Bobby Bosler: Welcome to the Thee Generation Podcast.

I’m Bobby Posler and I’m speaking to you today from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, where as of the time of my recording right now, we are four days away from the Thee Generation Youth Summit.

I know many of you are aware of it.

I’m sure many of you are coming, planning to come, and I’m sure some of you don’t think that you could make it, but you wish you could.

And regardless of which category you’re in, we’re excited about the group that God has assembled.

Our registration continues to climb even here these past few days, and we know that will continue right up to the event itself.

For those of you that don’t know, on Wednesday night, young people from all over the country that have a heart for God are going to assemble in Menominee Falls, Wisconsin at Falls Baptist Church, where we are going to spend two and a half days of a very, very exciting, spiritually invigorating time.

Now, I know in my little Thee Generation newsflash thing that I did, by the way, I had somebody tell me earlier on today, they were in the grocery store and all of a sudden their phone went, this is a TV generation alert.

She wasn’t a very tech savvy person and she didn’t know what in the world was going on.

But anyway, we are very excited.

I know in that update, I primarily focused on the spiritual side of things.

And that’s really my heartbeat.

I hope you catch that young people.

But there is a lot of a ton of fun that we’re going to be having.

We’ve got many of the same team captains as we had last time.

And if you don’t know, if you’ve never seen it, interwoven into the preaching sessions and all of those fun things we’re going to be doing, those great invigorating things we’re going to be doing, we also have an ongoing cumulative competition happening as well.

We’ve got the four-foot ball we’re going to be using for volleyball.

We’re actually going to do a version of human foosball that has, to my knowledge, never been done before.

I’m very much looking forward to that.

We’re bringing back high risk, half court, big ball basketball, where we’ve got our mega hoop.

You say, what’s the mega hoop?

It is four big ball basketball hoops fused into one.

And the reason why we call it high risk is because if you shoot and make it in the wrong hole, you lose a point.

If you make it in the really wrong hole, you lose three points.

It’s very high risk.

But anyway, we’re excited about that.

And so in addition to that, we’re going to be having tube tug, spoke tackle, big ball bowling, and much more.

Our team captains this year, for those of you that are really wondering, wanting to know, we’ve got Jeremiah Acosta.

He this year is leading the Marine team.

And then leading the Air Force is going to be Ryan Tomic.

Then leading Navy is going to be Isaac Royalty.

Many of you remember him.

And then our new kid on the block, as far as leading a team at the TGYS, is Mateo Wuntland.

And these guys are great.

We’ve got some great co-captains as well.

Annalise Van Gelderen.

We’ll have Sydney Snyder.

Carissa DeLeon and Chloe Sikma are going to be the co-captains of those teams.

It’s going to be awesome.

It’s going to be epic. and I believe last year Army won under Jeremiah’s leadership.

We’ll see if he can bring the Marine team to a victory here this year.

But anyway, we’re really excited.

If God leads and gives you the provision, ability, and time to be able to come, we would love to have you.

You can head to thegeneration.org slash TGYS, and that’ll give you all the info that you need to register.

And then you can make your way up here on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

And we would love to have you.

So now that being said, I was not planning on recording a podcast here tonight.

This is in our rotation.

This is when normally Ryan would give his satisfied episode.

But I was talking to him here over the last couple days, and he has been involved very heavily in a lot of the rescue work in North Carolina, South Carolina, searching and so on.

You may not know this, Ryan has a, he has actually a drone photography and videography business called Upper Edge Drone Photography.

And he has used that to support himself, his family, the Satisfied Ministry, and many other things.

But he here, one of the big needs that they’ve had because of Hurricane Helene and all of the things that happened, again, I’m sure you’re probably aware of this, the waters went out of control, destroyed major interstates, and whole towns, and there are still many people missing.

And so he’s actually been one of, I believe, many people who’ve teamed up with the police department, and he’s flying his drone into areas that maybe it’s not safe to go at on foot or it’s just more efficient, looking for people who are stranded.

It’s kind of crazy, maybe even looking for bodies.

And so he’s been doing that here the last day or two here.

There, again, this is kind of what he described it as.

He’s providing overwatch for ground teams.

They’re streaming live video via his drone back to the Asheville Police Department, command for coordination, and they’re searching river embankments and rubble piles for bodies.

And if you think of it, pray for the folks there.

I know there are a number of folks who’ve been able to get down there.

And I will tell you, if you live anywhere nearby, you don’t need me to tell you.

