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They turn back in your Bibles 
to Joshua, chapter 24. Joshua, chapter 24, this morning 
we reviewed covenant history, verses 2 to 13. Remember that 
Joshua there at Shechem highlighted the grace of God, the way that 
the Lord called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldeans. It was not 
because Abraham was a godly man, a virtuous man, but it was because 
God is a gracious God. He calls Abraham out and makes 
a promise to him. We then saw the pace of God. 
God doesn't operate according to our time schedule. It was 
25 years after Abraham was called that the son of promise was given 
to him. It was 430 years of bondage that 
they experienced in Egypt before they came to this particular 
place. He highlights the ways of God. And again, it's mystifying 
at times and mysterious to the people of God. Esau received 
his inheritance right away, the mountains of Seir. But rather, 
Jacob or Israel went down to Egypt. And it wasn't to conquer. 
It wasn't for triumph. Rather, it was for bondage and 
slavery. God's ways at times mystify his 
people. And then Joshua highlights the 
power of God displayed in the exodus, displayed in God's faithful 
protection and then display in God's continuous provision. And then we notice the demand 
for covenant commitment, verses 14 to 24. And it's to that section 
that we now turn. And I'll read beginning in verse 
14. Now, therefore, fear the Lord, 
serve him in sincerity and in truth. and put away the gods 
which your father served on the other side of the river and in 
Egypt. Serve the Lord. And if it seems 
evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day 
whom you will serve, whether the gods which your father served 
that were on the other side of the river or the gods of the 
Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we 
will serve the Lord. So the people answered and said, 
far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other 
gods. For the Lord our God is he who 
brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from 
the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight 
and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the 
people through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out from before 
us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the 
land. We also will serve the Lord, for he is our God. But Joshua said to the people, 
you cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous 
God. He will not forgive your transgressions 
nor your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve 
foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you 
after he has done you good. And the people said to Joshua, 
no, but we will serve the Lord. So Joshua said to the people, 
you are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord 
for yourselves to serve him. And they said, we are witnesses. 
Now, therefore, he said, put away the foreign gods which are 
among you and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel. And 
the people said to Joshua, the Lord, our God, we will serve 
and his voice we will obey. Amen. Let us pray. Thank You 
again, Father, for this written record of this covenant ceremony 
at Shechem. Thank You for its abiding practicality 
for our own day, for our own generation, for our own situation. We just pray now that You would 
guide us by Your Spirit. We pray that You would help us 
to have such resolve that we see demonstrated by Joshua in 
this scripture. We thank You, Father, for Your 
loving kindness. We thank You for Your great grace. 
We pray that You would sustain us God, we confess at times it's 
very easy to consider these things when we're gathered together 
on the Lord's day. God, when the challenges and 
the temptations and the trials come in the rest of the week, 
we cry out to you, Father, that you would provide grace and help 
and strength to each and every one of us. And we ask in the 
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, in this latter half 
of the chapter, we saw the demand for covenant commitment. We noted 
that it is a logical commitment, verse 14. It logically follows. It follows of necessity that 
if God has done this for you in terms of His grace, in terms 
of His deliverance and His power in your life, then it follows 
that you ought to serve the Lord. We saw that it was an exclusive 
commitment. Joshua doesn't want them just 
to be emotionally charged and make a decision for Jesus without 
counting the cost, without thinking through, without realizing that 
God demands whole soul commitment to him in this covenant life. And then we noted thirdly that 
it is a serious commitment. And so this evening, I want to 
just focus primarily on verse 15. Joshua says, but as for me 
and my house, we will serve the Lord. I doubt that you're going 
to learn anything new tonight. The material that I bring to 
you, I have brought before. I believe that reminder and repetition 
is a necessity in the Christian life. We need to continually 
visit these particular sorts of themes for our well-being. It's easy to get into patterns. 
It is easy to get into ruts. It's easy to get into routines 
that do not reflect our covenant commitment to the Lord God Most 
High. So Joshua makes this great statement 
that all of us ought to seek to emulate and imitate. And tonight I want to address 
primarily the men. He says, as for me and my house, 
we will serve the Lord. Now, ladies, please don't tune 
out. Children, please don't tune out. Please pay attention, pray 
for your fathers, pray for your husbands, pray for the men in 
the church that they would indeed be this kind of a man with this 
sort of a resolve to lead their family according to God's holy 
word. I want to do four things this 
evening as we consider an emphasis on family religion. First, notice 
the husband's responsibility to his wife. Secondly, the father's 
responsibility to his children. Thirdly, the subject matter that 
is to be taught. And fourthly, the disposition 
necessary in the man of God. Well, as we consider Joshua, 
just by way of introduction, I want to suggest that he was 
a very busy man. I don't know anyone who has been 
tasked with the sort of job that Joshua was given here. Remember, 
you'll read through the Pentateuch and you'll sometimes sympathize 
with Moses. That was quite a calling and 
quite a task that he had as the leader in Israel. I mean, people 
were looking to him for answers. People were looking to him for 
strategy. People were looking to him for 
just about everything. Such that in the book of Exodus, 
his father-in-law Jethro says, you need to delegate. If you 
don't appoint men to assist you in leading and in ruling and 
in governing over these people, basically and essentially, you're 
going to die. It will bury you. It is a high 
calling and a high task. Well, the baton passes from Moses 
to Joshua. Still the same amount of people. 
