WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:01.280 Well, good morning. 00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:04.320 Welcome to United City Church. 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:12.320 For all those who are here in person, maybe for the first time or visiting, we want to welcome you to United City Church and to 2023. 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:14.560 Congratulations, you did it. 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:18.480 For all those who are joining us online, we want to give a special shout out to you as well. 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:22.960 Thanks for joining us and spending your first day of the new year here at United City Church. 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:27.839 And a special shout out to the women at the Plain State facility as well as the men at the Ramseys Unit. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:29.679 We're glad you're joining us. 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:36.719 And just a quick poll, how many of you actually made it to midnight last night? 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:37.920 Show of hands. 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:38.799 Good job. 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:40.079 Congratulations. 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:45.759 How many of you played a different country's fireworks maybe at 8 p.m. 00:00:46.719 --> 00:00:50.079 with your children so that everybody could go to bed on time? 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:52.240 All right, parents of young children right there. 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:52.719 I see you. 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:53.280 I see you. 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:54.960 All right, congratulations. 00:00:55.200 --> 00:01:06.640 Well, if you're anything like me this time of year, specifically at the end of December, early January, you probably have, hopefully have the same kind of conversation that I have with my wife Lauren. 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:13.359 Typically, what we do is when we get to the end of a year, we we tend to look backwards at the past year, at 2022. 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:14.799 We have the same kind of conversation. 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:17.359 What are the highlands and the valleys that we had that year? 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:24.000 What are the things that we want to celebrate, the things that we're proud of, the things that, man, God surprised us with that year? 00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:27.920 And talk about those things, as well as maybe all the things we want to forget. 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:29.920 Maybe the things that were hard to go through. 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:32.959 Maybe the things that were difficult and a challenge for us. 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:35.200 For us, 2022 was great. 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:37.280 We moved to Houston, Texas. 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:42.959 And we joined the United City Church. 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:47.920 And we just celebrated one year of our youngest daughter. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:50.959 So it's been a year of baby for us, all right? 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:52.959 So it's been great. 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:57.280 We also look forward to what's coming in 2023. 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:03.040 All the things we're excited about, all the things we're nervous and apprehensive about, anxious about as well. 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:06.159 For us, we're getting ready to celebrate 10 years of marriage. 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:10.080 And special shout out to my wife, she's put up with me for that long, all right? 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:16.159 What we're trying to do right now, the thing that we're most excited about and looking forward to next year, is we're going on a trip in 2023. 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:19.759 10 years is worthy of a vacation without children. 00:02:19.919 --> 00:02:20.560 Amen? 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:21.599 All right. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:24.400 The problem is we haven't figured out where we're going yet. 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:29.680 We haven't booked a location, we haven't set a date, we haven't put in time off requests for work. 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:33.599 We haven't told grandparents, hey, these are the dates you've got to block off. 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:38.159 These three children are yours, not ours, for 10 days, no communication, right? 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:45.280 So there's some things that we've got to work towards as we're looking forward to those plans so that we can get there accordingly. 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:49.599 A very similar thing is gonna happen in our passage of scripture today. 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:54.319 So if you've got your Bible with you, I'd encourage you to open up to Joshua chapter 24. 00:02:54.560 --> 00:03:02.960 Joshua is the sixth book of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, and turn to the very last chapter. 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:05.199 So if you hit Judges, just go back a page. 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:13.840 Joshua chapter 24 is where we're gonna be uh this morning as we look at Joshua chapter 24. 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:19.599 Joshua chapter 24, beginning in verse 1, says this. 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:34.400 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:42.159 I just want to pause there before we get anywhere else, because I want to kind of put this in a little bit of context for us and kind of recognize what's going on here, okay? 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:48.800 So Joshua has come to the end of his life, and a lot has happened in the book of Genesis all the way to Joshua, right? 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:50.560 Getting ready to turn into the book of Judges. 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:59.120 A lot has happened with God's people here, and he has gathered all of the nation of Israel before him so that they can meet God in this moment. 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:03.280 And this is an incredible sight to behold because you got to think about who this is. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:06.159 I mean, can you imagine who's standing around there? 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:14.879 This generation, the elders and the judges and the heads of these families, probably would have been children born into slavery in Egypt. 