Good morning, everyone—brothers and sisters.
Today I will be reading many verses. I did not send an email with those verses, and it would be difficult to project them that quickly and with that agility. So, we all have our Bibles. When I ask for a reference, please help me as well, and keep me in check whether I am reading the correct verses or not. It is a request from my side.
Before going into the Word, before I share what God has put in my heart, let me pray a small prayer.
Living and loving heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us this day and bringing all of us together in Your name. We thank You and praise You.
If we are here today, it is because of Your mercy, Your grace, and Your love, O Lord. As I am going to speak today about Your Word and what You have put in my heart, lead me and guide me. I submit myself into Your hands. Help us to listen to Your sweet, little voice. Open our ears and our senses to respond to You.
I commit myself and this time into Your hands. Lead me and guide me. Use me as Your trumpet, O Lord. Let not my wisdom and knowledge come out today, but let Your wisdom and knowledge come forth. Use me, guide me, and lead me.
In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Before I start sharing, I want everyone to scan the room a little bit. We have diverse age groups here, right? We have boomers—I will use the latest language, please do not mind—we have Gen X, millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha as well, like Alexander and Carter. We have every one of them.
Keep that in mind when I am speaking today. Think about the different age groups and how this Word applies to you. Pray that God may speak to you, whichever age group you are in.
Let me start from the beginning. Because of sin, there has been a separation between man and God, beginning in Genesis. We all know that man has to be in the presence of the Lord all the time. There has to be unity. But because of sin, a separation occurred—a gap, a breach—between the Lord and human beings after creation.
But that gap was not forever. Jesus Christ came onto this earth. He gave Himself for us. God sent His own Son and sacrificed Him to remove that separation between mankind and God.
It states in 1 Timothy 2:5-6. Let us turn there. I am reading from the KJV.
For there is one God,
and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;
who gave himself a ransom for all,
to be testified in due time.
Jesus Christ gave Himself as a ransom for all. He is the Mediator between God and men. If you do not know that, this is your chance. God is speaking to you today. He gave Himself for you—to remove your sins, to save you from God’s wrath, and to save you from God’s judgment.
This is your calling today. God is asking you to accept Him. That separation has been removed. There is no separation now. You can come into God’s presence because of the Lord Jesus Christ. If God is speaking to you, you need to accept it.
Satan failed in trying to separate man from God. Now, what Satan wants to do is separate man from man. Because Satan failed to separate man and God, he will try to separate generation from generation.
A gap is being formed between generations. People are not talking with one another. People are not communing with one another. There is no fellowship between generations. Without people even realizing it, a gap is forming between people—between man and man, and generation and generation.
Over the course of time, a gap between generations has formed, and people do not have a clue about it. It happened in the Old Testament. It happened in the New Testament. It is happening right now in our day-to-day lives.
We will look at a couple of references where this happened, draw some similarities, and apply them to the current time period.
Let us turn to Judges 2:10.
And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers:
and there arose another generation after them,
which knew not the Lord,
nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
What is the Word of the Lord saying here? There arose a generation after them which knew not the Lord. This is what the gap does to people: they do not recognize the Lord. They knew not the Lord, nor the works which He had done for Israel.
All the works and great miracles that He had done for Israel—the new generation did not understand them. That is the case in Judges 2.
Let us turn to the book of Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 14-22, the Lord speaks with Ezekiel about the condition of Israel at that time: how they were following idols, leaving the Lord, and giving themselves to idolatry.
Like Judges 2, Israel was in the same condition in Ezekiel. They knew not the Lord. They were following other gods and failing to come to the Lord. God’s judgment was inevitable.
That is what God says in Ezekiel 22:30-31.
And I sought for a man among them,
that should make up the hedge,
and stand in the gap before me for the land,
that I should not destroy it:
but I found none.Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them;
I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath:
their own way have I recompensed upon their heads,
saith the Lord God.
God poured out His indignation and consumed them with the fire of His wrath. Israel was in the same situation in Ezekiel as in Judges, and God’s judgment was inevitable. Why? Because God sought for a man who could make up the hedge and stand in the gap.
In the ESV, it says, “Who can build the wall?” Who can save Israel? But God found none. There was no man who could stand between Israel and God and help Israel come out of that judgment.
