Restore the Faith that Raises the Future Generations (Deuteronomy 6:1-9) 10/23/2022
The 24 Answer of the 1st 2nd 3rd RUTC:
Restore the Faith that Raises the Future Generations (Deuteronomy 6:1-9) 10/23/2022
To raise the next generation means that we must nurture the posterity to become a talented individuals and workers that God can use. That is because the people that God uses ultimately saves the field, the church, and the future. Why is it so important to raise the next generation?
First, it is the original blessings that God established when he first created mankind (Genesis 1:27-28). God created man in his own image and told them to be fruitful and increase in number. Being fruitful and increasing in number is taking about our posterity. It does not merely mean we should have many children. It means that we should raise them to be the generation with God’s image, who will subdue and rule over the world. Last week, we talked about the four meanings of God’s image (spirituality that communicates with God, God’s heart, God’s wisdom, and the power to prepare for the future). Talented individuals with these characteristics who will save, bless, and subdue the world must arise. Since the population is increasing with people who do not possess this, the world is continuing to crumble.
Second, this is the mission that God gives to all the parent generations. God’s talented individuals do not just come about. It all depends on the parents they grow up under. In the passage, the most important mission God gave the Israelites as he sent them toward Canaan was this. “so that you, your children, and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you” (Verse 2). This was called God’s commands, decrees, and laws (Verse 1). Commands, decrees, and laws mean that they are not optional. They must be followed.
Third, raising the posterity this way is the way for us to enjoy God’s eternal blessings. When we obey, we will be blessed, and increase greatly (Verse 3). Our future also depends on how we raise our children, and it will be our eternal reward (Psalm 127:3). Parents and children will be each other’s crown, glory, and pride (Proverbs 17:6).
- How can we raise such a generation? The parent generation must restore their faith first.
1) As parents, we must enjoy our own relationship with God. It is God who allows us to have children. It is also God who gives us the strength, and wisdom, and all the necessities to be able to raise our children. That is why He is the unique God (Verse 5).
① It was undoubtedly God who blessed Joseph, who was sold as a slave. Joseph, under God’s blessings, was able to meet many individuals whom God used. Up until the time Joseph was sold as a slave, his father Jacob planted the covenant within Joseph (Genesis 37:2). It was also Jacob who never gave up and continued to pray even when he heard news of Joseph’s death (Genesis 45:28). If you truly believe in God, even if the children and the remannts wander and face failure, you can accept their inadequacies and have faith in them and be patient with them.
② Just as Jacob’s faith, Joseph enjoyed God’s blessings wherever he went and was used by God. Before we try to teach our children anything, our own faith and spiritual state is important. That is our children’s greatest spiritual background and influence, and it gets relayed onto them. This is why God tells the parents generation, “love the Lord with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength” (5).
2) As parents, we must have the Word of God in us.
① God first tells the parents to engrave the Word of God in their hearts (6). It is God’s Word that saves lives (2Timothy 3:15). It heals our weaknesses and diseases (Hebrews 4:12). It makes us, who are lacking and failing, complete. It gives us the strength to carry out good works (2Timothy 3:16-17). Parents must first imprint this in their hearts, hold onto it as their covenant, and believe in the power of the Word.
② God tells the parents to relay this Word (verse 7-9). He tells us to diligently impress this on our children; talk about them when we sit at home, when we walk along the road, when you lie down, or when you get up. God says, tie them as symbols on your hands, and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and your gates. The essence of the Word that we tie on our hands and bind on our foreheads is salvation, holiness, and the shema of the passage of today. We must continue to relay the Christ who became the way, the path for believers, and the mission for remnant education. We must do this before they go out into the world and form their own standards (Genesis 3), physical standards (Genesis 6), and secular standards (Genesis 11). If we really have the heart for the world, the church, and the future, we are bound to direct everything in the church to focus for remnant ministry.
- What is the form of the true summit that God will raise? This is the CVDIP that the parent generation must hold onto. There are many models in the Bible. We also designate 7 remnants from the Bible and model after them for this purpose. There are three absolute things that God desires. These are also the three reasons we are in the remnant movement and the summit movement.
1) The committed worker that saves the field with only gospel (Christ). These people are the 70 workers that saves their field and others in suffering. We are not just talking about going around to evangelize. We must teach our children to have the heart of God that extends sympathy on those people. We must make sure that they know the power of prayer (intercessory prayer). They must understand the spiritual facts behind all problems, pain, failure, and curses and experience Christ who finished it all.
2) The committed worker that saves the church with only gospel (Christ). Christ is the one who established the church, and the church is his body. Loving the church that is visible is an important method in loving Christ, who is invisible but with us in spirit (Colossians 2:24). We must teach our children about the spiritual blessings that come when we gather to worship, pray, and have fellowship (Matthew 18:18-20, Hebrews 10:25). They must learn to devote themselves with their individual talents, help each other, and serve the church (Ephesians 4:12). They must also be trained in giving offering, holding onto the covenant of financial blessings that will allow them to save the church with their offering (2 Corinthians 9:7-8).
3) The committed worker that saves the 237 nations and all peoples with only gospel (Christ). Talented individuals and summits are globalized vessels. They are globalized in languages, specialties, and cultures. With those globalized blessings, they can save all people. We must teach them to pray about how they will devote to lifelong missions with their talents and specialties. We need to help them with prayer and offering for world missions when they are young (Livingstone’s childhood).
Conclusion – God will raise such future generations through us. Upon our faith, prayer, and devotion that believes in this promise, remnants will be raised as the future summits. The Jewish people call this passage their “Shema.” They experienced the evidence of this “Shema” within many difficulties. They devoted themselves to the children, beyond their own children. May we all stand as the witnesses to this blessing.