06. a Godly Heritage Today — Denny Kenaston

My heart thrills at the potential of The ancient promises which we looked at this morning. They are ancient. 3 ,000 plus years old is. Those are pretty old promises yet. Because it is the Word of God.

It's new and alive and quick and fresh as if it was just given today. That's the way the Word of God is. It's still full of life. It's still full of vision and it's still full of hope for those Who are in Christ Jesus?

A Godly Heritage for Today

Who walked not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Romans chapter 8 verse 1? This evening I want to share with you on the subject a godly heritage today a godly heritage today. Yes, it stirred our hearts this morning to look and see what God did with those Old Testament saints way.

Back there 3 ,000 years ago. What about us? What about today? We're living in a different world than they lived in. Can God do for us what he did for them? We want to consider that subject this evening.

Modern America Can hardly think in terms of many? Generations you think about that. It's true we are a scattered people. We are a people that move and crisscross the nation we transfer all over the place we can hardly think of generations of Children who continue to walk in steadfastness with God.

God is going to have to change our mind on that. Because I do believe that those men that we learned about this morning. They saw that it was their dream. It was reality to them. It's something they live with it's something they long for we need to get some of the same thing according to Isaiah 58 in verse 12 God says if we will walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations.

According to Isaiah 61 if we'll walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit thou shalt repair the desolations of many Generations. Well, that's where we are today, isn't it? We look around us. We see the desolation of many generations.

But it's time that somebody would wake up and rise up and change that whole thing. It doesn't have to be that way. It's not God's will that it be that way. We don't have to go the way that others have gone.

We truly can believe God for the generations of our children and many generations to come. If we can't believe that then we can't believe this book. Because that's what God says in his word. Jackie and I are First-generation Christians, I'm sure there are many of those in this room first-generation Christians.

We had no godly heritage. We most of the time we can't even think much about our past. It's not allowed according to the scripture because the Bible says whatsoever things are pure. What sort of things are just what sort of things are lovely?

What sort of things are of good report think on these things so much of our past. We're not even allowed to think about it. Oh What a treasure we give the next generation if all their days from middle up they have Multitudes of precious things which they can think on all their days.

Why for us we all we had to just kind of cut off all of those things and go from there. Bless God. We have 29 years now to think good things about how God has worked in our lives. While we look back. We look back with regret.

Yet we look ahead with faith and confidence and we hope for a better way for our children. We plan to give them a godly heritage something that they can think about. Something they can remember. Something that will influence them long after we're gone.

What a Godly Heritage Includes

What do I mean when I say a godly heritage, let me just give you a few brief definitions. A Godly heritage. Something that you can look back on something that the children can remember. Thousands of family devotions where there was singing and teaching and anointed prayers that prevailed in the home.

Hundreds of verses from the Bible stored away in their little hearts by many different methods in their home. Sweet times of doing God's work together and building God's kingdom. The memories of growing up in a home where there was a spirit-filled atmosphere.

Most of the time and they sensed and knew that God is in this place. Volumes of memories of godly living holy activities. Heartfelt love for one another in the home. A Multitude of prayers stored up by a father and a mother in vials in heaven.

Waiting to be poured out on the next generations long after we're gone. Hallelujah. A deep assurance that Grandpa and grandma Keniston loved God with all their heart and there was no question about it.

They might not have done everything, right? They made their mistakes in their time, but grandpa and grandma Keniston loved God with all their heart. That's a godly heritage. That's something that will affect the generations to come that can't be measured in money.

Amen. By God's grace, we will leave this for our generations. Can you see it? Can you imagine leaving this kind of a heritage for your family? God wants you to imagine it. God wants you to dream it. God wants you to set your sights on it.

God wants you to engage your will and go for it. It doesn't happen by accident dear brothers and sisters. It doesn't happen by accident. They say and it's true the test of a man's Christianity is his children.

And that's true. We'll see that we'll look at a little bit later on in this series. The qualifications of church leaders it speaks about. Looking at their children before you put them in a place of leadership.

Children and Grandchildren as the Test of Faithfulness

But may I take it just one step further here this evening looking at a couple of portions of Scripture in the Old Testament, which Stretches it one more generation beyond the man. Proverbs chapter 17 and verse 6 says these words.

