Three generations | Dr. Conrad Vine

Introduction: The Call to be True

“If we are to stay as true to duty as the needle to the pole, we need to know what true north really is. We need to know the scriptures for ourselves.”
“One of the joys of being a preacher actually is not the preaching, it’s actually the sermon preparation… you have an encounter with the Lord, then when you stand up and you preach, you’re hopefully full of the joy of discovery. It’s like fresh bread.”
“Ask for opportunities to share the gifts that God has given you. And don’t be shy about it.”

1. Quotes on Being Lost in Despair

“Modern man appears to be very, very lost. We are living in a culture of despair… increasingly a culture of death.”
“In America, we now know the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.”
“Postmodernism believes that nothing has purpose or meaning. And it’s a philosophy of despair… It reduces you to a state of nihilistic despair.”
“Without God, humanity has no meaning. Without God, humanity has no possibility of purpose.”
“The cry of the human heart for meaning and purpose and significance is at such fundamental odds with the philosophy of despair that undergirds today’s lost generation. And this is the tragedy of the modern generation. They are lost in despair.”
“The world may glitter, but all the froth that’s out there is designed to cover up the fact that there’s nothing inside.”

2. Quotes on Being Lost in the Church

“This generation is lost in the church… In the last days, within the church, it’s going to be difficult, it’s going to be dangerous, it’s going to be hard to bear.”
“These people are loving everything except God himself. They love self. They love pleasure and they love money.”
“If self is on the throne of your heart, you are a lover of self rather than a lover of God. It means your life is a life of blasphemy.”
“At the end of time, family relationships will be characterized not by the presence of that which is good, but by the absence of that which is good: without gratitude, without holiness, without natural affection, without reason.”
“They will hold fast to the outward form of godliness, but denying its power… This is the church, not the world.”
“True religion combines both form and power. It is not just external form without internal power. That’s legalism… If you don’t have the form of religion and you just have the inner transformation, your religion is basically sentimentalism.”

3. Quotes on Being Lost in Wonder (The 144,000)

“This is their podium. This is the winner’s stand… They are taking their stand with Christ on Mount Zion.”
“No one could learn that song except the 144,000… They’re brothers in arms. They made it together. They survived the worst that Satan could throw at planet Earth.”
“They have not defiled themselves… They have clung to Christ’s righteousness as their only hope of salvation… In their conscience, they were as true to duty as the needle is to the pole.”
“They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. Their ultimate loyalty is to Christ, not to any political party, nation, or cultural trend.”
“Whose voice do you follow today?… Have you learned to recognize the voice of the Lamb speaking to you directly and personally?”
“Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the 144,000.”

Conclusion: The Call to Choose

“You choose your outcome.”
“Following the Lamb means standing for the right though the heavens fall. It means being hated by all men because you bear the name of Christ.”
“Everybody’s on that roller coaster… if you know that the end of the ride is good, you can buckle up and grit your teeth and cling on.”
“Don’t be in that generation lost in despair… Don’t be the generation that is lost in the church… Choose to be among the generations lost in wonder and worship of the Lamb.”
“Make a choice. Choose life. Choose eternal life.