Good morning, CHURCH!

Welcome to FFM where we are here to connect people to the love of God through biblical teaching, loving community, and relational small groups.

(Church joke of the day)

Is there anyone here that has ever worked with young children?

You got to love the small kids.

They are so cute and there answers sometimes are so hilarious.

A Sunday school class was studying the Ten Commandments.

They were ready to discuss the last commandment.

Question?

Do any of you know what the 10th commandment is? (Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.)

The teacher asked if any of her students could tell her what the 10th commandment was?

A little girl, raised her hand, stood tall, and said boldly,

“Thou shall not take the covers off thy neighbor’s wife.”

Isn’t that just precious?

Are you ready to be equipped today?

Let me see your Bibles.

Let’s go to the book of Genesis 2:21-22 NLT for this week’s wisdom Vaccination.

Pray

Lord help us to see you in a new and fresh way through your word today.

Lord bring truth in places that we have believed a lie.

Lord help us to understand more and more how much you love us.

Lord let us encounter you through the lesson today. Amen!

Before God brings something new into your life, there is often a season we find ourselves in.

We often go through a dark place.

Often before a great job comes the loss of a job.

Sometimes before a relationship turns for the best it goes through a trying time.

For some people before true empathy for others comes they go through near death experiences.

In the book of Genesis Adam was so excited about the companion God brought to him, but before God brought him a companion he went through surgery.

This Week’s Wisdom Vaccination

Genesis 2:21-22 NLT

So, the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening.

22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.

And you’ll see this theme through scripture and in life that often before God positions us for where He wants us, He allows us to go through things that often get our attention and cause us to change.

Often times before we find ourselves in a new season of life, there is a sort of death and in the Bible sleep can also represent death.

And after death, trials, suffering, the new comes.

We also so this in Genesis 15.

Genesis 15:12-14 NLT

As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.

Talk about suffering.

But after the suffering burns out of them what needs to be killed!

14 But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end, they will come away with great wealth.

God often works things out of us when we find ourselves in dry and dark places.

God can do amazing things in and through us in what appears to be disaster to us.

If you’ve ever wondered does God work through suffering, the answer is a resounding yes.

But I’m reminded of the lyrics to a song by Rev. Timothy Wright.

“I’m so glad - troubles don’t last always.”

Let’s get into today’s message.

I am in a series titled:

Unbelieving Believers wk.3

Last week I answered the question, what is a Biblical worldview.

Having a biblical worldview, we define as believing that absolute moral truth exists, that it is based upon the Bible, and consists of six core beliefs.

-The accuracy of biblical teaching

-The sinless nature of Jesus

-The literal existence of Satan

-The omnipotence and omniscience of God

-Salvation by grace alone

-The personal responsibility to evangelize

Today’s message title is:

Why should I read the Bible?

Here at FFM we are fortunate that young people are coming to God and following God.

Our largest demographic is probably the millennials. (24–39-year-olds)

If we were to look at this demographic in society, they have grown up in a far different world than those of us 50 and older.

There used to be a time in society that the parents of the home were without question the biggest influence on a child’s life and belief system.

But with the millennials that’s not always the case.

With many of them there biggest influences have come from sources other than their parents.

Media is the larger influence in the way millennials think today.

(That can be television media, social media, other kids on the bus or the playground when they were in school, friends via text messaging and more.)

All of which have their origin of influence in media more than God.

Let’s look at some of the research on how millennials are thinking today.

1st. Non-Christian Millennials views about the Bible.

45% think the Bible is just another book of teachings and advice written by men.

Only 27% feel it’s inspired by God.

19% say it’s an outdated book for today.

27% say it’s a dangerous book of religious dogma used for centuries to oppress people.

They mostly subscribe the Bible to be stories, mythology, symbolic, fairy tales and historical, versus it being Divine, sacred, revelation, facts and infallible.

(descriptive vs prescriptive)

But there was some good news to the survey.

