Oh Good morning. We're glad to have you here. I want to welcome you to Tri-City Baptist Church. Happy Father's Day. We are delighted that we can come together and worship the Lord and looking forward to what he has in store for us. If you have your bulletins, there are a number of announcements in there. I just want to mention the one primary one that after our morning service, we will be having our church business meeting. Normally we do that in an evening but we're doing it this morning instead of our adult bible fellowship time we will have our church business meeting so we'll have just a brief break and our ushers will have the proposed budget to pass out. The purpose of this meeting is to approve the budget for this coming year. And since our fiscal year runs from the first of July through the end of June, so we want to get that taken care of. So we look forward to that time. Then depending on how long that goes, the questions for that, we want to take the time we need. But I also have some things I'd like to just share with our church family and kind of use that as a family chat. And so we look forward to that. It is good to have you here. I began to wonder who would be here today with all the confusion in our culture and in our community. On Friday afternoon, our mayor released a statement, a proclamation, and really the concerns regarding masks, the statement there. I've read it multiple times. I have my copy. I've marked it up. I've highlighted the expectations and the exemptions. And it really, the more you read it, the more you think, okay, so ultimately the heartbeat of this is the desire for education. We want to be careful. I think one of the things, and we all have strong opinions, I think we have to be careful. One of our challenges today is we want to make decisions that are wise. We have been praying for wisdom throughout this entire time, and making wise decisions means having accurate information. I don't know about you, but I don't really trust our media to be giving me the true accurate information. And it is sad. There seems to be a political agenda in the reporting of this. We want to make wise decisions. We want to be safe. We want to be faithful to the Lord. And so it's unhelpful when we don't get good information. And I do... I empathize for our mayor. He is in a no-win situation. Same with our governor. And anybody making decisions right now, it will not be enough. I've told people, even with our church decisions, when we had decided we weren't meeting, that was an easy call for everybody else. You didn't have to agree, but you didn't really have to do much decision because we weren't open. Once we began to say we were meeting, now everybody else had to make decisions. And the decisions vary based on comfort level, based on situation, based on where you're coming from. And so we've tried to be careful. The mayor's statement was that if you're not able to keep physical distance of six feet or more, then recommending masks. Well, our roads are seven feet apart. We measured these when we took out rows. We did this intentionally, encouraging families to be together. We're trying to be careful. There's the personal position, there's the ministry position. I have my mask today. I have this one. It says if it's practical, I'll tell you wearing this headset and glasses, it's very impractical many times. I also have my Western mask if I need that one. A few weeks ago, when our daughter-in-law and grandkids, Kimberly, flew in, Judy and I went to pick them up at the airport. And of course, Sky Harbor has big signs, you cannot come in without a mask. Both of us forgot our masks. The only thing we had was our glass cleaners. But they said, as long as your nose and mouth is covered, you can come in. So I'm wearing this around Sky Harbor. And the more I thought about it, the more I laughed, and then I'm inhaling it. And I've used this to clean my glasses, so I spray the glasses and wipe them off, so I'm inhaling all that glass cleaner. I said, this cannot be healthy for me. And it was one of those situations that you're trying to be careful. We really, as a church family, our desire is for unity. We're not simply focused on physical health, though we are concerned about that. But we're concerned about emotional health, psychological health, but most of all spiritual health. And God has made us as social beings. We need one another. So as we come together, we're trying to be careful. We really are looking at that. But let me just encourage you that we all have opinions. And I really do think Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 through 10 has principles that apply in our current situation. If you, when the mayors, Proclamation came out Friday afternoon. Pastor Jeff and I have been talking. We've been going back and forth, both in person, through email, through text. I've sent some things out to the deacons yesterday. And if you got the updated e-news yesterday, you saw some of the statements that When Paul is going to address a very potentially divisive situation in 1 Corinthians, beginning in chapter 8, he begins by saying, we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, love builds up. And I think that really is the starting point. We all have opinions. We all have knowledge. We have to be careful, though, that what we're doing is edifying the body. If we start with, well, I know better than they do, I care more than they do, I have a better perception than they do, or I love freedom more than they do, I think it's overhyped, I'm fine. All of those are statements that contend toward puffing up rather than humility. And so I think we have to be guarded. Romans 14 tells us we're not to judge another man's servant, that God is our judge. And so we want to make wise decisions. We want to make careful decisions. But let me caution us as a church family. Discord is more deadly to the church than any disease. A disease can only kill the body. Now, we don't want that to happen. We want to be wise. But discord can destroy the soul. And a mask cannot protect us from spreading discord. Discord carries much further than six feet. And so we need to be careful. A haughty attitude travels much further. So we have to guard our spirit more than we guard our spit. And that's what these masks are supposed to guard against. Now please understand, I'm saying this to be proactive. I do think we've got a good unity in our church. And I've noticed even in some of the interactions with differences of opinion, the respect, the concern, that's fine. But let's make sure we don't drop our guard in our