I'd tell you what, I've never heard anybody clap for an offering before. You don't even clap if I say something good. Isn't that awesome how God works though? It's fun to give and to see what God does and that's not why we do it but it is amazing what God gives back.
How God blesses us. I may not be financially maybe in other ways but we're fun. In two weeks you're going to get to your cadence. You thought he was preaching this morning the way he did offering but two weeks he's going to preach so you don't want to miss that Sunday morning.
Hey a couple things this one make you aware we're doing something new. I know that we have so many new people walking through our doors every week. We're trying to figure out how do we get people to connect and do some things. We've got a thing we're starting called social nights.
It's just a chance to say I want to get to know some people in the church and be at some people's houses and we're just going to say hey there's 20, 20 year olds or 25, 20 to 25. We're going to put them at a house and there's 10 people that are married and they're just all about the same age. They just connect some people and maybe some of us that are a little older in life. You need to nod.
He's like yeah that's you. You don't point fingers at me. We want to talk to him. March 27th we're going to do a men's thing that night and we're trying to connect some people.
We're going to try to do that here every few months or weeks or whatever. However it works out and so if you want to be a part make sure you sign up for that. We had a couple people in the room this morning. We're a thing called yes they call fine arts.
We don't have that as a chance for kids to use their skills or abilities, other talents or preaching. If you're doing a five minute sermon and they kind of judge you and then you can sing and play a band and do all this stuff. We have two people that made it on to a national competition. Is Lucille in the room?
Is she here somewhere? Leah? Anybody? Oh yeah she's back here.
We need prayer. Right? All that's going on. We just, I don't care what side of the aisle you're on.
We need prayer. It doesn't matter. Our country's in the middle of it. We just need God's hand and protection and guidance.
But that's a pray for those that are in authority. We're going to do that right now. Lord I just pray. We pray as a church for our nation.
What a great nation we live in. We pray for God. All those making decisions. God you give them wisdom, understanding.
God we pray for our nation. God we pray that you would protect us here on the home front. In this area. God we also pray for the civilians and all the other countries around the world.
They're just being affected by what's going on. We pray God your blessing. We pray your protection. We pray God that you would cover everything that's going on in our world right now.
We just are asking for direction and wisdom that would be so evident. Everyone involved, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
We are just doing a ton of my message morning to protect the house. Protect the house. We've got any people that play any sports. Back in the day.
One thing you want to do is you want to protect the rim. You want to play basketball. You want to protect the rim. You want to protect the rim.
You want to protect the rim. You want to protect the front of the net. How many of you want to stay in this? This has been a couple of games too.
Both championship games went to overtime. Pretty awesome. But I will say protect the house. Protect the front.
You want to have ring doorbells. You can see someone walk by. You can think of somebody drove by. You can think of somebody who thought about your house.
You know they are thinking about you. They are like, you know they pop up on your phone. They are like, yeah they just thought about coming to my house. You can see us.
The one thing we do is we protect our house. We protect our house. We lock our doors. We do things that try to be safe.
I can remember when I was in college. I lived downtown in the area that wasn't super nice. I will just say that. You know people, you know, they try to kill somebody at the bus station right outside of my apartment.
So it wasn't the greatest spot in the world to live. But we lived at this apartment complex. You had to come up and ring the buzzer and it opens the door to the outside. If someone answers.
Well, the door didn't latch. Anybody who is walking out the door walk in. My apartment was like 10 feet inside the door to your right. I was like we didn't even lock our doors.
I didn't have a key to my room. We didn't even walk to anything. We didn't even walk to anything. We didn't go to bed.
We didn't lock our door. I was like, I get older. We want to protect. We want to protect.
We want to protect. You are going to your house. It is all on. You got cameras at the beginning of your driveway.
You got to know if people are coming in. I'm not saying that's right. I think that's awesome. We want to protect our places.
Sometimes we are worried about our material processions. We are protecting our spiritual house. The spiritual well-being of your family. Are you protecting your house?
What your decisions are spiritually? Where you are going spiritually? This morning I want to talk about that. Protecting the house.
We will go to Joshua 24. We have your Bibles. Verse 11 through 15 this morning. Then you went over to Jordan and came to Jericho.
The man of Jericho fought against you. Also the Amorites. The Canaanites. The Hittites.
The Gergesites. They didn't have any options for names. They didn't put theites on the very end of them. Why are we calling everybody theites?
