GENERATION
X
John C. Miller
Young christians, your path through life must leave a mark; a
mark in all that surrounds you. May nobody despise their youth.
Nobody lend their youth to the devil. Surrender your bodies,
souls and minds to Jesus Christ and He will make of you a mighty
army that will fight battles, conquer kingdoms and will have
victory on earth for good and for Christ.
One day God spoke to Ezekiel. The prophet was living at a
difficult time, possibly one of the worst moments for God's
people. That was when God showed him a valley full of dry bones,
very dry bones. In chapter 37 of the book of Ezekiel we read
about this.
Today, at the end of the twentieth century, these dry bones are
represented by what is called "Generation X." Every
generation has been identified by its ideals, but the outstanding
feature of this one is its lack of ideals; a generation which
sociologists consider as lost. A generation which seeks its own
destruction. A generation which abandons values and goes towards
its own destruction. A generation of young people who do not
think about the future or the world they will have. A generation
identified by this name: "Generation X," without a
name, without ideals, without a future. A great valley of dry
bones.
Yet this generation is our future and the future of the world.
This lost generation. This generation which gives itself over to
drugs and free sex and immorality, where it would seem there are
no values. It appears that there is no longer any love of
parents. This can be seen by attitudes and lack of honour.
God spoke to the prophet and asked him: "Son of man, can
these bones live?" In other words: "Can this generation
be saved?" Ezekiel did not see sick bodies: blind, paralitic
or deformed. All he saw were bones. There could be hope for a
body that is crushed, deformed or dead. The power of God could
bring resurrection as with Lazarus. No, this was not even that;
just bones! This generation is so lost that it can be identified
with the dry bones of this vision.
A generation which does not love life but rather seeks death. It
loves death. You can hear this in its music and songs. They speak
of darkness, death and occultism. Everything seems to lead to the
ultimate injection of emotion: death itself. No other generation
has given itself over to suicide, directly or indirectly through
drugs, illicit sex, sodomy which leads to mortal illnesses. This
generation seeks emotional impact. What it cannot find any other
way it tries to find through death itself. It has already
experimented the impact of other pleasures. It has felt the highs
and lows of drugs. Yes, it is a generation that loves death. They
talk about it as though it were a friend. They desire it. They
seek it. They face it. They court it.
Generation X, without a name, without ideals. A generation which,
in many cases, has been given over by parents to perdition and
death. A valley full of dry bones. A vast ossuary.
The prophet saw many bones. In the face of these, God asks him an
astounding question: "Can these bones live?" His answer
was: "O Lord God, thou knowest." Today the same
question seems to resound through the ages. Is it possible to
straighten this generation? Is it possible to bring back to life
someone whose mind, soul and spirit has been destroyed?
When God asks men and ministers this question some answer:
"Yes, Lord, I believe I can make these bones live. Give me
time. I shall study anthropology. I shall study how to join one
bone to another. I shall acquire knowledge of the best
techniques. We shall have young people's meetings, meetings in
public squares, in large auditoriums; we shall conquer them. They
like rock music. We shall give them rock music, to draw them, of
course. We shall put Christian words to that music and little by
little we shall introduce them in a subliminal way to the idea of
God." Others answer without hope: "Lord, what is the
point? This generation is lost. This generation has no interest
in God." But the prophet answered the only way we can
answer: "Lord, only you know." God likes that answer
because He knows that man's methods are of no use. Only God can
work and change the heart of man. He can change the lost mind,
heart and spirit.
God then instructs his servant: "Prophecy and say unto these
bones: `Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.'" If the bones
were dry, who would hear? The order seems laughable. But God told
him to prophecy and declare the word of God. Today, young
Christians, God wants us to declare what God says to this dead
generation. This way His words enter this world. What will happen
will surprise you.
God wants you to hear His voice and declare what He says. Listen
to what God is saying! "Behold, I will cause breath to enter
into you, and ye shall live."
Young people, children of God, you who are a part of the present,
prophecy to this generation. God says He will revert the process
which began in the sixties with the Beatles. He will restore lost
values, love and fear. He will put flesh, skin and spirit in them
and, what is more important, He will put His Spirit in them and
they will live. They will no longer be dead people who are guided
by the spirits of hell. They will begin to live.
The prophet believed when he heard what God said. Can you believe
what God says to our generation of lost young people? Dry bones
will live. "I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye
shall live."
When the word of God leaves that invisible world and enters into
this visible world it accomplishes what it was sent for. Mark
11:22-24 explains it to us also. "And Jesus answering saith
unto them, have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, that
whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be
thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but
shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to
pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."
While Ezekiel was prophecying there was a noise and a tremor; the
bones were joined together. That must have been something
tremendous to see. What a spectacle! Yes, to see a completely
ruined life begin to shake itself, pull itself together, to see
hope begin to come back, the desire to live return; how wonderful
this is to see!
However there was no spirit in them. Then God told the prophet to
prophecy to the winds as they were only dead bodies. In spite of
their desire to live, even if God freed them from their desire of
drugs, even if God healed them and they went to church, they
would continue to be dead bodies unless the Spirit of God made
them living spiritual beings.
Then God again told His servant to declare His word.
"Prophecy unto the wind, prophecy, son of man, and say to
the wind, thus saith the Lord God; from the four winds, O breath,
and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I
prophecied, as he commanded me, and the breath came into them,
and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great
army."
If the Spirit of God does not come and breathe upon this
generation, they will merely be dead bodies even if they reform,
accept new values and are turned about from their mad race.
Come, Spirit of God, because when you come, something happens on
earth. Spirit of God, breathe on these dry bones of Argentina!
Spirit of God, breathe on the dry bones of this world!
My question to you is: who will prophecy? If those who are alive
will not do so, still less will those who are dead do so. May
those who are alive cry out! Cry out that this power from on high
may enter into hearts like a bolt of lightning! Wherever they
are: in the city, in their houses, in beds of immorality, discos,
in their dens, may lightning from heaven enter their hearts. May
they shake, may their eyes be opened and may they say: "What
am I doing here? Where am I? How can I be living like this? God,
save me!"
Understand this properly, they can not cry out unless you do so
first. If they are to live, someone must cry out and prophecy.
If you say: "Not I. I am not a prophet." If you, who
have life of God, if you, who have received the breath of God
will not prophecy, then who will? Another man, Jeremiah, also
made excuses. "Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak; for I
am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for
thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I
command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for
I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah
1:7).
On the day of my sixteenth birthday I was returning in my car. At
the time, I was living in the United States. It was late at night
and I was sad because it was my birthday and there was nobody
around with whom to celebrate it. As I removed the key from the
lock, God spoke to me and said: "I have called you to be a
prophet to the nations and what I tell you to say, that you will
say, and I will be with you to deliver you." Then I said:
"Ah, Lord, I am the youngest in my family. I am a
child." Of course you do not look like a prophet! Of course
you do not feel like one! No prophet feels like a prophet. I have
no idea what it is to feel like a prophet. I only know that what
God tells me to say I must say. And God is telling you to say:
"Hear, ye dry bones! Hear, o lost generation! God will cause
you to live."
When the prophet said what God told him to say, the Spirit of God
entered those bones and they lived. Hallelujah! But God did not
finish His work there. He was not only making living beings but
"an exceeding great army." God will make an army of
this generation X to fight in the battle of Armageddon against
the hosts of darkness.
You young people are the first fruits, the first of this
generation to rise up and be warriors for God. But after you
there will be a powerful army such as has never been seen on
earth, an army that will be full of the Spirit of God. They will
fight against the hosts of darkness which in latter times will
arise against the armies of the living God. Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! These bones will live!