Sermon Joshua 24 "Choose the God You Will Serve"

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon – Joshua 24 – Choose the God You Will Serve
New Covenant Presbyterian Church
August  26, 2018

I want you to think about a basket of summer vegetables.  The tomatoes from your garden are at their peak of flavor.  The crabs are coming out of the bay in abundance.  The sweet corn was picked this morning.  But today you are approaching a summertime feast with some trepidation because something new is about to happen.  For years you have always gone over to your parent’s house for the summertime family cookout.  But this year everyone is coming to your house.  The responsibility is now on you.  You have to get the crabs.  You have to grill the burgers and slice the tomatoes.  God still provides all the food we eat, but now you have to prepare it.

This is what was happening to the Israelites.  The people of God had wondered in the wilderness for 40 years.  During this time God provided for their every need.  Then they entered the Promised Land and God drove out all their enemies.  Now they are settled on the land and enjoying their lives.  Finally, they are at peace.  But now they must grow their own barley and wheat.  The must raise their own chickens and cows.  God still provides for them, but not by putting manna on the ground every day.  God provides by sending light and warmth from the sun and rain from the clouds so that the crops they plant will grow.

The people of God have matured, and so Joshua takes this opportunity to ask them to make a choice.  This is the same choice we have.  We have to choose the god we will serve.  And as your pastor, I call on you to make this choice today.  We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John Calvin)

Joshua 24:1 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges, and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.

As Joshua approached the end of his long life he assembled his people for a great feast at Shechem.  His purpose was to ask them which god they intend to worship and serve.  There were several gods they could choose from.  One possibility was the group of gods Abraham worshiped as a young man.  Many people thought that they should return to these ancient gods.  But here is what Joshua told them.

2 … “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.

So according to Joshua, these ancient gods of Abraham’s forefathers were powerless.  They were unable to help Abraham and Sarah have children.  But when the Abraham followed the Lord God of Israel into Canaan he was blessed with numerous children and a large extended family.  So why would you worship impotent gods of your ancestors when you can serve the one true God?

Other people wanted to worship the gods of Egypt.  They had learned about Egyptian gods when they were slaves.  These gods seemed pretty powerful at the time.  But God reminded them of this:

5 “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. 7 But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

So the Egyptian gods also were pretty powerless too.  They were unable to keep the Israelites as slaves.  The Lord God of Israel was far stronger than impotent Egyptian gods when he parted the Red Sea and help them escape.  So why worship and serve them when the Lord God of Israel was clearly more powerful?

Other people wanted to worship the gods of the land they were settling. Here is what Joshua told them:

8 “‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. 9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you.10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

11 “‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’

So the gods of the Amorites east of the Jordan, and the local gods of the people living in the Promised Land west of the Jordan were pretty impotent too.  Only the Lord God of Israel was worthy of worship.  So Joshua told them this:

14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

And so we have a choice.  We can worship other gods or we can worship the Lord God of Israel.  Who will we worship?

Before we can answer this question we have to ask, who are these other gods we could choose to worship and serve?  The 20th Century theologian Karl Barth said that these others gods are any authority that we deem important.  For example, you are driving here in Middletown and you see flashing lights in your rearview mirror.  These lights represent the authority of the Middletown Police Department.  Since you deem this authority important you pull over.  Any authority, according to Barth, that you deem important is what the Bible calls “other gods”.  And the first commandment is very clear about where God stands with regard to these “other gods.”

Deuteronomy 5: 7 “You shall have no other gods before me.

So you must not deem any other authority as more important than God.

These ideas were crucial when Adolf Hitler became the leader of Germany.  He was a powerful authority who people deemed most important.  This allowed him to seize control of the German church and replace bishops with men sympathetic to government policies.   But a small group of pastors resisted and formed the Confessing Church Movement.  They said that there was an authority they deemed more important than Hitler, and his name was Jesus Christ.  Here is what a member of the Confessing Church Movement, Karl Barth, wrote in the Theological Declaration of Barmen challenging Hitler’s church.

