The Marks of a Generations that knows not God.
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - A few years ago I had an incident happen that saddened my heart but also made me think just where we as a people are going and how each generation is failing the next generation.
I had a Red 150 step-side – for those that are not really into trucks a step-side truck when you look at it has curves it is sharp truck. On the passenger side back window I had a decal of what we call Jesus Christ with a crown of thorns, it was a nice decal and I got a lot of comments about how nice it was. One day I was pulling up in front of my house and there were these 3 mid-aged teenagers walking down the street 2 boys and 1 girl. When I got out of my truck the girl said, “Hey mister ain’t that the god on your window”? I simply just said well that’s the picture of who we call Jesus and yes, He is God. She then said to the boys “See I told you that was the god”. Immediately I thought of the scripture in Judges 2:10, which says, “All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.”
This week God had me dealing with this scripture Judges 2:8 – 15 and looking at what is going on in our world realizing that we have a generation that knows not God. Last week at the CPAC - Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida U.S. conservatives unveiled a golden statue of Donald Trump, showing he remains a Republican force despite the fact that he is no longer in office but holds influential power and is literally worshipped by multitudes. Of course, I like many others thought of the Children of Israel and the Golden Calf when I saw the idolatry playing out on national T.V.
We must understand that the Old Testament is not written just to fill up space in the Bible but is written to instruct and inform us of what to do and not do. Romans 15:4 “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning.”
Today I want to deal with the topic “The Marks of a Generation that Knows not God”. It is easy to just look around us on television, at work, in school, just everywhere and see people acting in a way that knows not God but on today let us take a closer look and see another aspect.
PRAYER: -
SCRIPTURE:- Judges 2:8 – 15 “And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. 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, and served Baalim. And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed”.
FOUNDATION: - A “generation” is a period of time, or age that identifies the people of any particular period. It denotes the character of a particular class or sort, such as a wicked generation or a righteous generation. A generation has two fundamental characteristics. First, it usually covers a time span of about 20 - 30 years, this is the period when most people get married and have children which begins the next generation. Second, members of a generation experience significant events at about the same time.
For example, there are: - The Traditionalists: which contain my parents, are people that were born between the years of 1900 to 1945, these people are the oldest living generation and rapidly declining every minute. This generation went through World War II, the Korean War, the end of the Women’s Rights Movement, the red scare, and the Radio Age. Their parents and them had just survived the Great Depression, leaving a lasting impact on this generation as well. This generation was raised in the traditional nuclear family – a married man and woman along with their children. At this time, labor unions began to develop. Work was necessary and not meant to be fun.
The Baby Boomers: This generation was born in a huge flux between 1946 and 1964. They’re called the baby boomers because, “Almost exactly nine months after World War II ended, ‘the cry of the baby was heard across the land. As far as home life goes, the traditional family began to fall apart in result of divorce rates skyrocketing. If there were two parents involved, mothers stayed home while fathers were the breadwinners because children were seen as special and needed to be raised with care. As the baby boomers came about, the development of suburban life increased substantially. The baby boomers went through quite a period of time in America. They lived through the Civil Right Movement, Vietnam War, Cold War with Russia, and start of the space age and space travel. The baby boomers are also known as the “Me generation” and are seen as greedy, ambitious, and materialistic for being taught the American dream as children and for actually trying to follow it as they grew up. Being the children of people who went through serious politically disagreeable wars, this generation grew into peace-loving anti-war hippies in the 70’s and 80’s. Their core values include anti-government, the belief that anything is possible, equal rights and opportunities, personal gratification and growth, optimism, the idea of being involved and making a difference, teamwork, and they follow the belief system of spend now, worry later along with questioning everything. Baby boomers like to work. They’re considered workaholics seeing as they put 60 hours and more into work per week. They actually invented the 50-hour work week. Baby boomers are driven and work to develop their self-worth and identity and like to put in quality work.
