1 Peter 1:12 (ESV)
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
GREETING
I want to consider as Americans what we are leaving our posterity. Since this is around Father’s Day, I want Dads to really think about what we are leaving our children.
What would it have been like to have been a prophet like Isaiah and been given a message about the future Messiah? Don't you know Isaiah and the other prophets really tried to understand their prophecies? Don’t you know that they hoped that Messiah would come in their generation? Yet, it would be many years later that Messiah would come.
The coming of Jesus, the Messiah (or Christ), would be a blessing to all people on both sides of the cross. But He literally came to the descendants of the ones to whom the prophets spoke. There is something important about our posterity. Parents (and prophets) make great efforts for the benefit of their children and the generations to follow.
This reminds me of a significant event in the life of Abraham, Genesis 21:33 (ESV) after he made his covenant with Abimelech. At first glance, it does not seem significant but it makes a powerful statement when we look into it. Let’s read the text:
33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.
In a lecture I heard Ray Vender Laan ask, “Why did Abraham plant a tree? Why did he plant a Tamarisk tree? Why at Beersheba?”
Tamarisk trees are significant in the desert. Bedouin families want Tamarisk trees. They bear no fruit, they only provide shade. They are the slowest growing of all the desert trees. They must be intentionally watered, either by hand or diverting water to them. It is the only shade tree in the desert if it is cared for – it lasts for generations. One does not plant a Tamarisk tree for oneself but for one’s great grandchildren – won’t live long enough to see its maturity.
Beersheba is God’s city of faithfulness. It is here that Abraham and Abimelech made their covenant regarding Abraham’s well (see Genesis 21.25-34). Perhaps Abraham planted the Tamarisk tree as a slow growing, long-lasting symbol of that covenant.
Beersheba is also the place where Abraham lived after the “binding of Isaac” in Genesis 22:15-19. Once again, it is the reminder of covenant. This time, the covenant regarding the descendants of Abraham. The Tamarisk tree would have been a reminder to Abraham that God promised him descendants and the tree would have been for them.
Our Founding Fathers had “posterity” in mind when they began our separation from Great Britain and the tyrannical rule of the king. Consider these thoughts on Posterity:
First, there is the desire to bless our posterity. We see that in the Preamble to the Constitution:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
But there is also a responsibility that lies with posterity. That is, not to take the gifts of our ancestors lightly, but to take up their cause where they left off.
Daniel Webster stated in an Address to New York Historical Society, February 23, 1852:
If we, and our posterity, shall be true to the Christian religion, if we and they shall live always in the fear of God, and shall respect his commandments, if we, and they, shall maintain just, moral sentiments, and such conscientious convictions of duty as shall control the heart and life, we may have the highest hopes of the future fortunes of our country...It will have no Decline and Fall. It will go on prospering and to prosper.
But, if we and our posterity reject religious instruction and authority, violate the rules of eternal justice, trifle with the injunctions of morality, and recklessly destroy the political constitution, which holds us together, no man can tell, how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us, that shall bury all our glory in profound obscurity. Should that catastrophe happen, let it have no history! Let the horrible narrative never be written!...
We may trust, that Heaven will not forsake us, nor permit us to forsake ourselves. We must strengthen ourselves, and gird up our loins with new resolution; we must counsel each other; and, determined to sustain each other in the support of the Constitution, prepare to meet manfully...whatever of difficulty, or of danger...or of sacrifice, the Providence of God may call upon us to meet.
Are we of this generation so derelict, have we so little of the blood of our revolutionary fathers coursing through our veins, that we cannot preserve, what they achieved? The world will cry out 'shame' upon us, if we show ourselves unworthy, to be the descendants of those great and illustrious men, who fought for their liberty, and secured it to their posterity, by the Constitution of the United States...
In a letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, April 26, 1777
Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven that I ever took half the pains to preserve it.
It amazes me at how wise the people of our Founding era and just after were! They understood human nature. They understood, for instance, that men love power and that power has a corrupting influence on us. So, they tried to remove as much power as possible from government and give power to the people. That is why, “We the people” in the Preamble is such an important beginning. Then, as the Constitution unfolds, the Framers divided power into three branches of government. These three branches reflect God’s government of the world (Isaiah 33:22), and divides power to cut down on corruption.
What we do in this world is important. We realize, as did our forefathers, that our actions affect us and those who follow us. The influence of our actions can be good or bad. The story of the Bible translator, William Tyndale (c. 1494 – October 6, 1536) illustrates this.
William Tyndale was martyred for the principle of translating Scripture. He was born near the end of the fifteenth century. He attended both Oxford and Cambridge and fell in love with the Scripture. He determined to make the scriptures available in English, but this was illegal in England. So, he fled to Germany and worked on his translation of the New Testament. After copies were smuggled back into England, Tyndale began translating the Old Testament. He was eventually betrayed, arrested, strangled, and burned at the stake. The king banned his Bible, but its influence was irreversible. It is estimated that ninety percent of his words and phrases passed into the 1611 King James Version of the Bible.
One person can make a difference for multitudes. Like Tyndale, we may not live to see our legacy. Only in heaven will we learn how God used us on earth.
1 Corinthians 15:58, ESV
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
We are truly going to leave something for future generations. The questions we might ask are:
• Will what we leave be good or bad?
