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In a list of the top 500 songs of all time, Rolling Stone magazine, named this Baby Boomer Anthem #11: People try to put us down. Just because we get around. Things they do look awful cold. I hope I die before I get old. Talking ‘bout my generation. This is my generation. That’s how The Who’s Lead Singer, Roger Daltry, spoke about his generation. How do you speak of your generation? Today, we’re going to hear how Jesus speaks of His generation. As we listen to what Jesus has to say, we’ll learn something about this generation of our own day. What’s going on with this generation today? What’s happening with this generation? This morning, we’ll see three experiences of this generation.We’re in the Gospel of Luke chapter 11. Luke wrote His gospel so that we would know that we know that we know who Jesus is. We’ve seen his virgin birth, his boyhood, his baptism and temptation. We’ve heard His wonderful words and seen His wonderful works. Today, Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem. He’s surrounded by a growing crowd of people and he’s just finished talking about how the blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it. Let’s listen in as He continues teaching this growing crowd by commenting on His generation.(This corrupted generation is being graciously exposed to the truth about God, 29-30.)29 ?As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. 30 ?"For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.Jesus described his generation as a wicked generation. Earlier, in his address to this same crowd, he used this word, wicked, in reference to seven demons that were more wicked than the first. Wicked refers to moral evil. Here it is used passively, this generation has been made wicked. It’s been corrupted. The people living at that time were wicked.Jesus says they were seeking a sign. In fact, some people in this very crowd asked him for a sign right after he cast the mute demon out of the mute man. Then, the mute man spoke. It makes us scratch our heads. If that miracle wasn’t enough of a sign, what exactly were these people looking for? It just proves their wicked unbelief. They would not believe no matter how many signs they received.That’s why no more signs would be given to that corrupted generation. Except one. The sign of Jonah. Jonah was a reluctant prophet. God said “Go,” but Jonah said, “No!” God told Jonah to head East to Nineveh, but Jonah fled West to Tarshish. You remember the story, Jonah got onto a ship full of sailors. God sent a storm that nearly sunk the ship. The sailors threw Jonah overboard. Jonah got swallowed by a whale. He prayed in the belly of the great fish. After three days and three nights, Jonah was vomited up onto the shore. He went into Nineveh and preached a message of judgment: Yet 40 days and Nineveh will be overthrown. The Ninevites repented and God spared Nineveh.Jonah became a sign to them in two ways. First, he preached judgment. That was his message, judgment is coming. The second way that Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites was by being delivered from certain and final death. Jonah was doomed in the belly of the whale. But he repented and God delivered him. The Ninevites were doomed to a certain and final death in 40 days. But they repented and God delivered them.In the same way, Jesus said the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation. Son of Man was the way Jesus most commonly referred to Himself. Just like Jonah, Jesus was a sign to his generation in two ways. First, He preached a message of coming judgment. That’s what He’s preaching to this crowd. Judgment is coming upon this wicked generation. Then, Jesus said the second sign was yet future. The Son of Man will be a sign. This would happen after He was delivered from certain and final death. After three days and three nights, Jesus would be resurrected.The Ninevites were Iranian terrorists. They skinned people alive. They ripped out people’s tongues. They sharpened poles, impaled people with them and then hoisted them up with their writhing victims. Boys and girls were burned alive and worse. They were wickedly corrupted. But God showed them grace. He warned them of the coming judgment. He showed them grace by sending them Jonah. Jonah exposed them to the truth about God. They repented and God spared them. But they didn’t deserve it.Jesus says His generation doesn’t deserve to be spared either. They’re wicked. But God is being gracious. He has sent them His Son. Jesus is graciously exposing them to the truth about God. And now, we’ve seen the first experience of this corrupted generation.This corrupted generation is being graciously exposed to the truth about God. It turns out that this generation isn’t much better than those generations of old. We know this generation is corrupt because we feel it in our own hearts. Lurking on the inside of us is greed, hatred, rage, lust and the list goes on and on because we were born into a corrupt generation.We know this generation is corrupt because we feel the corruption of our neighbors