Text – Joshua 24: 14-15
INTRODUCTION
Praise the Lord my sisters and brothers! I thank the Lord for allowing us to come together on another Sunday morning; especially this one . . . Mother’s Day! We know that there will undoubtedly be many Sunday morning sermons directed to our Mothers today. I want to acknowledge all of our Mothers who are with us and those who have left ahead of us; thank you!
We have started a series of messages surrounding the qualifications of a Pastor. As we continue these messages, I want to point out that for those Mothers who have followed the LORD’S ideal plan for marriages; this message will have some special significance for you. Our text will be coming from Joshua 24: 14-15:
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15 (NIV)
I will be talking to you from the subject: “HE RULES HIS HOUSE WELL!” This not implying that a man is to be as a Slave Master over his house, but he is to be the leader of his house, and being the leader means that there will decisions that will have to made and he will not only be prepared to make decisions, but he will make them well. Let us look a little deeper into the text as we look a little deeper at this qualification.
POINTS – Moses had gathered all the people of the tribes of Israel, and he telling them what GOD had to say to them concerning their service to HIM.
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- “But as for me . . .” (v. 15) – As Moses was letting the people know that GOD was telling them to make a decision about serving HIM, he has already made a decision (expound).
- “. . . and my household.” (v. 15) – Take notice that Joshua made a decision about himself first. Joshua realized the importance of leading his household. This means that he must set the example and only then he will he be able to lead his household respectably.
- “We will serve the Lord!” (v. 15) – Joshua then showed that he and his household will be serving the LORD; there is no voting or family meeting; this was not a democratic process. This was the ruler of the household making a firm, but fair decision concerning his household (expound). Also take notice that Joshua didn’t say that they were going go to prayer meetings, go to Sunday school, go to church, or any other church function. Joshua said that they were going to “Serve the LORD!” This may have included all of those things, but he was making it plain that he and his household would be serving the LORD!
CONCLUSION
So you see Mothers; if you are a mother, there is also a father and child (ren). This means that you have a family, and the LORD has deemed that the husband be head of the family. One of the biggest problems with families today is that the mothers have been forced to stand in a position where the LORD does not intend for her stand. Many of our mothers are standing in places where the husbands should be standing. I know that sometimes situations dictate that a mother needs to stand where the father should be (and vice-versa), these are the exceptions to the rule; and often these role reversal parents do an excellent job.
But just as Joshua singled out all of the leaders of the tribes, the LORD has singled out His leaders; the leaders of the homes and the leaders of His people. The LORD requires that His leaders lead well. A leader can’t lead from behind, a leader can’t just point and tell the people where to go, and a leader can’t sit down and tell the people where to go; a leader who leads well will lead by example.
Joshua may have had the right to just tell his people what to do, but to lead well, to lead in such a way that he could demand and expect the respect of his people, he lead by example.