We are the Colespringites. We have the Painsvilleites. We have the Kimbalites. We have the King Valleyites.
We have the St. Cloudites. It would be weird. Aren't you glad we don't do that?
Anybody? A few of us. I delivered them in your hand. I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you.
Also the two kings of the Amorites. But not with your sword or with your bow. I have given you a land for which you did not labor and cities which you did not build and you dwell in them. The vineyards and all of those which you did not plant.
Therefore fear the Lord. Serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods which are fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord.
It seems evil for you to serve the Lord. Choose for yourself this day whom you will serve. With your father served on the other side of the river and the land you will dwell. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.
Let me give you a little historical context in Joshua 24. This is taking place in a village known as Shechem. I would love to be in that town. Shechem.
I am going to check him. I am going to check him into the boards. This place had historical value during Israel's conquest of the Promised Land. What is important is that Israelites had already taken the occupation of the Promised Land.
They are already in. Joshua knowing his days on earth are numbered. He is coming to an end. He is going to die.
What do you do? He assembles all of the tribes of Israel. One last time he gives them final thoughts or a final message. Maybe you have been around it.
You know some of your families are going to die and bring everybody together. He is telling the whole nation. He is telling the whole nation. He is telling the whole nation.
He is telling the whole nation. One message I want to preach. I am not going to play any games. I am going to address what is important and urgent message that you could possibly convey.
We are seeing in Joshua 24. This morning we are going to walk through those verses. Point number one, if you are taking notes at one point says you did not do it. Point number one is you did not do it.
In verse 11 Joshua begins his address to the tribes of Israel. He challenges Israel to count their blessings. As time goes by it is easy to forget and lose sight of all the God has done for you. Isn't it?
We have been in this a long time. We forget all the times that God has provided. That is why I love it. When Kade and this morning I remember when God challenged me and asked me again to do something and remember all of the moments, it is so easy as we get to forget.
All of the times that God showed up and did something amazing in your life. When you first gave your heart and heart and heart and heart and you were aware of what we have done. And we get to lose sight of what God has done in his faithless. What Joshua is doing is trying to remind the people of the faithless of God.
He is reminding them that is God who delivered their ancestors out of 400 years of slavery. You have oppression through the Red Sea. You have to cross the Red Sea to get to drive. Not only delivered them but sustain them in the wilderness and brought you safely through the wilderness by providing man early morning and taking care of every need you had.
When you ride to the searching banks of the Jordan, getting ready to cross the problems and rivers at flood stage, came in a way where there seemed to be no way. When the high priest were carrying the ark and they stepped into the Jordan river, it says that the water was pushed back. I think it is really interesting. They crossed over on dry ground.
They took over occupation of the promised land. He made a way but not only delivered them from Egypt but when they faced four or five walls of Jericho and marching around seven times and screaming, it was actually God that brought the walls down. He is reminding them of all of this stuff. He is reminding them that he drove on the king.
He is attacking them. That was funny. Okay. Not by their hand.
Not by my power but by my spirit says the Lord. This morning I just want for a moment to remind you of God's faithfulness. I want to remind you to count your blessings. Don't you allow your life to be so distracted that you lose sight of all that God has done for you.
The reality is that we live in a world that is obsessed with what is next or what is new. We have sex with our next car, the next house, the next race, the next promotion. We become so fixed in the future that we aren't grateful for the present. Same will do one of two things in your life.
We have to remind you of your past or get you focused on the future that you missed the present. He will do whatever he can to rob you of what is going on in the present. But in the reality of the present is all you really have. You can't do anything about the past and don't have a whole lot of control of the future.
What you have is right today. You have this moment. So let's pause. Let's be grateful.
Let's just for a moment reflect on how God has been faithful to you. Look 17. Jesus, the 10 lepers. You heard me preach even on the weekend this last year.
Jesus sends the 10 lepers off and they are walking off and going on their way and going to show yourself the priest. They are still sick and God heals all ten of them on their way. Now they get to go back to work. They get to do all this stuff.
Only one of them comes back to thank God for what he has done. Let's be grateful for all that God has done. So many times we come looking for another touch from God and we miss out on remembering to be thankful. So God we thank you this morning for your provision.
We thank you for meeting me. We thank you for showing up time and time again. We thank you for being faithful even in the times when I wasn't faithful. Everybody have those moments.