You may ask: God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to stand between us—to fill the gap and be the Mediator. So why was God seeking someone else to stand between Him and Israel? Could He not come Himself and help them?
Let us see why God looks for people who will stand in the breach and build the hedge.
Let us turn to 1 Peter 2:9.
But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood,
an holy nation,
a peculiar people;
that ye should shew forth the praises of him
who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvellous light.
You are the chosen generation. That is why God is looking for you. You are the holy, chosen generation. You should stand in the breach and construct the wall. You need to bridge the gap between God and human beings.
One renowned speaker said, “The Spirit comes down vertically where the truth of God is imparted horizontally.” God sends His Spirit down vertically. He communes with you. But the truth has to be imparted horizontally—from generation to generation.
The truth has to be taught to your children, your grandchildren, and the young. It cannot just happen. If God wants it, it can happen, but God is seeking us to do it for Him. He is looking for someone who can stand there and bridge that gap.
The truth of God must be imparted from man to man, generation to generation. This is the commandment of the Lord, even in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy, God says that you need to write the Word of God on your doorposts and let your children know what He has done for you.
That is the responsibility of every single person, whether you belong to an older generation or a younger generation. In 1 Peter 2:9, it does not say, “One holy boomer generation” or “one holy millennial generation.” It says that we are all one holy, chosen generation. Everyone is together. That unity should be there.
It is our responsibility to stand in the gap and pass on the truth to further generations. There is a need to close the gap between generations so that those who come afterward will not perish under God’s wrath.
God wants us to be one holy, united generation. He wants us to help each other and lift each other up spiritually. We need to work together, encourage one another, and strengthen one another.
But there is always a challenge. Satan will not sit silently. If God wants something from us, there is always a challenge.
Let us turn to 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
This know also,
that in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves,
covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
without natural affection, trucebreakers,
false accusers, incontinent, fierce,
despisers of those that are good,
traitors, heady, highminded,
lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
having a form of godliness,
but denying the power thereof.
Sounds familiar, right?
I am not just pointing at the younger generation. We all can be in that position. We all care for the life that we are in and for the fleshly things that we see. We desire things. We get angry. We can display all these qualities without even realizing it.
No matter how much we try to get away from these qualities, we cannot do so in our own strength, because these are temptations from Satan. But God wants to break that.
The phrase I want to point out is this: “Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” We should not be like that. That is the challenge we have today—among both younger and older generations.
No matter which group you belong to, you should try to build the bridge between generations. I can build a bridge between me and Ryan, or between me and Vinnil. Someone else can build a bridge between me and Beulah. Whatever it is, and whichever generation you belong to, there is a responsibility for you to bridge that gap.
So far, we have seen that there was a gap between man and God, but that separation was taken away by Jesus Christ. Satan is now trying to create a generational gap. This is the challenge, and we are all part of it.
Now we will look at this challenge from two perspectives: the perspective of older people and the perspective of younger people. “Older” is relative. I may be older than Ryan, while another brother may be older than me.
The first problem is that the older generation can look down on the younger generation.
“Oh, in my days, it was not like that.”
“Oh, when I was with my parents, they gave me left and right. I am not even doing that to you.”
In some way or another, we can look down on the younger generation. We can fail to understand the perspective from which they are coming. We can fail to understand the challenges they face in this world.
We are not in the same situation they are in. The world has developed, and there are many things happening around them. The most important challenge for the older generation is failing to look at the younger generation from their perspective.
The second challenge is that elders should not pamper young people. If they are making mistakes, you should correct them. You should tell them that they are doing wrong.
Sometimes we think, “If I tell them they are doing wrong, they might not speak with me. They might not like me.” This can especially happen with grandchildren. My grandfather pampered me more than my parents, so that is why I liked my grandfather!
But it is not only about grandparents and grandchildren. With younger brothers and sisters everywhere, if they are doing something wrong, we need to point it out. We need to be responsible for teaching them what is right and what is wrong.
I do not know how it was in the 1980s or 1990s, but in the 2000s, younger generations want to speak. They want to make their perspective known, no matter what platform they are on.
Sometimes we do not even want to listen. We do not want to listen to elders. We want to put out what we know and showcase what we have learned. We want to show the world that we know so much.
