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

Amen, all right well thank you again for being here tonight and I know we sang Happy Birthday and the anniversary song so I don't want to sing again but I do want to give a shout out to Owen whose birthday was yesterday and he turned 13 years old so that's good and I'm also just want to say congratulations to brother Corbin and Miss Shelley nine years of marriage was that in a row nine years in a row and that's good I'm that's a good milestone there so last night I preached a sermon called lessons for first-generation Christians and we we talked about these first-generation Christians who we defined as people who did not grow up in a Christian home they got saved later in life and they're kind of pioneering the Christian life for their family and honestly the sermon last night and I talked to several people about this even if you're not a first-generation Christian a lot of those things apply to all of us there's a lot of overlap there especially if you grew up in a Christian home that maybe was just a different stripe of what you are doing now maybe not as fundamental not as radical then you might still have to fight some of those battles that we talked about last night tonight what I'd like to do is preach a sermon entitled lessons for second-generation Christians and again they'll be overlap and if you're a first-generation Christian you can apply this to your life as well but here's how I define a second-generation Christian a second-generation Christian is a Christian who grew up in a Christian home or someone who had their faith handed to them by their parents or grandparents or somebody that raised them and we understand that getting saved is something you do personally individually but we're talking about somebody who was given that by their parents they were raised in that and again kind of like we did last night just for my own just knowledge raise your hand if you are a second-generation Christian if you're someone who grew up in a Christian home now all the kids should have their hands up right now right and you're you're a second-generation Christian but um the sermon tonight is for you and like I said there'll be overlap and it applies to all of us now we're here in Second Chronicles 24 and in Second Chronicles 24 we have this story of a king named Joash now there's a lot of context and background that goes into this story I don't want to spend time reading through that and and and doing that so let me just kind of help you get caught up if you're not familiar with the story you had the Kings that had been killed and they're no longer able to rule of course and you had two brothers who died in a row and when they died one of them was killed by Jehu their mother who is mentioned in this chapter Athaliah who the Bible refers to as a wicked woman she went through and the Bible says that she killed the seed royal and what that means is that she basically killed all of the children that were in line to become kings now you got to think about how wicked this woman was she was a grandmother who went through and killed all of her grandchildren so that she could be Queen and she actually ruled as a queen for some time but she missed one of her grandchildren and there was a priest by the name of Jehoiada and his wife who rescued one of the grandchildren whose name was Joash and they basically hid him and they raised them for about six years and then this priest Jehoiada he got some godly men together and he was able to take Athaliah off the throne which she was a wicked woman that did not belong there anyway and he was able to put Joash as a seven-year-old on the throne and they made a covenant with the Lord they made a covenant with the people and and things were good that's the context you're kind of jumping into here in 2nd Chronicles 24 and like I said I'm preaching to the second generation Christians this evening and I want to use Joash as an example of some lessons that every second generation Christian is going to have to learn you're there in 2nd Chronicles 24 look at verse number one 2nd Chronicles 24 in verse 1 notice what the Bible says Joash was seven years old when he began to reign and he reigned 40 years in Jerusalem his mother's name also was Zebaiah of Beersheba notice verse 2 and Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord now when you read through the Old Testament and you read these stories about the Kings you'll find that it's often stated that they they were told whether they did right whether they did not do right whether they followed the Lord or whether they did not follow the Lord and we're usually given a statement that kind of lets us know what kind of life they lived and here we read the statement of Joash in verse 2 it says and Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord now if there was a period there and that was the end of the sentence that would be great that would be wonderful I mean I don't know about you but if my name was mentioned in Scripture and it said that I did that which was right in the sight of the Lord that'd be good enough for me I mean even if they didn't say anything I did if it was just said that of my life that would be a great testimony and that's a good statement up to that point but unfortunately for Joash that's not the end of the statement notice what the Bible says and Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord notice what it says all the days of Jehoiada the priest we have a good statement that ends badly and you say why do you have a good statement that ended badly the reason is because you had a good life that ended badly Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord but unfortunately he only did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest Jehoiada the priest who raised him Jehoiada the priest who loved him Jehoiada the priest who invested in him Jehoiada the priest who who discipled him and who helped him and to encourage them and who set him up in life while Jehoiada the priest was alive Joash did great things for God and if you read the chapter you'll notice