still the same needs within the congregation or within the assembly, 
still the same sorts of issues that face Moses will face Joshua. But Joshua has this additional 
element that he has to go into the land and dispossess it of 
the Canaanites. So he's a military leader. He 
is a general. His primary calling is to engage 
in holy war and to go into the land and basically and essentially 
to kill people and to get rid of them from the land. God used 
Israel as a means of judgment and chastisement upon the Canaanites. So all that to say that he was 
a busy man when he says in verse 15 of Joshua 24, but as for me 
and my house, we will serve the Lord. It wasn't as if he had 
all kinds of time on his hands. He didn't just sit in his easy 
chair and plot the day's events with reference to his family. 
He wasn't freed up from all of the demands of civil life, military 
life. He wasn't freed up from all of 
the demands and the pressures that are upon all men. In fact, 
Matthew Henry describes him this way. It says, for his house, 
that is, his family. his children and servants, such 
as were immediately under his eye and care, his inspection 
and influence." He says, Joshua was a ruler, a judge in Israel, 
yet he did not make his necessary application to public affairs 
an excuse for the neglect of family religion. Just read that 
last portion. Joshua was a ruler, a judge in 
Israel, yet he did not make his necessary application to public 
affairs. He didn't make his busy wife, 
his busy job, the demands upon him. He did not make this an 
excuse for the neglect of family religion, but rather he engaged 
in family religion. He engaged in leading his family. He engaged in loving his wife 
and bringing up his children in the training and admonition 
of the Lord. So all that to say that if a 
busy military general who is in the business of going into 
Canaan to kill people and root them out of the land of Canaan, 
if he has the time in his busy day to fit in family religion, 
then certainly we in the 21st century with all of the modern 
helps that we have ought to be able to do likewise. Well, let's 
look first at the husband's responsibility to his wife. You may turn to 
Ephesians 5. Nothing wrong with looking at 
later revelation, later epistles to get some informed answers 
in terms of how we are to engage our responsibility to our wives 
with reference to family religion. First, the husband is to lead 
his wife. This is what we find in Ephesians 
5 verse 23. For the husband is head of the 
wife as also Christ is head of the church and he is the savior 
of the body. The man of God, the husband in 
his home, is to be conspicuously the leader in his home. He doesn't 
get voted into office. He doesn't do it by default. 
He doesn't do it because he's the best at it, but rather God 
has structured his universe in such a way. We considered when 
we looked at 1 Corinthians 11 many, many years ago, I kept 
using the illustration that in God's world, birds fly and fish 
swim. And God made men to lead in their 
homes and in the church. But that's not our focus here 
this evening. Notice the husband is head of 
the wife. That is an indicative verb. It 
is what is true. He may be a bad head. He may 
be a good head. But a head, he nevertheless is. Husbands, take responsibility 
for what happens in your home. Lead your wives. Lead your children. This is God's Word. We must accept 
this responsibility. We mustn't deflect it. Now, in 
the application of biblical ethics in the family, I think there's 
one of two abuses that men make. They become tyrants or dictators. They become the Idi Amin within 
their own living room. Or they become the Joseph Stalin 
or the Adolf Hitler. They bang their fist and they 
demand obedience and they demand submission and they demand all 
sorts of various things. That's a real temptation for 
husbands. A man who is a fool, who abuses 
power, who takes that leadership responsibility and he grinds 
his family down with it. In fact, there was a man by the 
name of Nabal that seemed to function this way. He was married 
to a lady named Abigail that ultimately became wife to King 
David of Israel. So that's an extreme position 
that we must avoid. But what happens today, more 
often than the tyrant, is the abdicator. The one who is passive. The one who does not lead. The 
one who says, honey, you make all the decisions. The one that 
does not take responsibility for his own, but rather he seeks 
to shift blame. If there's a problem in the house, 
it's because of his wife, or it's because of his children, 
or it might be because of God, just like Adam did in the garden. The woman whom you gave me, she 
gave me the fruit to eat. What's the implication in Adam's 
statement? God, if you hadn't created her, 
we wouldn't be in this mess. And God, if you hadn't created 
her the way that she is, we wouldn't be in this mess. Blame shifting 
has a long history and pedigree in the lives of the people of 
God. We cannot do that. We must leave. Secondly, the husband is to love 
his wife sacrificially. Loving leadership is what Paul 
calls for in the Scripture. Notice in verse 25, Husbands, 
love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave 
himself for her. You must love as Christ loves. This is a blessed safeguard. 