That is one of the major challenges. We should not be people who think, “I know everything.” Yes, because of the information we receive and the knowledge available in our hands, we may know many things. But we need to be patient and listen to the older generation.
There is often no patience to listen. We always want to express our thoughts, speak, and show the world the understanding that we have. Sometimes there is no humility.
Sometimes there is false humility as well: “Oh, I am not experienced enough to speak about the Lord to those people. I do not have enough experience to speak about the Lord. I am not good myself. How can I speak to others?”
There are two sides to a coin. That is a challenge as well.
The younger generation needs to remember that we need to be patient. Sometimes we need to open up. Because of false humility, or because we do not open up and share our thoughts, we can fall into the trap of not addressing something wrong that is happening in front of us.
Maybe an elder person is doing something wrong. You have the authority to point that out, but it should happen prayerfully. If you address that problem prayerfully, leaders will be born from that experience. That is how the next generation will be trained.
To understand these things, we need to come to the Lord first. Younger believers need patience, accountability for what they are doing, and a willingness to listen to older people. They should also prayerfully address issues they see in their day-to-day lives.
We have seen the challenges. Now let us see what the Bible tells us about our responsibilities. There are definitely gaps between generations, and we need to understand these challenges.
I am speaking specifically about the body of Christ, not the outside world. First, let us come together as the body of Christ and address the challenges here. Then we can go outside and deal with other things. People are going away from the Lord. That was the challenge in Judges, that was the challenge in Ezekiel, and it is the same challenge now.
Let us turn to Titus 2:1-8.
But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate,
sound in faith, in charity, in patience.The aged women likewise,
that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness,
not false accusers,
not given to much wine,
teachers of good things;
that they may teach the young women to be sober,
to love their husbands,
to love their children,
to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good,
obedient to their own husbands,
that the word of God be not blasphemed.Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works:
in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
sound speech, that cannot be condemned;
that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed,
having no evil thing to say of you.
These verses are self-explanatory, but I want to share a few thoughts. With these challenges from two perspectives, what should we do? How can we make sure that we work toward constructing a bridge between generations as the body of Christ?
The first thing we need is sound doctrine. We need to understand that Jesus Christ is the center. No matter how old you are, no matter how young you are, and no matter how much you know, Jesus Christ is the center.
Anything you do revolves around Him. Anything you do comes through Him. Anything you pray goes to the Father through Him. You are saved because of Him.
You should not be under the false impression that you gained knowledge by yourself. The self in you has to die, and Jesus Christ has to prevail. That is the sound doctrine we need to remember.
We have the privilege of having sound doctrine among us, and I praise God for that. But wherever we go, and whatever challenge we face, we need to remember that it is through Jesus Christ that we can overcome.
In Titus 2, Paul addresses aged men, aged women, young women, and young men. He addresses all generations at once.
For aged men, the qualities are: sober, grave—or reverent—temperate, sound in faith, in charity, and in patience. Older men who are trying to teach the younger generation need to examine themselves: do we have these qualities in us?
For aged women, Titus 2 says they should behave in a way that becomes holiness—not false accusers, not given to much wine, and teachers of good things. These qualities will help younger women.
I am not going to explain every point, but you can examine yourselves. The question I want to ask is this: Are you confident that your example is motivating younger women believers to live in a way that honors God?
That is the question I want to leave with older women, and indeed with older men as well.
Titus 2:4-5 speaks about the responsibilities of younger women: to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, and obedient to their own husbands, that the Word of God may not be blasphemed.
I am not saying, and this Word is not saying, that you need to sit at home and only serve your family. You can work. That is not the point. The Word is saying that we need to take care of the home first.
There may be different ideologies and different perspectives, but the Word of God says this. I am not saying it; the Word of God is saying it.
Younger women have that responsibility. First, learn from older women and understand the importance of taking care of your family, your children, and the younger generation. Whether you are a grandmother, a mother, or recently married, it is your responsibility to take care of your family and to ensure that the Word of God is living in your family.
For younger men, Titus 2:6-8 says:
In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works:
in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
sound speech, that cannot be condemned;
that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed,
having no evil thing to say of you.
I want to concentrate on the phrase, “sound speech, that cannot be condemned.” Younger men need to speak, but we need to make sure that what we say cannot be condemned.
