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1 Sam. 2:18; 16:11-13; Dan. 1:4, 8, 17; 2 Tim. 2:22; 3:1-4; Eccl. 4:12
I. God calling the young people for His move
II. Being caught and occupied by God
III. Purposing in our heart not to be defiled
IV. The need for companions
V. Praying and seeking the truth with companions
It is good that while you are young you see the vision concerning the church and are developing a burden to build up the church. After seeing the vision of the church, we all have the feeling that we want to give ourselves to the Lord to build up the most wonderful thing in the universe — His church. Some may see this vision when they are older. The older one is, the less time he has to build. You have time because you are young. Be careful, your time may run out like everyone else if you do not set your heart on the Lord’s building today. You should do everything possible, including studying hard, reading the Word, praying, learning to preach, being in the meetings, and offering to the Lord, to prepare yourselves for the work of the ministry and for the building up of the church.
[It is so good to be young persons in the Lord’s recovery. In every age and generation God has come to the young people for the carrying out of His move. Both the Bible and church history show us that God wants to use the young people. We may say that Adam was very young when God was with him because he had just been created. Abel, the second generation of man in the line of life, was probably also young when he offered sacrifices to the Lord (Gen. 4:2, 4). Enoch was young when he began to walk in God’s presence. He was sixty-five years old when he began to walk with God, but at his time a man who was sixty-five years old was still young. He walked with God for three hundred years, and God took him at the age of three hundred sixty-five (Gen. 5:21-22).]
The first time God called Abraham, he was in Mesopotamia. At that time he was very young. [Moses was called by God and began to serve Him when he was eighty years old, but his preparation for service began when he was a small boy being nursed by his mother.] [Samuel was a very young boy when he was caught by God (1 Sam. 2:18). David also was a young man when he was anointed to be king (l Sam. 16:11-13). Likewise, Daniel was young when he was an overcomer in the palace of the king of Babylon (Dan. 1:4, 17).
In the New Testament, none of the apostles whom Jesus called was an old man. They all were young people. When the Lord walked along the shore of the sea of Galilee, He called the young people. Zebedee was with his two sons, John and James, but the Lord called only the sons and not Zebedee (Matt. 4:21-22). It was God’s divine way and economy to call the sons and not the father. The elders in the first church on the earth, the church in Jerusalem, were young people.
The Bible also tells us that Timothy became an apostle (1 Thes. 1:1 cf. 2:6) as a young man to carry on the Lord’s testimony. In 2 Timothy 2:22 Paul wrote, “Flee youthful lusts.’’ This indicates that the receiver of that Epistle was still a young man. I am happy that I was called by God when I was a teenager. All those who were in the initial stage of the Lord’s recovery of the proper church life over fifty years ago were young people in their twenties. Very few were over twenty-five. Most were either in high school or in college.]
Therefore, you should not consider yourself too young to be serious with the Lord. You are at the right age to be called for the Lord’s move in His recovery of the building up of His church.
[The goal of Satan, God’s enemy, is to spoil and occupy mankind. In 2 Timothy 3:1-4 Paul says, “But know this, that in the last days difficult times shall come; for men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money…nonlovers of good…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.’’ Today throughout the whole earth, young people are lovers of pleasure. Sports, amusements, and entertainment are simply pleasures.]
[Paul told Timothy to be aware that difficult times would come when men would be lovers of self. History tells us that at the time of the fall of the Roman Empire, the Romans were self-lovers. They did not care for anyone but themselves. Of course, they were also lovers of money. Self, money, and pleasure always go together. Where self is, money is loved and pleasures are sought. Men in this condition are fully spoiled and occupied with something other than God. They are lovers of themselves, of money, and of pleasures, but not lovers of God or of anything good.]
[Praise the Lord that in the midst of such a situation of ruin, He has visited many of us. Many of the young people among us have not only been caught by God but also occupied by Him. They have been “wrecked’’ by Him. Satan spoils people, but God “wrecks’’ people. Satan spoils people to make them useless for God’s purpose, but God wrecks people to make them useless for Satan’s purpose, the purpose of loving money and pleasure. Why would so many young people attend the meetings of the church? Why would they not seek sports or entertainment? It is because they are wrecked. Over sixty years ago, I was wrecked by God. I was a very active, ambitious, and somewhat smart young man. However, one day I was wrecked by God. Several times I tried to go back to my old way, but because I was wrecked, I could not make it. We have been caught and occupied by Him.]
