Today I would like to speak to the younger men. In Titus 2:6, after speaking of the responsibilities of older men and older women and younger women he mentions younger men. In this verse he says, “Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded…” This is exactly what I plan to do with the Lord’s strength.
Time travels fast. In a few years I will if the Lord wills meet up with what is dreaded by some as the half-century milestone. It seems that it was only a few years ago that I was a younger man. It is hard to believe that it will soon be thirty years since I walked across the stage at Northwestern High School. It is amazing to me that it has been more than 24 years since I swept my bride Debbie off her feet. Now my own son is married with children and in a few months (the Lord willing) I will be giving away a daughter to be married to a young man.
But in spite of all the years that have passed I can still remember the days of my youth. I can still remember growing up in Plattsburgh, New York and moving to Baltimore, MD at the tender age of eight.
I can remember spending a short stint in Cherry Hill and living in West Baltimore’s Popular Grove “hood.” I remember at the age of 12 moving to Rogers Avenue and then several years later migrating up Liberty Road to Randallstown.
I can remember the joys and the sorrows of my boyhood, the hurts and pains; both the good decisions and the bad, the misplaced affections and the hopes and dreams of my youth. I have learned both from experience and the Scriptures how to gain joy and avoid grief and I would like to share my thoughts with the young men who will listen.
Why does Paul command Titus to encourage the young men? J.C. Ryle, a preacher who lived from 1816 to 1900 had some interesting thoughts on this subject. He said:
Young men, rich or poor, gentle or rough, educated or uneducated, in the city or in the country--it makes no difference—few young men are led by the Spirit, few are on that narrow road which leads to life, few are setting their affections on things above, few are taking up the cross, and following Christ.
Young men form a large and most important class in the population of this country; but where, and in what condition, are their souls? Regardless of where we turn for an answer, the report will be one and the same! Let us ask any faithful minister of the gospel, and note what he will tell us.
* How many unmarried young people can he remember who come to the Lord's Supper?
* Who are the most backward about the doctrines of salvation, the most irregular about Sunday services?
* Who are the most difficult to draw to weekly Bible studies and prayer meetings?
* Who are the most inattentive to whatever is being preached?
* Which part of his congregation fills him with the most anxiety?
* Who in his flock are the hardest to manage, who require the most frequent warnings and rebukes, who cause him the greatest uneasiness and sorrow, who keep him most constantly in fear for their souls, and seem the most hopeless?
Depend on it. His answer will always be, "The Young Men."
Ryle writes, Let us ask the parents in any county throughout this land, and see what they will generally say.
* Who in their families gives them the most pain and trouble?
* Who needs the most watchfulness, and most often provokes and disappoints them?
* Who are the first to be led away from what is right, and the last to remember cautions and good advice? Who are the most difficult to keep in order and limits?
* Who most frequently breaks out into open sin, disgrace the name they bear, make their friends unhappy, embitter the older relatives, and cause them to die with sorrow in their hearts?
Depend on it. The answer will generally be, "The Young Men."
Let us ask the judges and police officers, and note what they will reply.
* Who goes to the nightclubs and bars the most?
* Who makes up street gangs?
* Who are most often arrested for drunkenness, disturbing the peace, fighting, stealing, assaults, and the like?
* Who fills the jails, and penitentiaries, and detention homes?
* Who is the class which requires the most incessant watching and looking after?
Depend on it. They will at once point to the same group, they will say, "The Young Men."
Ryle says that even if we look at the upper classes, we will find no differences.
* In one family the sons are always wasting time, health, and money, in the selfish pursuit of pleasure.
* In another, the sons will follow no profession, and fritter away the most precious years of their life in doing nothing.
*In another, they take up a profession as a mere form, but pay no attention to its duties.
* In another, they are always forming wrong connections, gambling, getting into debt, associating with bad companions, keeping their friends in a constant fever of anxiety.
He notes that rank, and title, and wealth, and education, do not prevent these things from happening!
There is seldom a rich family which hasn't got some thorn in its side, some blot in its page of happiness, some constant source of pain and anxiety; and often, far too often--the true cause is, "The Young Men"?
