WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.319 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:07.040 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:20.320 Good morning. 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:22.640 Today we are telling stories. 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:26.719 The churchy word for what I'm referring to is testimonies. 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:34.719 But we talk often in youth group about how that word can sometimes feel loaded or place an expectation on emotion having a turbulent story. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:36.719 Those stories are really important. 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:41.039 They help us experience God in a radically merciful way. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:51.280 But really, the word testimony means that you have borne witness to something that you saw, you experienced, and you are declaring exactly what that is. 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:59.520 The way that testimony is talked about in the New Testament specifically is about bearing witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:07.840 How by his sacrifice, while we were still sinners, we might be made alive, being transformed into his very likeness. 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:12.159 It is by grace we have been saved through faith through the finished work of Jesus Christ. 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:14.799 This is what the church has borne witness to. 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:22.159 And as the built-in advocate for youth ministry, I assure you, teenagers are part of this witness. 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:28.560 What the church has known and proclaimed and passed on from generation to generation, they are a part of. 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:35.200 They are as much a vital, irreplaceable member of the body of Christ as much of the rest of us. 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:43.519 And the beauty of a service like this one is that we might be blessed and encouraged by the faith of the young and the unexpected. 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:58.719 The kind of faith that knows how to hold tensions of doubt and hope, is not afraid of wrestling and embracing life in all of its gray, and believes with great conviction the truth of the gospel for themselves and our world. 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:03.359 I'm up here for now, but I'm not going to be the one telling stories. 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:14.319 You will hear from the mouths of students themselves how they have been awakened into new life in Jesus, how they are being transformed into his image, and how the gospel is living and active in them. 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:23.919 But before they start to come up, I'd love to just take a couple of minutes just to set them up well because they are showing great courage and boldness by sharing this morning. 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:30.400 To do that, I want to let you guys in on my prayer life for this ministry that God has entrusted to me. 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:34.960 This summer will be my third year on staff at Awakening. 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:39.120 And from the very beginning, there's been a scripture that I've prayed over my students. 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:41.039 There's been many, but this is a big one. 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:44.560 So if you have your Bibles, you're going to turn with me to the book of Psalms. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:45.680 It'll be on the screen. 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:49.840 We're going to be in Psalm 71, verses 15 to 18. 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:58.879 My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long, though I know not how to relate them all. 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:02.400 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord. 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:05.360 I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone. 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:08.560 Since my youth, God, you have taught me. 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:11.759 And to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:21.199 Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come. 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:25.840 I'm a teacher and I can't help it, so we're going to note a couple things here. 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:31.759 It is God who does what the psalmist calls righteous deeds, mighty acts. 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:33.439 It is God who holds power. 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:41.439 This might seem obvious, but the psalmist is painting a picture for us of our relationship with the Father, of our relationship with the Sovereign Lord. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:48.479 Where it is he who does every powerful saving act that we are recipients of, whereas we might boast in nothing but him. 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:54.639 The psalmist says it really plainly, I will proclaim your righteous deeds yours alone. 00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:58.000 All good and perfect gifts come from above. 00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:01.599 Our very help comes from the hills, from God Himself. 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:15.199 And in his goodness, the focus of his help, his riches, his love, his wisdom is us, that we might know him and be filled with the fullness of God. 00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:25.040 But it does not end there with a personal revelation, because the second thing that I want to point out is that as much as God has you in mind, God has generations in mind. 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:33.759 Not only does God sustain us in our very living and moving and being, but he sustains us that we might declare that he has done so. 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:44.800 Not only are we recipients of the restorative power of the gospel, but we are participants in it. 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:55.519 God has chosen that it is his word and his people that would bear witness of his glory and his mighty acts to the next generation, to our neighbor, to all who are to come. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:05:00.160 And the Bible says it elsewhere, how else are people to know if no one tells them? 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:10.800 I pray this scripture for my students, because the only thing that can be given to them that cannot be taken away, that cannot be tampered with, is the word of God. 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:15.360 When all else fades, the word of God will remain. 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:19.600 The assurance of who he says he is will stand. 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:25.680 And my prayer is that their eyes might be opened and they would experience him that way in their life tangibly. 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:34.720 That they might believe and declare what generations and generations of followers of Jesus have before them, that his word is true, that he lives. 