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. 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:20.160 I'm Molly. 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:22.079 I get to serve as our youth director. 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:22.719 Okay. 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:28.079 Okay. 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.600 I'm gonna give you a quick map of where we're going this morning. 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:38.240 I'm gonna do some teaching, then I'm gonna get off the stage and let you be encouraged and convicted by three really anointed teenagers. 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:39.200 How does that sound? 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:40.640 Yeah, great. 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:45.200 On that note, I want to open our time with this question. 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:48.560 Why does youth ministry matter? 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:53.280 Why does awakening intentionally invest in teenagers? 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:58.240 With our assets, our time, our resources, our prayer? 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:00.799 What is it about teenagers? 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:03.039 Why do I have a job? 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:13.680 When you see your teenagers congregating in the quad, running around, or always sitting right here in church, what comes to your mind? 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:21.040 If I were to ask you to spend your Sunday morning teaching in our junior high space, what feelings might arise? 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:27.599 If I were to tell you how much money I spend on candy and pizza every week, what feelings might arise? 00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:32.000 Why does youth ministry matter? 00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:33.599 What would you say? 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:36.719 Think of the teenagers you might know. 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:49.200 I don't know what your opinions might be, I don't know what feelings come up, but I want to share with you what I see every day and suggest that there's something unlikely that Jesus might have for you this morning. 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:51.040 And I'm gonna spoil it right away. 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:58.959 Here's my point, this is my thesis, is that a healthy youth group is a model for discipleship in God's church. 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:05.680 They are leading the way in what it looks like to grow as a disciple, and that we need to take a page out of their book. 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:08.960 This last winter, our team ran two different uh winter camps. 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:11.360 You heard Bennett talk about it with great joy. 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:15.039 One for our junior high students, and we held another one for our high schoolers. 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:26.000 On Saturday night, which is affectionately known in youth circles as Cry Night, Pastor Diane Clemens preached the gospel, and then she sent us kind of like teary-eyed to our small groups. 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:30.719 I sat in a room full of junior high girls, like 11 to 14 years old. 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:34.639 We huddled on the floor, and I had my list of like processing questions. 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.199 You know how small groups work, you've been in one. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:46.560 But I felt the spirit of God kind of tugging at me and telling me to pause, and actually, like he had something else that we were gonna talk about, to let the girls lead the conversation. 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:47.919 So I did. 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:52.879 They started asking about prayer and they started asking about God's will. 00:02:53.520 --> 00:03:00.560 We talked for a while, and then one of my girls asked why God doesn't answer every prayer for healing with a yes. 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:02.800 Really good question. 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:11.039 I was formulating ways that like we could talk about it and answer her, but I first started with asking her question back. 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:14.080 I asked why she was asking that question. 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:15.919 What was behind it? 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:18.000 Where was it coming from? 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:24.960 And she shared a devastating story of loss where she prayed and believed for healing, and God said no. 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:28.000 And I watched as she sobbed. 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:35.039 That's one of those moments where you, as the leader in the room, you as the person who's supposed to have answers, have nothing to say. 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:36.800 What are you supposed to say in that moment? 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:40.560 There are no answers, there are no words, there's no fix. 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:47.520 I just kind of remained still, and I watched as the girl swarmed towards her. 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:52.479 I watched as they picked up her grief and put it on their shoulders. 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:57.919 I watched as they went and held her hand, put a blanket around her. 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:02.080 They were barely blinking because they were so present with her. 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:11.439 I watched as the Spirit of God ministered to that girl in her grief as she sobbed with the comfort of his presence. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:17.279 And we did what can only be done in moments like that, which is to mourn with those who mourn and pray. 00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:18.959 And so we prayed. 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:20.720 We were just with her. 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:26.800 After our small group time was done, we left our cabin quietly because we thought the boys were still in their small groups. 00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:30.720 We left our cabin, we go out to the big area, and we're headed to the main room. 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:34.319 And in the windows, I see flashing lights. 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:40.879 And then I see Sam and Corbin with headlamps on, jumping. 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:44.800 And then I see they're surrounded by 11-year-old boys also jumping. 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:48.639 And we hear music that's so loud it's like the ground is vibrating. 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:53.839 And then I watch as my girls swarm towards them because there was a rave happening in the main room and they were missing out. 00:04:54.480 --> 00:05:00.160 What I see in our teenagers is equally authentic expressions of joy and grief. 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:02.079 They can hold both. 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:05.920 And they can articulate the presence of Jesus in both. 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:07.839 Can you and I? 00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:15.360 Last month, one of our high school girls was a part of a group of students who put on an event called Revival in the Bay. 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:17.759 And this is what they said about themselves. 