A Committment Check

Man named Tom was a committed sports fan. Most Saturdays would find him in front of his big screen TV watching whatever game was on that day, whether it was football season, basketball, baseball, golf, whatever it was. Most Saturdays, afternoon and evening, he'd be watching the ball games. And so he became increasingly irritated and frustrated when religious groups would show up at his house, offering literature, wanting to come in and talk with him. So he finally decided in desperation, I'm going to go talk to my pastor and see how to deal with this stuff. And in the matter of in the course of the conversation with his pastor, his pastor just happened to mention that one of those religious groups does not pledge allegiance to the flag. We're not seeing the star-spangled banner just doesn't believe in that kind of patriotism. And so Tom had an idea. Next Saturday he was going to be ready for them. And so sure enough, he's watching the ball games Saturday afternoon, the doorbell rings, he invites two ladies into his house. But as they walk into his living room, they see on the wall prominently displayed a 10 foot by 12 foot American flag. And his children are ready to sing the star-spangled banner. And so he says, before you can say a word, I want you to pledge allegiance to the flag and join my children in singing the star-spangled banner. And the ladies were stunned into silence and blinking their eyes and finally one of them worked up the courage to say in, sir, I have never been asked to make that kind of commitment or do something like that in all of my 30 years of selling amway. That is quite a commitment check for someone who's selling amway. There's a very real sense in which something like that is going on in Joshua 24. In Joshua 24, Joshua in his last words to the nation of Israel calls the people to a commitment check to check their commitment to God as to where it is and what it should be. But this is a commitment check which is reasonable. This is to be expected. This follows along with who we are as God's children. The last time we were in Joshua, we saw in chapter 23 that Joshua was getting a farewell address to the people before he knew God was going to take him on to glory. And in that farewell address, he challenged the people of Israel to depend on God's power. To obey God's word, to remember God's faithfulness and those words ringing from Joshua's heart and mind into the hearts of the people of Israel. But he wasn't done with his farewell address. It goes on into chapter 24. Although there are those who believe this is a separate occasion, a separate gathering, whether or not it is, is not really important. The important thing is that Joshua realizes his farewell words, his challenge to the people of Israel, are not concluded in chapter 23. In fact, those things that he challenges the Babbat in chapter 23 will be of no effect if there is not a heart commitment to the Lord. And so that's what he addresses in chapter 24. Verse 1 says this, Joshua 24, verse 1, then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges, and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. Interesting that this gathering of people for Joshua to challenge them about their commitment level to God takes place at a place called Shechem. Shechem is a very important site in Israel by this point in their history. It was the first place Abraham camp when he made it to the land of Canaan. And God first promised to him in Genesis 12 that he would give him this entire land. It was at Shechem. It was at Shechem in Genesis 33 that Jacob after being away from the land of promise for 20 years comes back and recommits himself to the Lord and pitches his tent first there in Shechem. In chapter 35 it's where Jacob put away his idols and made a fresh commitment of his life to his God. It is also at Shechem that in Joshua 8 as we saw a few weeks ago that Joshua calls the people of Israel just after they've entered the land to come to this significant place and renew the vows, the covenant God had made with them in the wilderness to beat his people and they renew that covenant there at Shechem. I mean Shechem has already become a significant location for Israel. It's like Yorktown and Lexington, Massachusetts and an independence hall all wrapped up in one. It has that kind of significance for the Israelites. And so at Shechem Joshua calls the people together and he challenges them to renew their commitment to the Lord from their hearts. Why does he do that? Well Joshua knew that there was a spirit of unsettledness, a double-mindedness that remained among the people. Sure there were some who were strong in their faith and their commitment but there were others who were still pulled with longing toward the remembrance of Egypt and some who were being pulled toward the mindset and practices of the ungodly immoral people of Canaan and then there were those who were kind of in the middle torn between their allegiance to God and being pulled away from the influence and mindset of the culture around them and those same dynamics are found today in good Bible believing churches. Those same dynamics are found where some yes are wholly committed to Christ and His work and to fulfilling the purpose of God for their lives and others others are being pulled away with a mindset toward the things of the world and the culture around us and the longings for that kind of life and some are torn in the middle between those two. Let's face it we all struggle at times with our commitment to the Lord with true commitment genuine faithful lasting commitment and so this morning like Joshua I call on you to renew your commitment to God. I call on you to renew your commitment to God. I can think of no more appropriate passage to preach, no more appropriate challenge to give you before I leave than this. This is not my last Sunday by the way so don't just hold it made it all that you know for now. Two weeks from now will be my last Sunday. Pastor Dan will preach Father's Day and then I will be preaching two weeks from today. That'll be my last Sunday as your pastor