Gen Z is often talked about as a very conservative but sometimes depressed generation. Today, through an article by CBN, Christian Broadcast Network, published on 12/17/2024 04:55:30 PM by writer Charlene Aaron, I am going to show you that there is new hope, new life, and new energy happening with Gen Z. Let’s get started.

A Gallup survey found a surprising number of teenagers feel the pressure to be perfect all the time, leading to negative emotions. Young Life, a Christ-centered ministry that focuses on helping kids to know Jesus wanted to learn more in hopes of turning those feelings in a more positive direction through something called the “Relate Project”. What is “Relate Project?” It’s a study aimed to bridge the gap, offering a deeper understanding of Gen Z.

The study starts with communicating that "Around 40 percent of young people don't know or don't believe that they're worthy of love," Dr. Arthur Satterwhite, Young Life Ministry Vice President told CBN News. "It's something that should burden us all." 

The study found that relationships and communication, not online but in person, are on the minds of this generation.

More than half communicate most often one-on-one with their closest friend.  Another 20 percent talk through phone calls, Facetime, or WhatsApp. The remaining 25 percent tend to use texts, email, and direct messages to communicate with friends.

The research also found that friends and family are the primary sources of help for adolescents. 

THE REALITY OF MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES

Sadly, 40 percent of Gen Z worry about their mental health. When it comes to technology the study found that over 35 percent turn to social media when they feel anxious. This is an opportunity to reach out.

"The opportunity for us is not so much how do we get them off of it? It's how do we help them leverage it for positive aims? How can we equip them with a theology of technology that helps them to process, 'Where and how can this help me think and go deeper in my relationship with God?'" he said.

It is a goal that Stafford Craymer with Young Life in Virginia Beach, VA wants to dive into with young people.

Cranmer wrote that, "It can't just be verbal proclamation," said Craymer. "There's gotta be something tangible that kids can remember that they can hold onto, that they can touch, can relate to in their personal lives."  

COMBATING THE PANDEMIC’S AFTERMATH

Sadly, today, kids are a little less innocent, said Young Life volunteer Casey Heron. "This crazy pandemic I think took away some of their innocence and kind of forced them to grow up a little bit too quick."

“Satterwhite believes such challenges can be solved by the gospel through new strategies.” 

"This research is helping us understand what is the context that might inform what are today's methods. What are the new wineskins and what is then the new wine," Satterwhite commented.”

It is a shift that other ministries such as InterVarsity and CRU are also considering as they review Young Life's findings.

They say that it's been fun to see these other organizations who are struggling with some of the same things with a similar heart for young people, wrestle with, writing, “'Man, what are the implications for our ministry? How might we be more intentional about creating belonging for the young people that are calling our community home or being drawn to our community?'" Satterwhite described.”

"I think that we have had to and have become people where we're constantly sharing our lives with these students," said Young Life Staffer Gabby Brubaker. "We are entering into the lives of kids day in and day out consistently."

SIGNS OF REVIVAL AS GenZ RESPONDS TO TRUTH FAITH

When it comes to faith, GenZ is responding positively. Study and Young Life found that faith as a framing story helps folks, especially young people, to contextualize: 1) “what does belonging mean?” 2) 'Where do I fit in?' and 3) What could that look like as we help them to know not just who they are but who they are and what they're called to. That's what we're seeing as a direct correlation to increased flourishing."

It is a flourishing that Young Life as a ministry continues to shape. "There are 60 kids showing up every Friday before school to go to Bible study," Heron said. "We started, there might've been 10 people and that was a big number for us. So, to have 60 and it's just continuing to grow again, I think these kids are really resonating with the purpose, the love, the consistency that Jesus gives and they're really grabbing hold to that."

Natalie Browning, Young Life Volunteer said: "I know and have seen kids walk from death to life,". "They're not hopeless. This generation is not hopeless."

AS PARENTS OF GenZ CHILDREN

I would like to interject as a parent of three GenZ children that this generation is great source of hope for the country and world at large. They have seen what evil, sinful men and women leaders can do to other people. They sadly have seen the aftermath of the experiment called divorce on a wholesale level. They have seen corruption in government, business, school shootings, and people turned into literal zombies through drug abuse. And the list goes on. 

GenZ are more conservative in many ways and those in this special generation who currently trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as well as those who will trust in Christ will turn the United States and world around for the good. Genz has seen the greed, selfishness and immoral side of humanity to a degree that most of us over the age of 50 didn’t. And they are turning to Christ through the love of others who would share God’s love with them. 

So today, I call on GenZ, on the parents of GenZ and the grandparents of GenZ to become proactive in building deep family relationships first and helping this young generation connect in human terms to God and to one another instead of or at least more so than a phone or computer screen.

There is hope for this generation and God has a plan for them. And it’s for this reason that “This Generation Is Not Hopeless'” While 40 Percent of Gen Z Feels Unlovable, Signs of Revival are emerging and you and I can help them grow in their faith, in relationship skills, and in their love for God and one another.