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:39.759 And more than this, that he has done a powerful work in their life. 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:45.279 That they have called on the Lord and He was faithful to meet them, to hear them, to comfort them. 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:47.519 The psalmist says it plainly. 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:50.319 He says, From my youth you, God, have taught me. 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:53.279 I think of me and my story. 00:05:53.920 --> 00:06:12.399 I was a youth group kid, I went to camp, I sat under sermon after sermon, and though faith did not come until I was in college, God had been orchestrating a foundation of doctrine and spiritual leaders that did much in upholding me when I later did confess Jesus' Lordship and meant it. 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:18.720 It is grace that He has been active in my life far beyond and before my recognition of it. 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:22.240 What was true of the psalmist is true today. 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:32.959 God is moving and at work in the lives of young people, teaching, rebuking, correcting, training in righteousness, that they might be equipped for every good work in Christ Jesus. 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:41.439 And the psalmist goes on to ask for what we now, you and I now have assurance of that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Christ. 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:49.279 And until that day, Jesus has made our charge really clear to make disciples of all nations and all tongues. 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:56.079 And teenagers, those we might least expect, are essential to this charge. 00:06:57.360 --> 00:06:59.680 They're essential to God's activity on earth. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:00.800 They get it. 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:05.759 They're armed with the good news of the gospel, they have seen God, and they follow him faithfully. 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:07.439 But frankly, I've said enough. 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:15.040 And it's all the better coming from them anyway, because the witness of the young will push us towards Jesus in a very unique way. 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:20.240 We have three students who will be sharing today, and I will introduce you to each of them. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:24.560 But it is my joy to introduce you to one of our eighth graders, Lauren. 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:33.759 Hi, I'm Lauren. 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:35.279 I'm in eighth grade. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.800 I've been going to Awakening since I was six years old. 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:43.360 I've gone to church since I was just a baby all my life. 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:45.839 Um, and every Sunday I knew the drill. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:52.399 Even though I went to church since I was just a baby, I only really went because of my friends or for the snacks. 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:59.759 Um I didn't have a relationship with God until sixth grade when I got baptized. 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:08.720 Awakening announced that there was this baptism class at church, and I went, and they explained that getting baptized was proclaiming your faith in Jesus to the church. 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:13.680 At that point, I knew that Jesus was real, so I thought I would just do it. 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:18.319 And about a month later, I realized that I didn't even know God. 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:23.199 I knew he was real, but I didn't know what he was doing in my life or what he was like. 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:25.680 Um, so that's when I started praying. 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:29.759 I prayed that God would show me something, a sign that he was there. 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:35.200 And I prayed for months and months, and nothing happened, or at least not that I could see. 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:37.279 And I was getting desperate. 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:40.639 Um, I wondered why it felt like God was ignoring me. 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:46.799 And that's what I experienced for a while until about uh until you Sunday, about a year ago. 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:49.600 After all that waiting, God showed up. 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:55.360 Um, Molly was speaking on stage, and everything around her kind of went dark, and she just lit up. 00:08:55.600 --> 00:09:01.440 It wasn't like something like the stage lights or anything like that, but I knew it was from God. 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:06.960 After that happened, I realized that God had been working in my life even before that happened. 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:13.200 God works all the time, and sometimes it might seem like small ways, but he's always working. 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:17.120 God doesn't always do big things like give people visions or dreams. 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:21.600 But when I look back on my life, I can see like the things he's done for me before. 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:28.159 When I was in kindergarten, my family and I moved churches and to come to awakening, and I did not want to go. 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:37.440 I was like furious when my parents told me I was coming here, and I remember on the way to church, I was like begging my parents to stay home, and they said no. 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:41.519 So I went to church and I had a lot of fun. 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:47.840 I made a lot of friends, and thinking back on like that day, it probably wasn't that big of a deal. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:56.240 Like, but God provided for me and my family by bringing us here, and I didn't even realize like how he had started working in my life. 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:09.120 When I was heading to middle school, I was going to go to a public middle school, but my parents decided to send me to the school that my cousin went to, and I was furious again, and I did not want to go. 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:18.799 All my friends were going to a different middle school, but I went and I made a bunch of friends and I had a lot of fun again, and I love my school now. 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:23.679 God gave my parents the wisdom to send me there, and it's been such a gift. 00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:28.159 Even when I thought that going to my school was the worst idea, God brought good through it. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:34.080 Drama middle school and all the drama it can bring sometimes, God has always been there for me. 