It was such a blessing to see so
many responses to my lecture.
How many of you were mightily blessed last
night?
Amen.
Say amen.
How many of you are ready to be
blessed again here this morning?
How many of you are hungry for more
of Jesus?
Well, that's what we have to talk about
here this morning.
Turn with me in your Bibles, if you
would.
Psalms, the 24th chapter.
I want to talk about the Jacob generation.
The Jacob generation is a one-thing generation.
It's a group of men and women who
are totally set apart for Jesus Christ, who
have no other agenda, who have no other
desire, who have no other passion, except that
Jesus Christ would come to have the preeminence
over all things.
Psalms 24, starting to read in verse 3.
Who may ascend to the...
He who has clean hands and a pure
heart, who has not lifted up his soul
to an idol nor...
He shall receive blessing from the Lord and
righteousness from God, his salvation.
This is Jacob, the generation of those who
seek him, who seek his face.
If you want to be a man or
woman who seeks God's face, if you want
to be a part of the Jacob generation,
I want to ask you to bow your
hearts with me right now and let's pray
and ask God to anoint this message and
anoint our ears to hear that our lives
might be changed.
Let's pray.
Jesus, we invite you to come in power.
We know we're nothing without you and we're
hungry and we're desperate for you.
Our souls thirst for the living God, consuming
fire.
Come and speak to us today.
Make us a people with one heart, with
one mind, undivided, single, passionate for Jesus Christ.
One thing generation.
Bless these words.
Let them be from heaven.
In the name of Jesus.
And everybody say together, Amen.
I'm hungry to be a part of this
generation.
A generation that's not looking for success or
popularity.
A group of ministers who are looking for
nothing but Jesus Christ and the fruit.
Many, many years ago, young men and women
would be called into the ministry.
And when they were called into the ministry,
they had this passion repeating the words of
Paul, Oh, that I might know him.
That was the one cry, that I might
know him.
Are you hungry to know him here this
morning?
Is that the cry of your soul?
Does that stir you?
Is there an ever increasing zeal in your
heart for more of Jesus?
But something has happened in the church.
People got distracted.
Ministers were persuaded to look elsewhere for life.
They could no longer say, All my springs
of joy are in you, oh Lord.
Their springs of joy became success.
Their springs of joy became power and honor.
The desire of their heart to see a
kingdom established.
Their pride and ambition got in the way.
So they worked hard.
They began to strive in the flesh.
They began to set man-made goals.
They created agendas to make things happen.
And they began to walk and move without
the Spirit of God.
And I've been so tired over the last
10, 15 years of seeing my peers who
were in the ministry so driven and so
given over to success.
And I don't mean just godly success.
I was thinking of a worldly success.
Of how large the church is.
Whether they could build a new building.
How many people they have in their congregations.
But God is raising up a new minister.
A young minister.
An old minister.
Who's returning to the former desires.
Who's going back home to the heart of
ministry.
They're tired of the hype.
They're tired of the routine and the traditions
of men.
And they have one cry in their soul.
One prayer off their lips.
Take the whole world.
But give me Jesus.
Take the power.
Take the success.
Take the money.
But don't go with your spirit.
Leave me your spirit.
That's the cry in the heart of a
one thing generation member.
Just give me Jesus.
I don't need anything else.
I need his heart.
I need his passion.
I need his love for the world.
I need his guidance and direction.
I need his spirit to quicken me.
And then the strategies.
The programs.
The ambitions.
They grow strangely dim.
Because of his glory.
His light.
This passage we're reading here.
Speaks of a generation called the Jacob generation.
Those who seek him.
Those who seek his face.
When I was 19 years old.
I went to a conference very similar to
this one.
It was a conference that changed my life
forever.
Just as our prayer is that this one
ever.
Let me speak to you young ministers just
for a moment.
Those of you who feel that call of
God.
And just beginning to get into ministry.
And you're looking for direction.
When I was a young man I went
to this conference.
And an elderly pastor was preaching.
And he told us young ministers.
You're going to have to make a choice.
Here's the choice.
You're going to seek either God's face.
Or you're going to seek God's hand.
Now God's hand will move in power.
God's hand will heal the sick.
God's hand will raise up ministries.
God's hand will open up doors.
And God's hand.
But there's also God's face.
It's the cry that I might know him.
It's the passion in the heart to see
him face to face.
It's the desire to be a friend of
God.
It's a hunger, a thirst.
It says I want more of you Jesus.
I must have Christ in fullness.
And he said you have to make a
choice.
You either choose his hand or his face.
