Greeting everybody!
We started a new series last night called "An Enemy Called Average." I borrowed it from another youth ministry in Atlanta that I did some training under a few years back. But I tailored it to our youth ministry's needs. I started off by sharing a story about some climbers who only climbed halfway up a mountain in Switzerland. They got comfortable in a lodge while some of the other climbers made their way to the top. They missed out on the blessing of the views and the accomplishment of climbing to the top of the mountain. The reason for the story is because in Latin, mediocre, means "halfway up a stony mountain," or so I'm told - since I don't know Latin.
We can all be average, regular people. That's o.k. But when we vote with our feet to be average for Jesus, that's not o.k. We took a look at Acts 1:4 when the disciples (not just the twelve) were told by Jesus to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Before this, when Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to more than 500 people (see 1 Corinthians 15:6). This means that around 380 people turned around and went home. They didn't wait. They didn't get to experience, for the first time, the permanent indewelling of the Holy Spirit! How sad.
Obedience always precedes blessing.
~ Jeanne Mayo
That's a pretty strong statement. Yes, we are blessed to receive the grace gift of Jesus, which is free for all. But we do have to obey first. We need to obey by believing that Jesus is the gift God gave us. We looked at a few examples of people who experienced blessing through obedience. We looked at Abraham (Genesis 12 and 22). We also looked at David ( 1 Samuel 24 and 26). Finally, we looked at Elijah (1 Kings 17).
One action is more valuable than a thousand good intentions.
~Jeanne Mayo
That's another strong statement. We looked at the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus, but only one turned to thank him. I'm sure the other nine had intended to thank him. But they didn't. We fall into the same trap sometimes. We have the best intentions to obey God, but we don't follow through and obey Him. There are many ways to obey Him. Here, the disciples were told to wait. That may not seem like action, but it is the action Jesus instructed them to do at that time. God has prepared good works for us to do in advance (Ephesians 2:10). Let's be people who do them and not make excuses. Which leads me to our last point.
Destiny delayed is the Devil's delight.
~Jeanne Mayo
"I'll do it tomorrow." How many times have we said that? How many times have we put off what we can do today until tomorrow only to have tomorrow come and and delay it again. Luke records one of Jesus' parables where he references a rich man who built big barns for all his crops. He did this to relax and not work. But little did he know that he was going to die. All the stuff he had accumulated went to someone else. The point of the parable is given in verse 21 of chapter 12. God wants us to be rich toward Him.
This is a tough thing to teach teenagers. They are invincible. You and I were once too, remember? What can you and your family do today that is in obedience to God? What good thing can you do for someone else? I think by "choosing this day whom you will serve" you will be blessed by choosing God.
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