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:24.000 Revival in the Bay is a high school student-led outreach event to reach other students with the truth and love the gospel. 00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:32.720 What started with 14 students turned to 40 high schoolers with a God-given dream to reach the lost and strengthen those in their faith. 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:37.439 This event was made in order to bring peace in this chaotic generation. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:45.519 This event was in April, and 2,000 teenagers attended, and half of them surrendered their life to Jesus. 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:54.000 And this started because a 17-year-old boy had a vision from God, and he gathered other teenagers, his peers, to make it happen. 00:05:54.399 --> 00:06:05.199 From the girls in my small group to the students that led revival in the Bay, God has a unique heart and call for teenagers that is leading the way for the church. 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:07.600 What might we learn from them? 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:11.759 Our youth group is an eclectic, chaotic, diverse group. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:19.759 Diverse in thought, interest, background, socioeconomic status, theological convictions and abilities, family history, everything. 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:21.199 They're schmorgisborn. 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:33.279 And yet every week they gather, they sit under God's word, they share a meal, they worship, they play games together, they encourage each other, they love each other. 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:35.759 They are the church. 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:41.120 What if youth group is a case study in living as a disciple of Jesus? 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:48.240 What if a healthy youth group is a case study in what it looks like to be a member of the body of Christ? 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:51.759 At Awakening, we have what is called the discipleship pathway. 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:56.959 If you've done Awakening 201 or have been trapped in a conversation with Dave, this will be familiar to you. 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:05.040 Come to know Jesus, grow as a disciple of Jesus, serve in the name of Jesus, and share the love of Jesus. 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:07.759 This is our leadership's vision for our church. 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:11.680 It is how awakening structures ministry with these pillars in mind. 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:18.720 How we can come to know Jesus, grow as a disciple of him, serve in his name, and share his love. 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:21.040 And our youth ministry is no different. 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:23.519 We're in the business of making disciples. 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:30.879 Our tagline is that we exist so that teenagers might love Jesus for a lifetime and not just a time in their life. 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:35.600 Everything we do is to the glorification of Jesus and the sanctification of his saints. 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:43.920 Teenagers are an essential part of the body of Christ, and we have much to learn from them when it comes to living a gospel-centered life. 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:45.199 So this is what we're gonna do. 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:53.600 We're gonna look to Paul's words in Romans 12 for what it means to grow as a disciple of Jesus and how our teenagers are actually leading the way for us. 00:07:53.839 --> 00:07:56.959 There's a lot of Romans, and I am on the clock, so are you with me? 00:07:57.199 --> 00:07:58.160 This means yes. 00:07:58.720 --> 00:07:59.360 Yeah. 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:02.000 All right, picking up in Romans 12. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:04.000 These are the words of Paul. 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:14.879 He says, Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:17.920 This is your true and proper worship. 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:23.120 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:28.560 Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:38.240 Paul says that in view of God's mercy, in response, because of his mercy, we offer ourselves as living sacrifices. 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:40.080 Our lives are not our own. 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:46.960 We don't cling to our comforts, our plans, our titles, our anxieties, our understanding. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:52.080 Our true and proper worship is a response to the mercy of God. 00:08:52.559 --> 00:09:00.000 It is driving a stake in the ground and saying, I will not bow or yield or seek to be like anyone except for the Holy One. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:08.559 True and proper worship is a living sacrifice exactly where you are, not dressed up, not dressed down, exactly as you are. 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:22.320 Our teenagers wrestle so intimately with the hardest things of life, with uncertainty, with doubt, death, sickness, abuse, racism, betrayal, all of the things. 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:25.360 The world and the enemy do not spare them. 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:28.799 But they are not conformed by these things. 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:32.720 Instead, they respond in the face of them. 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:41.759 They ask questions, they wrestle, they worship, they move from grief to joy, and they mean both of them. 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:43.279 How? 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:56.960 They have faith, knowledge of the holy, confidence of the things unseen, and they are continually empowered and transformed by him, not their circumstances. 00:09:57.840 --> 00:10:03.039 Growing as a disciple of Jesus means you sit at his feet and you learn because he's your teacher. 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:04.799 You learn who he is. 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:08.000 What he said, what he didn't say. 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:17.840 It is a slow and lifelong transformation of your mind that you might get to look like him and live as his hands and feet. 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:21.679 Our teenagers lead us in such humility. 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:24.480 They don't presume that they already know. 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:27.279 They don't presume they already have the answers. 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:35.039 Both the advantage and the disadvantage to their stage of life is exactly how willing they are to be led and taught. 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:38.720 And Jesus is the safest place for such vulnerability. 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:44.639 Anything entrusted to his hand is cared for, any need provided for. 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:48.399 But do you and I engage with Jesus as if this is true? 00:10:49.360 --> 00:10:58.000 I see my students so boldly trusting him with their college decisions, with their friends, with their sexuality, with their anxiety, with their lives. 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:01.679 And it is not a blind trust, it is a rugged one. 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:08.240 Built on the conviction that Jesus is who he says he is, that he is good, that he is king, and we are not. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:13.279 Discipleship formation happens right there in a surrendered life. 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:16.480 Are you and I so surrendered? 