Satan will take any chance to turn your words against you. When you speak, make sure that what you say is backed by the Word of the Lord and that you have learned from the older generation before you.
If you have any doubt or question, seek understanding from experienced people among you. We cannot be know-it-all people. Even if you are speaking well with the Lord, sometimes a voice comes to you and you cannot decide whether it is the voice of the Lord or the voice of Satan. To discern that, you need help from experienced believers.
These are the responsibilities, and we need to examine ourselves: are we following what Paul is trying to teach us?
Now someone may ask, “Brother, you are talking about all these things. What is in it for me as an individual?” We often think, “What is in it for me? How does this help me? What will I gain from this?”
There are three things you gain when you try to build the bridge between generations.
The first thing is familial relationships. No matter how close you are to your parents or siblings, you cannot share everything with your blood relations. That is why you need spiritual parents and spiritual children.
It is a two-way bridge, not a one-way bridge. It is not only me going and pouring out my heart to spiritual parents when I am sad or confused. Spiritual parents also share with me. This is what I mean by spiritual parents and spiritual children: accountability within the body of Christ.
Let us look at 2 Timothy 1:2. We all know the relationship between Paul and Timothy. They were not biological father and son, but Paul says:
To Timothy, my dearly beloved son.
Paul treated Timothy as his own son. But it was a two-way bridge. Let us look at 2 Timothy 3:10-11.
But thou hast fully known my doctrine,
manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
persecutions, afflictions,
which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra;
what persecutions I endured:
but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
Paul is saying, “You know everything about me.” Paul did not think, “I am older than Timothy. Why should I share my difficulties with him?” No. Paul shared everything with Timothy.
That is a father-and-son relationship. Just as you share things with your father and a father shares his heart with you, there can be such a relationship between brother and brother in Christ.
Today, it can be very difficult for older people to share these things with younger people, or for younger people to go to older people. Satan is trying to separate and isolate you so that you do not share your feelings.
When you have temptations, who are you going to? Are you going into your room, sitting alone, and trying to overcome that temptation by yourself? Or are you going to the dear brother you have, sharing it with him, and praying with him?
Satan wants to isolate you so that you become alone and he can snatch you out of the body of Christ. We do not hold onto our brothers because there is a fear of judgment: “If I share these things, what will that brother think about me?”
But it is a two-way bridge. The younger brother can judge the older person, or the older person can judge the younger person. This is a challenge everywhere. Satan quietly uses it to snatch people out of the body of Christ.
I want to challenge you today: are you looking at younger people or older people and praying, “Lord, help me build a relationship with that person. I feel that he may be facing a challenge or struggling. Show me a way to speak with him”?
Are we praying that way? It is a challenge. I am not saying you are doing it or that you are not doing it. I do not know. But this is the challenge God gave me, the question God asked me, and the question I am placing before you.
The second benefit concerns younger people. Let us turn to 1 Timothy 5:4.
But if any widow have children or nephews,
let them learn first to shew piety at home,
and to requite their parents:
for that is good and acceptable before God.
Younger people need to show affection to their parents and to the elderly among them in the body of Christ. It is good and acceptable before God to take care of those who are older than you and to care for elderly people in the body of Christ.
That is a kind of worship we pour out to the Lord. Younger people need to build those relationships and help people who are in need.
The third important point is 2 Timothy 2:2.
And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses,
the same commit thou to faithful men,
who shall be able to teach others also.
This is about imparting the gospel to younger generations. If we are trying to bridge the gap between generations, we are passing on the truth. This will help us pass the gospel to the next generation, which is tremendously important.
The truth has to be imparted to the next generation. These are three personal benefits: spiritual family relationships, care for older believers, and the passing on of the gospel.
Let us turn to Isaiah 58:12.
And they that shall be of thee
shall build the old waste places:
thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations;
and thou shalt be called,
The repairer of the breach,
The restorer of paths to dwell in.
We have seen that there was a breach in Ezekiel 22. Now God says that you are the repairer of the breach. With the help of the Lord, you are the repairer of the breach.
The truth has to be imparted horizontally. That means you are the repairer of the breach. No one will come and stand there unless you realize that it is your responsibility to stand in that breach.
