We Must Unite The Generations

Anybody happy to be in church today? Come on, tell the person next to you, be happier. Be happier. Be happier. If you are new here, my name is Virg, I am the pastor here at Vertical Church and honored to be able to bring the word today. I am excited to bring the word today with a message that has been brewing in me for quite some time and it will continue to do so. Any Christians brought your Bibles to church? Are there Christians that love God's word and carry God's word and read God's word. If you have God's word, you can open up to Psalm 78. You can also click your device to Psalm 78 and we will have the verses on the screens as a benefit. There will be a lot of verses today. But if you are like me and like to get ahead, you can put a marker in Exodus 3, Malachi 4, Joel 2. Exodus 3, Malachi 4, Joel 2. We are going to start off in Psalm 78. And I am just telling you I am pumped about this message today. So I hope you are pumped to receive it. Can you show me your pumped face? Can I see your pumped face? Let's go. Let's go. Psalm 78, verse 4, here we go. And it says, check it out. We will not hide these truths from our children. Everybody say we will not.

We will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. Anybody assigned to do that? Anybody committed to do that? For he issued his laws to Jacob. He gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children so the next generation might know them. Even the children not yet born. And they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God. Not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. I want to share a story that connects beautifully with this heart today. And this is the lesson of the watermelons. There was once a chief minister of defense in India named Manohar Parrikar who lived from 1955 to 2019. In an important speech that he gave one day, he shared a story from his childhood that I believe serves as a valuable lesson for us today. He grew up in a village called Parra in the city of Goa, India. A place famous for its massive sweet watermelons. Now, Manohar recalled that every May when he was a child, at the end of the harvest, the village farmers would host a great watermelon eating contest. I think it might have looked something like this maybe. Now, all the children were invited to eat as much watermelon as they wanted, but there was only one condition. How many conditions? The old farmer would tell them, eat as much watermelon

as you want, but do not bite the seeds. You must spit out every single seed into this bowl. And as you can see, that's a happy farmer right there. Parrikar joked that they were like unpaid child laborers, but the old farmer was a visionary. Check this out. He saved the seeds from the very best largest watermelons of the current harvest to plant for the next year's harvest. And notice this. Because he sacrificed, or I would say invested his best fruit to ensure the best seeds, the watermelons grew larger and sweeter every single generation. Now, now, now, there's an end there. Years later, Manohar went to Mumbai to study engineering. And he was there studying for six and a half years. Six and a half years later, he returned back to his hometown, to Parra, and he went to the market looking for, guess what, what he was looking for? For watermelons, but he was confused because now the watermelons that were there were very, very small and sad looking. So he went to see the old farmer who hosted these watermelon eating contests, but he found out that that farmer was no longer in charge. His son had taken over. But the son was only focused on how much money he could make. And so he realized the large watermelons make the most money when I sell them at the market. So then he started selling the large watermelons at the market, making a lot of money right now. He sold the biggest, best watermelons for a quick profit. And so he kept the small watermelons for...

or the watermelon eating contest for the children. So same contest, but the watermelons were a bit smaller, and he saved those seeds, the scraps, to plant for the next year's harvest. The result was predictable, yet tragic. The next year, the watermelons were smaller. The year after that, they were smaller, and the year after that, they were smaller still. In just seven years, seven generations of watermelons, the legendary fruit of Para had disappeared. It had been sacrificed at the altar of short-sighted greed. Now check it out. Parakar concluded with a sobering thought. In watermelons, a generation is one year. In seven years, Para's best watermelons were finished. In humans, a generation is about 25 years. So if you do the math, it could take about 200 years to realize the damage that we've done if we fail to invest our best seeds into the next generation. So here's the important question for us to consider. What will we pass on to the next generation? Church, we are here today because we are part of a lineage of faith as Christians, but we face a choice. Will we be like the father, the first farmer, who invested the best seeds so as to reap a greater harvest in the future generation? Or will we be like the second farmer, the son, who invested the scraps to make a quick profit?