when they sin against us. We’ve all been hurt by other people. We’ve all been treated terribly. Some of us have been deeply violated and terribly wronged. Why? Because we’re living in a corrupt generation.We know this generation is corrupt because we see the corruption of the world in our headlines. When I first read about the Ninevites, I didn’t really have a contemporary category to put them into. But then along came Isis and all of their headlines. “Hatchet wielding gunman attacks movie theater in Tennessee before being killed by police.” The headlines remind us that our generation is corrupt.It’s corrupt like rotting hamburger in the summer sun. This generation is corrupt like a politician. It’s corrupt like family incest. It’s corrupt like a mutated gene. It’s corrupt like an athlete on steroids.But the amazing thing is that this corrupted generation is being graciously exposed to the truth about God. Right now, as we live and move and breathe, every person on the planet is being exposed to the truth about God. God is making Himself known to them. The truth about God is evident within every person because God has made it evident within them.Romans 1:18-20 ?For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. All of creation is stamped with God’s logo. People who are created in the image of God are able to recognize the logo of our Creator. He makes the truth about Himself known within us. We are all constantly being exposed to the truth about God: His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature. As we look around the world in which we live, God emblazons upon our hearts: “I made this and I made you.”This corrupted generation is graciously being exposed to the truth about God through creation. They’re also being exposed to the truth about God through conscience. God has a moral law that he has written upon our hearts. We know there is a difference between right and wrong because we are living in a moral universe that is based upon God’s moral law. The existence of a moral law means there must also be a moral law giver.This continual exposure to the truth about God is gracious. It was gracious in Jonah’s day. It was gracious in Jesus’ day. It is gracious in our day. A wicked generation does not deserve anything but judgment. And yet, God’s judgment tarries. God graciously revealed himself to the wicked Ninevites so that they could be saved from certain and final death. He’s doing the same thing, graciously to our generation today.It’s gracious because we are being exposed to this truth about God freely. We don’t have to pay for it. We don’t have to earn it. We’re just receiving it freely because God is good and God loves us and God is gracious.We know this exposure is gracious because we deserve judgment. The judgment that we deserve is instant and forever. The instant we first sin is the instant we deserve to be banished. Our sin is so heinous that we deserve to be banished not just instantly, but also eternally. But thankfully, God is not judging this corrupt generation instantly or eternally. Instead, He is graciously exposing them to the truth about Himself so that they might be saved.It reminds me of a picture that recently went viral. Four weeks ago, on Saturday July 18th, the Ku Klux Klan held a rally in Columbia, South Carolina. Their rally was in response to the decision to remove the confederate flag from the capitol. The thermometer soared to a sweltering 98 degrees. The heat proved to be too much for one neo-nazi. That’s when Officer Leroy Smith stepped in to help. He assisted the man into the shade where he could find water and first aid. The picture is of a black officer assisting a white supremacist.In this picture, the white supremacist is graciously being exposed to the truth. White supremacy is a lie. Officer Leroy Smith was created equally by God. But the officer doesn’t tazer the neo-nazi with this truth. Even though the man hates Officer Smith because of the color of his skin. Officer Smith graciously helps him. While helping him he’s also helping him to see the truth.We can graciously expose people to the truth too. The truth that we’re exposing people to is the truth about God. As Christians, we’re simply people who have been rescued. We’re from this corrupted generation. We were headed for certain and final death. But God graciously saved us. He sent someone like Jonah into our life to graciously expose us to the truth about God. We believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ and were saved.Now, we’ve been sent and we can be gracious truth-tellers. When we show up, we actually represent the truth about God to that individual. We want to be gracious in our dealings with them. Our kindness might be as important as our rightness. While God’s work is happening in that person’s life when we show up, remember that His work didn’t start when we show up. It won’t end when we leave either. We just get to join Him in His work in their life for as long as He would have. So let’s tell the truth graciously kind of like Officer Smith.That’s the first experience of this generation: This corrupted generation is graciously being exposed to the truth about God. Now let’s see how Jesus describes the second experience of this generation.