WEBVTT 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:12.919 Hi everyone, this is Emma from Encounter Church, 00:00:13.099 --> 00:00:15.900 Henley, and thanks so much for tuning into our 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:19.059 podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast, 00:00:19.100 --> 00:00:21.760 you can have an encounter with Jesus that will 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:25.359 change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:28.019 message from our preaching team. Okay, there 00:00:28.019 --> 00:00:30.039 we go. Tim said you can take a seat and I'm an 00:00:30.039 --> 00:00:32.420 obedient person and I almost sat down. So we're 00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:36.000 starting. We are starting great today, friends. 00:00:36.859 --> 00:00:38.939 I am looking forward to bringing you the word 00:00:38.939 --> 00:00:41.200 today without a child on my head. This will be 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:45.920 wonderful. So when I was 24, I stood in front 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:48.399 of a really large group of friends and families 00:00:48.399 --> 00:00:52.060 and loved ones, and I made a declaration of intention. 00:00:53.299 --> 00:00:56.899 With these words, I said, I take thee, Kara, 00:00:57.240 --> 00:01:00.460 to be my lawfully wedded wife. to have and to 00:01:00.460 --> 00:01:03.280 hold, bless you for still wooing, to have and 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:07.680 to hold, to have and to hold from this day forward 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:10.359 for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, 00:01:10.819 --> 00:01:13.859 in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish 00:01:13.859 --> 00:01:19.680 until death do us part. And then at 36, I stood 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:22.299 in front of a really large group of my friends 00:01:22.299 --> 00:01:27.099 and family and loved ones. my children, my now 00:01:27.099 --> 00:01:32.840 wife, and this time God. Look, there's a whole 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:35.879 thing. We did pray and promise, make promises 00:01:35.879 --> 00:01:37.819 to God at our wedding day. We were not yet Christians. 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:39.340 It's a whole thing. We'll talk about that later. 00:01:39.620 --> 00:01:43.060 But this time, in front of God, and I meant it, 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:47.879 I said these words publicly. I turn away from 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:51.680 all sin and turn to Jesus. I will trust God as 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:54.900 Father Jesus is Saviour and Lord with the Holy 00:01:54.900 --> 00:01:58.680 Spirit as counselor and guide from this day on. 00:01:59.500 --> 00:02:02.000 And moments later in Horseshoe Bay I was fully 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:05.439 submerged and baptized in the ocean. Woo again, 00:02:05.480 --> 00:02:07.579 thank you. We can get, you know what, we can 00:02:07.579 --> 00:02:09.719 get woo heavy today. I'm for it. Tim's mixing 00:02:09.719 --> 00:02:11.659 up what we say when we do Bible readings. We've 00:02:11.659 --> 00:02:13.759 got kids writing on the back of our heads. We've 00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:15.240 got all sorts happening today. You guys can go 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:17.419 crazy. It's gonna be a good time. Now since those 00:02:17.419 --> 00:02:21.300 two days, since... I married Kara, and since 00:02:21.300 --> 00:02:23.919 I declared my faith publicly and got baptized, 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:31.639 I have obviously been the perfect husband. The 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:36.240 woo's stopped. Having never caused Kara any frustrations, 00:02:37.139 --> 00:02:41.240 and I have also lived a flawless and sinless 00:02:41.240 --> 00:02:46.979 life. But of course I haven't, because that's 00:02:46.979 --> 00:02:53.099 impossible. But, woo with a question mark survive. 00:02:54.879 --> 00:03:01.219 But, those declarations weren't made purely to 00:03:01.219 --> 00:03:05.659 specifically commit to a series of actions. Those 00:03:05.659 --> 00:03:09.259 declarations were made to commit to choices that 00:03:09.259 --> 00:03:13.840 would echo my heart's intention. To ensure that 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:17.039 even on my worst days, when my actions didn't 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:21.289 match my words, that I had kind of like a central 00:03:21.289 --> 00:03:24.509 point to come back to, that hopefully my intentions 00:03:24.509 --> 00:03:26.449 were still incredibly clear even in my worst 00:03:26.449 --> 00:03:28.849 moments. Now I am blessed to have a wife that 00:03:28.849 --> 00:03:36.210 affords me an awful lot of grace. And I am also 00:03:36.210 --> 00:03:38.389 blessed to have a God that covers me and a grace 00:03:38.389 --> 00:03:41.860 that is given regardless of my efforts. Because 00:03:41.860 --> 00:03:43.699 despite the fact that I meant each and every 00:03:43.699 --> 00:03:46.060 promise that I made on those days, my success 00:03:46.060 --> 00:03:51.120 rate will vary by the literal hour. And as I 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:52.960 reflect on those milestones as I was writing 00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:55.740 this and putting this together, I recognize... 