Thank you for giving me health. You don't ever appreciate health until you get sick. Anybody know what I am talking about? I am not worried about the time you come down with the cold.
How many of you are your spouse, your husband, the significant other. When they get sick and they have the throw ups or whatever, they think their world is ending. They raise their hand point at them. God why me?
You have been sick for three days. Shut up. You are getting better tomorrow. God is so terrible.
That's what we do so many times. Let's thank God in the good times. We thank you for the place you have to live. We thank you for all that God has brought you through.
Thank God for your family. Don't complain about what you don't have. Be grateful what you do have. Joshua tells him that though it is in your hands you had nothing to do with it.
What you have right now. Every blessing you have is because of what God did not what you did in this moment. He is walking through. You didn't get this because of your sword or bow.
You didn't deserve this or earn it. I gave it to you. I sent the horn before you. It drove them out before you.
Also the two kings of the Amorites but not with your sword or bow. I did this. I brought you out. I think when we look at verse 12 or two different opinions of what happened.
The first thing that got in actual hornets. How many of the hornets came through? You are out of here. Sarah where you are.
I know you. Sarah Kern. You are running as fast as you can. You see the hornets and the bees.
You are running as fast as you can. You see the hornets and the bees. The bee killing it. With the suggest some people die at the start.
Besides that. That is one opinion that that happened. The other side was that it drove them out through panic and fear. Either way it was God delivered them and delivered Israel and it had delivered you as well.
I want you to realize every blessing in your life came from God. One of you said every blessing. Do you know how hard I work for what I have? You have.
But still you are only here because God put breath in your lungs. God gave you the skill set to do it. You only hear because God let your heart beat another beat this morning. So many times I went to school, I bled, I've sweated, I put my time in, all the stuff I've accumulated is mine.
It's like the cadence of this morning, it's not hard, it's really God's anyway. What's the thing about first thing? God is the one that gave you breath. Verse 23, I have given you land which you not labor, the season which you not build, and you dwell in them, and you eat of the vineyards and all of the groves which you did not plant.
You occupy land you didn't even have to work for. Some of you, you've taken over your parents business, you didn't have to do anything. And that was successful. And you're sitting alone, I'm doing all I'm doing.
No, no, you made a couple of decisions, but you walked into something that's pretty awesome. Some of us, the things that we have in the stuff that's gone, I look at the church here, man, I walked into a pretty amazing thing when I came here. This isn't anything, I built, I'm working on the glory of an awesome thing that Danny and Cheryl did for years and all the people, I get to receive that. It's so much, that's what we get to do.
We walk into something, we were living houses, you didn't build, you didn't build, you're eating the orchids that you didn't plant. It's all by God's grace, God has given them. He's reminding them to try to do it. Don't get so cumble of that, that you forget it was God that you didn't serve.
Grace means I don't receive what I could not earn. Grace means I do receive what I couldn't earn it deserve. Mercy is like, man, I shouldn't up it to help but God's mercy, I get there. I get to heaven because He saved me.
Grace is all of these other things, all these other things I didn't deserve. God's grace isn't given you because of the way we perform or how righteous we are and the decision we make and reciprocity of God's grace is unmerited favor. Do you realize God's given you grace in the favor that you don't deserve, you couldn't earn it? God's grace is predicated on His character, His nature, who He is not, what you can do.
Christ's scripture actually tells us that that we received His grace while we were still sinners or unworthy or unrighteous or undeserving. We got His grace, we received that. Grace is unmerited while we were still sinners, He loved us, He died for us. His grace is love is not predicated on me being lovable and redeemable, it's His nature.
God saw you at your worst and still gave you His best. And His favor, His mercy, His love. When you understand that it takes your worship to another level, I was a sinner destined to hell, but yet God saved me, He rescued me. It wants me to worship God in a whole nother realm.
When you really understand that you can't help but worship Him and live for Him. I wish you could get it this morning that you'd receive what you received, you didn't deserve. You loved me when I was, He loved me when I was unlovable. We deserved wrath, judgment of hell, yet He gave me mercy, grace.
He said, I ever thought about verse 13 that way, I've given you the land for which you did not labor, since you're not built, you're dwelling them, you eat of the vineyards and all of the groves and you're not part. This is all just God what heaven is like in our stuff. I love this thought, just walk with me through it just for a moment. Joshua reminds the 12 tribes that He delivered you.
