ROUTE 66 EP 039

Sermon Summary: Pass It On

Sermon Series: Route 66

Preached on: March 15, 2026

Introduction: The Purpose of Studying Each Book

Our weekly goal is to study a book of the Bible by examining it through four key lenses:

1. A Panoramic View: Understanding the book's overall context and place in history.

2. Primary Events and People: Identifying the main characters and significant happenings.

3. Pictures of Jesus: Recognizing how each book, even in the Old Testament, points to Jesus Christ, the central theme of Scripture.

4. Personal Application: Discovering how the book's message can transform the way we live our lives today, moving beyond mere historical knowledge.

Introduction: God Speaks in Unexpected Places

• The pastor began with a personal story about taking up hunting this year. He described feeling frustrated and questioning his motives while sitting in a deer stand day after day.

• Example: One morning, tired and restless, he asked God, "What am I doing out here?" He realized it was about more than just hunting; it was about seeking something deeper.

• God revealed to him that he was searching for the affirmation he never received from his own father. The experience of finally getting a deer and being congratulated by older men brought an unexpected emotional release and healing.

• Application: These profound moments of God working in our hearts don't happen while we are sitting on the couch watching Netflix. We must step out into the "great outdoors" of life, away from distractions, to allow God to do His work in us.

An Old Testament Timeline

To understand the book of Nahum, it's crucial to see where it fits within the biblical narrative. The Old Testament books are not arranged in chronological order. Here is a rough timeline to provide context:

• Early History:

  • Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges

  • During this period, other books were written:

    • Job: An ancient text, even older than Genesis in some historical accounts.

    • Leviticus & Deuteronomy: Written during the time of Moses and the Exodus.

    • Ruth: A story set during the time of the Judges.

• The Kingdom Era:

  • 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings

  • 1 & 2 Chronicles: These books often recount the same histories as Samuel and Kings but from God's perspective. The pastor noted that Chronicles can sometimes feel "boring" because it omits the dramatic, sinful details. This is a beautiful picture of how God views believers today. Because of Jesus’s sacrifice, He sees us through the "rose-colored glasses" of Christ's blood, not focusing on our drama and failures.

  • During the reigns of David and Solomon, these books were written:

    • Psalms (David)

    • Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon (Solomon)

    • Lamentations (Jeremiah, during the decline of the kingdom)

• The Prophets:

  • Throughout Israel's history, whenever the people strayed from God's path, He sent prophets to call them back. Their message was often a warning: "Get back on path or God's going to come down and whip your tail!" God's discipline is a sign that He is a good Father.

  • Prophets during the Kingdom: Amos, Hosea, Joel, Micah, Isaiah, Habakkuk, Jeremiah.

  • Jeremiah's Ministry: He preached his entire life without a single convert. God told him the people would be hard-hearted but commanded him to remain firm and preach the truth. This is a lesson for parents who, weary of friction, might be tempted to become their child's friend instead of standing their ground in correction.

  • Prophets in 2 Kings: Jonah, Nahum, Obadiah.

• Exile and Return:

  • After a 70-year exile in Babylon, the people returned.

  • Prophets during Exile: Daniel, Ezekiel.

  • Post-Exile History: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther.

  • Post-Exile Prophets: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi (the last book of the Old Testament).

The Burden of Nineveh: Context from Jonah

To understand Nahum, we must first go back about 150 years to the book of Jonah.

• God's Command to Jonah: God commanded the prophet Jonah to go to the great city of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria (the nation that oppressed Israel), and "cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me" (Jonah 1:2).

• Jonah's Resistance: Jonah initially fled from this command, leading to the famous account of him being swallowed by a great fish.

• Nineveh's Unprecedented Repentance: When Jonah finally preached God's message of impending judgment, something miraculous happened.

  • Jonah 3:5-9: The people of Nineveh, from the king to the common person, believed God. They declared a fast, dressed in sackcloth, and sat in ashes as a sign of deep repentance. The king decreed that everyone should "cry mightily unto God" and turn from their evil ways and violence, hoping God might relent from His "fierce anger."

  • The pastor highlighted how we often write people off, thinking it would take a miracle for them to turn to God. Yet, this story shows the immense power of God's Word. As Romans 1:16 states, the gospel is "the power of God unto salvation."

• God's Response:

  • Jonah 3:10: "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not."

  • Repentance is a "turning." Because the people of Nineveh turned from their evil, God turned from His planned judgment.

The Sequel to Jonah: The Book of Nahum

The book of Nahum takes place approximately 150 years after the revival in Jonah's day. It is the sequel to the story of Nineveh.