that it says there that he repaired the house of the Lord that he was minded to repair the house of the Lord and he did some good things but when Jehoiada the priest died and when Jehoiada the priest was no longer on the scene Joash did not continue to do that which was right in the sight of the Lord and here's the point and here's the first point that those of us who are second generation Christians and when I say second generation Christian you know we're talking about anything after first all right if you're a second generation third generation fourth generation all of this applies to you and it is this second generation Christians must choose to retain the faith that was handed to them because here's the truth kids your mom and your dad are not always going to be there your pastor is not always going to be there the fact that you are younger the fact that you came along after us means that there will be a time in your life when we're not there to hold your hand we're not there to give instruction we're not there to tell you what God wants you to do and what the Bible tells you to do and you as a Christian are going to have to choose whether you will retain the faith that was handed to you or whether you will serve God until Jehovah is no longer around you're going to have to decide whether you will serve the Lord or not now keep your place there in 2nd Chronicles 24 that's our text tonight but go to the book of Proverbs Proverbs chapter 1 if you start in the center of the Bible you have the book of Psalms right after Psalms you have Proverbs Proverbs chapter 1 let me show you some verses in Proverbs young people Proverbs chapter number one what's interesting about the book of Proverbs and we understand that it is holy scripture we understand that it is inspired by God and given by God but what's interesting about the book of Proverbs is that the human author is a father who is writing a letter to his son it is a father who is writing down some thoughts and some wisdom for his son and we understand it was God and the Holy Spirit but it is Solomon giving some wisdom to his son and I want you to notice how Solomon pleads with his son throughout the book Proverbs 1 look at verse 8 notice what he says he says my son hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother notice what he says in Proverbs chapter 2 and verse 1 my son if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandments with thee and he goes on and tells him about how his life will turn out notice Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 1 my son forget not my law but let thine heart keep my commandments notice what he says in verse 21 of the same chapter my son let not them depart talking about the wisdom and the instruction he says let not them depart from thine eyes keep sound wisdom and discretion Proverbs chapter 4 look at verse 10 here oh my son receive my saying and the years of thy life shall be many notice what he says in verse 20 of the same chapter my son attend to my words incline thine ear unto my sayings notice Proverbs chapter 6 and verse 20 he says my son keep thy father's commandments and forsake not the law of thy mother notice Proverbs chapter 7 and verse 1 he says my son keep my words and lay up my commandments with thee and what you see in this Proverb is a father telling his son hey son I'm giving you good wisdom I'm giving you good instruction I'm handing you a faith that I want you to take ownership of I don't want to just tell you these things I want to tell you these things and I want you to hold on to them I want you to grab them to keep them to receive them to make them your own and you know what young people you're going to have to make a decision at some point in your life whether you will walk with God not because mom wants you to not because dad wants you to not because the pastor wants you to not because Johanna is around but because you want to serve the Lord and here's the truth Joe ash does not go down in history as one of the great young people in the Word of God the Bible is full of stories of great young people I mean think about Joseph 17 years old and he just was already had decided that he was gonna be a man of integrity and character and a hard worker and even when he was taken away from from his family and sent to Egypt he decided to serve God and to love the Lord and to do right no matter what happened think about David a young man who when his own brothers and his own family and his own nation would not stand up and fight the battles of the Lord David said hey I'll fight the Lord's battle I'll fight Goliath think about Daniel how he was taken away from his home and yet he purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the portion of the Kings me think about Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego again away from home away from mom away from that yet they decided to stand for God and to not worship the golden image and you know what Joe ash could have gone in that lineage but he didn't why because he never made a choice he never decided to retain the faith that was handed down to him and what we learned from Proverbs is that you can take a horse to the water but you can't force it to drink and look kids we can preach to you we can help you we can love you we can invest in you we can pray for you we can try to do everything in our power to influence you to set you up for success but at the end day you're going to have to make a choice you're going to have to make a decision and and maybe you've already made that subconsciously but I would encourage you tonight to make that decision consciously at some point in your life you're going to have to transition from I go so winning because mom and dad take me so winning I go to church because mom and dad take me to church I read the Bible because mom and dad expect me to read the Bible to I go so winning I go to church I read the Bible I live for God I do right I love the Lord I walk with God because it's something that I've decided to do second-generation Christians must choose they must choose to retain the faith that was given to them