But if you’re even within driving distance, I would encourage you, if there’s any way that you can do something to help, whether through donations, if FEMA will let you, or whether it’s through just getting there and being an encouragement to the people.

I heard from another friend, somebody who traveled with me years ago.

He said the folks there not only need support physically, financially, but spiritually.

There are many hearts that are open to the good news of the gospel. and we’re not just here saying we need to support the physical needs as much as that is a real thing and as much as you’ve done this to the least of these my brethren Jesus said you’ve done it unto me but there is an opportunity potentially to win souls to Christ and so that all is going on that is an ongoing thing it’s something I really would encourage you to be praying about and seeing if there’s any way that you can be involved again we’ve got the TGYS happening up here but all the while, there is a great need down there that is a crisis.

And meanwhile, there’s another hurricane potentially heading right towards the peninsula of Florida.

It’s a great time of year to not be in Florida.

But anyway, sorry, all of our Floridian friends.

All right, enough announcements and everything.

I’ve got a burden on my heart here tonight.

And as I’ve just been seeking the Lord for what he’d have me to talk about, I want to direct your attention to Genesis chapter 12.

This is right in the middle of the life, well, it’s kind of at the beginning of the Bible’s recording of the life of Abraham.

And at this time, he’s still called Abram.

And in Genesis 12, verse 1, the word of God says, Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house unto a land that I will show thee.

And he makes some promises, essentially says he’s going to make him a great nation.

He’s going to bless him and make him a blessing and so on.

And again, there’s a lot in here.

There’s a lot of things that honestly, these statements, these blessings and cursings that he gives in here are things and promises that God fulfills throughout the entire Bible from cover to cover.

We see him keeping these promises even here today, even with the nation of Israel today, even if it’s state of rejecting their Messiah, God still loves his people and wants to bless them and make them a blessing.

But you see, here’s the thing.

God can give instructions, and he did give instructions here.

And God can make promises, and he did give promises here.

But you know what?

All of that’s a bunch of hooey until verse 4.

Now, you might say, wait a second.

Are you saying what God said is a bunch of hooey?

No, no, no, no, no.

Don’t get me wrong.

I’m not saying anything that God said is a bunch of hooey.

But this whole command, this whole set of promises, this whole chain reaction that God had in his mind that he was intending to enact through this random dude named Abram, okay, is completely contingent on one thing.

Verse 4 says, So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken unto him.

Here’s the thing.

God was very interested in giving direction, guidance, commands.

God was very interested in giving a call, in giving promises, in giving blessings.

But that all was contingent upon Abraham’s willingness to take the step of faith.

I wanted to talk a little about this matter of the step of faith here today because you know what, young people, as we seek to live lives of total surrender to God, that’s listening to his voice and desiring to obey when he speaks, when he commands, when he calls, and total dependence upon his power to reach the world with the gospel.

Listen, young people, it is one thing to hear God’s voice.

It’s another thing to hear God’s call, but it is another thing entirely to step out in faith and do what he’s called you to do.

Compare these verses to Hebrews 11, where in verse 8, it says, by faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out not knowing whither he went.

Here’s the thing, young people.

I think a lot of times we have a sincere desire to obey.

We have a sincere desire we want to hear, but when it gets down to it, we don’t.

Why don’t we take the step of faith?

Young person, why is it that I, when I’m presented with an opportunity, maybe to go out soul winning, maybe to hand out a gospel tract, invite somebody to come, Why is it that I am so tempted to chicken out just like you are, okay?

I figure if that’s the case in my life, it probably is in yours too.

Why is it that we don’t take the step of faith, okay?

Got a couple thoughts here, okay?

Often, we feel that we need to know where it’s going to end up taking us, right?

I’m convinced there are probably young men and young ladies listening to this podcast. you’ve been feeling this premonition in your heart, this pull, this tug, that God wants you to do a specific thing.

It could be a small thing.

It could just be, hey, go get right with that person.

It could be, hey, I don’t want you to watch that television program anymore.

It could be maybe a little bigger.

I want you to surrender to me for a specific thing.

I want you to go on a missions trip.

Again, I don’t know what God is calling you to do. but sometimes we look at that and we say man I just don’t know where that’s going to take me to I don’t know where that conversation will end up with my parents that God’s been beating me up about inside right you know you need to go and have a conversation about that thing that happened years ago that you’ve been hiding that’s been killing you that’s been rotting in the darkness of secrecy you know you’re supposed to go do it but you’re afraid of what will happen when you do you don’t know what’s going to happen.