• A Return to Wickedness: In the intervening years, the people of Nineveh had forgotten their repentance and returned to their old, wicked ways. They were back in the "cesspool that they were rescued from."

• The Vision of Nahum:

  • Nahum 1:1: "The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite."

  • This "burden" is the heavy weight of knowing what is right but choosing to do wrong, which grieves the Holy Spirit. Nineveh had known God's mercy but turned their backs on Him.

• The Origins of Nineveh:

  • The city was founded back in Genesis 10. A man named Nimrod, described as a "mighty hunter before the Lord" (interpreted as against the Lord), established a kingdom that began with Babel (Genesis 10:8-10).

  • From this line, the city of Nineveh was built (Genesis 10:11). Its roots were in rebellion and opposition to God.

  • Pastor's Insight: God first placed man in a garden, not a city. Cities arose after sin entered the world. Historically, large, crowded cities often become centers of corruption and human pride, as seen in the story of the Tower of Babel, where humanity tried to build its own way to heaven out of "filthy imaginations."

  • Example (Modern): He contrasts conservative rural areas with large cities like Chicago, pointing to the high rates of violence and what he describes as "nasty" and "dirty" beliefs, illustrating how dense populations can foster sin.

Application: The Simplicity of Truth vs. Human Complexity

The pastor shared a story to illustrate the value of simple, foundational truth over complex human reasoning.

• Example: A woman was sick for years, and doctors at the prestigious Mayo Clinic could not diagnose her. Upon returning home, a local country veterinarian correctly identified that she was simply allergic to her dogs. This simple diagnosis, missed by highly educated specialists, brought her healing.

• Spiritual Parallel: People, especially in "concrete jungles," often try to educate and reason their way out of simple, fundamental truths. But sometimes, the greatest healing comes from removing the complexities and noise of the world.

• Example from the TV Show Alone: Contestants on the show are left to survive in the wilderness alone. Many who start out as self-reliant atheists, after weeks of isolation, hardship, and deprivation, find themselves crying out to God in the middle of the night.

• What this teaches us about God and ourselves:

  • Who God is: God is the ultimate reality. When all human-made structures, comforts, and philosophies are stripped away, the reality of our need for Him becomes undeniable. He is the one people instinctively call out to when they are at the end of themselves.

  • Who we are: We are created with an innate need for God. Even when we suppress it with pride, intellect, or self-reliance, difficult circumstances have a way of revealing our deep-seated dependence on a power greater than ourselves. Our souls were made for a relationship with our Creator.

  • How we should live: We should be wary of becoming so "educated" or "sophisticated" that we reason ourselves away from the simple, powerful truths of God. True wisdom is often found not in complexity, but in a humble return to the foundations of faith and a simple trust in God.

God's Word as a Flood

The pastor illustrates how God can come "like a flood." This can be a force of judgment, as seen in the days of Noah, but it can also be a flood of His Word that cleanses and saves us.

• God's Word is like water: The pastor connects God's Word to water, which is essential for life.

  • Deuteronomy 32:2: "My doctrine shall drop as the rain."

  • The Word is described as a cleansing agent. Ephesians 5:26 instructs husbands to sanctify their wives "with the washing of water by the word." Attending church and hearing the Bible is a way of getting clean and renewing our minds.

• The Word became flesh: The Word of God is personified in Jesus Christ.

  • John 1:1, 14: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."

  • The Bible is the "mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). While we haven't seen Jesus physically, we have His words, which are powerful and life-giving.

• A dual effect: The same water (God's Word) that brings life and growth can also be a force of judgment for those who reject it, just as the flood in Noah's time overwhelmed the unrighteous in Genesis 6.

God as Our Stronghold

The sermon transitions to a central theme from the book of Nahum: God is a refuge and a source of ultimate strength in times of trouble.

• Scripture Focus:

  • Nahum 1:7: "The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him."

• Application:

  • The mighty city of Nineveh considered itself a stronghold, but it could not stand against the power of God.

  • Likewise, Christ is our true stronghold. He is greater than any trouble we face, whether it is financial, legal, relational, or health-related.

  • Psalm 9:9 reinforces this: "The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble."

• Pastor's Example:

  • The pastor shared a personal application regarding his daughter, who has health issues with her joints. He prays with the belief that God is a stronghold, greater than the lack of cartilage in her joints. While not demanding a specific outcome, he trusts in God's supreme power, acknowledging that the God who formed her in the womb can also heal her if He chooses.

  • He also referenced the healing of the crippled man in Acts 3, where Peter and John, having no silver or gold, healed him in the name of Jesus Christ. This demonstrates that God's power transcends our physical and material limitations.

