Choose Today Whom You Will Serve: Put Away Idols

Devotional

Day 1: Choosing Whom You Will Serve: The Fork in the Road

When life forces a decision between God’s way and familiar comforts, hesitation reveals competing loyalties. Joshua confronted Israel with an ultimatum: serve the God who delivered them or return to old patterns. True worship demands cutting ties with what distracts from wholehearted devotion. Like wedding vows, choosing God requires counting the cost of exclusive commitment. This daily choice reshapes priorities, relationships, and identity. [53:13]

“Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
(Joshua 24:14-15, ESV)

Reflection: What current crossroads in your life forces you to choose between God’s direction and your own instincts? How might declaring “I will serve the Lord” today shift your next step?

Day 2: Putting Away the Foreign Gods in Your Midst

Idols thrive in proximity. Like uneaten cake tempting repeated indulgence, unaddressed distractions weaken resolve. Joshua commanded Israel to physically remove pagan statues from their camp. Spiritual decluttering requires practical action: deleting apps, ending toxic relationships, or destroying symbolic objects. Trust grows when we create space for God to fill what we’ve emptied. [01:02:05]

“So now put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
(Joshua 24:23, ESV)

Reflection: What tangible item, habit, or relationship have you kept “just in case” despite feeling convicted? What courageous act could you take this week to remove its influence?

Day 3: Inclining Your Heart: Bending Toward God’s Will

Inclining isn’t passive leaning but active bowing. The Hebrew word implies bending one’s entire posture toward God’s voice. Like a sunflower tracking sunlight, daily reorientation counters our drift toward self-reliance. This intentional surrender transforms stubbornness into pliable clay in the Potter’s hands. Resistance melts when we recall God’s proven faithfulness in past storms. [01:08:36]

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: Where has leaning on your own logic created unnecessary detours? How might bending your plans to God’s wisdom today bring unexpected clarity?

Day 4: Acknowledging God in All Your Ways

Ignoring God’s GPS leads to dead ends. Romans warns that refusing to acknowledge Him results in being handed over to destructive patterns. Daily recognition looks like pausing before decisions to ask, “Does this honor my vow?” Like checking rearview mirrors while driving, habitual God-awareness prevents spiritual blind spots from causing collisions. [01:12:52]

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
(Romans 12:2, ESV)

Reflection: What routine decision do you make on autopilot without consulting God? How might inviting Him into that mundane moment deepen your trust?

Day 5: Remembering the Stone Witness: Daily Commitment

Joshua’s stone memorial shouted when Israel’s resolve grew quiet. Like wedding rings reminding spouses of vows, physical anchors reinforce spiritual promises. Post-it notes with Scripture, alarm reminders to pray, or saved voicemails from breakthrough moments become modern Ebenezers. Forgetting leads to wandering; remembering fuels persistent obedience. [01:19:30]

“And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.”
(Joshua 24:26, ESV)

Reflection: What tangible reminder could you create this week to reinforce your commitment to Christ? How might regularly revisiting this “stone witness” strengthen your resolve during trials?

Sermon Summary

Idolatry names the elephant hiding in plain sight. Exodus 20 makes the first move and sets the line in the sand: no other gods, no images, no rivals, because the Lord is jealous for a whole-hearted people. That priority matters. If the first word at Sinai guards worship, then every other command rides on who actually sits first in the heart.

Jesus’ own contrast presses the issue. The pull between two masters exposes that a life cannot split the difference. Joshua then steps into view. At the end of his days he gathers Israel, rehearses God’s faithfulness from Abram to conquest, and drives the point home: “fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth… choose for yourselves today whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The choice cannot stay theoretical. Israel answers with a strong yes, and Joshua slows them down so they can count the cost. A holy and jealous God will not be managed or shared; vows must match obedience.

Joshua’s charge lands in two commands that answer idolatry at the root. First, “put away the foreign gods.” The language is concrete: discard, remove from view, get the bait off the table. Temptation feeds on proximity, so practical separation matters. Second, “incline your hearts to the Lord.” The Hebrew carries a posture: stretch, bend, bow. The heart must yield, not to a mood, but to the Lord’s will. Proverbs 3 names this bend: trust in the Lord with all the heart, refuse the draw of private understanding, acknowledge him in all ways, and he will direct the path.

Romans 1 explains the drift when acknowledgment dies. When people exchange the truth for a lie and refuse to honor or thank God, God gives them over to what they insist on. Ignoring the divine GPS is not a short cut; it is a slow surrender to a depraved mind. Romans 12 answers with renewal: do not be conformed, be transformed, so that discernment of God’s good and perfect will becomes the new reflex.

Finally, Joshua sets a witness stone beneath an oak, a visible reminder, like a ring after vows, to keep the memory of the yes alive. Memory guards fidelity. So the call moves from altar to calendar: choose God, daily put away the rivals, bend the heart toward his voice, set reminders that pull attention back to who actually gets served, and do the work of obedience.