00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:58.860 That the real power that came out of those two 00:03:58.860 --> 00:04:01.419 moments was not necessarily like the promises 00:04:01.419 --> 00:04:04.719 That I made the intentions that I promised have 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:06.180 power the intentions that I promised have power 00:04:06.180 --> 00:04:08.219 because I meant them But I think where some of 00:04:08.219 --> 00:04:10.639 that power comes from is the fact that they were 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:12.759 they were promises that I made and they were 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:16.819 choices that I made They were things that I had 00:04:16.819 --> 00:04:20.779 chosen to commit myself to Now studies will show 00:04:20.779 --> 00:04:23.420 us that when provided with autonomy, so just 00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:25.920 the ability to make our own choices, we're dramatically 00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:28.100 more happy and satisfied than when we are when 00:04:28.100 --> 00:04:30.680 we're forced into or coerced into a decision. 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:32.879 So again, thank you, Cara, for also choosing 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:38.980 me. But, oh, that was the saddest word. However. 00:04:40.149 --> 00:04:42.649 Too much autonomy can lead to something I love 00:04:42.649 --> 00:04:44.389 when science just takes a thing and they're like, 00:04:44.389 --> 00:04:46.750 no, this is an effect. Like, this is a thing. 00:04:47.149 --> 00:04:49.110 Too much autonomy, too many choices, too many 00:04:49.110 --> 00:04:51.209 options can lead to an effect which is called 00:04:51.209 --> 00:04:56.189 the too much of a good thing effect. I'm not 00:04:56.189 --> 00:04:58.389 joking. In which, you guessed it, left to our 00:04:58.389 --> 00:05:00.529 own devices, we will continue to choose more 00:05:00.529 --> 00:05:02.569 and more things that we think are beneficial, 00:05:02.829 --> 00:05:04.810 but will increase stress, emotional exhaustion, 00:05:04.930 --> 00:05:07.089 and eventually will lead to, again, you guessed 00:05:07.089 --> 00:05:10.389 it, bad decisions. So what we really need is 00:05:10.389 --> 00:05:13.170 the autonomy to make a really big choice, but 00:05:13.170 --> 00:05:15.110 then we need to recognize that in making that 00:05:15.110 --> 00:05:17.870 big choice, if that's what we're going to use 00:05:17.870 --> 00:05:20.629 as our kind of central structure, what that then 00:05:20.629 --> 00:05:24.110 does is limit our further choices, right? So 00:05:24.110 --> 00:05:26.069 this isn't in here, but I'm just going to go 00:05:26.069 --> 00:05:28.490 with it. I know that some of you nerds play RPGs 00:05:28.490 --> 00:05:31.240 in here. I know. I know some of you nerds have 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:32.939 played Dungeons and Dragons, right? It's the 00:05:32.939 --> 00:05:36.199 idea is, like, once I choose this one bigger 00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:38.399 thing, like, I can't be a warrior and also good 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:39.920 at magic. Do you know what I mean? Like, I can, 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:43.060 once I've chosen a thing, I haven't played since, 00:05:43.060 --> 00:05:45.879 like, I haven't played since, like, seventh, 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:48.920 whatever, the edition thing. Anyway, the idea 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:50.899 being, Jordy's gonna make me do this, fine, when 00:05:50.899 --> 00:05:52.920 you're playing, like, Final Fantasy and you choose 00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:54.759 this one little dot, then you can only go down 00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:58.160 the other further series. A bigger choice effectively 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:00.360 will then limit the following choices that you 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:03.019 can or will or should make to reflect the larger 00:06:03.019 --> 00:06:05.439 choice that you have made. This is what happens 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:07.079 when I go off script, Jordi immediately is like, 00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:13.699 no. The reality is that once you've made that 00:06:13.699 --> 00:06:15.959 one bigger choice, you are kind of forced to 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:17.740 make a series of other choices, or you should, 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:19.620 to follow that choice well, make another series 00:06:19.620 --> 00:06:21.779 of choices that reflect and honor that first 00:06:21.779 --> 00:06:25.050 choice. and the reality that every choice that 00:06:25.050 --> 00:06:28.910 we make is a decision not to choose something 00:06:28.910 --> 00:06:33.810 else. For example, if my choice, if my bigger 00:06:33.810 --> 00:06:37.389 circle that I simply chose was love, it's a really 00:06:37.389 --> 00:06:40.449 lovely choice, but I didn't choose love through 00:06:40.449 --> 00:06:43.449 the prism of love represented by marriage to 00:06:43.449 --> 00:06:48.800 and service of Chara. Amen. if it was just love, 00:06:48.899 --> 00:06:52.519 I