"But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Jos. 24 !

"# $ntrodu%tion Great historical figures are often remembered for their powerful statements which we often quote: Give me liberty or give me death, by Patrick Henry in the days of the merican !evolution" #e have nothing to fear but fear itself, by $ranklin %elano !oosevelt in the dark days of the Great %epression" sk not what your country can do for you" sk what you can do for your country, by &ohn $" 'ennedy in his first inaugural address" (ne small step for man, one giant leap for mankind, by )eil rmstrong, the first man to set his feet on the surface of the moon" s for me and my house, we will serve the *ord, by &oshua on the plains of +hechem" $t is a Reali&ation ,f , say, s for me and my house, we will serve the *ord, , must reali-e that it begins with me" ,f it begins with me, what does it mean. / ns" ,t means , must lead the way"0 #here , am, what , am doing, or who , am privately will set up the stage where my kids would go in the days to come" ,f , watch questionable stuff on 12 late at night, for sure my kids will eventually do the same" 3ou might say, 4ut my kids don5t know, it6s absolutely secret7 but the question is, 8 re you sure.8 &esus said, 8#hat you do in secret the $ather sees"""8 /9att" :0" )ow, what will you do if you want your sons and daughters to be 4ible lovers. / ns" *ove the 4ible yourself" %evelop a 4ible;based devotional life personally and privately"0 #hat will you do as well if you want your kids to be pure. / ns" *ive in purity even in your secret life because what you do in secret will eventually impact the lives of your children or grandchildren"0 *ook at %avid, he was fearlessly waging war against evil7 it was part of his character and it was transferred to the men who spent time with him" 1hat6s why in his deathbed, he was surrounded by this group known as %avid5s mighty men7 the +cripture also records that they were giant; killers like him /< +am" <=0" (n the other hand, in the list of men who surrounded +aul, we find not one giant;killer because +aul, who was afraid to do battle with Goliath, never killed a giant himself" #hat about chan. ,f you may recall, his whole family paid the price of what he did in secret /&os" >0" man shared his testimony, saying he was a born;again ?hristian who en@oyed alcohol" (ne 1hanksgiving, the snow was falling, and, after the family celebration was over, he wanted something to drink" $inding his 1

liquor cabinet empty, he put on his hat, coat, and boots, and went outside to walk three blocks away to the liquor store" Halfway to his destination, he sensed that someone was following him" 1urning around, he saw his four;year;old son with his hat, coat, and boots on, struggling on every step, putting his feet in his father6s footprints" Hey, buddy, what are you doing. the father asked" %addy, ,5m @ust walking in your footsteps, his son proudly answered" nd in his mind he said, He5s walking in my footsteps, and ,5m going to the liquor store" ,s that what , want for my boy. ,mmediately, he turned around, went home with his son, and never drank again" #e should reali-e that kids and grandkids are looking up to us, we should lead them with good eAamples7 because, for better or worse, they5re following in our footsteps" $t is a 'ele(ration 1he 4ook of &oshua illustrates not only the +pirit;filled life, but also our +piritual &oshua, our *ord &esus ?hrist" He said in 9att" B<:CD, 8$or whoever does the will of 9y $ather in heaven is 9y brother and sister and mother" ,n other words, whoever does the will of His $ather is His family" %o you consider yourself a member of His family. / ns" 3es" #e are His family, we are His house, and He is our leader for we are called to do His $ather6s will"0 &esus served His $ather perfectly" 1hat gives us great hope because even when we mess up and miss the mark, we6re in the house of the (ne who never fails" Even if we are faithless, He will be faithful still /< 1imothy <:B=0" *et6s look at Peter as an eAample" Peter boasted, *ord, even though everyone else forsakes 3ou, , won5t7 he even said, ,5ll die beside you" 4ut by the time the rooster crowed, Peter had already denied &esus three times /&ohn BF0" fter &esus rose from the dead, He found Peter and said, %o you love 9e. Peter had denied Him three times and now &esus is giving him the opportunity to say three times, , love 3ou" &esus also said to him, $eed 9y lambs, as if to say, 1hough you messed up, you5re not disqualified" ,t5s a new day" 3our sin is forgiven /&ohn <B:BC0" +erving the *ord is really like a grand family celebration for we have a great leader of the house like our *ord &esus ?hrist" $t is a De%laration +ome men today would turn to their wives and say, #hat do you think, are we going to church today or not. re we attending the bible study. re we going to the prayer meeting. #e need to be like &oshua who will declare directly, powerfully and boldly that they will indeed serve the *ord" #as &oshua already a strong leader even from the start. / ns" )o, because after 9oses died, God told &oshua three times in chapter B to be 2

