WHAT DOES THIS EVIL GENERATION NEED?
Matthew 12:38-42
As if the scribes and Pharisees had not provoked Jesus enough, they demand a sign from heaven from him. Their demand was swiftly and categorically denied. What more could He had done to convince them? The attitude that demands miraculous signs as a condition for belief is not the attitude that pleases God.
He called them an evil and adulterous generation.
We live in an evil generation. II Timothy 3 states, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded , lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." Paul was informing us that the evil was going to be of greater intensity in the last days. Evil is being accepted and promoted by society in a bolder way today than ever before. Verse 13 informs us that "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse."
What does this evil generation need?
Some things this generation needs to observe and see!
I. This generation needs PREACHING THAT BRINGS REPENTANCE (II Timothy 4:1,2)
Charles G. Finney used to have a sermon entitled "How to preach so as to convert nobody." In the message he stated, one way to do it is to talk about sin in general, but never name the sins of anybody in your present congregation. No man makes truly preaches who deals in generalities. Vague preaching sounds all right. It offends nobody, and it will take you a long way in this world, but it is the other world we are going to have to give an account at.
Just because we have a generation of people with itching ears is no reason to trim our preaching to suit their condition.The preacher is not an ambassador with the privilege of negotiation; he is a messenger with a proclamation to be heard and heeded. He is not to give them what they want to hear but what they need to hear.
Dr John R. Rice once said, "The pulpit has failed the churches, and the churches have failed America."
A. Preaching that brings repentance disturbs (Acts 2:37)
"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins," (Isaiah 58:1). There must be preaching on sin.
Man calls sin an accident, but God calls it an abomination.
Man calls sin an infirmity, but God calls it iniquity.
Man calls sin a liberty, but God calls it lawlessness.
Man calls sin a trifle, but God calls it a transgression.
Man calls sin a weakness, but God calls it willfulness.
Man calls sin an alternate lifestyle, but God calls it an abominable lie.
"We have been far too afraid of disturbing people , but the Holy Spirit will have nothing to do with a message or minister who is afraid of disturbing."
Light disturbs....and if one preaches the Word he will preach light...."The entrance of thy word giveth light" Light disturbs because it reveals dirt and disorder. The light may call for negative or positive action in the life.
Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, the great Welsh preacher, said, "Present-day preaching does not save men. Present- day preaching does not even annoy men, but leave them precisely as they were, without a ruffle and without the slightest disturbance."
B. Preaching that brings repentance directs (Acts 2:38)
Psalm 119:105 - "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
1. Clarity of what is said
"A fog in the pulpit will produce darkness in the pew."
2. Certainty of what is said
C. Preaching that brings repentance divides (Acts 2:40,41)
1. Attitude of reception
2. Attitude of rejection
II. This generation needs PEOPLE THAT BRING RESPECT (Philippians 2:15)
We are to shine in a depraved world by a distinct walk with the Divine Word.
Far too many who profess and do not practice. "They profess that they know God: but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate," (Titus 1:16).
A recent Gallup poll reported "very little difference in the behavior of the churched and the unchurched on a wide range of items including, cheating, and stealing." The poll went on to say that "most people’s religion is secondary."
Vance Havner once said, "We have to many noun Christians and not enough adjective Christians."
Christians are not respected anymore. Oh the need for saintly believers! To make a difference, you have to be different. You cannot change anything by adding more of the same.
See Acts 5:13 The early church was feared and respected. The world looks at the church today and sees no difference between them and itself. So instead of making an impact on society, the church is ignored and treated as of no account. The church is not regarded and held in respect today because the church is so much like the world.
A. The church enlists the same people (Psalm 1:1)
The early church gravitated naturally to the gathering of the believers. Is this where you go when business or household duties set you free to go?
B. The church is entertained by the same pleasures (Hebrews 11:23-25)
Miss church for the same things the world does
C. The church embraces the same poisons (Proverbs 20:1)
D. The church engages in the same perversions (I Corinthians 5)
E. The church enters the same places
F. The church espouses the same practices
No difference in our dress - men that are wearing the culottes
demeanor
desires
This generation of saints will have to answer for this generation of sinners.
III. This generation needs POWER THAT BRINGS RESULTS
Micah 3:8
Zechariah 4:8
Loss of power is the great tragedy of the church. She stands paralyzed in face of her enemies. The Holy Spirit does not lack power but only the opportunity in our lives to demonstrate it.
The early church was a church marked with great power. No foe could daunt them, and no fear could haunt them.
This generation needs to see the power of God demonstrated in the lives of the saints personally and the church collectively.
A. Power that brings a changed life (II Corinthians 5:17 and I Corinthians 6:9)Where the power of God has come there is always a "were"!
Acts 2:14
1. Power to stand up
a. Fear that had crippled them
b. Fact that had changed them
2. Power to speak out
3. Power to shine forth
B. Power that brings a changed love
Appetite for the Word of God and the House of God
IV. This generation needs PRAYING THAT BRINGS REVIVAL (II Chronicles 7:14)
ALL THAT GOD IS, AND ALL THAT GOD HAS, IS AT THE DISPOSAL OF PRAYER.
"The devil can wall you round, but He cannot roof you in"- Hudson Taylor.
Prayer has divided seas, rolled up flowing waters, made flinty rocks gush into fountains, quenched flames of fire, muzzled lions, disarmed vipers, marshaled the stars against the wicked, stopped the course of the moon, burst open iron gates, and conquered demons. WHAT HAS PRAYER NOT DONE?
What paralysis the lack of prayer has brought on this generation today! Our generation will rise or fall on its praying.
Jeremiah 33:3
Learn from David in the Psalms
A. Bring Him your frustrations in prayer
in a bind ... a tight or narrow place
B. Bring Him your feelings in prayer
C. Bring Him your foes in prayer
D. Bring Him your failures in prayer
E. Bring Him your future in prayer
Acts 4:31 "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken..."
The blessings of prayer are numerous.
A. Prayer - the source of our wisdom
B. Prayer - the success of our witness
C. Prayer - the secret in our warfare
D. Prayer - the strength of our walk
E. Prayer - the supplier of our workers
V. This generation needs PASSION THAT BRINGS REFRESHMENT
I Peter 4:8
A Christian without love is lifeless and powerless.
"fervent" means stretched out or extended love
A. This is a passion that cost
No such thing as cheap love. One can give without love, but you cannot love without giving.
B. This is a passion that covers
Love does not publish another’s sins. How much gossip would be eliminated if we truly loved one another. Love bears; it does not bare. "In most beauty parlors the gossip would curl you hair." Gossip runs down more people that automobiles do every year.
Where love is thin, faults are thick. Where love is thick, faults are thin. Where love is, forgiveness is easier.
Man is most like a beast when he kills. Man is most like men when he judges. Man is most like God when he forgives.
This generation needs to see Christians that have the love of God shed abroad in their hearts.
I Corinthians 13 we can observe the pre-eminence and the permanence of love.
Conclusion:
This wicked and perverse generation needs the preaching that brings repentance, the people that brings respect, the power that brings results, the praying that brings revival, and a passion that brings refreshment. We will not serve our generation well as it was said of David in Acts 13:36 unless the preaching, the people, the power, the praying, and the passion is present.