but that will be more of a personal reflection and challenge and time of rejoicing in my heart for what God has done here. So that's going to be a little more personal. This will be the last time I'll really open the word with you as your lead pastor and so I can think of no better challenge to leave with you than the challenge that Joshua leaves with the people just before God calls him off the scene. You see I want to emphasize as I did two weeks ago in chapter 23 this transition to a new phase of our church life and history is not about me and it's not about Pastor Dan it's about you it's about all of us and it's about where our commitment is to the Lord it's about the level and the strength and the faithfulness and the passion of our commitment to Christ because that's what will continue to bring God's blessing and lead us to new heights as a church is your commitment to Christ that's what will continue to bring God's blessing. You see we have only faith this is a significant moment in our church life I'm fully aware of that because this has only happened in our 65 year history it's only happened one other time and so this is a significant transition to a new phase of our church's history and yet I believe what will carry us joyfully and triumphantly into the future is not how I leave or how Dan begins those things are important but that's not the key issue the key issue is where is our heart where is our commitment to Christ how solid how deep how passionate is our commitment to our faithful God and so I call you to renew your commitment to God today and I want to begin where Joshua began with the reasons for commitment what Joshua does in verses two through 13 is he reflects upon God's blessing and God's work in the past in Israel's history in their lives and reminds them of the goodness of God and that's the place to begin today that's where we really need to start because that will fuel our commitment that will be the motivation for our commitment if we reflect upon how good God has been to us so let's remember the same things that Joshua encouraged Israel to remember the first of which is God's grace in salvation he reminded him of God's grace in salvation look at verse two Joshua said to all the people this is what the Lord the God of Israel says long ago your ancestors including Tara the father of Abraham and they horror lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods but I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and let him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants stop right there God River Joshua reminds the people that their forefathers were idolaters that they lived pagan lifestyles without any true knowledge of the true God and without any commitment or relationship with him and then God graciously chose Abraham out of that lifestyle and put him in a relationship with him and gave him a land and fulfilled his covenant promises to him in his relationship with Abraham God in his grace did that there was nothing in Abraham that merited God's salvation or God working in his life there was no goodness or little spark of goodness in Abraham's heart and that's true for all of us in our salvation God doesn't save us because he looks down on us and says you know you're pretty good person I think you'd make a good child of mine I think you'd make a good Christian so because you're so good trying so hard I'm going to show you my grace no my friend all of us are sinners all of us are pagans outside the relationship with God we're born into this world separated from God and God loved us so much that he graciously sent his son Jesus to take the punishment for our sin on the cross he died for us he died for you he died for me and that was totally of God's grace a free gift he didn't expect us to earn that or to pay for it or to merit it in any way he simply asks that we trust him that we bow in faith recognizing our sinfulness and that by his grace he's offering us salvation through Christ don't ever forget God's grace in salvation don't ever forget how graciously he saved you what he brought you out of and some of you have very gripping stories to tell about the past that God brought you out of and his grace glows in the face of that sinful past others of you like me I was saved at eight years old so others of you like me may not have a past of terrible awful disobedience and an outward evidence of sinfulness but God's grace is no less needed for us who may have grown up in Christian homes who may have been saved as children because God's grace still must rescue us from our sinful hearts our separation from God and what we would become apart from his grace and so never forget God's grace in salvation one thing that will fuel a desire for you to be committed to him is to remember how God graciously reached down and saved you but Joshua also relines the people of God's deliverance not only his grace in salvation in verses four through twelve he talks about how God has delivered them time and time again we're not going to read all those verses but in verses four and five God delivered them from testing he reminds them they went down to Egypt and they suffered there that was a four hundred year time of deep suffering and testing and God delivered them from that and then in verses six and seven he delivered them from death he reminds them that they were at the red sea and pharaoh's armies were closing in and they they would have died had it not been for God's deliverance through the red sea and destroying the Egyptian army so he delivered them from testing from death and then he delivered them from all of their enemies and their strategies against them in verses eight through twelve he reminds them of all of the kings that they have defeated in the wilderness on the east side of the Jordan in the land and it was God's grace and power and strength that enabled to defeat their enemies to overcome the challenges that were in their way and then he says something very interesting in verse twelve but I want to mention this because it has puzzled a lot of people in verse twelve he says I sent the hornet ahead of you