A Time for Renewal

       I’m sure it’s a sign of profound weakness in my character.  But one of my favorite actors is Bill Murray. I love the way he says and does the most outrageous things and gets away with them through Chutzpa.  Chutzpa is a Jewish word that describes "a man who kills his parents and then pleads for the court's mercy because he is an orphan."

       In the movie "Stripes", Murray is at his best -- trying to get together a group of dispirited soldiers who have given up hope. Murray gives them a patriotic speech which begins: "We are Americans. Do you know what that means? It means that our ancestors were kicked out of every decent country on earth!"

       How’s that for a Fourth of July message?

       That is not how we usually define ourselves -- though from the point of view of the "old world" it might be true. The people who built this country were not, by and large, the wealthy, the secure, the honored. Those types stayed in Europe or wherever because they had it made. Those who built this nation were those driven from home for reasons of economic need, religious persecution or merely to escape the stifling structures of the rigid old world class system.

       People in this congregation here today have flowing in their veins the blood of many nations -- English, Irish, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, African, Indians, Jamaican, Ukrainian, Russian, German, Dutch, Polish, Chinese, American Indian. And yet we are all Americans -- united now in allegiance to one nation and sharing a common national consciousness and dream.

       In the same way, the people of Israel as they gathered to renew the covenant at the religious center at Shechem are in many ways similar to our own nation today. They too have entered the land and made it their own. They too were refugees from the prison of one kind of slavery or another. They too were people of many lands united now in a common allegiance -- an allegiance to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The People of Israel were not just the descendants of Jacob. The Bible tells us that they were accompanied in their exodus by a "mixed-multitude" of other nations including some Egyptians. On the way through the wilderness they were joined by other groups -- Midianites like Jethro and Edomites like Caleb, the friend of Joshua. In the Promised Land they were joined by the "natives" spoken of in Joshua 8 -- people from many backgrounds now being joined as one people.

       The new people of Israel face a choice as they gather at Shechem -- a question of what kind of nation they will be. It will not be the last time they will face this choice. It will confront them continually just as it confronts us continually. What kind of nation will we be and whom will we serve?

       Some choices like which color M&M is your favorite are really unimportant.  All the colors taste the same.  But some choices do matter.  What you choose to do with God will impact your life.

       Joshua lives in a day of spiritual restlessness. The people have come out of slavery.  They have been purged of the " Egypt in their blood" in the furnace of the wilderness wandering. They have crossed the Jordan and have entered the Promised Land. Those are rugged years and their faith is tested and made strong.

       But now the initial conquest is complete. A time for decision has now arrived as the people prepare to live in the land they have gained.

       With the realizing of their goal comes a natural let down – a big “so what’s next?  A kind of spiritual unsettledness invades the lives of the people of God. There is a double-mindedness. Some of the people remain strong in their faith. Others quickly give in to the thought forms, and pagan practices of their new neighbors. In between there is  a large group without any kind of clear perception of who they are in relation to their God.

       This is when Joshua gathers the people of Israel together at Shechem and gives them the challenge and the choice. "Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the river, and in Egypt and serve the Lord. And if you be unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond 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."

       Joshua, that day, calls for a decision that will end the spiritual, intellectual and moral schizophrenia that marks so many lives. Later, Elijah on Mt. Carmel gives a similar kind of challenge. "How long will you go on limping between two opinions? Either God is god or Baal is god. Choose!" Peter, on the day of Pentecost, declared that the one promised by the Old Testament prophets had come. His name: Jesus, the savior of the world. He had been crucified, but that was not the end. Jesus rose from the dead as a straight forward demonstration that God is calling men and women everywhere to choose for or against His Son. Thousands chose. Lives were changed. The church was founded. Men and women were, in the words of Jesus, "born again." This kind of experience has continued throughout the centuries to this very day.

       But there are, of course, good reasons to hold back from making the choice. Some are fearful of oversimplification. Theologians spend a lifetime examining what it means to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ. But God isn't as complicated as the books would make Him out to be. He pictures himself as a Father with a simple invitation to a child to come and know and experience His love. Now that may be over simplification, but it's God's over-simplification and we don't need to be afraid of it.  It’s certified by God Himself.

       At the same time, some are fearful of the Christian life being too complicated. They don't want to really follow Christ until they know everything about Him -- as if they could truly know Him before they are indwelt by Him. It is something like saying "I will not marry the man or woman I love until I know everything about him or her -- as if the joy and task of marriage were not, to a large extent, the joy of discovery and growth together -- of increased knowledge and confidence as we walk together through life. Jesus only calls us to commit what we do know of ourselves to what we do know of Him, and to use that commitment as the entry way to a lifetime of growth.

       But perhaps, the most common reason not to make a clear-cut choice is that "it's not a good time." "Someday, maybe, I'll get serious about Christ.

       Some people tell me that religion is designed for people in trouble and they aren't in trouble. Things are too good. Like the rich young ruler they come to Christ then turn away, afraid that He will cost them something. They don't know how good it is to know Christ personally to be intimately involved with Him! Others say that things are too bad and that they aren't going to accept Christ when they're down for fear of being manipulated. For others, things are on an even keel so why rock the boat?

       Those kinds of people have covered every angle. There is never a good time. They won't come to Him when they’re up because they don't sense the need. They won't come to Him when they’re down because they're too proud. They won't come to Him when they’re in between because they don't even take time to think about it.

        But God has His own ways of breaking through.

       What is involved in being a true follower of Christ? What are the elements that will be present? Here is a checklist -- a profile of the one prepared to choose.

        First, he or she is willing to quit straddling the fence. Some of us never get beyond the point of indecision because indecision makes so few requirements of us in the way of repentance or action.

Lot 's wife stands at the point of indecision. She leaves Sodom and Gomorrah , fleeing from its wickedness. Then she stops, paralyzed in her tracks looking back at it. In her divided aspirations she turns into a pillar of salt -- a graphic picture of the way the Lord views the professional fence-straddler who stands frozen between the way of the world and the way of God.

       Second, the one prepared to choose is ready to go public with his or her choice of obedience. Joshua faced the people of Israel and boldly announced: "Do what you want to do, but don't expect me to go along with the majority vote. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord."

       Jesus had some words to say about those who had a private confidence in Him that were afraid to acknowledge Him in public. He said: "The man or woman who denies me before people, I will deny before my Father." That's a pretty direct statement no matter how you slice it. Don't say you've decided for Christ unless you are prepared to identify yourself as His disciples in the church, in your home, in your business, in your social life.

       You’ve heard about New Year’s resolutions.  How about mid-year resolutions?

       This is a day for choice. If you do not know that you are Christian, I urge you to make a conscious decision for Christ. If the Spirit of God is probing you and urging you -- you know it already. I urge you to listen and to choose in your own quiet way as we prepare to share at the table of Him who died for you.

       And if you are a Christian as most of you are, perhaps you have found yourself looking back -- not putting your weight down -- trying to keep all your options open. A choice of recommitment to obedience and joyful fellowship is also there for the making. You can make the recommitment as you share at the Lord’s Table, 

       Reflect in yourself as we pray in silent preparation. The choices made today are choices between you and your God -- but if you'd like to talk it over with a Christian brother or sister, Janet or I would sure be glad to talk.