Episode 3

In God Alone: Trust for Generations (North OC)

In God Alone: Trust for Generations

In this sermon, Daniel Sumoge continues the series 'In God Alone' by exploring the theme of trust across generations. Reflecting on Psalm 78, Daniel emphasizes the importance of passing down faith and trust in God to future generations. He uses analogies, such as NFL drafts, to illustrate how critical it is to plan for the future and trust in God's faithfulness. Daniel shares personal anecdotes and biblical stories to underline the necessity of actively listening to and obeying God. He encourages the church to live out their faith authentically, share their stories, and invest in the younger generation to ensure that the legacy of faith continues.

00:00 Introduction to the Sermon Series

00:23 Trust for Generations: NFL Draft Analogy

03:10 Psalm 78: A Legacy of Faith

05:44 Listening to God: Beyond Hearing

09:36 Obedience to God: Passing on Knowledge

13:47 The Consequences of Hesitation

15:58 Encouragement and Hope for Future Generations

25:08 The Relay Race of Faith

26:22 Practical Steps for Passing Down Faith

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OC Church of Christ

Transcript
Daniel:

We're in a sermon series called In God Alone.

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And I know we started

this a few weeks ago.

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Uh, I know Dallas, he did a great

job preaching on Psalm 23, talking

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about the Lord is our shepherd.

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And Marcel also talked about, you know,

the week after just talking about the

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Lord is our, uh, refuge and strength.

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And today what I'm going to talk

about is how for the Lord, I

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think he wants us to have trust.

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Trust for generations.

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And when I think about trust for

generations, you know, since because

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it's the Super Bowl, I started to

think about, you know, the NFL drafts.

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I think about how teams, those who

don't know what the NFL draft is,

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NBA draft, teams have to select one

player coming out of college and

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this player is young and this draft

pick is so important because this can

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either make or break their future.

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And usually the Bears and the Raiders

don't make the best draft choices.

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Sorry about that, Brian.

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Sorry about that.

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And I know she's representing

the Raiders, but.

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They usually don't, you know, these

draft picks, they're so important.

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And a team that I think about that

does a great job in thinking about the

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future and having trust for generations

to come is actually a team that's

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playing today in the Super Bowl again.

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It's the Kansas City Chiefs.

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I know I, boo, right?

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I'm not a, I'm not a Chiefs fan,

I'm a Chargers fan, so it hurts me

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to say, but man, they do a great

job in trusting for generations.

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Do you guys know who the quarterback is?

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It's for the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Y'all know who it is.

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It's Patrick Mahomes.

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It's Pat is this guy.

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I know.

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Boo.

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I'm sorry, I'll try to get through this

analogy fast, but man, Patrick Mahomes,

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I mean, whether you like him or not,

he's one of the best quarterbacks to play

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football and he's still playing right now.

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And I think about how the

Chiefs, they hit on this guy.

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Like, wow, like look at what he's doing.

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But do you guys know?

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Who was the quarterback before

they drafted Patrick Mahomes?

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Does anyone remember?

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Correct.

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Alex Smith.

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He was the quarterback.

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There it is.

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Exactly.

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And when I think about it, Alex Smith,

when they drafted Patrick Mahomes,

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Alex Smith was around 34 years old.

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And I just want to let you know,

the Chiefs, they weren't a bad

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franchise under Alex Smith.

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They were winning games, they had

a few division title wins, but they

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just weren't winning the big one.

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They weren't going to the Super

Bowl, they weren't having the

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same success as Patrick Mahomes.

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And the organization, they

had to make a decision.

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They were like, man, we have a great

roster right now with this Chiefs team.

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We need to think about our future.

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Our quarterback currently,

Alex Smith, he's getting old.

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And then next thing you know,

they drafted this guy, Patrick

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Mahomes, and the rest is history.

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We see that.

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You know, he has three Super

Bowls, he has a chance to win

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the fourth one, and yadda yadda.

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At this point, I'm done

talking about Mahomes.