Amen. God bless that little one. Hallelujah, that's what we're about. That's what we're all about around here. Anyway, so praise God. Proverbs chapter 17 in verse 6 says. Children's children are the crown of old men and the glory of children are their fathers.

Children's children are the crown of old men. Psalm. Listen to this one. Psalm 103 verse 17 and 18. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him and his righteousness.

The Lord's righteousness unto children's children. To such as keep his covenant and to those that remember his commandments to do them. Oh, these are precious promises to us dear brothers and sisters.

But the point I want to make here is it's not just a man's children that are a test of his Christianity, but as I see it in the Word of God, it's my children's children. That are the true test of my Christianity.

If a man's Christianity is deeply in his heart in his life He will so influence his children that they will be motivated to rise up and do the same thing. His life will reach out into his grandchildren through his children.

Hallelujah, I've seen this so many times as I studied these home histories you for the remnant magazine. Many times I have sat stunned as I looked again and saw here it is. Here's another one. Here's another man and his wife who loved God who burned with a fervor for the Lord Jesus.

And it was caught by the next generation and passed on to the next generation and even passed on to the next one. I've sat and marveled and said yes Lord. Yes mine also. William and Catherine Booth are a good example of how we can have a godly heritage and pass it on.

William and Catherine Booth and Generational Zeal

Today you don't have to go back 3 ,000 years to find somebody who did it. William and Catherine Booth. They were the founders of the Salvation Army, which was a mighty force for souls for over 100 years in this world.

This couple they were sold out for God they were fanatics. I don't know what else to call them. And I love it. They had a powerful home. They Loved God with all their heart. God gave them eight children.

Those eight children caught the fire of their fanatical father and mother. Zeal was there the example was clear. This father and mother saw very clearly. Those two ways that I talked about earlier today.

They saw them. We're going to raise up a godly seed in our home and we're gonna go after the souls of humanity. They saw them both. They passed that zeal and that fervor and that fire onto their children.

Those children those eight children scattered themselves all over the cities of the world to reach the down-and-outers and God used them to reach them. Those eight children had 45 Grandchildren for William and Catherine Booth and What do you think those 45 grandchildren did they saw the fervor and the zeal?

That was caught by those eight children from a father and a mother that were on fire for God. They saw it in their father and mother and picked up the same zeal and they rose up and said we want to follow the Lord with all of our hearts.

They lived in powerful homes where the zeal of the Lord was there the right ingredients were there. They said I will follow the faith of my father and my mother and those 45 Grandchildren scattered themselves all over the world every one of them.

To reach the lost on a plane some time ago flying over Africa. I think I was flying to Ethiopia. I met a Salvation Army Lady they call them lassies on the plane the dear old sister she was there dressed in her uniform had her covering on her head and We began to talk and I started sharing my respect for William Booth and all that God used him to do and his zeal and his fire and I told her he's one of my heroes and I began to share my burden for homes and she Opened up her heart and begin to share with me and she said well Let me just give you a little more information to help you along your way.

She said I went to Bible school with several of their great Grandchildren and they're on mission fields around the world today. That was about ten years ago that I heard this. God wants us to pass on a vibrant living faith to our children just like that.

That's generation by generation by generation. God is no respecter of persons my dear people what he did for William and Catherine Booth. He will do for me. And what he did for me. He'll also do for you.

He is no respecter of persons not one bit. God is longing. He's waiting. He's looking for parents who will rise up in the zeal of the Holy Spirit and do the same thing all over again. He's longing for it.

He's looking for them. Will you be one? God wants us to pass on a vibrant living faith to our children. Then they will pass it on to the next generation. Then that generation will pass it on to the next generation and Only one thing will break the chain that sin and lukewarmness in the parents wherever they are in the generations.

And that does happen and the chains are broken and if you track down all the children you'll find holes all over in the generations. But you always find them there for the same reason. Because a couple of parents lost their zeal and love for the God of heaven.

Hudson Taylor's Family Heritage and Mission

That's how it happens. Let's look at Hudson Taylor another example. Hudson Taylor was the founder of the China England mission. Much of what is happening there in China today? Can be traced back To the work of that dear man and those brothers and sisters who labored with him in China 150 years ago.

