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0:44He knows that his time is coming to a close, his time of leading Israel, and he knows that his time on this earth is ending. And so tonight we're going to look at these, his final words. Final words. Perhaps some of you have thought what you'd like your final words to be, whether to a son or a daughter, to family or friends. Maybe it's an I love you, or I'm proud of you. Maybe it's one last bit of instruction or wisdom.

1:14Either way, there's weightiness in choosing your final words. And tonight as we study Joshua's final words here, I ask you to keep that weightiness in mind. And so if we look at our text, Joshua 24, 4 verses 14 and 15. I'll go ahead and read those. Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth. And put away the gods which your father served beyond the river and in Egypt and serve the Lord. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, then choose for yourselves today whom you will serve, whether the gods which your father served, which were beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Let's go ahead and pray real quick. Lord, we just ask that your word would come forth. Lord, that's our prayer tonight, that as we study Scripture, Lord, that we would hear your truths, Lord, and apply them in our life. Lord, and that's our prayer, that your word would come forth. So we pray that your spirit would be on our hearts and strengthen us. In your name we pray these. Amen.

2:29So the final words of Joshua, the final words he speaks, are an exhortation to the people of Israel, an exhortation for them to choose to serve the Lord with a pure heart. That's the main thrust of our text tonight. We will see the three characteristics of pure devotion to the Lord. And this true devotion that allows us to choose to serve the Lord. And those are a fear of the Lord and service to the Lord that is sincere and serviceable. The Lord that is true. So, first, let's look at the context of this command. Israel has completed the initial conquest of the land of Canaan.

3:11They have been given this land and instructions on taking the rest of it. And on this day, Joshua has assembled the leaders of Israel. He's gathered the heads, the elders, the officers, and the judges of Israel. And he's presenting to them a word from the Lord. Here, God is recounting his goodness, his faithful fulfillment of the promises to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joshua relays this word in verses 2 through 13. And so I'll read a few of the highlights of this text. It begins, Thus says the Lord. God says, I took your father Abraham from beyond the river, and I multiplied his descendants. He also says, I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt. I brought your fathers out of Egypt. Your eyes saw what I did in Egypt.

4:12I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan. They fought against you, and I gave them to your hand. You took possession of their land when I destroyed them before you. You crossed the Jordan and you came to Jericho, and the citizens of Jericho fought against you. And the Amorite and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite and the Hightite, and the Gergeshite, and the Hivite and the Jebusite, thus I gave them into your hands. I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them. You are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.

4:50Here God is recounting His faithfulness to the nation, the nation of Israel. And now He's issuing His requirement, His command to them. In verse 14, it says, Now, therefore, fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and truth. Put away the gods which your father served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Let's look at how this starts. He starts with the word, now. There's an urgency in this command. He's saying, Do this now, from now going forward. And therefore, we look and we see that God has just recounted His faithfulness, His deliverance, His power, and His might. And now, all of this points to who He is. He is the living God. And therefore, as a consequence of all He has done, and more than that, as a consequence of who He is, do this. And the command is this: Fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity, and serve Him in truth, or faithfulness.

6:00These are the three characteristics of true devotion to the Lord. And so the first of these is fear the Lord. The idea of fearing the Lord oftentimes seems like an Old Testament concept. But God doesn't change, and neither does the command in Scripture to fear the Lord. We see the idea of fearing the Lord throughout Scripture, in fact. In the Psalms, we see Psalm 9 says, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Going forward into the Gospels, we see Luke stating Mary's words, she says, and his mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear him. Christ himself says in Luke chapter 12, but I will show you whom you should fear. Fear him who, after the body has been killed, has the authority to throw you into hell. Or Paul and the Apostle Peter mentioned this as well in their epistles. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, it says, Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. And in 1 Peter chapter 2, honor all people, love the family of believers, fear God.

