The most valuable thing we have as a believer is our faith. In 2 Timothy 1:3-7, Paul reminds Timothy that his faith was passed down to him from his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice. We also need to pass on to others what we believe. Find out how to pass on your faith. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to https://intouch.org/tv
In “Trusting God with Today”,
the 365 day devotional from the
teachings of Dr. Charles Stanley
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male announcer: “In Touch,” the
teaching ministry of Dr. Charles
Stanley, reaching the world with
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Next on “In Touch,”
“How to Pass On Our Faith.”
Dr. Charles Stanley: People are
very, very careful and
oftentimes go to a great deal of
expense in order to be sure
that they leave their wealth
or the things that they treasure
and value to
those–their children,
their family, their friends.
Great expense oftentimes.
And often, the Christian will
fall into the same kind of trap,
and that is to make very
sure that their wealth,
their material possessions that
they pass on to their children,
their grandchildren,
or their friends,
all of it’s well taken care
of, no question whatsoever.
The fallacy of all
of that is this,
that the most valuable thing
you and I own as believers,
the most valuable things we
possess are not those things
that we can touch
with our hands.
It is not wealth and
stocks and bonds and
property and all the rest.
The most valuable thing we
have to pass on is our faith.
Now, someone says,
“Well, but now wait a minute.
You can’t pass on your faith.
That is a personal relationship
that you have with God.
And how can you
pass on your faith?”
Well, you can pass it on.
And that’s what I want to talk
about in this message and that
is “How to Pass on Our
Faith,” our children,
our grandchildren, or
even those about us.
And so I want you to
turn, if you will,
to Second Timothy, and let’s
begin reading in verse three of
Second Timothy chapter one.
Paul said to him, “I thank
God, whom I serve with a clear
conscience the way
my forefathers did,
as I constantly remember you
in my prayers night and day.”
Don’t you know that was a
comforting thing for young
Timothy to realize that the
apostle Paul was praying
for him night and day?
He says, “Longing to see you,
even as I recall your tears,”
going through a
difficult time, “so that
I may be filled with joy.”
And then he says to him, “For I
am mindful of the sincere faith
within you, which first
dwelt in your grandmother Lois,
and your mother Eunice, and I am
sure that it is in you as well.
And for this reason I remind you
to kindle afresh the gift of God
which is in you through
the laying on of my hands.
For God has not given us a
spirit of timidity,” or fear,
“but of power and of
love and of discipline.”
Paul is writing from a prison
encouraging young Timothy,
attempting to
strengthen him in his faith.
And it’s interesting
what he says to him.
He says, now remember, he says,
I know the source of your faith.
He says, first of all,
your grandmother Lois,
she had strong faith.
Then your mother,
Eunice, she had strong faith.
And now he says, I am
sure it is in you as well.
Where do you think
Timothy got that kind of faith?
Well, it was the
influence of his grandmother.
She passed it down
to her daughter
and she passed it
down to her son.
And then, of course, likewise,
the Apostle Paul certainly loved
Timothy, and he said that he
was his son in the ministry.
What do you think he was doing
with his son in the ministry?
Passing down to him,
transferring to him,
enabling him to be able
to understand the
truths that God had taught him.
He was passing on his face
to–his faith to young Timothy,
knowing that probably
before long he
was going to lose his life.
Now, here’s the big question.
The question is this:
Do you have a faith that
is worth passing on?
Do you have a faith that
will make a difference
in someone else’s life?
Well, you say, “Well, what
would that faith be like?”
It’s like this.
That is, a faith worth passing
on is a faith that is based on
the truthfulness
of the Word of God.
God’s eternal Word.
Your faith is based on that.
Secondly, it is a confident
conviction that the God of the
Bible is who He says He is
and He will do everything
He says He will do.
It is a faith that you
have tested and tried in the
circumstances of your life
and have allowed God to prove
Himself faithful to you.
It is a faith, not that you’ve
heard about or simply read
about, but your faith is a faith
that you’ve tested and tried and
God is proven to be faithful
over and over and over again.
