Joshua 24:31
“And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.”
The failure of Joshua's generation was that they didn't teach the next generation the works of God. Notice the words in the verse above, “...which had known all the works of the LORD...” As long as Israel knew the works of the LORD they served the LORD. When the day came when the next generation started leading, because no one taught them the works of the LORD, they did not serve the LORD. For whatever reason, Joshua's generation never realized their responsibility to teach the next generation the works of the LORD. Their failure to teach the works of the LORD led Israel to backslide over and over again because they had no knowledge of God's works.
We must be careful not to fail in teaching the next generation the works of God. This is the responsibility of every generation. The next generation will not learn the works of the LORD by accident; they will have to learn these works because we purposely teach it to them. I fear too many times we get so wrapped up in doing the works of the LORD ourselves, that we don't stop long enough to teach the next generation about these works. There are several things we must do to teach these works to the next generation.
First of all we need to get the next generation involved in the works of the LORD with us. The best teacher is on the job training. One of the reasons I have learned the works of the LORD is because my parents got me involved in church work. My parents didn't let me sit at home while they served God; we served God together. Parents need to get their children involved in church work. Families should serve God together.
Secondly, the works of the LORD need to be taught and preached from our pulpits. I believe one of the mistakes of this present generation is that it only teaches and preaches "feel good" messages. The messages and lessons we are teaching today are not filled with doctrine from God's Word. Every preacher and teacher needs to regularly fill their sermons and lessons with doctrine. Doctrine will help teach the next generation the works of the LORD.
Lastly, if we are going to teach the next generation the works of the LORD, then we must stand and fight for these works. Every generation will have to fight to keep the definition of the works of the LORD pure. As humans we tend to always water down the Word of God. This is why we must fight to keep what we know as the works of the LORD pure. The Scriptures are a part of the works of the LORD. Every generation will have to fight to keep the Scriptures pure. Though too many preachers are soft and have no stomach to fight for truth, if the next generation is going to know the works of the LORD, then there must be some who fight to defend those works.
There is a generation who is following us. Let's not forsake our responsibility in teaching the next generation the works of the LORD. The previous generation performed their responsibility and taught these works to us, now we must do the same and teach the next generation these works. If we don't, then our children and grandchildren will not know these works and will end up being punished by God for their sins. Let's be diligent to teach the next generation the works of the LORD.
To contact Evangelist Allen Domelle, send an email to contact@oldpathsjournal.com.
A Generation’s Failure
No comments:
Post a Comment