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:38.720 When I think something happens, that's the end of my world, God provides and it's not. 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:44.240 God has provided by bringing me a community here at Awakening that is so good. 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:53.200 They help me give like get wisdom when there's drama at school, and they help me look at what we are learning in church from different perspectives. 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:56.480 Every Tuesday night we have youth group, and I used to never want to come. 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:00.960 I would make up excuses like, I have too much homework or I'm too tired. 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:05.279 But when I started coming, I realized how much peace it gives me. 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:09.600 No matter how much homework I have, God somehow provides and I always get it done. 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:14.879 No matter how different we all are, we all have one thing in common that brings us together: our faith. 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:25.360 James 117 says, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly light, which with whom there is no change or shifting shadow. 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:30.480 Everything good comes from God, so we should keep our eyes open to see what he is doing. 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:33.679 He is working all the time if we are open to see it. 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:37.120 These are only a few ways that God has provided for me. 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:38.320 He has done so much more. 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:42.000 He lets me experience joy, and he gives me friends that make me laugh. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:46.480 God is never gone, and he is always working in my life and in your life. 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:52.559 I still have good days and bad days, but through it all, I want to keep my eyes on Jesus. 00:11:52.720 --> 00:12:01.679 Sometimes God can still feel absent, but I can look back on my life and see all the things that He has done for me before, and remind myself that He is always in control. 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:08.480 I remember there's this one Bible class at my school where we're talking about how God has a plan and everybody has a place in that plan. 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:14.240 We read Jeremiah 29, 11, and it says, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:18.799 Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:22.960 Listening to this verse brings peace to me because I know that I'm not being left by God. 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:25.360 He will work in his timing and not mine. 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:33.200 I really want to work on trying to see that all the ways that God moves in my life, even when I think nothing is happening, he is always working in some way. 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:37.759 I encourage you to look for the things that God has done for you, big or small. 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:49.679 She is just fantastic. 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:29.679 On the last high school group event, before the summer kickoff this year, we wanted to spend some time together and reflect on the year. 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:35.279 And we did this through three ways: encouragement, reading God's Word, and worship. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:47.440 After we went around the group encouraging each other and saying how some people just bring life to the group and how they reflect Jesus, Molly went up and laid some of these letters down with little gold stickers on them. 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:51.759 Each of the letters having a different verse with a different message inside of it. 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:57.200 As she did this, she said, You guys are praying after the worship. 00:13:57.279 --> 00:13:59.919 I want you guys to ask for God's word to speak to you. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:03.919 And know that God's word will not come back void. 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:06.799 So we sat there, the group of us, and we prayed. 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:12.320 Each of us something different, but mine went along the lines of, Hey God. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:16.879 We both know I've been struggling with some things, and I need your word. 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:21.440 Let your word be something clear and something that will help me out in the situation that I'm in. 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:25.440 This one introduced the topic of praying for what you need. 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:31.360 In that moment, I prayed, and I prayed for some scripture to purely fix my problems. 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:33.600 Like, yes, this is gonna fix everything. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:39.200 So as other people started getting up, I sat still and I kept praying. 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:42.080 Just praying for something to help me. 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:47.840 Because I knew he could do it, and I wanted something to purely fix my problems. 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:50.799 Like a step-by-step guide on how to get me through this. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:53.600 So as I got up, I knew I needed something to help me. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:59.919 At random, I chose one of these letters with the little gold stickers on it, and I opened it. 00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:03.679 On the front it said, God is with you. 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:10.000 And I flipped it around to read Joshua 1.9, which says, Have I not commanded you? 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:16.879 Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. 00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:25.039 For context, this is where Joshua is instructed to serve and lead the Israelites after Moses' passing. 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:29.519 This was right before crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land. 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:42.159 And even through the darkest times of Moses' passing, the Lord gave the Israelites what they needed: a new leader who would help them going into the promised land. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:50.000 The Lord said to Joshua that he would give him every place his foot landed, the same promise he gave to Moses. 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:53.360 Because the Lord does not back down from his promises. 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:55.519 Joshua needed to hear that. 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:58.320 He needed to hear do not be afraid. 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:02.799 To put his trust in the Lord and to God in full faith. 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:08.720 And as I read this verse from Joshua that night, four little words stood out. 