift.
SPEAKER_01: And this story and the story of our lives expose what we really need.
SPEAKER_01: We need something bigger than us to give us what we need to have wholehearted devotion to Almighty God.
SPEAKER_01: We don't need just more determination.
SPEAKER_01: So even if you're coming here and you're like, you know what, I need a life change, your posture might be in this moment, I'm going to like clench my fists, and I'm gonna quit doing bad things, and I'm gonna start doing good things, and I'm gonna do this for God.
SPEAKER_01: I want a new life.
SPEAKER_01: But the story of Israel just obliterates that attempt.
SPEAKER_01: We need something from outside of us to make it possible for us to live in total allegiance to God Almighty.
SPEAKER_01: And this is where the story of Joshua points us forward to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: The Hebrew name Joshua means the Lord saves.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus bears that same name because he is the greater Joshua who came to deliver his people.
SPEAKER_01: Listen to this.
SPEAKER_01: Where Israel failed to give God wholehearted allegiance, Jesus remained perfectly faithful.
SPEAKER_01: He resisted every rival God.
SPEAKER_01: He loved the Father with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength.
SPEAKER_01: What you and I would want to do in our own strength that we cannot do.
SPEAKER_01: Israel couldn't do it, we can't do it.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus did it.
SPEAKER_01: Then on the cross, this faithful Son of God, Jesus, bore the judgment deserved by covenant breakers like us.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus came to do for you what you could never do for yourself.
SPEAKER_01: Through his blood, he established a new covenant.
SPEAKER_01: He forgives you, he makes forgiveness possible for you because of your divided allegiance, in spite of your attempts to be fully devoted to God.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus has done something for you you can never do for yourself.
SPEAKER_01: He makes a way for your sin to be forgiven.
SPEAKER_01: He gives you a new heart, and the Bible says the Spirit of God is placed within you when you repent of your sin and you place your faith in Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus does not merely command wholehearted allegiance, he gives us the grace and the power to live with it.
SPEAKER_01: This is so important because I know in this moment, if I say, okay, I'll go around the room, choose today who you'll serve.
SPEAKER_01: Many of you would say, I'm choosing God today.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna live for God on Tuesday and Wednesday.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna raise my family to know and love God.
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to like expel from my life these rival gods, like you're tempted with things that continue to trip you up, and you're once again going to say, God, I'm never going to do that again.
SPEAKER_01: But unless the Spirit of God is empowering you to wholehearted devotion to God, you'll just stumble and you'll fail and you'll never really be free to live the promised life.
SPEAKER_01: So where do we start?
SPEAKER_01: We start with Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And when you repent of your sin and you place your faith in Christ, the Bible says the Holy Spirit begins to dwell in you, and the Spirit of God gives us the power to grow in a wholehearted love for God.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you still have to choose every single day.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, you are choosing.
SPEAKER_01: Wholehearted allegiance is possible only through the strength that God supplies.
SPEAKER_01: So we remember God's faithfulness, we recognize rival gods, and we choose to commit daily, which is made possible only by the work of the Spirit in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: That's the equation.
SPEAKER_01: That is how we experience a promised life.
SPEAKER_01: The story in Joshua chapter 24 ends by the people of Israel renewing this covenant.
SPEAKER_01: And there's a recording of their commitment.
SPEAKER_01: There's actually a setting up of a large stone as a witness.
SPEAKER_01: There's some significant burials that happen, and Joshua, who's 110 years old, dies.
SPEAKER_01: And what we have seen throughout this entire series, 12 weeks now, we've walked through this slowly and we've asked God to speak to our hearts, and we've we've heard God invite us into the promised life.
SPEAKER_01: That isn't about material blessing, it's about an experience of his presence.
SPEAKER_01: We've seen God, the God who is faithful to Israel, and reflected on how he's been faithful to us even now.
SPEAKER_01: And we've heard time and time again that the invitation is for our complete allegiance in seasons of ease and seasons of difficulty.
SPEAKER_01: And it is possible that it's in the season of ease that we're the most vulnerable to allow into our lives these rival gods.
SPEAKER_01: So, how do we live with this wholehearted allegiance?
SPEAKER_01: Again, remember that God has been faithful, recognize that God's competing for your heart, and renew your wholehearted allegiance to Him.
SPEAKER_01: So a call to action for you is this In the next seven days, every morning you wake up, I want you to have a conversation with the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And just say, God, what are there any rival gods that are competing for my attention today?
SPEAKER_01: And if so, just confess it and ask him for your help, for his help.
SPEAKER_01: And then just say these words, today I choose to serve you, Almighty God.
SPEAKER_01: Just see what happens if you do that for seven days.
