4 keys to influencing the next generation
Key Passage: Isaiah 1:9
Date: June 7, 2024
One, Isaiah chapter number one in God’s word this morning. Isaiah chapter number one. I’m watching the young people; they’re still awake right now. Miss Marlene, she’s fallen asleep twice, I think, already, but the young people stayed awake. I’m joking, of course. But Isaiah chapter number one in God’s word this morning.
For a bit, I want to talk about influencing the next generation. I want to focus on that theme a little bit in the month of June on Sunday mornings—the next generation. We’re going to take a roundabout way to get there, but the verse we are about to look at is a great encouragement to me when I think about our country, America.
Is there any hope left for America? It’s sad to see how our courts are weaponized in our day and time, isn’t it? Is there any hope for America? This verse is an encouragement to me when I think about our country. We’re going to start there, and then we’ll change gears and get down to the next generation. We’re going to start over in Isaiah chapter number one.
We’re going to look down in a verse. I don’t want to tell you the verse because you won’t listen to me anymore. We’ve got to keep them awake this morning. This whole section… I take for sure we’ve got to have volume to keep him awake there, and I’m joking, of course. But Isaiah 1, verse number 9, verse number 9. If you’re able, would you please stand as we read God’s Word together, just to show respect if you’re able?
Isaiah 1 and verse number 9 just gives me hope when it comes to America. The Bible there is talking about Israel, but the comparison to America I think is legitimate. It says, “Except the Lord of Hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom and we should have been likened to Gomorrah.”
Isn’t that interesting? Very small remnant. For a bit, we’re going to talk about influencing the next generation.
Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated.
It’s amazing as I study in the Bible; I see so often God, before He brings destruction or judgment on a nation, He looks at His people. Did you notice that verse there? A very small remnant.
We see the whole political scene, and that’s for sure. We ought to be involved. We have our other kind of coalition involved in politics, and voting is coming up. We ought to be involved in voting and all that. We’re called the salt and the light; we must be that in the political arena. But before God judges the nation, He really just kind of narrows His watch, if you will, down to His people—the very small remnant. If it wasn’t for that very small remnant trying to serve the Lord and do right, God said we’d be like Sodom and Gomorrah, completely wiped out.
You know the verse, a very familiar verse, especially around politics in the Bible, probably the most familiar one: Second Chronicles 7:14. If you know it, say it out loud. Here we go: “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.” For about a week, several years ago, I was discouraged, and I would just go say those words: hear, forgive, and heal. Hear, forgive, and heal. It encouraged me, and God’s still working in America.
Did you notice the key to that? “If my people, which are called by my name.” God often narrows His search before He brings destruction on a land, and He looks at His people. How is the very small remnant doing? He was going to bring judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. Remember that godly man that was praying over there in Genesis? Abraham, right? And Abraham said, “Don’t wipe out the righteous just because you’re going after the wicked.” He said if there are just 50—okay, 50—if there are just 50 there, then 45, 40, 30, all the way down to 10. If there are 10 righteous people, God says, “I won’t bring my judgment on the land.”
You see a pattern throughout the Bible. In my opinion, the last part of that chapter is a very good description of America. He starts off saying this in the last part of the chapter: It is a land that is not cleansed. Well, that’s America. We’ve got a lot of sin in our country, don’t we? Shame on us, by the way. A lot of filth and garbage and junk and immorality, drunkenness, and gambling. By the way, I’ve been wanting to get on this one for a bit here. It’s sad how this gambling… My wife and I have been watching the NBA playoffs a little bit. We’ve been watching to see if the Celtics are going to win it or not. Anyway, there are a couple of Christians on there, so I like it. But it’s amazing how much gambling advertisement there is. I’ve dealt with young people who should have money but never seem to have money, and I’m finding out it’s because they’re spending their money on gambling. How many Americans are getting caught up in gambling? What a sad thing in our country. I wanted to get on that because the Bible says, “He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.” You know that’s in the Bible? The faithful man shall abide with blessings. That guy just works hard, pays his bill, and at the end of the day, that’s the guy God blesses. It’s amazing how many people are in poverty many times because they’re gambling. Don’t get quiet on me.
