JOEL 2 GENERATION

Recently I gave a message entitled "Confessions of a Modern-Day Pharisee". I believe that the reason over 20% of the Gospel of Matthew involves the Pharisees (and other Jewish religious leaders) is because we would struggle with our own "Pharisaical Tendencies". God knew we would struggle with the same things Jesus confronted them about. I know I do.  I came up with a Pharisee version of Tim Hawkin's "You Might be a Redneck if..."  I MIGHT BE A PHARISEE IF... …IF I AM THE SELF-APPOINTED CORRECTOR OF EVERYONE ELSE'S DOCTRINE   IF I THINK THAT THE " SPEAK THE TRUTH " PART OF "SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE"  IS THE "KEY" TO THAT VERSE…   …IF ONE OF MY FAVORITE VERSES IS "THE SPIRITUAL MAN JUDGES ALL THINGS" (1 Cor. 2:15)   IF PRAYING THE IMPRECATORY PSALMS MAKES ME OUTRAGEOUSLY HAPPY…   …IF I THINK THE “GIFT OF DISCERNMENT” MEANS KNOWING WHAT IS WRONG IN EVERYBODY ELSE'S LIFE   IF I AM SITTING HERE THINKING ABO

This past week as we are teaching through the Epistle of First Peter  we came across what I believe to be one of the most challenging verses for modern Western Christians because somehow we have been taught and believed that we can somehow live a Christian life that won't include suffering. And I know many Christians that when suffering came into their lives, that teaching/belief, led to the shipwreck of their faith ( 1 Timothy 1:19 ). Some of that has been the result of being Christians in the Western First World (be that North America, Western Europe and/or Australia/New Zealand). We haven't faced a lot of the suffering that is far more common in other parts of the world. As to those that TEACH this idea, that has come from a radical misunderstanding of God's covenants, taking promises out of the Old Testament that were EXCLUSIVELY and ONLY for Israel as a NATION under the Mosaic Covenant (i.e. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 ). This is a false teaching and tragically has destroyed t