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:10.960 Do not be discouraged. 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:13.759 I prayed for a solution. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:17.360 And God said, wait, be still. 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:19.200 Don't be afraid. 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:20.639 Don't be discouraged. 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:24.320 One little mess up, no matter how big, isn't gonna ruin you forever. 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:29.200 He has a plan for you in your life, and he has not abandoned you. 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:30.480 So don't be discouraged. 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:39.039 When it comes to our lives, when we are feeling abandoned by the Lord, he still has us in his plan and still cares for us. 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:48.320 When you need help at work or at school or in your home, we can seek out the Lord knowing that he will provide for us. 00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:54.480 In Luke 11 9, he says, Ask and it will be given to you. 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:56.080 Seek and you will find. 00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:58.399 Knock, and the door will be open to you. 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:05.279 Whatever problem that you are facing, no matter how big or how small, pray on it. 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:08.240 Bring it to God because He can do great things. 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:10.559 He has helped us time and time again. 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:14.799 He has never let us out of his promise, just like Joshua. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:22.640 God gave the same promise that he gave to Moses and said, You got this. 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:24.720 Just try again and trust in me. 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:29.440 He will not let us out of his promise no matter what we do. 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:34.000 I prayed for what I needed, even though I didn't know I needed it. 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:35.519 God knew though. 00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:43.759 So I encourage you to, in all your struggles, take a seat, breathe, and ask the Lord for what you need. 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:45.440 Thank you. 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:56.240 Good job, Solon. 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:03.279 Next, I'm so excited to introduce you to one of our 11th graders, my girl Reagan. 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:15.039 Hi everyone, my name is Reagan, and I'm a junior in Awakening Youth. 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:17.519 I've been coming to Awakening for a long time. 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:18.799 It's my home. 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:31.119 I've known that the fruits of the Spirit aren't actually coconuts or cherries, but that they are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control since I was about seven. 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:38.000 I think that a lot of people who grew up in church realize is that we have what most people call a boring testimony. 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:40.559 Or at least in my experience, that's how it felt. 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:46.079 And if you've ever felt like that, my hope is that after today, your view of your testimony has changed. 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:56.960 Something that I've noticed is that almost always when you ask someone about their testimony, they tell you about their life and the really hard things that they've been through and how God has met them in those moments. 00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:02.640 And if you're anything like me, you're always left awestrucked at the amazing things that God has done in their lives. 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:05.440 But you're also left feeling a little bit down. 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:14.559 I've known who God is my whole life, but it's hard to pinpoint a time when I remember him doing something crazy in my life. 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:19.440 When Molly first asked us to share our testimonies today, I was honestly really confused. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:25.119 I couldn't figure out why she had asked me, and I was really worried that I wasn't gonna have anything to talk about. 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:29.680 Growing up here, I did all the things that Christian kids were supposed to do. 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:35.599 I went to church, I prayed, and I read my Bible, so I figured that God and I would just be pretty solid. 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:41.519 I did everything that I was supposed to do, but to my surprise, that's not how it works. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:47.440 Not being automatically close to God led me to feel really distant from Him and question my beliefs. 00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:56.400 I was left feeling really hopeless, and I saw all these people around me growing in their relationships with God, and I wasn't getting anywhere. 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:05.200 As I was preparing for today, I was reading through different parts of the Bible and trying to find a verse that would have helped me when I was really feeling distant from God. 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:09.759 And a verse that stuck out to me was Ephesians 1, 11 through 12. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:26.160 It says, In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:30.160 A common saying in church is to have a childlike faith. 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:34.640 When you're a kid, it's really easy to have hope in things and believe in things. 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:41.039 You hear fun stories, sing fun games, sing silly songs, or play fun games. 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:43.839 And so it's really easy to believe in God. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:46.640 But as you get older, it gets more complicated. 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:52.720 Even though I've grown up in church, as I've gotten older, it's hard for me to stay strong in my beliefs. 00:20:53.039 --> 00:21:00.640 Verse 11 describes how we are chosen by God, that it wasn't an accident, but that he wants to use us for the good of his kingdom. 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:07.440 In verse 12, it says that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:10.480 This verse is like a call to action to Christians. 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:16.240 Because we were the first to put our hope in Christ, it's our responsibility to bring others to God. 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:21.519 We get to be a part of showing people who God is and the amazing things that He has done. 