New Zion Missionary Church Service - Jun 16th 2024

The speaker talks about the greatness of God and how he promises to take care of his people. They emphasize the importance of making a commitment to God and serving him sincerely. They also mention the challenges of parenting in today's society and the need for more people to be actively involved in raising the next generation. The speaker reminds listeners that despite the difficulties, God is still in control and there is hope. They share a passage from the book of Joshua about choosing to serve the Lord and making godly commitments. The speaker encourages the audience to live out their faith every day and not just on Sundays. They emphasize the need for genuine commitment to the cause of Christ and the importance of having the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The speaker references Joshua's leadership and how he was a warrior who took action. They highlight the miracles and victories that Joshua witnessed and his call for the people to make godly decisions and commitments. T I said, He's an all-time God. He's all-time. Hallelujah. Yeah, He's all-time. My, my, my, my. So if you're calling, don't get weary. He's coming. I declare, He's coming to your rescue. Amen. We have a God who knows the things that we have need of. I said, He already knows. And He promised. I said, He promised. Glory to God. He promised that He'll take care of you. Hallelujah. He promised to be with us. Never leave us nor forsake us. To God be the glory today. Amen. We do honor the Spirit of Christ today. Thank and praise God for all that He is in the lives of His people. I don't know about you, but I'm glad to be here today. Amen. I said, I'm glad to be here today. I heard a preacher say, I'd rather be here than in the best perpetual care cemetery in the world. Amen. I don't care how nice it is, I'm glad to be on this side of it. I said, I'm glad to be on this side of it. Amen. Amen. Amen. Happy Father's Day again to all fathers. Amen. We thank God for you. Thank God for an opportunity to just celebrate fathers. Amen. Let's say amen one more time. Amen. There are many who have not had the blessed experience of having a good godly father. But there are some of us who can thank God. Praise God. Amen. Amen. It is a blessing. Praise God. Amen. The climate is a bit difficult on parenting all around. And we need all hands on deck to help us to rear this generation in a godly manner. Amen. We have enough people pointing fingers, but we need some more hands on deck. Amen. When we talk about how the situation is bleak, let's remember that God is still in control. Amen. I said, God is still in control. Amen. The scripture teaches us that these days were coming. Amen. And most of them are here. And we seem surprised, but the Bible told us that these perilous times will come. But he gave us great assurance that the enemy will not overpower the Lord. I said the enemy will not ever overpower the Lord. Amen. And there is still hope because God is still in control. I didn't come today with what we would coin as a Father's Day message, but I do have a message from the Father. Praise the Lord. Amen. Praise the Lord. And from the book of Joshua, one very familiar passage that I want to look today. Joshua chapter number 24. Amen. And let's start, if you will, at the 14th verse. We may not read all the way to verse 22, but let's just read a bit of it in your hearing. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. And put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt. And serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the flood, or the God of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Amen. Let's stop right there for sake of time. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And I want to talk about a call to commit. It's a time for us to make some godly commitments. Are you with me? We're living in an hour where very few people want to make a commitment to anybody or to anything. We kind of just want to go along just to get along. We were sharing when last we met in Bible study about how in this last hour it's difficult to find people who are willing to make a genuine commitment to the Lord. We want to be, if you catch up with them, you have some who want to be in church, some who want to hold positions in church. I will volunteer to lead something, but I don't want to make a commitment that's going to require me to buffer down and say I'm connected to this particular group, church, or organization. So we've got to get the mindset renewed among the people of God. And I'm not talking to the world. I'm talking about to those of us who already named the name of the Lord. We are called to make godly commitments. It's not enough just to come to church once or twice a month. You've got to make a commitment to your relationship with the Lord. A commitment that for God I live and for God I die. Many of us, those who live with us, near us, and around us, people don't even know that we are children of God. Don't know we are saved until Sunday morning when we dress up and we head somewhere. That lets us know that there is something going on with our lack of commitment to the cause of Christ. When you are a child