I want to address the teenagers here this
morning, and this message is for you and
you alone.
There may be someone here today who is
searching.
You are searching for something better in your
life.
In fact, you are crying out for something
better to come into your life.
You are at the end of yourself.
You may be a girl who is self
-harming herself by cutting or starving yourself through
an eating disorder, and you need help, but
you don't know where to go to get
it or who to turn to.
You seem your parents don't understand you or
your problem, and you can't turn to them.
So who do you turn to for help?
The desperate cry of your heart is help.
You know you need to change, but how?
Or perhaps you are a boy who is
in the grip of pornography, and it's ruling
you, and you have become its slave.
You were thrilled by it, but disgusted by
it, and now it controls your life.
You want to get out from under its
power over you, but you don't know how.
You're too embarrassed to even discuss it with
anyone.
You have become its slave, and you don't
know what to do.
Perhaps you are here today with a drug
problem, and it's been out of control.
You've made some bad choices with friends, and
they have influenced you for bad.
Your life didn't used to be this wasted
and hopeless, and suddenly it's all come crashing
down, and you are overwhelmed by the weight
of it all.
You are addicted to the drug you use,
and now it controls you instead of you
controlling it.
You need help, but who do you go
to?
Perhaps you are sitting here today, and you
are experimenting with the same sex.
You're involved in a bisexual relationship, and it
has you more confused than anything else.
You at first liked the excitement of it,
but now you're ashamed of it.
You're stuck in the middle, so to speak,
of liking a person of your own sex,
and liking a person of the opposite sex.
You are now confused as to your future
relationships, and even confused about your own sexual
identity.
You feel trapped.
Or maybe you are here, and you're angry.
Your anger is alienating you from everybody.
That counts in your life.
You're mad, and you have no real release
for your anger, and it's boiling inside of
you like a raging sea with all its
foam spilling over.
How in the world can you get over
this anger?
What can you do?
Or perhaps you are here, and you are
disillusioned with life.
Friends have disappointed you and let you down.
Persons you trusted have betrayed that trust.
They lied to you and hurt your feelings.
You are disappointed with people in general.
You have hundreds of followers on Instagram, but
you have few real relationships you can count
on.
You are tired of being hurt by others.
Who can you even trust anymore?
Perhaps you are here, and you want to
run away from home.
Things are bad in your home, and you
want to get out, and you can't wait
to get out on your own and get
far away from there, and be independent, and
make your own choices in life.
But you don't have the money right now
to leave, or a way to leave, and
you feel stuck in a bad situation.
You want out, but you don't know how.
Perhaps you are a girl, and you just
found out you're pregnant.
You're afraid.
You're mad at your boyfriend who suddenly ditched
you when he found out you were pregnant.
You don't know what to do.
Do you get an abortion, or do you
have the baby?
Who can you turn to that would understand?
What do you do next?
You are frightened and don't know what to
do.
Perhaps you are here, and things are so
dark and hopeless in your life that you
are considering suicide.
You're sad and depressed, and you can't seem
to get out of this deep, dark depression
that surrounds your every waking moment.
You think of ways to end your existence
in this world, because this world isn't worth
living any longer.
Everything is so hopeless, and you see no
solutions to your dilemma, and you're starting to
listen to voices that are telling you to
end it all.
Perhaps you are here, and you've done something
really bad, and no one knows about it.
If they did, they would not want to
be your friend.
You feel ashamed and guilty and sad.
You need to tell someone about it, but
you are reluctant to talk to anybody for
it is so bad.
Perhaps you like to shoplift and steal things
because you can get away with it.
You have stolen, and now you feel a
little guilty for taking something without paying for
it, but you don't know if you can
stop stealing when you go to the mall,
because you know how to get away with
it.
But deep down, you know it is wrong
to be a thief, and now you don't
know what to do.
And you feel the church is full of
nothing but hypocrites.
The adults say, do as I say, but
not do as I do.
