1 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,120 We welcome you to the We Are Zion sermon podcast. 2 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:20,080 We are a church based out of Chennai, India. 3 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,760 We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will 4 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,440 be refreshed, revived, and energized by what you hear. 5 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,280 Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of 6 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:34,960 purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus. 7 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:40,640 The year 2025 is 1 where we will be positioned by God to possess 8 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:43,840 our promise. We continue our sermon series 9 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,920 called A Recipe for Revival where we look at different 10 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,360 instances in the Bible where God poured his spirit out on his 11 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:53,640 people leading to reformation and restoration. 12 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:59,000 Hi Judge, what a joy it is to share God's word with you today, 13 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,760 even as we're on the last weekend in the lead up to 14 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,040 Pentecost Sunday. You know, it doesn't have to be 15 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:06,520 just a Sunday that we celebrate. The Holy Spirit is worth 16 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:09,000 celebrating all day, every day through the year. 17 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,480 But today we're going to be looking at a very specific part 18 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:16,240 of revival that we have been seeking for from God for a 19 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:18,160 while. And it's generational revival. 20 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:20,240 It's a revival across generations. 21 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,160 Because the beautiful thing is when you look at any church, you 22 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:27,400 look at a community, most communities, most, most of the 23 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:29,400 body of Christ is so multigenerational. 24 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,760 You have people in the age groups from, you know, 60 to 80. 25 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:36,280 Then you have the 40s to 50s, you have those, you know the 26 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,960 young working adults, You have the adolescents, you have the 27 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:41,160 teenagers, you have the little ones, you have the babies in 28 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:41,800 the. Wombs. 29 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,680 Our lives are surrounded by the evidence of generations, and I 30 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:48,800 believe that God is a God of generations. 31 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,680 Every time he reiterated his word to his people, he said I am 32 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,480 the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob because He was the God who 33 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:59,040 cared for every generation. You know, and he had plans for 34 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:03,080 every generation, and we believe that revival occurs in our 35 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:05,120 individual lives. You know, when we allow God to 36 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,960 heal and deliver us across generations. 37 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:10,759 What does that actually mean? What does that actually mean? 38 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:14,440 Does stuff that happens in previous generations affect us? 39 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,920 It absolutely does. I remember growing up when my 40 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,440 mother used to discipline me. Or, you know, correct me. 41 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,240 There were certain things she could say or do which I would, 42 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:26,400 when I was receiving the correction at the time, would 43 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:28,720 bow to myself. I will never say that when I 44 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:30,440 become a parent. I will never do this when I 45 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:33,040 become a parent. And then 20 years later when I 46 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,360 had my own children, when I correct them, I do the exact 47 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:39,440 same thing. I say the exact same thing, much 48 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,560 to my shame. And that's when I realized that, 49 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:45,200 you know, genetics works in a certain way. 50 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:47,440 Indoctrination across generations. 51 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,040 Works a certain. Way, experience, all of that 52 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:53,560 contributes to us repeating the things that our ancestors did, 53 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,080 whether we like it or not. In the good and the bad, there 54 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,480 are certain traits that ancestors had. 55 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:01,000 They may have been teachers, they may have been lawyers, they 56 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,440 may have been doctors, and then the next generation just somehow 57 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,800 has the same kind of abilities. They're able to grow and develop 58 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:08,480 on those abilities of the ancestors. 59 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,800 So it's great. But there's also stuff that 60 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,240 comes down through generations which is not so good. 61 00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:17,600 It could be a spirit of lust, it could be a spirit of greed, it 62 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:20,040 could be addictions, it could be wastefulness, it could be 63 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,040 idolatry. It could be so many things that 64 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,880 come down our bloodlines and I believe. 65 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,200 That God is calling us into a revival across generations. 66 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,240 You know, I love looking at memes and funny videos. 67 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:36,160 I think as we get older, we just need something to, you know, 68 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:38,440 kind of decompress. So these are some of the things 69 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,800 that I, I found online when it comes to generational issues 70 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,120 where, you know, Mona Lisa, just, you know, how Mona Lisa 71 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:48,120 looks. But when she inherits 72 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,840 generational trauma instead of generational wealth, this is how 73 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:52,600 she ends up looking. That's what the meme said. 74 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:57,720 And I realized that, you know, there was a multitude of memes 75 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:01,040 on this particular topic, but the sum and substance of it all 76 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:03,680 is this. If a previous generation has not 77 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,480 dealt with the issues that plagued them, they pass it to 78 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:08,680 the next generation. The next generation has to deal 79 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:10,720 with it in greater measure, right? 80 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,960 If you received correction in a harsh way from your parent, you 81 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,560 tend to pass that on. But I want to challenge you 82 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:21,519 today that when revival touches a generation, that person in 83 00:04:21,519 --> 00:04:24,200 that generation can effect change for the better. 84 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:26,880 So maybe you received harsh correction. 85 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:29,440 Unkind words spoken over you by the. 86 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:30,640 Ones who should have protected you. 87 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,200 But you can change that stance when you look at your children 88 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:36,160 and you can completely break a cycle. 89 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:40,880 And I believe that it's up to each generation to unearth, to 90 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:43,880 uncover. The things they are holding onto 91 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,640 and repent of it, release it to God for God to do his work. 92 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:50,880 You know, many times we refuse to repent for what we didn't do. 93 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,480 But I believe in this place, we, when we come together as 94 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:57,160 generations in a church, it's very powerful when each 95 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,160 generation repents of the things that they have been harbouring, 96 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:01,800 maybe even without their knowledge. 97 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:06,040 Because when we do that, we're inviting God in to come and mix 98 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:07,440 it up. We're inviting God in to say 99 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:11,200 come in Lord and do your thing. Have your way revive us. 100 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:16,640 It is so important for revival to flow across generations so 101 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:22,160 that in entirety in communities, we receive the power of God for 102 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:25,440 the the work that is given to us that is entrusted to us because 103 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,560 it's important to understand this revival needs to happen in 104 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:31,920 order that every generation fulfills their God-given 105 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:34,360 purpose. I love that verse. 106 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:38,480 I I think it was in the book of Acts where it says when David 107 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,320 had. Done all that he was that was 108 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:43,520 required of him, he rested with his father's. 109 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,680 And it's such a powerful voice because in one line it explains 110 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:49,600 what David's life was about. He had a mandate, he had to 111 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:50,720 fulfil it. He did it. 112 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:52,800 And then God gave him rest in death. 113 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,240 How can God, when God looks at us, how does he describe us? 114 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,360 Christine, as long as she had life served me fulfilled. 115 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:03,320 Her mandate and then was taken up to heaven. 116 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:07,480 What if that was written on our gravestone and our desire is 117 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:09,720 that each of us in every generation? 118 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:11,520 You could be Gen. Z, you could be a boomer, you 119 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:13,800 could be a millennial. The names are many. 120 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:18,400 But are you fulfilling what God has written for you in the book 121 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,400 of life? Are you fulfilling the purposes 122 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,440 of God for your time? That's what we want to do. 123 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:25,880 Today. We're looking at the lives of 124 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:30,000 King ASA and King Jehoshaphat. These are one two of my favorite 125 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,240 characters from the Book of Kings and Chronicles and. 126 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:38,280 They were a father and son duo. ASA served God as a king for 127 00:06:38,280 --> 00:06:41,960 about 40 years, Jehoshaphat for about 25 years. 