Joshua 24:15-20 (NKJV) 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the L ORD, choose for yourselves this...

Joshua 24:15-20 (NKJV)

15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”16 So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17 for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt,


from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. 18 And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.”19 But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God;


He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.”

Joshua 24:15-20

You Cannot Serve The Lord

You Cannot Serve The LordHave you ever been told that you cannot do something?

How did it make you feel?

Have you ever told someone else that they could not do something?

You probably did so because whatever it was, it was out of their range of abilities to do

You Cannot Serve The LordCould you imagine being told that you cannot serve the Lord?

That could potentially be a very disheartening thing

It could also spur one on to greatness in the Lord

What it might also do is serve as a wake up

Joshua 24:15-20Most of us are familiar with Joshua 24:15

In this particular verse, Joshua lays before the children of Israel a decision

The decision was between worshipping the gods their fathers served or worshipping God

Joshua then declared what the stance of he and his family was on the matter

Joshua 24:15-20That’s normally where we stop our reading

Look at the following verses in verses 16-20

The people declared that they would follow and serve God (vs. 16-18)

However, Joshua replies “You cannot serve the Lord…” (v. 19)

Joshua 24:15-20What did he mean?

Joshua’s statement to the children of Israel pointed to the fact that they had a history of serving other gods

Joshua mentions it back in verse 15 when he laid forth the challenge to them

Think back to the golden calf (Ex. 32)

Joshua 24:15-20Joshua wanted the people to know that they could not serve both the God of heaven and earth, and their false gods as well

God is a holy and jealous God, and He would not put up with their unfaithfulness

He would surely punish their disobedience to His law (Ex. 20:3)

Joshua 24:15-20Joshua even goes on to tell them to put away the foreign gods that they had been serving (v. 23)

If Joshua could come and speak to us today as God’s people, what reason might there be that we could not serve the Lord?

Consider the following thoughts…

You Cannot Serve The Lord…1. …as long as you worship man

One of the problems in remaining faithful to God today is our relationships with others

Namely those who are outside the body of Christ

Some cave to peer pressure and go along with the world instead of following God


“Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (Js. 4:4)

When we try to make friends of the world, we in turn make ourselves enemies with God


John reminds us not to love the world (I Jn. 2:15)

Jesus made it a point to say that we must love Him more than even our family (Lk. 14:26)

Some in this life will not be able to serve the Lord because their earthly relationships are more important to them

You Cannot Serve The Lord…2. …as long as you worship money

The pursuit of riches has led many away from the Lord

Paul spoke about the how the desire and love for money can lead many astray (I Tim. 6:6-10)

When we desire to be rich we show a lack of contentment with our life


We live in a country and in a time where the pursuit of riches is touted and encouraged

Paul even tells us what we should pursue instead of riches (vs. 11-12)

If someone is rich, then Paul also has instructions on how they can live a life pleasing to God (vs. 17-18)


Jesus said that the deceitfulness of riches could choke the word from some (Matt. 13:22)

Christ also taught that one cannot serve both God and their riches (Matt. 6:24)

You can only serve God if He has your heart (Matt. 6:19-21 – See Rich Young Ruler)

You Cannot Serve The Lord…3. …as long as you worship media

When we mention media we are speaking of anything from television to radio to the internet

This also includes our tablets and cell phones

These things grab our attention and pull us away from God


When we think of distractions, perhaps we think of Martha

She was upset because she was busy serving while her sister simply sat at Jesus feet (Lk. 10:38-40)

“But Martha was distracted with much serving…” (v. 40)


We need to focus on the Savior and the race that is before us and leave all the distractions behind (Heb. 12:1-2)

The idea behind being “sober” is to not allow things to keep our minds from being able to focus upon what is important (Titus 2:6; I Pet. 5:8)

Joshua 24:15-20 (NKJV) 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the L ORD, choose for yourselves this...

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