Life consists of many relationships, such as the:
• Husband - wife relationship
• Grandparent - grandchild relationship
• Aunt - niece & nephew relationship
• Uncle - nephew & niece relationship
• Brother - sister relationship
• Neighbor relationship
• Business relationship
One of the most special relationships is the FATHER AND CHILD relationship, and it seems that this is one that the devil fights more than any other.
WHY DOES SATAN FIGHT THIS RELATIONSHIP SO MUCH? Because when dad is being the spiritual leader he should be, his influence is so great that the whole family is affected by it.
Dads are given one of the biggest, most important jobs on the face of the earth. However, there is not one class that dads can enroll in to learn how to become a good dad.
Illus: If a man wishes to become an electrician, he can enroll in a class, or have someone personally teach him the basics of electricity and wiring. The same goes for one who wishes to become a plumber, carpenter, or brick mason.
All these jobs are important, and we consider it to be important to be properly trained to do them.
But there are few places where a man can go to learn to be a good dad.
WHAT CAN HE DO?
• He can follow the example of his own dad, and of other dads
• Most importantly he can turn to God's Word
But not many will study to find help in God’s Word. Let's turn to the scriptures today and examine this very special relationship of FATHER and CHILD.
We see that Joshua was a family man. We can learn a great deal about what a father should be as we study Joshua’s life.
I. THE FATHER AND HIS CHOICES
Look at Joshua 1:15, we read, "...Choose you this day whom ye will serve..."
In verses 1-14, Joshua summoned all the people of Israel to Shechem. He called also for the elders and heads and other leaders to meet there. Once they were all assembled there, he began to remind them (the next thirteen verses) of how God brought them from east of the Euphrates River, where they had served and worshipped idols, to the land that God Himself had graciously provided for them.
Look at verses 13-14, "And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord."
Now, for the Lord to have done so much for the people of Israel, you would think it would be no trouble to get them to worship and serve Him, but they transgressed just as we do today, even though we have been so richly blessed.
However, before we are too quick to judge them, we need to examine our own lives.
Some dads have reaped the blessings of God, just as Israel did. They have a job, good health, and strength, and God has watched over their families, but look how difficult it is to get them to spend a few hours worshipping God each week.
You would think they would be grateful enough to gladly do this! So you see, mankind basically has not changed. God richly pours out His blessings, and they constantly look for ways to selfishly enjoy His benefits.
Joshua was not one of those UNGRATEFUL DADS!
He says in verse 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."
Joshua was a dad who knew CHOICES HAD TO BE MADE. He gave them three choices of who to serve:
A. FIRST, "...WHETHER THE GODS WHICH YOUR FATHERS SERVED..."
Their fathers had not served the true and living God. He gave them the opportunity of being "chips off the old blocks."
Illus: For years, a pastor tried to get one man to come to church. It was obvious that God had been good to the man. He enjoyed good health, had a good job, and God had watched over his family. Every time the pastor would visit that home, the man's wife and children were always kind. The pastor would ask him to come to church, but the man would straighten up and say, "Preacher, I am not going to promise. I might come, but I am not going to promise." One night that man was sitting in his living room and had a massive heart attack and died. Then he came to church - in a casket. Several years later, the preacher saw one of the sons, who had since married. They had a nice visit, and the preacher asked him if he would come and join them in worship Sunday. That boy did exactly what his father before him had done; he straightened up and said, "Preacher, I am not going to promise. I might come, but I am not going to promise."
Many dads have made their choice today. They are following in the footsteps of their dads. Rather than learn from their mistakes, they are duplicating their mistakes.
Illus: Another dad was an alcoholic for most of his life. He is dead today, but he became a very dedicated Christian a few years before he died. During the days when he was an alcoholic, he would often come home drunk, and his wife and son had to live through the turmoil of his drunkenness. The son was a full-grown man when the father became a Christian. The son had begun to drink, and to this day he is a duplicate of his dad before he became a Christian. That father lived the last years of his life regretting having set such a bad example for his son. The son, instead of learning from his father's mistakes, chose to duplicate them and he died a drunkard.
Joshua gave all the dads at that gathering the choice, they could follow in the footsteps of their fathers.
B. "...OR THE GODS OF THE AMORITES..."
They could look around them and serve the gods of the Amorites that surrounded them.