which drove them out before you also the two amurite kings you did not do it with your own sword and bow what is that about I sent the hornet and drove out these kings in the land were the actual hornets that these armies were scared of and ran away I'll be the first to admit a hornet is a fearful creature especially when they swarm I can remember an occasion when I was probably just six or seven years old I know it was before we moved from the house I was born in and and raised him for the first few years of my life out near quality end back in what was called the umor of this and then and I could only have been six or seven years old and I used to play with a friend who lived in a house back up behind us by the name of Sammy Meadows and Sammy and I would play they're in his yard or my yard and one day we were up in his yard and there was this huge hornet's nest up in a tree that were six seven year old boys and you know what six and seven year old boys do with hornets nest you find the biggest rocks you can end that you can throw and you you start target practice and so we did man we were throwing rocks at that hornet's nest and one of us no doubt by pure chance hit that hornet's nest right square in the middle well you know what happened next the hornets came flying out of that thing and we've started running screaming toward his house I remember his mother telling us that by the time we reached the porch our faces were covered with hornets I got stung all over my face I'll never forget it never to this day when I look up in a tree and see one of those big old bulbous hornets nests I get chills I shudder thinking about I know the damage those things can do so yes a hornet is a fearful creature but I think here it is used simply as a symbol of the kind of terror that God would put in the hearts of the armies in fact that seems to be the case where God first mentions that back in Exodus 23 these verses will be on the screen for you God said to Moses I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive out the hivites the canonites the hittites out of your way I think the hornet is symbolic of the kind of terror that comes on us when we are being swarmed by a power that is greater than us and the Israelites were a power by God's grace that struck fear into the hearts of the canonites and God drove out the canonites so God had delivered them in amazing ways can you recall times when God delivered you can you recall times when God may be delivered you from a serious time maybe a long period of testing in your life and he brought you through that stronger deeper in him because of that time of testing can you remember time when God delivered you from death maybe you were almost involved in a car accident your life flashed before you in an instant and then you sat there gathering yourself trying to catch your breath realizing what God had just delivered you from or maybe a serious illness or maybe just other challenges in life like the enemies the Israelites faced daunting challenges challenges you don't think you can face and God delivered you you remember times like that those are reasons for our commitment to him because God has been so good to deliver us and then the third reason for commitment on the part of the Israelites and us is God's gracious provision verse 13 so I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant how gracious God had been to the Israelites God was giving them a land that had been cultivated till planted and the harvest were coming by other people people who were no longer worthy of that land and God wanted driven out but his people inherit that all of that blessing what a gracious provision of the Lord that was can you remember times when God graciously provided for you I've been reflecting again this week about the past and 45 years of ministry thinking about the ways that God provided for us in so many ways and in days gone by the early years of our ministry were difficult not in the sense of the churches and the people wonderful years of ministry in North Carolina and Florida and Indiana but there were some lean times the first church I pastor I think I was paid $125 a week and in Indiana I think it was $250 a week and there were some there were some lean times in those years as our we were having kids and we had a young family and a lot of stuff was happening I can remember times when our bank account consistently hovered near zero and we were not sure we could make the bills I can remember a time when we both pond off our high school rings to to pay for a bill that was unexpected and we had no resources to cover I can remember a time in Indiana our first winter up there was a brutal winter and we had three straight blizzards on three straight weekends I'm even talking about blizzards real Midwest lake effect snow blizzards where you've got two feet of snow and the temperature is 20 below with windshield 40 below we had three straight weekends like that there was no way we could have church and that was the day before direct deposit and all that we had a treasure lady in our church who would write the check by hand and hand it to me every Sunday if I wasn't there or she wasn't there you didn't get that check and so for three weeks we didn't get paid and I can remember how difficult that time was but God provided God always provided over the years we have been here God has provided for us so graciously through you you have been so kind to us we've never lacked for anything here you've been so gracious so good to us thank you God has provided for us so abundantly and he's done the same for you you can think of ways where God provided for you when you were your which end the end of your resources the end of your ability and God provided the reasons for our commitment to him are rooted in what he's done for us in the past our gracious salvation his faithful deliverance his gracious provision for us think about all of that reflect on all that remember that and you will be motivated that will become the fuel for an all-out dedication commitment to him but after explaining the reasons why we should be committed