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But, what I think about though, is

how the Chiefs trusted Mahomes to

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carry their future, not only in the

present, but for, for futures to come.

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I think about how, that's how God

wants us to do it with his word, with

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his deeds, with his faithfulness.

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You know, I think about how

it's not just about what God

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is doing in our lives today.

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Although it's incredibly important,

don't get me wrong church.

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But it's also what we leave behind

for those who will follow us.

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Are we setting up a legacy of faith that

will be carried on long after we are gone?

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So, um, as I said, the title of my

message today is Trust for Generations.

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And we'll be in Psalm 78.

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So if you guys want to turn

your Bibles there to Psalm 78.

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And as you guys are turning

there, just to give a little

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context of this, uh, of Psalm 78.

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You know, this was written by Asaph.

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Uh, it recounts many trials that Israel

faces, um, during the time with, with God.

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You know, we know that God provided

multiple times for the Israelites,

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and time after time, the Israelites,

they would either forget, they

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would either turn away, or they

would just not remember anything.

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And from here, we're going to read this

passage in Psalms, and we're going to

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see, you know, what God has to say for us.

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That we cannot let the next

generation forget what God has done.

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So if you guys are there,

let's read Psalm 78.

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I'll read this one through eight

and then we'll unpack it from here.

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It says, My people, hear my teaching.

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Listen to the words of my mouth.

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I will open my mouth with a parable.

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I will utter hidden things from of old.

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Things we have heard and known.

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Things our ancestors have told us.

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We will not hide them

from their descendants.

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We will tell the next generation

the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord.

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His power and the wonders He has done.

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He decreed statutes for Jacob and

established the law in Israel,

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which he commanded our ancestors

to teach their children, so the

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next generation would know them,

even the children yet to be born.

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And they in turn would

tell their children.

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Then they will put their trust in

God and would not forget his deeds.

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But with keep his commands, they

would not be like their ancestors,

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a stubborn and rebellious generation

whose hearts were not loyal to God,

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whose spirits were not faithful to him.

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And we'll stop right there.

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And you know, this song, this is,

it has about 70 verses, but we'll

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just camp out for the first eight.

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And like I said, it, it, it's

a back and forth struggle.

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God provides the Israelites complain,

God provides again, and then the

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Israelites forget over and over,

they fail to remember God's goodness.

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And I think what's clear about here in

these first eight verses, which I love,

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is Asaph, the writer of Psalm, is saying,

guys, don't let this happen again.

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Do not forget anything that God has done.

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God has done so much.

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Remember all the things

God has done for you guys.

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And that is our challenge today.

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To make sure the next generation

and future generations to come, you

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know, the students in our church, you

know, the students, you know, kids

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afterwards, that they will remember

God's faithfulness and his goodness.

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And I'd like today to share a few insights

that I found, you know, in these first

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eight verses that really stood out to me.

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And I'm not saying that this

is the only perspective.

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I think, you know, we can come to

our own conclusion on some things.

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But these are just some things

that really stood out to me.

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And when I think about, you know,

trusting for generation and how if we

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want to pass down a legacy of trust for

future generations to have trust in God

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alone, that we have to listen, all right?

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We have to listen.

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And I'm not talking about, you

know, listening to, to campus

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students or the teens or the

middle school or kingdom kids.

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Like, I know sometimes

they can talk weird.

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This Gen Z lingo doesn't make sense.

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And I understand it.

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Trust me.

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I'm part of that generation.

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I'm confused.

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But I'm not talking about, you know,

listening to the kids or to the teenagers.

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I'm talking about listening to God.

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We have to listen to God.

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You know, in the first verse of Psalm

78, it says, My people, hear my teaching.

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Listen to the words of my mouth.

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You know, if you catch anything

from this verse, it says, listen up.

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And throughout scripture, you know,

God challenges us, you know, to

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hear his word and to share them

and to equip others, especially

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future generations, to follow him.

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But here's the challenge.

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You know, I think this is the challenge

is, you know, some, some of us, and

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sometimes we may be hearing God's Word,

but are we listening to God's Word?

