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CHOICES

[Scripture passages: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14 -18 Ephesians 6:10-20 St. John 6:56 -69]

Moheb Ghali

August 23, 2009

What I hope to do this morning are three things:

• Talk about the three passages we read from Joshua, John and the Letter to the Ephesians.

• Give you a quiz – do not worry it is open book.

• At the end give you a shopping list and a homework assignment.

In the chapter before the passage from the Old Testament read today Joshua was encouraging all the tribes of Israel to “cleave to the Lord your God as you have done to this day”. He says:

“Therefore be very steadfast to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left,  that you may not be mixed with these nations left here among you, or make mention of the names of their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or bow down yourselves to them,  but cleave to the Lord your God as you have done to this day.”[Joshua 23:6-8]

Then in the passage we read today Joshua gives them a choice:

"Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.

Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." [Joshua 24:14-15]

This is rather odd: If Israel had cleaved to the Lord their God up to that day, what is the point of giving them the choice? Could he not have assumed, judging from the past, that they will continue to cleave to the Lord?

I think not. Joshua knew that every day they will be tempted to fit in with the religions of the nations around them, to be open-minded and inclusive, to avoid being accused of bigotry and exclusivity. Hence Joshua’s starts with the words “be very steadfast” – unwavering “turning neither to the right nor to the left” in keeping God’s commands. This is a call to an active faith – the decision to serve the Lord is not something we do once and for all. Rather, our resolve to serve the Lord will be tested day after day and every day we must choose to be very steadfast – every day we must choose not to be moved or shaken by what we will encounter.

We make choices on the basis of what we anticipate to be the outcome. But faith calls us to make choices without fully seeing or comprehending the outcomes. When we are called to do something that offends our senses and sensibilities as Jesus did when he said: “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” we will likely demand an explanation: “"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" [John 6:52]. If no explanation is given, we may respond "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" [John 6:60] as many of Jesus’ disciples did. After following and serving the Lord for many months “Many of the disciples were offended by what Jesus said and turned back and no longer went about with Him”. Jesus gave the twelve closest to Him a choice: "Do you also wish to go away?" [John 6:67].

We live at a time when many worship wealth, fame, power, glamour or self. The temptation is to do what the modern day “Amorites” are doing and serve their gods. The choice to serve other gods is before each of one of us every day: and every day we must “Choose this day whom you will serve”. When many stop following Jesus because what the Lord asks of us is too hard, will you choose to follow the crowd or will you cleave to the Lord your God?

To be steadfast in cleaving to the Lord is hard work (Christianity is not for wimps!), and that is why Paul calls us to be strong in the Lord. One has to be prepared daily for the real battle: “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Had our enemies been flesh and blood, our physical and mental strength, our stamina and our training would have sufficed. But our real fight is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, which are hell-bent on making sure that we no longer serve the Lord our God. And the battle is on day after day – the enemy has all the time in the world! To be able to “stand firm”, to “be very steadfast” we need the strength of the Lord’s power – spiritual power, not our own physical and mental strengths. We need spiritual stamina that comes from constant prayers so that we would not faint or be discouraged in the middle of the battle. And we need to be properly equipped for the spiritual warfare.

In the passage from Ephesians St. Paul tells us that to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil we need to “take up the whole armor of God” – to put on the full armor that God has provided for us. With due apology to St. Paul, I will rearrange the armor, going down from head to toe - so that it would be easier for me to remember:

• Take the helmet of salvation. Being assured of salvation will deflect the enemy’s attacks on your mind whispering that you are not good enough. It will also keep evil thought from invading you. St. Paul tells us: “if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved… Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." [Romans 10: 9, 13]. Are you certain that you have been saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus? (Yes, Kate, salvation is personal). If you are, do not let the enemy ever tell you otherwise. If you are not certain, I would love to talk with you after the service.

• Put on the breastplate of righteousness. Jeremiah tells us that: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” [Jeremiah 17:9]. Jesus tells us that " For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.”[Mark 7:21-22]. To protect the heart from such desires we cover our breasts with the breastplate of righteousness. Not our own righteousness but the “righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”[Rom. 3:22]. In the Letter to the Romans St. Paul tells us: ”So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light… clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” [Romans 13:12, 14]. Clothing ourselves with Jesus allows us to resist gratifying the desires of our sinful nature. Are you willing to have the righteousness of God cover your heart?

• Take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Doubt is a potent weapon of the enemy. Nowadays it is fashionable to accept doubt as a sign of holiness – if Mother Teresa had doubts; it is ok for me to have doubts. What I would say to that are two things: (1) her doubt was more like David’s when he cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?” [Psalm 22: 1]. It is more anguish than doubt; (2) Mother Teresa was subject to attacks of the enemy just as each one of us is, and probably more so, for the closer you follow Jesus the more intense the attacks are bound to be. Doubt strips one of the ability to do God’s work. Faith deflects doubt as it provides assurance and certainty: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” [Hebrews 11:1]. Faith is a gift from God- all you need to do is ask Him for it, and you need to do that especially when the enemy is attempting to sow doubt in you. At such times recall Jesus’ words: “Stop doubting and believe."[John 20:27].

• Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The word of God defeats the enemy: when Jesus was tempted He responded to each temptation by quoting Scripture. Jesus used the word of God to send the devil on his way: “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.” [Luke 4:13]. The power of “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God” is vividly described in the Revelation to John. In chapter 1 John describes Jesus as: “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire …In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword.” Then in chapter 19 John describes the battle at Armageddon: “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True… His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. … He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations…. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS... Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf… The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse” [Revelation 1: 14 -16, 19:11-21].

When the enemy tries to deceive us, we should have the word of God, the sword of the Spirit ready to wield. When we are tempted, are we sufficiently versed in the word of God to counter the temptation as Jesus did?

• Fasten the belt of truth around your waist. As a belt supports the breastplate, truth supports righteousness. And as a belt surrounds the body truth should surround all we say and do. Our enemy is described by Jesus as “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” [John 8:44]. Truth comes from God. John writes “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” [John 1:17], and Jesus says about himself: “I am the way, the truth and the life.” [John 14:6]. Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth. When you surround yourself with the truth you are surrounded by Jesus and guided by the Spirit.

• As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. In one of the episodes of Die Hard officer McLain was inside a building attempting to free hostages held by terrorists. He took off his shoes so that he can move around without being heard. When the bad guys found out that he is barefoot they sprayed glass panels with machine gun bullets so that the floor was covered with broken glass. That certainly inflicted pain on officer McLain and drastically reduced his mobility. Without the proper footwear our agility and mobility in proclaiming the gospel of peace will be greatly reduced, and we will also find it painful to go at all as the enemy knows we are vulnerable and will certainly spread broken glass all over the ground. Good footwear is essential! What would be good footwear? “Whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.” Each of us has to find out what is it that he is lacking and proceed to get it so that he is ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

If we make the choice to serve the Lord our God, in addition to having the full armor of God, we will need the strength to stand against the wiles of the devil at all times. It is for this reason that Paul adds: “Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.” [Ephesians 6:19].To stand firm I need your prayers and supplications always, and you need my constant prayers and supplication. You may wonder how can one pray at all times since most of the time we work, talk with people, keep up with the news or do chores. When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth she was able to do three things at the same time: she was responding to Elizabeth with her mouth while glorifying the Lord with her soul and meanwhile her spirit was rejoicing in God her savior [Luke 1:46-47]. It is possible to pray at all times (pray without ceasing) – even while speaking to others or doing your work or reading or writing if we allow the Holy Spirit to pray through our spirits. This is why Paul can write “Pray in the Spirit at al times” and expect the people in Ephesus to actually do it. If you want to know more about how to pray in the Spirit, ask me after the service.

QUIZ:

If you remember at the beginning I mentioned that we will have an open book quiz. Please open your blue inserts to the Ephesians lesson, and read me the answers to the following questions:

1. What should you cover your head with?

2. What should you cover your heart with?

3. What defensive piece of equipment should you carry on your arm?

4. What offensive weapon should you hold in your hand?

5. What do you put around your waist?

6. What should you wear on your feet?

HOMEWORK

You may have recently heard about the young American soldier in Afghanistan who left his armor and weapons at the base and went out off the base. He was captured by the Taliban. They made a video of him denouncing all that he had believed in. He acted foolishly. Yet we do the same thing every day: when was the last time I took up the whole armor that God provided before I left home and started walking where I can be attacked and captured by the spiritual enemy?

I said earlier that I will give you a shopping list and a homework assignment.

Here is the shopping list – where to find the pieces of armor:

• Salvation: Acts 4:12.

• Righteousness: Romans 3:21

• Faith: Romans 10:17

• The Spirit: St. John 14:15 -17, St. Luke 11:13.

• Truth: St. John 14:6, 16.

• The Gospel of peace: Romans 1:2-6.

The homework assignment is in two parts:

(a) Each day find one piece of the armor, for example Monday read the shopping list verse about salvation and think about it during the day, and on Tuesday read about righteousness and think about it during the day, and so on. [For extra credit: find additional verses for each piece of the armor – 5 points extra per verse.]

(b) Every morning before you get out of bed, and many of us take a few minutes between waking up and actually getting out of bed, (1) make a conscious decision: This day I choose to serve the Lord. (2) Get spiritually dressed- say to yourself: I cover my head with the helmet of salvation, I cover my heart with the righteousness of God, I surround myself with truth, I carry the shield of faith and hold in my hand the sword of the Spirit, and I get my feet ready to take me to proclaim the gospel of peace. Then you are ready for the world, or more precisely you are ready to take on the prince of this world.

[Note: if you find this exercise helpful, you may want to continue doing it indefinitely.]

C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity wrote: “The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back, in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind.

We can only do it for moments at first. But from those moments the new sort of life will be spreading through our system: because now we are letting Him work at the right part of us. It is the difference between paint which is merely laid on the surface, and a dye or stain which soaks right through. [Jesus] never talked vague, idealistic gas. When He said, ‘Be perfect,’ He meant it. He meant that we must go in for the full treatment. It is hard; but the sort of compromise we are all hankering after is harder - in fact, it is impossible. It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.”

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