This is why Paul commands Titus to encourage the young men! In fact, in Titus 2:6 he writes, “Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded…”
The word “likewise” lets us know that for the same reason Titus was to exhort the older men, older women and younger women, he was to exhort the younger men.
The word “exhort” is parakaleo From two words, para – “alongside”; kaleo “to call.” Putting them both together they mean “to come alongside and beg or urge.”
Titus is encouraged here to deal with the young men not by a domineering, high-handed, demanding way like a Marine Drill Sergeant but with a humble, loving, kindly, exhorting and encouraging spirit.
The heart will respond to loving, kind treatment but it will rebel against the opposite. (Wuest) We are not trying to get young men to outwardly conform to a pattern of living as much as we are trying to reach their hearts for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul uses the word “likewise.” Perhaps this is letting us know that Titus was to exhort the younger men in some of the same kinds of things the older women were to encourage the younger women in.
What are these things?
The older women in Titus 2:5 were to teach the younger woman “to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.”
How would this apply to a young man?
Titus 2:5 - to be discreet, chaste, family supporter, good, loving to his own wife, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. (Italic indicates my paraphrases)
But then Paul goes on to write that Titus was to encourage the young men to be “sober-minded.”
“Sober-minded” is sophroneo meaning, “to exercise self-control, think of one’s self soberly, to put a moderate estimate upon one’s self—to not think that you are all that.” “Sober-minded” also means “to curb one’s passions.”
To be sober-minded is to be “self-restrained.” Nothing is so hard at this age as to overcome pleasures and the spirit of “the party.”
I want to help our young men learn to be sober-minded. I want to help you to be “self-restrained”—to get a hold of your passions. In the spirit of Solomon, who pleaded with his son, I plead with you young men:
Prov 2:1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
Prov 2:2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,
Prov 2:3 and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
Prov 2:4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,
Prov 2:5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.
I have five thoughts that I would like for young men to remember.
(1) You are not indestructible
Prov 1:10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.
Prov 1:11 If they say, "Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someone's blood, let's waylay some harmless soul;
Prov 1:12 let's swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
Prov 1:13 we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder;
Prov 1:14 throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse"--
Prov 1:15 my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths;
Prov 1:16 for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood.
Prov 1:17 How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds!
Prov 1:18 These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves!
Prov 1:19 Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.
When I was a boy we used to play “Superman.” There was an apartment complex across the street from where I lived where there was a breezeway connecting two buildings. The roof of the breezeway was easily accessible and we used to climb up on the roof and dare one another to jump the 12-15 foot drop.
We used to run into the street as a car was passing by and hit the fender with our fists acting as if we just got hit. When the car stopped we would run.
We would throw snowballs at passing cars—I remember one driver putting the brakes on his car and chasing us through the woods.
We broke into a home; vandalized property; toyed with moving trains; raced our cars. We drank to see who could hold the most liquor.
As young men we thought we were indestructible. But many I grew up with discovered that they were not indestructible.
But today what we did would be considered by many young men as “child play.” Many of today’s young men are involved in much more high-risk behaviors. Shooting drugs. Selling drugs. Gang bangers. Promiscuous sex and orgies in full knowledge of the killer STDs that are out there…homosexuality.
Many are involved in gang warfare that leads to nothing but death and destruction.
Statistics tell us that, except for babies and the elderly, more die between the ages of thirteen and twenty-three than at any other period of life. In general, youth is more vulnerable to violent death, middle age and old age is more vulnerable to disease conditions. And yet young men live as if they believe they will never die.
Every so often I look to lyrics of some of the music our young people are listening to underscore a point I am trying to make in a sermon.
Some of the lyrics I read let me know that some of these hip-hop artists wrote as if they knew they were not indestructible; some anticipate the possibility of their deaths. Some write as if death is a badge of honor.
While some admitted that they were not indestructible and that one day they might die, they were silent on what goes on after the grave. I imagine they are silent because they didn’t know and if they knew they didn’t believe it.