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:19.840 Or are we clinging to that which is not ours? 00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:22.399 Paul continues. 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:35.759 But rather think of yourselves with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:48.399 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:52.159 We have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us. 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:55.919 If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith. 00:11:56.159 --> 00:11:57.600 If it is serving, then serve. 00:11:57.679 --> 00:11:59.519 If it is teaching, then teach. 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:02.240 If it is to encourage, then give encouragement. 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:04.559 If it is giving, then give generously. 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:07.039 If it is to lead, do it diligently. 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:10.240 If it is to show mercy, then do it cheerfully. 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:13.440 Following Jesus means that you are not an island. 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:16.879 You are an indispensable member of a body. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:24.159 We tell our students all the time that they are active contributors and cultivators of their environment, that they have direct impact. 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:26.320 They are essential. 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:29.279 It would not be the same without them. 00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:31.440 And it remains so with you. 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:34.000 God's church needs you. 00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:43.200 Not because you are particularly remarkable in your own strength, but because God has instilled good gifts and graces in you that are unique. 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:49.360 And he has created and transformed you in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared in advance for you to do. 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:51.679 He's chosen you. 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:56.960 You are a living sacrifice. 00:12:57.120 --> 00:12:58.240 Your life is not your own. 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:01.519 Does your life look like this is true? 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:05.840 It is God who creates new life in the lives of our students. 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:07.440 He does the impossible. 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:29.440 Week in and week out, they labor, they surf, they do not grow weary and well-doing, and we get to bear witness to life change, both a miraculous prison from God and the direct impact of discipleship. 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:54.480 Our leaders give of their time, they pour out, they love students at their most unlovable, they hold confessions, challenge students, correct them, remember schedules, go to sports games, sit at front rows of musicals, brainstorm ASB campaign slogans, know their favorite candy, know the teachers they hate and why they hate them. 00:13:55.120 --> 00:14:03.039 The healthy body of Christ, the older generation, is pouring into the younger generations as they are being raised up in wisdom and love. 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:11.679 They model that the church loves them, and by and part God loves them, that God pursues them, that there's a place in God's family for them. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:15.679 Many of our leaders serve because they remember their own youth leaders. 00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:24.399 Our students are learning that being a member of God's church means that you pour out two, that you receive and you give. 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:32.000 That what you receive you don't hold on to tightly as if it were yours, but you release it to Jesus and let him do what he does, which is multiply it. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:34.399 What has God given you? 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:36.879 How might you give it back? 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:40.879 Are you invested in the church body? 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:43.600 Are you engaging fully? 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:48.960 I'm not asking what you can give as if there's something that we're trying to get from you. 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:54.559 I'm asking because this is the call for disciples of Jesus, that Paul's words are true. 00:14:54.799 --> 00:15:00.000 In Christ we, through though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:01.600 We belong to each other. 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:03.919 Does awakening look like it? 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:06.320 Do we act like it? 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:10.639 If this is your church home, do you act like it? 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:18.960 Paul ends this chapter by describing how we might engage with and belong to each other, by emulating the love of Jesus Christ. 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:24.960 Paul says love must be sincere, hates what is evil, and clings to what is good. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:30.639 Be devoted to one another in love, honor one another above yourselves. 00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:35.039 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord. 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:40.480 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:43.279 Share with the Lord's people who are in need. 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:48.480 Practice hospitality, bless those who persecute you, and do not curse. 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:53.679 Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn, live in harmony with one another. 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:58.720 Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:00.799 Do not be conceited. 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:03.120 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:06.000 Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:11.360 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:18.799 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, It is mine to revenge, I will repay, says the Lord. 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:21.919 On the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:24.639 If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:27.600 In doing this, you'll heap burning coals on his head. 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:31.440 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:34.480 This is the word of God, and it preaches itself. 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:37.360 This is what awakening is to look like. 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:41.440 Full of people who share the love of Jesus in action and in being. 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:45.919 And I think of my junior high girls who are the physical presence of Jesus' comfort. 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:50.879 I think of my students who pray for patience and help in loving their enemies. 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:58.879 I think of my youth leaders that have jobs and families and make time for rounds of golf and coffee and breakfast at bills with students. 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:04.799 I think of God using teenagers to advance the reaching message of the gospel to thousands of students. 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:12.559 I think of how our students invite their friends to youth groups that they might belong, just like how Jesus did for so many. 