Divine Dynasty

"Divine Dynasty"

Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, 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.

Back about two years ago I was flipping through the channels on our television and I ran across a program that caught my attention. My wife says I am a channel flipper! Don't know where she gets that Idea. Needless to say I stopped flipping and stayed on the whole program. When I got through I said to myself, "self, this is different, this is something out of the ordinary." It fascinated me and now we know several million other viewers as well and the show has become a national sensation. You can't hardly go anywhere without seeing Willie, Phil, Jase and Uncle Si! Phil Robertson and Miss Kay are the patriarch/matriarch of a large family who are unashamedly and unabashedly Christian. The talk it and from all appearances they walk it. I know they are unconventional but they seem to have something going on that works! The Duck Dynasty is actually a Divine Dynasty! When you hear Phil's' testimony and I've seen and heard it, it is obvious that once Phil started serving the Lord, he began building something special, something we could all learn from. I think the day came when Phil Robertson said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord," and the rest is history. We find this statement of faith in the book of Joshua. This servant of the Lord is coming to the end of his journey and thank God for his "dying declaration." Joshua had established a Divine Dynasty. Let's learn from his example.

I. Joshua's Faith

a. The purity of his faith

1. Salvation

It is interesting to note that the name Joshua is the OT equivalent to Jesus and means "Jehovah is salvation." That he remained faithful to Jehovah throughout his life is a testament to his faith.

2. Sanctification

He was born a slave and had witnessed the moral and spiritual degradation and decline of his nation. We also live in a corrupt culture.

There is a battle going on for the hearts of minds of the people of God. Purity is where the battle is being fought.

Bruce Wilkinson, author of Prayer of Jabez, said:

ILL - Sexual immorality is a threshold sin. On one side of the threshold is immorality and on the other is purity. On one side are guilt, lying, deceit, addiction, and shame, an on the other side are freedom, honesty, transparency, liberty, and a clear conscience. Believers who are in bondage to immorality find that unless they experience victory in this area, they cannot grow in holiness or serve the Lord with passion and power..." (Victory Over Temptation).

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

b. His priorities of his faith

Notice that Joshua says that "...we will serve the Lord..." What are your priorities? What occupies first place in your life?

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

c. His purpose of his faith

We see in this declaration another fact of Joshua's life and that is seen in the phrase, "...we will serve..."

II. Joshua's Family

a. His love

He loved his family for no man can make this kind of statement with any kind of confidence who does not love his family. Although she is not mentioned, he loved his wife and he loved his children; his "...house..." was the center of his universe.

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

b. His leadership

Joshua has been rightly called "The first soldier consecrated by sacred history, a soldier saint, but more important that his leadership on the field of battle was his leadership in the home of his family.

c. His legacy

Joshua wore many hats! He was a son (the son of NUN which means durable), he was a slave and spent years in bondage and no doubt felt the sting of the lash, he was a soldier who was pre-eminent as a military leader and knew how to plan campaigns and discipline his forces. Sir. Henry Havelock said, "He was every inch a soldier and every inch a Christian." He was a servant and for he is unswerving loyalty and devotion he is called "...the servant of Moses..." He was a spy, who along with 11 others spied out the land. He brought back a favorable report which the people rejected and wandered about forty years with the rest but which Joshua profited from. He was a type of savior, Moses representing the Law brought the people to the border of the land but it took Joshua (God's salvation) to take them into the land, he was statesman and became the supreme ruler of Israel, and most important of all he was a saint, and it was this saintliness that marked him as Moses successor.