“Jesus Christ, as he is attested for us in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God which we have to hear and which we have to trust and obey in life and in death.”  (Book of Confessions 8.11)

With that statement the members of Confessing Church said that they deemed Jesus’ authority with greater importance than Hitler’s authority, putting their own lives at risk.

Are there any “other gods” we serve?  Is there any authority we deem important?  Of course!  There are lots of other gods.  The government is one.  Business, money, power, education are all authorities we deem pretty important. 

Is there any authority we deem more important that Jesus?  Why would we do this given all the blessings we have received from the Lord God of Israel?  No authority can forgive our sins besides Jesus.  No authority can grant us eternal life besides Jesus.  No authority will reign in the Kingdom of God besides Jesus.  So why would you worship and serve any other authority ahead of Jesus?
Here is how the people of Joshua’s day answered the question of which god they would serve:

16 “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods!   21 … “No! We will serve the Lord.”

Here is how the Confessing Church Movement answered this question in Nazi Germany:

“ We reject the false doctrine, as though the church, over and beyond its special commission, should and could appropriate the characteristics, the tasks, and the dignity of the State, thus itself becoming an organ of the State. (Theological Declaration of Barmen, 8.24)

The church’s commission, upon which its freedom is founded, consists in delivering the message of the free grace of God to all people in Christ’s stead, and therefore in the ministry of his own Word and work through sermon and Sacrament. (Theological Declaration of Barmen, 8.26)”

That was their answer.  They declared that Jesus was the supreme authority in heaven and on earth.  And they did this in defiance of Hitler and at risk of losing their lives.  How will we answer the question?  Will we serve other gods?  Will we deem any authority as more important than Jesus?  Or will we enter into a covenant with God today and pledge that we will have no other gods before him.  I urge you this day to choose the Lord God of Israel as revealed in the pages of scripture and in the person of Jesus Christ and serve only him.

A basket of summer vegetables is a reminder that all the food we eat comes from God.  As we mature in our faith we now must choose which God we will worship and serve.  As for me, I will worship that God who provides that food that nourishes us.  I suggest you worship this God too.   Let's pray.

Father in heaven we thank you for all the ways you bless us.  We recognize your power and authority.   And we deem your authority as more important than any other authority on earth.   And so we choose to worship and serve you.   This we pledge, in your Son’s name.  Amen.

Sermon Psalm 34 – The Fear of the Lord

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Psalm 34 – The Fear of the Lord
New Covenant Presbyterian Church
August 19, 2018

The is Gospel Sunday and we are singing some of the oldies but goodies.   I love to sings these songs, but there is an underlying theme to them which I would like to point out.   Consider these words from Softly and Tenderly, “Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing, passing from you and from me; shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming, coming for you and for me”.  Listen to these words from Sweet Hour of Prayer, “In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief, and oft escaped the tempter's snare by thy return, sweet hour of prayer!”  Or what about these words from It is Well With My Soul, “Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control: that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and has shed his own blood for my soul”?  There seems to be a lot of fear:  fear of dying, fear of distress, fear of temptation.   Fear is something we experience.   The gospel songs teach us the when we fear, Jesus rescues.

We all have things that we fear.  Maybe we fear to be high up in the mountains.  Maybe we fear being enclosed in an airplane.  Maybe we fear the loss of our health or the loss of a job.  There are many things that we fear.  We come to church to find sanctuary from our fears in the arms of a loving God.  So why does the Bible tell us to fear God too?  Before we look at this let’s pray.

Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen. (John Calvin)

In March of 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt spoke to the American people in his first inaugural address.  He said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  Roosevelt was talking about cowardice that was preventing the country from doing what needed to be done to get out of the Great Depression.  Today we have different fears.  We fear economic depression or maybe inflation, we fear terrorists, and we fear the loss of our health.   Fear sometimes can paralyze us into inaction or sometimes spur us on to action.