128 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,960 Both these guys were so intentional in following God and 129 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:48,760 leading their people. They came from the lineage of 130 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,520 David, right? They came, they were kings of 131 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:52,840 Judah. They were honourable. 132 00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:56,320 They were, they were so filled with the fear of God and they 133 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:59,640 were so mindful in leading a nation towards God, which is so 134 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:01,800 powerful about that because, you know, they could have just lived 135 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:03,560 in the fear of God by themselves. 136 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:07,560 But no, they influenced an entire nation to follow God. 137 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:10,640 But the interesting thing is they were not all perfect. 138 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:15,760 Just like any of us humans, they had these human frailties, which 139 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:18,280 again, is much that we can learn from. 140 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:20,760 And so we're going to be looking at their life today, and we are 141 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,080 going to look at how two different generations 142 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,520 accomplished what God had planned for them, and two 143 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:30,320 different generations made certain mistakes that repeated 144 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,840 across a generation. But there was also moments of 145 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:37,680 transformation in that because God's grace is sufficient, God's 146 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,120 power is evident, and we don't have to think. 147 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:41,920 You know what? I can't run for my genetics. 148 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,680 Neuroscientists today will disagree with you because of the 149 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:48,440 study of epigenetics that, you know, we can actually 150 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,680 superimpose what is passed on genetically as a trait can be 151 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:56,080 superimposed because of our will, because we can step in and 152 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:57,760 say, no, I'm not going to do that again. 153 00:07:58,040 --> 00:07:59,400 I'm going to choose a different way. 154 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:03,600 And you know, our lifestyle, our choices, our mentality, all of 155 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:07,360 that can be changed. And in the context of being a 156 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:10,880 believer of Jesus, the minute I bring the Holy Spirit in when I 157 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,560 ask Him to give me the mind of Christ, I begin to change even 158 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:16,200 what is deeply ingrained within me. 159 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,280 And it's not me who does it. It's. 160 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:19,120 Christ. In me. 161 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,000 And so I want to encourage you today even as we're looking. 162 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,720 I don't know what your situation is with the generations that 163 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:26,800 have gone before you or the generations after you. 164 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:29,240 Maybe you're someone who's older and you're saying, you know 165 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:30,360 what? I don't know if I'm imparting 166 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:34,400 anything to the next generation. I want you to be encouraged that 167 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:38,640 when you live your life's purpose so on point, when you're 168 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:41,880 so in connection with God and you're you're so dependent on 169 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,960 Him, you will be influencing another generation. 170 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:47,280 I want to encourage those of you of the younger generation. 171 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:50,600 That you would lean into the wisdom of the older generation. 172 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:52,400 They are not perfect, they're far from it. 173 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:56,360 But lean into those who have been leaning into Jesus for many 174 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:57,880 years. There's so much of wealth in 175 00:08:57,880 --> 00:08:59,880 them. And so I want to. 176 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:02,800 Look first at King ASA. King ASA had two incredible 177 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,480 traits which his son inherited from him. 178 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:09,480 The first thing was that King ASA followed God wholeheartedly. 179 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:13,480 There was no wavering in his devotion to God. 180 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:17,600 Two Chronicles chapter 14 verses 2 to 6 explains this to us. 181 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:20,920 ASA did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 182 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:24,640 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the 183 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,600 sacred stones, and cut down the Ashara poles. 184 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:29,960 He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their 185 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,680 ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. 186 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:37,320 He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in 187 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:39,920 Judah, and the Kingdom was at peace under him. 188 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,400 He built up the fortified cities of Judah since the land was at 189 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:46,480 peace. No one was at war with him 190 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:50,200 during those years, but the Lord gave him rest. 191 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:54,120 Isn't that amazing? ASA did what was good and right 192 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,560 in the eyes of the Lord, and I particularly like that he was he 193 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:03,480 sought God throughout his life. It says now he ruled over Judah 194 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:07,040 for 40 years, and it says 35 years of that was one of peace, 195 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:09,960 which is incredible in any monarch's rule to. 196 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:11,840 Have 35 years of peace is a big deal. 197 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,880 And the interesting thing is Asa's father was Abhija. 198 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:19,760 Abhija only reigned for three years and he was not a very good 199 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:22,200 king. Yes, he relied on God, but there 200 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:23,720 was also reliance on other things. 201 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:28,240 But somehow ASA had learnt to cling on to God wholeheartedly 202 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:30,320 and it's so important to remember this if. 203 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:32,320 You want a. Recipe for generational revival. 204 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,360 Here's recipe number one. You do not have to repeat the 205 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:39,720 sins of your father's when you follow God scrupulously. 206 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:40,760 What does that? Mean. 207 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:43,800 Yes, maybe you come from an heritage where, you know, 208 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:47,320 fathers, grandfathers, mothers, grandmothers, didn't model a 209 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:50,240 Christian way of life, didn't live in a way that honoured God. 210 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:54,400 But you can choose to follow God wholeheartedly if you are, you 211 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:57,360 know, reading his word, meditating it, living in close 212 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,960 communion with him. You don't have to live the way 213 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,360 your ancestors lived. There's no requirement. 214 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:06,960 There's no requirement. If you want a revival in your 215 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,840 lifetime, you need to begin to choose that. 216 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,520 It starts with you. I'm going to choose to follow 217 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:17,480 God wholeheartedly. In my family one. 218 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,080 Side of my family, we have a tendency to be worried what's 219 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:23,320 and I've seen it happen in my grandmother and then I've seen 220 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:25,520 it happen after that with her children. 221 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:29,640 And then I found that I had this incredible trait of saying I 222 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:33,400 trusted God with my, you know, words and my demeanor, but there 223 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:35,240 was always the sense of worrying. 224 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,640 And I, I convinced myself that worrying was the way I 225 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:40,920 demonstrated that I cared about something or someone. 226 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:44,320 And then I realized that this was something that was coming 227 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,200 down generation. And I was talking to many years 228 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,360 back, I was talking to one of my aunts and she said our granddad 229 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:52,560 was like that. That is my great grandfather. 230 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:56,880 He would walk around the house. Incredible man of God, loved his 231 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:00,920 family, was very faithful, very committed, hard working, but he 232 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:03,600 would worry. He had four children. 233 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:07,400 He would pace up and down in his house worrying, mulling over 234 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:10,080 things and needing things that, you know, he wanted God to work 235 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:12,480 on. But worry had, you know, a 236 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:14,920 prominent place in his life. And I realized that this was 237 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:17,160 something that was there generationally for me. 238 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:20,520 And I can't tell you, I can tell you honestly, I've still not 239 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:22,240 beaten it. There is a tendency to worry. 240 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:25,520 But the minute I identified that this is coming down 241 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:29,320 generationally, I had to take control of it more than 242 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:30,840 anything. I had to bring God into it. 243 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,480 Because, you know, we, we tend to say we trust God, we are 244 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,240 devoted to him. Then where does worry come in? 245 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:40,360 And I was so. Caught up with what Jesus says. 246 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:43,520 Do not worry about anything but in everything by prayer and 247 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:45,080 petition, make your request known to God. 248 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:48,680 And so it began with me turning every worry to prayer. 