(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Thank you very much for being here. Have you ever felt like the guy that read the scripture for you should probably be doing the preaching? Because I have. But I appreciate you being here tonight. And I want to say thank you, of course, to Pastor Anderson for having me and my family out here and to Brother Corbin for inviting us out. I'm really excited about this, when I found out about this church in Tucson and the plant getting started and all of that. And I'll tell you that I'm really happy about Brother Corbin and Miss Shelley leading that church plant. Brother Corbin and I, I don't know that we know each other very well. We're becoming friends. But I've been watching him from afar and I'll tell you I have a lot of respect for him. He's a great man and I'm happy that he's leading this. He's doing a great job as a deacon. Miss Shelley has done a wonderful job of taking care of us here and getting everything ready for us. So we really appreciate all of that and just thank you, thank you for coming out. Tonight I want to preach a sermon entitled Lessons for First Generation Christians. And something that I'm excited about with our church and churches like ours is that we are doing a very good job at reaching new Christians. I grew up in the old IFB world where there was just kind of a lot of transfer of members where people were just kind of going from this church to that church but there wasn't a lot of new blood coming in. And what I love about churches like Faithful Word Baptist Church and Verity Baptist Church is that we're constantly reaching new people but when you reach new Christians there are some things, some lessons that they need to learn and they need to understand. And just for my own curiosity I'd like to ask and maybe you haven't heard that term before, a first generation Christian. Here's how I define that term. A first generation Christian is a Christian who did not grow up in a Christian home. And maybe you went to church or things like that but you couldn't really say I grew up as a Christian or I grew up in a Christian home. And you're kind of as an adult pioneering in the Christian life. And I'd like to ask just for my own curiosity, just raise your hands if you are a new generation Christian, a first generation Christian and you can look around and see that many of you are first generation Christians. Now for those of you that are not and you grew up in a Christian home realize that whenever you open up God's Word it can apply to you but also I want you to know that tomorrow night I'm preaching a sermon called Lessons for Second Generation Christians. So we're going to get you and all the lessons you need to learn and understand. But I want to talk about these first generation Christians. And you know as I was thinking about this sermon and I was kind of thinking about the Bible I was thinking about what would be or who would be a good example of a first generation Christian. Now we know the term Christian is a New Testament term and we understand that. But I thought Abraham is probably the best example of someone who was a first generation believer a first generation follower of God, someone who literally pioneered the faith not just for himself and his family but for all of us. And what I'd like to do tonight is I'd like to just kind of look at the life of Abraham and give you some thoughts in regards to lessons for first generation Christians and just some things that those of you who are, you didn't grow up in a Christian home you got saved by either somebody knocking on your door or you watched a video and maybe you watched several videos, you watched a documentary, you got saved you started coming to church, you moved here, things like that. There are some lessons that you're going to have to learn and understand if you're going to succeed in life. So first of all tonight I want to give you six thoughts in regards to this. And the first one is this. A first generation Christian will need to be willing to separate from friends and family. Notice there in Genesis chapter 12 and verse 1 one of the biggest things that Abraham is known for, the Bible says this Now the Lord had said unto Abraham get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house unto a land that I will show thee. And here's what you need to understand. If you're a first generation Christian tonight, you didn't grow up in a Christian home you didn't grow up under a Christian influence, you didn't grow up in an environment that was doing what you're doing now and going down the road you're going now you need to get to the point where you're at least willing, and maybe you won't have to but where you're willing to separate from friends and family because what I've learned over the last nine years of pastoring a church is that first generation Christians are often hindered by their old associations. And it is those old friends and sometimes even that family that will drag you back into that old life. Now keep your place there in Genesis, that's our text for tonight. Go to the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 10 and look at verse number 34. Notice what the Bible says in Matthew 10, 34. And this is the first book in the New Testament, should be fairly easy to find. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 34, the Lord Jesus Christ said this Think not that I am come to send peace on earth, I came not to send peace but a sword. He says, for I am come to set a man at variance against his father and the daughter against her mother and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man's foes shall be they of his own household. And we need to understand this that probably some of the fiercest arguments and the fiercest attacks against your new walk and we're talking about a Christian who not only gets saved but begins to grow in the Lord and walk with the Lord is probably going to come from your family. It's probably going to be your mom, your dad, your mother-in-law, your father-in-law, your brother, your sister, your in-laws, whatever. It's probably going to be those people who are going to give you the most criticism when you start making decisions like moving all the way to Arizona to go to a church, when you start showing up for Sunday night service and Wednesday night service, when you pull your kids out of school and start homeschooling them, it's probably going to be your family who gives you the most attacks and the most criticism for those decisions. And here's all you need to understand. If you're going to succeed in the Christian life, you're going to have to be willing to fight some battles. And here's the truth. They are some battles that those of us who grew up as second generation Christians will not have to fight. I grew up in a Christian home. I've been an independent funeral Baptist my whole life. My testimony is similar to Pastor Anderson's growing up in a Christian home and having our parents lead us to salvation and things like that. I never had to fight the battle of separating from worldly family or separating from family. I never had to fight the battle of we're not going to this event because there's going to be drinking and alcohol. We're not going to this event because the fag uncle is going to be there. We didn't have to fight those battles. Those battles were fought for us by the first generation. But those of you who are first generation, who've got kids sitting next to you in this camp tonight, you need to realize that it is your job to fight that battle on your family's behalf. And you need to be willing. And it doesn't mean you hate your family. It doesn't mean you can't be kind to them. But it means that you must be willing, like Abraham, to get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from my Father's house if you're going to follow the Lord. In verse 38 he says this, Jesus, and he that taketh not his cross and falleth after me is not worthy of me. And here's the truth. This may be a cross you need to bear where you must be willing to separate from friends and family. Go back to Genesis chapter 12. Let me show you something else in verse 1. Not only as a first generation Christian will you need to be willing to separate from friends and family, but secondly tonight you as a first generation Christian will need to be able to walk by faith and not by sight. And let me just, you know, kind of bring that home a little better. You're going to have to be able to walk by faith and not experience. Notice what the Bible says there in Genesis 12 and verse 1. Now the Lord had said unto Abraham, get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from my Father's house unto a land that I will show thee. I want you to notice that God told Abraham, you're going to go into a land and I'm going to show you the land. You're going to start walking. You're going to start a journey and I'm going to show you the land that you're going to end up in. In Hebrews chapter 11 we get a little insight into the story if you'd go there with me. Hebrews chapter number 11 towards the end of the New Testament. If you start at the end you've got Revelation, then Jude, 32nd and 1st John, 2nd and 1st Peter, James, Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 8. And you know when you study the Bible, the best way to study the Bible is to allow the Bible to be its own commentary. Allowing the Bible to give insight into its own stories is the best way to get the most out of scripture. And in Hebrews 11, 8 we kind of get that a little bit. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 8, the Bible says this, By faith Abraham, when he was called to go into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out. But notice, you say, where's the faith come in? You know, was the faith that he obeyed? Was the faith that he went out? The faith was that he obeyed, notice the last part of verse 8, not knowing whether he went. See, God said, go to a land, where am I going to go? I'll show you. But Abraham did not know. He went not knowing whether he went. And this is why he's known as the father of faith. He walked by faith, literally walked out of his hometown, his home country, his family, everything he knew, everything he'd grown up with. And he walked out to a new land by faith, not by sight. And you say, well, how does this apply to you and I? And here's how it applies to those of you that are first generation Christians. As you begin to go to a church like the church you go to, as you begin to learn biblical concepts like the ones that you're learning, there's going to be some things that you're going to be asked to do that you have no experience with. See, it wasn't hard for me to decide that when I had children, when my wife and I had children, we were going to spank our children. You know why? Because I grew up in a home where I got spanked. And I know firsthand it works. I know that spanking works. You say, why? Because I grew up in that home. There was no faith required there. It was something I'd experienced. It was something I'd seen. I knew it worked. But see, some of you, you may have grown up in a home where you never got spanked. It was time outs and it was groundings and it was yelling and it was never that spanking like the Bible says. And maybe you had to make a decision and say, well, we're going to do what the Bible says with