Your sitter may be getting weary.
From Joshua chapter 24
now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth and
put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt and serve the Lord and
if it is a disagreeable thing in your sight to serve the Lord choose for yourselves today whom you will serve
whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living
But as for me in my house
We will serve the Lord
Please be seated
The text that we have read this morning records a major spiritual turning point
In the nation of the Israelites God had called them of course through Abraham
He had redeemed them from Egypt through the leadership of Moses and now Moses was dead many years Joshua was their leader
They had conquered the land of Canaan with its various pagan tribes and divided the land among themselves
Before they went off to enjoy the land that God had given them
They met with Joshua for one last speech and we've read part of that speech
You see these people of God
Had compromised their lifestyle
They had accommodated themselves to the gods of
The pagan nations that they had driven out of the land of Canaan
And so Joshua called them on this occasion to purify themselves to repent of their idolatry and to serve the Lord
And they did so
Later in the paragraph that we read the nation made the decision saying we will serve the Lord
Sadly that decision did not extend to many generations
For the nation of Israel again turned to idolatry many times in the future however
For that generation for that generation. This was a turning point
It was a day when they as a nation of families
Declared in the midst of a culture that was pagan and corrupt we will serve the Lord
There are several observations about families that come to mind as I think about what happened in Joshua chapter 24
The first observation is this that a nation is a family of families
That was very true
For Israel because they were the descendants of Abraham Isaac and Jacob
They were the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob whose name was Israel thus they were called the Israelites
As a nation they were truly blood family
But there's another sense in which every nation is a family of families because God has so designed human beings
That the basic unit in any society is the family
If we picture the the society as a whole as a large structure
The individual bricks that make up that huge structure are the families
A nation is a family of families
Now I know that the situation in Israel is not an exact parallel to the United States
But we come to this same conclusion nonetheless that in any society
Revivals that have been reported in college campuses all across America this last spring praise the Lord for what he is stirring up
Any meaningful and lasting spiritual renewal must involve the family units
In the lives of our young people, but I'll tell you that it will not last
Until we have a new family unit
And I thank God for that and I thank God for the revival that has been reported in college campuses all across America this last spring
Praise the Lord for what he is stirring up in the lives of our young people
But I'll tell you that it will not last unless it touches the whole family unit
And my prayer through the summer has been that as those students have gone back to their homes
Something's happened in their families and something's happened in their churches
If God is going to do something in a whole society it must touch the home if it's going to be lasting
And we're talking about the family so let me just insert a word here
Regarding what a family is because there's a lot of debate in our society concerning that
The biblical ideal of a family is a man and woman living together in monogamous marriage
And bearing children for whom they take responsibility before God
It's a man and woman who are living together in a monogamous marriage
And who bear children for whom they take full responsibility
That's the biblical ideal the fact is that we live in a fallen world
And there is another reality that many of us face
In fertile couples and in the family
That many of us face in fertile couples who would love to have children but cannot
Single families with single parent families rather with children
I was raised in a single parent home for seven years until my mother married again
And when she married again my stepfather and mother had a daughter
And so we had a blended family of sorts
And the blended family is another reality that is in our world today
But we need to understand that any group living together is not a family
And there are some who are promoting that as part of their agenda
That if there are two people of the same sex living together that's a family
That is not true
That if there are those living in open marriages or in what they call serial monogamy
Living with one person faithfully at a time
Talk about a perverted idea of monogamy
But they call it serial monogamy
That's not a family
Now I know that the government may change the legal definition of a family
I hope not
I hope that we will do what we can
I hope that we will do everything we can to encourage our government to strengthen the family
As it is defined in the bible
But let's be clear about this that if someday
There is a broadening of the definition of the family in our culture
That does not alter the biblical definition
God's ideal God's standard of a family is still the same no matter what the government decides
No matter what laws are passed no matter what the supreme court says
Now there are liberal churches and denominations
There are wacky theologians and sociologists
Who reinterpret the standard of the family to fit the culture as it dissipates
But that does not make that cultural dissipation somehow morally acceptable to God
In just a few weeks there's going to be a gathering in Beijing China
That is called United Nations fourth world congress on women
It is a frontal attack on the traditional family
The biblical family
Its agenda is controlled by feminists
If you do not receive letters from Focus on the Family
I urge you to write them for their august letter
In which Dr. Dobson explains
What this conference is really all about
And ladies and gentlemen your tax dollars in mind because the current administration
Are underwriting most of the budget for it
It is a direct attack upon the family
If God is going to do something in a society it has to happen in the families
Because a society a nation is a family of families
Secondly I observe in this text
That the direction that families are going to go in the future
That families take determines the direction of the society
Here it says later in chapter 24 of Joshua
And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua
And all the days of the elders who survived to Joshua
And had known the deeds of the Lord which he had done for Israel
In other words the whole nation changed course at this point
Because there was one man who stood up and said as for me and my house
We will serve the Lord you choose whom you will serve
And that generation said we will serve the Lord
And the nation changed course at that moment
Therefore Israel and that generation was prevented from experiencing the judgment of God
What would happen in America if every Christian family
Were to make the decision that they made in the day of Joshua
That if every one of us would say in our family units
We don't care what direction the culture is going
We don't care how the supreme court or the government define the family
We don't care if they want to remove God
We will serve the Lord
What would happen?
