Grace To Run With The Kings

BY MATT HEINS

The young people of our nation need Jesus. They've got technology and wealth, and they are connected with social media, but they are one of the loneliest generations to have ever lived.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that 55% of 18 to 25 year olds report loneliness more than once a week. Victoria is the most lonely with 65% saying that they were lonely in 2021. One global pandemic has not been the cause. A world that preaches division, offence, and self righteousness has literally driven people apart. What our young adults need right now is a unified body, a functional community and a loving family. We, the Church, are the answer.

In 1 Kings 18: 41-45, there are two characters that are polar opposites. We have King Ahab, who is probably one of the most carnal kings in the Old Testament. He had political and commercial success, and would bow to anything that would garner his attention. He was a king that was a slave to his passions and desires. Then you have the man of God, Elijah – the only thing that he ever owned was the clothes on his back. God had graced Elijah to run alongside, and to run ahead, of the king.

As pastors, we were never meant to be the kings of this generation but God has anoiinted and graced us to run with the next generation, and lead them towards a breakthrough.

What is this grace and anointing we have to run with the kings?

1. Authentic

One of the dangers before us is that we try to compete with the world. What I love about Elijah is that there's an authenticity of the power of God. Take away everything, and you look at who you really are: it's just you and the Holy Spirit.

2. Servanthood

When someone would run in front of the king, it indicated service. We have been called and graced to serve this generation. Can we serve the young people of this generation who think differently to us and have different values?

3. Positional

Elijah may have been running before the king, yet he was out in front, leading the way. Leading in this season may be intimidating , but this is when we get the greatest breakthrough.

We may be counter-cultural to the world, yet 'greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world'. It's the perfect storm for the Church to rise up and meet the needs of a lonely generation that seem to have it all but literally have nothing. It's time to get the soul of the next generation back into the life of the Church.