Friday, November 14, 2008

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One Hundred Per Cent Commitment

"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15).

It is no surprise that the walk of faith is about making a choice.  We have been taught that and heard that many times.  Choose for Jesus!  However, this is and is not just a once-and-for-all choice.  It is something we must confront each and every day.  How will I live today?  Will I pick up my cross today?  Will I die today, that I may live for Christ?  We can and should ask these questions and there is no loss of faith in the fact that we have to ask ourselves these questions each day.  That is the way that we stay committed.  Problems come only when we stop asking ourselves the question.  How will I choose to live today?  And, I find that unless I make a deliberate choice each and every day, by default, I end up not going forward in my walk of faith.  "Choose for yourselves this day," is not just something we do on one day in our history and then it is forever done, it is choose this day, today, and choose this day, tomorrow, and choose this day, the next day.

Joshua addressed these verses to the children of Israel at a covenant renewal service at a place called Shechem.  He rehearsed all the things that God had done for these people of God.  The point is, they are the people of God.  This is not an "evangelistic" sermon.  This is a message addressed to people that are already "in."  He says,

"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness.  Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.  But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.  But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:14-15).

Joshua told them to make a choice.  "Do whatever seems best to you," he said, "but do something, make a choice, there is no sitting on the fence."  Fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness.  Or, if it seems better, serve other gods and serve them with all faithfulness.  But don't do a half-hearted job of either.  This is all in, one hundred per cent committed!  Make a choice!  This day!

Later, in the time of Elijah (and I am only picking one time out of many that this message was given to the people of God), this awesome prophet of the most high God delivered this message to king Ahab in the third year of his reign.  It was not a good time for faith in Israel as Ahab was a wicked king and his queen, Jezebel, has come to symbolize the epitome of rebellion against God.  She was even more wicked than her husband and behind many of the wicked things that he did.  Elijah went before the people of God and spoke very plainly:

"How long will you waver between two opinions?  If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him" (1 Kings 18:21).

Do you hear what he is saying?  How would this kind of preaching go over in the church of today?  I think that it is a message that needs to once again be spoken to the people of God.  If God is God, then commit everything to him!  One hundred per cent.  And if Satan is God, then please become Satan worshipers!  One hundred per cent.  But stop wavering between two opinions.  Trying to serve both at the same time.  Or, maybe like much of our society (and even the church), we have convinced ourselves that the Devil doesn't really exist, but that we are gods.  Well then, if you are God, serve yourself.  One hundred per cent.  And stop making a pretense of serving God.  It is simply a question of who is on the throne.  The LORD, the real one, says that there is not room for two!

Is this really any different from what is said throughout the Bible.  Adam and Eve were called to choose who was Lord and whom they would serve.  The children of Israel were called to this repeatedly.  So too, the church, right up to the end of the New Testament.  In the very last book, Jesus says, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish that you were one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth" (Revelation 3:15-16).  Jesus concluded his messages to the seven churches of Revelation and to the church of today with the same words:

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22).

Why would Jesus say the same thing seven times?  He wants us to listen!  What is the Spirit saying?  What is your commitment level and to whom are you really committed?  Does the true Lord of all have all of me?  Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve!  As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord!

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