249 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:53,040 And then I found that once I prayed, I still worried because 250 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:56,320 there was the element of Thanksgiving was missing and so 251 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,040 I had to bring Thanksgiving as the prominent. 252 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:01,840 Portion of my life had to bring it to the forefront. 253 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:04,680 And The funny thing is, the minute you begin to thank God 254 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:08,480 for all that He has done and is doing, worry doesn't have too 255 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:09,200 much. Of a place. 256 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:11,480 Because you're remembering all that he has done, and you're 257 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:13,520 thinking, well, if he did it before, he's probably going to 258 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,000 be able to do it again. And so it's so important for a 259 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:20,360 revival within us to address the things that have been passed on 260 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,960 generation. And instead of blaming a past 261 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:27,240 ancestor for it, we say, hey, you know what? 262 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:30,920 I see the pattern and God, I'm bringing the pattern to you. 263 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:33,200 I need help. I can't do this on my own. 264 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,120 Too many of us are wasting our energy and breath. 265 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:39,120 You know, blaming ancestors, blaming parents, blaming 266 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:41,400 grandparents. But honestly, they didn't have 267 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:44,280 the resources we have today. You have, you'd have a doubt on 268 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:45,560 parenting. You just have to type it in. 269 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:47,440 You get a whole bunch of resources. 270 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,120 You get books, you get ebooks, you get audiobooks, you get 271 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:52,040 articles. Everything is available. 272 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:54,880 There was a generation that didn't know that they worked 273 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:57,600 with what they had and it's time that we release them in 274 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:01,200 forgiveness and that we take ownership for how we are going 275 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:06,600 to channel this revival. 1 Kings chapter 15, verse 19 shows the 276 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,200 tendency. To repeat the sins of the father 277 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:11,440 or the OR even habits and mannerisms. 278 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:15,600 This is 1 Kings chapter 15 verse 19. 279 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,360 He says, let there be a treaty between me and you, he said, as 280 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,080 there was between my father and your father. 281 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:24,120 This is King ASA. See, I'm sending you a gift of 282 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:26,320 silver and gold. Now break your treaty with 283 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:28,800 Basha, king of Israel, so he will withdraw from me. 284 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:33,960 So this is basically the king, King ASA talking to a foreign 285 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:37,480 king, saying break your alliance with the king of Israel and take 286 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:39,440 my side. And it turns out it's the exact 287 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:43,400 same thing that King Abijah did. ASA is unconsciously or 288 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:46,920 consciously doing exactly what his father did as a wartime 289 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:50,280 treaty. And The thing is, many of us are 290 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:53,320 just content to do exactly what our parents did, but then 291 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:55,360 pretend to say, oh, we're doing it differently. 292 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,640 I would never do what my parents did, but somehow it's. 293 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:01,760 Deeply ingrained in us to make history repeat itself. 294 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:06,560 So I believe for revival to come in, it requires decisive action. 295 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:10,480 It requires strong convictions. If you don't have conditions 296 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:13,120 that are based on the Word of God, if you don't have the 297 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:16,720 ability to take decisive action to deal with these generational 298 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:19,680 patterns, they will repeat and they could get repeated 299 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:21,640 generationally. After you as well. 300 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:25,680 And so I want to just give you an example of what ASA did to 301 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:29,880 look head on at his generational influences and break it right. 302 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,240 He had a very tough stance against idolatry. 303 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,200 This is what he did. One King's chapter 15 verses 11 304 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:37,880 to 13 it says ASA did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, 305 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:42,320 as his father David had done he. Expelled the male shine 306 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:45,480 prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his 307 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,880 ancestors had made. He even deposed his grandmother 308 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:52,280 Marka from her position as Queen Mother because she had made a 309 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:57,400 repulsive image for the worship of Ashra ASA, cut it down and 310 00:15:57,400 --> 00:15:59,560 burnt. It in the Kidron Valley. 311 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:02,320 Now, you have to understand a bit about this picture. 312 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:05,480 This Asa's grandmother was Makka. 313 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:08,000 Makka was a granddaughter of David, King David. 314 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:11,080 Her father was Absalom. OK, she's royalty. 315 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:13,560 She's a royal mother. If you watch any of these, 316 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:15,400 period. Dramas you know of, you know 317 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,920 monarchs in France, in England, you know that the queen. 318 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:21,880 Mother holds a lot of power, even if she doesn't have. 319 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:24,840 The ability to take action. She controls a lot of the things 320 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:26,360 that are happening behind the scenes. 321 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:31,200 And so Queen Queen Mother Marka was actually controlling a lot 322 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:33,080 of the idolatry that was happening in the land. 323 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:38,400 And she herself had erected this huge defiling statue of Ashra in 324 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:40,240 the land. Imagine that she's a daughter of 325 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:44,640 Absalom, granddaughter of David, and yet she had brought idolatry 326 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:48,840 into the royal family. And so ASA identified where the 327 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:51,840 source of the problem was, and he dethroned her. 328 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:55,200 Now, today, I'm not asking you to dethrone your grandmother or 329 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:57,520 your grandfather or, you know, disinherit yourself. 330 00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:01,520 That's not what I'm saying. What are the influences that you 331 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,839 have allowed unconsciously or consciously into your life? 332 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,119 And you're coexisting with them, saying, well, my parents did it 333 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,520 this way. My my grandparents did it this. 334 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:14,720 Way so it's OK. When you come to a deep 335 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:18,920 relationship with God, He will make certain things not OK. 336 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,599 He will make you uncomfortable with sin. 337 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:24,040 He will make you uncomfortable with deception. 338 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:28,079 He will make you uncomfortable with things that you know hurt 339 00:17:28,079 --> 00:17:31,440 his heart. There is no way you will be able 340 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:36,280 to coexist with such idolatrous practices or beliefs. 341 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:40,080 And imagine Asa's conviction that he was able to stand up to 342 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,720 his grandmother and get her out of the throne. 343 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:46,480 Imagine the conviction. Imagine the guts that it needed 344 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:49,280 to do that. I bet he was remembered by many 345 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,000 just for that. And I'm asking you today that 346 00:17:52,120 --> 00:17:55,280 you would look into your generations before and identify 347 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:58,360 the idolatry. Identify the things you know, 348 00:17:58,360 --> 00:18:01,400 the attitudes, the behaviours, the lifestyle, the immoral 349 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,080 choices, the the sinful patterns. 350 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:08,120 It could be anger, it could be lust, it could be greed, it 351 00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:12,360 could be envy, unforgiveness. Whatever it is, pride, Identify 352 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:14,000 those things. It could be an addiction to 353 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,640 substances, it could be a dependency on a toxic 354 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:20,920 relationship consistently, it could be immoral lifestyle 355 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,800 choices, whatever it is. I pray. 356 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:28,360 That you would identify and identify and call it out and 357 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:30,400 then lay it before God and repent of it. 358 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:34,320 Because there is. A time when there's going to be 359 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:37,480 a day of reckoning, when God is going to hold us to account for 360 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:41,080 every decision, every choice that was not honouring of Him. 361 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:46,400 A full commitment to God will require that you identify the 362 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:48,480 idea. You identify the idolatry. 363 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:51,440 You identify those repeated patterns that have come down 364 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,600 generationally. You repent it because it has 365 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:57,040 invaded your life. I know for a fact worry 366 00:18:57,040 --> 00:18:59,680 infiltrated my life. Anxiety was just something I 367 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:03,080 lived with because I thought, well, those before me have done 368 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:04,800 it. They manage, they live to 75, 369 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,960 they live to 79. I think I can manage until I 370 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:10,720 realise that that's not the kind of life God wanted for me. 371 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:12,320 He didn't want it dotted by worry. 