I remember at 19 I said to Jesus.
Christ I want to seek your face.
Yes I want to see miracles.
I want to do mighty works.
I want to see the kingdom of God
expanded.
I want the lost to be saved.
But I don't want to do any of
that without you going before me.
Without me knowing you.
Anybody can preach sermons.
Anybody can lead congregations.
But what God wants to call forth is
men and women of God who have this
Jacob spirit.
This one thing seeking.
That I might seek your face.
I remember choosing.
God I want to seek your face.
There was such a sweet spirit there.
I began to have a cry in my
soul for more of God.
That day birthed something new in me.
I've never been the best preacher.
I've never been the most eloquent.
I've never had the best leadership skills.
I'm not a great organizer.
But I have this one thing.
I want to know Jesus.
I want to know God.
I want to seek his face.
I want to be part of this Jacob
generation.
And it's my prayer now that he would
raise up leaders older men and women of
God who will lead the way into his
presence who will be the model of what
it is to be a generation of one
mind.
So that young people who are entering into
the ministry who are early in their ministry
can learn from you that one thing.
So I chose to seek his face.
There's been times since where I almost changed
my mind.
I said, maybe I'd rather choose the other.
Maybe I made the wrong decision.
I want to see more power.
I want to see more success.
I want to see more people healed.
I want to see more people saved.
Sometimes I feel like I've made the wrong
decision.
But then Jesus comes.
He gets to visit me.
I feel his presence.
I feel his touch.
I feel his love.
I feel his anointing.
And the glory of the Lord fills the
place.
Just like Isaiah who saw the Lord.
He didn't just know about him.
It didn't just work for him.
He saw the Lord.
He was high and lifted up.
And his glory filled the temple.
There was a filling.
An outpouring.
And out of that, out of that knowledge
of God, out of that intimacy with Jesus,
comes all true ministry.
Comes all powerful ministry.
Many years ago, his name was Leonard Ravenhill.
I heard him preach one time at a
minister's conference.
He said, all of you men that want
the power come and stand on this side
of the auditorium.
And I'm going to pray that God will
give you a double portion.
And those of you that are hungry to
know more of Jesus, I want you to
come and stand on this side of the
auditorium.
We'll pray that God will give you a
heart to seek his face.
And almost 99% of the men came
up and stood on this side.
They wanted the power.
They wanted to be God's men.
They wanted authority.
And Ravenhill went over there and prayed for
them.
He said, humble these men, God.
Give them a heart to seek your face
because that's the path to power.
Then he went over to the few men
standing here and Jesus, I thank you for
these powerful men of God who know what's
most important, who know what to seek first.
Give them their hearts crying because as they
seek your face your hand will move.
Seek God's face.
Seek his face first and you'll see his
hand move.
You don't have to worry about his hand
moving when his face arrives on the scene.
He doesn't leave his hand at home and
there are many people consumed with God's hand.
Move this.
Fix this.
Build this.
Move that.
But Jesus is saying to us today seek
my face and my hand will accompany.
My hand will be there and it will
bless you and it will fill you.
But first of all there's one desire and
one high calling and that's knowing Jesus.
When I was 19 I set my face
to do that and it's my desire that
men and women in this place today to
make that same choice to say God it's
about your face.
Now who can have his face?
Who can know this true intimacy with Christ?
Psalms 24 gives us insight to this.
Who may ascend into this hill says verse
3.
Not just the hill of ministry.
Not just the mountain top of success.
But the hill of the Lord.
The place where Moses received the glory.
Who can go up into those inner places?
Who can like Paul see things into the
third heavens?
And who may stand in this holy place?
Is it just busy ministers?
Is it just pastors of growing churches?
Is God's favored eye upon those who are
doing more than others in appearance?
Are those who get the invitation into the
holy place those who look more successful?
No, the Bible makes it clear.
In verse 4 the one that ascends verse
3 the one that ascends the one who
stands verse 4 says is the one with
clean hands.
The one with a pure heart.
His hands have not been lifted up.
His soul has not been lifted up to
an idol.
There's no idol of success.
There's no idol of selfish ambition or desire.
There's no agenda for anything else.
I can't tell you how many idols I've
had in ministry.
I grew up in a Christian home.
I never got into drugs or to wild
and loose living.
But my idols were in the ministry.
Building an idol out of success.
Out of self-ambition to get things accomplished.
Let me give you an example.
I was building a church.
We had started it from scratch.
Nothing.
I went into a city didn't know anybody
and just started walking around on the university
campus praying for young people.
