Sermon Tone Analysis

How do we stay spiritually vibrant in an increasingly secular world?

how do we maintain our passion for living for Jesus, or how do we get it back?

Herbert Chavez

Born in the Philippines, Herbert Chavez was an unassuming man until he decided to dedicate his life to become Superman.

Over the past two decades, he has had a number of plastic surgery procedures to mimic the looks of the superhero.

These include chin augmentations, silicone injections, and implants into various muscles.

We may question his sanity but we have to admire his commitment.

I wonder how our commitment to serving Jesus compared to his commitment to following superman.

maybe we wish we had commitment like that, not plastic surgery commitment, but the fire we perhaps see in other Christian - passion and commitment to serve Jesus.

we wish perhaps we had their faith.

We long to know the joy of a vibrant Spiritual life, but perhaps don’t know how to get there - or even where to begin.

My prayer for you, as we finish this series, and as I go is this

BE COMPLETELY COMMITTED TO CHRIST

hope in Joshua 24 we will see how.

What is the story of this passage in one sentance?

How would you sum it up?

My summary: The story of what God has done and how we should respond.

Joshua has been this journey intro promised land.

After time in wilderness it was under Joshua that people would see God’s promises realised.

We’ve journeyed with them as they have crossed over the jordan, as they’ve faced their enemies, as God has given them victory one after another and given them land.

We have journeyed with them as they have divided the land up, and enjoyed the spoils of their inheritance, and as God has fulfilled every one of his promises to them.

Not one of God’s promises has failed.

But what will they do now and in future.

What will ordinary life look like.

Physical journey over but spiritual journey continues.

How will they respond to all that God has done.

They have a choice

Choice we all face.

Who will we serve.

God or something else.

The heart of Christianity is about a God who made us and loves us and wants what is best for us and who has done everything necessary for us to enjoy everlasting life in right relationship with him.

But he has given us choice.

How will we respond to his love. 2 options.

We serve him as our God or we serve something else.

Wonder if too often we think we can sit on the fence.

Half way between two worlds.

Be Christian on a Sunday, or in certain areas of my life, but hold on to worldy values rest of time.

Pick and choose what bits of bible we listen to.

Or what areas of our lives we are willing to give to God.

I enjoy a cricket/snooker.

Thing is though I will go for months or even years without playing, and then suddenly one day see it on tv and fancy a game.

Throw myself in.

Get the cue out, dust it off and go for a game.

I wonder though - how tempted we are to Treat faith like a hobby.

Take up and put down.

But not possible.

Fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness.

OR not at all.

What Joshua makes clear.

And it’s what Jesus says.

Jesus makes same call on us.

It is a serious matter to be a believer.

Faith, in the biblical sense of the word, is not a mere add-on to life.

When the Lord Jesus Christ calls us to follow him, he calls for complete devotion, for death to self, for our lives to be dedicated and consecrated to him alone.

It’s a call to be all in.

To lay down our self centred lives and give ourselves to Jesus.

With promise of eternal life and peace and joy and satisfaction and blessing.

I hope you want to say me and my household - the Crossway family - we will serve the Lord.

Yes reality is - that is difficult.

I want to be like that but its so hard.

Temptation surrounds me.

I want to have that passion but its just not there.

Christian who just seem to be going for it - so annoying.

They are like a bursting bible, and they are leaking Jesus.

Faith just seems so natural to them.

How can we stay faithful in an increasingly secular society.

With trials and temptations every where we go.

We might want to be superfans - but how often we are super failures.

Sobering but encouragin reality in what Joshua.

Doens’t mince his words.

Thanks Joshua.

Way to encourage.

Not absolute, but warning.

yet his words are prophetic.

These are like the superkeen.

They are on Spiritual high after seeing a generation of revival.

3 times.

We will serve.

But read beyond Joshua a few chapters into Judges.

What do we read - Judges 2:8-13

It took one generation to forget God.

Joshua and leaders die - and people turn away.

How easily we forget the goodness of God.

Look at Peter - the superfan disciple.

But moment trouble comes.

We would love to say - that won’t be me.

But in all kinds of ways we fail to be faithful.

We forget God’s goodness.

Root of all sin - a belief somewhere that God is not good and world has something better to offer, or that we can do better.

How then can we say with the people “We will serve the Lord.”

Because that is what we are called to do?

Where is our zeal and passion and integrity to come from?

BE COMPLETELY COMMITTED TO CHRIST BY CONTINUALLY COMMUNING CHRIST.

First half of our passage is immensly important.

Starts with location - Shechem.

Shechem was place where Abraham first pitched his tent when he entered the land of Canaan in Gen 12.

Shechem is place where Jacob, after fleeing from Esau, then from Laban then returning to Bethel made a commitment to worship and follow the Lord - and as part of that he took the idols his family kept and buried them under a tree at Shechem.

It’s the place where early in Joshua people recommited to the Lord after he gave them victory over Ai.

It place of covenant making and Spiritual renewal.

As Joshua gathers people they would not miss significance.