What it means to serve the Lord!    By James Lantz

       Many of us have heard it said, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. These are the famous words of commitment that Joshua decreed while bringing the word of the Lord to God’s people. God reminded them that He had wrought a great deliverance for them and given them great victories over their enemies and given them good cities and farms and houses that they didn’t have to build. God was telling them He has put them first and given them His best and now, after all this goodness, they must put away their idols or else He would turn against them and destroy them.   Joshua 24:14&16    Joshua 24:20 NLTse  If you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.  God’s people responded that they would not serve idols but that they would serve the Lord. Joshua said, all right then, destroy the idols that are among you and turn your hearts to serve the God of Israel. Joshua made a covenant with them that day and required that their actions show their love for God by obeying all that He has said. People today are a lot like the Israelites of old, acting like they have no idols in their lives and unaware that their hearts are more towards their own pleasures than the plan of God for their lives. The word of the Lord commanded that they put away their idols and the people responded we would never abandon the Lord and serve other gods. An idol is just something that you love more than you love doing what God said to do. The way we can tell if it is an idol in our life is to see if we like it more than we like serving the Lord. In fact idols will cause our love towards God to grow cold and we will quit reading our Bibles, quit praying, quit tithing, quit giving, quit going to church, quit singing or ushering and the joy and expectancy will be gone or else we will just be going through the motions. According to Joshua serving the Lord is putting God’s things front and center and obeying God’s decrees and regulations. Peter refers to the words of Moses in the new covenant, declaring that every soul that refuses to hear (heed) the prophet Jesus shall be destroyed from among the people.   Acts 3:22-26  . . . Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.  Jesus said himself, strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it. The children of Israel kept their commitment to the Lord that Joshua had commanded them as long as Joshua and the elders surrounding him were alive. Removing idols or keeping idolatry out (coveteousness is idolatry – loving others and other things more than God) has always been a part of keeping covenant with the Almighty and experiencing the power of His deliverance.  1 Sam. 7:3  And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.  God is looking at our hearts and if our hearts are fully committed to Him we will be engaged in serving Him. 

     Much is revealed by association! Jesus said, If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also. Who do you read about being close to Jesus in his earthly ministry? It’s his disciples and especially Peter, James, and John. They are helping him set up meetings and healing the sick and casting out devils. What is Jesus doing in the earth today? Jesus is preaching the gospel to the poor, he’s healing those with broken hearts, he’s preaching deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, he’s setting the bruised free, and preaching the acceptable year of the Lord! Jesus is preaching and ministering through us, his body the church. Not everyone is called to a pulpit preaching ministry but all of us should be either going or sending because every part is necessary to get this gospel out. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. When you love someone you want to be close to them. When we love God and our brother’s and sister’s in the Lord we are not going to miss church for anything. As we serve in the church we will be spurring one another on by our actions and exhorting one another with our words.  Heb. 10:24&25  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.  Serving is our proving ground to prove that we are faithful and not get offended and quit.  1 Cor. 4:2  Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

      The Lord has really been opening our eyes to how far removed our understanding of serving the Lord has been from what he actually said serving is. Many church goers are quoting the words of Joshua, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, thinking that going to church is serving the Lord. Going to church is obeying the word, but its more for our benefit, while serving in the church is doing it unto the least of these my brethren. Jesus said that whatever we do to the least of these we are doing to him. Jesus places great emphasis on how he will reward those who faithfully serve him but he also makes it abundantly clear that refusing to serve is wicked. The kingdom of heaven is like a man who, when going on his travels, called his bondservants and entrusted his property to their care. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one — to each according to his individual capacity; and then started for home. Without delay the one who had received the five talents went and employed them in business, and gained five more. In the same way he who had the two gained two more. But the man who had received the one went and dug a hole and buried his master’s money. “After a long lapse of time the master of those servants returned, and had a reckoning with them. The one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, and said,” `Sir, it was five talents that you entrusted to me: see, I have gained five more. ‘ “`You have done well, good and trustworthy servant,’ replied his master; `you have been trustworthy in the management of a little, I will put you in charge of much: share your master’s joy. ‘” The second, who had received the two talents, came and said, “`Sir, it was two talents you entrusted to me: see, I have gained two more.'” `Good and trustworthy servant, you have done well, ‘his master replied; `you have been trustworthy in the management of a little, I will put you in charge of much: share your master’s joy.’ “But, next, the man who had the one talent in his keeping came and said,” `Sir, I knew you to be a severe man, reaping where you had not sown and garnering what you had not winnowed. So being afraid I went  

Everything comes from Him, exists by his power, and is made for His glory!

and buried your talent in the ground: there you have what belongs to you. ‘ ” `You wicked and slothful servant,’ replied his master, `did you know that I reap where I have not sown, and garner what I have not winnowed? Your duty then was to deposit my money in some bank, and so when I came I should have got back my property with interest. So take away the talent from him, and give it to the man who has the ten. ‘ (For to every one who has, more shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him who has nothing, even what he has shall be taken away.)  Mt. 25:30 WEY-NT  `But as for this worthless servant, put him out into the darkness outside:*there *will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. ‘ Another place Jesus said to cut off and burn the branches that bear no fruit. He declared that the fig tree that has born no fruit in three years is wasting the soil.  Luke 13:8&9  And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.  All the scriptures teach that God is looking for a people to respond to His love and serve Him with all of their heart.

       We are sons of God by choice, serving God and representing our Heavenly Father’s kingdom here in this world is what sons of God do. As Moses was relaying God’s commandments he said, if you will obey all of my words that you hear from my angel, you will not have miscarriages, nor be barren, I will heal you, give you a long life, I will cause your enemies to flee from you, you will receive your inheritance and increase more and more.  Exodus 23:25  And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.  This is huge! God said that if we will obey and serve Him that he would heal us and prosper us and give us a long life. The Hebrew word translated serve in the above scripture also means to work, execute, husbandman, keep, labor. This does not mean that we can earn our healing or long life or any of God’s blessings because we know they are gifts from God to be received by faith. What we can discern is that when we open our hearts to obey God in one area it makes it easier to open our heart in obedience in another area. As we serve (sow our time and talents) in our local church we are constantly hearing from God’s ministry gifts and we are making ourselves more available to receive from God. It’s not just the activity but hearing God’s voice and obeying. Martha had a good idea but Jesus said Mary had the right response for the situation at hand. Joyfulness and gladness is the right response for the privilege to be in God’s family and be counted as one of the redeemed. Yield yourself to the Holy Spirit and give yourself to the call and plan of God for your life and you will be blessed.  Col. 3:24  Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.  It is a privilege and a joy to serve God!