A Cry Against Wicked Youth

"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me" (Jonah 1:2).

"Behold the day cometh that shall burn as a oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch" (Malachi 4:1).

"The whole world lieth in wickedness" (1 John 5:19).

What does God have to say about the immorality and wickedness of modern youth? The same thing He had to say to Nineveh centuries ago, "I've had enough! Go to them and cry out against their sins! Warn them that my fiery wrath is about to fall on them! A great destruction is soon to happen, unless there is widespread repentance!"

Nineveh was a great city; it took three days to walk from one end of it to the other. There were 120,000 innocent children living there. But it was so wicked, so violent, so corrupt by sin and evil habits — God could take it no longer.

Just one preacher was sent — Jonah. He rented no auditorium, he had no musicians, he handed out no literature, he didn't even have a loud speaker — let alone television or radio. He planned no follow up.

Just one street preacher walking straight through the city, stopping to talk to no one, ignoring government leaders, walking right by the great temples and universities — past the bars, the brothels and the prostitutes — crying and shouting at the top of his voice. He was not preaching the love of God. He was not telling them God had a beautiful plan for their life. He told them it was all over! "You have just 40 days left. God has seen your wickedness, and He going to send judgment!"

Jonah was not preaching repentance; he was preaching judgment. God fully intended to simply warn the people, then overthrow them for their horrible wickedness. When they repented, God changed His mind and spared them.

It mattered not how many other prophets walked those same streets trying to pacify the people. If there had been ten thousand preachers of peace and prosperity, drawing multitudes to hear them, telling the Ninevites their country was too great and God too good to send judgment on them — it would make no difference to God at all. Only Jonah had the true message. While others were crying peace and safety, this prophet cried judgment.

Many preachers and prophets are crying judgment. But if there was only one voice crying in the wilderness, "Repent, for the day of judgment is near."

What kind of prophet would Jonah have been to ignore God's hot passion against their wickedness and preach a soothing message acceptable to the crowds?

It would have been so easy to grab the national flag of Nineveh, parade it pass the cheering throng and compliment their charity, their leaders, their founding fathers. That is the kind of soft, sweet preaching that is so loved in this country now. We wrap ourselves in he flag. We smugly prophesy that this country is too great, our leaders too moral, our God too good to judge us.

Why would God spare America from fiery judgment? Are all the sodomites, lesbians, sadomasochists and rapists going to repent and turn to God in humility?

Are our government leaders in Washington and in the state houses going to put on sack cloth and sit on ash heaps in godly sorrow for drunkenness, debauchery and corruption? Are the American people going to weep as a brokenhearted people confessing their hideous sins, covetousness and forgetfulness of God?

Don't tell me God will spare us because we are missions minded. We spend more money for dog food than missions. What is given is not given by the nation, but by a handful of believers.

Some say He will spare us for our charitable works — our giving to poor countries. That is a farce! We have given less to starving children than we spend on a single battleship.

We are good to Israel. We are equally good to some Arab nations. We sell billions of dollars worth of weapons to Middle East nations — enough to bring on Armageddon.

Wake up America! We are a wicked people. We are overrun with sodomites; we are reeling in the streets from drunkenness; we are the most drug–crazed nation on earth.

God is not impressed by our Olympics. He will no be pacified with all the whitewash flowing out of backslidden pulpits.

Ours is now a violent nation. A nation almost numbed by the horrible stories of child abuse, child beating, abortion. Not a street is safe to walk on, not a home is secure from robbers. Not a store that is not harassed by thieves and shoplifters.

Our young people are making violence a way of life. Big city schools now install metal detectors to find guns and knives carried to school by teenagers. Teachers beat kids, and kids beat up teachers. Roving gangs kill, molest, push drugs, party and terrorize subways and neighborhoods.

As one Detroit youth confessed, "We used to fight our enemies; now we just stab them or shoot them." Hundreds of youth are dying — suicide, knifed down, gunned down, overdosing.

