Church Of Christ - Youth Group

It’s amazing how many things in life can go wrong when you hang out with the wrong friends. Proverbs 13:20 talks about this a bit. “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.”

What are your friends like? Are they Christians? Do they encourage you? Can you share your belief in Jesus with them? Do they give you Godly advise? Are they really concerned about your moral, well being as a Christian? Or do they tear you down or try to control you? Do they inspire you to draw close to God? Or do they cause you to slip away from God? Do you mostly try to please them or God?

This is very IMPORTANT stuff! It does matter, for you own well being, who you have as friends and who you marry.

We, as Christians are called to love everyone, to be kind to everyone, to witness to the lost, BUT we have to be very careful who we spend a lot of our time with. Who we listen to and who we trust our hearts with. We are to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. That is true. BECAUSE our close companions, those we share our very personal lives with WILL have an effect on our lives, either for our good or for our harm.

God’s word tells us what kind of friends and spouses we should choose. “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said; I will dwell among them, I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Therefore, Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” 2 Corinthians 6:14-17

How can two walk together, unless they agree? If you are “yoked” up with a non-believer and you are a believer, you are not going to agree. There will be conflict. You will be tempted to compromise. No friendship is worth forfeiting your beliefs.

“Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:17
“Do not enter the path of the wicked. And do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it. Turn away from it and pass on.” Proverbs 4:14-15
“Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse, he who guards his soul will be far from them.” Proverbs 22:5

If you are “hooked” up with the wrong people causing you to compromise your morals, your Christian standards, your beliefs, your faith, you need to find some new friends. God will send you some really good friends, He WILL reward you!

Let’s look at 2 Timothy 1:12 today - That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

Ever notice how sometimes its hard to voice your opinions about your faith? The world we live into today has taught us to keep the touchy “religious” subjects on the down low, as to not offend anyone. We tip toe around people not wanting to rub anyone the wrong way. Its almost like we take God and stick Him in our pocket when we go out in public, and then when no one is around we take Him back out. We don’t want to talk about the Lord at work, we don’t want to talk about Him in front of our friends, our family, ANYONE. I’m not just talking about non-believers I’m talking about the Christians as well. Unless we are at church we don’t talk about the Lord. Because if we do , we may say something that will offend someone. Usually when a Christian is “offended” by something that more often than not means that they are convicted of a certain sin in their life. No one likes being convicted in our faith, we all fancy ourselves to be these “Mega Christians” , that we never want to feel t he uncomfortableness of being convicted. The Bible tells us that we should not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That means telling and talking about the Lord to anyone and everyone, no matter how uncomfortable It makes others feel.

More often than not you will hear Christians defend certain behavior. Drinking , for one, is probably one of the most controversial things to talk about with different Christians. I believe that drinking is wrong. Why drink alcohol and put that temptation in front of you? Why have one or two when you could be setting an example to other believer that may make them fall? So on and so forth. A lot of Christians get very defensive when they enjoy doing things that know that are against or taking that step to being against the Lord. They take what the Bible says and put it into their own version that fits their lifestyle. But think about what kind of example you would be if you were standing in a room holding a beer talking about the Lord? Wouldn’t be a very good one would it? Believers need to stop being so afraid to speak the truth. We need to stop being afraid we will offend others with what we say and how we live our lives. In the Bible Jesus says if we deny Him in front of others , He will deny us in front of His Father (God). Denying Jesus isn’t just saying we don’t personally know Him as our Savior. Its living how we please , not what how God says we should live. You don’t want to get to judgment day and after sticking the Lord in your pocket and living how you please, Jesus looks at you and denies He knows you. Don’t stick God in your pocket, speak out your faith!

God is truly an everlasting Savior. This gives me comfort every day. Take a read through Habakkuk 1:12 today.

O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish.

In this verse from the minor prophet Habakkuk, he is recounting the battle against Israel by the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans are winning, mostly due to the sins that Israel has wrought against God. Habakkuk is lamenting and trying to understand which is worse: the sins that they have committed, or the punishment that has resulted from them. While Habakkuk realizes that they have brought this upon themselves, he wonders aloud if God is still on the side of the Israelites or not. The Chaldeans themselves were wicked warriors in their own right, who did not honor God, but worship other idols.

