Ivy Point Church Of Christ: Outline of January 8, 2006 AM Service

January 8, 2006 AM Service

CHOOSE TO "... SERVE THE LORD"
Jerry W. Carmichael
Church Office:(615)859-4781

TEXT:

Joshua 24:15

"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Introduction:

1. Lyrics to "Choices" by G. Jones. The Lyrics to this country song aptly introduce our
subject this morning.
2. Life is much more about choice than chance.
3. We start making choices when we are very young: "I want that ball etc."
4. Other people make choices that they think are best for us as well.
5. One of the signs of adulthood is becoming totally responsible for the choices
we make both good and bad.
6. Those who always blame someone else for the results of their own bad choices are
immature.
7. Many times in life we choose to do things we really don't want to do, for the good
of another. This is called selfless sacrifice and it too is a sign of maturity.
8. Joshua is one of the great heroes of good choices in the Bible.
a. He was from the tribe of Ephraim and his father's name was "Nun"
(Num.13:8-16).
b. He commanded the Israelites in their battle against the Amalikites (Ex.17:8-16).
c. He was a personal assistant to Moses who accompanied him up to Mt. Sinai to
receive the first 10 commandments from God (Ex.24:13)
d. It was he who heard the noise of the idolatrous people in the camp and thought
it to be the noise of war (Ex.32:17).
e. He was in charge of the first tabernacle in the wilderness (Ex.33:11).
f. He was one of twelve spies sent to the land of Canaan to help plot a strategy to
over-take it, only he and Caleb brought back a positive response (Num13:8;
14:6-11).
g. He and Caleb were nearly stoned to death for their positive report (14:10) but
they were later rewarded for their stand for truth (14:30,38).
h. He was chosen by God to be the one to take over at the death of Moses after
the 40 years of wandering just before taking the people over the Jordan to
possess the land for they had longed so long!
i. He successfully led the Jews to take over Jerricho and subsequently the entire
land of Canaan combining his military prowess and faith in God.
j. His book records the events of possessing the land and settling into their
new home.
k. Chapter 23-24 records his farewell speech in which he recounts the history
of the Jews briefly.
l. In 24:14-15 as he begins to close his speech he said these famous words to
the people he had led for so long.
9. The Bible has many great examples of good and bad choices.
a. In Genesis 13:11 Lot chose the Plains to live in and later regretted it.
b. Jesus chose to go to the cross for you and Me. A selfless sacrifice for sure.
10. The beginning of a new year is a great time to examine choices of the past and
to vow to make better ones in the future.

OUTLINE:

I. "AND IF IT SEEMS EVIL TO YOU TO SERVE THE LORD..."

A. Isaiah warned against those who "...call evil good and good evil; Who put
darkness for light and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet and
sweet for bitter" (5:20)
B. Those who see it as an evil threat for one to be a faithful child of God have
been with us since the garden of Eden.
C. The Jews thought that Christianity was an evil threat to their established religion.
D. Saul of Tarsus thought Christianity was an evil thing and he tried to annihilate it!
E. Celebrities who take a public stand for Jesus are often ridiculed.
F. Certainly it is not unusual for those who are serving God faithfully to be
mistaken for the enemy.
G. People often gage Christianity as a whole by those who misuse it, and pervert it.
H. Hog farmer who judged the whole church by a few hypocrites.
J. There are those in our world who honestly believe that Christians are evil. Not just
Muslems, but some Americans who lean extremely left politically honestly believe
that conservative Christianity, with its morals and restrictions is a bad thing!
K. There are those among christiandom who believe that the plea to go back to
the pattern and restore the New Testament church is a bad thing.
L. How could it possibly be wrong to want to serve God better and more closely to
the way they did in the first church?!

II. "...CHOOSE FOR YOURSELVES THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE"

A. Mankind is a creature of choice:
1) He made a bad choice in the garden.
2) God does not want robots who cannot but serve Him!
B. Romans 6:16-18 "Do not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves
to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin
to death, or of obedience to righteousness? But God be thanked that though
you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine
to which you were delivered."
C. Romans 14:12 "So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God"
D. We can't always protect man from his choices, no matter how we try.
E. We cannot make men/woman choose the Bible way. We must present it in an
understandable convincing fashion, and then they must choose.

III. "...WHETHER THE GODS WHICH YOUR FATHERS SERVED..."

A. "Old time religion, good enough for father good enough for me."
B. Every conversion account in the New Testament was someone who changed
from the religion of their parents and ancestors because the parents and
ancestors were wrong.
C. Parents run a store and sell things by the pound etc.
D. Fathers and mothers can be wrong too, but the honest ones would want you to
change for the truth.
E. Many will miss heaven following fathers and mothers down the wrong trail.

IV. "...OR THE GODS OF THE AMORITES IN WHOSE LAND YOU DWELL.."

A. Certainly it is easier when we believe the same way our neighbors do!
B. We like to be accepted, and one way to be accepted is to not try too hard to be
different.
C. Christians are going to always be in the minority and always be different from the
lost and dying world (Jms.4:4; 1Peter 2:9)
D. Our goals, purpose and reason for living is different. This is why Paul warned the
Corithians about allowing non-believers to have decision-making powers in the
church (1Cor.6:1-11; 2Cor.6:17)
E. Don't give in to the temptation to become like those around you!

V. "...AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE..."

A. Joshua was the spiritual leader of his family.
B. How great it would be if all men were more concerned with getting their
family to Heaven as we are with making a living.
C. Ephesians 6:4; Titus 2:6
D. The man should be the spiritual leader of the family, but not always the case.

VI. "...WE WILL SERVE THE LORD..."

A. Solution to all family problems
B. "Serve the Lord" means to let Him lead at all times.
C. Let His word be the deciding factor the final authority.
D. Be obedient to whatever He says.
E. Allow Him to be Lord (Mark 12:30)

CONCLUSION:

CONCLUSION:

1. Does it seem evil to you to serve the Lord.
2. Choose this day whom you will serve.
3. The gods or religion of your father or mother.
4. The gods of those around you in the lost and dying world.
5. Or will you and your household serve the Lord?

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