For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. day, giving a couple of thirty-minute lessons at church or home isnt enough. Thats four in one day! I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. And our problem is that we know far more than we do and we teach people too much. When I need to ponder, it wants to wander. The stones were to remind the parents to make sure they taught the next generation W I have trained myself to do this. Silence about Christ is dogma. Loving. They had knowledge, but Moses also had perspective. I love you so much it hurts, he says. Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success (NIV). I have seen what it is like when people are unable to hear God because their minds are broken and cannot seem to connect to God even when they want to connect to God. Let me ask you quite frankly: Whats your dream for your next ten years? It saves a lot of time and saves us from making the mistakes of others. Day after day, our children are Because we know these things are so and can give evidence to a child eventually that will support this truth. When I need to pray, my thoughts want to float away. Were on a mission to change that. Instead, the cry rings out "We did all that we could!" Every church thats been started, somebody either a group of people or a single church planter imagined that church first. sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you I dont want it. I have seen the face of mental illness. In other words, some things arent necessarily wrong, but they arent necessary. Its both. But how do you do that? and defend their beliefs. Therefore: Parents, make Jesus known to your children through his Word. There are a few parents who have taught their children the ways of God both by instruction and example and have still lost them to the world. It is only faithfulness if it is my habit to always be faithful to her. young adults (one in three). Love knowledge. Those of you who are thinkers, you need to do more. Geocoding And America is on the then proclaim the gospel with authority because they believed the authority (3) What are the convictions I want to get across? Christians need to take heed of Gods Word and ensure they are capturing the One final objection some parents may raise is: My children won't sit still long enough to listen to a Bible passage or receive instruction. I have noticed that my mind doesnt always mind. Become a lifelong learner. What do you do when you take on a yoke? This site is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google The apostle Paul says here that our job in this battle is to destroy strongholds. You know what a stronghold is? Creeds must be turned into deeds. If youre serious about growing in knowledge and growing in your mind, heres the approach I suggest: A lot of people know all the contemporary books and none of the classics. Let no one deceive you in any way. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. We dont want only to see what God sees but also to feel what God feels about the world, about the lost, about his Word, about his church. I think I could teach on this subject for an entire week. And then I would grab it and eat it. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. gave it to us (Hebrews 4:12). We need great dreamers, great Imagineering people. Give us a new generation of imagineers. Is the blame for this to be placed on the children? your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed If that's your situation in relation to your children and the Bible, then do like the college teacher: just stay a day ahead. . Not to teach the infinite value of Christ is to teach that he is negligible. Note: Pastors reading this chapter may want to ask questions like the following of their sermons: (1) What is the knowledge of God and the knowledge of his Word that the people are learning in this sermon? Instead, he received them and blessed them, and in doing so, commended the parents for their concern. They are thinking about it! I learn from churches larger than Saddleback. The third thing we need is conviction. K Our natural state is selfish at best and pathological at its worst. Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she delivered a son. What are these fruit of the Spirit? (4) What are the character qualities I want to develop? 4) And, fourth, it is simply unloving and cruel not to give a child what he needs most. are using the public schools, secular media, museums, and other outlets to do If you were to pray as much as you worry, you would have a lot less to worry about. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. We dont close our eyes. (5) What are the skills? You judge the health of an army by how many are on frontlines doing battle in the world. I dont want it. And then in the evening service was another application to change my life. So let me try to answer three objections which may come to your mind. of which is determined by the hands which wield it.4. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6), and whatever does not proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). The words themselves were first attributed to Gertrude Stein by Ernest Hemingway. Mistakes such as poor example, poor discipline, inconsistency, permissiveness, and others. And he says, Destroy these strongholds. A stronghold can be one of two things: It can be a worldview, such as materialism, hedonism, Darwinism, secularism, relativism, communism, atheism. You develop character by developing the habits of love and joy and peace and patience those nine qualities from Galatians 5 kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (verses 2223). Theyre kidding themselves. the present time, by those who seek to destroy the next generation spiritually! The environment? If you are secure enough in God to show your ignorance rather than bluff and be a hypocrite, your child learns the beauty of humility. Most college students don't realize that when they take a course from a teacher who is teaching it for the first time, he often knows very little more than they do and is staying just a step ahead. A second interpretation of this passage understands this phrase to mean "this type of generation," referring to sinful humanity. Proverbs 29:18 says, Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint. The word vision relates to dreaming. all the resources we need to turn the tide! Y Third, therefore it is the solemn duty of all parents to teach their children about God and his saving work, so that the next generation will know and be saved. Atheistic evolution is taught as fact. 3) Conviction God expects fruitfulness as well. the way we should be teaching our kids in a hostile culture, and work together in that group identifying as either atheist or agnostic, according to the new And the most influential theological teachers he should ever have are Mom and Dad. We can only do the impossible if we see the invisible. I am begging you: dream great dreams for God, and teach others to dream great dreams for God. the church once they live on their own.3 Answers in Genesis It is the battle for your mind, and that battle is vicious. And when you begin to build a library of godly, Christian books, you are leaving a legacy for the next generation. Our Lord's assertion has given rise to sceptical observations, as if his prophecy had failed. That is one of my life verses. If you are chopping wood, it helps to have a sharp ax. The second thing to learn in this battle for the mind is guarding your mind from garbage. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. Psalm 103:7 says that the Lord made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel (KJV). Also, we have a theological word of the week on the back of our bulletin because we want the people to know theological words and the great saints of church history. Refocus. It is their property by inheritance. Frequently we make snap judgments. Judges 2:10-11 - A Lost Generation Daily Devotional Bible Verses And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And when we set goals, we are saying, God, I believe you want me to accomplish this with your help by this time. There is brain food that makes you smarter (food that actually makes you smarter!). They blame the children, the schools, the influence of the world, poor circumstances in the church - placing the blame on everything but themselves. Some parents whose children have gone the way of Balaam, honestly and critically look back on their child rearing days and see their mistakes. New Living Translation First, some might say that parents have no right to prejudice a child regarding what he will accept as true. Gods people need to wake up and understand It is clear, then, that if we parents neglect this duty, we serve not only the ignorance and unbelief of our children, but also their destruction. "And these words which I command you shall be upon your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your children." While the memory of God's greatness and the work he did for Israel was alive, the people maintained their devotion to God. Knowledge is knowing what God does; wisdom and perspective are knowing why he does it. I am doing well if I get one good application a week. We preachers can do a lot of ought-to preaching without giving our people the how-tos. He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. Thirty-three million Americans now have no religious affiliation, with 13 million It took only one generation I am no expert in child psychology. Perhaps the biggest limitation on your growth and your ministry to others is your imagination. H The parent who smokes will continually telltheir children it is a bad habit, they'll tell them "don't you do this" and then light one up. But the issue is not creeds alone. We are taking notes and filling notebooks and thinking that because we are writing things down, we are really getting it. and the media. In fact, if you ever come up with a truth that nobody else has ever seen, I can tell you this: youre wrong. The moment you stop learning, you stop leading. Do others see progress in your life? We do all the feeding instead of teaching the sheep how to feed themselves. I read whatever I can about the brain, and one of the things I just learned is that the optic nerve, which is the only nerve that goes directly to your brain, actually sends more impulses from your brain forward than from your eye backward. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. I think Im a pretty big dreamer, but God says, Think of the biggest thing you can think of, and I can top that. Joseph Stalin, Today the way to Jesus is through his Word. I learn from guys older than me and from guys younger. rash, deluded (Leviticus 5:4; Isaiah 32:4 NIV). These same two priorities (to your own heart and to your children) are also commanded in Deuteronomy 4:9: "Take heed and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children." . Strategize for a balance between doing and thinking. And I want to apply what God has said for the children to our church family. God revealed his acts. so they will not be captured by the world! . Faith in Christ isnt blind. . Because if you get your head hurt, you are in deep kimchi. After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. [Nothing] . expected the growth to translate into greater political power for secular interests: The next link in the chain, once young people learn the truth, is for them followers of atheistic Marxism. Skill comes through doing something over and over and over. Every newborn must be taught the truth from We pursue knowledge of the Word, then perspective on why God does what he does, and, in doing so, we start to develop convictions. And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. People fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. We miss the big picture. I believe you can judge the health of a church not by its seating capacity but by its sending capacity. More than we can dream. May God fill our families with this joy in the years to come. It is intense. For many years, I read a book a day. Each generation needs its C. S. Lewises and J. R. R. Tolkiens, and G. K. Chestertons, and Tolstoys, and Dostoyevskys. That is why you can put four people at an accident and each of them will see something different. A 2012 survey found that the fastest-growing . Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days. ", By Jonathan L Perz From Expository Files 7.12; December 2000. Christian Standard Bible That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. I stands for imagine great thoughts. generation, he converted hordes of the deeply religious Russian people into It is intense. about the true God. The world puts suggestions in our minds that are false, and we are bombarded with those false ideas all the time. The mental illness is called sin. Myth #1: It happens by osmosis - that our children will catch our spiritual values by simply being around the parents and the Church. age. the Jordan River, the first thing He told Joshua to do was to take twelve stones Now look at the very last phrase in the passage: take every thought captive to obey Christ. Take captive every thought. And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Ask God to search and test your thoughts. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then I would come back Sunday night to a thing called church training where I was supposed to have another application to change my life. to submit to the authority of Gods Word (John 14:21; James 1:22). Many groups are now Two-thirds of children will leave the church after they leave home. Verse 34. First, it is never too late to begin to study and grow in your grasp of Bible truth. If you are going into eternity, you are going to take that with you. Throughout the history of God's people, generations have turned up missing. Answer Another word for regeneration is rebirth, related to the biblical phrase "born again." Our rebirth is distinguished from our first birth, when we were conceived physically and inherited our sin nature. So leaders must first be learners. shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you No? these kids were doubting and thus begin to disbelieve the Bible at a very young There are two reasons why this should not stop you. It is seeing from Gods perspective. We cant always tell ourselves the truth, because we dont stop to really think. Your father and your mother shall be glad, and she who bore you shall rejoice.". that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, Then there is junk food. How do you help others guard their minds against garbage? One of the ways you can store up knowledge is to start a family library a godly family library and leave it as a legacy to the next generation. Its first and at its heart mind change. Maybe there would be a Thursday morning study at which Id get another application. The first way you guard your heart and mind is in everything to pray. The two greatest things that have hurt parents are "time'' and "example." And I know whatever gets your mind gets you. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. And in Hebrews 11:1, faith is said to be the conviction of things not seen. Let me give you some examples. They were instructed to pass on the knowledge and fear of God gave that responsibility to the parents. What are the steps in doing a word study? commissioned Americas Research Group to find out why this is happening and And Napoleon said that imagination rules the world. Every song was imagined before it was written. A violent battle is raging around us twenty-four hours per day. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.. But do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. Many people act as though their education ended at their last graduation. Over and over again, the Jewish fathers were In Proverbs 22:6, the wise man wrote, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." If you want to be healthy and successful in the Christian life and in ministering to others, successful in your ministry, fix your mind on the right things. That might be a good verse to write on a Post-it note and stick on your television. Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. of creationism and now headed by ardent atheist Eugenie Scott6), it is very clear Proverbs 18:15 (icb) says, The mind of a smart person is eager to get knowledge [thats a mark of intelligence! It is God's will that parents assume responsibility to teach their children what God has revealed about himself. The Bible says God expects not only faithfulness but also fruitfulness. to be missionaries in the system) have by and large become churches of secular It is better to leave all religious options open, and then when he chooses one, it will be owing to authentic commitment, not to parental authority. But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. It is neither good nor bad, as 1 Corinthians 6:12 says, lawful but not helpful. Please refresh the page and try again. We need entrepreneurs who dream great dreams and make a lot of money for kingdom purposes. Hupake means to bring into submission, to bring under control.. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. the truth (1 Corinthians 3:67) and pray to God in faith. Jonas.These words our Lord had already uttered on a former occasion (Matthew 12:39), but he does not here explain them, as he did before (see Introduction, 7).Under similar circumstances he repeats himself, but he wastes not time in useless discussions with perverse opponents who will not see the truth. Some people are so open-minded that their brains fall out. Paul talks in 1 Corinthians 7 about being settled in our own minds, which means having godly convictions. How do I make my mind mind? Numbers 14:18 ) And every group must assist in the preservation and transmission of all God's revelation to the next generation. We lie. You can learn from anybody if you just know the right questions. Any nutritionist will tell you that there are three kinds of food for your physical body. Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered them, See that no one leads you astray. If you havent written it down, you havent really thought about it. Dysfunction comes naturally to us. Those of you who are doers, you need to think more. We must spend more time teaching our people how to fight the battle of the mind. the culture. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. You dont judge the health of an army by how many soldiers sit in the mess hall and eat every week and listen to your Bible study. knew what they believed concerning the Christian faith, why they believe, and It doesnt say its dedication. H stands for helmet your head. What is Gods perspective on temptation? You can develop a two-track mind. Bless their churches. God wants you to grow, and he will help you do what is right. Internet Explorer is no longer supported. Then the children of Israel . But if parents see compelling reasons for being a Christian, they will impart these to their children as well. the Bibles authority, it will make sense of the world around them. And may Christians be known for outthinking, outsmarting, and out-loving the rest of the world. For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.. to lose the spiritual legacy that should have been passed on. To do so is heresy. If you have a dull ax, it takes more energy to cut the wood. Some of us have bald spots, but we all have blind spots. Few would dispute that Abraham lived around 2000 B.C. When I look at my three sons in love, I say, "O Christ, let me not be delinquent in bringing them with me to glory.". Worry can be a stronghold. One of their arguments is that the word begat, as used in the time-line from the first man Adam to Abraham in Genesis 5 and 11, can skip generations. I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church. Nobody accuses a parent of prejudicing a child's cosmology because he tells the child the world is round, and the little stars at night are bigger than the earth, and the sun really stands still while the earth turns. We need these in science. Normally, the word generation refers to all the people living at the same timei.e., the word in the Bible has the same definition that we are used to in modern usage when we speak of Generation X or the Millennial Generation. You Think about what a rebuke that was to the Pharisees who had memorized the Pentateuch Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. One of the implicit lessons of that text is: Parents, bring your children to Jesus. . Dont store up material possessions where moth and rust decay. Learning from your enemies is a way to be smarter than your enemies, because if your enemies learn only from themselves, but you learn from them, then you will know more than they do what they know plus what you know! We jump to conclusions, and the Bible talks about this in Romans 2. They saw the acts of God. We only believe the parts of the Bible that we actually do. They needed to teach others their knowledge, teach others to love knowledge, and get rid of anti-intellectualism. So we want to develop for ourselves, and to help others develop, the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:1416; Philippians 2:511). The parent who drinks will say, "this is not for children" and wonder why their children take up the bottle when they get the chance. By concentrated focusing. from generation to generation, but the basic challenge is always the same. Thats our job . Already Compromised & Already Gone Book Pack, How Do We Know the Bible Is True? It is a mental block. In summary, there was a sequence like this: first, the people revered and served the true God because Joshua and his generation kept the memory of God's mighty acts alive among the people. All of these things can be strongholds in your mind. interview with H. G. Wells, Marxism Versus Liberalism, July 23, 1934, Dan Merica, Survey: One in Five Americans Has No Religion,. the soul-saving gospel itself, which is grounded on the Bibles historical claims, What would you attempt for God if you knew you couldnt fail? And when people say I dont want to think about this, what are they doing? Now, into our adulthood we don't always have to obey our father and mother. Hes called me to be faithful. Thats just not true. Psalm 78.4: We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. next generation (through the education system, media, etc. My prayer is that Acts 2:17 will be true in your life and in your church: And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.. A farmer can pray all he wants, but if he tries to harvest a wheat field with a grape picker, the job will not get done. of the truth, as revealed in Gods Word (2 Timothy 3:1517). F For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. T stands for test every thought. The church and parents must reevaluate their old assumptions about But verse 10 says that after the death of Joshua and those who had seen God's mighty acts, "there arose another generation after them, who did not know the Lord or the work which he had done for Israel." And the reason why it is so intense is that your greatest asset is your mind. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. America has long resisted the trend among Western nations to slide into secularism We are never wasting our time when we are sharpening our ax. Let them fear You while the sun endures, And as long as the moon, throughout all generations. He has been working in and through his body for two millennia, and you can save yourself a lot of time if you will avail yourself of the whole tradition. Some churches are great at Bible knowledge but fail to teach their people perspective. We must not only tell them the right way, we must show them the right way. - A wicked and adulterous generation. J They can't speak for themselves, and so God has spoken for them. Joseph Stalin knew the power of education as a propaganda tool. Others have children who are grown. Were telling ourselves its no big deal when it is a big deal. Publisher: OpenBible.info. Steven Newton, Creationism, Mr. Nye, and Dr. Pepper,. They also need to see that, once they accept You can use these as a template for all of your discipleship moving people from come and see to come and die.. What is your dream for you personally? Who has heard such a thing? You're almost done! In my family, four generations back gave their library to three generations back, who gave it to two generations back my dad who gave it to me. on the authority of Gods Word (Romans 1:16). Proverbs 22:15, "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it from him." In 2010 I read through Church Dogmatics, the complete works of Karl Barth. Then you dont really believe in it. You do it all the time. Joshua died when he was 110 years old, according to Judges 2:8. Here are five things to remember in our own lives and to teach to others.
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