Before long the church began to grow.
In our very first service we had over
a hundred people.
Before long the church was getting close to
three or four hundred people.
It was looking successful in the eyes of
my ministry friends.
But I got so busy spending all my
energy on the external ministry that I began
to forget about Jesus.
I wasn't seeking the face of Christ.
I was getting distracted.
One day I went home from my church
office and I got out my guitar and
I began to worship the Lord.
Singing this one song we sing in America
which says Lord you are more precious than
silver more beautiful than gold more wonderful than
diamonds and nothing I desire compares to you.
That's a beautiful song.
And I was singing it and I thought
so sweetly to Jesus.
Nothing I desire compares to you.
And I felt the Holy Spirit stop me.
It was as if the Lord was asking
me a question.
Are you sure about that?
You say nothing you desire compares.
But what about your ministry?
What about all your activities?
You spend such little time with me.
You can spend hours strategizing and hardly even
minutes in prayer.
The way you spend your time and energy
tells you what your priorities are.
So I was telling Jesus nothing compares to
him but my life was giving him a
different message.
That message was this Jesus you are important
to me but not as important as my
church.
Not as important as me building this up.
And it broke my heart.
And I told Jesus Christ I'm sorry Lord.
Please forgive me God.
I don't want that to compare to you.
I don't want it to outshine you.
Yes I want to be fruitful in ministry
but years ago I set my face like
flint to seek your face and I got
off the track and I've been distracted by
many things but this one thing is needful
that nothing would compare to you.
And I felt so refreshed the returning joy
and presence of the Lord.
I got the guitar again sang the song
again not to the last part and nothing
I desire compares to you.
Nothing I desire compares to you.
And the Holy Spirit stopped me and said
there's something else I want to talk to
you about.
What about your family?
You love your children.
You love your wife.
You enjoy your vacation time.
And I didn't feel like the Holy Spirit
was saying I was putting them ahead of
God.
I did not feel like I was putting
them ahead of God but the song was
this nothing compares to God.
And my family my family began to compare
to God.
I was putting them putting them on the
same level and God wants us to love
our families but not compared to how we
love Him.
And so I repented again.
Jesus I'm sorry.
Forgive me God.
I didn't know that was in my heart.
I got out my guitar again sang the
song again joy again and nothing I desire
compares to you.
And He stopped me again and He said
this what did you do last Sunday after
church?
I said I watched the football game.
What did you do in the evening?
I watched the second football game.
What did you do on Monday night?
I watched Monday night football.
So that's a lot of time isn't it?
That's a lot of time.
And the Lord said to me that's comparing
to me.
That's beginning to compare to me.
I repented again.
Jesus forgive me.
This desire it's not a wrong desire but
it should be a small desire compared to
you.
I must have spent at least a half
hour with that guitar that song.
And every time I start singing it over
again nothing compares to you.
I get stopped again and again and again
because I found many things in my life
that were being lifted up being exalted not
evil things not sinful things but things that
compared things that I was lifting up and
the one who is going to ascend if
you're going up to the place of Jesus
if you're going to know Christ more you
can't have any other agenda besides Him first.
He has to be here all in all.
Look more at verse 7 Lift up your
heads O you gates and be lifted up
you everlasting doors and the King of Glory
shall come in.