This is a blessed protector. This is a blessed hedge around 
the tyranny, around the pounding of the fists. around the Idi 
Amin type of leadership. It occurs to me some of you may 
not even know who Idi Amin is. Well, you should know that. I 
don't know how you're going to get into that. You should just know that. 
Go look it up. Google it. You should learn that. 
You should know who Pol Pot was. You should know who these famous 
dictators were. So that when we use them as sermon 
illustration, I'm kidding, you should know them because you 
should know them. But loving as Christ loved the 
church. How did Christ love the church? 
He gave Himself for her. He sacrificed for her. He put 
her well-being, He put her benefit, He put her happiness before His 
own. You see, in a godly home where 
a man takes seriously his responsibility, he engages in what's been called 
servant leadership. It's probably an overworked term, 
but it certainly describes the kind of leadership that Jesus 
Christ engaged in. Husbands, love your wives just 
as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. In the 
parallel passage in Colossians, Paul says, do not be embittered 
against them. Do not blame everything on them. Do not get upset with them, but 
rather love them. Provide an environment of protection. 
Provide an environment of care. Provide an environment of safety 
so that your wife can flourish and be all that God has made 
her to be. Thirdly, the husband is to disciple 
his wife. 526, that he might sanctify and 
cleanse her with the washing of water by the word. This is 
what Jesus does with reference to the church. He disciples us 
through the preaching of the word, through the presence of 
the Holy Spirit, through worship, through fellowship, through the 
means that he has given to the church for her well-being and 
good. What's he doing? He's discipling us. He's maturing 
us. He's causing us to grow. He's 
causing us to be more like himself. This is the grand design of God's 
predestinating plan. For whom he foreknew, these he 
also predestined. The ones he predestined was to 
be conformed to the image of his son, according to Romans 
8. Well, Jesus does that with his church. There ought to be 
growth. There ought to be maturation. Turn back for just a moment to 
Ephesians 4. Where we see something of Christ's plan or Christ's 
mind with reference to discipleship of his church. Notice in verse 
11 of chapter 4, and he himself gave some to be apostles, some 
prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. Talking 
about Jesus giving gifts to the church. It's a beautiful image 
back in verse 8, quote from Psalm 68. When Jesus ascended on high, 
he led captivity captive and he gave gifts to men. This was 
very typical in this particular realm. When a king went in and 
conquered a people, he would divide up the spoil and he would 
give gifts to his subjects. It was great, right? It's like 
a little boot or a little bit of booty or a little bit of an 
incentive with reference to battle. The king would give gifts to 
men, would disperse these winnings, would disperse the blessed spoils 
of war. Well, this is what Paul is saying 
that Jesus does. He ascends on high. He leads 
captivity captive and he gives gifts to men. The gifts specifically 
are men. who are called to preach and 
teach His word. That's what we find there in 
verse 11. He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, 
some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. Now notice, a three-fold 
purpose for this. For, verse 12, the equipping 
of the saints. Second, for the work of ministry. Third, for the edifying of the 
body of Christ. You see, Jesus knows what he's 
doing. This is why he's given gifts 
to the church. And then notice the purpose of 
verse 13. Till we all come to the unity 
of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect 
man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that 
we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried 
about with every wind of doctrine. by the trickery of men in the 
cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. But, speaking the truth 
in love, may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ, 
from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every 
joint supplies, according to the effective working by which 
every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying 
of itself in love." Isn't that a beautiful process? Isn't that 
a beautiful plan? Isn't it glorious the way Jesus 
works in and among his church? He's not absentee. He's present 
by his word, by his spirit, by the gifts that he has given to 
the church. There is this purpose in view, 
that the church marches forward, that the church goes forward, 
that the church grows in the grace and in the knowledge of 
the Lord Jesus Christ and achieves some degree of maturation. Well, 
she's stable and strong and not subject to every wind of doctrine, 
not subject to the to the false ideas that circulate among the 
people of God. That is how Christ disciples. 
That is what a husband is to do with his wife. Verse 26, that 
he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water 
by the word. The way Jesus does that with 
his church is the way a husband is to do that with his wife. 
He is to lead her, He is to love her, and He is to disciple her. Fourthly, the husband is to help 
his wife in her sanctification. Verse 27, that he might present 
her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or 
any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 
Again, Christ and his church. But parallel to that is the husband's 
responsibility with his wife. He wants to see her sanctified. 
He wants to see her growing in grace. He's not a fly in her 
ointment. He's not a pebble in her shoe. 