372 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:14,240 He didn't want it overwhelmed by anxiety. 373 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:18,480 He wanted me to live in freedom. And so it's so important that we 374 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:22,920 relinquish what the generations have passed, that we relinquish 375 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,800 it to God's hands and say, God, deliver me, I need help. 376 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:28,960 ASA could have. Played it safe. 377 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:31,360 You know, when you think of a grandmother who's seated there, 378 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:34,960 you know, pushing for idolatry, he could have. 379 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:37,680 Pretended not to see it. He could have said, well, you 380 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:39,480 know what, it won't be dignified to do this. 381 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:41,800 You know, it's safer if I just pretend not to see it. 382 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:43,160 May I don't have to go worship there. 383 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:45,520 Of course, I'm pulling down, you know, idols and high places, so 384 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:47,320 no one's going to judge me for that. 385 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:52,080 But it was a decisive action he had to make to cut the influence 386 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:55,880 of generationally generationally. 387 00:19:56,720 --> 00:20:00,840 That's the first thing. Asad completely was devoted to 388 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:04,280 God wholeheartedly. The second thing that he did was 389 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:06,680 he trusted God wholeheartedly. And you might think, well, they 390 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,320 sound kind of the same. It isn't because you know, it's 391 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:14,080 very easy to to follow someone you know go behind them, but to 392 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:17,320 actually trust them. When the rubber hits the road 393 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:19,880 is, you know, is the is the moment of reckoning. 394 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:22,720 It's when you are actually put on the hot seat and you have to 395 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:24,680 decide what to do. Will you trust the one you are 396 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:27,560 following or will you, you know, come up with your own devices? 397 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,840 Yes, he was devoted to God wholeheartedly, but he trusted 398 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:35,160 God wholeheartedly. And you know, trust is tested in 399 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:37,840 times of struggle, in times of battle. 400 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,800 ASA was faced by a terrible enemy, Zera the Khushite, and I 401 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:46,480 want to read that passage for you Two Chronicles chapter 14 402 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,480 verses 9 to 15. It says Zera the Kushai had 403 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:52,440 marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands 404 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:55,760 and 300 Chariots and came as far as Meresha. 405 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,880 ASA went out to meet him and they took up battle positions in 406 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:01,840 the valley of Zepheta near Meresha. 407 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,080 Then ASA called to the Lord his God and said, Lord, there is no 408 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:07,480 one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. 409 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:12,360 Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we 410 00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:13,960 have come against this vast army. 411 00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:17,960 Lord, you are our God. Do not let near mortals prevail 412 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:20,680 against you. And ASA and his army pursued 413 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:24,160 them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Kushites 414 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:25,720 fell that they could not recover. 415 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,400 They were crushed before the Lord and his forces. 416 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:31,760 The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder. 417 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:35,160 They destroyed all the villages around Gedar for the terror of 418 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,160 the Lord had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, 419 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:39,960 since there was much plunder there. 420 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,520 They also attacked the camps of the herders and carried off 421 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:45,640 droves of sheep and goats and camels. 422 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:50,160 Then they returned to Jerusalem. He was faced by an intimidating 423 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:52,800 enemy. The Khushite king came with his 424 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,800 armies. And yet his go to response was 425 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:59,480 crying out to God. Lord, we are powerless. 426 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:02,360 These guys are mighty. You need to step in. 427 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:06,080 Trust is always tested during trial. 428 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:08,320 It you when you things are good. You really don't. 429 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:10,160 You don't you can't really confess that you know you're 430 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:12,680 trusting God when things are going bad, when things are going 431 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:15,120 South, that's when our trust is tested. 432 00:22:15,120 --> 00:22:18,040 And Assa didn't flinch our sudden Finch. 433 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,520 And so the next recipe for a generational revival is that we 434 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:25,600 will need to bring God into every battle, big or small. 435 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:29,720 We need to come to a realisation that we can achieve nothing on 436 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:31,880 our own. And you know in a generation 437 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:34,680 that was to be self. Made, you know, independent 438 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:37,840 completely, you know, autonomous. 439 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:41,400 This is so antithetically, but the truth is this. 440 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:46,880 Every battle, big or small, needs got to be at the head of 441 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:48,520 the army. I can't decide. 442 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:50,280 Oh, well, you know what? God, you can sit this one out. 443 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:52,640 It's a small army. Remember what happened when 444 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:58,480 Israel went to the city of I just they said, you know, it's a 445 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:00,400 very small city. We'll just take a few guys. 446 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,240 They went as a bunch of I think around 300 they went, they were 447 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,960 routed by the enemy because there was sin in the camp. 448 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:08,840 But when you bring God into every battle, when you are, you 449 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,000 know, saying Lord, I'm lifting my hands and surrender, goof 450 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,680 before me. God has already done a work in 451 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:15,320 us. He has cleansed us. 452 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:18,640 He's prepared us for battle and we stand in victory over the 453 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:20,720 enemy. It changes the ball game 454 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:25,120 completely and God is calling us into a place of desiring this 455 00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:27,840 revival across generations because He. 456 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:29,640 Is the one who bleeds us into battle. 457 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:32,640 He's the one who brings us out victorious, and it's important 458 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,960 that we trust him as wholeheartedly as these kings 459 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:39,040 did. Now here's the the flip side to 460 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:41,520 this. OK, King ASA didn't finish on 461 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:45,600 the best note, right? He was as human as anyone of us. 462 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:49,200 So while we, he started amazingly 35 years of rest, 463 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:53,640 which is incredible, but the 36th year war broke out and it 464 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:57,440 looks like something shifted. I think with the, the war that 465 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:01,160 happened in his, you know, later years, there was something that 466 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:03,320 happened with his trust and there was a wavering. 467 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:08,080 And while he lived with his devotion to God, he loved God. 468 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:10,760 He had wiped out idolatry and deposed his grandmother. 469 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,560 He he had this trust in God that you know he will win. 470 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:16,160 Battles for him. But towards the end of his life, 471 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:20,200 when faced with a new enemy, he turned to a foreign king, the 472 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,960 king of Aram. Right, Ben Haddad, he turned to 473 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:27,440 him and he took the gold and the silver that he had dedicated for 474 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:31,960 the temple of the Lord, took it and offered it to the enemy and 475 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:35,840 said, you know what, withdraw from King Bashar of Israel, you 476 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:39,440 know, leave him without any kind of defenses and take my side in 477 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:40,800 the battle. Right. 478 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:43,360 And it's very sad because there's this conversation where 479 00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:46,240 the seer goes and meets him, a prophet goes and meets him. 480 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,240 And he gives him a word and says, you had the Kushait king 481 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,440 come against you and God fought with you and he was a huge 482 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,920 enemy. Why did you turn to this king, 483 00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:00,440 the king of Aram, in this season to get you help against the king 484 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,840 of Israel? Why didn't you rely on God? 485 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:05,240 And unfortunately, Assad didn't receive the correction. 486 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:08,480 Well, he put the seer in prison. He oppressed many people 487 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:10,520 brutally. Eventually, it says, he had a 488 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:14,440 disease in his feet. The disease got so bad and yet 489 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:17,160 one of the saddest verses. It says he still didn't consult 490 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:18,480 God. He only leaned on his 491 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,880 physicians. And the closing verse in Second 492 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:24,760 Chronicles chapter 16, verse 14 is what I want to highlight to 493 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:26,280 you. It says they buried him in the 494 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:29,360 tomb that he had cut out for himself in the city of David. 