Who's Going to Fill Their Shoes
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4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. 5 I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. 6 Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. 7 Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness.
Who has been influential for your faith?
We are all here because someone took the time and energy to INVEST in discipling us.
They told us stories of what God had done in their life. They prayed for us when we needed prayer. They encouraged us. They reminded us to hope.
I remember a Sunday School teacher when I was in Middle School who reminded me of the power of praying for my enemies when I was dealing with being bullied.
They shared with us Jesus. They commended and shared God’s great goodness from one generation to the next!
Faith is always ONE generation away from extinction
I am sure you have heard that before. But, think upon that. If a generation does not speak of God to the next generation, then the faith will grow extinct. No new people will hear of God’s goodness - they will just be ancient stories of things done in the past… that no one will know about.
Families were to tell of God's deeds to their children...
It was commanded that the parents and the generations would share God’s goodness with the next generation.
18 “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. 19 I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”
4 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
26 Then your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’ 27 And you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he struck the Egyptians, he spared our families.’ ” When Moses had finished speaking, all the people bowed down to the ground and worshiped.
3 So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever—the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the Lord has brought you out by the power of his mighty hand. (Remember, eat no food containing yeast.) 4 On this day in early spring, in the month of Abib, you have been set free. 5 You must celebrate this event in this month each year after the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. (He swore to your ancestors that he would give you this land—a land flowing with milk and honey.) 6 For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. Then on the seventh day, celebrate a feast to the Lord. 7 Eat bread without yeast during those seven days. In fact, there must be no yeast bread or any yeast at all found within the borders of your land during this time. 8 “On the seventh day you must explain to your children, ‘I am celebrating what the Lord did for me when I left Egypt.’
4 We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. 5 He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 6 We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”
Families were to set the pattern of worship and instruction...
16 “Each year every man in Israel must celebrate these three festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. On each of these occasions, all men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he chooses, but they must not appear before the Lord without a gift for him.
23 Three times each year every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the Lord, the God of Israel.
But, it's not just families... it's the community.
There was an expectation that those who journeyed on the road farther ahead instructed those behind them.
The older generation must instruct the younger generation.
Yet, we know from Scripture that this didn’t always happen!
The book of Judges makes this pretty clear...
7 And the Israelites served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived him—those who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. 8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. 9 They buried him in the land he had been allocated, at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.
This pattern happened repeatedly in Judges. God would raise someone up who would lead the poeple. But, after that person died, the people of that generation would pass away and the generation behind them did not know the Lord!
NO ONE PASSED IT ALONG!
I was thinking about this lately because of the number of people I am connected with and know who have passed away.
We have experienced a lot of death. And, we celebrate the death of the saints, but yet, there still is sometimes a hole in our ministry and witness. Those faithful who have gone on before us gave us a great example of life and faith.
And, it makes me ask the question that George Jones sang about, “Who’s going to fill their shoes?”
Who is going to carry on the example of ministering to and among and with the NEXT generation. Who is going to actively take up the role of passing the faith to those behind them.
Really, the answer should be ALL of us. We’ll share with our children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews.
That’s great! But, what about those who do not have faith examples in their parents or grandparents. Can we be a part of the community that teaches the next generation even if they aren’t related to us? Can God count on us to fill the shoes of those who shared the faith with us?
In order to share the faith with the next generation we must be connected to them!!!
Take out a Blue Card...
I would like our teens to have examples in the generations above them that they can look up to.
I would like families, couples, to sign up to host the teens at their house, or to plan an outing to connect with our teens. My idea would be that our teens would have an opportunity to connect with the other generations from this church one time a month. I am not asking for the same family to host once a month, I am asking for different families to sign up, who are willing to host ONE or TWO of these connecting times this year.
We’ll pick a date, you’ll plan it (I can help too). We’ll get the teens there.
If you are willing to help connect your generation with a younger generation put your name and phone number on the Blue Card and CIRCLE “Y”. Place the card in the gift box after the service. I will call you and we will discuss plans!
Those in your life who shared the faith and discipled you were most likely older, farther along in the faith journey, and they took time to invest in your life. Today, you are asked to fill their shoes and commend God’s goodness to the next generation. Will YOU be faithful as your faith heroes were faithful?