1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,440 Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located 2 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,680 in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship 3 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:21,920 Ministries with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism, 4 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:27,300 discipleship and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church 5 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:31,760 and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bickford and I will be your 6 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:36,420 host for this podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages are a blessing 7 00:00:36,420 --> 00:00:43,520 to you and bring you closer to God. 8 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:53,600 Hello and welcome back to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast or the P.H.S.A. Church. 9 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:58,480 My name is David Bickford. I am the pastor here in Salmon Arm and today I have a message 10 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:03,920 entitled The Generational Dilemma. We are going to look at Abraham, Moses, David and 11 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:12,380 the Nation of Israel. The text we will be working off of is Jeremiah 35, 1-19. Before 12 00:01:12,380 --> 00:01:17,480 we jump into that, it is pretty exciting. I just wanted to give a tentative announcement 13 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:22,720 that we are going to be changing locations. Once that is all settled, I will be able to 14 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:27,280 share the new location where we will be holding church but we are going to have our own dedicated 15 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:32,080 space so it is going to be a big improvement. If you are in the Salmon Arm area and you 16 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:37,800 want to come out, please do. You can reach out to me. All of the contact information 17 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:42,200 is in the show notes but I will announce it when it gets a little bit closer to the move-in 18 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:49,040 date on the new location. It is a pretty exciting answer to prayer so I just wanted to give 19 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:55,400 you guys that update. Let's go ahead and jump in. Why the third generation always destroys 20 00:01:55,400 --> 00:02:00,080 a family business? This comes from an article from Scott McCollum, Director of Product Marketing 21 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:09,560 at Blue Mantis Company back in September 8, 2016. He starts off, he says, are you familiar 22 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:14,960 with the Chinese proverb, you can only keep wealth in the family for three generations? 23 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:21,280 I experienced the key reason why this proverb is true across cultures while attempting to 24 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:29,560 buy from a local farmer's market. His reason is apathy. On a vacation in Hawaii, I ran 25 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:35,760 into apathy buying malasadas, a must-have breakfast delicacy at a farmer's market my 26 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:40,560 first morning here. Malasadas are the best described as donuts without holes and were 27 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:48,520 popularized in Hawaii by Leonard's Bakery in Honolulu. The owner, Leonard Rego, started 28 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:54,360 the bakery in 1952 and control has now passed to the second generation, his son Leonard 29 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:59,480 Jr. Watch any local Hawaiian TV for more than 10 minutes and you will likely see commercials 30 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:05,120 for Leonard's Bakery starring Leonard Jr. with his kids politely selling you on their 31 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:10,040 malasadas. Leonard's malasadas, as you can tell, are a big deal in Hawaii so when I saw 32 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:15,720 malasadas from a competing baker at a local farmer's market selling for less than Leonard's, 33 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:20,800 I was curious. I asked the teenager selling the malasadas two basic questions. Tell me 34 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:27,840 what makes your malasadas unique? Why should I buy your malasadas rather than from the 35 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:33,580 brand name? Rather than giving me a sales pitch, the teenager gave me apathy. She didn't 36 00:03:33,580 --> 00:03:37,760 really know what made the products she was selling any different than a competitor's 37 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:42,980 product and she didn't care enough because she didn't have to care. After my first question, 38 00:03:42,980 --> 00:03:48,040 she deferred to the elderly woman standing nearby talking to another local. Grandma, 39 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:52,280 the teenager said at least five times with increasing annoyance. Finally, after realizing 40 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:57,520 grandma wasn't going to handle two customers at once, the teen shook her head and told 41 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:04,700 me they just like our better, you know? Here are my theories about this and most other 42 00:04:04,700 --> 00:04:09,920 small business situations. The grandparents founded the business. Life was likely much 43 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:14,560 easier for the second generation and the third generation expects the business slash money 44 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:22,160 to always be there. As we kind of go into this, we can look at society's falling. In 45 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:27,520 our society today, there is a pervasive thought that assaults us from every side. It is like 46 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:32,800 a fire that encircles us. As we look in any direction, we see a society that's bound 47 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:37,920 and determined to convince us all of the follies of our past, even if the direction that those 48 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:44,480 voices are leading us from are to, you know, from the sea to the rocky shores of destruction. 