holy to our Lord Joshua then challenges the people with the nature of that commitment and here's the core of it here's exactly what he wants them to hear here's how he challenges them to be committed holy to the Lord I want you to see first of all the requirements of that commission but before we jump into that I look at these two verses verses 14 and 15 and as I think of them it's so easy they're familiar verses to us and I think it's so easy to read over verses like this and not picture the setting and what it must have been like I want to imagine today Joshua although he is an old man going to the extent of his height lifting himself up and projecting his voice with his diaphragm and just challenging the people in this way in a strong way you know Hollywood is great at picturing those kinds of challenges there have been a few through the years that have just gotten me all pumped up or you know Yoda believe it or not Yoda when he's challenged in Luke Skywalker young Luke Skywalker in the Empire Strikes Back because he's failing in his Jedi training and he challenges him wow those were those were poignant words coach Norman Dale the Hickory High basketball team and Hoosiers before they go into the regional final against this big city school that there's no way they're expected to beat and he challenges them before the game in the locker room boy that was that was something else or Lord Eragon in the fellowship of the ring the the return of the king the last movie in that series where the people are ready to fight for him to regain lost territory and he says to them I see the same fear in you that strikes my heart there may come a day when we will break the bonds of fellowship and go our separate ways but this is not that day today we fight and wow when I got done here in that speech I was ready to fight somebody but my favorite speech of all to rally the troops is William Wallace in Braveheart as he challenges that rag tag group of Scottish farmers to do battle against the well drilled well oil well prepared and experienced British army I can't say it like Mel Gibson so we're going to watch it okay I am William Wallace and I see a whole army of my countrymen here in the biased of tyranny you've come to fight a free man and free man you are what will you do without freedom will you fight hey against that no we will run and we will lift all right fight and you may die run and you'll have at least a while I'm dying in your bed many years from now would you be willing to trade all the day from this day to that for one chance just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our life but they'll never take the old freedom I listen to that I'm ready to pick up a pitchfork or an axe or something go after somebody I tell you that that gets me going well I want you to the reason I showed that is not because of an admiration for Mel Gibson or Braveheart or anything like it's simply I want you to envision Joshua I don't know if he was on a horse riding back and forth in front of the troops I don't know but I believe this is not just said calmly with his head down I think he raised himself to his full height and I think he bellowed out with all of the passion he could muster versus 14 and 15 now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness throw away the God your ancestors worship beyond the Euphrates river and in Egypt and serve the Lord but if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you then choose you yourselves this day who you will serve whether the God your ancestors serve beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you're living but that's for me and my household we will serve the Lord I think it was something like that that Joshua challenged them with this is the nature of the commitment and the requirements of that commitment are found in verse 14 what does he require the people to do what are the commands here the moral imperatives that they must see and follow three of them you see them there in verse 14 first of all now fear the Lord I don't misunderstand that that's not some cowering in the corner of a room afraid somebody's going to hit you that's not that's not the kind of fear he's talking about the fear of the Lord means basically this in the scriptures that you understand on a deep level who God is and that you respond appropriately so it means you understand he is majestic that he is exalted and lifted high that he is the God who created the universe he is the God of all heaven and earth and like Isaiah the the progn the appropriate response is the fall that he speak to fall on our face and to worship him because he alone is awesome he's awesome we misuse that word today don't we we use it a lot everything's awesome in my day everything was neat man that's neat you know and then it became cool then it became rad then it became hot now it's awesome everything is awesome eat a cheeseburger wow that's awesome I tell you a cheeseburger is not awesome God is awesome because awesome means that he is alone worthy of reverence and worship that we bow our need to him as our Lord he is all inspiring he deserves our worship so we recognize who he is and we respond appropriately and because he is so faithful we can trust him even though I may not understand what's going on or why it's happening or why we're going through this kind of trial maybe you're thinking that for your life but because I know he's faithful I can trust him I will respond with faith and trust and because I know he is so merciful and gracious and kind I want to obey him because I recognize who he is that he is the Lord he deserves my obedience so fear of God is to understand on a deep level who he is to really grasp the awesomeness majestic holiness of God is kindness graciousness faithfulness love and mercy and to respond appropriately to who he is that's fearing God so I challenge you today fear him fear him secondly I challenge you as Joshua did serve him serve him with all faithfulness this is not some kind of wishy washi on now off now kind of serving this is serving with all faithfulness this is passionately devoting your life