In the scripture that we heard earlier, David was very much afraid.  King Saul was after him.  He was alone with no army, no equipment, and no supplies.  David was hungry and approached the priest of Nob for sanctuary.  David needed a place where his fears of Saul could be replaced with a deep reverence for God.  The priest of Nob gave David the holy bread which strengthened him, removed his fears and set him right with God.  David then approached the King of Gath for protection from Saul.  But fearing that the King of Gath might tell Saul where David was hiding, David pretended to be mad hoping the King would ignore him.  Then David sat down and wrote a psalm about his experiences with fear, Psalm 34.

Psalm 34
Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.
1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
    his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
    let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
    and he delivers them.

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
    for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Whoever of you loves life
    and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to blot out their name from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
    not one of them will be broken.

21 Evil will slay the wicked;
    the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord will rescue his servants;
    no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Psalm 34 tells us that God knows of our fears through our prayers and will deliver us.  We walk into church with all of our fears intact and we walk out filled with confidence and trust.  Our fear is replaced by faith.  That’s why the angels tell to not be afraid.  So if through God our fears are removed why would Psalm 34 also tell us to fear God?  What is “the Fear of the Lord” all about?

One clue to this is that ancient Hebrew has two different words which are both translated in English as “fear”, and these have subtle differences in meaning.  Let me explain. 

One Hebrew word for fear is pahhad.  Pahhad literally means that all of your bones begin to shake, you tremble. Pahhad could also be translated as “dread”.  We experience pahhad whenever we expect disaster to fall.  Stress overwhelms us, our muscles tighten up, and we begin to shake in anticipation that something really bad is about to happen.

It is clear from scripture that God brings pahhad on Israel’s enemies and this accounts for much of their military successes.  The Book of Chronicles says, “The pahhad of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel” (2 Chronicles 20:29).  This fear of God was often enough to prevent war as Israel’s enemies trembled with terror at the prospect of war with their God. 

Pahhad also affects individuals, and most often the wicked.   It comes in the form of sudden panic as a storm from God strikes the wicked.   Pahhad is a good thing if it motivates the wicked to change, and repent of their evil ways before calamity strikes.  The prophets of Israel told their people that when they experience fear, pahhad, they should turn toward God in prayer with the promise that God would deliver them from those fears.

So pahhad is the fear we have of God when we sin.  This fear causes our bones to shake and we tremble in dread that God will punish us.  But if we turn to God pahhad is removed and we are delivered from this type of fear.

Pahhad is not the only Hebrew word translated as fear.  Another is the word yarah. Yarah literally means “to flow”.  The idea is that when you come into the presence of a person with great authority, or if you see an awesome sight you then respond with reverence and wonder, and bow down to authority.  Yarah describes the relationship we have with God.  We approach God with awe and reverence flowing out of us.  It is through yarah that we know God.  Yarah removes our pride and gives us a spirit of humility as we give all glory and honor to God.  Yarah gives us the proper perspective in relationship with God so that we may learn wisdom from God and avoid evil.  And it is through the yarah of God, the fear of God, where we find our delight in the spirit of God that comes upon us.

So pahhad means that we fear impending calamity and our bones tremble in dread.  But yarah means that we fear the glory and majesty we cannot understand with awe, reverence, respect and humility flowing from us to God.  Psalm 34 teaches us that God is here to remove our fear, pahhad, but we are expected to fear, yarah, the awesomeness, greatness and majesty of the Lord.

We all have fears, our fears about declining health, our fears about our jobs, our fears about our families.  These fears keep us up at night.  We tremble with dread.  We worry about what will happen tomorrow.  We can’t get to sleep, so we take sleeping pills or drink alcohol until we pass out.  But when we wake up the fears are still there.  They just won’t go away.  And when one problem is finally over there is always another one that comes along to worry about.  All of this fear causes stress which harms our health and relationships with our family and coworkers.  Our bones shake, we tremble.

The only solution for this is God who will redeem you from your fears and fill you with faith, confidence and strength.  But God will only help you when you first fear the only thing that you really should be afraid of, and that is God.  We fear God because God is our creator, the creator of the universe, who loves us and wants the best for us.  So we fear the greatness, the awesomeness of God, who has the power we cannot even imagine.   Reverence and honor flow from us to God.

