The Family's Defining Moment
Notes
Transcript
“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. 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.”
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Our family has a huge impact on our lives, but we ultimately have the ability and the responsibility for our direction in life.
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I only remember one set of my great-grandparents, the Spohns, who were the parents of my grandmother, my dad’s mother. I remember visiting their home in Miami, Oklahoma, several times before I became a teen.
I don’t remember my great-grandfather dying or his funeral, but I do remember the funeral for my great-grandmother.
I never met my great-grandparents on my mom’s side of the family. I also never met my great-grandparents - the parents of my grandfather on my dad’s side.
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I have heard a few stories. My understanding is that my great-grandfather, Frank Woods, was not a godly man at all. He was a drunk. But my grandmother, Corine, chose to live for Christ and had a huge impact on the rest of my family.
Now, my grandfather, Papa, and Granny Woods loved God all their lives. When my brothers and I visited them on vacation, we went to church religiously. My grandfather had a booming bass voice that I loved to hear singing at church.
My grandparents would give us money from time to time - and to instill in us the importance of tithing would give us extra to cover the tithe - down to the penny! A gift of $10 became a gift of $11.11.
Papa and Granny Masden - my mom’s parents - also loved Jesus. Papa Masden was a watchmaker after World War 2 and had a watch shop in downtown Lawrence, Kansas, for many years. In addition to the watches and clocks, he sold Bibles, Christian books and other religious items.
My mom and dad also chose to live for Christ and have served in ministry all their lives - whether pastoring churches or serving in Bible schools or now serving as missionary pastors in the Cayman Islands.
When I was young, Papa Masden gifted some plaques to our family. If I remember correctly, he gave a plaque to each of us boys with our name on it, the meaning of the name, and a related scripture. My plaque read “David. Beloved.”
He also gave a plaque for our whole family. The title was, of course, “Woods”. And the scripture below it read, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
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There were many factors, many decisions, of course, that helped to set my course in life. I would not tie my decision to live for Jesus only to that plaque, but that plaque summed up a very important truth and reality for my family: our family had chosen to live for God.
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Our family was and is quite imperfect. One of my brothers rebelled against God many years ago and still does not know Christ as Lord and Savior. But with all the imperfections and failures, my other brother and I have chosen to live for God.
Neither of us are perfect, either. Neither of our families are perfect. But my brother and I and our wives have served God in Christian ministry since college.
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I do not come to you today promoting myself or my family as a great example. Many years ago I might have thought I knew a lot about raising a family - and then I got a family. Today, I am more aware of my failures than ever before.
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But I also have a keen desire, both as an individual, but also as a husband and father, to live for Christ and to lead my family as best I can to do the same.
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Last week was the Bible Holiness Camp, but in the two weeks before that we considered God’s design for the family. Today, let us talk about the family’s decision for God.
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Our text is taken from the last chapter of Joshua's book. Joshua and all Israel had been freed from slavery in Egypt many years before this time. With the rest of Israel he had participated in the covenant decision before Mount Sinai to follow God.
Unlike the rest of Israel who quaked in fear at the other 10 spies' bad report, Joshua and Caleb had insisted that they could conquer the Promised Land.
For a total of 40 years, Israel wandered in the desert. Then, Joshua was appointed to lead the people into the Promised Land. Over a period of seven years, Joshua led the army in conquering the land.
He oversaw the distribution of the territory to the various tribes. The men from the 2 1/2 tribes who received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan River were allowed to go home.
Then, Joshua 23 says…
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, “I am now old and well advanced in years. And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you.
This chapter goes on to detail the challenge Joshua delivered to all the leaders of Israel to live for God.
Then, in the final chapter of his book, Joshua 24, Joshua called all of Israel to meet at Shechem where he would deliver a final challenge to all the people that they might live for God.
This challenge was for both old and young, for the single person, the young married couple without kids, the widow and widower, as well as for families.