Millions of youth are fed up with cheating, unloving parents. Drunken dads and stoned mothers. The kids have become so confused by divorcing parents, dead churches, humanistic teaching — they turn sleazy to get even. They are so down they will try anything to get up.

I'm a loyal American. I love my country. I salute our flag, I pray for our leaders. But I'm also a man of God, a man of prayer — and I hear the awesome sounds of a gathering storm. The Spirit cries out: The nation is wicked! The youth have filled the cup of wrath!

He does not speak for God who predicts America will be spared war and fiery judgment. All the elements will burn with a fervent heat. In his Revelation, John wrote, "All nations are deceived, all have drunk of the wine of wrath," by their association with Babylon. Malachi prophesied, "The day cometh that shall burn as a oven…the wicked shall be as stubble…the day that cometh shall burn them up" (Malachi 4:1)

"For by sorceries were all nations deceived" (Revelation 18:23). Zechariah gives a chilling description of a hydrogen holocaust. "Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet; their eyes shall consume away in their holes…tongues consume away in their mouth" (Zechariah 14:12).

God has a very clear answer as to why He has pronounced judgment on this wicked age! It's the same answer He gave Israel. "And it shall come to pass, when you shall show this people all these words, and they shall say unto you, for what reason has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity; what is our sin that we have corrupted against the Lord our God?" (Jeremiah 16:10).

The answer? "Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have walked after other gods…and have worshipped them…and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law" (Jeremiah 16:11).

It is true that godless parents share the blame. They have sinned grievously before the eyes of the Lord. They have worshipped the gods of silver and gold. Their god has been their belly. They worship the idols of sex, sports and success.

But listen to God's indictment against the children of these wicked parents. "You have done worse than your fathers; for behold, you walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, so you will not listen to me…therefore I will cast you out" (Jeremiah 16:12–13).

God said in effect, "I'm not blind — Isee what you do in secret." "My eyes are upon all your ways; they are not hid from my face, neither is your sin hid from my eyes" (Jeremiah 16:17).

Then God explains why there was so much emptiness, boredom and restlessness. "I have taken away my peace from this people, even lovingkindness and mercies" (Jeremiah 16:5).

Think of it! God is saying to this young generation, "Your fathers were bad enough! They forsook Me! They once loved and worshipped Me, but they turned to idols! They are godless and sinful!

"But — you young people — you now out–sin your evil parents! You are pleasure mad! You indulge in anything your heart desires! You won't even listen. You have hardened your hearts and closed your ears! You are becoming so corrupt, so wicked. I have to move against you! First I'll warn you, then suddenly I will judge!"

Are all our children wicked? Of course not! Thank God for the despised few who will not bow their knees to the idols of this world. They shine as jewels on a dark day. But masses of youth are becoming more wicked by the day.

God must judge this generation of evildoers or submit to the power of Satan! This is the key to my message. This is the point of the sword of judgment. God cannot and will not permit Satan to overcome and rule entire segments of society!

Nineveh represented a large segment of the world's population of that time. Young people are a large segment of our society. God cannot sit idly by and permit the devil to take over the youth population without abdicating His power and authority.

"Through the lips of Jonah, God was giving Satan notice, not just the Ninevites. God was saying to Satan, "You have 40 days left before I crush you under my heel! You can enslave this people for only 40 more days! Your time is up! I've had enough of your lifting up your hand against me. I will wipe your influence in this city out. I will erase it. I will leave not a trace of your evil work!"

Spiritual warfare is not a cliché! The battle today is not parents against kids or vice versa. It is not a battle just between youth and God. It is a battle between God and the devil himself. Sinner, you are just a pawn of Satan in this battle. He is using you to get at God. You will partake of God's wrath against Satan himself. How frightful!

God will not sit idly by and permit the devil to damn the youth of this world. He will not permit Satan's henchmen to drug them into destruction on his terms. Alcohol cannot claim this generation. This is what God says: "I will come near to you in judgment: and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers (drug dealers) and against the adulterers" (Malachi 3:5)

If judgment does not come soon, we must all admit that Satan can steal whole segments of society, laugh at God and set up an everlasting kingdom on earth. Not a chance! God has already shaken Himself like an aroused lion, and He is already moving to cast Satan down and all who serve him.

