HOLY SPIRIT BLESS US
November 10, 2002
Ecclesiastes 12: 1 “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.”
Now ! & When?
-by: Rev. Sol Madlambayan
Introduction:
Good morning! God is good all the time. Another day- another opportunity to Praise God. TODAY IS YOUTH SUNDAY… We are so blessed this beautiful morning because we still have the freedom to express our faith in the open.
Again, my sincerest thanks to Rev. Paul Kelly and to the Administrative Council and the Staff Parish Relations Committee for giving me the opportunity to serve as your volunteer Assistant Pastor. My wife-Myrna and I are so delighted to work with you for the Glory of God.
In fact, my wife said that she enjoyed the face and arm painting she did with Ms. Trina at the Church Bazaar yesterday.
Before I proceed to the message, let us take this opportunity to give honor to our Veterans for their heroic efforts for the sake of the American people.
Let us have a moment of silence and prayer as we pay tribute to them.
To all the unsung heroes of this nation- I salute you all! May God bless you always!
Our National hero (in the Philippines) once said, “The youth are the hope of our Fatherland.” I believe that. That statement is not only applicable in the Philippines but also here in the United States .
That is very true because… the people of tomorrow are our young people today.
The kind of young people we have today will determine the kind of society that will come out in the next generation.
Therefore, if we expect and we want to have a God- fearing people and a society that is rooted in the Christian faith, we must start making them today.
Now is the time to Act and do our part in the shaping-up of the future.
One way for us to build up and mold our present generation according to God’s pattern is to look back the past.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Therefore, God’s law and standards are still the same now.
People may change from generation to generation. There is birth and there is dying. But the way people should live by the standards written in the Bible are still the same.
1.Looking the Past.
How did our senior citizens... or the young once in this congregation lived their life? What kind of values they have before?
Some of the old folks that I talked with; said that, during those times, they are conservative in every aspect of their life, the way they act, the way they dress-up and the way they live their life. They were a big help to their parents. They take part in the household chores even after school.
But now, where do we see our children after school? In front of the television? computer? Watching videos? Surfing in the internet? Waiting for the dinner to be served?
One of my favorite place at the Disneyworld -Magic Kingdom, aside from the Hall of the Presidents is the Carousel of Progress. There you will see that the old folks- men and women alike wore decent clothes. Very simple observation yet it has a big impact on our world today.
I hate to say this but I know I have to say it and must say it today. I hate to compare …but sad to say, not all but most of the young people today are totally different from the young people of yesterday.
Just take a look at the teenagers now, the boys are wearing loose and low waist shorts and pants that when you see them, you may want to chase them and give them pins or needle and thread to make it tight.
How about the ladies? they don’t only wear earrings on their ears but were pierced everywhere in their bodies- the eyebrows, the tongue, the nose and wherever they are pleased to have it.
What else, they wore clothes as if there is great shortage of clothing materials in America? Bodies are exposed !
Young people may say, this is the trend now. Our time is different from the olds.
Those were the days and you have to accept what we are today...
Do we really have to ignore and sit and just let go of the situation today?
Why are these things happening now! Why is it that our children adapt this kind of lifestyle?
It’s a trend I think! Yes, they see it in the media and anywhere they go.
Yes I agree. Our society became permissible to these kinds of situations.
But I should say, we as parents became permissible too. Why?
We are so busy, busy & busy with our work and other things which we say we are doing for the good of our family. And that’s true. We do a lot of things we say that will give our children the best future.
I am not a parent yet, but I know how much our parents work hard just to pay the pile of bills we receive in our mailboxes. We buy nice houses for the family to live in.
Nice signature clothes for our children- tommy hilfiger-ralph Lauren-victoria secret etc...
We buy the latest video games and toys for our children’s entertainment.
Those are very nice things that our children should learn to recognize and appreciate.
Do you, young people and children of Emmanuel UMC appreciate what your parents are doing for you? You better start saying Thank You to them. They deserve it!
But, sometimes, inspite of the sacrifices and the things parents do for their children, how do our children answer their parents?
How do they respond when parents try to talk with them about certain issues affecting their values?
Most especially, how do they act away from their parent’s eyes?
During those days… or once upon a time, our grand parents and some of your parents experienced “spanking” from their parents for any wrongdoings. And that is Biblical.
While today, can you still spank the kids? Kids can just lift the phone to put you in jail that will make you suffer for the rest of your life.
You may be punished for disciplining your children!
Or sometimes, you’re just so tired of working …that you just let go of their behavior.
Wake up my dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
I believe, something needs to be done now! I know, we can do something.
2.The Reality.
Let’s look at the statistics that will make us more aware about the situations that’s happening with our youth. These statistics are very alarming.
Each year, an estimated 3 million adolescents are infected with STDs, accounting for 25 percent of the estimated 12 million new STDs occurring annually in the United States.6
Committee on Adolescent Health Care, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Condom availability for adolescents. J Adolesc Health 1996; 18:380-3.
In a study of 635 high school students, over 23 percent of young women suffered severe physical violence in a dating relationship. Forty percent of these young women said they cried after the violence; nearly 36 percent reported fighting back.4
Fear and emotional hurt were the most common responses of other young women to violent behavior from a boyfriend or date.1
. Molidor C, Tolman RM. Gender and contextual factors in adolescent dating violence. Violence Against Women 1998;4:180-194. O’Keefe M, Treister L. Victims of dating violence among high school students. Violence Against Women 1998;4:193-228.
