In God Alone: Trust for Generations (North OC)

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

And I know we started this a few weeks ago.

Uh, I know Dallas, he did a great job preaching on Psalm 23, talking

about the Lord is our shepherd.

And Marcel also talked about, you know, the week after just talking about the

Lord is our, uh, refuge and strength.

And today what I'm going to talk about is how for the Lord, I

think he wants us to have trust.

Trust for generations.

And when I think about trust for generations, you know, since because

it's the Super Bowl, I started to think about, you know, the NFL drafts.

I think about how teams, those who don't know what the NFL draft is,

NBA draft, teams have to select one player coming out of college and

this player is young and this draft pick is so important because this can

either make or break their future.

And usually the Bears and the Raiders don't make the best draft choices.

Sorry about that, Brian.

Sorry about that.

And I know she's representing the Raiders, but.

They usually don't, you know, these draft picks, they're so important.

And a team that I think about that does a great job in thinking about the

future and having trust for generations to come is actually a team that's

playing today in the Super Bowl again.

It's the Kansas City Chiefs.

I know I, boo, right?

I'm not a, I'm not a Chiefs fan, I'm a Chargers fan, so it hurts me

to say, but man, they do a great job in trusting for generations.

Do you guys know who the quarterback is?

It's for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Y'all know who it is.

It's Patrick Mahomes.

It's Pat is this guy.

I know.

Boo.

I'm sorry, I'll try to get through this analogy fast, but man, Patrick Mahomes,

I mean, whether you like him or not, he's one of the best quarterbacks to play

football and he's still playing right now.

And I think about how the Chiefs, they hit on this guy.

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

But do you guys know?

Who was the quarterback before they drafted Patrick Mahomes?

Does anyone remember?

Correct.

Alex Smith.

He was the quarterback.

There it is.

Exactly.

And when I think about it, Alex Smith, when they drafted Patrick Mahomes,

Alex Smith was around 34 years old.

And I just want to let you know, the Chiefs, they weren't a bad

franchise under Alex Smith.

They were winning games, they had a few division title wins, but they

just weren't winning the big one.

They weren't going to the Super Bowl, they weren't having the

same success as Patrick Mahomes.

And the organization, they had to make a decision.

They were like, man, we have a great roster right now with this Chiefs team.

We need to think about our future.

Our quarterback currently, Alex Smith, he's getting old.

And then next thing you know, they drafted this guy, Patrick

Mahomes, and the rest is history.

We see that.

You know, he has three Super Bowls, he has a chance to win

the fourth one, and yadda yadda.

At this point, I'm done talking about Mahomes.

But, what I think about though, is how the Chiefs trusted Mahomes to

carry their future, not only in the present, but for, for futures to come.

I think about how, that's how God wants us to do it with his word, with

his deeds, with his faithfulness.

You know, I think about how it's not just about what God

is doing in our lives today.

Although it's incredibly important, don't get me wrong church.

But it's also what we leave behind for those who will follow us.

Are we setting up a legacy of faith that will be carried on long after we are gone?

So, um, as I said, the title of my message today is Trust for Generations.

And we'll be in Psalm 78.

So if you guys want to turn your Bibles there to Psalm 78.

And as you guys are turning there, just to give a little

context of this, uh, of Psalm 78.

You know, this was written by Asaph.

Uh, it recounts many trials that Israel faces, um, during the time with, with God.

You know, we know that God provided multiple times for the Israelites,

and time after time, the Israelites, they would either forget, they

would either turn away, or they would just not remember anything.

And from here, we're going to read this passage in Psalms, and we're going to

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

That we cannot let the next generation forget what God has done.

So if you guys are there, let's read Psalm 78.

I'll read this one through eight and then we'll unpack it from here.

It says, My people, hear my teaching.

Listen to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth with a parable.

I will utter hidden things from of old.

Things we have heard and known.

Things our ancestors have told us.

We will not hide them from their descendants.

We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord.

His power and the wonders He has done.

He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel,

which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the

next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born.

And they in turn would tell their children.

Then they will put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds.

But with keep his commands, they would not be like their ancestors,

a stubborn and rebellious generation whose hearts were not loyal to God,

whose spirits were not faithful to him.

And we'll stop right there.

And you know, this song, this is, it has about 70 verses, but we'll

just camp out for the first eight.

And like I said, it, it, it's a back and forth struggle.

God provides the Israelites complain, God provides again, and then the

Israelites forget over and over, they fail to remember God's goodness.

And I think what's clear about here in these first eight verses, which I love,

is Asaph, the writer of Psalm, is saying, guys, don't let this happen again.

Do not forget anything that God has done.