7:10And so, what is it to fear the Lord? I would suggest to you that Israel had a very clear understanding of this, almost a clearer understanding than I would say most Christians have today. I'll read a few verses from Exodus 19 and 20. Israel's Gathered around Mount Sinai, and we read, Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire. And its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with thunder. Looking at Exodus chapter 20, it says, All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, and when the people saw it, they trembled. And they stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, Speak to us yourself, and we will listen. But let not God speak to us, or we will die. This is a holy terror. It's an overwhelming sense of reverence and awe. It's the same awesome fear that caused Isaiah to exclaim, Woe is me, I am undone, when he had his vision of the throne room of God. Martin Luther is credited with a good explanation of this type of fear of the Lord. In his explanation, he contrasts two different types of fear, servile fear and filial fear. Servile fear is this fear that a prisoner would have for a tormentor or an executioner. It's this dreadful anxiety of one who's in a posture of servitude under a malicious Owner or master. This isn't the fear that we're talking about in the fear of the Lord. This other fear is filial fear, and it's different. Filial fear is the fear that a child has for his father. It's the fear I see in my sons when they've disobeyed and I come to correct them. And it doesn't matter what the punishment will be or what the discipline will be. They hate that they have displeased their father, and they dread that.

9:31It's this fear of displeasing someone for which you have tremendous respect. And so, if we understand that minorly with the fear of your father, right? How much more so to a holy God, a perfect God? And so, this is the fear that we talk about when we say fear the Lord. But how do you bring about this fear of the Lord in your life? I would say, look at Exodus. God declares that He has hardened Pharaoh's heart so that He can display His awesome power. Why? So that Israel and Egypt would know that He is the Lord.

10:09And these accounts are recorded so that we will know that He is the Lord. And so, the way to bring about this fear of the Lord is to know the God of Scripture. Study Scripture to know the God of Scripture. And so, if you are unable to reconcile the concept, Of fearing the Lord with the God you know, then I would say that you do not have a right view of the God of Scripture. And so, how do you approach God? Are you flippant in your approach to God? Are you irreverent?

10:46I think I've talked to Matt a couple times. We've seen the shirt that says, Jesus is my homeboy. And you just have to think: could you imagine Moses wearing that kind of a shirt, having that kind of a cavalier approach in his relationship to the living God that delivered them from their slavery in Egypt? And so, as a follower of Christ, do you live in such a way that reflects that you have a fear of the Lord?

11:19True devotion is characterized by a fear of the Lord. And it's because the fear of the Lord indicates a right understanding of God, a right view of God. And the only way to have a right view of God is to know the God of Scripture. Know the God of Scripture. The second characteristic we see in this command, it's, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity. The Hebrew word for sincerity can also mean perfect or completely or with integrity. It's the same word that describes Describes sacrifices that are called for in the law. It says, a lamb without blemish, a perfect lamb.

12:10And it's in this context that we see, it's not this command for perfect, sinless service in what you do all the time. Israel has the law that atones for their missteps. But in this context of serving Him in sincerity, we're addressing the heart of your service to the Lord. The command is that you serve, that your heart is a heart of service, sincere service to the Lord. And so, how can you serve God with sincerity? I would say you must know his word, know his commands, so that you can obey his commands.

12:49To have a heart that serves God sincerely, you must read the word to know what he has commanded. We see the psalmist write about this in Psalm 119. He says, Your word I have treasured in my heart. Why? That I might not sin against you. Joshua implores the people with words in chapter 23 that say the same thing. He says, Cling to the Lord your God. He tells them in 23, 11, take diligent heed to yourself to love the Lord your God. It's addressing this sincere heart of service. And so this command is, incline your heart. Heart to the Lord and serve him in sincerity.

13:34The final characteristic of true devotion in our text is true service or faithful service. To serve God in truth is to serve him with stability, with a firmness, with faithfulness. I would ask you to think about a tree planted by a river. And I didn't come up with this illustration on my own, actually. If we look at the psalmist in Psalm 1, he tells us how, right? If you want to serve God with stability, if you want to be planted, serve God with stability.

14:13Then it says here, in his law, this is the blessed man, in his law he meditates day and night. He will be like the tree firmly planted by streams of water. That's how we bring about this true service, this stable and faithful service. Meditate on the word of God. And so if you want a firmness in your service to the Lord, then you must internalize it. You must meditate on his word. This has been the theme through the whole book of Joshua. From chapter 1, where we read in 117, God's word to Joshua comes in. He says, Be careful to do according to the law which Moses my servant commanded you, and do not turn from it to the right or to the left. This is a command of stability.