Will we plant the best seeds for tomorrow or just eat the biggest fruit today? Too often, the church falls into the trap of being what I'm calling unigenerational. We become self-focused, seeking only what benefits us in the now, our generation, what we're living, when it comes to music preference or worship preference, to programs that we offer as a church, to ways that we can profit or even benefit today. But we become short-sighted. We consume the best seeds of our faith and leave only the scraps for those coming after us. We must reject a faith that is unigenerational and we must embrace a faith that is both multigenerational and intergenerational. We must refuse to compromise tomorrow's harvest for today's comfort. God never intended His church to be a series of disconnected islands of generations. He intended for us to be bridged and united intergenerationally. We are called to learn from the wisdom of those who have walked before us, lived more, and with equal passion, invest our very best into the generations that are coming behind us. And so I am making a declaration. We will not diminish what the next generation inherits just so we can be comfortable today.

And we will not be short-sighted. We will pass on the best seeds of faith to the next generation. That's why the way we do church is not just to please and satisfy the way we've always loved how church is. We have the next generation in mind as we're doing church. Big idea today. God intended for His church to be multigenerational so that the gospel can be faithfully passed from generation to generation. The title of today's message is We Must Unite the Generations. Say it with me. We must unite the generations. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to come together to worship you, to seek you, and to reap the blessings, benefits, and fruit of studying your word. Holy Spirit, speak to us, minister to us. May we understand what your word is teaching us and may we apply these principles in our lives. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. The issue of generations and the unity of generations is so, so important to God. In fact, one of the most repeated ways that God identifies Himself in the Bible

is I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The implication is I am a generational God. This matters because God could have introduced Himself many other ways, but why does He do this so often? I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Because He is revealing that His covenant, His faithfulness, and His purposes move through generations. Now, although we probably have about five generations represented here in our church right now, for the sake of this message, we're gonna break it down to three generations, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the generations that we see mentioned in the word of God. And I want us to consider this breakdown together. So I'm gonna consider the Jacob generation those between 20 and 40 years old. Can you raise your hand, Jacob generation, 20 to 40 year old, amen? All right, you can put them down. We're lying, but that's okay. That's okay, God sees. The camera's seeing, God sees. All right, the Isaac generation represents the generation between 40 and 60 years old. Can I see how many 40, how many Isaac generation we have? All right, very good, very good. All right, some of you should have raised your hand there, but you didn't, that's okay. Lastly, we have the Abraham generation,

which represents 60 to 80. Can I see the Abraham generation in the house? Come on. I love this, I love this, I love this. This is our third service today, and I love that every service, we've had a good representation of Jacob generation, Isaac generation, and Abraham generation. Now, as we enter this discussion today, here's what I believe God's heart is for each of us, that we would accept the challenge to refuse to become unigenerational, because unigenerational simply means you're all about and focused on just one generation, yours. Now, it's important to understand the principle of generations. Everybody say principle. The principle of generations explains that where you are today is not where you will be forever. Can I visually show you? So if you are in the Jacob generation today, you will eventually, it's not too far away, it's closer than you think. And if you're in the Isaac generation, can I just tell you, it's closer than you think. If not, ask an Abraham generation, and they'll tell you, just yesterday I was Jacob, because that's the way life works. You won't always be in the same generation. Every generation eventually becomes

the generation it once misunderstood. This is the way it works in family. So don't get too comfortable in your seat or your season, for you will not remain in your current generation too long. This is why, if we are to honor God, we must maximize our time in each seat, in each season, and in each generation. So why does unity between generations matter? Let me give you three reasons, three reasons why uniting the generations matters. Number one, because God calls himself, we already said it, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I wanna go to one instance in Exodus chapter three. Exodus chapter three, we see the story of Moses. Those of you who might recall the story of Moses, there's this moment where he is out in the fields, and he sees a bush that is literally on fire. It is in flames. The interesting thing about this bush that is on fire is that it's not being consumed, and the flames are alive. And so Moses gets curious. He's getting closer. Exodus three, verse four. When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, Moses, Moses, here I am, Moses replied. Do not come any closer, the Lord warned. Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. Can you pause for a second there with me? Can you imagine being Moses in this moment?