Generation X: Gen X-ers were born between the years of 1965 and 1980. Known as the post boomers, Generation X was born to the baby boomers. Because of their parents being such serious workaholics, Gen X learned to balance their personal life and work life better. They also learned to take care of themselves early on, for their parents weren’t necessary there to do it for them. Gen X was the first generation to be daycare children since mothers were also expected to work out of the home. With high divorce rates, families had grown steadily away from the “normal” nuclear family and many single parents started to run the household. This generation watched America lose its power and standing globally as their politicians turned to lies and trickery. The economy began to take a turn for the worse as well, and Gen X’s parents were often laid off. Gen X lived through the Watergate scandal, the energy crisis, the moon landing, corporate downsizing, and the end of the Cold War. This generation became known to potentially not do as financially well as their parents did. Very cautious with their money, Gen X-ers handle their work life and finances responsibly. They go by the motto of, “work smarter, not harder”. Education was looked at as a “way to get there” which is very true because at this point in time, education grew more important than it ever was before. A high school diploma became like gold in the working world. Because of their upbringing as latchkey children, Gen X-ers are very self-reliant. That being the case, they often question authority. Like boomers, they enjoy working, but they hope for a casual work atmosphere, wish for a more meaningful line of work, have no issue with moving from job to job. X-ers like to get in, get quality work done, and get out. They don’t have any desire to stick around and smell the roses. They don’t care too much for work advancement but do care more for life navigation.
The Millennials: The famously hated on Millennials are those born between 1981 and 2000. There are many nicknames for this generation. They are known as Generation Y, Generation Next (Nexters), Echo Boomers, Chief Friendship Officers, and 24/7’s. Chief friendship officers? Well, that’s because of how much we desire equality and how forced they are to be “politically correct”. 24/7’s? - they never sleep. Technology keeps every one of this generation up. When some of them finally sleep, the rest wake up to text on their cell phones. Families of millennials are merged with others, mixed, and/or often led by single parent or grandparents. Their major worldly influences include 9/11, terrorism, digital media, school shootings, growing up as children of divorce, AIDs epidemic, gay marriage legalization, police violence, black lives matter, TV talk shows, and so much more (the world seems to be getting more and more busy with issues). They grew up sheltered and coddled, for their parents often wanted to do anything they could to protect them from the cruelties of the world. Millennials are ambitious and have big dreams but are often unfocused and need guidance. They’re stuck to their gadgets and reliant on their parents. We’ve had superior education which is now looked at as a requirement to succeed in life.
Generation Z: Born after 2000. Not enough is really known about Generation Z except for that they are very similar to Millennials so far. As time commences, more will be discovered.
CONTEXT: - Judges 2:8-15 reminds us that apostasy in the church is only one generation away. The future of the church will test how well we are doing to maintain the spiritual stability of our young people today. The question becomes how could it happen so quickly in Israel that a new generation “did not know the Lord”?
God built safe-guards into the home to keep this from happening Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:. God warned them against forgetting him And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates”.
As long as Joshua lived idolatry was kept in check. The weight of his influence was a buffer to Israel for many years. That influence was carried on among Joshua’s contemporaries. But Israel lacked the independent strength to be true to God after Joshua’s generation. Now we must ask Do we have the independent strength to remain faithful to God without the living influence of these individuals.
The generational drift into apostasy was such that it consisted of forsaking God for idols and involved the worship of other gods, sexual immorality, and the total lack of knowledge of who God is. We must stop and examine ourselves today asking are we the generation that does not know the Lord? Are we the generation that knows about the Lord but do not hold the mighty works of Jesus as central and precious in our lives? Was it the past generations that knew the Lord and stood in faith but now we do not do the same? We must be concerned for ourselves, honestly evaluating whether we know the Lord or whether we only know about the Lord.
Knowing the Lord and knowing about the Lord are not the same things. To know him is to love him and to love him is to obey him 1 John. 2:4-6 says “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked”.
To know him is to be in a relationship with him Galatians 4:6-7 says “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ”. Will our knowing the Lord insure the same for the next generation? We cannot know for sure. Every individual of every generation has a choice to make Joshua 24:15 says “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD”.
Let us examine this a little. What does it mean that the next generation “did not know the Lord?” We know it does not mean that they were completely unaware of God not that they had no knowledge of the Lord at all. They did know who God was. However; the saving acts of the Lord were not central or precious to this generation. The mighty acts of God and his truths were precious to that previous generation but this new and current generation didn’t appreciate what God had done. Sure they may have gone through the motions, sure they may sing on the praise team, sure they could shout and speak in something they thought was tongues but it wasn’t truly down on the inside. They have a form of godliness, but they don’t have the keep power inside of them.
