Fuel Camp Recap

I'm gonna have Cam come ahead. He's gonna introduce tonight and we got some testimonies. So appreciate Cam doing a great job with our teams.

Him and Darren co-lead those guys. And we had a great group of people go to camp this year. Cam will be sharing a little bit about that and so make him feel welcome as he comes. So first off I just want to start by saying thank you. Thank you to the church. Your guys' prayers, your financial support, just everything you guys have given to us as the youth group.

It paid off this week. As you heard pastors say, we had 11 students accept Christ as their Lord and Savior and we had two rededicated. So praise the Lord for that.

Let's give him a hand for that. And so I encourage you to continue to pray for these young minds and young hearts as they will begin discipleship through foundations and foundations too. I pray that if you want to be a part of that, come and see me. We might need some help discipling some of these young people. Pray for them. Pray for protection over them. This is when things get a little bit harder now. Now that they've accepted Christ and they certainly will face attack and doubts and things like that. And so please be praying for them.

Pray for our leaders, not only myself. I took, I think I took the best group of counselors I could have taken this year. Even Ty. He was great.

I have to rip him a little bit. But no, I took the best group of counselors this week and it really paid off. I'm so thankful for them and the work that they did. This time I'm gonna have some seniors come. They're gonna give some testimonies of the week. So those of you that are speaking tonight come up here real quick. And then one other thing, a couple of things I want to highlight as they come is some of the things that we won.

Because I think winning is fun and it's good. So this week we took, as a group, we had people within our group place first in the teaching competition, which is for young women who feel like they might be called to being in ministry of some sort. We had a young lady place second in the instrumental contest and then we had a young man place second in the preaching competition, which is for young men who feel like they may be called to preaching.

So that was that was a huge blessing. So at this time I'm gonna have three of our seniors that have gone to camp several years now. They're gonna come and just give a brief testimony about camp and what it's done for their walk with the Lord. Alright, so camp this year was really good. I really enjoyed my time with the girls and the counselors and being able to spend time with them was such a blessing. My favorite activities this year were playing basketball and volleyball.

We ended up getting second place in our volleyball tournament, so that was fun. For the spiritual part, seeing my little sister Kaylee get saved and on Sunday baptized was such a blessing. Probably my favorite part about camp was her coming to me and telling me that she accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior. Another thing that stood out to me was the sermons at camp this year.

We had a great lineup of speakers and I'm so thankful for the messages that us campers and counselors were able to hear. Two lessons that stood out to me the most from camp was one about writing a blank check of our life to God. This means giving our life to Christ no matter what it entails.

He is the one to take the check and do with it whatever he wants. He can use me for whatever he wills. It means my life is his. The second lesson that impacted me the most was taught by Chelsea Mannion during a girls only lesson on Wednesday morning. She taught how Jesus is the tree vine. He is the living water and the bread of life. She explained how Jesus teaches we are to be satisfied and content with him alone.

He alone should sustain us and he alone is who we should find fulfillment in. I am sad this is my last year of camp but I'm so thankful for the impact this year and the previous ones made on me in my life. Camp was where I rededicated my life years ago and where I have seen tremendous fruit and growth stem in my spiritual walk. I have I definitely recommend going to camp for those of you who get the opportunity to in the future.

Okay my name is Zaveah. So my first year went to camp I really didn't know what to expect but I knew that I was saved and I was excited to learn more and grow. Through the years I've seen so many people and myself make so many emotional decisions such as rededicating their life or dedicating their lives to ministry or other stuff like that. Most of those I honestly didn't know existed and I'm really glad that I did go because I had so many people and counselors around me that I could ask more questions about. Oh also my little brother got saved this year. Super great about that. Super excited. Okay this year okay specifically for this year I went in a lot more physically prepared than spiritually because I'll admit I was working way more than I should have and I didn't prepare spiritually as well as I should have. So on the first night I was like okay well please get me through this week and help me take in all taking your word take in all your your words and please help me grow and stuff like that I guess.