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Are we listening to the commands?

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Are we listening to when he prompts

you in an everyday situation?

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I always think about, you

know, hearing and listening.

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My mom would always tell me, Daniel,

you hear me, but you don't listen to me.

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And I'm like, what does that mean?

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Like, that, that's semantics.

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And she was like, no, it's not.

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Like, if you were to listen, you

would actually do something about it.

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You know, because God just doesn't

speak through Scripture, I think.

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And I think he speaks through those

small moments, you know, those little,

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uh, nudges at our heart when we're,

you know, distracted or very busy, but

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someone or something comes up and God's

just telling you, man, you should,

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you should really, you know, share,

you should really talk to this person.

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You know, I think about how, you know,

this past Wednesday we had a North OC

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midweek and those can be hectic and,

you know, I don't have kids yet, but

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I understand how hectic it can be.

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And Savannah was coming home late

from work and I usually don't do

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the cooking, so I just go buy food.

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So I was just like, Savannah, let's go to.

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I'll get you some Pepe's Burrito, and

then we'll, you know, eat at home, and

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then we'll hurry over to, to midweek.

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But I just remember, you know, standing

in line there, and I just remember, you

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know, seeing, uh, a young college student,

kinda just like, teary eyed, and I was

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like, Alright, I'm just here to get my

food, I already got it, alright, cool.

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But man, alright, maybe I

should go talk to this person.

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I sit down and I say, Hey,

you know, my name's Daniel.

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I just, you know, saw

that you were crying.

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Is everything okay?

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And, you know, she, she

just had friend drama.

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And, you know, knowing that the

whole world was falling apart.

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She felt like she didn't have friends.

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But, you know, I just shared with her.

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Just, you know, letting her know that,

you know, it's not the end of the world.

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Like, you're still young and everything.

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And, you know, I invite her out to church.

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And hopefully she comes out.

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But, it was in those moments right

there where I'm like, Man, God,

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why are you nudging me right now?

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Like, I'm in a rush.

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Like, no, I don't want to do this.

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You know, I think in the Bible,

it reminds me of, like, Samuel.

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You know, those little nudges.

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You know, Samuel was called

by God by, by a small voice.

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Right, even Samuel thought it was

his boy Eli, but it wasn't Eli.

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It was the Lord speaking to Samuel there.

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I think about Jesus own mother Mary,

who didn't get this, you know, loud

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sign from God, but, you know, rather

she just accepted His will quietly.

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You know, it's in those moments

like that where the world is loud

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and the distractions are real.

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Do you listen to God

in those nudges there?

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Because if we want to pass down a legacy

of trust, we have to listen to God.

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You know, he will provide opportunities.

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You know, he provided

opportunity for Wednesday.

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I know he will provide many

opportunities for you guys as well,

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but only if we are listening to him.

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Those quiet nudges, those small

moments are often when he speaks to us.

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But here's the thing.

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We all know that listening

is not enough, right?

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It reminds me of this passage in

James 1 where it says, Do not, uh,

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merely listen to the word and deceive

yourselves, but actually do it.

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You know, it's those moments like that

where it's like, Man, we have to not

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only listen, but we have to do things.

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And when I think about that,

it leads me to my next point.

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It's that we have to obey God.

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We need to be obedient to God.

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In verse 2 through 4 of Psalm 78.

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It reads, I will open

my mouth with a parable.

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I will utter hidden things from of

old, things we have heard and known,

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things our ancestors have told us.

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We will not hide them

from their descendants.

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We will tell the next generation the

praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his

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power and the wonders he has done.

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You know, we see God calls his

people, he calls all of us here to

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pass on the knowledge and his good

deeds to the next generation to come.

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And obedience church isn't just

about hearing and, and knowing,

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but it's about telling about doing,

you know, living up to, to action.

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In verse five and six, it reads, he

decreed statutes for Jacob and established

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the law in Israel, which he commanded

our ancestors to teach their children.

