Before I open God's Word, I'd like to talk a little bit about the teen retreat that we went to. I really didn't say anything earlier because I needed some time to contemplate what exactly I thought was the best part about it. And what I truly thought was the best part was being able to get to know all the young people. It's one thing to be able to speak to them in youth class and just talk to them in the hallway, but it's a whole other thing to be able to spend a couple days really getting to know them personally. And I had the wonderful opportunity of having Barrick and Rhett in a room, and I got to sit down with them at the end of each day, and I got to ask them what it was in particular the Lord was working on them on. And for me, it brought me back to when I was younger and I used to go to teen retreats and I used to sit down with the pastor or with somebody that was leading in the church and I would tell them what the Lord was working on me on. And I remember when I was younger, I thought that the Lord had called me to be a minister of the gospel. And I was sitting there listening to them. And I was sitting there saying, I'm here getting to do what I felt God had called me to do at their age. And I'm getting to listen to them as they tell me what it is that God wants them to do. And I get to be a part of helping them follow that. And that was something truly special to me. And that was worth it, worth it all. But if you would take God's Word with me here this evening to Joshua chapter 24, we're going to be reading verses 14 and 15. And here in this portion of Scripture we find Joshua giving one last charge to the children of Israel before he sends them out to go to their respective inheritances. And here in this portion of Scripture, I believe that we find the answer to a question that I have found to be on the minds of a lot of young people, especially on a lot of people, young people in college, but I'm also sure that it has been a question that has run across each and every one of your minds, and that is, how do I make a difference? And here in this portion, in these two verses, I hope tonight to explain to you in the greatest detail that I can on how you can make a difference in this world for the Lord. If you would, please stand with me for the reading of God's Word. And if you wouldn't mind, please read with me these two verses. We're going to begin reading in verse 14. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Let's pray before we get into God's Word. Heavenly Father, I come before you in the name of Jesus, and I thank you for this wonderful opportunity that you've given me to present your word here this evening. I pray that you would give me the right words to say, and I pray that I'd be able to give it in a way that your people would understand it and be able to take it to heart and apply it. And please, Lord, just be with each and every one of those here tonight. Bless them, guide them, and protect them, and give them strength, Lord, and help them to truly get what it is that you would have them get out of this message. And it's in your name I do pray. Amen. We'll be seated. Thank you. So the first point I'd like to make in how do I make a difference is found in the first part of verse 14. And it says, now therefore fear the Lord. The first step that every Christian needs to take in order to make a difference in this world for the Lord is to fear the Lord. In God's word it says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And I tried to find a clear definition of what it means to fear the Lord, and this is what I found. And one thing I'd like to take you to is the children of Israel. at the base of Mount Sinai, as God's presence was descending on Mount Sinai, there was a roaring of thunder and the cracking of lightning. And the purpose in that was that God's people would realize who He was, and that it would strike fear in them. But a fear that would cause them to think before they gave in to sin. to cause them to think of what could possibly be the consequence of them, instead of serving the Lord, serving themselves and going after sin. And so, now that we see, first and foremost, that we need to fear the Lord, what does this lead us to do? And the first thing I'd like to say is, it leads us to obey His commandments, living according to His Word, and saying no to sin, no matter how strong the urge. Also, it leads us to remember that we are held accountable for everything we do, and keeps us from being trapped by the natural pull we have to do things our own way. or to sin, opening the door for more sin. So a healthy fear of the Lord prevents you from falling in to what you naturally want to do as a sinner, and that is to sin. And having that fear brings you to the point where you walk over and you look at that sin and you're going to make the decision whether you're going to partake in it or whether you're not. And having that fear of the Lord gives you that little push that you need to say, no, no, I'm not going to do that. And what that in turn does is that shows this world and other people around you that have asked you to partake in the sin that they are partaking in and to do what it is that they are doing. When you say, no, I'm not doing that because I fear my God. I want to serve my God. I want to honor Him. I want to reverence Him. Then they see something different in you, which begs the question, what makes you different? which gives you the open opportunity to share the gospel with them. So having a healthy fear of the Lord doesn't just help you Push sin away even more easily. But it also gives you the opportunity to share the gospel with the lost. Because they're