Joshua 24:19-20 BSB “But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your rebellion or your sins.
20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and consume you, even after He has been good to you.”
Passion version
Joshua 24:19-20 TPT “Joshua warned the people, “Don’t be so quick to say, ‘We will worship and serve Yahweh,’ for He is a holy God. And He will tolerate no rivals. God will not forgive the sin of unfaithfulness to Him.
20 If after Yahweh has been gracious to you, you turn and forsake Him to worship other gods, then HE will turn and deal harshly with you and totally consume you!”
Most Christians do not think they have or are forsaking God because He is in their minds, even though they are sinning like a harlot or smoking and drinking like a crack head. You do not have to be an addict to be declared guilty! But you must come to His definition of what is forsaking Him. If you have residual idols and issues, you are forsaking Him, and HE will withdraw His protective intervention. People ask God, why didn’t you stop it? The problem is they step on dung, walking into a dung field, and then ask why He didn’t stop them?
You can do many good things and then get offended at the end of a season. It is like going through school, and in the last semester, you quit or do something to disqualify yourself. Then what happens? It will be like you had done nothing.
In Ezekiel, God reminds us that you can start out good, but if you end up bad, HE will not remember what you did well and judge you. It is better to start well and end well. If you end badly, then it will be bad for you.
How can we make it then?? This is why you need to surrender your whole life and will to Jesus. Wherever He says go, you must go. Whatever HE says you must do, you need to do. Otherwise, you will be proven a false faith. How will you be tested? You will be asked to do the hard things you are afraid to do.
Senior Pastor Steve Kim