Greetings! Welcome to this month’s Bible study! This month’s Bible study is going to be a simple question: Which Generation are You? What do I mean? Well, in this study we’re gong to look at two verses in the Bible about two generations: A Generation Seeking God’s Will and a Generation Not Seeking God’s Will. Then we’ll look at some characteristics of these generations, what will happen to both of these generations, and ask the question: Which Generation Are You? **Dramatic pause** Sooo let’s get started!
In Psalm 24:6 the Bible says:
“ This is the generation of those that seek Him, who seek Your face - even Jacob. Selah”
This verse is talking about a generation who seek God and His face, thus this verse has been dubbed: The Generation Seeking God’s Will.
Now to contrast that, here is the other generation. The Bible says in Proverbs 30:11-14:
“ There is a generation who curses his father, and does not bless his mother. There is a generation who is pure in his own eyes, yet is not washed from his filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are his eyes! And their eyelids are raised up in arrogance. There is a generation, whose teeth like swords, and his jaw teeth like knives, to devour the afflicted from the earth, and the needy from among men.”
Now these verses have been dubbed: The Generation NOT Seeking God’s Will.
So now we have two generations: One seeking God’s will and one that’s not. So how can we tell which generation we are? Well, the Bible lays out the characteristics of both of these generations. So now let’s look at some of them and then you decide which generation you are.
Characteristics of the Generation Seeking God’s Will
Here are some of the characteristics of a generation seeking God’s will:
1. They Will be Saved
In Psalm 24:4 the Bible says that the generation seeking God’s will, will have “Clean hands and a pure heart”. Well, since obviously none of us qualify of having ‘clean hands and a pure heart’ because of sin, how can we get ‘clean hands and pure heart’? The only way on this earth that we’ll ever be able to have ‘clean hands and a pure heart’ before God, is to let Jesus’ blood wash over our dirty hands and heart thereby making them clean. So therefore, what this verse is saying is the generation seeking God’s will, will have asked Jesus to come into their lives and save them. So the generation seeking God’s will, will be saved.
2. They Will Have Made a True Conversion
In Psalm 24:4 the Bible says that the generation seeking God’s will, will “not have lifted up their soul to falsehood”. Falsehood could mean anything from bowing down to a false god, listening and believing lies about God, or maybe even denouncing the Christian faith all together. A prime example of this is the Israelites. The Israelites lifted up their souls to falsehood several of times every time they forsook God and worshiped other gods like Baal. Some of today’s falsehoods are Buddhism, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Evolution. So the generation that is seeking God’s will, will not lift their souls up to falsehoods, thereby showing that they have made a true conversion.
3. They Will Not Be Hypocrites
In Psalm 24:4 the Bible says that the generation seeking God’s will, will not have “sworn deceitfully”. So this means whenever this generation states something, that they will stick to it and not be wishy-washy. So, say you go up to a person and state that you’re a Christian and you promise that the Bible is true and you follow it, and then after that you go out and get drunk, cuss, or all a round sin. You have just sworn deceitfully. And by doing this it makes you out to be a hypocrite( Which you would be) and all other Christians out there to be one to. But, the generation seeking God’s will, will not do this. They will be honest and stick to what they say, not being hypocrites. So the generation seeking God’s will, will not promise deceitfully and not be hypocrites.
4. They Will Receive Blessings From God
In Psalm 24:4 the Bible says that the generation seeking God’s will, shall “receive blessings from the LORD”. Now you might ask, how is this compatible with the last Bible study about Enduring? I mean, if we suffer, how are we blessed? Well, it all depends how you look at it. We obviously aren’t God. Therefore, we won’t always understand why He sends us hard times. Hard times to us may look like negatives, while to God, they’re blessings! If you think about it, whenever God sends us a trial, He maybe testing us or chastising us to help us grow in Him. And in that aspect, trails are a blessing. And, of course, there is the other side when we don’t suffer and are blessed. So the generation seeking God’s will, will receive blessings from God, whether it be trials or just a regular blessing.
5. They Will be Righteous
In Psalm 24:5 the Bible says that the generation seeking God’s will, shall “receive righteousness from God”. Righteousness means: ‘acting in an upright and moral way’. People who we consider ‘righteous’ are people who are ‘upright and moral’ in the Lord Jesus Christ. And, as the verse states, God will give them righteousness. But how does God give ‘righteousness’? He gives it by sending things and people are way to test us, help our faith, and help us as Christians. Also, God’s given us an instruction manual full of ‘righteousness from God’. That manual is the Bible. So therefore, the generation seeking God’s will, will be righteous.
6. They Will Love Him (God)
In Psalm 24:6 the Bible says that the generation seeking God’s will, will ‘seek Him’. Why in the world would you seek someone you don’t love and care for unless you had to? Since this generation is ‘seeking His will’, they obviously love Him. But how can we show God we love Him? God tells us in John 14:5. In this verse, Jesus states that if you love Him and God, then you will obey Their commands. What commands? The ones laid out in the Bible. Here are a few: obeying God, witnessing, being loving, joyful, kind, caring, praying, staying away from sin, being in the world and not of it, reading your Bible, and these are just a few! So then, the generation seeking God’s will, will love Him and to show their love, they will obey Him.
Now since we’ve looked at the characteristics of the generation seeking God’s will, which these were just a few; let’s look at the characteristics of the generation NOT seeking God’s will, to contrast.
