"Father's Day"

When I read that over again this week – I realized something . . . I realized how fortunate I am, a father’s job is pretty simple . . .

• To train up your children to live skillful and God honoring lives . . .
• That job is never done . . . until you die . . .

Let me tell you about a very important word to remember on Father’s Day. That word is legacy. Here’s what a legacy is: “something left behind . . . something handed down from another generation.” (repeat)

New . . . today I want to talk to all of you, but especially fathers – about how to ensure you leave a great spiritual legacy to your kids . . .

Let me begin with just a few general ideas about leaving a legacy.

• A legacy is a process, not an event.

Legacies do not happen over night – they take a lifetime to create . . .

• A legacy is more about what we do than what we say

Legacies are mostly created by example . . . not by words . . .

• A legacy prepares our children to clearly recognize the unseen realities of the spiritual life . . .

Here’s what I believe with all my heart . . . I believe that the fate of

the next generation rests on us as parents . . . and if you take that thought one more step . . .I also believe the future of our society . . . and really the future of the world rests in our children’s hands . . .and whether society will grow further and further away from God and His ways . . . or whether society will grow closer to God and His plan for this world. Our societies moral/spiritual condition does not rest in chance . . . it rests in the ands and heart of parents . . . who pass o the things of God to their kids . . .

I believe that the spiritual legacy you leave as parents can change the world (that’s the goal) (not just to raise nice kids) . . . your legacy in your kids lives can change the world . . . for good and for God . . .

So, somehow parents – fathers – we’ve go to be able to pass on a spiritual legacy to our kids that makes a difference in the world . . . . . . and not let the next generation slide away from God.

So . . . let me try to use these three chairs to illustrate this. Now – each of these chairs represent a different level of commitment to Jesus Christ (each chair represents a different spiritual person).

Let’s start by reading about Joshua – Joshua in the bible was a great leader . . . a military hero and a man who lead with spiritual wisdom and great courage . . . Joshua lead the nation of Israel right after Moses and lead them well for many years . . . In Joshua 24 . . . the bible records this . . .

Joshua is near the end of his life . . . and he calls all the people of Israel together . . . and says, “Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you . . . then choose for yourselves (this day) who you will serve . . . but as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14 & 15

One of the greatest leadership lines ever recorded . . . . . . let me apply this to our chair analogy . . .

Joshua had a first chair relationship with God. Joshua was a first generation follower of God . . . Joshua said kids were not gonna just think about following God closely . . . he didn’t says, “Kids, when you grow up, you can do whatever you want.” He said, “As for me and my house, we’re gonna know and serve the Lord with all our hearts.” There was no question about his focus individually or for his family . . . that’s the first chair.

Now, the second chair in this story represents the elders who followed along with Joshua . . . Judges 2:7, “The Israelites served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived him, those who had seen all the great things God had done for Israel.”

Here’s the difference: in the first generation Joshua had experienced personally all that God had done - (1 st hand relationship). The second generation – the other leaders – only saw what God had done . . . they didn’t personally engage it. That’s the first generation sliding . . . (into chair 2).

Now look at Judges 2:10. This is now two generations removed from Joshua (Joshua’s grandkids), “After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember what things He had done for Israel.”

There’s an interesting line in there . . . it says that they didn’t remember the mighty things God had done. Another translation says that they didn’t know what God had done . . .

Why? Why didn’t they know? Why didn’t they remember? It’s

obvious . . . their parents didn’t talk about it. They didn’t leave a spiritual legacy for their kids.

You see . . . Joshua and that generation experienced God personally – no doubt . . . and they told their kids what happened . . . but the elders only experienced God from afar – from watching Joshua’s faith. But they didn’t tell their kids . . . it wasn’t part of their normal conversation . . . and so their kids grew up and knew nothing about God.

And so what happened in this third generation? Look at Judges 2:11 and 12, “Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They worshipped other gods and abandoned the Lord . . .”

Within three generations, God had slide right out of the picture.

Now, let’s look at these three generations and their relationship to

God . . .