their their faith look your parents faith is gonna have to become your faith there and we're not just talking about salvation and obviously the salvation is an individual thing you're going to have to choose to be safe but then you're gonna have to choose what will I do with the rest what will I do with the rest of Scripture what will I do with the rest of the wisdom and the teaching that I have been handed keep your finger there in Proverbs we're gonna come back to it go back to 2nd Chronicles 24 let me give you the second point tonight first of all we learn that the second generation Christians must choose to retain the faith that was handed to them but secondly tonight I'd like to say this the second generation Christians are going to have to reject the worldly influence that they were sheltered from by their parents are you there in 2nd Chronicles 24 look at verse 17 notice what the Bible says now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah now why does the Bible say why does the Bible go out of its way to tell us that the princes of Judah who were a bad influence notice and made obeisance to the king and the king that's Joash hearkened unto them and they left the house of the Lord God notice what it says of their fathers notice these princes it wasn't the house of the Lord of the Lord their God it was the house of the Lord God of their father see these young people had never decided to retain the faith that was handed to them and now these princes they come along when do they come along after the death of Jehoiada you say why does the Bible tell us that well I think it's because Jehoiada did not allow these people around Joash I think while Jehoiada was alive he said look there's certain people Joash that you should not be friends with there are certain people Joash that you should not allow to influence you there are certain people Joash that you should not be friends with that you shouldn't give access to but as soon as Jehoiada was gone the princes of Judah came and what happens look at verse 18 and they left the house of Lord God of their fathers and served groves and idols and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass and young people here's what you need to learn second generation Christian here's what you need to learn not only do you need to learn that you must retain the faith you must choose to retain the faith that was handed to you but you must also choose to reject the worldly influence that you were sheltered from see here's what I know about you the fact that you're at a camping trip at faithful word Baptist Church tells me that you probably have a mom and a dad that are sheltering you from some things they're keeping certain worldly things from you they're trying to protect you from influences that are gonna lead you astray but here's the point mom and dad aren't always gonna be there pastors not always gonna be there deacons not always gonna be there there's not always going to be people there that are going to shelter you from bad influences and you young people are going to have to choose not only to retain the faith and say their faith will now become my faith but you're also going to have to choose to reject the worldly influences and say their stand will become my stand their convictions will become my convictions and before mom and dad sheltered me they sheltered me from the world they sheltered me from alcohol they sheltered me from drugs they sheltered me from from worldliness they sheltered me from false beliefs they sheltered me but now I must choose to just reject look you say oh do you when you grow up does that mean that you don't no longer have to be sheltered no it means that when you grow up it means that you've matured enough to shelter yourself no no no no that I'm 18 oh I can do whatever I want no you know what maturity means that now you don't need someone to keep you from the worldly influences you can reject it all on your own you can decide all on your own no I'm not gonna walk into that bar no I'm not gonna walk into that club no I'm not gonna watch that movie no I'm not gonna look at that website no I'm not gonna listen to that music not because mom is here or dad is here but because I've decided to retain their faith and to reject the worldly influence go back to Proverbs chapter 1 Proverbs chapter 1 look at verse 10 Proverbs chapter 1 and verse 10 again advice from a father to a son I say why are you emphasizing that it's advice from a father to son here's why because it's advice from a first generation to a second generation notice what he says Proverbs 1 and verse 10 my son if sinners entice thee consent thou not if they say come with us those they wait for blood let us look privately for the innocent without cause let us swallow them up alive as the grave and whole as those that go down into the pit we shall find all precious substance we shall fill our houses with spoil cast in thy lot among us let us all have one purse look at verse 15 my son here you have a father pleading with his sons and you know what my children are here tonight and I I hope this sermon helps all the kids and all the young people and all the second generation here tonight but you know my prayers that my boys are listening tonight that my kids are listening tonight and I hope my my sons will not just hear Proverbs will not just hear Solomon but they'll hear their dad tonight say my son walk not thou in the way with them refrain thy foot from their path you must choose young people to reject the worldly influences that you used to be sheltered from and you must choose to shelter yourself their faith must become your faith their stance must become your stand their conviction must become your conviction let me give you a third point tonight go back to the second Chronicles 24 we're talking about some lessons for second generation Christians what do second generation Christians need to know well they need to know that they must choose to retain the faith that was handed to them they need to know that they must choose to reject the worldly influences that they were once sheltered from but thirdly