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:19.360 They would have heard their parents cry out to God, God, why won't you rescue us? 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:23.040 Why won't you deliver us from the oppression and the bondage of Egypt? 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:32.639 As children, they would have watched God show off with signs and wonders that the world had never seen before as plagues rained down on the nation of Egypt. 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:40.560 They would have been overwhelmed with gnats and frogs in the Nile River turning to blood and hailstones falling down from the sky. 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:53.120 They would have watched as some of their parents sacrificed a lamb and painted blood on a doorpost one night as they partook of the Passover meal for the first time before setting out on a journey. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:05:00.319 For some, they may have watched their neighbors and people down the street lose their firstborn son. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:07.920 This generation would have walked through the Red Sea as God parted the waters of the sea there. 00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:12.079 I mean, can you imagine what that would have been like to walk through the Red Sea on dry ground? 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:18.879 To be able to kind of skim your hand against the water like skimming your hand on the water of when you're in a boat. 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:21.600 Can you imagine what that would have been like? 00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:31.279 They would have arrived at Mount Sinai and visibly seen God in a storm on top of the mountain and said, Hey, we don't want to go. 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:32.560 Moses, you're up. 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:34.800 Send him up for them. 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:40.160 And to hear God say, I will be your God and you will be my people. 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:46.879 And to watch Moses come down holding these two stone tablets with ten commands on it. 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:55.279 Can you imagine this generation looking at their parents going, Hey, why are y'all, why are y'all dancing around this golden calf thing? 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:58.879 Can you imagine how crazy that would have looked to them? 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:03.040 As teenagers, they would have walked through the wilderness. 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:07.680 They would have been led by God by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:16.000 Can you imagine what it would have looked like to have been physically led by God where you were walking each day moving forward? 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:26.160 They also would have watched as their parents and grandparents died in the wilderness because of their unfaithfulness and disobedience to the Lord. 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:34.000 As adults, they would have walked into the land of Canaan, into the promised land, the land promised to Abraham. 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:37.040 They would have watched the walls of Jericho fall. 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:43.199 They would have watched as the sun stood still in the sky as God was fighting on behalf of them. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:45.600 You imagine what that would have looked like? 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:46.879 Felt like? 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:54.240 Can you imagine how those experiences shaped and formed and molded this generation? 00:06:54.800 --> 00:07:04.079 And with all of that experience, with all of that history, they now stand before Joshua, their bold and courageous leader, to hear him give his final speech to them. 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:07.839 And Joshua's gonna do a pretty cool thing here. 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:08.720 Right? 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:17.600 He's gonna give everyone who's standing there, every generation, every tribe, every person, regardless of age, a choice to make. 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:22.319 This day you must choose whom you will serve. 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:28.480 And the way he's gonna set up that choice for them is he's gonna look back at God's faithfulness. 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:38.240 He's gonna look around at the scenario and the situation that they're in to decide what they have to deal with so that they can look forward and move forward in faithfulness to the next chapter of life. 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:40.959 So look with me, beginning in verse 2. 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:43.279 First, Joshua has them look back. 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:48.639 Beginning in verse 2, we're gonna kind of skim some of this, but I want you to notice the personal pronouns here, okay? 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:52.800 So the I's, the you's, the he's, the we's, all those kind of things. 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:53.199 Okay? 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:56.319 Over 20 times God says, it was I. 00:07:56.560 --> 00:07:57.040 Ready? 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:02.639 Beginning in verse two, and Joshua said to all the people, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel. 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:08.480 In verse 3, then I took your father Abraham from behind the uh from beyond the river. 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:13.839 Verse 5, 4, I gave Esau the hill country uh for him to possess. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:22.319 In verse 5, I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterwards I brought you out. 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:26.399 Verse 6, and I brought your fathers out of Egypt. 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:29.120 And it goes on and on and on. 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:45.679 God's over 20 times says, I did this, I did this, I did this, I carried you, I provided for you, I brought you out of this, I fed you along the way, I physically led you where you were going right now. 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:52.159 The reason why some of us are here today is because God has led you. 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:55.200 Because God has shown up in your life. 00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:58.879 You may not think that that's true, but in actuality, that's reality. 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:03.440 That God is the one who has carried you through something difficult in 2022. 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:08.960 That maybe He brought you out of an addiction in 2022. 