Young People's Group

GOING TO THE NEXT LEVEL

by Pastor Mitch
January 02, 2005

Going Beyond Mere Words

It is easy to say with words that we are Christians and we want to live for God. It is quite another thing to actually live it out. The Apostle John was dealing with a group of people who merely declared their faith but their lives did not reflect.

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him (God), and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” 
1 John 1:6

When we do this, we are only lying to ourselves. We are not practising the word of God. Young people, it is vital that we go beyond mere words to action.

Facing The Worldly Influence Of Peer Pressure

Our challenge of truly living for the Lord will be tested when we return to school. One of the influences that we will face is peer pressure. We may struggle with feelings of wanting to fit in with our friends and classmates. Students hold parties where we find friends drinking liquor and smoking. Friends seek to sway us to join in the fun. It is easy to be caught up with the frenzy of merry making. Would we compromise in such instances? Would we give in to the pressure of being part of the group? Young people, it is “crunch time”. Our challenge to all is to go to the next level. Let’s get down to the “doing”.

Taking Steps To Go To The Next Level

“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
1 John 2:6

If we confess that we truly believe in Him and are abiding in Him, then our lives will show for it. We ought to walk as Jesus walked. How can we do this?

1. Remember

“Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.” 
1 John 2:24

We must take the time to remember what we have learned from the word of God. Do we still remember the many lessons we have been taught at Youth Conference? “Delivered”, “Being born of God”, and “Abiding” were some of the lessons taught to us. Do we abide in these lessons? Let’s take time to review and remember what we have learnt over the past year.

2. Practise

“He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” 
1 John 3:7

The next level is one where people truly practise what they have learned. Young people, are we practising what we have learned? If a person offers us a cigarette or a beer, our answer should be “No, thank you!”. We would practise righteousness as Christ is righteous. Let’s get down to practising the word of God in our lives. Let’s move up to the next level of a practising faith.

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