You Want Me to do What? (Part 12)

Welcome to leading the way with pastor and author of more than 40 books. Dr. Michael you sent your response to the grace of God. How you respond to the blessings of God to God. It is not enough for you to review your blessing. It is important to respond to your blessings and God's blessings were given to you so that you might be a witness for Christ. There were given to you so you might be a number for Jesus Christ believer you are safe from the penalty of sin saved from the power of sin and someday you will be saved in the presence of sin is in that great news today. Dr. Michael Yousef takes you to the point and Josh was like we he declared with great passion that he and his house are going to serve the Lord with all their hearts will you if you're not driving or operating heavy equipment, turn witness to Joshua chapter 24 and get ready for a challenging word from Dr. Michael you set I want you to imagine the following scenario. You wake up in the morning is not long 98 9 o'clock, so dark you say. Maybe by noon.

Things would change about noon time is bleak of the midnight and as the day begins to progress this fear of those apprehension. There is wondering what's going on puzzlement.

What happened to the son why the sun is not shining and by evening time most likely churches are repacked out with people trying and crying to God because this is such an experience none of us have ever been through. And then after an all-night prayer meeting the following morning you walk outside and there you see few rays of the sun just beginning to peek through the clouds, indicating that a new day has no try to imagine your reaction after 24 hours of fear and trembling. Imagine the joy. Imagine the elation I wanted to try to imagine the thanksgiving and the gratitude.

Imagine the praises that will be lifted up to the Lord for the sun and the sun shining again but is a question the sun shines every day. What are we thank God for the sun. Everyday when we thank God every morning that we walk up there with our lives. Why don't we daily have a thankful and praising attitude about the creation about God and about the blessings and about everything that he has placed in our hands. Why does it have to happen after a frightful experience because sadly, we have to lose something before we value it. Sadly, we are just forgetful people. We just forget. And this is precisely why you find in the Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. It goes on. I don't know how many hundred times, God says, remember, remember, remember, remember, because he knew that we are such a forgetful people I know amnesia is a medical condition, sometimes Hollywood kind of trivializes it in the movies, but in reality it is a serious condition that involves the loss of memory and in these cases, the victim actually had forgotten his name or her name and their address and the date of birth they have forgotten the relatives and amnesia is a condition where those facts are actually blocked totally out of the memory bank of the individual and the victim cannot remember significant events cannot remember the times of milestones in their life, but I want to tell you there is a spiritual amnesia of spiritual amnesia that is far more common than the physical amnesia and it happens when God's people forget God's past blessings as if they've never received them.

It happens when a person allows his or her present troubles in life to block out of their memories. God's past blessings, God's past provisions God's past faithfulness and God's past interventions in the live in God's past. On meditate favor and grace will God knew all along that God knew our tendency to forget his goodness and his grace and his mercy, God knew that we have a tendency to forget his past blessings that we have a tendency to take those past blessings for granted and we think that they were due to us that got them to us. God knew that we have a tendency to presume on the grace of God and on the goodness of God.that is why we have here in the last chapter of the book of Joshua the message loud and clear and repeated several times God is saying it over and over and over again. Don't forget, don't forget what I've done for you. Don't ignore my past goodness and generosity toward you don't take for granted the manifestations of my power in your life.

Don't be ungrateful. Don't try to take credit for only that which I have done for you and if you haven't turned to Joshua 2400 and encourage her will be going through a series of messages from the book of Joshua entitled what we did or what. And here we come to the very end in here. The last chapter, Joshua, not less than four times repeated over and over and over again, saying the phone. Forget. In fact, the very place where Joshua called the entire nation of Israel was not just any old place.

It was not just her by accident we can find just a place where they can get everybody together.

No, none of the Bible makes it very clear that the choice of the place was deliberate. If you look at verse one of Joshua 24 then Joshua assembled all of the tribes of Israel in Shechem is there. What's big about Shechem very very big deal about Shechem you see 600 years earlier.

It was in Shechem that God made a promise to Abraham and he said to him, to your descendents. I'm going to give you the land of promise. You say 600 years.

Yes, you see, you forget God doesn't. And Abraham responded to the grace of God, he responded to the promise of God.