spirit. That is far more dangerous. And so when Paul's speaking of this in 1 Corinthians, he comes to chapter 10, very familiar verses to us, but the context begins back in chapter eight, where he says, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. And realize there's no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. So we're all susceptible, and if we think we aren't, then that's when we need to take heed. So let me encourage you that we pray for one another, pray for unity, I think we've got that. I'm not saying this because I see a problem, I'm saying it because I know how Satan wants to get the inroad. I'm in a couple of groups online with our community groups, and just the vitriol towards somebody who doesn't agree. This is a great chance for us as believers to shine as lights in a lost world. To show the joy of the Lord, the confidence in Christ, and the compassion for one another. And so I think we want to be careful. I don't want us to become known as the coronavirus church. That is not a good testimony in our community. So we need to be wise. We need to be cautious. We want to have a testimony within our community, but we also have to care for the spiritual needs of one another. And so there are people who can't wear these for reasons that you don't realize. Background situations, if you were with us when we talked about why our consciences differ, a lot of those reasons apply here. Why our positions differ. And that's where I think we go to Romans 14, who am I to judge another man's servant? I wanna be careful, I wanna be cautious. As a preacher, it's very difficult for me to wear these because most of my communication is through my voice and facial expressions. And I've been in places where people are wearing them and I can't hear them, I can't understand them, I can't see their mouth moving, I can't tell if they're smiling, if they're angry. It's a barrier and I get that. But at the same time, we don't wanna spread this. We know it has impacted our church family. And so it really is a spirit of compassion. And so please pray for wisdom, pray for unity. Let's share our faith, our joy in the Lord, not simply the facts that we've read. I've read a lot of articles. I've checked the Arizona website for statistics and the CDC website for statistics for Arizona, and they don't match. So who's giving the right information here? And so let's be careful. We had planned today to have congregational singing from the choir loft as well. It was not to have a choir. It was really the reasoning for that was because we're live streaming the service. Pastor Dave doesn't want to be the live stream soloist. The only microphone that actually gets picked up on our live stream is the one that we're wearing or the one here on the pulpit. But if we had people in the choir loft, we have mics up there. So the purpose was that those on live stream could actually enjoy the congregational singing with people who were part of that. In light of the edict or the proclamation that the mayor put out, we thought it best that we not go forward with that right now. Part of it perception, but we do want to be careful. But we are going to sing. That is one of the things that the Lord honors the Lord and God tells us to do. And so hopefully the distancing and all, but it also lifts our spirits. And Proverbs tells us a merry heart does good like a medicine. My heart is encouraged with our singing. It directs my attention to the Lord. So we want to be faithful. And so I trust that this is helpful. I really wanted to take some time this morning, you know, because I know this is the big uncertainty. And, you know, I still believe the safest place for us to be is in the center of God's will. So let's strive to live there and be wise in our decisions, be careful in our concern for one another, show a genuine compassion, and that the Lord will be honored and glorified in our time together this morning. Pastor Dave. Thank you Pastor N. Dean for dealing with the elephant in the room right away. So now we can move on. With it being Father's Day today, you would expect that we would sing hymn number 417, right? But we're not singing that song today just because it has the word Father in the title. We're singing the song today because it's a great song and there are good things for us to learn. Perhaps you don't have your physical father with you anymore. Perhaps your physical father was not a spiritual leader or even a good man. There are still people who have gone before you in the Christian life that you can refer to as your father, that you can stand on their shoulders. Let's stand together and sing number 417, Faith of Our Fathers, Living Still. Faith of our fathers, Oh, say does that star spangled banner yet wave O'er the glorious land of our fathers' holy land, we will return to thee to bow. Boom! Right after the first stanza and introducing the theme, you have a choice to make. Are you willing to sacrifice your children for God's service? If you are, you can sing the second stanza with me. Let's sing together Ahmet's second stanza. Ahmet's children, you don't die. You still live in the land of angels. Is that you will return? If you are there and they are here Is that what I will do with you? If you betray, take me or take them Shake up our world and create a smile. To the people we shall go today. A new age is at the doorstep. A new world will open between us. To help us all the time, when all we do to fail. The third stanza talked of our evangelistic mission, and the last stanza is exactly what Pastor M. Dean was talking about, unity, loving both friend and foe. Let's sing the final stanza together. It's too late to do I know I'll go to hell I'll go to the end I know I'll just die I'll go to the end I'll go to the end I'll go to the end I'll go to the end You may be seated for just a moment. We're going to sing hymn number 574. I love Isaac Watts. He was a preacher's kid, and I'm a preacher's kid, and so I identify with him in so many ways. One of them is that he can be a little bit confrontational. He's a little bit in your face with some of his hymn words, and this song is a good example of that. We're going to sing together, but what we're doing is asking ourselves a series of questions. And the song is designed so that you have time to think about those words. Is it true? Is this true of me? And the Holy Spirit can use this time to speak to you. Let's sing all the stanzas of number 574 together. I am so confused, but I love you, baby. I'm trying to explain, but I can't seem to explain it to you. There's a light shining over