Drifting from God: A Call to Genuine Faith

In those days there was no king in Israel right that's mentioned often verse two this is the whole situation with the man with a concubine verse two and his concubine was unfaithful to him or she was playing the Harlot some versions render it others try to they try to make it sound like she just got angry at her husband and she left him but the ESV it puts she was unfaithful to him what did she do she went to her father's house she was there for four months the end of verse two says then this husband arose verse three he went after her to speak kindly to her and bring her back and so you just you know got a bad bad marital situation right here and and all this why is all this being put here well let's go down he eventually leaves his father-in-law's home and you know the father-in-law kind of kept wanting them to stay longer longer and longer and they finally left. [00:03:43]

Israel served the Lord all all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel that's interesting some versions they render it all those who had personally experienced the power of God the works of God who personally knew the Lord and look what verse 31 is say they they serve that word is worship they Worship the Lord but it stopped at some point what led to the diminishing of the worshiping of the Lord that is mentioned right there Joshua dies and then all these other people who were alive and had witnessed firsthand the power of God they died they died. [00:21:31]

And we see for a younger generation to continue in the path of the older they need to not only inherit the knowledge and the truth in the head but the younger generation has to personally experience and know the reality of the Lord and know the Lord Jesus Christ did not Christ say this is eternal life that they might know me the one true God and Jesus Christ whom I sent the Salvation is to know the lord it's not just in the head right the Pharisees are a new testament example of people who had a lot of intellect they had a lot of head knowledge and so you can just have Traditions you can know truth you can look up to good wise people but that is not enough if it isn't a reality in your own life. [00:24:39]

And all that generation were also gathered to their fathers and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel they hadn't personally known the Lord they didn't know his works you remove those you remove the people who do and then you see who's really going through the motions or who's just going through the motions and who isn't really walking in an intimate way with Christ and we read these sad words judges 21:17 they soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked who had obeyed the Commandments of the Lord and they did not do so to me that's just a scary verse right especially even being a father and you think of trying to instill the truth and the gospel in your children. [00:27:18]

And I would say clearly to truly experience and know the Lord is to be truly born again to have genuine Faith right I the problem with Israel as we find even Paul saying most of them died in the wilderness in unbelief I mean you have a nation of people who are a part of a physical Nation but most of them had not been circumcised in the heart and it was what does the law even produce what do we see the law doing in the new in the New Testament it's arousing sin in different people I mean Israel kept getting darker and darker because the majority of Israel did not truly know Christ they didn't know the Lord they didn't have a they didn't have a new heart they didn't have a different Spirit right it says Caleb is a man with a different spirit because he's followed me holy therefore he will enter the land. [00:30:17]

And all of a sudden that restraint is now removed um and they go and live in they go live in sin I've seen that happen and some of those people thankfully got converted at a later point after their parent died and was gone then look at verse 19 but whenever the judge died they turned back and were more corrupt than their father so again restraint when one of the judges is alive and and he's leading there's restraint but you take them out of the picture and they're not going to drop any of the practices or their stubborn ways and so it's it's clearly showing that individuals can end up mechanically adopting their leaders beliefs and values uh similar to shadowing their footsteps without genuinely grasping the convictions for themselves. [00:31:31]

And you know what how long did how long did Moses have to be gone for Israel to decide that you know that there's someone else worthy to worship 40 days and they were impatient with the delay and they went up to Aaron and they said get up make a golden calf for us to Bow Down and Worship 40 days isn't that incredible Joel chapter one says tell your children about it have your children tell their children and their children the following generation so yes we've got to be taking the truth and communicating it to the younger generation uh as Paul said in 2 Timothy 1 I'm reminded of your sincere Faith Timothy a faith that first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and listen to this and now I am sure it dwells in you as well. [00:35:21]

And listen to this and now I am sure it dwells in you as well siner at Paul was certain the true saving faith and the knowledge and the walk with the Lord Jesus Christ that Lois and Unice had Paul could look at Timothy and it was evident enough in his life that he was sure that that dwelt in him it wasn't just head knowledge it wasn't just going through the motions it wasn't just cheating on someone's homework it wasn't just following someone else's footsteps but Timothy was going in his own path he and the Lord Jesus Christ but judges 2:10 all that generation that gathered to their fathers there arose another generation who didn't know the Lord they didn't know his words they hadn't experienced his goodness themselves they didn't feel deeply moved by how great he is they didn't feel thankful for worshiping uh him for the amazing things he had done. [00:36:09]