tonight I'd like to say this the second generation Christians must remember they must remember the sacrifices made by the previous generation second Chronicles 24 in verse 20 notice what the Bible says and the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah now who's Zechariah he's the son of Jehoiada the priest now if you think about this this kind of should have been like a brother to Joash because Joash was raised Joash's parents were killed and Joash was raised by Jehoiada and this is Jehoiada's son Zechariah now Joash at this point he's he's not serving the Lord he's serving groves and idols he's he's walked away from his faith he's walked away from God and we're not saying he lost his salvation he's just backslidden he's just not doing right and the Bible says that the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest which stood above the people and said unto them thus saith God why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord that ye cannot prosper and by the way young people just know this you are saved and if you transgress the commandments of the Lord write this down you cannot prosper get this out of your head get this idea because look you're gonna go to work you're gonna go into the world you're gonna become an adult and begin to have to deal with people that aren't safe and you're gonna watch them make decisions you're gonna watch them make choices you're gonna watch them embrace lifestyles you're gonna watch them go down a road and you're gonna say well it seems to be working out for them so maybe it'll work out for me here's what you need to understand and please get this when you got saved you don't get to play the game of life by the same rules that the world plays well it works out for them yeah but you know what they're orphans you know what they have no Heavenly Father the Bible says if ye endure chastening God dealeth with you as with sons for what father is he I'm gonna misquote the verse here Hebrews 12 but it talks about the valley let's just go there Hebrews chapter 12 I am sometimes you memorize these verses then you misquote them Hebrews chapter 12 look at verse 7 let's look at it I want you to look at it Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 7 if ye endure chastening God dealeth with you as with sons for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not you say what does that mean for me here's what that means for you you don't get to play by the same rules that they do because you have a Heavenly Father that's going to give you a spiritual spanking and you say well I can just do whatever I want and nothing happens to me well look at verse 8 but if ye be without chastisement where of all our partakers then are ye bastards and not sons you say what does that mean here's what he's saying look where of all our partakers all of us get spanked by our Heavenly Father you say I can just live my life the way I want and nothing ever happens to me and and everything then then you must be a bastard because if you've got a Heavenly Father he's going to chasten you he's going to correct you he's going to discipline you so please understand you say well it works out for the world yeah you know what they don't have a Heavenly Father they don't have they're just orphans living their lives and they and you know what they still suffer and they reap what they sow and they have all those things but you have a Heavenly Father you say my dad's out of the picture now my mom's out of the picture now I'm 18 years old now I'm 21 years old now I'm married now I don't have anybody who I'm accountable to or has authority over me yes you do his name is God you say my physical father's out of the picture yeah but your Heavenly Father will always be in the picture go back to Second Chronicles 24 notice notice what he says there he says that you cannot prosper verse 20 because you have forsaken the Lord he has also forsaken you verse 21 and they that's Joash and his friends it says and they conspired against him again to Zechariah the son of Jehoiada and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king notice it's Joash's plan it's his idea to get rid of this guy and you know this is what backslid Christians always want to do they want to silence the preacher that's trying to help them and speaking the truth to them and and speaking the word of God to them and it says in the court of the house of the Lord verse 22 thus Joash the king notice what it says remembered not the kindness of Jehoiada his father had done to him but slew his son here the Bible tells us that Joash the king remembered not the kindness of Jehoiada the father of Zechariah he didn't remember that Jehoiada had sacrificed for him he didn't remember that Jehoiada had suffered for him he didn't remember that Jehoiada had fought some battles for him look second generation Christian you need to remember the sacrifices made by the previous generation and specifically the sacrifices made by your mom by your dad by your preacher by those who have by your grandparents by those who came around you and alongside you and have helped you go to Judges chapter 2 Judges chapter 2 look at verse 7 this is a common theme in the Bible about remembering what people do for you in the Bible you often find commandments to set up a memorial so that you don't forget to remember to remember to remember and this is something that second generation Christians need to do they need to remember the sacrifices made by their fathers judges chapter 2 made by their mothers made by their pastors made by the previous generation judges chapter 2 verse 7 notice what the what the Bible says judges 2 7 and the people serve the Lord judges 2 7 notice what it says this kind of sounds like the story of Joash and the people serve the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that outlive Joshua who had seen all the great works of the Lord that he did for Israel and Joshua the son of Nun the servant Lord died being 110 years old and they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timmath theories in the Mount of Ephraim on the north side of the