If you have an idol in your life, then you have just dismissed God. from involvement with you. Dr. Tony Evans says God won't occupy a heart crowded with other loyalties. And what many people do is they call on God while they're hugging their idol.
And then they wonder why God's not moving, God's not working, because you have not put away the competition. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. When our schedule revolves around success, status, or screens, that may be a sign we're serving something other than God. Today, Dr.
Evans takes us to the final chapter of Joshua, where the people are called to remember God's faithfulness and respond with wholehearted devotion. Let's join him in Joshua 24 for a powerful look at what it means to choose whom you will serve. When I think about the book of Joshua and the 23 chapters we have surveyed thus far, The one thing that jumps out and that I emphasize as we went through it is Not one word that he has spoken has failed. Yes. that God has kept his promises.
We have watched the unfolding of the promised land that God had promised Abraham. all the way back in chapter 12. of Genesis. 600 years later. God fulfilled every word, and there were reasons for those delays, but God keeps his word.
Yet we see regularly or often in scripture where God changed. He went in another direction.
So how can he change this God changed? And I gave an illustration. in scripture of uh Moses God told Israel when they refused to believe him and go into the promised land, he was gonna destroy them and start all over with Moses. Then it says that, but Moses prayed. And Moses told God: But if you do that, you will mess up your name.
Mm-hmm. among the unsaved and your glory will be shattered.
So he makes a big deal about God's name and God's glory and how God's going to look. And God's given Moses undivided attention, and it says, and then God changed his mind.
So he still was consistent with himself. But as far as his actions were concerned, it changed what he was doing. because what he was doing was now coming out of another part of who he is.
So he was still consistent with himself. although it changed what he did in history. And the reason why that's a great truth. Is it great to know you can change God's mind? Without changing God.
But if you don't know his attributes, and what to appeal to, then you don't know what to go to. to change his mind. to get him to reverse course.
So, God keeps his word and is consistent with himself in doing so. And now we come to chapter 24, the last chapter of the book of Joshua. A great, great, great chapter. Joshua. Beginning in the previous chapter.
Has begun his goodbyes. He's 110 years old. They're about And he's saying farewell. He knows. He says in chapter 23, verse 2: I am old, advanced in years.
He's coming to the conclusion of this life. And he is calling the people to follow God. It comes to chapter 24. And Joshua gathers all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and call for the elders of Israel and their heads and their judges and their officers And they presented themselves before God. Joshua said to all the people, thus.
Says the Lord the God of Israel. From ancient times your fathers lived. Beyond the river.
Now what he is getting ready to do is give them a historical rehearsal. Of the faithfulness of God. He's going to spend these first 13 verses walking them through How They got to where they are from where God started. With them when he started with Abraham. I want to call your attention to the verbs.
Follow me. Verse three I took. Verse four. To Isaac, I gave. Verse 5, then I sent Moses.
And I plagued Egypt. Verse 6, I brought your fathers. Verse 7, your eyes saw what I did. Verse 8, I I brought. Verse eight, I gave.
Verse eight, I destroyed. Verse 10, I was not willing. Verse 11, and I gave them. Verse 12, I sent. Verse 13, I gave.
Anybody get the point? God is saying, You got from there to here because of me. That I am the one responsible to bringing you from where you are. through, as the old folks would say, many dangers, toils, and snares, The only reason you are here. is because I didn't bail on you.
He uses the series of verbs some 17 times. to let them know. That you shouldn't bail on me because I didn't bail on you. When you failed, I still came through. When you sinned, I still came through.
When you were unfaithful, I still came through. Don't you bail on God, Joshua is saying, Thus saith the Lord, it was me. Who, even though I let you participate, even though I told you there were things for you to do, even though you were included in the process. Without me? None of this would have happened regardless of what you would have done.
So, you always start and end. with God. He may use you in the middle. Or may not. That's his prerogative.
But you start and end. with God. If you will develop, I will develop, if we will develop this idea. It's a it's him. It's him.
God will share his glory with no man. I took your father Abraham, verse three from beyond the river. To Isaac, I gave Jacob and Esau. I sent Moses and Aaron and put a plague on Egypt. I brought your fathers out of Egypt.
They saw what I did to Egypt, verse 7. I brought you into the land of the Amorites. I gave them into your hands. When I destroy them before your watching eyes. I was not willing to listen to Balaam, who was going to curse you.
I delivered you from his hand. And then I gave them into your hand, verse 11. I sent the hornet, that is this oppressive attack. before you, and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites. But not by your sword or your bow.