This is one of those like heaven flicks. Like, Lord, one day I wanna watch heaven flicks. I wanna see this scene. Like, can you imagine being in Moses' shoes in that moment of, first of all, you're seeing something crazy. This bush is on fire, but it's not being consumed. And then a voice comes out of it calling your name. I mean, think about that for a second. And it says, take off your sandals, for the soil you are on is holy. We would assume that it is holy because God is on it, and God is holy. Imagine, this is kind of exciting. God is letting you know you're standing in a holy moment. Now, what is he going to say first? Verse six. First thing he says, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. It sounds simple, but God is telling Moses, I am the God who creates all generations, gives life to all generations, and moves through all generations. Why? Because God thinks long-term. God is not just thinking about this service. He's not thinking about one decade or one generation. He is thinking about legacy and covenant and spiritual inheritance. And then it says, when Moses heard this,

he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. This is a powerful, powerful moment. And once again, God introduces himself as the God of generations. The modern world constantly pushes us into segregated living. Young people with young people, older people with older people, but the kingdom of God has always been multigenerational and intergenerational. Second reason why it's important, why we must unite the generations, because the Old Testament ends with a warning connected to generations. Anybody know what the last book in the Old Testament is? Malachi. Revelation is the last book in the, you gotta write for the New Testament, but in the Old Testament, the last book of the Bible is Malachi. Last chapter of the Old Testament is Malachi 4. Last verses five and six. Let's read them. Malachi 4, verses five and six. It says, behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Check it out. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers and mothers to their sons and daughters, children, and the hearts of the sons and daughters, children,

to the hearts of their fathers and mothers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. Last words of the Old Testament. Check it out. One of the signs of Jesus' setting. coming is hearts of fathers and mothers turning towards their children and the hearts of sons and daughters turning back towards their fathers and mothers. One of the final prophetic warnings before 400 years of silence between the Old Testament and the New Testament was all about disconnected generations. This is one of the reasons there is a war spiritually to divide generations among the family of God because scripture points out how important of a role it plays and we live in a culture where generations often blame each other instead of blessing each other and the older generation says all that younger generation is crazy and lost and the older generation says all all are the younger generation says all that older generation they just don't understand they're just old and antiquated and revival can't happen when there's a disconnection in the generations and the enemy loves generational division because disconnected generations produces divided families weak churches and fragile disciples. Third reason why uniting the generations is important because God promised an outpouring of his Holy Spirit on all generations in the last days. Now I want you to go with me if you can to Joel chapter 2 J-O-E-L Joel. Pastor where's that? It's in the Old Testament. It's one of those books you might not have been to in a while. Joel chapter 2 is a prophetic book and it's it's a powerful chapter. I encourage you this week read Joel 2. It's even addressed and referenced in Acts chapter 2 when amazing things happen with the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. Okay Joel chapter 2 verses 28 to 29 says then after doing all those things God says I will pour out my spirit upon who? All people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. In those days I will pour out my spirit even on servants men and women alike. By the way when this is being communicated through

the prophet Joel there's some major breaking of societal rules. The idea of an outpouring of the Spirit of God on all these people was not the common thought or even accepted. That it would be outpoured not just on those with power but on servants as well. Not just on men but on women. What about those people that believe that women can't lead and can't have the Holy Spirit and can't do all these things? On not only the old but the young? Basically on all generations. All people. But here's my question. What good is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all generations if you only do life with one generation? I mean think about it. There are essentially five generations alive at one time and when a human being does life with only one generation they're missing out potentially on the outpouring of the Spirit on four-fifths of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in people's lives and on the earth. What a shame. What a shame for a church to be limited to only one or two generations. And moreover what a shame for a multi-generational church to be full of unigenerational humans. There needs to be a multi-generational church that is intergenerational connect connected. All right this is crazy. I want you to see something crazy with me. I want you to see the danger of a unigenerational mindset. Go with me to second Kings 20. Second Kings chapter 20. A little bit of context before while you're going there. We're gonna talk about King Hezekiah. King Hezekiah is actually an interesting character in one of the Kings because there's a moment if you read a little suit earlier than this there's a moment where King Hezekiah is very very sick and he's literally on his deathbed. He falls to the floor. He cries out to God. God have mercy on me. God look how I've lived to honor you. Have mercy on me. I bet like he pleaded with the Lord and the Lord had mercy and grace upon him and healed him and extended his life 15 years. Interestingly enough this next next story in second Kings chapter 20 it's interesting because Hezekiah received some guests that came from Babylon but he does something that God never told him to do and he begins he begins to show these people from Babylon all of his treasures. He begins to brag. He begins to give him a tour. Come on guys