God says it’s a land that’s not cleansed, but it’s not reigned upon in the day of indignation. That to me is America. We’re still a blessed country. We still have the freedom to come to church right here today and preach the Word of God, preach the truth, and preach against gambling or whatever may be, and I don’t feel anyone coming in to arrest me over it. It may happen in my lifetime, but right now, I feel free to do that. Praise the Lord. The land is not cleansed; we’re not reigned upon in the day of indignation. I’m thankful for God’s mercy.
I ask about part of that chapter, Ezekiel 22. You’ll know it when I say that. He says this: “And I sought for a man among them, to make up the hedge, and to stand in the gap before me for the land.” Here is a sad phrase in the Bible: “but I found none.” What a sad thing. It’s so narrow over there in Ezekiel 22 before He brings judgment on a nation. He says, if I can just find someone that will stand, make up the hedge, the fence, if you will, and stand in the gap before God—a man of prayer, a lady of prayer. But he says he didn’t find any, so His judgment did come on the nation of Israel.
Here’s what I’m getting at: God sees that pattern. Before He brings judgment on the nation, He asks, “Is there a very small remnant there? Is there a select group of young people? Is there a select group of people that still have a heart for God, who are willing to stand against the tide of the day and times? Is there someone that still honors the Bible, still prays, and is still a family raising those kids for the world? There are still some good, righteous people in this country.”
That’s been a help to me many times. Can I say this? As a whole, congratulations! You are the answer to America.
Praise the Lord for those people, whatever the quarter may be in America, that still make up the ten righteous in our country. Praise the Lord for you. I don’t want to beat you over the head; I want to say thank God for you. We’ll get to heaven one day, and those people that have criticized you will say, “Hey, thank you. You’re the one that kept America from being reigned upon in the day of indignation.” Thank you for your godly stand in our country.
But recently, I was reading in the New Testament, and I read where they were quoting back over here in Isaiah 1:9. I’ve never really noticed it before. Would you look over in Romans chapter 9? I want you to notice just a touch of a change. There is a reason for the change from Isaiah 1:9 to Romans 9. We’re going to focus on that change and what I believe God is trying to teach us. In Romans 9, look down to verse number 29. He is quoting or rehearsing what Isaiah said in Isaiah 1:9, but he changes just a touch, and I want you to see it.
If you’re in Romans 9:29, would you say amen? Good deal. You’re there. Here we go. As Isaiah said before (Isaiah 1:9), “Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left unto us a…” What’s the next word? Seed. Over there in Isaiah 1:9, he says a very small remnant. Over here he’s calling it a seed. “We should have been as Sodom, and we should have been likened to Gomorrah.”
Why did God change that word? A man that has a commentary on the Bible says this about that seed: In this place, it means a part, a small portion, a remnant, like the small portion of the harvest which is reserved for sowing. How many have ever had a garden in your backyard, some kind of garden, in your lifetime? Good. I remember my Granny Lee and my Uncle David. They always had one. Uncle David was somewhat disabled, and we would go over there and work in the garden for them. Granny was slick about it. She’d feed us good food, love on us, and have sweet tea. We’d come back with blisters on our hands. She knew what she was doing. She got work out of us boys. At the end of the season, Uncle David would say, “All right, that ear of corn right there, or that little batch of green beans right there, or that squash is rotten—we’re going to get the seed out of that, and we’re going to save that seed for next year.” Back in the day, they didn’t have co-op. You couldn’t go to Walmart. They didn’t have home garden supplies. Those old-timers saved seed for next year. That’s what God over here in Romans 9:29 is talking about. You would have been wiped out like Sodom and Gomorrah if it wasn’t for that very small remnant, that seed.
