By Family Evangelist Frank King

Last year, I had the opportunity to participate in a service during which my great granddaughter was dedicated to the Lord.

Along with her mother and father (my grandson), praying for her were my son, (her grandfather) and me.

Four generations of Kings were involved in a service dedicated to the children of our congregation. Traditionally, this dedication confirms that, as a generational church, we place great emphasis on creating a legacy.  

Leadership has chosen the 2024 theme, Supernatural Living in the Last Days, to instruct God’s people to operate like “the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32).

It is our understanding that we are in the Last Days. We realize that the world is fast approaching the judgment that God has promised to a people who have ignored His laws for generations.

“For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? And also, If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners” (1Peter 4:17-18)?

We also understand that God has a special assignment to those “in God’s household” who have obeyed His instruction to transmit those truths to the next generation.

We are a generation who have been introduced to supernatural living; it is our responsibility to receive and practice the truth and pass it to our children as their legacy in the end times.

In an age when the term “supernatural” brings thoughts of ghosts and demons, perhaps we should define our terms. According to American Heritage Dictionary, the word supernatural can be defined in several ways.

Most popular these days is to use the word to refer to things “outside our natural world,” or to a “power that seems to violate or go beyond our natural forces.”

Today, our youth are inundated by examples falling under this definition. After watching and reading super hero stories or tales of “good” witches and warlocks, young people today not only believe in the power of the supernatural, but sometimes even seek its power for themselves.

It is the duty of the Church to guide them to biblical use of that power. God gifts His Church to live supernaturally as defined by the Gospels, not by Hollywood.

God wants the next generation church to live out that promise as well.

The aforementioned definitions are necessary because, in contrast to the past, vocabulary at large is no longer controlled by ethical and moral sources. The enemy knows that if he controls the meanings of words, he can control the minds of people.

This is especially true in our educational system, which functions under the control of a worldview that is not only influenced by evil but that has an agenda to push an evil worldview into the minds and hearts of our young people.

This control of definition in education has existed for decades, and as a result, many young adults have never heard the truth, untainted by this influence.

One of the dictionary definitions of supernatural is the historically correct one: “Of or related to a deity.” In other words: God. Our job, as parents and adults in the congregation, is to make young people aware of the lie they have been fed and guide them to the true application of the supernatural in their lives.

This is critical because supernatural legacy is mandated in Scripture: “Therefore you shall lay up these words of Mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deut 11:18-19).

In his annual theme sermon, Pastor Warner quoted 2 Chronicles 16:9: “For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

The phrase “those whose heart is completely His” includes our children.

Peter expressed this truth on the Day of Pentecost when he quoted Joel 2:28-29: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.”

Those sons and daughters have received a heritage, or birthright, enabling them to complete the work that the Church has begun.

For over fifty years, the local church in Tucson has adhered to a single mission statement: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” (Matthew 28:19).

Disciples in the next generation are now encouraged to complete that work, and to do so enabled by a supernatural life. Jesus’ promise to be with us “always, even to the end of the age” is also a promise to the next generation.

We are seeing this promise fulfilled, as the youth of this congregation pick up the mantle. Those who grew up in church are following that great commission, and young converts are baptized monthly. Youth are prominent in our outreaches and worship services.

We are seeing a great revival, but God has a greater vision.

The Church of Jesus will grow in these last days, and some of the greatest growth will be in reclaimed sinners. Many of these were once part of the Church, and they will be again.

God is calling young people back, and they will be bringing their unsaved friends with them. Just as in the Jesus Movement in the ’70s, the youth will see revival.

God has made an end times promise: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6).

God is holding back His great judgment while families are healed, and the children are again in relationship with Jesus and their parents. Joel’s prophesy will be fulfilled; “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.”

As the promise of Supernatural Legacy is fulfilled, the final revival will grow. This is not just a revival of the young, but of all generations; young and old working together to fulfill God’s promise and prophecy of the end times.

As Pastor Warner said in his sermon, “The price of admission is a heart devoted to Jesus.” This is not something that we can teach the next generation. We must demonstrate it to them.

As our children see us dedicate our hearts totally to Jesus, they will follow suit. Disciples are formed, not born. God has called the adults of this generation to show the way to the younger saints.

If we begin with repentance and follow with devotion, many of the next generation will follow suit.

Supernatural living is required of all.

We should all hope to see our children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren living supernaturally. If we do our part, God will do His.