He's not a hardship to her growth in the things of God. He makes 
sure that she gets time with God alone. He makes sure that 
she gets to church where she can hear the preaching of the 
gospel. Her sanctification is important to him. He wants her 
to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then fifthly, The husband 
is to do this by nourishing her. Notice in 529, we'll go back 
to 28. So husbands ought to love their 
own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 
You see, he's speaking about Christ, but he's making this 
analogy. He's making this parallel. He's making this application 
to husbands toward their wives. Verse 29, for no one ever hated 
his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it. Just as the 
Lord does the church, that's the way men are supposed to exercise 
their responsibility. You remember this morning when 
I said that Mount Shechem is sort of like the Sermon on the 
Mount, sort of like hymns that we sing that probably are out 
of our reach. What's it do? Cast us back on 
the mercy and the grace of God. Husbands, if you understand your 
responsibility, as Paul outlines here, you will be a debtor to 
grace. You will stand in dependence 
upon God most high. I don't care how holy you think 
you are. I don't care how accomplished you think you are. I don't care 
what kind of a man or manner or nature that you have. You 
need grace. I need grace to be able to do 
this. Often said, one of the biggest 
challenges about marriage is that God takes two sinners and 
puts them in the same house. That's tough. We have a tough 
time on our own, brethren. It's tough to manage ourselves. But then God in marriage knits 
us together with someone. And yes, we love them. And yes, 
we esteem them. And yes, we prize them. And yes, 
they're the delight of our eyes and our joy and our happiness. 
But we have remaining corruption. There is sin in our hearts. That's 
why Paul has to write Ephesians five and Colossians three, because 
men in Christ don't just naturally do this. We have to be told again 
and again and again, what is our responsibility? What is our 
duty? And what it looks like to be 
like Joshua and say, but as for me and my house, we will serve 
Yahweh. It's not up to us. It's not how 
we define it. It's not how we feel about it. 
It's how God himself defines this particular task and responsibility. You are called to nourish your 
wife, to nourish children to maturity is the idea. The whole 
process leading to an attained goal. This doesn't happen overnight. Don't yell at your wife because 
she's not as holy as you are. Don't yell at your wife or compare 
her to other women that she should be as holy as. That's not nourishing. That's not caring. That's not 
cherishing, as Paul goes on to say, which means to show tender 
affection and love. It's interesting that Paul himself 
applies such language to himself in his pastoral ministry. In 
First Thessalonians, chapter two, he says, We were gentle 
among you, just as a nursing mother, here it is, cherishes 
her own children so affectionately longing for you. We were well 
pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also 
our own lives, because you would become dear to us. For you remember, 
brethren, our labor and our toil, laboring night and day, that 
we might not be a burden to any of you. We preached to you the 
gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, 
how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you 
who believe. As you know, how we exhorted 
and comforted and charged every one of you as a father does his 
own children. He's talking to a church and 
he says, as a mother, we cherish you as a mother. We loved you 
as a mother. We were affectionate towards 
you. And as a father, we tended to your good and your well-being 
and we protected you. If Paul can say that about the 
apostolic ministry, if Paul can say that about church shepherding, 
about church leadership, certainly as men, brethren, we ought to 
say with Joshua, as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh, 
and that means I'm going to love my wife. I'm going to protect 
her. I'm going to provide for her. 
I'm going to defend her. I'm going to be like God for 
her. I'm going to be jealous for her honor. And I'm going 
to seek by my or by God's good grace and by my labor and effort 
to bring her to a place of Christian maturity so that she walks with 
Jesus Christ. Paul sets a great example there 
in his pastoral ministry. So the husband's responsibility 
to his wife. He leads, he loves, he disciples, 
he provides her, promotes sanctification, nourishes and cherishes. It's 
an amazing analogy. Again, what's the church supposed 
to do under Christ's tutelage, under Christ's leadership? She's 
supposed to get to the place where she is without blemish, 
where she is without spot. Now, brothers, you can't stop 
that from happening in the physical realm. My wife and I were just 
musing the other day on more wrinkles on our faces. It's weird. 
I don't remember this ever. Wrinkles. She told me, you've 
got a lot of wrinkles. Thanks, honey. Always there for a boost. Just kidding. You can't stop 
that process. You cannot stop the blemishes. Sorry to get it. You know, it 
sounds crass and vicious and mean and all that. As men, we 
cannot stop that natural process in the physical realm that happens 
to our wives. Spiritually, she should be growing. 
Spiritually, she should be glowing. Spiritually, she should be without 
blemish. Spiritually, she should be shining. 
Spiritually, she should be more like Jesus Christ. Spiritually, 
she should be beautiful and excelling in beauty. You can't stop it 
in the physical realm. But with reference to the spiritual 
realm, with God's grace and the Spirit of God by His grace, we 
can engage. in promotion of these things 
in our lives. And again, ladies, there's a 
lot to be said to you as well. We're just picking on the men 
tonight under Joshua 24, 15. Now, secondly, the father's responsibility 
to his child or children. Father's responsibility to his 
children. Again, Ephesians 5 or Ephesians 
6, rather, provides some good material for us. First, the father 
is not to provoke his children. Robert, Ephesians 6, 4. You fathers 
do not provoke your children to wrath. Do not provoke your 
children to wrath. Do not anger them. This involves 
avoiding attitudes, words and actions which would drive a child 
to angry exasperation or resentment. A man must avoid tyranny, harsh 
demands, constant nagging, humiliation. That's not Jim Butler's lexicon. 
