Generational faith or Generational death

• The generations had died now this generation didn't know the Lord or what he had done for Israel.

It seems like in the past couple of readings we have seen a theme of not following idols and teaching your children. Here we see that they failed to teach their children so their faith wasn't passed on. If we don't teach our children how will they have an impact on society?

We need to take this very seriously. We can't wait for the school system the church, sunday school or youth groups to teach our children.

Moses told them they needed to tell the children. They didn't even know the deliverance of Eygpt/slavery

Romans 10:14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher?

How do we expect our children to call on him? If they don't see us call on him

How do we expect them to hear about Him? If we not talk or expose them to the gospel truth?

One day we will be gone, and our children will be the next generation how will they tell your grandchildren?

• They did evil in the eyes of the Lord

• They served the Baals

Baal idol of the Canaanites-god of fertility. Idol as we learned earlier this week any person place thing or thought that you look to as your source, meaning, provision, deliverance and fulfillment

Forsaking God vs Following God

• They forsook the Lord

• They followed and worshiped various gods of the people around them

They let the gods of the people around them affect them instead them affecting the people around with the one true living God. So this shows how easily it is to be influenced by the world around us even when we know God. We must be woke in this sleeping generation who have abandoned God and canceled his Holy word. The Word is rubbing off and influencing our children with a great agenda. But our God says in His Word that he has a future and hope for our children. So we must tell them about God and live it out alongside them so that they will stand in this dark world and be the light

• The Lord was angry because they had forsaken him and served Baal

• So he handed them to their enemies and his hand was against them to defeat just as he had told them. They were in great distress

They had forsaken God so he removed his hand and the disaster came to them via the enemy. God was working against them. That might seem harse but God is just and jealous. He desires our whole heart not half. Its like you abandoned me and it hurts. They were stressed out.

God aganist you vs God for you

If God is against you, it doesnt matter what you have going for you. And if God is for you, it doesn't matter Who is against you. -Tony Evans

• Then The Lord raised judges to save them from the raiders

• Even then they would not listen to their judges but instead prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. Turning from the ways of their ancestors who were obedient to the Lord's commands

• The Lord raised up judges for them. He would be with that judge and save them as long as the judge lived.

• The Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them

Even when we reject and abandon God he can't abandon us, because of his character. He heard when they cried out and sent the judges to defeat the enemy, the judges would die and they would return to idols.

• As soon as the judge died, the people returned to their ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, back to following, serving, and worshiping other gods. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways

This make me think about when some people get into a dying situation, they call on him for help promising to serve and surrender, and as soon as he delivers them they go right back to the old life.

Digest

• How will you pass down a generational faith?

• In what ways can you protect your faith while being surrounded with people who are against our God?

• Who are you truly following? What idols do you need to remove?

• Seeing that this is a cycle and pattern in the biblical culture that is still prevalent in our culture, what steps can you take to break the spiritual curse of abandoning God in your sphere of influence?

The Chew

Break the generational faith cycle