Tuesday and on they're pretty good. They have so many different activities such as volleyball, basketball, ziplining. Sounds kind of scary but it's pretty cool. They have gift shops, coffee shops and a grill and stuff and this year I didn't make any like major spiritual decisions but I decided that I need to prioritize God a lot more than what I was before and I'm excited to do that because I'm going to college you know I hope that I can keep going with that so on and so forth and it's also just really different when you're around people who are also as spiritual as you are and it's a really good thing and that's kind of it. Thank you. Good evening everybody. So today we were tasked with answering what has like camp done in our spiritual walk and for me I'd have to say the first years of camp I went I had fun that was about it was there for the games made some friends but about the year camp going in I think to either eighth grade or freshman year it hit me that I was there for the wrong reason that I was just prioritizing friends everything else more than God and so most of my life I thought I was saved until that year at camp when I rededicated my life and since then it's been going good until this past year when I just could feel myself growing more and more distant from God just each day kind of just a little farther and farther until about Wednesday night at camp it just broke me that I was too far like gone or I felt too far gone but then I was reminded that there's never too far gone for God that there's always a turnaround point and camp is just played such a pivotal role in my life and it can it's just I called us like small little piece of heaven because it's just a chance to get away from the world and just kind of block out all the talk about men being women women being men because Wednesday Tuesday morning we had a message about what it means to be a man and that hit me hard that I need to start taking leadership and just portrait and gotten relationships and just help them lead others and and I just want to say teens if you ever need anything I'm always here for you at this time we're gonna have a young lady sing a special there's nothing that will ever come close nothing can compare you're our living home I've tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves where my heart becomes free and my shame is undone your presence Lord spirit you are welcome here come flood this place and fill the atmosphere oh your glory God is what our hearts long for to be overcome by your presence your presence you there's nothing worth more that will ever come close nothing can compare you're our living home your I've tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves where my heart becomes free and my shame is undone your presence Lord Oh spirit you are welcome here come fly this place and fill the atmosphere oh your glory God is what our hearts long for to be overcome by a presence Lord your presence Lord let us become more aware of your presence let us experience the glory of your goodness let us become more aware of your presence let us experience the glory of your goodness let us become more aware of your presence let us experience the glory of your goodness let us become more aware of your presence let us experience the glory of your goodness Holy Spirit you are welcome here come fly this place and fill the atmosphere oh your glory God is what our hearts long for to be overcome by your presence if that song if you would please turn in your Bibles with me to 1st Timothy chapter 4 1st Timothy chapter 4 I don't know if I said it the first time but we we really have great kids in this church and I'm very thankful for that makes my job a whole lot easier to have really good kids at least most of the time most the time they're pretty good so 1st Timothy chapter 4 pick it up in verse 11 the Bible says these things command and teach let no man despise thy youth but be thou an example of the believers in word and conversation and charity and spirit and faith and purity till I come give attendance to reading to exhortation to doctrine neglect not the gift that is in thee which was given thee by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery meditate upon these things give thyself holy to them that thy profiting may appear to all take heed unto thyself and unto thy doctrine continue in them for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and then that here let's pray Lord we thank you for this time Lord I pray that you would you would enter into this place now Lord that you would fill me with the spirit and allow me to share your word from you Lord use me just as your mouthpiece it's in Christ name that I pray amen in 1930 Calvin Leon Graham was born to a poor Texas family the youngest of seven children and when Calvin was just a boy his father passed away and his mother would remarry an abusive stepfather because of this Calvin chose to move out and live with an older older brother Calvin supported himself by selling newspapers and delivering telegrams and because of this he knew what was going on around the world at age 11 Graham learned that some of his cousins had been killed while fighting in World War two and it sparked a desire on him to fight he started shaving hoping that his hair would grow back faster it didn't and he began to speak with a deeper voice he knew that in those days you could join up at 16 with your parents consent but they preferred 17 so he forged his mother's signature stole a notary stamp and told his mother he was going to see relatives instead he dropped out of school traveled to Houston to enlist in the Navy on August 16 1942 Graham went to Houston to the Houston recruiting office in his older brother's clothing he was 12 years old 5 foot 2 and 125 pounds he was not concerned about the forged signature rather the dentist calling him a finely tuned lie detector but Calvin's trump card was knowing that the dentist had cleared two other underage boys so he was cleared after completing basic training he was assigned to the USS South Dakota and Calvin would see his first action during the Battle of Santa Cruz on October 26 1942 he would later see action in the Battle of the Guadalcanal on November 14 1942 as a result of his actions in this battle he would be awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart but his distinctions were short-lived as his mother found out told the Navy and he was forced out Calvin Leon Graham was the youngest man to fight in World War two that we know of we honor his service and we despise not his youth despise not thy youth first Timothy 4 12 a scripture that's often quoted by teenagers that wish they were treated as adults but it's also a scripture that's often incompletely quoted many people that recite this verse only recite that part let no man despise thy youth but there's more to that verse and the rest of it says but be thou an example of the believers