• Key Takeaway: The most powerful city on earth at the time (Nineveh) was no match for God's strength. Therefore, the biggest problem in your life is no match for Him. Problems that feel massive and overwhelming to us are nothing to God, the Mover of mountains.

The Fulfillment of God’s Prophecy: The Destruction of Nineveh

• God declared He would destroy Nineveh, and He did. Its destruction began with a flood from the Tigris River, which eroded its protective walls. Following the flood, allied forces came in, looted, and burned the city. Today, Nineveh is nothing more than sand and an archaeological dig site.

• What this teaches us about God: What happens to anyone or any nation that goes against God is that they ultimately become "nothing." They become a relic of history. People who live apart from God spend their lives searching for a purpose that can only be found in Him.

• The word "Nineveh" is mentioned three times in the book, each marking a stage of its downfall:

  1. Nahum 1:1: "The burden of Nineveh." It begins with the heavy weight of God's coming judgment.

  2. Nahum 2:8: "But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water, yet they shall flee away." What was once a vibrant, full city would see its life and power drain away.

  3. Nahum 3:7: "Nineveh is laid waste." Its final state is total ruin. People will look at it and flee, recognizing its desolation.

• Application for our lives: The term "wasted" is what people say about someone who gets far from God. Their life becomes a "waste of space." This is the inevitable outcome of rejecting the God of the Bible.

Key Themes from the Book of Nahum

1. God Protects His People: The book serves as a reassurance to God's people (Judah) that He will protect them. Evil empires will not endure.

   • Jonah wanted vengeance on Nineveh, but God's message is clear. As it says in Romans 12:19, "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. I will repay."

   • How we are to live: We should stop trying to take vengeance on those who hurt us. God handles judgment best. While we might win a small fight, God will lay His enemies "to waste."

2. God is Both Refuge and Judgment: God is a refuge for the righteous, but He is also a force of judgment against the wicked. These are two sides of the same coin.

Symbolism of God's Judgment in Nahum

• Overrunning Flood (Nahum 1:8): This was both literal and symbolic. The Tigris River literally flooded the city, but it also symbolizes God's judgment being total and overwhelming. Darkness will pursue His enemies.

• Devouring Lion (Nahum 2:11-13): Nineveh was cruel and violent, like a lion tearing its prey. But God declares in verse 13, "Behold, I am against thee." A lion is no match for God. Just as a well-armed hunter can take down a lion, God can easily dismantle the most powerful and fearsome enemy.

  • Example (Modern): The pastor referenced the gangster Al Capone, who avoided human justice for his violence but was ultimately brought down by venereal disease. God has His ways of bringing down the "tough guys."

• Whoredoms and Witchcrafts (Nahum 3:4): God uses harsh language, calling Nineveh a "well-favored harlot" and "mistress of witchcrafts" to describe its deep corruption and deceitfulness.

Wickedness Overwhelms Revival

• Key Point: "Wickedness overwhelmed Nineveh's spirit of revival."

• They once had a revival after Jonah's preaching but allowed wickedness to creep back in and choke out their spiritual life.

• Who God tells me I am: Have you experienced a revival in your own life, a time when you were deeply in love with God, but now find yourself overwhelmed by wickedness and feeling spiritually dead?

• Scriptural Support:

  • Romans 6:23: "The wages of sin is death." This applies not just to salvation but to our spiritual vitality. Continuing in sin will quench our spiritual life.

  • Isaiah 59:2: Your sins create a separation between you and God, so He will not hear your prayers. Sin is like a pillow muffling your voice so you cannot be heard.

  • Romans 8:7: The carnal (fleshly) mind is an enemy of God.

  • 1 Corinthians 3:1-3: Paul had to speak to the Corinthians as "carnal" and "babes" because their wickedness kept them from spiritual maturity.

• How we are to live: Choosing wickedness hinders our ability to hear God's voice. It dulls us spiritually.

• Quenching the Spirit:

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:19: "Quench not the Spirit." When we choose wickedness, we quench God's Spirit trying to work in our lives, effectively blocking His influence.

  • Ephesians 6:16: In contrast, when we are spiritual and put on the armor of God, we can use the "shield of faith" to "quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." We either quench the enemy's attacks or we quench God's Spirit.

The Slow Fade and Final Judgment

• What this teaches us about God: The Book of Nahum teaches that God is slow to anger, but He will not ignore sin forever. He gave Nineveh 150 years.

• For most of us, falling away from God is not a sudden event but a "slow fade." It starts small until we are far from where we began.

• When Nahum preached, there was no record of them repenting again, and history confirms their destruction followed shortly after.

