Proverbs 10:5 (NLT)
"A wise youth harvests in the summer, but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace."
- Here is just blame of those who blow off opportunities, both for here and for hereafter.
- sleeps--in indolence(avoidance of activity or exertion, laziness,) and not for rest
- Disgrace-causes shame--literally, "is base" (the lowest part or the edge of something)
- Lazy people have never inspired me.
- Never, like never, like never ever, ever, never.
- He/she harvests at the right time and rests at the right time.
- A lot of people try to harvest(work) for God at the the House of God.
- While God actually wants us to be in His rest at the House of God and be in harvest(work) everywhere else.
- Rest meaning that we utilize our time in the House of God to connect with Him, connect with others, respond to His word, communicate to Him with prayer, and worship.
- Prayer is letting God know what you need, what your struggling with, what your upset for, what challenges others or your self might be facing, bringing your requests to Him.
- Prayer is moving the hand of God, worship moves the heart of God.
- Prayer says I need, worship says I'm thankful, I'm grateful for.
- Worship is thanking God for all of those things, showing adoration, love, respect, and honoring Him.
- Worshiping God is bringing my honor, bringing my love, bringing my respect, and bringing my worth of God to God.
- Work meaning ready to share our faith, ready to share our confidence in Him, ready to rescue others with the message of Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 14:35 (NLT)
"A king rejoices in wise servants but is angry with those who disgrace him."
Disgrace-Loss of reputation or respect especially as the result of a dishonorable action.
- Being young, being influential is such an enormous opportunity in this life.
- We have such an opportunity to shape this culture, to inspire our families, to witness to our friends with our lifestyle.
- A lot of people disregard their own youth with their time, disregard their youth with their efforts, disregard their youth with their talent, disregard their youth with their activity thinking that none of it matters until they get old.
- They refuse to share their gifting, talent, ability, ideas, with the world.
- Essentially they never share their "real self."
- They share a substitute.
- Substitutions are rarely ever better than the original.
- Like one in a million.
Illustrate here: Pop tarts, off brand pop tarts,
Oreos, hydrox, sandwich cookie
Heinz ketchup, catsup
Mountain Dew, Mountain Lightning,
Mcdonald's French fries, apples
Rock & Roll, Country
- Identifying who and what you are in Christ is the key to this life.
- God's dream, desire, and plan for you.
- Why live my young life for Christ?
- Why get baptized?
- Why give in the offering?
- Why read my bible and pray?
- Why a missions trip?
- Why influence the world for good, for Christ?
- Young Leaders of the bible never did everything right but they always got Him right.
- They always leaned on, trusted, obeyed, and placed their faith in God, their complete confidence in Him.
- We're they without fear?
- No.
- We're they without questions?
- Are you kidding me?
- We're they unclear about all the outcomes?
- Yes!
- Young Guns, see their need and see their supply, in Him.
- God is both for us.
- Culture thinks God is all about what I can't do, God will get me if I smoke, drink, cuss, or chew, God will get me if I hang around those that do.
God "so loved the world, John 3:16" not God so hated us, not God is so displeased with us, not God can't wait to catch you doing something wrong but God "so loved" us that His Son chose to trade His perfect existence for our imperfect one.
- Do we really want Jesus to show up?
Mark 5:15-17 "When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region."
- Do we really want Jesus to show up?
- Because when He showed up in this community, they lost a huge part of their economy.
- Yes, He had done a great thing for a crazy man living by himself in a cave.
- But He was messing up their way of doing things and their why of doing it.
- So they asked Him to leave.
- As soon as He touched their structure, their possessions, their money, His presence wasn’t welcome.
- I think most people want Jesus to show up and have their lives improve.
- Fair enough.
- Jesus told us He came to bring us abundant life, full life, and that’s what His presence brings.
- The problem is that in addition to wanting an abundant life, we usually want everything else to remain the same.
- Business as usual.
- Status quo...intact.
- My system, good to go.
- On both global and personal levels.
- We want Jesus plus economic prosperity.
- Jesus plus national security.
- Jesus plus safety.
- Jesus plus wrongdoing.
- Jesus doesn't always work like that.
- It’s not that safety, security, and prosperity cannot coexist with Jesus and His movement among us.
- It’s just that our desire for safety, security, and prosperity at the expense of Jesus cannot coexist with Jesus and His movement among us.
- One of the greatest things standing between you and the uninhibited, powerful presence of Jesus in your life is probably the thing you believe must coexist alongside Him.
- Big things like the economy.
- World peace.
- Or smaller things like your boyfriend/girlfriend.
- Sleeping in.
- Not working hard or even not pursuing God passionately and purposefully.
- In order to bring us what we really want, abundant life, sometimes God has to take away what we think we need.
- It’s often the things that we hold onto most tightly that we need to let go of most desperately.
- Do we really want Jesus to show up?
- What if Jesus comes and messes everything up?
- What if we ask Him to show up in our nation and the economy goes down?
- What if we ask Him to show up in our family and our preferred path and scenario for them isn't their vision for them or isn't God’s vision for them?
- What if God told you not to date that person because of their lack of a value system.
- Some of us probably wouldn’t want Jesus to show up then.
- But that would be our loss.
- Jesus’ presence may mess everything up.
- But by messing everything up, He is actually putting everything exactly where it belongs and positioning us for exactly what we need.
- And that’s Himself.
- It's not His hate for us, His judgment, of us, His ruling over us that would change us it's His love.
1 John 3:11 “This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 14 If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 18 Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”
- Young Guns love when it's time and when it's inconvenient.
- They lead when others refuse.
- They rescue when others chose to only concern themselves with themselves.
- They serve when it would so much easier to be served.
Next Month at Youthrock: Uncaged Christianity
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