Are We Exclusively Devoted?
Who owns the world?
- Who owns everything in the world?
- Who owns mankind?
- Who owns you? &
- Who owns me?
Do we know His name?
- Do we use His words flippantly for our own good?
- Do we ever steal from the One who owns everything?
When confronted with our sinful actions or thoughts, do we own our sin or give an excuse (for it)?
Martin Luther once said: “A man steals when he takes advantage of his fellow man.”
EVERYTHING belongs to GOD!
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house;
(Exodus 20: 17 NASB)
you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife,
or his male slave,
or his female slave,
or his ox,
or his donkey,
or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
There is a remedy!
For our sin, God has provided a balm, a healing, a remedy.
Are we ready for the remedy?
It is this—Value Christ Jesus above Everything Else!
HE IS JUST BETTER!
- See it!
- Speak it!
- Believe it!
Are We Exclusively Devoted to the Lord?—OR—Do we just say we are?
There is a Biblical narrative that goes something like this:
God said to the leader of His people, (a paraphrase) “Do this, specifically as I have commanded, but do NOT do that, and when you do (this), then all will go well for you. HOWEVER, if you do not obey Me fully & completely, then I will bring punishment upon you & your whole household. The LORD is My name, and I have spoken. Take heed.”
Enter the leader of the people—Joshua.
See specifically what the LORD instructed Joshua to tell the people concerning the battle of Jericho.
See the formation—
- The armed men & then
- The seven priests with seven trumpets & then
- The Ark of the Covenant carried by other priests & then
- The rear guard & then
- The people of God.
See specifically how the LORD instructed Joshua. He was to say to the people of God—What to do! & What to not do!
“Then he said to the people, “Go forward & march around the city, and the armed men shall go on ahead of the ark of the LORD.” (Joshua 6: 7 NASB)
- Day 1: March 1x around the city & the seven priests blew the seven trumpets.
- Day 2: March 1x around the city & return to camp.
- Day 3: March 1x around the city & return to camp.
- Day 4: March 1x around the city & return to camp.
- Day 5: March 1x around the city & return to camp.
- Day 6: March 1x around the city & return to camp.
- Day 7: March 1x around the city & the seven priests blew the seven trumpets & the people of God “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city.” (Joshua 6: 16b NASB)
Are We Exclusively Devoted to the Lord?—Even when our actions look silly in the world’s eyes?
See specifically how the LORD instructed Joshua. He was to say to the people of God—What to do! & What to not do!
“But the city shall be designated for destruction, it and everything that is in it belongs to the LORD; only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.
(Joshua 6: 17-19 NASB)
But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things designated for destruction,
so that you do not covet them and take some of the designated things,
and turn the camp of Israel into something designated for destruction and bring disaster on it.
But all the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD;
they shall go into the treasure of the LORD.”
- We may know the rest of the story, of what the LORD instructed Joshua to lead the people to do concerning the battle of Jericho.
- We may know how the people obeyed the word of the LORD.
- We may know how on the seventh time when the people of God marched and shouted around the city, while the seven priests were blowing the seven trumpets—the walls of Jericho came tumbling down flat.
- We may know how the city was utterly destroyed & everything inside the city (people, things, animals—everything).
- We may know how Joshua brought out from the city walls: Rahab (the prostitute) and her entire family “and placed them outside the camp of Israel.” (Joshua 6: 23b NASB)
- We may know how the people of God burned the city of Jericho with fire, burning everything in the city (as the LORD commanded)—
“Only the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.” (Joshua 6: 24b NASB)
- We may know how Joshua spared: Rahab (the prostitute) and her entire family.
Are We Exclusively Devoted to the Lord—Even when our human nature speaks to our hearts and says, “It’s okay. The LORD did not mean ______________ when He said do not do this or that.”
- MAY WE REMEMBER—GOD KNOWS OUR HEARTS—HE CREATED THEM!
- We may be acquainted with Achan—“for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, [how Achan] took some of the designated things; therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.” (Joshua 7: 1b NASB)
Does the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY mean what HE says?
Does our HEAVENLY FATHER expect us to obey HIM completely?
Does the LORD punish His People when they disobey HIM?
- We may know the resolution of the narrative, how the entire tribe of Judah was brought forward, how one family was selected—man by man.
- We may know how the man Achan was confronted: What have you done?
“So Achan answered Joshua and said,
(Joshua 7: 20-21 NASB)
“Truly, I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I did:
when I saw among the spoils a beautiful robe from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I wanted them and took them;
and behold, they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
When confronted with our sinful actions or thoughts, do we own our sin or give an excuse (for it)? “A man steals when he takes advantage of his fellow man.” (Luther)
THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES FOR OUR DISOBEDIENCE TO THE LORD’S COMMANDS!
- We may know the rest of the biblical narrative, the way Joshua sent messengers to Achan’s tent & how they found Achan’s buried treasure.
- We may know how the messengers took Achan & his family from the tent and brought them before Joshua.
“Then Joshua, and all of Israel with him, took Achan, the son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor.
(Joshua 7: 24-26 NASB)
And Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster on us? The LORD will bring disaster on you this day.”
And all Israel stoned them with stones;
and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.
Then they erected over him a large heap of stones that stands to this day, and the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger.
Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day.”
[the valley of disaster]
EVERYTHING belongs to GOD—EVEN OUR HEARTS!
The desires of our hearts are evil whenever they go against the LORD’S commandments.
- Whatever we covet deep within our heart MORE THAN GOD—IS SIN!
- Whatever we bury deep within our heart, thinking that God does not know or see—IS SIN!
- When we sin, we are turning our backs on God & placing detestable things in the house (in the earthly tent) where God has placed His Holy Spirit!
Thank Goodness We Serve a Good, Good God Who Loves Us & Provides a Remedy for our Sin!
Here is our remedy—Value Christ above Everything Else!
HE IS JUST BETTER!
YES, OBEDIENCE TO JESUS CHRIST IS BETTER—THAN ANYTHING!
- See it!
- Speak it!
- Believe it!
ARE WE EXCLUSIVELY DEVOTED TO THE LORD?
—OR—
Do we just say we are?
GOD, MAY WE OBEY YOU & MAY WE OBEY YOUR COMMANDS TODAY!