Rock Solid Family: The Power of a Declaration!
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Words are powerful! Talk is cheap? How can both be true?
Talk is cheap when the talk isn’t followed by the walk.
Words gain power when they are acted upon.
The Declaration of Independence
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…
The Declaration of Independence did what declarations are designed to do… align hearts, heads and hands towards a signal goal. A declaration sets resolve, unifies forces and directs action.
Satan wants neither stability or hope for you or your family. God wants and provides for both!
Joshua 24:15b (NIV) “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
God turns Egypt from a promise extinguisher into a promise incubator. Where you are is never a deterrent to where God can take you.
God always pairs a way out (deliverance) with a way in! He doesn’t deliver you from one thing to leave you to your own devices/resources in another. Don’t just trust God to get you out, trust God to get you in!
Joshua 1:2-9 (NIV) Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 24:14-15 (NIV) 14 “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.”
Declarations come from a deep place of personal experience. Joshua’s declaration was soaked in his experience
… as a slave to Pharaoh.
… as an apprentice Moses.
… as a frontline leader.
A declaration is not a flippant emotional rant, it is a thought out and determined announcement. A declaration is confident, forceful and attractional.
Joshua’s declaration was…
Anchored in God’s promises & presence. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Fueled by the results of his faith-filled courage. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
Secured in his obedient following. 7 Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.
What does Joshua’s declaration reveal about leadership as a role?
Ownership is Leadership.
Leadership is Servant-ship.
Joshua 24:14 (NIV) 14 “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.”
The Actions of a Declaration
Fear & Faithfulness.
Discard and Denounce.
Decisive Choice.
A family declaration doesn’t start the spiritual war over your family, you are already in the middle of one.
A family declaration isn’t going to end the war.
A family declaration will align your family’s heart, heads and hands for the spiritual fight. It will set resolve, unify forces and direct actions.
God wins every war.