Sword & Trowel 2019: Issue 1 the God of holiness and justice.
12 SERVE THE LORD Joshua’s twelfth resolution is to
serve the Lord (Joshua 24.14), liter- ally – work for him. The Hebrew verb refers to toil. What do we do for the Lord? Of course, we have all the duties of maintaining life and family and contributing to the society we are part of, but what do we do for him and his cause? What is our avenue of Christian service, and how great is our engagement in witness and good works? The Israelites made a special response to this exhortation saying, ‘The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey’ (Joshua 24.24). Will this be our resolution also? Will we ask ourselves daily, what have I done for my Lord today?
13 BE SINCERE BEFORE GOD Joshua’s thirteenth resolution is
about sincerity: ‘Fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth’ (Joshua 24.14). The Hebrew word translated sincerity defines it per- fectly; being derived from the verb to be entire. Sincerity in serving means serving him with your entire being, not just with part of your heart, while the rest also serves something else. Sincerity equals all of us. ‘Ye can- not serve God and mammon,’ says Christ. You cannot be married to two husbands or wives. You cannot serve the Lord and be devoted to posses- sions or the things of the world. The very first component of ar- mour to be donned by the believer (in Ephesians 6.14 ) is sincerity or truth. This resolution to be sincere calls for
page 10 Joshua’s Sixteen Resolutions
a close watch to be kept to avoid di- vided loyalty and hypocrisy. By this resolution I pledge myself
to be consistent and genuine before God, and wholly for him.
14 PUT AWAY WRONG The fourteenth resolution is – ‘Now
therefore put away…the strange gods which are among you’ (Joshua 24.23). The New Testament equivalent is put to death, mortify, or put off the old, dirty garment. Put away every rising sin. The objective is not only about put- ting away worship-images, but any alternative to or substitute for God created by sinful man, including any- thing improper, unclean and wrong. I heard of a minister who described
how he had filled several hours by catching up on movies that included all manner of uncleanness and rotten- ness. Joshua would have said – put away the strange gods. You cannot be a consumer of most modern films without being polluted, infected, in- fluenced, and affected in some way. If a film presents matters of legitimate interest such as historical events, or maintains a wholesome moral stand- ard, the case might be different, but debased productions have no place in the life of the believer. Our resolution should be – put them away. Do not be involved in that which is unsa- voury and polluting.
15 TRAIN THE HEART Joshua’s fifteenth resolution is: ‘In-
cline your heart unto the Lord God’ (Joshua 24.23). The Hebrew word translated incline means stretch or bend your heart, which helps to bring the
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