Some of your parents are great Christians on
Sunday, but they yell and scream at you
through the week, and they aren't any different
than your friend's parents who aren't even Christians
at all.
The whole church scene is nothing but a
joke.
Everybody is so fake.
You want realness in your life, and you
can't find it.
You want to look to God for help,
but you don't even know how to approach
God.
You wonder if He even hears you when
you pray.
You think Jesus is nothing more than a
killjoy, and if you really became a Christian
and followed Him, you would have to give
up all the fun things in your life,
and you don't want to part with that
certain thing, or maybe you don't even believe
in God.
Is God even real, or is He just
a block of stone or a piece of
wood like some idol you study in history
class?
And worst of all, friends have let you
down time and time again, and you are
sick and tired of trusting people with your
feelings because when you do, they just run
all over them, and it is not worth
opening up to anyone anymore because you don't
want to be hurt again.
Life sucks, and then you die.
Life is so disappointing.
Who is real?
Is there anyone I can really count on?
Listen, friends.
When I was a teenager, things were different
in this world.
I wasn't exposed to the things you are
exposed to that can harm you.
You could even trust the church back in
those days to be real and to warn
you of your danger of dying in your
sins and going to hell.
Christians were real back then, and a person's
word was as good as gold, but I
still had a hunger for more.
I had a void in my heart that
only God could fill.
When I was a teenager, I heard a
story that helped me to understand who Jesus
really was, that he was someone I could
count on in tough times, count on to
get me through and not desert me.
Let me share this story with you now.
Do any of you have dogs?
Do you like dogs?
Me too.
I have always had a dog.
This story is about a dog.
Will you listen to it?
Then lend me your ears and let this
dog story speak to your heart.
There was once a farmer who had a
dog that had been very useful to him,
but the dog was getting old and couldn't
work around the farm like it had used
to in treeing a squirrel and chasing rats
out of the barn, so the farmer decided
to get rid of the dog by drowning
him.
So one day, he took the dog with
him to a large stream near his farm,
and getting into a boat, he rowed out
to the deepest part of the river.
He had brought along a heavy stone, which
he had tied to a cord, and this
he fastened around the dog's neck.
But the dog trusted his master and friend,
so he paid no attention to the cord
around his neck and the large stone beside
him at the end of it.
The dog just sat in the boat calmly
and stared at the farmer while he rested
his head on his paws.
The dog thought his master was hugging him
when he lifted him up in his arms,
but to the dog's surprise, his master threw
him into the water.
The poor dog sank with a whimper, but
the cord around his neck broke, and he
rose to the surface with a whine.
He tried to get into the boat again,
and he couldn't understand why his master wasn't
helping him.
In fact, the dog was puzzled why, when
he got near the boat, the farmer just
pushed him away a number of times with
an oar.
The dog was getting tired and could barely
keep his head afloat any longer.
Desperately, he paddled back to the boat again,
hoping this time his friend would save him.
But instead of lending him a helping hand,
the farmer stood up in the boat with
the oar in his hands, intending to strike
the dog a blow that would send him
to the bottom of the river.
But as the farmer swung at him, he
lost his balance and fell into the water
himself.
He could not swim and would have drowned,
but when the noble dog saw his master
struggling in the water, in spite of the
cruel treatment he had received from him, he
swam up to him, caught hold of his
clothes, and with all his might brought him
safe to land.
From that day on, the farmer took care
of the old dog for the rest of
his days, for he realized what a faithful
friend he was.
But we hear that story and say the
farmer deserved to die for being so cruel
to that poor dog.
But aren't you here today as guilty as
that farmer?
You have been even more cruel than he.
Listen, about two thousand years ago, Jesus came
down from heaven so you could go up
there.
He was God himself, and he brought nothing
but love and blessings for poor ruined man.
Jesus went about doing good, healing the sick,
giving sight to the blind, feeding the hungry,
even raising the dead.
He brought joy to the weary and sad.
And yet what did men do with him?
They cried out, Away with him, and nailed
him on a cross of wood.