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:16.400 A healthy youth group and a healthy church is a family. 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:22.559 We don't all have to get along perfectly, we do not all have to agree, but we learn to be at peace with each other. 00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:30.400 Each of these commands that Paul gives these people, I have a story of a teenager doing it so naturally, it's like a reflex. 00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:33.119 My last story. 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:36.480 One of our senior girls started attending Awakening this year. 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:41.359 She was brought by a friend, and I've watched her exponential spiritual growth. 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:44.319 That girl loves Jesus with like her whole soul. 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:51.200 And she's such a mama bird that she brought in one of her freshmen who is now part of our youth group and started walking with Jesus this year. 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:55.039 And just a couple weeks ago, I got this text message from this freshman. 00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:56.640 She goes, Molly, what did I do today? 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:57.519 And I say, What? 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:01.039 She said, I was doing my verse of the day this morning before school, right? 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:07.680 And it was low-key like hitting and like exactly what I needed, and it also very much applied to a situation that one of my younger friends is in. 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:17.440 The verse that she was talking about was Ephesians 4.29, where it's talking about like, don't let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths. 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:20.960 And this is what she told me, this is what she sent to her friend. 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:22.799 This is her encouraging her friend. 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:26.960 She says, This is not me saying that you have to watch your mouth because I know you don't talk crap. 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:34.400 It's me saying that if their words tear you down, then their words aren't from Christ and they don't need to have any power over you. 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:36.079 She's 15. 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:39.359 She's telling that to her unbelieving friend. 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:42.319 And that is the love of Jesus Christ coming out of her mouth. 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:49.599 Afterwards, she was like telling me about it, and she said it was like scary, so I almost talked myself out of it. 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:55.839 But then when I was doing the prayer part, I remembered one about being bold and sharing the words of Christ. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:58.319 So I was like, oh, now I have to do it. 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:02.400 Teenagers are a model for discipleship. 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:04.720 We have so much to learn from them. 00:19:05.359 --> 00:19:08.640 Do you walk in such bold obedience to the voice of God? 00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:11.519 Do you confess the way our students do? 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:16.319 Can you hold another's confession with grace and treat them with no partiality? 00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:20.480 Do you ask hard questions and keep asking them the way that our students do? 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:23.599 Can you hold grief and joy in the same hour? 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:29.599 Do you experience such joy in gathering that they do, that their faces light up when they see each other? 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:33.279 Are you intentionally growing as a disciple of Jesus? 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:35.839 We never move on from the gospel. 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:37.599 We never finish this pathway. 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:40.000 It is cyclical, it is seasonal. 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:43.359 You will discover and come to know Jesus in more depths. 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:46.319 You'll experience the gospel in new ways. 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:48.880 You will stray and he will chase you down. 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:51.119 He will continue to call you home. 00:19:51.440 --> 00:20:00.799 He will test and challenge and stretch you, and he will ask you to lay down your life, and you will learn all over again that it is he who brings new life out of death. 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:10.799 As I bring up our teenagers, as they preach to us in the stillness of your own heart, ask God what he might have for you this morning. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:13.599 These students are like prayed up and they're ready to preach. 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:19.039 And so, as their church family, spur them on and be spurred on by them. 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:24.480 God has something for awakening this morning, and it's going to come from the mouths and testimonies of teenagers. 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:29.279 And with that, I'm going to invite up our first student, Hannah. 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:41.920 Morning, everyone. 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:46.160 My name is Hannah Trig, and I'm in eighth grade. 00:20:46.319 --> 00:20:49.359 I grew up in the church, and it's always been a part of my life. 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:53.759 But these last few years, my relationship with God has become more meaningful to me. 00:20:53.920 --> 00:21:00.160 I was baptized three years ago because I'd started to notice a pattern in my life, and I couldn't seem to be able to shake it. 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:10.000 Whenever I felt anxious or sad or broken, I would retreat into myself, feeling completely isolated from those around me, even when surrounded by people I loved. 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:15.519 In my anguish, I would cry out to the Lord to relieve me of the negative thoughts and emotions that clung to me. 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:16.799 And he would answer. 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:18.640 It was like he had flipped a switch. 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:23.440 I felt renewed and blessed and filled with gratitude and praise for the one true God. 00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:30.880 I would go about feeling euphoric, filled with life and life, life and light, praising the Lord with all of my heart. 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:33.680 But inevitably, the next struggle would arise. 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:40.720 Negative thoughts would rear their ugly heads, the great clouds would return, and slowly the wonderful feeling would fade. 00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:50.640 Despite all the incredible things he'd done for me, I would fall right back into that same cycle, wallowing in misery and loneliness until I reached out for God once again. 00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:54.319 Upon recognizing this, I knew something had to change. 00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:57.599 I wanted my relationship with God to be something more. 00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.599 I wanted to feel his presence in my life all. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:00.799 The time. 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:06.799 I decided to be baptized, and in doing so, I became closer with God and stronger in my faith. 