wouldn't continue to make choices that act 00:06:52.519 --> 00:06:54.720 in response to the prism that I've chosen, which 00:06:54.720 --> 00:06:57.540 is love through the form of marrying Kara, of 00:06:57.540 --> 00:06:59.480 honouring Kara, of being married to her and serving 00:06:59.480 --> 00:07:04.000 her. If I simply chose this like bigger bubble 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:09.639 of faith, that in itself is not bad per se, like 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:12.720 that's okay. but it could be misconstrued to 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:14.600 mean a bunch of different things. It's kind of 00:07:14.600 --> 00:07:17.639 almost too big to make very specific decisions 00:07:17.639 --> 00:07:20.800 from there. But what I chose on the day that 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:23.560 I got baptized was faith through discipleship 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:28.069 under Jesus. Which then generates a much more 00:07:28.069 --> 00:07:30.470 specific set of choices with which to choose 00:07:30.470 --> 00:07:32.910 from. It generates a much more specific set of 00:07:32.910 --> 00:07:35.730 rules to follow which inevitably leads to a deeper 00:07:35.730 --> 00:07:38.089 relationship with Jesus and that's a stronger 00:07:38.089 --> 00:07:40.170 faith. So you see we go this big and then we 00:07:40.170 --> 00:07:42.189 kind of start to narrow it down. Our decisions 00:07:42.189 --> 00:07:44.709 kind of help to be shaped by that initial first 00:07:44.709 --> 00:07:47.370 decision that we make. Now I became a husband 00:07:47.370 --> 00:07:49.610 and a follower of Jesus based on a declaration 00:07:49.610 --> 00:07:54.360 of intention of my actions. I didn't become them 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:59.699 as a result of my actions. I wanted to make it 00:07:59.699 --> 00:08:02.540 clear that I was choosing in each of those circumstances 00:08:02.540 --> 00:08:06.259 to leave the person that I was behind in favor 00:08:06.259 --> 00:08:09.199 of a new identity with its own list of expectations 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:13.639 and choices within that. And as we come back 00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:15.959 to today's scripture, in the book of Joshua, 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:19.600 we can see exactly how powerful the choice of 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:22.180 a public and bold statement of intent can be. 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:24.579 You can see exactly how that will help to dictate 00:08:24.579 --> 00:08:26.779 what comes next. So Joshua, we'll get a little 00:08:26.779 --> 00:08:29.040 bit of background here. Joshua was Moses' chosen 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:31.399 man to lead the Israelites as they transitioned 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:35.299 from exiles to conquerors. But now Joshua is 00:08:35.299 --> 00:08:40.080 an old, old man. At least a few years older than 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:43.820 me. And in chapter 23, 14, we hear him tell the 00:08:43.820 --> 00:08:45.860 elders of Israel, like, now I am about to go 00:08:45.860 --> 00:08:48.379 the way of this earth. His knees and his ticker 00:08:48.379 --> 00:08:50.179 ain't what they used to be, and he knows that 00:08:50.179 --> 00:08:52.379 his earthly time is coming to a close, like it 00:08:52.379 --> 00:08:56.399 is coming. And as one of his final acts, he's 00:08:56.399 --> 00:08:58.500 assembled all of the leaders and elders of the 00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:01.039 tribes of Israel together for one last big public 00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:03.759 address. Now with a list of credentials like 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:05.620 Joshua has, you would be forgiven, and it would 00:09:05.620 --> 00:09:07.620 be tempting, I'm sure, to give yourself a little 00:09:07.620 --> 00:09:11.320 bit of shine on the way out. Make sure people 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:14.559 remember you. Make sure people remember what 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:17.919 it is that you have done. But Joshua doesn't 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:20.220 do this. He wants to use this final public address 00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:23.820 to remind, to affirm, to establish his intentions, 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:26.139 and with his final act to draw another line in 00:09:26.139 --> 00:09:29.580 the sand. And not only to draw another line in 00:09:29.580 --> 00:09:31.460 the sand, but he wants to invite others to do 00:09:31.460 --> 00:09:35.879 the same. Now he begins this address by listing 00:09:35.879 --> 00:09:38.759 out exactly what God has done to help bring everybody 00:09:38.759 --> 00:09:41.220 to here, to this moment. The enemies they had 00:09:41.220 --> 00:09:43.559 faced and defeated, and that with God's promise 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:45.799 and God's power, how Joshua had helped to lead 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:48.179 the Israelites to victory over the Amorites, 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:50.139 the Moabites, the Parasites, the Canaanites, 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:51.779 the Hittites, the Girgashites, and the Hivites. 