with sincerity not half-hearted not hypocritically not for show when just someone is watching but this is giving yourself from your heart whatever you do serving him faithfully it is so easy to become apathetic to become complacent I struggle with that I think every Christian does and every church does and we just churches go through times where we become kind of easy with what we're doing and complacent with how things are going and we rationalize things away that should stare us in the face and challenge us and help us to realize maybe we need to change some things or do some things differently it's easy to become complacent and what what I'm calling you to do today is to serve him with all faithfulness don't hold anything back be passionate about your service for Christ serve him sincerely in the future and then thirdly the nature of this the requirement of this commitment the nature of it is to focus on him fear him serve him focus on him notice it there in verse 15 actually beginning in verse 14 throw away the gods your ancestors worship he says you've got a choice in verse 15 but I'm challenging you to throw away the false gods that you picked up from the other nations idols and I want to challenge you today I want to challenge myself throw away the idols that we picked up from the world around us it's easy to pick up things that we set our affections our hearts our ambitions on that take us away from the Lord the idol of money of power of success of fame or popularity of possessions of sports of other relationships anything the list could go on anything can be placed in such a place in your life that it becomes more important to you it becomes the object of your deepest love it becomes the the point of your ambition and focus in life the aim of your life is to reach this or to get that or to become this rather rather than to be faithful to God so throw away the idols throw away the idols focus on him that is the requirement of this commitment fear him serve him focus on him but there is a choice involved and Joshua reminds the people of the choice of this commitment in verse 15 he says but if serving the Lord seems undesirable you then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve he reminds them of the options there's a choice here and God does give us a choice he created us with a will that's the variability to choose he doesn't run roughshod over that part of our nature he gives us the opportunity to choose he gives us the opportunity to choose whether or not to be saved I mean Moses had said to the people before he died in and Deuteronomy 30 I laid before you today life and death blessing and cursing choose life he said choose life here Joshua is commending them encouraging challenging them to choose to serve the Lord there's a choice before us Jesus as he wrote into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey a few days before he would die wet over the city of Jerusalem and Matthew 23 says that he cried out oh Jerusalem Jerusalem how often would I have gathered the under my wings like a hen does her chicks but you would not you would not you have a choice my friend you have a choice whether or not you want to receive Christ as your Savior you have a choice whether or not you want to serve him faithfully you have a choice and that choice is always before you but not the urgency of that choice in verse 15 he says then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve there's an urgency to that choose today it's not wait another week and see how things go choose today you see my friend in decision itself is a choice it is a choice against the commitment that God is calling us to today don't misunderstand me I to every young person young adult here this morning maybe others as well I appreciate the intellectual struggle of young men and women who wrestle with deep questions in the process of determining whether or not the faith they've grown up with and heard from their parents is indeed worthy of becoming their own I I fully understand that but there comes a time a point where decision is needed where you cannot continue to walk back and forth and sit on defense stop trying to have the best of both worlds stop trying to figure it all out you'll never figure it all out you must trust God and commit yourself fully to him serve him I cry out to you today that choice is enjoined on us serve him serve him Joshua makes it clear where he is he says but as for me in my household we will serve the Lord this is not some iron fisted dictator rule of a abusive dad that's not what he's talking about at all this is the godly consistent faithful model of a man who says I will lead my family through my example I will lead my family to be all out committed to Christ how many of us men need to refresh and renew that commitment to lead our families in a way that will lead them after the Lord not in a way that will lead them to try to be a success to get the most out of this life they can but the lead them to follow Christ I read about a guy who was a faithful church member in a particular church and not the kind of guy maybe you might expect that would be involved in a church because he was both deaf and mute so he had never heard any of the songs that were being sung he had never heard a word from the pastor's lips he had never been able to sing the songs he had never been able to interact with people we carried around this little notebook with him and when anybody did work up enough courage and kindness to go speak to him they would take that notebook and write what they wanted to say and he would write back and respond to them and one day guy walked up to him got the notebook and said I love you as a brother I just don't really understand why you come to church you can't hear anything you can't sing you can't respond to us why do you come and man grab the notebook and quickly scribbled out I want people to know who side I am on and that's what I'm challenging you to do people need to know who side you're on people in your home need to know who side you're on people in your workplace need to know who side you're on people in