According to verse 7 “who had seen all the great works that the Lord had done for Israel.” All the generation that witnessed and experienced the great works of the Lord had died. But those things were not precious and central to this next generation. They did not honor or rejoice in what God had done before and lost the meaning and the significance of what God had done. This is what is happening now! Remember I started about the young people that asked if the decal on my truck was the god. I know what it represented for me, I understand how Jesus suffered and died and rose again so I could and you could have eternal life, but this generation can’t appreciate it because they know not the Lord.
Verse 11 reveals what happens when people do not know the Lord. The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. When you do not make the Lord central to your life, you are going to do evil. The Lord is the only governor that keeps us from giving ourselves to wickedness. Unless we know the Lord personally and develop our own relationship with Him, we will move into a life of evil.
Understand if people do not worship God, then they are going to worship something else. WHY because we are created to worship. So many-times we as church folk have said that the preach word is the most important part of a church service. I would challenge that mindset and say no it is not, but worship is. We preach because of sin, but before man sinned, he was created to worship. If man never sinned there would have been no need for preaching but the need to worship was always there. So if we don’t worship God we will worship something else which is idolatry.
UNDERSTAND: - Idolatry today is not so much the bowing down to statues, but functional gods that provide our identity and security. When we allow idols into our hearts, then our hearts become captured by those idols and our desire for the Lord slowly becomes snuffed out. Have you ever known someone or maybe this has happened to you. Someone used to have a great zeal for the Lord, they used to be on fire for God, but now they come to worship and their eyes show that they do not care anymore they simply go through the motions. Sadly, idols have captured their hearts and as a result the love for God is being choked out. Jesus told a parable about soils where the thorny ground swallows up the seed and chokes out the plant. Idolatry chokes out our love.
When, our hearts abandon God and turn to idolatry it sets us on a path to misery and distress verses 14-15. God allowed Israel to suffer the consequences for their sins. When we become steeped in idolatry, we are given over to our desires which brings devastating consequences eternally and here on this earth. Sin does not make a better life but only causes for problems and more suffering. This is what is happening today this generation often reject the ways of the older generation. They will not listen to what they have to say and will not follow the paths of walking in the ways of the Lord. The ways of the previous generation are considered boring and old fashioned. Because they are only going through the motion if that they forget or come to the end of not even knowing the Lord.
WATCH THIS:- Sin is a downward spiral that drives one deeper and deeper into the abyss until finally the hearts grow more corrupt. This is the scariest part of the descent into sin and wickedness. There is a point where the mercy and grace of God no longer moves the heart and people become corrupt with idolatry.
Let me establish what idolatry is! Strictly speaking an idol is anything that usurps the place that belongs to God in the heart of man. Anything that takes the place in your heart that belongs to God is an idol. Money, car, woman, man, food, etc.
The phrase “knew not” simply means they stopped recognizing; they stopped observing; they stopped caring about the Lord. The Lord was no longer in first place in their lives. He no longer held a position of prominence, and once that happens, the weeds of idolatry begin to take root and they find themselves not know the Lord no longer in a relationship with Him.
This leads us to look at The Marks of a Generation that Knows not God!
WATCH THIS: - There was a Lack of Leaders – Vs. 7 Joshua is dead. Joshua that great leader of God’s people, who confronted the people of God, drew the line in the sand and said Choose ye this day whom you shall serve! Joshua, knew victory! He knew to trust. He had seen the mighty hand of God! He experienced first-hand the awesome power of God! He left Egypt, walked through the parting of the Red Sea, wandered in the wilderness; knew how God provided Manna every morning, crossed Jordan; had the Jericho triumphant experience and seen victory upon victory was gone! And not only Joshua but all those that those that saw the works of God first-hand were gone! And this new generation tried to go on living on the power of dead ancestors and found that it didn’t last, and they stopped recognizing; stopped observing; stopped obeying, stopped trusting; and stopped depending on God.
Sadly today we must put some of the blame of this generation at the door of the church for there is a lack of leadership that is willing to stand up like Joshua and say CHOOSE YE THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE!