Hudson Taylor, let's look at his heritage. Three generations of fiery Methodist Preachers preceded Hudson Taylor. I Studied his heritage. It was beautiful. Great grandfather James Laid a many generation foundation as he established his home that dear man I mean on his wedding day.

He was late for his wedding because he was getting right with God. He made a mistake the day before his wedding. He went out to hear John Wesley preaching in an open-air meeting and John Wesley preached on this subject as for me and my house.

We will serve the Lord and the Spirit of God. Gripped that man so deeply in his heart as he realized I'm gonna get married tomorrow. He found himself in the barn praying through to God and the old clock was ticking by and his wife the bee was waiting there at the church and all the People were there and the preacher was there but the man the bridegroom wasn't there.

Bless God who cares? He was establishing a home. That's what he was doing. Like we said the other evening He was laying the foundation of a godly home. He was getting thoroughly right with God. Well his dear wife.

She didn't know what she got a hold of when she married him. But in a few weeks she caught up she caught up. That was the beginning beautiful. Several sons. They had several sons and they were all zealous Methodists and those sons had several sons and they were also Zealous Methodists lay preachers.

They didn't have any of the other kind back in those days. One of them was Hudson Taylor's father. Hudson Taylor's father was a man of prayer. He was a man of God. He was a man of zeal. He loved the Lord with all of his heart and he used to pray.

He had a burden for China and he used to pray. Almost daily he would pour his heart out before God and say Oh Lord. Would you send missionaries to China that was back when nobody went to China. Nobody went anywhere.

Lord, would you send missionaries to China and there was this little boy named Hudson listening to those words, you know. And those words fell like mercy drops on the heart of that little boy. And when he was six years old he got into his closet and got down on his knees and said Oh God, I'll go to China and from that day his heart was set and he went to China and he shook that place and Established churches all over China and there are millions of Christians there today.

Because some dear old Godly man got down on his knees in the hay up in the barn Before his wedding and cried out to God to establish his home. Can you see it? Do you see it? Oh Hallelujah, what a beautiful picture it is.

Well. The rest is history, but the his story Doesn't stop there in total. There are nine generations of preachers in the Taylor family and one is a missionary in Thailand today. May God inflame us to raise up.

Generations of soldiers for Jesus Christ. May God do that. Do you see the potential? What do you think? Are these just special men that God chose to put an extra blessing on or Is this something that God would want to do in every home that is represented in this room?

And those that listen to these tapes, which one do you think it is? Did God just say I want to do something special with this person so everybody else can look on Longingly and say isn't that lovely what God did or is that simply the results of faithful?

Men and women who believed God and followed his word, which one do you think it is? Well, I believe that it is simply faithful men and women who decided they were gonna follow God and that was the results.

Open our eyes. Lord open our eyes so many times. So many times we sit in such a slough of unbelief that we hear stories like this. Which is history by the way, which is inspired by God. We hear these stories and we just kind of sit back and say oh, that's a nice story, but it's not for me.

Oh, you wouldn't say that out of your mouth, but in your heart. You say that in your heart and it's not true. The devil's lying to you. It's for you as much as it was for him. Do you believe it? I do anyway.

Oh God. Give us a vision. Give us a vision Lord one that consumes us one that drives us to action one that changes the Priorities of our life one that draws us back when we get too busy at times. One that cannot be dimmed by this world and all the pursuits that this world has to throw against us God.

Jonathan and Sarah Edwards: A Multi-Generational Legacy

Give us a vision like that. What about Jonathan Edwards? Let's look at him a little bit. The house of Jonathan Edwards. God used Jonathan Edwards in Revival 250 years ago in this land in the east side of here the United States.

His heritage and his wife's heritage goes back three generations. Before the two of them came together in holy matrimony three generations before they came together in holy matrimony. Oh God. Would you so do that Lord that we have dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of families with heritages that go for many generations.

If the Lord carries that long Jonathan Sarah Edwards began their home with a vision of a house full of godly children. I mean from day one Lord fill up our house. We're gonna raise them for you. Give us a bunch of them.

That was their goal. That was their dream and their vision. They were both anointed with the Holy Ghost. If you read their writings you can tell it without a doubt. Some people say that Sarah was more spiritual than Jonathan.