49 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:50,160 The siren song of society is one based on apathy and a lack of understanding. When we 50 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:57,160 look at the word of God, we see a different picture. The Bible is a marvelous gift. The 51 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:03,320 historical tales show us that human nature is predictable and is regularly consumed by 52 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:08,840 pride. Every generation has to deal with its own pride. They either had to learn to humble 53 00:05:08,840 --> 00:05:13,060 themselves or they will allow themselves to be carried away by the belief that they know 54 00:05:13,060 --> 00:05:20,780 better than the society that came before them. In Jeremiah 35, we're going to start off in 55 00:05:20,780 --> 00:05:25,240 verses one through two, but we're going to jump around a little bit. So in verse one, 56 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:30,080 it says the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim, the son 57 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:35,520 of Josiah, king of Judah, go to the house of the recobites and speak with them and bring 58 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:41,320 them to the house of the Lord into one of the chambers and then offer them wine to drink. 59 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,840 And we jump to verse five, then I set before the recobites pictures full of wine and cups 60 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:52,520 and said to them, drink wine. But they answered, we will drink no wine for Tehanadab, the son 61 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:58,120 of Reqab, our father commanded us, you shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons 62 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:03,640 forever. You shall not build a house. You shall not sow seed. You shall not plant or 63 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:08,560 have a vineyard. You shall live in tents all your days that you may live many days in the 64 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:14,520 land where you sojourn. We have obeyed the voice of Jehonadab and the son of Reqab, our 65 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:20,640 father in all that he has commanded us to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our 66 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:25,840 wives, our sons, our daughters, and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard 67 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:31,880 or field or seed, but we live in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jehonadab, our 68 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:37,000 father commanded us. So then in verse 12, it says, then the word of the Lord came to 69 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:41,520 Jeremiah, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, go and say to the people of 70 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:45,800 Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, will you not receive instruction and listen to 71 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:53,880 my words declares the Lord, the command that Jehonadab, the son of Reqab gave to his sons 72 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:58,680 to drink no wine has been kept and they drink none to this day for they have obeyed their 73 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:05,640 father's command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. The recubites 74 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:11,160 were honored by Jeremiah because they continued to honor their forefathers and show humility 75 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:16,800 in the teachings of the past. They chose to honor the wishes of Jehonadab, the son of 76 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:22,080 Reqab. Then this meant that they gave up drinking alcohol and even building permanent housing. 77 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:26,760 They were rewarded for these acts of faith and used as an object lesson to the entire 78 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:35,200 nation of Judah. We could see other examples of this in scripture. And this brings me to 79 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:39,800 my first point, which is generations of growth. And so we'll look at Abraham, Moses and King 80 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:45,200 David, the phenomenon of the third generation. This is an excerpt from an article written 81 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:50,880 by Dennis Bracker. Historians and sociologists have observed an interesting trend that occurs 82 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:55,680 with groups of people or in communities or even families. It's called the phenomenon 83 00:07:55,680 --> 00:08:01,920 of the third generation. Simply put, they have observed that there commonly occurs deterioration 84 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:07,280 within a community that tends to climax with the third generation. The process begins with 85 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:13,960 a period of dynamic activity, usually stimulated by a strong leader or by some significant 86 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:18,560 event in the life of the community. This is the first generation. It is characterized 87 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:24,880 by a great growth, materially, intellectually, socially, and even spiritually. There are 88 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:32,080 new ideas around. There is a dynamic to living and excitement because new things are happening. 