This Generation
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - Marvin Gaye in what is probably his most famous song asked the question “What’s Going On”? Some of the lyrics are Mother, mother There's too many of you crying - Brother, brother, brother There's far too many of you dying - You know we've got to find a way To bring some lovin' here today yeah. Father, father We don't need to escalate You see, war is not the answer For only love can conquer hate You know we've got to find a way To bring some lovin' here today, oh (oh).
When we look at society today, we see just how corrupt it is and like Marvin Gaye must ask the question What’s Going On? The world seems to be in fear of in my opinion the mini-me version of Satan himself in Putin, Gas prices at 5 dollars or more a gallon, baby formula almost non-existent. Then just within this past month an 18-year-old walks into an elementary school and kills 19 kids and 2 adults after he shoots his grandmother and wrecks his car in front of the school, while he is covered in body armor, this shooter a Hispanic male is killed by the police at the scene. Just 10 days before that another 18-year-old traveled some 200 to 300 miles and walks into a grocery store, covered in body armor and mercilessly kills 10 black people while yelling racial epithets. This particular 18-year-old who carried out this deadly massacre dressed in military tactical gear and armed with a high-powered Bushmaster XM-15 rifle was gently taken into custody without any injury caused from arresting officers. Now that is another lesson all together, but question remains What’s going on? In the words of Malcolm X and his use of the idiom “The Chickens have come home to roost”. The things we are seeing happen in society today are the result of the climate of hate which is the byproduct of sin.
The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:1-4 “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”. This is perilous times; however today I want to dive deeper into perilous times, but I want to deal with generation of perilous times – This Generation!
PRAYER: - Spirit of the Living God. Jesus first before I ask for clarity of thought and precision of speech, before asking that you open the windows of heaven and send down your anointing on this Word I humbly come before you right now praying especially for the victims of these latest vicious attacks and the carnage and evil that has gripped society. I ask that your comfort and console all those that have been affected by it. Lord, please comfort all of those who have lost loved ones and children in these massacres. Fill the empty hearts with your peace and love. What the devil meant for evil we are depending on you to bring forth good. Jesus only you can touch the hurt and pain that has come in each of these horrific events. In the precious name of Jesus, we ask for healing of the survivors, families, and friends of those exposed to this evil. I declare deliverance from fear, fear of the future, fear of evil happening again, and deliverance from hate. I ask in the name of Jesus that people will turn from their wicked ways, humble themselves and pray, seek your face in these perilous times. Now as I bring forth this word to give to your people, I humbly ask that you open the windows of heaven and send down your anointing, touch my tongue that I speak your words and not mine, open the ears that they may hear from you Lord, their hearts that they may receive and their minds that they may understand. Please Lord give me clarity of thought and precision of speech in Jesus’ name, Amen
SCRIPTURE: - Proverbs 30:11-14 says, “There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men”.
Isaiah 1:4 says, “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward”.
Genesis 6:11-13 says, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth”.
Luke 17: 26-30 says, “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed”.
Marvin Gaye said What’s going on – Let me phrase it like this - Why is there so much violence especially among our young people?
The Bible tells us about a time in history that these kinds of violent deeds and rebellious acts will be committed by children all over the world. Proverbs 30:11-14 says, “There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men”. WHY: - As I stated in the opening of this message “The Chickens have come home to roost”. The youth of any nation are simply a reflection of the parents of that nation. Now don’t get me wrong there are God-fearing parents who have tried to raise their children correctly and yet their children are still rebellious. Nonetheless when sin is not dealt with in any society, the result of those sins will always produce sin and violence is manifested through hate.
Let’s deal with the sin – In 1962 The United States Supreme court made a sinful decision when they ruled to have prayer removed from schools and since then the rate of violent crime alone, has risen over 330 percent. Within 8 years after prayer was taken out of school’s gun violence has moved in. 8 being the number of new beginnings we entered a new beginning of violence. Since 1970 there has been 1,924 school shootings, 27 of these school shootings have happened since the beginning of 2022. Sadly since 1970 658 people have died in shootings at schools, this number is even higher now because that statistic was from January 28, 2022. Additionally, 1,734 were injured and 73 suffered minor injuries.
Isaiah 1:4 says, “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward”.
The Sin of desensitizing our children.
We have in society today what is popularly known as Cancel Culture. Cancel Culture – is a social environment in which publicly boycotting or withdrawing support for people, organizations, etc. regarded as promoting socially unacceptable beliefs is widespread practice. When the Word of God is preached our culture now is to cancel them and say they are spreading hate. We allow the children to dictate what they feel is right and wrong instead of obeying the Will of God. We allow them at a young age to decide rather or not they believe in God, and we forsake Proverbs 22:6 which says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”. We have allowed the children to rule instead of training them according to the Will of God. Proverbs 13:24 says, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes”.