our children. But you've never experienced it. You just by faith have to believe that it's true. By faith you have to be. You say, well, I grew up going to a public school. I grew up in some sort of schooling and pulling out my kids to homeschool. That's new for me. You as a first generation Christian are going to have to learn to walk by faith and not by sight or experience. You're going to have to just take the Bible at its word. You're going to have to take God at his word. You're going to have to say, you know what? This is new for me. This is a new concept. We've never done marriage like this. We've been married and this whole time it's been kind of 50-50. And that's just what the world taught us and that's just what the world said. And now we're going to church and we're learning that the husband should lead and the wife should submit, that the husband should love his wife and the wife should reverence. And that's new for us. But here's what you need to know. Whether you've experienced it, whether you grew up in a home where that was modeled for you or not, you as a first generation Christian must decide to walk by faith and say, I never saw that. I didn't see that in my home. Maybe you grew up in a broken home. You can say, I never saw that model. We've never done it that way. But as a first generation Christian, you must be willing not only to separate from friends and family, but you must be willing and able to walk by faith and not by sight and not by experience. See, you didn't have to sell me on soul winning. I grew up soul winning. I've been soul winning since I could walk. I've been soul winning since before I was saved. I grew up with a family. I went soul winning. I've experienced it. For some of you, you say, I've never done it before. Does it really work? Look, if it's in the Bible, it works. If it's God's word, it works. And you're going to have to just, you know, we're talking about things that first generation Christians have to kind of struggle with and figure out and decide that maybe second generation Christians don't and second generation Christians have their own problems and their own issues and we're going to talk to them tomorrow night. But let me say this, to those of you that are first generation Christians, learn to walk by faith and not by sight and not by experience. Learn to obey not knowing whether you go. Number three, go back to Genesis chapter 12 if you would. Look at verse number four. I said number one tonight, first generation Christians need to be willing to separate from friends and family. Number two, they must be willing to walk by faith and not by sight or experience. Number three tonight, first generation Christians will need to be willing to serve God starting at an old age and just forgetting the past. Notice what the Bible emphasizes about Abraham. Genesis 12 verse 4. So Abraham departed as the Lord had spoken unto him and Lot went with him and Abraham was seventy and five years old when he departed out of heaven. You'll find in the Bible that what's often emphasized about Abraham was his age. You say why? Because he was old. He was older. He was seventy-five years old when he went out by faith, when he became a believer, when he began to walk with God. Go to Genesis 17. Look at verse 1. Genesis chapter 17 and verse 1. Genesis 17 says this, and Abraham, notice again what's emphasized, was ninety years old and nine. He was ninety-nine years old. The Lord appeared to him, excuse me, the Lord appeared to Abraham and said unto him, I am the almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect. You'll find that with Abraham, this first generation Christian, this first generation believer, that he was willing to serve God and to begin to serve God and begin to walk with God at an older age. And here's all you need to understand. Those of you that are first generation Christians, there's going to be some scriptures that don't apply to you. There's going to be some scriptures that they're just not going to be an encouragement to you. In fact, there may be some scriptures that when your pastor or your church leader or your spiritual leader, your deacon preaches on them, they might bring a little bit of guilt or they might bring a little bit of shame or they might bring a little bit of regret and just realize there are going to be some texts, some scriptures, some stories, some thoughts in the Bible that as a first generation Christian, they may just not apply to you. Ecclesiastes 11, 9, you don't have to turn there, but it may just not rejoice, O young man, in thy youth and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth. That might not apply to you. Just realize that. Just be okay with that. Remember, now thy creator in the days of thy youth, Ecclesiastes 12, 1, that might not apply to you. Let no man despise thy youth may not apply to you. And that from a child that has known the Holy Scriptures, that may not apply to you. That may not be a verse that is going to bring you a lot of encouragement. That may not be a verse that is going to apply to you. In fact, it may be a verse that will make you feel bad or make you feel guilty or make you have some regrets when you hear those sermons about serving God with your youth. And you might sit there and say, ah, I wish I wouldn't have wasted those years. I wish I wouldn't have wasted my teenage years or my early 20s or my 30s or whatever it might be. Just realize this, as a first generation Christian, you need to be willing to start at an older age to serve God. And here's the key, and forget the past. You know what, remembering God in the days of the youth, that might not apply to you. But here's what might apply to