The Call of Godly Influence

Introduction

Well, good morning.

It’s a beautiful day. And we know that it’s a beautiful day. Because our Lord Jesus lives. And give me a second. I just want to take this in.

Most of you have known me for a long time. Longer than I’ve known me.

And you have seen me through my ups. You have seen me through my downs. You have seen me when I was a troubled Bible class student.

You have heard about where I wanted to take my life. How I wanted to devote my life to preaching. Learn what it meant to be a teacher. Learn what it meant to be a preacher. And I left.

And the number one thing that was always back on my mind was I couldn’t, I couldn’t wait after all these times to come back to you guys to show you the progress that was made. I couldn’t wait to come back to my family to show them. Hopefully, I made them proud. Hopefully, they were happy with the person they supported, the person they encouraged, and the person they tried their best to guide along the way.

And unfortunately, oh, here we go. Unfortunately, I tore my ACL and I had to get surgery. I ended up here. And it was the providence of God that brought me here. And I love you guys so much. So that you saw a little bit of what has been going into the progress. Brother JR, it was a roller coaster, brother. But we made it. We made it. And I’m so happy that I got to learn under you. Sean, I knew you came here a little later, but it’s been wonderful to know you and your family. To the elders, thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for last minute taking me under your wing and letting me work for you guys and for the church. One of the biggest things of this summer that I really enjoyed, one of the biggest things of the summer that I want you guys to know about when I was going through this program was there were certain things that I really, really held on to.

I cling to.

Or Jonah just read it to you, but we’re going to be looking at it. This is the only passage we are going to be looking at this morning. Before I’m going to read it one more time, it says, Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in the word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity, till I come give attention to reading and exhortation to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which is given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things, give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the children. Continue in them, for in doing this, you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

1. Let No One Despise Your Youth

Now, Paul is talking to Timothy here. Timothy was known as a great young man, a great young preacher at the time. He was trying to be the best that he could as a youthful person, but there’s a call to a godly influence that the youth have. We have to understand that the first thing that Paul is telling Timothy here is do not let someone despise your youth. I want us to understand something about being youthful. It’s a lot of times you hear somebody is young, or you hear somebody is too young for something, and it disqualifies them for a lot of things that you think they can do. But I want to make this clear that influence is not based on age, it is about the heart.

For his glory, for his kingdom.

Speak the truth, speak of grace, speak of edification, speak of the Son, speak of the kingdom. We have a young men’s class here that we do every two weeks, I believe. And we we teach them. And we tell them as a young person, you need to understand that you are the future. As a young person, it is very encouraging for you to get up here and speak. But when you’re also going to speak the word, you need to live by the word too. Practice what you preach. Make sure that what you’re going to say lines up with what you are doing. Let your conduct align with your intentions. It also says to do it in love. Have that genuine concern. Have that genuine care for God.

Have that genuine care for others. Be an example in the word. Speak the word. Speak the word because you love one another. Speak the word because you love God. Speak the word because you understand there is a commandment and a call that you need to hear. Heed. Live by example because you love God. Live by example. Practice what you preach because you love others. Be an example in the spirit. Have great zeal for your work and your role in the kingdom. Have great passion for your work and your role in the kingdom. And have great integrity for your work and your role in the kingdom. And be an example in purity. Guard your heart and guard your mind. And guard your body against sin. Make sure that you are an example.

That when people who do not know God learn who God is right away. One of the best things about being a Christian is although maybe sometimes we all have different gifts. Sometimes we all have different things that we’re good at. But the number one thing that everyone can do, regardless of whether you can speak, whether you can study, whether you can teach, the number one thing everyone can do is show God by your actions. Let your light shine.

The young people are learning moments for us old people. Us old people.

That makes you think back about your life. There’s so much about the young people that make you reflect about how your life has been and how your life is going. Unfortunately, if someone with a bad adult life ends up in a bad adult life, they usually will draw it back to their youth. What did I do with the time while I was young? Or if somebody who ended up with a good adult life says, Well, I did what I needed to do when I was a young person. I had the right guidance as a young person. And I want us to understand that that is a wonderful blessing. Now, I want to make this clear. I want to make this clear. Young people, please listen. You are not in charge of everything just because I’m trying to encourage you and trying to encourage everyone to understand the role of a young person.