Why does God narrow His focus down from the political arena to His people? Because He wants to use His people to spread His life and be a seed to other people. Specifically, we’re going to narrow it down to that seed, because those older folks, we’re going to be gone one day. But that next generation—the seed—who is going to raise the next generation of kids? The kids being taught about Jesus today? They are the seed in many ways. God is saying, “I’m concerned about my people because it’s through my people that I shine my life to other people.” If I don’t have any of my people, I have no chance of shining through someone to reach that generation. But if there is a seed, specifically talking about the next generation, God says, “I can use that next generation to make a difference in that generation.” If there is no seed, God says, “Oh boy, my judgment is coming because I have no seed for the next generation.” You understand the importance of reaching the next generation in our generation.
I want to talk about influencing the next generation. I’m so thankful if you’re a part of our youth ministry—whether it be nursery, kindergarten, or teenagers. Thank you to all of our workers, our bus workers, and all the different workers, because you are planning and training the seed for the next planting season. Not only that, the most important thing: thank you to the families. Thank you because, as God’s original plan is, the family is to train their seed to be able to one day plant another seed. Someone said you find out how good a parent you were not by how your children turn out, but by how your children raise your grandchildren.
We must influence the next generation for the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, June 2nd, 2024, God says there is enough of a very small remnant, and He’ll spare America for today. But what about the next generation? Will there be a seed seen over there or not?
I’m thankful for those who work on our bus ministry. It’s a lot of work. They are typically the first ones here on a Sunday morning and typically the last ones to leave. When they come in, their ties are straight, but by the time it’s done, their ties are hanging down to their knees because those kids have been swinging on them. It’s vital that we reach and influence that next generation. Let me give you just four thoughts on that real quickly this morning: four keys to the influence of the next generation.
Look over real quickly, just a quick verse. Look over in John 17, verse number 17. He says, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
If we’re going to influence the next generation, we must have some kind of absolute truth—something that doesn’t change. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Praise the Lord for the Word, the truth that doesn’t change.
If I’m floating down a river on a raft and there’s a waterfall down there where I’m going to get killed, and there’s another boat or raft floating down there too, I’m not going to grab hold of it. They might be going a little slower; that may help me temporarily, but it ain’t going to happen long term because it’s going down the same stream.
But if there’s a log sticking up out of the water, or there’s a boat that’s anchored there in the middle of that stream, and it is not moving—it is anchored to something that will not move—then I’m willing to hop off my little canoe, my little raft, whatever, and get over there because I find something that will not change by the tides and the waves and the current. It’s just standing where it’s always stood.
The next generation, with all the changing, needs people that say, “You know what? I know what the polls are saying, I know what they say about us, but I really don’t care. I’m going to stand before God one day. I will not be judged by what the polls say. I’ll be judged by that book right there.” I have the absolute truth. This is what God says. God has the right to say what right and what wrong is, and I’m going to stick by that book. That’s very important if I’m going to truly make a difference and influence the next generation.
I’m saddened sometimes, perhaps this is just a personal observation, that the older generation sometimes goes by what the younger generation says. It’s surprising. Advertising agencies years ago would say they target the youth because if they can get the youth doing something, everybody follows. Something doesn’t seem right about that. What about the older generations saying, “You know what? I found truth, and I’m just not going to change”?
Homosexuality is one of the big things in our day and time—same-sex marriage. The polls are saying this, and the majority says this. Well, somebody’s got to say, “You know what? The Bible says, ‘Thou shalt not lie with a man as with a man; it is an abomination unto the Lord.’” Where do you get that from? From absolute truth. What does that come from? God.
I don’t care what some of the sports people say, LeBron James. But I care what God says. Somebody’s just got to say, “You know what? I know I’m an oddball. I know I stick out like a sore thumb, but I just believe God said that, and I’m just going to go with what God said.”
Spanking children. When I say spanking children, I’m not talking about out of anger, slapping your child—that’s not right. I’m not talking about beating them black and blue. I’m talking about in a proper manner. You say, “Go to your room.” When they go to the room, you chill a little bit before you go in there and beat them half to death. You take a chill pill, and then you go in that room a little while later and say, “Look, you’re not the worst kid in the world, but we are not going to have this lying in this household.”