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So the next generation would know

them, even the children yet to be born.

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And they in turn would tell the next,

or in turn would tell their children.

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You know, this psalm here, what I love

about it is that it's a big wake up call.

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It's a great reminder, you know, it's that

obedience isn't just about personal faith.

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It's about learning from the past and then

spreading it down to future generations.

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You know, I think about the past,

you know, I was thinking about, man,

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what would I do if I was, you know,

the Israelites, if I were there,

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and you know, I think about how

Israelites saw God's power firsthand.

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You know, they saw, you know, the

splitting of the Red Sea, they

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got water in the desert, they got

manna in the desert, you know, they

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were led into the promised land.

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But if you read the rest of the

Psalms in Psalm 78, it says that the

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Israelites forgot what God has done.

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You know, they tested God

instead of trusting in Him.

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They turned away even

after He rescued them.

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And, you know, the Israelites,

guys, they knew God's command,

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they knew the Word, right?

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They know they were God's chosen

people, but yet they ignored them.

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They ignored God.

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They thought their way was better.

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They thought their way made more sense.

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Doesn't that sound familiar, church?

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You know, how often are we convinced

thinking our way is better than God?

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You know, obedience isn't just

about rules, it's about trust.

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I said, the Israelites, they knew

God's commands, but they often

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ignored them because they doubted him.

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They doubted his ways.

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And church, we can do the same when

we hesitate to follow God's direction.

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You know, obedience and trusting God

means trusting that his way leads to life,

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even when it's unpopular or difficult.

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You know, for me, I think about, I

often think about my time when I was

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a, I was a disciple in high school.

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And early on, um, Go back,

you know, rewind, you know,

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I, I grew up in church here.

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I grew up in the metro LA region

and I was part of kids kingdom.

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I was part of the youth classes.

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I, I remember seeing building up

the kingdom every week and having

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memory scriptures, but it was in

high school where I realized that

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knowing what to do and actually

doing it are two different things.

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You know, early on in my walk with God

in high school, I became a disciple and

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I think this was less than a year in, I

was on the baseball team and I loved it.

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But I remember my teammate, he was going

through a hard time, and I remember,

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uh, he was telling me that his parents

were going through a divorce, and that

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his grades weren't well, and, man, he

was just getting into a lot of trouble.

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And then for some reason for me,

I felt that nudge in that moment,

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I was like, wow, maybe I should,

this is my time to share, right?

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Like, I should go tell him, like, man,

like, hey, God loves you, and maybe

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I should invite him out to church,

maybe you should see a community where

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people just love each other genuinely.

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But instead of doing that.

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I pretty much was like, no, like,

what if he thinks I'm weird, or, you

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know what, I'll invite him next week

to church, or, you know, someone else

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will probably talk to him about God.

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You know, week after week, I kept

telling myself, I kept denying it, I kept

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pushing it away, and then fast forward,

I remember one day he gets up in front of

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the team and says, hey guys, this is my

last week here, I'm moving with my mom.

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And then I was just like, oh my

goodness, I missed out on an opportunity.

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You know, I hesitated to reach out and

I think that what stood out to me when

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I think about during that time is like,

man, there's danger and hesitating when

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it comes to sharing God and the good news.

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Cause when we fail to pass down

faith, the consequences are real.

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All right.

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And I want you to turn

to, to judges chapter two.

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I feel like to me, this was

probably one of the most saddest

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passages I've read in a while.

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Uh, and in judges two, it comes after.

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Uh, Joshua leading the Israelites.

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You know, Joshua, he helped the

Israelites go into the Promised Land.

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And they've seen many great

victories with Joshua.

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But right now, here in Judges

chapter 2, verse 10, we see that

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this is coming after Joshua's death.

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And this is what it reads here

in Judges chapter 2, verse 10.

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It says, After the whole generation had

been gathered to their ancestors, another

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generation grew up who knew neither the

Lord nor what He had done for Israel.

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Think about that.

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The Israelites, they, they knew

about God's power, they knew the

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miracles that he'd done for them.

