Sermon
22nd Feb 2026: How do we Establish a Kingdom Culture that will last for Generations?
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Welcome to the podcast of the White Church in Adelaide, South
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Australia. Excellent.
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I'm going to be inviting Bianca. Bianca's going to be sharing the
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Word of God with us this morning.
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Why don't you come and pray for Bianca and for us, Santel?
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Lord Jesus, we just thank you for the message that you have
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placed on Bianca's heart to share with us.
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Lord Jesus, we just thank you for the empowerment of the Holy
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Spirit just to come upon her right now to speak with clarity
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and with boldness of God that we would receive it, Lord Jesus,
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and we would put it into practice in a great measure.
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Lord, this sweet God, we just prepare our hearts right now to
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receive what you have for us today for this daily bread, Lord
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God, and we just thank you and we bless your name and we give
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you honor and praise. Amen, Amen.
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Thank you. Well good morning everyone.
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I am going to try and speak a lot slower than I did last time
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I did this, but I also when I get excited it just gets faster.
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So if at any point I am going way too fast, just raise your
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hand and I'll try and put my foot on the break a little bit.
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So over the past couple of weeks, we've we've heard a bit
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about cultures. So Ty spoke on 6 cultures that
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we can contend for. I was going to throw it out to
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our community group here to, to throw me some, but most of them
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aren't here. So we had a culture of Christ,
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culture of conviction, culture of caring, culture of community,
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culture of calling and a culture of commissioning.
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And then Hilary shared last week on Kingdom family, which is a
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culture that we carry. It's not just a family culture,
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but we want a Kingdom family culture.
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And so today I really had all my heart to share about how do we
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establish a Kingdom culture that will last for generations?
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Because we know that God's not just building for right now,
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He's building for the generations to come.
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He's not, I like, I liken it to God's not building a castle, a
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building that's just once off built, done and dusted, but he's
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building a Kingdom. A Kingdom is something that
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keeps taking ground, keeps growing, keeps getting bigger.
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And so we see this in God's promise to Noah right in
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Genesis. It's all throughout the Bible.
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In Genesis 912, God speaks to Noah about the promise, the
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rainbow that he puts in the sky, and the promise after the
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floods. And it's not just a promise for
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Noah. It doesn't just say that this is
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what I'm doing so you'll survive.
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There's going to be no more floods for you.
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But it says this is the sign of the covenant I am making between
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me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant
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for all generations to come. We see it again in Abraham.
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When God promises Abraham that we will, he will have nations
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come from him. I will Genesis 17 seven.
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I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between
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me and you and your descendants after you and for the
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generations to come to be your God and the God of your
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descendants after you. God promises it to David that he
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will sit on, that he will have someone of his throne for
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generations. I've made a commitment with my
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chosen one. I've sworn to David, my servant.
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I will establish the line forever and ever and make your
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throne firm through all generations.
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So we see over and over the promises of God are for
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generations. God introduces himself to Moses
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as the God of the generations. He says I when Moses says who,
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who should you, who should I say?
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Sent me to the to save the Israelites from Egypt?
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And he says the Lord, the God of your father's, the God of
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Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.
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He introduces himself as a generational God.
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Sorry and then, but this isn't just Old Testament.
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We see it in the early church as well in Acts 2 when the early
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church was birthed, when the Holy Spirit came and Peter
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preached and thousands were saved and said hundreds were
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saved. And he says repent and be
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baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
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forgiveness of sins. You will receive the Holy
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Spirit. But it goes on to say this
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promise is for you and your children and for all who are far
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off, which is the promise that we're living in now.
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We've received that Holy Spirit. We're living in those days.
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We're living in that promise of the generations to come.
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And so we want to see that for the generations that go after
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us. Culture.
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We here often say culture isn't created, it's cultivated, which
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just means it's not something that we can just say tomorrow,
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this is going to be our culture. Like if in our family we wake up
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tomorrow and say, OK, kids tomorrow, we're going to put
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other people's needs before our own and that is our family
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culture. Our kids are not just going to
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be like that day. No fighting, sharing all of
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their toys, giving up for one another doesn't just happen.
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It's something that has to be fostered.
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It has to be developed. And this means that we're
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leaving a culture, whether it's good or bad, whether we're being
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intentional with what we're doing or whether we're not.
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And that's what Hillary touched on.
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She said your family has a culture without you even trying.
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It's just by the way that you live.
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That's how you establish a culture.
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It's what we value, what we don't value.
