Young People's: Why it exists, and how we should use it.

I haven't made this blog too much of a religious one, but I had something I shared with the Young People's group at my church the last night I was in it. Basically I wanted to talk about why they should stay saved and focused on helping their peers to stay that way too.

Luke 10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
2: Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

Seventy disciples of Christ went into the world proclaiming that the Messiah had come. Teaching people that there was deliverance from sin, that there was healing, and that they could be free of devils and unclean spirits. The seventy returned to Christ, rejoicing that there was power in the name of Jesus, and that a great work had been done through his name.

That was the major start of the Church of God. Jesus had begun a movement that was all part of the plan of God. Some 2000 years later, a small portion of that movement exists. We have the privilege of being in the church that Jesus built so long ago.

The young people’s group exists here in this church so that people of a similar age group can get together and help each other grow in truth, and have bible studies and pray together. This is a service specifically designed for the maturity level of ages 13 to 20 years old.

Back when I first started, the age group was 13 to 23, unless you got married before you turned 23 and then you were able to get out sooner. A few years into the group, there was an age gap of like 3 or 4 years between the older young people and the younger young people, and through carnality problems the group wasn’t getting along well at all. So Bro. Thomas felt it was best for the older young people to have a way out, so there was a split in the yp group age, and the ones older than 20 went into a young adults group, and the ones younger than 20 stayed in yp led at that time by Bro. Ward.

It is hard for Young People to understand how important they are to the rest of the congregation. There was a recent Sunday School lesson that had said: the spiritual condition of young people is a good indication of the spiritual health of the congregation. Believe it or not, this is true.

Sunday School
When conditions in a church are such that the Holy Spirit has free reign and is allowed to talk to children’s hearts, so that they get saved and sanctified and give their heart to God, then a church is spiritually sound. The Sunday School teachers are all in their places teaching bible stories and helping little one’s to get to know who Jesus is and to help them realize that they can go to the altar and let God into their hearts;

Parents
The parents are in their places not causing division with other families, or the pastor, and so unity is allowed to exist in the pews. The parents have a home, who’s atmosphere is a godly one, encouraging children to have devotions and pray.

So the point being proven that the spiritual condition of the young people can be an indicator of the spiritual health of the church, it is important to for us young people to get saved and start developing our spiritual maturity as fast as God wants us to.

When the Young Adult group fell apart, the older ones who should have been good examples to the younger ones weren’t there to do their job. That is a serious offense as far as the church goes. If you aren’t able to pray for your friends that God would help them to stay saved, you aren’t doing your job. If you can’t pray for your brother and sister or your friend because you aren’t right with God, then you need to make some changes.

How would it be if something happened to them and they died not saved, and God asked you why you never prayed for them, or even cared whether they got saved or not, how would you answer God?

When five, or six of the older girls backslid, they weren’t able to help support the younger girls. Most of the younger group backslid a few years after; although not all of the blame rests on the older ones for not being there for the others, because they didn’t have it settled to stay saved. Actually, quite the opposite: they had it settled to backslide and experience the pleasures of sin, and nothing was going to persuade them otherwise. They will regret it I promise you.

So, young people, you have the perfect opportunity to make good choices and to keep up the resolve to not give in to temptation, and to stay saved and make spiritual progress.

2 Pet 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5: And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6: And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7: And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8: For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9: But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10: Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Never ever ignore God talking to you. If He says to get saved then don’t wait around arguing about it. If he wants you to go to the altar and get advice, or to clear some problem up, then do it without hesitation. Always be on the edge of your seat ready to do what God wants you to.
In young peoples, as far as fun goes, numbers count a lot. It is usually more fun to be in a big group than a small group. More importantly though, all the young people need to stay saved. It is very hard to worship God in unity if one person isn’t saved. Young people please get saved and stay saved. You need to for your own self, and you need to for the sake of the rest of the group.

The more people are praying together and for each other, the better off everyone is going to be. It is easier to stay saved and be spiritual when you aren’t looked at as strange because you are the only person that is that way. You should be able to say amen during prayer to help support another young person when they are praying, or raise your hand in young people’s service during songs without feeling out of place.

I was talking to one friend of mine from out of state one time about how his yp group was doing, and he said that they were doing well, and that him and another older young person was trying to make it popular to stay saved.

Are you making it popular to be saved, and easy to express your salvation in service or are you making it popular to laugh at other people when they do that, or when they are spiritual?

Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, an with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31: And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Serve God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Be smart about staying saved. Do devotions. Learn to recognize temptation, and to enjoy the clean feeling it is to be saved. Love being saved, and be loyal to Jesus who died for you. Put your back into it, and be committed with all your might to stay saved.

Mat 18:1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kindom of heaven?
2: And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3: And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4: Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5: And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
6: But whoso shall offend on of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
7: Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
8:Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
9: And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
10: Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

As Bro. Thomas brought out Wednesday, a little one is a child of God. Not always referring to a young child. These scriptures refer to anyone who is humble and meek as little children.

Offend and offence in this passage means a snare, or an occasion of stumbling that leads one into sin.

Due to the fact that this group is aged 13 to 20, [In Phoenix YP] there is a wide range of maturity. People learn really fast once they hit 13 years old. We start to figure things out. But we are always careful not to get into things that we have no business getting into. Older young people need to be careful not to cause younger ones to have a desire to learn things that they have no business knowing until they are older.

Like I said, 13 to 20 is a wide range of maturity, but it is a dangerous time frame as well. If someone isn’t ready to know something because it might cause them to want to sin, then they ought not to know it, and shame on the older young person who ruins these precious years for the younger one. I have seen it happen and great shame was heaped on the head of the one that caused the offense. Instead of helping young persons to be saved, these people went out of their way to corrupt the minds and conversation of children.

6: But whoso shall offend on of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

I always hated people telling me that I was too little to understand. So whenever people told me that I did my best to figure out what they were talking about. I probably wasn’t ready yet to know anything, but if they hadn’t of made me feel small and embarrassed me I wouldn’t have wanted to do anything about it so badly.

Be careful Young People. Respect each other’s maturity and knowledge levels. Place a High Value on preserving your innocence. God has really helped me preserve my innocence. I don’t need to know about some things. I am better off not knowing about some things. Is it hard? Yeah, the devil likes taking advantage of my curiosity, because it is hard to not be curious about things. But it is possible to choose to be pure thank the Lord.

This means don’t tease younger ones or give them a hard time if they say something innocently without understanding it. Don’t make them feel like they have to go out and figure things out on their own. Let parents be parents and do the teaching as they feel their child is old enough to know. Choose your words carefully even when you try to tell them not to say a word, or not to talk about some thing.

Value your innocence young people, because you will have less battles and it will be easier for you to be saved. Value your innocence. Innocence is a precious thing to have, and you can never get it back again once it is gone from you.

Keep conscientious to God talking to you. Don’t ignore Him. Stay sensitive to the truth.

2Cor 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

Mat 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Sometimes there will be yp that backslide, and there will be people that want to cause problems, spread rumors. There will be a time when the young people’s group will have to get together and pray for these ones. In my time, I can remember several altar calls where people were crying and praying for young people to get saved. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t. But if you keep praying, God will hear your prayers and have mercy and continue to give conviction as He wills. Stay committed to God, and carry a burden for each other.
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That's all I have, thanks for reading this lengthy blog! e-mail me: not.a.pipe.dream@gmail.com

-David