“For the word of God
is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far
as the division of soul and spirit and both joints and marrow, and able to
judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrew 4:12).
Hey Gang: This
morning I want to set the table for what I believe is to come in the very near
future. This is based on the rapid
growth of things prophesied that will happen in the latter days and seems to be
happening in this our day. Before
beginning I want to share two stories, that I pray will drive home the point
that we are all ambassadors of Jesus Christ and must be ready to meet Him at
any moment, and also be a warrior for Him, with our full armor in place and
lamps filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit.
The first occurred in the second year of the Village summer
camp. We had a very tough group of young
men enrolled in the program. Not only
were there sixty teen-agers, that were not all that happy to be sent into the
trees someplace up north, but to also ran into some dude, who seemed to know
what they were thinking. They soon
learned that perhaps he had some ideas that would make their lives better, if they
listened and applied them.
Each evening in camp, while one crew cleaned up the dining
hall after the evening meal, the remainder of the campers and staff retired to
a place where a discussion of the day’s activities and what was to come next, were
discussed. But this particular night, one of the campers brought up the subject
of witchcraft, which led to a deep discussion as to whether it was truth or
fiction. When I arrived on the scene,
the boys had done a pretty good job of
pushing the staff into a corner. The young staff were not very well versed on
such subjects.
After settling them down and getting their attention, I
asked them a question that was about to change the total attitude and
atmosphere of the camp for the next ten weeks. I asked, “How would you like to talk about
something that it really wayout and could change your life, the second coming
of Christ? To my surprise they said,
“Ya, man, let’s dig it!”
Keep in mind one of the greatest challenges in working with
youth today is keeping their attention and focused on the subject being
discussed. Sitting under a tree in the
forest there are no audio-visuals, to show in panoramic living color, what you
are saying. It was that night, that for
four hours, seventy kids, most of whom had never been to a church, were
mesmerized by what God was saying through me.
Let me make a point here that emphasizes the importance of
getting into God’s word and preparing ourselves for the challenge given to us
by Jesus: “Go into all the world and
share, preach the Gospel”. As most of you know, for two years my bride
referred to me as “the unemployed
director of a non- existent boy’s home”.
Wasted time, right? That may have been my belief. But, on that night at Camp with seventy boys,
God showed me in living color, that two-year period when I was in the Word and
tutored by an elderly lady by the name of Jessie, was the most important time
in my life.
For ten weeks the main topic of discussion centered of the
Second Coming of Christ, which also led to the development of the Seed Planting
Principles from Scripture. I do not know
how many seeds were plant that summer or how many young folks I will see in
heaven because of that miracle, but I know of at least one staff who gave his
life to Christ that summer.
Here is a second story that I would like to share,
especially with those of you who are on the firing line, working with children,
families or just as witnesses for your Lord: We were doing a family workshop with court-referred
families who really wanted no part of what we were trying to teach them. And
there were always the “You ain’t gunna get into my head” bunch who sat with
their arms crossed and their chins set in defiance. We
made no bones about it and informed the group that we use Biblical principles
in our teaching, which usually brought a grunt or two.
There was always different levels of stubbornness but, in
one class, we ran into King Stubborn. I
always referred to the stubborn corner as the agony and pain contingent.
For the first several classes he sat cross- armed and with a scowl on
his face. Then one day he showed up for
class with a smile on his face. Scared
the tar out of me. I ask him what
happened and he shared this story. “When I got home from class, my house was a
zoo, television on, radios blaring, kids yelling at each other, and my wife was
in a dither. I remembered what you said
that day – no boundaries= chaos – You can take that to the bank. I tried it and it worked.” He told the agony and pain corner, “Now, for the
first in many months, I look forward to going home.”
Sooo, two stories with one point – I was prepared to meet
the challenge that God sent my way. Now
hear me, God cannot pull out of you what you have not put in. It has always amazed me that when I was
dealing with an out of control youth, God had already given me what I needed
for just that day. These are very tough
times and is going to get tougher. There
multitudes of people out there that, as the times get tougher, will be seeking
a refuge to grab hold of. Are you
equipped to be used by God to be that refuge?
(to be continued).
Blessings,
Gramps
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