Lessons for the family from — Joshua 24

0:00 Bruce Wilkinson meant the son of a well known speaker and author, and the exchange went something like this. Wow. I admire your father. He's such a great preacher and writer. Tell me, what was it like growing up in your father's home?

0:24 I hate my father. I hate god and I hate the church. Bleepity, bleep, bleep, bleep. How could that possibly be? I I can't think of anything more devastating to have someone walk up to my son and say, I understand you're the son of pastor Paul.

0:58 Tell me, what was it like growing up in your dad's home? Have my son turn and say, hate God, curse a blue streak, and stomp away. How does that happen? Maybe better, the question is, what should have happened but did not happen? I want to talk to grandparents today.

1:28 I want to talk to parents. I want to talk to wannabe parents. I want to talk to children and grandchildren. I'd like to introduce you to three chairs. By the time you leave here today, you will know which of these three chairs you are sitting in.

1:54 You will also understand the implications of each of these three chairs, and by the time of the end of this message, some of you may want to move from the second chair to the third chair. Father, we continue our prayers for this hour. May you be free to wander amongst us, amongst our minds, mine included, persuading us with arguments that we've held long and hard. In our hearts, in our feelings, stirring things that may not have been stirred in some time. Renewing afresh, a new flame, Either for our families or for other families that you have invited us to invest in.

3:00 Oh lord, we pray this for the sake of Jesus name that it might not be tarnished or muddied on our watch. Amen. Joshua's signature statement was, as for me and my house, we will. Serve. Serve the lord.

3:27 The purity of the parents relationship with god is the greatest influence on whether your children will grow in godliness, become fully devoted followers of Christ, and then embrace the mission. Repeat for emphasis. Okay. The purity of the parent's relationship with god is the greatest influence on whether their children will grow in godliness, become fully devoted followers of Christ, and embrace the mission of turning hearts toward god. Why was Joshua so confident, so committed to the Lord?

4:45 No. He first, keyword first, turned to God and asked this question. God, what do you want to do? Can you ask that question with me? God, what do you want to do?

5:03 Now use your... Turn your heads this way. That... God's always up and to the right. That's where all our progress charts go, up and to the right.

5:10 That's where God is. Look over there. Use your hands to help focus your eyes. Do this with me. Okay.

5:16 Now let's ask that question together. God, what do you want to do? One more time. God, what do you want to do? Then, when Joshua was confronted with the walls of Jericho, did he turn to his own comfort and convenience?

5:42 Did he turn to common hell, commonly held military strategy? No, he first turned to God and what was the question? God, what do you want to do? Joshua's life was filled with large Jordans and Jerichos and small Jordans and Jerichos. As he walked through life, he ran into the stuff of life.

6:11 Anybody here run into stuff when life happens, untimely? When Joshua ran into that, he turned God. This is the beauty of it. And God taught him new ways to put his faith and trust in God. You don't get that if you turn to comfort food.

6:36 Turn to God. Take that trouble. Take that pushback. Take that irritable moment. Turn to God and stay with it.

6:43 He will teach you new ways to put your faith and trust in God. Joshua had high levels of confidence in the Lord, high levels of commitment to the Lord because he had the works of God in his life. What kind of man was Joshua? This is in your Bibles. Joshua 24...

7:22 You don't have to get there. Joshua... I'm just telling you. It's real, authentic. Joshua twenty four fifteen.

7:29 As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua is a godly man. He's in the first chair. He publicly proclaims that he will serve the lord. Now, what about the younger generation?

7:51 The leaders who outlived Joshua. Just, you know, 15 verses later, just a little bit later. Those who served the Lord and had known all the works of the Lord knows the Lord, knows about the works. Notice it doesn't say have the works. They know about the Jordans and Jerichos.

8:20 They don't have the Jordans and Jerichos in their life. Now what happens to a child that grows up in a home that's in the second chair? Good question. The Bible answers all the questions that need to be answered. There arose another generation after them who did not know the lord nor the works of the lord.

8:56 Knows not the lord and more surprisingly, doesn't even know about the works. Why is it that these do not know about the works? Because the parents only knew about the works. They did not have the works in their own lives. So if I'm sitting here, I'm asking, hey, dad.