495 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,880 They laid him on a bio covered with spices in various blended 496 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:36,800 perfumes and they made a huge fire in his honour. 497 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,960 Here's the interesting thing. They buried him in the tomb that 498 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:45,840 he had cut out for himself in the city of David. 499 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:49,520 If that is not a diagnosis of the entire problem of the last 500 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:51,920 five years of Assa's life, I don't know what is. 501 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:56,200 He cut out for himself a tomb in Israel. 502 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:59,360 They were already the tombs for the kings that King David and 503 00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:00,960 Solomon and others had instituted. 504 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:04,400 So the kings were buried in the royal tombs, right? 505 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:07,960 But Assa felt he needed to cut out something for himself. 506 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:11,520 He had to prepare for his future death, and it's kind of 507 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:14,880 diagnostic of the entire last five years wherein he had to 508 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:18,760 plan for himself. Imagine if, like Hezekiah, he 509 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:20,880 had turned to God and said, Lord, look at my legs, it's 510 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:23,200 diseased, help me, what should I do? 511 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,880 Imagine if when the seer had corrected him and said, you 512 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:29,840 know, you shouldn't have turned to a foreign king for help, you 513 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:32,000 should have turned to the Lord. Imagine if he had. 514 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,600 Torn his robes and turned to God in repentance. 515 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:36,920 Can you picture? How differently it would have 516 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:39,240 ended. These are momentous decisions 517 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:43,920 that mark lives forever. And I want to ask you, how do 518 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:48,000 you plan to finish your life? Do you plan to finish it on a 519 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,440 note that is so pleasing to God? Maybe you didn't accomplish all 520 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:53,960 the things that you wanted to, but you accomplished all that 521 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:57,160 God had planned for you. Maybe you lived in such a way 522 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:00,040 that was honouring of God and the big and the small things. 523 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:04,720 It's important to know if you are depending on yourselves for 524 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,320 your future. It's very easy, you know, when 525 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:11,160 we as people get older, you know, I watch older people 526 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:15,440 around 60s and 70s start to worry about their future, what 527 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:17,520 they're going to do. Will anyone look after me? 528 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,920 Where will I stay? But sometimes, even when we're 529 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,640 younger, we we decide to plan for our own futures. 530 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,320 We decide, you know, to have something as a safety net. 531 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:31,440 We decide to preserve our, our reputation, preserve our job, 532 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:35,720 preserve our careers, preserve relationships by control. 533 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:39,880 And but God is saying this is not the opposite of a 534 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:41,920 surrendered life. A surrendered life is saying 535 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:43,680 hands up. I have nothing in my hands, 536 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:45,480 Lord, I'm coming face down before you. 537 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:48,560 Whatever you choose to do, I'm in for it. 538 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,440 I say yes. I don't know what my future 539 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:52,920 holds. I don't have children. 540 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:54,800 I don't know who's going to look after me in my future. 541 00:27:55,120 --> 00:27:57,480 I don't have resources, Lord, for a retirement. 542 00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:59,560 I don't know what's going to happen, but I trust you. 543 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:04,240 It's maybe saying, Lord, my parents haven't given me much of 544 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:06,840 A legacy or an inheritance, but God, you are my inheritance. 545 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:09,600 You have said that the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant 546 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:11,480 places. Take me to those places, Lord. 547 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:15,760 A surrendered life is a beautiful life. 548 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:21,280 It's a life where your devotion and your trust to God just 549 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:25,600 becomes, you know, implicit when you look at King Jehoshaphat, 550 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:28,560 I'm guessing. He learnt of his father's 551 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:33,640 mistakes. 1 Kings chapter 22, verses 41 to 44. 552 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:37,480 Jehoshaphat son of ASA became king of Judah in the fourth year 553 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,840 of Ahab, king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was 35 years old 554 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,800 when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 25 years. 555 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:46,880 His mother's name was Azuba, daughter of Shilhi. 556 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:50,240 In everything he followed the ways of his father ASA, and did 557 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:52,240 not stray from them. He did what was right in the 558 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:54,680 eyes of the Lord. The high places, however, were 559 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:57,960 not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices 560 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:00,920 and burn incense there. Jehoshaphat. 561 00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:04,480 Was also at peace with the King of Israel. 562 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:07,600 Now, if you see the commonality, just like his father, he was 563 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:10,360 deeply devoted to God. He was completely, wholly 564 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:13,000 devoted. He also completely trusted God. 565 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:17,600 When he was faced with this huge army of the Ammonites and the 566 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:21,360 Edomites and the Meunites, when he was facing them, the first 567 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,360 thing he did was rush to God and say and cry out him and say, 568 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:26,480 Lord, I don't know what to do. The army is huge. 569 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:29,160 We are so little in number. They are mighty. 570 00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:32,400 And God said, I will fight you. Just go take your position, I 571 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,600 will fight for you. And all Jehoshaphat did was set 572 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:38,520 the singers in front. And as the singers were 573 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,720 worshipping God and singing, you know, his love endures forever, 574 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:45,280 God did the fighting for them, he said ambushes. 575 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:48,480 And the three countries that came against them fought each 576 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:50,360 other, slaughtered each other, and. 577 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:53,080 All Jehoshaphat and his people had to do was go into the 578 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:55,120 battlefield and collect the plunder. 579 00:29:55,120 --> 00:30:00,160 Can you believe it? This is what generational trust 580 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:02,120 can do. When you carry the trust that 581 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:04,560 you saw in your parents, when you carry the trust that you see 582 00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:06,760 in people older than you may be at your church, in your 583 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:10,080 community, wherever, and you carry that into your life, the 584 00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:12,840 victories that God gives you will set you apart and. 585 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:16,520 Jehoshaphat is known for that particular battle, for that 586 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:21,440 particular battle strategy. But there was a mistake that 587 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:23,800 Jehoshaphat made. If you look at the last verse it 588 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:26,320 says over there Jehoshaphat was also at peace. 589 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:29,360 With the king of Israel. Now, you have to understand what 590 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:32,320 this the the northern and the southern Kingdom were at war. 591 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:36,480 When King ASA was leading. He was always at war with the 592 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:40,320 king of Israel, right? But somehow Jehoshaphat had 593 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:43,280 created a peace treaty. How did he do that? 594 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,360 He did it through an alliance, and the alliance was marked by 595 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:48,840 marriage. So what had happened was 596 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:53,160 Jehoshaphat's son had gotten married into Ahab's family. 597 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:55,160 Now what is the background on Ahab? 598 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:58,760 Ahab was married to Jezebel, OK, And they had a daughter called 599 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:02,880 Athalia who was as wicked as her mother Jezebel, right. 600 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:05,840 And about Ahab, there's one verse which is very disturbing. 601 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:09,480 It says there was number King as wicked as Ahab who sold himself 602 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:13,080 to do evil. Why would King Jehoshaphat, who 603 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,520 followed God with all his heart, trusted God so deeply, desired 604 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:20,160 to please God so much, go and ally himself with such a wicked 605 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:21,720 king? It's a big. 606 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:25,880 Question, right? And this was the one mistake 607 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,880 that he made, which I think didn't please God much. 608 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:32,880 Let's read two Chronicles chapter 19, verses 2 and 3. 