let me show you my treasures and he shows them all his treasures all of the palace and the royalty everything that he's accumulated that his ancestors have everything that's part of what of what they have and and of their worth and the wealth he just shows it to them in every nook and cranny of the palace. Then the Prophet Isaiah comes to King Hezekiah and he says what were all these people here for? And King Hezekiah says oh I was just bragging to them and showing them all my possessions and then God responds to King Hezekiah through the Prophet Isaiah. Second Kings 20 verse 16. Then Isaiah said the Prophet said to King Hezekiah listen to this message from the Lord the time is coming when everything in your palace how much how much everything all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now will be carried off to Babylon nothing will be left says the Lord okay pause I want you to think for a moment if you were King Hezekiah in that moment and God had just responded to you about the foolish things you just did explaining the discipline that saying that everything that you have and that your generations and your ancestors have have accumulated everything's gonna be wiped out and taken away would you be like okay God that's fine or would you be like God I'm so sorry I repent I'm so sorry for what I did right like like like please verse 18 some of your very own sons Hezekiah will be taken into exile they will become eunuchs if you don't know what that is look it up who will serve in the palace of Babylon's King they'll become slaves now so check it out God clarifies that the punishment for his foolishness will be that everything he owns will be taken away and then he goes a step further and says and your children and your future generations and their children will be so affected that they're gonna have to navigate some horrible experiences as part of the punishment for your foolishness now how many of you would be like okay Oh we'll be like no God please I'm so sorry what can I do watch King Hezekiah's response 19 then Hezekiah said to Isaiah this message you have given me from the Lord is good okay pause rocky

what how could this be good you're about to lose everything and your children and their descendants are gonna be punished oh look at the what it says for King Hezekiah was thinking at least there will be peace and security during my lifetime are you seeing it this is a unigenerational mentality at its lowest this is to sell today's best seeds for a quick profit and not care about the watermelons of the future unigenerational mentality this is the temptation of every generation to be more about yours than everybody else pleasure for me punishment for them as long as I'm good this is what Hezekiah is showing us here and I believe that is an abomination to the God of all generations because a healthy human owns what he must own for the benefit of the rest of his members of his family by the way by the way side note some of the greatest treasures that you're gonna find in life will be found doing life with people in generations that aren't yours I've been learning that in my life these last years how would you live if God promised you that every time you sat with someone who's not in your own generation whether they're older or younger it would be of spiritually so much value more than worldly wealth how often would you share life with those in other generations something supernatural happens when we overlap our lives and interconnect intergenerationally with people of other generations especially in the faith as a family of God since the beginning there's been a war over the unity of the generations in fact when Jesus prayed in John 17 the unity prayer for his disciples and father you and me and I and you and them and me and me and them and the whole unity prayer that Jesus does I mean it's no wonder why the enemy's main intent is to separate and divide including generations and one of the ways the enemy tries to divide the generations is that each generation tends to speak a slightly different language than the generation before them and the generation after them even though we speak the same language language changes have you noticed that like people like speaking you know like people that are maybe grandparents when you talk when