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They knew about his faithfulness,

but they failed to pass it

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down to future generations.

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And because of that, an entire generation

of Israelites grew up missing out on God.

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You know, church, it's not enough

for us to simply remember and

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appreciate God's faithfulness.

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You know, I believe we

really have to teach it.

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We have to model it.

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We have to live in a way that others.

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can see and experience God's goodness.

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Cause church, we're living in a time

just like the Israelites, where spiritual

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decline is a real present danger.

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And if we fail to pass on the knowledge

of God's power and faithfulness,

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the next generation, the future

generations, they will face the

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same struggles as the Israelites.

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You know, they will

struggle with idolatry.

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They'll struggle with the loss of truth.

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They will have some spiritual confusion.

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This isn't just a missed

opportunity here, Church.

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It's a path towards suffering, where

each generation is at risk of spiritual

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decline, forgetting God altogether.

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Church, the urgency is real, and if

we want to see future generations

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know God, and love God, and to

follow God, we must act now.

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Now, I know I shared, what I shared just

there, Church, I know it can seem a little

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heavy, I know, you know, Savannah told me

this, I was, like, going over my lesson,

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but I was reminded of some encouraging

news, though, at the same time.

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I want to share some encouragement with

you that, you know, even in the midst of

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spiritual decline, God remains faithful.

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Scripture consistently shows that God's

power to restore, to bring people back,

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and to raise up new generations who will

know Him and love Him and follow Him.

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You know, here are just a few

scriptures alone that remind us of

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God's heart to revive and equip future

generations to carry His truth forward.

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You know, these verses show us that God is

always working in and through generations

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and he desires for us to actively pass

down the knowledge of his power and love.

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You know, God doesn't just forgive

and restore on an individual level.

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He does this on a generational level.

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As I said, church, the urgency is

real, but so is this opportunity.

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Church, we can take comfort

knowing that God is always at

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work, even when things seem bleak.

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That's why we must act with the purpose.

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You know, if we don't intentionally

teach the next generation and

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generations after, we risk losing them

to the pressures, to the distractions,

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and to the sins of this world.

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You know, Judges 2, it, it, it

showed this painful consequence.

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When Israel failed to pass on their

faith, the next generation turned away.

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But we are not without hope, church.

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I believe that we will not

be like the Israelites.

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I believe that there is hope, because

in verse 4, it says, We will not

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hide them from their descendants.

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We will tell the next generation the

praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His

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powers, and the wonders He has done.

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Church, this is our calling right here.

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It's not, it's not just a

warning, but it's to inspire.

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It's to teach.

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It's to pass on a living faith that will

carry forward future generations to come.

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You know, the next generation,

the future generations church

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is not just a responsibility.

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I believe it's a great

and hopeful opportunity.

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It's an opportunity church to raise

up young men and young women who want

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to pursue God with holiness and faith.

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And if they know God's way,

they will put their trust in him

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alone and not forget his deeds.

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So the question remains, church,

are we telling the next generation?

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Cause it's not just about us, it's

about those who come after us.

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Are we living in a way that helps

them build trust in God alone?

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Are we passing down the stories

of His faithfulness so they can

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grow in hope and holiness as well?

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You know, that's, that's the

heart of it all, I believe.

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I believe the heart of it all is trust.

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You know, we aren't just passing down

information, we're passing down faith.

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And because when the next generation

knows God's way, they will put in, put

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trust in him and they will trust in

his faithfulness and his good deeds.

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You know, to close out here in

Psalm 78 verse seven and eight, it

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says, then they will put their trust

in God and would not forget his

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:

deeds, but would keep his commands.

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It would not be like their ancestors,

a stubborn and rebellious generation

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whose hearts were not loyal to God,

whose spirits were not faithful to him.

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You know, we see when people

trust in God, they don't forget

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his commands, they stay faithful.

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But when they don't, they turn

away, they become rebellious.

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So the question isn't,

are we just telling them?