you, forgetting those things which are behind. Here's what might apply to you, redeeming the time. Here's what might apply to you, is that I need to just get to work. I need to do what I can. I need to begin now. Hey, be encouraged by a man like Abraham who is 75 years old and willing to step out by faith, to lead, to pioneer, and to bring his family and to literally create a new legacy for himself, for his family, and for all of us. Matthew chapter 20, if you could go there, we were just in Matthew not too long ago. Matthew chapter 20. You know what, I'm not a first generation Christian. I'm a second generation Christian and really, depending on how you look at it, I'm a second generation Christian on my dad's side. I'm a third generation Christian on my mom's side. My dad got saved in his 30s and got married to my mother and began to walk with the Lord. My mom grew up in a Christian home. My grandfather was actually a Baptist preacher. I've been in Christianity and I've been doing this. I may have a different story. I may have a different context than you. You say, what do I do with my past for getting those things which are behind? See, Paul, a first generation Christian, would say, hey, I press toward the mark and I just don't worry about it. And you know what, if you're a first generation Christian here tonight and you've maybe kind of beat yourself up a little bit or just had some regrets and said, man, I wish, and there's nothing wrong with saying I wish I would have heard this preaching 10 years ago. I wish I would have learned these things five years ago. I wish I would have had this exposure 20 years ago. But if it's something that's kind of causing you to get depressed or discouraged, you know, in Matthew chapter 20, there is a great parable that you need to just own for your life. If I was a first generation Christian, I would make this my text. I would make this my verse. I would make this my parable. In Matthew chapter 20, and I won't take the time to go through the whole story, but you've got the story where the master of the house, he goes out to find laborers and he finds different laborers at different times during the day and he hires certain people in the morning and then a few hours later he hires another group and a few hours later he hires another group. And then at the end, when there's just one hour left in the working day, he hires another group. And then when you get to the payday time, when you get to the paycheck time, when you get to the time where everybody's going to get paid for their labor, Matthew chapter 20 verse 12, the Bible says this, saying these last, because what happened was that he gave the master of the house, he gave everybody the same pay. He paid them all the same wage and those who started working earlier in the day, they began to complain. That's what we see in verse 12 saying, these last have wrought but one hour and thou has made them equal unto us which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them and said, friend, I do thee no wrong. And you know, that's an interesting thought. You ought to dwell on that for a while. And this isn't a first generation, second generation Christian, this thing, this is just a Christian thing. You know that God never, God is never doing you wrong when he does right by others. You know that God never, he's never doing you wrong when he blesses others. You know that your Christian brother getting the job, getting the raise, buying the house, getting the vehicle, you know that God's blessing upon others is never him doing you wrong. But that's often how we take it, isn't it? Often we look at God blessing others as some sort of an attack on us and here Jesus kind of highlights that and he says, look, friends, I do thee no wrong. Didst thou, didst not thou agree? And let me just go ahead and say this and I'm not necessarily preaching on this parable, but sometimes people will ask questions about this parable and they're like, I don't really get what's going on in this parable. I don't really understand it because it kind of doesn't seem fair, right? They worked one hour, these other guys worked 12 hours and they got paid the same wage. You say, what's the deal? Here's the key to understanding this parable. It's in verse 13, didst not, he's talking to the guys that worked 12 hours. He says, didst not thou agree with me for a penny? See, if you go back and you look at the parable, you know what happens? Is that early in the morning he goes out and he hires the laborers and he says, hey, I'd like you to come work for me. And they say, well, how much are you paying? How much are we going to get paid? We'll go work for you, but we need to know how much we're going to get paid. And he says, well, how about a penny a day? And they obviously thought that was fair. They thought that was fine. They thought that was right. And they said, sure, we'll go ahead and work for you for a penny a day. And then he goes out and he hires the other guys three hours later, six hours later, nine hours later, 11 hours later, but he doesn't agree with them. He says, hey, come work for me. How much are you paying? Just work for me. I'll make it worth it. Okay, we'll work by faith. And at the end of the day, the guys that worked one hour, they got paid 12 hours worth. And he says, friends, I do thee no wrong. Didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is and go thy way. I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil because I am good? And here's the key, verse 16. So the last shall be first and the first last, for many are called, but few chosen. Pastor Jimenez, I'm a first generation Christian. I got saved kind of later in life and I have a lot