Each year approximately 1 million teenage women in the United States become pregnant.
Committee on Adolescent Health Care, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Condom availability for adolescents. J Adolesc Health 1996; 18:380-3.
Ten percent of all 15 to 19 year-old females become pregnant each year. ("Kids Having Kids," A Robin Hood Foundation Special Report on the Costs of Adolescent Childbearing, June 1996, p 1. )
More than 80 percent of pregnant girls under age 17 who give birth and keep their babies end up on welfare, costing society a staggering $21 billion a year. (Ibid, 20. )
Are these statistical figures alarming to you? Yes they are to me.
3. The Solution
We have a problem isn’t it? We have a problem! But Thanks God there is a solution to every problem that we have.
Wake up my dear parents and young people. We need to respond and get involved and work together to find the answer…
The Bible clearly stated that, “Remember NOW your CREATOR (God) in the days of your youth.”
This age is our chance to enjoy serving the Lord and other people. Although there are so called late bloomers in the faith and that’s just fine.
But the message is urging us to consider the important aspect of our existence and that is to give our precious time to the Lord. As the song goes, Give of our best to the Master.
Because of what is happening at this present age, Apostle Paul is right when he said.
Ephesians 6: 12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Obviously, the devil is at work. He worked doubly hard to ruin peoples lives.
The devil works hard to influence the life of our young people.
And we cannot let the devil snatch our children. We will do our best to protect each one of them from the devils tactics and persuasions.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do it!
We can start from the four corners of our home- Our family.
Our family is the smallest but very powerful unit of our society.
One adage says: “Love or charity begins at home.” God created family in order to nourish the children and provide training for a better future.
Our family must be a haven to train and teach the love of God.
Is the name Jesus Christ part of your everyday conversation?
Is Jesus Christ the center of your household?
Is Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior of your life?
In Deuteronomy 6: 4- 9 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the Lord is one!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontless between your eyes.
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Whatever you are doing and wherever you are you must teach your children.
Rev. Hugh Litchfield said; “ The home is the greatest theological seminary in the world.” Why?? Because our children will learn more about God from the home than any other place.
It is a fact, that the biggest influence in our children’s life is acquired within the four corners of your home. That is why, we must be very careful how our homes look like. Carefull!!
Remember this, “It is very important that we commit ourselves to making our homes a Christian Home.”
Spend quality time with your kids especially in the early stage of their adolescence.
In this stage they want to discover a lot of things, so you must be prepared and be ready to answer their questions before they go somewhere else to find what they are looking for.
We can also start having a Family devotion & Pray together.
I remember saying that says; “A family that prays together stays together.”
Teach them the importance of having a relationship with Jesus Christ-our Lord and Savior.. Go to church with them. Let the church do it’s part in helping you parents mold their values and characters according to God’s will for their life.
Randy Brantley, of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention Evangelism Dept, said that a "code blue" needs to be issued for reaching today’s teenagers. Pointing out that "code blue is the hospital term for a life-or-death emergency, Brantley notes: "Suicide has increased 120 percent among kids ages 10 to 12 in the past 12 years. One out of three have considered suicide. One out of seven have attempted suicide. The homicide rate among 14- to 17-year olds has increased 165 percent in the last 10 years. Marijuana use has doubled in the last two."
Brantley concludes with a significant observation: "If this generation is lost, it is not because Satan is more powerful or has something better to offer. It will be because the church didn’t show up for the battle."
(Source: Arkansas Baptist Newsmagazine, 4/3/97, p. 11.)
The Church has a significant role for our young people to become a better person.
That is why you have a Youth Worker in order to lead the young people in every aspect of spirituality.
Our church must meet the needs of today’s youth. We need to impose the very basic principles of spiritual growth.
We need the Bible. Read and study it.
“The Bible” is the mark of every Christian. Do you have your own Bible? You should have one. It’s one of our greatest possession on earth.
We need prayer. James 5: 16 b “pray for one another.”
We need to spent more time in prayers. The reason why conservative churches grew tremendously because their members including the young people spent more time in prayer.
That’s the way our forefathers in the Methodist faith lived They were very prayerful that’s why the church grew and our Christian heritage were passed on to our generation.
I don’t say that we just read the bible and pray.. We also need to play. Our church and families must provide opportunities for a wholistic approach in dealing with our kids.
We need to have fun - let’s have games and sports.
Through these activities, they should learn how to value friendship, sportsmanship, unity and teamwork.
Luke 2:52 says, Jesus Christ as our great model “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
We should also.
Parents can do their part. But they will surely fail, if… you our beloved young people will fail to do your part and will not open yourself for teaching and correction.
WE CAN DO IT TOGETHER NOW OR WHEN?.
This is the right time for you to realize that one day you will pass this opportunity to enjoy life. The Bible teach us the way for us to enjoy our life….
Ecclesiastes 12: 1- 5 “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.”
DECIDE NOW! MY DEAR BROTHER & SISTER ,, ACT NOW ! or WHEN? AMEN!!
