It’s been said that Christianity is only a generation away from extinction. Nowhere is that more true than in America.
In 2005 the Presidential OneDollarCoin act was passed. The act was intended to honor past presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison. The trouble is that unlike all other United States currency, Congress quietly removed the phrase "In God We Trust" from the face of these coins. With the flick of the pen, Congress did what atheist litigants have failed to do for decades. Instead of on the face of the coins,the microscopic-sized words appear on the edge of the coin where they are virtually unreadable.
Should we be concerned about such things? Does it really matter whether God’s name is featured prominently or whether God’s name becomes barely recognizable? There are those who think that society would be better served if Christians and Christianity were no more.
Let's imagine a future where God's name is unrecognized.
So let’s imagine a future where Christian faith becomes extinct. This would be a future where God’s name is unrecognized. What might we expect? The Bible speaks to this issue.
Psalm 12:1-2 (NIV) says, "Help, LORD, for the godly are no more;the faithful have vanished from among men. Everyone lies to his neighbor;their flattering lips speak with deception." In a world without God, falsehood will be commonplace.
Micah 7:2 (NIV) says,"The godly have been swept from the land;not one upright man remains.All men lie in wait to shed blood;each hunts his brother with a net." A world without God will be a violent culture. Men will kill or be killed.
Micah 7:3 (NIV) says, "Both hands are skilled in doing evil;the ruler demands gifts,the judge accepts bribes,the powerful dictate what they desire— they all conspire together." In a world without God, there will be widesread corruption.
Micah 7:5-6 (NIV) says, "Do not trust a neighbor;put no confidence in a friend.Even with her who lies in your embracebe careful of your words. For a son dishonors his father,a daughter rises up against her mother,a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man's enemies are the members of his own household." In a world without God, there will be family breakdown.
Is this the future we want for ourselves, for our children, and for our grandchildren? Must history repeat itself? Last week we started a series on Numbers. What strikes me about Numbers is how God sought to fashion a society where his name would be honored, where truth and justice would reign, where people would love righteousness, and where families would be blessed.
It wasn’t enough that God had delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. If they wanted to be blessed, they needed to take hold of God’s vision for their society. They needed to reorder their lives and reorder their families around the purposes of God. They couldn’t relegate God to the edges andto the fringe of their lives and expect to be blessed.
I want to revisit Numbers 1 through Numbers 4because there is so much for us to learn from these chapters of Numbers. These chapters speak to four challenges threatening the very survival of Christianity.
Challenge number one: Speaking the word of God.
Numbers 1:1 (NIV) says, "The LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt."
In Numbers Moses is God’s chosen spokesperson. Through Moses, God gave specific, comprehensive commandments to his people. Think about what a commandment from God represents. A commandment isn’t a suggestion or an opinion. God doesn't say things like, "In my opinion, I think you should." No, a commandment is God’s competent judgment about what is most blessed for his people to do. "You shall not kill. You shall not covet.You shall honor your mother and father."
Here is the problem. First, we think our judgment is better than God’s judgment. We are like children who think that they know better than their parents. I remember that my parents used to warn me not to play in the road. One night after dark I was out playing in the road. Before I could react, a car came barreling around the corner. The driver slammed on his brakes. The bumper of that car missed my head by inches. The car’s headlight was beaming in my eye. We are ignorant to think our judgment is better than God’s, yet we act as if it is.
Here is the other part. We don’t expose ourselves to the whole counsel of God. We have developed selective hearing. I was looking at our church statistics and noticed a disturbing trend. On the positive side, our worship attendance has been trending upward for decades. But let’s skip the happy talk. Our Bible school has been trending downward. What does this mean? Why isn’t Bible school more of a priority? Why isn’t it important that we study the whole of counsel of God? Friends, this isn’t a guilt trip. It’s a reality check. What does the future hold for us and for our children if coming to know the full counsel of God doesn’t become a priority?
Challenge number one is speaking the word of God. We've got to talk about it, we’ve got to teach about it, and we’ve got to get it into our hearts.
Challengenumber two:Leading the present generation.
Numbers 1:2-4 (NIV) says, "He said: 'Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one. You and Aaron are to number by their divisions all the men in Israel twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army. One man from each tribe, each the head of his family, is to help you."
If you want to know where Christian faith in America is headed, study the twenty-something crowd. Your twenty-somethings represent new parents, rising leaders, and tomorrow's decision-makers. In Numbers 1 this is the first group that God commands Moses to enlist into service. Yet this is one of the least active age segments in the American Church. In Numbers these twenty-somethings were enlisted right alongside everyone else. The younger ones were serving alongside the older ones.
As a church we need to be creating opportunities for our younger people to develop into spiritual leaders. We need to give our young people a bigger vision than merely attending church services. They need to come alongside us as we roll up our sleeves and do the work of God’s kingdom. They need to be included, not excluded. If we do this well, there is hope. This is closelyrelated to the next challenge.
Challenge number three: Leading the next generation.
Numbers 2:1-2 (NIV) tells us, "The LORD said to Moses and Aaron:'The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family.' "
Numbers 2:34 (NIV) says, "So the Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses; that is the way they encamped under their standards, and that is the way they set out, each with his clan and family." It wasn’t just the twenty-somethings that needed to be enlisted. The head of each household needed to be enlisted to lead his own family. Each parent was to take an active role as a spiritual mentor.
This is another thing that is broken. Most parents take a passive, uninvolved approach to their children’s education. You are letting the schools shape your children’s thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and values. Children do not learn about Jesus Christ in school. They are not taught to value Christian principles. They are not taught the commandments of God. Instead, they are taught that God doesn’t exist. The youth culture mocks God’s holiness and your children are continually exposedtoopportunities to sin.
The challenge for parents is valuing godliness in their children.
Malachi 2:15 (NIV) reminds us that God is, "seeking godly offspring."
Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) challenges parents, "Traina child in the way he should go,and when he is old he will not turn from it."
Ephesians 6:4 (NIV) says,"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."
For our sports-crazed families there is 1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV)."For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."
Passages like Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (NIV) doesn’t leave us without ideas. "These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,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, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you."
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
Challenge number four:Preserving what is sacred.
Numbers 3:11-13 (NIV) says, "The LORD also said to Moses,'I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine,for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether man or animal. They are to be mine. I am the LORD.' "
Numbers 4:46-49 (NIV) says,"So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans and families. All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to do the work of serving and carrying the Tent of Meetingnumbered 8,580. At the LORD's command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry.Thus they were counted, as the LORD commanded Moses." Within the Israelite society, the Levites were set apart to preserve the most holy symbols of their faith. These symbols were included in the tabernacle. In particular it was those thirty to fifty years of age who were responsible for carrying the tabernacle.
For the Christian, the gospel of Jesus Christ is our tabernacle. It is only through Christ that we can approach a holy God. It is only through Christ's shed blood that our sins can be forgiven.
In 2 Timothy 1:13-14 (NIV) Paul says, "What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us."
In 2 Timothy 2:1-2 (NIV) Paul says, "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."
There is no greater purpose than serving God’s purpose in our generation. You count. Your life has purpose. Here are some questions for you to consider.
How can you begin saturating your soul with the whole counsel of God?
How can you begin mentoring the next generation of leaders to prioritize God’s purpose in their lives?
How can you take a more active role in cultivating Christian faith in your household?
What can you do to preserve the sacred trust God has given you and pass it down for future generations?