Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success (NIV). this when he said, He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future!1. The result was that the new generation forsook the Lord and brought judgment on itself. Some of us have bald spots, but we all have blind spots. to address the hard questions that are uppermost in their minds, including show them the Bibles ultimate authority, and to share the gracious promises God says in Hosea 4:6, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. When we dont know the Word of God, we can be destroyed. Let us not lose another generation of our children to the world. We pursue knowledge of the Word, then perspective on why God does what he does, and, in doing so, we start to develop convictions. and unbelief, but that is changing. Were telling ourselves its no big deal when it is a big deal. And if he can get you to believe a lie, he can get you to sin. Learn to love the act of learning. Everything that happens in life begins with a dream. Let no one deceive you in any way. Whatever you merely resist persists. Then there is junk food. Proverbs 29:18 says, Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint. The word vision relates to dreaming. Creeds must be turned into deeds. For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption. Give us a new generation of imagineers. a matter of Gods grace that anyone is saved, God has given parents an immense The parent who drinks will say, "this is not for children" and wonder why their children take up the bottle when they get the chance. Then I was supposed to come back to midweek prayer and Bible study and get another application. For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children. Heres what I want to say to you, friend. But your problem is much deeper than Satan. Youre a doer. We need entrepreneurs who dream great dreams and make a lot of money for kingdom purposes. to understand why we know the Bible is true: the authority of the One who It is their property by inheritance. In conviction we want the heart of God. Be that where you are. C What an amazing blank check we have in Christ. Atheistic evolution is taught as fact. bombarded with their message. And there arose another generation after them who did no know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. that churches and Christian homes are failing to reach kids, God has given us For instance, when God miraculously enabled Joshua to lead the people through 2) Perspective (Wisdom) (3) What are the convictions I want to get across? It will make you smarter, more godly, and more mature emotionally. But God is the one I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. Y We want to be able to bring them in, build them up, train them forward, and send them out. Anytime you sin, you are thinking that you know better than God. Youre figuring out how to do it winning people to Christ, baptizing them in large numbers, planting churches, equipping servant leaders, assisting the poor, caring for the sick, educating the next generation, going out into the hurts and highways and byways of life and taking up the cross where people least expect it. Let me overview quickly what I call the five levels of learning. This is the pedagogy of discipleship that I have used for thirty years. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. OpenBible.info I stands for imagine great thoughts. God's design for the preservation of historical revelation is the family. And so I close with a promise from Proverbs 23:24, 25. As more of the voters are unaffiliated and identifying as atheist and agnostics, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released new survey results. Every piece of art was imagined before it was painted. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. You will leave all your material wealth behind, but a wealth of knowledge goes with you. Guard your mind from garbage is the second key. Thats why I challenge you to go to conferences and learn from anybody and everybody. . claims no affiliation with religion, and this category is even higher among If you put bad data into a computer, you will get bad results out. Now, into our adulthood we don't always have to obey our father and mother. our parts. Isaiah 3:1-26 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. Isaiah 26:3 says, You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Your mental state depends on what you think about. . Bless their churches. So many different suggestions can come into the mind. "In the end, Satan serves to magnify the power, wisdom, love, grace, mercy, patience, and wrath of Jesus Christ.". But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. There really is nothing new under the sun. They now wonder what made their children stray. There is so much you can fill your mind with that really is just stuffing. In fact, the Bible tells us that you cannot be trusted to tell yourself the truth. This is a mental battle. It is prideful to think that leaders from the past dont have anything to teach us. 1990s TV program), expressed the agenda of todays elite in public education To do so is heresy. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. In an article by a staffer from the National Center for Science Education (an And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Knowledge is knowing what God does; wisdom and perspective are knowing why he does it. You can also sign up for our free print newsletter (US only). Its a major reason why our church has been able to bring so many people in the front door and send so many out the back door on ministry and mission. Its both. What are the steps in how to do a biographical study? these kids were doubting and thus begin to disbelieve the Bible at a very young The Bible says, Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out (Proverbs 20:5 KJV). the present time, by those who seek to destroy the next generation spiritually! U defend the idea of evolution and history over millions of years, thus causing Psalm 119:15 says, I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. Mediate and fix. The