Josh 24:14+15, "Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 
	This morning, with a great sense of joy for all that the Lord has revealed about Himself and about us, His people, we will be bringing our consideration of the Book of Joshua to a close. In our reading of the Pentateuch, we saw how Joshua held true to the Lord, no matter what! This makes him a great hero to be emulated in our times of study of those men of character in the Bible who served the Lord, despite with their flaws and foibles. Joshua was not perfect, but he was steadfast in his consecration to the Lord. Accordingly, God honored that commitment throughout the accounts of these early books of the Bible. 
	Now, we want to conclude with a major theme of this book. It is incumbent upon us to teach our children and our grandchildren and our great grandchildren the need to honor and to obey and to cherish the Lord God Almighty. He, Alone, is to be worshipped and adored and praised. We are to recount over and over again all the goodness of the Lord in His work in our lives, in the lives of our parents and our grandparents and as detailed in the patriarchs of the Bible. They are our heritage as we are now made to be part of the grand family of God in Christ Jesus. We may not have the blood of the Jewish nation coursing through us. We are now, however, fully covered by the precious blood of Jesus through Whom we have been adopted into the eternal Family of God.
	In our brief prior deliberation, we identified how Naomi, influenced the love of Ruth toward the Lord. We saw how God made Himself very much the blessing of these two women. It was so graciously expressed through His great love, by which He made the Moabitess a member of the very lineage of His Only Begotten Son.
	Let us now turn our attention to what the Psalmist has to tell us concerning the necessity to teach our household of the priority required to worship and to adore the Lord. There are very many psalms which express this reality, however we will begin with Ps 101:1+2 and limit ourselves to just a few more.
	Ps 101:1+2, I will sing of lovingkindness and justice, To Thee, O Lord, I will sing praises. I will give heed to the blameless way. When wilt Thou come to me? I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart. 
Herein, we see that it is urgent and necessary for us to model our love for the Lord and our honor of the Lord within the confines of our homes. Parents need to be His daily witness, not just in words, but in action. This commitment to the Lord is for the instruction of the children and the grandchildren and anyone else within the household to witness this priority unto God.
The Word of God is to be read, not just at bedtime, but in personal daily study. It is to be relished as the life-giving source that the Holy Spirit makes it. 
Prayer should be the first course of response to everything that enters the entire scope of needed action. 
Our worship should not just be a Sunday event, but a moment by moment reflex. It should be as natural as breathing, for the sake of the glory of the Lord to be so purely and truly and supremely in evidence.
In everything that happens, there should be that thanksgiving offered up to God for His Sovereignty in action. Our lives should be overflowing with supreme gratitude unto God for the fact that He is in absolute control over everything, no matter how things may appear. 
Now, please turn to Ps 119. We will look at several passages in this lengthy Psalm of thanksgiving unto the Lord. 
We begin with verses 54-66. Ps 119:54-66, Thy statutes are my songs In the house of my pilgrimage. O Lord, I remember Thy name in the night, And keep Thy law. This has become mine, That I observe Thy precepts. The Lord is my portion; I have promised to keep Thy words. I entreated Thy favor with all my heart; Be gracious to me according to Thy word. I considered my ways, And turned my feet to Thy testimonies. I hastened and did not delay To keep Thy commandments. The cords of the wicked have encircled me, But I have not forgotten Thy law. At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to Thee Because of Thy righteous ordinances. I am a companion of all those who fear Thee, And of those who keep Thy precepts. The earth is full of Thy lovingkindness, O Lord; Teach me Thy statutes. Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word. Teach me good discernment and knowledge, For I believe in Thy commandments. 
 	Note the very first portion of this passage, Thy statutes are my songs In the house of my pilgrimage… It is clearly declared that this is a pilgrimage. Each of us are on this journey as ambassadors of our true home with Christ Jesus. As such, we have been blessed with those loved ones who surround us. They have been our grandparents and our parents. They are our spouses and our siblings. They definitely are our children and grandchildren. The psalmist recognized that this pilgrimage required so much more in terms of dedication and commitment to the Lord. That is why there is that cry to the Lord to supply all that is necessary to live lives that are exemplary in every fashion. It cannot be done without the help and the guidance and the instruction of the Lord as each day unfolds.
	This is reiterated in verses 102-106. Ps 119:102-106, I have not turned aside from Thine ordinances, For Thou Thyself hast taught me. How sweet are Thy words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Thy precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp to my feet, And a light to my path. I have sworn, and I will confirm it, That I will keep Thy righteous ordinances. 
    	It is as we walk by the Light, Jesus Christ, that we can have that testimony in the homes of which we are a part. So many Christians, well-meaning and devout Christians, are much more concerned about the testimony that they present to the world and they forget about the testimony that they are to live in their homes. 
This requires so much more because those with whom the Lord has blessed us as family see so vastly more than what is presented outside the home. It is here that all the scabs are torn off, that all the facades crumble away, that all the words and the platitudes that are spoken abroad come to the fundamental measuring rod of God. 
Are we really those men and women of God who stand by the Lord, Alone, and will not waiver nor swerve in our active commitment to Him? If so, then our spouses should testify to it! If so, then our children should actively be associated with us in the Lord! The light of our daily walk within our homes and families will be the evidence of Who we truly love and unto Whom we are absolutely committed!