15:01And in chapter 23, at the end of Joshua, we see this again. Be very firm, then, Joshua says to Israel, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you will not turn aside from it to the right or to the left. So we see here that we should meditate on the Word of God so that you will be able to serve Him faithfully. So, just to summarize this simple command that came from the Lord, we've seen in verse 14 three characteristics of true devotion that will allow us to choose to serve the Lord. The first is to fear the Lord. This is have a right view of God. And we can have this by knowing the God of Scripture. The second is for a sincerity in your service. We have this by knowing what God commands in His Word. And finally, is this characteristic of true service or faithfulness in the service? And we have this by meditating on His Word.

16:07The second part of Joshua 24, 14 mirrors this, and this is, put away the gods which your father served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Put away the other gods. This is the choice that Israel has to make. Put away the other gods. Serve the living God as he commands, or they can serve other gods. The statements in 14 mirror each other because the first part of 14 tells us the characteristics of true devotion.

16:42The second part here, the second part tells us the practical choice. This is the service that is pleasing to God. Put away the other gods and serve the Lord. And so, if you have a right view of God, and if you know his commands, and you are meditating on his laws and his commands, then there's no room for other gods. There's no room for divided affections, and so put away the other gods. Now, in his leadership, Joshua presents to them a choice. He presents them a choice, and he lets them know exactly where he stands in his leadership by example.

17:22Verse 15 says, If it's disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourself today whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. If it's disagreeable, that's how he starts this. Other versions that translate this, if it's undesirable, or if it's evil in your sight to serve the Lord.

17:54And I think it's notable to think about the reaction of Israel. How they would react to this statement. Considering all that they have witnessed, these are the leaders of Israel, the oldest in Israel at this point. This is the generation who is less than 20 years old when they first spied out the land. This generation would have been delivered from their bondage of slavery in Egypt. It would have been children when that happened. They would have crossed the Red Sea. They would have watched their parents die in the desert for their unfaithfulness. They would have seen the plagues come and kill thousands of their brothers because of their idolatry at Peor. They crossed the river, the Jordan River, on dry land in the flood season. They saw the walls of Jericho fall down before them. With the Lord's mighty hand, one man of Israel put to flight a thousand of their enemies. And they now live in cities that they did not build, and they eat from vineyards and olive groves they did not plant. And Joshua now asks them, if this seems evil in your sight to serve this God, if you think about this question, if it's insufficient, right, if what God has done, if who God is, right, everything he's done points to who he is. And so if who God is is insufficient to command your faithful service, then Joshua says, choose. Choose someone else. And he lays before them two options even. He says, you can choose someone else, and here are your options. So pick one. The first of these options is the gods which your father served in the region beyond the river.

19:37I'll tell you this is tradition or antiquity that he's presenting before them. And there's no doubt that this reference to the region beyond the river and these gods from the region beyond the river are the gods from which the gods from which Abraham was called. These are the gods that are referenced in verses 2 and 3. And these are the gods of Terah, Abraham's father. These are the gods of Nahor, Abraham's brother. These are also likely the first gods of Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, and her brother Laban, who again we know is the father of Rachel and Leah, the wives of Jacob.

20:23And these are likely the same household gods that Rachel stole when they were fleeing from her father Laban in Genesis 31. And I don't pick out these names, you know, Nahor, Laban, Terah, Rachel, Rebekah, Leah. I don't pick them out just to show you how narrow this family tree is for the patriarchs, but rather to make a point that unfortunately this idolatry persisted. Somehow this idolatry persisted in Israel, whether through Rebekah or Rachel or Leah, were their manservants or maidservants that they brought with them from this area.

21:01But somehow this idolatry persisted throughout their 400 years of slavery in Egypt, throughout their 40 years of wandering in their desert, and even now today after taking the land. He's warning the people because its mention here suggests that it's persisting somewhere. These gods are in Israel, and they are commanded to serve the Lord, and so put away these other gods. So gods of tradition. How do we also face the same temptation if we think about them that way? Gods of tradition. We start with Israel back then. I think it's easy to see how they would say, if we are serving Abraham's God, how much better might it be to also serve the gods of Abraham's father and lead them astray that way? Or we can look in the New Testament and see the temptation of tradition when we look at the religion of the Pharisees. They proclaim to know God, but the God they worship is not the Lord. Christ himself condemns them of this when he says, you neither know me nor my father. If you had known me, you would have known my father also. In John chapter 8. The Pharisees had their tradition, and because of that, they rejected the Lord. And so even today, we hear some who justify their choice in churches because they like the tradition, or they like rituals of it. This is an example of when people might be choosing tradition. Over choosing to serve the living God.