89 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:37,680 There is expansion and growth on all levels of human endeavor. The first generation is 90 00:08:37,680 --> 00:08:42,240 marked by growth. There are many important figures in the Bible, but besides Christ, 91 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:47,800 there are a few more influential than Abraham, Moses and King David. These men are the patriarchs, 92 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:52,120 are the foundation of our faith. These men are far from perfect, but they each share 93 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:58,000 an important similarity to one another. Each of these men was bound to a covenantal relationship 94 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:05,880 with God. Abraham is the first father of our faith. The Abrahamic covenant is the beginning 95 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:11,560 of the formal revelation of the covenant of grace and God's decision to reach into humanity 96 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:16,480 and specifically save people for himself. This covenant is revealed to us in Genesis 97 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:21,760 12 via God's promise to Abraham. In Genesis 12, one through three, it says, 98 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:28,480 Now the Lord said to Abraham, go from your country, your kindred and your father's house 99 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:33,520 to a land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation and I will bless you 100 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:38,360 and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those that bless 101 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:43,360 you and him who dishonors you I will curse. And in all of your families of the earth shall 102 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:48,160 be blessed. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. In Hebrews, this 103 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:52,720 covenant is highlighted by the author because of the importance of Abraham's faith. In Hebrews 104 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:59,680 11, 8 through 9, by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called out to the place that he was 105 00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:04,760 going to receive an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith 106 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:09,360 he went to live in the land of promise and as a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac 107 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:15,760 and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 108 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:23,080 We see a similar storyline with Moses. We see the same call being placed on the life 109 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:27,960 of Moses being an example for his people in Exodus 3, 7 through 10. Then the Lord said, 110 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:32,900 I surely have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry 111 00:10:32,900 --> 00:10:38,040 because of their task-masker. I know the sufferings and I have come down to deliver them out of 112 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:42,440 the hand of the Egyptians, to bring them up out of the land to a good and broad land, 113 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:47,920 a land flowing with milk and honey to a place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, 114 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:52,920 the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now behold, the cry of the people of Israel 115 00:10:52,920 --> 00:11:00,400 has come to me and I have also seen the oppression with the Egyptians, or which the Egyptians 116 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:05,560 oppressed them. Come and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the 117 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:11,680 children of Israel out of Egypt. So also acting in faith, Moses dedicated himself to the covenant 118 00:11:11,680 --> 00:11:16,400 of the Lord. He placed nothing before his relationship with God the Father. In Hebrews 119 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:21,320 11, 23 through 28 it says, By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months 120 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:26,120 by his parents, because they saw the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of 121 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:31,480 the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called son of 122 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:37,320 the Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than 123 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:41,720 enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater 124 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:47,280 than the wealth than the treasures of Egypt. For he was looking to the reward by the faith 125 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:51,980 he left Egypt, not by being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing 126 00:11:51,980 --> 00:11:56,800 him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood so that the 127 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:01,760 destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. 128 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:06,240 So we can see with both Abraham and Moses that they had to act with faith. They had 129 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:11,880 to move towards God in faith and in doing so there was a tremendous blessing in their 130 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:18,200 lives and the lives of those that they were responsible for. So now we look at King David 131 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:23,160 and we have another similar story. A man who was plucked out of obscurity. God's chosen 132 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:28,360 man to replace King Saul. He was a humble shepherd but a man after God's own heart. 133 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:33,000 In 1 Samuel 13, 14 it says, But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out 134 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:38,680 a man after his own heart. The Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because 135 00:12:38,680 --> 00:12:44,360 you have not kept what the Lord commanded you. 136 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:51,360 This is the end of the story for Saul. He's being put to the side because he had failed 137 00:12:51,360 --> 00:13:00,600 to live by faith and we're being told of a new man with a heart that seeks out God. 138 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:07,240 In 1 Samuel 16, 11-13 it says, Then Samuel said to Jesse, Are all your sons here? And 139 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:12,600 he said, There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel 140 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:18,820 said, Jesse, send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here. And he sent 141 00:13:18,820 --> 00:13:23,360 and brought him in, and now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the 142 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:28,840 Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and appointed 143 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:33,200 him in the midst of his brothers. And the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from 144 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:37,640 that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. 