First generation : Joshua experienced God relationally. Joshua knew God – daily – intentionally – intimately. Joshua’s relationship to God was personal.

Now, the second generation: knew about God. They had seen God work – but didn’t know Him relationally. They knew about what He could do . . . but they just didn’t follow Him. Their faith was o their own . . .

Third generation: because they were never told, this generation never knew God.

Let’s say this another way.

Joshua – had a personal faith. It was real – he experienced God firsthand.

The second generation – they had what we would call today a “parental faith.” And maybe some of you have experienced that. You’ve grown up in a Christian home and your mom and dad . . . – (wow) – you could talk about their faith all day long . . . and how they experience God . . . . . . but you don’t have the same experiences in your faith walk . . . When your mom and dad talk about how God answered their prayers, you say “I wish God would answer my prayers . . . I don’t have that same relationship with God.” Parental faith.

And then . . . generation three – chair three (no faith). They truly have no faith – personal faith walk . . .

Dr. Bruce Wilkinson – who wrote on this generational slide stuff – says this . . . he has traveled all over the world and has seen Christian families around the globe . . . here’s what he found: an overwhelming majority of first chair Christ-followers (they knew God personally – intimately – daily) . . . an overwhelming majority of first chair Christ-follower’s kids end up in the first chair . . . they too will follow Jesus . . .

But listen closely . . . here’s the second thing Wilkinson found out: that parents who have a second chair faith in Jesus Christ . . . He found out an overwhelming majority of their children do not end up with a second chair faith . . . they end up with a third chair faith. The slide continues . . . once you’re on it . . .

Folks, this is a big deal. Because I believe a lot of us fall into chair #2 far too easily. Now, I don’t know where you sit, but it’s vital that we understand the differences between these chairs (Because our legacy rests in which chair you’re in) We’ve got to understand this . . . . . . so that our children will grow up and know and follow Jesus Christ with all their

hearts . . .

Now let’s look at this from another example. In the bible . . . (King David in the Old Testament) . . . 1 Kings 2:2 has a great line that he said to his then adult son (Solomon) – David said, “Son, be a man. Follow God . . .” Solomon grew up with a dad who followed God closely but . . . what happened to Solomon? 1 Kings 11:4 tell us that, “As Solomon grew old (in other words, he started out with a faithful heart), his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David, his father, had been.” Then look at this tragic description, “Solomon refused to follow the Lord completely.” Are you watching the slide . . . ?

Now let’s look at David’s grandson, Rehoboam. David – loved God and followed close. Solomon – loved God, but not completely. What does Rehoboam do? . . . Solomon’s son . . . Listen to this story of when Reheboam becomes King . . .

1 Kings 12:6-8 . . .

   Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. "How would you advise me to answer these people?" he asked. They replied, "If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants." But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.

Rehoboam forgot his father’s elders and did whatever he wanted . . . and moved farther and farther away from God. Now – what’s the difference between these three?

Well . . . David - grandfather – put God first, self was second. See, David messed up many times in his life, but he always kept coming back to God. He still put God first. He wanted to follow God completely . . . so it was God first, me second.

Solomon – the father – was all about me first, God second. How was he described spiritually? “He did not follow God completely . . .”

See folks, if you do not follow Jesus Christ completely . . . if Jesus doesn’t have the number one devotion of your life . . .then something else does . . . And there is a drastic difference in a kid’s life growing up in a home where you serve God completely . . . or where you serve God with only a percentage of your life.

Then comes the grandchild, Rehoboam, who was about self only . . . he had no concrete knowledge of God . . . and you can watch the slide . . .

Rehoboam . . . walked away from God. (And history tells us that . . . )

Let me ask you a question: which chair do you think holds the most frustrated people in Canada today? Which one? My opinion is that the 2 nd chair does . . . Why? . . . . . . because if you’re in chair #1 and you’re sold out to God . . . and you love Him completely – then you don’t care what anybody else says or thinks . . . Your mind is made up . . . And no one can pressure you into how to live your life. You just say – this is the way I’m gonna live and this is how our family is gonna live . . . and we’re gonna do this faith thing in a real way . . .