Temptation comes to all of us on a daily basis. Temptation to eat too much or eat bad things. Temptation comes in many forms, ranging from sexual to money and power. The list is lengthy. In Luke 4:10-14 God shows through the life of Jesus, not only that temptation comes from the evil one, but what that temptation looks like. Today, without reading the entire passage, which I will up to you to do on your own, I will comment on various key points. Please read this passage and let’s get started!

TEMPTATION IS UNBIASED BUT POTENT FOR CHRISTIANS:

Temptation comes to all people, but to Christ followers, temptation is applied even more. WHY? Because Satan leaves well enough alone and doesn’t have to do much to keep the typical secular man or women from sinning because they don’t subscribe to biblical “Sanctification”-hence they are not working on becoming better moral agents according to biblical standards. As such, Satan and his demons, being limited in how many places they can be at any one given time, focus on taking down Christian marriages, business men and women, government leaders and the like. Let’s look a key points of the story of Jesus being tempted directly by Satan as our truth text today.

SETTING: “And Jesus, ‘full of the Holy Spirit. “Returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil” (Luke 4:1-2)

THE WILDERNESS: To give you some idea of where exactly Jesus was tempted, the traditional site of the temptation is North West of the Dead Sea, near Jericho. 

TEMPTATION #1-JESUS TEMPTED: Jesus was, “…tempted by the devil” To get a good gospel cross-section of this story, check out Matthew 4:1. Satan’s intention in the temptation was to make Christ sin so as to thwart God’s plan for man’s redemption by disqualifying the Savior. God’s purpose (note that the Spirit led Jesus to the test) was to prove His Son to be sinless and thus a worthy Savior. It is clear that He was actually tempted; it is equally clear that He was sinless (2 Corinthians 5:2). 

THE POWER OF SATAN: In verse three, Satan says to Jesus, “if you are the Son of God…” The particular Greek construction of the words in this verse indicates that the devil did not doubt that Jesus was the Son of God, but was prodding Jesus with temptation like a kid on the elementary playground. The word “IF” can be translated “SINCE”. Notice that Satan acknowledged that Jesus had the power to turn stone to bread to begin with. So it’s made clear here that Satan knew all to well WHO Jesus is and what He was capable of doing as the Son of God.

DEPENDENCY IN TIMES OF TROUBLE AND TEMPTATION: In verse four, “And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘ Man shall not live by bread alone.” The Lord acknowledged His dependency  on His father here by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. And Satan, knowing the Scriptures all too well, knew exactly what Jesus was saying. As a result, Satan cut his losses to move onto a different way of tempting Jesus since this way failed.

A NEW TEMPTATION: And when they were ended, “…He (Jesus) was hungry”. Why is this important? Because most all of us get weak, hangry and easier to give into temptation when we are hungry. 

TEMPTATION #2:
It’s at this point that Satan takes Jesus up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him…

“To you I will give all the authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. IF YOU , THEN, WILL WORSHIP ME, IT WILL ALL BE YOURS” (vss. 6-8).

It’s important to note that Satan had the right to make this offer to Jesus because he is the prince of this world. If Christ had accepted Satan's offer, it would have bypassed His crucifixion.

THE REPLY: Jesus gives a one-liner reply, rejecting Satan’s offer by quoting Deuteronomy 4:8: “And Jesus answered him, It is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve” (v.8). And it worked!

TEMPTATION #3:
Satan takes Jesus to Jerusalem and sets Him on the pinnacle of the temple and tells Jesus to throw himself down God will command His angels to catch Jesus, not even allowing His foot to strike the ground (vss. 9-11).

The pinnacle of the template can be explained as one of the battlements or towers that overlooked the courtyard of the Temple. If Jesus had cast Himself off and landed unharmed among the crowds below, He surely would have been acclaimed the Messiah.

Instead, Jesus makes clear that, “It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (v.12). And when the Devil had ended every temptation, he departed form him until an opportune time” (v.13). Notice Jesus' weapon of choice was the Old Testament Scriptures!

BE ENCOURAGED: 
After all that Jesus had been through. Under the condition of having not eaten for 40 days, Jesus withstood all of Satan’s temptations, and verse 14 says, “AND JESUS RETURNED IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO GALILEE, AND A REPORT ABOUT HIM WENT OUT THROUGH ALL THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY. AND HE TAUGHT AT THEIR SYNAGOGUES, BEING GLORIFIED BY ALL” (v.15). 

Verses 14-15 show us three things.
1) FIRST: That God allows us to be taken through temptation to strengthen our faith and relationship with Him.

2) SECOND: That when we return from temptation, we do so “IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT”. In other words, it’s not just about gritting it out but about relying on God’s strength (if we allow Him) to keep us out of falling into temptation. And we do fall, it’s God’s strength that can get us out if we trust him.

