GVCC New Years Sermon handout....

Garden Valley Community Church

Pastor Shane Moffitt

December 28^th 2014

 “A New Year to Choose”

¹⁴ “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly.

Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped

when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt.

Serve the Lord alone.

¹⁵ But if you refuse to serve the Lord,

then choose today whom you will serve.

Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served

beyond the Euphrates?

Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live?

But as for me and my family,

we will serve the Lord.”        

Joshua 24:14-15 NLT

   

Truth #1:  You Serve Someone or Something

“So fear the LORD…” 24:14a

v To “know” the LORD is to understand HIS zero tolerance for sin ~
and HIS perfect justice against sin

t  To "know" the LORD is to understand our desperate need for His

     mercy and forgiveness

   The secret to gratitude & thankfulness ~ is based on how well we

     KNOW God and the sacrifice He made for us at Calvary

v   “I want to know Christ…” Philippians 3:10 NLT 

Truth #2: God Demands Wholehearted

            Surrender ~ an Exclusive Commitment

“… serve Him wholeheartedly” 24:14b

v Your loyalty is pulled in many directions:

The “god of success”

The “god of acquiring stuff”

The “god of public approval”

The “god of religion”

The “god of the latest idea”

v What occupies the major of your attention?

v What are you most passionate about?

v What gets most of your time & resources?

Truth #3:  Commit to a Lifetime Commitment

“Put away forever….” 24:14c

v I Commit to quit straddling the fence

v I Commit to Remove Everything That

            Hinders My Commitment

v I Commit To Influence The World Rather  

   Than to Be Influenced By It

v I Commit to pursue Daily Spiritual Growth

   as a lifetime Commitment

But Jesus told him,

“Anyone who puts a hand to the plow

and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:62 NLT

Truth #4:  Commit To Being My Families  
                    Spiritual Leader ~ by my example

“But as for me and my family,                                    

 we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15b

1)   Commit to taking a hard look at your life

and root out all that stand between you and a healthy relationship with God

2)   Commit to take daily time to build your relationship with God ~ make Him #1 priority

3)   Commit to be a faithful steward of what God has given you ~

stop looking at what you have as “yours” and see it all as “HIS”

4)   Commit to step beyond what is comfortable to risk doing what is right

5)   Commit to stop making everything about “you” and start focusing your life on God