609 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:37,040 Jehu this year the son of Hanani went out to meet him and said to 610 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:39,360 the king. Should you help the wicked and 611 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,480 love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, the wrath of 612 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:45,400 the Lord is on you. There is, however, some good in 613 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:49,360 you, for you have rid the land of the Ashara poles and has set 614 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:53,000 your heart on seeking God. So there was good in 615 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:54,400 Jehoshaphat, there's no denying it. 616 00:31:54,720 --> 00:32:00,080 But should you help the wicked and love those who hate the 617 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:01,720 Lord? I want to ask you this right 618 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,120 now. Who have you allied yourself 619 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:06,880 with? What relationships are you 620 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:09,440 entertaining in your life with people who could be? 621 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:12,440 Toxic to others and yet somehow you're thinking, well they're 622 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:14,120 fine with me. What's wrong with this? 623 00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:17,200 Who are you in business with? Who are you? 624 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:21,400 Dating Are these people in God's will for you? 625 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:24,320 Are these people in God's will for your current season? 626 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:27,160 It's. So important because the, the, 627 00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:29,800 the rationale we use over ourselves is, well, you know 628 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:31,040 what? This, they're harmless enough. 629 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:33,640 They've not done anything to me. Well, I've heard some things 630 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:34,960 about them. I've heard that, you know, they 631 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:37,040 have certain preferences or they live a certain way. 632 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:41,760 But it doesn't affect me. The alliances we entertain can 633 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:44,760 either make us or break us. It's very easy. 634 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:49,120 Every season has people that God puts into our lives to journey 635 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:51,000 with. Some he keeps there just to 636 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,440 sharpen us. We're not always going to have 637 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:56,320 people who agree with us who are exactly on the same wavelength 638 00:32:56,320 --> 00:33:00,960 as us. No, But there are some alliances 639 00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:03,920 which will, you know, really push us and urge us towards our 640 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:05,640 destiny. There are some which are 641 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,040 completely off, They're completely wrong, which can 642 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:11,120 derail you and delay the fulfillment of your destiny. 643 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:14,680 They can clutter your life with so much of drama and 644 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:17,640 distraction. And in this situation, 645 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:21,360 Jehoshaphat's connection with King Ahab's family was not 646 00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:24,560 something God was pleased with. And you have to understand this, 647 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:28,160 it didn't just end with them. So Jehoshaphat had a son called 648 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:30,600 Jehoram. Jehoram married Atalia, who was 649 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:34,640 Ahab and Jezebel's daughter. Now Ahab had already corrupted 650 00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:36,480 the bloodline of the kings of Israel. 651 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:40,640 Him and his wife, they'd done such outrageously terrible, evil 652 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:42,840 things. But it didn't end there. 653 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:45,600 It came to Atalia, entered the line of Judah. 654 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:48,800 Now, Atalia married Jehoram, right? 655 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:52,240 And when, when, you know, Jehoshaphat died, Jehoram was 656 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:53,360 supposed to take over the throne. 657 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:57,520 He was already the Crown Prince. But what Atalia made him do was 658 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:01,240 it says she incited him to do evil, just like her mother 659 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:04,680 Jezebel Haddam. And she caused him to 660 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,520 assassinate everyone of Jehoshaphat's brothers, the 661 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:10,840 other children of Jehoshaphat, so that his place was secure 662 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:13,679 and. After Jehoram died, Atalia 663 00:34:13,679 --> 00:34:15,719 ruled. Over Judah, and she was one of 664 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:19,159 the most. Wicked Queens, most wicked. 665 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:21,239 And I want to ask. You this. 666 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:25,280 What alliance are you entertaining that could complete 667 00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:27,840 completely derail your destiny That could completely. 668 00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:29,880 Take you off. Track that could you know God is 669 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:32,199 more powerful than all of this. He will bring things back 670 00:34:32,199 --> 00:34:35,320 because even in this line of Jehoram and Italia came a little 671 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:39,880 child called Joash who restored godly worship to the land of 672 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:42,560 Israel. He cleaned the temple out, he 673 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:47,120 killed Italia, but there was 2 generations. 674 00:34:47,679 --> 00:34:52,080 That we're suffering under the influence of evil just because 675 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:54,159 of a wrong alliance made by Jeko Shifet? 676 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:56,320 What alliance are you allowing in? 677 00:34:56,440 --> 00:35:01,880 Is it an extramarital affair? Is it that one business partner 678 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:03,840 that you know God is not pleased with? 679 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:10,240 Is it that one relationship that is so toxic but you somehow feel 680 00:35:10,240 --> 00:35:12,080 you need it? Maybe it's something that you've 681 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:14,400 outgrown. God is saying the season has 682 00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:17,320 shifted, you need to move on, but you're still clinging on to. 683 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:20,360 Those old things God's saying, let go, let. 684 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:23,280 Go. Our alliances matter. 685 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:26,680 Wrong alliances can be so detrimental to revival touching 686 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:30,560 our generation. So my question to you is, how do 687 00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:33,320 you and I practically make this work for us? 688 00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:36,360 So we desire revival. We have the recipes of, you 689 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:40,160 know, really pursuing God to be devoted to him completely. 690 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:42,880 You know, we want to bring God into every battle, correct? 691 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:47,000 We also want to not repeat the sins of our fathers. 692 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:49,480 But how do we practically outwork? 693 00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:53,640 This. How do we actually create an 694 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:57,280 heir for revival? How do we allow the generations 695 00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:00,400 to thrive? It's so important, and I want 696 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:03,840 you first of all to remember that it's not going to be my 697 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:06,600 might or power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. 698 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:10,960 Zerubabel and his counterparts were called to rebuild the 699 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:15,560 temple after the exile had finished 70 years. 700 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:17,760 Right. And God was speaking through the 701 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:21,320 prophets to Zerubabel saying this task is too big and right 702 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:23,640 now all you're doing is you're laying the foundations. 703 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:26,280 He said don't. Despise the day of small 704 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:28,000 beginnings. And he said this is not going to 705 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:31,200 be happening because of your willpower, your might, your 706 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:32,800 connections. No, it's going to happen. 707 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:34,960 This is the Spirit of God, and I want to encourage you. 708 00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:38,440 Therefore, a revival to break out across generations is only 709 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:40,080 going to be the Spirit of God who does it. 710 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:44,480 But there are certain habits and certain disciplines we need to 711 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:47,520 inculcate in our lives in order to make the ground ready for 712 00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:49,600 such a revival. And the first thing is that you 713 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:53,360 would remember and replicate the godly deeds of your ancestors. 714 00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:58,360 Too many of us are calling, you know, the previous generations 715 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:00,640 responsible for the state we are in. 716 00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:03,920 We're calling it trauma. We're calling it, you know, 717 00:37:04,240 --> 00:37:07,800 abuse where there has been abuse, where there is trauma, 718 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:09,960 God sees it. God brings healing. 719 00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:12,560 It is good to name it. But then how long will we be 720 00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:15,120 stuck in that rut? How long are we going to keep 721 00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:18,160 blaming them without saying you know what, God you? 722 00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:20,160 Heal me now. I move forward in healing, I 723 00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:23,680 move forward in restoration. And it is important for us that 724 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:28,160 we remember and rehash the good also, not just the bad. 725 00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:31,560 Every generation has good and bad. 726 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:34,120 There would be terrible things that they may have done in the 727 00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:36,840 past generation. But when you unearth, when you 728 00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:40,000 dig deeper, you find that there were godly things as well. 729 00:37:40,760 --> 00:37:43,280 And I pray that you would remember and replicate those 730 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:47,920 godly things, you know, find the gold in the rubble. 731 00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:51,880 Find the gold in the rubble. Two Chronicles, chapter 14, 732 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:54,920 verse 7 to 8, it says let us build up. 733 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:57,840 This is King ASA. He is building up the towns in a 734 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:00,280 time of peace. There's no war, so he has time 735 00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:01,920 on his hands. He has resources. 