“And there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord” (Judges 2:10)
They are in Church but are rarely in Christ. They can organize but can rarely agonize. They can pay for everything but can rarely pray about anything. They can feast but can rarely fast. They can sow for anything but can rarely grow for anything. If the fathers do not repair the broken walls of the gospel by restoring the dignity of the gospel through the preaching of sound doctrines, the next generation, the youths of today, are now standing on the precipice of brazen apostasy, a situation that could completely obliterate the influence of the church with reckless abandon.
The fathers are aging. The children are aching. The world is getting hotter. God’s lovers are thinning out. Culture seems to be prevailing over scriptures. Post-modernism and relativism are now replacing absolute truth. Society is now finding it hard to tolerate true Christians, a situation that parallels John J. Murray’s words who once said, “We have now gone back to the era of the early apostles. The Roman empire under which many Christians were martyred was pluralistic and supremely tolerant of religion. The only people they could not tolerate were the Christians”.
Persecutions of faithful Christians have now more than doubled around the world, and will yet multiply in numbers. The future of the church is now in the hands of the Christian youths of today. But will the youths of today who are drinking from the wells of the fathers bear their own swords?
“So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found. “(1 Samuel 13:22).
What a tragedy. On the day it mattered most, no sword was available in the hands of the Israelites. The fathers carried swords, but the children carried none. But how would they confront the rot and recklessness of their generation without a Sword?
“But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock” (1st Samuel 13:20).
The story is an allegory for the next generation of Christians, our youths. The fathers are aging! The children are aching. The Philistines were supposed to come to the Israelites to sharpen their swords—a replica of the light of the church, being an influence on the world. But it was the other way round. Rather than culture being shaped by scripture, to a large extent, scripture is now being shaped by culture. The present day generation of young and teenage believers are at great risks of not following the Lord in their own generation. Many of them have not been prepared to carry swords.
Many of them don’t even know what a sword is. The sword is the genuine WORD of the LORD which is the nucleus of the gospel. If the present generation of Christian leaders do not congregate a solemn assembly to train and retrain the youths of today in the undiluted truth of God’s word, the youths will go to the philistines to sharpen their swords. They will be subdued by the society and the evils that are coming with it in this end time. They will not carry fire, nor will they distribute fire. They will be vulnerable, weak and passionless. It is time for us to rise up and contend for our faith to rescue our souls and those of the next generation.
What does the next generation know about intercession? What do they know about sanctification? What do they know about discipleship? What do they know about genuine repentance? What do they know about genuine love and compassion for the poor? What do they know about faithfulness and self-control? What do they know about the gifts of the Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit? What do they know about eternity and eternal rewards? What do they know about purpose and vision? What do they know about evangelism? The walls of the gospel of Christ are being broken down and the next generation of believers are standing on the precipice of apostasy, if not called back to God with surgical urgency.
Dr Tim Lahaye developed this sense of urgency in an experience he had while on board a flight across two US states. Dr Tim Lahaye wrote the popular book, “Left Behind”, which became a series and a best seller that sold more than 30 million copies across the globe. He was actually motivated to write this book by an experience he had in a plane. He was flying across two US cities and right in the middle of the flight, he saw the pilot of the plane flirting with one of the hostesses.
He said to himself, “what if the rapture happens now”? He disembarked from that plane with such an urgency to warn men of the imminent return of Christ, through the publication of the “Left Behind Series” book. Although, Dr Lahaye passed on in 2016, leaving an indelible legacy of cutting edge insight into the events of the end time, the urgency and fervor in his message have not diminished. Contrary to expectation, his messages have continued to rivet through history, leaving a track record of imminence and urgency in the way we understand, interpret and relate to world’s events.
It is this same sense or urgency I am inspired to drop on the tables of our hearts—as leaders, parents and mentors. Every new generation is an improvement on the previous. We must answer this question with all honesty, “will our children know and serve the true God?
Ayo Akerele, a leadership and system development strategist. He can be reached at: [email protected]