You might be wondering what the significance of this verse is, written by a lowly minor prophet. First of all, just because Habakkuk isn’t as well known as the Major Prophets like Jeremiah or Isaiah, God used the ordinary among the Israelites, as he does still today to deliver important messages. God’s ways are higher than our ways. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9. That characteristic of God has never changed and is the same today as it was back then.

When Habakkuk makes reference in the first part of the verse, he is asking God about his everlasting nature. The eternity of God’s nature is valid; if he is from everlasting, then he will be to everlasting for the Israelites and also for us today. The importance of that fact is that God will see to it that, unlike the Chaldeans, His children will still sit beside Him in heaven, no matter what ordeal they might go through. The Chaldean idol worshipers will have a future of eternal strife. This is a crucial promise that God has made to all Christians.

The second part of this verse provides an even greater comfort to us. Habakkuk is reaffirming that God is his Holy One. Because he believes that, and holds it in his heart as truth, Habakkuk will not die, but will in fact be with God in the end. He is reminding the Israelites how important this is, to love God with all their hearts above all else. Again, this is the same truth for Christians today. As we profess our complete love for God just as Habakkuk did, and that God is our savior and not attribute the goodness in our live as from idols, then God will truly deliver us from the eternal torment of hell.

John 10:7-10 says: Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

The devil main objective is to steal, kill and destroy. We should expect the devil to attack our lives. If we are tearing devil kingdom down we ought to expect the devil to do something to us. We ought to be getting on the devil nerves. The devil wants to destroy your life. He will do whatever it takes to have you. He knows you. He knows your weakness. He knows what you like. He knows what gets to you. We ought to be working against the devil, doing what God has called and chosen us to do. If the devil has been attacking your life, it is a sign that you are doing damage to his kingdom. You are getting on his nerves. When you get on someone nerves, they usually yell or hit or do something to you or make a reaction letting you know to leave them alone.

Can you imagine that you are on the devil mind? You are all he thinks about. He is plotting and strategizing how to get to you. The devil will attack you because he knows your future. He knows what is coming. He knows the blessi! ng is coming. He knows your victory is ahead so he is doing all he can to mess you up and prevent you from getting to where you need to be. That’s why you had a rough childhood. That’s why you went through some things in your life that were unbearable. He wants to have you. Get on his nerves by doing what you are called to do. Get on his nerves by being obedient to God. Get on his nerves by living a holy and pure life. Cause the devil to hate you. Cause the devil to not stand you. Strike a blow to the kingdom of darkness. Are you getting on the devil nerves or is he getting on your nerves? What are you going to do to get on his nerves? Go get on the devil nerves.

God is faithful to His children. His children listen to Him and obey Him. That is the key element to exercise to receive the promises that God has in store for us. Are there times when you might wonder why life isn’t going as well as you had thought, hoped or wished it to would? I am sure that if you are anything like me and many of my friends that sort of experience may have visited you on at least one and possibly multiple occasions.

Psalm 36:5-7 says: Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Interestingly, God has spoken about this subject in various places throughout Scripture, Psalm 36 being just one example. Psalm 86:15 is another wonderful example for us: “But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” So, not only is God faithful to us, but He is compassionate, gracious and slow to anger. Isn’t that comforting to know? He’s not going to deck us when we probably deserved it?

Psalm 91:11 shows us even more about this aspect of God’s character: “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Not only will He not deck us, but He will protect us and defend us. This of course depends on our obedience to God to be provided to us.

When we are obedient, as Joshua was when God told him to step into the Jordan River so that he and the Israelites could go into the Promised Land, He will do the same for us. He will part the waters, open the doors, lay a bridge, or provide for a need in just the right way, at just the right time. This is how God fulfills His promises to us, in so many different ways. All we have to do is say, “Lord here I am, I am yours and will follow you.” When God hears that, He knows you are ready to receive the promises that He has for you. All He really wants to know is that we belong to Him. Are you one of His children?