He made a way when there seemed to be no way. You were held captive and enslaved in Egypt, but God rose up to deliver, not named Moses, but Jesus, who led you out of captivity, the things you were bound to through the Red Sea, kind of like through, and it says through the water through baptism, right? He provided for you in the Christian journey through your wilderness moments and those times, He made a way for you to cross the Jordan River. He pushed back the waters that were at flood level, all the way to where, to Adam.
Isn't that interesting? When Jesus came, He pushed all of the sin back, all the way to Adam to bring life, to bring hope, to bring from God made a way, yet there seemed to be no way. He's written out every enemy that would try to occupy your promise and your provision. He's given you this land and you couldn't earn it by sword or by your power.
He's going to give you a house that you did not build. What do I mean? He went to prepare a place for you in heaven that you didn't build, that you didn't build, and you're gonna get to enjoy that. When you think about how this story, parallels where we're going and what's going on our life.
Heaven, you don't deserve it. You can't earn it. It's not by your mind or by power that you're gonna get there. Script out that Jesus got in a very place for us that we will dwell in a mansion, that we didn't build and eat food, that we didn't plant.
Isn't that pretty awesome? What He's doing for us? You see it unfold even in the Old Testament, telling the story of what's the come for us as believers. Point number two is get rid of the other gods.
Now therefore, verse 14, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and the truth and put away the gods that put your Father, serve on the other side of the river in an Egypt, serve the Lord. It says at the beginning of verse 14, let's say that we have to fear the Lord. Let me ask you if you fear God. Do you have a fear of God at all?
Do you have a fear of the Lord, the sad reality? I think of Western Christianity's that we fear man more than we fear God. We're so afraid of what someone else might think or what else might happen that we have really very little fear of God. We are so careful to not offend anybody, especially in today's world.
We think, okay man, how shall I respond? What do I say? Let's go do an extension and I think we should do that, but we think nothing of offending God. We should think through that.
But we go through life and we think nothing of breaking God's promise. We think our breaking sin against it. We think nothing, we don't care how we treat things but we think nothing of, we just go about our life, we live our life, we don't even care, we offend God. We're more without offending people than God.
I just hope you wish we live with a fear of God in today's world. Just look at how we live, we can tell America has no fear of God. I pray we get to that point where we fear God way more than man's opinions. You won't please both God and man.
You're going to have to make a choice. Who's going to win the battle inside of you? Proverbs 9, 10 says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Now listen, when we're talking about the fear of God, I'm not saying that you should walk around terrified of God.
That's not what I'm saying. I made a mistake and I was going to hit me over the head with a sledgehammer because of all the things I've done wrong. It's not, it's like that. God is only looking for my problems when I make a mistake and we see him, he's going to obliterate me.
That's not what he does. We shouldn't be terrified of our Heavenly Father. But there should be a holy awe in reverence for him. Guys remember the day, I remember my dad.
I was not afraid of my dad but there was moments, I know this is where maybe some of you don't even know what it is. Spankings, I wasn't afraid of my dad but you know what, there's a holy reverence on that. There were times he was going to spank but that didn't mean I was afraid of him. I had this reverence, I just don't want to bother.
I don't want to hurt my dad, I want to hurt my mom. But yet I don't want to do anything that's against God's law. I don't want to do anything against what God wants me to live. There's reverence and fear that I'm not saying, I'm not going to come down and obliterate me but there's not going to be at some point of reverence for like, okay God, I'm trusting you.
I'm giving this thing to you. There should be a holy reverence, a holy respect, an adoration of God, his glorious power. Matthew 10, 28 says this, and do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body and hell. That's who we should fear.
There should be a little bit of a reverence. It also says in Philippians, chapter two verse 12, I'll therefore my dear friends, as you have always obey not only in my presence but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. There's this moment of it's going, God, when I'm walking through the way I'm living my life, there's got to be just a moment of like, okay, am I living the way God wants me to? There's a little bit of fear and trembling, I want to make the right choice, I want to do it.
Now there's, we can't just go through the motions of a casual Christian. We can't just show up here, it's great, I show up on a Sunday, but not live it out Monday. Not live it out Friday night, not live it out on the week. We have to do it, it's not just this casual thing.
I'm like, oh, that's great, I'm here, I made it to church, great, good for you, I'm glad you're here, but it has to become more than just a casual thing. There's a fear and trembling that goes with the way we live our life. It's not going to work that way, make up your mind who's the Lord, and if he is God, serve him. If Baal is God, it says, then serve him, but he is wanting you to be all in, I love Mark 12, 30.