me But I don't want to leave the light And so the world recedes I will find my way to the stars I'll fly as high as I As days go by, I often think to myself, I don't want to go home. So when will I move on? Time goes by so much more, but there's Amen. Let's look to the Lord in prayer this morning. Father, we thank you for the privilege of following you, the faith that has been passed down to us. Lord, we thank you for godly fathers. that many of us have. And Lord, we rejoice in this time and the faith that we were taught, both in word and in deed. Lord, we thank you for that. But Lord, we know that on a day like this, there are many that do not have that heritage. We thank you that you have promised to be a father to the fatherless. That regardless of our situation from an earthly perspective, that we have a loving heavenly father, and that we can come into your presence today. And so we pray that we would come with hearts of admiration, that we would come with joy in knowing that we have a relationship with you because of Jesus Christ. Lord, we would ask that during this time you would calm our hearts, calm our souls. We realize we are living in a time when there is great uncertainty and unrest. Lord, we know that you are not the author of confusion. So we pray that we would look to you, that we would cast our burdens upon you, knowing that you will sustain us, that you will not allow the righteous to be moved, that we can cast our cares, our anxieties upon you, knowing that you care for us. And so Lord, we would ask that you would encourage our heart. that our fellowship with one another as we sing together, as we ponder and teach and admonish one another in spiritual songs, that we would direct our focus to serve you faithfully, that we truly would be soldiers of the cross, that we would live for a purpose bigger than ourselves, and that in so doing, the joy of the Lord would radiate from our hearts, our lives, our faces, our conversation to a lost world. Lord, as there have been many examples of opportunities for conversations just through this, because people are searching, Lord, strip away the props in our culture that we would be able to direct people to Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that that would be the case in our lives. And that as we look into your word this morning, that we would be challenged and strengthened, that we would live for your glory. And we pray that if there's one here that does not know Christ as their personal Savior, that even today they would turn from their sin and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ, that they might too know the joy that passes human comprehension. For it is in Christ's name we pray, amen. You can remain seated, at least for the first stanza of our next song. Dr. Watts, Dr. Isaac Watts, wrote most of his hymns for his church family. While he was preparing his sermon during the week, he would try to distill the theme from that scriptural passage and write a song that his church family could sing. When he was preaching on Psalm 78, he wrote this song to go with Psalm 78. And since Pastor Endian is going to preach on Psalm 78, at least I hope so, this song would be really appropriate. Now for us in the congregation that are singing, it's difficult if the words are brand new and the music is brand new, right? So what we're going to do is sing the new words based on Psalm 78, the sermon that Pastor Endian is going to come and preach for us, but we're going to sing them to the tune that we just sang. So the melody that we just sang four times in a row, that you're familiar with now, we're gonna sing those same words. Would you bring up the first stanza, Jorge? Bring up the first stanza for us, and we will sing, Let Children Hear the Mighty Deeds. This is based on Psalm 78. Let's sing that first stanza one time together. the way Do you see how that works? We're going to sing that sermon based on Psalm 78 before Pastor Ken comes to preach for us. 15 years of habit. Let's stand together and sing that song together. Go back to the first stanza, Mr. Jorge. Take us back to the first and we'll sing all four stanzas together. Let children hear the mighty deeds which I do for you. He built us rich and strong, He built us rich and strong, Our world and our own deaths, God made the man his understaff, to help him rise victorious. Our lips shall come unto our sons, and they'll attend to theirs, and generations yet unborn must reach unto theirs. For I shall be born in God, among worlds, in glory's sight. Good singing. You may be seated. As you're seated, I invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to Psalm 78. passage that we just sang about in that song, Psalm 78. If you want to use the Bibles there in the chairs that are seven feet in front of you, we're on page 408. But Psalm 78. How many of you enjoyed show and tell in school? I did. I liked show and tell. There was a level of mystery. You never knew what someone might bring up. I wasn't really worried about having to learn the material that it was going to be tested over. And I just, I enjoyed that. And growing up in a pastor's home, at a time when international travel was much less common than it is today, I had the opportunity to meet a number of missionaries. We would keep missionaries, and so because of that, there were times I was able to share some unique items for show and tell. But the most unconventional presentation I ever made took place when I was in kindergarten. We had a missionary family staying in our home. They were visiting. I think my father had known the man from college, that they had been friends. And this man had gone as a missionary to Japan. And there he met his wife. And they had a daughter who was my age. So I took the girl from Japan to school for show and tell in kindergarten. I still remember that primarily because I heard the story many times. It was a little awkward, though, when we both ended up in college together, and our only point of commonality was that I took her to school for my show-and-tell exhibit a decade earlier. As parents, though, sometimes you may feel like your days are full of show-and-tell. the things that your kids are bringing to you, and questions they have, and you're trying to do. Well, when we come to Psalm 78, instead of the children being the presenters, it is the parents who are to lead the show and tell. And this Father's Day, I would like us to consider Psalm 78, the first eight verses. This is really the introduction to this lengthy psalm. So we're not going to be considering the entire psalm, we're just looking at the introduction. But it's an introduction that emphasizes the importance of teaching. It's actually a psalm for historical teaching. Sadly though, most of this psalm recounts how Israel forgot God's works. It's a psalm that is teaching their pattern of forgetfulness and saying, don't follow that. So these introductory verses really give us the encouragement that we are to teach. And I hope that it will encourage and challenge us today, especially as fathers. If you have your Bibles open, follow with me as I begin reading in verse one, we'll look at the first eight verses of Psalm 78. Give ear, O my people, to my law. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord and his strength and his wonderful works that he has done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children, that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children. that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments, and may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God. In these verses, we find the importance of sharing with the next generation, I've taken my title from verse four, that we will not hide them from their children. We will show them and tell the generation to come. We will tell, the show and tell the praises of the Lord. But the question then that comes to mind is how do we do that? What is it that we're supposed to show and tell the next generation as parents, our children, as grandparents, our grandchildren, as those who are working with children? What are we to tell them? And I think what we see in this is that a wise father will purposely communicate the greatness of God so that the next generation will faithfully serve Him. It's been said that parents only have 20 years to move children away from barbarity and train them to be civilized. And as we watch our news today, I think we would say many parents have failed in the 20 years they had. The human depravity of the heart is not new. But for Christian parents, we have a higher goal. We must set the bar higher than simply civilized children. That is a good starting point, especially when they're two. How do we get this two-year-old to be civilized? But our goal is really to have godly children. to raise them up that they will follow the Lord, they will put their faith in the Lord, their hope in God, and follow Him. And please, I realize, as I've mentioned already, that Mother's Days and Father's Days, these are days that bring mixed emotions in a church. Some of us have happy memories of our parents and their parenting. For some, the memories are painful. difficult home situations, absent fathers, the unfulfilled desires, unmet expectations. For most of us as parents, and especially as fathers, we sense our own personal failures and inadequacies, even when we've tried to serve the Lord. We look back and say, I wish I had done this. And what we have to realize is the grace of God. God cares more about our kids than we do. And he puts them into homes with parents that struggle and fail. And I know in a group this size, there are probably parents that are hurting, fathers that are hurting. Sometimes those wounds are self-inflicted. We look back and say, boy, I shouldn't have done that. Sometimes we've done the best we can and our children stray. I have pastor friends that, you know, my heart grieves with them. We've prayed together. I pray for their kids. I was thinking of some even this morning and praying for their children. That they would come back to what they've known. And understand, when we have sought to be faithful, God's arm is not shortened that He can't reach the heart of that child. Even as an adult. So we continue to pray. But I want us to realize that in all of this, our goal must be to pass on to the next generation the praise of the Lord. And to perpetuate the faithfulness, there are several things that we must do. To perpetuate faithfulness to the next generation, the first thing that we see in this passage is we must initiate intentional teaching. The call is, give ear, O my people, to my law and cline your ears to the words of my mouth that listen to what I have to say. We might say, listen up. Pay attention to this. that we have a responsibility, and as parents, we need to be very aware of who's teaching our children. We need to be doing it at home. Is it a screen or is it a parent? Deuteronomy 6 gives us the importance of teaching, and in those verses, that passage that really is foundational, not only for the Israelites, but for us, says first of all, we have to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, and strength. So it has to begin with us. And then we have to observe God's law and obey Him. We have to walk in a reverential fear of who He is and keep His commandments with our heart. So it's flowing from life. And then it says that you will teach when you sit down, when you rise up, when you walk by the way, when you sit in your house, all of these. We might say, you know, when we're sitting at home, when we're riding in the car, that we're looking for opportunities. The idea there is that in the structured and the unstructured, the formal and the informal. And isn't it amazing how much of our teaching is done informally? These questions that come up and it's like those open the doors. Let's make sure that we're looking for that time. But for us as parents, it means that we have to know what we believe and why we believe it. So we have to be in God's Word. And when we can say, here's what the Bible says, we give security to our children. That our leadership, our life, our decisions are anchored in the unchanging Word of God, not in our changing whims or in the changing culture. And if our children don't learn about God at home, where are they going to learn it? Where are they going to learn of His grace, of His glory, of His majesty? We can't outsource that responsibility. Yes, the church is here to help the family. We have a Christian school that we're seeking to use to help the church. We have children's programs. We have Awana and all of that. But we can't delegate our responsibilities. And so that means that as parents we have to have something to say. that in parents in general, and dads in particular, we have a responsibility to lead our families for the Lord. And the truth is that is a challenge today. Because not a generation ago, the byword was question authority. Today, it's nobody wants to be authority. And why should they look at the attacks on anybody in authority? And sadly, parents don't want to be the authority. So often it's left up to the kids to make the decisions. And