Being Faithful to the Future
Series: NEXTing - Serving Jesus’ Call to the Next Generations
Brad Bailey – June 5, 2011
‘Teen Spiritual Life’ video (3:55 min)
Montage video from Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers by Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton, (DVD and book published by Oxford: Oxford University)
The spiritual life of those in their teens. It reflects one of the greatest opportunities that we have... and a calling that I trust God will stir in each if us this morning.
As we headed towards the start of this year… I began to pray about what God might have for us in terms of priority and pursuit… and God drew me into a call to serve Jesus’ call to the next generations.
I shared with our team of pastors and elders and there was certainly a shared commitment.
This calling is really a re-engaging a calling…. In 2000... God gave us a two fold call… facility and the next generation.. in 2001 God responded… ten years ago this month we dedicated this facility…. began something… it was not a place to call home but a facility to steward the future. We knew that we must not seek a monument but a movement. We are stewards of that calling.
Whatever is good… whatever is great… is that which we don’t want to see lost. And ultimately the greatest good is the work of God… and the greatest means to lasting is to invest in those behind us.
The Psalmist writes,
Psalm 78:4, 6-7 (MSG)
“We're not keeping this to ourselves, we're passing it along to the next generation— GOD's fame and fortune, the marvelous things he has done. …So the next generation would know, and all the generations to come… can trust in God.”
This is not merely a desire that they would know ABOUT God but to actually experience a life of trusting relationship.
In Psalm 71 we read…
“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.” - Psalm 71:18 (NIV)
These are not the cries solely of parents but of all who can see what matters most…ALL who recognize that the most important responsibility in life… is being faithful to the future.
In defining our vision as a community… we have stated… that our vision includes being,
“A church where successive generations of lives and leaders will be blessed to rise up and reach their own generation.”
• As a community we have taken that calling to heart in many ways. We have invested in developing a significant opportunity for younger lives to gather – children, youth, and younger adults. We are committed to relating, raising up, and releasing younger lives while also staying integrated as a multi-generational community.
• But the challenges that younger lives face has been raised even higher and we desire to serve the call they must rise to. They face a culture that has now become clearly post-Christian, post-modern, and pluralistic. We may join many who bemoan the loss of traditional morality.
> But those behind us don’t need our regrets… they need our faith... the dynamic of a living faith that joins the reality of change. They need us to become less interested in the good old days… and more faithful to join them in the days they must make their way.
• It’s not an easy road. As many may already know, a majority of youth leave the church before their second year of college. They don’t necessarily leave their faith entirely… but they wander in various ways… often at a great cost. Many of us know because we have been those lives… the connection we found with God just wasn’t personal enough or vital enough keep hold of us. [1]
In this mini-series we are going to engage some of what that involves… a choice that we sum up with the word ‘NEXTing’
NEXTing is about Serving Jesus’ Call to the Next Generations
The word ‘generations’ is plural because we are not focusing on a particular generation but on the reality that there are always lives ten or twenty years younger that we share a responsibility for. Everyone can be a part of NEXTing.
God is always raising up new generations…but how are we participating in that process? How might we hinder that process? How might we help that process? In this series we will each discover how we can serve Jesus’ call to those who follow us… whatever our age or stage in life may be.
We see a dynamic example of this in Joshua 24. If you are familiar with the Old Testament and history of Israel… you may recall that Joshua is the one who served as the leader of God’s people after Moses died. [2] [3]
Joshua knew what God had done in calling a people out to bless the whole world. Their story was dynamic… their identity was dynamic…but they could lose that identity and story. The experience of those first called… led by Moses … could be lost as they now settled into a land. It was only the beginning of what God was doing… but they could lose the dynamic that was really at hand. Moses has died… one generation is passing. Joshua had been raised up to lead … and he has now reached the end of his life… So Joshua gathers the people and presents the story and the choice they must face. Joshua gathers all the tribes and leaders of Israel together and reminds them that God has blessed them [4]
Joshua 24 (NIV)
1 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the River and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants.
I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 "'Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out.
(Note: he goes on to refer to the various points of delivering and guiding them)
9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand. 11 "'Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands.