That's a pretty standard definition of the term that is used here 
by the apostle. Let me just read this again. 
To anger, to provoke to anger. This involves avoiding attitudes, 
words, and actions which would drive a child to angry exasperation 
or resentment. A man must avoid tyranny, harsh 
demands, constant nagging, and humiliation. Jim Butler lexicon 
would say, lighten up a little bit, brothers. Lighten up. They're sinners. Image bearer sinners. They need 
your love. They need your care. They need 
your concern. They need not to be provoked 
or exasperated or have their wills broken or their hearts 
broken. Break that sinful disposition, 
that sinful bent in the will. We don't want to break them. 
That's what I think the apostle is getting at here. Do not provoke 
your children to wrath. That's the negative. Don't exasperate 
them. Don't make them want to leave 
home. Don't push them out. Don't make them want to run away. 
Don't make them want to avoid you. It should be the case that 
when the car drives up in the driveway, the kids are happy 
to see you, not run the other way. As a general rule, if you 
only see the back of your kids like this, something's wrong. Unless you're playing hide-and-go-seek. That's legit. That's cool. That's 
a great expression of family bonding and union and love and 
all those sorts of things. Don't provoke them. And again, 
I'm not up here as the Joshua leader. Hey, Brethren, watch 
me. No, this is tough stuff. What is the natural tendency 
and pressure in our hearts, but to provoke them, but to strike 
out, but to lash out? We have seen this in the Sermon 
on the Mount. Jesus teaches us we need to turn 
the other cheek. Why? Because when we're wrong, 
we want to punch people, not turn the other cheek. Jesus says, 
when we're sued for our tunic, we ought to give them the outer 
garment as well. Why? Because we'll say, see you 
in court. When we are told to go one mile, 
we naturally and by nature gravitate towards saying, there's no way 
I'm walking with you one mile. Jesus says, walk within two miles. The natural tendency and disposition 
is to provoke children as unconverted people, so that when we're saved, 
we're born again, the Spirit of God takes up residence in 
our heart. Paul's admonition to his people, 
or to the fathers in his congregation, do not provoke your children 
to wrath. You don't win battles that way. 
You don't win their hearts that way. You don't win them to your 
side that way. You don't make them want to listen 
to you when you open the Bible and teach them about the fatherhood 
of God. In other words, Paul is saying, 
don't be or be like God. Doesn't provoke his children 
to wrath. What does Psalm 103 say? It says 
he pities us. He knows our frame. He knows 
that we're but dust. That's the way we approach our 
children. We know their frame. We know 
they're but dust. We realize that they are in Adam 
and that they need God's grace and they need our love and they 
need our molding and influence in their lives. Do not provoke 
them. Secondly, he says, bring them 
up in the training and admonition of the Lord. The training of 
the Lord provides specifically or promotes specifically actions. It probably has in view something 
of discipline. It probably has in view the rod 
and reproof. Realizing that your child has 
a sinful bent, you don't just say, well, you just do whatever 
you want. That provokes them to wrath. Hedges, parameters, 
restriction, guides, that is what a child desperately needs. J. Adams uses a great illustration. 
He says, what happens if there's a train and there's no tracks? 
Is that freedom? If you happen to see a train 
in a field without tracks, do you think, That's a free train. 
No, you drive far away from it. It's when the train is on the 
tracks that it's doing what it's supposed to be doing. Bring them 
up in the training of the Lord. Discipline them. The rod and 
the reproof give wisdom, the scripture says. The scripture 
says that foolishness is bound up in the hearts of children. 
The rod will drive it far from them. Loving, gracious, kind, 
firm discipline is what Paul enjoys upon the fathers in Ephesus. Bring them up in the training 
of the Lord. Be involved, be active, be the 
man that actually takes to task or takes to heart this responsibility. But it's not just the actions. 
It's also the word. The father is to bring them up 
in the admonition of the Lord. This refers to education, child 
training. Discipline has to do with our 
instruction given to them, which we'll see in just a moment. You 
see, Paul does not leave these things to just be however you 
want to approach it. No, he guides us. He directs 
us. He gives us mandates. He gives 
us the train tracks. He calls us to blessed Christian 
liberty, which finds its way according to God's holy law. That's what the apostle enjoins 
upon us as fathers. Do you see when Joshua stands 
there at Shechem and says, but as for me and my house, we will 
serve the Lord. He's making a bold statement. He's calling for covenantal commitment. He's calling for you to stop 
following Baal, stop following Mastress, stop following the 
pagan deities. They're not going to promote 
health, happiness, joy and love in your home. Only God will. 