And just trickles down it corrupts the nation as a whole so Brethren this is a call here to truly pursue God to not we're not going to coast in on the coattails of any other person it's going to be you and the Lord Jesus Christ on that great day of judgment I'm going to be there not going to it's not going to be you all it's going to be me and God it is appointed for James Jennings once to die and after after that the judgment and all of my thoughts my motives of my heart they're going to be disclosed and if Paul the mighty Apostle would even say he doesn't judge himself yet he says let the lord judge me on that great day because Paul recognized some things in his life might not appear to be what they really are that didn't mean he didn't have confidence he did he said I don't know of anything against myself but we've got to pursue God. [00:37:35]

And you know what I can read every biography on planet Earth of every missionary who got martyred and I can read the whole Old Testament and I can read everything about the Apostle law thousand Apostle Paul not law Apostle Paul 10,000 times over and is that mean I'm not going to have I'm still going to have to experience something to know the Lord God's going to still have to test me I can hear of others test I can hear of others trials I can read about them and yes I can glean from that that God is faithful wow if I face that I can trust God I don't have to doubt look at him look at how he delivered this person right there but we're still going to have to personally experience the Lord in the face of our trials so that he doesn't become background noise a trial when a tri trial happened certain truths from the Bible that were starting to become background noise it's like they get Amplified all of the sudden it's like loud again and you're gripped with the reality of that truth. [00:45:21]

And you know what you read about all of that and you hear about these trials and you find God was faithful to them they personally knew the Lord they walked with Christ they found his promises to be such that you can trust him when you're standing in the furnace it's it's not a matter of in that moment believing that you got to be walking in that way prior to that okay we're about out of time let me see yeah what does it mean for you and I we need to pass the Baton well in our church and I'd say this in our parenting we don't want to be people who make as they call it making little Pharisees right making kids who it's all about rules and regulations and laws and you can see all that happened with the goite movement from that you see what it created it created a generation bitter at the god of the Bible CU they had the god of the Bible wrly represented to them because it wasn't about Christ it wasn't about personally walking with the Lord Jesus Christ and knowing him it was about all manner of external dos and don'ts and all of that and that has the appearance to stop in the Indulgence of of the flesh but it is of no value right and so you and I we got to look at our parenting right you you will have an impact either for good or for bad on your children in your own life the same goes for me so we want to pass the Baton well. [00:46:38]

And so think think Brethren are there ways in your life that you could more trust the Lord and step out in faith like Hudson I it almost sounds like presumptuous to say I'm not going to remind my boss to pay me I'm just going to pray is that presumptuous doesn't the Bible talk about God controlling the hearts of Kings so I thought that's a creative thing Hudson Taylor did and it drew him near to the Lord he wasn't walking in the footsteps of someone's biography he was creating his own biography as he walked with the Living God let's pray father Lord we don't want that to happen we don't want the Joshua was and the leaders those who walk near to God to die off in this church and then the younger generation they don't drive out the inhabitants of sin in their heart they don't cut off the right hands that cause them to sin they lose a radical desire for Holiness for love Lord what an emphasis you put on loving one another Lord that City in Gaba they didn't love that man they didn't love that woman they were selfish animals that man threw his concubine out like a piece of meat for a bunch of wolves Lord we look at that it's so dark it's so disgusting it's so depraved and yet father here we've looked at the beginning of it these men died off in a generation who had not seen The Works who didn't personally know the Lord look where they ended up Lord we want to personally know you we want we want you to prove yourself faithful in our lives as we walk with you Lord we want to to know you in a personal and an intimate way and so Lord I pray I pray You' do certain things in my brothers and sisters lives for them Lord I know as a parent there's times that I want to Lord get alone with one of my kids and maybe pray or take them somewhere and talk and it's just just me and them it's not all six of them and Lord we're thankful for the times when we're all gathered and you draw near but Lord I pray you would you would draw near not in some false emotional false fire but Lord a real Drawing Near is Romans 8:16 says Lord the spirit bearing witness with their spirit that they're a child of God lord where you just pull out the papers and you just put it right in their face and you show them you are my adopted child it's done it's finished it's the real deal Lord that they'd experience the witness of the holy spirit in their heart that they be an inner reality of knowing that you are their father that you love them Lord is that is that something too small to ask that you would do for your people Lord that it would give us a greater boldness in our own lives to honor you in every way we can and so Lord do help us help us father to be like Unice and Lois and and and so instill the truth in our kids that we can look and we can say I'm sure that faith it dwells in them Lord not not not maybe or whatever but there's a certainty of it so Lord help us help us to walk with you Lord help us to stand in all of your Works to Worship You Lord you are worthy of worship and praise Lord forgive us the times we don't worship you as we ought father we don't we don't hold you in honor as we should we don't give thanks Lord there's times we don't thank you we don't give thanks and we lord I Repent of that help us to be a thankful people a people who wants to praise you among the great congregation to lift our lips in Praise of you because you're worthy Lord show us more of your worthiness we thank you in Christ's name amen. [00:55:40]