Young man, the Bible says that death is coming and after that the judgment. Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…”
Satan wants you to believe that you are indestructible. He wants you to live like you are invincible. If he can get you to believe and live like you do not fear death, then the odds are increased that you will die at an early age. If you die at an early age without acknowledging Jesus as your Boss and the Forgiver of your sin, you will spend eternity in Hell.
That is Satan’s MO. The Bible says the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy. He wants your life. He wants you to die in your sins. And this is happening right before our eyes today.
Our young men—some of your friends---are either in prison or dead having never considered that one day they will find their spirit, soul and body in a burning Hell for eternity if they did not turn away from their sins and come to Jesus Christ.
Young men, you are not indestructible. Related to this is my second point.
(2) What you end up becoming depends on what you do now.
In hip-hop music there is a lot of boasting about tomorrow. But be warned young man of the Word of God in the book of James 4:13-14 “Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
I hear about the dreams and aspirations of young men and what they are going to do when they “make the pros” or “hit the charts” or sit in their executive chairs and run the corporation. But you do know what is going to happen tomorrow?
James goes on to say, “Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”
Someone said, “I will get my life together tomorrow” but his tomorrow never came. Tomorrow is the devil’s day but today is God’s. Satan does not care how spiritual your intentions are, or how holy your resolutions, if only they are determined to be done tomorrow. All men don't live to be elderly fathers, like Isaac and Jacob. Many children die before their fathers. David had to mourn the death of his two finest sons; Job lost all of his ten children in one day. Today we are living in a time when so many sons die before their fathers.
Eccl 12:1 says, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them…”
Someone has said, “By the shoot that springs up we can judge the type of tree that is growing, by the blossoms we judge the kind of fruit, by the spring we judge the type of harvest coming, by the morning we judge the coming day, and by the character of the young man, we may generally judge what he will be when he grows up.”
New figures claim that more than 68 percent of juvenile offenders who go before Children's Court for the first time re-appear in the criminal system within eight years. A Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research says more than 1 in 10 also end up in an adult prison within that period.
The study sampled 5,500 juvenile offenders for eight years from 1995.
The researchers found that on average the juveniles studied re-appeared in court 3.5 times.
The bureau says the rate is much higher for those who appeared before the courts at a very young age.
What you end up becoming--depends on what you do now.
Do not be deceived in thinking that you can coast through school avoiding your studies and then land a job pulling six figures.
Don’t think that you can spend your formative days by serving your lusts and pleasures and then at some convenient time in the future make up your mind to serve the Lord.
Do not be deceived in thinking you can fill your heart with the violent and sensual lyrics of MTV, VH1 and BET and not be influenced in your thinking as an adult.
Do not think that you can spend time browsing the Internet for lewd images while you are young and think your soul will not be tainted when you grow up and get married.
Ted Bundy, an infamous serial killer, granted an interview to psychologist James Dobson just before he was executed on January 24, 1989. In that interview, he described the agony of his addiction to pornography.
By the time he was apprehended, Bundy had killed at least twenty-eight young women and girls in acts too horrible to contemplate. He was finally convicted and sentenced to death for killing a twelve-year-old girl and dumping her body in a pigsty.
When Ted Bundy was thirteen years old, he discovered “dirty magazines” in a dump near his home. He was instantly captivated by them. Over time, Bundy became more and more addicted to violent images in magazines and videos. He got his kicks from seeing women being tortured and murdered. When he tired of that, there was only one place his addiction could go - from fantasy to reality.
Bundy, a good-looking, intelligent law student, learned to lure women into his car by various forms of deception. He would put a cast on his arm or leg, then walk across a university campus carrying several books. When he saw an interesting coed standing or walking alone, he’d “accidentally” drop the books near her. The girl would help him gather them and take them to his car. Then he would entice her or push her into the vehicle where she was taken captive. After he had molested the girl and his rage of passion had passed, she would be killed and Bundy would dump her body in a region where it would not be found for months. This went on for years.
What you end up becoming--depends on what you do now.
Eccl 11:9 says, “Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.”