You take responsibility to step out in faith. You need to take 
the book of God. You need to study it. You need 
to come to grips with what the Lord would have you to do. I 
mean, I remember when we first got converted, one of the first 
things we got was a little door thing that said, as for me and 
my house, we will serve the Lord. Right? One of those little dik, 
dik, dik, dik. It's got the little thing on it, right? You put that 
on your door. That's a nice little sentiment for on your door, but 
it's much better to be right in here. Joshua's not engaged in sloganizing. The Apostle Paul isn't engaged 
in mottos. The Apostle Paul is telling us 
how we are to pursue this high calling, which is called being 
a husband and being a father. We are to do it self-sacrificially. We are to put our wives and our 
children first. We'll often say, oh, I'll defend 
my wife. If some home invasion robber 
comes, I'm going to stand there and I'm going to defend them 
and I'm going to beat them up. We need to do that spiritually. 
Actively and purposely lead your families in the things of God. 
The father is not to provoke. He is to bring them up in the 
training of the Lord. He is to bring them up in the admonition 
of the Lord. And the father is to, get this, love his children. He is to love them, care for 
them, tend to them. Love is a powerful ingredient 
in this whole situation. You can't not provoke. You can't 
train. You can't bring them up in the 
admonition of the Lord without love. Love is the context. Love is the environment. Love 
is the orbit in which these things are to be put into practice. 
You have to love them. You have to value them. You have 
to prize them. You have to care for them. You 
have to pray for them at a bare minimum. Brethren, pray for your 
sons and your daughters. Pray for your wives. Again, wives, 
pray for your husband. Children, pray for your fathers, 
to be sure. This is a reciprocal responsibility that ought to 
find its mark in all of our homes, for sure. A husband ought to 
pray. We see in the first chapter of 
Job, he's praying. He's a priest on behalf of his 
family, and if perhaps they go out and sin, he's praying for 
them. They're in his mind. They're 
in his heart. He can't but pray for them. You see, when we love 
them, when we love our wives, when we love our children, we 
will sacrifice for them. We will deny ourself for them. We will put them first. There's 
this greedy, selfish mindset where some men think that they 
ought to have everything in the home. No. There's an interesting 
passage in the book of Exodus. I'm not going to get into the 
specifics. It talks about taking a second wife. Again, I'm not 
here to get into polygamy and all the detailed legislation 
ruling on that issue. You know, it's very instructive. 
If a man were to take an additional wife, you know what his responsibility 
is? Just make her happy. Make sure 
wife number one has full cupboards, has a full closet, and is tended 
to in the marriage bed. Now, again, that rubs us a little 
bit odd and wrong because we're not Mormons and we don't live 
in Utah and we don't have a doctrine of polygamy and all that sort 
of thing. I kind of put polygamy in the same place as divorce, 
slavery, things that would not be in an unfallen world. But since they did come to pass, 
God legislates, God rules, God orders, God puts laws into place 
to protect the innocent. Just imagine that for a moment. 
You take an additional wife. And again, don't go from here 
saying, Pastor Butler said I can find another wife. One, I would 
say you're a fool to think you can handle it. And two, I'm not 
saying that, please. Sorry, but imagine that. Wife number two is on the scene. 
Here's your duty. Here's your responsibility. Make 
sure wife number one has food in her cupboards. has clothes 
in her closet and is taken care of in the marriage bed. Now, 
just bring that application out for a moment. Shouldn't that 
mean at a minimum a Christian husband, one who has the Holy 
Spirit, one who knows Ephesians five should provide for his wife 
to make sure she has food in her cupboards? She has clothes 
in her closet and she is tended to in the marriage bed. And that's 
bare minimum requirements. And yet there's some very selfish 
men out there, some very greedy men, some very godless men that 
always insist upon themselves first. Christ loved the church 
and he gave himself for her. If that is a responsibility you're 
not comfortable with, you need to repent. You need to forsake. You need to confess it to God, 
seek fresh mercy, seek forgiveness, seek cleansing, and pray, God, 
help me to sacrifice for the one you gave me. So if the bare 
minimum are those three things, brethren, as Christian men living 
on this side of the book of Ephesians, Certainly, those are given. 1 Timothy 5, 8. If a man does 
not provide for his own, he's worse than an infidel. He's worse 
than an unbeliever. He will go out and he will pound 
the pavement. He will do everything lawfully. 
He will pursue every means so that his wife will have food 
in her cupboards, have clothes in her closet, and he will tend 
to her needs merrily. God isn't playing games. husband's responsibility to his 
wife, father's responsibilities to his children. Thirdly, the 
subject matter to be taught. As for me and my house, we will 
serve the Lord. Turn back to Deuteronomy 4 for 
just a moment. We saw this in our Wednesday 
night study. Not too long ago. Repetitious theme in the book 
of Deuteronomy. See, God's about covenantal succession. God is about us instructing our 
children and our grandchildren. God is about us evangelizing, 
yes, out in the marketplace, but in our living rooms. God 
is about us promoting the gospel of free and sovereign grace to 
those under our care. Notice in Deuteronomy 4, this 
is the danger of idolatry and the consequences associated with 
it. Verse 7, For what great nation 
is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is 
to us, for whatever reason we may call upon him? This is an 
exhortation, or this is what they are supposed to be as Israel. 