God has done so much.

Remember all the things God has done for you guys.

And that is our challenge today.

To make sure the next generation and future generations to come, you

know, the students in our church, you know, the students, you know, kids

afterwards, that they will remember God's faithfulness and his goodness.

And I'd like today to share a few insights that I found, you know, in these first

eight verses that really stood out to me.

And I'm not saying that this is the only perspective.

I think, you know, we can come to our own conclusion on some things.

But these are just some things that really stood out to me.

And when I think about, you know, trusting for generation and how if we

want to pass down a legacy of trust for future generations to have trust in God

alone, that we have to listen, all right?

We have to listen.

And I'm not talking about, you know, listening to, to campus

students or the teens or the middle school or kingdom kids.

Like, I know sometimes they can talk weird.

This Gen Z lingo doesn't make sense.

And I understand it.

Trust me.

I'm part of that generation.

I'm confused.

But I'm not talking about, you know, listening to the kids or to the teenagers.

I'm talking about listening to God.

We have to listen to God.

You know, in the first verse of Psalm 78, it says, My people, hear my teaching.

Listen to the words of my mouth.

You know, if you catch anything from this verse, it says, listen up.

And throughout scripture, you know, God challenges us, you know, to

hear his word and to share them and to equip others, especially

future generations, to follow him.

But here's the challenge.

You know, I think this is the challenge is, you know, some, some of us, and

sometimes we may be hearing God's Word, but are we listening to God's Word?

Are we listening to the commands?

Are we listening to when he prompts you in an everyday situation?

I always think about, you know, hearing and listening.

My mom would always tell me, Daniel, you hear me, but you don't listen to me.

And I'm like, what does that mean?

Like, that, that's semantics.

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

Like, if you were to listen, you would actually do something about it.

You know, because God just doesn't speak through Scripture, I think.

And I think he speaks through those small moments, you know, those little,

uh, nudges at our heart when we're, you know, distracted or very busy, but

someone or something comes up and God's just telling you, man, you should,

you should really, you know, share, you should really talk to this person.

You know, I think about how, you know, this past Wednesday we had a North OC

midweek and those can be hectic and, you know, I don't have kids yet, but

I understand how hectic it can be.

And Savannah was coming home late from work and I usually don't do

the cooking, so I just go buy food.

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

I'll get you some Pepe's Burrito, and then we'll, you know, eat at home, and

then we'll hurry over to, to midweek.

But I just remember, you know, standing in line there, and I just remember, you

know, seeing, uh, a young college student, kinda just like, teary eyed, and I was

like, Alright, I'm just here to get my food, I already got it, alright, cool.

But man, alright, maybe I should go talk to this person.

I sit down and I say, Hey, you know, my name's Daniel.

I just, you know, saw that you were crying.

Is everything okay?

And, you know, she, she just had friend drama.

And, you know, knowing that the whole world was falling apart.

She felt like she didn't have friends.

But, you know, I just shared with her.

Just, you know, letting her know that, you know, it's not the end of the world.

Like, you're still young and everything.

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

And hopefully she comes out.

But, it was in those moments right there where I'm like, Man, God,

why are you nudging me right now?

Like, I'm in a rush.

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

You know, I think in the Bible, it reminds me of, like, Samuel.

You know, those little nudges.

You know, Samuel was called by God by, by a small voice.

Right, even Samuel thought it was his boy Eli, but it wasn't Eli.

It was the Lord speaking to Samuel there.

I think about Jesus own mother Mary, who didn't get this, you know, loud

sign from God, but, you know, rather she just accepted His will quietly.

You know, it's in those moments like that where the world is loud

and the distractions are real.

Do you listen to God in those nudges there?

Because if we want to pass down a legacy of trust, we have to listen to God.

You know, he will provide opportunities.

You know, he provided opportunity for Wednesday.

I know he will provide many opportunities for you guys as well,

but only if we are listening to him.

Those quiet nudges, those small moments are often when he speaks to us.

But here's the thing.

We all know that listening is not enough, right?

It reminds me of this passage in James 1 where it says, Do not, uh,

merely listen to the word and deceive yourselves, but actually do it.

You know, it's those moments like that where it's like, Man, we have to not

only listen, but we have to do things.

And when I think about that, it leads me to my next point.

It's that we have to obey God.

We need to be obedient to God.

In verse 2 through 4 of Psalm 78.

It reads, I will open my mouth with a parable.

I will utter hidden things from of old, things we have heard and known,

things our ancestors have told us.

We will not hide them from their descendants.

We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his

power and the wonders he has done.

You know, we see God calls his people, he calls all of us here to

pass on the knowledge and his good deeds to the next generation to come.