going to look at you and wonder why you don't do the things that are wrong. Why you don't partake in the things that this world has to offer. Why you are so determined to follow the Lord and to serve Him and to do what it is He's called you to do. To follow the commands that we find He has given us in His Word. That is honestly, I feel like, I honestly feel like that is one of the greatest opportunities that we have, to be able to share the gospel, is through the example that we exhibit every single day, when we follow the Lord, and we listen to what He has told us to do, and we stay away from the things that He tells us to stay away from. Because like I said, the lost is gonna ask, why? And that gives you all the opportunity you need to share the gospel with them. So I would encourage you, first and foremost, if you want to make a difference in this world for the Lord, then fear the Lord, reverence Him, honor Him for who He is and what He has done and for the power and the might and the honor that is due Him. Secondly, not only do we need to have a healthy fear of the Lord, but we also need to serve Him in sincerity and truth. We find this in verse 14. Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth." To serve in sincerity means this, to serve the Lord perfectly, holding nothing back, giving 100%, and if asked, are you serving the Lord with all you are, you can assuredly tell them yes. That's where the truth comes in. To serve the Lord in sincerity means you are giving everything that you are to Him and to Him alone. And when people look at you and they see that testimony that you are giving of you serving the Lord with all that you can, then they can assuredly say that you are truly doing that very thing. That's what it means to serve the Lord in sincerity and in truth, is giving the Lord your all and doing what it is that he has commanded you to do, what he has called you to do, and what he has put you here on this earth to do. That is another great opportunity that you have as believers to share the gospel with this world, because that also brings out Your day-to-day walk they're gonna look at that and they're gonna say why is this person so determined to serve the Lord? Why does he want to follow the Lord? Why does he want to abstain from the things of this world? And that is your greatest I like I said before I feel like that is your greatest Opportunity to be able to share the gospel with this lost world Because so many of you here today are called to secular vocation some of you work in banks some of you work in factories some of you work in convenience stores, wherever you work, the example that you exhibit and your character, and in you following the Lord, is just this bright, open example of the Lord in your life. Excuse me, I'm sorry. And it's a great opportunity for people to see the Lord through you. So first of all, we see that we need to have a fear of the Lord, and secondly, we see that you need to serve him in sincerity and truth. but also we need to put the little gods in our lives to the side. In verse 14 he says, So I want to remind you thirdly that you must put the little gods that you serve in your life away. And what those could be, it could be something as simple as the time that you spend on your phone or the time that you spend on something that is not productive at all as far as you growing in your walk with the Lord. And so in this instance, what Joshua is pointing out is that he's not pointing out the blatant idolatry of the children of Israel at this time, because he had already taken care of that. But what he was pointing out to them was that there were some in the midst of all of them that in their heart were still serving the gods that their fathers had served. So what I want to tell you here today is that although you may not have an open idol that you're serving, in your heart you have given an attention to something in particular that is taking the time that you should be devoting to your walk with the Lord into the Lord away. And you're spending that time doing things that you know you should not be doing. And you're giving your time to things you know you should not be giving your time to. So just as Joshua was trying to point that out to the children of Israel at that time, so I'd like to point that out to you. That there can be some things in your life that you haven't really paid attention to, but are taking the time that you should be spending in getting to know the Lord on a deeper level and in growing in the Lord, and instead you're spending time on things that don't matter and that will gain you nothing in this life. So first of all, we saw that we need to have a fear of the Lord. Secondly, we see that we need to serve Him in sincerity and truth. And thirdly, we see that we need to get rid of the little gods in our lives that we are serving instead of giving full service to the Lord. But fourthly, we must put the things that we have learned into action. And we find that in verse 15. Joshua says this, There again Joshua points it out to him. He knows that there are some in the midst of the children of Israel that are still serving the gods that their fathers served. This morning, I mean this evening, excuse me, I'd like you to think over the time that you spend every day and how much time you're spending in your walk with the Lord and how much time you're spending in things that don't add to anything in your life. to those idols that you don't pay attention to but are actually taking away from your walk with the Lord and are taking away from how much closer you can grow to the Lord and how much more you can do for the Lord. And at the very end of verse 15, this