They Cant Be What They Cant See

I heard this statement in reference to the misrepresentation of women in Public Media.

I want to apply it to the life of a child of God. New believers need role models upon which to build their faith.

The first and most obvious example of this maxim is seen in the effect of the lack of spiritual examples for the descendants of the children of Israel who grew up after Joshua and the men of Joshua’s generation had died. In the book of Judges chapter 2 we read in verse 10 “And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.” I am profoundly struck by the portion of the scripture that says, “there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD”.

I am struck by that because from time to time that exact scenario has arisen in the history of our nation which was founded upon Judeo Christian beliefs. Yes, there were a lot of people throughout the colonies that did not adhere to the teachings of the church, but the church was so vibrant that it held tremendous moral authority in society. But over time a complacency crept into the church and society. Instead of religion (Christianity) being a “positive driving force for religious belief in general, it created complacency and spiritual dryness among believers.” (www.greatawakening.com)

Enlightenment (early 1700s) As time went on a new generation grew up in this new nation. The Enlightenment in particular became a thorn in the side of the church. With its emphasis on rationalism and using reason and scientific methods to determine truths of the universe and life, many questioned or turned away from the piety of religion.

“In many ways, religion was becoming more formal and less personal during this time, which led to lower church attendance. Christians were feeling complacent with their methods of worship, and some were disillusioned with how wealth and rationalism were dominating culture.” (https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/great-awakening)

I equate this formality in religion with the scripture, “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof”. (2Timothy 3:5) “Religion became something of a pastime in which people would “go through the motions” during religious services without deeply-felt convictions of the heart and soul.” (www.greatawakening.com) It is easy to become so routine in your attendance in church, especially when you are only attending but not involved; not committed to serving in some capacity. It is not enough to merely show up on Sunday. If you do not have a personal stake in building a relationship with the Lord, you will not invest your resources, time and abilities in His cause. In the colonies during the early 1700s church attendance waned because folk were less and less committed to building and maintaining that spiritual relationship with the God who created them. Neither were they raising up their children in the Lord. Fortunately for our nation and the church there were a few who were dismayed and alarmed by the complacency and lack of fervor among the people of God.

Prior to the Great Awakening, institutional religion (which at the time was predominantly Church of England and Puritan) was impotent, ineffective, unproductive. People were just going through the motions. Its Sunday and every good Christian ought to be in their house of worship. Sing some songs, give some money, listen to a sermon, and Christian duty is done until next Sunday. Complacency, Apathy, Non-involvement, filled the church. The Great Awakening stirred up not only church members but colonial society as well. Many believe the Great Awakening “brought about a climate which made the American Revolution possible” (www.greatawakening.com)

A Spiritual Renewal

The First Great Awakening was a new approach to religion: “evangelical” religions appealed to people’s passions, rather than to traditional religious values”.   (history.com)

“The First Great Awakening, which took place from around 1730 to 1760, had a profound impact on the course of the United States, especially during the latter half of the Eighteenth Century. Although not widely spoken of in modern times, the Great Awakening was a movement rooted in spiritual growth which brought a national identity to Colonial America.” (www.greatawakening.com)

That spiritual growth is what helped to shape the national identity of the colonies. These were God-fearing, God-honoring folk who impacted their communities for positive outcomes. There have been and always will be unbelievers; men and women whose sole intent is for their own pleasure and advancement; without regard for the God who created them. But as long as there was that strong core belief that was foundational to this nation the nation continued to experience the blessings of our God.

“The movement came at a time when the idea of secular rationalism was being emphasized, and passion for religion had grown stale.” (history.com)

The Great Awakening was a spiritual renewal that swept through the American colonies. People like the Wesley brothers and George Whitefield were used by God to spark a new sprit that was “characterized by great fervor and emotion in prayer” (www.greatawakening.com)

Jonathan Edwards was another well-known name among the evangelicals of this day. Edwards, a Northampton Anglican minister, one of the chief fathers of the Great Awakening. He is well known for his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” (https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/great-awakening) “Edwards was known for his passion and energy. He generally preached in his home parish”. (www.history .com)

