Three Chairs of Faith 1

The Three Chairs of Faith

Joshua 24-Judges 2

I) Introduction

A) Suppose you met the son of a very Godly man you had admired at a distance for years.

1) You make your way across to greet him and ask how it was to grow up in such a fine Christian home.

2) He meets your question with cold steel eyes and says, "I hate God, I hate my father, and I hate religion!"

3) With that he turns and walks away.

4) Is that the kind of response you would have expected from the son of this very Godly man?

5) What caused this young man to make such terrible statements?

6) What could that father have done to change the way his son viewed God?

B) Let's look at the generational principle and how it relates to these 3 chairs of faith.

1) Let's suppose you attend your parents 50th wedding anniversary.

2) At this anniversary you find 3 distinct generations.

(a) Your parents who were raised in hard times.

(b) You who were raised in the plenty as the economy screamed success.

(c) Your children who are spoiled by the excesses of leisure.

3) Look at the so called progress of these 3 generations.

(a) your parents grew up on a farm in a small rural community.

(i) They knew everyone and everyone knew them.

(ii) They had a complete life there in that same community.

(iii) Your parents knew of one or 2 friends who divorced.

(b) Now look  at your generation.

(i) Your community was somewhat split.

(1) You live in one place and commute to work 30 miles away.

(2) Your church is in one community while you live many miles from it in another.

(3) your family lives some distance away so that you can in reality be 3 or more separate people.

(ii) Compare the divorces among your friends roughly 25% have divorced.

(iii) You were influenced by TV and shows like I Love Lucy & Leave It to Beaver

(c) Look at your children

(d) They communicate with total strangers on the Internet.

(e) They have less than a 50% chance of remaining married.

(f) They were influenced by hours of time spent in the shopping mall, watching MTV, & HBO while talking on the cellular phone.

4) Is that progress?

C) Look at the generations and their focus

1) Your parents were focused on family-that is what they were taught.

2) Your generation focused on work and the stuff work earned you.

3) Your children focus totally on self-the stuff that makes self happier.

4) What does this have to do with 3 chairs of faith? everything.

D) Your parents sat in the First chair of Faith because of their difficulties in the depression.

E) You sat in the second chair of faith where you heard of your parents experiences with God and that was enough for you.

F) But your children sit in the 3rd chair of "unfaith" because they have never seen nor heard of your experiences with God because you have had none.

G) Back to your Godly man

1) Was he responsible for his son's view of God?

2) Yes to an extent.

3) Are you responsible for your Child's view of God?

4) Yes to an extent.

(a) Deuteronomy 6:4-7

Deuteronomy 6:4–7 NASB 95

4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is 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 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons 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 up.

(b) Teaching our children is the responsibility of the parent.

H) So what does that have to do with faith?

I) That is what we will see this morning.

Pray

II) The First Chair, Joshua (Joshua 24:1-15; 29-31)

A) Joshua the man of faith.

1) Earlier in Joshua’s life

(a) We see him telling Israel that with God they could defeat the Canaanites.

(b) He and Caleb are standing against 10 other spies who believe it impossible to take the land of Canaan.

2) Joshua then becomes the next ruler of Israel.

(a) Joshua leads Israel to victory after victory.

(b) Joshua is a man you lives by his faith in God.

3) God is real and a personal friend of Joshua.

(a) Someone he walks with.

(b) Someone he talks with daily if not more often.

B) Joshua knew God first hand or he could never have challenged the nation as he did in ...

Joshua 24:14–15 NASB 95

14 “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

1) Through his faith he could see the short comings of those around him.

2) He challenged them to serve his God.

C)       Joshua's generation had experienced the God of heaven in their lives.

1) They did not have to be told of God.

(a) They were there when God fed them with manna

(b) They were there when water came from the rock.

(c) They were there when the Jordan river parted and they walked across on dry land.

2) They knew his power first hand.

(a) They were there when the walls of Jericho fell.

(b) They were there when the nations were defeated.