And obedience church isn't just about hearing and, and knowing,

but it's about telling about doing, you know, living up to, to action.

In verse five and six, it reads, he decreed statutes for Jacob and established

the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children.

So the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born.

And they in turn would tell the next, or in turn would tell their children.

You know, this psalm here, what I love about it is that it's a big wake up call.

It's a great reminder, you know, it's that obedience isn't just about personal faith.

It's about learning from the past and then spreading it down to future generations.

You know, I think about the past, you know, I was thinking about, man,

what would I do if I was, you know, the Israelites, if I were there,

and you know, I think about how Israelites saw God's power firsthand.

You know, they saw, you know, the splitting of the Red Sea, they

got water in the desert, they got manna in the desert, you know, they

were led into the promised land.

But if you read the rest of the Psalms in Psalm 78, it says that the

Israelites forgot what God has done.

You know, they tested God instead of trusting in Him.

They turned away even after He rescued them.

And, you know, the Israelites, guys, they knew God's command,

they knew the Word, right?

They know they were God's chosen people, but yet they ignored them.

They ignored God.

They thought their way was better.

They thought their way made more sense.

Doesn't that sound familiar, church?

You know, how often are we convinced thinking our way is better than God?

You know, obedience isn't just about rules, it's about trust.

I said, the Israelites, they knew God's commands, but they often

ignored them because they doubted him.

They doubted his ways.

And church, we can do the same when we hesitate to follow God's direction.

You know, obedience and trusting God means trusting that his way leads to life,

even when it's unpopular or difficult.

You know, for me, I think about, I often think about my time when I was

a, I was a disciple in high school.

And early on, um, Go back, you know, rewind, you know,

I, I grew up in church here.

I grew up in the metro LA region and I was part of kids kingdom.

I was part of the youth classes.

I, I remember seeing building up the kingdom every week and having

memory scriptures, but it was in high school where I realized that

knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things.

You know, early on in my walk with God in high school, I became a disciple and

I think this was less than a year in, I was on the baseball team and I loved it.

But I remember my teammate, he was going through a hard time, and I remember,

uh, he was telling me that his parents were going through a divorce, and that

his grades weren't well, and, man, he was just getting into a lot of trouble.

And then for some reason for me, I felt that nudge in that moment,

I was like, wow, maybe I should, this is my time to share, right?

Like, I should go tell him, like, man, like, hey, God loves you, and maybe

I should invite him out to church, maybe you should see a community where

people just love each other genuinely.

But instead of doing that.

I pretty much was like, no, like, what if he thinks I'm weird, or, you

know what, I'll invite him next week to church, or, you know, someone else

will probably talk to him about God.

You know, week after week, I kept telling myself, I kept denying it, I kept

pushing it away, and then fast forward, I remember one day he gets up in front of

the team and says, hey guys, this is my last week here, I'm moving with my mom.

And then I was just like, oh my goodness, I missed out on an opportunity.

You know, I hesitated to reach out and I think that what stood out to me when

I think about during that time is like, man, there's danger and hesitating when

it comes to sharing God and the good news.

Cause when we fail to pass down faith, the consequences are real.

All right.

And I want you to turn to, to judges chapter two.

I feel like to me, this was probably one of the most saddest

passages I've read in a while.

Uh, and in judges two, it comes after.

Uh, Joshua leading the Israelites.

You know, Joshua, he helped the Israelites go into the Promised Land.

And they've seen many great victories with Joshua.

But right now, here in Judges chapter 2, verse 10, we see that

Judges 2:10

this is coming after Joshua's death.

And this is what it reads here in Judges chapter 2, verse 10.

Judges 2:10

It says, After the whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another

generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel.

Think about that.

The Israelites, they, they knew about God's power, they knew the

miracles that he'd done for them.

They knew about his faithfulness, but they failed to pass it

down to future generations.

And because of that, an entire generation of Israelites grew up missing out on God.

You know, church, it's not enough for us to simply remember and

appreciate God's faithfulness.

You know, I believe we really have to teach it.

We have to model it.

We have to live in a way that others.

can see and experience God's goodness.

Cause church, we're living in a time just like the Israelites, where spiritual

decline is a real present danger.

And if we fail to pass on the knowledge of God's power and faithfulness,

the next generation, the future generations, they will face the

same struggles as the Israelites.

You know, they will struggle with idolatry.

They'll struggle with the loss of truth.

They will have some spiritual confusion.

This isn't just a missed opportunity here, Church.

It's a path towards suffering, where each generation is at risk of spiritual

decline, forgetting God altogether.

Church, the urgency is real, and if we want to see future generations

know God, and love God, and to follow God, we must act now.

