Joshua, part 3

We had a great night last night which was our final night in the series called, "Joshua." We finished with a student, Jordan, an 8th grade boy, giving his testimony, what God has been doing in his life, and then giving the challenge to students. It was powerful because it was peer to peer. Here is the basic outline from last night.

Review Crossing the Jordan River
Joshua was obedient even when it didn't make a lot of sense. Joshua resolved that he would be obedient to God no matter what. If he would have listened to his friends on this, he may never have been used to do such an amazing thing. We do the same thing. We make our friends our authority and we are obedient to them. If this is the case, God can't use us in the same way.

Review Battle of Jericho
Joshua was obedient again when God had him go to battle in a very unorthodox and illogical way by walking around the walls of Jericho, blowing trumpets, and yelling. Yet again, Joshua didn't listen to what was logical or normal or acceptable, but instead obeyed God. This obedience allowed him to be a part of something amazing. It's the same with us. If we stop listening to what the world calls normal and start obeying God, he is going to use us to do amazing things for him.

SIDE NOTE: Obedience sometimes sounds really boring and uncool, but look how God used Joshua's obedience to make him a part of something so crazy, so unbelievable, so cool. God can do the same today. Example I gave: The 3rd leading cause of teen death is suicide. Many teen suicides are a result of not having friends, feeling unloved, ignored. God's command to us is to love others. If we would be obedient to that command and love those who feel unloved, we could LITERALLY SAVE THEIR LIFE!

Joshua's Farewell
At the end of Joshua's life, he gave a challenge to look at all that God has done for the people of Isreal and worship him. His challenge is to choose whom you will serve? Joshua's response was, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." That was the final challenge for students last night. Who will you choose to serve today?