Youth: This World Offers Little, Choose God’s Wisdom

Youth: This World Offers Little, Choose God’s Wisdom     by Kelly Durant

Proverbs 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of your father,

And do not forsake the law of your mother;

9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head,

And chains about your neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice you,

Do not consent.

11 If they say, “Come with us,

Let us lie in wait to shed blood;

Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;

2. The world has changed! Those of us who are older have seen all the advancements, but the younger generation who grow up in this world never knew what it was like before! They believe our world with 8-10 hours daily on the phone, ipad, or computer or TV is normal.

This younger generation is quite different from any one that has ever existed and we have the challenge to win them to the Lord! How do we teach kids that have been so entertained by fantastic imagery that having a normal conversation to them seems boring? Many of them have their minds more in the cyber-world than in the real world. Many play violent games full of murder sickening the mind!

The problem is so few young people ever get time with us, the older ones, to learn more about the world and how to survive, as they are off in some other world, busy at school, or alone in their rooms. It seems we may need to reach them through their devices, and we are using them more to teach God’s word, but personally I prefer a break from them after using them so much all the time. The eyes and neck get tired!

3. Here is our challenge and goal as parents, mentors, and friends of the young people in church: It is to get them to love Jesus, The Bible, and be dedicated to holy living! The young people here have no idea what all we know and what we have seen! Each of us must show them love, forgiveness, our cheerful spirit, and share our stories of how if they obey God, blessings will come their way and they will live blessed and at peace with God. We must teach them to obey the wisdom, as in the Proverbs. Each young person must decide to obey God’s word.

I have seen so many young people with great potential to apply their intellect and talents for good stop coming to church and then end up in trouble, in jail, in debt, divorced, and become spiritually and physically paralyzed by their situations of wrong choices and bad habits.

Young people, remember habits are like threads that become strings, then ropes and after 2 or 3 years of a bad habit, be it lying, being lazy, or being conflictive with your mouth, or being addicted to electronics or any substance, you end up a disaster that no one wants to be near! Selfish living is a sin killing us all.

4. It is hard to be young, we have all been there, because you think you know so much and that you are invincible, but it is all an ego illusion. Yes, your body is strong, your mind is sharp, but all of that just rapidly degenerates to hell if the God given talents and good qualities are not applied for God’s glory.

Young people, please, I beg you, decide every day to commit your ways to the Lord! Psalm 119:9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. 2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

I want all of you to know I pray for our youth! Do you, as adults pray for them? Young people, do you pray for each other? It is so important that they and all of us feel loved and useful. It is very important we show teach them all we can about God’s word and also help them to identify with the church as their family away from home.

5. I will confess to you I was a stubborn one when young. I had to go learn the hard way that nothing in this world satisfies; no sex, drugs, and rock n roll, can bring happiness! I tried everything to the point I was depressed and disillusioned with the life, the world, with religion, with politics, with everything!

I was disillusioned to discover how evil the world was, and how it was not the beautiful place I thought it should be. I saw how greed fueled wars, (I almost got drafted to go to Vietnam) and I had to learn how the lust and drugs markets were mafia controlled enterprises treating people horribly. I also learned the hard way that my drinking drugging buddies are no friends at all because later they stole guitars and other things from me! You can’t play with the fire of the sinful life without getting burned! I was a prodigal son, but thank God I got a chance to come back to Jesus!

I dedicated my all to Jesus at age 21, but I wish I would have done it at 14! It was at age 14 that I started getting rebellious. I want to tell you by experience, it is not worth it! Forget the world and it’s illusive, non-satisfying pleasures and live for Jesus! I have served Him for over 40 years and His mission to love, save, heal, and bring the good news to others is the best thing ever!

6. I want you to know I have learned to be patient after raising 5 kids. In the teenage years, they need us more than ever! Adults, pray for them! Young people, talk, speak up, trust someone older to be your friend to counsel and guide you so you don’t screw up in life and do something so wrong or so stupid that it takes years, maybe even the rest of your life, to recuperate from.

In the verses of today we hear wisdom that is around 3,000 years old! Let me read the words of Solomon, son of David, again. Proverbs 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;

9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.

11 If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait to shed blood;

Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;

It seems hard to imagine, but young hoodlums, gang members, and those who cruelly commit crimes are often young people recruiting young people and it has been this way since the beginning! Satan hunts the youth and catches the ignorant youth because they are ignorant of his ways.  Later in the chapter we read how sinners get caught by their own devices. 17 Surely, in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird; 18 But they lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives. What evil you do to others will be what you reap!

7. Here is the sad part, those who will not adhere to God, who believe the lie taught in schools that God is just an invention of the minds of the weak, will one day fall and not find God when they need Him. Please obey God!

23 Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;

I will make my words known to you.

24 Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, (This is refereeing to the wisdom of God)

25 Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke,

26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes,

27 When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.

28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;

They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

So all of these people who do evil, will have to pay! After committing crimes, and getting caught, God cannot save someone from going to jail, or almost dying from an overdose. The implied here is people want to live doing evil and then when caught or in trouble they want God to just instantly save them out of the consequences, but it does not work that way. That is why we must always pray as Jesus taught, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”.

8. In life we are going to see some people that fail God and mess up big time, and we will also see others who go on to do great things! The good news is those youth who have grown up going to Sunday school and church, and have been involved in youth programs, camps, music, and sports usually do later decide to make better choices that put them on the path of being successful.

Those who seek God’s wisdom and intelligence early find Him, and He blesses them with an advantage over the common sinner people of the world. Listen to how this chapter ends: Provers 1:32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them;

33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

We really must pray for our youth! Most colleges now are recruiting grounds for causes from hell, like to be a member of the new violent group antifa. People never study history. I lived through something similar in the 60s, and we know how the Black Panthers ended up! Violence invites violence and the wages of sin is death!

9. So many lies and deceptive words get thrown at our young people, and it is all day long on the filtered selective messages they see on twitter, facebook, snapchat, and more. The ‘bots’ control it. If someone does good, it may filter out that message, but if someone has a sex change, it artificially makes it look like the whole world is interested. What lies the media pulls off to condition people to hate God and His wisdom!

I am sorry that our youth live under intimidation so that if they do not go with the flow of the world, with its evil godless, drug fueled, propagandized education they feel rejected and mocked. I want to strongly suggest that you and I reject the world! Jesus said: John 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

I love it when the world hates me! I have been cyber attacked by the godless liberals mocking me over Biblical stances, but do I care that these cruel people hate me? No! Because I would much rather be loved by Jesus and his people than to be accepted and used as a ‘useful idiot’ by these horrible murderous people.

Listen to the Proverbs! Escape those who mock you and try to win you their Satanic agendas.  33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”