Evening Sermon

November 4, 2007

THE "AMEN" CORNER

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Jesus must have really astounded that woman he met at a well in Samaria. It must have astounded her that he, a Jew, would even be walking through Samaria, for the Jews hated the Samaritans. It must have astounded her that he asked her for water, for men didn't speak to women in public. And he must have astounded her by telling her that "whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." She must have thought that he was out of his mind.

But he had one more surprise for her. And this must have astounded her the most. John 4:17 "The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' 18 "for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."

Can you imagine someone being that bold today? Can you believe that Jesus pointed out her sin so clearly and so bluntly? Can you believe that he was so judgmental toward her? People today would call that hateful, maybe even accuse Jesus of sexual harassment.

She responded as many people today would respond, defensively. She changed the subject. When religion strikes a little too close to home, and when the Bible--or a preacher--begins to step on our toes a little bit, we get uncomfortable. We get defensive. We get our dander up. We change the subject. And what better way to change the subject than to bring up some point of theological discussion.

John 4:19 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."

Let's talk about religion, but not about my sin. That is what this woman said. And Jesus patiently answered her rather foolish question. John 4:21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

That woman asked a question that she hoped would take the spotlight off her own sins. Yet Jesus' answer was a timeless definition of what it means to be a Christian. Christians are worshipers. God's people are worshipers. By definition!

Jesus said, "It isn't the mountain on which you worship that matters. What matters is whether or not you are a true worshipper, worshipping in spirit and in truth. Those are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."

As God's people, we are to be worshipers! And that is the lesson this evening from our text in Joshua 8. Joshua's example, and his obedience to God's commands, shows us that,

I. WORSHIP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ACTIVITY OF GOD'S PEOPLE. Worship is the most important thing that we do. Worship was the most important thing that Joshua could do.

Joshua was a busy man. He was in the middle of a war. He had invaded enemy territory and was just beginning this great conquest. But he knew what God had told him about the importance of worship. Deut.27:2 "And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. 3 "You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the LORD your God is giving you, 'a land flowing with milk and honey,' just as the LORD God of your fathers promised you. 4 "Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. 5 "And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones; you shall not use an iron tool on them. 6 "You shall build with whole stones the altar of the LORD your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God. 7 "You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before the LORD your God. 8 "And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law."

And that is exactly what Joshua did. The nation of Israel was not just a nation of warriors. It was a nation of worshipers. Right in the middle of the war, they would gather together for worship.

But what is worship? In its most basic form it means to approach God with praise and honor, to call upon his name in praise. A few biblical examples.

1Cor. 1:2 "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours."

1Pet. 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

Ps. 100:1 "Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing."

Ps. 96:3 "Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples."

Worship is approaching God with praise and honor. Its focus is God, not the worshiper. The object of worship is the God of creation, not the creature we could call the "self." Unfortunately, many successful churches of today have prostituted themselves to the idol of self. Much that goes under the name of worship today is little more than self-fulfillment, self-indulgence, and self-satisfaction. Yet true worship does not center on us. It is not entertainment, designed for our pleasure or our comfort. Worship centers on God. What we do in our worship must be directed to God.

And so the real question is this, "How should we approach God?" Joshua and the nation of Israel give us several answers to that question. First,

A. We must approach God with an awareness of our need for cleansing. That is why God told Joshua to build an altar. v.30

What is an altar for? For offering sacrifices. An altar is the place where blood was shed for the atonement of sin. And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. The altar, and the necessity of sacrifices, demonstrates our need for cleansing. And because of our sin, we cannot approach God any other way.

And notice where this altar was to be built. On Mt. Ebal. Mt. Ebal was the mountain where the curses of the covenant were declared. Mt. Ebal was the place where the curse of breaking the law was announced.

Extremely valuable lesson. Because of the curse of the law, and because we deserve that curse, we must approach God with an awareness of our need for cleansing.

This scene gives us a greater understanding of that Samaritan woman at the well, also, for when she pointed to a mountain on which her fathers worshipped, she was pointing to Mt. Gerizim, not Mt. Ebal. The Samaritans, separated from God by their sin, were seeking to approach God without the altar. With their self-righteousness intact, they didn't understand the need for a savior whose shed blood was necessary to cleanse them from their sin. They worshiped on Mt. Gerizim, believing they had God's favor without need of sacrifice. They may have been enthusiastic, but they were deceived.

Jesus answered the Samaritan woman by pointing to himself. In effect, he said to her, "You can approach God only through me." Later in his ministry he said of himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me."

We must approach God with an awareness of our need for cleansing. That need is so accurately described in the hymn "Rock of Ages". "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to they cross I cling; naked, come to thee for dress; helples, look to thee for grace; foul, I to the Fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die...Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee."

I hope you understand those words as you sing them! Yet we no longer have an altar, because Jesus Christ "has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself." In fact, he has turned the curse into a blessing. Deut. 23:5 "Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you."