Now, I know I shared, what I shared just there, Church, I know it can seem a little

heavy, I know, you know, Savannah told me this, I was, like, going over my lesson,

but I was reminded of some encouraging news, though, at the same time.

I want to share some encouragement with you that, you know, even in the midst of

spiritual decline, God remains faithful.

Scripture consistently shows that God's power to restore, to bring people back,

and to raise up new generations who will know Him and love Him and follow Him.

You know, here are just a few scriptures alone that remind us of

God's heart to revive and equip future generations to carry His truth forward.

You know, these verses show us that God is always working in and through generations

and he desires for us to actively pass down the knowledge of his power and love.

You know, God doesn't just forgive and restore on an individual level.

He does this on a generational level.

As I said, church, the urgency is real, but so is this opportunity.

Church, we can take comfort knowing that God is always at

work, even when things seem bleak.

That's why we must act with the purpose.

You know, if we don't intentionally teach the next generation and

generations after, we risk losing them to the pressures, to the distractions,

and to the sins of this world.

You know, Judges 2, it, it, it showed this painful consequence.

When Israel failed to pass on their faith, the next generation turned away.

But we are not without hope, church.

I believe that we will not be like the Israelites.

I believe that there is hope, because in verse 4, it says, We will not

hide them from their descendants.

We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His

powers, and the wonders He has done.

Church, this is our calling right here.

It's not, it's not just a warning, but it's to inspire.

It's to teach.

It's to pass on a living faith that will carry forward future generations to come.

You know, the next generation, the future generations church

is not just a responsibility.

I believe it's a great and hopeful opportunity.

It's an opportunity church to raise up young men and young women who want

to pursue God with holiness and faith.

And if they know God's way, they will put their trust in him

alone and not forget his deeds.

So the question remains, church, are we telling the next generation?

Cause it's not just about us, it's about those who come after us.

Are we living in a way that helps them build trust in God alone?

Are we passing down the stories of His faithfulness so they can

grow in hope and holiness as well?

You know, that's, that's the heart of it all, I believe.

I believe the heart of it all is trust.

You know, we aren't just passing down information, we're passing down faith.

And because when the next generation knows God's way, they will put in, put

trust in him and they will trust in his faithfulness and his good deeds.

You know, to close out here in Psalm 78 verse seven and eight, it

says, then they will put their trust in God and would not forget his

deeds, but would keep his commands.

It would not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation

whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.

You know, we see when people trust in God, they don't forget

his commands, they stay faithful.

But when they don't, they turn away, they become rebellious.

So the question isn't, are we just telling them?

Is are we showing them faith worth trusting in?

Let's bring these to my last point here is trust leads to faithful hearts.

I said, we see two outcomes in these verses.

We see that trust leads to obedience.

You know, when people trust in God, they remember his work and follow his commands.

And trust isn't just belief, it's confidence in God's

character that leads to action.

Then we see also here, later on this verse, we see that a lack

of trust leads to rebellion.

You know, this last verse here warns us what would happen if people fail to trust.

You know, the past generations of Israel, they saw God's

miracle, but still turned away.

Because they didn't fully trust them.

Their hearts became stubborn and their hearts drifted from God.

This is why I believe passing down faith is so critical.

If the next generation of generations to come want to learn to trust

God through his word, through testimony, through seeing faith

lived out, they will remain faithful.

But if they never learned to trust them, they risk falling to the same pattern as

the Israelites, forgetting and rebelling.

Rebelling.

So the challenge here remains, are we building trust in God on our own hearts

and the hearts to those who come after us?

Because when we trust, when the trust is strong, faithfulness follows.

And when I think about my own life and my own role as a youth minister, I realized

that the first step for me is modeling what it looks like to trust in God.

Because I can't ask a youth to do something that I'm not living out myself.

I have to constantly ask myself, am I remembering God's faithfulness to me?

Am I living in a way that shows that he loves me?

These are questions I have to ask myself on a daily because I know that

if I want to pass down a legacy of trust, I have to trust in God and I

have to lead by example in that way.

You know, as a church, we all have a role in this.

It's not just the responsibility of the youth minister, the campus minister

or campus shepherds or the parents.

It's the responsibility of every one of us.

And I love what Asaph writes in Psalms 78.

It tells us that we need to tell the next generation about God's goodness and power.

You know, this isn't just for a select few, it's for all of us.

And as a church, man, we have to continuously create an environment

where the younger generation hears stories about God's faithfulness.

Not only in words, though, but in action as well.

Because God, I believe, he really given us a clear commission to live this out.

And I love Matthew 28, you know, to make disciples of all nations, not

only to baptize them, but to teach them to obey everything he has commanded.