You don’t know where this conversation will lead.

Maybe you’re thinking about surrendering to the ministry.

Maybe in your heart you feel this tug that God wants you to do more than be a faithful Christian, which again, all of us are supposed to be a faithful Christian.

You sense God wants you to do more than be a soul winner and someone who loves the Lord and has surrendered to him in a general way.

But perhaps you in your heart feel like God is calling you to a vocation of some sort of ministry.

But man, every time you think of that, right, you’re afraid you’re going to end up in some dirt-bottomed hut in Africa.

And you just don’t know where it’s going to lead.

And man, you don’t want to take that step until you get a little more info, you know?

But I want to challenge you with this thought.

Again, a couple things from these verses that I read.

God said, get out of your country, out away from your kindred, from your father’s house, unto a land that I will show you.

Okay?

In other words, God hadn’t told him where he was going yet, right?

He said, I’ll tell you, but not now.

You just need to get up and leave right now.

You just need to get up and go.

Don’t worry about the destination.

Just walk with me, God says.

Don’t worry about which mission field it will be.

Just walk with me today.

Just surrender to me today.

In fact, the Hebrews 11 passage makes this even more explicit when it says, by faith, Abraham obeyed.

Again, I’m kind of putting the pieces together.

He obeyed when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for inheritance.

Okay, God, he was called to go to a place which he should after receive for an inheritance.

Okay, in other words, it wasn’t something that he knew what it was, but after he obeyed, he would know.

In fact, it says it even more clearly in the last phrase of this verse.

It says, and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Okay, listen, some of us are planners.

And by that, I mean, you’ve got your next, not only your next day all planned out, you know, Sunday, tomorrow, at least I’m recording Saturday night.

Sorry if you hear this at a different time.

But, you know, you got your whole next week planned out, right?

You know what you’re going to do on Monday.

Not just you’re going to go to school and whatever, but you know what you’re going to do when you get home.

In fact, throughout the whole day, you’ve got it all mapped out in five-minute increments, okay?

Some of you, you’ve got your next month, year, next 10 years all planned out.

Man, you’re Mr.

Visionary, Mr.

Planet.

And whenever somebody comes to you and asks you to do something, you take a look on your iPhone at your calendar and say, Let me see if I have any availability, right?

Oh, I’m sorry.

My next appointment is in the year 2027.

Again, I don’t think anybody’s really that planned out, but maybe you are.

I don’t know.

Maybe you’re a little weird like that.

But, you know, sometimes we can be so planned out, we’re not willing to step out in faith and do something that we can’t see the end of.

Can I make this statement here?

Faith doesn’t need to know where.

There are these little statements that we can get lodged in our brains sometimes.

Here’s one.

God never calls you away from somewhere.

He calls you to somewhere.

And yes, that’s sure.

I agree to that.

God always has something in mind if he calls you to do something.

If he calls you away from a school or away from whatever, okay, a situation.

Okay, if he calls you away from your home country, he’s calling you to another country.

Duh.

If you leave one place, you’re going to go to another.

But here’s the thing about Abraham.

He didn’t know where he was going.

It says it in the text.

And as much as human wisdom and essentially modern convention might say, you got to know where you’re going.

I think it’s the planning people that all say that because they feel like they need to know where we’re going.

Oh, this happens with my kids all the time.

We get in the van and we kind of have this little thing planned for maybe Saturday last weekend.

Uh, we decided Abby and I, we were going to go up to this RV show.

We were going to look at some RVs and just see if maybe there was another one.

We got some issues going with our RV.

We were hoping to get resolved and so on at some point.

But anyway, we all loaded in the van.

We didn’t tell the kids where we were going.

And they’re like, where are we going?

What are we doing?

How long are we going to be there?

How much is it going to cost?

Is there candy there?

Like they’re giving us the 20 questions.

And it’s like, chill, kids.

You don’t need to know where you’re going.

Just sit and buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Sometimes with God, young people, if you’re walking with him, Take one step at a time.

Thy word is a lamp unto thy feet and a light unto thy path.

I was just on the phone with somebody today.

They were actually talking to me, burdened to help us with our trailer situation.

And I told him, I said, you know, you’ve been praying.

Others have been praying.

I’ve been praying.

My family’s been praying.

And it kind of just seemed like this general, nebulous, ambiguous problem here.

Again, I’m not going to go into the details of it, but there’s something that needs to be repaired.

And it’s kind of hard to figure out, you know, how it all works and what the problem is and so on.

But since folks have prayed, things have clarified.