And this is why worship is so important.  We bring all of our fears with us to church.  Even as we enter the sanctuary our fears are still with us.  We tremble with our anxieties.  We worry about everything.  And we sit here hoping that God will do something about these fears.  Then worship begins when we confess our fears and ask God to remove them.  The God who loves us removes our fears and fills us with confidence and faith.  Then we realize that we have come into contact with God, our creator.  We are filled with fear and reverence.  Humility flows from us.  We dare to approach God in reverent fear and love.  And God responds with the gift of life without fear.

David’s fear of Saul was removed when he entered the sanctuary and ate the holy bread.  But while he pretended to be crazy he realized the great gift he had received in the privilege of fearing God.  So he gave us the great gift of Psalm 34.

President Roosevelt was wrong in 1933 when he said that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  No.  The only thing we have to fear is God.  We fear God because of his majesty and might and power and glory.  When we fear God our humility flows out of us to honor God.  And God faithfully removes our fears from us.  Thanks be to God.  Let’s pray.

Lord God, remove our fears from us today.  Purge them from our minds by filling us with your love.  Then give us the appropriate fear of you so that we always approach you in a spirit of humility and reverence.  This we pray with your Son and Spirit. Amen.

Sermon 2 Samuel 4:4 “Broken Ankle”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon 2 Samuel 4:4 “Broken Ankle”
New Covenant Church
August 12, 2018

I will begin this morning by thanking Paul Wilbanks for filling this pulpit for the last two weeks.   Two weeks ago I was on vacation and Paul had several weeks to prepare.   Last week he found out that I had broken my ankle and stepped in on real short notice.   So, thank you, Paul.  Let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

On the first day of August, I was preparing to come back to work after a short vacation.   I had accompanied Grace to New York City.   While Grace attended a conference, I engaged in some urban hiking.   I visited the grand churches of 5th avenue.   And I spent some quality time in Central Park.   But now I had to get back to work because there was so much to do.   I had to pastor this church and with all the people in and out of hospitals and recovering from surgery I had a lot of visits and calls to make.   I had to continue to develop my sermon series on Ephesians.   I had to support the Pastor Search Committee as they loaded our Ministry Information Form on Church Leadership Connections.   I had to support the Sanctuary Committee as we approach the Ignite Committee of New Castle Presbytery for a grant.  I had to support the Education Committee launch youth activities.  And I had to prepare for September when we will launch Believe, Living the Story of the Bible to become like Jesus and coordinate what we do in worship with what we do in Christian Education for all ages.   So as you can see my plate was full.

So on Wednesday morning, August 1, I was rushing around getting ready to come to church.   I fixed my regular bowl of cereal and some coffee and when out on the patio to eat breakfast.   Then I remembered that I had left my phone next to my recliner.   So I went back into the kitchen to fetch it.   When I stepped up onto the kitchen floor my right foot slipped and I fell.  I couldn’t get up so I called for Grace.   And then made my way, painfully to the living room couch.

Later that afternoon I was scheduled for an appointment with my doctor for an ordinary check-up.   I went to the doctor in a wheelchair.   And after looking at some x rays he said that I had broken my ankle.   Thankfully it was a simple fracture that requires no surgery.   But I have to keep weight off the leg, keep it elevated, and keep ice on it.   The orthopedic surgeon gave me a boot and said that ankle should heal in six to eight weeks.

So, for that last 12 days, I have had plenty of time to think about what God is up to.  I remembered Psalm 121, “(the Lord) will not let your foot slip.   And for all my life God has protected me from serious falls.  But last week God let my foot slip.  Why?  And I was confident that Jesus will heal my ankle.  In Mark 2 he healed a paralytic instantly.   But in my case, his healing will take 6-8 weeks.  Why?

Then I remembered the date of my fall, August 1.   August 1 was the eleventh anniversary of my beginning pastoral ministry.  Four months before my ordination in 2007 I became the Student Pastor of Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles on August 1.   So the first of August was a significant date, in my life.