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:16.639 That maybe he mended some family dysfunction that was going on in 2022. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:23.679 That he carried you when you physically couldn't walk and keep going on in 2022. 00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:27.039 What's true of the Israelites then is true of us now. 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:31.200 Over and over and over again, God says, I did this for you. 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:36.879 I carried you, I delivered you, I brought you out of this, I brought you into this. 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:39.279 I'm the one who gave you that promotion. 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:41.759 I'm the one who gave you that healthy child. 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:45.919 I'm the one who gave you salvation in 2022. 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:50.000 I'm the one who brought you into this church family in 2022. 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:52.720 I did this, I did this, I did this. 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:56.799 The great I am is the one constantly saying, I did this for you. 00:09:56.960 --> 00:10:00.000 You didn't do it yourself, I did it for you. 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:04.240 And so when you look back at 2022, a simple question for you. 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:06.720 Do you see the faithfulness of God in your life? 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:19.279 When you look back at the last year and every year leading up to this moment on January 1st, 2023, do you see the faithfulness of God in your life? 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:23.840 Do you see his grace and his favor on your life? 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:31.360 Or when you look back at the last year, do you see how hard you worked for that promotion? 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:39.039 How you provided for your family, how you did everything right to get where you are. 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:42.320 Because there's a big difference between the two. 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:53.679 Listen, when you look back at the last year, I want you to see the faithfulness of God, to see the grace and the favor of God that He has so lavishly uh placed upon you. 00:10:54.720 --> 00:11:01.200 And what that should do is that should compel us to worship and to serve God even more. 00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:08.159 Before we can look forward and move forward, you got to look around and deal with what's going on. 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:12.240 And so immediately, beginning in verse 14, Joshua gives them kind of a decision. 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:14.559 All right, we've got to look around and see what's going on. 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:22.240 We can't move forward in faithfulness to God where God wants us to go until we deal with what's going on right now here amongst us. 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:23.440 And so look at this. 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:28.080 Uh, beginning in verse uh 14, uh, Joshua says this. 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:36.559 Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness. 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:42.559 Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:48.080 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve. 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:55.039 Whether the gods of your fathers served in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. 00:11:55.360 --> 00:12:00.000 But as for me, in my house, we will serve the Lord. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:08.240 What I love about this little passage here is Joshua basically gives everybody the same decision. 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:10.720 All right, everybody here has got to make the same decision. 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:21.200 Hopefully, because of everything that you've seen in your entire life, the way God has delivered us, he's brought us to where we are, we've seen the faithfulness of God over and over and over and over and over again. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:29.519 It should compel us to worship and to serve God, to fear him and to serve him in sincerity and faithfulness. 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:31.919 But he gives them a bunch of options here, doesn't he? 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:35.840 He says, all right, well, if that doesn't work for you, then here's these other options as well. 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:43.120 What I love about this is this is this is this is not like picking the lesser of four evils here, right? 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:50.720 This isn't like a presidential campaign where it's like, ah, I don't really agree with everybody, but I'm gonna pick this one because I disagree with them less, right? 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:52.720 That's not what's going on here, okay? 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:56.559 But it's also not picking between four equal choices either. 00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:07.519 This is not walking into HEB or to Kroger, to the ice cream aisle, to the bluebell section, and trying to decide between all of the good and correct choices, right? 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:08.639 They're all equally good. 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:11.279 It's just a matter of which one do you want to have that day. 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:13.200 That's not what's going on here. 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:13.759 Right? 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:15.840 Joshua is setting it up. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:21.679 There is one good decision to make, one correct decision, and everything else is stupid. 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:23.200 That's really what he's telling. 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:25.440 Everything else is a waste of time. 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:33.519 Everything else is a bad choice for you and for everybody that you're standing next to as well. 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:36.799 All right, so let's walk through these four choices a little bit. 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:42.559 While you're walking through these four choices, I want us to think of them uh kind of like points on a compass, if we will, okay? 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:50.799 Uh and the reason I say that is because depending on, like if you had a compass standing in front of you, and I was supposed to have one, and it's not with me. 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:51.519 Oh well. 00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:55.600 Um, if you had a compass in front of you, it would point to north, south, east, and west, right? 