13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.'
14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! 17 It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.
The context here is rather dynamic. It’s a point of transition… and it ends with the people taking hold of their story… of their identity…and we are told that this generation proved faithful.
There are some elements that I believe speak into how we fulfill our calling to impart the work of God to the next generations.
1. The next generations need our INTEGRITY.
Joshua confronts the idolatry and compromise that they had allowed in their own lives.
While he certainly condemned what the surrounding pagan nations had given themselves too… it’s interesting and insightful to us… to notice that he didn’t just talk about had bad the culture was… but rather how these who were stewards of the future had compromised themselves. There are so many toxic influences that our culture is bringing to bear… and media hold influence that can seem overwhelming. But those younger are still looking for models in those they know.
Joshua is addressing a compromise that if left unaddressed would leave future generations lost again to the idolatry that they had once been enslaved to.
They may claim to be God’s people… but if they have given themselves to other gods… what will the effect be?
Hypocrisy…and hypocrisy leads to disillusionment and duplicity.
Integrity means integrated. It means what we say is true has actual substance in what we do.
If we say we trust in God… we are making choices that reflect that trust.
If we say God is a God who loves and whose love is forgiving… we are actually forgiving people.
The opposite of integrity is duplicity - it means there are two parts at hand that do not match up.
When we allow hypocrisy and duplicity into our lives…and accept it…we may be training duplicity.
One of the common challenges that young lives have work through… especially in the teenage years… is the natural tendency to develop a dual life. As one begins to develop more life apart from their family… they begin to develop one way of being that is expected at home and one way of being that is expected by friends. Many younger lives value their faith but are divided in the role it plays. Since they may know enough about what they ‘should’ do among those share at least a stated commitment to God… they learn to outwardly live that out when in that world.
When we allow hypocrisy and duplicity into our lives…and accept it… we are actually teaching and training the very duplicity and double life that can become their downfall.
If you are a parent…I want to challenge you in particular to consider what your real goal is with your children. It’s been found that many parents actually bring their children to church just to help them become nicer… or more moral… and are more committed to outward behavior than a real inward experience. The result? Inoculation… just enough of the real thing that we become immune.
> Joshua knew that the people had become outwardly religious… after all it was their cultural identity. It was time to call them to repent.
The first truth is the need to focus on difference between what we say we believe and what we actually believe… given the power of our actual lives and actions.
We don’t impart what we know but who we are.
A consistent theme in God’s commands to a generation… is to apply His call to our OWN lives and hearts… and then pass it on.
Deuteronomy 4:9 (ESV)
“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that 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.”
Deuteronomy 11:18-19 (ESV)
“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and …You shall teach them to your children.”
We must begin by facing ourselves… not in a spirit of condemnation but of conviction… sobering conviction… that our idolatry is costing others. We must take some time to ask:
Do we love Jesus more passionately than anything else in this world?
Are you willing to destroy the idols in our life (money, sex, pleasures) that are coming between us and our relationship with God?
We can even idolize our own generation.
Can the next generation see our relationship with Jesus in our daily conversation and conduct?
Joshua called the people to repent… and I believe that many of us know that if we are going to serve Jesus’ call to the next generations, it is going to have to begin with some real repenting… stopping and turning around.
Joshua also reminded them of the reality of their deliverance…
2. The next generations need to hear the reality of our own DELIVERENCE from slavery.
Joshua reminds the people how they have been blessed in being called out… and delivered (vv. 1-7)
- This points to the way we need to be honest about our past…our deliverance; not simply nice people but those who were slaves… delivered… restored… and still working that out in our identities. This may mean that we even admit that sometimes we want to go back to Egypt… but only because we forget the oppression.
3. The next generations need to grasp the real danger and COURAGE involved in spiritual battle.
Joshua reminds the people how that they have been in battles… major battles in which God went before them. (vv. 7-13)What they were called to wasn’t about settling into the land and fitting in… it was about being the people who could stand up and help bring God’s grand purposes to all the earth.
This is a calling full of drama and danger… and will require the ultimate courage.