Galatians 3:13 tells us how he did that: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree")."

Jesus Christ was cursed, condemned for you and for me. His blood was the propitiation, or atoning sacrifice that satisfied the demands of God's perfect and holy justice. 1John 2:1 "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

And so the altar through which we approach God is really the cross. We have been cleansed by the blood of a sacrifice that never needs to be repeated. Hebr. 9:11 "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

The application for us very obvious. We can approach God with bold confidence, even though we are very much aware of our need for cleansing. Heb. 10:19 "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

Heb. 4:16 "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

B. But we must also approach God according to his directions. v.31

And God's directions were very clear. This altar was to have no human craftsmanship. It was not to be cut or decorated by any man. Man had no part in the work of that altar. The lessons remain for us. We must approach God according to his directions.

One of the principles that was clearly defined during the Protestant Reformation of the 1500's, is that everything we do in worship should be commanded by God. We shouldn't do anything else. Just like he told Joshua how to build that altar, God has told us how to worship, and we should do only what he tells us. He tells us to pray. He tells us to sing and use music. He tells us observe the sacraments, to read his word, and to listen attentively to the preaching of his word. He tells us to collect offerings, and to make vows on occasion. And that's about it. Those things define what worship is. Those things define how we must approach God.

Let me say also, so obvious from this example,

C. We must approach God as a congregation. v.35 "Assembly of Israel."

Notice who is included, even the children. When the church assembles for the worship, the place of the children is right next to their parents. Biblically, the children were included in the congregation.

But how, then, can they learn anything? Well, first of all, they learn what is important by watching what is important to their parents. And, more specifically, they learned by asking their father what things meant. You will find many examples of children asking their father questions about the meaning of worship. But you will not find a separated children's church in the Bible. It just isn't there. Children were included in the assembly.

Hebrew word "assembly", translated into Greek, is the word for church. The church is not a building that we come to once a week. This building is not the church. Our church is the assembly of our people. And if we never assembled together, then we would not be a church. And except for extraordinary circumstances, a person who willfully fails to assemble together with the congregation cannot be a part of the church, because the church is the assembly.

We live in such an individualistic age. We tend to be much more concerned with our own personal experiences than with the experiences of the congregation. Our personal relationship with the Lord is often seen as more important than our relationship with the body in our church. But I don't believe that you can have one without the other! To quote John Wesley, "there is nothing more unchristian than a solitary Christian."

The church is an assembly. By definition, the church is a congregation. The church is the body of God's people gathered together.

And we are commanded to assemble together. Hebr. 10:24 "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

And that is not just a once a week proposition. The church in Acts clearly understood the importance of gathering together often. Acts 2:42 "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."

The early Christians did not have the idea that church was someplace to go on Sunday morning. Church was a once a week obligation. No, they assembled themselves together continually, even daily. Acts 2:46 "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart."

God blessed their assembly! As they were meeting daily, they grew, they attracted more people. That's how the church grew!

That is why we approach God as a congregation, often. We ought to pray that there would even be a desire for more opportunities to meet!

Let's look a little closer at what exactly we do when we worship. Much more than sitting in a pew.

II. WORSHIP INVOLVES OFFERING A WILLING SACRIFICE TO GOD. v. 31b

Two offerings are mentioned. Burnt offerings and peace offerings. They are very significant. The burnt offering could better be called the whole offering, because the significance of it was that the entire offering was given to God. The entire offering was burned, none of it was eaten by the priest or the worshipper. It was a complete and total sacrifice to God.

And the whole burnt offering represents for us,

A. The sacrifice of absolute devotion. I believe that we are still called to worship God with the sacrifice of a burnt offering. But I am not talking about an animal. I'm talking about what Paul said in, Rom. 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."

What does that mean? Same thing Jesus meant when he said, Matt. 16:24 "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

It is the same thing Paul meant when he said, Gal. 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

That is the kind of worshipper that the father seeks. Worship is sacrifice. Worship is giving up yourself, your own interests, your own time, and even your own money.

Illus: There is a wonderful example of the type of worship that most honors the Lord in 2 Samuel 24. David had committed a sin in the first part of that chapter. Instead of relying on God and God's strength, he relied on his own strength and the strength of his own army. He counted his men, measuring his strength by that count. But David was a man after God's own heart, and readily confessed his sin.

2Sam. 24:10 "David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."

And David accepted God's discipline. He was willing to accept responsibility for his own actions. Realizing that his actions also cause harm to his people, he pleaded for mercy. 2Sam. 24:17 "When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the LORD, "I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall upon me and my family."

David was then instructed to build an altar, a symbol of the sacrifice required to atone for his sin, and he willingly obey. He went to Araunah the Jebusite to purchase land for this altar, and Araunah was very gracious. He offered to give the land to David. Wonderfully generous offer!

2Sam. 24:22-23 Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take whatever pleases him and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. O king, Araunah gives all this to the king." Araunah also said to him, "May the LORD your God accept you."