And the pathway has gone from this ambiguous thing to at least I know what some of the next steps are.

I might not know where this will lead or whatever, but I at least know the next steps.

And here’s the thing, young people.

God rarely tells you the end destination, but he often tells you the next step.

But if you are unwilling to take the next step because you demand that you know what the destination is, you’re going to turn off your ears when the Spirit of God tells you to take that step.

I fear, again, there’s good wisdom in that, right?

We shouldn’t just run away from something because it’s hard or because there’s difficulty or whatever.

God is the Lord and surrender is to him, not to a set of cute little maxims that seem to make sense.

Listen, faith doesn’t need to know where you’re going.

It just needs to obey God and take the step.

If you think about this, again, there’s a bunch of things that I could say here about this text.

But here’s another thought here.

Faith doesn’t need to know how long.

Again, sometimes I think we like to map it out, right?

We like to know where this is going to lead, and we also want to know how long am I going to be there.

And Abraham, he found himself sojourning.

Sojourning isn’t fun, young people.

Sojourning is essentially wandering.

Sojourning is essentially I’ve left where I’m coming from, and I’m not to where I’m going quite yet.

I’m somewhere in between.

And some of you might find yourself in a time of sojourning.

Here’s the thing.

If you have to get there and if you have to know the timetable, you’re not going to enjoy the ride.

I’m known in my family as being somebody who when we go on a trip at least, I’m very much all about getting there.

Maybe some of your dads are this way, right?

Or maybe your moms, I don’t know.

To me, it’s not about the journey.

It’s about getting there as efficiently and as quick as possible within the limits of the law, right?

Most of the time.

But, you know, I’m not the personality type that’s like, hey, let’s just stop and just kind of wander around the gas station looking at things we’re not even going to buy.

And especially when you got a trailer, young people, it’s like, you know what?

Let’s get in and out and get there so we can pack up and get in bed.

Okay. that’s another thing that happens when you get older you’re very much interested in getting to bed um i’m sounding like an old person here this is terrible um but uh you don’t need to know how long the journey is going to be you don’t need to know where you’re going you don’t need to know how long the journey is going to be here’s the thing you’ve got to walk with god and there’s another another thing i want to point out here faith doesn’t need to know why all Abraham knew here again I didn’t read the middle verses God did give him some inklings some very basic contours of why he was sending him there he said I will make of thee a great nation and I will bless thee and make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing and I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

You know, those are amazing promises.

And our hindsight from the New Testament vantage point can see a whole lot embedded in those things, right?

The birth of the nation of Israel, the coming of the Messiah, right?

The Abrahamic covenant, the fact that through him, all families of the earth would be blessed.

Okay.

But honestly, if you just think about those words and the limited knowledge that Abraham had there at that point because of the progressive unfolding of revelation.

He didn’t know the name Jesus, I don’t think.

I’m not even sure.

Again, there’s some discussion about what people knew and what they didn’t in the Old Testament, but I think one thing is clear, and here is what is clear, that these promises were not clear.

In other words, he knew a tiny bit of the what.

He knew the direction, the next step, go.

Follow me.

Take the step.

I’ll do some great things along the way.

I’ll use you to be a blessing to a lot of people.

Well, well, God, but what are their names?

Well, well, God, but like how many people are we talking here?

Well, God, but how will I take care of myself along the way?

Well, but God, I mean, what do you mean when you say you’ll bless them that bless me?

Like, what does that actually mean, God?

What does it mean that you’ll curse them that curse me?

That sounds cool, but like, not really at the same time.

Like, what is this, God?

We can drill God with 20 questions, but God is not obligated to answer those questions for you.

But what we are obligated to do is to obey.

See, faith doesn’t need to know where.

It doesn’t need to know how long.

It doesn’t need to know why.

But faith needs to listen to and obey God.

Think about this.

Abraham left family and familiarity because God spoke to him.

Think about those words, young people.

He packed up and left his hometown where all of his family lived.

He left his dad because God talked to him.

Like, I don’t think we realize how radical this is.

I don’t know exactly how the conversation went.

I don’t know if it was a dream in the middle of the night.

I don’t know if it was a vision, an angel appeared to him.

I don’t know if it was an impression in his heart that you know when God is talking to you about something.

You just know this is what you’re supposed to do.

I don’t know how specifically God’s words, when it said he had said unto Abraham, were manifested to him.

But it was clear enough he was able to obey.

And young people, again, I just want you to think about this.

You and I are responsible to be led by the Spirit of God according to Galatians 5.