SPEAKER_01: Let's think on and pray about these things.
SPEAKER_01: Would you bow your head?
SPEAKER_01: So with your head bowed, my invitation is first of all, to those of you that have never crossed over the line of faith, you're here for whatever reason God brought you here.
SPEAKER_01: You may not even fully understand it, but maybe today you're ready to quit trying to do life in your own strength, and you're ready to surrender to Jesus as Lord of your life.
SPEAKER_01: And you say, Well, how do I do this?
SPEAKER_01: How do I take this first step into the promised life?
SPEAKER_01: Here's what you do.
SPEAKER_01: In your heart, say to God, God, I have tried other idols.
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to mess with that anymore.
SPEAKER_01: I turn away from those.
SPEAKER_01: I want to surrender my life to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says that there's a mysterious exchange where the righteousness earned by Christ on the cross is given to you.
SPEAKER_01: And your sin is paid for by Jesus on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: Just a moment, we're going to hear the story of Andreas, who made that decision and wants to give public witness about it through baptism.
SPEAKER_01: And so if you've made that decision, we want you to let us know so that we can help you take steps on your faith, one of which is baptism.
SPEAKER_01: Now, for the rest of you, those of you that are in here that are like followers of Jesus, what are the rival gods that are just creeping into your life?
SPEAKER_01: What do you run to when you're stressed or afraid?
SPEAKER_01: What fills your mind when you're lonely and tired?
SPEAKER_01: Like here's an opportunity to confess that to God, repent of it.
SPEAKER_01: And you're not going to be able to walk in freedom.
SPEAKER_01: Wholehearted devotion to God on your own.
SPEAKER_01: Like you need the Spirit of God filling you up and giving you the strength to do it.
SPEAKER_01: So just ask God.
SPEAKER_01: Ask God for help.
SPEAKER_01: As we continue in this time of response, I'm going to ask you to stand to your feet.
SPEAKER_01: Would you stand to your feet?
SPEAKER_01: We're going to sing a song here, and also we're going to invite you to pray.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to have people in all four corners.
SPEAKER_01: If you want somebody to pray with you, I'd encourage you to take that step.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you've made a decision to receive Jesus as Lord to surrender to Christ for the first time and you want somebody to pray with you.
SPEAKER_01: I would just encourage you to walk to one of these four corners, and we would love just to pray with you.
SPEAKER_01: Encourage you.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you're struggling with something.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe there's some way in which a rival God has gotten into your life and it's led you to like the need for repentance, and you want somebody to pray with you about that.
SPEAKER_01: We would love to do that, just minister to you.
SPEAKER_01: If you would rather not go to one of the four corners than just lean over to the next person, the person next to you and just say, Hey, would you pray for me?
SPEAKER_01: So we want to respond.
SPEAKER_01: And in this moment, we're asking the Lord, like, okay, God, what did I hear?
SPEAKER_01: What must I do?
SPEAKER_01: That's how we're going to move forward in this moment.
SPEAKER_01: Let me pray.
SPEAKER_01: God Almighty, we love you.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for your word.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for the series, which has been wild and exciting and hard and fun and all the things, God.
SPEAKER_01: And what we've what we've seen in it all is the invitation to a promised life that is really about an experience of your presence.
SPEAKER_01: So, God, for the people in this room, those of whom like you brought to mind for them this rival God that they've allowed to creep into the cracked windows of their heart.
SPEAKER_01: God, I just pray that in this moment that they would experience your grace and your mercy, that they would be drawn into repentance by your love.
SPEAKER_01: God, for those that are here that have not yet crossed the line of faith and need to make a decision to surrender for the very first time to Christ, I pray that they'd have the courage to do it.
SPEAKER_01: God, I trust your spirit's work in this moment.
SPEAKER_01: God, I pray that they'd feel drawn into a relationship with you.
SPEAKER_01: God, for all of us, we long for an even deeper experience of this promised life in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: So I just ask that for this church.
SPEAKER_01: So Lord, we're gonna continue to respond in prayer and singing, and I just pray your Holy Spirit would work.
SPEAKER_01: And thank you that all this was made possible by Jesus whose blood was shed on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: And I pray all this in Christ's name.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_07: I was harsh from inside.
SPEAKER_07: I was harsh from the inside.
SPEAKER_05: Cannot explain.
SPEAKER_07: I cannot explain.
SPEAKER_07: Nothing's more real than the presence of God.
SPEAKER_07: Who would my experience my shame with the inside?
SPEAKER_07: My sin with the most high.
SPEAKER_07: I'm strongly inside.
SPEAKER_07: I know it was the blood.
SPEAKER_07: Could it only been the blood?