	As the Psalmist so proclaims in verses 111+112, it is because of our love for the Lord, that we want that love to be evidenced in our homes to those we most cherish on this earth. The Love of God constrains us to be His love, the expressed witnesses of God to those in our households. That is why we express the joy of the Lord to our parents, our spouses, our siblings, and our posterity. We want the love of God to be the inheritance of all within our homes. This will be even to the end of our lives, of their lives, and the lives of the entire lineage of our posterity.
	Ps 119:111+112, I have inherited Thy testimonies forever, For they are the joy of my heart. I have inclined my heart to perform Thy statutes Forever, even to the end. 
        When we consider our families, with all the cares and the concerns of our households, so many of us tend to get caught up in the day to day needs for shelter, and food, and clothing. We can often allow our household necessities to overshadow everything else in our lives. This sadly includes our relationship with God and our testimony of Who He really is to us. We often fail to understand that it is exactly those family needs and issues in which God proves Himself as Jehovah Jireh over and over and over again. 
Our cares and worries may even be to the point that we will sacrifice our time with the Lord in worship and in praise to do some menial task that we feel will better suit the limitations of our walk on this earth. What kind of testimony does that present to our householders, young and old? How do our actions and motivations and priorities reflect our commitment or lack of commitment unto the Lord before the eyes of those who see us day after day after day?
	Please turn to Matt 6:24-33 and listen to what Our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, has to tell us about what our true witness before our family and friends needs to be. This will be where it is really witnessed unto Whom we belong and unto Whom we trust for the meeting of our every need and provision. Either we belong to and count on the Lord, with His Omnipotence and Omniscience fully covering us or we count on our own very limited and finite ingenuity and energy and inadequate scope of abilities. We cannot do both!
	Matt 6:24-33, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? "And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span? "And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. "But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? "Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' "For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. 
    	Later, in Luke 10:38-42, Our Lord dealt very specifically with those human concerns and focal points of attention. He was in a home where He was being well taken care of by those ministering to His physical needs and comfort. Martha was doing everything she could to concentrate on His hunger and His well-being within their home. 
At the same time, her sister, Mary, was focused on Jesus and His teaching and the spiritual truth of Who He was and what He had to say. Martha, felt betrayed and frazzled and frustrated with her sister and complained to the Lord. This was the exchange and the witness that was evident in these two sisters.
	Luke 10:38-42, Now as they were traveling along, He entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord's word, seated at His feet. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him, and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." 
	Mary knew to Whom she was listening. She knew that He was the One for Whom the whole nation had waited for all those centuries. Here, in her home was the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of God. Her focus was on the reality of eternity. She had, within her witness, the truth that it was much more important and vital to listen and to spend time with the Lord. 
	Martha, however, was so concerned with all the minutiae of the visit of this great Teacher. She was cooking and cleaning and preparing and doing all that a proper hostess would do, except listen. She was so caught up in the details of the visit, that she did not see the eternal consequences of that choice. Her sister reveled in the visit while Martha was thoroughly frustrated and fuming with anger and so failed to grasp that truth of the One with Whom she had the unique opportunity of coming to know better.
	Later, in John 6:65-69, the scripture details how this reality played out within the core of those who were following Jesus the Nazarene as He went forth teaching the Kingdom of God. Many were there for what they could get out of it, as in being miraculously fed or healed. But they would soon turn away when faced with the fact that they were to become witnesses to all of the spiritual reality of with Whom they were sojourning. They sought relief from the dominion of Rome, while the true believers were the few who sought relief from the dominion of sin and shame in their hearts and lives. The many wanted an earthly king, while the few, the called, the chosen, sought their Heavenly King.
	John 6:65-69, And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father." As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore. Jesus said therefore to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. "And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." 
    	We bring our discussion full circle to the course that was set by the servant of the Lord, Joshua, in our morning’s text …as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Hopefully we have been caused us to deal with many matters in our hearts with regard to how we respond to the Lord within our lives and within our homes. There is to be that solid and unyielding commitment to the way of the Lord as we walk on this earth before those who witness our spiritual and earthly priorities.
	In Acts 11:20-24, we see how the Lord was not limited by nationality in the spreading of the Gospel. Those early Christians of the Jewish nationality had to accept the fact that God was opening His salvation to any who would but call upon the name of the Lord. In so doing, they encouraged those Gentiles, who accepted Christ, to have that same dedication as expressed by Joshua. They needed to remain true to the Lord as did those who continued to follow Jesus because He is the Word of Life. 
Acts 11:20-24, But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. And the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. Then when he had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. 
	We also see how the Lord ordered the manifestation of His testimony within the homes of the believers upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The detailing of the heart of God into the family was evident from the very beginning as He made the family unit, the home and household the place of promise and longevity of life on this earth. Consider what the Apostle Paul stated so succinctly in Eph 6:1-4.
	Eph 6:1-4, Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. 
Accordingly we stand together with Joshua for the service of the Lord which begins in our hearts with the commitment to honor the Lord, Alone. That stand then proceeds forth to be manifested in and through our families as true to the Lord, setting aside anything that would interfere with our complete and absolute fealty to Him. This is the culmination of the course of this entire Book of Joshua. It is the ground of our stand for the glory of God to be the focal interest and work of the people who are chosen by and redeemed unto the Lord. So be it!
"Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Amen.

			
This morning’s benediction is Deut 33:3. "Indeed, He loves the people; All Thy holy ones are in Thy hand, And they followed in Thy steps; Everyone receives of Thy words. Amen.