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:09.920 But it didn't suddenly solve all my problems. 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:12.799 I still had doubts and worries and rough days. 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:17.359 Not knowing where else to look, I turned to the Bible, hoping to find the answer there. 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:26.319 As it turns out, the Bible is full of people who doubted God, but as you can imagine, most of them didn't solve their problems in the very best way. 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:33.839 Sometimes we can forget that the Bible is written about real people, who live with real emotions and motives and struggles, just like us. 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:43.039 It's just as much of a testimony to God's love and creation as it is to the human condition and the cycle of sin and forgiveness that we fall into. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:48.240 One of the best examples of this can be found in the disciple Peter's relationship with Jesus. 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:51.119 We first meet Peter in the Gospel of Matthew. 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:57.039 Jesus says to him and his brother Andrew, Come follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people. 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:03.440 We've probably all heard this story, or one like it in the Bible, but consider it from Peter's perspective. 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:08.400 Peter was a fisherman by trade, and it's likely that his family had always been fishermen. 00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:11.680 He'd probably never even planned on being anything else. 00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:16.559 Yet when Jesus called to him, he answered immediately and with eagerness. 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:18.960 That's often how it begins, isn't it? 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:25.200 We set out to follow Jesus with a list of profound resolutions and promises we're excited to put into practice. 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:31.920 We'll say things like, From now on, I'm going to love everyone fully and unconditionally just as he commanded us. 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:36.160 I'm going to read five chapters of the Bible every day. 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:41.039 I'm going to pray for those who wrong me in response to every single person with compassion. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:43.759 That's not to say that you shouldn't do any of these things. 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:47.519 These are things Jesus tells us to strive for, so that we are more like him. 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:54.160 And if you're anything at all like me, you're going to diligently do all of this for about a week or two. 00:23:54.400 --> 00:24:00.799 And then the five chapters a day shift to one or two, and then one or two a week. 00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:10.000 And then that one classmate or teammate or sibling or coworker really gets on your nerves and you don't exactly respond with love and compassion. 00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:14.000 Whatever the reason is, you eventually revert back to your old ways. 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:21.599 In Peter's story, we see this demonstrated several times, the most prominent being in Matthew, verses 29 through 31. 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:25.359 The disciples are in a boat that is being buffeted by the wind and waves. 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:31.359 The Bible also tells us that they were a considerable distance from the land, and that they were without Jesus. 00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:37.200 Then Matthew says, Jesus appeared to the disciples, walking across the water, and said, Do not be afraid. 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:42.960 Jesus was there to save them, but in the midst of their fear and panic, they mistook him for a ghost. 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:48.720 Peter replied to Jesus, saying, Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water. 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:50.400 Come, Jesus said. 00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:56.799 And then the Bible says, But when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me. 00:24:57.039 --> 00:24:59.119 This happens when we need God the most. 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:03.119 We start forward, terrified but desperately wanting to be close to him. 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:07.920 We are distracted by the wind and the waves and the turmoil around us, and we are shaken. 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:12.319 We start to sink once more, and so we cry out to him, just as Peter did. 00:25:12.480 --> 00:25:15.200 And just as he did then, Jesus responds. 00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:19.599 Verse 31 says that immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:23.519 You of little faith, he said, why do you doubt? 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:25.599 And we are saved once more. 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:28.000 You would think that this would have been the end of it. 00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:38.400 Peter watched Jesus walk on water, and immediately following this interaction, all of the disciples rejoice and worship Jesus, proudly proclaiming him to be the Son of God. 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:42.880 But just a few chapters later, Peter has already forgotten this miracle. 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:46.079 The next segment of Peter's journey starts bleakly. 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:51.599 Jesus has been publicly arrested and tried, and it seems as though hope has vanished from the world. 00:25:51.839 --> 00:25:59.440 Matthew details how Peter, fearful and alone once more, denies any affiliation with Jesus, not just once, but three times. 00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:09.279 In chapter 26, verse 70 says that he denied it before them all, that Peter looked at a whole crowd of people questioning him and said, I don't know what you're talking about. 00:26:09.519 --> 00:26:13.599 Matthew also writes that then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken. 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:17.039 Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times. 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:20.000 And then he went outside and wept bitterly. 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:29.200 This is Peter's lowest point, and I'm sure many of us have been there too, feeling completely at rock bottom, convinced that our current state is beyond grace or forgiveness. 00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:37.599 But in John chapter 21, verses 15 through 17, shortly after the resurrection, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him. 00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:40.160 Each time, Peter answers that he does. 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:44.400 Upon being asked the third time, he finally says, Lord, you know all things. 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:45.920 You know that I love you. 00:26:46.160 --> 00:26:52.079 Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him, mirroring the earlier three times that Peter had denied him. 00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:56.640 And asking this, Jesus is giving Peter an opportunity to redeem himself. 00:26:56.880 --> 00:27:00.079 Despite everything that he'd done, Jesus forgave him. 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:02.559 Peter still had doubts. 00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:10.160 Peter, who left everything to follow Jesus, who witnessed firsthand the miracles that Jesus was capable of, still had doubts. 