It is a faith that has
this characteristic for sure.
It is a faith that you
not only can live by,
but it is a faith that
you are willing to die by.
That is, on those last hours
of your life or last moments of
your life, and oftentimes
people know that they’re going.
The issue is: Is the faith
that I’ve lived by a faith
that I can die by?
Can I face the living God at
the end of this life and know
without any doubt, there
is a certainty in my life,
I am eternally secure in the
living God whose Son died at
Calvary in order that my sins
may be forgiven and I can live
in oneness with Him.
If you’ve trusted
Christ as your Savior,
you should have something far
more valuable to pass on to your
children, your grandchildren
than simply material things
which oftentimes are spent
rather quickly and foolishly.
Well, you say, “Well,
how do we pass this on?”
Well, here’s the first way.
You pass it on this–in
this way: by sharing,
listen, by sharing with your
children or your grandchildren
those principles that
you have learned in life.
For example, the four basic
principles that have governed my
life all of these years, my
grandfather passed on to me
in one single week.
Taking the time.
Now, He could have
said, “You know, I’m too
busy to talk to
this high school kid.
I don’t have time for that.”
But for one solid
week he sat and
listened and talked and shared.
What was He doing?
He was sharing with me
the things that God
had done in His life.
He was passing on to me without
even realizing principles by
which he had lived, things that
he had–that had learned in the
difficulties and the
hardships of life.
When I walked
away on my way home,
I recognized God had done
something in my own life.
That is, my own faith
had suddenly catapulted.
It became strong immediately
because I began to think,
“Well, God, if You will do
that with my grandfather,
what will You do
in my own life?”
And so, as I look
back over the years,
He gave me four basic principles
that absolutely governed
my life all of these years.
What did he do?
He passed on to me–listen, he
didn’t get out the Bible and try
to prove anything to me.
He didn’t give me a
whole bunch of scriptures.
He passed on, listen, he passed
on critical situations and
circumstances in his life in
which God was faithful to come
through every single solitary
time, written in my mind,
etched in my soul,
burned in my heart.
God loves my granddad
enough to do it for him.
Will He do it for me?
Yes, He will!
Somehow, I knew He would.
And I think about what’s
happening to this generation of
ours, all of these children
who are coming along who are
not being taught the principles.
They’re not
taught ’em in school.
They don’t go to
Sunday School, they
don’t go to Bible
school oftentimes.
Parents don’t care.
They’re so busy
about the present day,
making money and getting ahead
and doing this and saying to
their kids, “Well, I’m
doing this for you.”
No you’re not.
“I’m just doing this for you.”
No you’re not, you’re doing it
because you want to because
you like it because
it helps you.
But what about the
expense of your children?
What about their faith?
What are you pouring into the
life of that child that will
establish them and strengthen
them as they go out into a
wicked, vile, sensual world
that will do its best to destroy
their faith at all costs?
What are you doing to build into
them something money can’t buy
and death cannot take away?
The second way we pass on our
faith is this: we pass it on by
the lifestyle that we live.
And so, we either pass
on doubt, frustration,
fear, unbelief, or
we pass on our faith.
So how do we do that?
It’s just this simple.
Every day, day after day, week
after week, month after month,
year after year,
what are we doing?
We’re making decisions
in front of our families,
front of our children, or
in front of other people,
our friends or
neighbors, whoever.
We’re making decisions.
Those decisions are
expressions of faith or doubt,
faith or doubt, fear or faith,
doubt, whatever it might be.
Because what happens?
They see us facing situations
and circumstances and they watch
how we–how we’re gonna respond.
Now listen, you can tell your
children anything you want to
tell ’em, but I’m here to
tell you, they are watching.
They not only are
listening, but they are
looking for your response.
You can tell them all you want
to, “You need to trust God,”
but if you’re not trusting
God, it’s not gonna work.
You need to be honest,
but if you’re
not honest, it’s not gonna work.
What they’re
gonna, listen, listen,
they pick up far more
by sight than by sound.
They are watching our lifestyle.
