Gen V

About this sermon

One of the slogans in Israel of the Gaza War is “You’ve fallen on the wrong generation: we are the victory generation.” This shows the moral resolve of young Israelis to win the war against terrorism and global ISIS-Hamas-Jihadism. This is not gen x, gen y, or gen z. It is Gen V. This spirit of victory, moral resolve, and fighting evil is something for all of us to receive. This is a parallel characteristic for both Israel and the Church ekklesia. There is no way to be “for” good if you are not “against” evil. The warfare is spiritual, intellectual, and military. Why did the Israelites spend 40 years wandering in the desert? The old “exodus” generation had to die out, and a new generation take over. What was their problem? The “ex” generation was not willing to fight in the war against evil. שמות י''ז:17 בְּשַׁלַּ֣ח פַּרְעֹה֮ אֶת־הָעָם֒ וְלֹא־נָחָ֣ם אֱלֹהִ֗ים דֶּ֚רֶךְ אֶ֣רֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים כִּ֥י קָר֖וֹב ה֑וּא כִּ֣י אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹהִ֗ים פֶּֽן־יִנָּחֵ֥ם הָעָ֛ם בִּרְאֹתָ֥ם מִלְחָמָ֖ה Exodus 13:17 When Pharoah sent out the people, God did not lead them through the way of the Philistines which was so near, because God said, “Lest the people remorse when they see war.” They could have gone directly from Egypt into victory in Canaan-land. But they weren’t ready to fight. So, they were redirected into the wilderness to wander for a full generation. There were three stages: salvation from slavery; then wandering in wilderness; then fighting for victory. Many today have been “saved” but are still “wandering” in the wilderness. Now is the time to cross over the Jordan into the “war” and the “victory.” This involves a change in concept for all of us. Every part of Israeli society is dealing with the need for this change in concept. God wants us to have victory and fulfilled promises. However, you can’t have victory without war. Many today have been “saved” but have not entered the victory stage because they aren’t willing to fight. Learning warfare is an essential part of faithfulness and moral character. שופטים ג':1-3 וְאֵ֤לֶּה הַגּוֹיִם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הִנִּ֣יחַ יְהוָ֔ה לְנַסּ֥וֹת בָּ֖ם אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אֵ֚ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽא־יָדְע֔וּ אֵ֖ת כָּל־מִלְחֲמ֥וֹת כְּנָֽעַן׃ 2רַ֗ק לְמַ֨עַן֙ דַּ֚עַת דֹּר֣וֹת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לְלַמְּדָ֖ם מִלְחָמָ֑ה רַ֥ק אֲשֶׁר־לְפָנִ֖ים לֹ֥א יְדָעֽוּם׃ Judges 3:1-2 These are the nations that the Lord left to test Israel by them; all those who did not know the wars of Canaan. 2. So that the generations of the children of Israel would know how to fight war; for they did not yet know. God wants you to know war. That is hard for some to grasp. Fighting in moral, spiritual, and military warfare is part of walking in faith. To fear God is to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13). If we haven’t been through war, we miss some basic aspects of faith: Fighting a war demands obedience, discipline, holiness, faithfulness, courage, sacrifice, a victorious spirit, punishment of evil, justice, and salvation. Messiah Yeshua is not only the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6): He is also the Commander of the Armies (Joshua 5:13, Revelation 19:11). If we don’t know Him as Commander of the Armies, then we have missed a significant part of who He is. This is the time to regain a victorious and fighting spirit. Let’s be part of God’s army in heaven and on earth. Yeshua is returning to repossess planet earth; we are to repossess with Him. The key issue is not age but attitude. Caleb and Joshua were in their 80’s when they crossed the Jordan. This is a change of paradigms, a change of times and seasons. There is a time of war and a time of peace (Ecclesiastes 3:8). This is a time of war. Let’s cross over. Let’s be “Gen V.”