Can I remind you of God’s Word? I’ve been around a lot longer than YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. My dad used to say, “I’m going to give you something, boy.” He’d always call me a boy. I’d say, “I’m never going to call my son boy.” Proverbs 29:15 says, “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” The Bible says, in the right way, the right manner, you’re giving them wisdom. “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.”
That’s what God said, not Dr. Spock or some philosopher. Somebody has to say, “We’re not doing it because our generation did that; this generation doesn’t do that.” Forget about all the generations. God said that. Somebody has to say, “I believe I have the absolute truth, and I’m not going to change.” At least they know where to come back to because you haven’t changed all over the place. They know where you stand and why you stand.
The Bible talks about modest apparel in First Timothy. It says, “Let the women adorn themselves in modest apparel.” Somebody says, “Well, that has to do with their attitude.” The Bible says modest apparel. That’s the word. The fads get a little bit tighter, a little bit looser, a little bit lower, a little bit higher. Friends, the Bible still says modest apparel. We’re not going to go by popularity; we have the absolute truth, and that’s what we’re going to go by.
If they see us change anytime they want, you know what we’re telling them? There is no absolute truth because we’re changing with you. Instead of somebody saying, “You know what? I’ve got this pole in the water, and it’s just not moving.” The current is flowing, but that pole has been there for years and it’s just not moving, and I’m going to hold on to that pole.
I think it was Sunday night pretty soon here we’re going to talk about why we use the King James Version in our church. That’s why it’s so very important that we have a Bible that doesn’t change. It’s been around 400 years. About every six months or a year, they come out with a new version. The NIV, the most popular of the new versions, has already changed three times since 1978 or ’79.
Ronald Reagan said this about that issue—and I’m not trying to be anybody over here about that issue—but I thought I’d mention it this morning. Reagan said, “What would you say if someone decided Shakespeare’s plays, Charles Dickens’ novels, or the music of Beethoven could be rewritten and improved?” If I don’t have an absolute truth, I’m saying to the next generation, we’ll just go with the polls, the popularity, whatever you feel. In the book of Judges, that man did that which was right in his own eyes, and boy, it went downhill.
My wife and I years ago got to go to California. We had visitors who used to live in California. They said there used to be good people in California, but they moved out. I liked it there, and I believe they moved for the right reasons. We went to the Ronald Reagan Library and stayed all day long. One of the things I really liked was a glass case containing the Bible that Ronald Reagan was sworn in on twice. It was his mom’s Bible. It was a King James Bible, open to Second Chronicles 7:14. Someone had written in the margin, “Great verse for a nation.” I thought, praise the Lord, someone put that man on absolute truth. He wasn’t perfect, for sure, but he held on to that pole in many ways, and America stayed a little bit closer to that pole because of that. If I’m going to influence the next generation, I must have something I believe is truth.
Number one, we must hold on to absolute truth. Number two, look over in Deuteronomy, chapter number six. I want you to see a verse talking about teaching the next generation truth. Notice where God tells us to teach them. Look over in Deuteronomy chapter six, verse number seven. He says, “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.”
That covers when you’re inside your house, when you’re outside your house, in the morning time, and at night time. Here’s what I’m getting at: Children spell love, T-I-M-E. That’s time. I must have a relationship with them. Listen to this: Rules without relationship often lead to rebellion.
How are we supposed to compete with all the social networks and the phones and the TikToks? They bombard the public school system. Relationships are key. He said, I want you to teach your children morning time, night time, inside your house, and when you’re out—that’s your spending time with them. More is caught than is taught.
I’ve already talked about spanking; it’s biblical. But I remember the day when one of my children said, “Dad, it hurts me worse than the spanking when you say you’re disappointed in me.” I thought, praise the Lord, we’re getting somewhere. Because one day they’re going to be bigger than me, and I won’t be able to spank them. But we’ll still have the relationship.