22:34And so examine yourself today. Do you elevate tradition over true relationship with the God of Scripture? Practically, I would encourage you to think about it as we approach the holiday season. What do you promote? Do you promote traditions, or do you promote the tradition that honors the God of Scripture? Do you promote to them that in this holiday season, Christ has come? He has come to bring salvation to his people, to all people. Or do you promote to them deceit, other traditions because they're fun or because they've been passed down in your family?

23:20More subtly, we can even examine our own hearts in coming to church. Do you come to church every Sunday because it's what you're supposed to do? It's a time to put on your Sunday finest and go and see others, right? Or do you come because you want to be fed the Word of God and you want to fellowship with believers in biblical community? So we see the temptation can permeate anywhere. This temptation to serve tradition over serving the living God.

23:52The second option Joshua presents is the gods of the Amorites, in whose land they now dwell. These are the Gods of culture, the gods of the compromise, those around them. These are the local gods, the popular gods. This is just like the entanglement that Israel had at Peor, where they went after the gods of the Moabites because it felt good. It's this attitude of compromise surrounded by a wicked culture that God warns the Israelites against. When he says, do not intermix, do not intermarry with the inhabitants of Canaan, or they will lead you astray. He was warning them against the gods of the culture because he knew they would lead Israel astray. And then Israel would not have a pure heart.

24:49And so, what are the gods of culture today? To get a taste of what our culture elevates, I think all you have to do is turn on the TV, or in my case, listen to the radio. Or even if you're trying to buy groceries, just looking around at all the magazines that surround us. A few of the gods of today's culture, I'd say, are materialism, sexual immorality, or the elevation of politics for our salvation, or the idolatry of ourself. Choosing the God of culture can be more subtle than these, though. Consider this. What do you give your time and energy to?

25:27What's the biggest house of worship here in Caldest? Not being an Aggie, I think I can make a case for it's Kyle Field. Or you can even go to church to serve the gods of culture. Do you come here to see and be seen? Is it a social gathering that you come for? And so examine yourself. Where do you spend your time? Do you expend your time and your energy to know the God of Scripture? Or do you focus on how you look on Facebook or MySpace or Instagram or whatever is popular today?

26:10Is your hope in political parties? Do you do things for, do you get your pleasure from materiality? Do you get your pleasure from things that God condemns? How much time do you spend on social media? Or how much time do you spend watching sports, watching the Aggies almost win this week? Baylor won, though. But then I think another question to add then. How much time do you spend reading the Word of God and meditating on His Word?

26:45And if you miss church, do you miss the social interactions? Or do you miss being taught the Word of God? And do you miss fellowshipping, biblical fellowship with God's people? So these are the two gods, these choices that Joshua holds before Israel. They can serve the living God, or they can serve tradition, or they can serve culture. But they have to choose. Now, I think we should also note Joshua's leadership by example here. He's not even done with his sentence, if we look at this. He's not even done with presenting these options when he makes clear where he stands. He says, choose for yourselves who you will serve. This God or that God. But as for me and my house, I mean, just be clear, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

27:43And so as we look at him leading by example, I want you to note three of these notable features in Joshua's decision. And so as you choose to, consider these features and how they play out in your choice to serve the Lord. These features of Joshua's choice are that his choice is independent, it is influential, and it's obedient. Again, it's independent, it's influential, and it's obedient. And so as we saw, true devotion is characterized by a fear of the Lord, sincere service to the Lord, and true service to the Lord. Then this choice to serve the Lord is characterized by these features. The first is it's independent. Joshua says, You can choose, but it doesn't impact my decision. My decision is independent because even if all of you turn away, even if everyone else rejects the Lord, Joshua, we know, is committed to the Lord. And this isn't new in Joshua's life. We saw the same resolve when they first spied out the land, when all of Israel melted in fear, and Joshua and Caleb stood and said, No, but we have a strong God.

29:03It's this resolve that had the whole assembly of Israel ready to stone them for their decision to stand firm and independent in trusting the Lord. It's the same kind of resolve that we see throughout other heroes of Scripture. We see this in Elijah when he cries out to the Lord and says, I'm the only one left. And even in thinking he was the only one left, he stood strong in his God. Or it's the same resolve of Peter, who says, Even if all other fall away, I will not.