in word in conversation in charity in spirit and faith and purity to provide some context to this passage we see this section of scripture here in first Timothy chapter 4 where Paul is writing to his faith and his son in the faith Timothy Timothy is the young pastor of the Church of Ephesus and in this passage he's not only encouraging him as a young pastor but note the word youth in the Greek that refers to anyone under the age of 40 it was suspected that Timothy at this time was about 30 years old while Paul was about 70 but not only was he encouraging Timothy in this passage but he was instructing him and how to live and how to carry himself in the ministry Paul here is saying do not let anyone look down on your youth but implying that there is a set of conditions to that be thou an example or a model it says of or to the believers and then he lists and outlined several areas that Timothy is to be an example in and this is what we're gonna examine tonight I've identified 12 specific areas that Paul instructs Timothy in and tonight we're gonna look at these and you say 12 that's a lot I'm not pastor I think I can get through it okay I had I have I have to rip him every time I get up here cuz he gets a lot of shots at me so tonight I encourage you to look at this passage through the lens of your life if you're a teen how can you be an example to a younger teen or to a younger sibling if you're an adult how can you be an example to a younger sibling a child or your spouse and if you're an adult and you say well I don't have any of those things I don't have a spouse I don't have any siblings or any children look around there's plenty of kids in here that need another role model in their role model in their life I was the first Christian in my family and so I know that some of the men here were role models for me and so I know that men in this church can be role models to these young young people as well and although this passage is contextually written to a minister or a pastor I believe that if you're a born again believer of Jesus Christ then you too are a minister of the gospel you're in the fight and therefore this passage applies to you as well so let's go ahead and get started tonight the first point which is be an example in word in word first Timothy 4 12 I'll read one more time let no man despise thy youth but be thou an example of the believers in word and conversation and charity and spirit and faith and impurity the single greatest tool of leadership is an example exemplary life an exemplary life begins with speech Matthew 12 34 through 37 says Oh generation of vipers how can ye being evil speak good things for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringing forth evil things but I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment for by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned we speak out of abundance of our heart so if our heart is filled with evil vile and wicked things our mouth is bound to show that and if our heart is filled with good holy and pure things our mouth is bound to show that so what what is evil what is considered evil so according to scripture the first thing that I've identified as evil is evil things include speaking out of uncontrolled emotions such as wrath how many of us in here have done that before yeah just about all of us right Ephesians 4 26 says be angry and sin not the second thing is evil things include lies in gossip Ephesians 4 29 says let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth the Bible teaches that God does not like liars and in reality I don't think anybody really does so that's just to go along with that and the third thing is that evil things include bitterness and unforgiveness Ephesians 4 31 let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice I think oftentimes we think just evil things is just cursing if I don't curse I'm okay but if you carry around bitterness and wrath towards other people if you speak out of emotions in a negative way and if you lie or spread gossip you don't have to use a customer to do any of those things with us still sinning that's still sinful so what is considered good things I think it's outlined very simple in first Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 16 through 18 rejoice evermore pray without ceasing and give thanks and everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you and the book of James the tongue is compared to a fire James 3 6 says and the tongue is a fire the world of iniquity a world of iniquity it's because just like a fire the tongue can be used for great good and great evil evil things include fire can be used to burn hurt or destroy things while the tongue can be used for lying or blaspheming God the tongue can also be used to tear down and slander God or the people of God and understand that if you slander or tear down men then you're slandering and tearing down the image of a holy God James 3 9 says therewith bless we God even the Father and therewith curse we men which are made after the similitude are made after the image of God what are some good things that fire can be used for it can be used for things like cooking for warmth for light and just like that the tongue can be used for praising praying and rejoicing there's no faster way to tell if someone belongs to Jesus than the way they talk and like I said I don't just mean by the way if they curse or not but I mean by the way that they talk to people and the way that they talk about people so I asked you tonight are you exact are you an example in word in your speech do you build others up or tear them down do you praise the Lord for your life even the trials of your life or do you just curse and blaspheme God and say well it's me and complain about what he's doing in your life are you thankful or are you ungrateful second point tonight is being example in conversation conversation really means conduct and that in this passage this is important for Timothy because as John MacArthur says a biblical message paired with an ungodly life is nothing but blatant hypocrisy and the dangerous thing about this is the most is that most people tend to follow a man's life more than his words Paul understood this and was trying to pass this truth down to Timothy and 1st Corinthians chapter 11 verse 1 where the Bible says be you followers of me even as I also am of Christ I think this verse is a great self-reflection question if someone wants to follow you someone was to follow me would they look more like Christ or more like the world Peter also addresses conduct in a few different ways in the book of 1st Peter 1st Peter 1 15 and 16 says but as he which hath called you is is holy so be ye holy in all manner of conversation or of conduct because it is written be holy for I am holy so how can we be holy in our conduct that's kind of a weird statement you think but it's by embodying the spirit and embodying the fruits of