Pictures of Jesus in Nahum

• The Overwhelming Flood: While the flood in Nahum represents judgment and utter destruction, it also provides a picture of God's grace for the believer.

  • When we are saved, God's grace overtakes us like a flood. It is an immersion, not a sprinkle. This is why we practice believer's baptism by immersion—it represents being totally overtaken by Christ, dying to self, and being raised to new life.

  • Just as God can flood a life with misery for those who rebel, He floods our lives with grace when we turn to Him.

• Warning Against Fixation: When people get away from God, their thinking can become "reprobate." They get fixated on a single issue or soapbox, and it drives them mad, blinding them to everything else. This is a sign of being flooded by God's judgment rather than His grace.

The Danger of a Forgotten Heritage

The sermon concludes with a solemn warning about the consequences of failing to pass down faith to the next generation.

• The Problem: The pastor begins by addressing the cultural phenomenon of older generations criticizing younger ones but poses a critical question: Who is to blame when a generation is not "bought in"? The responsibility lies with the previous generations who failed to pass on the values, stories, and history.

• The Principle of Perpetual Generations: God establishes covenants and commands that are meant to be passed down.

  • The Rainbow Covenant (Genesis 9:12-16): After the flood, God set the rainbow in the sky as a token of His covenant. This symbol was meant to be a reminder for all future generations.

  • Cultural Hijacking: Today, the rainbow has been co-opted by the LGBTQ+ movement. The pastor argues this is a direct result of believers failing to teach its true, biblical meaning.

• The Command to Teach:

  • Exodus 3 & 12: God instructs that His name and the story of the Passover are to be remembered for "all generations." Parents have a responsibility to explain these things to their children.

  • Psalm 78:4-7: This passage explicitly commands telling the next generation about the glorious deeds and power of the Lord.

• The Tragic Result of Failure:

  • Judges 2:10-11: "And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD."

  • Exodus 1:8: "Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph." This verse is used as an analogy for what happened in Nineveh. When the stories of God's works are not told, the next generation lives in ignorance of Him, and the natural progression is to turn to evil.

The Great Commission: Pass It On

• Scriptural Reference: > Matthew 28:18-20 - And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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..."

• Application: Before Jesus ascended to heaven, His final, crucial instruction was to "pass it on." This is the foundation for discipleship. The goal is to teach others what we know from the Bible so they, in turn, can teach someone else.

Personal Testimony: The Power of Passing It On

The pastor shares a powerful story from his own life to illustrate the importance of this principle.

• His Mother's Story: Joyce Marie Hodgen, the pastor's mother, got pregnant at 14. When the pastor was two years old, a woman in their housing project "passed on" the Gospel to his mother. This changed her life completely.

• Passing on the Hard Lessons: His mother sat him and his brother down when they were in junior high and shared her painful story to warn them about the temptations they would face.

• Passing on Faith: More importantly, his mother passed on her faith in Christ. Witnessing the radical change in her life is what ultimately led the pastor to seek the Lord himself.

• The Next Generation: The pastor's primary goal for his own daughters is that they would love the Lord. He shares a text he received on March 14, 2026, from his daughter, asking for prayer for her coworker, Samantha, to whom she had just shared the Gospel. This is the fruit of passing it on.

The Main Point: Make Disciples

• Scriptural Reference: > Ephesians 3:21 - "to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

  • God's glory is meant to be revealed in the church through all generations. This cannot happen if the faith is not passed down.

• The Tragedy of a Dead Faith: It is common to see faith die out by the third generation because it was never truly passed on.

• Key Point: The #1 Practical Application from the Book of Nahum

  1. Make disciples. The primary goal of the church should not be to get big, but to "pass it on." Growth is a natural byproduct of faithful discipleship. Nineveh is now just dust and archeological artifacts because they failed to do this. We cannot let this happen to the church.

Call to Action

1. For the Unsaved: Meet Jesus

• Just as the pastor's mother had the Gospel passed on to her, God may be calling you today.

• Who God Is: He is a loving God who gave His Son to die for our sins. Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected to give us new, resurrected life.

• Who We Are: We are all born in sin, and our spirit is "dead" without Jesus. We need a Savior to give us true life.

• An invitation is given to anyone who is not sure they are saved to be shown from the Bible how to know Jesus.

2. For the Christian: Are You Passing It On?

• We know the destination of those living without a Savior. Their lives are like wandering in a desert, chasing mirages.

• We must learn the lesson from Nahum. When we fail to pass on the faith, churches die.

• Who We Are to Be: The church is meant to be the hope of the world, a lighthouse shining in the darkness, offering a place of safety and refuge.

• The Call: Let's give life to people. Let's pass it on.