hill Gaiash notice verse 10 and also all the generation were gathered unto their fathers and there arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord nor yet the works which he had done for Israel and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Balaam you say why because they did not remember because they did not remember what the previous generation had done for them go to Exodus chapter 17 Exodus chapter 17 Exodus chapter 17 and look at verse 12 and here's what and here's the point and here's what you need to understand is that we as second generation Christians need to make sure that we remember that we remember the sacrifices made by the previous generation for us and look and you say if you're a young person and you say I don't what what sacrifices that my parents make then you need to go back and listen to last night's sermon because they separated they fought battles they lost friendships they made sacrifices they they they they walked by faith they they've done a lot to try to get you to the place where you are and look some of you young people need to put your arms around your mom and put your arms around your dad and say thank you thank you for fighting the battles thank you for making the sacrifices thank you for giving me a whole thank you that I wasn't raised by a drunkard that I wasn't raised in a drug home that I wasn't raised and a broken home that I wasn't raised in a home where I wasn't sure if people loved me or carefree that I didn't know if God even exists thank you for fighting that battle you need to remember you need to remember and you know what those of us that are raising these kids we need to help them remember Exodus 17 in verse 12 Exodus chapter 17 in verse 12 notice what the Bible says here you have a first generation battle Exodus chapter 17 in verse 12 but Moses hands were heavy and they took a stone and put it under him and he sat there on and Aaron and her stayed up his hands the one on the one side and the other on the other side and his hands were steady until the going down of the Sun you know the story you're familiar with it and Joshua discomforted Amalek and his people but to the edge of the sword as long as Moses had his hands up they won as long as Moses had his hands down they lost and there's a lot of application and symbolism there but I want you to notice what it says in verse number 14 and the Lord said unto Moses write this for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua for I will surely put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven here's what he's saying he's saying listen Moses right now you just got done fighting this battle with Amalek but I'm gonna put them out it remembers there's gonna come a day when you guys aren't gonna deal with them you're not gonna have anything to remember this by and I want you to make sure you rehearse this that you rehearse this in the ears that you rehearse this in the ears of Joshua why so they'll remember the battles you fought and you know what we need to make sure I get it's funny to me how Christians are you know they'll take the whole sheltering thing a little too far you look shelter your kids from drugs and alcohol and pornography but then they'll be like I don't know if I want to take him to the master conference I don't know if I want them to see all those protests hey let them see the battles let them see you know he said I don't know if I want them to know about all the drama and all the battles let them see it let them hear it remind them remember them rehearse it in their ears let them know the battles that have been fought why because they need to remember that they need to make sure that they don't forget that there were battles that were fought there were lines that were drawn look I'm thankful I'm thankful for the battles that were fought by the old IFP I realize the old IFP today is liberal I'm not defending them I know they're weak I know they're lame but I'm thankful for a previous generation that fought the Battle of the King James Bible that fought the battle against repent of your sins that fought for soul we didn't make that stuff up you say what would you get that those things were handed King James Bible was handed to us soul winning was handed to us separation was handed to us hard preaching was handed to us you know the difference between us if you want to call the new IFP and the old IFP is that we decided to retain the things that were handed to us we said we're gonna keep hard preaching we're gonna keep separation we're gonna keep standards we're gonna keep soul winning we're gonna keep the King James Bible we're gonna keep fighting the world the devil the fight we're gonna keep those things we remember those things where we were thankful for those things and we'll remember them second generation Christians need to remember the sacrifices made by the previous generation go back to 2nd Chronicles 24 let me give you a last one 2nd Chronicles 24 I said tonight to you young people you must retain the faith that was handed to you you must reject the world the influences that you were sheltered from you must remember the sacrifices made by the previous generation but lastly tonight I'd like to say this second generation Christians you must realize that God will hold you to a higher standard because you are a second generation Christian you say that's not fair you know what life's not fair then you die well it's not fair but you know what God will hold you accountable for the investment that has been made in your life 2nd Chronicles 24 look at verse 22 2nd Chronicles chapter 24 and look at verse number 22 notice what the Bible says thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness with Jehoiada his father had done to him but slew his son and when he that's Zechariah the son of Jehoiada died because remember Joash had him killed notice what he said he said he's talking to Joash he said the Lord look upon it and require it now that would require means I hope he said I'm asking the Lord to look into this I'm asking the Lord to investigate this I'm asking the Lord to judge what you're