Skip to content Remember and Recommit | Joshua 24:1-14 | Pastor Diego Mesa Nov 13 · 44 min ...more
Remember and Recommit | Joshua 24:1-14 | Pastor Diego Mesa
November 13, 2025 · 44 min
Series Patria Sermons November 13, 2025 · 44 min · Patria Sermons
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492K followers
Adam Mesa is Lead Pastor of Patria Church and speaks to a congregation of 12,000 about how the gospel of Jesus Christ brings purpose to every life. Patria
492K followers
0:02 Amen. Hey, it's great to see everybody on our midweek service or Wednesday night. How many of you0:10 like Wednesday is kind of the day you come to church because you work on the weekend or Saturday or Sunday? Is there anybody who'd like to yeah. There's look at that. That's pretty awesome. Thank0:22 you so much for coming to church. We all have busy lives, and I just am grateful that people don't use the excuse, well, I I work on weekends, that's why I don't come. They0:34 found a way to come to church on Wednesday and get fed. So I really, really appreciate that. You know, as Gabe gave the announcements today, and I was just so overwhelmed0:46 that Gabe has grown up in the church. Greg Gabe went off to bible school or within this church. He started in he still works over in children's church. He brought a character0:57 called Zane, and this surfer kid that he changes into and teaches the kids the memory verse. It's so wonderful to see a generational church that will continue to make1:09 an impact and be healthy in the next generation, in the next generation, in the next generation. I don't know if you've noticed, I've got gray hair, and pastor Garfield, he's1:20 got gray hair, and pastor Garfield was for many, many years our children's pastor. And then when he got gray hair, we had to say, oh, no. We gotta move you to somewhere else. But it's1:32 just so wonderful to see generations being impact. I can't wait to see your children and your teenagers, should they want to walk in the vocation of a preacher, a pastor,1:44 teacher, evangelist, or whatever they might do. I'm looking for the next generation of Diego's that are hearing the call of God at 17 years old, telling all their high school friends that1:56 I'm gonna be a preacher 1 day, and giving God their twenties, their thirties, their forties, their fifties, and their sixties. How many of you know God can do it? It2:10 usually starts off with 1 intercessor. That was too deep for you to handle. It's more than an interest. It's an intercessor that usually births that2:21 and prays that into the life of somebody. And I would not be here because behind me are 1000 intercessors that have allowed this to happen. We're gonna go to the book of2:33 Joshua. And as you recognize, we are in chapter 24. And if you've been on this journey all year long, we started in chapter 1, and now we're in chapter 24, which is the2:45 last 1. And I imagine the next message will be the final message of Joshua 24. We're gonna read about 14 verses. I think it's important to read through these 14 verses2:57 just to lay the foundation of what we're gonna talk about. How many of you value the word of God? If you talk to somebody who doesn't come to church non Christian or of another faith, they'll always3:09 ask you, what's what's up with the Bible? Why is the Bible so important to you? Why do you talk your people, the church, talk from the Bible? What do you think you would tell them? If someone asked3:20 you, an atheist, why do you learn or they teach you in church through the bible? What would you tell them? Incredible. So, I could see that3:32 we're gonna have to teach you apologetics, which means how to defend the gospel because you do wanna be good at answering these kinds of questions. Now, you don't have to be deep and be a seminary graduate. You3:44 know why we use the bible? Because it's God's word. It's God's word. And we don't value anything more than what comes from the lips of God, which is God's3:56 word. This magnificent bible made up of 66 books, written over 1600 year period on 3 different continents with 40 authors, and yet the4:08 theme of the 1 book is Jesus, and he's the 1 that saves all mankind. Now, you go figure that 1 out, and you try to define that. That's why we believe in the Bible. You tell me what book is4:19 written over 1600 years. You tell me what book is written by 40 different authors on 3 different continents and in several languages, but has a continuity of unity with 1 message,4:31 Jesus and Jesus him alone. It's more than enough for me to believe in the book. Here we go. Stand on our feet. Let's read a little bit together in Joshua chapter4:43 24 and verse 1. Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shisham, summoned Israel's elders, leaders, judges, officers, and they presented themselves before the4:54 Lord. Joshua said to all the people, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, long ago your ancestors including Terah, the father of Abram at Nahor lived beyond the5:06 Euphrates river and worshipped other gods. But I, notice that, I took your father Abraham from the region beyond the Euphrates river and led him throughout the land of Canaan and multiplied his5:18 descendants. I gave Isaac and and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau as a possession. Jacob and his sons,5:30 however, went down to Egypt. I sent Moses and Aaron and I defeated Egypt by what I did within it and afterwards I brought you out. When I brought you5:42 brought your ancestors out of Egypt and reached the Red Sea. The Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen as far as the sea. Your ancestors cried out to the Lord so he5:53 put darkness between you and the Egyptians and brought you brought the sea over them engulfing them. Your own eyes saw saw what I did to Egypt. After that, you lived in6:05 the wilderness a long time. Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You possess their land and I annihilated them6:17 before you. Barak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent out to fight against Israel. He sent Balaam son of Bora to curse you, but I would not listen to6:29 Balam. Instead, he repeatedly blessed you and I rescued you from him. You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. Jericho's citizens as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites,6:40 Girgosites, Hivites, and Jebusites fought against you. But I handed them over to you. I sent hornets ahead of you, and they drove out the 2 Amorite kings before you, and6:52 I was not and it was not by your sword or bow. I gave you a land you did not labor for, cities you did not build. Though you live in them, you are eating7:04 from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant. Therefore, here we go. Last verse. Let's say it together. Therefore, fear the Lord, worship him in sincerity and truth. Get7:16 rid of the gods of your ancestors. Worship beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt and worship the Lord. You may be seated. Good job. You read 14 verses. How7:29 masterful is that? I know we read them fast and there was a lot to be said, but I wanna just some surmise what we're about ready to talk about today by reading from my notes today.7:41 The thought is this, when we remember right, we will reaffirm our commitment to God and not repeat our mistakes and not replace God in our lives. That's the7:52 summation of what you just read right there. If you and I do not remember God in everything that God's done for us, then we will replace God in our lives. But if you remember God, that8:04 it was in your goodness, your righteousness, it was in your strength that has gotten you where you are today, but nothing but God, then I will always affirm God, I will always honor God, and I will always8:15 rely upon God. Do you have a good memory? Let me ask you a question. Can you remember things pretty good? Or do you have spiritual amnesia? Do you have8:27 spiritual dementia? Or spiritual insanity? Sometimes we do. I could be guilty of that and you could be guilty of that because the noise of the hardship is so overwhelming,8:39 it makes me forget about God's past goodness in my life. That happens. In the present prosperity and luxury and pleasure that I'm living in, sometimes that could drown out and make me8:51 forget God in the midst of my luxury and in the midst of my prosperity. But we must not forget God. The same way that a little child does not forget9:03 their banky, and if they don't have a banky, you parents are in trouble. You better search high and low for that blanket. They know it's missing. I better know when I'm missing God9:15 in my life. I remember at our old property in Utica, I went to a meeting 1 night and Adam, pastor Adam wanted to come with me. And so he's just a little guy. He's probably9:26 about 7 years old. And I went to this meeting and then I finished the meeting and halfway home to Southridge Fontana, I realized I forgot Adam at church. And I had9:38 to turn around and go back and get him. I never told lovely Cindy that or she would remember that till the day I die. So many of us have9:50 forgotten God. In the midst of our hardships, we forget God. In the midst of our prosperity, we forget about God. And this chapter is all about challenging10:01 us not to forget about God. So here's the first point. The importance of all and not some. Notice what Joshua told them. You'll10:13 see him on the state, you'll see him on the screen now. He called for all 12 tribes to be represented. He said, I want Reuben. Are you here? All the tribe all the people of Reuben, the10:25 Reubenites. All