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:55.639 He has, there has been this like long, long campaign 00:09:55.639 --> 00:09:58.759 of just victory after victory after victory. 00:10:00.659 --> 00:10:05.759 Joshua 24, 8. reaffirms it says, they fought 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:08.580 against you but I destroyed them before you. 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:11.960 I gave you victory over them. The idols that 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:14.960 their ancestors had served and the gods and the 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:17.220 idols of all of the nations they had defeated 00:10:17.220 --> 00:10:23.139 had served had all failed. God had succeeded 00:10:23.139 --> 00:10:26.200 and God had also fulfilled every promise he had 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:30.460 made up until that point. And at the end of this 00:10:30.460 --> 00:10:32.419 retelling, an affirmation of God's faithfulness, 00:10:32.620 --> 00:10:35.279 Joshua wants to offer his people, God's people, 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:37.700 an opportunity to reaffirm their covenant with 00:10:37.700 --> 00:10:39.580 God. Now we touched on this at the beginning 00:10:39.580 --> 00:10:42.059 of the year. A covenant is basically like a promise, 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:44.120 an affirmation of relationship between you and 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:46.179 God. So he's offering all the people there. He 00:10:46.179 --> 00:10:47.799 wants to remind them and give them the opportunity 00:10:47.799 --> 00:10:49.919 to kind of recommit to that covenant with God. 00:10:53.220 --> 00:10:55.220 What I love about this is that Joshua doesn't 00:10:55.220 --> 00:10:58.000 try to force anyone gathered to make that choice. 00:10:59.340 --> 00:11:02.059 But he is incredibly clear that there is a decision 00:11:02.059 --> 00:11:04.519 to be made. There is a choice that needs to be 00:11:04.519 --> 00:11:09.419 made. If you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose 00:11:09.419 --> 00:11:14.000 today whom you will serve. As for me and my family, 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:17.200 we will serve the Lord. This is Joshua's public 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:20.000 declaration of intent. This is an affirmation 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:23.240 of his choice. with all the power and with all 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:25.940 the influence that Joshua has, he uses his final 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:29.159 big public address to commit his family and those 00:11:29.159 --> 00:11:31.899 who are to come after him to a life of servitude 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:37.519 to God. Why? Like why would he take this big 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:40.159 momentous occasion and choose to commit to a 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:42.700 life of servitude, commit his family, his lineage 00:11:42.700 --> 00:11:46.700 to a life of servitude? And I think there's two 00:11:46.700 --> 00:11:49.240 main reasons that he comfortably places his and 00:11:49.240 --> 00:11:50.720 his family's intention toward that of serving 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:54.379 God. And why he wants to do it publicly. Why 00:11:54.379 --> 00:11:56.720 public? And I think the first reason is because 00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:59.720 Joshua wants to, again, reaffirm that this is 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:02.919 something that he is choosing. This has not been 00:12:02.919 --> 00:12:04.960 forced upon him by God or anybody else. This 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:07.039 is something that he wants to choose. He sees 00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:09.220 that much value in it that he is choosing it. 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:14.500 Read again. Choose whom you will serve. Joshua 00:12:14.500 --> 00:12:18.440 knows we are going to serve someone or we are 00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:23.730 going to serve something. Now in ancient Israel 00:12:23.730 --> 00:12:26.029 it was gods of conquered nations. It was idols 00:12:26.029 --> 00:12:28.769 of golden calves. Now in modern culture we've 00:12:28.769 --> 00:12:31.710 replaced golden calves with basically insert 00:12:31.710 --> 00:12:33.950 vice here, right? We've replaced it with money 00:12:33.950 --> 00:12:36.809 and fame and comfort and greed and self -satisfaction. 00:12:36.830 --> 00:12:39.669 The list goes on and on and on. We don't build 00:12:39.669 --> 00:12:42.370 golden calves anymore, but we certainly worship 00:12:42.370 --> 00:12:47.929 at the altar of them. Joshua knows, he doesn't 00:12:47.929 --> 00:12:50.730 mince words, we are all going to serve someone 00:12:50.730 --> 00:12:53.070 and if we don't choose who we serve, we will 00:12:53.070 --> 00:12:55.649 end up serving something regardless. And isn't 00:12:55.649 --> 00:12:58.370 it better to have a say? Isn't it better to make 00:12:58.370 --> 00:13:00.769 a choice rather than to just let it happen to 00:13:00.769 --> 00:13:05.649 you? Because if it's not God, if you're not going 00:13:05.649 --> 00:13:08.529 to serve God, then who are you going to serve? 