doing right now and to hold you accountable for it he said the Lord look upon it he said the Lord look upon what you're doing the Lord look upon how you're acting and require it and let me tell you something I believe the Lord looked upon it and he required it of Joash notice how his life ends 2nd Chronicles 24 look at verse 23 notice what the Bible says and it came to and it came to pass at the end of the year that the host of Syria came up against him and they came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus for the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men and with and the Lord delivered a very great host into their hand because they had forsaken why because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers notice how that's emphasized why did God deliver them why did God punish them why did God judge them because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers so they executed judgment against Joash and when they were departed from them from him for they left him in great diseases his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest and slew him on his bed and he died and they buried him in the city of David but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings you say wow that's pretty harsh she didn't even get to be buried with the rest of the kings of the nation you know what he had been given much Luke chapter 12 if you would go there Matthew Mark Luke Luke chapter 12 you I'm sure you're familiar with this verse but let's look at it Luke chapter 12 verse 48 Luke chapter 12 and verse 48 says this Luke 12 48 Jesus said but he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes and I want you to notice this little phrase for unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required and you know what young people that's all of you that's me that's your pastor your pastor is a second third generation Christian the Bible says unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required and the truth is this you've been given much you've been given a huge amount of investment and love and and and discipleship and people coming alongside you and encouraging you and here's and here's what I you need to understand you need to realize that God will hold you to a higher standard because of the fact that you're a second generation Christian you are more accountable you are more responsible and God will hold you accountable and God will hold you accountable for what you do with what you've been given so listen young people here's the question what will you do with what you've been given you are given a home that loves God I know your home is not perfect no home is perfect you've been given a home where you got to hear the gospel where you're being taught great preaching and great truths from the Word of God there's much that you've been given what will you do with what you've been given let me give you one last thought and we'll finish up you need to realize that God will hold you to a higher standard there's a negative and a positive to that the negative is this that you will be held more accountable and more responsible because of the investment that's been made in you but there's a positive to that and that is this that because you are a second generation or a third generation or a fourth generation Christian you have more potential than many other people to do great things for God go to 2nd Kings chapter 2 2nd Kings chapter 2 see tonight we saw a bad example of a second generation Christian we saw Joash who did not retain the faith who did not reject the world who did not remember the sacrifices who did not realize that he would be held more accountable but in the Bible the Bible is full of many positive stories of second generation Christians I mean you've got Moses and Joshua and Moses is able to give the the torch and hand over the the baton to Joshua and Joshua wasn't perfect Joshua made mistakes Joshua had his his setbacks and had his issues but you know what Joshua was able to accomplish and I'm not saying that Joshua was greater than Moses but Joshua was able to accomplish a lot more than Moses accomplished Moses did great things was a great man but he also spent 40 years wandering in a wilderness with a bunch of complainers and Joshua the second generation was able to walk into the promised land fight many battles conquer the land and enter into the land and have the will and walk in the will of God you have David and Solomon David a man after God's own heart but you know what Solomon was able to do things that David didn't get to do David didn't get to build a temple David got to stand up for the temple got to save for the temple got to prepare for the temple but Solomon comes along and build that temple why because the second generation though they will be held more responsible they have more potential here in 2nd Chronicles excuse me 2nd Kings chapter 2 you have the story of Elijah and Elisha another example Elijah great man of God but you know what Elisha the Bible tells us notice what it says 2nd Kings 2 10 and he said that was how thou has asked a hard thing now Elijah in fact you know what look at verse 8 look at verse 8 to get a little bit of the context 2nd Kings 2 8 and Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together and smote the waters and they were divided hither and thither so that they too went over on dry ground that's a big miracle I don't know if you if you have ever thought about that but I mean God did this for entire nations where they could cross through the Red Sea or cross the Jordan and and and an entire nation could come through and then Elijah is just him and his protege and God just part you know allows them to walk on dry ground that's pretty amazing look at verse 9 and it came to pass when they were gone over that Elijah said to Elisha ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee here's what he's telling him he's telling Elijah I'm not always gonna be here I'm not always gonna be here to to pray for God's power to perform the miracles and he's telling Elijah what do you want what do you what Elijah ask what I shall