the Spirit as outlined in Galatians 5 22 and 23 but the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance and against such there is no law another good passage that I don't have time for tonight to read but is Romans 12 verses 9 through 21 it gives a good outline of how we should conduct ourselves as believers Peter continues later and 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 12 having your conversation or again conduct honest among the Gentiles that whereas they speak against you as evildoers they may they may buy your good works which they shall behold glorify God in the day of visitation 1st Peter 3 16 continues this thought later on having a good conscience that whereas they speak evil of you as of evildoers they may they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation or conduct in Christ what these two verses are teaching is that no matter what people say about you your conduct the way you carry yourself the way that you follow Christ should rise above that any false pretenses or false accusations should should just be absolutely crazy to be people because your conduct is above that the way we conduct ourselves should leave no doubt in the minds of those that we're around and with this with this in mind I do want to take a moment just personally for myself to to apologize I know that sometimes my conduct may come across as if I'm rude around the church and things when I'm doing certain things and just in reality I get laser lock focused on things I'm a very task oriented person it's a blessing many ways but sometimes it shows out like a curse as if I don't care whenever I have something I'm focused on getting done most times just so I don't forget but I don't mean to come across rude in that way and I know that I have and I know that I've been you know it's come across as rude to people and I've offended people and I don't want I don't want this to be put off is like that I don't care about people because I wouldn't be a youth pastor if I didn't care about people and even the number working youth minister you know that right and I don't say these things I don't say this as an excuse it's just the reality of it is it's just a blind spot for me something I wasn't even aware of that I did until people brought it to my attention but it is something that I'm working on and I think the truth is that we all have blind spots even and especially church staff but if you don't think that we care about people try to show us some grace and get to know us as people on a given Sunday here at lighthouse there's between 600 and 650 people and there's only a handful of us on staff we may not say hi to everyone we may not even know your name even if he told us three times already okay but if you think that we don't care about people or love people ask the people that we work with ask the people that pastor and Brayden have led to Christ that they've discipled or that they've counseled for Alex ask the seniors that he works with for Ty ask the kids and the parents of the kids that he works with and for me ask the teens ask the teen workers that I work with understand that as a staff and I know I can speak for the whole staff in this sense that when it comes to the people of this church we love you guys and we love this church and we seek to serve you to the best of our abilities but ultimately at the end of the day we're still human and we're gonna fail and we're gonna let you down and we're gonna offend you and we don't mean to do that in the process but that that's probably gonna happen because we're still men at the end of the day or women for those women that are on staff so moving on from that this leads me to point three be an example in charity the King James refers to to love as charity so these words can kind of be used as as inter interchangeable here and so Paul is instructing Timothy to be an example of love and so how can he do that as first Corinthians 13 outlines it's very clear how he can do that verse 4 says charity suffereth long or is patient and his kind charityth envieth not charity bounteth not itself is not puffed up doth not behave itself unseemly she's not her own it is not easily provoked and it thinketh no evil like I said long suffering means patience and we were patient with people it shows people that we love them and that we love them more than ourselves when we're impatient all that screams is I care about more about myself than I do about you when we're patient it shows them that we value what they are dealing with and what they are going through love is kind it seeks the best for others and not the best for ourselves it seeks to lift others up and see them do well it does not envy it does not puff itself up rather than trying to tear other people down just to make ourselves feel better love says and love shows and the action of love looks like being excited for other people to succeed and do well even when we get nothing out of it no no reap no benefit of that biblical love is selfless John 3 16 says for God so love the world that he began he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life and I ask you this do you think God wanted to give his son for our sins would you would you be willing to give up your child for a lawbreaker because that is what God did for us talks about that in Romans 5 Romans chapter 5 verse 7 and although this is a hypothetical question the truth is that God actually did give us his son God is not a god of hypotheticals he's a real God who really sent his son for us and he did it out of love according to Romans 5 verse 8 but God commendeth his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us continuing with this idea of love 1st Corinthians 13 6 says rejoices it rejoices not in iniquity but rejoices in the truth bear with all things believe with all things hope with all things and endure with all things love rejoices in truth a simple equation I believe for love is truth plus grace sometimes we have the tendency when a brother and sister brother or sister in Christ is living in sin we have this tendency to just be quiet and to let it go and say oh well I'm not gonna be their Holy Spirit I'll let the Holy Spirit convict them but like I said sometimes we have blind spots we don't even realize that what we're doing is wrong or offensive but understand if you're if you're going to confront or help someone get out of their sin that it needs to be done in truth and needs to be something that you've seen with your own eyes not just oh well so-and-so told me that you did this so I came to confront you that's not what that looks like it's saying I've seen this in you and I'm coming to you out of love to share this with you and it needs to be done with grace I think a lot of times we lean too far in either direction either too much truth and we come across harsh or we come across with too much grace and we're too lenient on sin it needs to be done without a harsh tone