(Experience #2: This corrupted generation is refusing to hear the truth about God, 31).31 ?"The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.Most of us know the story of David and Goliath. That David, who killed Goliath, went on to be a great king over Israel. He had a son named Solomon. When God chose Solomon as the man to succeed David, God asked him what he wanted. Solomon asked for wisdom. God gave it to him in abundance. He also gave him the peace and prosperity that he didn’t ask for.Solomon’s wisdom was world famous. So famous, that the Queen of Sheba came to hear his wisdom. She traveled all the way from Yemen to hear the wisdom of Solomon with her own ears.Jesus says what she did was actually an indictment against the corrupted generation of His own day for two reasons. First, she traveled further. She came a long ways to hear God’s wisdom through Solomon. But Jesus’ contemporaries didn’t have to travel anywhere. Jesus came right to them. She traveled further than they did.Second, His wisdom was greater. The Queen of Sheba wanted to hear the wisdom of Solomon. But what was the wisdom of Solomon in comparison to the wisdom of Jesus? Something greater that Solomon is here. A greater King has come bringing with Him the greatest Kingdom of all.The Queen of the South heard the wisdom of Solomon, but that corrupted generation refused to hear the wisdom of Jesus. They refused to hear the truth about God. That’s the second experience of this corrupted generation.This corrupted generation is refusing to hear the truth about God. They’re plugging their ears and saying, “I can’t hear you!” People refuse to hear the truth.The Partnership for a Drug Free America can run an ad: This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. People will see the truth of the egg frying on the griddle, but they’ll refuse to hear the truth and still do drugs.You can tell a quarterback, Cheaters never win and winners never cheat. But he’ll refuse to hear the truth and deflate his legacy. You can show a person undercover videos of the most graphic kind, but they’ll still refuse to hear the truth.Far more important than drugs or footballs or videos is the truth about God. This corrupted generation is refusing to hear the truth about God. Although they are graciously being exposed to the truth about God, they are refusing to hear.As you and I go and tell this generation the truth about God, we shouldn’t be surprised when they refuse to hear. We shouldn’t get our feelings hurt. It’s not about us. The river of their refusal runs much deeper. Their refusal didn’t start when we showed up. It won’t end after we move on.That’s the second experience of this generation: Refusing to hear the truth about God. Now, let’s see how Jesus describes the third experience of this generation.(Exeperience #3: This corrupted generation is awaiting condemnation for their refusal of the truth about God.)32 ?"The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.Boy, does Jesus know how to pick a fight! Imagine being in the crowd that day. You’re a pious Jew, deeply religious. You know that you’re of the stock of Abraham. Gentiles were much worse off. The worst of the worst were those Ninevites. And here’s Jesus saying that those men who flayed people alive, the Ninevites who burned boys and girls and all the rest, Jesus says those men of Nineveh will stand up and condemn this generation of pious Jews!That was the other thing about the Queen of Sheba. She was also a Gentile. It seems like Jesus selected both of those Gentile examples on purpose.The men of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah. Not so much the miracle of Jonah, but the preaching of Jonah: Yet 40 days and Nineveh will be overthrown. That’s all they needed to hear. They repented in sackcloth and ashes.While the men of Nineveh repented, the men of this generation repented not. Jonah the prophet rose from the belly of a whale. Jesus the Messiah rose from the dead. The Men of Nineveh heard the preaching of Jonah, a reluctant prophet. But his generation heard the preaching of Christ, the greatest prophet of all. Jonah was simply a messenger of the king. But this generation heard the King Himself. In spite of these great spiritual advantages, this corrupted generation repented not.Therefore, they are awaiting condemnation. They have refused the truth about God and are now awaiting the condemnation they deserve. They will be condemned by the men of Nineveh and they will be condemned by the Queen of the South. Condemned, it means to pronounce sentence against. The Queen of the South heard the truth about God. The men of Nineveh repented when the truth about God was preached. These Gentiles responded well to the truth about God. Because of their good response, by way of contrast, they will show that this wicked generation is guilty of misconduct and deserving of condemnation. The timing of this condemnation will be at the judgment. The Greek word is Krisis. It