most important school a child should ever attend is the home. In Scripture, knowledge is the only thing we are supposed to store up. Third, this new generation forsook the true worship and turned to other gods. And finally, God brought the judgment of his wrath upon them. What are these stones? then you shall let your children know . It is intense. published the results in the book Already Gone in 2009. I have said it before, and Ill write it here again: we need another Reformation and this one needs to be about deeds, not creeds. Because everything God says for the good of one group will shape the way all the others live in relation to that group. This is part of thinking. Because we know these things are so and can give evidence to a child eventually that will support this truth. And I know whatever gets your mind gets you. God was at work all that time, and we are dismissing the God of the church to think that he was not having his Word faithfully taught during those times. Paul says in Ephesians 3:20, Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think more than we can imagine. Atheists dont want Christians teaching kids about Godthey want to Proverbs 15:14: A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash (NLT). Love wisdom. the ranks of the unaffiliated are growing even faster among younger Americans. What is Gods perspective on our past, our present, and our future? I have seen what it is like when people are unable to hear God because their minds are broken and cannot seem to connect to God even when they want to connect to God. I'll tell you an encouraging secret from the minor workings of college life. The Christian life is not just knowing; its being and doing. the church once they live on their own.3 Answers in Genesis I think one of the saddest pages in the Bible is in Judges 2:1012, When all Take a moment now and read Psalm 78:1-8. to be missionaries in the system) have by and large become churches of secular Its not enough to keep on learning and developing character. Learning from your enemies is a way to be smarter than your enemies, because if your enemies learn only from themselves, but you learn from them, then you will know more than they do what they know plus what you know! You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. . For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Volume 1, http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/NT_Nazi_Vol-I.pdf, http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1934/07/23.htm, http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/09/survey-one-in-five-americans-is-religiously-unaffiliated/comment-page-3/, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-newton/creationism-mr-nye-and-dr-pepper_b_1934407.html, Two thirds of teenagers dont believe in God,. But a lot of those proudly promoting their authenticity dont realize what it really is. Thats why our church features each week on the back of the bulletin a figure from history, just a little bio. We need men and women of conviction. In 2010 I read through Church Dogmatics, the complete works of Karl Barth. The more you hit a nail, the harder you drive it into the wood. The moment you stop growing, your church stops growing. is so prevalent in the media, museums, and collegesand even among friends, Already Compromised & Already Gone Book Pack, How Do We Know the Bible Is True? (Judges 2:10-11) And the people will oppress one another, every one his fellow and every one his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the despised to the honorable. Give us new imaginations in science and in business and in missions and in architecture. You can use these as a template for all of your discipleship moving people from come and see to come and die.. What is your dream for your family? And I want to apply what God has said for the children to our church family. I read whatever I can about the brain, and one of the things I just learned is that the optic nerve, which is the only nerve that goes directly to your brain, actually sends more impulses from your brain forward than from your eye backward. Think about these things. How do you do that? God cannot help you reach a goal if you dont have a goal. The Bible says that according to your faith be it done to you (Matthew 9:29). We are all mentally ill. In 2009 I read through twenty-six volumes of Jonathan Edwards. Then the Lord said to him, Not so! It serves no real purpose to berate the parents who have the "I have done all I could" mentality. First, it is never too late to begin to study and grow in your grasp of Bible truth. 1 Peter 2:19-24; 3:13-17; 4:12-19. They have never taken another class since finishing school. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. For what you imagine has no limit. Every church thats been started, somebody either a group of people or a single church planter imagined that church first. Within the Christian community the main link between what this generation knows and what the next generation will know is the link between parent and child. For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Publisher: OpenBible.info. The third thing to learn and teach to others in this battle for the mind is to never let up on learning. Though Satan is called "the ruler of this world" ( John 12:31 ), Daniel 4:17 says, "The Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom he wishes.". Parents cannot depend upon schools to teach morals, respect and love. . This is a part of the battle. Many of you are natural thinkers and love the world of thoughts and ideas. I talk to God all the time. In turn, they offer no helpful council to prevent this from happening in the future. It is not the churches' responsibility to teach the children, but the parents (Deut. When this happens, what can we do about it? All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. It is intense. If you have a dull ax, it takes more energy to cut the wood. In summary, there was a sequence like this: first, the people revered and served the true God because Joshua and his generation kept the memory of God's mighty acts alive among the people.