2nd. Christian Millennials have a high view of the Bible.

96% believe the Bible contains everything we need to know to live a meaningful life.

96% also believe the Bible is inspired by God himself.

71% believe the Bible is where you find absolute moral truth.

55% even rank Bible reading more important than church attendance.

Practicing Christian Millennials hold the Bible in the highest priority in their faith.

This is encouraging!

But what is discouraging is that of the millennials poled, only 19% consider themselves to be these practicing Biblical followers.

That means there is 80% of a generation that we stand to lose if we don’t do something to change the game.

Many young people who grew up in the church are turning from the church and from following God once they are old enough to not be forced to go by their parents.

Question?

Why are we losing so many of them?

To sum up some of the research, the views that they are getting from media today contrast with the teachings of scripture and they are wrestling with what to believe and who to believe.

Another thing they are wrestling with is the exclusive nature of the Bible and Christianity.

This generation has been bombarded with tolerance, open-mindedness, and acceptance.

To follow the Bible forces, them to have to choose between their faith and their friends.

Finally, some of them feel that the church feels unfriendly to them if they have doubts about God and the Bible.

They don’t feel safe admitting that some things about the Bible and following God don’t make sense to them.

And a small percentage of them feel like their faith doesn’t help them with their depression or emotional problems.

Hello church are you listening?

We must find a way to connect with this unbelieving generation and show them the love of God.

One of the parts of the survey that stuck out to me was what influences non-Christian millennials towards the God of the Bible?

The answer was when they see someone who reads the Bible and follows God’s life change for the better.

It’s not the bible you quote it’s the bible you live

This should be a warning to everyone listening that loves people like God loves people.

I got 3 points today.

I’m not going to stay on points 1 and 2 but I will lean into point #3.

Point #1

To all my Millennials and even the Gen Z, you are not too young to start reading the Bible.

It is vitally important that you have someone close to you that can help you with the things that don’t come easy when reading the scriptures.

The more you know God from reading the Bible, the more you will desire him and the more you will be changed for the better.

Point #2

You are not too young to be used by God.

In 1 Samuel 3, God used a 12-year-old boy named Samuel.

Samuel was serving the Lord by assisting Eli the High Priest.

Samuel learned to hear the voice of God.

God used Samuel to warn Eli of what God was going to do to Eli and his family as a result of Eli not disciplining his sons for their foul behavior in the Temple.

To tell the High Priest some bad news from the Lord would have been a scary proposition.

But the young man was able to handle being used by God at such a young age.

Point #3

When you read the Bible and get to know God who absolutely loves and adores you it will benefit your life and draw others to God which will in turn benefit their lives.

This is how we will win some of those 80% who don’t follow God.

Let me tell you about some young men who followed God while the circumstances around them where not very conducive to following God.

These young men were thought to be teenagers at the time of this account by most theologians.

{Don’t put this on the screen until I reach verse 11-20}

Daniel 1:1-20 NLT

During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So, Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god. 3Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. 4 “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.”

5 The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service.

6 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. 7 The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names:

Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego.

8 But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.

What are the others in society out their doing that would be unacceptable for your God?

9 Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel.

10 But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”

11 Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

12“Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said.

13 “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.”

14 The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.

15 At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king.

By Daniel and his 3 friends doing it God’s way versus the worlds way it worked out better for them.

If you are listening to me right now I dare you to choose to live for God in spite of your surroundings and see won’t it work out better for you than for others in your same circumstances.

16 So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.

17 God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.

God made their minds sharper than the others.

God gave Daniel spiritual gifts that made him stand out.

18 When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar.

19 The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So, they entered the royal service.

People will wonder what it is about you that makes you stand out.

It’s that thing God puts on you that will make you seem more impressive than the others.

20 Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.

You might very well be robbing yourself of ten times more ability by not following God.

If you’re watching online or here in the building, I have a very important question to ask you.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you right now?