Solomon is saying “Go ahead and have your “fun” but know that for all that you do God will judge you for it.”
In the New Testament Paul writes, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Gal 6:7-8)
Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked. You may think that you will be able to turn to God when you are older but let me warn you that it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks. God cannot be mocked!
It is an awful mockery to suppose you can give the flower of your strength to the world and the devil, putting off the Lord only to cry out to Him later in life with the scraps and remains of your hearts and the leftovers of your abilities. It is terrible mockery.
Let us pray that in your delay to get right with God you will not hear those fateful words, "Since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you" (Proverbs 1:24, 26).
Did you know that people's hearts are seldom changed if they are not changed when young? Seldom do men come to Jesus when they are old. Habits have deep roots. Once sin is allowed to settle in your heart, it will not be gotten rid of at your request.
Over time habits become second nature, and their chains become hard to break. Jeremiah says, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil" (Jeremiah 13:23). Habits are like stones rolling down hill--the further they roll, the faster and more uncontrollable they become. Habits, like trees, are strengthened by age. A boy may bend an oak when it is a sprout but a hundred men cannot root it up when it’s a full grown tree.
So it is with habits: the older the stronger--the longer they have held possession, the harder they will be to cast out. They grow with our growth, and strengthen with our strength. Routine is the nurse of sin. Every fresh act of sin lessens fear and remorse, hardens our hearts, blunts the edge of our conscience, and increases our evil inclination.
Young men, habits of good or evil are being developed in your hearts each and every day. Every day you are either getting nearer to God, or further off. Every year that you continue unrepentant, the wall of your heart becomes higher and thicker. If you do not seek the Lord when you are young, you will probably never seek Him at all.
Today is the day of salvation—If you hear His voice harden not your heart (Hebrews 13:5).
Young men, know that you are not indestructible.
Young men, what you end up becoming, depends on what you do now.
(3) Sin is out to get you
Gen 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD."
Gen 4:2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Gen 4:3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.
Gen 4:4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering,
Gen 4:5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6 So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7 "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
Gen 4:8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
The end product of all sin is death.
Prov 10:29 The way of the LORD is strength for the upright, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.
Prov 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Rom 6:20-21 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death…
Death is not just for the old; death many times comes to the young and dumb. Those who do not lack sense and those who do not have the “wisdom from above.”
God warned Cain that sin was lying in wait at the door ready to pounce on him at a convenient time. Sin was desirous for Cain—it wanted to master him. Cain did not take heed to God’s warning and rose up and killed his brother Abel because of jealousy.
After Cain kills his brother God confronts him about it:
Gen 4:9-15 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. "So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth."
And Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear! "Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me." And the LORD said to him, "Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.
The Lord had mercy on Cain, but many of our young men do not fare as well.
How many of our young men are in jail because of their crimes?
How many of our young men are dead because of their sins?
As with Cain, sin is out to get you. It wants to master you. It is at the door of your life waiting for the desires of your flesh to get the best of you.
James 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
James 1:15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
This brings us to our next point.
(4) Your flesh is out to consume you
The fourth thing I need to tell you is that your flesh is out to consume you. Your flesh is what is behind that inclination or desire that is in you that seeks to serve yourself no matter what the outcome; no matter who it affects.
Rom 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused … were at work in our body to bear fruit leading to death.
Rom 8:5-6 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh…For the mind set on the flesh is death…
Rom 8:8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Gal 5:19-12 - Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Do you know a young man that following after the desires of the flesh has always led to the downfall of a man no matter how powerful he is? Three men exemplify this truth:
Esau – Esau was the oldest son of Isaac and Rebekah and was the rightful heir to the birthright of his father. It was the birthright of the oldest son that gave him preference over his brothers and assured him a double share of his father's inheritance (cf. Deut. 21:17). One day Esau came in from hunting and was hungry. He saw his brother Jacob cooking some stew and he sold his entire birthright for a bowl of stew!
The birthright was more than some money; it was Esau’s future. It was his family’s future—their legacy.
There is a commentary that can be found in Hebrew 12:16-17 concerning Esau—“that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.”