9:31 Why isn't god real in our lives? Where are the god stories in our life? Knows the Lord, knows the Lord, knows not the Lord. Today, we would say saved, saved, not saved. Has the works, has the Jordans and Jerichos, God is real in their life, knows about the works, does not have the works, does not have Jordans and Jerichos in their own life, knows not the works.

10:40 It's God and God alone. This is a chair of compromise. God, me. God, me. God, me.

10:59 Me. God, me. Me. God, me. God, me.

11:05 God. Chair of conflict. Me. It's all about me. When it's all about me, conflict's coming.

11:28 Follows the lord, follows fully devoted follower of Christ, fully devoted follower of Christ. Claims to follow Christ but not fully devoted follows self. Are you sold out, love people, god is clearly number one in your life? He's real. You have the works.

12:04 You have Jordans and Jerichos in your life? Or is God sometimes number one and sometimes number two kinda half hearted? You know about the works, but you don't have the works. If I were to ask your children, what chair would they say that you're sitting in? If you grew up in a home that was committed to Christ, you probably came to know Christ as your savior between the ages of five and 13.

12:53 But you may not be as fully committed to following Christ as your parents are. Most Christians today are second chair believers. They know about the faith but it's not real to them. It doesn't shape their values. It doesn't shape their lifestyle.

13:19 It doesn't dictate their decisions. They know a lot about the faith but they can't talk to their children about firsthand faith experiences. Unfortunately, for those who stay in the second chair, typically raise third chair children. These are the people who are no part of an empty faith. These people would rather go to the mall than go to church on Sunday.

14:07 They'd rather watch the game than hear the word. These people leave the church when they're old enough to leave home. They don't know about the works because the parents don't have the works. Knows the Lord, has the works. Knows the Lord, knows about the works, knows not the Lord, knows not the works.

15:26 There's no time for God. He serves self. Fully devoted to following Christ. Claims to follow Christ but not fully devoted There's something between their soul and their savior. Follow self.

15:57 Seeks to satisfy self's desires. Need one of those backpack platter platters carry on your back and has a hose that comes up. Second chair of family on the way to church. Second chair of family. Kids are in the back seat fighting all the way to church, Following the parents lead.

16:41 Pull into the church parking lot. Dad gets out, walks all the way around the car, opens the door for mom, first time all week. Shut up. Take my arm. Good morning.

16:55 God bless you. Good morning. God bless you. Kids are in the backseat. Wow.

17:04 Look at dad. Family walks into the church and preacher asks this person, the second chair dad to give his testimony. It's a pleasure for me to be with you this morning and to share my testimony. I was saved when I was seven years old. God reached down and grabbed my wicked heart and life has not been the same ever since.

17:34 And if you don't know Jesus as your personal savior, you need to meet him today. In fact, this book is the most important book in my life. Son sitting right about back there someplace, elbows his sister. Wow. Look at that man.

17:57 Is that our dad? Later, when they get home, the the most important book in his life gets tossed on the dresser that one that prayed that long flowing prayer now says, God, thanks for the missionaries. Bless the food. Amen. Pass the meat.

18:31 Hurry up. I got things to do. Before long friends, what are people who are growing up in that house saying about the church? It's full of hypocrites. Because of those children, these two look the same.

19:01 In their minds, everybody's playing games. It's not real. It's empty. They're just going through the motions. In fact, they're more interested in counting nickels and noses than measuring what matters.

19:19 Whole heart for God. Half heart. No heart. You ask this person to give a testimony. The only thing they can talk about is their conversion.

19:32 Why? Because they do not have the works. There's nothing there to talk... To testimony about. You ask this person to give a testimony.

19:43 Well, just last night, I was reading Joshua 22. Man, there are some good insights there for conflict resolution. Last night seven years ago, Well, when I was seven. Conflict's coming. Mom, I'm thinking about doing...

20:33 It might be behavior. It might be friends. It doesn't matter. You know what it is. You fill it in.

20:38 Teenager sitting here has a value that's different than you, and they are thinking about pursuing that. Well, honey, your father and I, we struggled with something similar when we were your age, and what we did is we we went to the word. We we read it. We studied it and we wanted to know what would what does god want to do? What does God think?

21:16 When your dad gets home, I'm sure he would be delighted to sit down with us, and we could all read and study the word together and find out what does God think? Would you like to do that? Mom, I'm thinking about doing... Okay. You fill in the blank.