145 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:42,240 All these men had their failings, their weaknesses, their sins, but despite their shortcomings, 146 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:47,440 they all maintained a deep connection with God and oversaw tremendous growth for the 147 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:52,440 kingdom of God. Through their faith, they changed kingdoms, defeated kingdoms and created 148 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:57,280 kingdoms for God. But as time goes on, there's always a need to pass the torch to the next 149 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:02,160 generation. And there's always a hope that your progeny will continue in the same faith 150 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:06,800 that we hold so dear. Abraham, Moses and King David are no different. They had a burden 151 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:13,360 to see the next generation succeed and to go even deeper into covenant with the Lord. 152 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:18,200 So let's go back to our article and we'll go get on to my next point, which is generations 153 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:24,080 of entrenchment. Then time passes and the second generation 154 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:29,400 takes over. They have not directly experienced the dynamic events of the first generation. 155 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:34,200 They have inherited good times and prosperity. There's no longer the drive to accomplish, 156 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:40,800 to create new ideas, to grow. The second generation is usually content to preserve and consolidate 157 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:45,040 the gains of the first generation. They know the triumphs of the past and sometimes 158 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:50,120 wish or dream for them. Yet because they are content with what they have inherited, there's 159 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:56,480 little motivation to put forth a genuine effort to sustain the dynamic of the past. So the 160 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:02,040 second generation is content with listening to the stories of the old ways, wishing for 161 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:07,840 them, but it's too involved with preservation and success of the present to continue the 162 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:12,400 growth of the first generation. They work hard to preserve the status quo, fearing that 163 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:18,080 any movement will risk losing what they have received. The second generation is marked 164 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:30,440 by entrenchment. So now we move on to Isaac, Joshua, and Solomon. 165 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:34,560 Isaac the son of Abraham, the promised child, followed in his father's footsteps, but he 166 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:39,720 is most notably remembered for being the would-be sacrifice saved by an angel. He is important 167 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:44,520 because he was the culminations of God's promise, but honestly, there's little more to the 168 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:52,720 story of Isaac. He had great faith, got back up when he stumbled and trusted God's promises. 169 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:57,800 Every Christian can look at Isaac as an example of a simple man whose life was important because 170 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:03,440 of how God used him. That being said, he did not push the kingdom forward in any real significant 171 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:08,160 way, but rather enjoyed the blessings of his father and maybe was a bit too complacent 172 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:15,640 in raising his children. Then with Joshua, we could see that carrying on the next generation, 173 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:20,560 there's some issues. Joshua took over leadership of Israel after Moses. Joshua saw miracles 174 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:25,840 during the time of his leadership. He conquered 31 kings while taking over the land of Canaan. 175 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:31,360 He saw miracles in battle and continued to carry forward in the same faith as Moses. 176 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:35,280 Joshua was not truly of the generation that he ruled over though. Joshua and Caleb were 177 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:39,640 the only two that made it out of the desert. They lived righteously and faithfully to the 178 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:45,920 Lord, but the next generation quickly showed they were not of the same spirit. In Judges 179 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:54,040 1, 20, 17, 34, it says, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and its villages 180 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:59,400 or Tanak and its villages or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages or the inhabitants 181 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:05,800 of Iblim and its villages or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages or for the Canaanites 182 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:12,120 persisted in dwelling in that land. When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to be 183 00:17:12,120 --> 00:17:17,760 forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who 184 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:23,440 lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. Zebulim did not drive out 185 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:29,240 the inhabitants of Kittron and the inhabitants of Naholo, so the Canaanites lived among them 186 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:34,840 but became subject to forced labor. Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Akko and 187 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:45,200 the inhabitants of Sidon or of Alab or Aqzib or of Helba or of Afik or of Rehab. So the 188 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:49,720 Asherites lived among the Canaanites and the inhabitants of the land, so they did not drive 189 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:55,840 them out. Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh or the inhabitants of Bethanath 190 00:17:55,840 --> 00:18:00,040 so that they lived among the Canaanites in the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, 191 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:04,920 the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and Bethanath became subject to forced labor for them. The 192 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:09,120 Ammonites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, but they did not allow them 193 00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:17,040 to come down to the plain. So what we see here is we see that when you consider the 194 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:25,080 man Joshua being the right hand of Moses being trained by him, but governing the next generation 195 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:31,700 of Israel, the ones that actually made it out of the desert, they were quickly willing 196 00:18:31,700 --> 00:18:38,460 to just live and try to maintain what they'd already achieved. There wasn't this push for 197 00:18:38,460 --> 00:18:45,540 success anymore. There wasn't this push for going forward into God's blessing or even 198 00:18:45,540 --> 00:18:54,560 following God's word. There was just this protectionism mindset that they fell into. 199 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:57,880 We see something similar with Solomon. Solomon might have been the wisest man, but he was 200 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:02,600 not the most devout because of that he did not live up to the ideals of his father, King 201 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:07,440 David. In 1 Kings 11 through 4 it says, For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away 202 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:12,640 his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as 203 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:18,400 was the heart of David his father. This generation is known most for holding or benefiting from 204 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:22,480 the previous generation. They did not blaze a trail. They did not hold the same standards 205 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:28,040 that made the previous generation great. This poses a big problem for the next generation 206 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:34,280 because now their example is one of stagnation. I know that Solomon built the temple, but 207 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:38,920 who started the temple? Who planned for the temple? Who funded the temple? All these things 208 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:45,680 were set in place by King David. Solomon was just acting upon what was already established 209 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:55,200 by his father. In the next picture we see the tragedy of not striving to move forward 210 00:19:55,200 --> 00:20:03,520 wholly with faith in the Lord and the direction that God has for us. 211 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:09,240 Let's get to the final point which is the generational choice, renewed covenant or decline. 212 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:12,600 Time passes again and the mantle falls on the third generation. They have only heard 213 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:16,640 about the dynamics and the vitality of the first generation secondhand. They have not 214 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:21,800 seen that kind of vitality. They have only seen the process of preservation and entrenchment. 215 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:28,020 They have heard stories of the past, but they are far away and unreal. They find no compelling 216 00:20:28,020 --> 00:20:32,680 reason to be driven by the vision that drove their grandparents. They are freed from the 217 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:38,160 need to fight for recognition and security and are even freed from the worries of preserving 218 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:42,800 what was originally hard won. They are idle with no vision that drives them, no passion 219 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:47,720 that inflames them and no purpose that gives them meaning. As a result, members of the 220 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:52,960 third generation usually begin to question their identity and their belonging. Why even 221 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:57,080 be part of this group, of this community, of this family if I serve no purpose and see 222 00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:00,600 no future? Here is the tragedy of the third generation. 223 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:06,720 The third generation is often a people lacking a strong sense of identity and belonging and 224 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:12,560 so are uncommitted to the group. A people without a driving passion because they are 225 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:19,120 fired and they are fired by no vision. A people not sure of who they are, what they believe 226 00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:24,280 or what they should do. The third generation is marked by decline. 227 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:30,200 And so now we look at Jacob, the judges and Rehoboam. By the time Jacob came on the scene, 228 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:35,000 we already saw some cracks in the relationship between God and Isaac. Jacob himself was very 229 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:39,960 far from a faithful man that Abraham was. He was a trickster and at the same time he 230 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:44,860 was prone to running away when things got tough. This doesn't discount how immensely 231 00:21:44,860 --> 00:21:51,880 used he was by God. I still can't shake the feeling that God was with Jacob and Israel 232 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:56,720 more out of his commitment to Abraham than to Jacob. The family dynamics of Jacob's 233 00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:01,640 family were far more from honorable and within his life God had to rescue them by sending 234 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:08,400 them into captivity into Egypt. In Genesis 42-50 it tells