of God, it doesn't just show up on Sunday morning. When you live in this life, you live it every day of your life. You live it on your job, in your home, on the streets, wherever you go, that I'm a child of God and out of shame who knows it. Because it's reflected in my behavior. I hear a lot of good Christians say, you know, I believe I may have to step out of character. Really, when you are born again, you don't step out of character. Because your character has been changed. That old man has been crucified. Amen. And I'm not the person that I used to be. Amen. Somebody said, I went off on somebody. I had to lay my religion down. You can't don't you live it. Tell me, I'm trying to help. Just give me a few minutes. Yeah, don't lay your religion down, buddy. Because something might happen between the time you're, you just don't know, man. You kidding me? I know exactly what you're talking about. I can come on Christian Experience on what you're talking about. But what happens is once we dig into our commitment to God, we move away from allowing people and circumstances, family, friends, neighbors, whoever they are, to cause us to move away from our position in God. Comes a time in your life that you have to make a decision that I'm not going to let nothing and nobody cause me to move from where I am in God. Now that doesn't happen when you come in. You have to start growing in the Word of God. You have to, the Scriptures say you have to have your senses exercised. Amen. To be able to endure some of these things. But many of us have been walking with the Lord long enough that you ought to be stronger than you are now. I broke from my series on the Holy Spirit just to entertain this beautiful season that we're celebrating. But every child of God needs to have the power of the Holy Ghost operating in our lives. Are you listening? In today's lesson we find Joshua. Joshua, you know Joshua, Moses' minister. Joshua, amen, the son of Nun. The Bible said that he worked right along with Moses. Amen. He served and ministered to and with Moses. Amen. And the Lord anointed Joshua to pick up the mantle that Moses left. And the Bible says that the word came to Joshua and said that Joshua, Moses, my servant, is dead. He said but I want you, Joshua, to arise and take this people over into the land of promise. Joshua, amen. The Scripture said that the Lord magnified Joshua in the eyes of the people. The people knew that the hand of the Lord was on Joshua because the Lord allowed not only the leaders but he allowed the people to see who God was going to use to take them to the land of promise. In Joshua chapter 1, if y'all say amen, I want to try to preach all 24 of the chapters in Joshua. Come on, let me know you're in here with me. In Joshua chapter 1, amen, the Lord gives Joshua a command. He tells Joshua, now I need you to be strong and be very courageous. He said in this book of the law, he tells him if you don't turn to the left or the right, he said I'm going to be with you. Hallelujah to God. The Lord told Joshua, as I was with Moses, so shall I be with thee. The Lord told Joshua, he said won't no man be able to stand before you all the days of your life because I've anointed you to do what I've called you to do. Somebody here this morning, God has anointed you to do a task and the devil's trying to tell you you can't do it. But I want to tell you, but if God has put a seal on your life, if God has put his power down on the inside, no man will be able to stand before you because the power of God is working on your behalf. Joshua, amen, was a leader, but Joshua was a different kind of leader than Moses. Moses, amen, was an intercessor, amen, leading the people of God, amen, hearing from the Lord, but Joshua was a warrior. Joshua wouldn't put up with the stuff that Moses put up with. Come on, help me drive this morning, amen. Moses would have been somewhere praying and Joshua said no, let's clean up the camp. He said let's drag him out of here and get some things done. Now in chapter 24, y'all won't help me so I'm going to close. In chapter 24, Joshua is old now. He has been courageous. He has been strong. He has seen countless battles and victories. He saw the Lord lead them, amen, through the depths. He saw the Lord use insects to fight their enemies. Joshua saw the Lord take hornets and drive the enemy away. Joshua saw the people down in the wilderness get hungry and he saw the Lord rain down manna from on high. Joshua saw the Lord move on the people's behalf when they complained about the manna. They said, but we need some meat now and Joshua was a witness that the Lord rained down quail and all they had to do was just reach up and grab it and eat fresh meat. But the Bible said before they finished eating, before they could even pick the quail meat out of their teeth, they had begun to complain. Oh, but Joshua saw the hand of the Lord. Joshua saw the Lord lead them across, amen, the river, out on dry ground. He was a witness to the miracles of the Lord. Joshua now old, well stricken in years and he's telling the people that it's time to make some godly decisions. It's time that you make some godly commitments. Look at Joshua 24 and 14. He said, now therefore, he said, you