Your flesh is out to consume you. There have been many a man, like Esau, who have thrown away their entire lives over pursuing some fleshy desire like a night on the town, or “just this one time” I will take a drink or snort some crack, or do this prostitute.
That one time was the first of a series of steps that led to their destruction.
It was that “one time” that introduced a fatal disease to their body.
It was that “one time” that caused them to eventually lose their job.
It was that “one fling” that destroyed their families.
It was that “one time” that caused them, like Esau to have the “If I coulda, woulda, shoulda” syndrome. But it was too late.
Sampson – In the Book of Judges, chapter 13, we learn that the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and for their punishment, the Lord gave them into the hands of their enemies the Philistines for forty years.
During this time an angel appeared to the wife of man named Manoah and told her she would no longer be barren but would give birth to a son. Samson would be special and his mother was to be careful that her son would not drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing.
The angel told her that “no razor was to come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
As Samson grew older he learned that he had a special strength beyond that of ordinary men. One day as he was walking along a young lion came roaring toward him. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat.
Later he would take the jawbone of a donkey and kill one thousand Philistine men with it. But Samson had one weakness. It wasn’t his hair as much as it was his fleshly desire for women and it was this desire that was his demise.
A woman would entice the secret of his strength from him and cut his hair. With his superhuman strength gone she would call the Philistine soldiers who would capture Samson and pluck out his eyes and make a mockery of him in public,
David – We all know the story of David and how as King he should have been out to battle with the rest of his army but he was at home, idly pacing back and forth on the roof of his house. He sees a woman bathing and summons her and sleeps with her.
His lust led to the murder of this woman’s husband. And eventually it led to the birth of a child and then the death of this child. God gave David nine months to confess his sin. And he never did. It wasn't until the prophet, Nathan, got in his face and said: "You're the man David”--that David finally owned up to his sin.
The first half of David's life is a life of great victory. The second half is a life of great defeat. You know what the dividing point is? It was his lust and sin with Bathsheba. After this sin, David's home life unravels at the seam.
* In 2nd Samuel chapter 13, his daughter, Tamar, is raped by his son, Amnon.
* In chapter 15, his son, Absalom, incites a rebellion which drove David from Jerusalem and from his throne.
* In chapter 20, a man named Sheba incites another rebellion against David.
* In chapter 21, a 3-year famine strikes the land.
* In chapter 24, David brings a plague upon his own people because of his pride.
David's life and career as a king end far differently from the way it began. And here's the reason why: David moved from the "man after God's own heart" into being the prodigal of his own lust. He wasted his position. He wasted his prominence, he wasted his palace, he wasted everything for the lust of his flesh.
Young man, Satan centers or focuses his attacks primarily around the lust of your flesh, the lust of your eyes and the pride of life. Just look at the videos that are on MTV and other music channels, they glorify sex, material prosperity and power. Sex, money and power.
Let me show you how you can fight against this.
(5) Get Wisdom (from the Word of God)
Prov 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
One of the main reasons young men get into trouble is because they lack wisdom. There has been no one around to teach them wisdom.
A case and point is found in Proverbs chapter seven where we find a young man about to get himself into deadly trouble with a woman while her husband is away.
The writer has just encouraged his son this way:
Prov 7:1 My son, keep my words, And treasure my commands within you.
Prov 7:2 Keep my commands and live, And my law as the apple of your eye.
Prov 7:3 Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Prov 7:4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," And call understanding your nearest kin,
Prov 7:5 That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words.
He then goes on to relate to his son the story of how one day he spied through the window of his house a young man about to get into deep trouble.
Prov 7:6 For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice,
Prov 7:7 And saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, A young man devoid of understanding,
This young man is enticed into a woman’s house when her husband is not home. If you read on you will learn that this young man’s foolishness would eventually cause his own death. He either gets killed by the woman’s husband or the spiritual, emotional or physical consequences of his actions plague him for the rest of his life.
Proverbs 7:22-23 says, “Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it would cost his life.”
The point is that this young man was devoid of understanding—he lacked wisdom. Many a young man gets himself into trouble because he lacks wisdom. But not just any wisdom—I am referring to the wisdom of God.