And let me tell you something,
friend, if they see
inconsistency in what
we say, with what
we do, here’s what they do.
Scratch it!
Doesn’t work.
If it worked, my–it
would have–my
father, my mother would have
done something else.
Doesn’t work.
And so what this
whole generation needs,
they need living
examples of men and women,
godly men and women, fathers
and mothers who have faith,
who say, “I’m trusting
God no matter what.”
And I think about the second
person that probably influenced
my life the most is my own mom.
And I can remember how many
times she and I would get down
by the bed and pray.
Wouldn’t have anything,
and would have some need,
and I’d say, “Well,” and being a
kid, I was a little frightened
about it and said, “Well, Mom,
what are we gonna do?”
Here’s what she’d say,
“We’re gonna trust God.
We’re just gonna trust God.”
And I, of course, I didn’t have
any idea exactly oftentimes what
that meant or how
that would happen.
And listen, over and over and
over and over again I saw God
meet need after need after need.
And you know what my mom
was doing down by the bed?
She could have been too busy.
She could have said, “Well,
you know, go to bed, son.
Cut out the
lights, get in the bed.”
My mom knelt by the bed
and we talked about God.
And she talked
about trusting God,
and every time something would
come along we didn’t know how to
handle, she would
talk about trusting God.
You know what, in
my ear still rings,
“We’re just gonna trust God.
We’re just gonna trust God.
We’re just gonna trust God.”
You know what she was doing?
She was passing on to
me by her lifestyle,
by her difficulty,
by her hardship,
her trials, and the way
she responded to them.
She was passing on to
this–to me this message:
You trust God no matter what.
You trust God when you
can’t see your way clear.
You trust God when
things look impossible.
You trust Him when it’s hard.
You trust Him
when it’s difficult,
when you–you trust Him
when everything looks dark.
You trust Him!
I’m here to tell you
it sank into my heart.
She, by her lifestyle,
said to me God is reliable.
God is trustworthy.
You can bet on Him in every
circumstance no matter what you
face in life, you can trust Him.
Well, how do we pass it on?
We pass it on, first of
all, by passing on the
principles that we’ve learned.
We pass it on, likewise, as a
result of our own lifestyle.
But we also pass it on by our
participation in their life and
participation in
other people’s lives.
That is, you see, when you and I
are open and transparent and we
say, “Well, let me tell you
how God worked in my life.”
And one of the wonderful things
to be able to do as a dad or a
mother is to kneel down by
the bedside at night with your
children when
they’re small and say,
for example, you know, I
always read them different kinds
of stories, but I loved
to tell ’em what was
going on in my life.
Said, “Let me tell you
what God did in my life.”
You know what, listen, if you
want something to soak
into your child’s mind, the last
thing you do before you cut
the lights out and you tell ’em
good night, you tell them
something that God
has done in your life.
You explain to them how
God has worked in your life.
You know what happens?
Gets into their mind all
night during their sleep.
The Spirit of God is doing what?
He’s just building that into
their very–He’s building that
into their very
thought patterns.
And so what happens?
If you will go to sleep,
whatever you go to sleep with,
the last thing you think about,
I’m here to tell you the Spirit
of God will take your conscious
and your subconscious mind and
He will work that
into your being.
And listen, if you’re
thinking evil things,
dirty things, nasty
things, or holy things,
the–it’s true all the way.
The Spirit, listen,
the Spirit of
God will use those good things.
The devil will use those
things that are not good.
And so, it’s good to go to
bed thinking about our Lord,
or talking about Him, and
saying to your children,
“Let me tell you
what God is doing.”
And to do that, you’ve
gotta be transparent
and say, “You know what,
let me tell you how I blew it.
I really–I really
messed it up this time.
I should have trusted God
about this but I didn’t do it.
And I’ve asked God to forgive me
and I hope you’ll forgive me
but I, you know what,
I just blew it!”
One thing a kid can’t stand is
a perfect father and a perfect
mother who never makes a
mistake and who are never wrong.
You want to ruin your kids?