without put without judgment and it should be done you should confront people that you actually have a relationship with not just a stranger that you just see around someone that you know goes to your church but you don't really know if you're just gonna randomly play kind of a Holy Spirit police without knowing someone you're probably gonna do more harm to that person than good love perseveres through the toughest of circumstances and it endures all things and why is that and that's because our relationship with Christ with Christ endures because our relationship with him is founded on a perfect loving sacrifice as I read in Romans 5 8 so I asked you are you loving and not just simply loving but are you patient with others do you seek to see them grow do you seek to see others succeed or just yourself do you rejoice in truth and handle confrontation well do you persevere through the hard things of life with a loving selfless mindset number four be an example in spirit if we want our youth to not be despised we need to have an attitude or spirit that Jesus had in Philippians chapter 2 Philippians chapter 2 verse 3 says let nothing be done through strife or vainglory but in the lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves look not every man on his own things but every man also on the things of others we should not do things to make ourselves appear better than others we should do it out of love for God and love for other people we are called to be humble we are called to esteem others better than ourselves imagine if we lived in a world where everyone sought to give give to others rather than just take all that they could for themselves Philippians 2 5 says let this mind be in you which also is in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and understand in verse 7 there it says he took the form of a servant that word in the Greek is translated as doulos which many of you may know is it also means slave and that's how great our God is Jesus could have come as a king and ruled the world and had a nice plush lifestyle but he didn't do that he came as a slave to save the world verse a says and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross Jesus was the ultimate example of humility and understand this if you don't get anything else out of my message tonight this is this is the key right here is if you want to be an example for Christ at any level at any point in your life you have to have a humble spirit at the center of it walking with God is like an uphill battle and if you're prideful it's like walking uphill barefoot across broken glass it's going to hurt a lot and it may even cause you to slow down stop at times and it may even cause you to turn around and give up but if you can stay close to Christ and allow him to remove that pride from you and humble yourself and seek to lift others up that walk with God gets a whole lot easier it's like removing the glass from the hill the walk is still not easy but it's a whole lot smoother and this brings me to my fifth point tonight which is be an example in the faith parents if you want to have an impact on your kids and this is coming from your youth pastor who works with your kids every week if you want to have an impact on your kids for Christ you need to have a strong dependence on the Lord that that is the probably the number one thing you can impart to your kids is a strong faith and dependence on the Lord Hebrews 11 one says now faith is a substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen faith is being able to not understand everything in every detail about a situation and be okay with that and I know that's really hard for some of us were planners we like to know every detail of everything that's how my wife is at any social event we're going to she wants to know the name of everybody and know how many people she's gonna have to talk to but as Christians and as people we need to understand that we can't plan for everything we can plan for some things but not for every detail of what might happen for the sake of time I'm not gonna go into the details of some of the things that happen at camp this week but if you know you know and there's some things that I could not plan for and I will just leave it at that but there's some things you cannot plan for and that's okay because I because we have faith to rely on as Mike Tyson once said everyone has a plan so they get hit in the mouth faith is how you respond to life when it hits you in the mouth when life hits you in the mouth the object of your faith becomes the most important thing do you place your faith in yourself I'm gonna grab my bootstraps and get myself out of this or are you gonna say I'm gonna depend on the Lord and have faith in him for guidance and direction in my life and some people in here may say I'm doing all that I can I can read my Bible I go to church I pray I tithe and I still am just not seeing God's favor in my life and understand that that's not having faith that's just having works in the same way we cannot work our way to heaven we can't work ourself out of every valley in life Ephesians 2 8 9 says for by grace are you saved through faith and not of yourselves it is a gift of God not of works lest any man should boast look at Matthew chapter 17 verse 20 this this like popped off the page to me this week pastor Carter taught this this week and one of the early morning sessions and it just stood out so strong to me so I wanted to bring it back and share and it says and Jesus said unto them because of your unbelief for fairly I say unto you if you have faith as a grain of a mustard seed you shall say unto this mountain remove hence to yonder place and it shall shall remove and nothing shall be impossible unto you and we read that verse like I can move mountains with faith but sometimes I don't think we understand that that mountain is talking about a spiritual thing not a physical if you want to move the mountains in your life you have to have faith because it's faith that moves the mountains of fear and moves the mountains of doubt and moves the mountains of anxiety and if you ever struggle to have face faith rest in Hebrews chapter 11 which points to the Old Testament and some of the heroes of the faith Hebrews 11 verse 4 says by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain and by faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death Hebrews 11 6 says but without faith it is impossible to please him for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him and so I think this is where a lot of us get stuck is it says he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him we must seek the solver of our problems and not just the solution to them many times I meet with people and I've dealt with people and they want his love without making him the Lord of their life they want his peace without the power without his power over their life they want his promises