all the sons of Simon, all the children, grandchildren. Simon, are you here? Levi, Judah, Dan, Nephtala, Gad, Asher, Ishachar, Zebulon, Joseph, and Benjamin.10:37 All the tribes were there. He And then he goes on and he says that the elders were there. The leaders were there. The judges were there. The officers were there.10:49 The importance of all being where they should be rather than some. What am I trying to tell you? Are you with the people that God has called you11:00 to? Are you in the place that God has called you to? Are you living out the plan that God has called you to? Are you living to the purpose God has called you to? Because God11:12 required all of them to be present. Not absent, not busy, not distracted, excuse me, I can't make it. Everybody was in that place at11:24 that particular time. And there's an assigned place that God has us with the assigned people that God has has us go to or live with, to be with. And he has assigned purpose for our lives. And you gotta11:35 understand that. My life is not an accident. My life is not a mystery. My life is not a happenstance. God has a plan for my life with a purpose for my life in the place God has me. And11:47 therefore, I gotta be moved if I am not where I should be. And so the reality was is that that all of them were there and that to me is the power12:00 of being present versus being absent. It's the power of being present. Like when you were a little kid going through school, they call out your name and12:11 you have to say present. And if you didn't say present, they mark you absent. Where did where where and when does God say your name and you're supposed to say present?12:22 Where? What does that look like? You you you will never grow in faith and mature if you cannot define that. You have to understand12:34 where am I supposed to be present. And I cannot afford to be absent in that place. If you know a little about about your bible, Jesus after the12:46 resurrection was seen by 500 more than 500 individuals. In other words, they would have seen him on Sunday when he12:58 died suspended between earth and heaven for 6 hours. They would have saw him. He They saw him on Friday. They saw him on Sunday. And then they After the resurrection, after 313:09 days, they would have saw him again. 500 people, 500 witnesses saw him. On the day of Pentecost, which would have been 40 days after his resurrection,13:20 120 of them were present in the upper room. Where were the other 380? You just13:32 saw the resurrected Jesus. You just saw him die and now you see him walk in the streets and he says, tarry in Jerusalem, wait in that upper room, you're not present.13:44 You're not there. Here's a great scripture in John. I'll read it to you. It speaks a little bit about Thomas. Having said this, he showed them their hands and his13:56 side. So disciples rejoice when they saw the Lord. But Thomas called the twin, 1 of the 12 was not with them when Jesus came. Absent,14:08 absent, absent, absent. Not present, not present, not where he should be. They gotta tell him what happened. That he doesn't know for himself. Please go on,14:20 please. Please go on. No. Okay. We can't go on.14:32 Let's see if I can find it. I'm sorry. No. I guess that's all I'm gonna get. Only that's it. Anyway, so I apologize. So basically, what that's saying is is that14:44 Jesus showed up to show his resurrected body. All 10 of them were were there. Judas had already died. The only 1 missing was Thomas. Thomas14:56 wasn't where he should have been. And so I I want you to recognize the power of being present. The second thing is the power of unity versus disunity. The power of15:07 togetherness versus non togetherness. The power of agreement versus disagreement. The power of oneness versus being divided. The power of fellowship versus non fellowship.15:19 The power of community versus non community. They were all unified by being together. There was a sense of unity as Joshua, this old15:30 commander, this old general, this 1 that started as a young man, as a servant of Mo. Why was he chosen? Why was not Aaron chosen as the leader? Why was not Miriam chosen?15:42 Why was not Er chosen? Why was it him that was chosen? And now he's an old man. And so we see here as he calls for everybody because he wants unity. God wants unity in15:54 our homes. God wants unity in our marriage. God wants unity in our nation. God wants unity in our church, and we need to strive for unity. Unity is always the place of16:06 power. There will never be no power of God in our lives where there's disunity. I remember early in my marriage, I told my wife, we will not we will not always agree on everything,16:18 but we must walk in unity. I'll share my opinion, you share your opinion. I'm not gonna change your opinion, you won't change my opinion. I'll