Scripture focus: Joshua 3:7
Disclaimer: Please forgive any typographical, grammatical, and/or content errors in the following notes. They are not meant to be an exact transcription, but rather a helpful guide for those who appreciate the written word along with the spoken word. If you have any questions on what was taught, feel free to reach out on our ‘Contact Us’ page.
Fatherhood is discipleship. You can be a spiritual father to someone who isn’t your biological child. Those relationships are just as much a gift. Paul tells Timothy, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:1-2). Timothy was expected to pass Paul’s teaching along to the next generations. From scripture we know almost nothing about Joshua’s biological father, Nun. However, we know a whole lot about his spiritual father Moses. Their relationship was at least 40 years.
Joshua 3:7 – The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.”
The Hebrew word for exalt means to elevate, to lift up and glorify. Isn’t it usually the other way around? Us giving glory to God? Yes, but another place in scripture where God exalts someone is Jesus. In John 17:1 it says, “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you…” The word for glorify is the same meaning as in Joshua 3. Generally speaking the Lord will bring esteem, weight, and glory for one purpose only and that is to bring glory back to Himself. That in a nutshell is what fatherhood is about. Our heavenly Father is doing a work in our life growing and maturing so we can look more like Jesus so that as we grow we lift him up and in the hearts and minds of people around us who we have the privilege of pointing to the King. That is what fathers and mothers are called to do with our biological and spiritual kids – anyone who the Lord has given us influence in their lives. Perhaps this is in your business, neighborhood, or schools.
Matthew 28:18-20 says, “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
What stops us from being disclemakers? We can boil it down to one word – pride. This manifests itself in two ways:
1) Selfishness – We can all relate to the hard work it takes to be a parent – the sacrifice and willingness to set aside self. It’s exhausting and draining. Selfishness often disguises itself as laziness. How many of us have thought, “It’s just easier for me to do it myself.” Training someone else and giving opportunities to others is hard work! This is the work of discipleship. A common excuse is ‘I don’t have anyone to disciple.’ Build relationships and over time inevitably we will be able to pour into each other.
2) Fear – It’s a scary thing to have the responsibility over someone, especially when those in your care mess up. A common excuse is ‘I’ve never been discipled so I don’t know how to do it.’ This is a fair point. What are you doing to be discipled yourself? You’re doing the work if you find any person to share Jesus with that knows less than you. If you’re afraid of what they’ll think of you we need to be mindful to push this aside because it will prevent growth. 1 Corinthians 1:11 says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” God will give us everything we need to disciple.
Fathers, there is no one on this planet who will shape their children’s view of their heavenly Father. Knowing this, men, we have a tremendous responsibility to treat this with extreme care and intentionality. By God’s grace we have the spirit within us to walk through that. The opposite of pride is humility. This is key. When we mess up we need to model humility to our kids. Rather than beating ourselves up and being trapped in a cycle of shame, grow through it and make your faith a top priority. Our culture will try to make you busy with The choice is yours whether you allow your family to be overwhelmed by the pressures of this world and for idols to be made in your children’s lives. Are you passing on generational sin or blessing? Humility overcomes this. Recognizing strongholds and inviting the Lord to break them is a choice. Orient everything around your pursuit of Christ. Build relationships with brothers and sisters, keep your family in the Word and worship and the rewards will be eternal.
Moses wasn’t a perfect man, but he was a godly man who showed how to pursue the Lord and how to humbly admit when he was wrong. Joshua saw pursuit in Moses’s life. Most likely Joshua had a lot of doubt and fear about his ability to lead, just judging by the amount of times he was told not to fear.
Our call is to make disciples and Christ is our head. Jesus opened the way to have real relationship with our heavenly Father and prayed for us “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”