The Family for God
BY D. James Kennedy
Joshua 24:15 AS NEVER BEFORE in the history of this Republic, the American family is under siege. That is not too strong a metaphor. All sorts of forces have indeed been combining to attack the family institution.
You all know, of course, how the media and the education system have been encouraging illicit sex. But do you know that the government is now subsidizing illegitimacy? Women who have children out of wedlock, for example, are given monies that they would forfeit if they got married.
Divorce, which has become epidemic in America, has even seeped like a poison under the doors of the church. I think it is time for us to look at the problem squarely in the eye, because ultimately, our eternal soul is at stake.
Great proclamation. In Joshua 24:15, the patriarch gave these parting words to the Israelites: "choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
What a great proclamation that is. I would like for us to fix our thoughts and attention particularly on the last sentence: "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
A Personal Religion
"As for me," says Joshua. He begins with his own personal dedication and commitment to Jehovah
God. Serving God was something very personal for Joshua.The first thing needed in your home is a parent who is wholeheartedly, unreservedly given over to the service of God. I would call this most particularly to the attention of fathers, since Joshua was the father of his clan. Father, are you totally dedicated to God? Is serving Him number one on your priority list? What did you do last week for Christ?
For some of you that last question provided the answer, did it not? Though most of you would swiftly say, "Christ is first in my life," the fact is that some of you did nothing at all for Christ in the past week. So, I would ask you again: Can you honestly say, "As for me, I will serve the Lord"?
Born again. That, of course, will never be unless you have come to a personal relationship with Christ as your own Savior and Lord. We must know Him personally as our Father through the experience of the new birth. We must repent of our sins and commit ourselves in faith to Christ.
The first thing your family needs, therefore, is at least one parent who personally knows Jesus Christ and is committed to serving Him. Part of that commitment is to be obedient to what the Word of God teaches about the responsibilities of parents, husbands and wives.
A Family Religion
Joshua's faith was not only a personal one, it was also a family one. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua knew that God had not simply set him in a solitary place, but that He had placed the solitaries in families and joined them with the ties that bind. Therefore, he could say as the head of that house and as the priest of that house, "my house will serve the Lord."We find here a covenant relationship. God promised, in effect, to Abraham: "I will be a God unto you and unto your children after you."
Though each individual must make his or her own personal commitment to Jesus Christ, God breaks into families. He works down through those families as fathers and mothers set an example by living a godly life and teach unto their children the holy doctrines of their faith.
Perhaps you have children who have grown up in your home but have since left the Christian faith. They don't go to church at all; they have nothing to do with the things of God. You wonder what happened.
Perhaps it's because you came to church only on Sunday morning for one hour. For the rest of the week there was never any service given to Christ; there was not heard the prayers of intercession for others; there were no efforts on your part to live a life that is pleasing to Christ. Do you know what your children saw? Hypocrites!
Joshua knew that it was his responsibility to include his house in service to God. He said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." He was going to see to it. He was going to guide his household. He was going to lead his whole family in serving Christ.
Prodigal parents. We are familiar with the parable of the prodigal son, but there are many prodigal fathers and mothers around these days.
There are fathers (or even mothers) who, though they live at home, have effectively gone off into a far countrya country of business, of stocks and bonds, of clubs and committees, of all kinds of outside activitiesso that they hardly see their children, let alone provide them with spiritual guidance.
Then there are mothers who are immaculate housekeepers. They keep things neatly in their place, but the fruit of the Spirit is seldom seen and words of love are seldom heard. They usually greet their children with statements like: "Don't get mud on the rug!", "When are you going to straighten up your room?", "Don't talk with your mouth full", "That dress is a mess!" and so on.
Then one day, these prodigal parents come to themselves. They go to their child and say, "My child, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. I am not worthy to be called thy parent. But have mercy upon me and forgive me. I want you to be my friend." The trouble is, it's often too late. Having sought love and counsel from outsiders, their children have been led astray.
We need fathers and mothers who, by showing the love of Christ and the fruit of the Spirit in their homes, will draw their children to Christ so that they, too, will serve the Lord.
A Practical Religion
For Joshua, it was not only a personal religion and a family religion, but it was a practical religion. He said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."As parents, we usually spend a great deal of time trying to teach our children to be good. But often they end up being good for nothing. We tell them to be good, but we don't teach them to do good. "We will serve the Lord," said Joshua. How much is your family serving God?
In our household, it is a great satisfaction for me to hear my wife and daughter Jennifer talk about people they have witnessed to. It is a delight to hear them talk about following up on those people, to build them up in Christ.
Examples. In the early days of this church, many of the people that came were new Christians. There was a need to help them grow in their faith. Well, one of the ladies decided to have luncheons for these new Christians in the homes of some of the members. After the meals they would share a word of testimony.
For those who were babes in Christ, it was a tremendous experience. These women learned from their peers for the first time how Christ had become the most important thing in their life. That laid a foundation for subsequent Christian witness in the lives of those women. This is one way we can use our home to practice our faith.
Just recently, a couple shared with me an experience that they had when they first joined this church some years ago. Being new in the area they had no friends then. But while standing in line one Sunday morning waiting to go into the church service, three different couples approached them and invited them over for lunch that day. They were overwhelmed by such friendliness.
Those couples had consecrated their homes to the Lord. They had a great concern for the spiritual welfare of the newcomers. At the lunch that they did attend, Christ was a part of the conversation and that new
comer couple really experienced the love of Christ.Have you consecrated your home to serve the Lord? Has your home been used to advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ?
A Confessed Religion
Finally, with Joshua, his was a confessed religion. He brought tens of thousands of the children of Israel together, and there, before them all, he confessed his faith: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."How many people that you associate with know that you are a Christian?
I remember well a believer who had been a vice-president of a large bank for forty years. He retired to Florida. He later visited the bank and while talking to the president of that bank, he discovered to his utter astonishment that the latter claimed to be a Christian!
I wonder how many people would be astounded to find out that you are a Christian.
We live in a time when evil is extraordinarily bold. We have people marching down the streets with placards, saying, "Prostitutes' Rights!" or "Homosexual Rights!" The only people left in the closet, it seems, are some Christians who say they trust in Christ but are ashamed of it.
We read in Scripture, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and Johnthey took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). One way that you can tell if a person is in Christ, if a person is much in the Word of God, if a person is much in prayer, is whether he is bold for Christ.
My friend, if you are living for anything other than to serve Christ and advance His kingdom, you will find that at the end it will turn to ashes in your mouth. You will see that you have been deceived and deluded, that your life has been a lie and that Satan has won the victory over you.
Give your life over to Christ. Determine that you and your family will be a stronghold for Christ; that your house will be a place where people are spiritually blessed, and where many unsaved friends will find the Water of Life. o
Dr. D. James Kennedy is pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, 5555 North Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308.