you talk to them about a cap they're thinking about the hat that goes on the head people that are in my generation in the 90s if you said bust a cap anybody remember that that means shoot a gun but today's generation somehow cap is the lie you tell that's cap no cap and it's so funny because I remember as a young I remember as a young teenager using our lingo and older people saying that's as stupid as thing I've ever heard and I'm like no you're stupid old person you don't understand us but now I have teenagers who are talking to me about that's cop and I'm like that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life because I was over here but now I'm over here it's crazy each generation speaks a slightly different language than the generation before them and after them And the enemy loves to try to use these different, not only language, not only vocabulary, but even values and communication styles. Like literally, you can say a sentence today, it's like, oh, you can't say that, dad. And I'm like, oh, I can't say that. Apparently I can't say that. That wasn't a bad word for us in our generation. It's a, because, check it out. So then people get frustrated with each other. That's dumb. Oh, you don't understand. And it plays into the disconnection and the division of the generations. Big idea today. God intended for his church to be multi-generational so that the gospel can be faithfully passed generation to generation. So let me give you, let me give you really quickly

four keys to uniting the generations. And then I wanna unpack the strengths and weaknesses of each generation, okay? Four keys to unite the generations, real quick. Number one, number one, see their strengths. So whatever generation you're in, you gotta look at the other generations and you have to see their strengths. I got three amens. Thank you, Jesus, that's three people. There's three people that believe in this. You must view other generations through the lens first of their strengths because if you choose another lens, then you're gonna get frustrated, okay? First, see the strengths of the other generations. Secondly, see their weaknesses because every generation has blind spots, including yours and mine, okay? Third, leverage their strengths. Before you start adjusting their weaknesses, before you start complaining about how they're so different, the other generation, leverage their strengths. Empower them according to the good things that God has given them and the way that God shaped them because remember, the anointing and the outpouring is coming on all generations. The younger generation might move faster, but the older generation might move wiser.

We need both, even though we look different. And we can complain and we can compare. Like, you know, the older generation is always looking at like the hairstyle, like hairs. Like, don't even get me started on the hair today. Like every generation has the ugliest hairstyles. Like the boys now, it's like the llama spit, like the llama spits in your hair, bomb explodes and it stays there. But you know what? But we had our crazy ugly hairstyles too. So let every young generation have their ugly pictures and their ugly season like we all have, amen? Because believe me, you have your ugly hairstyle. We all know it. And if not, I can talk to your sister or your mama and she will show us the pictures. Be careful, brothers, if you start making fun of their hair, yours might fall out. See their strengths, see their weaknesses, leverage their strengths. Number four, use your strength to help their weaknesses. This is what family does. We don't compete against each other and make fun of each other. We complement and complete each other. The church should not look like separated age groups sharing a building. It should look like a spiritual family

living life intergenerationally. These are very simple but challenging keys that are necessary for uniting the generations. Now, I wanna go into each generation and I wanna talk about strengths and weaknesses. All right, so put your hand on your heart with me, put your hand on your heart and say, I will not be offended when the pastor speaks about my generation. All right, let's go. We're all in it together. Jacob's generation. Let's talk about Jacob's generation, 20 to 40 year olds, okay? So the strengths of the Jacob generation is their energy and their time. Among others, their energy. The Jacob generation has more energy than any other generation. Can I get an amen from the Jacob generation anywhere? Yeah, yeah, yeah. More energy than any other generation. Another strength of the Jacob generation is how much time you have to walk out your calling. Like if you think about an investment, it's very different if you say, hey, I have an investment, I wanna try to make some profit on it for five years as I have an investment, I wanna leave it and make profit for 50 years.

The potential for gain, for compounding interest with time. So the Jacob generation's strength is the energy and their time. Not to mention that in the Jacob generation, you can lean on Isaac and Abraham to learn from their mistakes and not have to make the same ones. If you're wise. Weaknesses of the Jacob generation, all right? Don't get quiet, Jacob generation. They are untested and immature. When we are in the Jacob generation and we were all there, even if we're older, we are untested in our teens and 20s and 30s, that we're filled with some of the biggest tests that we're gonna face in life and those are just preparing us for what's to come, for tomorrow's battles. Because the Jacob generation, the young generation can be impatient, can be easily distracted and can be overconfident, the key for you, Jacob generation, is you're still learning and you're still maturing in life and maturing in the faith and walking with Jesus. And that's okay, that's okay. All right, let's go to the Isaac generation. I'm gonna go to some advice for each generation at the end. So Isaac's generation, which is 40 to 60, Isaac generation,