I love our youth director and his wife spending time with those kids. They spent all that time building relationships. So when he gets up on Sunday morning and teaches something from the Bible, they are much more apt to listen because of the relationship. Relationships are so vital. If we are going to influence the next generation, we must work at building a relationship with them.
Besides my parents, I’m very thankful for good and godly parents. But I think about two men that influenced me a lot in my younger years: my Uncle David, whom I mention often, and my coach, Coach Crosby. They influenced me because they built a relationship with me. We hung around a lot; we did a lot together. That’s why coaches are so very influential—you build a relationship when you’re battling together to win games. If you’re going to influence the next generation, parents, you must spend time with them.
James Boswell, a famous writer, always talked about a day he remembered: the day his dad took him fishing. That was a big day in his life. Someone was able to look up James Boswell’s dad’s journal. It’s very sad what his dad wrote about that day. His dad wrote: “Go on fishing today with my son—a day wasted.” How sad. A day wasted. And yet that was the day his son talked about for years—a day his dad was building a relationship with him.
Well, someone was able to go to James Boswell’s dad, his journal, his diary, and look up that day. It’s very sad what his dad wrote about that day. His dad missed it. This is what he wrote: “Go on fishing today with my son, a day wasted.” How sad? A day wasted. And yet that was the day that his son talked about for years and years—a day his dad was building a relationship with him.
I think about John Fontaine, a good man of our church who is in heaven now. Everybody knew John Fontaine; he was a fisher. Sometimes I’d ask him, “Brother Fontaine, could you spend some time with this young man?” John Fontaine would take those young men out fishing with him. Brother Fontaine was a good, godly man, but he was able to build a relationship with these young men, and he influenced them. I think about his granddaughter; he led his granddaughter to the Lord, I think out fishing, right? His granddaughter has six boys now, and she’s raising them all in church. Praise the Lord grandpa built a relationship.
We’ve got to hurry along very quickly. Number one, you’ve got to have an absolute truth. Number two, have a relationship with them. Number three, we’re going to be real quick here. If I’m going to influence the next generation, if they’re going to be a seed in that next generation, they need us to have an honest or authentic Christian life in front of them.
They say Generation Z and Generation Alpha have seen so many times on social networks people that look wonderful, but then they see them in school or down the road in real life, and they’re like, “Wow. Man, they look so good online, but in reality, they’re pretty messed up.” They have filters nowadays that make you look 10, 15 years younger. They’ve seen enough where they are looking for authenticity—they’re looking for the real deal.
There is not a perfect Christianity in all the world. Christians, excuse me—Christianity is perfect, but Christians sure aren’t. But if we’re hypocritical, they’ve seen enough of that. How many of you, back in the day, were the best basketball player, soccer player, football player, or baseball player? We’ve got a couple of men out here who are honest about that. Back in the day, we were all that. But if we watch the replay, maybe we weren’t all that.
John grew up in a household where my wife was good about lifting her husband up to the kids, so John thought he was everything. We used to play basketball all the time, me and John. I remember the first couple of times that we lost, and I thought, I told my wife, “I think it’s good for John to see Dad doesn’t win everything. In reality, you lose sometimes, and you don’t lose your cool or get a bad attitude; you just say, ‘Hey, next time.’”
There’s just something about authenticity. No, we’re not the best. Yes, I have problems in my Christian life; I struggle sometimes too, but I love the Lord, and I’m still trying to serve Him. My son said one time, how many of you battle sometimes over movies? Should I watch that or not? We would go through that as a family. I remember one time we decided, “Let’s just not watch it.” John told me later on, “Dad, I’m glad you said no, because I didn’t want to have to listen to you the next morning come out and tell the whole family, ‘I’m sorry, we shouldn’t have watched that. It’s my fault.’”
This is true, and it’s kind of funny, but it’s true. On the other hand, at least he saw a dad who could say, “Hey, I messed up last night.” They don’t need a perfect Christian—there’s no such thing—but they need someone that’s real and authentic and honest about the situations.