Why did God “wreck’’ us and why does He want to “wreck’’ some of our friends? He needs to build His church. He needs material and co-laborers for the building up of the church.
[Daniel was taken into captivity as a young man. He and his three friends, who were of the children of Judah, were selected to come into the king’s palace to be taught. There they had to decide whether or not they would eat the food sacrificed to idols. That meat was no longer merely food; it had become related to the demons. To eat it was not a small thing. Daniel and his three friends purposed in their heart not to be defiled, not to have any share in that defiling element (Dan. 1:8).
For Daniel and his three friends not to eat the king’s food was to protest, to be God’s testimony, against the tide of idolatry. This was a great matter in the eyes of God and also in the eyes of the Devil. This was the fighting of a spiritual warfare. In such a situation, Daniel was one who was caught by God. From his very youth, he was called, captured, and fully occupied by God. Eventually, it was he who brought in the return from captivity.]
[Young people today are also in a situation of captivity. God’s testimony has been spoiled, and the riches, the vessels, of God’s testimony have been taken captive. Everything in this age is defiling, including religion and society with its pleasures. Today all religions are in a form of idolatry. Religion takes God’s name, but worships something other than God. This is idolatry. God needs some young people to keep themselves from being defiled by the idolatrous worship. Once some young people see the situation of today’s religion, they will purpose in their heart. They will say, “Lord, from today I would never become polluted with this religion. I would stay away from this defilement.’’ To flee youthful lusts is to keep from being defiled.]
[Do not go along with the present situation. At the time of Daniel, some young people might have said, “What is wrong for us to eat the king’s meat? Everything created by God is clean. We do not care whether or not this food has been offered to idols. We will just take advantage of it.’’ This is a word of failure and defeat. They should rather have said, “I will never go along with this current. I will keep away from it. I protest against the present situation. Let others eat, but I will not.’’ If the young people today would make a purpose such as this deep in their heart, God will use them.]
[The young people need to flee youthful lusts, and they should also pursue, that is, seek after, righteousness, faith, love, and peace (2 Tim. 2:22b). Righteousness, faith, love, and peace are all Christ. To pursue these things is to pursue Christ in different aspects. Flee youthful lusts, and pursue Christ as your righteousness in your relationship with others, as your faith in your relationship with God, as your love in your relationship with one another, and as your very peace. Such fleeing and pursuing is a living for God’s testimony. It is a daily gospel life. A daily walk which expresses righteousness, faith, love, and peace is the best gospel preaching. It is the life that opens the way for the gospel to reach people.]
[You must have such a life of fleeing and pursuing. However, when you endeavor to flee and pursue, you will find that you are not able to do so by yourself. The way to flee youthful lusts and pursue Christ is in the last part of 2 Timothy 2:22. This verse says, “But flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.’’ You need “those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.’’ By yourself you are inadequate. The key is to be “with those.’’]
[The young people must make the decision to pick up some others as companions. Daniel had his three friends. Under the Lord Jesus in the New Testament none of the disciples were individuals. They were sent two by two; they all had companions. Peter and Andrew and James and John are referred to in the Gospels in pairs (Matt. 4:18, 21).]
[If we have four companions to support us from each direction, we will not fall, regardless of what storm may come. If one stands by himself, he will possibly be captured by the enemy. It is best for four or five young ones from junior high school to come together as companions. Let the young brothers be companions to one another, and let the young sisters be companions to one another.
We need companions not only because we are weak to stand by ourselves, but also because we are all so natural. According to our natural disposition, it is very hard for us to have companions. Our individualism is a pleasure to us. We enjoy our individualism so much. We may not care for a brother or a sister because they are not like us. We demand that others be like us. Wanting people to be like us is devilish. If we love the Lord, we should be able to go to any young brother or sister, not caring for what they are like. They may be slow or quick, dull or smart, like you or one hundred percent different from you. We should forget all the differences. We must have companions. If the young people would be grouped in this way, Satan will be put to shame. This is a great matter.