29:39So this decision is independent. It's also influential, if we look here. Joshua, he's led Israel for many years. No doubt he's influential on the leaders of Israel, those who he's addressing today. But even more than his influence on his brothers, the other leaders, is his influence on His family. He says, as for me and my house, he knows his greatest influence is his house. And so, in as much as he can direct and as much as he can lead, his house, his wife, his children, his grandchildren, his manservants and maidservants, those who are surrounded by him, those in his household, they will also serve the Lord.

30:27I think this heart of influencing our children is well described in Deuteronomy chapter 6. It says, These words that I command you today, they shall be on your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your children. You shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. It's this command in the choice, right? The choice should be influential. We see the Proverbs address this need for this choice to be influential when it says, Train up a child in the way he should go, and he will not depart from it when he is old.

31:16And so we see this choice to serve the Lord should be influential. Those under you, guide them. Finally, it's obedient. And did you catch this one? So Joshua says, as for me, In my house, what? We will serve the Lord. He has said it's independent, it's influential, and then what will happen? We will serve the Lord. I will be obedient. Joshua's decision is one of obedient service to the Lord. Now, what he's not doing is committing his family to simply moral living. He's not committing his family to doing what they think is right or what seems right at the time. He is committing his house to serve the Lord.

32:07It's not because it's right or it's easy, but it's because of who God is. As we look back, why should Israel serve the Lord? Because of who He is. And so that's why Joshua says here, We will serve the Lord, not we will do our best to be good guys. And so we see that service to the Lord is because of who He is, and it is obedient. And because it is obedient, because God is good, it will be moral and it will be right. But those are not the reasons.

32:45I think our pastor mentioned this earlier today. I think a passage that comes to our mind here when we think about this obedience. In John 14, Christ says, If you love me, you will what? Keep my commands. And so, In this choice, there should come about an obedience to God when you choose to serve the Lord. And so, what did Israel choose? If we look at the rest of the text, we'll see Israel's commitment and Joshua's response. And so, Israel's commitment, we can read in verses 16 to 18: the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord, our God.

33:33It is He who brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage, and He who did the great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went, and among all the people through whose midst we passed. The Lord drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We will also serve the Lord, for He is our God.

34:00And so, what the leaders of Israel do here is they appeal to God's deliverance, His great signs, and the victory He gave. They commit to serve the Lord because they're blessed. And this should break your heart, and Joshua's heart. I think about similarly, I had someone once tell me, someone close to me, they said, Of course I believe in God. My life has been so good. All the good things in my life, I've been blessed. How could there not be a God?

34:36And so, is this the depth of your commitment to the Lord? Do you choose to serve him because you feel like he's given you some good things? Because you feel blessed? Or do you choose to serve him then only as long as circumstances are good? How does this kind of commitment hold up under persecution? It doesn't. We can see in the gospel where we're talking about the parable of the soils. It's this kind of commitment that falls, like the seed that falls on rocky soil, that springs up at once with joy, but then when trials come and persecution comes, it withers away because it does not have root.

35:18This type of commitment is not characterized by true devotion to the Lord. It does not fear him, and it does not serve him in sincerity or in truth. And so Joshua challenges Israel. Joshua challenges Israel's commitment to serve the Lord. We look at verses 19 and 20. Joshua says, Then Joshua said to the people, you are not able to serve the Lord. For he is a holy God, and he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn from you and do you harm. Consume you after he has done good to you.

36:04He says, you are not able. He tells them, you've missed it. The command is for wholehearted, devoted service to the Lord. And Israel, though, chooses to serve the Lord because he has given them good things, not because of who he is. It reminds me of those who follow Christ for the miracles or for the food or for the healings. They come for the show or the full belly. They do not come to serve him as Lord. And so when things get difficult, they fall away. They leave.

36:47So you say you will serve the Lord, Joshua tells the people, you say you will serve the Lord. Then serve him in sincerity and truth. He points out he is a holy and a jealous God. The standard is perfection. Wholehearted, devoted service. Your half-hearted service is no service at all. Your divided heart is not acceptable to the living God. It also says, he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. I wrestled with this one a lot. The idea that God will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. So I think it's. As we look at it in context, it enlightens what he's talking about here. This is forgiveness outside of the covenant of faithfulness.