2. Do Not Neglect the Gift That Is in You

Okay? Please keep listening to your parents. Please keep going to school. Please keep going to work. Do not think that you are on a high, high pedestal because the youth is a blessing. It is. But it’s not something to be abused. It’s not something to think that, oh, we’re teachers now. Remain humble, remain submissive, and remain respectful to the authority that is above you. And I just want to make that very clear. Verse 14 tells us do not neglect the gift that God that is in you. Every believer of God has a gift. Every person has a gift. I was talking about that earlier. Some people can get up and speak. Some people can sing really well. Some people know how to one-on-one talk really well and converse with people.

Some people can go out and evangelize really well. Some people could be a really good listener and a shoulder to lean on for people who are sad. Some people are really well with their prayer and know how to pray really well. And all these gifts that we have, we need to share. All these gifts that we have, we need to bring up the youth. And it’s not that we force what makes us special on them, but we encourage them to find what makes them them. I’m very happy to know that you are you. I love you for the way God made you. And I would never hope that someone tried to make you something that you weren’t. I think God’s creation is the number one beautiful thing to see.

3. Give Attention to Reading, Exhortation, and Doctrine

This earth is full of many beautiful things. And when you are part of God’s creation, you are beautiful just the way you are. You do not need to change yourself for that. So young people understand that you will find yourself. You will figure out who you are, and as long as you stay with God, it will be a beautiful thing to see. You need to give the attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

As a young person, you are a babe. You are drinking the milk, but eventually you will get to a point where you are eating the meat. And how do you do that? You read. Give attention to reading. Give attention to exhortation. And give attention to doctrine. We’re really encouraging the young people here. I mean, I’m trying to, I hope you are. You are special. You are great. You are wonderful. But reading is going to make you even more wonderful. And God’s word, when you are reading is going to guide you on the path that you need to be in. When you are doing exhortation, when you are speaking to people. Not every exhortation has to come from this spot, brothers and sisters. Sometimes you can go to your school and talk about Jesus.

Sometimes you can go to your work and talk about Jesus. Sometimes you can go to whatever sports team you’re on and talk about Jesus. Not only are you going to read and meditate, but you are going to speak. And because you are going to be reading, because you are going to be exhorting, you need to make sure that your doctrine is in the sound state. That what you are saying is according to what you are reading. And that what you are reading is the complete word of God. What you are reading is scriptural. What you are reading is God’s word.

4. God Looks at the Heart and Not the Years

God looks at the heart and not the years. Look at 1 Samuel chapter 16. I know I said that 1 Timothy was going to be the only passage, but 1 Samuel chapter 16, when we’re going to youth, we’re going to be looking at youthful people later down in this lesson. But in 1 Samuel 16, this is when Samuel is meeting with Jesse, the father of David.

Because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees, for a man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. David was a beautiful example of this, brothers and sisters. David was a very young man, a shepherd. He was the youngest of his father. And when we meet him, he is a boy. He is a teenager.

He goes on to be a man that is titled the man after God’s own heart. He has grown up to be such a faithful person, but since his youth, he was teaching others things that they couldn’t learn from anyone else. I mean, when he was fighting Goliath, it was it was him and God. The whole nation of Israel refused to fight Goliath. And when David shows up, he’s confused. He doesn’t know why. You have God on your side, and he’s got better faith than all those older people. And even his brothers were so upset with him because they had little faith that God was going to take care of David when he went to go fight Goliath. But David, this young boy, the youngest boy, had no fear.

