Take Heart, Young Padawan

I’ve been so encouraged by the guys and gals at Stonewall Jackson High School recently.  We have a number of guys and girls who simply love Jesus and are beginning to live in deep freedom because of their relationships with their creator.  Jesus is doing amazing things at Stonewall and we are so blessed to get to be even a small part of it.  We can only, and insist to, give glory to God about all of this.  It is easy for us leaders to think that because of Megan, Kendall, Whit or I so many kids have come to know the Lord but this is NOT the case.  Never….no not ever.  When we begin to puff up with thoughts like this we then catch a glimpse of who we are and realize that we have NOTHING to offer kids in ourselves but what we DO have is a message of a Loving-Rescuing-Reconciling-Pursuing God and we have his spirit inside of us.

I have two encouragements to our high schoolers that know Jesus and want to tell their friends about him.

a)   Take Courage, You have the Holy Spirit inside of you, the same power that raised Jesus FROM THE DEAD is at work and alive inside your chest! You didn’t get a Junior Varsity Holy Spirit…you have it in its fullness!!

1.                     

Remember:

b)   1 Timothy 4:12 says “12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”

c)   God is infinitely more interested in what he’s doing IN you than what he’s doing THROUGH you.

a.    Jesus doesn’t need you, he isn’t “lucky” to have you…He has chosen you, asked you to follow him.

2.                    You’re in for a fight.  You’re going to get bumped and bruised.  Storms are coming but you’ve begun to build your life on the Rock…your foundation is sound.

a)   2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

                                                        i.     When we’re in a storm we rarely every would describe them with words like “light” or “momentary”.

                                                      ii.     Remain perspective.  When the dust settles everything really is ok.  God has won; there has never been one single second where God thought to himself “Oh me, I might not win this…I think the Devil might take this whole thing.”

                                                     iii.     “The truth of the Gospel isn’t that Jesus makes all of our hurts go away, the truth of the Gospel is that JESUS IS ENOUGH.”—Matt Chandler

Take heart young brothers and sisters…God is doing something amazing underneath our feet and he’s asked us to join in.  Remember Him in everything, in every decision.  Read Ecclesiastes 12…It will change you.

…it has me and I’ve never been the same.