But we see an emphasis on families choosing to live for God, led by the parents’ decision to do so, in Joshua’s challenge in verse fifteen:
But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
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Big Idea: A family's direction follows its devotion.
Big Idea: A family's direction follows its devotion.
The choice that Joshua called the people, the families of Israel, to make was singular. But in his challenge we find three aspects of this choice that we should consider carefully.
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1. Will we choose to honor God reverently?
1. Will we choose to honor God reverently?
“Now therefore fear the Lord…
This word “fear” is used hundreds of times in the Bible, and in the Old Testament specifically, to explain how we are to relate to God.
Over the years, people have struggled with this idea. When we think of fear, we tend to associate the idea of terror, phobias, guilt, and dread.
The truth is, biblically, this is a somewhat appropriate response to God. When we truly understand the awesome power of God, the holiness of God in which there is no sin or evil, the justice and righteousness of God, the anger of God at sin, the total transcendence - beyondness of God - that we cannot reach him, it is only right that we “fear” God.
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Yet when we also understand the amazing love of God, his astounding grace and abundant mercy, his never-failing faithfulness, his passion to know us and to rescue us from sin, we need not live in fear of God in the sense of terror or dread.
But we should feel a deep respect for God that the words “reverence” and “honor” don’t fully express.
Maybe this idea of fearing, honoring, and reverencing God is best explained by remembering how different people in the Bible reacted when they met God. Moses took off his shoes when he encountered God’s presence at the burning bush.
When God descended upon Mt. Sinai and audibly spoke the Ten Commandments, the people were terrified and begged Moses that God would speak to him for fear that they would die. Moses himself trembled in fear.
Later, after Moses spent days in God’s presence on the mountain, his face literally shone from being near God so long.
Various other persons from the Old Testament times who were visited either by the pre-incarnate Christ or merely by an angel were afraid they might die. Isaiah, the prophet, in his vision of God on his throne cried out:
“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
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The family that would live for God and enjoy the blessings God bestows on his people must choose to honor God reverently.
What does this mean?
This means that we treat God’s name as above all others. For instance, we do not use God’s name lightly, either as a curse word, nor as a way to emphasize our point or our promises, especially when we don’t intend to follow through on what we say.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
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But honoring God reverently is much, much MORE than how we speak or establish the truth of what we say.
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In every aspect of how we live, we must choose to honor Christ. Would you be uncomfortable if Jesus were to watch that movie with you… or that reel on Insta or Tiktok?
Do we honor God with how we spend our money? Is God honored by the friends we make and keep? Is God honored by how we work and study and play?
Is God honored by how we speak to one another, by our attitudes, our thoughts, our actions?
These are just some of the questions we should ask and the aspects of our lives we should consider as we seek to honor God reverently.
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A second question we should ask ourselves regarding our decision to devote ourselves to God is this:
2. Will we choose to serve God wholeheartedly?
2. Will we choose to serve God wholeheartedly?
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity …
This word “sincerity” in the Hebrew carries the idea of “complete, unscathed, intact; blameless, without fault, free of blemish; impeccable; honest, devout; honesty, integrity, blamelessness, completeness.”
In other words, our love for God and following of God must be complete and wholehearted.
Joshua fleshed out the implications of this in the rest of what he said in Joshua 24:14
… Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
There were various times where the Israelites were called to rid themselves of idols, but it seems like there was this constant problem of idols being hidden among the people.
Of course, we know that while Israel conquered most of the Promised Land, they were not able to dislodge all of the pagan peoples who worshipped idols.
These false gods were quite a temptation to the people, as various gods supposedly had power over the fertility of the soil, the livestock, and even human beings.
We can imagine how tempting it would have been for a struggling farmer whose crop was failing as they watched their neighbor farmers prospering as they worshipped various false gods.
Maybe they could hedge their bets by offering a sacrifice to the idol, as well as to God Almighty. If God didn’t come through, at least the other god might.
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These same dilemmas, questions, and challenges are true for us today. We are tempted, when God doesn’t seem to be coming through for us, to try alternative methods to find success in life.
