14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the
gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the
LORD.
- Joshua 24:14, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
Dear Friends in Christ and, especially, dear Confirmands,
Let me begin by telling you a little bit about one of the great Old Testament heroes of faith. Even though he lived thousands of years ago, what he has to say cannot be improved upon. And what he has to say is especially meaningful to the fourteen of you who are being confirmed today...
He grew up at a time when his nation was suffering under the
oppression of forced slavery. No doubt
his constant prayer during those years was the same as the rest of his people –
a prayer that the almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would grant them
freedom from bondage. As a young man he
saw those prayers answered as God, through His servant Moses and with a
countless display of miracles, led His people out of
Later on, as the Israelites neared the Promised Land which
God would one day give them, he was chosen to be one of twelve “spies.” Their mission was to enter this promised but
unknown land, gather intelligence on it, and report back to the leaders of
their people. Of the twelve, ten brought
back negative reports and expressed the fear that this great land could never
be conquered by the Israelites. The
enemy was too numerous, too strong, and too equipped for
Only this man and one other by the name of Caleb disagreed, expressing confidence that with the Lord’s help it could be indeed be done. Through his exemplary faith and courage he rose in honor and status among his people and later became their God-appointed leader.
The man we are talking about is Joshua; Joshua, whose very name in Hebrew means “the Lord saves.” You might remember that it was Joshua who led the Israelites after the death of Moses. And it was Joshua who accomplished something for them that even Moses in all his greatness was not allowed to do: He took God’s people into the Promised Land.
In doing so he led a remarkable life filled with variety, success, excitement and honor. If his obituary had been written in one of our newspapers today, he would be described as a grizzled veteran of foreign wars... a man among men who did not have to demand but rather commanded respect among his peers... a fearless leader whose implicit faith and trust in God sets a fine example for all who believers who followed him, including you and me...
As a military man, Joshua must have given literally thousands of orders to his people as they claimed the land God had promised them. In chapter 12 of his book, for example, we can find a list of 31 kings Joshua defeated at God’s direction and with God’s help. That’s a lot of campaigns. A lot of orders given...
But it can be safely said that of all the orders General Joshua gave to his people during his lifetime, none was more important than the one we have before us in today’s text.
What we heard just moments ago was a portion of aged Joshua’s farewell address to his people. In it he makes a bold and beautiful confession of faith as he issues one last order – an order not just for the Israelites, but for all people of all times; an order that has special significance for you on this important day of your lives. Because what Joshua says to you can be summed up in these four words:
CONFIRMANDS, SERVE THE LORD!
Why should you young people spend the rest of your lives, in the words of Joshua, serving the Lord “with all faithfulness”? The answer can be found in the distinction Joshua makes between “gods” spelled with a small “g” and the one true God, whom he refers to as “the Lord.” Joshua doesn’t dispute that there are other gods and other religions and other spiritual systems out there. That was the case back then just as it is today. But he does declare that there is only one true God.
And the one, true Lord God – the God of Scripture and the One we have spent time discussing over the last two years in catechism class – is “triune.” You know what that means: One God, yet three distinct persons. And here’s the best news yet, as well as the reason why Christians gladly serve the Lord: each of the three persons of the triune God is vitally connected to and concerned with your life as an individual...
It is God the Father who, through your parents, created you. He is the one who fearfully and wonderfully made you and gave each of you your own patented gifts and talents. Like an artist, he has fashioned each of you as His original creations. The brushstrokes are as individualized as you are, but each of you comes from the hand of the Master.
Your Heavenly Father didn’t stop there. Besides creating you He richly and daily preserves you. He lovingly watches over you and either keeps you from harm or makes it ultimately serve your highest good. That’s why we can legitimately describe Him as I did just a moment ago: God is our loving, heavenly Father.
It is God the Son, Jesus Christ, who redeems you. To redeem means to buy back. And that is what Jesus did for us. He bought us back from the rightful, damning consequences that our sins deserve. We know where we’re going in the future. Which also means we have been redeemed from an empty, meaningless life in the present. We have been saved to serve.
And we know the price of that redemption. You memorized it in the meaning of the Second Article: “... not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood, and innocent suffering and death.” We talked about this with a term I hope you will never forget – the “vicarious atonement.” Meaning? Christ as our substitute made us at one with God (or, at peace with God) through His death on the cross. The result is that we are fully and freely forgiven of all our sins. Now, in the words of Isaiah, though our sins were like scarlet, we are white as snow in the eyes of God.
