From Generation To Generation

"after Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance. The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things that LORD has done for Israel. Joshua, son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gassh. After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals." - Judges 2:6-11

"it only takes one generation to forget the Story of God."

Dan Kimball from Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz came up to speak at the missions conference at my church this weekend, and this morning's sermon was one that struck my heart, made me think, and got my excited. He started with bad news, that it only takes one generation to forget the Story of God. It's becoming a greater and greater concern, to see young people leaving the church as they graduate high school, and people are falling away from the faith. Just as the rising generation was described in Judges 2, the turnover is so sudden to a rebellious generation. Nowadays, there's a majority of young people, regardless if they grew up in the church or not, that do not know who Jesus is, and with how society and media are skewing and distorting who Christ is, and how scripture is often used out of context, the truth is blurred, covered and disappearing. There is a great confusion over what the church is, and what christians are to be like.

But there is hope.

"it only takes one Christian to help another hear the story of God and change their life forever."

As followers and believers, we are commanded to be the salt and the light of the world. We are God's representatives here and on earth, and even though we may fail to represent Christ perfectly, we should continue to strive to, because God still chooses to use us to build his kingdom! If you are a genuine believer, you should want to strive to be a model example to the confused and the lost! It's quite simply said; live out a life that truly represents Christ, in every aspect, from your speech, your actions to your thoughts.

With this, Dan gave us a few things to keep in mind this morning.
1) Recognize that this generation faces a lot of confusion. This can stem from gender confusion, to just confusion on who Christ is.
2) Pray for the young people, and pray for the next generation.
3) For "older believers" be open to giving up your own personal preferences about what the "church" is supposed to be like, especially in light of this new cultural context. If a church preaches and proclaims the truth of Christ and the Gospel, that is what's important!
4) Be the biggest supporter for the youth/children's ministry and their respective leaders.
5) Follow Christ with authenticity, and strive to model it well for the younger generations so that they may see and understand what an authentic faith is. Encourage them to ask questions to clarify any confusion they may have.
6) You are never too old to influence a younger person.

This message got me pumped up, I walked out of the sanctuary excited and motivated to do my best to be reading scripture, learning about the faith, and most importantly practicing it. Not to show off how well I know my stuff, but because I understand how society is in need of examples of authentic faith. But regardless, we should all be striving for this in the first place.

I think the importance of being prayerful and hopeful also struck me this morning. I know I struggle a lot with praying genuinely and with faith, and at the same time, it's easy to just give up and feel hopeless sometimes. I'll admit that many times I pray for something but in the back of my mind I feel that God will end up doing whatever he wants anyways, and i'd think that nothing is really going to happen or change. Its a bad mindset and it reflects one who doesn't believe in the power of prayer. It's something I want to work on for sure. I am reminded of Abraham's prayer for Sodom in Genesis 18. He prayed in such faith that his plea was about to move the mighty hand of God. Let us pray with faith, especially for the upcoming generations in this dark dark world.

At the same time, I think we as Christians, especially as we grow up, we tend to start thinking more realistically, we know how the world works, some things just become predictable, and we know when something seems impossible. In turn, we box our almighty Father in, and we fail to remember that this the same almighty God that called the universe out of nothing, the same almighty God that parted the Red Sea, and the same almighty God that sent swarms of locusts during the plagues in Egypt. Our God is a God that can do the impossible, he can do the unpredictable and he can do the unthinkable.

So are well modelling Christ well? For the younger generation, for our family, friends and peers? Are we actively seeking opportunities to share the Story of God? Let us be intentional in building the Kingdom!

"But in your hearts set apart 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, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will to suffer for doing good than for doing evil." - 1 Peter 3:15-17