frankly, I'm amazed sometimes how many parents follow their children. We have to be setting guidelines, and they have to know that security, that we have to lead. That is a God-given responsibility. and lead according to God's word, that the most important thing is that we be faithful to the Lord. David Wells, in his book, No Place for Truth, said, to the evangelicals, a broken relationship is the worst thing that can happen. It's not an issue of abandoning truth that's breaking a relationship. We have to build relationships on the truth. But please understand, this isn't a new situation. This isn't new to the 21st century. Back in 1 Samuel chapter 2, God told Eli that his lineage would not continue in the priesthood, and one of the reasons was he honored his sons more than he honored God. And God said, because of that, I'm taking the priesthood away from you. We see that in 1 Samuel 2.29. One of the dangers is we don't want to raise children who are wise in their own eyes, because then they don't have a fear of the Lord. See, knowledge is not the same as wisdom. Just because your child or teenager knows their way around your iPhone better than you do, doesn't mean they understand life. There's a difference between knowledge and knowing how to apply that. And we can never forget that we are in a spiritual battle, that we as fathers are leading our families through a cultural upheaval, and their souls are on the line. We are in enemy territory. Just look at the decisions coming out of our Supreme Court, and you'll see that. The biblical definitions of marriage, of gender, of family are under assault. Where are our children going to learn what God said if we don't tell them? We must teach our children not only what we believe, but they have to learn to defend their faith. They need to know what they believe and why they believe it. We need to be able to question their answers, not just answer their questions. and help them understand there has to be a biblical foundation that we will lead them to hope in God. And part of that is helping them see the bigger picture. So not only do we initiate intentional teaching, the second thing is we have to disclose historical complexities. Verses two and three, I will open my mouth in a parable, the dark sayings of old, the things that our fathers have told us. We have to learn from the past. It was the German philosopher, George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, who said, the only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. Unfortunately, that's very true, and that's much of the testimony of Psalm 78. Israel didn't learn. But the admonition at the beginning is learn. Don't forget. You know, our news right now is filled of current reports of people who are tearing down statues of people that actually stood for what they claimed to want. And unfortunately, the barbarians are too ignorant to know that. Their parents didn't bring them to civilization in the 20 years they had. But folks, let's understand, rewriting history is nothing new. It goes all the way back to Genesis 3. That Satan sought to rewrite history. God made a statement that ended with a period and Satan came in and wanted to rewrite it with a question mark. Did God really say? That wasn't a question. God had said. And understanding that, and the reason we have disease and strife and social unrest and political division today is because of what happened back there. and understanding that we are living the consequences of sin and Satan's the God of this world. But we know that our God reigns. So we have to share that. We have to be able to discern it. And so when this says, I will open my mouth in a parable, there's going to be these understanding gets, you've got to get below the soundbite, the Twitter statement. The 144 characters that you, if you can't get below that, you're not gonna understand. We have to get beyond one election cycle to see what's actually taking place and see the bigger battle that is going on that is a spiritual war that's raging. Proverbs 1 verse 6 says, to understand a proverb and an enigma. To explore the interpretation. What's really below the surface here? Folks, this is why we need, as Christians, we need to be careful about jumping on bandwagons. Because most of our culture is not headed for godliness. And neither is their wagon. And so we need to think below the surface. What's really at stake? Oh, but it sounds good. No, to understand a parable and a difficult, the idea of a dark saying there is the riddle. Do we look below the superficial? This is what Proverbs is about. You see an example of this in Proverbs 24 verse 30 and following as he's writing, he says, you know, I walked by this field of the lazy man and I saw that it was overgrown. Now what's the superficial decision there? Somebody needs to cut that. That was not what he came away with. That was not what he learned or gleaned from that. He said, I considered it well. Who's ever just stopped and considered an overgrown field? Solomon did. He said, and I received instruction. What did he learn? Verses 33 and 34 said, a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, so shall your poverty come like a prowler. That's getting below the surface. Okay, what's really at stake? The Lord spoke in parables, and one of the purposes of parables was to hide the truth from people who had no heart for it. But what you see is the disciples had a heart for it. So the Lord would tell this story, this parable, and then they'd get along, the disciples say, okay, what do you mean by that? They want it below the surface. And the Lord would tell them. And say, if you have ears to hear, young people, children, you need to listen to your parents. You need to be teachable in understanding that. But if we do not grasp historical complexities, we're just going to be stuck with superficial observations, and we're not going to learn from history. And if we only interpret the past in light of our modern day circumstances, we're really not going to get wisdom. One of the reasons that as we come to Scripture, so often we try to give you the context of what was happening then so that we can learn and apply today. We can be frustrated with the historical illiteracy of our nation, and we see the harvest of that today, but as I pondered that, I was convicted and thought, well, do we really communicate God's working through history? That history is His story. Do we think of how God has worked, and just recently there was the celebration again of the Normandy invasion, the D-Day invasion, and do you understand how the weather