I'm Walking Here

Graduates

So today I want to do this a little bit different. I want to recognize our graduates before we get into the sermon. So lets do that now.

Ok it is so awesome to be able to hang out with these graduates and I can’t wait to see what amazing accomplishments will come there way. I’m going to start off today throwing some stats at you that honestly are pretty scary and then I promise i will give the graduates and everyone else some encouragement and a challenge. Now that you know the roadmap lets dive in.

Here are some of the interesting stats I want to share with you:

86% of Youth Pastors say the biggest challenge to youth ministry is the busyness of teenagers.

60% of teens who grow up in church end up walking away from membership.

63% don’t believe Jesus is the Son of the one true God. 58% believe all faiths teach equally valid truths. 51% don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead. 65% don’t believe Satan is a real entity. 68% don’t believe the Holy Spirit is a real entity

About 25% of college professors are professing atheists or agnostics (5-7% of the general population is atheistic or agnostic). Only 6% of college professors said the Bible is “the actual word of God”. 51% described it as “an ancient book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts.” 75% believe religion does not belong in public schools.

And Here are the findings from a research study looking into the spiritual life of teenagers:

The majority of teenagers are incredibly inarticulate about their faith, religious beliefs and practices, and its place in their lives. The de facto dominant religion among contemporary U.S. teenagers is what they call ‘Moralistic Therapeutic Deism’: A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth; God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions; the central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself; God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem; and good people go to heaven when they die.

Wow so those are some interesting and disturbing stats. So how in the world are we supposed to overcome those stats. Let’s dig in.

The first thing that we all need to do but especially you graduates is to remember who you belong to. If you are a Christ follower today you have been redeemed, bought by the blood of Jesus, and nothing can snatch you out of His hand.

The apostle Paul explains it this way in Romans chapter 8

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 8

38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When you hit that moment of crisis when things are spinning out of control or fear tries to grip you…Remember you are a child of the King. You belong to the Lord and He will never leave you.

The next thing you need to do is very simple yet it requires patience, discipline, and faith. Follow God’s Path. You see God’s direction will lead you to His path. There are a few verses that describe what we can expect when we follow God’s direction and we walk along His path.

You see all of us are on a path. Everyday we walk a path that either leads to peace, joy, comfort, satisfaction and life and let me say that none of those things i just mentioned are the worldly definitions. All of those things are because of and from the Lord. That is what happens when we walk His path.

Or we walk the path of chaos, confusion, destruction, addiction, anxiety, stress, and death.

Lets see about God’s path.

In Psalms 23 it says:

2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside quiet waters.

3 He renews my life;

he leads me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.

or in Psalms 25

10 All the Lord’s ways show faithful love and truth

to those who keep his covenant and decrees.

or Psalms 17

5 My steps are on your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

or Proverbs 3

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not rely on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways know him,

and he will make your paths straight.

or Isaiah 26

7 The path of the righteous is level;

you clear a straight path for the righteous.

or Jeremiah 6

16 This is what the Lord says:

Stand by the roadways and look.

Ask about the ancient paths,

“Which is the way to what is good?”

Then take it

and find rest for yourselves.

or Psalms 119

105 Your word is a lamp for my feet

and a light on my path.

or Proverbs 4

18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

shining brighter and brighter until midday.

19 But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom;

they don’t know what makes them stumble.

So just saying that there is a repetitive theme here right. Level smooth path, full of light, love, and renewal.

Now again I am not trying to paint some easy rosy nothing bad will ever happen view of life. We are all continually facing trials and troubles and sometimes we veer off the path. Even Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7 :

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

The path is difficult but your reliance can’t be on yourself. At some point your boot straps will break, but there is one who will always pull you up.

In Isaiah 41 it says:

10 Do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be afraid, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you; I will help you;

I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.

Don’t be afraid of the narrow path and the narrow gate. Embrace it, run to it, and allow God to direct your steps.

And finally for all of us who are still seeking to stay in God’s Path listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy

7 But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness. 8 For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. 10 For this reason we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Now for the rest of us those with children and grandchildren, those who have adopted kids or foster kids, those who hope and pray for a family in the future how do we get our children to follow God’s Path and God’s Directions. How do we ensure that we point them to Jesus.

So ok can I get permission to be very direct for just a couple minutes?

When I was in school I played sports and was very active and held down a job. I was not a Christian in high school but I remember loving wednesday’s and sundays because everything stopped. Our coaches cut practice off early to make sure we could get to church on wednesdays. No one scheduled practices on sundays. What’s changed? What happened to that?

You may say well it’s these younger folks they don’t understand. Or this new generation doesn’t get it or this or that. They learned it from us. When things started changing instead of saying hey hold on a second that isn’t going to work we just right on plugging away. We the older generation have placed more value in our childrens eyes on them being successful on the athletic fields and bandrooms and choirooms and plays than we have on their salvation and discipleship. There i said it.

And I am guilty of it. I’ve scheduled pitching practice, flute lessons, you name it on wednesdays and sundays because it made it easier for me. I did not place the value on salvation and discipleship. I placed the value on my children being successful in the world.

I have an announcement. Listen real close. THE WORLD IS NOT MY FRIEND. THE WORLD IS NOT WORRIED ABOUT MY SALVATION.

To ensure that our next generations are in fellowship, saved, and being discipled we need to follow God’s command in Deuteronomy. We need to heed these words from Deuteronomy chapter 11.

18 “Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates, 21 so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.

I know that some of us are new believers and are like well i don’t know that much yet myself. That’s ok believe me this is a difficult task and an extremely important one.

Earlier in chapter 11 it says:

2 Understand today that it is not your children who experienced or saw the discipline of the Lord your God:

His greatness, strong hand, and outstretched arm; 3 his signs and the works he did in Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt and all his land; 4 what he did to Egypt’s army, its horses and chariots, when he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued you, and he destroyed them completely; 5 what he did to you in the wilderness until you reached this place; 6 and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when in the middle of the whole Israelite camp the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing with them.

7 Your own eyes have seen every great work the Lord has done.

Every believer in this room has a story. A GREAT STORY. You may not have an understanding of all the doctrine of the church yet but you have a great story. LIsten again to verse 2 it is NOT YOUR CHILDREN WHO EXPERIENCED OR SAW it was YOU. YOUR EYES, YOUR HEART

Your children didn’t feel the peace that passes all understanding that you felt when you were completely stressed out wondering how am i gonna pay these bills and feed my family. But when you prayed you felt the comfort of the Holy Spirit move through your body and YOU KNEW GOD WOULD PROVIDE! TELL THAT STORY.

Your children didn’t hear the voice of the Lord or feel his hand telling you it’s time to turn your life over to me. You’ve tried your own way long enough and it’s finally time that you prodigal son or prodigal daughter, its time to come home.

Your children didn’t feel the embrace of the Father when you walked up to that altar and surrendered your life to Jesus. They didn’t see the tears of homecoming or remorse or sorrow or joy that poured out at being welcomed into the Kingdom of God. TELL THAT STORY.

TELL YOUR STORY and tell it again and again and again. And when you feel like hey i need my kids to grow and be discipled and be in church this church is equipped with a great children's ministry to help you. This church has a great youth ministry to help you.

Understand our family ministries are here to help you, to come alongside you, to cheer you on, to cry with you, and stand in the gap for your family. God has equipped Southside with amazing staff and volunteers to help. But remember most likely our eyes didn’t see your story either. Just like your kids. So tell them your story tell us your story. It doesn’t bother me if you tell me your story 30 times. Tell your story.