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:17.839 But when Jesus spoke to him, when he died and rose again and forgave him, Peter didn't let himself fall back into the old loop. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:22.240 He saw that Jesus is the Son of God, and he saw the only way to the Father was through him. 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:27.440 Peter saw that the road would not be easy, and yet he went on to become one of the founders of the church. 00:27:27.599 --> 00:27:33.920 He ended up writing two books of the Bible, and in the end endured many hardships because he chose to believe in Jesus. 00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:38.720 Choosing to follow Jesus and accepting the Lord into your heart will strengthen your bond with him. 00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:45.920 It doesn't promise that all your problems will disappear, but it does make them easier to bear, because you never have to carry the burden alone. 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:51.359 This is the comfort that I find in the Lord, especially in moments that I feel isolated and beyond hope. 00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:54.160 It has guided me as I continue to lean more into him. 00:27:54.400 --> 00:28:06.559 And my wish for you today is that it will guide you, that wherever you're at, you remember that the creator of the universe, the one true God, is right there beside you, and that he loves you deeply and unconditionally. 00:28:06.799 --> 00:28:07.759 Thank you. 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:12.640 Good job. 00:28:16.799 --> 00:28:19.839 I'm gonna make you keep clapping as we invite up Ezra. 00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:28.160 Hey guys, oh man, there's a lot of you. 00:28:28.319 --> 00:28:33.200 I I looked, I looked back at the start of the service and there was like no one, but then just everyone came in. 00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:34.240 Dang it, okay. 00:28:35.599 --> 00:28:38.720 I'm Ezra, I'm a freshman at the high school group here. 00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:47.680 Um now, Molly, our youth leader, asked me to come up here and give in what is my eyes is basically a school presentation. 00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:49.839 And I'm gonna be real with y'all. 00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:52.400 School presentation's not my forte. 00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:57.599 I think I like got a C on the last one, so so bear with bear with me here, alright. 00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:01.920 The passage I'd like to read from is Matthew 7, 7. 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:05.440 Jesus here is wrapping up his longest teaching, the Sermon on the Mount. 00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:09.119 He's in the middle of teaching us what the good life is or how we should live. 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:12.480 So if you have a Bibles, turn to Matthew 7, 7. 00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:14.960 Ask and it will be given to you. 00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:17.119 Seek and you will find. 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:20.000 Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:22.400 For everyone who asks receives. 00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:28.319 The one who seeks, finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:32.240 Which one of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone. 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:35.440 Or if he asks for a fish, give him a snake. 00:29:35.680 --> 00:29:43.759 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him? 00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:55.200 Okay, so when I was younger, I'm not gonna say when I was a kid, I said it when I was a kid once, offhand, to my one of my friends, and like literally, multiple people turn around and they basically yell at me, you're still a kid, you're still a kid. 00:29:55.359 --> 00:29:57.599 And that that has traumatized me ever since. 00:29:57.759 --> 00:30:02.319 Um I have sworn to never say that until I'm like 35, just to be safe. 00:30:02.559 --> 00:30:09.440 Uh anyways, when I when I was younger, um, maybe like in elementary school, I didn't like to ask for stuff. 00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:15.440 So, like, if I wanted something, I'd kind of try to get it myself or just go without it. 00:30:15.680 --> 00:30:17.359 Now, I did ask for things. 00:30:17.599 --> 00:30:24.000 I asked for Toys at Target, um, Toys at Walmart, toys at Costco. 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:30.000 Um that toy toys seemed to be a common theme in much of my my requests back then. 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:37.680 But when it came to like asking for a snack or asking for a help on a school project, I tended to shy away. 00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:43.680 Um my natural dislike of asking or asking for the wrong things carried over into my praying. 00:30:43.839 --> 00:30:47.279 You know, I grew up in a strong church community, which I'm immensely thankful for. 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:50.160 So prayer was always a regular part of my life. 00:30:50.400 --> 00:30:57.839 But when I prayed, either alone or with my family or somewhere else, I didn't really bring the things that were truly bothering me to God. 00:30:58.079 --> 00:31:01.279 Instead, I just tried to copy what everyone else was doing. 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:03.759 Um, I don't always think this was a bad thing. 00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:09.039 The prayers are offered were still real and meaningful, but I was holding holding something back. 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:11.279 You know, I still struggle with this even now. 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:24.000 Um I think I pray more than I did then, and I'd like to say that my prayers are more heartfelt, but still, in many ways, um I still do not look to God for the things going on in my life. 00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:28.960 Like when something bad happens, my r my first response is just see what I can do. 00:31:29.119 --> 00:31:30.960 And you know, that works some of the time. 00:31:31.119 --> 00:31:36.720 Um but for a lot of things, especially the bigger things, there's often just nothing I can do. 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:43.519 And even then, even when the only thing for me to do is to pray to God, still, too often I don't. 00:31:43.759 --> 00:31:50.079 Still, too often I just try to forget about it or convince myself that it doesn't matter. 00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:58.799 You know, something I didn't really understand, or at least not in the deep way back then and still haven't fully internalized now, is the fact that God wants to help us. 00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:01.519 You know, he's not reluctant or annoyed when he we ask. 00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:05.119 You know, he doesn't bless us because we pray hard enough, he blesses us because he's good. 00:32:05.200 --> 00:32:14.480 You know, like it says in verse 11, if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him? 00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:18.480 You know, the emphasis is not on us to get God to give us good gifts, it's on God. 00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:19.759 You know, he's good, right? 00:32:19.920 --> 00:32:21.920 Um God is ready and willing to help us. 00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:25.279 But I think where the rubber meets the road is in the asking. 00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:33.200 Okay, so in contrast to myself, my sister Sophia, um she she loved to ask for things, right? 00:32:33.359 --> 00:32:39.279 Um whether it was to fly and visit our grandparents or like just asking for a snack. 