Joshua 24:14-15 - “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. [15] 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.”

James 4:4 - You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

Choices, Choices, Choices

The road of life is filled with many choices:

·     Whom will I marry?
·     Where will I live?
·     What will I do for a living?
·     How will I raise my children?
·     Will I believe in God? And if I do, what will that look like?
·     What will be the standard of my moral conduct?

The questions above highlight just a few of the most important choices we must make. And, as the rock group, Rush, observed, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”

If

In Joshua 24, we observe Joshua taking the children of Israel on an historical reconnaissance to remind them of who God was and what God had done for them in the past. Implicit in this was the covenant God made with Israel and how they could look forward to the future fulfillments of God’s promises… IF.

When God made a covenant with Israel, it included blessings and curses. Obedience, faithfulness, and loyalty would be rewarded with divine blessing beyond their wildest imaginations. Disobedience, unfaithfulness, and treason, on the other hand, would result in God’s curses. It seems like a no-brainer as to which should be preferred.

And so, after laying out the history of God’s love for his people, Joshua presented them with a choice. He told them to serve God only and to throw away the idols of their past. Whom would they serve – the gods of their ancestors or the living God? Joshua answered as the covenant head of his home by declaring publicly, “…as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Gods of this Age or God of the Ages?

It is interesting, and quite telling, how this theme of choosing between the Living God and the gods of the age – between covenant-faithfulness and spiritual adultery – is repeated regularly throughout God’s Word. The fact is, we will all bow before something or someone, simply by the living of our lives. We are hardwired to worship. Who or what will be the object of our worship is the choice ever before us.

James put the choice before us with crystal clarity. He said friendship with the world is hatred toward God. What exactly did he mean here? By “friendship with the world,” he wasn’t talking about loving people and ministering to them. Instead, he had in mind what Paul meant in Romans 12:2 – love for and conformity to the sinful, fallen, and disobedient patterns of this world, the kingdom or domain of darkness, as Paul put in Colossians 1:13.

James followed by saying, “anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James was essentially putting before God’s covenant people in the New Testament the same choice Joshua put before God’s covenant people in the Old Testament: Who would they bow their knees to: the gods beyond the River, the gods of the Amorites, the state, secular worldviews, modern American materialism, Hugh Hefner’s Playboy hedonism, the entertainment industry, sports, status, or even good things like work and family?

James called people who bow to any of those things, “adulterous.” They have left their first love to cozy up to the gods of the Amorites and Egyptians.

People in our day still cry out for their free will, rights, and autonomy. And God gives them that option, but not with impunity. There are consequences to foolish choices. People may choose Baal, Molech, Ra, or the gods of this age, if they so choose. They can exercise their moral choice to their heart’s delight. They can revel in their “free will.” But the wrath of God will be leveled against all unrighteousness and ungodliness (Romans 1:18). 

But There’s Grace

Because of God’s grace, however, we learn God continually calls his children back to covenant faithfulness. He lovingly commands us to throw away the gods of our past and to love, obey, worship, and serve him instead. Each and every day that we are granted another day to live, we are given an opportunity for repentance and covenant faithfulness.

So brothers, choose this day whom you and your household will serve. There’s only one right answer.

Walking Points

• No Christian sets out to be idolatrous. How, then, do you think idolatry among God’s people happens?
• What are the “gods of this age” that compete for your allegiance the most?
• What are some ways you have found helpful in remaining faithful to the God of the ages?
• What counsel would you give a Christian brother to help him turn from his idol and back toward the Lord?

​Prayer
 
God of the ages, I praise you for your covenant faithfulness. In your grace you chose and redeemed me. You lavish me with your goodness each and every day. You bless me in ways I am often not even aware of. When I think about such things I am instantly reminded of how undeserving I am… and how gracious you are. Thank you. Forgive me Lord for those times when I cling to other gods, which are no gods at all. Deliver me from those idols I have crafted in my own image which will not help me because they cannot help me. Restore to me a deep desire to choose you each day and then live the rest of the day in light of that choice. By the power of your Spirit, may my life constantly glorify you and draw others to you. In Christ I pray. Amen.
 
This Week’s Prayer Guide
 
[You can use this prayer guide in your own personal prayer time. However, I encourage you to use it with a group of Christian men. Each week you should spend time praising God for who he is, confessing your sin to him (be specific) as well as expressing gratitude to him for his gracious forgiveness. Also, don’t forget to thank God for the many ways he has poured out his goodness in your life. Then, focus on the following areas of supplication, which will change from week to week.]
 
Petitions – prayers for yourself
 
·         Give me greater love for those who are hard to love.
·         Help me to be compassionate and kind to those in need, even when it’s inconvenient.
·         Pour out upon me your courage and boldness to love those who do not know you and to share with them your Gospel, in word and deed.
·         Today’s events and interactions with others, planned and unplanned
·         Other needs
 
Intercession – prayers for others
 
·         My family
·         My family and friends who do not have a saving relationship with Christ
·         For those in my other spheres of influence who do not know Christ
·         For evangelists around our city, country, and world who risk much in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those who are lost
·         Other needs

Matthew 19:20-22 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” [21] Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” [22] When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Superficial Understanding

Here’s a classic example of Jesus teaching us what authentic discipleship ought to look like in a person’s life. All through the gospels Jesus taught that to be his disciple, you must deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow him.

