Passing or Dropping the God Gaton...? (Part 2)
In the last message, we talked about what it takes to pass a baton in a relay race.
To do it well, it requires coordination, effort and intentionality.
A similar concept applies with God.
Did you know that there's the GOD BATON that needs to be passed?
What I mean is that there should be a BENEFIT that each generation receives from the previous from the passing of the GOD BATON so that we can keep moving forward.
But instead it seems like each generation has to learn God all over again,
The next generation doesn't seem to be GROWING in faith,
Instead they seem to be SHRINKING.
We're not CONFIDENT that the next generation is going to be on fire for Jesus,
We're WORRIED about them STRAYING from Jesus.
SYNERGY is missing,
MOMENTUM is missing,
What's happening to the GOD BATON?
Is it getting passed or dropped?
PASSING forward the GOD BATON requires 2 things:
1) We need our OWN faith strong enough to stand on and pass forward.
2) We need to LEARN how to pass the baton.
In the last message we talked about the first one where we need for us to strengthen OUR faith and OUR PERSONAL relationship with Jesus in order to have something to pass along.
You can't jump start a car if you don't have juice in your own battery,
You can't be in overflow if your cup is empty,
You can't start a fire if your flame is out.
Now to move on to the second point,
Let's assume you have the FIRE,
Your cup is full,
You are in overflow...
Today's discussion is on LEARNING HOW to pass the baton.
I believe this is one of the UNDER-estimated skills of a Christian.
Here's what I mean...
Why is it so common for parents of strong faith,
to have children with lukewarm faith or not much at all?
Why are there so many faithful parents worried about their children's dying or barely existing faith?
Why is it common for pastor's kids to be lukewarm about Jesus,
Or be the most rebellious ones,
Or have distaste for religion as a whole,
And NOT have a deep PERSONAL relationship with Jesus?
How is it possible for David,
A man after God's own heart,
To have a son that raped his own sister (David's daughter)?
How is it possible that David's son got so out of whack?
How did that baton get dropped so bad?
How is it possible that Eli the priest,
The one who mentored and raised the great prophet Samuel,
Have sons that were so evil and abusive
That God ended up killing them?
Where the heck was the baton pass for that family?
If it is of any comfort,
It's not a new problem,
It's a problem from the days of old,
But it is a REAL problem.
Why isn't the baton getting passed from one generation to the next?
Don't get me wrong...
A parent CANNOT guarantee the outcome of their children,
But the fact is that there are examples in the bible where,
The children of BEST of people in the bible,
Suffered the consequences of the LACK of discipline and training,
A LACK of focus and intentionality,
On HOW to pass the baton.
I declare in Jesus name that we will no longer stand by and drop the baton,
I declare in Jesus name that we will develop new strategies and systems,
To teach the next generation,
How to have a PERSONAL relationship with Jesus,
To receive His LOVE,
To be undone by His LOVE,
To want MORE of Him,
To have a hunger and thirst that is HOLY,
Because we WILL learn with Holy Spirit,
How to pass the GOD BATON properly.
Folks...
We CANNOT fail to pass the GOD BATON,
The next generation needs it desperately,
There's more panic attacks than ever,
There's more depression than ever,
There's more ways to get messed up than ever,
So now is the time,
To get intentional,
About partnering with God,
On learning HOW to successfully PASS the GOD BATON,
Better than ever!
Where do we start?
We must realize we need to become better TEACHERS.
The truth is that everything START in the house FIRST and then it should gets reinforced at church and school, not the other way around.
It's NOT the school and church's responsibility to teach your children to have a RELATIONSHIP with God.
It's YOUR responsibility first.
"You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."
It is the parents' responsibility to,
Teach the LOVE for Jesus,
Teach the LIFESTYLE of Jesus,
Teach the PRIORITIZATION of Jesus.
It must come from home FIRST,
Otherwise it's an uphill battle,
Cuz the children are forced to grow spiritually,
IN SPITE of you,
Instead of BECAUSE of you.
The GOOD news is...
It doesn't matter if you don't know how,
It doesn't matter if you feel lost,
It doesn't if you feel out of practice,
God is WITH You.
If you're doing what He's told you to do,
And you are SEEKING Him,
He will show you the way.
But just to get you started...
Here are 3 practical ways to Pass the God Baton...
1) Make it a part of your LANGUAGE.
- When something good happens, give God praise.
- When someone is uncertain about something, ask them if they've asked God about it.
- Keep sharing things that God is doing in your life. Don't let God be a stranger in your conversations.
2) Make it a part of your PRACTICE.
- When there is a decision to be made, encourage them to ask Jesus.
- When they are struggling with something, encourage them to see what Jesus has to say about it.
- Make it a part of daily practice to have each child spend time asking Jesus questions and WRITING down the answers they get.
- When someone is struggling, pray for them right then and there.
3) Make it a MINDSET / LIFESTYLE (default).
- Rinse and repeat the above two so that it becomes a habit and a lifestyle.
- Keep making Jesus the center of everything.
- Seek God DAILY on how to do these things better. Below are questions you can ask.
1) Holy Spirit, how can I make You a part of my LANGUAGE?
2) Holy Spirit, how can I make You a part of my PRACTICE?
3) Holy Spirit, how can I make You a part of my MINDSET & LIFESTYLE?
I recommend WRITING down the question one at a time and literally ASKING God the question, then shut up and WAIT as you EXPECT an answer. Wait in silence for at least 2 minutes or until you get an answer in your thought or your heart. Something will come up. WRITE the answers down. You can do this on a piece of paper or in a journal.
This is how you SEEK God. By keep asking Him the same question over and over again DAILY. Each day you will get something. God will surely show up because He said he would. He will keep teaching you new things. It will add up in a beautiful, magnificent way. God said...
"You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."
"I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me."
God is waiting for you to SEEK Him with all your heart.
There's so much He wants to show you and teach you,
And the fruits of that will be supernatural peace, love and joy,
And sooooo much more!!
"Dear Heavenly Father,
I come to you as a willing servant.
I may have not realized that I need to learn how to TEACH,
In order to be used by You to,
Wake up the generation before us,
Wake up the generation after us,
Wake up the generation I am in.
Teach us how to PASS Your BATON,
Give us the heart of a TEACHER,
Because You told us to make disciples,
And in order to do that we need to TEACH them.
Lord, we pray for the people that DON'T know You yet,
We pray for those who THINK they know You,
We pray for those that WANT to know You,
We pray that they ALL get lit on fire in LOVE with You.
Forgive us for our ignorance,
Forgive us for our neglect,
Forgive us for our own lukewarmness,
And make us HOT, HOT, HOT for you evermore.
Lord, show us something real,
Show us something new,
Do a new thing IN us,
Do a new thing THROUGH us.
We open the doors to our hearts,
Hand you over the keys,
And say 'Holy Spirit, COME!'.
Make us desperate for Your LOVE,
To experience MORE of You,
To share MORE of You,
To LEARN how to PASS the BATON,
From now and every generation to come,
In Jesus name, Amen."
Cheers to EVERY generation reaching NEW heights of excitement for Jesus and lifting up the next generation for something even GREATER than the previous.
I declare ETERNAL spiritual momentum that will pass from one generation to the next.
I declare that we will NEVER drop the baton ever again in Jesus name!
Have a great day!