37:40Sin in Israel has its due punishment and its means of atonement, which is by the blood, the blood of sacrifices. This blood of sacrifices is just an image of the blood of Christ that ultimately brings this forgiveness of sins. But when Joshua is telling the people here, he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins, he's talking about the sin of idolatry. If you reject the Lord, he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. And he will turn from you and he will bring about your destruction.

38:16Following Joshua's challenge to the people's commitment, the people reply and say, No, but we will serve the Lord. They know he is holy. They know that he is jealous. They know that he will punish unfaithfulness, and yet they still choose to serve the Lord. This is a better service. They're not just appealing to what he has done. They know their God, and then they will serve him. They will serve the God they know. And so Joshua guides them once more in how to serve God with a pure heart. If we look at the following verses, he tells them once again: put away the force. God's. He tells him, incline your hearts to serve the Lord. And in Israel's response, they appeal to the obedience. They say, we will obey his voice.

39:16Israel is choosing to serve the Lord for who he is. And so what follows is good news and then bad news. Israel did serve the Lord. We see this in Joshua 24, 31, and again in Judges 2, verses 7 through 11. It says, the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which he had done for Israel. And then Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110.

39:58They did it. They chose to serve the Lord. And it says here in Scripture that they did. But we get to the bad news. If we look at Judges 2, 11, all that generation also were gathered to their fathers, and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which he had done for Israel. The very next generation forsook the Lord. The very next generation. Israel served the Lord. They feared the Lord. They served him in sincerity and truth. But we see the failure of their commitment to serve the Lord.

40:45Their decision did not influence the next generation. They failed in the handoff here. All the laws, the ordinances, even the memorial stones that they set up to remind them of all that God had done for them. It didn't work. The commitment to true faith was not preserved to the next generation. Remember the commitment of Joshua, me and my house? Preserve the faith. Pass it down. Teach the words of Scripture diligently to your children, as Scripture itself tells us to do. Talk to them in everything you do. Whether you're in your house sitting at the table, whether it's before bed, whether you're just in the car, driving around. Talk about it. Pass the faith down.

41:44So you have a choice. You must choose. Choose today who you will serve. Tradition, culture, or the living God who reveals. Himself in the words of Scripture. This is the living God who revealed himself to man, who came and dwelt among man, who redeemed man at a great price. This is the God of Scripture. He did this so that all who believe in him, all who have faith in him, all who cast their hope on him, could be ransomed from death that is coming to each of us. Because of our sin, we have been ransomed and we can be given life, life today, and life forever.

42:42We know the living God. We can know him today. He is the God-man, Jesus Christ. So don't wait. You're not promised tomorrow. And soon it will be too late. If you don't choose God, you're choosing another God, which is no God at all. If you don't choose God, you are rejecting Him. And He will not forgive that rejection. You will get what's due to you. You will get what's coming to you. Someday it will be too late to choose to serve God willingly. But someday every need. Will confess that he is Lord.

43:34And so, just as Israel made a choice to serve other gods and they were spewed from the land that they had been given, each of you too, in choosing not to serve the living God, not to trust in the living God, will be cast from his presence forever. And so, listen to what the word of God says: choose who you will serve. Choose to serve the Lord. Turn away from your sinful ways, from that self-centered, any self-centered attitudes. Turn away from your pride, your lusts, your other idols, these other gods, and choose to serve the Lord.

44:27Fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth, and put away the other gods. Lord, you are God in heaven above and on earth below. And you are not like us. You are worthy. You are holy. Lord, you are jealous and rightfully so. None is like you, Lord, and there is no other like you. Lord, we pray that we will not forget your might or your power. And tonight, Lord, I pray that your people will serve you with a pure heart, that they will choose to serve you with a pure heart. And Lord, for those who do not yet know you, who do not know the true and living God, I pray for them, Lord, that they will choose you and live. Help each of us choose you each day. Prune us, Lord, cut away our idolatry, take away our hidden sins, purge from us all unfaithfulness, that we will be able to serve you. And Lord, help us pass this faith along to the next generation. That they will also know you and serve you.

45:48We ask this in your name, Lord, in the name of Christ our Savior. Amen.