Take your Bibles and turn to Joshua, Joshua chapter 24 and verse 15, as we bring a message I've titled, You're Serving Who? That's Y-O-U apostrophe R-E. And serving who? And that's from Joshua 24, verse 15. We will be going to Luke chapter 14 near the end of the sermon. So if you want to put something in there in Luke 14 for when we get there, I believe it's something that you want to see. And then also, you always have pastor notes in the bulletin. So you can take notes on the sermons. I'll be hitting quite a few scriptures today as well in association. with this passage. So our text is Joshua chapter 24 and verse 15. There we read, And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But as for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. Now, shall we pray? Father, to say we will serve the Lord, we realize that that is a high honor that we don't deserve. And yet you want to use each and every person in this auditorium as your servant under righteousness. And so, Father, I pray that we'd grasp exactly what the Holy Spirit would have us to know from this passage. And again, if there's someone without Christ, I pray that today would be the day they receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. In Jesus' name we pray it. Amen. I recently heard a preacher make a statement that I've heard many times before. The first few times I heard the statement as a young preacher, I immediately would say, amen, a very hearty, hearty amen. And to be quite honest with you, it appealed to me in a sentimental way. And as a matter of fact, that statement that was made rightly conveyed my desire as well as my feelings at both at the same time. And as the years have passed, how I felt and what I desired has pretty well stayed the same in relationship to that statement. Yet the more I've heard the statement, the more I've grown troubled and didn't know why. And so I sought the Lord more so on it to give me greater understanding because there's a reason he troubles our heart. And what I was able to arrive at by the Word of God is probably, and not probably, it did go against my will and my thinking. But on the other hand, I knew it was the mind of God. Now, I probably have a lot of attention right now, because you're wanting to know that statement. When I give it to you, most likely you're going to agree with the statement. Okay, you're going to agree with it. What I know is that for me to say something differently may not sit very well with you. That is why it will be of utmost importance that you listen, remembering Acts 17 11. Now in Acts 17 11, the Apostle Paul is preaching in a place called Berea. There are Jews there, Jews that know the Bible. But what he's preaching is Jesus and those Jews really didn't have that much to do with Jesus Christ. But it says there, these were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so. And my friend, that's all I ask you to do today is listen to the scripture and see if it's so. Now you say, what is that statement preacher? I want to know what the statement, the statement I've heard many times. And I said, amen to it. Many times is this. My wife is more important than the ministry. I've heard the statement. My family is more important than the ministry. Now let me say. The family is not more important than the ministry. The wife is not more important than the ministry. And most definitely, I am not more important than the ministry. Okay? I am not that important. No man on earth is his own boss. Now, a lot of us like to think that. But no man on earth is his own boss. We are all servants. Romans chapter 6, verse 6, verse 7, verse 16, verse 18. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. When you get saved, you're freed from sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin verse 16. No, you're not that to whom you yield yourself servants to obey His servants you are to whom you obey whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness Being then made free from sin. You became the servants of righteousness Yes, i'm freed from the power of sin over my life now, we still sin, but we're freed from that power however If I'm freed from the power of sin, I am bought with a price. Therefore, now I am a servant of righteousness. But either way, you're a servant of one or the other. Now, why would Joshua say, as for me and my house? Who made Joshua the head of his house? Well, Ephesians 5, 23, for the husband is head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the Savior of the body. Now, do the words, even as, mean anything to you? The Bible's teaching that the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church. So the husband has a great responsibility. He is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. It's not you to love her if she is worthy of your love. You are to love her as Christ loved the church. We most definitely are not worthy of the love of Christ. He doesn't love us because we're worthy. He died for us because we are not worthy. So understand, he doesn't love us because we are worthy. He gave himself for the church. He gave himself for you individually And a husband is to love his wife Realizing he's the head of that home. He has a responsibility as God's servant in that home. I to make sure that it goes right. Now that makes the question for us then, what does the word serve in our text mean if the husband is the head? Again, we want to use some illustrations. Genesis chapter 24 verse 2 is one of the best illustrations. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his home, of his house, that ruled over all that he had. The eldest servant of Abraham's house ruled over everything that Abraham had, but he was still a servant. One reads in chapter 14 of Genesis that Abraham had over 300 servants. And we find out that Abraham was one of the richest men upon the face of the earth. And yet this servant is in charge of all of it. But he's still a servant. Husband, your wife is a treasure with which God has entrusted you. And you are a steward of this gift that he's given you. She is God's gift. God's possession for which you are accountable as God's servant That is the reason Joshua says as for me and my house we shall serve the Lord because he is serving God and he's assuming first of all the responsibility he's been given in the home. The elder servant was not more important than the mission that he was given. He was not more important than the household. He was not more important than the ministry. But he was given a responsibility to carry it out. God gave a mission before he ever created the home. God gave a ministry before he ever created the home. In Genesis chapter 2, verse 15, verse 18, and verse 24, we read this, verse 15, and the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. That was Adam's ministry. That was given to him by God. He was to carry it out. And he's by himself at this point. Then in verse 18, and the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him and help me for him. Now notice that he's already named the animals before he has given his wife. And in verse 24, therefore, shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh. Before God gave Adam his wife Eve, he gave him a ministry and that ministry was to dress the garden. Now you may not think, well, that's not a ministry. Oh, yes. God has placed each of us here as lights in the world. That is why the moment you got saved, you weren't raptured. He's left you here as a light in the world. That's each of our responsibilities in philippians 2 15 that you may be blameless and harmless the sons of god without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom you shine as lights in the world Matthew 5 verse 16 let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven Someone has very well said that the chief end of man is to bring glory to God Well first Corinthians chapter 10 verse 31 pretty well verifies that But the word glory in his definition means bright shining Light To glorify is to shine a light on and Our lives should reflect Jesus Christ and shine a light on him. Dr. Bloom in the Sunday school class this morning was in Acts chapter 4 and he spoke of how Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, they took note that he was with Jesus. Now we want people to know more than that they're moral people. that they're good people. We want people to know that we're moral, we're good because we walk with Jesus Christ. We want them to know our Jesus. See, that's what's important. Your ministry may be the job of carpentry. You may be a salesman. You may be employed in the technical world and a host of other things that we call secular jobs. But God has placed you there as a light. You may be the only light on the job. You may be the only saved person there. And boy, that makes the responsibility all the greater. But it's your ministry. And you are to be blameless, harmless, even though all those about us are crooked and perverse. We are to reflect Jesus Christ in such a way that where we work, how we work, our words, our interaction with other employees and people that we meet. will be able to say, that man knows, that woman knows the Lord Jesus Christ as you testify to them of Christ. And because your life is right, and because your works are right, when you testify of Christ, then they know that that life, that right life, that moral life, that good life, is a result of your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. God first gave man the ministry of tending the garden. And then the second thing God made was ministry for the family. God gave a ministry, however, before he gave the whole, but he gave a help me to accomplish the goal of ministry. Now, when Adam was in the garden and then later Eve was added, there were no other people in the world. If you're the only person on planet earth, your light is still supposed to shine on Jesus Christ. You see, even in solitary confinement, Jesus Christ is your best friend and he is there. So it's not solitary. And so in the garden, it was for the glory of God. It was a work. that he did to glorify Christ first of all. The words help meet by definition, not my definition, by definition is to help meet a goal. That's what they mean, to help meet a goal. Eve was created to help Adam meet the goal of the God-given ministry to Adam of tending the garden. She would help her man be the most efficient he could be in this ministry. 1st Corinthians chapter 11 verse 8 and verse 9 we read this for the man is not of the woman but the woman of the man speaking of original creation Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man Go down repeat that ten times in front of one of those organizations People who undermine ministry, or they undermine people within a ministry, are committing the same sin as the serpent in the garden as he led Eve to rebel against God's given directive. And that person has a great responsibility, whether that's within the home on the job in the church. The day they ate of the forbidden fruit. Remember that? They ate of the forbidden fruit. And what happened? God drove them out of the garden. What was their original ministry? The garden. What happened? God drove them out of that ministry. If I were today to divorce my wife, you should rightly drive me out of this church. Even though I was called of God, I've done that that now makes me not able to carry out the ministry in the manner in which God would have me to do it. Then I have damaged my own ministry, and I would be driven out, and rightly so. And so the fact that they were driven out shows that the ministry Was more important than either one of them They were driven out of the garden containing the tree of life But the good news is Jesus Christ died for us so that one day we'll be caught up to heaven and we'll eat of the tree of life What a wonderful blessing that is In genesis chapter 1 verse 26 We read this, and God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Adam