Lesson 25

Joshua 23:14-15                                                         OUTLINE

 

              I.      An Old Man Talks. Joshua 23:1, “A long time later, after God had given Israel rest from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was a venerable old man, Joshua called all Israel together—elders, chiefs, judges, and officers. Then he spoke to them.”

 

a.       Joshua was an old man. He had been a steady and faithful leader and now he was going to die, he had a few last words to say to the people of Israel.

 

                                                              i.      23:2-3 "I'm an old man. I've lived a long time. You have seen everything that God has done to these nations because of you. He did it because he's God, your God. He fought for you.”

 

b.      The legacy Joshua is leaving is the understanding that our life, our joy, our happiness, our success, is all a gifts from God.

 

           II.      Be Strong and Obey. Joshua 23:6-8. Joshua urges the people, "Now, stay strong and steady. Obediently do everything written in the Book of The Revelation of Moses—don't miss a detail…Hold tight to God, your God, just as you've done up to now.”

 

a.       Success…long term, eternal success comes when we open our Bibles, read it regularly and let the Holy Spirit transform our broken characters through obedience to Jesus Christ.

 

b.      In chapter 23:14-15, what obedience looks like.

 

                                                              i.      14 "So now: Fear God. Worship him in total commitment. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped on the far side of The River (the Euphrates) and in Egypt. You, worship God.”

 

                                                             ii.      15 "If you decide that it's a bad thing to worship God, then choose a god you'd rather serve—and do it today. Choose one of the gods your ancestors worshiped from the country beyond The River, or one of the gods of the Amorites, on whose land you're now living.”

 

                                                            iii.      Choosing to follow God is something we have to moment by moment…it is not a one time thing. There is a beginning, but there is no end.

 

c.        “Just does the next right thing.”

 

d.      Joshua says to the Israelites, choose today whom you are going to serve. Stop sitting on the fence.

         III.      You are on Your Own – Choose! Joshua does the most amazing thing. He says what all parents eventually have to say to their children…you are on your own.

 

a.       Verse 15 continues, “As for me and my family,’ says Joshua, “we'll worship God."  28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his own place of inheritance.”

 

        IV.      Freedom to Choose. Our freedom to choose is our greatest freedom. However, the mystery of the Christian life continues in that it is when we give up this freedom, and surrender our life and will to Jesus Christ, that we find an even greater freedom…the freedom of obedience.

 

a.       Psalm 119: 44-45
  I will keep on obeying your instructions
      forever and ever.
 I will walk in freedom,
      for I have devoted myself to your commandments.

 

           V.      After These Things. Chapter 24: 29 reads, “After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 30 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah [d] in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel.”

 

a.       The Lord fought the battles for Israel, the Lord will also fight our battles for us.

 

                                                               i.      Our choice is “just to do the next right thing” which is put before us…And as our moments of obedience become days of obedience, and our days grow into weeks and weeks -  months and months… years, doing the “next right thing” is the stuff of which our legacy will be made.