And then there is God the Holy Spirit. He is the One who “sanctified” you, or, “made you holy” by bringing you to faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the “Faith-Maker,” and the evidence of His handiwork is your presence here this morning as confirmands. Not only has He brought you to faith, but he promises to keep you in faith as you stay close to the Word...
Just think who God is.
Think of the part He has played in your lives already. Then, confirmands, it will not be at all
difficult to follow through on Joshua’s counsel – in fact, it will become your
daily desire to serve the Lord with all faithfulness.
The same holds true as we consider what the Lord has done
for us. We’ve mentioned a number of
those things already. I’d just like to
underscore this marvelously comforting thought:
The Lord has called you to be His own.
The Apostle John put it this way:
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be
called children of God! And that is what
we are!”
You became children of God at your baptism. You don’t remember it, but spiritually speaking, that was the most important day in your life. At that time God the Holy Spirit working through water and the Word miraculously created faith in your young hearts and God claimed you as His own. And as His own, He made you heirs of what is His: eternal life in heaven.
Today you have the blessed opportunity to reverse the situation and claim God as your own. That’s what confirmation is all about. In just a few minutes you will make a vow to the Lord to remain faithful to Him throughout your lives. You will confess before Him and us your belief in the triune God and the blessed message of salvation through faith in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You will make a vow to Him that you will endure any kind of loss, even death, rather than deny Him...
I urge you to take those vows seriously. In our world today we often hear about how
some people by the way they dress or by doing the things they do are trying to
“make a statement.” Well, today you have
the chance to “make a statement” to God with your confirmation vows. And it is the prayer of everyone here that
you make those vows with all sincerity. Think
of what God has done for you. Then gladly
serve Him with all faithfulness...
Finally, confirmands, serve the Lord not only because of who He is and He’s done for you (although that’s plenty enough reason)... Serve Him also because of what He will do for you throughout your earthly lives. And what will He do for you? Two things in particular come to mind...
First, He will give you guidance and direction in His Word. Let me make a statement that you yourselves may not fully understand because you’ve only been on this earth for 13 or 14 years, but your parents and grandparents certainly will. The statement is this: The world in which you are growing up is in a moral and spiritual state of confusion. You are growing up in a world which says that much of what used to be wrong 20 or 30 or 40 years ago is right today, and much of what used to be considered right is wrong. Does that sound confusing? It is confusing. And this confusion over what is right and wrong is constantly being drummed into the heads of people through TV shows and movies and CD’s and video games and other forms of media...
So, how do we sort things out? Where do we find answers to things like abortion and premarital sex and living together before marriage and homosexuality – things which the world will have us believe are perfectly acceptable? Where do we find straight answers on what are often referred to as the burning moral issues of the day?
We find answers in the Word. Psalm 119:105 tells us: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” God’s Word points us in the right direction and plants our feet on solid spiritual ground. What will God do for you as you go through life in a morally confused world? He will give you guidance and direction in His Word. Stay close to it.
The second thing God will do for you as you stay close to Him and His Word is provide you with power for living. As young Christians you already know what it means to deal with temptations to sin. As you get older there will be newer and more attractive temptations. Satan will see to that. And all these temptations will ask you to set aside the things you have learned; to make a choice opposite of God would have you do...
In addition to that, as you grow older and into adulthood you will also experience hardships and trials. Some of these will be of your own making. Others will come as the result of living in a sinful world. And still others may be brought into our lives by the hand of our Heavenly Father to strengthen us or confirm us in our faith. But the bottom line is that you will see difficulties in your lives.
How do we handle these moments? By turning to God through Scripture and prayer. In His Word He speaks to us and comforts us, encourages us and strengthens us. In our prayers we “pour out our hearts to Him” (as you memorized from Psalm 62)... Talk to God in prayer each day and let Him talk to you through His Word each day and you will find power for living... until that day when He takes you safely home to be with Him.
And perhaps that’s a good thought to end on. Confirmands, we began talking today about the
great Old Testament hero of faith, Joshua.
Toward the end of his life he gave us all sound advice, counsel
particularly appropriate for this grand occasion in your young lives. And what he said and what I’ll leave you with
is this: Because of who He is... Because
of what He’s done for you... Because of what He will do for you throughout your
lives... CONFIRMANDS, SERVE THE LORD WITH
ALL FAITHFULNESS! Amen.