00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:41.680 She she always was asking for stuff. 00:32:41.920 --> 00:32:53.359 Um and even though she was told no a lot of the time, probably most of the time, I was I was constantly surprised by just how much my parents would say yes to. 00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:56.000 Um and sometimes I even I'd even get annoyed. 00:32:56.160 --> 00:33:00.160 Even if I was the one who benefited from it, I'd be like, why why should we get to eat out? 00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:01.680 Okay, nothing special has happened. 00:33:01.920 --> 00:33:02.799 It's no one's birthday. 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:04.240 This is not in the budget, people. 00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:08.559 But because Sophia asked, uh, we went out. 00:33:08.799 --> 00:33:11.920 Um, I kind of think this is how God wants us to behave. 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:13.359 No, but seriously, Sophia's great. 00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:18.640 If it wasn't for her, I probably would have not eaten out ever before now. 00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:23.759 Um anyways, God wants us to always rely on him in prayer. 00:33:23.920 --> 00:33:26.400 In Romans, it says pray continually, right? 00:33:26.559 --> 00:33:30.400 He wants us to take all our problems to him, he wants us to lean on him, okay? 00:33:30.559 --> 00:33:39.920 Um, and I think something that bothers a lot of people, and still kind of bothers me, is the fact that so many of prayers seem to go unanswered, right? 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:42.079 You know, Molly kind of touched on this. 00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:46.640 Um, but I think there's, and this is not an easy question to answer, right? 00:33:46.799 --> 00:33:48.480 I I don't have an answer for this. 00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:55.839 But I think there's a lot of weight to the fact that God doesn't always just look to the solve the problems in our lives that we think are the biggest, right? 00:33:56.079 --> 00:34:09.199 Um, you know, because to someone who can look on the inside, I think it'd be pretty apparent that getting that grade or getting into a good college or making a lot of money or whatever isn't really gonna solve anything. 00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:14.400 It's just gonna feed the cycle of hunger for things that don't bring you closer to God. 00:34:14.559 --> 00:34:18.079 You know, things that if you give them your heart will lead you straight away from him. 00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:22.159 Like if a son asks for a snake, will the father give it to him? 00:34:22.559 --> 00:34:25.360 You know, this is something I've struggled with a lot, you know. 00:34:25.920 --> 00:34:34.159 Um, being blinded by what I think I need or what I think will make me happy, um, and losing sight of God in that. 00:34:34.639 --> 00:34:39.840 Um, of course, all this not to say I'm not trying to make an excuse for God for prayers not being answered. 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.159 I think God answers many prayers, more more than he gets credit for, right? 00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:46.559 He's done some amazing things throughout the centuries. 00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:48.239 He's resurrected Jesus. 00:34:48.400 --> 00:34:55.760 And um something, maybe not quite on that level, but but pr pretty pretty close happened to me about six years ago. 00:34:55.920 --> 00:34:59.199 Okay, so because probably probably because Sophia asked to go out. 00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:00.719 We were eating out at Chipotle, right? 00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:03.039 Um my family loves Jipole. 00:35:03.199 --> 00:35:03.920 We go there all the time. 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:06.400 We will probably go there after this service, in fact. 00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:11.519 Um and now I get it, people will say, oh, Chipotle, it's not real Mexican food. 00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:13.119 It's just American slop, right? 00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:16.400 And to those people I say, uh, what do I say? 00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:17.599 Ah, mmm. 00:35:17.840 --> 00:35:19.840 No, yeah, no, yeah, no, they they have a point there. 00:35:19.920 --> 00:35:20.800 Uh, but it's cheap. 00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:22.639 The budget, the budget, alright. 00:35:22.960 --> 00:35:25.840 Um, anyways, well, we were walking back to the car, right? 00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:29.599 Um, after we'd already eaten, I was like, wait, guys, and I ran back inside. 00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:33.679 Now, I was like nine at this point, and I didn't really do things like this. 00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:36.400 It was probably Sophia who would have done something like this, okay? 00:35:36.719 --> 00:35:39.199 Um, but okay, I ran back in there. 00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:42.320 I went up to the counter and I was like, can I have a soda? 00:35:42.559 --> 00:35:49.920 And the girl working there, who must have been only like 18 and was probably just as confused as my parents, was like, You mean a water? 00:35:50.159 --> 00:35:51.440 I was like, nah, no, no, no. 00:35:52.320 --> 00:35:53.199 I want a soda. 00:35:53.360 --> 00:35:55.360 She's like, you know those cost money, right? 00:35:55.519 --> 00:36:00.239 Um now, preluding to this, for years I have wanted a soda at Chipotle. 00:36:00.559 --> 00:36:02.079 Um, years, alright. 00:36:02.320 --> 00:36:06.719 I would see my parents get them on occasion and always be like, Can I have a soda? 00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:10.480 And they'd be like, Yes, Ezra, of course we love you, of course you can have a soda. 00:36:10.639 --> 00:36:10.960 No. 00:36:11.119 --> 00:36:12.559 No, they never got me a soda. 00:36:12.719 --> 00:36:14.320 But sometimes they led me on, okay? 00:36:14.400 --> 00:36:16.639 They were like, oh yeah, sure, Ezra, come over here. 00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:18.400 And they'd give me a sip, all right? 00:36:18.480 --> 00:36:20.880 And they'll be like, yes, you don't need to thank us, Ezra. 00:36:21.039 --> 00:36:22.000 You're welcome. 00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:32.960 Um But they would they would never actually get me a soda, and I can't confirm this, alright, but I'm pretty sure I was praying to God on a daily basis for a triple eye soda. 00:36:33.199 --> 00:36:35.039 Um and you know what? 00:36:35.280 --> 00:36:35.760 Guess what? 00:36:35.920 --> 00:36:37.119 Those prayers got answered. 00:36:37.280 --> 00:36:38.400 She actually gave me the soda. 00:36:38.480 --> 00:36:41.360 I walked out of there with my with my root beer. 00:36:41.440 --> 00:36:43.280 It was the only one that didn't have caffeine. 00:36:43.440 --> 00:36:48.960 Um it was kind of flat, but it was the best soda I have ever had in my life. 00:36:49.280 --> 00:36:51.199 Sophia was so jealous. 00:36:51.360 --> 00:36:55.599 Um I don't think I've had a Chipotle soda since then, actually. 00:36:55.840 --> 00:37:00.079 Um But yeah, that was really that was probably the peak moment of my life. 00:37:00.239 --> 00:37:09.760 You know, I think I think we can all be surprised by what God um by what requests God or cashiers at Chipotle will give us if we just ask. 00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:11.519 All right, thanks guys. 00:37:20.239 --> 00:37:23.679 Okay, well, I will see everyone at Chipotle later. 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:25.519 The poor cashier. 00:37:25.840 --> 00:37:31.360 Um, last but certainly not least, I'm gonna invite up one of our graduating seniors, Evan. 00:37:38.719 --> 00:37:40.159 Uh hello, I'm Evan. 00:37:40.239 --> 00:37:44.880 I'm a graduating senior this year, and I have loved being a part of this youth group for the past few years. 00:37:45.039 --> 00:37:49.360 It has greatly grown my spiritual relationship with Jesus. 