A Youthful Example

TEXT: I Timothy 4:12 TOPIC: A Youthful Example Message shared with Tri-City Christian School February 18, 1998 Share story of young boy on his first date. “Sinner, sinner down below, pucker up and let her go!” Some of you may remember my youth minister who spoke to you last week. He preached on basketball. I’m not sure what Bible text he used for that one. Anyway he was right about one thing, you all are a good looking group of students. But I don’t think you teachers are nearly as ugly as he said you were! If you brought your bible please open to I Timothy 4:12. As you do so let me tell you that this verse was one of my favorite verses as a teenage Christian. It was one of my “life verses.” Do you know what a life verse is? It’s a single verse of Scripture that so impacts your life that the truth of that verse literally changes who you are. That’s the way I feel about I Timothy 4:12. 1 Timothy 4:12 12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. (KJV) God wants young people who are not ashamed to be known as a Christian. God wants young people who are examples of a godly lifestyle! I. ENCOURAGEMENT First notice that there is a word of encouragement in this verse. The Apostle Paul, who wrote this letter to the young man Timothy, was an older, wiser, saint of God. He wrote to encourage Timothy to live a godly and good life. Don’t you like encouraging people? This world is filled with negative people. Negative, negative, negative. Isn’t it nice to hang around with friends who build us up. Those who are positive and friendly. I like people like that! Ephesians 4:29-32 29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (KJV)

2 II. EXAMPLE Notice that I Timothy 4:12 also talks about the example you ought to be as Christian young people. “despise thy youth” speaks of contempt one feels in their mind for someone else. It means to look down on someone. “youth” means anyone of military age that is up to age forty. (I’ve just left my youth this past Saturday! I told someone that I was beginning to hit forty and that it was beginning to hit back. Have you ever noticed that when a man turns forty his hair stops growing on his head and starts growing out his nose and ears!) SIX AREAS IN YOUR LIFE IN WHICH YOU ARE TO BE AN EXAMPLE 1. in word - speech; what you say, your talk or language. (Cassidy-cursing at school) 2. in conduct - behavior, how you live. Your walk. Let your walk match your talk. 3. in charity - agape love, the greatest Christian virtue. A. 1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.(NIV) B. 1 John 4:7-11 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (NIV) C. John 13:34-35 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (NIV) Ordinary love is a thing of the heart or feelings. Christian love is a thing of the will. Christian love never allows itself to hate. Christian love never refuses to forgive. Christian love never holds grudges. 4. in spirit - describes the inner enthusiasm (to be filled with God) and excitement of a child of God; enthusiasm in knowing God; enthusiasm in serving God.

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(Take a survey in church this Sunday. Check out how many people look happy to be there. If some of them are happy they need to notify their faces)

5. in faith - faithfulness, loyalty, consistency

Too many young people have roller coaster Christianity. Always up and down, up and down. Youth Camp religion. Get all excited about living for Jesus at camp, but lose it before they get out of the church parking lot when they get back.

God is looking for some Christian youth who will be sold out to Jesus!

6. in purity - Paul’s eyes were open to morality in the life of the believer. If you asked Paul if character counted he say “be thou an example to the believers....in purity” It does matter what you do in the privacy of your own home. (By the way, do you know that the kind of person you really are is determined by the kind of person you are when nobody’s looking.)

In the city of Ephesus a young man like Timothy would have faced many of the same sensual temptations young people face today. So Paul encourages Timothy to be an example in purity.

(Share statistics regarding the immorality of today’s youth culture)