SPEAKER_07: I know it was the blood, could it only been the blood?
SPEAKER_07: It's never been about performance, perfection, striving for acceptance.
SPEAKER_07: Let me tell you, it's only by the blood.
SPEAKER_07: It's never been about deserving.
SPEAKER_07: It's a gift, it's freely giving.
SPEAKER_07: Let me tell you.
SPEAKER_07: It's only by the blood thing it's ever been.
SPEAKER_07: It's never been about performance.
SPEAKER_07: Let me tell you, it's only by the blood.
SPEAKER_07: So by the blood of Jesus.
SPEAKER_07: Never been about perfect wording.
SPEAKER_07: It's free again.
SPEAKER_07: Let me tell you.
SPEAKER_07: It's only by the blood we wanna be.
SPEAKER_07: Does anybody wanna be holy?
SPEAKER_07: Righteous.
SPEAKER_07: Let me tell you.
SPEAKER_07: It's only by the blood.
SPEAKER_07: Forgive it.
SPEAKER_07: It's just if I really live in, let me tell you.
SPEAKER_07: It's only by the blood.
SPEAKER_07: No it was a play.
SPEAKER_07: Every voice here is phrase Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_07: Could have only been the blood.
SPEAKER_02: It could have only been a Well, thanks for being here today.
SPEAKER_02: Um, y'all go ahead and have a seat.
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna do a baptism, Andres.
SPEAKER_02: If you're I hope you're here because you're getting baptized today.
SPEAKER_02: Go ahead and head up to this stage.
SPEAKER_02: Um so just a little bit, we're gonna dismiss all of you, and we're gonna do a baptism out in our our trough outside that we branded last year, so it feels a little bit better than that.
SPEAKER_02: Um so Andres is gonna come up.
SPEAKER_02: So baptism, just briefly, if you're new to this church or just kind of new to the Christian church in general, baptism is um it means a lot to us.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, and it's a way for someone to essentially say, Hey, I'm a part of this church.
SPEAKER_02: I come on up over.
SPEAKER_02: I I want to be a part of this church, I want to be a part of this community.
SPEAKER_02: Um and I want to sync up with everybody here.
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I'm making a decision to walk with God, and then I'm doing it alongside everybody.
SPEAKER_02: So I'm just gonna ask him a question, let him kind of share a little bit with you guys.
SPEAKER_02: I'll give you a few announcements and then I'll dismiss you.
SPEAKER_02: But Andreas, tell us why do you want to be baptized?
SPEAKER_02: What's bringing you to this today?
SPEAKER_00: So the the reason I want to be baptized is to fully accept Lord Jesus Christ as my father, savior.
SPEAKER_00: And the reason I'm still here today.
unknown: Thank you.
unknown: Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: When we ask people to do this, we say, hey, you can write it down, because who really enjoys public speaking, right?
SPEAKER_00: I know I don't.
SPEAKER_00: Good morning, everyone.
SPEAKER_00: I'll start by telling you a little bit about my journey in faith.
SPEAKER_00: I grew up in a church as far back as I remember.
SPEAKER_00: I was around eight or nine years old.
SPEAKER_00: I was raised by a single mother with five kids, and financially things were very difficult.
SPEAKER_00: We moved around a lot and experienced evictions, and eventually, they caused me to move away from the church.
SPEAKER_00: For a long time, I told myself that I would never go to another church unless it was the one that I grew up in.
SPEAKER_00: But like they say, once you leave the church, you always find your way back one way or another.
SPEAKER_00: Last year I started getting back into church.
SPEAKER_00: One day I woke up with a feeling in me that I needed to seek the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: There was a local church just down the street from where I live, so I decided to give it a chance.
SPEAKER_00: That was when my eagerness to learn more about Jesus really began to grow.
SPEAKER_00: Now I'll tell you how I find Neartown.
SPEAKER_00: Long story short, the church I was attending went through a lot of conflict and eventually it didn't feel like a church anymore.
SPEAKER_00: I expressed that to my case manager who is in the audience today.
SPEAKER_00: She recommended me of Neartown.
SPEAKER_00: She also told me about the loop groups.
SPEAKER_00: I kept putting it off and putting it off, but eventually I decided to join.
SPEAKER_00: And that decision introduced me to amazing people who are now considered lifelong friends and brothers and sisters in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Since joining, I've seen so much growth in myself, in my faith journey.
SPEAKER_00: Now I want to tell you why I'm getting baptized.
SPEAKER_00: For a long time I felt like life was filled with things that were against me.
SPEAKER_00: I even used to think that I was cursed.
SPEAKER_00: But looking at it now, I can see that there were moments where Jesus was walking with me, even when I didn't realize it.