strong and very courageous" Even the people said, #e5ll follow you, &oshua" (nly be strong and very courageous /B:BF0" Evidently, &oshua needed eAhortation from the *ord and encouragement from the congregation"0 #e live in a day that when the going gets tough, men would frequently chicken;out" #hat do you think is the reason for this. / ns" 4ecause today, men want to be tender, sensitive, and politically correct" 4ut the 4ible says that we ought to be men who could say with strength and certainty, #e5re not going to back away, this is got to be the way"80 #hat do we mean by strong men. re we talking about arrogance and brutality here. / ns" )o, we are talking about men who will say their point with firmness and love" $or eAample: +on, , don5t care if everyone else has those posters on their walls, you5re not going to" , don5t care if everyone else is listening to those songs, they won5t be played in this house" , don5t care if everyone else watches every movie, you5re not going to"80 nd after saying all those things, how would you reason out if they tried to argue with you. / ns" 3ou will tell them further, 8 s long as you5re under my roof, ,5m responsible for you, and , care about you" , want the best to come your way, and , know those things will pollute and destroy you" lthough you might be angry with me, , care more about you than what you think of me"0 #hat do you notice about today5s parenting. / ns" ,t is rooted in selfishness because parents want their kids to like them7 but that5s not the goal" 1he goal is to raise your kids in the way that will be beneficial to them in the days to come and on to eternity"0 1he congregation of ,srael said to &oshua, #e5ll follow you, only be strong and of good courage" %o you think your family is saying the same thing to you today. / ns" 3es" #hether it is articulated or not, your family wants you to be strong and courageous" 1hey want you to hold the line spiritually"0 ,f you5re a single mom or married to a man who won5t take leadership, you need to step up and step in yourself" 3ou need to do what %eborah did in the (ld 1estament days" #hen 4arak, the general of ,srael5s army, don6t want to take the lead7 and %eborah said, ,f you won5t lead, then , will" nd she did" s a result, she goes down in history as an eAample of what a woman ought to do if a man won5t do the things he5s called to do" ,f there is no man to lead, the woman needs to step up and step in because the kids are too important" ,t is essential that they are trained properly by a loving parent who will say, s for me and my house, we will serve the *ord"

$t is an )*+e%tation *ike &oshua, #e will serve the *ord" , eApect this to be a reality" 9y wife and my kids will serve the *ord right beside me" 1he 4ible says that without faith it is impossible to please God /Hebrews 3

BB::0" 1herefore, dad, husband, or grandpa, you need to say, , have faith that God will do what He5s promised" #hat has God promised. He has promised that He who has begun a good work will be faithful to perform it /Philippians B::07 that He is able to keep that which is committed to Him /< 1imothy B:B<07 that if you train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old, he will not depart from it /Proverbs <<::0" 4elieve in the *ord &esus ?hrist, and thou shalt be savedGand thy house, Paul told the Philippian @ailer / cts B::=B0" ,n other words, ,f you believe, not only will you be saved, but in due time, your family will be saved, too" 1hat5s God5s heart" $or one hundred and twenty years, )oah pounded away on the ark, preparing it not only for the animals, but for his wife, three sons, and their wives, too" #hat ama-es me is that he prepared these rooms twenty years before his sons were even born" 1hat5s faithH 3ou can do the same thing, %ad and Grandpa" ,n faith we should say, , believe my family will indeed serve the *ord" , believe my kids won5t be wiped out and washed away, but that they5ll be on the ark of salvation" Have faith" 4elieve" ,t5s important because without faith, it5s impossible to please Him" 'on%lusion s for me and my house, we will serve the *ord" %eclare this for your own family" EApect it to be so" !eali-e that it begins with you" nd then break out in celebration thinking that heaven is where we will serve the *ord perfectly and eternally"