Or, if you’re in chair #3 – and not following Jesus Christ, you don’t have to please anybody either . . . you can go out and eat, drink and be merry and live your life.

The people that are the most spiritually frustrated in Canada today are chair #2 Chris-followers . . . why? – because they’re confused . . . they say . . . “Hey, I’m a Christian – I follow God” . . . God is on the tip of our tongues, but not in our hearts. Self still sits there . . . in chair #2 – not God.

See . . . the problem is that we say we love God – in chair #2 – but when push comes to shove, we don’t love Him completely . . . with our time – or money – or energy – or efforts. So there is frustration because you can’t serve God and everybody else and yourself at the same time. That’s why there’s a lot of miserable chair #2 Christ-followers . . . because they’re forced to live double-sided lives.

Now, this next illustration is strong, but I think it works. Here’s what

chair #2 Christians do . . . we compartmentalize our lives. Our lives become kind of like this filing cabinet.

Here’s what second chair Christians do:

First drawer: spiritual life. This is when I go to church, when I’m involved in a small group . . . this is my Christian life.

Second drawer: my work life. I mean, a guy has gotta have a real life after all. You can’t be a good Christian all the time . . . so at work I’ll be a different person – separate drawer from God . . .

Third drawer: my social life. When I go out with friends or whatever, I do what I want. My actions and relationships are for me . . . I’ll be a different person here in drawer #3 then I am in drawer #1 . . .

So, in second chair Christianity, we compartmentalize our lives so nothing is overlapping. Now, catch this . . . a first chair Chris-follower doesn’t live that way. For them, everything in life is integrated and every thing in life is connected to the spiritual . . . They live for Jesus Christ 24/7.

Now, here’s what happens when your life is compartmentalized (chair #2), you think you are experiencing spiritual breakthroughs when you’re in church sometimes or when you have a once or twice a month spiritual experience. But instead, you’re experiencing spiritual breakdown. Why? Because what happens is this: say you make a decision this weekend – you’re convicted by this stuff so you make a decision to follow God completely . . . but when you go to work Monday morning . . . the you at work has no intention of following through with a commitment the you at church made on the

weekend . . . That’s why some Christians think they can justify extra marital affairs . . . because their lives are compartmentalized.

That’s why some Christians justify stealing from their employer . . . or why some Christian business people treat their employees wrongly . . . or why some people say they follow Jesus Christ . . . yet when they live their lives at work, they go completely against the teachings and principles of

Jesus Christ . . . And what happens?

Folks, we can compartmentalize our lives so much that God has no place left in most areas of our lives. (repeat)

That’s not the way to live . . . instead, we must integrate Christ into every aspect – every corner of our lives . . . we gotta let Him shine more and more and more . . . into every room – into every corner . . .

Folks, keeping Jesus in one drawer is why the world is in trouble today. That’s why we have to stop the generational slide. And that’s why there’s so much spiritual confusion and conflict in the younger generation because . . . they’re growing up looking for a set of values to follow and live by. And they don’t understand what to believe – they can’t understand – because they have been raised by parents who said they loves Jesus Christ, but have compromised their values and are not sold out to God completely.

Or how about this 3 chair approach to parenting:

Chair one: These parents apply biblical principles to how they raise their kids. They look at the Bible and say, “What does God want us to do? How in the world can we raise our kids the way God wants us to?” They apply the principles of God’s Word . . . chair #1

Chair two: (Parents) influenced by biblical principles. They don’t apply them, but they’re influenced by them. They say, “We want our kids to grow up with a good moral foundation – so we take them to church. But we don’t apply faith in their lives the other 6 days of the week.” That’s chair #2.

Chair three’s approach to parenting: Choose their own principles. Whether Oprah – Dr. Phil - the Bible – or a movie – radio talk show – whatever and wherever.

Now, what’s the result?