SPEAKER_00: Since a kid, I had a dream of making it to the NFL.
SPEAKER_00: As crazy as it sounds, 5-8.
SPEAKER_00: Defensive tackle, making it to the NFL.
SPEAKER_00: But I had a dream, you know, and I did everything I did to chase that dream.
SPEAKER_00: I would wake up early morning for practice, get home at 10 p.m.
SPEAKER_00: after practice, and until one day it all changed.
SPEAKER_00: My sophomore year, I suffered a career altering injury that had nothing to do with football.
SPEAKER_00: It led to surgeries on my right eye.
SPEAKER_00: Over the course of two years, I had three surgeries.
SPEAKER_00: And eventually I was told I could never play the game.
SPEAKER_00: The game that I loved again.
SPEAKER_00: That broke me.
SPEAKER_00: It felt like I lost myself and my identity.
SPEAKER_00: Growing up, I was always known as the football player.
SPEAKER_00: So when football was taken away from me, I didn't know who I was anymore.
SPEAKER_00: That led me into some very dark places.
SPEAKER_00: I struggled with depression, anxiety, anger, and constantly asking God why me.
SPEAKER_00: I even reached a point where I tried to take my own life three times.
SPEAKER_00: But today I look back, I don't see a God who abandoned me.
SPEAKER_00: I see a God who was still there even when I couldn't see him.
SPEAKER_00: I see a God who kept me here and kept me, giving me opportunities to find my way back to him.
SPEAKER_00: And that's why I'm standing here today.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not getting baptized because I believe I'm perfect.
SPEAKER_00: I'm getting baptized because I know I need Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Today I want to publicly show my faith, my gratitude, and my trust in Jesus Christ as my savior, my father, and the one who has been with me through every part of my journey.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you all for being here and being part of this journey with me.
SPEAKER_02: Alright, go ahead and you want to get ready?
SPEAKER_02: It's uh I would highly recommend an old lady sweater.
SPEAKER_02: Uh and just put it around your shoulders.
SPEAKER_02: Don't put it over your arms.
SPEAKER_02: Like it, like, go fool old lady, it'll help you out.
SPEAKER_02: It's really cold in here.
SPEAKER_02: Um so he's gonna go get ready for the baptism.
SPEAKER_02: We have two kids here.
SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of family here to support the kids as well that are doing it.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, and um, so we're gonna in a minute I'm gonna dismiss you.
SPEAKER_02: If you have kids in Kid City, could you please just go grab them, bring them out to outside?
SPEAKER_02: We really want everybody to be a part of it, um, including our kids.
SPEAKER_02: Their kids are a part of our church, they're not just additions to our church.
SPEAKER_02: Um, so we want everybody to be there.
SPEAKER_02: Um again, if this is your first time, welcome to Neartown Church.
SPEAKER_02: We're really, really glad that you're here.
SPEAKER_02: Um we have a connect card you can fill out.
SPEAKER_02: There's a little thing on your seat, so you can scan that, you can scan the um one of the QR codes up here.
SPEAKER_02: It's just a chance for us to say hello, introduce ourselves.
SPEAKER_02: This is what our church is about.
SPEAKER_02: Also, after service today, Russell mentioned it, we are gonna do a discovered near town.
SPEAKER_02: Um if you don't know what that is, it's just a chance for you to meet our church.
SPEAKER_02: Here's who we are, here's what we believe, here's what's going on.
SPEAKER_02: Um, if you're here today and you're like, hey, I'm interested, I didn't sign up, just come.
SPEAKER_02: Um if you're into box lunches, we have those for you, and we have some extras.
SPEAKER_02: So we'd love to have you um there afterwards.
SPEAKER_02: And and then and finally, if you are giving to this project, to this church, to this community regularly, financially, we just want to thank you.
SPEAKER_02: Um all of it goes towards everything that we do, and then it goes towards other community uh services, global things that we do, ministry things all across the board that we're able to give to really generously.
SPEAKER_02: So this is a generous church.
SPEAKER_02: Um and uh because of your generosity, we're able to continue on through it.
SPEAKER_02: So I'm gonna do our benediction and then I'm gonna dismiss you to go.
SPEAKER_02: Again, we'd love to encourage you to stick around and uh be a part of it.
SPEAKER_02: So I'll do the benediction.
SPEAKER_02: As you go, may you trust God's promises, walk in courageous obedience and follow him by faith.
SPEAKER_02: May the Lord your God go with you wherever you go, strengthen your heart and guide in your steps.
SPEAKER_02: Go in peace and power of Christ.
SPEAKER_02: You are loved.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: See you in a minute.