III) The Second Chair, The Elders (Joshua 24:16-28 Judges 2:7)

A) Compare

1) First Chair Joshua 24:31

Joshua 24:31 NASB 95

31 Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

2) Second Chair

Judges 2:7 NASB 95

7 The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

B) The difference

1) First Chair knew the works of the Lord yada`(yaw-dah'); a primitive root; to know(properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.) [as follow]:

2) Second Chair only saw the works of the Lord.

(a) ra'ah (raw-aw'); a primitive root; to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative):

(b) They were told of how God had led them to victory after victory.

(c) They were told of the greatness of God who delivered them from the evil Egyptians.

C) When it came time to depend upon God they lacked the necessary trust.

1) Judges 1:1-2 They were given the task of cleaning the land of all the Canaanites.

2) but they failed. 1:27 leaving Canaanites living among themselves.

3) v.35 When they finally got strong they still did not destroy these nations but forced them to become slaves.

D) The second Chair knows of God but they do not have a relationship with God.

1) That is where so many Christians are today.

2) We depend upon the experiences of our parents.

3) We have been told of the love of God and how he can change our lives.

4) But we have never really experienced it.

5) So we begin to compromise with the world around us just as the elders of Israel compromised with the Canaanites around them.

(a) We can't destroy them so we will enslave them.

(b) So they live to influence the way God’s people worship.

(c) How has the world around you influenced you?

(i) Is it ok for the government to provide support for those that God brings to our church?

(ii) Have we come to believe that the work of the church is to be done by the Pastor?

E) Second Chair Christians know God but are heavily influenced by the world. (notice the generational differences.

1) Parents-influenced by the family and local community.

2) Our generation-influenced by work and those who can help us.

3) Our children-influenced by what can help them alone.

IV) The Third Chair, The Third Generation (Judges 2:10-23)

A) The Generation of "Unfaith" Judges 2:10

Judges 2:10 NASB 95

10 All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.

1) "Did not know the Lord"

2) "Did not know the work which he had done for Israel."

B) What does the third chair do?

Judges 2:12–13 NASB 95

12 and they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 So they forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

1) Judges 2:12 "They forsook the Lord"

2) Judges 2:13 they "served Baal and the Astaroth."

C) How can the third chair find itself not even knowing the Lord?

1) They were never even told of the Lord.

(a) These were the grand children of Joshua's generation.

(b) How could they not know the Lord?

(c) They simply were never told

2) The second Chair has no experiences to tell to the third chair person.

(a) Every time the subject came up the parents (2d chair) were embarrassed that they had no experiences to tell.

(b) Because they themselves had no relationship with God.

3) The 2d chair thinks relationship is Sunday Worship or doing good or being good people.

(a) The 3rd chair sees the second chair for the hypocrites they are.

(b) So your children see your hypocrisy and reject God altogether.

(c) Think about that.

(d) When they reject God they begin to look for God in other areas.

(i) sometimes its education

(ii) other times its drugs or friends or popularity.

(iii) Could possibly be money or power or prestige.

D) But nothing takes the place of the God they rejected because of your hypocrisy.

Conclusion

A) The first Chair is saved.

B) The second Chair is religious.

C) The third Chair is lost.

D) What is the answer?

1) For everyone to become first chair Christians.

(a) Those 1st chair experiences lead your child into a first chair relationship

(b) But those 1st chair experiences cost.

2) If you hope to have first chair children or grand children you must have that first chair experience.

E) Next week we will learn better how to become first chair Christians.

F) Today make the commitment to become first chair Christians.

1) Don't leave your children floundering in unfaith

2) But lead them to 1st hand faith by your commitment to the Lord.

3) Make that commitment in your heart.

320 Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

1.    O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There's light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free!

Refrain: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace.

2.    Thro' death into life everlasting He passed, and we follow Him there; Over us sin no more hath dominion– For more than conq'rors we are! [Refrain]

3.    His word shall not fail you– He promised; Believe Him, and all will be well: Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell! [Refrain]