is where it's put into practical application. Joshua says this, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. I've heard this statement so many times over the years, but it's a good statement because it shows us that we need to put into action the things that we hear. Every message that we hear when we come to God's house, we don't just need to be hearers of the word, but we need to be doers of the word. And if Christians become doers of the word rather than just hearers, then you will begin to see not only a change in your walk with the Lord, but you'll also see a change in the things that are going on in this world. Because out of a desire to serve the Lord and to do what he's called you to do, you will have a desire to share the gospel more often. You will have a desire for the lost souls of man. And you will have a desire for the men that stand against you and say that what you think and what you know is false. You will, instead of having hate and anger towards them, you'll have a desire to bring them to the Lord. So putting into action the things that you have heard will help you in your walk with the Lord. So this evening, in this message, I pointed out four things. First and foremost, I pointed out that we need to have a fear for the Lord. Secondly, we need to serve him in sincerity and in truth. Thirdly, we need to put the gods which we are serving away. And fourthly, we need to act on what God has called us to do. And so this evening, the purpose of this message is not just for you to hear the word of God and what he has to say, but to act on that. And I'd like to close with this. D.L. Moody, which I'm sure all of you know, there's a certain statement that is synonymous with his name. And I'm going to read that statement to you. The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to Him. D.L. Moody had a good friend by the name of Henry Varley, who was an evangelist over in England. And in one of the messages, after one of the messages that D.L. Moody had spoken over there, he had a meeting with Henry Varley. And a few months later, he couldn't remember exactly what that conversation entailed. So then he asked Mr. Varley, what was it that you had told me? before I left to go back to America. Mr. Varley couldn't put his finger on what it was that he said to him. And D.L. Moody said to him, didn't you say the world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to Him? And Mr. Varley said, no, I didn't say that. And D.L. Moody said assuredly, he said this assuredly, that through what you said, God impressed on my heart that very statement. And so this evening, I want to impress that statement on you and say this. You know all the things that D.L. Moody was able to do because he wanted to live this out. At the end of this, he said, he added to this statement, he said, I aim to be that man. So I ask you tonight, Do you want to consecrate your life to serving the Lord and to following Him? And like this says, the world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to Him. I say this to you, the world has yet to see what a church filled with God's people fully consecrated to Him is capable of doing. If one man was able to lead one million people to the Lord in his ministry personally, imagine how many people, each and every one of you, are capable of leading to the Lord if you fully consecrate your life to him. And if you want an answer to how do I make a difference, it's what I've said. It's to have a fear of the Lord. It's to be sincere in serving the Lord. It's to get rid of anything that would distract you from doing that. And it's to acting on that very thing. And consecrating your life to the Lord today. And saying to Him, I will serve you 100%. And if I fall and if I fail, then I will get back up again. And I will keep striving to serve you with all that I am. Knowing this, that the Lord will give you every bit of strength that you need and every bit of encouragement that you need to continue to do that very thing. So to give you an answer to how do I make a difference, you can make a difference by saying today and by standing today and saying this, I will not only be a hearer of God's word, but I will be a doer of God's word. and I will follow His commands, and I will follow Him and what He has given me to do. So if you want to make a difference, that is how you make a difference, by following the Lord, leaving nothing behind, giving him 100%. And whenever, like I said, you fall and you fail, because you will, because we're all humans, we're susceptible to that. But the difference is found in you staying down or you getting back up and you continuing to follow the Lord. So I would encourage you here tonight, Consecrate your life to serving the Lord and to doing what it is that he's called you to do, not just in witnessing to the lost, but what in particular he has called you to do in this life. I spoke to the young people this morning about being a good soldier in the Lord's army. Each and every one of us have been given a particular task that we are to carry out in this life. And if we are to be effective in doing that, then we need to follow the commands of the Lord as best we can, and to follow through with the Lord, and to consecrate every time that the Lord points out an area in our life that we need to work on, and say, I will do that, and actually do it. Not just say it, but actually do it. And that's where the difference will come. That's all that I have for you this evening. But to answer the question once again, how do I make a difference? by listening to the commands that the Lord has given you, by following what He has given you to do, and doing that very thing.