We may not say this out loud, but here is the kind of thought process that goes on in our heads:
Of course, we love God! But surely it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to compromise here or there, would it?
Everyone else is doing it, so it doesn’t really matter that much, does it?
God wants me to succeed, right? So maybe God didn’t really mean it when he said ____________. Surely, God would understand my situation is different.
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God demands our full, wholehearted commitment. The family, the individual, who truly sells out to live for Christ will experience his blessings, but those who straddle the fence will struggle to know the joy that comes from serving God only.
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We are reminded of the prophet Elijah’s challenge to Israel many years after this time:
And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.
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We must make the choice to honor God reverently. We must make the choice to serve him wholeheartedly. But this choice that we and our families might live for God contains another crucial element, as expressed in this question:
3. Will we choose to follow God faithfully?
3. Will we choose to follow God faithfully?
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.
It is not enough to begin a walk with God; we must finish the narrow road with Christ.
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In dramatic moments like this when Joshua called all the people together to renew their commitment to God, it was easy to say, “yes, we will serve the Lord.”
But the challenge would come a few days, a few weeks, a few months later after they returned home, the excitement from the “campmeeting” at Shechem had faded, and the difficulty of living a holy life became more evident.
In the verses after our text, we find that the Israelites affirmed their commitment to live for God.
Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, … Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
Joshua responded saying that they would not be able to serve God who is holy and jealous. God would punish them if they were to sin against him.
The people insisted that they would live for God. Joshua made a covenant with the people. He took a large stone and set it up as a witness.
And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.”
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It is a good thing, a wonderful thing, to make a commitment for Christ. But it is not enough to make a resolution or promise. We must live out our commitment to Christ daily, through good times and bad times.
It is through such faithful commitment that a family truly enjoys the blessing of God. It is through the daily example of lives committed to God that a family’s direction is set.
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.
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The book of Judges continues the history of Israel. The first couple chapters revisit some of the events that happened during Joshua’s time. In Judges 2:9 we read of Joshua being buried.
And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
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Our challenge is not only to choose to follow Christ and to model that to our children, but to faithfully teach and encourage our children to also follow Christ and to carry on the legacy of following God.
Big Idea: A family’s direction follows its devotion.
Big Idea: A family’s direction follows its devotion.
As Joshua challenged the people then, so we also must choose to honor God reverently, serve God wholeheartedly, and follow him faithfully.
We do not make this commitment trusting in our own strength, but in the grace of Christ, who saves us, keeps us, and enables us by His Spirit to serve Him faithfully.
If we do this, our family’s direction will be changed for good. We will experience the blessings of God. We will avoid much of the heartache and trouble that others who have not chosen to follow God or who waver in their commitment experience.
We recognize that God’s blessing does not mean a life free from sorrow, disappointment, or rebellion, but it does mean the joy of walking with Him and experiencing His presence and favor.
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This commitment to serve Jesus must be made by each and every generation.
Israel failed in future generations to remain committed to God. The period of the Judges, which followed Joshua’s generation, was a sad cycle of people living for God, becoming proud and self-sufficient, turning from God, being chastened by God, and then turning back to him.
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Yes, each generation must make the decision to follow Christ.
My grandparents made the decision to follow Jesus.
My parents made the decision to follow God.
Zenia and I made the decision to follow Jesus.
But none of those decisions can substitute for the decision my sons must someday make for themselves.
And none of your parents’ decisions can substitute for yours.
Joshua stood before Israel and said, ‘Choose this day whom you will serve.’
And that same question stands before every generation.
Not who your parents served.
Not who your grandparents served.
Not what church your family attended.
Whom will you serve?
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As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
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Whatever stage of life you are… will you honor God reverently, serve him wholeheartedly, and follow him faithfully?
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We cannot choose for the next generation, but we can choose before them.
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Will you say with me… “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD?”
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Then let us commit together… would you please stand with me and let us say in unison:
“As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”
“As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”
SING: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
SING: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
