The Church and the Next-Week 3

We talked last week about how we’re a church that’s laser focused on reaching the lost. Being full of people who didn’t know Christ and now do.

But there’s one more thing about being a church that’s meant to be carried on generation to generation, century to century. That’s meant to endure through the ages.

And here’s the hard part.

It’s not us

Now, don’t get me wrong. One day, we’ll die, and we’ll be with the Lord in perfect paradise for eternity. in THAT sense, we’re sticking around, for sure.

But the work God is doing on earth. One day - we’re gonna leave it behind. Maybe that’s the day we die (LORI GIBBONS), and maybe our health goes and we need to pass it on, or maybe God calls us to sit back, put up our feet, and take it easy.

But one day - the work’s not going to be our work anymore.

The church is about passing on the torch to the next generation

God made it this way so that the church doesn’t die when we do. That the body grows new cells, new life, and keeps thriving.

What is the ‘next generation’?

Most of the time, we’re talking about younger people here. But really, the truth is:

The next generation is whoever God has next to continue His work

Because sooner or later - we can’t.

But the next generation is that next set of people who have decided to give their hearts to Jesus.

Now, let’s be clear.

God’s heart and focus is drawn towards younger people

young people are definitely going to drive the growth of this church and every church.historically, 80% of people who have come to faith in the lord made that commitment between the age of 8-14. God’s heart is for the young, and it’s obvious that God’s focus is on reaching the young.

And we have to make sure that we do right by whoever is next - because they’re the future hope of our church.

We have two big jobs from God.

It’s our job to raise up the next generation

Psalm 145:3–4 NIV

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.

This is how God designed it to go. It’s not a single person’s job to raise up the next generation. It’s all of us. Some of us are a lot more specifically focused on it than others - but every one of us has a part to play in that.

That’s part of the reason why God designed all the festivals he did for israel - not that they could be constantly doing things, but rather, that the generations would have mechanisms to pass on memories. That they’d be focused on teaching the next generation about God’s goodness, and what He’s done.

And especially as we get older - the cry of our heart needs to be about passing on the torch, raising up the next generation.

Psalm 71:15–18 NIV

My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long— though I know not how to relate them all. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone. Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.

And for sure, there’s a lot involved in this process. There’s teaching, and correction. Passing on wisdom and experience.

But

The next generation needs to see us praise

There’s no more powerful way to show God to the next generation than by setting him up a throne of praise, and inviting him to come in and have a seat.

And this is more than our worship style. We’re not going to instill this sense of awe in the next generation with music or a program to begin with.

The best thing we can do for the next generation is show them a people who are fantastically in love with God every single day.

But it’s not enough to equip the next generation. God’s got another job.

It’s our job to comission the next generation to lead us forward

You can learn a lot about this by reading through 1st and 2nd Timothy.

STORY - Paul was advancing in age. He comissioned Timothy to continue his work.

2 Timothy 4:1–2 NIV

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

So Paul here basically says - I comission you in the very presence of God, and I give you this job - take the wheel.

This tells us something about the nature of God’s work and the Gospel in the world.

We need to recognize that

The church is not a static picture - it’s a changing story

passed down generation to generation.

The Story of God in israel wasn’t one of God raising up abraham. It was one of God raising up abraham. And then giving him a child. Then Seeing his line expand into a family of brothers. Who grew into a nation in slavery that God rescued in powerful ways. Then giving them land. Then a kingdom. It goes on and on and on.

But God’s story continues to move, and grow, and expand through every generation.

God raised up some of us to be leaders. We stand up, and do what God tells us to do. But then - we get older. Our hands can’t do what they used to.

And the way God’s always intended it to go is that we take this mantle of leadership, and pass it to the next generation.

And this isn’t a sad thing - it’s an amazing thing. We get to see God take another life, and build it up. We get to see God do new things and amazing things in other people.

We got to see God do amazing things through us. And next, God’s given us the great priviledge of being able to watch someone else do it again.

We get to see transformation, new life, new beginnings, all of these amazing things. We get to see more of God in new ways. That is wonderful.

So how do we learn to pass on that mantle?

Be a Compass Rather than a GPS

And the truth is - this is how WE have developed ourselves. We don’t have a strict set of rules and checkboxes that we follow every day.

Maturity in faith is about developing your own compass. Being able to tell if you’re facing the right direction when things aren’t so clear.

And this is something the next generation needs. They need to develop that internal sense of being able to tell where the Spirit is. Not saying that they have no idea - saying that this compass is one of the most important things we can pass down.

And we can give them all the answers we’ve already learned (The spirit shows up when you do this specific thing, or sing that specific song). Or we can teach them how to discover it for themselves.

Be a Cheerleader rather than a Corrections Officer

Corrections officers are all about setting strict rules and making sure you don’t break them.

Cheerleaders are about celebrating the wins, even if there’s mistakes or failures.

We worship the God who’s forgiven us more than we ever could have possibly deserved. We have made more mistakes than we care to imagine. And yet God is still there for us, every single day, right by our side.

Being a cheerleader is about recognizing that the next generation has already had all of their faults, failures, and weakneses covered by the blood of Jesus on the cross.

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This is the last in our series about what it means to be church. And the big question is this - why does this matter? Why do we need to take a step back, and refocus?

God has a plan across all history - and we’re a part of it

This idea of church, it’s bigger than us. It came for thousands of years before us, and it’ll last thousands of years after us.

God hasn’t called us to do the highest thing or the last thing. We haven’t been tasked with putting the capstone on the pyramid. We’re just the next block. And after we’ve placed our block, it’s our job to take the next group and teach them how to find their block.

And at the end of days, when we stand with the Lord - we will have been a part of building up the bride of Christ.

There’s this amazing worship song called ‘Holy (Wedding Day)’ by City Harmonic.

This is the story of the Son of God Hanging on the cross for me

But it ends with a bride and groom And a wedding by a glassy sea

O death where is your sting Cause I'll be there singing Holy Holy Holy Is the Lord

This is what we’re working towards. Not just here. We are the bride of Christ, and one day, we’ll stand before the Lord. That day is the victory.

You’re welcome to join with us in this great story

Romans 8:38–39 NIV

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We don’t aim to be a church that does nice things randomly once a week. We’re part of an amazing story, God working through all of human history, building up generation after generation into His bride. And that one day, He’ll come back in power and glory and build an eternal throne here on earth and we’ll be with him forever.

We want to invite you to be a part of this journey.