When they go into the land, the pagans around them ought to see 
them, ought to see their light shining, and then scratch their 
heads and say, what kind of a nation is this? It's amazing what kind 
of laws they have, and a God who is there for them. Notice 
in verse 8, And what great nation is there that has such statutes 
and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before 
you this day? Now, here is the warning. Here 
is the prohibition. Here is the dangers and consequences 
of idolatry. Only, verse 9, take heed to yourself. 
Diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes 
have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days 
of your life. and teach them to your children and your grandchildren. Notice, especially concerning 
the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb. That's 
Sinai. That's Exodus 19. That's when 
God, in a theophany, that means a visible presence of God, came 
on Sinai in thunder, in lightning, in cloud, in pomp, in glory, 
and in majesty. You see, one of the means, one 
of the helps for a father to maintain covenantal faithfulness 
to his God and to avoid the danger of idolatry is to instruct his 
children, to teach them about the things of God, to point them 
to Yahweh, to point them to the cross, to point them to the gospel, 
to urge upon them faith in him and repentance unto life. You 
see, Moses says one of the means by which you will not fall into 
idolatry is family religion. Family alters. Praying together, 
reading the scriptures, rehearsing the things of God, keeping it 
in the forefront. Specifically, the event at Horeb, 
specifically what happened at Sinai, you teach your children 
about the covenant, you teach your children about the law, 
you teach your children what God spoke at Sinai. It's not 
rocket science. It's not, I have to teach them 
how to do calculus and all those other things. No, you teach them 
the fear of the Lord. You teach them about Sinai, specifically 
here. It says, especially concerning 
the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when 
the Lord said to me, gather the people to me, and I will let 
them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the 
days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their 
children, that they may learn to fear God. That's the subject 
matter. That's what we are to bring them 
up. That is what they need to know. Deuteronomy, chapter six. Deuteronomy, chapter six, verse 
four here. Oh, Israel, the Lord, our God, 
the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your 
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your 
strength. And these words, which I command you today, shall be 
in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children 
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk 
by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up, you shall 
bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontless 
between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts 
of your house and on your gates. Primary responsibility for child 
instruction, father, dad, you. Church is supposed to supplement 
that. The church is supposed to preach. Church is supposed 
to educate you. The primary responsibility for 
the religious instruction of children is dad. Daddy, teach 
me the Bible. That's what Moses is saying to 
the people of God here. This is what Joshua is saying 
when he's calling for covenantal faithfulness. Bring your children 
to church, most certainly, to hear the gospel, to hear the 
preaching of the word, to hear the exposition of God's holy 
truth. You need to be teaching them. When you rise up, you walk 
by the way, when you lie down, it's not just seasons after supper, 
after supper, get the Bible up, get the hymn books out. Let's 
sing a couple of hymns. Let's read scripture. That's great. 
But you're walking at the zoo. Look at what God made. Look at 
that big giraffe. God made that. It's amazing, 
isn't it? Look at that big elephant. Who made that? Well, God made 
that, didn't he? You see, when you walk by the way, You're supposed 
to instruct, you're supposed to teach, you're supposed to 
inculcate a Christian worldview, a biblical worldview. That doesn't 
mean, OK, children, sit at your desk because I'm going to give 
you 15 points on what a biblical worldview looks like. Well, there 
might be time for that formal instruction, but a lot can be 
done walking in the zoo. A lot can be done walking in 
Stanley Park. A lot can be done walking down your street. A lot 
can be done in the daily pressures of life. A lot can be done when 
you have siblings. You teach, you instruct, you 
tell them what God's Word says. Six twenty, when your son asks 
you in time to come say, what is the meaning of the testimonies, 
the statutes and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded 
you? Then you shall say to your son, we were slaves of Pharaoh 
in Egypt and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with the mighty 
hand and the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes. 
Great and great and severe against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household. 
Then he brought us out from there that he might bring us in to 
give us the land of which we swore to our fathers. And I think 
there's something of that urgency when he teaches that. The son 
asks you, what does this mean, father? Well, you know, God brought 
us out of the land of Egypt. God brought us out of Egypt. 
