Any Ten Years
Any Ten Years
Bro John Grubb | 30 August 2026 | Jeremiah 6:16
"Thus says the LORD: 'Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, "We will not walk in it."'" — Jeremiah 6:16
Three Warnings, Three Prophets, One Ancient Problem
Long before our generation, the people of God had a problem — and God sent three prophets to name it.
"Thus says the LORD: 'Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, "We will not walk in it."'" (Jeremiah 6:16)
Jeremiah pleaded with them. They refused. Then Amos spoke:
"'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord GOD, 'that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.'" (Amos 8:11)
Hosea named the terrible cost:
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." (Hosea 4:6)
Three different prophets, three different times, one heartbreaking pattern: God's own people refusing to hear His word. This is not a new problem. It is one of the oldest problems in the world. And what happened to Israel then can happen to the church now — if we let it.
The Sober Thesis
Here is the truth to carry home from this whole lesson, and to say aloud until it settles in the bones:
Any ten years we fail to teach what God's will is for man will determine the destiny of the church.
Because we fail to teach and learn the fundamental truths of the Bible, we continue to have people fall away from the truth. This is not the world's problem out there. This is our problem in here.
Changes in the World
Since I first obeyed the gospel, there have been enormous changes in the world:
Population — there are over 3 billion more people on the earth now than there was then. In 2026, there are 8.3 billion people on earth.
Life spans — much longer, because of improved medicine.
Affluence — even though there are still many poor people, people in general are much wealthier.
Technology — tremendous strides. When I first became a Christian, we did not even know what a cassette tape recorder was. Today, young people do not know what that is. And this is true for hundreds of other things.
Great changes — some good, some not so good.
Changes in the Church
But there have also been changes in the church, and these are the ones that ought to make us pause.
When I obeyed the gospel, the church was, for the most part, united in doctrine and practice. There were some exceptions, but liberalism, in all its various forms, had not yet invaded the Lord's church. For the most part, you did not have to worry about false teachers coming in and wrecking your work. In those days, false teachers did not stay in the church — they went into the denominations that best suited them.
Churches worked together and carried the gospel message to the world. We were in a period when the church was one of the fastest-growing religious groups in the world. People were interested in teaching their friends, neighbours, and family the gospel of Christ. The gospel was carried to many nations around the world.
So what happened?
To a large degree, we stopped teaching and practicing the basics of the Bible. People stopped emphasising the study of Scripture and following simple New Testament Christianity.
And here is the promise that runs through this whole lesson: any ten years we fail to teach these basic truths, we will reap the terrible consequences.
There are four teachings that must not be allowed to slip. Let us walk through each one.
I. Personal Evangelism — the Heartbeat of the Church
A Malaysian gospel preacher once said, "Evangelism is the heartbeat of the church."Bro Rajendran made that statement many years ago. And it is as true today as it was the day he said it.
If the heart stops beating, the body dies. And the moment a local church stops teaching people the gospel, that church begins dying, even if the doors are still open.
We must once again keep these passages alive:
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:15–16)
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19–20)
"And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will." (2 Timothy 2:24–26)
"as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." (1 Peter 2:2)
"For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God… For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Hebrews 5:12–14)
And when the great persecution scattered the early church:
"Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word." (Acts 8:4)
Paul was so committed to this that he could say the gospel "was preached to every creature under heaven" (Colossians 1:23) — and he modelled both the public and the private teaching of God's word:
"how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house." (Acts 20:20)
Every Christian is a teacher of the gospel — publicly and privately, in the pulpit and in the living room. And any ten years we fail to do this, the church will suffer the consequences.
When was the last time you heard a sermon on personal evangelism?
When was the last time you actually shared the gospel with a friend, a neighbour, a family member?
II. Church Discipline — the Forgotten Commandment
Church discipline has been called the forgotten commandment — and we do not hear too much about it these days. But look at the passages:
"But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us… And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." (2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14–15)
This passage is talking about Christians who are no longer walking in the light of the Lord — those who have already fallen away. We have a responsibility to them, and we have a responsibility to the church. We want to save that individual. We also want to keep the church pure.
"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." (1 Corinthians 5:4–5)
Notice — the goal of discipline is salvation, not destruction. Paul says this to the church at Corinth, where a brother was living in open fornication, and the church was proud instead of grieved. Paul says: the next time you come together as a church, deal with it.
"Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear." (1 Timothy 5:20)
Remember what happened after Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5? They lied to God — and God struck them dead. And what happened to the church?
"So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things." (Acts 5:11)
They saw the consequences of sin, and they feared. Imagine if Ananias and Sapphira had simply been allowed to get away with their lie. The influence on the immature — on new believers, on those still growing in their faith — would have been devastating.
Or remember Achan in the Old Testament. When the Israelites conquered Jericho, God told them to take nothing for themselves. But Achan took things he was not supposed to take. And when Israel went up against the little city of Ai — thirty-six soldiers were killed. Why? Because there was sin in the camp. What did Israel have to do to be successful again? They had to get rid of the sin in the camp.
In the church, when sin is allowed to remain in the camp, it will affect the influence of the church in the world. Nobody wants to hear people say, "Oh, I know that church — there is a member there who is a liar, an evil liar, who has deceived people."That is not the kind of influence we want for the Lord's church.
Because most churches do not obey God in this area, the church remains weak. But in spite of the frustration of brethren failing to practice church discipline, preachers must continue to teach brethren their responsibility in this area — and elders must lead in this.
And any ten years we fail to do this, the church will suffer the consequences.
III. Home Training
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right… And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:1, 4)
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)
"Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord." (Colossians 3:20)
And listen carefully to Deuteronomy:
"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." (Deuteronomy 6:6–7)
When you sit. When you walk. When you lie down. When you rise up. God expected that the word would be woven into the entire fabric of daily family life. Not one hour on Sunday — every hour, every day.
But look at the world today. More and more women are working outside of the home to provide the luxuries of life. The children, many times, are left at home by themselves. In America, they are called "latch key kids" — they carry their own key, they go to school, they come home to an empty house, and no one is there.
There is an old saying — "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world." If our children are raised by daycare, by school, by the internet, by a television, by influencers — whose values will they end up carrying? Whose life will they end up living?
We have to set the example. We have to be there. This is not the school's responsibility. It is not the government's responsibility. It is our responsibility.
And any ten years we fail to do this, the church will suffer the consequences.
IV. Putting the Lord First
The New Testament demands commitment from Christians. Not a casual, half-hearted, when-it-is-convenient commitment. Full commitment.
When Philip preached to the Ethiopian eunuch and the eunuch asked to be baptized, Philip did not say, "Sure, just believe." Philip said:
"If you believe with all your heart, you may." (Acts 8:37)
With all your heart. That is the demand of the gospel. And the eunuch answered, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" — and only then did Philip immerse him.
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33)
"If you love Me, keep My commandments." (John 14:15)
"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on the things on the earth." (Colossians 3:1–2)
"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple… So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26, 33)
What does putting the Lord first look like in practice? Four things:
1. Not forsaking the assembly
"not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25)
Forsaking the assembly means putting something else in front of worshipping God. We had a service on Friday night. Not many people came. There may be some legitimate reasons — sickness, work, real emergencies. But if we are forsaking the assembly for some pleasurable event, we are not doing what God commands us to do. Putting God first means when the church gathers, we are there.
2. Living a pure life
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:1–2)
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age." (Titus 2:11–12)
Christians are called to live different lives. Not conformed to the world — transformed.
3. Teaching the lost
We have already covered this above. The Christian who is putting the Lord first is a Christian who is telling others about Him.
4. Remaining faithful
"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith." (Galatians 6:9–10)
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:58)
And the promise of the Lord Himself to a church about to face terrible trial:
"Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation 2:10)
We are to be faithful unto death. That is the standard. That is the reward.
And any ten years we fail to do this, the church will suffer the consequences.
The Refrain That Ends Every Point
Any ten years we fail to do this, the church will suffer the consequences.
Fail to teach personal evangelism — the church will suffer the consequences.
Fail to practice church discipline — the church will suffer the consequences.
Fail to train our children in the home — the church will suffer the consequences.
Fail to put the Lord first — the church will suffer the consequences.
The warning is the whole close. And the promise is buried inside it, in reverse — any ten years we do teach these things, the church will stand faithful, the next generation will inherit the good way, and the old paths of the Lord will still bear the feet of His people.