I don't know
I wish I could say that would save America
But let's be honest that God's agenda may not include saving America
As we know it now
God may want this nation to go into judgment which it deserves
As does every other human government
I don't know if America would be saved if Christian families would do that
But this I know it would make some sort of difference
Because today every survey that's taken tragically tells us
That although some say a third of the people in America claim to be born again
And I know that has a lot of definitions to a lot of different people
But they say they're born again
The lifestyle choices they make are statistically no different than anybody else in America
What would happen if Christian families were truly Christian?
I think the better question is than
Can America be saved through its families is
Can Christian families survive the American culture as Christian?
And I think the answer to that is no
Except by the power and the wisdom of Jesus Christ
I don't believe any family can survive this culture as a Christian family
Apart from the power of God and the wisdom of Jesus Christ
Working in that family
A third observation I make is the families are essentially interrelated
These families really were
You talk about a church in California that has the pastor
There's the grandfather and all of his family is in the church
My goodness
I'd like to be at one of those business meetings
See how business is conducted in that church
And we talk about a church being interrelated
There are pluses and minuses to that
But here we have a whole nation of cousins among the Israelites
And they fought like cousins too
But they were related
But the observation I make is that families have to be related to other families
If they're going to be healthy
In the broader text of Joshua 24
God points out that the family is not related to the family
In the text of Joshua 24 God points all the way back to Abraham
I called Abraham and his son Isaac and Jacob
And I did this and this and this and this for all of your descendants
And he warns them about the future
You see God sees them not just as an isolated generation
But he sees them related all the way back to Abraham
They were interrelated
And in that day they were interrelated
They had a future progeny in front of them
Interrelationships are essential for families
One study that has been done several years ago indicated that every family needs to have 25 to 30 relationships
Family relationships
Now some of these relationships originate within the biological family
Brothers and sisters and cousins
Some of these relationships occur within the church
Some families have relationships in their neighborhood, all of us should
Or with fellow workers at the company
But the point is that every family if it's going to be healthy has to have about 25 connections to other families
And these connections are characterized by these things
They see one another frequently
They like to be with one another socially
There's a reciprocal positive feeling about being together
And they help each other in crisis and in time of need
What an amazing statement
And I wonder where my family and your family is in that sort of a measurement of what health is
That families are essentially interrelated
We are not created by God to be autonomous groups that are separated from everybody else
That's one of the important things that a church provides for people
Some of those connecting points for families
That's what cell groups are about
So that those connecting points can be more personal, more intimate
Vital to being a healthy family
Another observation I make is that families have a God-designed order
Now Joshua spoke for his family
He lived in a patriarchal period
And there were some particular characteristics of that period
For one, the senior male in the family was the one who was looked upon as sort of the priest of the family
He directed everything and Joshua takes that role here
That term patriarchal has become a term of anathema in our culture
In fact, there are those who are saying that it is the patriarchal concept
Not the biblical one I've just described
But that there are males who are in leadership
That's the root of all evil, especially the evil for women
I don't have time to read some quotes regarding that this morning
But there is a group out there called the gender feminists
Well represented by the way in Beijing next month
Who are promoting a new idea of gender
No longer are we to look, they say, are we to look at people as male or female
That's old
That limits women and men
They say now we're to see five genders
Have you heard this?