But the lesson is in the next verse. 2Sam. 24:24 But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.

Sacrifice is meaningful to God when it is costly. Jesus taught the same thing. Mark 12:41 "Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 "for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

So often today people are unwilling to make sacrifices. So often we make up all kinds of excuses for our failure to be wholeheartedly committed to God. Sacrifice is meaningful when it is costly. The most costly sacrifice we can make is to sacrifice our whole life, and to give to God our bodies as a living sacrifice. That is the sacrifice of absolute devotion, represented by the whole burnt offering.

There was also the peace offering, or the fellowship offering. This is, for us,

B. The sacrifice of joyful fellowship. v.31b

The peace offering differed from the burnt offering, in that the priest and the worshipper took part of the animal and ate it themselves. So the sacrifice was shared between God and the worshipper. That is real fellowship.

The Lord's Supper, which we enjoyed this morning, fulfills both these sacrifices. This table shows us the whole burnt offering of Jesus on the cross. It demonstrates for us that Jesus held nothing back. His very life was given as a willing sacrifice to God. And we remember and proclaim that this morning.

But this communion is also a fellowship offering. We share in this meal, and by the holy spirit, we share this meal with Christ. As I often say, we have communion not only with one another, but also with Christ.

What a wonderful thought. In our worship, we can have fellowship with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Worship involves offering a willing sacrifice to God.

And, finally,

III. WORSHIP INVOLVES LISTENING TO GOD'S WORD. Make no mistake about it, God's word was central when the nation of Israel worshipped. v.34-35

He read the whole thing. Do you have any idea how long that might have taken? Why did he read it? Why did he announce those curses and blessings? Because,

A. As his people, God's word defines our obligation. God's word defines our obligation. But listen to me carefully. As God's people, his word defines our obligation.

The law does not define how we become his children. We become his children by faith, not by works. We are saved by grace, not by obedience. We do not earn God's favor, rather we are granted his forgiveness in love. But once we become his people, does that mean we can live however we want? God forbid. May it never be.

The blessings and curses define the covenant relationship that God has with his children. They define our obligation as Christians. Thus as God's people, we are obligated to keep his law. Christ's death on the cross has removed the curse of the law and has freed us from the condemnation of the law, but we are still obligated to love God and worship God by keeping his law.

The people of Israel understood that. They listened carefully to God's law. v.32 v.34

B. And as his people, God's word calls us to a commitment. I frequently meet people who are unwilling to make commitments. People today are scared of the whole idea of commitment. People are afraid that they won't be able to keep a commitment, so they don't make any!

I have often heard things like this: "I won't make any promises, but I'll try my best." Why do we hear that over and over again? I believe that we're scared to make promises, because we're scared of the responsibilities of commitment. If you make a promise, you're committed to keep it, and that makes us afraid. So we don't make any promises.

That is a dangerous cycle, because God does call us to commitment.

Remember, there were two mountains that Joshua and the people of Israel saw. Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal. They were separated by only about 500 yards at the bottom, and perhaps a mile and a half at the top. These mountain rose 800-1000 feet above the valley, and they formed a natural amphitheater, the rock layers giving the appearance of benches. A person could stand on the top of one mountain, and actually be heard by someone else standing on the other mountain.

Imagine yourself standing in the valley. Imagine hearing the scene as it is described in v.33-34. The blessings of the covenant were read from Mt. Gerizim and the curses read from Mt. Ebal. The law was read.

And do you know what he people said after each statement of that law? Joshua doesn't tell us here. But Moses did tell us. Deut.27:14 "And the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel: 15 'Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.' And all the people shall answer and say, 'Amen!' 16 'Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!' 17 'Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor's landmark.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!' 18 'Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!' 19 'Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!' 20 'Cursed is the one who lies with his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's bed.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!' 21 'Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!' 22 'Cursed is the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!' 23 'Cursed is the one who lies with his mother-in-law.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!' 24 'Cursed is the one who attacks his neighbor secretly.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!' 25 'Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!' 26 'Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'"

Each verse. Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"

What does it mean to say AMEN? It means, "I agree, I accept." In a wedding ceremony, it would correspond to the words "I do."

When the people said, "Amen," they were accepting the terms of the covenant, and they were committing themselves to obeying, just like a husband on his wedding day promises to love his wife.

It is a shame today that we are not accustomed to saying "amen" out loud, as a form of commitment. I encourage you to do it. If you do say AMEN out loud, I may act surprised, because I am not used to it. But don't take my surprise as a form of criticism. It is biblical for God's people to respond to God's word by saying "AMEN", as a way committing themselves to obey. And if you hear something that you are willing to believe and obey, then I encourage you to follow that biblical example.

As the children of God, beloved of God, redeemed by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, when you hear the law of God given to you as those who are redeemed, this should be your response, "AMEN." So let it be! Just like when you got married, and said "I do." "I will." Whether or not you actually say AMEN out loud, listen carefully to God's word, and be willing to make that commitment in response to it.

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