It's the things nobody sees that produce results everybody wants. There are unseen forces from previous expressions of life that are at work in all of our lives right now!
We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to those who have gone before us helping us find our way. We also have a tremendous sense of responsibility to pass the baton well to the next generation who will come after us searching to find their paths.
Paul encouraged Timothy to view his faith much like a relay race baton to be carefully carried and handed off well to the next generation so they might run with perseverance finding strength and encouragement from the way we run our race.
2 Timothy 1:3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. ESV
Paul is speaking of his ancestral faith that has had an influence on his life. He goes on to address Timothy’s ancestral faith that has had an impact on his life as well.
2 Timothy 1:3-7 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, 5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. 6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. NKJV
Think for a moment what the ancestry of faith looks like in the history of your lineage. Before God formed you in the womb, he knew you and all the ancestors from which you would come. It’s a fascinating thought but in order for you to be born you needed two parents, four grandparents and eight great grandparents. This means you needed sixteen great, great grandparents (or we’ll call them 2nd Great grandparents for the sake of this conversation). You needed thirty two 3rd great grandparents, sixty four 4th great grandparents, one hundred and twenty eight 5th great grandparents, two hundred and fifty six 6th great grandparents, five hundred and twelve 7th great grandparents, 1,024 8th great grandparents and 2,048 9th great grandparents. If we look at a generation as forty years then you have had 4,096 ancestors over 400 years contributing to your existence in order for you to be born!
Think for a moment about how many struggles, how many battles, how much happiness, how many love stories, how much sadness, how many challenging circumstances your ancestors had to go through in order for you to exist?
Somehow God orchestrates fascinating tapestry of humanity to bring about the reality that he purposed your existence from the very beginning of time.
Not only did he know you before he formed you in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5) but he designed you to have a meaningful existence that contributes to a more meaningful existence for others. The faith of those who’ve gone before you contributes to the spiritual atmosphere of your life today! Now it is our turn to effectively contribute as ancestors of those who are coming after us. Our willingness to cooperate with what God is doing right now is influencing people we will never know or meet until heaven.
Proverbs 13:22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children… ESV
We understand this is speaking of something more than money or even a good name. This is speaking of an encouragement for each of us to leave that which has eternal value to enrich the lives of those who will come after us.
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Take some time to pray for those who have made a difference in your life by encouraging your faith. Reach out to them to thank them in a meaningful way.
Interestingly after our challenge to write prayers out of the early chapters of Joshua from last week’s message I realized God was revealing much over the week about this week’s message. Here are a few of the prayers I wrote.
Joshua 4:20-24 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever. ESV
Lord help us to know how to effectively rehearse and remember the goodness of God in such a way that it inspires the lives of our children. Thank you for wisdom to awaken the next generation church to carry a healthy fear of the Lord and to know that God is mighty.
Joshua 5:11-12 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. ESV
As we grow and mature in our knowledge of God, we will experience the shifting of seasons and the changing of appetites as an awakening of what is next. Help us make a difference in the next generation by being willing to embrace what God is doing in the now! Deliver us from filters of predetermined conclusions that produce a blindness that comes from focusing on former perspectives keeping us from fresh perspectives of what you’re doing in this moment.
Matthew 13:15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear (KJV = dull of hearing)…
This Greek word specifically references the idea of being unable to hear what is next because we’ve grown so familiar and comfortable with what we’ve always known.
Joshua 5:15 And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. ESV
May we celebrate those who have gone before us as great contributors to what we know and experience with God. As we devote ourselves to the pursuit of God’s purposes may we always remember we are preparing the way very specifically and very strategically for those coming after us.