We have been considering a worldview held by far too many Christians which I call, short-termism. It is a demoralizing, neutralizing mentality that affects every area of the Christian's life -- both public and private. In our last blog, we begin to set forth basic truths that will enable us to break free from its captivity. We premised our solution upon the prophet Jeremiah's counsel to his Babylonian captive, covenant-breaking people, as found in Jeremiah 29. (Do yourself a favor and take the time to read this chapter in its entirety.) Thus far we have shown that if we are to follow the Lord's counsel through the prophet Jeremiah to a victorious future orientation, then some of the things we must do are: (1) We Must Begin Honoring and Interceding for the Spiritual Gatekeepers of Our Generation; (2) We Must Reconnect with Our Godly History in Order to Position Ourselves with Our Destiny; (3) Establish Economic Viability by Building Strong Multigenerational Businesses.( Go here to read the last blog-- http://tridm.org/v1/short-termism-part-2/) In this article we will focus on one more of the vital practices that we must deploy if we are to see Short-termism corrected, and that is:

Developing Family Stability for the Purpose of Multi-generational Transfer!

Jeremiah 29:6, “Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.”

Wow! Think about the startling implications of what the man of God is telling a people who are living as captives in a pagan culture; with no rights of their own; with social upheaval and war all around them; with an uncertain future; and with uncertain finances and only hardships and heartaches on the horizon! Yet Jeremiah said, "Even though you're captives in a strange land, one that doesn't embrace your value system, unpack your bags. Get married. Buy houses. Plant gardens. Raise children. And change your generation. Fill your quivers full with babies that will be like bright, young, impressionable arrows that you can aim and release for the future!”

Pastor Philip Ryken said, “In this passage God almost sounds like the ad man for Babylonian Realty. So imagine the reaction when Jeremiah’s prophecy was read in the Jewish ghetto back in Babylon. There God’s people were, languishing in captivity, complaining about religious discrimination and the pagan school system in Babylon, when God started to give them the hard sell. “You’re going to love this place,” he said. “Wonderful place to raise a family! Exciting opportunities for business! Great location, right in the heart of the Fertile Crescent!” One senses God’s passion for urban planning. Yet he is talking about the city of Babylon, of all places. Here is his surprising plan: to build the city of God right in the middle of the city of Man.”

This prophetic word from God seemed ridiculous. And proclaimed today it is rejected by so many Christians as being unwise. For sure, it is diametrically opposed to the fearful "family planning" advocates who warn us today, "This is the worst moment in history to bring innocent children into the world. How will you feed, protect, and educate them? Don’t you know that this old world is an evil place that seems to be getting more evil every day, so why would anyone want to have children? Don’t you understand that the world is already grossly over-populated so why add to Mother Earth’s burden?

In the Newsweek Business Magazine on September 27, 2006, the leading article was entitled “Birth Dearth”! It went on to say, “Remember the population bomb? The new threat to the planet is not too many people but too few.” "Never in the last 650 years, since the time of the Black Plague, have birth and fertility rates fallen so far, so fast, so low, for so long, in so many places," writes the sociologist Ben Wattenberg.

Birthrates have been declining in Europe for years. To maintain a population at a current level requires an average of 2.1 children per family. Europe's fertility rates, according to the 2002 U.N. population report are far below this. This means in Germany, for example, whose fertility rate of 1.4 (Which is exactly Europe's average), will shed nearly a fifth of its 82.5 million people over the next 40 years—roughly the equivalent of all of East Germany.

Parts of Eastern Europe, already sparsely populated, will just empty out," predicts Reiner Klingholz, director of the Berlin Institute for Population and Development. Russia is already losing close to 750,000 people yearly. (President Vladimir Putin calls it a "national crisis.")

In contrast the United Nations projects that the Middle East will double in population over the next 20 years, growing from 326 million today to 649 million by 2050. Saudi Arabia has one of the highest fertility rates in the world, 5.7 children per family, after Palestinian territories at 5.9 and Yemen at 7.2.

What do all the above countries that are reproducing so prolifically around the world have in common? They are predominately Muslim. The Muslims have faith in the future because they have a total life worldview that believes that they are predestined by the command of Allah to take dominion over the world, and one of the methods for achieving this is by child-bearing.

Pastor Terry Christ gives insightful commentary: “Jeremiah knew that, rather than contributing to the problem, those unborn generations were, in fact, the solution to the problem. With six decades of captivity remaining before them, those exiles had been prophetically positioned by God to reclaim the cultural landscape through multigenerational ministry.

Likewise, when we train our children in the ways of righteousness, and then send them out to exercise dominion in the earth, we are reclaiming the culture for Christ. Multigenerational ministry, simply put, is understanding that the purpose of God usually takes at least three generations to implement.

Furthermore, whatever He builds usually endures at least three generations. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And the promise, as Peter preached at Pentecost, endures "to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off' (Acts 2:39).

The enemy has attempted to impede the progress of the Kingdom through generational disconnection. By alienating fathers from sons, and mothers from daughters, he has been able to destroy continuity among the generations.”