August 1 is also important because as a pastor I usually take some time off in August.  And I had planned to take some time off in August this year to, but I was just too busy.   Not only did I have to pastor this church, but I also had to moderate New Castle Presbytery through a time of transition with a Pastor Retreat coming up next month and new Tech Committee I am trying to form.   And Grace needs my help with her new ministry in Delaware City.  So I was too busy to take time off this month.

But God had other plans.  God wanted me to rest.   A Sabbath rest is not optional.  It is the way the world was created.   So God gave me a rest whether I wanted it or not.   God gave me 6-8 weeks of Sabbath rest with a broken ankle.   And so I have actually been richly blessed.

Let’s turn now to the scripture I have for you this day.

2 Samuel 4:4 (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)

Mephibosheth was born in the lap of luxury and power.    His grandfather was the great King Saul of Israel.  And one day Mephibosheth was destined to serve as king.    But his grandfather and father were killed in battle.  And with the death of Saul, Mephibosheth’s destiny changed.   He was just five years old.  His nanny picked him to flee the palace, but in the confusion that followed the nanny dropped him and he broke both of his ankles.   Sadly, Mephibosheth’s ankles never healed right and he was lame for life.

King Saul was succeeded by King David.   And after consolidating his power David asked to speak with Ziba, King Saul primary servant.   He asked Ziba if there were any of the children or grandchildren of Saul left alive.   Ordinarily, in ancient times, a new king would kill everyone from the previous dynasty.   But not David.   He showed kindness toward the children of Saul.   So Mephibosheth, with his broken ankles,  was summoned to Jerusalem.   His ancestral land was returned to him.   Ziba became his chief steward.   But highest honor Mephibosheth received was to eat at the same table every day with King David. 

David could have killed Mephibosheth.   But he didn’t.  Rather David returned Mephibosheth’s wealth and honor.   Why did do this?   It was an act of grace born out of love.

This is how our God treats us.   God could kill us for what we have done.   But God forgives us and restores to us our status as his children.

Years later David’s son Absalom launched a civil war.  David left Jerusalem with his army to fight Absalom in the wilderness.  Ziba, Mephibosheth’s steward, came to David with donkeys full of provisions for the army.  But there was no Mephibosheth.  Ziba told David that Mephibosheth had remained in Jerusalem to try to re-establish his grandfather’s kingdom.   David was so angry he gave all of Mephibosheth’s land to Ziba.

But when the battle was over and the victorious King David was returning to Jerusalem he was greeted by Mephibosheth.   Mephibosheth had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes.   And David asked him why he had stayed behind.  He replied that he had asked Ziba to prepare a donkey for him, but Ziba betrayed him and left him behind.   Now David was angry at Ziba for lying, but Mephibosheth asked David to forgive him and let him keep the property.   All Mephibosheth wanted was to continue eating at David’s table.

What do we learn from all this?   When God shows grace, forgiveness, love, and compassion to someone that person becomes gracious, forgiving, loving and compassionate people.   So too with us.   God has been gracious and compassionate toward us, forgiving and loving.   And now we become a people who graciously and compassionately love and forgive others.

Years later there was a great famine in Israel.   David asked the Lord about this.   And God told David that the famine was punishment for a massacre of Gibeonites at the hand of King Saul.  So David approached the Gibeonites to ask what should be done.   They wanted to avenge the massacre by killing all of the descendants of King Saul that remained.   The only exception was Mephibosheth.   David insisted that his life be spared because of the promise David had made to Mephibosheth’s father Jonathan.    And so Mephibosheth’s life was spared.

God loves us and forgives us.   God wants us to love and forgive other just as he loves and forgives us.  And when we do all this, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, God promises us eternal life.  God used a man with two broken ankles to show us the power of gracious and compassionate love and forgiveness.

And God showed me that a broken ankle was the consequence of being too busy.   So God has given me rest for the month of August.   I plan to be here on Sundays because being in church will help the healing.   But I won’t have office hours and I won’t be visiting you.   I will be praying and I ask you for your continued prayers.  Let’s pray.