In today’s text we have a young man who wanted eternal life. Therefore, he asked Jesus how he might fulfill this desire. Jesus answered him by telling him to obey the commandments, for that would show his love for God. Jesus then listed several of the commandments. The young man’s response? “All these I have kept.”
His answer reveals at least three things.

Three Wrong Answers

First, the young man was ignorant about what “obeying the commandments” meant. His understanding was superficial at best. His claim was that he had obeyed all the commandments since his youth. And so Jesus simply pointed out that this man’s great wealth was a stumbling block to his pursuit of God and eternal life. In so doing, Jesus revealed the man was guilty of coveting, at the very least. He broke that commandment.

Second, the very first commandment instructs us not to have any other gods before the one true God. This man seemed to have placed his great wealth before God, so much so, that when he was asked to give it away, he could not do so, not even for eternal life. There’s another commandment broken.

Third, truly loving and serving God takes the shape of faith and obedience in a person’s life, not mere external conformity to a few of your favorite commandments. Jesus exposed the real motivation of this man’s heart by telling him to deny himself (give away his possessions) and follow Christ (give his life to Christ completely).

The young man went away sad because he had great wealth.

What’s Tripping You Up?

Money and possessions were this man’s impediment to faithful discipleship. It is for many of us. We may hastily protest it isn’t. “But,” we quickly add, “Jesus’ words in this text are not a universal command for every person who would follow Jesus.” And that’s true. Material wealth was indeed this particular man’s barrier to faithful discipleship. But how many of us could downsize everything we own and give away the saved money to the church, missionaries, mercy ministries, etc.? How many of us could take lesser paying jobs that would enable us to spend more time with our families? How do you immediately and viscerally react to those suggestions? These examples show us we may be far closer to the rich young man than we care to admit.

What is your obstacle to being a whole-hearted follower of Christ? Maybe your obstacle isn’t wealth. Maybe it’s your desire to please others more than God. Perhaps it’s the fact that you worry more about what others think about you than what God thinks about you. It may be that you don’t want to give up the particular sin you’re enjoying for a season. Or maybe there are a variety of struggles tripping you up in multiple areas of your life.

Dying is Hard

When it comes down to it, denying ourselves (dying to ourselves) is hard. And we don’t like “hard.” We prefer easy, convenient, and quick. Thus, we’ve created a culture of remote controls, drive-through windows, and microwave ovens. This mentality makes for poor sacrificial servants of the Kingdom. And of those who hold such an attitude, our Lord says, it is hard to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

If we would follow Jesus, we must rid ourselves of all encumbrances that inhibit the “following” to which we are called (Hebrews 12:1). We must “give it away” so our focus will be fixed keenly upon our King.

We must take the long and eternal view instead of the alternative short and temporal ones. Because those who deny themselves and do the hard work of leaving their houses or brothers or sisters or fathers or mothers or children or fields (work) for Christ’s sake, will receive “a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life” (Matt. 19:29). And put that way, the decision seems like a no-brainer.

Walking Points

• What do you need to “give away?” What is that obstacle in your life that is making it difficult for you to wholly and truly follow Jesus?
• What is about that obstacle (or those obstacles) that seems to have a grip on you?
• How did that obstacle become such a stumbling block for you?
• What are three things you can do, beginning today, to loosen the grip of those strongholds and find the freedom for joyful obedience God desires for you?

​Prayer
 
Heavenly Father, I love you and desire to follow your Son, Jesus Christ. You have been, and continue to be, so very good to me. Your blessings in my life seem limitless. Realizing that makes it particularly hard for me to acknowledge that I am pursuing other things before you and holding onto them more tightly than I am holding onto you. Like the rich young man, I just won’t give them up. And this isn’t even including those things and desires in my life I’m not even aware of. Lord, please convict me of sin and cleanse me. Show me my idolatry and fill me with true repentance. I pray that you and you alone will be who I desire and pursue more than anyone or anything else in this this world. You alone are worthy of such a place in my life. Thank you for your grace and your patience. I thank you that the good work you have begun in my life will be brought about to completion. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.
 
This Week’s Prayer Guide
 
[You can use this prayer guide in your own personal prayer time. However, I encourage you to use it with a group of Christian men. Each week you should spend time praising God for who he is, confessing your sin to him (be specific) as well as expressing gratitude to him for his gracious forgiveness. Also, don’t forget to thank God for the many ways he has poured out his goodness in your life. Then, focus on the following areas of supplication, which will change from week to week.]
 
Petitions – prayers for yourself
 
·         Give me greater love for those who are hard to love.
·         Help me to be compassionate and kind to those in need, even when it’s inconvenient.
·         Pour out upon me your courage and boldness to love those who do not know you and to share with them your Gospel, in word and deed.
·         Today’s events and interactions with others, planned and unplanned
·         Other needs
 
Intercession – prayers for others
 
·         My family
·         My family and friends who do not have a saving relationship with Christ
·         For those in my other spheres of influence who do not know Christ
·         For evangelists around our city, country, and world who risk much in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those who are lost
·         Other needs