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Did You Ever Grow Up?

1 Corinthians 13:11-12

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

I was thinking about when I was child, I did some crazy things. Did you ever tempt fate? Tempt life and death? When you look back when you were in your teens and preteens; the peer group pressure? Do you remember things like selfishness; lies? It was easy to tell a lie when you were young, but you really didn’t know what a lie was. You remember being a thief? “Don’t mess with those cookies…don’t mess with this…” Your siblings told you “don’t bother that…don’t take it.” Though that seems small, its still thievery. I was with a company that I was a contractor at, and I was told I could go into the office supply cabinet. I looked in there and it was as though I made it to mecca! I had a pen fetish and they had all types of lead, ballpoint, felt tip point, roller ball point; All sorts of erasers, those like putty, the big white ones, the big brown ones. Post it notes, tape…they had all the goodies. Colored paper clips…you never know how bad you need a paper clip until you need it. I was told I could get whatever I needed. I got every pen and eraser that I could get…and it wasn’t going anywhere but back to my desk. I was doing work with them, but some of them never stayed at my desk, but went home, and rested there. Now because it didn’t come from management and came from one of the engineers on the floor, it wasn’t for me to take, but I took and took and took again. I don’t know if there is such a word as nice stealing, but I stole, often. I was justifying everything…taking 4 bottles of whiteout, just in case I may need it. But I was a thief.

How about cheating? Do you remember anger? How about faithlessness? As a teenager, we told other teenagers “are you going to be faithful,” yet we weren’t even faithful. We tell them “don’t cheat on that test,” yet we cheat on that test.

Lets look at our childhood. Have you ever been selfish in your childhood? You know there use to be a truck that came around and the driver was Mr. Liberty. He had popsicles, iced cold bazooka bubble gum, fudge sickles, freeze pops, eskimo pies, the ice cream bars with chocolate on the outside, and the neapolitan ice cream…He always carried the right stuff for the kids in the neighborhood. He came at the right time, and when he rang that bell, every kid on that street came running, hopping and skipping beside the truck. He tried to satisfy every child and teach us about our money too. We had a wonderful time waiting for him to come, and we use to promise each other that we’d help the kid who didn’t have money and get them something. But when that time came up, we didn’t want to share, even when you ate some of another kids iced cream before. Then you would order knowing you had no money, then you felt angry, disenchanted; let down because you couldn’t get the thing you wanted.

Do you remember something you took from your sibling or friend and never gave it back? Did you know that you can’t steal someone from another person? You saw one teen with a girl you wanted. So you went about trying to steal the girl from him? This happened to me. Pains and trials and let downs that I didn’t even know were there. Kids being talked about, being made fun of. Teenagers. Wanting to be accepted. “You don’t dress right. We don’t like you. You belong with the misfits.” The things was is the misfits were all straight A’s. These memories are still with me today. Sometimes memories are still there, but attached to those memories are a growth that you never grew beyond. What about when things didn’t go your way? Were you angry with the person, the situation or with yourself? What about when you didn’t get chosen to do a particular task? Some of us want to be chosen, others of us don’t because we don’t want to be called a teachers pet. You remember when your sibling or friend told a lie to your mom or dad? Think about those moments? Do we ever see some of the remnants of our past childhood come up in our life now…how we walk in Christ, how we choose our friends, how we do business? Yes we do. The Word of God says when I was a child, I thought as a child, spoke as a child…Some of the things we do today are still from our past as a child. Did our bodies grow up and our minds stay the same? What does it mean to become a man? Not looking at things from a child’s point of view, but looking sensibly and reasonably. I don’t need to smack you back because you smacked me. We need to realize one thing. We need to grow up.

You wonder why God can’t use us? Because we haven’t grown up. He can’t give a responsibility to someone who is still doing the same old childish things. Think about it. If a person still hasn’t grown up past the mindset of having a playful type mentality all the time, would you entrust them to manage your money? Would you entrust them to handle your business? Think about it. Just relate that with God. Will the Lord entrust you to deliver His word to a person who’s soul is aching, who’s heart is hurting if your still in a child’s mentality? We have a lot of immature Christians out there. Some of them have come into the understanding of what the being clear picture is about. But they begin to play around, and take it lightly. They don’t look at others pain, anguish or hurt, but they say rather it is kind of funny the way they look. When you were a child, some of the things you did carried over into your adulthood. If you grew up liking toy race cars, maybe you became a race car driver. You ever wonder what your life would have been like had you not chosen your profession? What would you have done, accomplished, succeeded in? Would I have known who Jesus is? Would I be in this state or this country? What would I have done?

A lot of times our faith or the lack of faith is due to something that is lingering over into our childhood, linger into our adulthood. We had faith in someone; they failed, so we saw that faith didn’t work, or we have less faith. It causes you to have a misunderstanding of faith. Lack of faith is usually equated to having an emotion disillusion. You have a relationship with someone and you know it would last, but they pull out for some reason. But they told you they had faith in the relationship, then that lessens your idea of faith. The delusion of it all is because of the attachment you had on others wasn’t strong enough to maintain the bond, your faith lessens. You ask, “what came out of me that caused their walking faith not to be strong? Did I cause them not to be faithful? Did they see a lack of faith in me so they became unfaithful to us?” Then you begin to test that faith on them and say “I will try this one more time.” Then when they do it again, you don’t trust them at all.