Nineveh repented at one sermon! The king got the message second hand. Someone said to him, "There is a man walking our streets saying we have just 40 days left! We're all going to die!"

The king didn't laugh! Nobody laughed! In their hearts they knew it was true. They expected that God would not sit by and let them kill each other off and become like mad animals.

He shut everything down! Every dog and cat, cow and horse, man and woman, boy and girl were made to fast. All government, all of business, all transportation shut down! No activities! No moving about. Everybody was sent to their houses to their knees! Humble yourself, was his cry. Confess your sins! Call on God to save us! Maybe, maybe there is still hope! Maybe God will be gracious.

Compare that with what is happening in our country today! 24–hour–a day cable TV shouts the gospel from the rooftops. How many evangelists, prophets, pastors, teachers, street witnessing teams — how many are there begging sinners to repent, warning of soon coming judgment?

They heard one man, one sermon, got one chance! We have hundreds of thousands of preachers, hear millions of sermons; we are flooded with cassette tapes; we are inundated with tons of bibles, literature, magazines and books. Radio, TV, and newspapers are all sounding an alarm. Who listens any more?

God called Nineveh once! But He has called, and called, and called this nation! How long will He keep it up? When will His patience run out?

God says, "Wisdom crieth in the street." Also, "Because I have called, and you refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no one listened…You want nothing to do with my truth; you did not want to hear my warning…Your destruction is going to come like a whirlwind…your fear will come as desolation…You will then call upon me, but I will not answer…you will seek me but not find me…Because you despised my word, my warning…Your turning away will destroy you" (Proverbs 1:24–32).

Those of us who preach like this are called "Doomsday Preachers." We are laughed at by so–called ministers of Christ's gospel. We are accused of preaching law, of not understanding grace, love and mercy. We are told we just scare people and that we look only on the dark side.

None of that kind of talk matters now. God is love, but He is also holy! He is also just! If Ananias and Sapphira can drop dead in God's house, in a Pentecostal church, in a day of grace, where love was preached — what will happen when God pours out the wine of His wrath against all wickedness?

Young person, if you were hanging over a fiery pit clinging only to a branch whose roots were about to be uprooted, who do you want to see? Someone who leans over the edge and smiles, "God loves you! Everything's going to be all right! You won't fall! Don't let anyone tell you that you are in danger"? No! If you know how bad your situation is, you will want somebody to give you a hand or a rope and yell at you, "Grab on before it's too late!"

Young people — the men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment to condemn you! Jesus said, "The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here" (Matthew 12:41)

In the supernatural world, in the realm in which God moves and has His being, multiplied thousands of departed souls will cry out, "God, if You are just, destroy them. We heard only one man, one message; and we repented. They have heard too much! There is no justice in it! If You would judge us after one message, how can You not judge them after they turn away from an ocean of messages and warnings?"

The damned souls of Sodom and Gomorrah will rise up in the judgment to cry out another condemnation! "We were damned for less! We had no preacher! No Bibles! No TV or radio! We had no Jonah, let alone armies of ministers! How can You be a just God and not consume them as You did us?"

Hear Jesus: "They repented in Nineveh! You have a greater call! Any preacher in this kingdom age is greater in knowledge and anointing than was Jonah or John the Baptist."

More than all of this — the Holy Spirit Himself, sent by Christ to this particular generation, has called everyone deep in the inner man!

Sinner, you may turn off TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart. You may turn off the poor street preacher. You can throw up all kinds of reasons for tuning out on all preachers and all religion. But you can't tune out that Preacher deep inside your heart. He is the Holy Ghost — there right now — crying out, You are a sinner. God is Holy. Judgment is near! The Bible says, "He will convict you of sin and coming judgment."