If five junior high school students would be grouped together as one, their school will be “overthrown.’’ If they start with five, after not long a time, perhaps two months, there will be fifteen. The preaching of the gospel in their school will be like wildfire. Even the college age and working age saints need companions. They need to work together, live together, and have their daily walk together. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, “A threefold cord is not quickly broken.’’ If one person has four companions, the five of them will even be a fivefold cord. Nothing can break this cord. The gospel preaching of these five will be prevailing. They will subdue people. Their grouping together will convince people, and Satan will be put to shame.
Do not have companions in a loose way. Do not take a brother as a companion because you like him and tomorrow reject him because you do not like him. If he is a brother, you must take him. This will subdue and break you. You need to be broken. Who will break you? Wives are good “breakers,’’ but I do not trust the wives to completely break the husbands. The good “breakers’’ are the brothers and sisters with whom you group yourself.
The young people must look to the Lord to get four or five companions. Even the people in the world say that union is power. By myself I would not dare to do many things, but when I have four companions, I would dare to do anything.]
What do companions do when they get together? If they talk about worldly things, they will be distracted from the Lord. If they insult one another with offensive words, they destroy one another. [The five companions should always call on the name of the Lord together (2 Tim. 2:22). They should always come together to fellowship, pray-read, pray, and take care of new ones. One brother’s new ones should be another brother’s new ones also. In this way one group of five saints will have fifteen new ones under their care. All these new ones will be saved. The principle for the saints in both the Old and New Testaments is that they should be grouped together. The young people need to flee youthful lusts and pursue the Lord with some companions.]
They need to pray. Prayer strengthens their spirit. Prayer will move the Lord to work. Prayer will give them the guidance on how to go on with the Lord. Paul said in 1 Tim. 2:1, “I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men.’’ Prayer is the first thing we must do. We like to talk; we do not like to pray. We need to develop a habit of praying. Daniel prayed three times a day kneeling before God. That was his habit. Therefore, young people should pray together to develop such a holy habit. Paul also charged the saints to pray unceasingly. The young people need to develop a spiritual habit to pray unceasingly. The best way to develop such a habit is to pray every time we think about someone and every time we have to do something or say something. If the young people will pray together, they will afford the Lord a chance to perfect them for the work of the ministry and for the building up of the church.
They should research [the things concerning Christ and the church. When a group comes together, one brother may ask the others if they can speak something concerning the assurance of salvation. The young people in the church may know how to call on the name of the Lord, and they have been saved. However, some may not know assuredly that they are saved. Eventually, their assurance of salvation will be tested. The young people should thoroughly fellowship matters such as the assurance of salvation and regeneration in their groups.
There has not been enough time for the church as a whole to cover these matters. As a result, the knowledge and experience of the young people is too general. The young people should take care of their own needs in their groups of five. If they do not, we may eventually have a good number of saints among us, but they will not be thoroughly rooted in spiritual matters. If five young people cannot speak clearly to each other about the assurance of salvation, how can they help others? They may only be able to help them to call on the name of the Lord in a general way. In their groups the young ones should help each other to be clear about the life experiences.]
[We need to lay a foundation for the young people’s work. The young ones should be helped to know what the assurance of salvation is, what regeneration is, and what eternal life is. If each group covers one or two points a week, after half a year they will have covered thirty or forty basic points. This will lay a good foundation. It is not enough to come together and pray in a general way. The young people must do something specific, just as we eat something specific and definite at every meal.
To practice meeting in small groups is not a difficult thing to do. Every week after a church meeting, five young people could go to a brother’s home for fellowship. To spend even only fifteen minutes will be a help to them. They should not fellowship there in a general way. This is the time to cover two or three specific points.]
We hope that all the young people will have a burden for the building up of the church. In order to do the building-up work, they need to be caught and occupied by God, to purpose in their heart not to be defiled, and to flee youthful lusts with their companions. The companions need to fellowship with one another, pray, seek the Lord in the Word, and preach the gospel together. The Lord will prepare these young ones for His move, His recovery, and for the building up of His church.