is God's servant. But just like Abraham's servant was over all that he had, Adam is placed over all these things on earth. But the day Satan was able to lead Adam into sin, he took from Adam the power of the dominion. The head servant that's why Jesus when he's walking on the earth and he's taken up into high mountain by the devil and showing all the kingdoms of the earth and the devil says all of these are given to you because They are mine to give and the devil is right Jesus didn't dispute that He had usurped from Adam that dominion over all when he's able to lead Adam to sin and But what does it mean when Joshua then in our text says, we shall serve the Lord? The basic meaning for that word serve is to toil for, to toil under the demand or the command or direction of, to be directed by the will of another. Romans 6 shows that we're either a servant under sin or we are servants unto righteousness. Either way, you are not your own. If you are saved today, you know that heaven is your home, you know God's will in a manner in your life, and you refuse to do it, you're serving sin, although you may belong to Christ. Now think of the lessons that we're being taught. God created man for his glory. The family was made for God's glory. A man leaves father and mother and cleaves to his wife. Those children are in the home maybe 20 years, but then they leave. Although they had love and security at home, they leave. to take that one unto themselves and to establish their own home in Christ. It is more important that you have the God-given mate to do and accomplish the will of God than it is just to say, I got to get out of the house. No, you've got to find out what is God's will for your life. And do it. Let me say this. I've been in the ministry now well over 30 some odd years, about 35, I believe. 35 years, I've had it said many times, I think I'm married out of the will of God. Let me tell you something, that may have been true, but the moment you both said, I do, you were in the will of God. God doesn't change it. God doesn't change it. And that's where it stays. And so, he has a ministry in which he has made both a man and a woman to accomplish it together that his name might receive glory. Whatever you do in life, husband and wife, work as a team, a ministry team. Now you think about it. Here are people that are full-time farmers. The husband's out there working in the field. He's plowing, and he's doing the things that a man would do. The lady's in there. She's preparing the meal. She's cleaning the house. She's getting things ready that a farmer's wife would do. Both of them work very hard. But their work complements one another to accomplish a goal. You may be somebody that the husband works at a factory. But you realize, well, he's working. He works hard. And so you make sure that things are right for him when he gets home, but yet you work hard. But you realize this is the breadwinner. But whatever it is, you don't work against your husband in the work that he does in the factories. Why are you staying there? You don't work against the wife and say, can't this house be this better, that better? What's wrong with you? No, you're working together that the home might operate as it ought to operate. When God chose Israel to take his name to the world, he said, the Lord did not set his love upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than any people for you were the fewest of all people. God doesn't use us because we're so much better than everybody else. In Acts chapter 1 and verse 8, we read that he gave the local church the ministry of taking the gospel to the world. Why? It's for the glory of God. My first most important call in ministry is to preach the word as a pastor. I have been greatly blessed with God's help need, and I fear to think of being a pastor without her. But God called me to preach. That's what he wants me to do for him. So our marriage has to work around doing God's will And so I can't stand up here and say well look she's more important than the ministry so i'm going to back off preaching Can't do that. I love her with all my heart, but I can't do that because I do love her with all my heart That's the way it has to be in your life. That's the way it has to be always Now we Want to lead our families to serve the Lord Luke chapter 14 Verse 26 27 Very interesting on this if any man come to me and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also. He cannot be my disciple." Now that's not talking about salvation, it's talking about discipleship. And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." Now, as in a marriage, a man chooses a woman, a woman chooses that man, they agree and they get married. Now, chances are that that man has dated other girls, that girl has dated other guys. And they chose and they come together that doesn't mean mean that everybody that lady ever dated she hated Doesn't mean that every girl that man ever dated he hated But you realize this was the one for you When he says if you don't hate your mother father even your wife your son your daughter and even your own life Also, you can't be my disciple. Other words christ must be all in all in your life if you're going to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. But then he's the one that ordained a family, and that's why the family serves the Lord together. But the family needs to know the word of God to know how to serve the Lord together. That's why you're faithful to God's house. That's why you are always seeking how, as a family, you can work together for the Lord. But even if there's trouble in the home, you lift that cross and you follow Christ. He's the one that established the local church through which men should leave their homes in this era. Your job, your church, your home, all these are ministries to which God has given you. Therefore, Little leagues, clubs, organizations, hobbies, be it a children's thing, a family thing, it should never take the place of the local