Many contemporary dads have made this choice. They have looked around them and have decided they wanted to serve the "gods of the Amorites."
That is, they looked around, and if they saw another dad serving:
• The god of materialism
• The god of wealth
• The god of pleasure
• The god of self
They just started doing the same thing. Many dads have never come to realize the importance of making good, quality, godly, decisions.
Illus: Have you ever been traveling and come to a fork in a road and you did not know which way to go, but you had to pick one? You realized the importance of the two roads, because they led in opposite directions. You recognized that one would be right and the other wrong. To turn the wrong way would mean you would never reach your intended destination.
Everyday life is filled with decisions that are just as important, if not more important than that, but many dads do not even stop to consider the direction they are taking and leading their children into. They just look around and see all the "Amorites" serving their "gods", and decide they are going to do the same thing - the blind leading the blind.
Illus: One day, a man drove to a place where the traffic was being held up because of some construction workers. He stopped, and the cars behind him also stopped. Soon there was a long line behind him. After a long time he decided he was tired of waiting, so he turned down one of the side streets to try to by-pass the construction work. The driver behind him decided to follow him, and the driver behind him also decided to follow him. In fact, as far back as he could see, all the cars were right behind him. When he turned left, they all turned left. When he turned right, they all turned right. He had no idea where he was going, but he wasn't about to let that crowd know he was lost. He kept driving and they kept following. Everything was fine until he turned down a dead end street. The people living there saw the biggest car jam they had ever seen on that street.
This is what many dads have done. They have chosen to follow the gods of those around them - the BLIND LEADING THE BLIND.
Joshua told them they could serve the GODS OF THEIR FATHERS or they could look around them and serve the GODS OF THE AMORITES.
But they had a third choice. They could serve-
C. "...THE LORD"
Joshua said, "...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
They could make the right choice.
Joshua was saying:
• That as much as he loved the land where his father had come from
• And as much as he loved the dads who had chosen to serve the gods of the Amorites
He was not going to make that same mistake they made.
He was going to SERVE THE LORD.
Joshua was a man who recognized the importance of making the right choice.
He was not going to let someone else make his choices for him.
Joshua understood something about a FATHER AND HIS CHOICES. WHAT ABOUT YOU?
II. THE FATHER AND HIS COMMITMENT
He said to these fathers, "...choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as FOR ME..."
Notice the word, "SERVE."
Sometimes when you talk to a lost person and you try to get him to accept the Lord Jesus as his Savior, he gives you the distinct impression he does not want to do this because he views the Christian life as something one must be committed to, and he does not want to live a life that requires any commitment. He wants to be FREE!
One of the biggest lies Satan has convinced people to believe is that they can serve him and be free to do as they please.
The bondage of Satan is the most severe bondage you can possibly imagine. The lost man may think he is free to do as he pleases, but:
• He is a slave to evil habits - he has no control over himself
• He is a slave to other sinners, trying to live so as to be accepted by them - he has to wear what they wear, go where they go, and do as they do
Why? Because he is in bondage. The lost man faithfully serves Satan whether he likes it or not.
Notice the commitment of Joshua, "...but as for me and my house, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD."
It is a marvelous thing to see a man who does not follow the crowds, or follow the fathers of old, but chooses to make a commitment to follow the Lord.
We see Joshua in the light of a FATHER AND HIS CHOICES, a FATHER AND HIS COMMITMENT, but notice, also the:
III. THE FATHER AND HIS CLAN
Joshua said, "...choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
Joshua did not say, "Fellows, I am going to go home and talk this over with the clan and see what they think about it."
He was the HEAD OF HIS HOME. He said, "...but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord."
There seems to be a lack of that kind of courage today, but if a dad is going to be the kind of father that is pleasing to the Lord, he had better have some courage to face the clan also.
There are dads today who are afraid to open their mouths because they are afraid of their children.
Illus: Remember when God placed Joshua in the place of leadership after Moses? Those were some big shoes to fill.
Joshua felt very inadequate, but God said to him, in Joshua 1:6-7, "Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.”
When dads spend more time with their dogs, fishing poles, and friends than they do with their families, it is no wonder families are in the mess they are in.
CONCLUSION:
Joshua points out three things a dad has to be concerned with as he leads his children...
I. THE FATHER AND HIS CHOICES
II. THE FATHER AND HIS COMMITMENT
III. THE FATHER AND HIS CLAN