Where did our young people go wrong? How did they lose their way? What was the first step that brought on such unbelievable wickedness?

The prophet Isaiah predicted a day in which the youths will faint and fall! He prophesied, "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall" (Isaiah 40:30).

This rock bottom fall, this giving up on everything, could be traced to a complete loss of faith. Isaiah asked, "Why do you say my way is hid from the Lord, and the justice due me is passed over by God?" (Isaiah 40:27).

The prophet was actually saying, "You have no confidence or respect for God at all. You accuse Him of closing His eyes to your problems. You accuse Him of abandoning you in your hard times. You really do believe He is unjust."

All the prophets agree that the shocking wickedness of the children of Israel was the direct result of abandoning their faith in God. They said, "God delays in helping us! God does not see our problems or our sins! He takes us so far than drops us."

The very moment Israel lost faith in God, they corrupted themselves and started dancing nude and drunk around a golden calf saying, "This is our God." All their backslidings, all their fornicating, all their adultery, all their violence could be traced back to the time they quit trusting God.

So it is today! Our young people are corrupting themselves because they have quit trusting in God. They no longer believe in a creator God who has all might, all power; One who sees all, knows all, and who can do all.

God said to these fainting, falling youth, "Have you not known? Have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? His understanding is unsearchable. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength" (Isaiah 40:28,29).

Finally God asked, "Who do you think created all this? Who brings out the stars in such massive numbers; who knows each star by name? Who sits on the circle of the earth, ruling in greatness and power?" (Isaiah 40:26).

Humanism blames God for the famines in the world, then has the audacity to suggest that man has more compassion than God Don't blame God for all the starving children. Blame the world governments. Blame the Ethiopian government for selling their food on the black market, for squandering it on their armies. Blame the bungling politicians, those who would not obey the laws of nature. Blame our government for spending trillions on defense and throwing a sop to poor nations. WE could irrigate most of North Africa for the price of our moon landing. It is sheer mockery, total dishonesty to blame God for the stupidity and the blindness of men. By the way, who acted to save the starving children? God's people first! Young people — you've been listening to the devil's lies! He has led you to believe God can't help you or hurt you!

The truth is, the moment you surrender all your doubts and get back to believing and trusting in God, the chains will begin to fall off. Your mind will be free! You won't feel lost and helpless anymore! God will reveal Himself to you! The Holy Spirit will teach you love! He will give you rest and peace!

God is not angry just about sex, drugs, alcohol, and all those sinful deeds. The damning sin, the one sin that must be judged, is unbelief! That is corruption! That is wickedness! That will bring on the fire of God's wrath!

Only a remnant will be saved! I don't see anything in the Bible that offers this nation any hope, outside of 100% repentance nationwide. That is not going to happen. The Bible predicts, "Evil men will grow worse deceiving and being deceived."

We have now gone too far to turn back. We are headed pell mell for Armageddon. God has given us hundreds of years to turn about, and we've only grown harder, more corrupt. There is corruption from head to toe! And there comes a time when even the prayers of a Noah or an Elijah can't help.

What does Jesus have to say to young people just before judgment? "Save yourselves from this wicked generation" (Acts 2:40).

Peter preached this warning of Christ in the Upper Room. Repent and be baptized and save yourselves from this wicked generation! Those who heard it gladly received it and were saved. Will you?

God poured out His Spirit 2,000 years ago. It was poured on all flesh. Our sons and daughters have been prophesying for nearly 2,000 years. There have been hundreds of revivals, awakenings, stirring and miraculous movements.

But the Spirit will not always strive! One day soon God will say, "The night has been spent; the day of the Gentile is over. The Spirit's work is almost finished. The hour of judgment has come."

In closing, the most incredulous man in eternity must be Jonah! He will not comprehend it all! He preached one sermon and one entire society repented and turned to God!

How will we ever explain the rejection of our youth to the gospel of Christ? The Ninevites won't believe it! The Sodomites won't believe it! But Jonah will be shocked the most. And especially since we had "a greater than Jonah."