00:13:11.610 --> 00:13:14.149 For many of us, and I see it, we all see it, 00:13:14.190 --> 00:13:16.009 Many of us are trying to turn our partners into 00:13:16.009 --> 00:13:18.269 that person who supports and affirms and sustains 00:13:18.269 --> 00:13:19.769 us. Like we're trying to turn them into this. 00:13:19.789 --> 00:13:23.409 They were trying to make a partner fill the place 00:13:23.409 --> 00:13:27.450 that God is meant to fill. And I gotta tell you 00:13:27.450 --> 00:13:30.250 man, they're simply not up to it. They weren't 00:13:30.250 --> 00:13:32.190 designed to, they weren't created to. That is 00:13:32.190 --> 00:13:39.889 not their purpose. And if we're not going to 00:13:39.889 --> 00:13:44.259 serve God, And if we accept that our partners 00:13:44.259 --> 00:13:47.259 aren't going to fill that gap, and that if our 00:13:47.259 --> 00:13:48.659 national identity, our jobs, our friendships, 00:13:48.779 --> 00:13:50.679 our bosses, our celebrities, all these different 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:52.460 idols that we've created in our lives are not 00:13:52.460 --> 00:13:55.019 going to fulfill that space in us, then kind 00:13:55.019 --> 00:13:57.559 of what I think tends to happen is that when 00:13:57.559 --> 00:13:59.500 you work it down the line, the person that we 00:13:59.500 --> 00:14:04.659 are left to serve instead is us. We end up serving 00:14:04.659 --> 00:14:07.820 ourselves. And I'll be honest, I don't actually 00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:10.139 think we're up to it either. I make horrible 00:14:10.139 --> 00:14:21.470 decisions. So do you. 2 Corinthians 3, 5 tells 00:14:21.470 --> 00:14:23.690 us that not that we are sufficient in ourselves 00:14:23.690 --> 00:14:25.730 to claim anything is coming from us, but our 00:14:25.730 --> 00:14:31.169 sufficiency is from God. Joshua is asking us 00:14:31.169 --> 00:14:34.269 and letting us know that he is choosing the one 00:14:34.269 --> 00:14:38.860 person who has never failed. the one person that 00:14:38.860 --> 00:14:40.820 had sustained the Israelites as they were in 00:14:40.820 --> 00:14:43.220 exile and as they conquered themselves. Joshua 00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:45.899 had no reason to believe that God wouldn't continue 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:48.139 to do so, and that's the very reason that Joshua 00:14:48.139 --> 00:14:50.259 wants to pledge a life of servitude for God for 00:14:50.259 --> 00:14:52.440 him and his house, because God, he's watched 00:14:52.440 --> 00:14:58.879 God already fulfill all these promises. God has 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:01.799 already taken them from slaves to rulers in a 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:09.320 generation. In Joshua 23, 15 we see not one of 00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:11.320 all the good promises the Lord your God gave 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:14.500 you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled, 00:15:14.700 --> 00:15:20.399 not one has failed. Joshua can safely commit 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:23.200 himself and his family to God and choose God 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:25.580 because it's not a punt, this is a safe bet. 00:15:29.179 --> 00:15:32.220 Joshua has already seen God fulfill these promises. 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:35.240 Joshua has already seen God do everything that 00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:38.820 he said he was going to do. And so had everybody 00:15:38.820 --> 00:15:42.340 else there that was gathered. So now Joshua, 00:15:42.379 --> 00:15:45.340 no doubt it seems pretty obvious to do this, 00:15:45.379 --> 00:15:47.639 to make this choice, to live a life in servitude 00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:51.139 of a God that just succeeds, that continues to 00:15:51.139 --> 00:15:54.220 succeed, continues to win. But as George Orwell 00:15:54.220 --> 00:15:57.580 once told us, restatement of the obvious is the 00:15:57.580 --> 00:16:04.659 first duty of intelligent men. Joshua has genuinely 00:16:04.659 --> 00:16:07.879 no idea what will follow here on earth, what 00:16:07.879 --> 00:16:12.179 the future will hold here on earth. But he was 00:16:12.179 --> 00:16:14.779 there when the Israelites were in exile. He saw 00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:17.820 the results of the people who knew God. but grew 00:16:17.820 --> 00:16:20.419 weary or tired when circumstances didn't suit 00:16:20.419 --> 00:16:23.360 them and forged idols from gold and he saw the 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:25.379 results of what happens when that happens and 00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:30.000 he saw what happens when those idols fail. Joshua 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:32.779 has seen it and has no desire to see it again. 