played such an important part in that? Well, who controlled the weather? God did. Years ago I went to a library sale, our public library was just selling out books, getting rid of them, and I picked up a book, it was titled The What Ifs of American History. And the book recounted a number of historical situations and how they hinged on what were seemingly insignificant issues of chance. I remember one of where George Washington and his troops during the Revolutionary War were pinned down on Manhattan Island and they were under attack and there was a pretty good chance that they were going to be wiped out. And he wanted to move his men over to Brooklyn. and tried to do that, and they were doing it by small boats, and the fog rolled in. And so the attacking army couldn't see what was going on, and they were able to move the entire army away from the attacks. And now, the book was secular, but as I read it, I said, look at what God did. So how do you know that was God? Well, when we get to heaven, you ask Him, and if He had nothing to do with it, I'll say I was wrong. But we know that we don't worship a God of chance. We worship a God who can measure the stars with his hand, as Isaiah 40 tells us, and he knows when the sparrow falls from the sky. He knows about that little bird that gets stuck in the grill of your car. If not a sparrow falls without his knowledge, he knows us and pays better attention to us than we do. He knows how many hairs there are on our head. No, we don't bother counting that. We just see when they fall out. But understanding the God of history is the God who works in our life. Oh, how important it is we share that with our children. Introduce them to people who have stood for the Lord in history. And not just biblical characters, but we should start there, but historically. Those who have died for their faith. That those who stood in the face of persecution, as we sang, the faith of our fathers, and sang of the persecution that they endured for the faith. We think we're persecuted if somebody unfriends us on Facebook. That really hurts, I'm under great persecution. We need to read history. Picked up a book, Let Waters Roar, it's a compilation by Georgie Vins of what went on in the Soviet Union. Tolds of Andre. Andre was arrested at a Christian youth meeting in 1982. He was 18 years old. They brought false witnesses against him into the courtroom. And he questioned those witnesses. As an 18 year old, he had to do his own defense. And he just picked apart how they weren't even there when he was arrested, and he turned to the judge, how can you convict me on witnesses who weren't even there? And so the judge had to guide the witnesses so he could convict him. Andre thought he would probably receive 15 days, maybe be fined, they gave him three and a half years. And he told of his conversations in the cell, and how he always tried to answer the questions that were asked with Bible passages, because that's what he had been taught at home. And when he arrived at the prison camp, someone asked him, how are you going to live in the camp? And his answer was this, the same way I lived in freedom as a Christian, I want to live the same way and not back off from my beliefs even here. And he sought to do that. He served three and a half years and four weeks before he was released, his father was arrested for Christian ministry and ended up spending seven years in prison. And yet he said, you know what, I thought as an 18-year-old how that wasted those years of my life, but I saw how God used that in me. Oh, how much better for our children to get their heroes from Christian history rather than from Hollywood. Because that's really not our perspective. I remember years ago hearing of, I had the privilege of teaching Chinese pastors, and the testimony had come from one of those who had been taught before me, and his son was arrested in China for serving the Lord. And they asked the dad, how did you feel when your son was arrested? He said, I rejoiced that he was worthy to suffer for the Lord. That is not my gut reaction as a parent, but it should be. Maybe we need to dust off Fox's Book of Martyrs and read of William Tyndale who was martyred in 1536 for translating the Bible for the common person. And much of Tyndale's translation is in our Bible today. Or Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley who were burned at the stake in England in 1555 because they stood for salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And as the wood caught fire around them, Latimer yelled out to Ridley, Be of good comfort, Master Ridley. Play the man. We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out." What a perspective. Or John Bunyan, the Baptist Puritan pastor who was imprisoned because he was part of an unregistered church and refused to refrain from preaching, and while in prison wrote Pilgrim's Progress. or come up to the 20th century with Jim Elliott and Nate Saint and Georgie Vins and others who have suffered, or maybe the 21st century with Martin and Gracia Burnham, who were missionaries in the Philippines and celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary were kidnapped by a militant Muslim group and held captive for more than a year until June 7th of 2002, when the Philippine Army attempted once again to rescue them. And Martin was killed in that rescue attempt. His wife was wounded but rescued. And her story is in the book, The Presence of Mine Enemies. That's a 21st century, but you know, martyrdom's going on today. But CNN's not gonna cover it. But it's happening today in countries in Africa, in China, in North Korea. when I shared with, I had the privilege of teaching Chinese pastors, and one of the things they said is they saw the need for the gospel going into what we call the 1040 window, that area of the world where it really is unheard, but there's a lot of persecution. And he said, you know, we think that us, the Chinese believers are better positioned than American believers to reach the 1040 window because we are used to persecution and you're not. I think we better get used to it. Because we see it rising. We have people that we send to restricted access nations. And we use that term because they're going to frontline areas. So we need to teach history. Thirdly, we need to declare theological reality. Don't hide what God is doing. We will not hide them from our children. We'll show them and tell the next generation the praises of the Lord, His strength, His wonderful works, that we share what God is doing. The answers to prayer in our life, in our ministry, is