the story of Jacob's family 235 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:14,320 and we see this experience of Jacob and yes he wrestled with God but even that is different 236 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:21,000 than just actively living by faith in God. And yes there is a generational choice in 237 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:25,560 this third generation where it's you are going to either continue the decline or you're 238 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:31,880 going to make a new stand and a new covenant. And we see a covenant being made with Jacob 239 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:38,360 but it's not the same kind of forceful covenant that Abraham made. And so that's why whenever 240 00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:44,400 we look at the patriarchs of the faith it's always the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob 241 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:51,040 but it's always Abraham first. There is a certain difference because we can see with 242 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:55,840 Jacob's children, his children were willing to sell one of their brothers into slavery 243 00:22:55,840 --> 00:23:03,080 out of envy and jealousy. So there was obviously issues going on within the family of Jacob 244 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:10,320 that we could see a certain decline that wasn't apparent during the time of Abraham. In Judges 245 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:16,160 we similarly see Joshua and the nation of Israel going into this period of constant 246 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:21,240 upheaval. The next generation did not take God's command seriously and God graciously 247 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:26,640 had to raise Judges up to get them out of a pickle consistently. Just different problems 248 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:32,520 that would keep rising themselves up. They kept placing themselves into these problems 249 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:37,040 because of their disobedience. The book of Judges sets the stage for the time of the 250 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:40,840 Jewish kings but it's an illustration for us to see that our kingship was always meant 251 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:46,280 to be heavenly and not earthly because the Israelites during the time of the Judges, 252 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:51,280 after the time of Joshua were consistent in their disobedience and consistently falling 253 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:55,340 and then having to repent and come back and then falling and having to repent and come 254 00:23:55,340 --> 00:24:03,280 back to their relationship with God. We see a total decline of the nation of Israel and 255 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:08,560 that's what sets up the stage for their clamor and their desire to have a king of their own 256 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:20,240 which we're told by Samuel is a refutation of God and his relationship with him because 257 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:25,280 we were never meant to have any other king other than our king in heaven. Then we come 258 00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:33,080 to Rebohm. This is the saddest of the generational tales to me. It's the tale of Rebohm. Here's 259 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:37,880 a guide that had it all. King Solomon was the wisest and richest of kings. The nation 260 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:43,440 of Israel was secure but poor young Rebohm did not have any hand in building this mighty 261 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:49,560 kingdom of Israel and this Davidic dynasty. The grandson of the great King David should 262 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:54,960 have been able to build up upon that great legacy but unfortunately that didn't happen 263 00:24:54,960 --> 00:25:02,240 and instead he ended up with the destruction of the unified Jewish kingdoms and 10 of the 264 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:10,600 12 tribes of Israel turned rapidly to idolatry in the kingship of Jeroboam. You can read 265 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:16,440 about that in 1 Kings 12. It's such a terrible, terrible story because here's a man who could 266 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:23,440 have taken the wise counsel of the counselors that were left over from his father Solomon's 267 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:30,920 time and they probably would have been able to mitigate some of the concerns of Jeroboam 268 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:38,560 and the other tribes but instead he took the advice of his friends, these new counselors 269 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:43,920 who did not understand how the world works, did not understand what was righteous and 270 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:50,520 what was wrong and gave bad advice and ended up causing the destruction of the unified 271 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:57,040 kingdom and ended up leading 10 of those 12 tribes directly into idolatry through their 272 00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:05,000 King Jeroboam and his golden calves. It's such a terrible story because we know from 273 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:09,880 the rest of the Bible that there were no good kings in the northern kingdom. So how many 274 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:19,820 souls were lost because of this decline from Rehoboam? In closing, our covenant is in Christ. 