their strength is their strength and their stamina, okay? Their strength and their stamina. Oftentimes, the Isaac generation have the most strength and stamina in the room. I'm not talking necessarily physical strength and stamina. I'm talking about the ability to carry more weight in life. Okay? Because you might be in Jacob generation and have bigger muscles in the way you look, but still not be capable of carrying the weight of life yet. And as we get older, for example, when you get to the older generation, you have to carry more specific weights because you can no longer carry all of the weights. When you're younger, you think you can carry all the weight, but then you look back and you realize you were being crushed underneath it. But it's that in between Isaac season and generation when we can actually carry more weight. Now, here's the key, weaknesses of the Isaac generation. They can get selfish and distracted. Why? Ask me why, ask me why. Because many people view their 40s and their 50s as this is our prime. Gotta take advantage and go work and do. So check this out. Many spend their 40s and 50s chasing the things that matter least at the expense of the things

that you come to learn matter most. So we must be careful, Isaac generation, with this. Because the temptation, there is a temptation in the 40s and 50s to be selfish and spend all of your success and strength on yourself for your benefit at the expense of the other generations. And what happens is we become distracted by our goals rather than focused on our calling. And what happens then is we consume the best seeds as opposed to invest the best seeds to the next generation. Abraham's generation, 60 years and up. 60 years, how does, what does Buzz Lightyear say? And beyond, 60 years and beyond. Their strength, to infinity and beyond. Their strength is their wisdom and their testimony. Okay, Abraham generation, it's their wisdom. It's God-given and earned wisdom through walking with God by faith for years and years. Which leads to their testimony of God's faithfulness and power all of those years. Weaknesses of the Abraham generation, their reduced capacity and their nostalgia. Let me explain it. Often at 70 and 80, understandably, we don't have the same capacity or bandwidth that we used to have at 40 or 30 as far as energy and stamina and mental capacity. And that's okay. It is okay because in that season, God calls us to be specialists more than generalists.

And also, Abraham generation, please pay attention. In the Abraham season of life, there's this issue with nostalgia when you've seen the testimony of God's faithfulness and power lived out. A temptation can be for Abraham generation to believe that the way God did it back then in our glory years is the same way he's gotta do it now in these years. So let me explain to you what happens often. When the older generation has that unigenerational mentality they keep thinking it's about them and what they want. And so you have an older generation saying, we gotta sing those old hymns from the 60s and 70s because those are the powerful ones. We gotta do church how we did it back when I was growing up because that's when the power was. Some of you might even have said these things. And I'm not saying that we can't look back and celebrate and rejoice what God did, but if we're limiting God to do today how he did it and the way he did it back then, then what happens is we have a unigenerational mentality. And nowadays there are so many churches that when you go to them, it's sad. There are so many churches and denominations that are dying out. And it's almost a unigenerational church because it's only old people, there's no young, because they've consumed the seeds.

And the watermelons are just small, there's nobody. And so what happens is with the nostalgia, so that's why I cannot think, what greater joy to a Christian grandfather and grandmother to see their grandkids and great-grandkids worshiping God, studying the word, coming to church. What can top that for a grandfather or a great-grandfather? But I'll tell you one thing, the great-grandfather and the grandfather who's fighting for, we gotta sing our hymns and our songs from back in, you're not gonna see that, not in that church. It is an older generation that says, we are here to feed and bless that young generation. I don't care what songs. As long as they align with the word of God, I will rejoice they are worshiping God and one day we will sing mine when we get back home. That's why many churches stop being multigenerational. So unigenerational is not just the young, it can be a middle age and an older issue. The beauty of generations interconnecting. Part of the beauty of an 80-year-old sitting with a 20-year-old is that the 80-year-old can see that God is faithful yesterday, today and always. He doesn't change. So what does scripture say to each generation? Biblical advice to each generation. Let's start to the Jacob generation, the 20 to 4-year-olds. Know your place.

