Pass On The Knowledge of the Holy

This is the 3rd part of a 4-part discussion on God’s Expectations of us – the first was to Acknowledge God – the second was Walk in Obedience – we encourage you to take this, read it and use it as a discussion guide with your family and others as you get together.

 In Review:

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you;  2And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;  3And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”  4So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.  5Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. (Gen 12:1-5)

 

Can you picture this event?  I want you to turn on that cranial TV – use your imagination – close your eyes if it helps – I want you to see this picture – this event…

You are a member of the family of Abram – he is your relative – and head of your family – your parents depend on him for leadership and wisdom and follow his leading.

Your great uncle Abram is not a young man – he is 75 years of age and you have just left the comfort of your home in the city Haran – probably the largest city in the world of that day – where you had a nice home, friends, if you wanted something all you had to do was to go to the corner “Lochs and Bagel shop” – the local market and get what you wanted.

Now uncle Abram announces one day that the entire family must depart and leave – where are we going someone asks – he says, “I don’t know but God says go and we are going.”

You set off – after 3 or 4 days the kids start complaining ….

 

So, Father Abram sits everyone down and tells the story…

  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was [1] on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light,  that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.     (Gen 1:1-5)

 

I would imagine that Abram – went on and told the story – up to the time that God called Him to go forth from his own country to a new place God would show him.

 

Do you get the idea of what Abraham was doing? We don’t know if it happened in this way but I believe something like it happened.

 

Pass On The Knowledge Of The Holy To The Next Generation

God always required His people to pass on their knowledge of Him to the next generation. Obedience to this command would ultimately spread the knowledge—and blessing—of God throughout the whole earth.

Read Deut. 6

 

As we look through the Biblical record we find …

 

Adam shared with Eve God’s expectations concerning the Garden of Eden. These two, in turn, taught their children what they knew about God. Since they had been cast out of Eden, there was an even greater need to pass on God’s expectations since their relationship with God had changed.

God chose Abraham and created a great nation through his offspring, so that the knowledge of the Holy would be preserved and presented to every people group and nation.

In the Gospels, this expectation of God reached a new level.

When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He traveled to various towns and preached a message of repentance: “the Kingdom of God is at hand”. (Matthew 4:17)

When He called His disciples, He told them they would become “fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

Jesus then sent them throughout Israel to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God. (Matthew 10)

Many of Jesus’ parables were directly related to the hearing and sharing of the Word of God. A good example is the Parable of the Sower, (Matthew 13:3-23) where Jesus explained the meaning to His disciples so they would understand His intent.

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told His disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19) They were commissioned to pass on the knowledge of the Holy to the next generation.”

God expects His Church to pass on the knowledge of the Holy.

Every word in the Book of Acts ultimately fulfills this expectation. In fact, this is the theme of, which fulfills the Great Commission: “be my witnesses . . . to the utter most parts of the earth.”(Acts 1:8)

This truth is further emphasized in the final verse of the book of Acts: “Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 28:31)

 

Passing on the knowledge of the Holy is primary to God’s plan.

Remember this is more than the “Gospel”.

 

Talk about it – everywhere …

 

  1. What do you have to pass on to the next generation? (See Psalm 71:16-18 “…Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.”
  2. What do we need to be sharing and with whom?
  3. Are you pro-actively “passing on the knowledge of the Holy”?
  4. What holds you back, stands in your way, prevents you from sharing?
  5. Can you do this “as you go”?