All we know about him is because he was the man that God used in a revival. He preached sinners in the hands of a mighty God, but his dear wife was anointed with a Holy Ghost. God gave them 11 children.

They had a home. That was exemplary people noted it from far and wide. George Whitfield came to the United States. He was single and he was planning to be single. He saw the beauty of this home the order of this home the godliness of the children.

The order the love and all those things and he went back to England said I'm gonna get married. I want to get married. I like what I see. Do it again Lord do it again. The posterity of this home is astounding.

It is truly a Example of a many-generation home no doubt. Please look at it with me. Five generations of light. Five generations of light and please remember this while we're going through these five generations.

Remember there was three before this one. So that's eight. I Think it's about 1900 the state of New York did a study on the head of the Edwards household. They did a study on five generation of the descendants of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards.

They found 729 males that they could trace out. Of those 729 men 200 were preachers. 65 were teachers in Bible colleges. 13 were Bible College presidents. 60 of them were authors. 80 of them held public offices.

100 of them were lawyers. 60 of them were doctors. A few of them were senators and governors and one of them was a vice-president. Not a bad list of credentials for one man and one woman who said God we're gonna fill up our house with godly children.

Five generations of light with three behind it. Now let's look at five generations of darkness, you know, this thing works both ways. Five generations of darkness. The state of New York also did a study On the lives of two evil brothers who married sisters.

Five generations of these men were tracked. 1026 descendants. Men and women were tracked of those 1026 descendants they discovered 300 of them died an early death because of a sinful life. 140 of them spend an average of 13 years in prison.

190 of them were public prostitutes. 100 of them were alcoholics. In in in the year of 1900 it was estimated that the state of New York spent 1 .2 million dollars to take care of all these wayward people Who lost out with God because one generation said I'm not gonna follow God.

I'll go my own way. Truly. Righteousness exalted the nation but sin is a reproach to any people. It seems very evident when we look at the comparison between the two of these families that with Jonathan Sarah Edwards many sanctifying seeds were sown from one determined couple who decided they were gonna love God with all their heart and live it out in their home and give it to their Children and that's what God wants to do with each and every one of us and that's why we're here.

The Generational Reach of a Large Family

Would you allow me? One more exercise in statistics here this evening this shocked us a few years ago with the older children. But one day we were having school homeschool and I was teaching and We started talking just having a little discussion there in the schoolroom about the blessing of having children and The blessing of having many children and we were discussing this going back and forth.

And of course everybody was excited about it. We believe in having a Quiver full of children and we decided one of the children. I don't remember who got the bright idea. Well, let's just figure out how many this would be if such-and-so happened.

And so we put a couple little marks on the board. One little mark for a papa. One little mark for the mama. And then we decided we'll take a conservative approach to this and we'll say that all of them are going to have six children.

So the pop and the mama they had six children. We put our six little marks there on the board and then we put six marks underneath those. All each one of those six we put six more under each one of those and well We quickly ran out of room on the board and had to go to our math.

Amen, we went to our math and we started adding and multiplying. And when we got down five generations, which we were studying John Jonathan Edwards five generations when we got down five generations.

We were shocked as we realized that five generations of children. Who all had six children? Makes ten thousand descendants in five generations. We all sat stunned as we looked at the numbers on the board.

I Scratched my head a little bit. I thought maybe I made a mistake here somewhere. Let's go look at this again, but no 10 ,000 descendants. 10 ,000. I'm greatly moved by these numbers. I don't know how you look at that.

Maybe statistics don't mean anything to you. Hey cut it in half if you want to Cut it in half and it'll still be 5 ,000 but I'm greatly moved by these numbers. I'll tell you somebody else who's moved by these kind of numbers.

Satan is. You can be sure that he's moved by them. He knows if he can get the Papa and the Mama. He's gotten all the children down through there. Most of them. He's moved by these numbers. You can be sure he's calculating them.

And I want to tell you brothers and sisters God is also moved by these numbers. Yes, God knows if he gets a father and a mother he gets their whole heart. He gets them totally dedicated consecrated to him sold out lock-stock and barrel and God knows if he gets a father and a mother like that and he puts into their heart a dream and A vision of passing that on to the next generation.