Number four, if we’re going to influence the next generation, we must have absolute truth we’re holding on to, we must have a relationship with them, we must be honest or have authenticity about us, and then number four, they must see God is real in your life.
I can’t pass something down to these guys unless I have it in my heart. If I’m not living it, if it’s not real to me, more is caught than is taught. If I’m not holding on to it, I won’t be very good at passing it down. I’m amazed how children pick up on the heart of the parent, even if the parent is teaching the right things.
They’ve got to see God’s real in my life. I was talking to someone recently about their family, and they said, “Yes, there were issues, but I knew that my parents loved the Lord.” I sing praise the Lord for those parents. They had their issues like we all do, but that child knew Mom and Dad truly loved the Lord.
I grew up in a home where, before I was born, my dad had quit a good job and moved up to Tennessee so he could go to Bible College. Every Bible college student in the world is poor. I’m thankful for the tough times financially because there were times God really just had to come through for our family financially—something tangible. As a little boy, I watched that. We had an old car with three good tires. We didn’t have money for another tire. We started praying for a tire. I was walking down the railroad tracks, hunting for pop bottles, and I looked down in the ditch, and there was something black. It was a brand new tire—the exact size we needed. As a little boy, I still remember today, God was real to my family.
It’s not just a ritualistic thing. There is really a God we’re serving here. Remember the time we were going through a financial tough time, and I was playing with the kids behind the creek? God spoke to a Christian family, and they gave my mom and dad a check for $100. For me, it was $10,000. I went home and gave that check to Mom and Dad, and I knew God was real. I’m thankful I went through those times as a boy to see God real in my family.
If we’re going to influence that next generation, we’ve got to have some absolute truth. I’m not just doing it because Grandma did it; I’m doing it because God said it. No matter what better ideas they come out with, I’m holding on to the absolute truth.
Relationship is so key—spending time. Brother Joel was telling me he had a blast fly fishing with his son. He was just spending a day with his son. He’s building a relationship. It’s vital. They need authentic Christianity. Nobody’s perfect, but that’s all right. It’s all right to say, “I’m sorry.” And then they just need to see God is real to you. You serve a real, living God.
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes, please?
Maybe here this morning, you say, “I need to hold on to the truth. I need to make sure I’m grounded, not just in what I’ve always done, but grounded in the absolute truth.” If that’s you, you just slip up your hand to the preacher. That truth doesn’t change. God bless you.
Maybe you hear and you say, “I need to work at building a relationship with the next generation so I could influence them.” If that’s you, slip up your hand. That’s vital.
Maybe you say, “I just think I have to be perfect. I realize I don’t have to be perfect; I need to be authentic, real.” If that’s you this morning, slip up your hand. That’s so vital.
Maybe you hear this morning and say, “I don’t know if God’s real in my life because I’ve never been saved. I need to accept Him as my personal Savior.” If that’s you this morning, would you please stand?
Maybe you just want to come and pray, “Lord, use me to influence the next generation.” Would you come just spend some time with the Lord Jesus Christ? Father, thank you for looking at the seed, the very small remnant. Father, I do pray that you would use this very small remnant to reach a seed and to be a seed for the next generation. Use us for that purpose, Father, please. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
We received a letter, and I don’t want to say too much. A young lady used to ride the bus to our church. Her parents came for a while, and I think her dad got saved here. She wrote us after years of not seeing her. She hit rock bottom, and she remembered Jesus. At rock bottom, she turned to Jesus, and she said, “Jesus, you’ve got to help me get out of this; I’m so messed up.” She said she is in church now, married, and has kids. Praise the Lord, someone invested in her and built a relationship with her. It took years, but when the time was right, God brought all those things back up. Someone had absolute truth—Jesus—and she reached out to Him, and it changed her life. Praise the Lord for that. Thank you for being part of a church family that stands for the truth. You are the answer to America.
Original File: Pastor Paul Chisgar - 4 Keys to influencing the next Generation - Sunday AM 06022024