We have desensitized our children by allowing every diabolical thing into their lives. We raise our children in a society that is controlled by the Television and social media. Every demonic thing possible comes across the television and even more so over the internet. Hate, prejudices, lies, racism, and pure evil spews from social media, immoral sexual activity is in everything from cartoons to XXX rated movies, perverse lifestyles are viewed as normal. Murder, violence, theft, racial discrimination, prejudices, war, abuse of women, disrespect, and a multitude of other sins are molding not only the minds of our children but adults as well. People who have not been transformed by the power of the Holy Ghost and have been continually bombarded with these things oftentimes will begin to embrace these evil thoughts and act out them believing there in nothing wrong, because people are deceived by the devil. Just watch your local news, road rage because people believe there is nothing wrong with it, murder, total disrespect, and arrogance in people because they feel as though nothing is wrong with it. Society has been desensitized. The problem is that when we desensitize our children we ;eave them open to demonic attacks.
The desensitizing of our children leaves them open for demonic attacks.
Sadly, many people today are totally ignorant of the nature of demons and many people even so-called Christians would prefer that they were not even mentioned. There are three main identifying marks of demonic spirits, they enslave, they defile, and they torment. By desensitizing our children and leaving out the Word of God in their lives we open them up to demonic attacks and then we try to attach some kind of mental illness to them when they commit tragic events like the shooting in Buffalo and the Killing at the elementary school in Texas and since I started working on this sermon in Tulsa. Yes, they do have mental issues, but this evil mental condition was brought on by what was put into their minds. Many of them who have committed these mass killings have been exposed to evil and demons through sources of witchcraft and cultic teachings or other demonic avenues that have opened the door for the devil’s thinking to enter their lives.
Sin Sick Souls – Isaiah 1:5-6 says. “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment”.
Spiritual sickness is often a big part of mental illness. When our spirits are healed and whole, our minds can think clearly. Psalm 23:3 says “He restoreth my soul”. While many mental illnesses are directly caused by brain abnormalities, many others are due to souls that need restoration. Unforgiveness, bitterness, fear, depression, anxiety, low self-worth, loneliness, betrayal and many other factors can all cripple our souls. When our souls are wounded, we cannot think clearly. We see every life event through a distorted filter. A sunny day only reminds us of the day we were hurt. The sight of a happy couple walking down the street brings a surge of fury due to an unhealed wound. Casual remarks, normal life stresses, and inconsiderate treatment can all cause a person with an unhealed soul to react like a person with mental illness.
That’s why the Bible says in Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.
We must remember this is a spiritual war that we are engaged in. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”.
The devil sends his demons to enter and overpower those who are not covered with God’s protection. We must understand that we are spiritual beings that have a soul and live in a body. If we embrace evil things this is an invitation for demon spirits to oppress us. However, if we embrace Jesus and the things of God, the Holy Spirit will come and dwell in us. The Bible says in Romans 6:13 “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God”.
1 John 3:8 says, “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil”. When anyone practices sin willfully or ignorantly, Satan eventually sends one of his demons that is compatible with that particular sin to dwell within them. Then each time they give way to that sin that spirit takes over. Since the demon’s personalities mesh with those of their victims, it takes spiritual discernment to detect them. The world is not able to decern this, the bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned”.
We must remember that demon spirits are “invisible beings” with wicked intelligence that seek bodies through which they can express themselves. These spirits are emissaries sent from Satan having personalities and characteristics that make up an intelligent being. They walk, hear, speak, see, obey, seek, think, know and dwell in the body to accomplish their evil purposes Matthew 12:43-45; Mark 1:23-24, 3:11. Each principal demon or “strongman” has a particular mission which we are able to recognize by its fruit or manifestation. We need to stop just saying they have mental issues, but start rebuking these demons in Jesus name.
I hear President Biden and many others talking about we need to do something, we need to make laws, but evil doesn’t obey laws, we need the people of God to do as 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “ If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”.
CLOSING: - Isaiah 2:4 says, “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more”.
There is a day coming soon when Jesus Christ returns to this earth and sets up His kingdom and there will be no more war and all weapons will be gone. However, that day comes after the devil is removed from this earth and he no longer will cause men to war against each other. The Lord Jesus told us there would be wars and rumors of wars in this day, but we were to look up for our redemption was near. As people of the Living God, we must pray for those in our society that do not know Christ and we must cover our children and loved ones in prayers of protection against Satan’s plans of destruction. The Lord promises to keep us, as we walk with Him until that day that Christ returns and there shall be no more wars.
Luke 17: 26-30 says, “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise, also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed”.
Genesis 6:11-13 says, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth”.
The generation living in the days of Noah was similar to our day. Corruption and violence are exhibited all over the streets of the world. This is the time the Bible speaks of when Jesus Christ will return to this earth to judge the wicked and the righteous.
2 Timothy 3:1-4 says, “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”.
We need to pray and that is the problem in the world today. Our biggest problem has not been so much gun control or abortion rights or gay rights, but our problem is sin and selfishness in this nation and now the chickens have come home to roost. Unless we truly begin to take responsibility and repent and doing our part to change this world through prayer, mass shootings will continue, babies and innocent children will continue to die, families will continue to be torn apart and sin will continue to run rampant in this land.
It was once believed that the gun and violence issue was the result of poverty in the inner cities or a lack of education, so more money was supposedly poured into our education system that didn’t work. Gun laws come and go and that doesn’t work. It is not a lack of money or the lack of laws, but the lack of God in our society that has produced this violence and until we turn from our wicked ways, run back to God and His ways evil will continue to abound.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
