Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.
1 Timothy 6:20-21

In this final instruction in 1st Timothy there is clear instructions to avoid the thinking of the “rich” in earthly possessions.  One of the discussions I most often have with unChristian friends is one regarding money and wealth.  Where I see my needs as ones relative to the ministry God has called us to, they see things differently.

For a long time I chased the $ and the dream of becoming rich and in my process of  trying to “provide for my family” I found myself destroying the very family relationship I was trying to “sustain.”  Not that it wouldn’t be easier if money wasn’t a constant battle… but when placed in proper perspective the financial needs of this family are being met.  Now it is MY responsibility to make sure the emotional and spiritual needs of this family are being met as well.

I have books on how rich people think, how they act, how they got rich and how they continue to get richer.  Good reading and really good knowledge for the business responsibility in my life.  however, when dealing with the spiritual needs of my family they have little bearing.    My instruction has to be from that which is central to our lives (or should be) the completion of the Holy Spirit’s revelation in the form of the Living Word of God. It is here that we must pursue the knowledge of “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11) and it is  here that we must learn to “father” my children.

Now for the shift of thought, this is intended for the Pastor’s heart and it is an amazing thing to see how my relationship with my family can be reflected in the ministry God has called me to.  To work with people from all aspects of life it is not a matter of rich vs. poor it is a matter of family.  The same correction, the same scripture, the same teaching the same instruction from the same completed Word of God.  This is what we were called to preach/teach/sustain in the Grace that is given to us.  This is where we live, in the present age, looking to a future land and home in heaven.  Grace.

My prayer today is:
Lord, speak your word through me as I deal with the emotional and spiritual needs of those around me.  Help me to see your Glory being made manifest in these your children and the working of You through my frail hands.  Lord that you would be king of my life and help me to share that necessity with those around me through your Word.  That your instruction would not just stop with my head and lips but would permeate my heart and being so that I can be used, giving God all the glory.  Amen.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:16-17

Does this sound like our/your church?

1.  Word of God is central to all aspects of the church:

A.  Teaching and admonishing in wisdom

1. Teach: to impart knowledge or skill

One definition read “Show or explain to someone how to do something”  Where we don’t need “self-help Jesus” we do need solid biblical based teaching of the Word of God.  A huge reason that I am called to church ministry is largely because  of the failure in the church with this very subject today.  So many people are told “now you are saved” and the teaching stops, they are given the Bible (although not always) and sometimes an invitation to a church or a class and the teaching ends.  Does your church teach the Bible and continue to disciple showing the love of God in their lives?  Do our churches continue to teach the Bible or after we are saved do we just become another social club?

2. Admonish: Warn or reprimand someone firmly

When is the last time you heard your pastor with a warning or reprimand?  I was discussing this with a pastor the fact that we were having to implement Church discipline at such a young age to some of the members of our church.  While on one hand it was making me sad, to him it was encouraging!  In the last years the church has grown lax on standards and even more lax on the warning and reprimanding of the congregation much less following biblical basis for correction and repentance.

When is the last call for repentance?  When was the word preached and a call for conviction of our sins?  When was the last time we cared enough to warn someone about Hell and wanted to share the salvation we have sealed on our hearts? This applies to the CHURCH as well as to the WORLD.  We must be constantly calling each other to live a holy life.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?
Romans 10:14-15

 B.   Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs

1. Singing: this is an active part of the ministry, singing as an individual and singing as a congregation.  Our world is full of music, it permeates everything from our entertainment to accompanying us as we ride the elevator.  it puts notes in our hearts as we drive down the road (no not everyone listens to talk radio) and it backs us up as we shop in the grocery store. We go to bed listening to it and our radio alarm clock wakes us up to it in the morning.  Music is around us all the time.

Singing is our active participation of corporate worship.  Its not just for the shower any more

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
Psalms 98:4

 2.  Psalms hymns and spiritual songs:  Psalms are scripture, hymns are generally theology or heavy songs, and then there are spiritual songs.  We must be careful in both hymns and spiritual songs that are not just pure scripture to make sure they follow the guideline that is laid out for us here in Colossians: does the “word of Christ dwell in them richly?”

So often we here non-worshipful songs or songs that have lyrics contrary to the teaching of scripture.  We must be on guard for that as leaders but also as the average Joe in church!  To much we grab the latest thing off the radio and try and jam it into our churches (yeah I am guilty of this too) and we don’t take the time to evaluate the song in the light of scripture.

I was about to bring  a song to our worship team and I was gathering the music and samples of the song and I realized that the first verse of the song sounded great musically but that removed from the music it made it seem like Evolution was happening and God just made order out of the chaos and “created” us.  wrapped up in the catchy tune and a great chorus I had to stop and ask God to keep me safe in my own worship with music.

C.   Thankfulness in the heart to God

Sometimes there are some of us that need to be reminded it isn’t all about theology and the word, it has to also be our response to those things.  Our congregation is gathered in worship not just for music and preaching/teaching but also to express our joy in the Lord.  To give thanks for what he has done and will continue to do!