without his price and they want the cross without the cost the Bible calls us to pick up our cross daily and follow him not weekly not monthly and not just when things are hard but every single day sometimes we try we try so hard to work our way out of issues instead of just saying Lord I need you I trust you I depend on you you've done it before and I know you'll do it again Hebrews 11 says 7 says by faith Noah being warned of God of things not as yet moved with fear prepared an ark to the saving of his house by the which he condemned the world and became an heir of righteousness which is by faith by faith Abraham when he was calling to God into a place which he should which he should after receive for an inheritance obeyed and he went out not knowing whether he went I think many of this and for many of these young people this is where you're at in life you're like I don't know where I'm going I don't know what's next when you when you're in that place just have faith God will establish your steps he has a path for you he'll lead you he'll guide you and he'll direct you you just have to have faith in that and trust in him understand that with Noah and with Abraham neither of these men knew what was coming next but they knew that by faith in God that he they were gonna come out okay they trusted his word and they trusted him and if you have faith rest easy in this promise from God of Romans 8 28 and it says when we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and to them who are according who are called according to his purpose I could preach on this subject of faith probably the whole night but I'm not I won't do that but this passage here in Hebrews 11 goes on for about 30 more verses and it talks about just a bunch of different heroes in the faith and what it looked like for them to have faith in their circumstances and so if you're struggling with faith or you're going through something that's a good passage to read is Hebrews chapter 11 so Christian tonight I asked you do you have faith do you trust God to bring you through the valley or do you trust yourself parents do you show your child what it means to rely on the Lord do you enable them to trust God to solve their problems or do you teach them to just trust in you as a parent to solve their problems or teach them to trust in themselves to solve problems we can't solve everything as people we just can't there's some things that are just out of our control and we need to give those to the Lord number six says be an example in purity the word for purity here in the Greek primarily refers to a purity in the area of sexuality both in actions and into and in intentions of the heart why is this important because for Timothy as a pastor it's important to understand that one sexual sin could have destroyed his entire ministry and really this goes for all Christians because sexual impurity is probably the fastest way to ruin a testimony first Corinthians 6 18 says flee fornication every sin that a man doeth is without the body but he that committed fornication sent against his own body and notice a couple things that Paul says here he says that we should flee fornication the Greek word for fornication here is pornea which refers to all forms of sexual immorality not just fornication in of itself it means all forms of sexual immorality and we're told to flee from it I read this week as I was studying that many who fall into sexual sin underestimate the power that lustful passion can have on a person we should flee from sexual immorality as Joseph did in Genesis chapter 39 first Thessalonians 4 verse 3 says for this is the will of God even your sanctification that you should abstain from fornication notice a few things about this verse first it says sanctification not salvation so why did Paul say that it's because he knew that Christians needed to be set apart and that some of them could and would fall into sexual immorality and again he says for the word fornication meaning all sexual immorality and so why is that important because it lets you know that believers back then and believers today are still able to fall into these sins I think the danger that many of us get caught in is we get in this caught in this place of oh I'm a Christian or oh I'm married I don't have to worry about sexual immorality anymore and then we begin to let our guards down and that's exactly what Satan wants us to do because actually the complete opposite is true Satan would like nothing more to see a beautiful marriage be corrupted or a young believer be impure and have sex before marriage and when we let our guards down we become much more susceptible to him understand that if we believe we as believers did not have to worry about sexual sin after we got saved these verses wouldn't be in here and he wouldn't have worded it the way that he did and if we did not need to be on guard then we would not be told to flee from it Ephesians 6 12 says for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rules of the darkness of this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places first Thessalonians 4 forces the not that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel and sanctification and honor not in the lusts of lust I've can sips your snares and as the Gentiles which know not God as Christians we were called to live differently or separately from the world and that's what sanctification means here we should handle and honor our purity separately and differently from the rest of the world the world says do whatever you want and the Bible says do what God wants I encourage you with this flee fornication and seek to please God rather than men and so I ask you are you aren't are you on guard are you guarding your heart in your mind and what comes into it and the things that you're you're seeing are you setting up healthy boundaries with people that you need to are you praying for protection over yourself over your kids over your spouse over your brothers and sisters in Christ are you holding people accountable are you praying for strength and power over temptation because those are very real prayers that we should pray daily daily verse 7 says be an example in reading 1st Timothy 4 13 says till I come give it attendance that to reading to exhortation to doctrine and what this is talking about here is this is talking about the public reading of the Word of God this was important for Timothy as a pastor to preach the word and to explicitly explain the text and I think that we can learn from this passage that we too need to give attention to the public reading of the word and I know I'm using a lot of verses tonight but it's because if I'm not using verses that I'm just giving a TED talk right I'd rather I'd rather share the Word of God Hebrews 10 25 says not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching the church is a necessity for the Christian life and it's not about just being at