Faith of Our Fathers

Psalm 78:1-4, 56-62

Psalm 78:1–4 NIV

1 My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old— 3 things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.

Psalm 78:56–62 NIV

56 But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes. 57 Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow. 58 They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols. 59 When God heard them, he was furious; he rejected Israel completely. 60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among humans. 61 He sent the ark of his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy. 62 He gave his people over to the sword; he was furious with his inheritance.

1 Peter 3:8–16 NIV

8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. 11 They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Introduction:

I am sure you are familiar with the saying of the boiled frog, but just in case you are not, it goes like this.

“If you throw a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will hop right out. But if you put that frog in a pot of tepid water and slowly warm it, the frog doesn't figure out what going on until it's too late. Boiled frog. It's just a matter of working by slow degrees.”

Education targeted

Many say this is what happened in our nation, but that is not what I witnessed. The changes in our nation did not necessarily happen by slow degrees. They were calculated, premeditated, and they began with our children. They brought their world views into our schools, and many were either unaware, or felt helpless to fight it. There were many people in the church world voicing the dangers, but I suspect many were like me, feeling overwhelmed and unable to do anything about it.

Church/home hours vs education/television hours

Now we find ourselves living in a culture that seems foreign to us. Our children grew up in church, but they heard our side one hour a week, while our secular society had their ears 7 - 8 hours, five days a week at school and many hours through television. It is difficult to compete under those circumstances. However, we can compete if we make sure our children are hearing in the home what they are hearing at church. We still do not have as many hours as the schools, but we have truth on our side if we know enough of the truth to present a reasonable argument to what they are hearing at school.

Foundation of truth/Wise man vs Foolish man

But that presents another struggle we have had. Because of our faith in God, we have too often placed our confidence in our personal experiences and have not studied God’s word enough for ourselves to be able to defend what we believe. God’s Word provides a foundation for truth. It relates history that gives evidence of the truth of God. Remember the parable of the wise man and the foolish man? God and the history which He has provided us, provides the solid foundation for the house of truth. God has painstakingly provided us that history in His word; the Bible.

Psalms 78 read earlier, declares the importance of sharing with the next generation the actions of God and gives evidence of what happens when people turn from God’s truth to their own way.

In 1 Peter 3 we are encouraged to be ready with an answer when asked. People do not just want to know if we believe, they want to know why we believe. What is our proof? For us it was a personal experience and that was our proof. However, people asking us want something more concrete than our internal experience. The truth is that the proof is on our side, if we will take time to educate ourselves.

This is why I periodically return to Genesis. There is a great deal of proof found in the Genesis account of creation. The creation account is foundational to all we believe.

Church under attack

Our church denominations are under attack these days. Too many people within our churches are being deceived by the enemy (Satan) and are taking sides with the secular world view. I recently asked someone how this is happening and I was told that children come home from school and give what sound like strong arguments for their belief. Their parents cannot defend what they have been taught so they begin to doubt what they have been taught. They begin to believe their children. However, their lack of a defense for what they have been taught does not mean that what they believe is wrong. They just have not been taught the proof. So, I keep trying to find ways to repeatedly educate us so we can give solid answers of truth.

Today I have a video that I hope will once again inspire and equip you with truth so you can make a reasonable defense for God’s word. This video presentation fits well with our Genesis series and today’s Independence Day celebrations. I hope you enjoy and learn from this video.

Creation, Evolution and Science Ministries 45 min

Theft of America’s Christian Heritage Parts 1 & 2

Pray