Love the Lord your God with what? Part of your heart, no, all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind, all of your strength. As we read earlier, all wisdom begins with fear in the Lord. Here's what the fear of God should do.
Fear of God should produce obedience to the life of a Christian. Fear of God should produce eternal perspective in your life. Fear of God makes me number my days. The word says, Lord, teach me to number my days so that it may go well with me.
If we're going to die, think about it, we are going to die, every one of us, think about it every day. So it makes you understand how you should live. What's really important, what really matters. We should live with eternity in our minds, so when it's all over, we will hear well done and like good and faithful, serve it.
But if you live for the moment or live by emotions, your feelings, your impulses, what culture says, you'll want to look back at your life and wish that you could take it all back. The holy respect or awe of God, fear of God, should produce obedience to the way God's word is asking you to live. You're not with my flesh desires or what I feel, but God I long to serve you. The fear of God will also produce humility in the life of a believer.
When we understand who he is, we rightfully understand who we are, that we are finite. He is infinite, that we are limited. He has no limits. The fear of God and your life should cause you to want to avoid sin, that you would hate sin and love God, that you would die to yourself every day and be alive to God.
We need to walk in the fear of God people. He then goes on to not only say not only should we fear God, but we should put away the gods of our fathers. When Joshua says that he means two things, number one, put away the false religion of our father, leave it back in Egypt. The other thing he means is to put away the idols that your father bowed down to.
Just because someone was born into it, I'll just say this, just because someone was born into another religion, another part of the world doesn't mean it's right. Don't serve the false religions, it says of your fathers. Jesus is the only way to heaven. There aren't a bunch of options here.
There's only one way in his name is Jesus. It's one that you know, everybody doesn't make it to heaven. Everybody doesn't get there. We live in a culture, I think, where we think everybody in America is just going to heaven.
Sorry, wrong. We're not going to get there. The only way is through Jesus. So because you go to church, just because you show up this morning doesn't mean you're going to heaven.
Doesn't mean you're in. Other religions don't get you there. Just by showing up at church doesn't get you there. They aren't serving, others aren't serving the same God as we are.
The Bible is offensive. But the Bible is very clear that there's one way to the Father and it's only through Jesus. Acts 4, 12, salvation is found in no one else. For there's no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Think about this in the garden of the guest 70. Jesus says this going a little further. He fell on his face with his face in the ground and prayed, my father, if it's possible. If there's any other way to get to heaven, if there's any other way to do this, may this cup be taken from me, yet not I will, but your will.
In other words, Father, any other is saved. Fall in humanity, let this pass from me. There's another way to do it. Then let me out of here because I don't want to go to the cross for these people.
If the law could save them, then let it save them. If another faith or religion could save them, then let it save them. If works can save them, then let me out of here. If they could just buy their way in, then let me do it.
If there's any other way God, and he says, no, there's no other way. If they're Jesus. So over 2,000 years ago on a hill called Calvary, Jesus, bled and died, nails pierced his hands and feet. He was beaten beyond recognition because there's only one way to the Father and it's through Jesus.
Listen, no one else bled for you, no one else paid for your sin, no one else carried your transgression, no one else took on the wrath of God in your place, nobody but Jesus. See if something is 100% true than everything else that contradicts it is false. All religions can't be true if they contradict each other. If something is true, then everything else doesn't work and everyone in the world is betting with their life on what they believe.
They're betting with their life. Don't know how cultured a control your view of who Jesus is. Josh and all he occurs, I'm gonna turn away from false religion, but he also occurs a way to put away their father's idols. I wanna tell you this morning, just because your father doesn't mean you have to be.
Just because your father was an addict, doesn't mean you have to be. Just because your father had to have an image, doesn't mean you have to carry an image. Just because your father was unfaithful, doesn't mean you have to be unfaithful. Josh was reporting to the people, don't bow to the idols of this world.
You don't have to follow the mistakes that your dad made or someone else in your life learned from him. Parents, I wanna tell you this, parents, this is so huge. Parents, if you won't kill the giants in your life, your children will face them. If you won't kill the giants in your life, your children will face them.