This was just the prelude to what would be engaged when Jesus entered the world… as the ultimate powers of love and evil began collide. Jesus brought his followers into the battle… and
I wonder if we might lose the sense of danger and courage… and end up conveying nothing more than a life of being safe and nice.
As a father, I was grabbed by something fellow pastor Erwin McManus shared several years ago.
One summer his young son (Aaron) went to a youth camp. Since it was a church camp, Erwin figured he wasn't going to hear all those ghost stories, because ghost stories can really cause a kid to have nightmares. But unfortunately, since it was a Christian camp and they didn't tell ghost stories, because we don't believe in ghosts, they told demon and Satan stories instead. And so when Aaron got home, he was terrified.
"Dad, don't turn off the light!" he said before going to bed. "No, Daddy, could you stay here with me? Daddy, I'm afraid. They told all these stories about demons."
And I wanted to say, "They're not real."
He goes, "Daddy, Daddy, would you pray for me that I would be safe?" I could feel it. I could feel warm-blanket Christianity beginning to wrap around him, a life of safety, safety, safety.
I said, "Aaron, I will not pray for you to be safe. I will pray that God will make you dangerous, so dangerous that demons will flee when you enter the room."
And he goes, "All right. But pray I would be really, really dangerous, Daddy."
Have you come to that place in your own life where you stop asking God to give you a safe life, and make you a dangerous follower of Jesus Christ?
(Erwin McManus, "Seizing Your Divine Moment," Preaching Today, Issue 252)
We need to allow our kids to naturally share in the supernatural that is at hand.
Maybe the video war games wouldn’t be quite such a draw and obsession of every young man knew that he was at war… one more epic and cosmic than any fictional imagination has yet to capture.
4. The next generations need to be empowered with CHOICE.
Joshua calls the people to make a choice. [5] [6]
“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15)
They must choose for themselves. With these words, Joshua reminds us of the subtle deception that so easily confuses us… the false sense that we can control others.
I believe that so much of what is getting worked out between generations is the fight for control. On one level it’s understandable. It is part of the process of what we refer to as individuation.
But it misses the reality that ultimately we are each in control… we each have the power to choose… and will have to accept the responsibility.
When I consider my own story…It was just prior to my teenage years when I first met Jesus in the words and lives of church community… and I can tell you the two most significant things that ultimately allowed me to begin a life changing relationships with Jesus: the first were the many lives who got to know me and care about me… and the second, was being empowered to make my own choice.
Joshua brings this home. Joshua reminds us that we don’t have control…we have influence.
We can sow but we cannot produce life. What we can do is choose to sow healthy seeds well… in many places and in many ways… and then to water well. Then allow faith to bear it’s own life.
CLOSING
I want to ask you to open your heart to Jesus’ call to the next generations.
I want to ask you to join in their success…their vitality.
I want to us to be faithful to the future. What practical commitment can we make?
1. Face our own issues of integrity. Face your own condition.
2. Pray for those who follow you.
There are so many younger spiritual siblings in this local spiritual family.
There are 90,000 infants thru 18 year olds living within the local Westside
> We’ve developed a WONDERFUL PRAYER GUIDE for you to pick up in the lobby today.
3. Commit time to develop relationship… serving the gathering of children… and youth.
May we become like Joshua. Earlier in his life he had been sent as one of 12 spies into the promised land… where they looked and saw armies of men so big that the majority of the group reported that they were giants. Only Joshua and his friend Caleb could see something else.
> Joshua didn’t just see giants… they saw God. Those that follow us need those who don’t just see giants… but see God who is greater than any power at work.
Closing Song: Hosanna (Hillsong)
Resources:
Notes:
1. According to recent research somewhere between 70 and 88 percent of Christian teenagers are leaving the church by their second year in college (Voddie Baucham, Family Driven Faith, 10).