do for thee what can I do to help you what can I do to encourage you what can I do to make sure that you don't waste the investment that I've made in your life and Elisha said I like this I pray thee let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me and he said verse 10 thou has asked a hard thing I love that phrase he says thou has asked a hard thing nevertheless if thou see me when I am taken from thee it shall be so unto thee but if not it shall not be so here's what he's saying he's saying you stick with me you stick with me and you have the potential to not only do what I've done but you can do more than I've done and you know what young people if you stick with us and I'm not saying I'm Elijah and I hope you understand that but if you stick with what we were doing and what we've taught you and what we tried to invest into your life if you stick with it you have the potential to do greater works than what you see today look at verse 11 and it came to pass as they still went on and talked that behold there appeared a chariot of fire and horse of fire and parted them both the center and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven and Elisha saw it and he cried my father my father the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof and he saw him no more and he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces notice verse 13 and he took up also the mantle of Elijah of Elijah you know we use that phrase today when we talk about somebody taking up the mantle we get that from this story he took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and went back and stood by the Bank of Jordan and he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and smote the waters remember we just saw Elijah do this now Elijah takes the mantle he smote the waters and said where is the Lord God of Elijah and when he also had smitten the waters they parted hither and thither and Elisha went over and when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him they said notice what they said the spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha they came to meet him and bow themselves to the ground before him and here's all I'm trying to say young people you have a potential you have a potential to do great things and to do greater things than what you see today go to John chapter 14 is the last place we'll look at John chapter 14 John chapter 14 you can do so much you've been set up you you've been set up to accomplish great things for God and look all throughout the Bible there's this theme that the next generation can do greater works than the previous generation even in the ministry of Christ we see it John chapter 14 and verse number 12 John 14 verse 12 verily verily I say unto you he that believeth on me the works that I do shall he do also notice what he says this is Jesus and greater works than these shall he do because I go unto my father now Jesus says he that the next generation could do greater works and please understand this that is a reference to quantity not quality none of us can do greater quality works than Jesus you'll never preach better sermons than Jesus you'll never do anything better than Jesus but he was saying you can do you're a greater quantity you can accomplish more you can do much for the cause of Christ and young people young people please understand this please realize that you will be held to a higher standard because you will be held accountable for what's been invested in your life but alongside with that realize that you have the potential to do so much more and look I'm not saying you need to become a pastor I I always try to make sure my kids know this I I know pastor Anderson has his kids here and I've heard him say this as well and I know that he agrees with it and we're not look we're not saying that you all of you need to be pastors or preachers I don't need my boys to be pastors for me to be proud of them I you know I don't put we don't put that pressure on them but here's the pressure we do put on them walk with God love the Lord yeah do I need to be you need to be a preacher but you better be a soul winner and be faithful to the house of God you you better serve God with your life and if you're not going to be the leader then then if you're not going to be Moses then via Aaron and via her and lift up the hands of some preacher somewhere and some pastor somewhere and do great things for God because there's been so much that has been invested in you there's so much that has been put in you and the negative is that you will be held accountable for it but the positive is that you can accomplish so much for the Lord so young people and not so young people please retain the faith that was handed to you please make a decision to reject the worldly influences that you were sheltered from and choose to shelter yourself please remember the sacrifices the battles the fights the suffering that went on before you to give you the life that you're now experiencing and please and please realize that you have been given much and you've got to answer this question what will you do with what you've been given let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer Heavenly Father Lord I pray that you would touch the hearts of these young kids there's young children here and older children and young teenagers and older teenagers and and young people and all of us Lord can learn from this and but I just pray that you would help us Lord I pray that that tonight would maybe be a night where some young people would just make some decisions in their heart and they don't need to express it out loud and they don't need to tell us Lord but I I pray that in their hearts they would make some decisions make some choices and decide I want to be a Daniel I want to be a Joseph I want to be a Shadrach Meshach and Abednego I don't want to be a Joash and Lord I pray you'd help us to raise a generation of zealous sold-out sincere Christians that will take the work that's being done today and double it and do greater works and accomplish great things for God in the name of Jesus Christ we pray amen