And this doesn't mean that you are not important and you don't have a voice. On the contrary. Paul writes to Timothy. Know your place. Know your place. Know your place. Know your place. Know your place. And this doesn't mean that you are not important and don't have a voice. On the contrary, Paul writes don't let things think of you because you are young. Be an example in what you say in your way you live and your love and your faith and your purity. In other words, don't let people look down on you because of the number on your license. Jacob generation, it's not a seat of silence but it's a seat of learning and honoring. So be careful because sometimes when you are 23, you think you know it all. And by the time you turn 28, you realize you know nothing. This is why, please listen to me, Jacob generation, this is why. When you are 25, it is actually wiser if you have some friends that are 35, 45, 55 and maybe 65 or 70. Why? If you have 25-year-old friends, what can your friend who turned 25 yesterday teach you about success in 25? How about talking to somebody who is 25 years down the road

who can help look back and through their strengths strengthen you. And through their mistakes and weaknesses help you learn. I need someone who is 20, 25, 30, 35 years ahead of me so I can understand how to navigate this season in my life. A fool would think they have all the answers. But a wise person can be judged by how quick they are to sit with the wisdom of older generations at a table. So know your place. That you have a need for wisdom that you have not yet earned. But you can receive it early if you are wise. Secondly, Jacob generation, know your calling. In our 20s and 30s we have to get clear on the calling that God has given us. Why he has put us on this earth, our God-given purpose. Two verses later he says to Timothy, do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders. Elders are another generation of the church. Laid their hands on you. This is a beautiful picture. When the Isaac and Abraham generations lay hands on the Jacob generation. Like is that happening? Do we talk to teenagers and 20-year-olds today that say, man, at church I have older people that are laying hands on me and praying and speaking life over me. Is that happening? I think it is but I think it can happen more. Like I ask you, Isaac and Abraham generation, when is the

last time you laid hands and prayed and prophesied and spoke life over people that are younger generation, that aren't your own kid. That's God's heart. Jacob generation, you are not waiting for your time, you are just preparing for your time. God may have given you a season of enmity when you are younger and you are learning how to defeat the lion and the bear because eventually you will face giants. To the Isaac generation, 40-60, remember your mentors. Biblical advice, remember your mentors. More than anybody, the Isaac generation are to remember your mentors. Hebrews 13, remember your leaders that taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives. And follow the example of their faith. Can I just remind you, you didn't get here on your own. I have a mentor that says if you see a turtle on top of a car, it didn't get there on its own. Sometimes you and I achieve certain things and somehow we think we got ourselves there. Bro, you are just a turtle. Scripture is clear on the importance of honoring the older generations. So the question is, do we know how to honor? And it's not just saying, you are amazing, you are so special. No, no, it's actually studying their lives. Studying what the Holy Spirit has done and how he has empowered the older generations.

following their good example, and learning from their mistakes, and honoring, continuing a legacy of faith, multi-generational faith. Isaac generation, second advice, remember your mandate. I believe the greatest call when we are in the Isaac season of life is to raise up the Josephs and the Jacobs, is to raise up the next generation. We believe in that so much here, that's why we're doing a Next Gen Sunday next week. We believe in empowering the next generation, and pouring into the next generation. First Timothy 118, this charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them, you may wage the good warfare. We gotta raise up the next generation to fight the war and the fight that they're gonna fight. But we can't consume all the good seeds now. We gotta invest so we can have a great harvest in the future. I want every, my desire is that every person here at Vertical, somehow, in shape, could connect with the next gen, connect with what we're doing with the next generation, especially if you're in Isaac and Abraham. Like I wish you could just lean in and peek it, and be curious about what's happening with our students in BSM,

what's happening with our young adults in Vertical, young adults in BYA, what's happening with our kids in Vertical Kids. I love that many of you do actually serve them, and serve in the ministry. But man, I wish I could see some more Abraham generation serving some of our younger generation, more of our Isaac generation as well. It is our, Isaac generation, it is our responsibility, our responsibility to raise them up in the faith and in the holy fear of God. To begin teaching them at four years old, and five years old, and six years old, how God parted the Red Sea. How God led his people to victories. How Jesus did miracles. How he has worked miracles in our lives and in our family. How he resurrected on the third day to give us eternal life. We can't just come to church and sit passively, acting as if Jesus isn't coming back. He's coming back, everybody. The Bible's clear on that. He's coming again, and there is a war that is ramping up, trying to divide the generations. I don't know about you, but I don't wanna get to the end of my life, look in the mirror and be like, well, I had a good run. Well, we're good. Resist being unigenerational.

