It’s funny how out of nowhere you’re at a place that feels like a dead end, but actually you are maturing so a beautiful message can be formed out of that dead end. My message has been evolving and developing for a while now, and I feel it’s time to share what God has recently been speaking to my heart. This word that was put in my heart is strictly for the youth.
1 Timothy 4: 11-14 – “Get the word out. Teach all these things. And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching. And that special gift of ministry you were given when the leaders of the church laid hands on you and prayed—keep that dusted off and in use.”
In the verse above, Paul writes to Timothy instructing him to not “let anyone put you down because you’re young.” Many times, we as youth are put down and ignored because of our age. I have experienced in my own life, many times where I felt discouraged, unwanted, and useless. Now-a-days, it seems like we’re expected to be irresponsible and insignificant—to party all night and drink until we can’t stand. I want to put and end to this misconception and un-biblical theory. According to Paul, there are a handful of things that young people can and should do. The first is to teach each others and fellow believers with your life as we live in speech, in demeanor, in love, in faith, and in purity. Second, we need to keep reading scripture, giving counsel, and teaching others. Last but not least, we should keep our special ministry gifts dusted off and in use.
This seems like a long to-do list, especially for us youth who just want to enjoy our time being young! I can imagine Timothy probably read this and thought, “This man must be crazy. I want to live my life!” But, Paul knew what he was doing; he knew that Timothy’s generation would only experience all God had for them if they took hold of their gifts and lived the life God has intended for them.
When I look into the world, I see plenty of people—especially in my school—who are in need of a savior; they are hurting and think there is no answer to their problems. As believers, we have the ability to change lives by sharing our testimonies and the word of God. Imagine, we could be sharing the Gospel with the next pastor, producer, politician, or even president. Of course, it takes more than just wanting to change people to actually accomplish it. Even though it is ultimately the Holy Spirit that changes a person’s heart, we still need to put effort into helping that person. This is a big responsibility, and frankly, if it was up to us, the world could shatter as long as we were still going to heaven. But (and thank God for that “but”), we have a Spirit inside of us that wants to see change; we have a passion to see God move in this generation like never before. If you have Jesus inside of you, this should be your heart. More often than not, life gets in the way of what God wants to do in us according to our call in the ministry by distracting us from the call. Paul understood this when He wrote, “And that special gift of ministry you were given when the leaders of the church laid hands on you and prayed—keep that dusted off and in use.” So even when we don’t feel like it, we have to put our selfish desires aside sometimes and look at the lives of others before ours, because there are still people hurting and crying for more then this life.
However, there is one little thing that Paul did not mention when writing this to Timothy: the reward system. Paul was probably thinking “No, I can’t write this to Tim; we all know how cocky he can get. I’ll just let him experience this part on his own.” Although we don’t need a reward in the first place because Jesus is enough, God still shows us how much He loves us by establishing rewards for our efforts. A basic bible principle is you reap what you sow; if you sow blessing, you reap blessing. Sometimes, our blessing will be something we can see; other times it could simply be a spiritual blessing - seeing supernatural growth in your church or seeing the person you minister to experience supernatural growth in the ministry. These rewards bring a satisfaction like no other, and as you see one person grow you will be compelled and filled with the desire to share even more. Then, as it says in Malachi 3:11, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
My prayer and my desire for all the youth that read this is that the Gospel becomes so real to you that you can’t help but share it, and that God gives you revelation after revelation as you continue to seek him. Audacious faith leads to audacious outcomes.
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