THIRD and LASTLY: Notice what Jesus was called to do straight out of these three, non-stop temptations by Satan himself. God calls Jesus to preach all over town and was glorified! In other words, Satan's temptations backfired and the gospel truth spread even more.

SO WHAT?
Now that we dissected this passage, the big SO WHAT question comes out. Let me simply say that temptation comes to all of us. We live in a very depraved world full of temptation and immorality. This passage clear that we are to depend on God who will “take us in His Spirit” to where we need to go according to His will. 

Furthermore, studying the Bible and knowing the Scriptures is a crucial part of the spiritual warfare we all face and will face as time goes on. Notice that Jesus quoted the Old Testament numerous times as a spiritual weapon against the tempter Satan. And it worked!

Lastly, it’s important for all of us to know where our areas of temptation lie. For some, it’s wealth trappings and for others it’s alcohol, pornography, laziness or being a workaholic. This list goes. In closing, let's remember the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians: 

1 Corinthians 10:13
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. wGod is faithful, and xhe will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Culture and the world in general speak quite a bit about “Equality”. Color equality, racial equality, income equality, gender equality, and the list goes on. Today, I am going to show you that God is the only true equalizer in that not only did He create ALL human beings as equal-being made in His image, but that true salvation and destination (heaven) is equally available to all human beings from all cultures, income levels and color.

Today’s Truth text is Luke 3:4-6 in the English Standard Version take a look at what the passage says and then I will make my point(s) about equality. This is what Luke wrote:

"4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

BROKEN DOWN: Luke 3:4-6 is a great passage showing God’s ultimate equality. Let’s now break this down:

1) CONTEXT: This passage opens in verse 4 with the words: "4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

The words “PREPARE THE WAY” is a citation from Isaiah 40:3-5 and declares the coming of God’s deliverance. Luke cites the text more fully than Matthew or Mark and carries the passage through to its mention of “SALVATION” being seen by “ALL FLESH” (v.6)-highlighting the fact that Gospel message of salvation is equally available TO ALL PEOPLE.

Before we move on, let’s pause to understand what this means for you, me and all who would trust in Jesus Christ. Christianity is the only religion that offers EQUAL availability of salvation to ALL human beings. In Hinduism they have the CAST system which makes their distorted version of salvation or nirvana, enlightenment or “oneness” available ONLY to the privileged few.

In Islam, which literally means “SUBMISSION”, there is NO free gift or guarantee of salvation outside of dying a martyr. That most often entails dying through suicide (often taking the lives of others) in the name of spreading the Islamic faith.

In China, there is Buddhism which is a communist, atheistic religion. Buddhist based governments forbid the worship of any god outside of the the emperor or president of the country who is to be worshipped as the only “god”.

In Mormonism, only a few select men (not women) can become a god of a planet in outer space. In contrary, only Christianity equally offers true salvation to all people, in all countries, from all cultures, despite the color of their skin or their gender. This is the Good News of the Gospels of Jesus Christ and the Bible in whole.

Now that we have established the fact that true equality is found only through Jesus Christ our Lord, let’s pick up with verse five which leads to God’s Word hammering the point of EQUALITY with five consecutive statements.

1) “v.5 Every valley shall be filled…”

2) “…and every mountain and hill shall be made low…”

3) “…and the crooked shall become straight…”

4) “…and the rough places shall become level ways…”

5) “v.6 “…and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

The first four points make paint word pictures of two opposites illustrating the fact that God will take both valleys and mountains to create an even-equal entity. God will level mountains, creating no high’s or lows-only all things equal. God will make the crooked things of this world straight and rough terrain level. These are all illustrations designed to teach us of God’s equality regarding His offer of salvation to all human beings despite their background.

If there is any question about what I just stated, let’s take a look at the fifth point which is found in verse six which says:

“…AND ALL FLESH SHALL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD”.

Notice that God doesn’t say “SOME flesh” shall see the salvation of God”. God makes clear beyond question that “ALL FLESH” shall see the salvation of God. That said, seeing is not always believing, and not all people will take advantage of God’s equal offering of salvation. This is because there are people who won’t believe and trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Because of that, God’s offering of salvation equally extended to them cannot be given to them because simply because they reject that equal gift.

IN CONCLUSION, we can’t blame God for inequality because inequality is man-made. God see’s not color, race, gender or another things in offering His free gift of salvation,. That is on us to accept or reject.

As we established up front, culture and the world at large speak quite a bit about “Equality”. The world in all its sin, distorts differences between people as opposed to uniting the world under the Ultimate All Good, All Just and All Loving Savior Jesus Christ. Instead, many in world leadership beat the drum of “color equality”, “racial equality”, “income equality”, “gender equality”, and the list goes on.

In the end, Jesus Christ is the only true equalizer. God in Christ created ALL human beings “equal” in value to Him. And with that, God has made salvation and eternal life equally available to all people from all cultures, countries, continents, and color.

And this is PERFECT-TRUE EQUALITY.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).