Multi-generational transfer involves all Christians, even those who never marry or never have biological children. How? Because all believers are to seek for large families of spiritual sons and daughters that they have led to Christ, discipled, and brought up in the faith to become maturing fathers in the faith. These are to be equipped with the long-term view so that they are world-visionary, world-impacting, prolifically-reproducing, multi-generational devotion-givers to Christ, disciple-makers for Christ, and dominion-takers for Christ!

It is time for God’s People to get over being short-termers with a terminal generation outlook and a renter’s mentality, and embrace a long term view that is multi-generational instead of multicultural, that is that of a Bridge-builder, a co-partner in Father’s Family Firm of Almighty and Sons.

What you believe about the future will determine what you attempt to achieve in the present.

Christians are being told that the end is very near and here...again. At every calendar milestone, self-proclaimed modern-day "prophets" arise to stir up a furor rivaled only by the impending apocalypse they predict.

This doom-and-gloom prognostication is not only spread by a few popular preachers, but millions of Christians, including some of the most recognized names in mainstream Christianity, are caught up in the latest "last days" frenzy. Seduced by the popular craze, they are driven not to action, but to radical inactivity, ineffectiveness, and lethargy while waiting for the easy-out "end."

When the underlying premise is the ultimate failure of the Gospel short of Jesus’ in the nick of time return, then I believe it will and does have serious and decidedly negative consequences. If one believes that Satan is the god of this world, how can they escape his wrath? Many have a very anemic view of God.

A short-termed, retreatist, defeatist, outlook on the part of far too many Christians has pushed them into an all out, before Armageddon, sprint for Jesus that has abandoned  every arena of public life to godless humanism. Forgetting it is a long-term marathon race, multitudes of believers are piling up in locker rooms (church buildings), burned out miles and perhaps many, many years from the Millennial Markers!

Joseph Balyeat, in his book, "Babylon, The Great City of Revelation," gives us a very brief but concise insight into some of the consequences:  "I have heard many young people in Christian families express dire concern and deep confusion about the future. "Why am I going to school if it is all coming to an end anyway? Why make a long-term commitment to a career in government, I'll just pump gas and make a fast buck instead. Why consider getting married and having children? It would be silly to bring children into this mess that is predestined to get worse."

When we continually place our children into the midst of this dichotomy -- telling them to commit to long-term goals while repeatedly stating that "the end is near" - we do them a serious disservice, and we damage their faith. In sociological terms, we create in them something called, "cognitive dissonance" - telling them to do one thing while telling them to believe something else. Studies have proven again and again that individuals placed in such a position of cognitive dissonance either change their beliefs or change their actions, they cannot long exist under the strain of dichotomy.

In either case, whether they change their actions, or change their beliefs, we have ill-served our youth. When they change their actions to conform to their short-term beliefs, they become "born-again: societal drop-outs with little hope of ever being anything or doing anything constructive in society. On the other hand, a more common occurrence is that the young people change their beliefs and reject the pessimistic, short-term religion of their parents. Since no one has ever told them that there is another Christian option, they are consigned to wander in the godless wilderness of humanism."

If evil, demonically inspired men are riding in the high places of the earth, it's not because of any flaw in the gospel. If our world is becoming more and more demonized, it’s not because Jesus lied or was mistaken about His victory over the devil at Calvary. If Satan seems to be quite alive and well on planet earth, it’s not because Jesus has withdrawn all the presence of His Spirit or gifts of the Spirit, or because the Word of God has lost its power.

If your vision for the future causes you to spend more time looking for the anti-Christ to be manifested than praying for the power of Christ to be manifested, then you are short-term sprinter for Jesus that will give up race before a winning finish.

Our dilemma in the world is not because of the lateness of the age, but due to our lack of a biblical, long-term, victorious, worldview in which the gospel of God fills the earth with the knowledge of the glory of God. It is our short-term mentality; our unbelief, apathy, cowardice, and our unwillingness to fast and pray and attack the gates of hell in the power of God based on the Word of God, that has kept us from multiplying children -- both physically and spiritually.

We must equip our biological children and spiritual children with the attitude of prophets who have a word from God; of priest who have a worshiping, reconciling ministry for God; and as kings who are armed with the High praises of God in our mouth and a two-edged sword in our hands. We mount our assault on the portals of Hell and against us they shall not stand as we go on, “Shouting praise, praise, praise to the Lord, for the battle is in His hands.”

Always remember that our vision of the future shapes our vocation in the present.

How we perceive the future affects the way we raise our children, the education we get, the type buildings we build, the way we invest our monies, etc.

It is time to begin to do what God told Jeremiah to tell his ancient people to do -- despite the hardships and seemingly hopelessness of the situation -- Jeremiah 29:6, “Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.”

It is time to teach our biological and spiritual sons and daughters that the prospects of their future are as bright as the promises of God. And that "from victory unto victory, His army shall He lead, until every foe is vanquished and Christ is Lord indeed!"