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:29.599 As I got older and you started to grow, I realized that like all relationships, my relationship with God took work and effort. 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:31.599 It wasn't going to just be good. 00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:35.680 I needed to actively pursue God in order for it to be good. 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:40.240 I talked with my leaders and they helped me find ways to help me feel close to God. 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:42.559 They helped me realize that I love to journal. 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:50.240 Whether that's taking notes during the sermon or prayer journaling helps me stay focused while I'm praying and then feel more connected to God. 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:57.680 Something that I've learned as I've gotten older is that even though I've grown up in church, I don't have a boring testimony. 00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.759 And in fact, saying that I have a boring testimony. 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:02.960 Kind of downgrades what God has done in my life. 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:06.640 Countless times, God has asked me to be brave and trust Him. 00:22:06.799 --> 00:22:10.000 And because of that, He has been able to use me for His good. 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:13.039 Youth has gone through waves of people. 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:17.920 For a long time, there haven't been very many consistent people, especially girls. 00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:22.559 For several years, I prayed and asked God to bring more girls into youth. 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:26.480 And because of my consistency in prayers, youth has grown. 00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:33.279 At first there were one to two girls every week, but now there are seven to eight every single week. 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:39.119 I've had to work for my relationship with God, and it hasn't always been easy. 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:45.920 But my testimony is important, and my relationship with God isn't easy, even though I've known him my whole life. 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:48.160 No one has a boring testimony. 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:54.400 Because we all get to be a part of the amazing things that God has done, and he gets to use all of us for his plan. 00:22:54.799 --> 00:23:02.880 I think one of the reasons that a lot of people who grew up in church feel like they have a boring testimony is because everything starts to become second nature. 00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:13.200 We go to church because we're supposed to, and we read the Bible because we are supposed to, but until you start to actively pursue God, your relationship with him isn't going to get anywhere. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:18.480 God chooses all of us, and he wants to use us in good ways to serve his kingdom. 00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:21.920 It's hard to do that when we aren't personally connected to him. 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:27.519 God's intricate plan has a special place for you and is going to impact your life. 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:32.160 Faithfully, we can follow and praise God and bring others into his light. 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:36.000 God is using your story exactly the way that it is now. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:39.680 No matter how boring your testimony seems, God is using you. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:40.559 Thank you. 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:12.000 We miss out on a part of his heart and his hands. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:21.359 The leaders on our youth team serve twice a week, sometimes more, because they so believe in this generation and what God is doing in them and through them. 00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:25.119 All of my leaders are wearing badges this morning, it says youth leader. 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:36.000 I encourage you to find them, encourage them in their ministry, and thank them and ask how you can be praying for them and be a part of elevating our youth ministry. 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:39.759 Because in the midst of them, Jesus is so present. 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:45.119 Just like the witness of these students matters, church, so does yours. 00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:47.920 Have we not all been rescued? 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:54.880 Do we not all have help and hope and peace and refuge in Jesus Christ where we would not have it otherwise? 00:24:55.119 --> 00:24:57.119 Has he not been good to you? 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:03.279 All people who have experienced being adopted into the family of God have a testimony to give. 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:07.440 A story of who they were before the transforming power of the gospel. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:10.240 Encountering Jesus changes you. 00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:13.839 His kindness that leads to repentance changes you. 00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:16.240 Abiding in him changes you. 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:19.680 His what work in your life is worth telling. 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:30.000 Your call to action this morning is to reflect on the wondrous works of God and participate in his activity on earth by bearing witness to it. 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:35.839 May that lead us into the deep and unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ. 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:39.359 And with that, we're gonna pray. 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:41.839 We're not clapping. 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:44.160 Pray with me. 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:55.440 Father, it is by your grace and power that we have breath in our lungs in which to laugh, in which to praise you, in which to breathe and move and have being. 00:25:56.079 --> 00:26:02.559 Jesus, it is by your goodness, your wisdom, your love that we are here at all. 00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:08.400 Father, we look to you, we seek you, we fix our eyes on you. 00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:11.599 God, and how good you have been to us. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:15.599 Jesus, how else are we to respond but in worship? 00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:22.400 The marvelous, marvelous things you have done, you have always done, you will continue to do. 00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:24.720 All God's people said. 00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:25.680 Amen. 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:29.759 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:34.400 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:36.640 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:42.720 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.com slash card.