God also knows he's gonna get a lot of generations out of it. Much glory and honor will come to God through it. Well, if it's too much for you, if it seems too idealistic just cut it in half and make it 5 ,000 still it's powerful.

It's still powerful. Talk about a ministry man. That's a ministry you you do that. You won't even need a pulpit. You won't even need one. You have such an impact you'll affect this world. God oh. We need to see things the way God does, you know, he looks at things so differently than we do so differently.

You want a ministry you go for that one? And Just let it go. Just let it go. Just let it keep on going keep on going, but you know. You got to be the real thing at home to do that. 24 -7 they say Walk with God be a godly example have a fire burning in your heart get consumed with raising your children for God.

A Family Encounter That Inspired Revival at Home

And you'll have a ministry. You'll have a ministry. Without a vision the people perish but with a vision God's work prospers under the third and fourth generation. Want to share an experience with you that changed our lives forever.

22 years ago. I Read a living epistle 2nd Corinthians 3 2 and I've never gotten over it. I met a family That was doing many many things right in their home. I'm sure there were some things wrong there, but they were so far beyond me in those days a Vision came to my heart as I met this home.

God used this family to implant some things in my heart that have changed the destiny of my children without a doubt and Enflamed me with a vision for godly homes. I Was up in Minnesota many many years ago.

22 years ago. Helping two dear brothers Lou and Ralph's of Tara hold revival meetings. Revival crusades for three weeks in the town up in Minnesota each night. This family came it's an unusual family.

They were a bit different. They look different the ladies had a covering on their head men dressed more simple than everybody else and I noticed this family as they came night by night and one evening they had the family get up and Sing a few songs in four-part harmony.

Just like we had the blessing of hearing here this evening. I Looked at that. One night this father came up to me After the meeting and he said I'd like you to come to breakfast in my house in the morning.

Invited me and one of my friends brother Paul. He's here this evening. Invited us for breakfast. Well, I told him yeah, I'd be glad to come. I got some directions and we parted and I started moving around and visiting with others and I said well, I'm going to This certain family's house in the morning for breakfast and the people got a big old smile on their face and said, oh You'll you'll enjoy that you'll enjoy that.

Okay, good. Great. I didn't know what that meant. Well Tuesday came I My friend we headed out crossed over the border into Canada. Started trying to follow these directions that were given and somehow we got lost as I look at it now God got us lost.

We got lost. Didn't know where we're at. So we decided what we're gonna do strange city. Well, we'll stop and ask. So we stopped somewhere at a business and asked them said could you tell us where these people live giving their name?

Man just got this big smile on his face. He said oh Sure. Yeah, I know where they live. Yeah, you just go down the road this way So far and make a left-hand turn you go in there in the right and the farms back in their ways.

So we jump back in the car and headed down the road. Been down the road and somehow we missed that left-hand turn and you know How that is you go and just keep on going just keep on going finally we said whoa, I think we're something mixed up here and we turned around and stopped in another place of business and said Sorry, we lost our way.

We're trying to find this place. Do you know where these people live and this guy got this big smile on his face? He said oh, yeah I know where they live. You just go up this way make a right go through this residential area and it's down that way.

We kept on going. Got into this residential area and somehow I got lost in there, too. I Mean it was God I'd tell you it was God somehow God was sitting on his throne and he just kind of flustered us all up and mixed us all up and turned us around.

So we get lost. Residential area. What am I gonna do? Well, we've knocked on a lot of doors going soul winning. So we knocked on the door and asked somebody in the residential area and this person got this big smile on their face same story.

Oh, yeah, sure right down here well, we Ended up at the farm typical farm scene and boys were still doing the chores. Girls were in the house with mom you know making breakfast and all of a sudden the boys came in and sat down at the table and Gonna have a nice country breakfast there and we did we sat down and started eating and After we finished our meal had a nice spiritual conversation.

The father he turns to me and gives me the Bible and says you're gonna have the devotions this morning and although hmm instant in season out of season I opened up Ephesians chapter 1 that's a good place to start if you haven't studied and Started reading in Ephesians chapter 1, you know and I looked around the room a little bit to see how things were and I Noticed every one of the children had their eyes shut as I was reading the scriptures.