your neighborhood need to know who side you're on acquaintances people that you cross paths with in the marketplace need to know who side you're on the fragrance of Christ needs to be left wherever you are that's what Joshua was challenging the people to do commit themselves unreservantly to the Lord fear him serve him focus on him and make that choice today don't put it off any longer make sure people know who side you're on and it's something very unusual happens in this story where Joshua impresses on the people the seriousness of this commitment in verses 16 through 28 we find this truth this this challenge the seriousness of commitment because the people answer him quickly notice the answer of the people in verses 16 to 18 verse 16 then the people answered far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods it was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt from that land of slavery and performed these great signs before our eyes he protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled and the Lord drove out before us all the nations including the amurites who lived in the land basically they're just repeating what Joshua's already said so they say we too will serve the Lord because he is our God that's the answer of the people seems clear seems definite seems strong doesn't it but notice if you will the reminder of Joshua verse 19 Joshua said to the people you are not able to serve the Lord whoa Joshua cool down a bit come on are you serious you can't serve the Lord are you trying to discourage them are you trying to to put a wet blanket on their desire to serve the Lord what's going on here Joshua now I think Joshua sees something that maybe even the people don't recognize and that is there is still a great degree of indifference and apathy and complacency among them and even a focus on idols so notice how this interaction goes Joshua said to the people you are not able to serve the Lord he is a holy God he is a jealous God he will not forgive your rebellion in your sins if you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods he will turn and bring the disaster on you and make an end of you after he has been good to you but the people said to Joshua no we will serve the Lord then Joshua said you are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord yes we are witnesses they replied now look at verse 23 now then said Joshua throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord the God of Israel there he nails it that's the problem he recognizes their response was quick easy glib they didn't really understand who they were dealing with they're dealing with a holy God who will not tolerate continued sin they're dealing with a jealous God who will not follow rivals to his allegiance to our allegiance to him he will not tolerate other gods and he knows that the whole time they're saying oh we'll serve the Lord we'll serve the Lord we know he's the one that gave us this land they've still got idols and so in verse 23 he says throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord the God of Israel people finally say we will serve the Lord our God and obey him and so in verses 25 to 28 Joshua draws up a formal covenant with a seal that they can remember a stone that hasn't scribed on it their agreement and he says this will be a witness in verse 27 against you if you are untrue to your God so he calls them on their glib easy knowing the right words to say kind of response and he says now what you're realize you can't serve the Lord if that's the way you're going to do it you need to realize he's holy you need to realize he's a jealous God who will not tolerate rivals other gods hanging around in the corners of our lives he wants everything listen my friend God takes our commitment seriously this is not a game we're playing this is not a Sunday thing where we say okay it's time to go to church and I'll put on my you know Christian face today and now it's not a game we're playing folks this is not a take it or leave it kind of thing this is not a hit a little here and I can ease up over here this is this is our whole life this is everything we have everything we are belongs to our holy God who will not tolerate any rivals you know I'm I'm amazed at the times that Jesus turned on people and said serious things just like this to remind people that they probably didn't really know what they were talking about when they said oh we'll serve you we want to be your disciple I want to give you just a couple of instances of that Matthew chapter 8 verses 19 and 20 then a teacher of the law came to him and said teacher I will follow you wherever you go look at Jesus reply foxes have dens birds have nest the son of man has no place to lay his head you understand what you're talking about lawyer you understand what you're getting into this is not an easy life you're not going to have a nice little room every night to go back to you understand what you want and you understand what you're getting into see what Jesus was doing another time in Luke chapter 14 large crowds were traveling with Jesus and turning to them almost turning on them if you will he said if anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother wife and children brothers and sisters yes even their own life such a person cannot be by disciple and you're saying whoa where did that come from well that that command and he goes on to say whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple that command that pointed reminder was addressed to people who didn't understand the level of commitment Jesus was calling for the level of commitment that compared to our commitment to him our commitment even to our own families appears as hatred our love for him is so silent that it out shines by far even the commitment to any other relationship in our lives that's the kind of commitment he's calling to so Jesus had to remind people in his day too don't give me a quick easy Christian answer understand the holiness of God understand who it is we're dealing with here and what he's calling on us to be and to do you say John this is pretty harsh for