of regrets. I wish there was things that I could have done. Let me tell you something. Make this your life verse. The last shall be first and the first last. And God can take the time that you have and God can take the time that you've given him. If you give it to him out of a genuine heart, if you give it to him in faith saying, you know what, I don't have much, but what I have, I'll give it to you. And God can bless you and God will reward you. And you might find that you get rewarded the same way as other people who've been doing this from their youth, but they were doing it under certain conditions. They were doing it as long as certain things happened, as long as God did certain things for them. You know what? As a first generation Christian, you must be willing to serve God starting at an older age and just forget about the past. And you say, well, what about the future? I don't have much time to get, just let God deal with that. You just work. You just redeem the time. You just begin to serve God now. And here's what I'm telling you, God will make it worth your while. Number four, go back to Genesis chapter 14. Genesis chapter 14. What are some lessons for first generation Christian? Let me give you the fourth lesson. As a first generation Christian, you need to be willing to fight battles that you otherwise would not have fought. Notice what the Bible tells us about Abraham in Genesis 14 and verse 14. And when Abraham heard that his brother was taken captive, this is talking about Lot. Remember, Lot is now, has been taken captive with Sodom and those different places. And when Abraham heard of it, notice what he did. He armed his trained servants, born in his own house, 318, and pursued them unto them. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants by night, and smote them and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he wins that battle and he brings Lot back. And here's what you need to understand. I don't think Abraham would have had to fight this battle if he was still in the Ur of the Chaldees. I don't think Abraham would have had to fought this battle if he was still in Haran. I think Abraham had to fight this battle for one reason, because he was a first generation Christian who was out there by faith, serving God, and now all of a sudden, now all of a sudden, there are some battles he needs to fight, there are some things, notice, he had to prepare. He armed his trained servants, born in his house. And by the way, that's a great sermon right there. You say, what do we do in the Christian life? Well, take that formula and reverse it, born in his house. You know what FWBC Tucson needs to do? You need to go out and find some born in your house Christians, some born again Christians. You say, what do we do with our born in our house Christians? We arm them and train them, and then we put them on the battlefield. We put them out to fight. You say, why? Look, now, now that Abraham is a first generation Christian in Haran, in the Ur of the Chaldees, hey, he was comfortable, there was peace, there was other people, other armies, other people protecting him. But now he finds that he has to train, he has to prepare, he has to engage. There are some battles he's going to have to fight. Go to 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy chapter 2, towards the end of the New Testament, you've got all those T books that are all clustered together. 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Titus. If you can find 2 Timothy chapter 2, and look at verse 3. You may not know this, but when you got saved, you got enlisted into the army of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you got placed into a battle that you would not have been a part of if you weren't that first generation Christian. 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 3. Thou, therefore, endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him, don't miss this, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. You say, I didn't choose the battle, but the battle chose you. I didn't choose the battle, but the general chose you. I didn't choose the battle, but the Lord Jesus Christ, the captain of hosts, has chosen you to be a soldier in his army. And as a first generation Christian, realize that you need to be willing to fight some battles that you may otherwise have never fought before. And here's the truth. Before you were saved, you might have thought the homos were disgusting. You might have thought they were weird. You might have thought they were odd, but you weren't fighting that battle. You weren't expressing those opinions. You were dead sure not supporting some radical preacher who's just fighting that battle and trying to turn the tide on that issue in this country. But you know what? Now that you're saved, you're in that battle. You've been chosen to be a soldier. This is why Paul would say, finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God. Why? Because you are in a battle and as a first generation Christian, the best thing you could do is just to realize that, is to acknowledge that, is to own that and say, I'm willing to fight. I'm willing to train, I'm willing to have some servants born in my house and train them to fight the battles that I have been enlisted to fight. Go back to Genesis chapter 13. If you could keep your place there in 2 Timothy, we're going to come back towards it, but go back to Genesis 13. We're talking about some lessons for first generation Christians. What are they? You need to be willing to separate from friends or family. You need to be willing to walk by faith and not by sight and what we mean by that is not by experience. You need to be willing