736 00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:05,000 He says let us build up these towns, he said to Judah, and put 737 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:07,600 walls around them with towers, gates and bars. 738 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:10,640 The land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God. 739 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:13,640 We sought him and he has given us rest on every side. 740 00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:18,800 So they built and prospered. Assa had an army of 300,000 men 741 00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:22,400 from Judah equipped with large Shields and with spheres, and 742 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:27,080 280,000 from Benjamin armed with small Shields and with bows. 743 00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:29,440 All these were brave fighting men. 744 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:33,800 Assa had rebuilt the walls, reinforced the place, fortified 745 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:36,440 the place, so that if war was to come, they were ready. 746 00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:40,760 Now look at what the psalmist writes in Psalm 48, verses 12 to 747 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,040 14. He says, walk about Zion, go 748 00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:47,400 around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view 749 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:50,720 her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. 750 00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:53,880 For this God is our God, forever and ever. 751 00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:56,520 He will be our guide even to the end. 752 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:01,880 When you look at the ancestors, when you look at those who have 753 00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:05,960 gone before you, the older people, I pray that you would 754 00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:08,240 look at them for what they have accomplished. 755 00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:11,800 Did ASA end well? Not so well, but what did he 756 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:13,720 accomplish? He built these towers up and the 757 00:39:13,720 --> 00:39:16,440 psalmist is saying look at those citadels, look at those towers. 758 00:39:17,080 --> 00:39:19,480 Tell your children, hey, this is what our kings did. 759 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:23,120 This is what our ancestors did. If you would only look. 760 00:39:23,720 --> 00:39:25,760 For the gold and the rubble, there'll be so much to tell 761 00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:28,040 generations. So when I talk to my children 762 00:39:28,040 --> 00:39:31,040 about their grand great grandparents, I talk about one 763 00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:35,040 of my great grandfathers who was a temple pujari who accepted 764 00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:39,160 Jesus and he and his wife transformed an entire town in 765 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:42,680 the southern parts of India. They brought education to a 766 00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:45,200 village. I tell them about that, that 767 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:48,520 granddad who though he worried, loved the Lord with all his 768 00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:51,320 heart and was so compassionate to anyone he met. 769 00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:55,120 He would if, if a poor person asked him for a cycle, he would 770 00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:56,520 give the cycle that he had to them. 771 00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:59,720 This was the kind of man he was, goodness personified. 772 00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:01,920 He had the goodness of God in him. 773 00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:05,400 And so I teach my children both sides of it. 774 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:08,520 Hey, you know what, don't worry, let's not worry, let's trust 775 00:40:08,520 --> 00:40:10,200 God. But then also say, you know 776 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:13,080 what, hang on loosely to the things God has given you. 777 00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:14,840 Give it to those who need it more than you. 778 00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:17,960 You see what I'm saying? Repeat. 779 00:40:18,760 --> 00:40:22,440 Replicate. Remember the godly things that 780 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:24,920 your ancestors have done. Every generation has. 781 00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:27,120 Gold in it. Find the gold. 782 00:40:27,400 --> 00:40:31,760 The second thing is repeatedly restore your trust in God so 783 00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:33,560 that future generations are impacted. 784 00:40:34,160 --> 00:40:39,600 Had ASA known that the God who rescued me from the Kushite king 785 00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:42,800 will rescue me from Basha, king of Israel, he could have gone 786 00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:46,080 back to God boldly and said, Lord, you didn't once do it 787 00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:49,880 again. Two Chronicles chapter 16, 788 00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:52,880 verses 7 to 10. At that time Hanani the seer 789 00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:56,480 came to ASA, king of Judah, and said to him, because you relied 790 00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:59,360 on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of 791 00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:02,040 the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 792 00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:05,440 When are the Kushites and Libyans a mighty army with great 793 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:07,000 numbers of Chariots and horsemen? 794 00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:10,080 Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your 795 00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:13,200 hand. For the eyes of the Lord ranged 796 00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:16,400 through the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully 797 00:41:16,400 --> 00:41:19,600 committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, 798 00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:21,960 and from now on you will be at war. 799 00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:25,880 Why didn't Asad think that God could be trusted again with 800 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:30,080 another battle? Over 40 years I've had different 801 00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:34,200 struggles with health in different areas of my life and 802 00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:36,960 at one point I used to think I feel embarrassed to come to God 803 00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:40,240 again with a, you know, a issue. God, you've already done it 804 00:41:40,240 --> 00:41:42,760 before. I'm content with that, but I'm 805 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:48,520 realizing as I get older that with each season comes its 806 00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:52,680 struggles and I can keep coming back to this God even if I feel 807 00:41:52,680 --> 00:41:55,840 I'm wearing him. He is not wearied because He has 808 00:41:55,840 --> 00:41:57,720 not ceased being my heavenly Father. 809 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:00,880 He still delights when I say, God help me. 810 00:42:01,600 --> 00:42:04,160 I know you rescued me from this 10 years back, but rescue me 811 00:42:04,160 --> 00:42:08,880 again, Lord. 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 9 to 10. 812 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:12,320 It says indeed we felt we had received the sentence of death, 813 00:42:12,520 --> 00:42:15,880 but this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on 814 00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:19,560 God who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a 815 00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:22,600 deadly peril and will deliver us again. 816 00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:26,960 On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us. 817 00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:30,400 When I was reading this verse this week, it just challenged me 818 00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:33,080 to never stop asking God for deliverance. 819 00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:36,480 So maybe you, you had Deliverance in your 20s and now 820 00:42:36,480 --> 00:42:38,320 you're in your 40s and you're thinking, well, I don't want to 821 00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:40,520 bore. God with this, no please, by all 822 00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:45,120 means trust Him because you have to keep reinstating your trust 823 00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:48,200 in Him alone. Repeatedly restore your trust 824 00:42:48,200 --> 00:42:52,240 because the minute our trust drops, we are at a potential for 825 00:42:52,240 --> 00:42:54,880 the next generation to face warfare like never before. 826 00:42:55,480 --> 00:42:58,240 But when you choose to stand firm and say Lord you delivered 827 00:42:58,240 --> 00:43:01,600 me before, deliver me again. And the beauty is he says he 828 00:43:01,600 --> 00:43:04,760 will deliver. Continue to deliver us present 829 00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:08,920 continuous into the future. There is a dot, dot, dot there. 830 00:43:08,920 --> 00:43:13,080 There is no end till you close your life eyes on earth. 831 00:43:14,080 --> 00:43:17,560 He promises to deliver you. Why do we put limits on God? 832 00:43:17,720 --> 00:43:19,200 Lord, you already healed me of this. 833 00:43:19,320 --> 00:43:21,360 It's come back. Should I ask you again? 834 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:25,040 Of course, ask him again. Should I just maybe trust the 835 00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:28,240 doctors this time around? Go to the doctor, but trust God. 836 00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:33,040 Maybe it's a struggle that has been recurrent in your life and 837 00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:34,840 you're so embarrassed to go to God with it. 838 00:43:34,840 --> 00:43:39,040 Please don't be embarrassed. Go to Him again and again 839 00:43:39,040 --> 00:43:42,320 because the God who delivered you back then from such a deadly 840 00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:46,440 peril will deliver you again, and He will continue to deliver 841 00:43:46,440 --> 00:43:48,920 you. You don't have to feel bad. 842 00:43:49,560 --> 00:43:52,360 He is your heavenly Father. You know, the thing that is 843 00:43:52,640 --> 00:43:56,080 thing about, you know, genetics and stuff that is generationally 844 00:43:56,080 --> 00:43:59,880 passed down is it will keep rearing its ugly head out of the 845 00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:01,480 blue. That anger that, you know, white 846 00:44:01,480 --> 00:44:05,320 rage will raise its head suddenly that envy will pop up. 847 00:44:05,320 --> 00:44:08,640 Suddenly the unforgiveness will will slink its way back in. 848 00:44:08,640 --> 00:44:11,080 And so it's so important that you ask God for repeated 849 00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:13,440 deliverance from those patterns, from those cycles. 850 00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:17,960 And the third thing that I want to leave with you a habit, a 851 00:44:17,960 --> 00:44:20,960 discipline that you need to have in order to experience and to 852 00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:23,920 set the ground for such a revival is to sacrificially 853 00:44:23,920 --> 00:44:28,960 serve God in your generation. Two Chronicles chapter 14 was 4 854 00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:32,400 talks about King ASA. It says he commanded Judah to 855 00:44:32,400 --> 00:44:35,400 seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, to obey his laws and 856 00:44:35,760 --> 00:44:37,680 commands. Right. 857 00:44:38,400 --> 00:44:40,560 ASA was very clear about what he had to accomplish. 858 00:44:40,560 --> 00:44:43,600 He tore down the Pagan altars. He rebuilt God's altars. 859 00:44:43,800 --> 00:44:46,680 He led the people towards the altar and, you know, sacrificed 860 00:44:46,680 --> 00:44:50,120 so much of Cate. He, you know, they made a 861 00:44:50,120 --> 00:44:52,320 covenant with God that they would seek his face. 862 00:44:52,320 --> 00:44:55,080 And it's, it's interesting. It says when they sought God, 863 00:44:55,080 --> 00:44:58,000 they were he they found. Him and the land had. 864 00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:01,400 Rest for 35 years. Isn't that amazing? 865 00:45:01,720 --> 00:45:05,920 Two Chronicles 15 verse 7 is is the culmination of a prophetic 866 00:45:05,920 --> 00:45:09,240 word that comes to King ASA even as he is setting his mind about, 867 00:45:09,240 --> 00:45:12,000 you know, seeking God as a community, as a country. 868 00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:16,760 This here goes to him and says, But As for you, be strong. 