your last message there's no I love you kind of stuff well I got another time two weeks from now to to take care of all of that that I really want to do but today for my heart is my final challenge to you and I challenge you to commitment to Christ that is above and beyond what even you might realize or think of the kind of commitment he calls to because he's been so gracious to you in salvation because he's delivered you so many times because he's provided for you so graciously fear him serve him focus on him put away the idols choose today don't wait and realize who it is you're dealing with we have an expression in the United States whenever you're getting ready to sign a document someone might say to you just put your John Hancock right here right well there's a reason for that expression the declaration of independence was signed by 56 delegates to the continental congress and center in that document primary and foremost among the names was John Hancock you see it that's kind of a blown up picture of the signatures and if with this picture that's kind of blown up you can you can pick out some of the others on the right there Benjamin then you see Benj Franklin you see Samuel Chase and some others but what you cannot miss you cannot miss John Hancock as a reason for that declaration of independence was finalized on July 4th we celebrate that day but it was not signed until a month later on August 2nd because it needed to be drafted in final form and written out like this and the delegates all needed to understand what they were doing and they they wanted a month to think about it if they signed that document they were declaring their independence from great Britain and they knew it might cost them their lives they knew they would probably lose their businesses which most of them did they knew it might cost them their families and they knew it might cost them their own lives and that was the commitment they were being called upon to make John Hancock was the president of the continental congress and so he knew he would be the first one to sign and so when he took the document he signed in those large flowing letters with the flurry at the bottom and turned to the other delegates and said I want King George III to be able to read this without the aid of his glasses he was committing no turning back I will give everything for the freedom of my country interestingly enough as we got into the revolutionary war King George III offered amnesty to the leaders of the revolution if they would stop the war and submit to England again excluded from that amnesty were just a handful of people the first one on that list was John Hancock he got his point across King George saw it this is where my allegiance lies and God is calling on all of us to write it big to say it loudly to live it strongly this is where my commitment lies choose this day whom you will serve and so I ask you this morning is your commitment to Christ that strong and clear like John Hancock's signature is your commitment to God that strong is it that clear does everyone around you take notice that you are a follower of Jesus Christ I challenge you today to renew your commitment to the Lord I sincerely believe with all my heart it is the most important element in this transitional phase of our church's history for the church to experience the blessing of God in the future to grow to continue to be effective and be even more effective it starts with each of us and the question of whether or not we will sign our name boldly whether we will take our stand so they're all will know that we are out and out committed to Christ I have thought and prayed all week about how to end this message I thought about departing from my normal pattern and asking you to do something that would be bold and outward to actually stand if you wanted to make that commitment to renew your commitment and I was troubled about that last night went to bed thinking about it woke up before the alarm this morning with it on my mind and as I prayed in my devotions this morning the Lord seemed to lay a different direction on my heart I know it's so easy for the flesh to get involved in invitations I know it's so easy for me to give you a strong call to stand and a lot of people would stand and others would think wow everybody else is standing I better do it too and or somebody might think I don't want to disappoint John his last message he's calling there's too easy for the flesh to get involved in that and for the wrong reasons but I am going to call on you to make a commitment and I'm going to call on you to do something that will seal at home to your heart and be a witness between you and God just like the stone was for Israel if you're willing to say I want to renew my commitment to Christ and to this church for the future then go home today take out a piece of paper a piece of paper you remember what that is take out a piece of paper write it down sign it date it stick it in your Bible to serve as a witness or call your family together and confess to your family I am today renewing my commitment to my savior I want it to be better than it's ever been and I want to lead you as my family in the way that God would have me to lead or I want to be the faithful wife mother that I should be or I mom and dad I want to serve God bring your family into that commitment or find a friend an accountability partner that you can share this commitment with and ask them to hold you accountable over the next weeks and months years to check on you to give you a commitment check and to say how you're doing with that commitment you made on June 10th 2018 do something that will serve as a witness would you pray with me the Father thank you for your grace in our salvation thank you for protecting us and delivering us thank you for so graciously providing for us you deserve our unqualified unreserved total commitment and so today I pray that we would all individually and as a body commit ourselves completely without reservation to you to fear you to serve you to focus on you may they may we do that without looking back I ask in Jesus name amen