They were squeezing to get whatever they could get out of what I was reading. Well, we had our time of sharing and after the time of sharing was over. Then they passed out the songbooks and we started singing.

I never heard singing like that before. It was beautiful. I mean a family who's been singing together from year after year after year and we all sang together and the Heaven came down in the glory of God came into that little dining room while we sang those songs.

It was beautiful after we finished singing. The father dismissed our the the breakfast table there and as soon as he was done I mean all the children, you know the boys they jumped on me. They had tracks in their back pockets and tracks in their front pockets and they were giving me a tract on the verbal inspiration of the Bible and they want to know what I thought about Billy Graham and and they were just going on like this and I was kind of taken back by these Fellas, you know they were so zealous and as soon as I finished with him then then the the mom dragged me into the next room and started Weeping and said Oh brother Denny pray for revival.

We need revival in our town and I'm just taking all this in you know, I'm thinking wow, this is different. So then the boys, you know. They're gonna take me on a tour and we're gonna go around and look at the things on the farm, you know.

And I didn't know much about farms so we started to go around the farm and while we were walking and sharing about the Lord why the milk truck pulled in right there in the middle of our of our Conversation and one of the fellas he stopped talking got a tract out of his back pocket jumped up there on the truck.

Stuck the track through the window and said hey, have you been born again? You know and I'm just watching I'm just watching all this we finished finished the little tour and I got back in my car and said goodbye and Little lady of the house.

She came out with a loaf of German bread and a dozen eggs, you know. That was her little gift that she gave You know to those that visit and she gave them to me and I don't know what I was gonna do with them.

You know, I was we're having a revival for three weeks and my wife was at home. So I just put him in the backseat of the car and we started driving and we drive back and came to the border to Go across, you know back into the United States and here comes the customs officer, you know.

He walks up there and you know, they they kind of put on a gruff face, you know to you know. That shakes out all the dishonest ones and he walked up to the car and he said where you going? And I told him and we're going to the United States.

We've been visiting friends, you know, and and he said done. You got anything in the car? I said no. No, sir. We don't then all of a sudden I remember. Oh Bread and I said, oh I we do have something in the backseat.

Oh, what's that? I said we have a loaf of German bread and a dozen eggs and This guy's face just got a big smile on and he said oh, I know where you've been and he named the name of that family. Yeah, you can go on he said and he sent me on down the road.

We drove down the road and I'm just thinking Lord. What mean is all of this? What mean is all of this God. Well, it took a little while for the dust to settle and for those things to settle down in more at my poor Blinded heart, but after a few days I began to cry to God.

I said God I want that Lord. I want that I saw something there God that I've never seen and I want it Lord. I began to pray like that and back then we just had three children you know Rebecca was four.

Daniel was two. Elizabeth was a little nursing baby and God took his finger and wrote upon the table of my heart that day a picture that I never forgot. Well, I went home. By the time I got home my heart was fixed.

Jackie didn't know what happened to me. She didn't know what to do with me. And it's been that way a few times since also. She has been a faithful wife to follow this fanatic, I'll tell you that. But anyway I came home and I shared these things that that I had seen and heard with with my dear wife and I said honey.

We've got we're gonna go for it. We're gonna have devotions. We're gonna get the children together. We're gonna sing. We're gonna teach in the Bible. We're gonna have a godly home. I didn't know if I used those terms or not.

But I told her I want to have a home like what I saw there. I want a home that has an influence in the community. I want to have a home that the community knows. There's something special about that family.

That's what I wanted and we didn't know what we were doing back in those days, but we sat them all together. You know little little Rebecca. She was in her little rocking chair and and Daniel he was he was sitting in his crib.

You know sucking his thumb. Sorry, Daniel and little and little is this but you know, she was nursing yet and and we took three songs. That was it three songs. We're gonna sing. We're gonna sing like that family sing someday.

My family's gonna sing like that family sings and we're gonna start with three songs and we sang the same three songs again and again and again. We made a lot of mistakes, you know. But our hearts were set and our hearts were right and we wanted something that we never saw before.

Well, the vision has expanded. Surely it has but I still remember the wholehearted passion that we had in those days. I still remember I Won't forget seeing my little children sitting in those places.