The Bible teaches us in the Letter of James that there are two kinds of wisdom.
James 3:14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
James 3:15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.
James 3:16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
There is a wisdom that is of this world and one that descends from above. Let me tell you first about the wisdom of this world.
James says, the wisdom of this world is “earthy, sensual and demonic.” The wisdom of this world teaches that the end justifies the means. Do whatever you want—just as long as you get whatever you want.
The wisdom of this world teaches that if it feels good, do it. This wisdom teaches that “pleasure is the principal thing.” That is why we have people with no regard to the sanctity of life. “Having a baby will spoil my life, my goals, my dreams so I’ll abort it.” The wisdom of this world is why we have pedophiles who feast on children—the reason their pleasure justifies the means of getting it no matter how bizarre their behavior.
The wisdom of this world is sensual and it is also demonic. Satan is the god of this world and through his network and hierarchy of demons he seeks to oppress you and even possess you.
I believe many of the symptoms we are treating with medication are actually occurrences of demonic possession or oppression.
Gal 5:19 - Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery…
Rev 9:21 - And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Rev 18:21-23 - Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.
"The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. "The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.”
In each of these passages of Scripture where the word “sorcery” was used, the word sorcery was translated from the Greek word, pharmakeia, far-mak-i'-ah; and means “medication.” We get our English word “pharmacy.” This word means “to administer drugs” and refers to the use of medicine, drugs or spells.
I believe that we are heading towards the days mentioned in the Bible where populations of people will be under the effects of drugs and as they are under this constant influence, Satan will have a stronghold to do his deceitful work.
And where does Satan have many of our young men? They are either, users or sellers of drugs. Many are behind prison bars because of drugs; many are dead because of drugs and it was the wisdom of this world that got them there.
James 3:16 lets us know that the wisdom of this world causes trouble, “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”
But then there is another wisdom. It is from above. This is the wisdom young men should pursue—it is the wisdom from above. James describes it as “pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”
The wisdom from above teaches you what is pure. It teaches you what is peaceable and gentle. The gang life in the street is not about peace and gentleness.
When the Bible talks about gentleness it is not talking about weakness. Gentleness is having the power to take revenge and choosing not to. It is using the power and strength and resources that God gives you for good and not evil.
The wisdom from above lets us know when it’s time to fight and when it is time to yield. I have avoided a lot of pain, injury and perhaps death by learning to when to yield.
There have been times when I was provoked to anger while on the street or while driving but didn’t seek revenge. If it wasn’t for the wisdom that comes from above, I probably wouldn’t be talking to you today—I’d either be in jail or dead.
The wisdom of God teaches you how to show mercy and to bring about a harvest of “good fruit” in your life.
It teaches you how to treat people without showing favoritism.
It teaches you how not to be a hypocrite.
It teaches you how to have integrity. Integrity is acting the same way whether people are looking or not. Integrity is who you are when no one is looking.
Young men, know that you are not indestructible. The devil wants you to think you are so he can kill you.
Young men, what you end up becoming, depends on what you do now—Come to the Lord while you are young—don’t wait for age to set in where your heart is hardened toward the things of God.
Young men, sin is out to get you—the wages of sin is death
Your flesh is out to consume you—following after the desires of the flesh lead to death
Young men, get wisdom from the Word of God. Proverbs 1:33 says, “…whoever listens to wisdom will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”
This is why in Titus chapter two Paul commands Titus to teach the young men to be sober-minded. And so in obedience to the Scriptures I beg you young men to be sober-minded.
Exercise self-control. Think of yourself soberly. Put a reasonable estimate upon yourself—do not think that you are all that. Curb your passions. Look to God’s Word for wisdom. Look to the Lord for strength.
Don’t run with those who lie in wait to shed blood; My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path; For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood. You see it all the time—their end is death and destruction. Stand up for what is right; even if you have to stand alone!
You cannot do this by yourself. The strength of this world’s pull on you is much too strong. You need the Lord; you need Jesus. Come to Jesus!