You say what do you mean? David killed the giant of Goliath on the battlefield, but he refused to kill the giant of lust in his life, and we see it play out in his children. You can kill the giant of the battlefield, but will you have the courage to face the idol of lust, pornography, of addiction, of alcoholism, of lying, of gossiping, we keep going down the list. But if you don't kill it, your children will face it.
Remember David, remember his sons, you remember Amnon. He wrestled with the same struggle that David did, but it only became a bigger problem for him. He raped his own sister. Do you remember Solomon?
He had a thousand wives in Kanki. My wife David would handle it differently. Solomon doesn't act the way he does. Do you know that what happened to Solomon's a thousand wives later in life, they led him away from the one you got?
So what you don't face your children will, confess them repent of them, repent of them, repent of them, they didn't talk about enough these days. Repent means to turn away, to run away, to get as far away from the sin that's in your life. See if I saw the car this morning, and here's how we treat this so often in our lives, if I saw the car this morning, I said, I'm really sorry, I don't get to keep the car. They take the car.
But yes, so many of us, when it comes to sin, what we do is we say, God, I'm so sorry, but I still choose to live in the sin. No, it says repent, turn away, run away, get as far away, go a completely opposite direction of the sin that's in your life. Leave the sin, don't go back. Like God said, you're free, find communion, that'll help you, keep you from it.
Deliverance, freedom, recovery doesn't happen in isolation. That's how we started the group that we have, that means on Monday night, celebrate recovery, because we understand that. Sin begins to lose its power, it's to lose its power the moment you confess, sin grows in the dark, but it dies when it is exposed. Don't bow to the idols of your fathers or anyone else.
Let them die with you. Listen, we have to come to the point where we quit blaming someone else for our sin and take responsibility for our actions. So all of this, still have to seek, still gonna kill them himself. Amnon still could have killed it himself.
But go back to what my dad's fault, you know what, figure it out for yourself. You can't blame your dad for the rest of your life. Can't blame your mom, you can't blame your mom, you can't blame someone, you'd make a decision on who you're gonna serve. Choose you this day, who you serve.
It's not your dad's fault, you struggle. God told you not to bow to the idols of your fathers, it's your choice. If he didn't kill it, it's up to you. Don't walk around acting like you're the victim all the time.
The idols of your father won't help you, they'll only destroy you. Third last point, super quick, choose who you are going to serve. Everybody serves a God who worships something. The earth was created for his worship and his glory.
You were made to worship, everybody in the world serves a God, but is it the God? Today, people serve the God as sex, pleasure, pornography, money, education, fame. We all have idols that we have erected in our life, things that we love more than the creator himself. You know the biggest idol world that they know is self.
You ever think about that? It was back in the day that it's today. We want what pleases us. If it feels good to me, if it's what's gonna make me better.
The King Nebuchadnezzar back in Shadrach, and I'm back in Shadrach, and I'm ready to go. They're getting ready to see. He built this statue 60 feet tall. Everybody's gonna bow down to an image of me.
It's no different today. It's what we bow down to every day, our feelings. What we feel like, our emotions, what's going on in our life. No one we worship and try to please more than ourself.
In idols, anything you love more than God. There are many people in hell right now who love God just more than they love the world. Some of you love God a little more. You love my Sundays, my other time of the week.
Some of you love part of God, possible to love parts of God, but not all of them. I just love your God with all your heart, my soul and strength. You wanna know if you have, and I don't ask yourself these questions. What do I spend my time?
What do I spend my money? Now look at your checkbook. What would it show me that you spend your, that's the thing that you idolized? What do I think of all the time?
What's always on my mind? Another way to get rich, another way to do that. What's your Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, all algorithm look like in your life? See Jesus came to bring life.
Just ask for me and my house, we're gonna serve the Lord. Our, my question this morning is, are you gonna protect that house, that decision? Are you gonna protect your house and your family, husbands, fathers, you have more influence than you could imagine with your home? Joshua took responsibility for his family, and will you do the same today?
Ladies, will you decide today who you're gonna serve? Kids, will you make that declaration this morning? Teenagers, if you're in the room, will you say, today is my day, I'm choosing today is the day that I'm served. I choose today is the day I'm gonna serve the Lord.
Somebody set the center for your house, we'll just stand with you this morning. Cross this room this morning. I don't know what's going on in your life. I don't know where you're at, but you know we protect everything else so many times, way more than we protect our relationship with God.