value, I'll respect, but we16:30 must main remain in unity and not allow any strife or any division or any discord to divide us. And if that means spending all night talking16:41 through why why we believe what we believe or why we wanna do what we do, then we're gonna do that. And that has been the the success of next month, 42 years of marriage,16:53 is the unity that we possess. That's why me and lovely Cindy are that devil hates us. We're very powerful. When we get together and pray, God hears our prayers. Because he recognize17:06 Because Matthew 18 18 says there's power in agreement through prayer. So so I want you to recognize that the bible talks about being put together, joined together, built together,17:18 members together, heirs together, fitted together, held together, and and brought up together. The bible has everything to do with us being together as the body of Christ. The hand is not17:29 separated from the arm. The foot is not separated from the leg. The eye is not separated from the face. You cannot be separated from your brothers and sisters. Is required. Fellowship is required. Serving17:41 together is required. Responsibility. And that's what he's calling them to here. And the third thing is the power of equal sacrifice breeds trusting relationships.17:56 Too many times we have some people sacrificing and other people kicking back and watching. And when there's equal sacrifice, then you and I start trusting 1 another. I love the church.18:09 I've been part of the church for many many years, but I recognize that sometimes we don't do things right within the church. I'm talking about the family of God, the body of Christ, and oftentimes18:20 we don't have trusted relationships with 1 another. And we literally don't trust 1 another because we don't have equal sacrifice. We're not pulling our18:32 load. I'm working and you're watching, or or you're working and I'm watching. You're you're giving and I'm not giving. You're praying and I'm not praying. So there it will there will never be trusting18:43 relationship. So to get all these people here is the fact that everybody equally sacrifices. Wherever God tells us to sacrifice, we're gonna sacrifice in our prayers. We're to18:55 sacrifice as men of God to stay married to to to to the wife of our youth. And though that gets difficult sometimes and marriage is hard,19:07 I'm gonna stay married no matter what it takes. And if if I if if I endure and I I hold fast, there'll come a time when I'll enjoy the harvest of that. But19:20 people don't think that way. And so you and I have to get to the point where we recognize there has to be equal sacrifice in our lives. Again, Dodger game in the world series game 3 that took19:32 18 innings 6 hours and 35 minutes went through 10 pitchers. Tyler Glaslow was the starting pitcher, but 9 other pitchers came after19:44 him. That 1 that game was won by 10 pitchers, not 1 pitcher. Every 1 of them, when the call came, get out there. You ready? Get out there. I'm19:55 hurting. I'm sad. I can't. Shut up and get out there. I know that's a little too hard, but when the man when the manager, Jesus, looks at you and say, you're up. You got I'm20:07 scared. I'm scared. Took 10 pictures. Equal sacrifice. Nobody's gonna pull my load. No20:19 nobody had listen. I'm a man. Ain't nobody gonna hold my hand. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. I'll raise my kids. I'll love my wife. I'll tithe. I'll20:31 volunteer. I'll work. It's equal sacrifice. Equal sacrifice is the key here. I don't know if you've ever seen geese flying. I just love the unity and the20:43 formation. I'll just stand up and I mean, so I'll just look up and just enjoy the v formation of how they absolutely work together. The second thing is the importance of remembering20:54 and revisiting Shesham. This is where this meeting is gonna take place. It's gonna take place in Shesham. It's it's literally in a valley.21:06 It's in a valley where this is taking place. But, I'm gonna take you to ask you, where is your Shesham and why Sheshem? Why did he call him to this location?21:19 Why? Okay. Well, we're gonna find out. I gotta take you 600 years before what you're about ready to see. See, they've already inherited the promises of God. They've already defeated everything. All the ites, they21:30 did All the Canaanites, they defeated. Okay? But I gotta take you 600 years earlier, and we'll go to Genesis 12, and I wanna read this scripture to you. Abraham passed through the land21:43 to the site of Sheshem. Oh my God. At the Okamorah, at the time the Canaanites were in the land.21:55 The Lord appeared to Abraham where? In Shisham. And said to your offspring, what? I will give this land that22:06 Joshua's inheriting. A 600 year prophecy is being