There's something that has to be lifted up
first something that has to be moved out
of the way certain things have to be
put away otherwise God gets shut out it
hinders Him David when he was crying out
to know this one thing he writes about
this generation that's going to seek the face
of God he gives them this warning and
this encouragement first something has to be lifted
up something has to be moved out of
the way get the doors out of the
way the things that block God from full
access to your heart so that you're seeking
nothing else and then it says the King
of Glory will come in did you hear
me here this morning Jesus Christ the Living
God the Holy One the Most High God's
Anointed will come in His Blessing His Face
His Hand His Presence His Love His Power
His Authority all that He is will come
in as everything else the hindrances are gone
we run from sin we run from idolatry
so that the King of Glory may come
in we're hungry we're thirsty not just for
ministry not for our own agendas but so
that the King of Glory may come in
and fill His Church with the Spirit of
Christ a fresh touch a new anointing the
Holy Veil the big fire for more of
Jesus lift everything out move everything away have
no other agenda it's so easy to get
agendas I get an idea every day some
scheme some new plan that pops into my
head if I did everything every idea that
came into my head I would be so
busy I would have no time for Jesus
and that sounds ridiculous but that describes many
in this place running after a multitude of
ideas carnal ideas visions and dreams of your
own and you wonder why you're so weary
you wonder why you're so busy you get
angry because your church isn't helping you enough
they don't have the vision but the truth
is you're the one who doesn't have the
vision yes, you have ideas you have programs
but the vision is to be of Jesus
this is the one thing generation seeking nothing
else the church I grew up in had
many guest speakers you know what it's like
to have a guest speaker in your church
you have missionaries come speak you have evangelists
come speak people from the Bible Society have
you ever noticed something about guest speakers in
your church whatever they're preaching about or whatever
ministry they're involved in they always try to
convince you that what they're doing is the
most important thing on God's heart so I
got confused as a young man I'd hear
somebody come in and talk about intercession and
they would say this prayer and intercession is
the most important thing on God's heart so
I said that's what I want to give
my life to I started praying started seeking
His face and then the next month there'd
be another guest speaker and he'd talk about
world missions and he'd talk about the needs
around the world and the places that were
desperate for God the pagan lands that needed
missionaries and they'd say this is the most
important thing on God's heart that we'd save
the lost and so I said that's a
good message I'm tired of all that praying
I want to do something for God so
I'm going to become a missionary and then
the next month they'd have somebody come to
our church and he'd talk about discipleship and
he said many people can go to foreign
lands and preach to lost people but if
you don't disciple them you don't bring them
into the world so the most important thing
on God's heart is discipleship and I'd say
yes, that's it that's what I want to
give my heart to I want to be
a discipler I want to get a small
group of people and teach them and my
heart was always changing because they're always saying
there's something that's most important to God but
God has something else in store he makes
it clear what the one thing of his
heart is God has a passion as well
God has a desire as well God has
a mission it's not just that the world
be one not just that the church would
be involved in intercession not just discipleship would
take place but what is on the Father's
heart that his Son Christ Jesus might come
to have first place that he might be
supreme over all that all things be summed
up in Christ and if you want to
know what's most important to God and what
should be most important to us and you
truly want to be a man after God's
own heart then the Father's heart is after
his Son Christ Jesus he wants everything to
be wrapped up into his Son he wants
him to have a preeminence over all things
this is God's desire I was having in
my church I was reading from the Old
Testament and I was reading about the end
times when there was the building of the
temple and when the temple was finally rebuilt
Zerubbabel and those who were rebuilding the temple
they put the capstone the last stone on
top of the building and all the people
saw the finished work and they began to
lift their hands they began to cry out
grace, grace to it because they understood it
was by God's grace that the work was
finished and that capstone in your life and
in your family and in your church is
not only the cornerstone but also the capstone
the beginning and the end the Alpha and
the Omega the all in all from first
to last is Christ Jesus every knee bowing
every tongue confessing with the whole heart that
Christ is Lord all of a sudden I
saw this picture of my church with me
in heaven we were standing around the throne
of the work that God had built they
began to put the capstone the final touches
on it the exaltation in the highest place
of Jesus Christ and all of heaven was
shouting grace grace to it it's Jesus Jesus
Jesus and all of a sudden I heard
these strange voices I looked around and I
saw people from my church and they were
yelling something different they were saying intercession intercession
evangelism evangelism discipleship discipleship they didn't get it
they didn't know what it was all about
they weren't yelling Jesus Christ because they had
been trained to see something else first catching
the lost first saying your prayers first making
disciples first all those things are good but
when you stand before Jesus in heaven you're
not going to be shouting home groups home
groups home groups you're not going to say
glory glad to home groups you're going to
say and He wants to be first in
your heart not just when you stand before
Him in heaven but here right now His
will be done on earth like that which
is in heaven and the Father's will in
heaven that we shout Christ Christ no other
message no other desire no other passion no
one thing generation let me close the first
is Mary of Bethany you don't have to
turn there but it's found in Mark 14