We protect all of the other stuff, we protect people, we just protect our stuff, our things, our physical house, but yeah, when's the last time you was a dad? When's the last time you was a mom? When's the last time you was a teen, or say, you know what, today I'm choosing today to serve the Lord. Not all the other stuff, I'm not going back to the idols, I'm not going back to the other gods, I'm not going back to the other stuff.
I'm remembering today what God's giving me, what God has for me, that today I'm just making a choice to say, as for me and my house, come on, as for me and my house, we're serving Lord, as for me and this church, we're serving Jesus, there's nobody else, there's nothing else. And so this morning I'm not going to have your hands, I'm not going to have your clothes, your eyes, I'm just going to say, as the team begins to sing this morning, if you're making that statement today, what I'm asking you is just getting out of your chin, hey, as for me, maybe I'm thinking, there's a thing I got to lay down some idols, some things I might like, maybe just a moment, you're saying, God, I just want to be thankful for all that you've done, but today I'm making a decision again, I'm coming again to say, as for me and my house, we are going to serve the Lord, come on, as they say, let's go this morning. I will put my trust in you alone, and I will not be shaken, I will build my life upon your love, it is a profound issue. Come on, come on, this morning.
Come on, would you make that declaration before the Lord? Come on, get out of your chair, come on, alter. Say, God, here it is, we're making that declaration today. That's what we're going to serve, that there's nobody else, there's nothing else that's going to win over in my life, there's nothing else that's going to have favor, there's nothing else that's going to take what God is rightfully yours.
Come on, husbands, take your life's hands, say, we're making the decision as a family, things are turning the other direction, if you're a teenager or the river, a culture is it, this is where I'm going this morning, I'm going after God, I'm not going after something else, I'm going after God, he is the thing that I want, he is the thing that I desire, there's nothing else that's going on. I'd like you to pair with your eyes, you all be set, my eyes in wonder, show me who you are and fill me with your heart and leave me in your love to those around me, holy, there is no one like you, there is none beside you, open up my eyes in wonder, show me who you are and fill me with your heart and leave me in your love to those around me and I will build my life upon your love is it, Come on, make that your declaration this morning, come on, we're building on him this morning, we're building our house on him on his foundation, not any other foundation, God, we give it to you this morning, we turn to you this morning, is a profound, you don't ask just one more question this morning, maybe some of you this morning you walked into this service and you've never given your life to Jesus or maybe you did at one point, but you walked away from it and you're in the room today and you say, I've never really given God a chance or maybe I did at one point, but I'm not living for it, there's only one way to heaven is through Jesus, it's the only way, I wish there was, I can say there's a bunch of other ways, there's not, there's one, and you can find that way today, he's in the room, he sees you, he knows who you are, he knows what's going on in your life, and he came and he died on a cross for your sins, and for mine, and you're in the room today, you say, you know what, that's me, I've never given my life to look, God, or I did, I won't point, but I walked away, you just maybe just put your hand up, I wanna pray with you, just right where you're at, this morning you say this to me, anybody else, anybody else, anyone else this morning, let me just pray over you, Lord, as a church we make a declaration, God, whether we're at an altar this morning or whether we're in our chair, God, we make a declaration to say, as for me and my house, we're gonna serve the Lord, hear the answer, God, there's no other way, there's no other way to do it, so God did this morning, some, we laid down some idols, we laid out some other religions, we laid down some other options, maybe we've been looking at it today, we turn to you and say, God, you're the answer, you are what I want more than anything else, God, I want your presence in my life, I want your hand on my life, God, I wanna know you, so God, we love you today, we wanna love you with every part of us today, so God help us to do that, teach us how to do that for those this morning, that are in this room that are saying, God, I've never given you my life, but today I am, maybe they walked away, won't put them in, God, they raised their hands, God, I want you, Jesus, I want what you did at the cross, the matter in my life, and so God, I just pray that you would come, you said you came for sinners like me, God, like them this morning and you rescued them, you brought them out of that, you took their place, you carried their sin to the cross, God, that was the only way it could be done, and you did it, and so God, we asked you, help us now, to serve you and to live for you, God, we want all that you have, and so God, I just pray your presence on this room, you know, let us this church be a church, it just says God, ask for me in my house, every single day, we're gonna serve the Lord, we pray in Jesus name, in Jesus name, amen, if you wanna keep the same at the altar, go ahead, they'll play for a little bit longer, we'll pray that you need it, otherwise, thanks for coming, and being apart, we'll see you.