Does anyone care?
Today we have paper Plate youth. Where
are the youth? Why don’t they
come to church anymore? We
see them on the streets riding their bicycles and skate boards, but we don’t
see them in the church. We
don’t see them on Sunday morning in worship.
The problem with the youth of today is the problem with the youth of
yesterday and the day before. It
is a problem of caring. Does
anyone care enough to turn on the light?
Does anyone really care for our youth?
Prove it! I heard a
conversation when a parent cursed her child for costing her some money.
The child apologized and offered to pay the cost, but the parent denied
the child and continued to curse him. The
problem with the youth of today is the adults of today who are so wrapped up
in their own lives that they could care less about their children.
The problem with the youth of today is the Christian who is so busy
with their own job, hobbies, and projects that they have no time to help a
young person. The problem with
the youth of today is the church who is making sure that everything else is
paid for first until there is nothing left to minister to the youth.
The problem with the youth of today is a problem of carelessness.
No one Cares. Who will
shine the light? Everyone wants
to complain that we have no prayer in school anymore, but the truth of the
matter is, when we have opportunity to go and pray no one goes.
A poor little boy once heard his Sunday School teacher say Jesus was
the light of the world. He took
her remark quite literally. After class, the boy said to his teacher, "If
Jesus really is the light of the world, I wish He'd come hang out in my alley.
It's awful dark where I live."
From Bible Illustrator.
Scripture
Text: Matthew 5:13
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost
its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled
underfoot as worthless. 14 You are the light of the world—like a
city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. 15 Don’t
hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine
for all. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all
to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
2Cor
4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they
cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of
God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves
as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine
out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ
Turn
on the Light: Live
for the Lord. Show others the
way. Tap into God’s power to
live for Him and show others the way. As
long as we don’t shine the light of Christ there will be no revival.
If continue to stay put in our lives we will not tap the power of the
Creator of light. He is the
light. He will shine through us
if we are willing to turn Him ON! Jesus
is the way the truth and the life. He is the only way for us to become the shining light that He
wants us to be.
Shine
the Light!
It has been said: "The stars do
not shout; they only shine." Any Christian, however obscure, can be a
light to those around him and thus attract and guide men to the harbor of
peace. "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good
works and glorify your Father in heaven." --Topical Illustrations
You are the light. Since
Christ lives and dwells in you.
Lift
the veil. Turn on the
light. Are you holding the light
in the right place. I can
remember as a young boy wanting to help my Dad.
Dad could fix anything. In
the darkness of the basement I was often asked by Dad to hold the light. I would soon loose my attention and shine the light in the
wrong place. Dad was quick to
remind me to hold the light. Then
as a coal miner we would use our lights as means of communication when we were
working. Underground in the mines
you could see how strong the darkness is if there is no light.
In the darkness you would be totally lost. With no hope of finding your way unless someone would turn on
the light. If you waved your
light in a circle it meant to come here.
If you waved the light up and down it meant ok or yes. If you shook your light from side to side, it meant no or
stop. We always knew to never
shine your light in another’s eyes. This
would cause pain and the one to whom you were talking to would look away.
There is a lot of communication down today in the way we shine our
light. Think about it.
Rescue the Dying by showing
the way. This is the way to save
the lost. This is the way to save
our church. This is the way to
save our communities. This is the
way to save our country. This is
the way to save us. To keep our
lives from missing the point we must shine the light of the love of the Lord
to the Lost. To those
living in the dark it is the way to the light and everlasting life.
To those who live in the light it is the way to stir up the gift of the
Spirit of the Lord. We need
Him to shine through us. We want
Him to work in us.
The
lifeguards are on the beach while people are dying in the surf.
Will you rescue them and thus rescue yourselves?
Will you revive them and thus revive yourselves?
What happens to churches and Christians is that they begin to live for
themselves and not those outside. It
is like the lifeguards who stay in the training center, but never come out
into the waves were the lost are dying. Rescuing
others is what gives them purpose and justifies their existence. When they cease to rescue they cease to need to exist.
They loose their purpose. This
is what has happened to so many churches.
They have ceased to shine the light so they are dead.
For revival to take place they must be revived themselves.
Let God give you CPR, so that you can revive another.
Just trying to Stay Alive.
Do you need any power? Do
you want revival? Are you
willing to do what it will take to have it?
Are you willing to change?
Light your candle.
(Candle lighting ceremony – ask people to light their candles.)
If you are willing to do
whatever it takes to win the Lost. If
you are willing to live the life.
If you are willing to change. If you are willing to give all that you have and all
that you are to the cause of Christ.
If you are willing to stop whining and start winning.
If you are willing to build
God’s Kingdom and not your own. If
you are willing to give your time, talents, and treasures to win your friends,
family, and neighbors. If you are
willing to humble yourself before God and pray for results.
If you want to be revived. If
you want to shine. If you are
willing to go to your church and make changes necessary to win the youth and
or lost of our community. If you
will pray to ask God to revive your town.