to serve God starting at an older age and don't let the devil try to discourage you with time that's been wasted. You just press toward the mark and forget those things which are behind. You need to be willing to fight battles that you normally would not have fought. Number five, you need to be able to bear with followers who are not sold out like you are. Here's the truth and honestly, I wrestled with this whether I should even bring this up or not and I feel like the Lord gave me peace on this. You know what I've learned and here's what I've learned. I've been pastoring now in Sacramento for in September will be nine years. In those nine years, the Lord has given us the privilege of ministering to and pastoring and helping a lot of second generation Christians. The Lord has given us the privilege of pastoring and leading a lot of first generation Christians. Here's what I've learned and it's just a fact of life and I'm not bringing this up to try to hurt anybody or try to bring up maybe emotions. I don't know all of you and your story and this might be your story. Here's what I've learned is that sometimes there is a major difference between the 17-year-old whose dad got saved and started listening to some radical preacher online, watched some documentary, got saved, mom got saved, they started going to some church and then they moved to a better church and then they were going to all the services and they're reading their Bible and they're praying and all of a sudden there's no liquor in the house and now there's no TV in the house and now there's no worldly music in the house and there might be a difference between the 17-year-old that kind of gets dragged into that. There might be a difference between the 15-year-old who kind of gets dragged into that then the 3-year-old that gets dragged into that or the 2-year-old that gets dragged into that or the kids that were born into that. And hopefully your 14-year-old and your 15-year-old and your 17-year-old they just follow along with you and they go along with you and they embrace it and they love it but you may not experience that. You know what's interesting? Abraham didn't experience that. Abraham had a nephew by the name of Lot who he was the caretaker for and here's the thing about Lot, he was saved but he just wasn't sold out. Genesis 13 verse 8, notice what the Bible says, And Abraham said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen, for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zor. Verse 11, Then Lot chose them all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves, the one from the other. And look, I wish if that's you and you've got maybe some older children and maybe they got saved but they're just not in it like you're in it, they're not interested like you're interested, and they're just kind of waiting till they're 18 years old so they can leave and they can go do something else. Look, I wish, I wish that I had some, you know, just a three point alliterated formula and I said just do this and this and this and it'll be fine. And here's all I can tell you, is that take some comfort in knowing that you're not alone. That even Abraham had to deal with the separation of having a follower who just wasn't sold out. And I don't know if that helps and I don't know if that encourages you, but why don't you take some comfort in knowing that God the Father has experienced, has experienced in having children that go wayward. And that you're not alone in that pain and that you're not alone in that, and you can pray for that child and you can try to have some influence in that child, but at the end of the day, look, we're not Calvinists, they need to make their own decisions and just know this, as a first generation Christian you're not alone. And you need, you need to be able to move on. And that doesn't mean you don't love your kids. And that doesn't mean you don't pray for your kids. And that doesn't mean you don't go to battle for them when they find, when they get in trouble. But Abraham got to the point where he said Lot, you know what Lot, at the end of the day you got to make your own decisions. And if you want to go that way, that's fine, I'll be here whenever you want, whenever you want I'll be here. But you as a first generation Christian need to be willing to move on. And pray for your kids and love your kids and be there for them. Number six tonight, you're there in Genesis chapter 17. I've been giving you some thoughts for first generation Christians. You can go back, go to Genesis 17. Let me say this, as a first generation Christian you need to be willing to embrace a new identity. And you need to be willing to embrace a new identity as a New Testament Christian in Christ. It's interesting because Abraham was always known by one name, his whole life, 75 years, 90 years. Genesis 17 and verse 1, the Bible says this, And when Abram was 90 years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am the almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee and I will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abraham fell on his face and God talked with him saying, As for me behold my covenant is with thee and thou shall be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name anymore be called Abram, notice, but thy name shall be Abraham. You say why the change? Because for 90 years, 99 years, Abram had an identity. Abram had a characteristic about his life that identified him. And the identity that Abram had was that he did not have children. The identity that he lived with was that he did not have an heir. And if you study the life of Abraham, you'll find that this is a major hang up with him. Even when God promises