"Three Must Have's for God's Family"

Besides our relationship with the Lord one of the most important things in our life is the friends and family that are part of our lives. We know them best and they know us. We do life together and the same is true of our church family Family is huge! Today before we get started let’s see if you can guess some of these family names. Who are they???

In Joshua 23 and 24 we see this family pep talk and the 2 speeches that Joshua gives to the leaders and the people. Their legendary leader Joshua became old and neared the time of his death. This great leader’s capable leadership is summarized in a single verse that reads:

So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war. —Joshua 11:23

Soon, however, the Israelites would have to prove whether they could keep what Joshua had led them to receive from God—a land, a covenant, a nation, and a future. Chapter 24 shows us an important event, probably a covenant renewal ceremony, at which the aging leader revealed three must-haves if God’s people were to live faithfully and keep what God had given them.

My desire today is that as we look at this family of Israel and how they were charged to live faithfully as unto their one true God, so may we as the body of Christ be charged to live faithfully to the same God who never changes.

Joshua 24:14–28 ESV

“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.” Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” 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 transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 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.” So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

1. God’s family must have courage!

First, the people must have COURAGE. Courage is not the absence of fear. Rather, it is persevering in faith even in the face of frightening circumstances. Joshua led the Israelites to renew their faith in the Lord. Here we see in verse 14 that Israel was to fear the Lord. Fearing the Lord was the attitude of being in awe and reverence of God. That He is our creator and maker and to believe that He is bigger, stronger, and more important than anyone or anything else in our lives. If we properly fear the Lord, we don’t have to be afraid of what humans, governments, or nature can do to us.

-Have courage to take a stand for God and serve Him. Serving the Lord is not easy because it means we have to give up our selfish desires and follow the Lord. But when we have the courage to do what is right and serve God He will honor that and be pleased with our service. Serving God is putting into practice all the things you hear about God. James 1:22 tells us to be doers of God’s Word, not just hearers.

-Having courage to serve God also involves putting away false gods. This is exactly what the family of Israel was dealing with. How many false things have gotten in between you and the Lord lately. The false god of money or possessions. What about a job or a relationship that has come before God? False gods or anything that was worshiped more than the Lord is to be put away. My prayer for our church family is that we would fear God enough to put away the things that have come before Him and serve Him with all of our heart, soul, and mind.

2. God’s family must have commitment!

Second, the people must have COMMITMENT. Joshua 24:19-20 has always intrigued me. When Joshua invited the Israelites to turn away from any and all false gods and to serve only the Lord God, the people went all in and committed to do so. But then Joshua made a strange statement. He said, “You will not be able to worship the Lord, because he is a holy God.” That reply seems a little bit confusing right??? In reality, Joshua was testing the people’s commitment. Too often people promise things with words that they aren’t willing to follow through on with actions. Joshua wanted God’s people to live by faith in the bad times just as they did in the good times. Lately we have gone through some very difficult days and we need to stay committed to the Lord. We need to be committed to faithfully follow him to stay in His word and do what it says even when our society is doing otherwise. Let’t be a family who takes commitment seriously.

3. God’s family must have accountability.

Third, the people needed ACCOUNTABILITY. They needed someone or something (or both) to help remind them of their commitment and spur them to courageous living. For the Israelites of Joshua’s day, that helping reminder was comprised of two “somethings”: a book and a large stone. Look at verses 26 and 27. The book was a record of all the Lord’s commands to His people—in other words, Scripture. The stone was not to be an idol but a simple reminder, a testimony, of the people’s commitment to serve only the Lord. As God’s people today, we need to have some accountability “partners.”

-First remember that you have been given the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in us and through God’s Word He will guide us.

-We also need to grab some godly men and women who can point us to God’s word and pray for us and encourage us. If you don’t have any one to talk too about what you are going through or struggling with call the church office and we will find someone you can visit with and get some accountability. It is needed so that we can grow and stay healthy.