We have leadership that is more interested in the way to get the church to grow by making it more comfortable or palatable to the unsaved then standing on the unadulterated word of God calling wrong wrong and right right. Such a mind-set works in that it can fill massive stadiums with adoring fans however; what is lost under this type of post-modern leadership is basic doctrine and Bible teaching because these are often looked upon as offensive to the unsaved. Some leaders are more willing to discard anything that does not appeal to the unsaved and those looking for a church without conviction that produces a change then preaching righteous and standing on the fact the Holiness without no man shall see the Lord and to be Holy for He is Holy. There is the lack of leadership that is not willing to say come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and God will receive you unto Himself. Therefore, the church ceases to be the pillar of truth that God called her to be the catalyst of change for the world. So when I say the Marks of a Generation that knows not God – sure that generation may not know Him, but it is that way because the lack of leadership that will not stand and say Choose. Leaders we can love the people of the world and still call sin – sin.
The next Mark is - A Lack In Learning – Vs10 The next generation took for granted what the previous one knew! Because the learning was not a major factor in their life then there was no leaning. There was no faith or trusting in God! They became faithless.
In order for the walls of Jericho to fall Joshua had to trust in the Lord! Every battle and every struggle the Israelites of previous generation had to trust the Lord. But now this generation is reaping the blessings sown in previous generations. It is now common practice in most churches to offer young people a maximum of entertainment and a minimum of serious instruction. Churches are filled beyond capacity on Sunday, but at Bible class you can - most of the time have everyone sit on the front row. They have possessed the land. No more battles. No more struggles. They have Mega churches with awesome sound systems, lights, big screens displaying the words for all to see, a laser light extravaganza, sugar coated syrup dripped sermon that stress God be happy and rich and they say like Revelation 3:17 “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing ” They develop a spirit of complacency and mediocrity trying to live off of the previous generations experiences instead of leaning and depending on Jesus for them self. We must be like the song says: “I've learned how to lean and depend on Jesus. I've learned to lean, trust in the Lord. For if I trust Him, He will provide”
Because of the lack of learning that lead to the Road of Idolatry
Verses 11-13 says “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth”.
Notice they served Baal and Ashtaroth. So, Bishop how does that apply to people today?
I am glad you asked 1 John 2:16 says “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world”.
The word Baal means owner or possessor. The God of Possession “Baal”. Baal was the reigning evil spirit in that area and in order to possess things in that area, this god would need to be worshipped or entreated. Today people are more interested in trying to get possession than getting to know God. The prosperity gospel is a perversion of the gospel of Jesus that claims that God rewards increases in faith with increases wealth and material possessions. It claims health and wealth are the automatic divine right of all Bible-believing Christians and may be obtained by faith as part of the package of salvation, since the Atonement of Christ includes not just the removal of sin, but also the removal of sickness and poverty.
Matthew 19:21-22 says “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions”. Possessions and the desire to have possessions isolate us from people and cause us to be separated from God. In Exodus 20:5, God tells us “for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God”. God doesn’t want to compete with our possessions for our attention and affection.
No matter how we try to sugarcoat the acquisition of possessions as normal or harmless, or to consider them to be merely the fruits of our labor, our Heavenly Father knows the truth. In Matthew 6:21 Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.? Possessions reveal our attachment to the world.
The God of Pleasure “Astaroth”: This was the god that was called upon to satisfy the lust for sensual pleasure. Astaroth was a female god Phoenicians. She is always related to fertility and lustful sexual desires. In that agricultural era, families had to be large in order to be prosperous. So, fertility was important. Plus men wanted to sooth their conscience and legitimize wickedness under the name of religion.
The God of Position “Molech”: He is the Fire god of the people of Ammon. The name carries with it the characteristic of royalty, of kingship, of position above those around him. If a man had had all the possessions he could want and all the pleasures that sexual immorality, then what is there left. Molech is the most terrible to me. Hebrew history tells us, large bronze statue. Arms outstretched. A fire was kindled inside of the image. In order for a man to gain the higher status and ranking of those around him, he would approach the blazing image, holding his very own child. And despite his natural affection, he would take the infant and throw it into the arms of that burning image. And from there into the fire!
Today people are worshipping these very idols striving for possession, pleasure and position. The Marks of a Generation that knows not God.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