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So our question, the question I wanted to talk about today was
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how do we establish a Kingdom culture that will last for
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generations? So the first thing we see in the
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Bible is we teach His commands all throughout Exodus and
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Leviticus. When God's giving the law to his
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people, they're being taught to keep these laws for generations
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in Exodus. Let's just pull out Exodus 2942
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talking about the burnt offerings for the generations to
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come. This burnt offering is to be
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made regularly at the entrance of the tenor meeting before the
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Lord. It's a law that's meant to be
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passed down. God was not planning on coming
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back in 30 years to tell all the next generation of Israelites,
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these are my laws. This is what you need to do.
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It was a responsibility of what they called the ancestors or to
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pass it down so that wouldn't be forgotten.
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It was God's design in Deuteronomy 6 verse one to two.
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I'm just going to turn in my Bible.
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Feel free to turn with me if you've got your Bibles with you
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to Deuteronomy 6. So Deuteronomy 6 starting in
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verse one because it sets a context.
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These are the commands, decrees, and laws.
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So the commands of the Lord your God directed by me to teach you
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to observe in the land that you're crossing the Jordan, to
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possess, so that you, your children and their children
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after them, why are they doing it?
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That may fear the Lord as long as they live by keeping his
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decrees and commands so that you may enjoy long life.
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So we see the reason for passing down the law, the reason for
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teaching it was actually so that they will live longer.
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They will live prosperity prosperously.
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And so jumping down to verse 6, these commandments that I give
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to you today are to be on your hearts.
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Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit
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down at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie
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down, when you get up. Tie them as a symbol on your
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hands, bind them on your foreheads.
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Write them on the door frames of your house and on your gates.
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So God's design was that these things are passed down and
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taught and taught and taught and talked about and taught so that
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it would be something that the next generation would continue
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to carry and that they would continue to pass down.
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And, and the beautiful thing is that this is exactly what Jesus
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has called us to do. We see it in the Great
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Commission in Matthew 2818 to 20, which we all know very well.
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In verse 20 it says, sorry, so they're 19.
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Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
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in the name of the Father, the Son of the Holy Spirit, and
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teaching them to obey everything I've commanded.
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And surely I'm with you. So that's our job now.
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Our job is to teach the next generation, teach those that are
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new to faith and coming in. It's our responsibility to teach
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them the laws, the commands, the things that have been passed
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down to us. If you want to turn with me to
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Psalm 78, we see this. Our worked Psalm 78 picking up
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in verse 5 says he decreed statutes for Jacob and
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established the law in Israel which he commanded our ancestors
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to teach their children so the next generation would know them,
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even the children yet to be born, that they in turn would
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tell their children. Then they would put their trust
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in God and would not forget His deeds, but would keep His
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commands. Goes on to say that they would
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not be like their ancestors, A stubborn, rebellious generation
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whose hearts were not loyal. So we see what happens when we
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don't pass these things down, when we don't teach His
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commands. We don't set up the next
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generation very well because they get stuck in all of the
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things that we probably got stuck in.
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We want them to go further than us.
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So the first thing we need to do is teach His commands.
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The second thing, even in this passage that it referencing is
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tell of His power and good works.
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So if we read from verse 4, Psalm 78, verse 4, it says we
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will not hide them from their descendants.
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We will tell to the next generation the praiseworthy
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deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done.
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Psalm 7118. Even when I am old and Gray.
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Now I'm just saying, if you've got Gray hair, this one's for
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you. Even when I am Gray, old and
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Gray. Do not forsake me, my God, till
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I declare your power to the next generation, Your mighty axe to
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all who are to come. But this isn't when we tell of
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His wonders. It's not just something that we
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see passed down. If we turn to Psalm 145 picking
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up in verse 4, it's actually we see it's both ways.
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Psalm 145 says one generation commends your works to another.
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They tell of your mighty axe. They speak, sorry, they lost the
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most part the They tell of your mighty axe, they speak of your
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glorious spender, of your majesty, and I will meditate on
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your wonderful works. They tell of the power of your
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awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.
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They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of
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your righteousness. So we see this when the
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generation, other generations are doing it.
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It has an effect on us too. I liken it to how encouraged I
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am when I see my kids just go and start praying for one
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another. If someone gets hurt and they go
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out and they say I'll, I'll pray and they'll pray for each other.
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Or how many times a young kid just stands up or reminds you
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that it's OK, Jesus loves you. Sometimes those little just tiny
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simple revelations, watching the kids jump up and down and praise
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God with everything they bring us who are we're not the next
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generation. We've gone before them, but they
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bring us encouragement. They bring they, they build us
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up. They sometimes they give us
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revelation of the simplicity of, of, of what faith can be
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sometimes. And verse 10 of Psalm 145 says
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all your works praise you, Lord, your faithful people extol you.
