Global Vision Ministries Inc.

Instructions For Youths

1. Remember Your Creator

Yes, you do have a Creator! You did not evolve from apes or lower life forms as "scientific theories" would have you believe. The inventors of such theories do not wish to be held accountable to anyone, certainly not to a Creator God who will bring their works to judgment. So many modern-day scientists accredit their existence to mere chance.

Here is the truth: you were designed by a brilliant mind! Every detail of your life was known by a loving God from the beginning of time, and every part of you was fashioned by divine hands. Believe it or not, there really is a purpose for your existence, and you have a destiny to fulfill! The secret in finding out your life purpose is not found in searching the world around you. It is found only when you seek your Creator with all your heart. He wrote the owner’s manual on you, and He knows you better than you know yourself.

Read from the pen of King Solomon:

"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain"
(Ecclesiastes 12:1-2).

Now, keep on reading Ecclesiastes 12 to find a very poetic and somewhat somber description of what it’s like to get old.

Trembling hands and arms - "In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble,"

Bent over back/shoulders and frail legs - "and the strong men shall bow themselves,"

Loss of teeth - "and the grinders cease because they are few,"

Failing eyesight - "and those that look out of the windows be darkened,"

Loss of hearing - "And the doors shall be shut in the streets,"

Mumbling speech - "when the sound of the grinding is low,"

Easily awakened - "and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird,"

Can't sing - "and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;"

More fears with old age - "Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way,"

Season of old age sets in; white hair - "and the almond tree shall flourish,"

Small tasks take effort - "and the grasshopper shall be a burden,"

Natural drives wane - "and desire shall fail:"

Bones break easily; body shuts down - "because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern."

Death comes; body returns to the earth - "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." As shown elsewhere in Scripture, a person’s body returns to the earth at death, their soul goes to Sheol (the grave) to await the Resurrection, and their spirit (or life-breath) returns to God.

Solomon gives us this melancholy depiction of old age in order to help us realize how short our life really is. Our youthful energy is indeed limited. Those who say they will live for God only when they get old are foolish. First, none of us are guaranteed another day on earth (Proverbs 27:1); second, old age has a way of hardening those who waste their life. Too many older folks have a lifetime of regret. Your youth is the very best time in your life to seek your Creator!

A poem by Howard B. Grose (1851-1939) fits well here. It reads, in part:

Give of your best to the Master;
Give of the strength of your youth.
Throw your soul’s fresh, glowing ardor
Into the battle for truth.
Jesus has set the example,
Dauntless was He, young and brave.
Give Him your loyal devotion;
Give Him the best that you have.

Give of your best to the Master;
Naught else is worthy His love.
He gave Himself for your ransom,
Gave up His glory above.
Laid down His life without murmur,
You from sin’s ruin to save.
Give Him your heart’s adoration;
Give Him the best that you have.

We need God to "teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). Take to heart the advice of the elderly, for they were once young. The choices you make in your youth directly affect the rest of your life, for good or for harm! This brings us to the next nugget of wisdom from Solomon...

2. Sow What You Want to Reap

There are several unchangeable laws of nature regarding sowing and reaping.

First, you reap what you sow. If you plant lima bean seeds, you will grow lima bean plants. Now, I don’t like lima beans very much but no matter how much I wish that my lima bean seed grows into a strawberry plant, it will not happen. I must plant what I want to reap.

Second, you reap in a different season than you sow. There is a planting season and a harvesting season for all farmers, just as each of us experiences different seasons of life.

Third, you reap on an increase what you sow. Just one bean seed has the potential to grow a whole plant full of bean seeds.

What does all this gardening talk have to do with life? Plenty! Here is Solomon’s wisdom:

"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" (Ecclesiastes 11:9-10).

In other words, you can choose what you want to do, but you can’t choose the consequences for your choices! So, act wisely and carefully, because you are ultimately accountable to God. You will reap what you sow into your life, whether you sow bad seeds or good seeds.

The apostle Paul says it this way.

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Galatians 6:7-9).

A person who smokes cigarettes may enjoy it for a season, but don’t be deceived: this is merely the planting season. Years later, they will harvest the results of their actions in the form of lung cancer, emphysema, or other painful damage to their health. You can count on this basic law of nature, that of sowing and reaping. Whatever you sow into your life, you can expect to reap. And you will reap the results in a different season, and in a greater proportion to what you sowed.

A frequent deception of Satan is to get people to forget about the results of their actions by reinforcing instant, momentary pleasure. Is sin pleasurable for a season? Absolutely. Does sin ever bring forth a good harvest? Never! Sin ultimately results in death. But Satan, the great deceiver, doesn’t want you to know that.

The Bible says, "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 1:15). It also tells us, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

Start sowing good seeds in your life by fleeing from evil and pursuing the treasures of wisdom which are found in the Bible and in the Lord Jesus Christ. You will most certainly reap a harvest of life! Remember Jesus’ parable of the sower in Luke 8? The seed that fell on good soil grew into a hundred-fold harvest!

Where do we get that good seed to sow into our lives? King Solomon tells us that, too!

                      Cont'd on Instruction for youth......