We responded to the graciousness of God by building an altar in Shechem. Two years later his grandson Jacob came to Shechem because it was such a holy site and remembered that his grandfather Abraham was promised right there and he exalted his family, his household, to get rid of all the idols out of their possessions and to worship Jehovah alone and there to replace an altar at Shechem. So 600 years after Abraham Joshua comes into the same place. This Shechem and he said I am going to build an altar for the faithfulness of God for the graciousness of God, the God who never forgets his promises to God always keeps his word, no matter what. And there he challenges the people to respond to the blessing of God. You see those two things here he reviews the blessings of God and then he challenges them to respond to the blessing of God. I'm sure that each one of us have our Shechem's chickens might not be in your life might not be a place but it's a time when there is a place or time you have your Shechem's and I have mine. This of the places in the times where God met with us in a very special way. There are the places and the times when God blessed us in a unique way. Those are the places and the times where God provided all of our needs. Those are the places in the times where God fulfilled his promises to you those other places in the times when God answered your prayers in abundance. Those are the places in the times were he intervened on your behalf.

Those other places in the times where God showed himself to be faithful despite Nevada and faithfulness. These are the Shechem's in our lives of the places in the times when instead of condemning us and we know we deserve condemnation gives us more grace best to Shechem in our life and I want to exhort you today go back to your Shechem Mecca landmark for every one of us needs to go back not just occasionally but often draw Shechem's there in Shechem. God reminded Israel over and over and over again of how he took them out of the mud pits of Egypt in the slavery where there up to our eyeballs and mother making bricks in the wicks of the Egyptian slave masters were on the backs and there he reminded them of taking them into the wilderness, but that he did not forsake them supernaturally provided the manna from heaven and then at night he gave them the pillar of fire and by bedtime.

He gave them the cloud and then he led them into victory against the Amalekites and all the other lights in the mosquito bites the door trying to kill him and their he took them from the wilderness into the promised land. Literally, they cross the river of impossibilities and their he destroyed the impenetrable walls of Jericho and there he kept on blessing them and he kept on taking them from victory to victory to victory 17 times counting in the book of Joshua chapter 24 17,000.

He said I took you I gave you I sent you.

I brought you I delivered you and God can say the same thing to you and to me, you know that surgery that you came through God was there and he brought you through, you know that financial blessing that you have received God gave you that you know that tight spot in life that threaten to undo you. God is the one who got you out of that. You know those children. God has given you these children are not ours. They are from God, that God's gift to us. Well, they will become teenagers and then going to question God's gift but but enjoy them for now, but the things will change your turnaround become your best friends this after reviewing God's blessings, Joshua was now exhorting them to respond reviewing the blessing is not enough.

You have to respond to the blessings he is telling them of their responsibility in the light of these blessings listen to me very carefully. Please, God bless you for a purpose. God bless to for a reason and you must never rest until you find a purpose and that reason and that you respond to it in accordance to the way God guides you listen to me. Please, long time ago on the older I get, the more I am convinced that God is not looking for abilities. He is looking for availabilities and is always looking for you to do to make yourself available to him how you respond to the grace of God. How do you respond to the blessings of God. It's very important to God. It is not enough for you to review your blessings. It is important to respond to your blessings. It is not enough to say well here. All these blessings of God is give me. Thank you Lord that is not enough, you must remind yourself of the absolute necessity of responding to these blessings, you must remind yourself of your responsibility toward what God has given you, and God's blessings were given to you so that you might be a witness for Christ.

There were given to you so you might be an ambassador for Jesus Christ.

God bless to you so that you may reconsider.

While men and women, boys and girls to Christ. You see, when Jesus responded to the call of the father upon his life. He did something he had the supernatural power recorded yelled from heaven believe in me. He could've appeared with power and terrifies us but he didn't. He left the glories of heaven become man and then Jesus tells us in Luke chapter 15 that when the shepherd looked around and he found one out of the 99 sheep was missing. He did something he didn't sit on his blessed assurance is that all the sheep will be back but he got up and he was searching for that sheep until he found the sheep and put it on his shoulders when the woman lost the coin. The Bible said in Luke 15 that she did not sit there as it will turn up now, but she went on a search party until she found that point and then she rejoiced and Joshua said to the Israelites. Now you need to review your blessings but you also need to respond to God for these blessings. In fact, if you read Joshua 24.

It is a magnificent. It's a long chapter but it is a great chapter and you going to notice the following that as Joshua began to remind people of the blessings he got some of the response that I get from you here tepid response. Donna limited to what yeah just for your help with. We heard you yeah yeah will do some okay Joshua will see how can we respond to the blessings of God. Let me see what I can do for you. You can tell Joshua was exasperated at this insipid response.

He really is coming he was getting exasperated at this lukewarm response in verse 15 he goes down is the first exasperation, he said choose this day whom you shall worship. If you don't worship idols gone follow the idols. I mean those are the words of exasperated and then he says, but as for me and my household we don't worship the Lord alone.