need to number one, fear the Lord. Amen. You need to get some reverential fear in your life for who God really is. Too many of the Lord's people still living like the world and trying to claim the name of God. But when you fear the Lord, you can't do what you used to do. I need help here this morning. When you fear the Lord, I'm not, I ain't judging nobody. I'm just telling you what's right. When you fear the Lord, there's something on the inside that just won't let you do what you want to do. It won't let you say what you want to. Hallelujah. Won't let you say what you want to say. Cause you got the fear of the Lord on the inside. Not because I'm afraid of Him. It's a reverential fear. It's something about knowing who the Lord is. It's something about knowing the Lord's power that helps us to try and keep His commandments. He said, now fear the Lord and serve Him sincerely. Joshua said, now it's enough of, it's enough of what Donald Homely used to say, shucking and jabbing. He said, y'all heard that before. Come on back. Amen. It's enough playing around with this thing. Joshua said, now it's time for us to get serious about our commitment to God. You may not ever have been to a Bible study or seminary or vacation Bible school, but if you look around you, if you got good sense, you know that this is a serious hour that we're living in. You don't have, you don't have to be a butcher, baker, or account stick maker. You can look around and realize that the times in which we live are calling for a Savior. And the only way we're going to be able to get the world saved is we're going to have to get the church good and saved. I said good and saved. Somebody said good and saved. Look at your neighbor and say, I'm good and saved. Look on the other side, they may believe you. I'm good and saved. Now somebody look back and say, you don't act like it. Say, pray for me. I'm good and saved. Praise God. Yeah, that's right. That's right. When you're good and saved, if they push you, it won't come at you. Yes, Lord. Boy, I ain't got no helper here this morning. Because I hear you say, if you push me, it's coming at me. But I promise you, when you're good and saved, praise God. I said, when you're good and saved. When the devil has tried you, many of you, the devil never tried you for real. But when you had the opportunity, when you could have lost your way, grace kept us. When you could have gone against it, grace kept us. Amen. Serve him with sincerity. He calls for a commitment for sincere service. Sincere service. Now there are a lot of things in here I want to touch, and we're going to celebrate the rest of the day. Joshua, let the people know that just because of the miracles that you've seen the Lord work, it's not enough to keep you committed. It's not enough just because you saw the miracles the Lord performed. I said it's not enough. You remember, Jesus told a crowd one day, he said, now y'all are following me for the fishes and the loaves. He said, you're not really following me because of who I am, you're following me because of what I can do for you. Joshua's telling them it's not just enough to remember and memorialize. You remember when the Lord told them to take twelve stones and put them in the river, and when your children come along and ask you, what meaning these stones? These stones are to tell them this is where the Lord delivered us from the hand of the enemy. And if those stones are anything like the monuments that we have now, we have a generation that doesn't even remember Jim Crow. They don't even remember, amen, when blacks and whites couldn't marry. Don't even remember because, why? Not because the past is not true, but because you have children now who go to school with other races. If y'all better pray because I'm going to say the wrong thing. Help me drive. Praise God. They go to school with other, they live next door to people of other, that's a good thing, nothing wrong with that. Amen. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. I'm telling you, some of them go to, we're on the radio, I can't say what I want to say. Praise God. Amen, they go to school with them people that a lot of our children talk just like them. Hallelujah. I was right when I opened my mouth, I knew I was right. But what we have to be careful of is when we take on the ways of the oppressor. Happy Father's Day because I'm standing on quicksand. When you take on the ways of the oppressor, and I'm not against any race, not against any race, but I'm talking about if we are not careful, we'll forget where the Lord has brought us from. We'll forget how the Lord brought us. But every now and then there's some circumstances that arise, George Floyd, that'll remind us we haven't come as far as we think we've come. Gotta remember, I gotta go now. Gotta remember that miracles alone won't keep you. You gotta know, Joshua says, as you sanctify yourself. You gotta remember, verse 18, that He is our God. Gotta remember that God is a holy God. God is a loving God. If you plan to make a commitment, you need to commit not to just a miracle working God, but commit to the God that looked beyond all of our faults and saw every one of our needs. The God who looked down on us with an