Building Generational Churches
Building Generational Churches
We must think in terms of generations
Characteristics of generational thinking
Developing generational thinking
Failing to build generationally
How to raise up sons
Related topics: Generation;
We must think in terms of generations top
· God called Abraham into a new inheritance (Hebrews 11:8)
o When Abraham was called he obeyed and went out to the place that he would receive as an inheritance
o God named changed his name Abram (“exalted father”) to Abraham (“father of a multitude”)
· Abraham walked in the land of his inheritance as in a foreign land (Hebrews 11:9)
o It is possible to be walking in the land of your inheritance without actually possessing it. Abraham started living in it as if it was his
o He dwelt in tents along with Isaac and Jacob who were heirs with him in the promise
· Abraham waited for a city (Hebrews 11:10)
o A city that had foundations
o A city whose maker and builder is God
o The land was not his as an inheritance until the stronghold cities had been brought down and until God’s city had been established
· Abraham died in faith in his generation without receiving the promise (Hebrews 11:13)
o Hebrews 11:13 (NKJV) “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
o They had not yet received the promise
o They had seen them afar off
o They were assured of them
o They embraced them
o They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth
· Abraham understood that God intended to fulfill His promise to Abraham through successive generations
· God gave Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each a part of His plan as outlined in their generation
· God plans things not only for our generation but for those that come after them
o Hebrews 11:39-40 (NKJV) “And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.”
· Each generation should build in such a way that the next generation can build on what the former generation has done rather than starting over (principle of inheritance)
· Each generation must have a vision that outlives itself.
· If my vision can be fulfilled in my lifetime, it is not generational, and therefore it is not big enough.
· As a rule, we have not been generational thinkers
o Moses prepared Joshua
o Elijah prepared Elisha
o Jesus prepared His disciples
o Paul prepared Timothy
· If the church had stayed generational in its thinking, the work might have been finished by now and Jesus might have returned.
· Our lives are short like a vapor (Psalm 39:5). Although my life is short, if I use it right, then I can impact generations to come.
Characteristics of generational thinking top
· A vision that is connected to past values
o Proverbs 22:28 (NKJV) “Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set.”
o What God is doing today is based upon what He began before us
o The covenant and vision of the fathers comes from God
o God told David what the house of God would look like (1 Chronicles 28:11). Solomon did not change his father’s plan because he would have changed God’s plan.
o God speaks to the fathers the boundaries of a work—not limitations but designations.
o God gets angry when people begin to remove the landmarks
o Hosea 5:10 (NKJV) “The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark; I will pour out my wrath on them like water.”
· A vision that includes at least the next two generations (Hebrews 11:13)
o God brought about His promise through three generations—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
o David made provision for a temple that would be built by his son
o What is born of God overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). If it is of God it will survive.
· Emphasis on raising up sons
o David’s rule was perpetuated through sons
§ If David had not raised up sons, then the future of his throne would have ended
o God will raise up leaders to start a work and then raise up sons to bring it to a new level
§ David was a man of war.
· Warring people are not allowed to build God’s house
· David carried the vision for the house of God
· David prepare for the house of God
§ Solomon was a man of rest
· Solomon did what David was not allowed to do
· Solomon saw what David was not allowed to see
o We must raise and release sons who have the spiritual DNA (“seed”) in them
§ David had many sons, but Solomon was the one who carried the seed for the next generation
§ There may be many sons in the house but do they carry God’s “seed” for the next generation? (Principle of the spiritual firstborn)
· Not Cain but Abel
· Not Ishmael but Isaac
· Not Esau but Jacob
· Not Reuben but Joseph
· Not Mannaseh but Ephraim
· Intentional preparation and release of inheritance
o Sons must be prepared with the character to be good stewards of the inheritance
o Father must discern and release inheritance according to the purpose of God for each son or daughter
· Prophetic release of blessing
o The nature of blessing is prophetic
o Blessing releases empowerment for generational success
· Reliance upon God’s covenant keeping nature
o God’s work transcends our generation. It transcends all generations.
o God’s faithfulness to the fathers will insure that He will complete His work in us
§ Isaiah 51:1-3 (NKJV) “Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. 2 Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him alone, and blessed him and increased him.” 3 For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.”
o What God speaks to the father is the same as for the son
o God’s covenant is so personal that each generation hears God speak to them the same thing
o God’s vision does not change from generation to generation
o The sons can be insured to succeed if they remain connected to the father of the house
Developing generational thinking top
· Let go of independent and selfish thinking
o Isaiah 39:5-8 (NKJV) “Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ 8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!’ For he said, ‘At least there will be peace and truth in my days.’”