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Is are we showing them

faith worth trusting in?

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Let's bring these to my last point

here is trust leads to faithful hearts.

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I said, we see two

outcomes in these verses.

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We see that trust leads to obedience.

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You know, when people trust in God, they

remember his work and follow his commands.

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And trust isn't just belief,

it's confidence in God's

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character that leads to action.

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Then we see also here, later on

this verse, we see that a lack

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of trust leads to rebellion.

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You know, this last verse here warns us

what would happen if people fail to trust.

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You know, the past generations

of Israel, they saw God's

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miracle, but still turned away.

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Because they didn't fully trust them.

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Their hearts became stubborn and

their hearts drifted from God.

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This is why I believe passing

down faith is so critical.

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If the next generation of generations

to come want to learn to trust

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God through his word, through

testimony, through seeing faith

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lived out, they will remain faithful.

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But if they never learned to trust them,

they risk falling to the same pattern as

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the Israelites, forgetting and rebelling.

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Rebelling.

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So the challenge here remains, are we

building trust in God on our own hearts

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and the hearts to those who come after us?

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Because when we trust, when the trust

is strong, faithfulness follows.

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And when I think about my own life and my

own role as a youth minister, I realized

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that the first step for me is modeling

what it looks like to trust in God.

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Because I can't ask a youth to do

something that I'm not living out myself.

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I have to constantly ask myself, am I

remembering God's faithfulness to me?

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Am I living in a way that

shows that he loves me?

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These are questions I have to ask

myself on a daily because I know that

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if I want to pass down a legacy of

trust, I have to trust in God and I

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have to lead by example in that way.

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You know, as a church, we

all have a role in this.

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It's not just the responsibility of

the youth minister, the campus minister

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or campus shepherds or the parents.

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It's the responsibility

of every one of us.

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:

And I love what Asaph writes in Psalms 78.

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It tells us that we need to tell the next

generation about God's goodness and power.

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You know, this isn't just for a

select few, it's for all of us.

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And as a church, man, we have to

continuously create an environment

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where the younger generation hears

stories about God's faithfulness.

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Not only in words, though,

but in action as well.

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Because God, I believe, he really given

us a clear commission to live this out.

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And I love Matthew 28, you know, to

make disciples of all nations, not

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only to baptize them, but to teach them

to obey everything he has commanded.

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And this is not optional.

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:

God calls us to be faithful

disciples to his word, to pass it

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down to those who come after us.

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He entrusted us and given us

the responsibility of sharing

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:

his truth and his goodness.

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God will give us everything we

need, church, to fulfill his will

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:

because of his spirit is being

poured out into us and he'll give

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:

us opportunities to live it out.

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So the question remains, church,

what does this mean for you?

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What role do you have to play in this?

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:

Because God is calling you to take

action, each one of you individually.

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I know some of you may be thinking,

but Daniel, I'm just one person.

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I can't do this.

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But the truth is, every action.

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You take to share God's story

and live out his truth matters.

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:

Whether you're an adult, you're a

student, you're a parent, you're a

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grandparent, you have the opportunity

to invest in the future generations.

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The question is, are you willing

to step up to live out your faith

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:

and show the young generation

how to trust and love in God?

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:

You know, I've learned that if I want

to pass down a legacy of faith, I

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:

need to be intentional and consistent.

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:

It's not just about what I

believe, but how I live it out.

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:

Especially to those who are watching.

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:

That's the important thing.

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:

Those who are watching.

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Church, I promise you, you know, leading

the youth ministry, I've realized, they

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:

watch every little thing that I do.

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:

They pick up some of the

bad habits that I do.

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I'm like, whoa, whoa, where

are you getting this from?

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:

And Savannah's like, well,

Daniel, you kind of did that.

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:

And I'm like, wow.

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:

Parents, your children, they're picking

up every little thing you guys do.

463

:

They're watching you.

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:

Church, my generation, we're,

we're watching you guys.

465

:

We're watching how you

deal with, with struggles.