The gender feminists are pushing the idea that there are five genders
There's male, there's female, there's gay, there's lesbian, and there's transsexual
And whatever you are is not what you're born as, it's whatever society makes you
And all five of those are equal
Isn't that perverse?
That would be one of the things presented in Beijing
By the American delegation as well as others
Folks, God has designed an order for the family
It's not the patriarchal system in the sense of Joshua's day
But it is male leadership as the head of the home, the husband, is to sacrificially love his wife
He is to work together with his wife in a caring, nurturing partnership
God has designed order for the home and to the extent that we follow that order
God is able to bless us as he wishes
One final observation
Families have to make choices
In order to establish our priorities we have to make choices
Here, Joshua leads his family in making a choice to serve the Lord
I think it's especially important when a culture is in crisis that families make choices
You see there is little in the culture around us today that stands for what pleases God
Unless we make some hard choices we will simply conform ourselves to the culture around us
Families like yours and mine are constantly needing to evaluate
To acknowledge wrong priorities
To set new ones that reflect God's order
Joshua called the families of his day to realize that they had adopted the ways of the pagans
He said some of you are following the gods of our fathers from beyond the river
Some of you are following the gods of the land in which we are living now
And he says make a choice
Here's where I stand but you make a decision whether you are going to serve God or not
Families have to make choices especially when the culture has been compromised
For some time family relationships were considered a low priority in our society
Our culture seemed to press for dad to be at work more hours than he should be
For mom to get a job
And there was a time a few years ago when many people including a lot of Christians said this is wrong
We're going to make a choice to put our families before work
And it was the right thing to do
But one thing I've observed in the evangelical church is that some people, not all, but some people have overreacted from back then
And they said we're going to put our family before everything
Even before God
And that too is a subtle idolatry
Jesus warned if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters
Notice the family relationships
And yes even his own life he cannot be my disciple
Jesus is not here undervaluing the family certainly he's not undermining the family
But he is saying that there is a priority in our lives that comes before the family
And that is him
Now some people view the family and God as being at odds with one another
Somehow if you go one way or the other you neglect the opposite
I don't believe that's the biblical picture at all
The biblical picture is putting the family in the right place and God in the right place as priority in our lives
And when that is the case there's a wonderful balance
There's not a debate between God and the family
There's not a war between God and the family
There is a wonderful balance and cooperation between God and the family
You see not even the family can come before Jesus Christ in our lives
He has to be first
Every family has to make a choice
And I don't know where this message falls at your feet this morning
And what pieces of it you need to pick up and bring into your own life and your own heart
I don't know what practice in your life may need to be altered
What value may need to be changed
But as we think about the family I bring to you Joshua chapter 24 and these observations as well as others that you would make
And I say to us together as a family of families in this church
Because that's what we are too
Let's choose to make the Lord our number one priority and to serve him together
And to be God's people in the midst of a culture that is going down the slide to ruin
Let's be God's people in the midst of it
And faithful to him
And see what a difference God would make in our culture because of that
And if our culture goes on to ruin and destruction and judgment as well it may
Then so be it
When we stand before Jesus Christ someday which is the most important exam of all
We'll be able to hear from him well done good and faithful servant
Even in 20th century America
Well done
You and your family
Let's pray
What would it be that God wants you to act upon
What is it you need to reconsider
What decision needs to be affected in your life
I don't know
But think about what's been said this morning in this total service
Let the Spirit of God bring to you at least one thing
That you want to apply to your own life
God will bless you for it if you choose to do it
Father may none of us walk away from here without some point of our lives
Being touched by something you've said in this service
Thank you for families
Thank you for families that are imperfect in this fallen world
Thank you that we can still enjoy in the family relationships in this kind of a culture
A closeness and a love we can still honor you and put you first
And I pray Father that we as parents, as children, as grandparents
As part of a family of families in this church
As those who are part of a family of families in our culture
That we will be living the way you want us to live with the right priorities
And I pray Father that you will use us to make a difference
To make a difference
We know not what the next generation may entail, but Lord if it please you we pray that in this generation
We may see a spiritual renewal like that of Joshua's day
Because we choose, we and our families, to serve the Lord
Amen