Who helped you learn how to do your first job? Helping people learn a new job is vital to their success. Equally, helping a new generation of believers “learn their job” is important. LifeWay's Explore the Bible Study: God Commissions, looks at the importance of investing in the next generation as we look at the relationship between Moses and Joshua from Numbers 27:12-23.

Moses was about to die, and he desired for Israel to have a strong leader to take his place. He appealed to God to choose that leader. God chose someone in whom Moses had invested for many years. His name was Joshua. This choice was not a spur of the moment decision. God had led Moses to invest in him over a long period of time, and now, it was time for Joshua to step into a more significant and vital leadership role.

As you study this passage with your group, consider how you and your group are investing in the younger generation of believers. Lead the group to evaluate their attitude toward other generations of believers and the time they are taking to invest in lives. This includes younger believers in the church as well as those in our homes.

So how are we doing in investing in the next generation? 
Here are excerpts from an article by Tessa Landrum, a senior at Cedarville University in Ohio, regarding our next generation who are now reaching adulthood, Generation Z, born anywhere between 1995 and 2015. It gives a snapshot of the urgency we should feel regarding investing in the faith of future generations in this country:

“The oldest members of Generation Z are entering their twenties and stepping into either the workforce or the world of higher education. And they will change the landscape of our society with their ideas and values – many of which omit the idea of Christian faith and the prospect of church membership.

James White, in his groundbreaking book Meet Generation Z, notes “the most defining mark of members of Generation Z, in terms of their spiritual lives, is their spiritual illiteracy…They do not know what the Bible says. They do not know the basics of Christian belief or theology. They do not know what the cross is all about. They do not know what it means to worship.”

This knowledge gap is the result of a massive cultural value shift from the sacred to the secular, and it has led to increasing numbers of students abandoning their faith and losing interest in the church. . . The Barna Group characterizes Gen Z as the “first truly ‘post Christian’ generation,” with only 4% adhering to a Biblical worldview.

As a result, scriptural authority has come under fire and fewer teenagers are trusting what the Bible has to say about contemporary issues. Sean McDowell and J. Warner Wallace, both prolific apologists, observe that “young people today have grown up in a culture that places the individual as the highest authority. . . Moral relativism has been noted as one of the defining trademarks of Gen Z . . . Of churchgoing Gen Z members, 82% consider church to be “a place to find answers to live a meaningful life” that is “relevant to my life.”

In light of large bodies of research, it appears that Generation Z doesn’t really know what to believe or why to believe it.

I am a member of Generation Z, and I have seen firsthand the loneliness, passion, and confusion of my peers. . . so many of us are ill-equipped to step into a post-Christian culture. With little knowledge of Scripture or orthodox Christian doctrine, many quickly fall away into apostasy, unbelief, or apathy. Those who remain, struggle to cultivate a shallow faith based upon fun activities and a misunderstanding of what the Bible really teaches.

If the church desires to reclaim Gen Z and reintegrate them into the Body of Christ, then we must educate our children and youth. We must actively seek out the lost and meet them where they are with their questions and concerns. If we remain silent, these trends toward atheism and spiritual illiteracy will continue to grow – and our culture will complete the shift from sacred to secular until Christian thought is no more than a trivial relic of an intolerant, uneducated past.

(Source: http://kentuckytoday.com/stories/gen-z-is-spiritually-illiterate-and-abandoning-the-church-how-did-we-get-here,23397)
Closing with a Challenge
Most people realize that we should be investing in the next generation by the way we lead in our homes and in our churches. Yet, for some reason we don’t do it as we should. We use excuses like: “It’s easier to do it myself,” “I don’t have time,” They don’t want me to help them,” or possibly, “I feel threatened by them.”

Investing in others can be messy. It takes time and patience and the letting go of pride.


However, there is no greater joy than seeing someone reach his or her potential as a believer and we can change how we help build up another generation of Joshuas who can lead their homes and churches in the future.

Consider challenging your group with these actions.

• Are you willing to invest in younger believers so they can grow in their faith and become successful leaders in their homes, workplaces, and churches? What actions can you take to help younger or new Christians grow into spiritually mature Christian leaders?
• Perhaps you are a young believer. Are you willing to let others invest in you so you can grow in your faith and become a successful leader in your home, workplace, and church? What do you need to do in order to learn from those who are older in their faith?

If you turn on the tv, follow social media, or read the news you will notice that we are a society built off of complaints. If someone doesn't like something or someone, they tend to launch a barrage of uncontrolled complaints. If you are the recipient of the complaint, you might become very frustrated and attempt to take control of the situation instead of seeking guidance from God and following His instructions. The Explore the Bible Study: God Requires, will focus on this subject.

Much of Numbers repeatedly describes the Israelites' complaints against God, as-well-as the resulting consequences. The Israelites’ complaining reached a climax when they refused to believe that the Lord would give them the promised land in Numbers 15. The consequences resulted in 40 years of wandering as the doubting generation died off. Only Joshua and Caleb, of that generation, would be permitted to enter Canaan.

As they wandered in the wilderness, God continued to work despite their complaining and rebellious nature. He continued to help them become the people that He had declared as His chosen people.

• Numbers 17 records how God vindicated Aaron and chose Him to represent the tribe of Levi. The true priestly line would lie only in Aaron and his family (Numbers 17:1-13). 
• In Numbers 18, God outlined the priestly duties, the guidelines for approaching the sacred altar, and how a portion of the sacrificial offerings given would support the Levites because they were not allowed to own land. They were to serve God exclusively, and the Israelites were to tithe their produce and livestock to support the Levites. 
• In Numbers 19, Moses recorded the Lord’s requirements for a purification ritual involving a red cow or heifer in order to purify the Israelites from ceremonial defilement. 

Then, in Numbers 20:1-13 the complaints of the people are recorded again. Imagine you are striving to do all you can to help people follow God. You have seen God work in amazing ways, yet everyone continues to complain. How would you respond? Would your response be justified? Moses had some choices to make; we can learn from his experiences, how to respond to others who might complain about us or our God.

OPENING VIDEO OPTION
The following video could be used to introduce the way people respond when others are complaining.

• Are you passionate about helping people move forward with God?
• When people don’t respond to you as they should, perhaps complaining or rebelling: How do you respond to them? Do you lose your cool? Do you get alone with God to seek His instructions? Do you follow His instructions when they become clear?

Can you give personal examples when you or someone you know used one of these phrases? Can you give examples of when you have heard these phrases used in a church? (we can’t; we’re afraid; we give up.) These words were expressed by the Israelites as they moved toward the promised land. The Explore The Bible Study: God Judges, deals with the results of expressing this kind of doubt about God.

The Israelites saw the obstacles before them and were so overwhelmed that they refused to follow God’s leading. As you study Numbers 14:1-24, consider how the Israelites' view of their circumstances compares with some of the things you have faced? How did you respond? How is their response similar to the way people in the church respond to following God?

As you guide your group to study this passage, lead them to also consider how they respond to people who rebel against God. Perhaps they (we) should learn to respond as Moses did, pleading to God to offer grace and forgiveness.