For parents that apply biblical principles to raising their kids the word is “confidence” (chair one). They know what they’re doing – they’ve prayed about it – they’ve talked to God and said, “This is the way we’re gonna raise our kids, no matter how much of the world stands against us . . .” Those parents have confidence in chair #1.

How about second chair Christians who have only been influenced by biblical principles? You know what they are as parents? They’re hopeful. Somebody asks, “How are you kids doing?” Answer: “Well . . . you never can tell how kids are gonna turn out . . . there are so many things out there to follow . . . it’s a bad world we live in and it’s tough to raise kids today . . . but we sure hope everything is gonna turn out all right!” They’re hopeful.

Third chair parents are just plain – confused. Because they read everything and look to everything . . . Books/Dr. Phil/ sermons . . . and they are still confused about how in the world they are supposed to raise their kids. No compass.

One more thought here . . . what’s the parenting goal of these different people?

First chair parenting goal: to raise Godly kids. Kids who are gonna follow Jesus Christ with all their heart and soul.

Second chair goal: to raise good Christian kids . . . There’s a big difference there . . . that will be influenced by the church . . .

Third chair goal: is just to raise good, successful kids. “If you just do well in school, (at least that) – then you can maybe go to college and get a good job and you’ll be successful.” And somehow we hope that means we’re good parents . . .

Folks, there is so much more to our responsibilities as parents than that. You know, I like to set goals – work goals, recreational goals, relational goals . . . I think it’s vital to shoot towards something in life.

And lately, people have been saying things to me . . . like, “Wow – your church is doing so well. What a great thing . . . and you’re building a new facility . . . Man, that’s incredible . . . you must be so excited!” And you know what” I am excited about that . . . and that’s a worthy goal to pursue . . . being an effective leader of this church. But – let me tell you my #1 goal in life. My #1 goal is to follow God closely enough to see my kids grow up to follow God closely and intimately – to have my kids serve God with all their hearts . . . That’s the #1 goal I have in my life . . .

That’s the #1 goal I have in my life. To hear Kaden and Kash and Sharaya pray is incredible. They talk to Jesus like He’s right in the room with them. That’s the goal I’ll pour my life into . . . for 2 reasons:

• Because the future of this world rests in the spiritual choices of our kids . . .
• The legacy I leave is the whole purpose of my life . . . and raising Godly kids is a huge part of that legacy . . .

So let me ask you, what’s your goal in life on Father’s Day weekend? Well, whatever it is . . . it has to do with which chair you’re sitting in. And the good news is, you can choose. You can choose the chair you sit in and you can choose to move from where you’re sitting.

There are some of you who are children of second chair

Christians . . . there are some of you who are clearly in chair three . . . and there are some of you who have been in #2 and #3 and moved to chair one.

Folks, let me clearly say, chair one is the chair with the most energy – the most love – the most meaning and fulfillment that you will find in all of life. And if you want to leave a legacy for your kids – a spiritual legacy, one that will carry on much past your life – then step into chair one!

So Joshua . . . got up at the end of his life . . . in front of the entire nation and declared what his legacy would be . . . and it didn’t have anything to do with his victories as a leader or his victories as a business man – or even his personal victories . . . his legacy was a spiritual one . . . passed down ho his children . . . Why?

Joshua – knew the answer to a great nation – a successful people – was following God one household at a time, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

I’ve got to ask you, when he stood up – in front of thousands of people – do you think his kids and wife stood up and said, “Dad, don’t be so silly. Dat, I think you’re wrong.”

I think probably, they were right there with him – hearts pounding – standing. I want what Dad’s got . . .

Personal first: AS for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

Parents – guys . . . I challenge you to look your kids in the eye . . . and step into chair #1

Parents – fathers – be committed to Jesus Christ. Walk with god with your whole heart. Give him everything you’ve got. Let Him pour into your heart and soul and then take His light and love . . . and shine it brightly into your kids’ lives.

Give them a chance to see clearly how God can change a life because they’ll be watching Him change yours . . .

So a couple more quick ideas on how to raise kids to love and serve God – to sit in chair one . . .