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:

And I'm so grateful to see many of you

guys still be faithful to this day.

467

:

I'm not saying this to put you on

blast and be like, man, we're really

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:

watching you and putting you in

a microscope, but it's just true.

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:

That you guys, you guys done it.

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:

We, we haven't been in your guys

shoes, but you've been in our shoes.

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:

Younger generation.

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:

You guys were in Kids

Kingdom at one point.

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:

Trust me.

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:

The kids are watching you.

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:

The teens are watching you.

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:

Derek's laughing because

he knows it's true.

477

:

Because he's like, man,

people are watching me.

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:

Are you ready, church, to be part of that?

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:

Church, I really believe that

we can be the generation that

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:

says, uh uh, not on my watch.

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:

This ain't going to happen on my watch.

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:

You know, a whole generation is

not going to grow up not knowing

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:

about God and His goodness.

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:

Not on our watch.

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So as we wrap today, as I come in

for a landing, I wanna, I want us

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:

to consider one final thought here.

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:

You know, as I was thinking about

it, I'm thinking about a relay race.

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:

You know, in a relay race,

the success of each runner is

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:

tied to the one before them.

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:

As we see the baton is passed,

but the race doesn't end.

491

:

Once you hand off the baton,

right, you hand it off, but you

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:

still cheer on your teammates.

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:

And I think similarly we have.

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:

The responsibility to pass the baton

of faith down to the next generation.

495

:

But once we pass it down, I don't

think we just end it there, we just

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:

say, Alright, here's your baton, go

ahead and run, and I just turn away.

497

:

No, I believe we gotta be there,

you know, the track people, they're

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:

still supporting their teammates,

they're still cheering them on.

499

:

And we have the opportunity to do that.

500

:

Our job doesn't end once the

baton of faith is passed down.

501

:

We have to continue to support, to

pray, and to encourage them, as the

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:

next generation, as the future of the

church, they run their own race with God.

503

:

Now, this is how we should

approach passing down our faith.

504

:

It's not just about handing down

knowledge, but it's about actively

505

:

investing into the future and to the

next generation, helping them run

506

:

their race just as strong as well.

507

:

Our role doesn't just stop with the

transfer, but it continues and it

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:

supports and encouraged we give along

the way, that's how much we should do.

509

:

So to close out, just to have some, a few

action steps, a few practicals this week.

510

:

Man, let's really live

out, let's live God's word.

511

:

Let's show the future generation, this is

for all of us, not just for the adults,

512

:

but for the campus students, let's really

show what it looks like to walk with God.

513

:

Let's practice obedience

in our daily life.

514

:

Let's be an example of faith.

515

:

After that, let's share our story,

you know, for those who are older,

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:

let's grab someone younger than us.

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:

You know, campus, why don't

you grab a teen, or a preteen.

518

:

Share your story with them.

519

:

Parents, do the same with, with

young singles, with, with the young

520

:

marrieds, with the campus students.

521

:

Share your story with them.

522

:

Pass down stories of

His goodness and power.

523

:

Trust me, church, I love

hearing your guys story.

524

:

It really encourages me, it

encourages Savannah, and I'm pretty

525

:

sure it'll encourage all of us.

526

:

When we share the stories of God's

faithfulness, and whenever we're going

527

:

through things, we know that you guys

have been through it as well, and we

528

:

know that there's hope at the end.

529

:

And lastly, let's not just stop there.

530

:

Let's, let's invest in

those relationships.

531

:

You know, whoever it is that you talk

to, that you feel compelled to, let's

532

:

really share, let's really invest in them.

533

:

You know, whether that's mentoring

them or getting with them consistently,

534

:

being their, you know, quote unquote

discipler, you know, let's just

535

:

do that, church, because church, I

believe that the baton is in our hands.

536

:

The baton is in our hands, so let's

pass it on with care and purpose,

537

:

knowing that God is with us every

step of the way, cheering us on

538

:

just as we should be cheering on.

539

:

The next generation.

540

:

Amen.

541

:

Thank you, Church.

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