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Why We Lose Our Young People. 32 And the king said to the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” So the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against you to do harm, be like that young man!”
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Why We Lose Our Young People 32And the king said to the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” So the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against you to do harm, be like that young man!” 33Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: “O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!” (2 Sam. 18).
Lack of Proper Teaching • Faith is NOT inherited: • So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:17). • Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it (Prov. 22:6). • And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). How To Worship To Love God To Attend Bible Classes The Plan of Salvation Value of Obeying God
Hypocritical Parents • May fool others, but NOT your children! If you’re not the same person on Tuesday, that you are on Sunday, they’ll know! They will lose respect for you and the religion you profess.
Hypocritical Parents • May fool others, but NOT your children! • But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea (Matt. 18:6). • Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.…Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matt. 23:25-28).
Worldly Friends • Young people rarely understand this: “I’m strong, I can influence them for good.” • Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits (1 Cor. 15:33). • Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them (Prov. 24:1). • Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful (Psa.1:1-2). Promote family togetherness – Home as a gathering place!
Why We Lose Our Young People • Lack of Proper Teaching • Hypocritical Parents • Worldly Friends
Evil Influences • Surrounded by temptation: TV, magazines, movies, school, fashion, etc. • Abstain from every form of evil (1 Thess. 5:22). • And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them (Eph. 5:11). • For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. "Eat and drink!" he says to you, But his heart is not with you (Prov. 23:7). • Be careful that you don’t spoil your child. It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth (Lam. 3:27).
Church Problems • Many churches are filled with fussing: personalities, opinions, power struggles, cantankerousness, etc. • But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! (Gal. 5:15). • A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35).
Drift Away • Neglect Their Spiritual Health 1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him (Heb. 2).
Free Moral Agents • They have the right to choose! • For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have (2 Cor. 8:12). • For each one shall bear his own load (Gal. 6:5). • So then each of us shall give account of himself to God (Rom. 14:12). • Our example, teaching, and influence can help lead them, but they must choose.
Why We Lose Our Young People • Lack of Proper Teaching • Hypocritical Parents • Worldly Friends • Evil Influences • Church Problems • Drift Away • Free Moral Agents • Give them your time. • Love them. • Teach them. • Show them. • Pray.