I. Servants of the Lord
“As for me and my house, we will serve (Abad in Hebrew) the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
As we celebrate fathers today, this declaration from Joshua exemplifies what it means to be an “Epic Dad"—a father who imparts a lasting spiritual legacy. As we explore various facets of the phrase “serve the Lord,” we’ll define practical experiences that will enrich dads and bless families.
Personal allegiance needs to be declared and lived!
Joshua boldly declares his personal commitment: “As for me…”
Epic Dads resist justifying, rationalizing and blaming—embracing instead the truth that “…each of us mustgive an account of ourselves to the Lord” (Rom. 14:12).
Epic Dads walk in the freedom for which they have been freed. “It was for freedom that Christ set you free”(Gal 5:1). He gives freedom from the ways and words, priorities and passions of THIS world.
“Let them curse, but you bless; when they arise, they shall be ashamed but your servant shall be glad” (Ps. 109:28). In contrast with others, Epic Dads have freedom to pursue intimacy with the Lord and His kingdom calling.
Joshua’s personal testimony of “serving the Lord” is the foundation for “my house” serving the Lord!
Joshua gives leadership to his home through the inclusiveness of his declaration: “As for…my house, we will serve the Lord.” Epic Dads join Christ as the cornerstone to build a strong foundation for family life (Eph.5:20) through living and loving as Jesus did.
II. Serving the Lord through a Lifestyle of Yieldedness
Fathers, the Hebrew word translated “serve” speaks to your allegiance and prompts the question, “To whom or what are you yielding yourself?”
In a day when “serving” or giving allegiance to many false gods was commonplace, Joshua’s declaration was pro-active and public:
Being “passive” in a world of compromise was NOT an option.
Being “quiet” about his stance was NOT an option.
It’s this proactivity and public testimony that give credibility to leading one’s family into “serving the Lord.”
Pause and Reflect: What proactive and public “initiative taking” in your life would give witness to your “serving the Lord” (i.e., a demonstrated prayer life, diligence in the Word, being the first to apologize, etc.)?
Engage Fellowship:
“Encourage one another unto love and good deeds: (Heb. 10:25)
Quietly ask the Lord to remind and encourage you: “Lord God, remind me of ways I live my life so my family takes note that I’m seeking to serve you.” Celebrate these remembrances with gratitude toward the Lord. Share with the Lord your glad heart and then ask Him by His Spirit to show you deepened dimensions of serving Him.
Now, let’s stand, and in groups of two or three, or as families, ask the Lord to encourage us: “Lord God, encourage me in new ways that I might take initiative to better serve you before my family.” Listen quietly and yield to obey—even before His direction is clear (John 7:17).
III. Serving the Lord in a World of Competing Priorities
Countless distractions compete for our personal and family priorities— materialism and the media promote their “wares,” technology and social media provide pseudo-intimacy, success and position plead their case. Yet Joshua’s declaration would be that life fulfillment is NEVER found in what we acquire, accomplish, or achieve, but only in loving, intimate relation¬ships, beginning with Yehowah (Jehovah)!
The Hebrew word “serve” (abad) conveys an urgency to put away hindrances to intimate relationship with Him (1 Sam. 7:3; 2 Chron. 34:33). Critical to removing hindrances to our intimacy with the Lord is asking the right questions, putting away the emptiness of vain priorities.
Questions like, “What have I accomplished today?” need the added consideration, “Is He pleased with it?”
Questions like, “What do I have?” or “What am I getting?” need more out¬ward and others’ focus through knowing, “Who am I giving to?” and “How is He being honored through my stewardship of life and resources?”
Experiencing Scripture:
“Considering that all these things shall be done away with in this manner, what sort of people ought we to be” (2 Peter 3:11).
Imagine the scene as an Epic Dad announces to his family: “Next Saturday morning after breakfast is ‘things dedication day.’” Without any more details, the family is intrigued and, throughout the week, asks more questions, only to be told: “It will be fun and a great learning experience.”
Saturday comes, and after breakfast, the announcement is made: “Now each of us needs to consider one of your most important ‘things’ or possessions, and in five minutes, we will meet back together and bring it with us. Go!”
The family returns looking a little silly with a fur coat, favorite piece of jewelry, golf clubs, a stuffed animal, and a Spiderman action figure. “It’s now time to dedicate these ‘things’ and consider God’s perspective,” Dad shares as he reads from the 2 Peter text. Reminding the family that all these “things” shall be done away with, he then puts emphasis on the closing, probing question: “What sort of people ought we to be?” The family brainstorms a list of responses as this Epic Dad affirms the priority of relating to the Lord.