church. It's getting summertime. There'll be baseball little league teams. And there are people that are going to have their kids playing baseball on Sunday instead of being in God's house. And you've just taught them there's something more important than ministry. That'll be a false teaching but it will be a damning teaching later in their lives Be careful be careful You are serving Christ through the local church not the world You're pleasing Christ whom you serve. That's the idea behind it. Family can do a bus ministry together. They can visit together. They can pray for others and ride together with them on Sunday. You can get people by name that you're trying to reach and pray together as a family. But you can help one who's a Sunday school teacher and that man, he can't teach Sunday school, but his wife can. Boy, he can help to make things nicer around home so she can study and prepare. Help her with the visits to that Sunday school child's home. Oh, there's so many ways one can help one another. Help the one that needs to practice music. You get to know the needs of God's people and the souls of men, and then you pray for them on a daily basis together. You pray for your ministry that God's given you through your local church. In our bulletin, we put out the family time devotional. And we have on the front page, before you even get to the devotionals, six different ministries of this church for which you can pray. Get your family involved. Now, don't miss this. If it's God's ministry, You're never choosing between your family and the ministry because God ordained that they should work together within the family circle. It is never a choice between the ministry and family. It's rather a choice between being a servant of righteousness or a servant of sin. And if you don't learn that, You'll never be a true disciple of Christ. And I speak that on the authority of the Word of God. Why should we do this? 1 Corinthians 6, verse 20, For ye are bought with a price. Jesus Christ, God in heaven, a spirit, left it, came here to earth, took on flesh, born of a virgin. lived a perfect life for 33 and a half years, and then he died on the cross, being killed in a way that was long, torturous, greatly painful, to show the anger of God against our sin. But he did it for us. We are bought with a price, and that price was the blood of Jesus Christ. When you receive him, he becomes your Lord and God. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's, he says. In 1 Corinthians 7, 23, he says, you're bought with a price, be you not the servants of men. Someone has said, well, we take off time from church. Now, they don't take it off from their job because job is more important to them than church. They said, we take our time for church to go camping, to do these other things with family. And I understand vacations and I understand things of that nature, I do. But going to ball games and doing this and doing that, we take time with our family. And the saying is, you can't take back time. So you need to give that time to your family. When they're gone, you'll wish you had, because you can't get it back. Well, look, if your family are all saved, you'll get it back one day. You'll get it back one day. There'll be all the time in the world to be around that family. All the time. It'll be there. Now, friend, if your family is saved, When you get to heaven, you have no idea the joy that you'll have that you didn't allow the carnal things of this world to keep your family from fulfilling the ministry Christ has given it. Now, this is an important thing to be sure. Make sure each of you are saved. I usually say this at the funerals. At a funeral, I normally say, you're here either today to say goodbye, or you're here to say, I'll see you later. And that's the way it is. Without Jesus Christ as personal savior, look, being a member of this church would not save any soul. Keeping the 10 commandments, which nobody in all of history outside of Jesus Christ has ever done will not get you to heaven. Being baptized won't get you to heaven. It's not a lot of good works. It's not tithing. It's not any of that to get you to heaven. What gets you to heaven is realizing I'm a sinner and I cannot save myself. I don't deserve heaven. I don't deserve to go to heaven. It's not me, all my good works plus what Jesus did. You must trust in the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross as the payment for your sin. But you also must believe that three days later, after he had died, he rose up bodily from the grave. And believing that he did that for you personally, you receive him into your life. But remember, who is the head? Jesus. So the will of your life now is not your own. It's his. His promise is everlasting life in heaven. You know what the Bible calls it? Paradise. Listen, if God created this heaven and earth in six days and after each one, he said, it is good. But then after that, he's calls it paradise. What he has for those in eternity. Receive Him. Receive Him. It's either receive Christ or spend your eternity in a lake of fire that's literal, where you'll never pass away and where you'll never cease to exist. Not much of a choice, but you must decide whether you're going to receive Him into your life. I hope that you'll do that today. Let's bow our heads. Father, In a moment, we're going to sing, Jesus is all the world to me, hymn 510. I pray, Father, for those that have raised their hands to say, I'm not saved. I pray that they might come and receive Christ as Savior. For those that have wandered from you, Lord, or those that their homes, although they're good people, we love them. But Christ needs to be the head, and the husband needs to be the head, and they have to make that decision, as for me and my house, we'll serve the Lord. And I pray that today, as Joshua did there in our text, make a public declaration, as for me and my house, we'll serve the Lord. Do a special work in this invitation, in Jesus' name. Amen.