We are responsible to hear the voice of God, to hear the call of God, and to do what God has called us to do.

And sometimes that leads us to walk away from good setups.

Why?

Because God doesn’t want you to be comfortable?

Because God doesn’t want you to be around family?

No, he might want you to be around family.

He might want you to be in your hometown.

That may well be exactly the place where he’s called you, but here’s the thing.

When God calls and leads you to journey away from the people you love, faith obeys.

Again, there’s a ton more than I could say here, but there’s something else in Hebrews 11 I want to point out.

In verse 9 it says, by faith he sojourned, there’s that word again I mentioned earlier, in the land of promise as in a strange country.

He was in a place that was unfamiliar to him.

It also says dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob.

Tabernacles, that means tents, young people.

So he sojourned.

He spent this time, again, he had not yet arrived to the destination.

He was in transit, mobile.

Boy, I kind of feel like Abraham, okay?

Never quite landing where you’re supposed to be. always going somewhere or coming or going, okay?

But it says he dwelt in tents.

In other words, this was not comfortable.

I’m sure they made the tents as comfortable as possible.

And again, God did bless Abraham and God did bless him with a lot of stuff and things.

But listen, dwelling in tents is not luxury.

Now, I do have to give an exception.

I have stayed in some pretty cool tents.

My family, my wife and I, we went to Kenya.

Kenya, yeah.

And we went to Sweetwater Nature Preserve.

And there was a tent that was literally like a hotel room, like literally like mahogany cabinets.

Like it was crazy, amazing.

Nicest tent I’ve ever stayed in.

I don’t think Abraham stayed in those kinds of tents.

I don’t think it was the Ritz, okay, the Hilton that he was staying in.

I don’t even think it was comfort in level, okay?

This was uncomfortable.

Once again, he left family, familiarity, comfort, because God talked to him in his heart somehow and told him to.

But when you get to verse 10, it says, For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Okay, what’s he talking about? he was letting God build his future.

This is amazing.

Listen, when you step out in faith, when you not asking, not peppering God with 20 questions, demanding to know where, how long, why is this happening?

Just being willing for God to, like a lamp, show you the next step, willing to leave, right, the people you love, the place that you’re comfortable in, willing to step away from those creature comforts of first world stuff and just to go what you’re doing when you do that.

And what he was doing was he was letting God write his story.

He was letting God build his future.

He was letting God bless his life in a way that only God could do.

I don’t know about you young people, but that’s the kind of life that I want to have.

It’s not a life that’s explainable by amazing planning.

I do not actually want that kind of life.

Maybe I should want it a little more.

But I want the kind of life that is only explainable by God.

God was the one who told me where to go.

God was the one who built my life, my ministry, my family to be what he intended them to be.

That is the life of faith, young people.

The life of faith is not always comfortable.

The life of faith is not one when people say, hey, what are you doing?

Where are you going?

I’m on a journey with God.

Where are you going?

I’m going where he tells me to go.

Why are you going?

Because he told me to go.

How long are you going to be there? as long as God has me there.

Oh boy.

But this is also the life that changes the world.

Abraham, because of his steps of faith, literally set the stages that caused Jesus to come into the world.

Dying the cross for the sins of the whole world.

It’s really the cause that you and I are continuing by lifting up the gospel and preaching the good news, That faith that was willing to step away into the unknown, into nothingness, away from stability and into the hand of God.

That was the life that changed the world.

Can I tell you, young person, your step of faith.

I don’t think this is an exaggeration to say this, young people.

Your step of faith could likewise change the world.

Do you believe it?

Do you believe it?

I do, which is why I’m saying it, and I do, which is why I’m trying.

I’m trying to live it.

And God’s strength and his power.

Listen, young people, this encapsulates what thee Generation is all about.

Total surrender.

God, tell me what to do.

I’ll do it.

Total dependence.

God, you’ve got to write my story.

You have got to build my future.

Why?

Total surrender, total dependence to reach the world with the gospel.

That’s changed the world, young people.

And it’s one step away.

The first of many.

Hey, listen, young people, I hope this has stirred your heart.

I hope this has encouraged you.

Take that step.

You won’t regret it.

Thanks for listening.

thanks for joining us for this episode of the thee Generation podcast if you have an issue you need help with we have a resource that can help you the battle plan for victory is an online resource designed to help young people deal with personal sin issues through the word of god and ultimately

to find victory in the lord jesus christ to view the battle plan please visit thegeneration.org slash victory