Key Takeaways

1. Idolatry is anything before God Idolatry is not just statues or crystals; it is whatever sits in the seat that belongs to the Lord. Good gifts become bad gods when they outrank his will. That includes family, career, ministry, or the private script that keeps winning arguments in the heart. Naming the rival is the first mercy, because only what is named can be put away. [41:30]
2. Choose today whom you will serve Neutral is not a lane on this road. The Lord honors a real yes and a real no, but he will not bless spiritual double-mindedness. A decision clarifies loyalties and exposes what gets sacrificed next. Saying “as for me and my house” is not decor; it is a line in the sand. [52:45]
3. Put it away, for real Joshua’s verb is practical: discard, remove from reach, close access. Proximity fuels relapse, so wisdom rearranges environments before emotions change. When the bottle, the app, or the secret stash is gone, the body has to find a new habit, and the soul gets room to breathe. [61:48]
4. Bow your heart to Him “Incline” means bend, stretch, bow. Trust replaces self-management when the heart yields to his command over personal preference. That posture shows up in choices where his word outranks the hunch that feels right. Obedience bends first and understands later. [68:13]
5. Acknowledge Him or drift Romans names the slide that begins when God is no longer acknowledged. Silence toward God becomes consent to lesser lords, and the mind slowly conforms to what it repeatedly chooses. Daily acknowledgment re-centers the soul, and over time renewal makes discernment normal, not rare. [71:35]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[24:31] - Holy stirring and greeting
[27:28] - Cheerful giving and prayer
[38:06] - Series recap to idolatry
[41:09] - What is idolatry?
[42:15] - First commandment priority
[45:13] - Exchanging truth for a lie
[49:22] - Choose whom you will serve
[51:02] - Joshua gathers Israel
[52:45] - As for me and my house
[57:12] - Count the cost of yes
[61:48] - Put away foreign gods
[68:13] - Incline your heart to God
[71:35] - Acknowledge Him or drift
[93:49] - Closing call and blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Joshua 24:14-15, 23-24 (ESV)
14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes 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.”
23 He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”

Observation Questions

What two specific actions does Joshua command the Israelites to take in verse 14 and 23?
How does Joshua respond when the people initially declare, “We will serve the Lord” (v. 16-20)?
What practical example was given in the sermon about removing temptations (like cake or phones) to avoid relapse? [01:06:10]
What visible reminder did Joshua set up to help Israel remember their commitment (v. 26-27)?

Interpretation Questions

Why does Joshua warn the people about God’s jealousy and holiness after they agree to serve Him (v. 19-20)? What does this reveal about the cost of commitment?
The sermon compared idolatry to “good gifts becoming bad gods” (e.g., family, career). How might even positive things unintentionally compete with God’s place in our lives? [41:30]
Proverbs 3:5-6 says to “trust in the Lord… and lean not on your own understanding.” How does this connect to Joshua’s command to “incline your heart” to God?
Romans 1:21-25 describes a “drift” when people stop acknowledging God. Why is daily gratitude and worship critical to avoiding this spiritual decline? [01:11:35]

Application Questions

Joshua said, “Choose this day whom you will serve.” What decision have you been avoiding that requires a clear “yes” or “no” to God? How can you act on it this week? [52:45]
“Put away the foreign gods” might mean deleting an app, ending a habit, or setting boundaries. What specific step could you take to remove a recurring temptation? [01:01:48]
The sermon mentioned creating reminders (like a stone or sticky note) to stay focused on God. What tangible reminder could you place in your home or workspace to recenter your heart daily?
“Inclining your heart” involves bending your will to God’s. Where do you most struggle to trust His direction over your own preferences? What would obedience look like in that area? [01:08:13]
Romans 12:2 calls believers to renew their minds. What daily practice (e.g., prayer, Scripture, worship) could help you “acknowledge Him” more consistently to avoid drifting? [01:11:35]
The Israelites quickly declared loyalty but needed accountability. Who could you invite to honestly ask you, “Are you serving God wholeheartedly?” in the next month?

Sermon Clips

Will you serve God or will you serve the pursuit of money? Will you serve God or will you serve your children? Will you serve God or will you serve your career? Today whom you will serve. See, the problem that we we find ourselves in as as believers, as Christians, is that we think that we can do both. We think that we can have our cake and eat it too. [00:54:16] (28 seconds)

Says, now, therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst and incline your hearts to the lord, the god of Israel. Put away the foreign gods. my my next point this morning is that you have to put it away. You have to put it away. In in reading scripture, this passage of scripture, the the the phrase put it away literally means to discard and and to turn from to rebuke, to to to get from your your vantage point that sometimes is not enough just to say no to a thing. [01:01:48] (58 seconds)

if you're trying to break an addiction, if you're trying to stop smoking or stop drinking, it would behoove you to get the cigarettes out of your house, to get the alcohol bottles out of your house, to to destroy them, to put them away, to get it from your vantage point because there might come a time where you might have the the itch or the inkling to to just reach for the bottle, to reach for the cigar because that's you're doing what feels normal to you. Right? You're doing what feels familiar. [01:06:16] (28 seconds)

And so what we need to do is if we don't acknowledge the one who knows it all, the one who has our best interest at heart, we are now fully leaning on our own understanding, on what we think is right, on what we want to do, on how we think a situation should go. Church, the problem with not acknowledging Christ is that he will, again, your your your actions are telling which side you chose. [01:13:30] (36 seconds)

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Choose Today Whom You Will Serve: Put Away Idols

Devotional

Day 1: Choosing Whom You Will Serve: The Fork in the Road

Day 2: Putting Away the Foreign Gods in Your Midst

Day 3: Inclining Your Heart: Bending Toward God’s Will

Day 4: Acknowledging God in All Your Ways

Day 5: Remembering the Stone Witness: Daily Commitment

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Choose Today Whom You Will Serve: Put Away Idols

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