A SPECIAL MESSAGE TO THE CHRISTIAN YOUTH
by Minister Evans Arko
Ecclesiastes 11:9-10, "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgement. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
Ecclesiastes12:1-5 Remember now the creator in the days of their youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shall say I have no pleasure in them; while the sun, or the light, or the moon , or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
In the days when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshoppers shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets.
My friends, I want you to know that all that you ever need today is to serve the Lord in faith and in truth – seek ye the
SERVE THE LORD WITH YOUR ALL
You must always remember that we are in the NOW generation and there is greater urgency to spread the word of God. It is your religious obligation to carry out the Great Commission and you are blessed with the advancement of information technology which places at your disposal invaluable tools to evangelize. Emails are economical, fast and effective means of sending the word of God to target audiences worldwide. Your cell phones can enable you to send text messages in the service of our Lord.
Technological advancement has led to access to much information including many philosophies of uncertainties. You must hold on to your faith. You have choices to make and any choice you make must be in consonance with the word of God. Let me focus on young people who are at college or in high school. Hedonism that includes the use of drugs, excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, as well as smoking is not compatible with the teachings of our Lord. Your body is the
AVOID WRONG FRIENDS IN SCHOOL
Christian students must be proud of your religion and you have to live exemplary lives on campus so as to serve as role models to other students. Injustices as well as intolerance must give way to justice and tolerance. And your responsibility is to use the mass media to alert the world about injustices that need to be addressed.
You must strive for peace wherever you are. The message of love and peace must be embraced by all of you. At school you have to avoid groups that can ignite potential sources of conflict. In this regard, you will be acting as light houses for guidance in a world of storm. Your anchors of strength in a world of change should be your unflinching faith in the living God and in your abilities to get things done. You are expected to be examples of righteousness in a world of impurity. Living sacrifices in a world of greed. The world looks up to you for new ideas to help solve the numerous problems facing the human race.
STAND FOR EXCELLENCE
David was a man of excellence. The Bible tells us that David in his youth played his harp "skillfully." He didn’t just play it, he played it with excellence. When he threw the stone that defeated Goliath, it wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t just a lucky break. David had practiced the slingshot year after year out in the shepherd’s fields. He was extremely talented with that slingshot. Some experts say he could hit a small bull’s eye more than 100 feet away!
In the same way, if we want to see God’s hand of promotion, we need to live excellently. In this day and age, if you’re not growing, then you’re at a disadvantage. If you’re at the same skill level this year as you were five years ago, then you are falling behind. It’s time to step it up a notch. Whatever you are doing, do it with all your might! Don’t get complacent. Keep growing; keep learning; keep improving. As you do your best to live excellently, God will bless the fruit of your labor. He’ll pour out His "super" on your natural and cause you to rise up higher into the life of victory He has in store for you!
Minister Evans Arko
