FAREWELL SERMON #1: JOSHUA 23&24

 

And so it is that we must start the process of saying goodbye to this season of ministry - a 34 year ministry at our beloved Eastside Baptist Church.

Truly, this time has gone by, “as a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). We are setting apart 3 Sundays, and with the help of some of the farewell speeches of Scripture, I wish to share some concluding reflections with you. 

Everything under the sun has a starting point and a termination date. Joshua started to lead Israel after the death of Moses (Joshua 1) and here in the 23^rd and 24^th chapter, Joshua   shares his final words with Israel.  I was called to the pastoral ministry in January 1990, although I was also a founding church member with the group that started this congregation in the June of 1985. God willing, I will complete my labours on the 31^st December of this year, when many of you will be on your well- deserved holidays.  

Marcelle and I are not yet sure what the future holds for us in terms of further usefulness, but we do know who holds the future. We plan to have a time of rest, reflection and prayer, asking the Lord where we could serve Him, in keeping with our age related capabilities. We were deliberate in not making any plans, because we did not want to be doubleminded. It was really important to us to serve God and you with an undivided heart until the very end.

We know that God will provide for the years that are left for us on earth. So when people say, “We hear that Joachim and Marcelle are retired now” tell them, “You heard that wrong. They are not retiring. They are waiting on new orders.  But Joachim needs to let go of Eastside. A new team must now lead this work forward.” We shall stay in touch and visit from time to time as wisdom dictates and as the Lord allows.  I will no longer be your pastor or church elder, but Marcelle and I will always be your brother and sister in Christ.  And so I wish  to use the closing words of  Joshua, Samuel and Paul, by which  I reflect  with you  on  this  ministry.

Today we begin with Joshua:

23:1-5 “A long time afterward, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers and said to them… you have seen all that the LORD your God has done…”.

Recognising that Joshua’s times and situations were unique and unrepeatable, I want to be quick to point out that I am not Joshua and you are not Israel, and the situation here is quite unique. Nevertheless, life lived under the sun repeats itself in various familiar  forms, and for this reason also “the Scriptures  are profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness…” (2 Tim 3:16). We find common ground in the farewell words of our biblical ancestors.

Under  the leadership  of Joshua, and by God’s grace, Israel, after many battles fought and won finally came to rest in the promised land – the very land that today is in the news and once again the focus point of so much trouble and conflict. 

Eastside Baptist church had a beginning. She was solemnly constituted to the glory of God on the 16^th of June 1985, by 21 members. Our founding pastoral couple were Charles[1] and Betty Whitson[2]. They served you until December 1989. A piece of land was secured and building commenced in 1987. This is the property from which we have conducted our work for nearly 40 years[3].  Marcelle and I started in January of 1990, three months before Namibia became an independent nation. This church has now become a settled congregation in the city. Many battles needed to be fought in that process. The sworn enemy of the church, the devil, has tried his utmost to discourage us and hinder us, time and again.  We started as a young and immature church, with very little structure and with  no elders. We were certainly  very vulnerable, and I myself was a rookie pastor, 32 years old, when I started.

23:6-13 The Fight of Faith

“Therefore be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or bow down to them, but you shall cling to the LORD your God...” (23:6-8)

As he was prepared to hand over the leadership, Joshua’s main concern was that Israel needed to continue in the strong convictions that first moved him – see Joshua 1:6-9. Israel was called by Joshua to resist any form of idolatry and spiritual compromise by holding on  to the Word of God (23:6) and to  love the Lord their God (23:11). The surrounding nations and their worship of idols –  their false gods were Israel’s  greatest challenge. If they would bring the outside world into their midst (mostly by marriage) that would become “a snare and a trap… a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes…” (23:13).

Eastside was born in a time of spiritual and political trouble, and much can be said about that. Some Namibian Churches of various denominations were becoming political platforms in those pre-independence days. Other churches were embracing the Pentecostal/ Charismatic movement. Both, the political  and many of the charismatic  churches  essentially abandoned the authority of the Word of God. In due time these became man centered organizations, and with our own eyes we have seen the demise of many such churches in our own day. 

The overarching desire expressed by a group, meeting in Charles and Betty’s home in the early eighties was to have an evangelical church that was free from political agendas  and charismatic excesses and focused on God’s Word. 

That is easier said than done. The people that joined Eastside loved the idea of being part of a Bible based church, but many weren’t deeply rooted in the practises and disciplines of the Word of God, and some ultimately abandoned the Lord.  They loved the world more, and the apostle Paul tells us of such. [4]  Others persevered under the Word and were in due course established, and  they became co-labourers. Some are now with the Lord.

One of my key contributions to the spiritual battle here has been a  call to the reformation of the church  alongside a persistent call to true, consistent discipleship. I say this against the background that many in this wonderful country call themselves Christians. In reality few live like Christians. The greatest battles I have fought, is with our hearts and our wills – to take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). My regular anguish is best expressed by Paul in Galatians 4:19: “my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you”.

