To Trust God (Joshua 1:1-9) [Sermon script]

To Trust God (Joshua 1:1-9) [Sermon script]

Given on 6/26/2011

I'll admit, I have been negligent in posting here, but i'm back for a bit with a little for you again :) I hope it is a blessing to you. I recently had the opportunity to give the sermon at my church, and I want to share it with those of you who are interested. Below is a link to the manuscript. Please keep in mind this is a manuscript and a rough one at that meant for me and my notes. It was not intended as a paper, so I have not refined it grammatically... Sorry for all my grammar Nazi friends.

Enjoy: To Trust God

6/29/11

For the King,

~Andrew Voigt

joshuaspromise.blogspot.com

Out of Sight, Out of Mind (Joshua 24:23)

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Joshua 24:23

"Then put away the foreign gods that are among you and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel."

(Joshua 24)This is near the end of the book of Joshua, where Joshua urges the Israelites to once again commit themselves to the LORD. God had just delivered them and shown His worth all throughout the book, and Israel acknowledges that and pledges their commitment and obedience to Him. After Joshua doubting their commitment and them reassuring him he urges them to set themselves up for success.

Joshua 24:21-23

²¹And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD." ²²Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses." ²³He said, "Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel."

As a part of obedience to God the Israelites were to remove the other Gods. In addition as part of the covenant commands from God, they are to put His name on everything (Deut. 6:4-9). There were even certain dress standards used for the same purpose (Deut. 22:12; Num 15:38-39)[I'm thinkin' WWJD bracelets :) ]. That purpose is to call us to and remind us of obedience.

Whether or not we are aware of it, what we see and are around every day effects what we do and think. Our surroundings promote and encourage what they are most closely associated with. Psychology calls this "triggers". If we are used to coming home and watching TV then when we walk in and see the television, there are psychological reactions that make us want to sit down and watch. Or another one is when you lie down on your bed to read, you quickly find yourself setting down the book for a nap. These are a couple examples of triggers and reactions.

In the Israelites case this is the purpose they are told to remove these gods, idols and trinkets included. It is not something that they were to let themselves get distracted with. How many times do we find ourselves sit down to a task and find ourselves distracted by something because we see it lying around and we think "I'll just be a minute" and end up neglecting our original task all together? If Facebook isn't your homepage, you won't go there half as much. If the ice cream is in the basement freezer, you may save yourself a couple of pounds. If we keep the Bible and journal on the nightstand or table it won't be so often neglected. What are you getting distracted by and how can you make it less distracting?

Believe it or not, God is in the know of how our minds work and were created. These commands were to help us serve Him. What if we set up our dorm/house/living room sothat when we walk in the first thing we see is a bookshelf instead of a TV? What if the TV is out of the way and hard to get to it? Look around and consider changes or additions that you should make to enable you to better live for Christ. This could mean changing a background or homepage, putting the TV in a back room or put some sticky notes with Scripture on them. I think it's an easy thing to overlook, but the environment we put ourselves in can either be an asset or a hindrance. Aim to keep triggers to bad habits, sin and distractions out of sight and out of mind.

3/29/11

For the King,

~Andrew Voigt

joshuaspromise.blogspot.com

Hypothetical life situation #1

Greetings all.

I was recently talking with some friends about various things, and one of them sprung a question. At first, I thought it would be a much simpler answer and conversation then it ended up being. I was taken off guard, because we ended with very different answers along with very different rationale. He brought up several very legit questions and points, and I became curious as to how other people would respond to this question. I put up two polls on the side of my page (joshuaspromise@blogspot.com), please answer both of then. For those of you who are willing, please take a moment to explain some/part of your rationale (including Scripture); I would highly appreciate it. The situation, dilemma and questions are as follows:

You are a father, and a man with a gun has broken into your house. He has grabbed your child and has put a gun to his head. In our hypothetical situation the only way you can save your child is by shooting and killing the man if you do not, he will kill your child. There are no other options either you kill him or your child dies. As a Christian, what would you do?

Now, even more hypothetical... If Jesus was the father (with all and no more abilities and resources that/than you have), would he kill the man about to kill his child?

The polls are on the right side of my blog page (joshuaspromise@blogspot.com). I would really like to hear what goes through some of your heads, please answer the polls (both of them, hit the 'next' button to get to the next) and comment below.

1/06/11

For the King,

~Andrew Voigt

joshuaspromise@blogspot.com