Jesus comes into a house of Simon the
leper and Mary of Bethany walks into that
house all these men were talking about their
agendas they were all questioning Jesus about their
theology but this young girl she takes this
bottle of perfume that she has the Bible
says it was worth over a year's wages
many church historians tell us that they think
this woman was an orphan so here's this
little girl no parents probably that was her
life inheritance probably something her mother and father
left her it could have been her future
it represented her prosperity it represented her security
it wasn't just a little cheap piece of
perfume it represented her whole life there she
break it open others might say Jesus and
she takes and she kneels at his feet
and tears are in her eyes she takes
that precious bottle all her life all her
security all her hopes for the future a
little orphan girl and she breaks it and
it pours out and fixes with her tears
she says Jesus it's all about you I
don't need anything else I don't need security
I don't need to feel like I'm okay
because if I have you I have everything
so she poured it all out I love
this story of Mary of Bethany and the
Lord told me one day that's your model
of ministry to pour it all out for
Jesus and when the Lord first told me
that I didn't like that you want me
to be like Mary of Bethany she's a
woman she's feminine she's walking around with perfume
I want to be like John and Peter
you called them the sons of thunder they
were the powerful men let them be my
model this is your model we need more
Mary of Bethany you have this one thing
desire to pour it all out to Jesus
this is the same Mary who when Jesus
came to her house her older sister Martha
was busy about many things she was busy
about many many things as a matter of
fact she wasn't just busy doing cooking she
was troubled she was worried she was fearful
she was uncertain she had a lot of
anxiety and she was so busy but she
was missing the one thing needful you're here
in this building today and your life is
full of fear you're afraid of failing you're
afraid of the future you're anxious about many
things there's no peace in your heart you're
always worried about your church you're always worried
about your future and your success then you
have that Martha spirit troubled about many things
and she comes in to Jesus and she
says Jesus, Mary's not doing anything she's not
working but Jesus disagrees she says she's doing
a good work most of us when we
think of good works we think of preaching
we think of leading of building ministries of
writing books of doing great works for God
but Jesus says to Mary and Martha this
is a good work to break your heart
open before Jesus to sit at Jesus' feet
to sit before Him and Jesus not only
calls this a good work but says Mary
has found and I want you to find
today the one thing the one thing that
is needful the one thing that we can
be truly passionate about so that we might
have Jesus all of this is born out
of this intimacy it's an all consuming pursuit
it's your pursuit that consumes you and sometimes
I'm afraid to give this one thing heart
to Jesus I'm afraid that if I do
that He'll keep me in a secret closet
He'll allow me to have wonderful prayer times
I'll be a sweet worshipper of Jesus but
I won't accomplish anything in the world and
that's a deception that's a lie from the
pit of hell because the most successful ministry
the greatest men and women of God are
great men and women of God because they
have a great knowledge of Jesus won't you
stand with me if you would and I'm
not going to invite you to come to
the front here today just to get a
greater ministry but there are people in this
place today that you're more like Martha than
you are Mary you've given your heart to
many things you're troubled over many things you're
stressed out over many things but for many
weeks, many months even years now you've been
missing that one thing and what I want
you to do today is picture what you
have in your hands all your future all
your hopes and dreams your security, your success
your direction your plans, your ambitions all that
you have I want you to picture taking
that bringing it before Jesus breaking it saying
Jesus break my heart break my heart once
again give me a fresh touch from you
Jesus return me to this one thing desire
to this one desire almost all of you
remember that one thing you had it at
one point and it's gone and if you
should repent of that take that bottle put
all those things in it come to the
front of this auditorium come to the front
here and break that open before Jesus let's
break that portal in front of Jesus let's
give it all to you Jesus I cling
to nothing we all need Jesus more there's
people here today desperate people who have forgotten
God days without number and you need to
make that right with God come out of
your seat right now stay here in front
right now where you are and get that
one thing just begin to worship Him lift
your hands to Him just call on His
name He's been longing for you He's been
waiting for you He's seen your busyness and
now He's saying to you I'm so blessed
that you've chosen the one thing make this
your life this one thing say that to
Jesus one thing I desire one thing I
seek that I might know you Jesus cry
out for that refreshing now, would you?
use your own words tell Him out loud
now how desperate you are for Him Jesus
we're desperate we're hungry for you Jesus we're
thirsty for you God we want you now
more than ever come Jesus come bless you
now bless you Jesus give it all to
you Jesus hallelujah hallelujah just wait on Him
now He wants this intimate moment with you
but He wants a moment of your time
to set your face like flint to Him
fit your desire to be this Jacob
generation repeat this out
loud dear Jesus I've
been busy I heard something
it reminds me of my thirst I'm
sorry Lord that I've missed you and I'm
coming back to this one thing that I
might know you I choose to seek your
face and then I trust your hand will
accompany but it's your face I seek forever
make this my one thing desire give me
the heart of Mary that I'd live my
life with this one thing that is needful
and that's you Savior that's you my Lord
that's you my friend that's you my lover
I love you Jesus and I thank you
Jesus that you're putting in my heart a
greater desire a greater desire and
I just thank Him thank you Jesus bless
you Jesus thank you my all in all
Jesus hallelujah, thank you Jesus thank you Jesus
we're all together