You can sense the exasperation is if to say just worship Jehovah halfhearted domicile whom I had a feeling of obligation don't think you're conserving just a bright room to get along your good side.just go through the motions while your heart is focused on materialism and all the junk of this world undo that Joshua said as far as I am concerned, as far as my family is concerned, we are giving ourselves and our all to the one who did all this for us regardless of what the poll said, regardless of what others are going to do, regardless of who says what. Regardless of what the leading economic indicator may say, regardless of what the pressures that are put upon us regardless of what others might condemn us or praise us regardless of what others will do to me. I commit my all to Jehovah and then Joshua you can tell that he still is still getting that kind of vacant stares you know I mean he still feels that this thing yeah yeah yeah with their mouths, but to say no with her eyes and so he gets so frustrated he goes to verse 23 he said okay if you really mean what you saying to me then put on by the foreign gods which are keeping your home's the idols that you're worshiping you see, I might not know your idols. You might not know my idols, but God knows both of our idols stop saying yeah yeah someday yeah one day stop doing that does make commitment now make a sacrifice now. Prove your allegiance to Christ now home to take a stand now come to a decision now make your faith tangible.

Now let your walk might you talk now that tomorrow list tomorrow. You may not be around to see. We take our vertebra for granted and yet the some people did not wake up this morning, God spared you better find out why you better find out why and I was thinking about this and I was praying now is really broken before God and I thought about covenants and you know, covenants or contracts are entered into normally between two equals.

That's a normal to business people or somebody's going to bring in something to the table. Marriage covenants are marriage between husband and wife equals covenants always between equals with a somebody's bringing a sweat equity or financial equity. Whatever is somebody is bringing something to the table and as I began to think is covenants been made with two equals. And I thought about how magnificent God is the covenant making covenant keeping God that he is a sub. He is the holy is the righteous. Here's the rich God and yet he chooses to enter into a covenant with poor creatures.

Two equals. That is why the Christian faith is unique in all of history. What a privilege, the great God of the universe one of said let there be light and there was light says I wanted enter into a covenant with you what I don't desire.

I'm not worthy of his that I know that but I want enter into a covenant with you some of you have never entered into a covenant and received the salvation that only Jesus Christ can give you the eternal life that only Jesus Christ can give you. You can enter into this covenant today. And so, Lord Jesus come into my life I've been living without you. Now, save me now in eternity but to speak for a moment. For those who have entered into a covenant with God.

Those who have known the Lord Jesus Christ for some time, USA God, you saved me eternally. Now I want to help see somebody else saved God blessed me now I want to be a blessing to others you provided for me. Now I want to provide so that others in Mongolia and in the Middle East and North Africa and throughout United States and in this city and in this place might come to know Jesus. Listen to me, as I conclude, if there is one thing that honors the covenant making covenant keeping God is your willingness to trust is a willingness to trust say God I know your provided form in the past but I know you going to provide for me in the don't allow fear to come into the situation. Trust in his grace. Trust in his provision. Trust in his mercy trust in his promises. Death is leading the way with Dr. Michael you sent you if you'd like to explore more about what it means to be wholly committed to God and to his word. Let me encourage you to start a conversation with one of our staff members go to LTW.org/Jesus, since we only have a few moments that I want to remind you about a free resource available to you from leading the way. This is a monthly magazine delivered right to your mailbox and it's called my journal. In addition to containing updates from Dr. Michael you Seth and some of the ministry leaders.

You will also get into the Bible teaching that you can use to supplement your current Bible reading and when you waiting outside of the hardware store. The grocery store in the fast food liner waiting to pick up the kids from school, take a moment get a little deeper into God's word and learn more about leading the way to get your free trial started, give us a call 866-626-4356, the ministry representatives will quickly get you information to start your subscription, 866-626-4356 or LTW.org LTW.org look for my journal and you can connect with us through the Postal Service as well write us a letter leading the way, PO Box 20100 Atlanta, GA 30325 bats PO Box 20100 Atlanta, GA 30325, my friends, just a quick reminder that in addition to listening to this radio broadcast, leading the way also produces compelling television programs seen in this area. Just like we do on radio. We dig deep into the truth of the word of God and unfolded to make it practical for daily living. So if you've been encouraged by this today. Check your local television listing watch leading the way television we are multiple local stations and networks, such as ion TBN DayStar NRB CTN Fox business network and more. Find out where to watch in your area when you visit LTW.org that's LTW.O RG Coblentz. This program is furnished by leading the way with Dr. Michael you Seth, passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world for more than 30 years