What does mature mean? Its being able to let things go that don’t make sense. Mature comes in when you’re able to look at something circumspectly, weigh it, not just accept it, but know the consequence behind it. Whereas a person who is younger will jump right in and do it and find out later that it was bad. Maturity will say I’m 72 years old, I don’t need to have a car note. Maturity makes sense. I’m not working anymore, why would I go and make a big bill? You can’t live off someone else. You say you did when you were younger, and think you can do it today. Making the same old mistakes you did when you were younger. “He’s cute, got nice hair and muscles. So he must have a brain.” That is the same thing you did when you were younger. You weren’t looking for intelligence, you were looking for looks. You still live the life of a teen and here you’re 62. You still turn out to be a teen and your 50, making the same old stupid mistakes you made when you were younger. When it says I let go of childish things…the way you talked and acted. You can’t do the same things you use to do when you were younger. You should have some wisdom. Have you grown up yet? Its not the shape or the color of the product. Its whats in there that matters. You don’t want a man who will be candy on your arms. You want someone who will enhance you and teach you something. Whatever God gives you, trust Him.

Don’t let the ways of your past control your future. Don’t make the same stupid mistakes; being giddy making your choices in life. Start looking at thing a bit more seriously.

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Cast not your Youth to the World, Serve Jesus While you Can

Don’t Cast Away your Youth to the World, but Serve the Lord While You can

Ecclesiastes 11:1-10, 12:1-14

 

Ecclesiastes 11:1-10

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.  Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

 

This is talking about those who were once young who are now old. You once were in your teens, and now your in your twenties; you were once in your thirties and now your in your fifties or older. The Word of God is letting us know that, when you were in your youth did you think about the things of God? Most of the time the answer will be know. When you were in your youth did you think about where your life would be in the future? Again, some say no. Young men go out and try to find girls, and do things not conducive to their health. When your in your youth, you do things that are really daring. You think your impervious to death; you think you’ll live forever; you take no care for your life, and take dangerous chances. Not realizing that your whole life is being conducted by your surroundings. The Bible talks about being cheerful in your heart ,for young men of today you chase the girls, you dated many of girl and done thing you shouldn’t, you stole this…all these different things you did. The things is that you must remember when you get older, you shouldn’t still act with this same mentality and doing the same thing, the Word says in verse 9 “…but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgement.”

What have you done from your youth to now? What have you done in your life? What have you accomplished? Have you sought the God you heard others speak of? Have you even considered? Are you pursuing God, or the desires in this world for yourself? We who are in the Church tend to forget about our youths, allowing them to do certain things with the attitude that they will learn from their mistakes or with the mindset that that behavior is normal for youths. Yet, these youths same negative actions have followed them into their adulthood, and they are doing the same things. That same sin becomes generational. The Bible says in Proverbs 22:6 “train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” If you have taught them negatively in the world, you will get negative results.

Dad’s have sons, and before that father understood the truth, he would tell his son “Its OK for the young man to go out and sow his oats.” It is not OK, because your messing up a young woman’s life, having intimate relations with her. Now she has nothing to offer the man who really truly falls in love with, so you have taken something away from her that can not be replaced. And after it all over the dad pats his son on the back, and say to his son good jobs as through it was a right of passage into man hood, but what about the young woman,what about her life what if she got pregnant or a std?.

In her youth as a young woman, she should take note of who she is and try to improve herself, she should be more conscientious of her lifestyle, not to have a loose lifestyle. She should have one of sobriety, understanding and wisdom. They say that a young woman matures faster than a young man. Yet why does she pursue a young man, knowing that he can’t do anything for her mentally, but only physically. Do you need to do this because your mother did the same, or your grandmother? The sins of disobedience parents will be passed down to the children. If you live in sin, the same generational curse will follow. Now you are insecure, or a gossip or a fornicator because your mother, grandmother, or family did the same things.

These are the indications of your youth that cause you to be bound, that cause you to have a different frame of mind about your life. You have the ability to decipher what is right or wrong, but it is being clouded by the one whom you are around. You need to understand that while you are in your youth, you need to seek out who God is. Are you 40, 30 or 20 and still act the same way as when you were 15? Have you grown? No. We have these issues that stem from the childhood; identity problems. Parents say “let the children be what they want to be, who they really are; themselves; we don’t believe anyone should interfere with who they want to be.” Yet the Bible says train up a child in the way they should go. Girls should be trained to be wives, and boy young men and then husbands. There is much confusion in the world. Titus 2:1-15

Children are in school more than they are at home approximately 8 hr.a day . So when they come home, they exhibit the characteristics of the one’s they been around at school the one’s that influence the most. If the teacher has a bad attitude or talks nasty to the students, then that child who is very impressionable, will mimic those bad things. So the children are subjected to the mentalities of individuals in the school out side the the one they have made friend with. So the school and there friends are raising your children to be hoodlums, homosexuals, bad attitudes, promiscuous, etc.

While in there youth, parents aren’t raising children to seek the Lord or even find out who He is. The youth which are the future generation are being destroyed and dying daily, so they can’t get chance to know or give God glory who created them.  They will  not be the next generation, that worships God in spirit with all their hearts, minds, and souls. There is a lack of genuine concern for our youth today and there right to live a human free from sin and death. As adults we need to bring the right elements around your children, so they’ll can grow up to pursue he one and only God or goals, to be better, to succeed; allow your child to be around some positive influences. Allow you children to be around someone who has a godly way of thinking.

while In your youth, pursue a mindset that goes after something that is good for you spiritually after God that is good for your soul which who you are. Don’t let allow your youth be mentored and go to wast by some family, friends, twitter, Facebook, TV, and Instagram, video games or jobs.

In conclusion, Ecclesiastes 11:8-10, 12:1

There are quite a few phrases that I use, but for this subject these three phrases speaks volumes to the truth of this matter, an they are: ” your are what you eat ”  naturally or spiritually and ”  what ever you around will always be around you ” and last ” never give up ,never surrender ”