They took large nails, and with a hammer
pounded them into his hands and feet to
fasten him to that cross.
They mocked him, and abused him, and crucified
him.
Yet we hear him pray, Father, forgive them,
for they know not what they do.
You say how cruel those Roman soldiers were
to drive those nails into his feet and
hands.
But you drove the nails into his feet
and hands.
Yes, you and me.
We placed a crown of thorns on his
head.
We spit in his face.
Our sins nailed him to the cross and
made him bleed.
And we denied Jesus with our very lives.
But Jesus looks at us and says, Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they
do.
Jesus hung on that bloody cross for our
sins so we could have peace with the
Father.
Though the cross was the place where men
sought to get rid of him, in his
death it became a place where his saving
grace flows out to all who come in
repentance, confessing their sins, and own him as
their Savior and Lord.
Listen, young people.
Jesus is not a killjoy.
But rather, he will give you joy.
He will give you a peace that passes
all understanding.
Remember the faithful dog in our story who
turned around and saved his master's life?
Jesus saves us from our sins, and he
saves us not for time only, but for
all eternity.
Your friends may let you down and disappoint
you, but Jesus will never let you down
or let you go.
He is a faithful friend you can count
on.
He says, I will never leave you or
forsake you.
You ask, how do I own him as
Savior and Lord?
What must I do to be saved?
A young person looked at Jesus and him
alone to save you.
Listen, there was a young person who approached
Jesus when Jesus was here on earth in
his earthly ministry.
This young person was a ruler with plenty
of money.
He came to Jesus and said, Good Master,
what shall I do that I may inherit
eternal life?
Jesus looked at him with love and told
him to sell what he had and give
it to the poor and come take up
his cross and follow him.
But this young man did not want to
give up his wealth to follow Jesus, so
he walked away grieved.
There was a thing that stood between him
and God.
You know what?
It's not so much our acceptance of Jesus,
but his acceptance of us.
When we come to him, we must give
ourselves entirely to him.
But unlike others, you can trust Jesus to
have your best interests at heart.
Jesus wants to heal you.
Jesus wants to bring you into a love
relationship with him.
Go to him with all your heart.
Look to him.
Listen to his invitations of the gospel.
Look unto me and be ye saved all
the ends of the earth for I am
God and there is none else.
Seek ye the Lord while he may be
found.
Call ye upon him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way and the
unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return
unto the Lord and he will have mercy
upon him and to our God for he
will abundantly pardon.
Listen, young person.
Are you tired of your sins?
Are you hungry for God?
Are you thirsty for Christ?
Then listen to Jesus as he says to
you, Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden and I will give
you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of
me for I am meek and lowly in
heart and ye shall find rest unto your
souls for my yoke is easy and my
burden is light.
All that the Father giveth me shall come
to me and him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out.
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come
and let him that heareth say, Come and
let him that is athirst come and whosoever
will let him take the water of life
freely.
Listen, dear one.
I can promise you this.
Once you give your life to Christ you
will never regret it.
Jesus is a faithful friend who will never
let you down or never let you go.
His love was poured out for you on
that bloody cross.
He came down from heaven so you can
go up to heaven and listen to the
love of God.
For God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life.
Get serious with God and He will get
serious with you.
Will you get serious with Him?
He is your only hope.
Let me pray.
Lord Jesus, this life is hard and we
can't make it alone.
We need you, Jesus.
You are our only hope in this world
of confusion and sin.
Lord, if there is someone here today who
is struggling and they are crying out for
help, will you please help that person?
Will you bring deliverance from their hopeless situation?
You promised that if we come to You
for salvation, You will not cast us out.
Grant us the grace, I pray, to receive
You in a saving way.
Only Your Holy Spirit can take the hard
heart of stone and make it a tender
heart of flesh.
Jesus, only You can bring healing and change
to a person's life.
You are the bread of life.
You are the water of life.
You say, Come unto me, those who are
weary.
Lord Jesus, move in hearts now, I pray.
Amen.