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:38.460 Now he can't choose what will come next for everybody 00:16:38.460 --> 00:16:41.159 around him. He can't actually choose what will 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:43.980 happen for his family but he can absolutely choose 00:16:43.980 --> 00:16:50.679 and declare what his intention for them is. And 00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:52.980 He knows that He can make that choice. He knows 00:16:52.980 --> 00:16:55.840 that He can commit Himself to serving that God 00:16:55.840 --> 00:17:00.700 because that God has proven that it can be safely 00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:07.980 placed in Him. And that desire to serve God requires, 00:17:07.980 --> 00:17:09.559 like we were talking about before, this series 00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:11.960 of choices. It's not just like a one -off choice 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:15.200 to serve a God, to serve our God, but it is a 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:18.819 continual and regular choice as it requires intentionality. 00:17:20.840 --> 00:17:23.579 As Angus spoke about last week, we're so often, 00:17:23.779 --> 00:17:26.420 we as people are so often looking at what is 00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:31.160 directly in front of us. But Joshua is safely 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:37.119 placing his family and his servitude into a God 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:44.539 that has eternity in mind. What I love here is 00:17:44.539 --> 00:17:46.319 that Joshua doesn't force the Israelites what 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:49.359 to choose, he presents it to them. This is basically 00:17:49.359 --> 00:17:52.140 how you guys You guys do what you want to do. 00:17:53.339 --> 00:17:55.359 In the light of anything that can happen, you 00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:57.039 have no idea how this would be received and he's 00:17:57.039 --> 00:17:58.279 like, you know what, you guys do what you want 00:17:58.279 --> 00:17:59.779 to do. I don't actually care because this is 00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:02.259 where I'm going. This is what I'm doing. I'm 00:18:02.259 --> 00:18:05.359 confident in this. What I love this is because 00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:09.359 it mirrors, it mirrors exactly what God does 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:11.819 for us. Do you think God doesn't have an idea, 00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:13.599 doesn't have a plan for you, for me, for what 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:15.200 it is that we have in mind and what does He say 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:19.849 to us? He doesn't go, you must. We are presented 00:18:19.849 --> 00:18:24.990 with a choice daily, hourly, by the minute, for 00:18:24.990 --> 00:18:27.829 how we want to respond to that. Do we want to 00:18:27.829 --> 00:18:30.329 choose to serve that God or do we want to choose 00:18:30.329 --> 00:18:33.609 to serve something else? But it's a choice, never 00:18:33.609 --> 00:18:37.269 forced upon us. I think it's because God just 00:18:37.269 --> 00:18:41.190 loves us too much to choose for us. He allows 00:18:41.190 --> 00:18:43.190 us that autonomy because He loves us enough to 00:18:43.190 --> 00:18:48.400 allow us to be autonomous. God loves us endlessly 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:51.079 in our mistakes, in our uncertainty, in our sin. 00:18:53.460 --> 00:18:56.500 And there's that beautiful expression which is 00:18:56.500 --> 00:19:01.759 love preserves choice. We have the ability to 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:03.900 choose because we are loved enough to receive 00:19:03.900 --> 00:19:10.960 that gift. And again, I told us all off before 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:14.480 for being really bad at making choices. So I 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:16.180 thought I'd better try and give you guys some 00:19:16.180 --> 00:19:18.119 different ways to work at how we're making good 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:20.720 choices. Green light choices, what do we call 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:22.700 them in kids' minimum? Green light choices, I 00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:24.279 got the thumbs up from Emma. Or it could be a 00:19:24.279 --> 00:19:25.839 one again, I don't know, my vision's not going 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:28.220 so strong. So how do we ensure we are making 00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:30.359 good and faithful choices that honor and serve 00:19:30.359 --> 00:19:32.460 a loving God who permits us the right to choose? 00:19:32.500 --> 00:19:35.880 How do we repay that well? Just for something 00:19:35.880 --> 00:19:37.700 different and in counter handling, we are going 00:19:37.700 --> 00:19:41.890 to start with pray about it. And why do we always 00:19:41.890 --> 00:19:43.450 start with prayer? Because everything should 00:19:43.450 --> 00:19:45.589 start with prayer. Otherwise again, it's just 00:19:45.589 --> 00:19:48.150 us making our own decisions. We pray about it. 00:19:48.390 --> 00:19:50.769 We pray, we seek God's will for our life, for 00:19:50.769 --> 00:19:53.349 our family's life, and then we seek that out. 00:19:53.609 --> 00:19:58.990 We commit ourselves to pursuing that. And once 00:19:58.990 --> 00:20:01.190 we think we've heard from God, once we've got 00:20:01.190 --> 00:20:03.329 a vision of how we think that God may want to 00:20:03.329 --> 00:20:08.450 use our life, we need to establish our non -negotiables. 