we see what God is doing, that we really help them see, look what God does, teach them the fruit of the Spirit and how that applies in how they treat their brothers and sisters. develop an attitude of gratitude within our homes. We pray for our meal, do we let them complain about what they're eating? Let's not be training little hypocrites. We understand how important this is, but we need to declare the truth compassionately. We have to make the truth attractive. We can talk about the omnipresence of God, that He's always there, He sees everything, and use it like a club. And we can talk about the majestic love of the Lord that He sees us, and He's there that we can call on Him. He loves us, that when you're lonely, you can go to Him. When you're discouraged, He's there. When you're hurting, He cares. And when you sin, He's there to forgive you. That if we confess, He's faithful and just. Let's teach the love of God. There is a crisis of compassion in our culture. People around us are hurting. You go into the stores and you start being friendly and people just open up. saw from one of my friends, Dan Pelletier, who's an assistant pastor in San Francisco. Some of you may have seen it on Facebook. He's there at the church, and all of a sudden, somebody's banging on the door there, downtown San Francisco. And he looks out the windows at the postman. He said, just leave it. I'll come down and get it. He says, no, you need to come down. He comes down. The postman said, can I take some of those? And he's pointing to the track rack. He said, can I read those? There are people looking for answers. Let's show the compassion of Christ in a time of difficulty, but we've got to teach the theological reality to our kids. Fourthly, we need to recall biblical responsibilities. For he established a testimony in Jacob and appointed the law in Israel, which he commanded their fathers that they should make known to their children. They need to know God's word. What has God said? So we teach them the Bible. They need to know God's works. It says in verse 4, I will tell of his wonderful works. In verse 7, it indicates that the goal is that the next generation will not forget his works. But if you go down to verse 11, you find out that was part of the failure of Ephraim. They forgot his works and his wonders that he had shown them. And then in verse 32, it says that Israel did not believe his wonderful works. Oh, we have to start when they're young of showing the greatness of God. And then as it goes on in that passage and says, the generation to come might know them. The children who would be born that they will arise and declare them to their children. The word make known here, the idea of knowing is that it's more than just teaching with our lips. It's not just what I tell them, it's that we live it out. It carries the idea of being revealed. It's noticed. That it is part of our life. It's more than our lips. It's our life that teaches. Values are often caught more than they're taught. And it's interesting that at least three generations are involved here. that the fathers will make known to their children, that a generation to come, the children who would be still yet to be born, will declare them to their children, maybe four. But this is what we look at, and I thought, you know, my father taught me, and we start to teach our kids, and now our son who's here is teaching his children, my grandchildren, and how many of us heard the gospel because of a parent? Now again, I realize not everybody has that heritage. But will your children? Let us start with you. God doesn't have grandchildren. And so it can begin with us. Our goal ought to be to raise children who will put their faith in God. Our goal was that we want our children to be independently dependent on God. Not dependent on us, but dependent on God. And so how does this happen? Well, we want them to keep the truth. And so we anticipate faithful acceptance. That they may set their hope in God. And not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments. So what are they to do? They're to obey God's work. Keep His commandments. Well, how do you do that? Don't forget what He's done. Remember His works. Don't forget them. But the foundation of all of that is that very first statement. They have to set their hope in God. And as we direct them to God and show the goodness of God and the glory of God, that God is trustworthy, and they see His works, then they can obey. When I remember what God has done in the past, I can trust Him in the present, so I will obey Him. Well, I don't know how this is going to work. No, but I can trust God. His way is right. And so we learn in that way, and then learn from negative examples. Learn from the mistakes of others. It says in verse 8, and may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright and whose spirit was not faithful to God. Don't repeat the failures of the past. Well, this is how we always did it in my house. Yes, but was it the right way? Let's look at God's Word. Notice the problem with their parents, their fathers. They were stubborn. They were unteachable. They were unleadable. They were immovable. When you read the rest of the Psalm, you see that played out. They were rebellious. They were unruly. They were disloyal. They did not set their hearts. They weren't steadfast. They were vacillated. And they had a wrong spirit. Their spirit was not faithful to God. They were unfaithful. And as I read that verse, I say, okay, Lord, are there areas where I tend to be stubborn and rebellious and wander and unfaithful? And unfortunately, the Holy Spirit points to areas and say, yeah, you need to work on this. And we continue to grow. Lord, help me not to be like those fathers. But I have to examine it personally. Lord, I don't want to be like them. Then learn from bad examples. I had a calendar in the past, it has demotivator pictures on it. And they're like the motivational ones, but with not that same purpose. It has a different, it fits my sense of humor. And one of my favorites is this ship that has sunk, and just part of it is sticking out of the water, and it's titled Mistakes. And it says, it could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others. Don't be like them. I thought of using it today. I thought probably not on a Sunday morning, though I've used it with our college kids on various occasions and in my ABF. But we are to learn from those who have failed. So how do we apply this to our own personal lives? I think number one, we have to be humble in listening to those who teach us. Children, young