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They tell of your glory, of your glory, of your Kingdom, and
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speak of your mind so that all people may know your mighty
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acts, all the glorious splendour of your Kingdom.
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And why do we do it? Because your Kingdom is an
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everlasting Kingdom, and your dominion endures through all
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generations. That's why it matters.
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It's not just for us, it's for God.
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And He chooses to partner with us to keep His praise enduring
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for generations. So how do we create a Kingdom
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culture that will last for generations?
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We teach His commands. We tell of His good works and
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His power, and #3 we testify of His faithfulness.
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Psalm 89.1 says I will sing of the Lord's great love forever
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with my mouth. I will make faithfulness known
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through all the generations. Psalm 40, verse 10, I do not
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hide Your righteousness in my heart.
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I speak of Your faithfulness and Your saving health.
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I do not conceal Your love and Your faithfulness from the great
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assembly or in other versions they say the congregation.
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It's something that we need to testify of because it's
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personal. Psalm 66 says come and hear all
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you who fear God. Let me tell you what he has done
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for me. There is nothing like the
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personal revelation of what you've experienced, what God has
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done in your life, the way you have seen him come through, the
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way you have seen him work. And that being passed down in to
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Timothy 15, we see its effect on Timothy.
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So Paul writes to Timothy and he says, I'm reminded of your
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sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois, and
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then in your mother Eunice, and now I am persuaded lives in you
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also. It's a faith that is passed down
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and that's done through testifying.
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If we just keep it to ourselves, the next generation's never
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going to know, and it's hard for them to stand on the faith that
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we have as well and go further. So we teach his commands, we
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tell of his parent good works, and we testify to his
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faithfulness. But I just want to pause there
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for a second because there was a little, I've been thinking about
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this as a there's an activity that we used to do in primary
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school and it was called show and tell.
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Anyone remember that from back in the day?
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Show and tell. So basically as a kid, you would
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have to bring something in and it would be your job.
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When the teacher said it was your turn, you'd get up, you'd
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tell the class about something and you'd show them what you
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brought in. It wasn't enough to just tell
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everyone because we know little 5-6 year olds, I've got their
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imagination, they could be dinosaurs and who knows what
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involved the the bringing in and the showing.
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It was like adding a reality to it that the other kids could
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say. It was also adding an
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authenticity. You couldn't just make up a
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story because you'd need to bring something in like and and
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that's what the world is looking for.
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They're looking for that reality, that authenticity.
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It's why things like in Exodus, the Israelites were given manna
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provided by God when they were journeying through the
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wilderness and they were given manna.
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They went, Hey, God, let's let's put some in a jar and preserve
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it so that all the generations come won't just hear us telling
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that God did this amazing thing. They can actually see in the jar
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that this is what God did. There's the eastern tribes when
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the when they went back to settle on the eastern side of
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the Jordan and the western and the other tribes went to settle
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in the western side of the Jordan in their promised land.
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They built an altar and there was a big uproar like why are
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you building an altar? You've strayed from God's ways.
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But they basically came back and said, this isn't for burning
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any. This is not to, you know,
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disobey God. We want something that the
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generations to come can see and know that this is what God did.
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It's not something that we can just tell them, yeah, God did
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it. Yeah, God did it.
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Yeah, God did it. And if your guys forget, we
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don't want them to be kind of left out.
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They did it for generations, they could have quite easily
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gone. Yep we get to be in the promised
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land. This is awesome.
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Let's go make our homes have our livestock.
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This is amazing with no care for the next generation.
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And we could have seen people left behind but their thought
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was on. We need something that the
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generations to come can physically see so that they
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won't be left behind. It's not enough for us to just
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teach and testify and tell, but we need to be able to live it.
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We see in Abraham, so back in Genesis, Abraham tithes to God.
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It's the first time we hear about tithing.
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He comes back with the spoils of war and he chooses out of his
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revelation to give a tenth back to God.
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It says in Genesis 1420. And praise, praise be to God,
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the Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.
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Then Abraham gave him a 10th of everything.
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We see Isaac, he's very generous.
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And then we see Jacob, which is his grandson, so not his son,
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his grandson Jacob. In Genesis 2822, Jacob made a
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vow and he said, if God will be with me and watch over me on
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this journey I'm taking, give me food to eat, clothes to wear so
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that I return safely, then the Lord will be my God.
