The verse we will be considering this morning is Psalm 145: 4. In the NASB, we read:
"One generation shall praise Your works to another,
and shall declare Your mighty acts."
This was one of the verses that I wanted to spend some time on in the declaration of the Gospel yesterday. Why is it that Christians are known for such passionate proclamation of their faith in the public square? Why do Christians spend so much time teaching their children, going out to reach others with their message, and pass by so much of what the rest of the world is enjoying in the realm of entertainment and self gratification? There are myriad reasons, one of which is that much of what our culture produces and enjoys are in contradiction to what God has revealed in His Word as healthy and worthwhile.
Another reason Christians are so passionate is because they understand what others do not. There are things about the message of Jesus Christ which seem as foolishness to those who have not been given a new heart that yearns for the things of God rather than the things of this life. Christians routinely spend hours singing songs about how weak and humble they are to proclaim the strength and glory of God. We speak with authority about the things revealed by the Creator in the Bible, because without the Christian worldview, you could not really know anything for certain. If there is no guiding force, no all- powerful and all- knowing authority that reigns over the universe, then we couldn't have any certainty that everything wouldn't come crashing down on us tomorrow, or that tomorrow would ever come. It is only in the Christian worldview that these things make sense. If you want to understand more about why this is true only of Biblical Christianity, I recommend Dr. Jason Lisle's message here and Sye Ten Bruggencate's message here.
Having established the basis for why the Christian can have certainty for the message of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, it seems evident to everyone that the rational and expected response to knowing truth that transforms the heart and life and prepares the soul for eternal life, it would seem the next step from learning knowledge of God would be to share it with everyone you encounter. Truly, if God created humankind for His own glory, in His image, and if our purpose in this life is revealed, clarified, and guided by the purpose of glorifying God in our hearts, minds, and every aspect of life (and it is) , then David's statement about one generation declaring God's mighty works to following generations is completely expected. We all share with our children and those around us the things about which we are passionate. The things that we know to be true, the reason for living, everything will be wrapped up in God's great grace and mercy toward mankind, our words will be laced with Biblical truth, brokenness over sin, repentance and faith, and we will desire to do that which Jesus said He came to Earth to do, "to seek and to save that which was lost."
As I began to speak, heads began to pop out of shops and restaurants, art galleries, and music stores. Sadly, as those curious folks came out to hear what was going on, most saw the signs we hold quoting scriptures such as "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty. The whole Earth is filled with His glory" and "Children are a blessing from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward" many shook their heads and went back where they came from. The world today has come to think that passing the truth of God's Word on to the coming generation is brainwashing, child abuse, and more. These accusations have been hurled against us more times than I could count.
Yet, even the ungodly do the same. They deny God's existence and concoct wild and fanciful stories that are much more incredible than that which God's Word declares, of parasites morphing into people over millions of years. They indoctrinate other people's children, as if children belonged to the state and so the state is responsible and given authority to teach, train, and disciple children who are sent to them. The sad part is, that when you send your child off on that bus, or walk them through the doors of the school, you have agreed with them that their ungodly and perverted view of the world is acceptable to you and that you want your child to learn their ways. Even Christians do this, sending their children to be taught history, science, social sciences, and a whole worldview of ungodliness, and then wonder why their kids leave the faith. This is the caution David is exposing here, as did Moses and many others in the Word of God, all the way into the New Testament era where Paul tells Timothy to "commit these things to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."
Certainly, there is great power in having generous amounts of hours (over 1,000 per school year) to mold and shape the minds of the coming generation. The question is, are we as Christians doing what we are called to do, or are we ignorant of the schemes of the Devil in regard to our children, or worse, apathetic to what is being taught and modeled for our children? If we belong to Christ, then it is our blessed calling, our holy duty, and the desire of our hearts to herald to the coming generations the goodness, grace, mercy, love, and mighty works of our God, our King. Note that David isn't giving a command here so much as explaining what is the natural outflow of the heart and mind that know the living God and have seen Him change their lives, to raise them from the dead in Christ, to make them a new creation that is being conformed day by day more into the image of Jesus Christ.
The Bible contains many commands to "train up a child in the way he should go..." and "Fathers, do not exasperate your children, but train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." However, here we don't have a command so much as an expectation. If I find a person whose life was transformed from sinful pride and self gratification, who because of the transformation of regeneration (born again) is now a humble servant of others for the glory of God in Christ Jesus, then I expect to see this happening. If someone comes to church regularly, knows the phrases and lingo, but whose life is not marked by joy in the midst of suffering or love for Christ and the lost sheep in the world that compels them to seek them out and point them to the Savior, then I worry for their soul. The marvelous work of God in salvation is enough to make me weep over my sin, and weep again for joy to know that all my sins are paid for by the blood of Christ, that I am His because He has purchased me with His blood on Calvary's cross.
If you are a Christian, maybe today is the day you need to renew your commitment to tell others of the grace and mercy showered down upon you in Christ. Maybe today you are reading this and don't feel any relief from the burden of sin, nor joy in knowing Jesus. If so, you should read this psalm in fear and conviction, and realize that you don't have these things which God produces in His children because you are not His, or you have forsaken what you once believed. If this is you, today is the day to repent, to cry out to God and confess your sin against Him. You can try your best to fulfill every command in the Bible, to follow the whole Law, but you will never accomplish anything of eternal value on your own. You must first be made alive in Christ, reject your sinful past, confess your sin before God, and beg Him to make you a new creation in Christ.
As I look back on many years of walking with the Lord, I see too often that my zeal for the lost is diminished, spending too much time thinking about myself and my own goals. In times like these, I must remind myself of the character of God, the character of man outside of God's salvation, and the marvelous works He has done in my life and the lives of many around me. I have been blessed to know thousands of people across the country whose lives exude the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, and rather than complain because I can't do all the things they are doing for God, I need to know what God has planned and purposed for me to do, and then I must dedicate my heart and mind, everything I am and have to following the perfect plan of the all knowing God, by whose name I am called, and for whose glory I want to live until the day He calls me home.
Ephesians 2 is a favorite chapter of mine, but in regard to the things that flow from the work of salvation as manifest in the hearts of those who are truly Christians, I want to close with this passage in knowledge that my words are useless and vain unless they are in agreement with the Word of God. Test all these things by the only Truth man can ever know for certain, the Word of God.
Ephesians 2: 1-10 KJV
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Christians are made by God in Christ for the purpose of doing good words, including that great work of telling the coming generations of the mighty acts of God. Go in His strength, and proclaim His truth, that God alone be glorified in all the Earth, for He is worthy!