fulfilled. So, he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him at Sheshem. Amen.22:20 We're a generation that have lost all traditions. Seems as though a generation has come and gone, and you and I have to fight for traditions. Places where we're gonna build solid memories for22:31 our children and our grandchildren to remind them and to rehearse God's goodness in our lives, and who we are as a people. The patriarchs and the matriarchs of our22:43 families that have built us. Go back to your shisham. I can remember my shisham when it when when I think of my spiritual life in shisham. I think of the fact that22:55 in 19 94 in January, at big old Tyre, I was sitting there. And I had this little book from a place called Harrison House. Don't even know if23:07 Harrison House exists anymore. And I was thumbing through it as I was just buying time. This is before the internet, a cell phone or anything like that, waiting for the tires to go on.23:19 And I saw this scripture in Isaiah 43 18 and 19. Maybe I've read it before, maybe not, but it was like I was hearing God. Behold, will do a new thing saith the Lord. I'll make a way in your wilderness and rivers in23:31 your deserts. I've called you to be a senior pastor. That's what I heard in my spirit. That was a sheeshia moment. It was a visitation from God. It was giving me divine23:43 direction. Little did I know in 3 months, I would birth, we would birth by the spirit of God, abundant living family church in Southridge Fontana in my home. I'll never forget it.23:55 I'll never forget be a big old tire. I'll never forget it. And you and I have to remember these moments when God came with vision in us. God came to birth direction24:07 in us. God came with a visitation in us. Sheshem is the place where I met God. It's the place where God gave me a promise. And Shisham is the place where God fulfilled his24:19 word to me. That's what Shisham meant to them. As they sat there and said, our our great grandfather whoever it might be Abraham was here 1 day. He built this altar and24:31 God told him that we would inherit the land. 600 years ago and look what the Lord has done. We have inherited the land. Wow. What a reason to praise God at that particular point.24:43 The importance of reflection over your life from beginning till now. That's what they were doing. See, see because as you go through this text here,24:55 I'm gonna try to do this very very quickly. He rehearses their history for them. Just in case they forgot or if they didn't forget, they needed to be reminded. So, he's gonna take them down25:07 a road from the fact that where they began to where they are now. He said, I wanna take you back to the beginning of Torah. Torah was a pagan idol25:18 worshiper who didn't know me. And I saved his son Abraham. And I birthed a nation and new people from him today.25:30 I wanna remind you of that, your beginnings. So I wanna talk to you about, he says, I wanna name Terah, Abram, Isaac, Jacob, Esa, Esa, Esa. I wanna talk to you about Egypt, Moses, Aaron.25:42 I defeated Egypt. I brought you out of the Red Sea. Egyptian chariots I destroyed. The darkness between you and them. I drowned people in the Red Sea. I brought you through the wilderness. We defeated the Amorites,25:53 Balak, Balaam, and and and you were blessed. And then you went through the Jordan. And then you conquered the Jericho, and the Perasites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, the Girgisites, the Hivites, the26:05 Jebusites. All this I did for you. Don't forget it. Absolutely don't forget my goodness to you. Don't forget my mercy to you, and26:17 don't forget my loving kindness to you. And I was with you after event after event after event, stage after stage after stage, episode after episode in your26:29 life. 71 times in the book of Psalms you'll see this word silah. The word silah means to pause for reflection and give honor and praise to God.26:41 We need to have more Sila moments in our lives that just stop and say, look what the Lord has done. I was a Mexican from Montebello that had a 1.8 GPA,26:54 So much issues in my life and I'm not here today because of my intellect, my looks, or any skill. I'm here by the providence of God. I'm here that God orchestrated my life.27:06 The hand of God is on me and I never ever wanna take glory, I never wanna take honor, and I never wanna take praise for it. I always wanna give it back. Is there anybody like me in this27:17 room?27:22 That's what he's doing.27:26 He reminding them of the South Central days. He's reminding them of the prison days, the drug days, the alcoholic27:38 promiscuity days. Al central days. That's what I was thinking of Al central. South central, Al central doesn't matter. He's reminding27:50 you of the immigrant you used to be. That nobody in your family had an education. Nobody's