literally means separation. Figuratively, it’s a division, a decision or a turn of affairs. Here it is an official judgment. The official judgment on Judgment Day. This will happen at the end of the age. This wicked generation will stand up. They will stand before a Great White Throne. It will be there that the Queen of the South and the Men of Nineveh testify against them. Their own works will testify against them. As a result of their refusal of the truth about God, they will be condemned, forever to the lake that burns with fire. It is a place of outer darkness where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. From there, the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever.The Queen of the South and the Men of Nineveh show that it is possible to accept, receive and believe the truth about God. These Gentiles were all delivered from certain and final death by God’s great grace. But when the truth about God is refused, condemnation awaits. This is the third experience of this corrupted generation.This corrupted generation is awaiting condemnation for their refusal of the truth about God. Condemnation is something they are awaiting. This third experience of awaiting condemnation must be most difficult.The Boston Marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is awaiting condemnation. Last month, he was sent to Supermax: The Alcatraz of the Rockies. Robert Ward served as the Warden of Supermax from 2002-2005. He described this place for those awaiting condemnation in these words: “The Supermax is life after death. It’s long-term. In my opinion, it’s far worse than death.” That is where the Boston Marathon bomber is awaiting his condemnation of death.The reason this corrupted generation is awaiting condemnation is because they have not repented. They are still refusing the truth about God that they have been graciously exposed to their entire lives. The salvation they do not deserve has been offered to them, but refused by them. As a result, the condemnation they do deserve is awaiting them.What about those who have never heard of Jesus? Would God condemn them? How can God justly condemn people for what they do not know? If he won’t condemn them if they do not know, then why should I go and tell them? Isn’t missions about the greatest disservice you could do. They’re off the hook until we show up and then they’re doomed!Will God judge those who have not heard of Christ? There are three possible answers to this question. Option #1: God will not judge those who have not heard. If this is true, then Christian missions are a mistake and the bible is wrong. The Bible clearly teaches that it is appointed unto men once to die and then stand before God in judgment. Therefore, God does judge those who have not heard about Jesus.Option #2: God’s judgment of those who have not heard is unfair. But this assumes that God holds people responsible for what they do not know. What we have seen today is that everyone everywhere is being graciously exposed to the truth about God. He has made it evident within them through creation and conscience. Their judgment is based upon this refusal of the truth about God that they did know. Therefore, the judgment of God is not unfair.Option #3: God’s judgment is fair. It would be unfair if God held people accountable for what they did not know. But God doesn’t do that. God does hold people accountable for what they do know. That’s fair and that’s how the judgment of God is or better yet, the judgment of God is just.I think this is really what we want. We want grace and we want justice. God offers grace. God brings justice. Imagine the alternative. A world without grace just seems ugly, barbaric and cruel. We recoil from such a graceless alternative. But what about a world without justice? A world where the Boston Marathon bomber gets off Scott free so that he can keep on bombing the innocent. Something in our hearts rises up in protest against such a universe of injustice. We want grace and we want justice. God is gracious and God is just.ConclusionToday, we’ve learned about a God we can trust. God is graciously revealing Himself to this generation. God is patiently enduring refusal by this generation. God will justly condemn the unrepentant of this generation.Since our trustworthy God is gracious, patient and just, we can trust Him by warning this generation of the coming judgment and calling them to salvation through faith in Christ.We are His ambassadors and His witnesses. Because of who we are, we know what we need to do. Because we are ambassadors, we represent this gracious, patient and just God. Because we are witnesses, we tell the truth about this gracious, patient and just God. It’ll take faith on our part to represent Him as ambassadors. It’ll take faith on our part to speak the truth about God as witnesses. But we can trust Him. He has saved us with so great a salvation. And now He calls us to keep trusting Him for the sake of this generation. Let’s trust him by warning them of judgment and calling them to salvation. ................
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