“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You are longing for us to raise generations that serve You. Forgive us, O God, that we have thought of our children and generations from a temporal perspective. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.”
We come to the next matter that Peter brings across in his closure of the message to the Jews. This is the matter, regarding children. The promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit is for us and for our children.
Acts 2:38-40 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (39) For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (40) And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”
God’s blessing of Abraham, was not only for him but also for his generations. We have already seen that in Christ, we the Gentiles also become the seed of Abraham. Galatians 3:29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Genesis 17:7-8 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. (8) Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
God’s ways are always to raise generations that serve Him. When He has chosen us, we must be extremely conscious and cautious that He has chosen us to serve God in our generation and also raise godly generations after us.
This implies that our first circle of leadership and influence is to raise our children, keeping in mind that they represent generations that will serve the Lord. The investments that we plant into our children must be eternal, not temporal. Some of us may not have our own children but we must see the children in our wider family circle and the children in our churches, as our own.
Jeremiah 32:38-41 They shall be My people, and I will be their God; (39) then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. (40) And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. (41) Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’
As we read this passage in Jeremiah, we see the heart of God for generations.
In the prophecy of Joel, the gift of the Holy Spirit is for us and for our sons and daughters. If we must see the promise of God on our children and on our generations, then we must place ourselves with fear and trembling before God, so that we will effectively pass on the promise of God to our generations.
Acts 2:16-18 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: (17) ‘AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAYS GOD, THAT I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH; YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS. (18) AND ON MY MENSERVANTS AND ON MY MAIDSERVANTS I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT IN THOSE DAYS; AND THEY SHALL PROPHESY.
Consider friends, the serious damage and harm that we are currently causing our generations by being poor examples of godly living. Our lives as parents and adults have often been outright hindrances for our children to come to a deep faith relationship with God.
When we hinder children from surrendering their lives to Christ, the Lord is angry. Matthew 18:6 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
The Lord’s plan for our generations is that He will pour out His Holy Spirit on them and they shall spring up like willows by the watercourses. This is a beautiful expression of how our children would be. Isaiah 44:3-4 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring; (4) They will spring up among the grass Like willows by the watercourses.’
When we raise our generations for God then their lives will mature fully and holistically.
Isaiah 59:20-21 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the LORD. (21) “As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.”
Our commitment to the obedience of God’s word will be passed on to our children, since they have observed our lives, up close, which others may never know. The promise of the Holy Spirit is for us and for our generations.