eye of pity and a heart of compassion. And the good news about it is that the Lord didn't pick you, He chose you. I said He didn't pick you, He chose you. Can I close? Praise God. There's a difference in being picked and chosen. Are you listening? Praise the Lord. I don't hear y'all. Somebody say Amen. When you're picked, they're picked because of something that looks favorable. You remember those of you who grew up in the hood? I don't know about the other place, I'm talking about what I'm talking about. We used to play baseball, football, whichever one. And you'd pick a captain. Two. This team, that team. Amen. And that captain was able to pick his teammates. Jesus help me. You could pick your team out. I want her, look like she can run pretty fast. I want him because he can throw pretty far. And then you're hoping that the other guy don't pick the next person that you want because you're trying to build a team. But the team, I don't have time to talk about all of that. But the difference in being picked and chosen, when you're chosen, you don't have all the qualifications that they're looking for. We didn't have everything that the Lord needed for us to have when he chose us. He said that when you were without, God decided to choose you from the foundation of the world. Oh yeah, the world may reject you, don't worry about it, but God said, I chose you. Amen. Joseph, amen, wasn't picked, Joseph was chosen to do what God had called him to do. So you've been chosen from the foundation of the world. Joshua said you better fall in love with the God that loves you. A God that's going to be with you during difficult and troubled times. Amen. Joshua said before it was the Lord that brought us up and our fathers from the land of Egypt. Amen. He said and the Lord drove out from before us all the people, even the Amorites. Amen. But he said we will also serve the Lord for he's our God. Joshua reminded them in verse 19, he said but you can't serve the Lord on your own accord. You've got to have something on the inside. Can we go? You've got to have someone on the inside to help you make this kind of commitment. The Lord has drawn us to him by his spirit. He keeps us by his spirit. We've been born by his spirit. It's in him that we live, move and have our being. I want to charge you people of God to make a commitment for the Lord. Somebody said I'm already saved. I'm already this and I'm already that. That's good. But have you made a commitment to the cause of Christ? Are you doing what God has called you to do? Joshua gives us a choice. He said now you've got to choose who you're going to serve. Are you going to serve the gods of the past? Don't get caught up in serving the gods of the land in which we now dwell. There are many gods that are calling us away from the true and living God. Are you listening? I said the enemy is using all kind of small gods to pull us away from the true and living God. I don't want to name them but the social media is one. Pulling us away from the God that we serve. Somebody said he ain't putting me away from the Lord. I bet you don't read that Bible as much as you be on Facebook. I'm willing to bet the farm that you ain't praying as much as you're on Facebook. I'm willing to bet that you ain't praying like you are on Instagram. Because the world calls us. That's what the Bible said. A thief cometh but fought to steal, kill and destroy. He may not kill your life but he'll kill your time. And that's the substance of our lives. He may not kill you physically but he'll kill your relationship with the Lord. Amen. How you know? Because where you used to feel a close connection to the Lord, I don't feel the connection that I used to feel anymore because the termites of time have come in and eaten away at our devotional time. At the time we ought to be praying and speaking the Lord. We're running around trying to keep up with the rat race but we got to make some godly commitments. God, when the last time you've been to Bible study? Don't raise your hand. When the last time you came to a prayer meeting? When is the last time you laid hands on somebody and prayed the prayer of faith that they might be healed? When was the last time Jesus said I was hungry and you didn't feed me? He said I was naked, you didn't clothe me, I was in jail and you didn't visit me? And listen as the religious crowd said, Lord, when did we do such a thing? We was in circle meeting, we was in choir rehearsal. Jesus said, but if you've done it unto the least, you've got to go now. I like how y'all looking at me, like Tessa Jane. I love every one of y'all. God bless you. I love you. But it's time to make some commitments. It's time to make commitments. It's not enough. It's not enough just to go to heaven when you die. It's not enough. You went to heaven but everybody at your address went to hell. It's not enough that you went and nobody on your block knew that you was a Christian. God is calling us to commit. He's calling us to make a choice. Don't put it off. January, I'm going to turn over a new leaf. It's June man, you better come on to the Lord. It's June, you ain't got time to wait until the first of the year. Some of us may not have time to make it to the first Sunday.