00:13:55.759 --> 00:13:57.360 I guess that way is north. 00:13:57.600 --> 00:13:59.360 North, south, east, and west. 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:07.360 And depending on which direction you go, which direction you're wanting to head, will bring you to a very different end destination. 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:11.600 And the same is true with this choice that the Israelites have to make today. 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:12.080 Okay? 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:15.679 So, first, some of you are gonna head north. 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:23.120 North and in uh for Joshua is fearing and serving God in sincerity and faith, right? 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:24.799 It's following true north. 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:34.480 And there's an entire generation here who have been faithfully serving God time and time again, walking where he leads them, wherever he leads, when he stops, they stop. 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:36.000 When he goes, they go. 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:37.759 Wherever he goes, they go. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:38.320 Right? 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:43.759 Continually, over and over and over again in faithfulness to them. 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:46.799 But I want you to look at the words it uses there. 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:50.080 It says to fear and to serve God. 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:52.960 So, how does fear lead to faithfulness? 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:57.840 Well, first of all, fear is not being scared or terrified of something, right? 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:00.559 This isn't like my unhealthy fear of spiders. 00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:02.000 It's not, right? 00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:08.320 If I saw a tiny little bitty spider walk across this stage right now, at six foot four, I'd be standing over there. 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:08.879 Right? 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:13.279 That's not the kind of fear that is Joshua's describing here about God. 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:19.279 Instead, it's an awe and a reverence for great power that you respect. 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:22.960 Now, I grew up in the Texas Panhandle. 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:26.080 It's what I consider the real part of Texas, no offense. 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:30.559 All right, where people wear cowboy boots, you know, because they're comfortable, right? 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:32.159 And they got to work and those kind of things. 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:45.200 One of my favorite things about it, despite the lack of trees and those things, is that you can watch on a summer night a thunderstorm roll in from hundreds of miles away, literally from Kansas to the Panhandle of Texas, all right? 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:47.039 It is magical. 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:49.039 It is majestic. 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:52.240 It is one of my favorite things in this world. 00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:56.559 To be able to smell the rain before it even gets to you, right? 00:15:57.039 --> 00:16:01.919 To watch the clouds light up with lightning in the sky before it even gets to you. 00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:10.000 But one thing that people from the panhandle of Texas understand is we have a healthy respect, an awe of thunderstorms. 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:20.000 Because we know that in any moment what is beautiful and majestic and God's creation could in an instant produce hail and tornadoes and rip your world apart. 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:26.000 It's having a healthy awe and respect for God because of who he is. 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:28.320 That's what a fear of the Lord is. 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:43.120 And when you have a healthy understanding of who God is and who you are in comparison to that, then you're able to see who God is for who he really is and be motivated to worship him and to serve him in sincerity and faithfulness. 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:46.639 So, some of you are heading north. 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:47.840 Congratulations. 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:48.879 Good job. 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:51.360 Doing a great job following the straight and arrow. 00:16:51.519 --> 00:17:02.960 I want to urge you to keep going on, keep pushing, keep heading north, keep following God, keep serving him in sincerity and faithfulness, exclusivity to God and to God alone. 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:08.240 What you really need to do is you need to try to bring as many people along with you as you possibly can. 00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:11.279 Bring them with you on that journey. 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:14.640 For some of you, though, you're headed east. 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:18.480 I like what he describes here. 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:21.359 He says that you will serve the gods of the Amorites. 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:24.799 The Amorites are the people groups that are living in the land. 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:27.759 There's still some left over in the land that they've conquered, okay? 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:32.960 And so these are the different peoples who are serving different gods here in the land of the Amorites. 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:38.640 Some of you are following east, following after the Amorites, following around the culture that you're in. 00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:46.160 That instead of listening to the Bible speak louder than the culture, you're listening to the culture speak louder than the Bible. 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:52.160 And that's taking you on a drastically different destination than you could have ever imagined. 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:00.960 I gotta admit something. 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:03.119 I have a confession to make. 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:22.000 Great education, great time, school, and those kind of things. 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:23.839 However, there's this one problem. 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:32.960 There were these really loud, obnoxious, kind of whining all the time but celebrating all the time, OU fans. 