Because he trusted in God. He showed them what a faith in God looks like in the kingdom of Israel. Joseph is another good example in Genesis chapter 37 through 41. And I did a lesson on this, so I won’t I won’t try to you know go through all that again. But Joseph’s a young man. He has these dreams where he is going to be high above everyone else. Then his family doesn’t like him. And they throw him in a pit, they sold him into slavery, and they move him from his homeland to a foreign land, which is Egypt. And there Joseph faces ups and downs in Potiphar’s house. He is made over Potiphar’s house, but then his wife wants him to lie with her. And because Joseph stays convicted, committed, he doesn’t lie with her, but he gets thrown in jail for that.

But this young Joseph that we see, this young man that we see is staying convicted. He’s staying with God. He is making sure that God is his number one priority. And that is another example of see an example in Israel, but we have a young man who went to Egypt and showed them who God really was. And the majority of the story is that Joseph is just staying committed to God. Joseph is staying with God and doing what God is telling him to do. King Josiah took the throne when he was eight years old. And by the time he was 16 years old, he revived the godliness in his kingdom. These are examples that have carried on for thousands of years. Young men who decided that God’s way is better than my way and have made an impact in the world.

They’ve made an impact in not only their life, but others’ lives too. And we learn from them to this day.

5. Go Out and Connect

Go out and connect.

Go talk with other people. I’ve met several people who are way better at speaking than I am. And it’s just they can connect on a more personal level. These younger guys that come and they talk with me and I have a conversation, I don’t know what they’re talking about half the time. I’m too old.

I don’t get it. I’ve only been out of high school for maybe like six years, but I have no idea what they’re talking about half the time. But I know if they go and they go and talk, they’re going to be able to communicate and talk with all those people that we can’t reach. And maybe there are some older people that get that and try to communicate that from time to time. But it strikes the heart when you can feel that somebody gets where you’re coming from. It strikes the heart when you feel that somebody can relate with you. When you as a young person go up to another young person and say, I understand the troubles that your school gives you.

Or the stresses of moving from one school to another, maybe middle school to high school, high school to college, something like that. But it’s a it’s a blessing. Because it gives you that warm wraparound that maybe you want. But you need to grow spiritually.

6. Be Innocent and Pure Like This Child

You’re not entitled to anything just because you’re young. You have to grow. You have to build young people influence others for Christ. Times when we look at children, and there’s a word that we always associate them with.

Purity is one of them. Innocent is the other one. As parents, you want to guard your kids’ innocence. As teachers, you tell your kids to guard their innocence, guard their purity, right? When Jesus was teaching with a little child, he let the people know that until you come to me like this child, you cannot come in the kingdom. And Jesus was telling them, you gotta be like this child. He was telling a bunch of grown-ups, you have to be like this child to be in the kingdom. And the example he was using there is you need to be willing to follow like this child. You need to be innocent like this child. You need to be pure like this child. Young people, eventually, there is a reality of the world that you are going to face.

And there is only so much that maybe home can protect you from. Eventually, you will grow up, eventually you will face the world, and you will meet some great things. But you will face some nasty things too.

We have some buildings full of Christians in Tampa, buildings and buildings full of Christians all over the country. And even with our evangelistic work, there are buildings and buildings of Christians all over the world in different continents. There are a lot of people that love God, brothers and sisters, but there are even more people who follow the devil. Be aware of that. Be aware of the fact that sin is still out there. That the devil wants you. And he tries to snag you in your youth. But I want you to understand something. God has always raised up young people in critical times to help advance his kingdom. The call to the young today is the same. Be an example. Use your gifts. Stand firm in the faith.

Conclusion

And as the church, we do not despise our youth. We lift them up. We equip them and we get them ready to face that nasty world. And so I want to invite you this morning. You can go away, go ahead and put your Bibles away, put your notes away. I invite you this morning to understand that life is sometimes hard. I invite you this morning to understand that if you are not with God, then you are with the devil and you are with sin. And I invite you to know that there is a solution to all that. You can hear the word, you can believe the word. You can confess your sins. You can repent, and you can be baptized this morning. I thank you so much for this wonderful summer where you have taught me so much as a young person, and I can’t wait to learn about all the young people who do great things here.

But if there’s any way this morning we can help you, won’t you come forward and stand and sing?