church but being in church just because you're physically in the building or in the room does not mean a thing if you're mine and if your heart or somewhere else and I know we have a little busy lives we have a lot going on and we spend a lot of time worrying about a lot of things and the things that we have going on after church and things we have going on during the week but understand eternity is worth preparing for just as much as those things more than those things it's worth limiting distractions and silencing your phone for an hour and if you've ever been curious as to where we get our model for church and why we do what we do it comes from Nehemiah chapter 8 verse 5 says and Ezra opened the book in the sight of the people for he was above all the people and when he opened it all the people stood up and Ezra blessed the Lord the great God and all the people answered amen amen when lifting up their hands and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground jumping to verse 8 it says so they read in the book and the law of God distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading they read the Word of God they explained the Word of God they worshiped God they prayed all the same things that we do every single church service that's where that comes from and also and although that's an Old Testament reference of what we do in church the church was actually not established until the book of Acts 2 verse 41 where it says then they that gladly received his word were baptized in the same day they were added unto them three thousand souls and they continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship and breaking of bread and prayers and fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done by the Apostles they had fellowship they broke bread they prayed all these things we should do with other believers not just off on our own by ourselves and I just want to mention this briefly for those of you that have been coming to lighthouse for a while and you're saved and you're abiding in the teaching and preaching here at lighthouse you need to become a member and I know there are some of you who will say the membership doesn't exist but look again at verse 41 where it says added unto them they were added to something right and if that's not enough enough evidence for that ask yourself this do you think that Jesus would not want you to be a member of his church just ask that question do you think that Jesus would not want you to be a member of his church and in order to serve in many areas around the church we ask that you be a member of the church so if you've been here for a while and you're not a member that means you're probably not serving and serving is something we're called to Jesus says after washing the feet of disciples in John 13 15 for I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you and if you say well why do I have to be a member to serve would you rather us just have anybody that comes off the street go out there and greet or preach or go work with the kids no of course not and if you're interested in become a member we have foundations on Sunday and we'll walk you through that process in the youth center at 10 a.m. and if you're plugged into a life group and you say well I don't want to miss this life group for six weeks contact the church I'm willing to meet with you I know we have other staff that are willing to meet with you and go through that material that way you can join the church we encourage you to do that number eight says be an example in exhortation exhortation challenges people to apply the truths that they have been taught and it may take the form of a rebuke a warning a counsel or in most cases comfort acts 13 15 says and after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them saying ye men and brethren if you have any word of exhortation for the people say on sometimes as believers we need to be called up and we need to be called out and that's why some people have a hard time with hard preaching because hard preaching pushes you to move we've heard some hard passages men the past two Sundays but that's good because we need to be pushed and we need to be pushed to grow we don't need to be complacent and stay where we are even if we've heard messages similar we still need to be pushed in a grow and called up and called out to do the things that the Bible calls us to do Hebrews 3 13 says but exhort one another daily while it is called today lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin the Christian race is Christian race is not meant to be run alone James 5 16 says confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much in Galatians 6 2 says bear ye one another's burdens we are called to run this race together to comfort one another and to encourage one another when needed first Peter 5 8 says be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil is a rowing lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour and understand that lions attack the animals that are alone they attack the ones that are straying away that are falling behind the pack the ones that are hurt they don't go after the ones that are in the middle of the pack being held up by the rest of the pack they don't do that lions don't attack that way if you want to have a successful walk with the Lord you need Christian brothers and sisters around you you need a church to be plugged into and you need people who people and a pastor that can pour into your life discipleship starts from the pulpit ask yourself do you have people that you can go to about your sin do you have people that pray for you do you have people whose burdens you carry do you have people people who comfort you and that you can comfort as well that's what it means to be a part of a body of believers number nine be an example in doctrine doctrine is a body of teachings or set of beliefs that are spiritually related they can be passed down through generations Deuteronomy 6 4 says hero Israel the Lord our God is one Lord and thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thine heart with all thy soul with all thy might and these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart and understand that doctrine doesn't just come from what man believes but it comes from what God says and what he teaches in his word the truths about God should not just be found on some pages in a book but it should be found on the hearts of those that follow him and know that verse 7 says and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children and shall talk of them when thou citizen thine house and when thou walkest by thy way and when thou liest down and when thou rise us up and thou shall bind them for a sign upon thine hand and I shall be as a front lens between that eyes understand that the most the person the most responsible for teaching children the Word of God is the parents of that child it's not pastor it's