IV. Serving the Lord through a Father’s and Family’s Identity
“Serving the Lord” is NOT a list of things we “do” but rather who we are! Joshua’s declaration and that of an Epic Dad is simply this: “I am joyfully and gladly His servant.”
Epic Dads are focused more upon identity than activity, more upon daily life than formalized gatherings.
Tracing the Hebrew word abad through the scriptures highlights for us at least five dimensions of epic fatherhood:
1. Epic Dads serve the Lord in joyful, liberated worship and reverence (Ex. 4:23, 7:16, 10:26; Ps. 2:11; Deut. 6:13).
• Moments of private and family prayer are commonplace, both planned and spontaneous.
• Worship is extended into moments of everyday life, and His presence is acknowledged in all occasions.
• In times of rejoicing and challenge, His heart is sought by the family and others for celebration or comfort.
Pause dads, and allow His Spirit to celebrate your strengths and challenge you to grow!
2. Epic Dads cultivate a family culture of gratitude.
Epic Dads serve the Lord with glad hearts. “Serve the Lord with gladness” (Ps. 100:2).
“Loving the Lord” with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength is more about relating to Him than doing things for Him! Epic Dads often lead their families into times of sharing with Him our glad hearts, forgetting none of “His benefits” (Ps. 100:3). One of the simple but profound ways we “serve” the Lord is with our glad heart—our rejoicing.
“Let the Word of Christ dwell richly in you . . .” (Col. 3:16).
Pastors, consider the six dimensions of “serving” noted in this section and pause to consider a deepened, fresh work God has done recently in your life.
There is no doubt that God has been working in my life to:
• Re-prioritize my prayer life
• Stir up my gratefulness
• Challenge me to listen more, ask less
Now plan to vulnerably share this.
• Consider beginning a Journal of Gratefulness or Blessing Book for your family. As blessings are entered with their date, follow by notations on how I gave thanks—privately? publicly? personally? in writing?
• Practice having your family celebrate more together by asking, “What was the highlight of your week?” As each person shares, rejoice together.
• Guard your home from an ungrateful, critical spirit. Focus instead on: “What we do have.” “What we can do.” “What is right.”
3. Epic Dads serve the Lord through embracing His Word (Ex. 3:12).
Just as Moses was challenged to live out God’s word of deliverance for His people (Ex. 3:12), so also, Epic Dads embrace and experience His Word as the foundation for legacy.
Hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the Word becomes a five-fold diet for Epic Dads. Yet even more importantly, Epic Dads experience the Word. They literally “do the book.”
• They confess when they have been wrong (Jas. 5:16).
• They speak words that build up and never tear down (Eph. 4:29).
• They respond with gentleness in the face of others’ anger (Prov. 15:1).
• They think first of others (Phil. 2:3).
4. Epic Dads serve the Lord with a “listening,” attentive heart. “Speak Lord, Your servant is listening” (I Sam 3:9).
We “serve” the Lord by listening for Him. Just as young Samuel had his spirit trained to hear God, so also does an Epic Dad. Required for our listening are intentional times of solitude and meditation—yielded with a humble heart and poised in faith to obey what we will hear. Just as was spoken of Mary in Bethany as she sat at the feet of Jesus listening, “Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). Epic Dads have chosen the better thing—listening!
5. Epic Dads serve the Lord through longing to know and please Him.
Moses began his journey of serving the Lord through his burning bush encounter of knowing the Lord: “I AM WHO I AM . . . I AM has sent me to you” (Ex. 3:14).
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul would describe His commitment to “serve the Lord” like this: “I count all things as loss for the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8).
6. Epic Dads give priority to knowing Jesus because to know Him is to love Him, and to love Him is to serve Him.
“Let the Word of Christ dwell deeply in you” (Colossians 3:16).
Pastors, consider your own dem¬onstrations of serving the Lord and ask Him to recall for you a somewhat recent addition to your serving lifestyle:
“I know it has become important for me to take more initiative in ___________________________.”
Now plan to vulnerably share this with your people.
Encountering Jesus:
“Who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15).
Pause and meditate on Jesus. However you imagine Him, meditate on the resurrected Christ, nail-pierced hands and feet, glorified body. Imag¬ine that He asks you the question He asked His followers. Let His spirit probe your heart for response: “Who do you say that I am?”
Quietly whisper in your heart, “You are my Lord and I long to know you.”
Now ask Him, “What other priorities, activities, or things do I need to ‘count as loss’ so that I might better know You?”
Listen for Him to speak: “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”
Yield these things as “loss.” “Lord, my success and career are not in com¬parison to life with You. My possessions and status mean nothing in the light of You.”
Make now your declaration (as Joshua and Paul did): “I want to know You… to love You…to serve You!”