Characteristics of the Generation Not Seeking God’s Will:
1. They Will Curse Their Father and Not Bless Their Mother
In Proverbs 30:11 the Bible says that the generation not seeking God’s will, will “curse his father and not bless his mother”. Now what does it mean to ‘curse your father’? Well, there’s the obvious way of cursing, which is wishing harm or evil to someone. But also, if you wanted to curse someone, one way to do that is to live an immoral lifestyle. What do I mean? Well, one way to ‘curse your father and family’ is to give the family name a bad reputation. And the best way to do that is to disgrace the family by living an immoral lifestyle; contrary to what your parents and God wants you to live. In other words, rebellion. Also, the verse says that the generation not seeking God’s will, will not bless their mother. One way not to bless your mother is not to thank her for doing things for you. Like fixing you dinner, taking you to the game, loving and caring for you. And these are just a few. So the generation not seeking God’s will, will ‘curse his father and not bless his mother’.
2.They Will Be Pure in Their Own Eyes, But Be In Sin
In Proverbs 30:12 the Bible says that the generation not seeking God’s will, will be “pure in their own eyes but is not washed from his filthiness”. How many people do you know that are ‘pure’ and just fine in their eyes, but are drowning in their sin? I know a few. The generation not seeking God’s will, will think they’re just fine the way they are. In fact, they might say, they only get drunk on the weekends, don’t do to many ‘bad things’, and are a lot better then the next guy; therefore, they’re just fine. But what this generation fails to see is that when they say this, they’re saying it by human standards, not God’s. If you sin, you’re ‘filthy’ in God’s eyes, and that’s all that matters. So the generation not seeking God’s will, will be ‘pure in their own eyes, but be in terrible sin’.
3. They Will Be Proud and Arrogant
In Proverbs 30:13 the Bible says that the generation not seeking God’s will, will “lift his eyes in arrogance”. Arrogance means ‘a feeling of superiority’. The generation not seeking God’s will, will be proud. Why? Well, because they’ve done everything on “their own”. For instance, they climbed the cooperate ladder, they worked the long nights, and they did it all themselves without anyone’s help. Therefore, they will think very highly of themselves. Also, this generation will think highly of themselves because they’ve done everything on their own, without the help from ‘God’ or a ‘god’. They will think that the only people who need a God are the ‘sick, poor, and afflicted’, something they’re not because they’re ‘better’. So the generation not seeking God’s will, will be proud and arrogant.
4. They Will Not Love the Lord
We’ve already discussed that if you seek someone, you normally love them. Therefore, if you don’t seek someone, it’s usually because you don’t love them. Now since the generation not seeking God’s will is obviously not seeking God, we can conclude that they don’t love God. And since we obey God to show Him we love Him, since they don’t love Him, they won’t obey Him. This means that they will not read their Bibles, pray, go to church, witness, and do what God says to in the Bible. So the generation not seeking God’s will, will not love and obey Him.
Now since we have some characteristics of the generation seeking God’s will and the generation not seeking God’s will; the question arises: Which one are you?
Before you answer that, let’s look quick at what will happen to both of these generations.
What Will Happen to the Generation Seeking God’s Will:
In Psalm 24:3 the Bible says that whoever does these things, seeking God, and has given their life to Christ, a Christian; then they will ascend to the hill of the Lord. What is the hill of the Lord? Today we consider the ‘hill of the Lord’ to be heaven. So then, if you’ve given your life to Christ, and do what the Bible says, then you will God to heaven. But a quick question: What if you become saved and aren’t following God; will you still go to heaven? Keep reading for the answer.
What Will Happen to the Generation Not Seeking God’s Will:
To answer this, we have to realize that there are two generations not seeking God’s will: The saved and the unsaved. What will happen to the generation not seeking God’s will that is saved? First, if you’re saved and not living for the Lord, and not obeying His commands, then you’re living in sin and rebellion toward God. God gives us many of examples in the Bible about what He does to people who are His chosen, but rebel against Him. I.E. The Israelites. In the Israelite’s case, and ours today, the story is the same: People sin and rebel against God; they don’t repent; God gives these people over to their sin; God punishes these people for their sin; they realize there mistake and come back to the Lord. You might be at the beginning or end of this process or maybe somewhere in-between. Beware! Not only are you disobeying God, not only are you messing up your life and ruining God’s perfect plan for you, but you will be punished! It might be on this earth, or it maybe in heaven, but you will be punished if you don’t repent! But the question still stands: If you’re not following God and have been saved, will you go to heaven? The answer this is yes. BUT just because you get saved and are going to heaven doesn’t mean you can go and do whatever you want. It’s quite the contrary. Whenever you become saved you’re surrendering and giving your life to God. Therefore, since your life is God’s, why would you disobey Him and not listen to Him? But this is a whole other study. But be warned, if you are a Christian and you aren’t following God, you will be punished.
What will happen to the generation not seeking God’s will that isn’t saved? Well, all through the Bible God says that if someone doesn’t ask God to forgive them through Jesus’ blood and save them, that when they die, they will go and spend eternity in hell. Hell was not meant for you, but since God is a loving God, He gave us a freewill to choose were we go when we die: Heaven or Hell. The choice is yours: Paradise with the One who made everything, or eternal torment in hell.
Now since we’ve looked at the characteristics of these two generations and what will happen to them; the question is still there: Which generation are you? Are you the one who is faithfully serving and obeying God, and will be rewarded? Are you the one that is saved but will be punished because you’re in rebellion towards God, and will have nothing to show for this life when you get to heaven? Or are you the one who isn’t saved and if you were to die this second, you would go to hell and spend eternity in torment away from God? Which one are you? If you’re the two that aren’t serving and seeking God, I urge you and plead that you turn from you ways and give you life to God, whether it be the first time, or the millionth. Believe me, it’s worth it! And for the generation seeking and obeying God’s will, keep up the good work and never stop!
In conclusion, if you would like to make a decision concerning your life with God, whether it be rededication or salvation, please e-mail me or call this number: 1-888-NEED-HIM. And now, may God bless you unless you know that you’re out of His will.