275 00:26:19,820 --> 00:26:23,920 The beautiful thing about Christianity is that every single person who comes to Christ 276 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:30,440 can be saved by grace. This is a miracle in and of itself. Each person is the first generation 277 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:34,760 to renew their covenant with God. Salvation is the greatest gift and that is why it is 278 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:39,960 still the best tool for sharing the gospel. How good or bad your father or grandfather 279 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:45,000 may have been doesn't matter. We all have an opportunity to start a new generation of 280 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:50,240 growth. We can live eternally in a growth period because of salvation. I'm not pretending 281 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:53,760 to proclaim that just because you get saved your kids will immediately fall on your foot 282 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:58,920 steps. Each individual has to make their own choice in life. What I am saying is that if 283 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:03,520 you do not succumb to the belief that your life is on a downward trend because of this 284 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:10,520 or because of that, Christ has grafted all of us in as direct sons and daughters to the 285 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:17,040 Father. This means we can all have faith like Abraham. We can all be used by God like Moses 286 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:21,980 and we can all have a heart like King David. We do not have to live in the shadow of those 287 00:27:21,980 --> 00:27:27,840 who came before us and we do not have to fail like the third generation. In John 20, 31 288 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:33,640 it says, but these are written so that you may believe in Jesus, that Jesus is the Christ, 289 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:39,640 the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name. And in John 4, or 1 290 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:47,520 John 4 verse 15, whoever confesses that Jesus the Son of God abides in him and he in God. 291 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:52,240 So with that if I could have every head bowed, every eye closed just really quickly as we 292 00:27:52,240 --> 00:28:02,640 change the order of this message to the invitation. We all have the same opportunity to come to 293 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:07,480 Christ to give our lives up and accept him as our Lord and Savior. And if God is convicting 294 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:11,320 you right now, if you feel like you are on the decline, if you feel like you are alone, 295 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:15,720 you feel like your parents did nothing for you, you feel like you come from, or you know 296 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:20,920 you come from a broken house, a broken family, you have a broken heart, God can help you. 297 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:28,400 God can mend these wounds. God can create in you a new heart and you can step into a 298 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:34,560 new family grafted in with the Lord Jesus. And you can be that first generation again 299 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:41,440 with the growth, growth in your relationship with Jesus Christ and he can put everything 300 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:46,680 back together into your life, into your soul. If that is something that is speaking to you, 301 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:51,840 resonating with you and you are feeling a spirit convict you, then you want to signify 302 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:57,320 that with an uplifted hand. I can't see it, but God sees it. And if you did that and you 303 00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:02,200 meant it, I just want to lead you in a quick prayer. Dear Lord God, I know that I am a 304 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:06,680 sinner, but I know that you sent your son Jesus Christ, that he died for my sins and 305 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:12,320 that he rose from the grave. I accept him as my Lord and Savior and I thank you for 306 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:20,360 salvation that comes by way of grace. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. So with that simple prayer, 307 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:23,280 you have repented of your sin, which means you turn away. You're going to, you're going 308 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:28,480 to strive to sin no more and you're going to live a life honoring, praising and worshiping 309 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:34,940 Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. That sets you apart and it sets you on a path of 310 00:29:34,940 --> 00:29:40,360 great growth in your life, in your spirit. And I want to commend you on that choice. 311 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:44,800 So the next thing is you need to get, you need to get in the word. You read the Bible, 312 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:50,160 read the New Testament and start with the gospels because that'll help you to understand 313 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:58,120 the power of what you just tapped into and pray. Cry out to God with your problems, cry 314 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:04,000 out to him, glorify him with your praise. And then lastly, like lock, find a Bible believing 315 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:10,640 church and lock into it to serve others. Come into it humbly with a desire to serve because 316 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:16,920 God is working a miracle in you. Even as we speak, if you live in Sam and our common, 317 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:21,240 visit us for church. We'd be happy to have you. If you don't live in Sam and arm, reach 318 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:25,660 out. We have 3,500 churches globally. I can help put you in contact with the Bible believing 319 00:30:25,660 --> 00:30:33,760 church and I just want to thank you for listening to me this long. And again, if, if you can, 320 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:39,720 if you've listened this long, I just pray that you like share and subscribe to this podcast 321 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:44,200 so that we can help grow the message and get it out to as many people as possible. It tremendously 322 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:50,340 helps and you spread it out to everybody. And if you want to, if you want to give to 323 00:30:50,340 --> 00:30:56,500 help support this, this ministry, there's links in the, in the, in the podcast notes. 324 00:30:56,500 --> 00:31:01,120 You can, you can find that and you can help us as well. And I just want to thank you again 325 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:04,920 and get, and I want to give God all the praise and glory and I look forward to you coming 326 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:31,800 back next time. God bless.