2. Background about Joshua
Leader of Israelites who first took control of Promised Land of Canaan. He, not Moses, led the people into the Promised Land. He was a person of such stature that he could succeed the incomparable Moses and compile a record of notable success (Josh. 24:31). Joshua was born in Egypt during the period of slavery. He was Moses’ general, who led the troops in the actual fighting while Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands (Ex. 17:8-13). Joshua was Moses’s servant (Ex. 24:13). He was on the mountain when Moses received the Law (Ex. 32:17). He was also one of the twelve spies Moses sent to investigate Canaan (Num. 13:8). He and Caleb returned with a positive, minority report. Of all the adults alive at that time, only the two of them were allowed to live to enter the land of Canaan (Num. 14:28-30,38). The Lord selected Joshua to be Moses’ successor long before Moses’ death (Num. 27:15-23; Deut. 31:14-15,23; 34:9). Joshua was a military leader, a political leader, and a spiritual leader. - Holman Bible Dictionary.
When the former generation had met the Lord at Mt. Sinai, they had said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Ex. 19:8, NKJV). But a few weeks later, they were worshiping a golden calf! Joshua knew that it was easy for the people to promise obedience to the Lord, but it was quite something else for them to actually do it. His stern words were meant to curb their overconfidence and make them look honestly into their own hearts (Josh. 24:19). - Be Strong
He preached for decisions. He was earnest. He preached, as one of the great Puritan preachers once described himself, “as a dying man to dying men.” - Boice, J. M. (2005). Joshua (131). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
With this event the history of Joshua closes. Looking back upon it, we gather the lessons of his life and work, and of their bearing upon the future of Israel. Born a slave in Egypt, he must have been about forty years old at the time of the Exodus. Attached to the person of Moses, he led Israel in the first decisive battle against Amalek (Ex. xvii. 9, 13), while Moses, in the prayer of faith, held up to heaven the God-given “rod.” It was no doubt on that occasion that his name was changed from Oshea, “help,” to Jehoshua, “Jehovah is help” (Numb. xiii. 16). And this name is the key to his life and work. - Edersheim, A. (1997). Bible History: Old Testament (Jos 21–24). Oak Harbor: Logos Bible Software.
3. It becomes clear that this was Joshua’s call to set their future aright before he passes, as we read:
Joshua 24:29-31 (GW)
29 After these events, the LORD'S servant Joshua, son of Nun, died. He was 110 years old.
30 He was buried on his own land at Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.
31 Israel served the LORD as long as Joshua and the older leaders, who outlived him and who knew everything the LORD had done for Israel, were alive.
4. Note about the reference to God’s original call to Abraham.
When God called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees, He called him out of a home of idolatry. Terah, his father, we are told here, served other gods.
This raises the question: Why did God choose Abraham and make a nation from him? Let’s consider the background. After the Tower of Babel, man totally departed from the Lord. No one served God—not even Terah the father of Abraham. When God confused the language, the people scattered in every direction, and they took with them a knowledge of the true and living God, which is the reason even pagan tribes today have a knowledge of the true God, although they do not worship Him. There was total apostasy after Babel. - McGee, J. V. (1991). Vol. 10: Thru the Bible commentary: History of Israel (Joshua/Judges) (electronic ed.). Thru the Bible commentary (110). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
5. In his study of this chapter, Francis Schaeffer points out rightly that when Joshua challenged the people to choose to serve God and affirmed that this was his settled choice as well, the tense he used implied more than a once-for-all choosing, as if one can make a choice and be done with it thereafter. The tense involves what grammarians call continuous action. That is, it involves the past, but it also involves the present and the future. It is as if Joshua had said, “I have chosen to serve the Lord; I am choosing that same path of service now; and I will go on choosing to serve God until the very end.”
Schaeffer writes, “This was the character of Joshua. He chose, and he chose, and he chose, and he kept right on choosing. He understood the dynamics of choice—once-for-all choice and existential choice as well. Thus his word to the people was not an affirmation puffed up on the spur of the moment. It was deeply imbedded in Joshua’s comprehension of what is required of a person made in the image of God, one called upon not to obey God like a machine or an animal, but to obey God by choice.” - Boice, J. M. (2005). Joshua (134). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
6. Joshua then spoke a fourth and final time, coming again to the point he had mentioned at the beginning. Now then … throw away the foreign gods that are among you (cf. v. 14). He had heard the pledge on their lips; now he challenged them to prove their sincerity by their works.
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). - The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (Jos 24:22–24). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