him a child, he still lacks in a little bit of faith there and tries to do it himself and gets himself into all sorts of trouble. Why? Because that's his identity. But then God says, no Abraham, as a first generation Christian, I'm going to change your identity. He says you used to be Abram, but now you're going to be Abraham. And Abraham might ask, why God? And he says, here's why, for a father of many nations have I made thee. And here's what you need to understand, first generation Christian, is that you need to be willing to embrace a new identity. The Bible says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Now simply because you're saved doesn't mean you're going to walk in that spirit. But as a first generation Christian, you need to embrace that new identity. Look, your friends and your family, you may have been known by other things. You may have been known as the life of the party. You may have been known as, that's the guy, that's the gal. If you want to have a good time, if you want to just, you know, party, that's it. He's the life of the party. But you know what? Now, like the apostle Paul, you can say, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Listen, first generation Christian, you're going to have to embrace a new identity. You were Abraham, now you're Abraham. You were barren, now you're fruitful. You were one thing before, but now you must embrace a new identity in Christ. God wants you to be a new person. God wants you to walk in the Spirit. God wants you to embrace the new identity that he's given you in the Lord. Go to Luke chapter 14, this is the last place we'll look at tonight. Luke chapter 14. We've been talking about first generation Christians. And hopefully, maybe for some of you who are new believers, this has been a good warning for you. Maybe there are some things that you thought, man, I never really thought about that. Or for others of you, maybe you've already dealt with some of these things, and it just helps you to be encouraged and to see it in somebody else's life, who is also a first generation Christian. But I want to end tonight by just giving you first generation Christians a warning. And the warning is found in Luke 14, verses 28 through 30. Luke chapter 14, verses 28 through 30, the Bible says this, For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he hath sufficient to finish it? Less happily, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it began to mock at him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. You know what, first generation Christian? I'm not trying to discourage you, and I hope that what I'm about to say doesn't cause you to quit. But I want you to understand this. You need to count the cost, and you need to make a decision that you will not quit. You look, you say, Man, I started listening and preaching, and I started making all the decisions, and I moved across the country, I pulled my kids out of school, my wife got a hold of your wardrobe, and we started living like this, and living like this. Look, praise the Lord for that. Good on that. But you know what, if you do that for three weeks, or three months, or three years, and you quit, you know what your family's going to do? They're going to mock at you. You know what your friends are going to do? They're going to laugh at you. You know what people are watching you from afar, and they're saying, I knew it was a phase, I knew it was a thing, he's always into stupid things like that. Remember when he was a flat earther? I'm just kidding, hopefully that's not the case. Remember when he was selling vacuums? He's always trying new things, she's always trying new things. You know what, count the cost. Say, why would you preach the sermon? Because I want you to count the cost. I want you to be ready for these decisions, and these struggles, and these ideas that you have to deal with. Why? So that you don't intend to build a tower, and you don't begin to lay the foundation, and then it is said of you that you were not able to finish. You know what type of first generation Christian you need to be? You need to be like the apostle Paul, who can get to the end of his life and say, I fought a good fight, I finished my course, I've kept the faith. So count the costs. You say why? Because you've got some people, you've got some young people coming alongside you and coming behind you. Some second generation and third generation Christians, and if you're a second generation Christian and third generation Christian, and you thought, that was a great sermon, man that was a guilt-free sermon. Hey, I'm coming for you tomorrow night, all right? Now you adults, you show up too, okay? But you kids, the sermon's for you primarily tomorrow night, but let me just say this. Dad, mom, you can literally change the legacy of your entire family. You can change your family tree based on your actions and your decisions. So please, so please, count the costs and don't quit. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you for these principles that we can find in the life of Abraham. And Lord, I thank you for first generation Christians. I'm not one of them. But in my life, I have reaped the benefits of first generation Christians who have fought the battles, who have taken the stands, who counted the cost. And Lord, I pray for every first generation Christian here tonight, that you would help them to just take heed to these things, to embrace these thoughts and to realize that they are doing a great work. Lord, I pray you'd help them to finish. I pray you'd help them to finish their course and that you'd help them to finish their course with joy. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.