You are the restorer of paths to dwell in. You are to raise up the foundations of many generations. You should be raising up the foundations of many generations with the help of the Lord.
There are many examples in the Bible of people who built this bridge. There has to be an individual change within all of us. We can take encouragement from people in the Bible who tried to build bridges between generations.
Let us turn to Acts 18:26. This is the story of Apollos, Aquila, and Priscilla.
And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue:
whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard,
they took him unto them,
and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
Teach like Aquila and Priscilla. Recognize the need to teach, what to teach, and how to teach it. You need to pray for that quality.
Aquila and Priscilla saw Apollos and understood that he needed a fuller understanding of the way of the Lord. They recognized the need, and they wanted to teach him.
But in the same verse, when Aquila and Priscilla wanted to teach, there was Apollos, who wanted to learn. Learn like Apollos. Be ready to learn prayerfully from people who want to teach you.
Younger generations need to understand the way of the Lord more perfectly. They need to learn from elders who are more experienced in the Lord. It does not mean those elders are perfect, but they have more experience with situations in life, and you can learn from that.
Learn like Apollos. Teach like Aquila and Priscilla.
Let us turn to Psalm 106:23.
Therefore he said that he would destroy them,
had not Moses his chosen
stood before him in the breach,
to turn away his wrath,
lest he should destroy them.
God said that He would destroy Israel, but Moses stood before Him in the breach. Moses stood between Israel and God. Because of that, the whole generation of Israel was saved.
When problems arose in Exodus and Israel rebelled against God, Moses stood there. We all know the story: he prayed for Israel. He was the peacemaker.
We all need to be peacemakers between brothers. Even if a problem is between you and another person, or between two individuals, you need to be a peacemaker. Go and intervene in a godly manner, prayerfully.
Moses was the chosen person, and we are all a chosen generation. We are all one holy, chosen generation. We are chosen to be peacemakers.
Forgive like Joseph. We all know Joseph’s story. He stood in the midst of a dying generation—his brothers—and brought them out of calamity. He took care of them.
If Joseph could not forgive his brothers, he could not have saved them—the whole generation of Israel. So we need to forgive like Joseph, even if someone knowingly or unknowingly has done bad things to us.
Be an intercessor like Esther through prayer and fasting. In Esther 4:16, she fasted for the people of Israel in order to save them.
We need to pray and fast to build relationships between brothers.
I want to share a small testimony about how God taught me this. In Michigan, there was a brother with whom I never quarreled. There were no open differences between us, but we never got along in church. At that time, we were both single. For some reason, we simply did not get along.
After some time, we were both working in ministry in different areas, but we needed to communicate. It was not a pleasant experience every time.
So I started praying: “Lord, I do not know what happened. If I said something wrong, I do not know. But reconcile both of us. Let us reconcile with each other and have a good relationship. He is my brother in Christ.”
I prayed for almost one and a half years—I do not remember exactly. But do you know what God did? He made him my neighbor after I got married. We lived within yards of each other. My wife knows whom I am talking about.
As neighbors, we spoke with each other and had meals together. Reconciliation came in that way.
We need to pray sincerely if we want to have relationships with our brothers. These are the qualities we need if we want to build the bridge between generations.
There is a need right now. Whatever generation it is, people are getting away from the Lord. They are forgetting the Lord. They are not recognizing the things God has done for us as human beings.
Let me recap. There is definitely a gap. God is looking for people to close that gap. You and I are the chosen generation. We need to stand there as repairers of the breach.
We need to pray that we bring as many people as possible into the body of Christ. It is our responsibility. Every one of us has the responsibility to be a repairer of the breach—not just me, not just some other person. Every one of us has that responsibility.
Living and loving heavenly Father, we thank You, O Lord, for giving us this day and for giving us this Word to meditate upon.
We come before Your throne, O Lord, with the challenges we are facing now as the body of Christ. We pray that You will help us to be repairers of the breach and give us the power to be like that.
Whatever qualities we have seen through Your Word, help us to practice them in our day-to-day lives. Help us to seek Your face, O Lord, to see what is wrong within us, and help us build that bridge between generations.
Help us impart the truth to the younger generations that are to come. Help us raise leaders who will work for You and Your kingdom. Help us praise You until You come for us and until we are with You one day.
We thank You and praise You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.