Not by your sword or your bow, your little sticks and stones. You know, that wasn't it. It was me. I gave you a land on which you had not labored. and cities which you had not built.
And you have lived in them. You are eating of vineyards and olive groves. which you did not plan. Let me say a word about 13 before we get into the last section. You eating food you didn't plant?
You get in shade under trees you didn't plant? You living in cities you didn't build?
Now How did those cities get built? How did those farm how did all the plants, the vineyards get planted? Guess what? The Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Jebusites, The unrighteous were building their world.
Okay, watch this. I'm going somewhere. The unsaved. We're doing their thing in the name of their God. But God says.
I gave you a land. And I use the unrighteous to get it ready for you. I use the unrighteous. to set up My blessing for you. You can be amazed.
At the method God uses to bless. Even when he uses the ungodly to bring the blessing. Because even the ungodly are his ungodly. Yeah. They're not his by relationship.
But they're his by sovereignty. Even the devil is God's devil. Because he can only do what he does if allowed. If the devil could do everything he wanted to do to us. The room would be empty.
Since I gave you the soldier, so don't get all stuck up. Oh, look at this nice city we're in. You ain't build that. Unrighteous built that. I just brought you to it.
Don't develop what I call a A Nebuchadnezzar mentality. Nebuchadnezzar, you know, he looked up and he said, Look at this great Babylon that I have. Bill. God said, hmm. Hmm, interesting.
Okay, Bill Lis. And the Bible says for seven years he lost his mind. Then, after seven years, his mind was restored to him. The first thing he says was. The God of Daniel and Meshach, Shadrach.
And a bendigo.
Now that doesn't mean God doesn't use you. But you need to know how to deflect. You need to know how to to recognize That The source of it was the Lord. even though he included me graciously in the process.
Okay. Because everything is sourced in him. There's nothing you do that if you trail it back. Won't start with God. Dr.
Evans will come back in a moment with a look at how Joshua used Israel's history. to call God's people to deeper commitment. Before he does, though, I want to let you know that what we've been listening to today is the final installment in a powerful teaching series from Dr. Evans on the book of Joshua. It's a study about moving forward in faith, trusting God's timing, and stepping into the promises He's prepared for us.
In this eye-opening series, we've been discovering what it means to conquer obstacles, claim spiritual victories, and live with confidence, not in our own strength, but in God's power and provision. We're offering the entire audio series on digital download as well as on either CD or USB flash drive as our thank-you gift when you support Tony's ministry with a financial contribution. And if we hear from you today, we'll also include something extra, the Kingdom Family Devotional, a 52-week resource that makes it easy to grow in faith as a family. Each week highlights a key spiritual topic with daily insights and action steps. For every member of the family.
Simple enough for kids to follow, but meaningful enough to inspire adults. This special double offer ends today, so visit us right away at tonyevans.org or call us any time of the day or night at 1-800-800-3222 to make your request.
Well Dr. Evans is back now with more from the final chapter in Joshua.
So now he comes to verse 14 in light of this history he has gone through to now give them a final charge. before he dies.
Now, therefore, in light of the history of God's faithfulness, Fear the Lord and serve him. To fear God means to take God seriously as opposed to taking God casually. Take him seriously. And reflect that in serving him, serving him. That is, as a way of life, you're serving God.
So take him seriously and serve him. Be authentic, be real, in sincerity and in truth. And what that means is put away The gods. Which your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt. And serve the Lord.
He says, if you're going to serve the Lord. You have to put away your gods. Your idols. Let's review what an idol is. Just so we're all on the same page.
An idol is any unauthorized noun. A noun is a person, place, or thing. We can even add thought to it. Person, place, thing, or thought is a noun.
So any unauthorized noun. Any person, place, or thing. Or thought? To which you look to get your needs met. See, when people think of idols, they think of some place over in some third country with trees and people worshiping water and sun and stars.
No, an idol is anything God has not authorized. That you look to as your source. And that thing is outside of the will of God. then that is an idol.
So now that idol is all over the place.
Okay, money can be an idol, power can be an idol. You know, a person in your life can be an idol. It can be, you know, if you know, an idol is anything that's unauthorized. that you look to to get that need met.
So it's because the idols were appealed to. to get something done. The reason people looked to an idol wasn't just to worship something, but they wanted that thing they worshiped to do something for them, to send rain. Send sunshine or to bless them. See, so idols had a purpose to them.
They just weren't frivolously just out there dangling.