We must raise up the next generation. We must raise up the next generation. We must prepare them for the battles that they're gonna face. And we must send them out confidently and well-prepared. I refuse to fail in this important calling of being multigenerational and intergenerational. I am passionate about this. This is the core of God's plan and design. And as a church, we need your help. Some of us have small children. Some of us have teenagers. Some of us have young adults, and we need all the help we can get in this journey. It takes the family of God to raise the children of God. Lastly, to the Abraham generation, first advice, biblical, don't quit, especially 80 and up. Don't quit. You might retire from your secular job, but you don't retire from your calling. I want you to listen to 85-year-old Caleb. Joshua 14, verse 10. It says, now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well, as he promised for all these 45 years since Moses made his promise, even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today, I'm 85 years old. I am as strong now as I was

when Moses sent me out on that journey, and I still travel. I can still travel. I can still fight as well as I could then. That's, I love, that's Caleb right there. You know, Abraham generation, you might think, oh, I'm getting old. I'm telling you, you still have more things to accomplish. The Lord has more that he wants to do in you and through you. You may retire from your job, but you will not retire from your kingdom assignment as a believer. So as a pastor in this church, I wanna affirm Abraham generation. You have a role to play. We love you, we need you, and we want you. Don't quit. Allow your strengths, your wisdom, your testimony to be leveraged. By the way, Abraham generation, take care of your health as much as you can because it's very hard to pour out if you're only focused on yourself because you're so sick. So in as much as you can, stay healthy. The next generations count on your health. I'm praying for my Abraham generation. I'm praying for a Caleb anointing. Here, I've already, Caleb anointing to climb higher and further and more ease than you thought at 85 in Jesus' name.

Lastly, Abraham generation, don't get quiet. Don't, don't, don't close your mouth. Don't, don't not testify to who God is and what he's done. Psalm 71, 18, now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me. Now is not the time to get quiet, Abraham generation. But don't get loud complaining about the young people's music or their hairstyles. Get loud about God's goodness and faithfulness, no matter what our hairstyle is, God's goodness. Faithfulness in all generations. We got to practice this and proclaim God's power to the next generation. Church, this matters deeply. Why? We are one generation away from spiritual drift. We are one generation away from forgetting truth. We are one generation away from losing holy convictions. But we are also one generation away from revival. One generation away from a spiritual awakening. One generation away from a mighty move of God that our future descendants won't even imagine what they're gonna experience. So my challenge to the Jacob generation, those of you who are younger, don't isolate yourself and disconnect yourself from the wise generations. To the Isaac generation, which is that middle generation, don't spend your strength and your success only on yourself. Going back to the watermelon story, don't consume the seeds for yourself. Invest and plant the best seeds into your next generations.

And Abraham generation, don't retire from your spiritual assignment. So what does this look like? Well, sit at tables with people who are older than you. Sit at tables with people who are younger than you. For those of you who are older, mentor someone who's younger. For those of you who are younger, serve people who are older. Serve in the next gen, somehow, some way, some shape, some form. Invite other generations into your life. Refuse to become spiritually and generationally isolated. Because Christianity wasn't designed in isolation, or even to be done digitally. It's passed on relationally and generationally. Big idea today? God intended for his church to be multi-generational, so that the gospel could be faithfully passed on from generation to generation. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for being the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thank you for every generation represented here in this church. Forgive us for the ways that we have isolated ourselves, judged one another, or maybe even neglected the generations around us. Lord, I pray that you would unite our hearts. Help the younger generation walk in humility and hunger. Help the middle generation walk in responsibility and purpose. And help the older generation walk in boldness and legacy. Lord, make Vertical Church a multi-generational house with an intergenerational family filled with honor, wisdom, truth, and the power of your Holy Spirit. Let faith continue strongly through every generation until Jesus comes back. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You