March 6 You Gotta Serve Somebody Joshua 24:14-15
Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15
A Sunday School teacher challenged her children to take some time, on Sunday afternoon, to write a letter to God. They were to bring their letters back the following Sunday. One little boy wrote, "Dear God, we had a good time at church today. Wish you could have been there." The Psalmist says this about God, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” (Ps 139:7-10) We can be sure that God is with us right now – In every situation and in every circumstance!
Several months ago, I officiated at a wedding, and at the reception, each place had a name card and on the card were the words of our scripture today. And the portion of Scripture you would have seen was, “… as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Why? Why did they have that text printed on their wedding stuff? I believe that the words of a song, sums up one reason why they made that text their motto, so to speak. Do you recognize these lyrics? “You may be an ambassador to England or France, You may like to gamble, you might like to dance, You may be the heavyweight champion of the world, You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls, But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed, You’re gonna have to serve somebody, Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Can anyone tell me who wrote that? Yes, Bob Dylan wrote that song back in the late 70’s – and he’s right in what he says in that song. It is said that there is only two things that are certain, “Death and taxes”, I believe there is at LEAST one more thing – “You gotta serve somebody.” Whether we like it or not, we can’t escape serving somebody. Think about it! Why do we choose to serve the God of Joshua? Verse 2 of the song, “So You Would Come,” speaks the clear message of God’s purpose for Man… “Nothing you can do could make Him love you more. And nothing that you’ve done could make Him close the door. Because of His great love He gave His only Son, Everything was done so you would come.” Everything was done so we could come! Surely, we should do everything we can to let others know that all has been done so they can choose to experience a love and security too good to be true! Annette and I experience God’s unfathomable love. And we were, and are committed to building a home on that love. We were, and are committed to serving the One who loved us with a love we had never known before.
“Because He lives I can face tomorrow; Because He lives all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living Just because He lives.” How could we not commit to serving this God?! Our prayer is that when our children are faced with the question, “… choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, …” they will be able to make an informed choice. They will have been able to see the love of Christ. And in so seeing they will be able to say, “… as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” I hope that you’ve made your choice today. I hope the love of Christ has compelled you to serve Him. I pray that your name is written on the place card, at the King’s table, in Heaven! You see…”… as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD!” If you have not made the CHOICE to SERVE GOD, then you have already made the CHOICE to serve Satan! It is completely and wholly UP TO YOU! Stay Strong, Stay Focused…THE BEST IS YET TO BE!! Choose wisely!!!