So they looked to them as a source. And I've said it a million times. I'll say it one more time. You only have. One source.
Many resources, only one source.
So put away your idols. And serve the Lord. If you have an idol in your life. Then you have just Dismissed God From involvement with you. Because he is a jealous God.
And what many people do is they call on God while they hugging their idol. And then they wonder why God's not moving, God's not working, God's not delivering, God's not acting. Because you have not put away the competition. I'm your only source, but you look into that source. to get your needs met.
An unauthorized source.
So the people say it again. to Joshua verse 24. We will serve the Lord our God, and we will obey his voice.
So Joshua made a covenant. There's that word again. Covenant. Again, a covenant. is a divinely created bond.
It is a spiritually legal relationship. A legal relationship in the spiritual realm. A covenant provides a covering. It's how God covers a person, a family, a nation. because they're underneath this covering called the covenant.
It's the umbrella. umbrella of God.
So he made a covenant. With the people. and made for them a statute and ordinance in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak.
That was by the sanctuary of the Lord.
So he put it by the church house. But the covenantal agreement, this is our agreement to serve the Lord. forsake idols. Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us. for it has heard all the words of the Lord.
which he spoke to us. Thus it shall be for a witness against you.
So that you do not deny your God. This is supposed to be a reminder. Every time you come up here to worship, We want you to run by this, pass by this stone, and be reminded of your agreement.
So, this is a testimony against you. Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance. Each to God's promise that he had given them. No, in the land. He comes to the closing verses.
It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun The servant of the Lord died. being 110 years old. Interesting epitaph. The only thing on his tombstone is. The servant of the Lord.
That he served the Lord during his life.
So he's buried in verse 30. Verse 31. Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua. and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua. And they had known all the deeds of the Lord which he had done for Israel.
Interesting note to end on.
Now they buried the bones of Joseph. Which the sons of Israel brought From Egypt. They buried The bones of Joseph. which they brought From Egypt.
Now look at Genesis chapter 50. Verse 25. Joseph is about to die many years earlier. Joseph is in Egypt. Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear.
saying, God will surely take care of you. And you shall carry my bones. up from here. Turn to Exodus. Chapter 13, verse 19.
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. For he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, God will surely take care of you. And you shall carry my bones. from here with you. I'll say this word as we come to a close of this book.
When Joseph in chapter fifty of Genesis was about to die, He said. Promise me. Promise me when you leave here. You'll take my bones. We just saw Moses.
On his way to the promised land. Says he took Joseph's bones. Like they solemnly. Promised. Then we see at the end of Joshua.
They bury his bones. Genesis, take my bones. Moses leaving Egypt takes his bones. Joshua. Buries his bones.
Now what is the point? of telling you that. Way back in Genesis fifty. When there was absolutely no reason on the human side. to ever think that They would leave Egypt.
Because all it was was he, his brothers and their families. That's all. But he remembered the promise. That God had made to their forefather Abraham. Yeah.
I am going to take you. to a land.
Okay. He's not in the land. In fact, he's in the enemy of the land. But he says when you leave here Well, I ought to tell you something right now. God told us we ain't gonna stay here.
But when you leave here. It's like Martin Luther King. I may not get there with you. You know? But I'm going to get to the promised land.
So when you leave here, take me. In other words, I'm going to believe God even when there's nothing to see. And so, Joshua wants you to know. That God kept his word. And it shows you a man of faith.
who believed God and who was then buried in the very promised land. That he was expecting God to do to fulfill his word because not one word of his. Shaufaith. Dr. Tony Evans, reminding us that just like Joshua, we can trust every promise God makes, and that choosing whom we serve determines whether or not we'll experience His faithfulness.
Mm.
Now before we go, I want to mention that today's message was the final installment we are airing from Dr. Evans' powerful series on the book of Joshua, a study designed to help you overcome obstacles and step confidently into the victories God has planned for you. If you missed any part of the series or want to explore it more deeply, we'd love to send you the complete audio collection along with the Kingdom Family Devotional. They're a gift to you when you make a donation to support this ministry. Learn how to grow closer to God and closer as a family day by day.
Visit tonyevans.org for details and to make your request. Or call 1-800-800-32-22. That's 1-800-800-3222. In some parts of the country, winter goes on so long it seems like it'll never end.
Well, Dr. Evans says difficult seasons in our spiritual lives sometimes feel the same way. And tomorrow he'll explain how we can change that. Be sure to tune in as we kick off a practical and popular series from Dr. Evans known as the Spiritual Toolkit.