00:20:09.990 --> 00:20:12.190 Once we've made that big -picture decision, once 00:20:12.190 --> 00:20:14.430 we've got a big -picture vision in mind, remember 00:20:14.430 --> 00:20:16.369 we need to limit our choices to make sure we're 00:20:16.369 --> 00:20:18.970 honoring that vision. And those are what I call, 00:20:19.230 --> 00:20:21.089 these are, I've got so many textisms from the 00:20:21.089 --> 00:20:23.569 last couple of years, but non -negotiables, establishing 00:20:23.569 --> 00:20:25.329 non -negotiables is something that I talk about 00:20:25.329 --> 00:20:27.309 all the time. What are you not willing to commit 00:20:27.309 --> 00:20:29.509 to? In order for Joshua and his family and his 00:20:29.509 --> 00:20:31.890 lineage to serve the Lord, they are going to 00:20:31.890 --> 00:20:34.930 have to have a series of things that are in their 00:20:34.930 --> 00:20:37.569 family's life that are just completely non -negotiable. 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:44.619 Start by asking yourself this, and it sounds 00:20:44.619 --> 00:20:49.299 pretty heavy, but start by asking this. Is this 00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:51.539 choice consistent with God's vision for my life? 00:20:53.579 --> 00:20:57.539 Welcome to church. Sounds heavy and it should 00:20:57.539 --> 00:21:00.619 be, because that's really what we're pursuing. 00:21:01.880 --> 00:21:04.099 Important decisions normally are not easy decisions. 00:21:08.859 --> 00:21:12.569 Write them down. If you have things in your life 00:21:12.569 --> 00:21:14.430 that you are like, I will not stray from this 00:21:14.430 --> 00:21:16.130 because I know that it is bad for me, I know 00:21:16.130 --> 00:21:18.309 that it is not helpful to me, I know that it 00:21:18.309 --> 00:21:20.390 does not serve the goals that I want to achieve, 00:21:20.589 --> 00:21:26.589 write them down. The third thing I'd love you 00:21:26.589 --> 00:21:30.490 to do as you look to see if your choices are 00:21:30.490 --> 00:21:37.950 serving God is to identify your idols. Again, 00:21:38.529 --> 00:21:42.230 sounds pretty heavy. But idols are really just 00:21:42.230 --> 00:21:44.329 anything that you are putting ahead of your relationship 00:21:44.329 --> 00:21:51.750 with God I Would start with this if you're not 00:21:51.750 --> 00:21:53.890 sure how to work out like I don't have any idols 00:21:53.890 --> 00:21:59.150 I don't have a single golden calf at home You 00:21:59.150 --> 00:22:00.450 might just check in the back of the cupboard 00:22:00.450 --> 00:22:02.730 No, if you're not sure how to start with this 00:22:02.730 --> 00:22:06.210 do do what I call a personal audit I know some 00:22:06.210 --> 00:22:08.150 some spreadsheet nerd in the room is like yes 00:22:09.910 --> 00:22:12.450 Do a personal audit. Now when I say that, here's 00:22:12.450 --> 00:22:15.309 the two things I want you to ask yourself. Where 00:22:15.309 --> 00:22:17.470 does your time go and where does your money go? 00:22:20.869 --> 00:22:23.210 I promise if you ask yourself those two questions, 00:22:23.470 --> 00:22:26.809 you will likely find the biggest indicators you 00:22:26.809 --> 00:22:30.349 can find to look at and see what or whom you 00:22:30.349 --> 00:22:34.789 currently serve. Might have happened by accident. 00:22:35.450 --> 00:22:39.109 That's how these things tend to happen. And once 00:22:39.109 --> 00:22:41.410 you identify where your time and where your money 00:22:41.410 --> 00:22:46.009 go, I'll give you this little piece of extra 00:22:46.009 --> 00:22:53.349 advice. Any place you resist the hardest, they're 00:22:53.349 --> 00:22:55.210 likely the ones you need to evaluate the most. 00:22:59.609 --> 00:23:01.309 Now this one just kind of sounds fancy, but I'm 00:23:01.309 --> 00:23:04.049 gonna say it anyway. Let your intentions become 00:23:04.049 --> 00:23:09.529 a foundation for action. Once you've established 00:23:09.529 --> 00:23:12.190 what you believe it is that God, what God's will 00:23:12.190 --> 00:23:15.289 has for your life, once you've established what 00:23:15.289 --> 00:23:16.670 the non -negotiables are to achieve that and 00:23:16.670 --> 00:23:18.750 once you've identified the hurdles or the idols 00:23:18.750 --> 00:23:20.769 that are potentially in front of you to do that, 00:23:20.970 --> 00:23:23.710 now you want to use those to form a series of 00:23:23.710 --> 00:23:25.609 actions that you want to take to kind of realign 00:23:25.609 --> 00:23:27.210 with yourself with where you want to go. That 00:23:27.210 --> 00:23:29.910 point one is not by the way about just like, 00:23:29.930 --> 00:23:31.650 oh well, that'll do that and then we go on to 00:23:31.650 --> 00:23:33.750 everything else. Everything is designed to kind 00:23:33.750 --> 00:23:36.130 of funnel down that decision -making process 00:23:36.130 --> 00:23:39.589 to be like, is this suiting? the life that I 00:23:39.589 --> 00:23:41.890 want is this suiting the life of servitude that 00:23:41.890 --> 00:23:44.029 I want is this pushing towards where I believe 00:23:44.029 --> 00:23:50.450 God wants me to go. Use that to make changes 00:23:50.450 --> 00:23:56.170 that reflect the vision that you see. Because 00:23:56.170 --> 00:23:58.210 if I tell you I'm going to be a good husband 00:23:58.210 --> 00:24:01.430 and then I talk poorly about Kara behind her 00:24:01.430 --> 00:24:05.589 back when she's not around, am I upholding that 00:24:05.589 --> 00:24:09.579 intention? If I tell you that I've turned from 00:24:09.579 --> 00:24:12.039 sin, that I'm following Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:15.980 but I'm following Jesus, and my actions never 00:24:15.980 --> 00:24:18.740 