Standing Strong

 

And he said to me,

“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book,

for the time is near.”

Revelation 22:10

This week the children at Shiloh Baptist Church will possibly be finishing up an in-depth study of the book of Revelation. I have the great joy and honor to teach the Word of God to this wonderful group of 4 year olds – 11 year olds. I have any where between twenty and thirty kids in my group every Sunday morning. As I look out into their faces and know what is being fed into their minds and hearts, not just at church by me, but at home by their families as well, I have hope.

Jesus changed the world with twelve disciples.

Here I am in Alabama, looking in the eyes of these kids and praying that they will take hold of the Word of God just as the twelve disciples did, and that they would be able to stand as strong as these foundational men of the Gospel.

This is what I do know. These kids have spent the past year digging into the book of Revelation. There is not one verse that they have not studied. If they were able to come every Sunday they have dug into every single verse. I don’t skip the uncomfortable ones.

These 4 year olds – 11 year olds have learned the outline of Revelation. They can tell you the three divisions of this great book of prophecy and what chapters are in those divisions. They can tell you how John received the words of the book of Revelation and what he was to do with them. They can tell you about each of the seven churches, what chapters you can find them, what rebukes and encouragements were given them, and what rewards await those who overcome. They can then tell you what it means to overcome.  They can tell you in what order came the seals, trumpets, and bowls and what judgments each of these contained. They can tell you about the woman and child of Revelation 12. They can tell you about the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. They can even tell you about the harlot of Babylon and what all she represents. Then they can tell you about the bride of the New Jerusalem…

They have been given a solid foundation on which to build.

In these last days… these evil days… I have no clue what kind of world these kids will face as adults. Everything has changed so much and become so much darker in just my day. I can complain about it, shake my head over it, rebuke it, get depressed and undone over it… but that helps no one nor does it change anyone or anything.

What these kids at Shiloh know is that yes, darkness will have its day, but here’s the thing GOD WINS.

They have studied. They know. They know that yes, there just might come a time in their life that they might have to die for their faith. They might be cast on to Patmos, or even beheaded because they hold tight to the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, but they know that death in Christ is far better than cowering at the feet of darkness out of fear of death. They know this now… my prayer is that no one or no thing ever snatches that assurance and confidence away from them. I pray they hold tight to the truth.

The days of teaching our kids “Bible stories” that tickle their ears in an attempt to either scare them into what we deem as right behavior or make them feel good about themselves need to be over. They should have never begun…

Our kids need sound doctrine.

And yes at 4 years old.

Let us not belittle their ability to learn and mine the great truths of our God in His Word.

And adult… if these 4 year olds know more Biblical truth and have a firmer, more solid, foundation than you… well I suggest you put down the easy read of “Jesus Calling” and pick up the Bible and dig into some real studies. It’s time to dig in and start mining the beautiful depths of His Word. Remember that the foundation stones of the holy city are adorned with precious stones and precious stones are found in the depths. They are hidden jewels that take work, time, and perseverance to find. It’s time to put the work clothes on and start laying a foundation that will not crumble out from under you in these dark days ahead.

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