23:14-16 Joshua’s Farewell; Reminder of God’s Faithfulness; Warning concerning Unfaithfulness

“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things  that  the LORD your God promised concerning you…”. 

Joshua knows that he will not live forever and that the time has now come to hand over the baton to a new generation. But the big point here is that Joshua reminds the coming generation that God has always been faithful to His people. And he warns them that they must not be unfaithful to the LORD their God. Unfaithfulness has painful consequences.

24:1- 13 A Great Gathering and a History Lesson

“Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel… and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people…”.  

Joshua’s last words are now recorded in the 24^th chapter. Everyone gathers – “all the tribes of Israel, the elders, the heads of families, the judges, the officers of Israel”. And Joshua speaks, “…Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel…”.

He reminds them of their history –  from  Terah, the father of Abraham,  who lived in Mesopotamia  to the present.

He reminds them of the fact  that it was God Himself who gave them   their ancestry (24:2-4), who brought them out of Egypt (24:6,7),  who gave them the promised land of  Canaan (24:8-13) – “a land  for which they had not laboured  and cities that you had not built… eating  fruit of vineyards and  olive orchards  that you did not plant…”.  

Eastside, remember that God has planted this church by the labours of others.  God, at the hand of this church has brought at least 2 generations through many troubles, trials and tests. Great battles have been fought to preserve the gospel – more than you can know or appreciate. God has given us rest (23:1), and now you are currently privileged to enjoy the fruit of that labour.  Most of you have not sweated and toiled for what you now have. Don’t take that for granted. Don’t despise that.

Be careful and thankful and continue to build on this foundation for future generations. Remember too that a Christ centred, Word based, Evangelical church is a thorn in Satan’s side. Don’t presume on this present peace. You must continue the fight of faith. You must continue to cling to God and His Word alone. Two key activities must define you: Prayer and Proclamation!  Whatever else you do must flow from that!

24:14 – 28 A FINAL CHALLENGE

“Fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness…”… “put away the gods that your fathers served…”…”choose this day whom you will serve…”.  

Joshua’s final reminder is a repeat of what has been said so often in Israel – Fear the LORD! “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 1:7). So make up your minds where you want to be. Do not have your heads here with God and your hearts there with your idols. Serve and love the LORD your God with your whole mind and heart and soul and strength.

The people answer Joshua, and they say,  “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods…”(24:16). Joshua, a seasoned and experienced man knows that his people are quick to speak and slow to deal with the problem of heart idolatry. Therefore he says, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God…” (24:19).

Many people think that being a Christian is easy. Well it is and it isn’t. It is easy when you understand that your salvation is based on holding on to Christ ALONE. But do you hold on to Jesus alone? What else are you clinging to? If we love idols more than our Lord Jesus then we have no certainty that we are actually Christians in the first place.   

But Joshua’s people insist that they will cling to God, and quite rightly therefore Joshua takes them seriously, by renewing the covenant with them, recording all that they have said. If they will not cling to God, the stones will cry out as a testimony against them (24:27).   I together with our past and present elders have been responsible to attach your hearts to God in our generation.

Will you in turn continue to be faithful to God? 

Will you, the next generation of elders and leaders, be faithful to God and your people? 

In Joshua  24:31 we read, 

“Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived  Joshua and  had known all the work that the LORD did  for Israel.”  

Thank God that Joshua’s legacy lasted for a while, but we also know that the book of Judges follows,  and with it a most disturbing text in Judges 2:11.   But we do not need to repeat history if we cling to Joshua 23:6, by which we are kept from sin, for as Dwight Moody  rightly said, ”This book  will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book”.

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[1] Charles  Whitson: 3rd April 1927- 9th December 2012;  "The LaFayette Sun" - December 12, 2012 writes,

Rev. Charles Whitson, 85, of LaFayette (Hamburg Community), died Sunday, December 9, 2012, at Bethany House in Opelika.  Funeral services were held Wednesday, December 12, at Rock Springs Baptist Church at 1 p.m. with Rev. Hudson Whitson officiating. Burial followed in the church cemetery.

[2] Betty Whitson:  23^rd May  1933 -  9^th July 2017;  84 years old;  died at the Dadeville Health Care Center in Dadeville, Alabama. Funeral services were held Wednesday July 12, 2017 at 11 AM at the Rock Springs Baptist Church with burial in the church cemetery, with the Rev. James Caulfield officiating.  She was a member of the Rock Springs Baptist Church, and she and her husband served as Missionaries to Africa (Namibia) for 25 years.

[3] On the 16^th June 2025  Eastside Baptist Church  will celebrate her 40^th year of existence.

[4]  E.g.  Phygelus and Hermogenes ( 2 Tim 1:15); Hymenaus  and  Philetus (1 Tim 2:17) ; Demas (2 Tim 4:9); Alexander the coppersmith (2 Tim 4:14)