George Whitefield, like the Wesley brothers came from Britain to preach to the colonials. Whitefield traveled throughout the colonies preaching to any who would listen to his “charismatic, theatrical and expressive, style of preaching. (www.history.com) He preached to common folk, slaves and Native Americans. No one was out of reach of his passionate appeals. Whitefield’s preaching inspired men like Benjamin Franklin who became a lifelong friend of Whitefield although there is no record of Benjamin Franklin’s conversion. However, “Whitefield’s success convinced English colonists to join local churches and reenergized a once-waning Christian faith.” There were many others that were used by God during this brief period of great harvest of souls for the kingdom of Heaven. They each in their turn maintained a constant theme in their preaching that held 5 major elements: All people are born sinners. Sin without salvation will send a person to hell. All people can be saved if they confess their sins to God, seek forgiveness and accept God’s grace. All people can have a direct and emotional connection with God. Religion shouldn’t be formal and institutionalized, but rather casual and personal. People were “allowed to express their emotions more overtly in order to feel a greater intimacy with God.” (www.greatawakening,com) It is that intimacy with God that was missing. Intimacy with God is the basis for developing and maintaining a relationship with God. God becomes an intimate part of all aspects of your life. He is not just a help in times of trouble. He is not the last resort. He is not the only one to turn to when all else fails. He is not the only hope in cases like this or that. He is to be involved in every aspect of our lives. In times of great joy and deepest despair he is there.

The revivals that spread through the colonies had a social effect: it created a unifying drive that inspired a “national consciousness” (www.greatawakening.com) This national consciousness was both religious and political.

This essay is adapted from a message shared with Loving Souls Christian Church in Front Royal Virginia.

      I have a great friend who is also the Senior Pastor at Loving Souls. I know that Al has a Generational Plan. God gave it to him very early in his walk with the Lord. From the time I first met him I have always been inspired by his ability to represent Christ to anyone. His entire being expressed a desire that everybody that he can reach, he wants to reach for Christ. For Al it was not a job or a vocation it was his life’s purpose.

Al’s purposeful desire to reach the lost for Christ and encourage believers to do the same puts me in mind of the declaration of Jeremiah in chapter 20 verse 9, when he proclaimed, … “I said, I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name. But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.” (Jeremiah 20:9 NKJV)

      When I think of a Generational Plan I think of a mindset. It is a determination that I want to be used by God to ensure that the next generation of believers know the Lord and his wonderful works. We know that throughout the scriptures the people of God have experienced great times of revival and fervent worship of the one true God. But then within one or two generations the scriptures tell us that another generation would arise and not know him. The book of Judges is filled with turbulent times, of great moves of God in the lives of the people of Israel followed by great misery and despair because the people had abandoned the worship of the one true God.

One of the saddest commentaries on the children of Israel is written in Judges 2:8-10. Specifically verse 10 “And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.”

Why did They Not Know Him?

     These words (they did not know him) are an indictment against the previous generation. The previous generation might not have forgotten the great works and tremendous debt they owed. They did not adequately provide the next generation with reason and conviction to enable the next generation to continue to venerate the God who loves them.

Somewhere in the process of living and dying, the people of God did not adequately prepare the next generation to Know the Lord. The intimacy and reality of a Day-to-Day walk with the Lord was missing. Knowledge of the hand of God to deliver was not carried forward.   

How important it is to be involved in preparing the next generation to know and serve the Lord.

God himself admonishes his people to be diligent in just this purpose.

Deuteronomy 6:7 “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ” 

The practice of talking with our children throughout their day to remind them of the works of God in your life will prepare them for recognizing the hand of God working in their own lives. It is their God-awareness that will build in them a firm foundation that cannot be shaken. In Benson’s Commentary on Proverbs 22:6 he writes, “The impressions made in his childish years will remain, unless some extraordinary cause occurs to erase them.” Barnes makes a more specific explanation of the phrase “in the way he should go’, writing, we train a child based on that “child's temperament and the adaptation of "his way of life." The effect being we are supporting in our children the firm foundation that is in tune with their own passions, desires, attitudes, so that they all direct him toward a Godliness or a God-awareness. There is another phrase that I am reminded of here: They can’t be what they cannot see.

I am so grateful to the Lord when I hear of the revivals taking place on the various college campuses and communities. It is God’s work and I for one am thankful: That God sees these young people and knows their hearts and the longing for something more fulfilling in their lives. Many of these no doubt are products of church-going families who became sidetracked, drawn away from the path that they were once on. Some may even have experienced the deep foundation building that could not be completely eroded away by the cares of this life and life’s many attractions/distractions.