people, do you listen to your parents? Instead of trying to defend your position, do you try to understand where they're coming from? Have you ever tried to see their perspective rather than play the little lawyer? Are we willing to learn from those who have more life experience? We have to be teachable. Wisdom is more than knowledge. It's the practical application of God's Word to life. It's truth applied to life situations. Let's not be wise in our own eyes. Don't be like Ephraim. If you look down at verse 9, it says, the children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They didn't keep the covenant of God. They refused to walk in His law. They forgot His works and the wonders that He had shown them. Now, we don't know the specific situation here, but if you read about Ephraim, if you read Judges 8 and Joshua 17, Ephraim strikes me as really high maintenance. This was a high-maintenance tribe. Every time they're coming, they want something. Well, we need more room. And Joshua says, well, then go get it. We're such a big tribe, we need more space. He says, you're such a big tribe, go get it. You've got the army, get it. They come to Gideon and say, well, why didn't you invite us? And he has to appease them. They were high-maintenance. But they turned back in the day of battle. That's their testimony. They didn't stand fast for the truth. They turned back. Oh, how important it is we clothe ourselves in humility and that we would be faithful. Secondly, we have to perceive current events from a biblical worldview. Spurgeon said, the best education is education in the best things. It's not enough to learn good things. We need to learn the best things. He went on and said, grammar is poor food for the soul if not sprinkled with the grace of God. Without God's grace, we just get smarter, better educated sinners. And so we have to be careful that we are looking, okay, what is the biblical perspective on what's happening in our world even today? You know, we have to be careful. What are the messages our kids are getting? Even in acceptable entertainment, what is the underlying worldview? Follow your dreams? That's not really what the Bible says. Follow the Lord. You know, without viewing life in a biblical perspective, we're going to struggle to make sense of the craziness around us. Now, a biblical worldview doesn't answer all the questions we will have, but it gives us a grid. It answers the most important questions. Why am I here? I've been created for God, for His glory. That's what I'm supposed to do. That's where I came from. What's my purpose? Where am I going? We live with an eye for eternity. We also need to contemplate the greatness of God in all areas of life. I've already mentioned, this is an unsettled time. There's a discouragement in our world. I mean, it hits us if we don't keep our eyes on God. It's like, what do we do? We trust in the Lord. We count his works, read the psalm, see what he's done, and then don't forget like they did. See God, we see God in the big things. Do we see him in the little things? We can see when that car just misses us. But do we see God's providence when the driver in front of us was so slow that we didn't get through the light, and he protected us from what was going on further on that we never even know about? God sees the mundane. And are we purposely striving to be faithful to the Lord? Live a life of serving Him. We must be committed to something bigger than ourselves. We must be committed to more than our own safety. We must be committed to the glory of God. Every generation of believers needs those who are willing to die for the Lord. I heard Les Olawa make a comment one time that parents often don't want their kids to go to the mission field because they don't want the embarrassment of them going from church to church asking for money. They'd rather their kids are making the money than asking for it. And I thought, I heard that, I thought, really? I thought, what? You know, that our sons can bear the message, our daughters can go and, but if we worship at the altar of safety, we'll never put our lives on the line for the Savior. We need to be wise, but we need to be serving the Lord. Do you realize that our children, other people, are all that we can take to heaven? When we stand before the Lord, we're not going to say, boy, I wish I had a bigger house, more vacation time, a bigger bank account, a better retirement plan, a faster car. When I stand before the Lord, I'm not going to be bringing a kindergartner from Japan. But I do want to stand with my family, my children, my grandchildren, and spiritual children that we have been able to influence for the Lord, to tell a generation to come the praises of the Lord. Oh, that we would commit to do that as fathers, as mothers, as single individuals to pour into the lives of others. And if you're here without Christ today, we'd love for you to be one of those who stands with us. If you would turn from your sin, trust in Christ alone, that you too can know the joy of salvation. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you that you have declared your glory, your majesty, your works to us. We pray that we would have eyes to see and ears to hear. That as we look around, that we would see what's going on through a biblical worldview, and that we would see that you truly are in control, that we don't always understand, but Lord, that we would trust you. Lord, we pray that you would comfort our hearts, help us as parents to direct our children to love you and to serve you. And where we fail, that we would be willing to ask forgiveness. And Lord, we thank you that your grace is greater than our stumblings and our sin. And so Lord, we pray that you would continue to work. And we pray that if there's one here today that has not trusted you, that they would understand how their sin has separated them from you, that all have sinned and come short of your glory, and the wages of that sin is death. but that the gift that you have offered through Jesus Christ is eternal life. And that if they would trust in him by faith alone, that they might know the joy of salvation through grace alone, that it's only in Jesus Christ. And Lord, that even before they leave today, they would speak with one of us that we can show them from your word. Lord, help us to be faithful. Protect us from the assault of this world, that we might be lights in a lost world, to show forth your glory and grace, to truly show and tell that you are a God who deserves praise. And we'll give you the honor and glory, for it is in Jesus' name we pray, amen.