owned their own home. Nobody graduated from college. I'm gonna take you back to your28:01 origin today so that you could see how far you are and how far I've come in your life for because of my goodness and my mercy and my kindness that I did that for you. He28:13 takes them down this journey of the providences and the stages of God. I don't know about you. You could see them, but they may not be revealed to you. I could see the providence of God in my life.28:24 I could just see the turns he took me down. The things showing up to be a sheriff. Nope. You're not gonna be a sheriff. Don't pass the check. Show up to be a marine. Nope. You're not28:36 gonna be a marine. Shut that thing down. You're Show up to be a professional trial. No. Shut that thing. If that would've If if if if that would've went, I wouldn't have been here, or we would've delayed it, or I28:47 could've died somewhere. It was the hand of God that shut those doors. It I was supposed to be at UCLA under a28:59 running scholarship. God shut that thing down. I had an injury that ended it. It would I would have never met Cindy. I would have never done that. The career would have went a whole different way. I29:12 told Cindy when I dated her, I she we wanted to go to the mountains together. I didn't wanna go to the mountains. I didn't wanna I didn't wanna date this girl. I wanted to go off to bible school. I didn't want nothing to29:22 do with her. I kinda got looped into it. She invited herself to go on vacation with me. And that's a gospel truth no matter what she says. Because my mom and dad could verify it because I lived29:34 in their home and I said, don't wanna go on. I said, I don't wanna go to Big Bear with this girl. I don't wanna go on with this girl. She my dad said, well, you better call her up. Right? Because she's I I told her,29:44 we're go. And so she said, what are we gonna eat? I said, I don't know. She said, why don't I go to the market and get us some food? And I said, okay. And I hung up the phone. I hung up the phone. Then I looked at my mom29:56 and dad said, I don't wanna go out with this girl. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't want her in my life. She he said, you better pick up that phone and call. Not more than a minute later, I picked up the phone, 130:05 ringing, digging, 2 ringing in, and she didn't pick up. If she would have picked up, there would have been no Nathan, Caleb, or Adam. It wouldn't have happened. Can you I don't know if you could can you see the destiny30:17 of God in your life? Can you see? Because I could go back and I could tell you story, after story, after story, after story. You may think it's happenstance, you may think it's coincidence. I know it's the divine30:28 orchestration of God that has gotten me where I'm at today. And I wanna, I'm not gonna take glory, and I'm not gonna take honor, and I'm not gonna give praise. I'm gonna give it all back to God, because30:40 it was nothing but him. He deserves it. And I30:45 wanna tell my children, and I'm gonna tell my grandchildren, and I'm gonna tell my great grandchildren, and I'll tell all generations. So30:57 you see him so he he says this amazingly, and it was highlighted, but not all of them were highlighted. At least 11 times he said, I took you, I gave you, I31:08 defeated, I brought, I did, I handed, I annihilated, I would not allow, I I rescued you, I I sent you, I gave31:20 you. No. No. No. I. I. There ain't no you, we's, us's in that. There'll be thousands of people31:32 in a valley. He's saying, I wanna remind it was God. God said, I did it. I did it. I did it. I did it. You didn't do jack diddly. Nothing. I did it. I delivered you. I healed you.31:44 I rescued you. I bless you. I got that you. I got you that job. I got you that house. I healed you. I delivered you. I'm the 1 who did it. Now you owe me.31:55 You owe me the rest of your life. You owe me your praise, your worship, your service, your heart, your money, your love. I did that for you, God said.32:07 You didn't build that house. I built that, God said. Everything was my by my hand of mercy. That's what he's telling them right there in the valley, all those32:19 eyes. Here's a quote on the screen. When we build our lives around eyes, we are being influenced and acting like the devil.32:31 When instead of God being the eye, you start being the eye, then let me tell you who you're acting like. In Isaiah in verse number 14, here we go. You wanna see32:43 Lucifer? You wanna see the devil before he fell to this earth? Here you go. You said to yourself, I I will ascend to the heavens. This is this is this is32:55 Lucifer who's Satan. He said, I will ascend to the heavens. I will set my throne above the stars. I will sit on the mount of God's assembly33:06 in the remost parts of the north. I I will ascend