You give them that kind
of image and it’s over.
How do I know that?
I know it for lots of
reasons but I can tell you one.
Took a survey in our college
department several years ago
and said if–asked them
lots of questions,
and one of the things–what
was the thing that they most
disliked about their parents?
Top of the list:
they are never wrong.
Top of the list:
they’re never wrong.
We’re all wrong
about some things.
We all have to be
open and transparent.
And you see, if I’m
gonna pass on my faith,
listen, if I’m gonna pass on
my faith and it’s gonna stick,
I’ve gotta pass on my failures.
Well, you know, it wasn’t
that God didn’t do
His–He didn’t do His thing.
It’s just that I
didn’t trust Him.
I took the easy way.
You know what happens?
You say, “Well, won’t
that undermine their faith?”
No, it says, “My dad’s real.
My dad’s genuine.
He’s not perfect.
He fails, so I’m sure it’s
gonna be times when I fail,
but what does he
do when he fails?
He acknowledges it.
He repents of it if it’s
something to repent of, and he
gets up and keeps going and
trusts God and God works
it out when he puts
his faith in God.”
What are you doing?
You’re still building faith
in the life of that child.
Well, it takes more than
perseverance and it takes
more than participation.
When I think about what it
takes, I think about a simple
word that oftentimes we
forget, and that’s praise.
To pass on my faith is very
important that when my children
or my grandchildren,
or when my friends,
when we have talked about
something that they’re going
through and they trust God and
God comes through for them as He
does and works it out,
it’s time to–listen,
to thank God, but to
also heap praise on them.
You trust Him.
Praise God!
You trust Him, and look
what God did in your life.
You see, there’s something
awesomely motivating about
praise, and especially
in the life of a child.
Rules, regulations, and
legalism does not help
build a child’s faith.
But what helps build a
child’s faith is praise.
You see, it’s a motivation.
Well, you trusted Him
and look what He did.
You did a fantastic job!
I knew He was
gonna do it for you!
God loves you!
You know what happens?
What are you doing?
You’re motivating that
child to trust Him again.
Because there are
gonna be disappointments.
There are gonna be things
that they want to trust God for
that’s not the will of God.
And so they’re gonna
come up and think,
“Well, God didn’t do it.”
Well, let’s see, did God answer
your prayer and–though you
didn’t get what you expected
and you didn’t win this contest
and you didn’t win the game
and you prayed that you would,
let’s see what happened here.
And then that’s the time
you have to get involved.
And that’s the time you praise
them for their efforts and you
laud them for their faith.
And then you help them
understand why God maybe allowed
it to happen a different way.
And most of the time,
we’re gonna find out,
well, the–Lord,
here’s what You did.
You withheld that so You could
give me something much better.
Thank You, God, for
not answering my prayer.
Then your faith’s growing.
Well, when you begin to praise
them and laud them for the good
things that they do, what
happens is they just–God begins
to give them more
tests, and what happens?
They begin to grow.
Well, let me give
you one other thing.
There are lots of
things I could say, but if
I’m gonna pass
on my faith to someone,
then I certainly
must pray for them.
What I will need
to pray is this.
I need to pray, “God, open
their eyes to help them see the
evidence of Your Hand in this.”
And then I want to pray,
“God, send them enough needs,
send them enough difficulty,
send them enough hardship so
that they will have to trust
You,” because how did all
of us learn to trust God?
Not because somebody
told us something.
We’ve all learned to
trust God by what?
By getting thrown into
situations where He was
all we had to go on.
He’s all we had left.
Now, here’s the one key I
want you to think about.
If you’re listening, say amen.
If you’re gonna pass on
your faith to your children,
you’ve got to be willing to back
off and refuse to bail them out
of the messes they get into.
Now, every father and every
grandfather wants to say,
“Oh, you sweet, wonderful thing.
Well, you know, old
dad’ll fix this,” no.
You know what?
Let me tell you something.
God doesn’t fix the messes I get
into until I get right with Him.
