Joshua 11:15 As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.
THESIS: To show that spiritual success is a matter of placing biblical commands over personal convenience.
INTRO:
A. I am going to attempt to share with you the formula for spiritual success in your life and the formula for God’s richest blessings. It is a simple matter of doing the right thing in the right order. It is a matter of placing biblical commands over personal convenience. Moses and Joshua found this spiritual secre t and it is revealed in the Scripture text above.
B. If you will check all the spiritually successful men and women in the Bible you will find this formula active in their lives. This success is available to every believer, but it is contingent on obeying the commands of God, not living your life out of convenience.
ILLUS.: On this subject Dr. Jack Hyles once said that there are six things which we must be aware of in life which will determine our success or lack of it:
1. Life is too short to do all we are supposed to do or would like to do.
2. That means that some things must be left undone.
3. Most people leave the important things undone and do the less important things. (For example, it is easier to watch the news on TV than to read your Bible; it is easier to mow the lawn, clean a room or work on the car, than to go soul-winning.)
4. It is the little things which clamor for our attention. (Little things fight for your time, the big things do not. You may have a cancer growing in your body but a splinter in your finger will demand your immediate attention; the roof may need repaired on your house, but it is the mouse in your house that demands your action, etc.)
5. The important things must be done on purpose; you must be disciplined and live by schedule. The trivial things will be done because of demand, the important things will be done because of character, discipline and duty.
6. Show me what you leave undone and I will tell what kind of a Christian you are and whether you are successful or unsuccessful, victorious or defeated.
C. There are some things in the Bible God would like us to do. He would like us to manifest the spiritual fruit of Galatians 5:22,23. He commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. There are other things we are commanded to do. Spiritual success or failure is determined by whether we do the suggested things or the commanded things. Good people are often failures because they do the convenient instead of the commanded things. Many women fail at being good wives, or men at being good husbands, or children or teens at being good sons or daughters based on this lack of priorities.
I. BE A SUCCESSFUL WIFE AND MOTHER:
A. Principle: A Command Supersedes a Request
1. Proverbs 31 speaks about a beautiful and hard-working wife and mother, but there are no commands for women there.
2. Proverbs 31 is important and gives a pattern for women, but it is not as important as Eph. 5:22 which says: “Submit yourselves unto your own husbands…” which IS a command.
a. Remember the text: “(Joshua) left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded.”
b. God doesn’t command ladies to teach a Sunday School class or sing solos in church, but He does command them to submit to their husbands.
ILLUS.: Amen, men?! (Your turn is coming soon!) I can just hear the ladies saying: “Oh me! I knew he was going to go there.” And the reason many of your are having trouble in your home is because you prefer convenience over commands! Your marriage is having problems because you prefer to do your own thing instead of what God commands.
B. Principle: A Command Supersedes a Suggestion
1. There is nothing wrong with a lady doting on her children, but her primary mission is to be a help-meet for her husband and to “reverence” her husband. (You say, “What does ‘reverence’ mean?” What you aren’t doing!!!)
2. God didn’t look down from heaven and see a baby that needed a diaper changed, He looked down and saw a man that needed a woman to be a help-meet to her husband and to love him.
ILLUS.: Jack Hyles tells how young men would come and ask what they should look for in a wife. “Should I look for a good church worker?” “No,” he would say, “hire an assistant.” “Should I choose someone who is a good pianist?” “No, hire a pianist.” “Should I look for someone who can sing solos?” “No, buy a tape.” “What should I look for then?” “Find somebody who can smooch (but don’t practice till after marriage!)” My wife has made it her priority to love me and please me. That’s what she lives for. She does it to obey God’s command to be in subjection to me and love me.
John R. Rice and his wife were riding in a car and she asked “John R, do you love me?” “Yes Lloys, I love you." She asked “Why do you love me?” He said “Because God told me to.” She said “That doesn’t turn me on.” He said, “Yeah, and it won’t turn me off, either.” Their marriage lasted all their lives because they both decided to obey God’s command.
II. BE A SUCCESSFUL HUSBAND AND FATHER:
A. Principle: A Command Supersedes a Desire:
1. There is nothing in the Bible about men buying their wives flowers, but there is a command for husbands to love their wives.
2. There is nothing in the Bible about fathers taking their boys fishing or their girls on a date, but there is a command for dads to rear their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
3. There is a command for husbands and dads to be the spiritual head of their home and teach their families the Bible and take them to church, discipline them, and train them.
ILLUS.: You say “Porn, TV, video games, Hollywood, the internet, and rock music are destroying America and our homes.” But what is destroying our homes is that moms and dads, husbands and wives follow convenience instead of commands. Joshua is the man who declared: “As for me and my house , we will serve the Lord.” It also says of him: “He left nothing undone that the Lord commanded.”
B. Principle: A Command Supersedes a Convenience:
Eph. 6:4 "And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." This is a command!
1. Here you have a ballgame and over here you have a Bible command – which should you do with your son, dad? Do both if possible, but do the commanded thing if you must choose.
2. We need a revival of dads who are more than pals and buddies to their kids, we need a generation of dads who obey God and teach their kids God’s Word.
NOTE: It is good to take your boy hunting, fishing, to ballgames, or to take your daughter on a date for ice cream or a Big Mac, etc., but it is imperative to teach them God’s Word, because that is a command.
III. BE A SUCCESSFUL SON OR DAUGHTER:
A. Principle: A Command Supersedes a Goal:
1. Maybe your goal as a teen is to be an honor student and become a doctor.
ILLUS.: I see bumper stickers that say “My son is an honor student at Evolution High School.” I like the one that says “My son beat up your honor student!” :) You should seek to be your best and do your best in school, but more important is to be your best for God and obey Him, which means obeying your parents! It is more important for you to obey and honor your mom and dad than to be an honor student.
2. Maybe your goal is to marry that handsome guy or that beautiful girl; it should be to honor the Lord by the mate you choose to share your life with.
B. Principle: A Command Supersedes Your Talent or Gift:
Eph. 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Col. 3:20a Children, obey your parents in all things..."
Eph. 6:2a Honour thy father and mother..." These are commands!
1. It is great that you use your gift or talent to honor the Lord, but the most honoring thing you can do is to honor your parents.
2. When you disobey your parents you are disobeying God; your dad is God’s deputy and has been placed in your home to represent God.
a. Obedience to authority is required of every believer and without it you can never please God.
b. Check the lists of sins in the Bible and right in the middle of drunkenness and homosexuality and adultery is “disobedient to parents!”
CONCLUSION: Success in life, in the ministry and in the home is based on priorities and principles! As a pastor I was not commanded to conduct funerals, weddings, youth rallies, etc., but I was commanded to study the Word, preach and teach the Word and pray and go soul-winning. My success or failure is not based on the size of the crowd I preach to, or the nice facilities I was instrumental in building, but my obedience to God’s commands. So is yours!
We need revival! It must being in the home. It must begin in your heart. It must begin with obedience to commands in the Bible, not convenience in our schedule. It must begin with Bible priorities, now worldly schedules. It must being with a positive response to God’s Word, not the fads, fashions and failures of worldly principles.
Wives need to be affectionate and genuinely love their husbands. Husbands must love, protect and sacrifice for their wives. Children and teens must obey their parents and other authority in their lives.
THAT’S REVIVAL! We must ask:
“IS IT A COMMAND OR A CONVENIENCE?”
AS GOES THE HOME,
SO GOES THE CHURCH,
AND
AS GOES THE CHURCH,
SO GOES THE NATION