869 00:45:16,760 --> 00:45:19,920 And do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. 870 00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:22,680 What was the work that King ASA did? 871 00:45:22,840 --> 00:45:25,640 It was not just ruling the people in matters of law and 872 00:45:25,640 --> 00:45:28,400 justice and all of that administratively, but it was 873 00:45:28,440 --> 00:45:30,360 also teaching them the Word of God. 874 00:45:30,560 --> 00:45:34,280 Moving them towards their God. That was his passion project 875 00:45:34,720 --> 00:45:37,560 during his reign. And the prophet is giving him 876 00:45:37,560 --> 00:45:40,360 God's work, saying do it, it's going to be hard, but do it 877 00:45:41,200 --> 00:45:42,760 because you are going to be rewarded and. 878 00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:45,400 It says that it's. Spurred us on to do greater 879 00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:50,040 things. God has a desire for his. 880 00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:54,560 People to know Him personally and whatever you are doing as 881 00:45:54,560 --> 00:45:58,520 your work, as your calling right now, if you look at the baseline 882 00:45:58,520 --> 00:46:00,800 of it, God would have kept you in that job. 883 00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:03,680 God would have kept you in that particular task, doing that 884 00:46:03,680 --> 00:46:07,160 particular task or growing in a particular skill so that you can 885 00:46:07,160 --> 00:46:11,760 be an agent of reconciliation to someone, so that you can connect 886 00:46:11,760 --> 00:46:16,360 that one person that you might meet to Jesus, to their Maker, 887 00:46:16,400 --> 00:46:18,880 to their creator, so that they are no longer estranged from 888 00:46:18,880 --> 00:46:22,360 God. And so would you sacrificially 889 00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:25,400 serve God in your generation? See, it's interesting. 890 00:46:25,440 --> 00:46:28,040 ASA had this clear mandate from God. 891 00:46:28,040 --> 00:46:31,440 God was saying, there's been a time when nobody was following 892 00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:35,480 God, Nobody knew the law, nobody knew the word, right? 893 00:46:35,480 --> 00:46:37,000 Nobody knew God, nobody knew the law. 894 00:46:38,200 --> 00:46:41,920 What Jehoshaphat did was he knew what God had, you know, given as 895 00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:44,200 Asa's mandate. He lived it out. 896 00:46:44,560 --> 00:46:47,600 He brought it to fulfillment. You know what Jehoshaphat did? 897 00:46:47,760 --> 00:46:50,400 He raised up Levites. He released them into the land 898 00:46:50,400 --> 00:46:52,400 and said go and teach the people the word. 899 00:46:53,280 --> 00:46:56,920 He raised up judges and said judge wisely, judge impartially, 900 00:46:57,040 --> 00:47:01,600 make sure the people are looked after, care for them so. 901 00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:04,720 What ASA had received as a mandate, and ASA did to the best 902 00:47:04,720 --> 00:47:08,280 of his ability, Jehoshaphat came in and completed it. 903 00:47:08,880 --> 00:47:11,480 At the end of Jehoshaphat's life, of course it says not 904 00:47:11,480 --> 00:47:14,080 everyone was committed to the Lord, but I don't think God 905 00:47:14,080 --> 00:47:17,920 holds that against him because he did what he had to do. 906 00:47:18,160 --> 00:47:21,280 So what has God asked you to do in your generation? 907 00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:25,560 Maybe you saw your your the previous generations not 908 00:47:25,560 --> 00:47:27,120 accomplish much. Or maybe you feel your 909 00:47:27,120 --> 00:47:28,600 generations before done too much. 910 00:47:28,600 --> 00:47:30,200 You can't step into those big shoes. 911 00:47:30,520 --> 00:47:35,720 But ask God, Lord, show me what I must do in my generation, and 912 00:47:35,720 --> 00:47:37,880 give me the grace to sacrificially serve you. 913 00:47:38,120 --> 00:47:42,840 Would it have cost ASA and Jehoshaphat a lot to be so 914 00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:44,920 committed to worshipping God? Absolutely. 915 00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:48,000 See, because when you're ruling as a king, you're actually 916 00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:50,200 taking from the people. It's more of a grasping thing. 917 00:47:50,200 --> 00:47:52,280 You know, you're, you have people who work for you as 918 00:47:52,280 --> 00:47:54,760 foremen, as labourers, bakers and this and that. 919 00:47:55,120 --> 00:47:56,600 You're receiving from the people. 920 00:47:56,800 --> 00:47:59,400 But when you're worshipping and you're trying to get an entire 921 00:47:59,400 --> 00:48:03,360 community to turn to God, you're sacrificing your cattle, you're 922 00:48:03,360 --> 00:48:06,920 giving of the temple wealth, you're tithing, you're you're 923 00:48:06,920 --> 00:48:09,200 giving generously more than receiving your giving. 924 00:48:10,280 --> 00:48:12,440 And God is calling his people in this time. 925 00:48:12,440 --> 00:48:14,720 Each generation needs to sacrificially serve. 926 00:48:14,880 --> 00:48:17,040 You cannot serve from the place of your comfort. 927 00:48:17,040 --> 00:48:18,840 You cannot serve from the place of excess. 928 00:48:19,040 --> 00:48:22,120 You have to serve sacrificially. It has to cost you something. 929 00:48:22,840 --> 00:48:25,560 What is it costing you? How are you serving God? 930 00:48:27,400 --> 00:48:29,640 What is the mandate that God has given you? 931 00:48:30,720 --> 00:48:33,640 Look for the gold in the generations before in that 932 00:48:33,640 --> 00:48:35,240 rubble. You may look at it as a rubble. 933 00:48:35,520 --> 00:48:37,640 God has gold in that. There's treasure in that. 934 00:48:37,640 --> 00:48:41,160 Look for it, repeat it, repeat it. 935 00:48:41,160 --> 00:48:42,480 It's so important that you do that. 936 00:48:42,640 --> 00:48:45,640 Secondly, repeatedly. Restore your trust in God. 937 00:48:46,080 --> 00:48:49,040 Every battle that comes, don't think, Oh my gosh, this, this. 938 00:48:49,040 --> 00:48:50,840 I feel bad bringing it back to God. 939 00:48:51,040 --> 00:48:53,040 Oh you know what? Maybe this one I can handle on 940 00:48:53,040 --> 00:48:53,560 my own. No. 941 00:48:53,800 --> 00:48:57,600 Repeatedly restore your trust. In him finally, sacrificially 942 00:48:57,600 --> 00:49:02,640 serve Him in your generation. I want to ask you, even as we 943 00:49:02,640 --> 00:49:06,280 close, what alliances have you gotten yourself tied into? 944 00:49:06,280 --> 00:49:10,000 What alliances are wrong that you have contemplating getting 945 00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:14,160 back into which could completely derail your destiny? 946 00:49:15,440 --> 00:49:19,000 Are you living with the lack of surrender to God where like 947 00:49:19,440 --> 00:49:23,560 Assad dug himself for his own tomb, You are planning out your 948 00:49:23,560 --> 00:49:27,040 life without realizing that God has already got it all planned 949 00:49:27,040 --> 00:49:29,840 out. You are sorted, eternally 950 00:49:29,840 --> 00:49:31,160 sorted. If you chose Jesus, you are 951 00:49:31,160 --> 00:49:33,240 sorted. All you need to do is live in 952 00:49:33,240 --> 00:49:40,360 surrender. Would you choose to have strong 953 00:49:40,360 --> 00:49:42,400 convictions that are based on the Word of God? 954 00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:46,240 That would even if it requires you to have certain guts to do 955 00:49:46,240 --> 00:49:49,360 certain things, to cut certain relationships off, to cut 956 00:49:49,360 --> 00:49:51,880 certain idolatrous practices out of your life, that you would 957 00:49:51,880 --> 00:49:55,440 have the courage to do it. That is my challenge to you. 958 00:49:55,840 --> 00:49:58,680 Can we pray together? Father in Heaven, I just pray 959 00:49:58,680 --> 00:50:01,200 and invite you in right now. I thank you that you are the God 960 00:50:01,200 --> 00:50:03,440 of generations. I thank you that every 961 00:50:03,440 --> 00:50:06,480 generation has your heart. I thank you Lord, that you are 962 00:50:06,480 --> 00:50:10,080 so in love with the people you have created. 963 00:50:11,000 --> 00:50:12,800 And I just. Pray right now for those of us 964 00:50:12,800 --> 00:50:15,160 who are in the service, irrespective of our age. 965 00:50:15,160 --> 00:50:18,640 I pray, O Father, that you would give us a deep download of your 966 00:50:18,640 --> 00:50:21,720 mandate for this season. I pray, Lord, there will be no 967 00:50:21,720 --> 00:50:25,560 more laziness, there will be no more apathy, there will be no 968 00:50:25,560 --> 00:50:28,680 more checking or prematurely, but instead we will be all in. 969 00:50:28,840 --> 00:50:32,120 Spirit of God, I pray you would put a fire within our hearts. 970 00:50:32,320 --> 00:50:34,880 Lord, I pray for reconciliation between generations. 971 00:50:34,880 --> 00:50:37,640 Parents would turn towards children, children towards 972 00:50:37,640 --> 00:50:39,720 parents. We pray, O God, that you will 973 00:50:39,720 --> 00:50:42,760 bring healing and relationships. I pray for restoration. 974 00:50:42,760 --> 00:50:45,600 We pray where there have been sinful patterns being practiced, 975 00:50:45,840 --> 00:50:48,560 that Lord, irrespective of whether the ancestors repented, 976 00:50:48,560 --> 00:50:51,400 we repent right now that you would forgive us, Lord. 977 00:50:51,720 --> 00:50:55,280 Of all idolatry, of everything unclean, everything sinful. 978 00:50:55,560 --> 00:50:57,800 That you would. Wash our bloodlines clean in the 979 00:50:57,800 --> 00:51:00,520 blood of the Lamb, and you would restore us. 980 00:51:00,520 --> 00:51:03,000 Father, I pray for fresh assignments to be given to 981 00:51:03,000 --> 00:51:05,200 people. I pray, O Lord, for fresh love 982 00:51:05,200 --> 00:51:07,120 to be given between parents and children. 983 00:51:07,680 --> 00:51:11,200 We pray, O Father, for the next generation to be told of the 984 00:51:11,200 --> 00:51:15,320 praiseworthy deeds of God. We pray that your might and 985 00:51:15,320 --> 00:51:19,320 power will be on display on the earth because of what you do 986 00:51:19,320 --> 00:51:22,840 between our generations. I pray for every church. 987 00:51:23,160 --> 00:51:26,560 We pray God that. As we are so multi generational 988 00:51:26,560 --> 00:51:29,520 in our churches, we pray that we will glean from the wisdom of 989 00:51:29,520 --> 00:51:34,960 the elderly and that Lord the elderly will will receive what 990 00:51:34,960 --> 00:51:36,560 the younger people are carrying right now. 991 00:51:36,560 --> 00:51:39,360 We won't look at each other with antagonism, we won't look at 992 00:51:39,360 --> 00:51:41,920 each other with insecurity, but there will be so much love that 993 00:51:41,920 --> 00:51:45,680 holds us together. I pray for those who feel they 994 00:51:45,680 --> 00:51:49,560 have no fathers, no mothers, nobody of their previous 995 00:51:49,560 --> 00:51:51,720 generation to learn from to glean from. 996 00:51:51,960 --> 00:51:55,840 Father in heaven, I pray that they will lean into you, that 997 00:51:55,840 --> 00:51:59,360 God you will give them the best of heaven above and the earth 998 00:51:59,360 --> 00:52:00,680 below. That Lord, they will receive 999 00:52:00,680 --> 00:52:04,080 your love and walk in it or Father, that they will begin to 1000 00:52:04,080 --> 00:52:06,560 establish a legacy for generations to come. 1001 00:52:07,720 --> 00:52:10,600 I thank you that with you as our Father, none of us are orphans, 1002 00:52:10,880 --> 00:52:13,600 none of us are abandoned. We are loved, we are cherished, 1003 00:52:13,840 --> 00:52:17,680 we are called, we are chosen, we love you and we honour you. 1004 00:52:17,680 --> 00:52:19,960 In Jesus name I pray. Amen. 1005 00:52:20,120 --> 00:52:21,640 Amen. God bless you. 1006 00:52:21,640 --> 00:52:25,120 Even as you get into this week, I want to just encourage you to 1007 00:52:25,120 --> 00:52:28,440 seek God with all your heart for your life, for the generation 1008 00:52:28,440 --> 00:52:30,960 that's coming after you, for the generation that's gone before 1009 00:52:30,960 --> 00:52:33,480 that, you will ask God where there is, you know, a lack of 1010 00:52:33,480 --> 00:52:35,800 reconciliation, that he would bring peace, He would bring 1011 00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:38,320 healing. And where he wants to, you know, 1012 00:52:38,600 --> 00:52:41,440 release new revelation. He wants to bring fresh 1013 00:52:41,440 --> 00:52:43,720 thoughts, fresh healing that you would invite. 1014 00:52:43,720 --> 00:52:45,800 That in. Even as you head into this week, 1015 00:52:45,800 --> 00:52:49,760 I pray that you will have a spirit filled week one with you 1016 00:52:49,760 --> 00:52:51,960 know many God moments you'll be aware of Him. 1017 00:52:52,360 --> 00:52:55,480 Every second of every day, remember that whoever finds 1018 00:52:55,480 --> 00:52:57,880 Jesus finds life. God bless you. 1019 00:52:59,160 --> 00:53:01,000 Thanks for listening to this message. 1020 00:53:01,360 --> 00:53:04,840 We hope you were blessed to hear more messages like this. 1021 00:53:05,160 --> 00:53:08,760 Make sure to subscribe and check out our podcast channel for. 1022 00:53:08,760 --> 00:53:13,400 Past episodes, if you like what you are hearing, consider rating 1023 00:53:13,400 --> 00:53:16,800 us, subscribing and even sharing it with friends. 1024 00:53:17,200 --> 00:53:21,520 That could really help us. For more content from Via Zion 1025 00:53:21,880 --> 00:53:26,040 and to connect with us, go to viazion.in. 1026 00:53:26,600 --> 00:53:30,160 Remember, whoever finds Jesus finds life.