• Will what we leave be useful or harmful?
• Will what we leave extend the name of God or impede it?
• Will what we leave advance the blessings of liberty or hinder it?
In 1650, Governor William Bradford stated in his work, “Of Plymouth Plantation” Regarding the Pilgrims:
Last and not least, they cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good foundations, or at least making some ways toward it, for the propagation and advance of the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in the remote parts of the world, even though they should be but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great a work.
So often when we think of the Pilgrims and the early immigrants to America we think of their personal quests. Yes, the Pilgrims wanted freedom to worship God. They actually had that in Holland, but they wanted even more in coming to the New World. They sincerely wanted to advance the gospel and lay a foundation for others to follow. They were willing to take on the hardships so that others could build on their work. It reminds me of Paul’s observation in 1 Corinthians 3:10 (ESV):
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.
Our Founders have given us a solid foundation upon which to build. In our current state of affairs as we see the prevailing evils attack the world, we have the opportunity to stand on that foundation. It is composed of scripture and heroic sacrifice. The question is, “Will we stand against the evil of the day and FOR the name of God?” You see, what we do today will affect our posterity.
We have been living off of the faith and sacrifices of our ancestors. But, have we been living up to that faith and those sacrifices? Remember:
• Our Colonial Pastors set the stage for American Independence by teaching about the evils of tyrannical government and the unalienable rights from God.
• Our Founding Fathers declared independence from Great Britain and its tyranny while expressing our dependence on God in statements like the last line of the Declaration of Independence:
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
Someone has said:
Liberty is more valuable than gold. How much would you pay to be free?”
As a result, what are we doing for our posterity? What legacy will we leave them? We’re not doing so well right now. My friend, Kevin Clarkson, in a recent sermon, related the following observations in comparisons between 1970 and today. America has gone from:
• The world leader in education to no longer being in the top thirty nations of the world
• The leading world lender to the leading world debtor ($30 trillion and counting)
• The leading source of missionaries to the world to the leading exporter of pornography. (South Korea and poor countries in Africa are leading in sending missionaries – even to the US).
• No legal abortions to the world’s leader in abortions – we are one of three countries in the world that allow abortions after six months and are allowing born children to die;
• Being the world leader economically to losing out to the Chinese Communist Party.
Marxism/Socialism/Communism leads to despair and slavery. Only those at the top get to live a luxurious lifestyle. The rest of the country is enslaved to their regime. We can “go along to get along” and live out our days under the thumb of tyranny and leave a dismal life for our posterity or take back what we have lost.
Benjamin Franklin once said:
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
We need to remember that real liberty is not easy. It is not without risk and danger. Yet it is of great value and should be preserved under God.
So, what are we leaving our posterity? Dads, what are you doing on behalf of your future descendants? Will they be free and have liberty?
When we talk about freedom and liberty we are not talking about a “free for all.” Do you remember the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone in Seattle that popped up the summer of 2020? This depicted “freedom” without restraint. We heard stories of rape, violence, and even murder that occurred there. There was no civil authority there.
Just like in the days of the Judges people want to do what people want to do. Judges 21:25 (ESV) reads:
25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Liberty, as the Founders consider it, included responsibility. That is why we have a “rule of law” for America. We have a Constitution that we follow, not just a wide-open uncontrolled mess.
Jesus has given us freedom with responsibility. Notice these two verses in Galatians 5 (ESV):
1For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
We have freedom or liberty – not to do reengage the worldly sinful activities but, as servants of God, reach out to others. We are free from sin and are given the privilege of serving God. But this is within the confines of God’s word. Do we realize that even if there was no eternal life that the scriptures outline the best of all possible lives? BUT, there IS eternal life as well as a good life here. Why not follow the Bible by faith with personal responsibility and enjoy true Liberty?
Dads, if you are like most parents, you are willing to sacrifice on behalf of your children. This is one way we show love to our children. We also have a sense of satisfaction by giving to our children for their betterment. There is also a significance of passing on personally important things.
I remember my dad telling me stories of his childhood and Navy days. These stories were important to him and he wanted to pass them on. We can do this in so many ways.
God has shown this to us as well. God shows His love for us clearly in the crucifixion of His son. Romans 5:6-8 (ESV) reads:
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
So what do we do with Him? With His word? With His Spirit?
We can hoard these things for ourselves and huddle in our church buildings. But what does this show our posterity? Wouldn’t it be better to pass on what God has given us? His directions are intended for EVERY area of life. When we pass on the things of God we help equip our posterity by sharing His truths.
Our Founders gave us life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. So, once again, we ask, what are we leaving our posterity? If we don’t act in the current atmosphere we will leave the opposites of these to our descendants.
Thomas Jefferson wrote in Query XVIII of Notes on the State of Virginia:
God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever;
God’s justice indeed cannot sleep forever. We have relied on His grace but have so taken it for granted that we have been negligent to DOING His will. Thankfully He is gracious when we repent and return to Him.
The leaders in Jerusalem got fired up to the task before them when Nehemiah spoke to them about rebuilding the walls of the city (Nehemiah 2:18, ESV), “Let us rise up and build.” What about us? What will we build? What will remain for our posterity?
Thanks again for listening in today. Until next time, Keep The Light Burning!
