I heard a speaker tell the youth about his basketball coach who always told them if they had any energy left at the end of the game they did not give it their all. Same with the Holy Spirit. He tied it into the story of David who told the king, “I’ll do it.” The whole army was scared but David knew that the same God that delivered him from the lion and the bear would deliver him from the giant! David knew he had a different power through Jesus and it is a power we cannot contain. The more we lean on God, the more we trust God. The more we trust God, the more we trust God!
The Holy Spirit is our advocate and will teach us. John 14: 11, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.” When we receive the Holy Spirit our life is different whether we feel it or not. It is not about how you feel it is simply a fact! Accepting Jesus Christ is the number one decision of your life! He is our redeemer and the Holy Spirit is our helper. The Holy Spirit gives us gifts that only God gets the glory for. We just stand back and wonder what just happened. I love that our youth were told, never let the resources we see be the size of our vision.
The youth were reminded that there are going to be tough times, distractions and times when you are lost so they were to make a declaration which states what we, as Christians, believe. They were to complete “I believe” sentences regarding God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the church and living as a Christian. I was told I could share this. “I believe God works in GREAT WAYS. I believe that Jesus Christ died for us. I believe in the Holy Spirit and that it is in us. I believe in the church and that we can work and grow together. I believe that living as a Christian, people must worship and praise the Lord of Heaven Above.”
That night the youth had time to reflect on the weekend and to make commitment to Jesus or to recommit their lives to Jesus. On Sunday morning, they were challenged to be ready to share their faith. Mark 9: 9, “As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” Mike was right, a child’s life was forever changed that weekend and now they can go out and be disciples. Let's be like the children!