We–until I learn the lesson
that He wants me to learn,
until I turn to Him for
whatever it might be.
If you bail your children
out when they make a mistake,
you bail them out of the
difficulties and the
hardships because you
don’t want to see them
hurt, you know
what you’re doing?
You’re cheating them
out of the lesson.
You know what, all of us
have hurt, all of us face
situations and circumstances we
can’t bail ourselves out of,
nobody can get us out of.
So what do we do?
We learn to trust God.
We hang in there, we
trust Him no matter what.
What happens?
God rewards that.
Now, what we want to do
is we want to come along,
give them this and give
them that and want to be sure,
“Well, oh, we don’t
want you to hurt.
We don’t want you
to have needs.”
And all of us are probably
guilty to some degree to want
Him to make it
easier on our children.
That’s a natural, normal thing.
But when it comes to training
them up and training them to
trust God, that’s
not the way to do it.
You have to let ’em hurt.
Have to let ’em cry,
have to let ’em weep.
Have–and you see, now
here’s another issue.
If you’re listening
to this one, say amen.
Here’s the decision
you have to make.
Is it more important that my son
or my daughter or my children
learn to trust God?
Is that more important?
Or is it more important
that I have their acceptance?
Their acceptance of me is not
nearly as important as their
learning to trust
the living God.
And I think about how
many children get cheated.
Listen, I think about children
who grow up in homes where
there’s wealth on top of
wealth on top of wealth.
They’ve got the finest
automobiles there are in life.
They wear all the clothes
with the patches on the back.
And they go to
the finest schools.
They’ve got credit
cards, they got everything.
You know what?
Poor kids, poor kids,
poor, poor, poor children.
You know why?
They don’t have to
trust God, they’ve got Dad.
They don’t have to be in
need, they’ve got a credit card.
They don’t have to worry
and fret about things because
somebody’ll bail ’em out.
And parents want to bail
’em out because they
don’t want to be embarrassed.
Poor kids.
You know who the
richest kids are?
The richest kids are those–the
richest people are those
who don’t have it all.
They don’t have it
all together, in fact,
they don’t have a
lot of things in life.
But here’s what they do have.
They have an unwavering,
unshakable trust
in the living God.
And they walk through
difficulties and hardships and
burdens and trials in life.
And God provides their
needs one at a time.
He strengthens them,
deepens their faith,
builds the relationship,
builds intimacy with Him.
Those are the
fortunate, most blessed people.
Then what do you do?
Here’s what you do.
You pass it on!
So when you’re
gone, what happens?
It keeps passing on and
passing on and passing on
and passing on and passing on.
And you think about
children and grandchildren and
great-grandchildren and
great-great grandchildren and
great-great-great grandchildren
whose faith has been impacted
because you learned to
trust the living God.
Don’t cheat your children
by giving them everything.
Hurt, pain,
suffering, sickness, sorrow,
heartache, tribulation,
trials, temptations, yes!
Because that’s what
builds godly strong faith.
You can pass it
on if you have it.
Where does it begin?
Here’s where it begins.
It begins by placing your trust
in Jesus Christ as your personal
Savior, acknowledging your
failure and your separation from
Him because of your sin,
believing that when Jesus went
to the cross, He died and
paid your sin-debt in full,
and saying to Him, “I am
confessing my sin to You.
I’m asking You to forgive
me of my sin on the basis,
not of how good I’ll be, but on
the basis of the death of your
Son, I receive You as
my personal Savior
and accept it to be done.”
That’s the
beginning of your faith.
Then what happens?
God builds upon that, and you
have something awesome to give.
Now, I’ll ask you
one last question.
Do you have a faith
that’s worth giving away?
Listen to this, can your
children or your grandchildren
or your friends around
you look at you and say,
“You know, it works.
I see it working in her life.
I see it working in his life.
That’s what I want, that’s the
kind of faith I want because
I’ve seen it work.”
That’s what God
wants of all of us.
He wants a life of faith that
others can look at and say,
“God–it works, and
that’s what I want.”
And that’s what He wants
you and me to pass on.
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