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:34.480 And they were everywhere. 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:38.160 I mean, there was this red, crimson red, whatever color it is, everywhere. 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:43.200 I tried to convince them that the word sooner actually means somebody who steals land illegitimately. 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:45.519 They don't want anything to do with that part of their history. 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:48.000 OU fans everywhere. 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:53.279 Now, coming from the Texas Panhandle, I am a Texas Tech fan because I'm a Christian, okay? 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:03.519 But my team may not have been the best team in those years or any year. 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:05.839 It's a life of mediocrity, okay? 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:09.440 But you know who was doing really well those years? 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:13.440 Vince Young and the University of Texas. 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:22.720 It was really exciting to watch all those OU fans whine and complain because Vince Young was destroying them every year over and over and over again. 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:25.839 And I found something going on in my heart. 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:31.839 At some point, I began to think about, and then I began to vocalize. 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:40.720 You know, maybe the best thing for me is to not stay faithful to God's team, Tech Secret Raiders. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:44.640 But maybe, I don't know, Vince Young is doing such a good job over here. 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:47.359 Maybe I should just jump on this bandwagon for a little bit. 00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:54.160 So I can stand a little taller, a little prouder, a little firmer against all the OU fans and the culture around me. 00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:59.599 Sadly, I gave in to that for a few years. 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:03.200 Until I left Oklahoma and I returned to my roots. 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:08.480 Some of you are doing the same thing in your spiritual lives. 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:21.519 That you're tired of standing up to an obnoxiously loud, confrontational culture that's around you, and you're willing to try anything else that allows you to stand firm up against that. 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:23.759 Maybe a little less resistance. 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:28.799 And so you're starting to listen to the culture around you rather than the word of God itself. 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:34.960 And that's taking you on a drastically different destination than the one you set out on. 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:41.519 And the problem with that is that in the Old Testament and the New Testament as well, that's called spiritual idolatry. 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:51.440 See, what idolatry is, is idolatry is taking any person, place, or thing and making it the center part of your life. 00:20:52.480 --> 00:21:00.880 Giving it all your affection, all your thoughts, allowing it to dictate and to control your decisions and everything that you do. 00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:08.799 The Bible calls that spiritual idolatry when you when you place anything in this place, in this position, except for God and God alone. 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:12.960 That's what Joshua's telling this group of people. 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:16.559 Hey, you've got to make a decision this day. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:21.200 Before we can move on forward, who are you gonna serve? 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:24.000 Are you gonna serve the God of Israel? 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:26.240 The God of faithfulness? 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:28.720 The God who showed up on Mount Sinai? 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:36.319 The God who's been leading us by fire and by clouds, the God who has been raining down manna from heaven in the wilderness. 00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:37.839 Are you gonna follow him? 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:41.119 Are you gonna follow all these others? 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:47.119 Are you gonna be faithful and sincere in your faith to the Lord? 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:49.119 Or fall into idolatry? 00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:54.880 Some of you have been traveling east, some others have been traveling west. 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:59.440 Joshua describes this as those who would serve the gods of Egypt, right? 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:10.559 What that really means is he's talking about those gods and those idols, those influences, those values, if you will, uh that were handed down to them from their parents who lived in Egypt. 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:11.279 Right? 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:12.960 That's what he's talking about here. 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:15.839 This is really about serving the God of your parents, if you will. 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:19.279 Many of you, that's the destination that you're headed on. 00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:25.440 Your parents have been faithfully handing down their faith to you over and over and over through the years. 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:29.200 You come to church because they bring you. 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:31.119 You know all the stories. 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:34.160 You know about God creating the heavens and the earth. 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:36.799 You know about Adam and Eve and could retell those. 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:39.759 You know about Moses and the parting of the Red Sea. 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:41.839 You know about David versus Goliath. 00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:44.000 You know about Jesus walking on water. 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:48.240 You could even share the three circles and share the gospel with somebody else. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:53.519 But the problem for many of you is that that faith has never become your own. 00:22:54.400 --> 00:23:00.559 That's simply a faith that was given to your parents and they've handed down to you, and you just kind of go along with it. 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:06.160 And you've never taken it, you never owned it, you never made that decision for yourself. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:11.119 Standing there deciding who you will worship and who you will serve. 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:17.680 Some of you, it's the flip side of that. 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:24.559 You've been watching your parents, and they haven't been taking you to church, they haven't been telling you those stories. 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:29.920 You've been watching them as they live their lives, following after other idols. 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:39.039 You've been watching dads chase their career, sacrificing family vacations instead of spending time with his family just so he can climb a corporate ladder. 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:45.119 Gain a little more reputation, a little bit more financial security, feel better about himself. 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:55.119 Maybe you've been watching a dad who spends more time in fantasy football, more money, more time researching those things than he ever did inside a Bible. 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:08.559 Some of you you've watched as your parents have walked in this lie of idolatry, and you're kind of following in those same footsteps and those same path as well. 00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:15.519 See, for you, your decision is you have to make faith yours. 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:27.519 Not what they've given you, not what they've passed down, but your decision to worship and serve God faithfully, on your own terms, in your own words, on your own legs. 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:33.680 And until that happens, it will never be a sincere faith that Joshua describes. 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:41.279 Some of you have headed east, some of you have headed west, some of you are heading south. 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:47.039 The way Joshua describes this is he describes it as serving the gods that are beyond the river, right? 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:55.759 And that description is really kind of the gods, the idols that were there with Abraham and his family before they ever, God ever called Abraham in. 00:24:56.319 --> 00:25:04.160 What's crazy about this is those kind of idols, those kind of stories have stuck around through all these generations that Joshua's even having to bring this up. 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:07.279 Living in their past. 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:11.519 How many of you struggle with your past? 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:15.359 How many of you are weighed down by it? 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:23.680 See, I I firmly believe that there are people here today who have genuinely made a decision to follow after Christ. 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:33.119 That they they've at some point stood there and repented of their sin and placed their faith in Jesus Christ, and they're they're walking forward in faithfulness as best they can. 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:37.440 But what they've done is they forgot to throw away everything else on the way. 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:46.160 And they're still carrying and still holding on to old lifestyles, old habits, old values, old idols. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:49.759 And they've never thrown it away, they've never discarded it before. 00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:59.200 When I was in the second grade, one of the things I looked forward to the most was field day. 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:01.039 Anyone know what I'm talking about? 00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:05.119 Field day was the greatest competition on the face of the earth. 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:08.880 It is where status was cemented. 00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:10.400 Right? 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:14.400 It is where friendships were born and some were broken forever. 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:16.319 For generations, in fact. 00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:20.079 Second graders would line up and play tug-of-war. 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:25.039 They do the three-legged race and wheelbarrow race. 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:27.680 We throw something, I don't even remember. 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:30.400 Knowing where I'm from, it was probably a watermelon or something. 00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:35.599 But I distinctly remember being a part of the hundred-yard dash that year. 00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:42.720 And I distinctly remember lining up for the hundred-yard dash and standing right next to my buddy Taylor Rowe. 00:26:43.359 --> 00:26:45.279 Taylor, if you're watching, I still remember you. 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:52.000 Now watching me stand next to Taylor Rowe would be like watching me stand next to Chris Kuba, okay? 00:26:53.200 --> 00:26:55.440 Picture that dies in stature. 00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:03.920 The hard part for me standing next to Taylor Rowe was he was not only the fastest kid in our grade, he was the fastest kid in our school. 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:09.519 And so as I stand there next to him, I'm thinking, I mean, I'm a top-notch athlete. 00:27:09.759 --> 00:27:11.440 I'm heading to the Olympics one day. 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:13.759 But he's the fastest kid in school. 00:27:14.240 --> 00:27:15.279 So we line up. 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:18.079 In those days, I don't even know if you can do this anymore. 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:19.279 They still have starter pistols. 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:25.920 Anyways, line up with the starter pistol, fires in the air, off into the races. 00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:28.720 And I remember getting about 50 yards in. 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:34.079 And I'm running as hard and as fast as I can, and the problem is I don't see anybody around me. 00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:37.680 And I'm thinking to myself, Well, this is strange. 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:40.160 Am I running the wrong direction? 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:42.960 Did I make up the starter pistol? 00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:44.240 Did that not happen? 00:27:44.960 --> 00:27:46.000 What's going on? 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:48.640 I get three-quarters of the way, and the same thing is happening. 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:51.119 There's still, I can't see anybody in my paris. 00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:52.000 Okay? 