Fighting for our YOUTH!!

Last Sunday night we had church at my Officer/Pastors place and we had a discussion on Narnia. We had all been to the movies to see it that previous Monday. Over 100 people turned up. It was great. While we were discussing Narnia I shared about Planet Shakers and about a young school leaver who had become a Christian only a month before hand at schoolies on the Gold Coast. My good friend, Lish, had been a part of the start of his journey and had invited him to come to Planet Shakers for the week. He agreed. It was such a blessing to see God speak into his life over the 4 days and by the end of it to see him go forward and say 'YES, LORD...I WANT TO SERVE YOU!' He's been a Christian 1 month and he's already looking into going to a Youth Ministry School somewhere! HOW EXCITING!

After I shared this story an elderly lady from my church got up and shared that whilst it's great to see the young people have so much enthusiasm they still have a lot to learn and they have to wait till they learn a bit more before they go out and do anything. I didn't say anything because I didn't feel it was right to make a scene (and I preached on it at our youth worship night on Friday night...not about this lady in particular...but read on and it will make more sense), but something was boiling over inside me! I was so disappointed for my youth who had just come back that same day with me from Planet Shakers and, even though we were all wrecked, we came to the fellowship dinner and discussion on Narnia to be in fellowship with others, and they had to hear someone say 'You don't know enough to serve the Lord and you're too young!' WOW!! I couldn't believe it! They were so on fire for God and it was as if someone just came and shut them down completely!!

I have to say, before I continue, that I so appreciate the amount of support I've had this week from people in the church (old and young) saying 'I didn't agree with that comment on Sunday night and I'm so sorry you and the youth had to hear that! I think it's great what the youth are learning and wanting to do!!' It's great to see that I'm not just being an annoying Youth Pastor...but other people had picked it up too...and they are seeing God's work unfold in the lives of the youth!

This week I've been reflecting on what this lady said, and trying not to take it to heart, but finding it very difficult to come to terms with that attitude that says 'You're not quite there yet and you can't serve the Lord!' First of all...when are we EVER there!? At what point do we ever know enough and can we ever say 'I know everything I need to know now and I can now serve the Lord!' ?? I hope and pray that I NEVER get to a stage when I think I know enough to serve the Lord! We will NEVER know enough. Our whole life we will continue to learn and grow and be stretched. There will never be a point in anyone's life that they know enough. And if anyone should ever say that they do know enough, then they are in the wrong place!! I quite often feel like saying to God 'What am I doing here? I'm not the person for this job! I love it...I love my youth...but I'm so underqualified for the job and I can't do it!' But, do you know what? That's the place we should ALWAYS be in! In a place where we realise that we are nothing on our own and it's only through the strength, grace and equipping that God provides that we can do anything. It's not us that does the work! It's all God's work!

Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!" I don't see anything in that verse to do with age! But I do see something in Jeremiah chapter 1...God declares to Jeremiah that He has HUGE plans for Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah, of course, freaks out! He's just a teenager! He's just a boy, as he puts it. He says to God 'NO GOD! Not me...you've got the wrong person! I'm too young! What can I do??!!' And God quickly responds and says 'Jeremiah, don't EVER think you're too young! I will equip you and empower you for this job! If you just say yes, I will provide everything for you!' Then, just to prove it to him, God reached out and touched Jeremiah's mouth and said 'There you go...my words...in your mouth...now go speak!!'

God was quick to tell Jeremiah that he wasn't too young. He was quick to say to him that he wasn't useless. He wanted Jeremiah to do something amazing, and He KNEW that Jeremiah was only a boy. He knew that he was underqualified. But since when does that matter to God? All things are possible with God! Age doesn't mean a thing!!

I've been reading about Levi the tax collector who Jesus called to follow Him. Why on earth would Jesus pick a tax collector to follow Him? It wasn't as if Jesus didn't know Levi was a tax collector...He found Levi at his tax collectors booth! He knew what Levi was involved in. Tax collectors were corrupt and oppressed people. Why would God stop and invite Levi to follow Him? The Jews hated tax collectors and saw them as terrible sinners! Why the call on Levi's life? Well, that's what the grace of God is all about. I don't know...why did He call me to come follow Him when I was a heavy smoker and drinker? Why did He call my friend Jess from Africa to come follow Him when she was sick and living a destructive life? She finally said yes to God while we were in Africa. Why did He call Saul to become the Apostle Paul when he spent his life persecuting Christians and trying to ruin the church? WHY? Because Jesus saw beyond where they were at at that point and He saw the potential they had! Jesus believed in them and in us enough to not give up! He believed in Jeremiah enough to give Him a huge calling to be a prophet to the nations. He believed in me enough to call me to be a Youth Pastor. When Paul wrote to Timothy he shows that he believed in Timothy because he said in his first letter to Timothy, 'Don't let anyone look down on you because you're young...but go out and do the right things...set an example for people! Show other Christians that you're really fighting the good fight for Jesus! Show them in your life, in love, in your faith...keep it strong...show them by remaining pure...show them by continuing DAILY to read the Word of God!'

We need to show the same encouragement to our young people that Paul did to Timothy. Paul started by saying to Timothy 'People will say you're too young...by don't let them! Don't let it stop you!' Then he gave him some God-given advice...'Instead of getting down about people's negativity, just show the world that you're real in your faith! Show in your actions and your behaviour that you are living for Christ!!' If you want to give advice to our young people go ahead! I agree, we've all got a lot to learn! VERY TRUE! Never stop learning! BUT...don't tell young people NOT to serve the Lord just because they haven't got as much experience as another person! Don't tell young people NOT to serve the Lord because they're 12 not 82...Don't tell young people NOT to serve the Lord because they smoked and drank and gave themself away and are not 'pure' anymore...instead, tell them to commit their life to God so that He can make them WHITE AS SNOW again and then they can serve the Lord! Because in the great commission Jesus said 'Go out and make disciples of ALL men...!!' He wasn't specific in what age group or qualification group He was talking to...He was talking to EVERYONE!! All ages!

My past is not one that I'm proud of, but if I'd listened to people's negativity...people telling me that I didn't know enough or that I hadn't been a Christian long enough, then I would never have got to walk through the door that God was holding open for me. Let me tell you this...people's negativity can do more damage than you imagine!! Negativity will put the fear into young people that will stop them serving the Lord...like I did...and they will crouch in a little corner at school and not be bold about their faith...like I wasn't...they won't tell anyone what they did on the weekend at Youth Group or Church...like I didn't...then eventually their friends, who live by the worlds standards, will not only remain lost, but worse than that...our young Christians will fall into their way of life because they were too afraid to stand up...like I was! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! DON'T DISCOURAGE OUR YOUNG PEOPLE!! If you would just take the time to listen to what God is doing in their lives...and if you just took the time to hear their passion and excitement for Jesus...and if you just took the time to encourage them and push them to stand for Jesus NOT to sit down till they're old enough, then MAYBE...JUST MAYBE...we really would have a generation of young people empowered to save our nation! Because, lets face it, no one ever gets any younger...why wait till you're too old and too set in your ways to act...why not encourage our young people to act now and impact their generation and in turn...OUR NATION!!