21:43 Oh no you're not. Well, why not? Because I said so, that's why. Well, I'm going to do it anyways and there's nothing you can do to stop me. What will the people at church think?

22:07 What do people think? What does God think? It's about a relationship with our father. This one has a relationship with the father that drives them to love people. They will sacrifice their things.

22:33 They will sacrifice their money. They will sacrifice their time to bring people and god together. They use things to help people. This person has not been investing in their relationship with the Father, hasn't been reading the Word, at least with intention to grow their relationship, maybe getting through the Bible and you're getting their three chapters a day in, something like mechanical. They haven't been talking to the Father or if it has, it's been surfaced.

23:11 It's the same prayer before each meal sort of thing. And the relationship has dried up. Relationship with the Father has dried up. And something has taken the place of God on the throne of their heart. It might be possessions.

23:35 It might be power to control. It might be pride, money, time. Something is taking the place of God on the throne of their heart. And now you find yourself using people to acquire things, to gain more power and control over people, monopolize meetings and decisions. David had a whole heart for God.

24:18 His son, Solomon, had a half heart for God. His son Rehoboam had no heart for God. And it sets us up for an undivided heart, a divided heart that leads to a divided kingdom where conflict is swirling in the kingdom. If you sit here, do you realize what you're doing to your family, your children, and your grandchildren? You see, both of these look the same.

25:16 You both go to church. You both put money in the offering. You both read the same book, but God's missing in one of them. God's missing. Is God real to you?

25:37 What were your last Jordans and Jerichos? Has it been a while? Only you know. You can say the right things. You can carry the right book.

25:56 You can sing the right songs, but you know there's nothing inside, And it is slowly destroying your wife, your family, your kids, your grandkids. It's slowly destroying your church. It's slowly destroying the people in your communities. The kids don't even know about the works because mom and dad don't have the works. Mom and dad don't have the works because they are not pursuing a godly, maturing relationship with the father.

27:09 Lukewarm. Lukewarm. And for does Jesus love the people in these chairs, all of them? He loves all of them. But the person in this chair, in Revelation three, He has a special word for these people.

27:29 Repent. Repent. You can't look the part. You can't talk the talk. You can't act the part.

27:42 You can't dress the part. You're you're running, he says, you're you're running from god. You're living in sin and he calls out, stop. Turn to me. Come on, let's have lunch together.

28:12 Let's sit down. Let's have a meal together. Let's get to know one another a little bit better. Let's plan out ways that we can go more places together, do more things together, and spend more time talking together. Come.

28:31 Repent. Turn from... Turn to the father. The invitation this morning is, can you get up out of the second chair and make the move? Can you, like Joshua, take a public stand and publicly proclaim to all the people here, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

29:10 We will we will be fully devoted to following Christ. We will pursue a growing, maturing relationship with the Father. Is that a decision you can make? If the spirit is nudging you, now is the time to get up out of the second chair, take that second chair, fold it up, and get it out of the way, and take that step to the first chair. Can you take that stand this morning?

30:19 For those that are in the first chair We have to be diligent We have to be always in the word. For not in the word, we won't last a day in the first chair. We'll slide back. Our friends who are in the first chair, we need to be there for them. This is a community effort.

30:44 This is a we need one another. That's church language. Help one another. Help each other that are here, but you also have connections and friends and relationships in your communities that you're investing in. And some of those are...

31:02 You're helping them to move in this direction. Yeah, it's difficult at times. I understand that. Many know what we call that, that difficulty, a Jordan or a Jericho? Go to the lord, ask him, what do you want to do?

31:20 They ask me a question. I don't know. What do you want to do? They're in a situation, want to help. What do you want to do, lord?

31:27 How do you want to use me in this? Yeah, we're concerned that each of us are in this first chair, but that's not where the... That's not the finish line. We need to be here in order to do the mission of turning hearts toward God. That means we're turning each other's hearts toward God because we're all on this journey.

32:29 Lord, I I don't want to do this to my wife anymore. I don't want to do this to my kids anymore. I don't want to do this to my church or the people in my community anymore. Lord, I am reaching out to you in faith. I'm asking you to give me the strength, the insight, the knowledge, the discernment to move to the first tier and to be fully devoted to following you and you alone.

33:01 And when the junk comes along and meism comes along, I will discern it, recognize it, turn from it, and turn back to you and ask for help. Why? It's only for the sake of the name of Jesus. It's the only reason. Amen.