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And this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's
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house. And all that you give me, I will
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give you a 10th. So this is the second reference
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to tithing. But what I was blown away by is
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this isn't law yet. This isn't something that God's
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commanded. You give a 10th.
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This is something that Abraham lived out and Jacob as his
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grandson picked up as a culture. This culture is important to
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give a tenth back to God. I'm sure if Abraham though, was
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like now son, grandson, it's very important that we give a
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10th of what we had to God. But I'm going to keep all my
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things for myself. But but make sure you give a
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tenth to God. But but these are all my things.
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Do we? I doubt Jacob would have been
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like, yeah, let's give a tenth to God.
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That seems like a good idea. No, we don't see like if he was
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living it out, if he was showing him.
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Hey, grandson, this is how we give a 10th.
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This is son. We we were even speaking, Justin
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and I about the way that we tithe.
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And these days everyone's got their phone.
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We just bank transfer it. Beep, bop, beep bop.
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All done. I've given to God, which is
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amazing, but we've been challenged.
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What do our kids say if we're just constantly being like, it's
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important to give to God and it's important to tie?
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Is it going to be inconvenient for us to go to an ATM and get
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out money to put in the offering box to the back?
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Probably we're going to have to take time out.
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We're going to have to go a different way to get to the ATM.
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But what our kids see is what we're doing.
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We're not just telling them and they catch.
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You can say I've got measles, I've got measles, I've got
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measles, but if I've got mumps, you're going to catch mumps.
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So it's really important that what we're telling, we're also
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living. Justin is not a dancer and he
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knows this. We've been I have AI have a bit
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of a background in dance and I married a man with two left
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feet. I think I think I re
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choreographed our first dance at our wedding about 10 times
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because I just was it was really hard to make him look good.
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But I'm so but and and he's the guy who would happily just stand
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there with his hands in the air, which is it is amazing.
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And that's what he's giving God and I have I have no problems
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with that. But the way he's seen in the
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last couple of years of us having kids, the importance of
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he wants our kids to be extravagant worshippers,
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extravagant praises. He wants them to see that it's
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OK to be a little undignified. You don't have to look great if
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it's if God is worth it. And so you see, he'll dance
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around the house like a crazy person.
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He'll jump around the house. Sometimes I'm worried he's going
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to might knock the kids out with the way his hands are flying
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around. But he sees the value in showing
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them, not just telling them. So how do we establish a culture
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that will last for generations? We teach His commands.
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We tell of His power and good works.
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We testify of His faithfulness. And we show we often like to
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reference the Scripture of one Samuel 16.
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Seven people look at the outward appearance, but God looks at the
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heart. God looks at the heart. 100%
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agree. And everything flows out of our
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heart. So our heart has to be in the
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right place. But what do the generations see?
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They see the outward. What do the generations see?
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Jesus set such a perfect example for us.
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He came down as a babe to live on this earth and to show us how
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to live when we have people obviously generations to come,
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but we when we have new people coming into faith, we need to be
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willing to inconvenience ourselves for the sake of
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showing them how good God is and how good and how worthy he is.
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Jesus set an example when he prayed, He didn't just say to
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the disciples, guys, it's really important to pray, but I like my
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sleep, so I'm going to sleep in for a couple more hours.
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Everyone up before dawn, off you go, go pray, but I'm going to
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sleep. He was up separating himself,
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spending time with God. So I just want to leave us with
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that challenge today. People look at the outward
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appearance, but God looks at the heart.
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Make sure your heart is in the right place and start there, but
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then look at what outward people see.
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We want to be a people that see a culture that is going to be
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passed down for generations. We're not just living for now,
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we're living for the generations to come.
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Father, we thank You that You have placed us on this earth for
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here and now, but we thank You that our purpose is not just for
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here and now. We thank You that You called us
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to go and make disciples and teach them what you've
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commanded. So, Father, I pray that you will
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give us a greater revelation of not just the here and now, but
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the eternal purpose that you've called us to.
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Father, help us to respond in our hearts to the worthiness and
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the glory and the majesty that you are, Father God, but help us
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to show it outwardly. Make a way, God.
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Make a way for us to show out the faith that we're walking, to
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show Your power and good deeds in the way that we live our
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lives. To show out your commands Father
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God, and we pray all these things in the power of the Holy
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Spirit in Jesus name, Amen. Thank you for joining us for
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today's message. For more information about The
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Way Church, please visit [email protected] dot
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AU. Have a blessed day.