And this is not optional.

God calls us to be faithful disciples to his word, to pass it

down to those who come after us.

He entrusted us and given us the responsibility of sharing

his truth and his goodness.

God will give us everything we need, church, to fulfill his will

because of his spirit is being poured out into us and he'll give

us opportunities to live it out.

So the question remains, church, what does this mean for you?

What role do you have to play in this?

Because God is calling you to take action, each one of you individually.

I know some of you may be thinking, but Daniel, I'm just one person.

I can't do this.

But the truth is, every action.

You take to share God's story and live out his truth matters.

Whether you're an adult, you're a student, you're a parent, you're a

grandparent, you have the opportunity to invest in the future generations.

The question is, are you willing to step up to live out your faith

and show the young generation how to trust and love in God?

You know, I've learned that if I want to pass down a legacy of faith, I

need to be intentional and consistent.

It's not just about what I believe, but how I live it out.

Especially to those who are watching.

That's the important thing.

Those who are watching.

Church, I promise you, you know, leading the youth ministry, I've realized, they

watch every little thing that I do.

They pick up some of the bad habits that I do.

I'm like, whoa, whoa, where are you getting this from?

And Savannah's like, well, Daniel, you kind of did that.

And I'm like, wow.

Parents, your children, they're picking up every little thing you guys do.

They're watching you.

Church, my generation, we're, we're watching you guys.

We're watching how you deal with, with struggles.

And I'm so grateful to see many of you guys still be faithful to this day.

I'm not saying this to put you on blast and be like, man, we're really

watching you and putting you in a microscope, but it's just true.

That you guys, you guys done it.

We, we haven't been in your guys shoes, but you've been in our shoes.

Younger generation.

You guys were in Kids Kingdom at one point.

Trust me.

The kids are watching you.

The teens are watching you.

Derek's laughing because he knows it's true.

Because he's like, man, people are watching me.

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

Church, I really believe that we can be the generation that

says, uh uh, not on my watch.

This ain't going to happen on my watch.

You know, a whole generation is not going to grow up not knowing

about God and His goodness.

Not on our watch.

So as we wrap today, as I come in for a landing, I wanna, I want us

to consider one final thought here.

You know, as I was thinking about it, I'm thinking about a relay race.

You know, in a relay race, the success of each runner is

tied to the one before them.

As we see the baton is passed, but the race doesn't end.

Once you hand off the baton, right, you hand it off, but you

still cheer on your teammates.

And I think similarly we have.

The responsibility to pass the baton of faith down to the next generation.

But once we pass it down, I don't think we just end it there, we just

say, Alright, here's your baton, go ahead and run, and I just turn away.

No, I believe we gotta be there, you know, the track people, they're

still supporting their teammates, they're still cheering them on.

And we have the opportunity to do that.

Our job doesn't end once the baton of faith is passed down.

We have to continue to support, to pray, and to encourage them, as the

next generation, as the future of the church, they run their own race with God.

Now, this is how we should approach passing down our faith.

It's not just about handing down knowledge, but it's about actively

investing into the future and to the next generation, helping them run

their race just as strong as well.

Our role doesn't just stop with the transfer, but it continues and it

supports and encouraged we give along the way, that's how much we should do.

So to close out, just to have some, a few action steps, a few practicals this week.

Man, let's really live out, let's live God's word.

Let's show the future generation, this is for all of us, not just for the adults,

but for the campus students, let's really show what it looks like to walk with God.

Let's practice obedience in our daily life.

Let's be an example of faith.

After that, let's share our story, you know, for those who are older,

let's grab someone younger than us.

You know, campus, why don't you grab a teen, or a preteen.

Share your story with them.

Parents, do the same with, with young singles, with, with the young

marrieds, with the campus students.

Share your story with them.

Pass down stories of His goodness and power.

Trust me, church, I love hearing your guys story.

It really encourages me, it encourages Savannah, and I'm pretty

sure it'll encourage all of us.

When we share the stories of God's faithfulness, and whenever we're going

through things, we know that you guys have been through it as well, and we

know that there's hope at the end.

And lastly, let's not just stop there.

Let's, let's invest in those relationships.

You know, whoever it is that you talk to, that you feel compelled to, let's

really share, let's really invest in them.

You know, whether that's mentoring them or getting with them consistently,

being their, you know, quote unquote discipler, you know, let's just

do that, church, because church, I believe that the baton is in our hands.

The baton is in our hands, so let's pass it on with care and purpose,

knowing that God is with us every step of the way, cheering us on

just as we should be cheering on.

The next generation.

Amen.

Thank you, Church.