Life Lessons from the Holy Spirit (pt 2)

Don't you love it when the Lord takes an ordinary circumstance in your life to show you an extraordinary truth?? It's awesome!

I was coming from a chapel service at Christian Academy of San Antonio and headed to Enterprise to pick up some keys that I left in a rental. On my way to Enterprise, I decided to drive by my old house and check things out. There were so many memories made in that house.When I drove by, I saw an old neighbor and got a chance to say hello. We talked about then and now. I showed her pictures of my wife and daughter.

The Lord reminded me of something during this whole ordeal. Sometimes it's great to go down memory lane and remember what life used to be like. God always told the children of Israel to build landmarks as reference points on their spiritual journey. I'm beginning to see how important this is for me AND how important it is for future generations that will come after me. The bible says that when we build landmarks, our children will ask us the meaning of the landmarks and we can tell them of the redemptive power of our God. However when we do not put up landmarks and visit them, our children will be robbed of the history of the redemptive work of God that their forefathers experienced. Today we have so many Christians who do not know the God of their fathers because the generations before us have removed the "ancient landmarks" (Proverbs 22:28). Removing the ancient landmarks has and will continue to have many consequences.

I'm always impressed when I read Acts 7. The majority of that whole chapter is a record of Stephen reciting the Christian heritage from Abraham to Solomon. (Most of us could not do that today.) It impresses me that Stephen knew the history of the people of God and his place in that history. Here are a few things that Stephen could do because of His knowledge of the ancient landmarks:

1. The landmarks provided Stephen with a proper framework by which to view the Messiah and the Holy Spirit.
2. The landmarks provided a platform for accurate apologetics (a defense of the faith).
3. The landmarks allowed Stephen to recognize false doctrine.
4. The landmarks provided a foundation for Stephen to stand firm in the face of pop culture, false doctrine, and persecution.
5. The landmarks provided a basis for accurate judgment against the Sanhedrin.

There's so much more that could be said here but you get the point...
Landmarks are the basis for foundations.
Foundations are the basis for doctrine.
Doctrine is the basis of the Christian lifestyle.
What landmarks are we setting for our children? Will they be able to look back and reflect upon the godly landmarks in our lives, the lives of their grandparents and of those who have gone before them? Will they be able to use those landmarks as reference points in their lives or will the feel like most Christians today - void of any sense of heritage?

Remove not the ancient landmarks.

Jarrell