not a youth pastor it's not a youth leader it's a parent but in order to teach you first have to possess if you expect your kids to follow the Lord when you don't have a personal relationship with him you're creating a false expectation now with that said teens and kids in the room just because your parents may not be here may not be believers it doesn't mean that you can't be a believer it doesn't mean that you have to stop seeking out understanding wisdom and instruction from others you can seek it out from pastor your youth pastor youth leader or another man or woman in the church regardless of how you learn it doctrine is not meant to just be learned it's meant to be applied wisdom is knowledge applied so ask yourself are you paying attention to doctrine and the things being taught in the church are you applying that what are you applying the knowledge are you hoping others learn the Word of God whether it be your children your siblings or someone else's children that's how I came to Christ someone else decided someone else's parent taught me or someone else's sibling are you passing the word on to the next generation so that's what we're called to do are you applying the things that you're learning and do you have a hunger to grow and understand the Word of God number 10 number 10 says be an example in gifts first Timothy 4 14 says neglect not the gift that is in thee which was given thee by prophecy with laying on the hands of the Presbyterian be where you're supposed to be and do what you're supposed to do ministry is hard working with people's hard so if you're doing something even that something that may seem as small as teaching like a children's class or teaching a Sunday school class or whatever it is you need to prayerfully consider it before you do those things because if you don't feel called you're doing the people that you're serving a great disservice and the same token if you feel called to something and you're not doing it out of fear or anxiety or whatever else then you two are doing people a great disservice people that you could be giving things to 1st Corinthians chapter 12 which I don't have time to read tonight talks about how the body of Christ is similar to that of the human body it has a lot of different parts with a lot of different functions but just because the foot is not the hand or the ear not the eye does not mean that they are not part of the body it just means they're a different part of the body same as with the church just because some teach Sunday school and others clean and others greet it does not mean that one of them is not a party of the part of the body of Christ and that one does not serve the church at the end of the day it is still the same ministry it's the same goal in the end to serve people and to serve God some passages to study include Ephesians 4 and Romans 12 they both talk about spiritual gifts and how we should use them it talks about teaching serving leading administrating whatever gift you may have those are good passages to read Ephesians 4 Romans 12 1st Corinthians 12 number 11 be an example in meditation 1st Timothy 4 15 says meditate upon these things give thyself holy to them that they that thy profiting may appear to all meditation in other religions this thought is like letting go or emptying your mind in this sense Paul is encouraging Timothy to fill his mind with the truths of the word so they could benefit the people that he is shepherding we should be so consumed with the Word of God that it flows out of our life even when we are away from church other places the Bible talks about meditation includes Psalm 1 where it calls us to meditate on the Word of God it says but in his delight is the law of the Lord and in his law of death he meditate day and night in Psalm 19 David says let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight Oh Lord my strength in my Redeemer he wanted it he wanted his meditation to be acceptable the author of Psalm 19 continues with this theme I will meditate in thy precepts and have respect unto thy ways so I ask you to ask yourself do you meditate on the things of God do you think about God and what he's doing in your life as he's doing it do you meditate and rely on his word to guide your life and is it so apparent in your life that you meditate on his word that you share it with others and point number 12 I got here had to go a little quick there number 12 be an example on perseverance first Timothy 4 16 says take heed unto thyself and until I the doctrine continue in them for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and then that here hear thee young person if you want to be used by Christ for Christ you must continue in the faith you cannot walk with him for a period of time and then fall off and then go to camp and get on fire and fall off and go to camp that's not how that works if you really want to be used for Christ you have to be consistent you have to be faithful available and teachable for Timothy had he had to continue to examine his life and his doctrine if he was going to lead others and you two will have to examine these areas of your life if you want to have an impact for Christ you have to live right and continuing and continue to grow in what is right 2nd Timothy 4 verse 7 says I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I've kept the faith I think for a lot of people in this room and I know for me for me that's the goal of my life is to keep the faith understanding that the first step in keeping the faith is getting in the faith so how do you do that you start by coming to the end of yourself and recognize and understand that there is nothing that you can do to get to get to heaven you've been staying with sin and you cannot wash yourself clean but Jesus can 1st Corinthians 6 11 says and such were some of you but you're washed Titus 3 5 through 7 says not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior that being justified by his grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life you must understand that to get to heaven is not based on you it's based on Jesus and what he's done for you and if you have a relationship with him as I close tonight like I said you may say well he talked really fast and he used a lot of verses it's because I made fun of pastor and I had to make sure I got done and if if I wanted to get up here and tell stories that wouldn't be what you guys are here for right and understand that I preached for five verses tonight but the Bible is so well knitted together that that's where we go we go running through the whole thing so understand if we want our youth to not be despised we need to be an example adults we need to be an example to the younger to show them how to go about things and how and how to carry ourselves and the younger we need to seek out truth understanding and guidance so that we too can have an effect on those around us and have an impact for Christ