The rising of generation xtreme - part 7 in the serialising of Carl Anderson's Changing Of The Guard

Arise And Do Exploits

In the year 1973 abortion was legalized in America. Now by various statistics, experts estimate that many millions of abortions have taken place in this nation and across the world since then. When I visited Israel a few years ago the statistic was sixty million. Never before has there been such mass annihilation of a generation than today. Satan is trying to destroy us in our infancy, before we're ever born.

Only two million Jewish children perished in the second world war, yet tens of millions more children of every background have died in abortions since then. Satan is crafty; he's our enemy, a murderer, and assailer of our souls. He's trying to destroy the Joshua Generation before they arise to do great exploits. "...he was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him" (John 8:44).

Multitudes, multitudes of those who are left alive are in the valley of decision. Look around and you'll see a generation who believe they are their own god. They've heard it all and seen it all from the time they were in grade school. The mass media, the internet, the information age has successfully drawn the young away from the truth. It is no wonder Jesus spoke of people who walk the earth without Him as "the walking dead." "He who does not believe has been judged already" (John 3:18).

Much of our media has become ungodly and unwholesome, sensational in its approach, to appeal to the lusts and ungodliness of the society which surrounds it.

The effects of this widespread rebellion of the society and the youth have crept into the church as well. Many churches have compromised in their message, becoming lukewarm and afraid of telling the whole truth as it is revealed in scripture.

A watered-down, man-centered gospel is preached in many evangelistic meetings and on television, which tickles the ears and soothes the conscience, lulling it into peaceful sleep, and making a tremendous lack of impact upon the culture in which we live. In Europe, many of the great cathedrals and buildings which once gave life to hungry believers now stand empty and destitute; many of them are rented out to secular organizations or turned into museums. Among us has grown up a generation - a generation who "knows not the Lord." An entire generation refocused on themselves. And the appeals from many pulpits sound like a sales call instead of a gospel presentation.

"The gospel of the kingdom is the Christ-centered gospel. But there is another gospel-the gospel we have been hearing these last centuries. It's the gospel centered in man and not in Christ, in the human and not in the divine. This gospel is a consequence of a humanistic tide that came on this world. The church let humanism come into her and now we have received this humanistic gospel-this gospel centered in man. I call it "the gospel of the offers," "the gospel of the big sales," "the gospel of the specials," where the preacher offers the people some incentive to accept Jesus. But we don't accept Jesus, it is He who accepts us. The preacher presents Jesus as the one who is knocking at the door, and he says to the people, "Please open the door to Him." So the man thinks that he is going to do Jesus a great favor if he opens the door for Him. That is the gospel of the offers. If you accept Jesus, the preacher says, you are going to have joy, peace, health, and prosperity. Such a gospel appeals to the interest of man, not the interest of Jesus."

The amazing dichotomy in all this is that we have failed to give our generation the hard gospel. The kind of gospel that Jesus taught us was one in which we are called to give up all of our life in surrender to Him, and walk a hard, tight road in obedience to the great command of love which He ushered in. And here is where many mentors to Generation X have failed. This incredible spiritual vacuum devoid of truth and discipleship has been created. Now we need to fill it with strong messages of truth, and strong love and relationship to X'ers that crosses all the cultural boundaries and brings the reality of a life dedicated to Christ to the forefront.

Carl Anderson

Generation 'X' Becomes Generation 'Yes'

It is time for the "good" news! We are the world's future. If you can hear the cry of God's heart, He is saying, "These are the very ones whom I have selected for a unique destiny."

We are perhaps the generation that God in His eternal counsels has planned to arise and fulfill the final prophetic history before the return of His Son to judge the world in righteousness. We who are alive and under about forty years of age are a part of this generation of people. Of course, the possibility is that the uniqueness of this generation has nothing to do with the last generation of earthlings before the second coming of Christ, and that there are in fact possibly another one thousand generations to come after ours.

However, since the Lord has spoken some significant things about our generation, I'm going to go with the flow and set forth a book about us, in hopes that we are the final one. Just a hope, not a promise! "Each age, it is found," writes Ralph Waldo Emerson, "must write its own books; or rather, each generation for the next succeeding. The books of an older period will not fit this."

In the early nineties the church I was based out of as an itinerant minister started a college/career group. There were a number of people who were too old to be a part of the youth group and didn't want to be a part of the singles ministry. One day three of us got to praying about a name for this group. We wanted something with some 'kick' to it; something that would assign itself as a part of our identification and would set us apart from the other ministries; also something that would encompass other individuals from other churches.

As we were together praying, suddenly the Lord dropped a name into my heart that appeared to fit, like a glove that slides onto the hand to keep you snug and warm in winter. As I spoke it out, it seemed almost too big. It was too broad to encompass
just our small group of young people. Indeed, shortly thereafter the Lord began to speak to me about His plans for an entire generation of young people who are appearing on the earth in these days. He also spoke to me of the responsibility and accountability of those called and anointed to proclaim salvation to them as well as train and disciple them. The ones called to do this enormous task may be young or old; are you one?

The world has come up with a term for us..."Generation X" - "Generation Y"- "Millenials" The Lord has come up with His term for us..."The Joshua Generation" - "Generation YES"

Yes! We are the Joshua Generation! The name itself is coined from the group of warriors that came forth under the leadership of Joshua to overthrow the Satanic wickedness of their day, lay claim to and possess the land, and receive the promises given only to the victors who battle to the end.

An intercessor in Charlotte, North Carolina recently shared with me of her prayers that God would turn this "Generation X" into "Generation yes" who would say YES! - yes to salvation, yes to eternal life, yes to the Captain of our salvation, yes to Jesus - and intimate, passionate devotion to Him.

You can buy Changing Of The Guard from Cross Rhythms Direct for £10.44.