2.  Everything is done in Jesus Name

Someday I will expand on this but for now it is sufficient to say, “As sinful men of the flesh, we are often swept up in our own ideas of grandeur rather than the Glory of God.“

3.  Everything is done giving thanks to God

(see 1. c)  

=======

So much for it being just a simple verse it turned into more of a sermon in the making

It was interesting this week to see the attempts of the older generation reaching out to the few 30 something crowd at the convention.  The 20 something was almost non-existent at the event.  The younger generations are slowly taking the place of the older generation in the SBC and the numbers and leadership ability is dismal.

Don’t get me wrong I am EXTREMELY happy that there ARE people about God’s work in the state, in our nation, and around the globe.  But the age difference between the generation that was leading, the generation leading now and the next generations to step up and take the reigns of  the Illinois SBC  is great.

I met the young and old pastors.  I spoke with them about doctrine and about the Gospel.  The older generation is making way for the younger in a disparate way reaching out to them with music and positions in the State convention and trying to build up the ranks… but where are they? The doctrine of the few I had conversations grieved my heart.  A Younger generation of pastors that have been forgotten.

Forgotten to disciple.
The lack of solid doctrine teaching in our homes and churches is the problem.  It is not the amount of programs we have. We continue to water down the doctrine of the Gospel and scripture and we wonder why our children do not grow up in the knowledge and understanding of the Lord. Our parents have dropped the responsibility of biblical instruction and biblical living on the Church.  The church has dropped the ball on discipleship of the parents to teach them how to reach their children, what makes us think that we would have better luck to disciple the next generation.

Forgotten to Protect.
I know parents try and protect their children from the hurt that comes with life.  but when did it become okay not to instill the reality of God’s comming judgment or the consequences of Sin on the hearts of our children?  When did the protection of our children begin to NOT involve their souls?  It is more than a shame that parents are not agressive in their teaching but also that the schools, the universities and the seminaries are not protecting our children.  Where is the fear of God in the forgotten generation?  It is gone.  It is forgotten for the moments of pleasure brought about for selfish reasons.

Forgotten to Grow.
We allow our children to make a few mistakes but we do not teach them to grow up.  We have generations of Christian walking the Christian life without any real growth.    They grow older and have grey (or thinning) hair but their knowledge of the Lord is superficial at best, Humanistic at worse.

The vast majority of Man Centered doctrine that permeated the few conversations I was able to have with “men of God” grieves me greatly.  I love the SBC, the cooperative program, the joint ministry, the great commission partners… but I fear that we have given the next generation over to their own lusts of the flesh.

Titus says, “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” (Titus 1:16)

I realize this is hard to hear but sometimes the truth is difficult. We have Generation Forgotten… we must pray for a revival. I needs to start in the pulpit and the preaching of the Word and be in every conversation. We must beg God to reach our children before the Global church moves on and leaves us for the history books.  God gives us the opportunity for revival at anytime… we simply must repent and go running and screaming to His arms open wide.

Something must be done. Action must be taken.

Repent. We need to repent on our face before God as a church, as parents, as children to our King, begging for mercy from our sins of neglect. We have caused the generations that follow to flounder because of OUR SIN!  How much more reason do we need to admit it and claim God’s forgiveness and victory in our lives.  Pride must be put down. We have tried it on our own and we have failed.  We must turn back to God. We must go.

Disciple. We must confess the truth of God’s love and not neglect the judgment on Sin.  We mock God with our so called teaching.  The watered down truth we give to our young and old alike, claiming that they can not handle the sound doctrine that the apostles passed down and told us to do the same.

Preach. We need to return to the ways that worked, no longer seeking to “tickle ears” with the entertainment that many preaching today emulates.  We must go back to the Bible with sound expository preaching.  Preaching the truth surrounded by prayer begging for God to open hearts and take action in our people.

Obey. With correct hearts and correct motivation, with sound doctrine and clear preaching results will come.  We MUST obey, our master commands it.  We must take the result of preaching the Gospel of Christ and train up the generations that come.

We stand at a cross roads as every generation realizes it is time to let go of our “good ideas” and rest soundly in the message of Hope that we are commanded to deliver and allow God to give the increase.

What a different way of looking at the covenant. Often we think of the covenants as something the God must keep, we focus on the fact that His promises never fail… to think that a promise made by God was broken, not by God but by man’s failure to KEEP the covenant. 

Romans 4:13
For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith (emphasis mine)

We are left with a massive shortfall of righteousness on our side of the covenant.  We have broken the Laws of God with no hope of making it right.   More evidence of grace that has been planned from the beginning.

2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Before time began, God knew we would fail our side of the promise.  God knew we would never achieve the Glory of  Himself.  It is in the gospel that we are made righteous.

We must proclaim this Good News.  That God would choose us to make His call known is still beyond the reaches of my imagination.