change, and I remain the same person that I was, 00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:21.240 and I act in the same way that I always did, 00:24:21.660 --> 00:24:23.660 and my words and actions cause more hurt than 00:24:23.660 --> 00:24:26.140 they do grace, my words and my actions cause 00:24:26.140 --> 00:24:29.180 more division than they do, you know, just love, 00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:35.180 and am I upholding that intention? I'll give 00:24:35.180 --> 00:24:36.619 you the answer if you want, of course I'm not. 00:24:39.090 --> 00:24:42.349 Our intentions need to speak to our heart's desire 00:24:42.349 --> 00:24:47.890 and our choices need to reflect that. When Joshua 00:24:47.890 --> 00:24:50.009 declared, as for me and my household, we will 00:24:50.009 --> 00:24:52.890 serve the Lord, he was choosing obedience and 00:24:52.890 --> 00:24:55.329 he was choosing faith regardless of circumstance. 00:24:55.569 --> 00:24:58.569 He was committing to a life of choices that would 00:24:58.569 --> 00:25:01.869 reflect that desire, that would reflect that 00:25:01.869 --> 00:25:05.240 intentionality. Knowing that the only thing he 00:25:05.240 --> 00:25:07.799 actually had to be certain of in that time was 00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:12.779 the goodness of God. All he needed to know was 00:25:12.779 --> 00:25:15.460 that that would be enough, and that everything 00:25:15.460 --> 00:25:21.500 else would flow from there. I want to remind 00:25:21.500 --> 00:25:22.619 you, because I think it's really important that 00:25:22.619 --> 00:25:24.720 I say this at this stage, I'm going to start 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:26.619 coming to a close so Bandyou can come back up. 00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:29.940 Your faith, your relationship with Jesus, your 00:25:29.940 --> 00:25:33.380 very salvation is not based on your actions. 00:25:34.940 --> 00:25:38.359 We have been saved by grace, not deeds. So I 00:25:38.359 --> 00:25:41.380 just really want to reaffirm and make that super 00:25:41.380 --> 00:25:43.119 clear, because I know I've hit with some pretty 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:46.059 heavy stuff today. This isn't about that. This 00:25:46.059 --> 00:25:49.519 is about honouring and reflecting your intentionality, 00:25:49.940 --> 00:25:52.740 the path that you want for your life. Are you 00:25:52.740 --> 00:25:55.890 doing what is required? as servitude under God 00:25:55.890 --> 00:26:00.250 to do that. Because when I said before that Joshua 00:26:00.250 --> 00:26:01.910 all he needed to be certain of was the goodness 00:26:01.910 --> 00:26:05.829 of God, that really is all he needs. Good, the 00:26:05.829 --> 00:26:07.710 certainty, the goodness and the faithfulness 00:26:07.710 --> 00:26:10.410 of God is all we have to be sure of. We can be 00:26:10.410 --> 00:26:12.630 confident in our choice of servitude because 00:26:12.630 --> 00:26:15.470 we have a God that modeled this for us. We have 00:26:15.470 --> 00:26:18.769 a God that chose to send His Son Jesus to serve 00:26:18.769 --> 00:26:24.500 us. For even the Son of Man came not to be served 00:26:24.500 --> 00:26:27.039 but to serve and to give his life as a ransom 00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:34.259 for many." Mark 10 45. Jesus chose service with 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:38.019 a repeated and daily series of choices. Jesus 00:26:38.019 --> 00:26:41.809 chose to sacrifice comfort. Jesus chose to sacrifice 00:26:41.809 --> 00:26:44.410 earthly prestige, Jesus chose to sacrifice His 00:26:44.410 --> 00:26:46.910 own safety, all in the name of choosing to pay 00:26:46.910 --> 00:26:49.490 our debt to ensure that our covenant with God 00:26:49.490 --> 00:26:52.410 was secured forever through Him, the new covenant. 00:26:57.150 --> 00:26:59.950 Jesus became not just an example of unimaginable 00:26:59.950 --> 00:27:02.690 servitude, but in doing so became the very reason 00:27:02.690 --> 00:27:05.230 we can be confident now today in God's goodness. 00:27:08.400 --> 00:27:11.440 Because Jesus came to assure us and to show us 00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:13.740 that we can still be confident of God's fulfillment 00:27:13.740 --> 00:27:21.279 of His promises. Why we can be confident in a 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:29.799 decision to choose to serve God. Not just then, 00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:38.880 not just now, but into eternity. Because the 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:43.000 greatest act of love of all time was born out 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:47.900 of a choice to perform the greatest act of servitude 00:27:47.900 --> 00:27:56.039 of all time. An act of service that paved the 00:27:56.039 --> 00:28:02.180 way for the ultimate freedom. A freedom in which 00:28:02.180 --> 00:28:04.359 Jesus' life would be given as a ransom for us 00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:06.799 and for our sins as He was sacrificed on a cross, 00:28:06.900 --> 00:28:10.299 and in doing so that He not only chose to, but 00:28:10.299 --> 00:28:18.099 continues to choose us. His last earthly act 00:28:18.099 --> 00:28:24.740 in human form was a choice to serve. Serving 00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:35.750 God, serving humanity, Serving me and serving 00:28:35.750 --> 00:29:01.710 you. God bless you.