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:55.759 And about four-fifths of the way, I'm like, I can't take this anymore. 00:27:55.839 --> 00:27:58.880 I've got to know what's about to happen before I finish across this finish line. 00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:03.599 And I look over in stride to my right to Taylor Rowe. 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:08.079 And right at that moment, as I'm looking back, Taylor Rowe blows by me. 00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:11.839 And I watch him cross the finish line two steps ahead of me. 00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:19.839 I remember talking to my dad afterwards and said, Yep, you know, when you looked over your shoulder at Taylor, that's when he overtook you. 00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:24.160 If you had just kept your eyes on the prize and kept running forward, you would have won that race. 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:26.319 You would have dethroned the king. 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:28.240 Now you're second place. 00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:29.920 No, he didn't really say that. 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:37.759 Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1 says this. 00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:49.680 Therefore, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. 00:28:50.240 --> 00:29:01.039 Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:06.559 For some of you, you've been traveling south the whole way. 00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:09.839 And it's time to stop looking backwards at your past. 00:29:11.039 --> 00:29:19.680 To lay aside every weight and sin that clings towards you so that you can run forward in faithfulness towards Jesus Christ, the author and the perfector of our faith. 00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:27.680 And it's not until you lay those things aside that you're going to be able to run straight and to run far and to run true. 00:29:27.920 --> 00:29:30.079 The race that God has set before you. 00:29:35.599 --> 00:29:37.920 Did you notice the location is the town of Shechem? 00:29:38.400 --> 00:29:40.799 It didn't show up very much in the Old Testament. 00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:42.880 Shows up two other times before this. 00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:50.000 It's actually the first place that Abraham stops at while he's traveling into the land of Canaan after God's called him. 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:54.400 It says there that he builds an altar to the Lord and is visited by God. 00:29:55.359 --> 00:30:00.240 The next time is in Genesis chapter 36, Jacob shows up there. 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:03.839 He's just wrestled with an angel of the Lord. 00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:08.720 He's just made peace with his brother Esau, who's been trying to kill him for years. 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:13.279 And the very next thing that's going to happen is he's going to go on to Bethel. 00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:18.480 And there he's going to be renamed by God and re-given the Abrahamic promise, if you will. 00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:21.440 That I'll be a blessing to you and make great your nation. 00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:25.200 But Jacob does a really unique thing there at Shechem. 00:30:25.839 --> 00:30:33.200 He says that he asks all of his family, all of his, everybody in his tribe, all of his servants, everybody who is there. 00:30:33.759 --> 00:30:39.680 That before we can go on, before we can go to Bethel, you have to bury your idols today. 00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:42.000 And so that's what they do. 00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:49.920 They get down on their hands and knees and open up the ground and bury the idols that they physically have been carrying with them through the land. 00:30:50.240 --> 00:30:51.839 And they cover it up. 00:30:52.799 --> 00:31:02.079 Jacob understood that you've got to bury the idols, bury the things that are going to get in the way of your faithfulness to God in order to move forward in faithfulness to him. 00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:07.519 For some of you, that's what needs to happen today. 00:31:08.160 --> 00:31:13.920 As you look back at 2022, there's a lot of stuff that you've been carrying with you. 00:31:14.880 --> 00:31:23.119 There's a lot of unhealthy priorities and values that you've been bringing along that are competing with your attentions and your affections for Jesus Christ. 00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:28.799 Before you can move forward in 2023, you got to throw those things off. 00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:32.720 You got to bury them in the ground so that you can walk forward. 00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:49.440 The really cool thing about a compass is that it doesn't matter which way you're heading, whether you're heading north or south or west or east or any direction, every time you look at that compass, you can always tell which direction is north. 00:31:52.079 --> 00:31:54.319 For some of you, you've been heading south. 00:31:54.720 --> 00:32:01.039 You can't let go of the baggage and the sinful habits in the past that you've been bringing along with you. 00:32:02.319 --> 00:32:04.640 For some of you, you've been going west. 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:10.400 And you've been carrying this faith that's your parents and not your own. 00:32:11.680 --> 00:32:22.640 For some of you, you've been heading east, and you've been listening to the culture around you, letting it speak to you more than the pages of scripture, more than God's voice. 00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:35.839 But at any moment, any moment, you can pull out your compass, you look around, find your bearings, figure out where true north is. 00:32:36.720 --> 00:32:39.519 At any moment, you can make a course correction. 00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:41.759 And it's not too late for that. 00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:49.759 What I want you to do is I want to ask you to bow your head and close your eyes so we go into a time of invitation. 00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:55.519 This isn't anything special, this isn't anything mystical or magical. 00:32:55.920 --> 00:33:03.119 It's simply a way for you to stop looking at the distractions around you and get alone with God. 00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:25.839 For some of you today, the thing that you need to do before you can move forward in faithfulness to God is to bury the things that have been holding you back. 00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:29.119 What is that for you? 00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:32.079 What's holding you back? 00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:34.559 What's weighing you down? 00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:40.160