      Each of us has a responsibility for our own souls. We must do all in our power to hold fast to the faith that God grants us early in life.

Joining a church is not going to keep you in the church. Being a tithing member of a church will not keep you in the church. 

Being involved with the Lord is the only way to abide in him. Be involved in preparing the next generation to know and serve the Lord. Selah

The book of Ephesians is one of my favorite books in the New Testament. I especially appreciate the real life guidance that Apostle Paul writes to the church in Ephesus.

Ephesus played a vital role in the spread of the Christianity. Starting in the first century A.D. It was a leader in commerce and trade for centuries.

It was the city from which the Gospel of Jesus was carried to the rest of the world. The Apostle Paul and John the Beloved Disciple won many Christian converts there. There are many references throughout the New Testament about Ephesus.

So, what ever happened to the city of Ephesus?

In 262 A.D., the Goths destroyed Ephesus, including the Temple of Artemis. The city was sacked and left in ruins.

Some restoration of the city took place, but it never regained its former splendor.

What about the church?

Pure and simple: there is no Christian church in Ephesus any longer.

There is only one source or remedy for the church that is not doing the work of ministry that the church has been “commissioned” to do.

We need revival.

We need to be awakened anew.

If you examine yourself and you know that something is missing from your walk of faith before God, you need revival.

If you are not doing the work of the church, you need revival.

If you are not intentionally sharing your faith with others now you need revival.

You need to be jolted anew to revive that first love. The first love that motivated you to do anything you could to let Jesus know how grateful you were for his unspeakable gift.

If you do not have a Generational Plan for reaching the lost, now is the time to call upon the name of the Lord for a revival in your own personal walk of faith.

Hear once again the sobering words of Jesus to the church in Ephesus.:

Revelation 2:5 “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

How important it is that you and I recognize our part, our place in the plan of God to reach the world. We have pastors and teachers to instruct us in the word of God but it is part of our life purpose to make the world know that God is and that he is a “rewarder of those who diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6) It is our life purpose to share our faith with those who are within our spheres of influence. If you are lacking in the works of Christ Jesus; if you know that you are not following the will of the Lord of your Life; if you know that you are not interested in seeing the word of the Lord being fulfilled in your life; if you know that you are not ready for reaching souls for Christ, it is way past time that you turn again and pray for a new awakening in your life. 

There are too many in the body of ‘Christ who do not recognize that they are only serving God with their lips, but their hearts are far from him.

If you do not have a Generational Plan; if you are not working out your Generational Plan, join with me today lets, commit ourselves to having and executing a Generational Plan with God’s guidance and with direction of the Holy Spirit.

In the name of Jesus.

Father once again I come before you to ask for revival. Almighty God we your people do not have the strength in ourselves to awaken from the complacency or apathy that makes us unable to help others know you. Revive us O God. Renew a sense of your awesomeness. Work through us your will. Awaken a passion in us for your Will, for your Word, for your Works and for the Souls of men. In the name of Jesus I pray.

If you are not a believer already but this message makes you know that God loves you and gave his life on the cross of Calvary for you. You too can be a part of this wonderful plan of salvation that God offers to as many as would hear and accept his word.

The Plan of Salvation is that you recognize that you are a sinner. The scriptures tell us that all have come short of the glory of God (Rom:3:23). There is none righteous, no not one (Rom 3:10). But God willing to show his love even when were sinners gave his son for us (Rom 5:8). To be born into the family of God. We must acknowledge our sinful condition. We make a verbal confession that we are sinners and are in need of the Savior. We acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins John 1:12). The bible says, if we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouth God himself accepts us as his child. We become new creatures in Christ Jesus.

If you believe that Jesus is the son of God and has died for your sins just pray believing that God hears you when you pray:

Holy Father, I am a sinner. I know that I have not lived up to what you created me for. Forgive me. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and he died that I might become a child of God too. I believe your promise in your word to be true. And today I believe you are my Savior and my God in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Beloved, do not keep this great news to yourself. Proclaim the goodness of God and what he has done for you. Begin today your own Generational Plan to reach others with the good news of God great Plan of Salvation.