We were slaves there. Pharaoh made us make bricks with 
no supplies. I saw my brother get wet. I saw 
them beaten. We were in oppression. We were 
in hard labor. And God brought us out. It was 
amazing, son. It was amazing, daughter. You 
should have seen. We came up to the Red Sea. We 
didn't think there was a way across. And all of a sudden, 
it opened up. Son, you know what it was like 
to walk through that? and to see the fish in the water 
and to have dry feet, then to get over to the other side and 
get into a position where we could watch the river. God poised 
us. God positioned us. God put us 
in such a place that when Pharaoh gave pursuit into that same pathway, 
God brings the water upon them. Sounds great. Amazing. If the event at Sinai must be 
proclaimed to our children, then as Christians in the New Covenant, 
the event at Calvary must be proclaimed. Son, I was dead in 
trespasses and sins. I was in bondage. I worshipped 
the crack pipe, or I worshipped sex, or I worshipped whatever. 
Now, be obviously mindful of what you tell your four-year-old. 
But children, this is where I was, and God reached out and saved 
me. That's who the Lord is. The gospel is amazing. Christ 
came into this world, sinners to save. He didn't come to call 
the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Son, look at Christ. Daughter, look at Christ. See 
what he does at Calvary. He's not there as an example. 
He's not there just to melt your heart. He's not there just to 
sway your emotions. He's there dying for your sins. He's there being raised for your 
justification. He's enthroned with the right 
hand of the majesty on high to aid you in your times of temptation. Teach them the events connected 
with Calvary. If old covenant children were 
to be taught about Sinai, certainly new covenant children are taught 
about Sinai and Calvary. You see, that's the subject matter. 
That's how we serve the Lord. That's what differentiates us 
from the moralists, from the humanists, from the Mormon, from 
the Jehovah's Witness, from anybody that does good things. We're 
not simply trying to modify behavior. We are urging our children to 
flee to Christ for salvation. That's what differentiates Christians. 
It's the gospel of free and sovereign grace. It is the new birth. It is regeneration. It is the 
power of God. And then the disposition necessary, 
finally, is what we found already in Joshua chapter 24. He says 
it in verse 14. Now, therefore, fear the Lord. Serve him in sincerity and in 
truth. Serve him in sincerity and in 
truth. Bring up your children in this 
disposition. You see, Joshua, when he said, 
but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. He didn't 
just gather them together and just sort of go through rote 
lessons. He did it in sincerity before God. He did it in truth. 
He was committed to the long haul. He was committed to their 
well-being. There's something, dear brothers 
and sisters, that is infectious about a living faith. We can't 
create that faith in them to be sure, but we can certainly, 
by God's grace, promote and provoke a jealousy in them to flee to 
the Lord Jesus Christ. That is legit. Paul in Romans 
chapter 11 says that this partial hardening of the Jews, this calling 
of the Gentiles was to provoke Israel to jealousy. Do that. You know what it's like to be 
saved, to have your sins forgiven, to be cleansed in the blood of 
the Lamb? Never let the events of Sinai and Calvary go undealt 
with in your homes. Teach them law. Teach them gospel. Teach them gospel. Teach them 
gospel. Teach them gospel. Teach them 
law. Teach them about the cross of 
Christ. Teach them all that God has commanded us. And again, 
not so they can be little, arrogant, proud theologians. Mommy taught 
me what supralaxarianism is. Get out of here. Keep your kids 
that way, praise God. That's great. So that's not what 
Moses says, that he's enjoying the teach. Teach them the events 
associated with Sinai. As New Covenant believers, teach 
them the events associated with Calvary. Now, therefore, he said, 
verse 23, put away the foreign gods which are among you and 
incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel. Incline your heart. It's not just the External, it's 
not just outward, it's not just what we do out there, but it 
is a heart, it is a whole soul commitment to the God of heaven 
and earth. Well, those are some thoughts 
with reference to Joshua 24, 15. As for me and my house, we 
will serve the Lord. It's a great resolution for us 
as men to renew as we enter into a new year. It's a great resolution 
for you ladies to renew as you enter into a new year. It's a 
great resolution for you children to consider. Who will you serve? Is it going to be the gods of 
Egypt, the gods of Canaan, or is it going to be Jehovah? It's 
going to be the Lord God Almighty, the one who made you, the one 
who sustains you, the one who feeds you, the one who gives 
you water, the one who gives you all things necessary for 
life. and health and happiness. Is it that God, if ye then come 
to Christ, believe on him and you will be saved. That is a 
promise from the scripture. That is a promise from God himself. 
All those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will have everlasting 
life. Well, let us pray. Father, thank 
you for your word and thank you for the example of Joshua in 
this chapter, and we pray that you would Forgive us, Lord, forgive 
me for my sins, and I pray that you would cleanse each of us 
in the blood of the land. Help us to take these things 
to heart. Help us to pray them in. Help us to think in terms 
of your law, in terms of your gospel. We pray that you would 
just cause us to rejoice in the blessings that you have poured 
out upon us. Help us, Lord God, in our homes and our families 
to truly reflect the love of Christ and to truly demonstrate 
what Christianity looks like. We just ask that you would go 
with us now. We pray that you would fill us with your Holy 
Spirit. Watch over us in this coming week. And we pray through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.