· Stay connected to past values
o Proverbs 22:28 (NKJV) “Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set.”
o God speaks to the fathers the boundaries of a work—not limitations but designations.
o God told David what the house of God would look like (1 Chronicles 28:11). Solomon did not change his father’s plan because he would have changed God’s plan.
o The vision of the fathers comes from God
o God gets angry when people begin to remove the landmarks
o Hosea 5:10 (NKJV) “The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark; I will pour out my wrath on them like water.”
· Set generational priorities
o God is more concerned about the end than the beginning
§ Jeremiah 30 God will judge and then restore Israel and Judah
§ Don’t judge based upon what things look like now. God is working toward a victorious finish.
o God builds for the future and not just for the moment
§ Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 (NKJV) “Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.”
§ Solomon did not invest in the next generation. Therefore they did not have his heart and split the kingdom.
Failing to build generationally top
What happens when we do not build generationally?
· We put our emphasis on programs rather than people
o David served his own generation by the will of God
§ Acts 13:36 (NKJV) “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;”
o People are the most important thing
· People quit serving God
o Joshua 24:31 (NKJV) “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.”
o As long as Joshua was alive, the people served the Lord
· The kingdom is split
o 2 Chronicles 10:16 (NKJV) “Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying: ‘What share have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to your tents, O Israel! Now see to your own house, O David!’ So all Israel departed to their tents.”
o Solomon did not prepare his sons to serve their generation.
o Solomon’s son Rehoboam would not listen to the elders who had walked under his father. Instead he listened to his peers. Thus the kingdom was divided.
· The people become corrupt and are eventually destroyed
o 2 Kings 21:1-16 Manasseh wiped out the righteous reforms accomplished by his father Hezekiah. As a result, God promised to wipe them out as a dish is wiped clean and turned upside down.
How to raise up sons top
· Leaders must become fathers
o Genesis 17:3-5 God made Abraham a father of nations
o God called Abram out of unhealthy fathering patterns
o God wants more than pastors, elders, and leaders. He wants fathers.
· We must learn to pick the right one to lead
o Not Cain (Adam’s firstborn) but Abel
o Not Ishmael (Abraham’s firstborn) but Isaac
o Not Esau (Isaac’s firstborn) but Jacob
o Not Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn) but Joseph
o Not Manasseh (Joseph’s firstborn) but Ephraim
o Not Eliab (Jesse’s firstborn) but David
o Not Amnon (David’s firstborn) but Solomon
o If we do not pick the right son, then the work of God can fall into the wrong hands and the purpose of God forfeited
o The father of the house must know upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rests
§ Don’t give in to natural connections in relationships
§ Be careful of those who would try to take it. David did not give the kingdom to the sons that tried to take it, but to Solomon, the son of Bathsheba
· 1 Chronicles 28:5 (NKJV) “And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.”
§ Don’t make it easy. Elijah didn’t make it easy on Elisha
· 1 Kings 19:19-21 Elisha commits at the beginning
· 2 Kings 2:1-13 Elisha is faithful up to the end
· Not everyone who signs up decides to finish
· Look for those in whom God is building the same vision He gave to you
o People do not need to just mimic the vision back to you. They need to have a personal revelation from God for themselves. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each received a personal revelation of God’s plan in their own generation.
· Give younger men places of position
o Exodus 33:11 Moses took men like Joshua from the younger generation in order to begin preparing them to be raised up for the generation to come.
· Make room for different giftings
o David was a man of war but Solomon was a man of rest (1 Chronicles 28:3)
o The son’s gifting is different than the father’s gifting.
o It is the same vision but a different gifting.
o If the gifting is different, then it will automatically bring a different style of leadership