above the highest clouds. I will make myself like the most high. You fool. You33:18 fool. That's why he fell. That's why he was kicked out of heaven.33:30 And when you and I start taking the I credit, you acting like the devil, Full of arrogance, full of conceitedness, and full of pride. I don't want no eyes in33:42 me. All the glory and all the honor goes to him. Why why would I not serve him? Why would I not give him 10 percent of my money? He could have all33:54 of it if he wanted. But see, there's an I. You won't give him 10 percent. It's I it's I my money. My, my, my. Uh-oh. Uh-oh.34:07 Let's close this out while you still like me, but that's He goes through that. The last thing that I think is pretty important. There's a34:18 there's a thought and maybe you've seen this before. If you see a turtle on a fence pole. If you ever see this, know that the turtle didn't get up there by34:30 himself. And we're like that turtle. God put us on the He elevated us. He promoted. You couldn't climb that34:42 pole if you wanted to. You couldn't live in that neighborhood if you wanted to. You couldn't make that money if you wanted. You couldn't have married that woman if you wanted. You couldn't have those kids if you wanted34:51 to. Knucklehead that you are. Fool that we all are. Stupid that we all are. It's a loving God35:03 that reached down to that miry pit and washed us clean and made us righteous and gave us the mind of Christ, gave us a new heart and put his spirit upon us. And I never35:15 wanna forget that. And so the last point is this, the importance he ends with this in verse number 14. He uses this word therefore.35:28 So he ends with this in verse 14. Can you give me that? There we go. He says, therefore. What is therefore therefore? He35:40 says, because of all that I just said, I wanna bring a conclusion to them. I'm about ready to drop the mic. Joshua said, get ready. I'm about ready to drop the mic. Ready to walk off the stage. Get ready. Here we go.35:51 Curtain's gonna close right now. Know, porky pig's gonna come out and say, that's all folks. That's it. He said, here's the conclusion of the matter. Listen to me. I'm gonna give you the summary now.36:03 Here's the summary, guys. Fear the Lord. Honor him. Reverence him. Love him. Worship him. Serve him36:15 with sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods. Get rid of your idols. Get rid of sin. Get rid of flesh that your ancestors worshiped and worshiped the Lord. This36:27 is summation of it. Because God's been so good to you, will you fear the Lord? Because God's been good to you, will you worship the Lord? Because God's been good to you, will you get rid of the sin and36:39 the idols that are in your life? Then you'll guarantee a blessed ending and a blessed future. But he ends with this. He says, but you gotta do it with sincerity and36:50 truth. Yeah. Because I can almost do anything without sincerity. I can I can stay married to a wife without sincerity? I can raise kids without sincerity. I could preach without37:02 sincerity. You could go to work without sincerity. But the Bible says whatsoever you do, do it as unto the Lord with all your heart. Yeah. So God wants truth.37:14 Truth is obedience. He said, I obedience from you. I don't want lip service. Truth is a life of obedience that you obey what my word says. But I want sincerity. I want your whole heart37:26 given to me, my whole heart. So, in biblical times and during the time in which the bible was written, there were merchants and37:38 merchants would line the streets of let's just say Jerusalem already major city and they'd be selling pottery. And a lot of some of them were not always sincere.37:50 Some of them were insincere. Some of them were like connivers and thieves and they wanted to do you over. And so, a good shopper when he saw a pot that he38:02 wanted, he would lift it up to the sun and the sunlight, the beams of the sun would shine through the pot and it would expose cracks that had been filled by wax.38:14 And so he was selling it off as something that was strong or whole, but it was insincere. We sometimes can38:25 cover up our lives with wax but God lifts us up in the sun. He said, oh no, no, no, no, no, no. You're not gonna sell yourself off that way. You need to repent. You need to get right. You need to get rid of those things.38:38 Don't fake it. Don't pretend. Don't try to sell yourself off as not being what you should be. So he challenges us and he ends, live a life of truth and live a life of sincerity.38:51 Father, I thank you for the message today and I pray that it resonates in the hearts of every single person to you today. May we not take credit for your goodness in our lives God. It's nothing but your mercy that we areShow more
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