A Generational Church
Notes
Transcript
13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
One of the things that has been tragically lost in this modern age is the generational mindset.
We are so consumed with ourselves we spend little time thinking about the impact we will have on the next generation.
The question isn’t “will you have an impact on the next generation?”
It is “what kind of impact will you have on the next generation?”
Problem:
We lack the patience and self sacrifice that many had before us to give of ourselves towards a goal that we will never see accomplished in our lifetime.
Our forefather’s were not like this.
They gave up everything to create a better future for their children and their children’s children, of which you and I continue to reap the benefits of their sacrifice.
My hope and prayer for this message is that God might use it to recover a generational mindset in His Church.
I believe this to be the most critical task of the church today.
The God of the Bible is a generational God.
6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
2. Our faith was always intended to be a generational faith.
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
3. Our decisions have generational consequences.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
We have two examples of men in Scripture that we can learn from.
One who understood the importance of having a generational mindset and one who did not.
Both were kings. Both were godly, righteous kings, who loved and served God.
One passed that on to his son and one did not. The consequences were detrimental.
The first is David.
9 “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. 10 Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it.”
20 Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.
For all that David may have gotten wrong in his life, in this he did well.
In spite of all his faults and failures, David effectively passed on the faith to his son Solomon.
Never underestimate God’s ability to use broken people to make a generational impact.
The second is Hezekiah.
3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, 6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.”
Hezekiah like David was not a perfect man, he made mistakes, but he was quick to repent when he did wrong.
He was a man of prayer.
He was a godly man.
But here is where he gets it so wrong.
13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.
25 But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem.
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 18 And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”
What was Hezekiah’s sin?
Hezekiah had a Me-tality.
The consequences of Hezekiah’s sin are passed on to his son. Just as God promises that it will be.
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.
We are always only one generation away from losing the faith that we have worked so hard to preserve and protect.
What is set in motion through Manasseh would continue for 100 years until the Israelites returned from exile and really they never would recover from the evil that was done in this one generation.
25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him. 26 Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.
I know these things are hard to hear because we live in such an individualistic society.
The Me-tality is alive and well in America today.
But this is a mistake we can not afford to make.
The enemy is after our children and we better start standing in the gap for them because the consequences of doing nothing will effect our children for generations to come.
Whatever mistakes you may have made in the past, it isn’t too late to become the man or woman of God that He created you to be.
Our children need you.
This next generation needs you.
What sacrifices are you willing to make, even if you never get to see it come to pass?
What sin are you willing to lay down, not just for you but for your children, and for your children’s children?
Ask God to restore to us a generational mindset.