00:37:49.679 --> 00:37:57.440 So the last 14 years, two months, nine days, twelve hours and fifteen minutes have been the worst times of my life. 00:37:57.760 --> 00:38:04.239 The last 14 years, two months, nine days, twelve hours and fifteen minutes, I've been an older brother. 00:38:05.199 --> 00:38:06.400 I'm just kidding. 00:38:06.559 --> 00:38:13.920 But one time when we were younger, we were chasing around each other around the house, wrestling, I was probably winning, and just playing. 00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:18.239 At our old house, I had the luxury of having a bathroom that was right off of my room. 00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:26.880 So I was running from him, and I ran to the bathroom, and I thought that I was so much faster that I could lock myself in the bathroom to get away from him. 00:38:27.119 --> 00:38:29.840 No idea why I did that, but it worked. 00:38:30.079 --> 00:38:35.840 So I thought I was so much faster that I could close the door and get away from him or something. 00:38:36.320 --> 00:38:37.840 That didn't happen. 00:38:38.159 --> 00:38:43.599 He was a little bit faster than I had anticipated, and I closed the door on his fingers. 00:38:45.519 --> 00:38:52.400 Um as so as the door is flow is closing, his fingers get crushed between the door and the frame. 00:38:52.719 --> 00:38:55.039 Just like his fingers, I was crushed. 00:38:55.360 --> 00:38:58.719 What was just playing with each other turned really bad really fast. 00:38:58.880 --> 00:38:59.840 I got quiet. 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:03.280 I was defeated, annoyed, and impatient. 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:08.400 He ended up getting stitches and was fine, and I went to my baseball game later that day. 00:39:08.559 --> 00:39:14.639 But the entire time I was like, dang, I should have just been a little bit more patient, should have just waited. 00:39:16.639 --> 00:39:20.559 Being an older brother for this long has taught me a lot of things about life, though. 00:39:20.800 --> 00:39:27.199 Responsibility, want to knock some sense into him, wanted to be serious, and especially patience. 00:39:27.440 --> 00:39:31.039 For me, being patient hasn't always been the easiest thing in the world. 00:39:31.519 --> 00:39:35.599 Every time I think that I did nothing wrong, it's always this or that person's fault. 00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:36.400 It's just not. 00:39:36.559 --> 00:39:37.840 I'm just wrong. 00:39:38.400 --> 00:39:41.519 What's really awesome about God is his patience for us. 00:39:41.679 --> 00:39:47.519 No matter what we do, no matter what we what happens in our lives, God is always waiting for us. 00:39:47.760 --> 00:39:51.119 So we know that God is patient along with many other things. 00:39:51.440 --> 00:39:54.239 But what happens when we have to be patient with him? 00:39:56.320 --> 00:39:59.679 So the verse that I chose was Ephesians 1 11. 00:40:00.480 --> 00:40:09.119 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. 00:40:09.760 --> 00:40:12.079 So God really just amazes me all the time. 00:40:12.239 --> 00:40:16.480 There's eight billion people on the planet, and he has a perfect plan for every single one of them. 00:40:17.679 --> 00:40:21.760 All we need to do is have some patience with God and trust his plan for us. 00:40:21.920 --> 00:40:23.119 Sounds simple, right? 00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:24.239 No. 00:40:24.960 --> 00:40:28.400 As humans, we love to control as much as we can. 00:40:28.639 --> 00:40:31.360 For years, UCLA was my dream school. 00:40:31.679 --> 00:40:37.280 Three of my grandparents went there, my cousin goes there right now, and I just really wanted to go there. 00:40:37.920 --> 00:40:43.840 I worked hard throughout high school, taking many AP classes, getting almost all A's, and playing sports. 00:40:44.079 --> 00:40:48.800 When it came time to apply to colleges, I had to write lots of essays, which was super fun. 00:40:49.440 --> 00:40:54.719 All of this hard work that I put in was me trying to work God's plan in my favor. 00:40:55.280 --> 00:41:01.360 At the end of the day, getting those two B's versus those two A's didn't make or break my chances of getting to UCL today. 00:41:01.760 --> 00:41:02.960 None of that mattered. 00:41:03.119 --> 00:41:05.679 The only thing that mattered was God's plan. 00:41:06.639 --> 00:41:10.079 After submitting my applications in November, it was right to waiting. 00:41:10.320 --> 00:41:12.719 Waiting meant having patience, which was hard. 00:41:12.880 --> 00:41:18.719 There was lots of praying, lots of waiting, lots of telling myself that God's perfect plan was all worth it. 00:41:18.960 --> 00:41:23.599 I would just pray to put it to the side, to let God take care of it, which was, again, hard. 00:41:23.840 --> 00:41:27.599 To be patient, to understand that not everything comes when I want it. 00:41:28.159 --> 00:41:32.800 On a side note, once we get to heaven, I think Jesus is gonna be like the funniest dude of all time. 00:41:33.199 --> 00:41:37.119 When decisions came out, it was like he knew I didn't love waiting. 00:41:37.360 --> 00:41:40.800 So I was waitlisted, which meant having to wait. 00:41:41.039 --> 00:41:44.639 It was another month at minimum, and I could be waiting through the summer. 00:41:44.880 --> 00:41:48.320 I had to commit to another college and play the waiting game again. 00:41:48.480 --> 00:41:54.079 Even though I got waitlisted for my top choice, I could still commit to my second choice, right? 00:41:54.559 --> 00:41:54.880 No. 00:41:55.199 --> 00:41:57.360 UC Berkeley also got waitlisted. 00:41:57.599 --> 00:41:58.559 Third choice, maybe? 00:41:58.719 --> 00:41:59.760 UC San Diego? 00:41:59.840 --> 00:42:01.119 No, waitlisted. 00:42:01.360 --> 00:42:03.840 So we go to the fourth choice, UC Santa Barbara. 00:42:03.920 --> 00:42:04.800 Great school, by the way. 00:42:04.960 --> 00:42:07.519 So I committed there and I just had to wait. 00:42:07.760 --> 00:42:16.000 So I wrote my essay to try and get it off the UCLA wait list, accepted the other two, and I was just done. 00:42:16.159 --> 00:42:17.599 I was very impatient. 00:42:17.920 --> 00:42:22.480 I thought all this work that I was putting in and just didn't get me anywhere. 00:42:22.719 --> 00:42:24.400 Not where I wanted to be. 00:42:24.719 --> 00:42:27.199 So what happens when I was done waiting? 00:42:27.360 --> 00:42:30.239 Um, three weeks ago I found out that I was going to UCLA. 00:42:30.320 --> 00:42:32.079 So I did get off the wait list. 00:42:35.840 --> 00:42:38.800 It was the biggest weight lifted off my shoulders. 00:42:39.039 --> 00:42:42.480 But in reality, it should have been a weight that I let God carry. 00:42:43.199 --> 00:42:45.119 I shouldn't have worried, but I did. 00:42:45.280 --> 00:42:47.920 I should have trusted completely, but I didn't. 00:42:48.239 --> 00:42:53.760 Jesus definitely pushed my patience to the max there, but he brought me back when I was over it. 00:42:54.239 --> 00:42:57.920 The one thing I want you guys to take away from this is just to trust God. 00:42:58.159 --> 00:43:02.239 We were chosen by him for his perfect plan for the purpose of his will. 00:43:02.480 --> 00:43:04.480 Be patient, everything will work out. 00:43:04.639 --> 00:43:08.000 God always has our backs, so live your lives without worry. 00:43:08.320 --> 00:43:09.199 Thank you. 00:43:19.840 --> 00:43:26.559 Um, as the worship team comes up to lead us in worship, you are invited to partake in communion. 00:43:28.000 --> 00:43:35.280 You are invited to act as one body, to take communion as one body in remembrance of him. 00:43:36.639 --> 00:43:40.559 There are two stations in the front, there's one in the back if you're gluten-free. 00:43:41.519 --> 00:43:49.360 And we encourage you to be reminded to be served by our teenagers at the cost of our freedom and the cost of our unity. 00:43:50.639 --> 00:43:53.440 And with that, I'm gonna close us in the words of Paul. 00:43:54.480 --> 00:44:07.360 He says, Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your true and proper worship. 00:44:09.440 --> 00:44:11.760 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:16.400 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:44:16.559 --> 00:44:18.639 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:44:18.800 --> 00:44:24.719 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.com slash card.