 Those of you who don't know, my name is Dustin Harrison. I've been the high school youth pastor here. I've overseen the high school ministry for 20 years now here. And so one of the things that I'm going to share with you I'm going to probably get emotional a little bit tonight because I was sitting backstage just looking over my notes and praying. And Jordan was playing the drums. I've known him this whole time. And he was in the youth group. And now he's one of our leaders, Steve, who played bass. He attends Calvary Chapel Rancho Cucamonga. But he used to be our worship leader. And he's one of my closest friends. And Mike's birthday is tonight. And so praise God. That's cool, right? And Mike was in the youth group years ago. And now he is one of our worship leaders for the high school ministry. Years ago I did his wedding. He's got twins that are a year old and a son Levi. And so it's super exciting. Andrew, he just comes. No, no, we love him. He's an honorary member of the youth ministry. But a couple of things before we get in the message. I brought a few pictures to show you. I was asked to share a little bit about the youth ministry and stuff. And so one of the things we try to do is have fun as well as be serious. And I have a saying with the youth. It's this, when it's time to have fun, have the most fun. And when it's time to be serious, be the most serious. And my rules are don't break any rules. And they're like, what? So like when we go to camps and stuff, or we go places, like whatever the rules are there, like don't break the rules, right? And so when it's time to have fun during free time and stuff, go crazy. Go nuts, just don't break rules and don't break each other. And when it's time to be serious, when it's time for Bible studies and everything else, you know, sit up, right? Pay attention, take notes. God wants to speak to you, right? So that's our heart behind it. So one of the fun things we do, we're doing it this Friday night, we rent out the Ontario ice rink from 10 p.m. when the place closes to a little after midnight and we play broom ball. And so we run on the ice with our tennis shoes. We use these sticks and a little ball and we play ice hockey, but with tennis shoes on. And so it's super, super fun and no, you're not invited. But if you have a high schooler, please, please, please invite them. You can sign up online. You can sign up at the gazebo. It's 12 bucks. It includes food and snacks and stuff. So this Friday night, Ontario ice rink across the street from Ventus Spaghetti. We have things at Junior High. They have a Christmas party coming up December 7th. You can get more information about that. And high school ministry, we have our Christmas party coming up too on December 21st. And it's always a fun time. We do something a little different for the high schoolers. We like to get dressed up for ours because most of the kids look like slobs most of the time. And so it's kind of fun to get dressed up, you know, and they actually comb their hair and look pretty and stuff. And that's just the boys. So it's kind of cool. And, you know, we just have a photo booth and we get it catered and stuff. And it's just a great time for the kids to fellowship. And as you see in the pictures and stuff, it's one of the times where the kids get to meet each other. And it's hard because they're not kids anymore, but I call them kids because they're my kids. Like, you know, just, and actually I have a daughter who's in junior high and one in high school now. So they literally are my kids also. Winter camp. Winter camp is one of my favorites because I was called into ministry at winter camp. It was there that I really heard about a Bible college that I went to. I heard about just, God just moved in my life and stuff. And so our winter camp is February 14th through the 16th. This is last year's theme. We were the theme of Souljourners and Pilgrims and it snowed hard on us and it was just so great. And, you know, one of the things I hear sometimes is like, well, my high schooler doesn't know anybody but I'd love to send him to camp. What better way to get to know somebody than bunking with him for the weekend and spending the whole weekend in the snow and playing. Sometimes there's not snow, but oftentimes there is and stuff and so it's just an amazing time with the Lord. Our next thing is our mission trip that we're doing this summer. Last summer we were in, this summer that just passed, we went to the Philippines. We've been going to Guatemala for years. We're going back to Guatemala this year. We go to the city of Antigua and we're partnering with Calvary Chapel Antigua this year to do a bunch of ministry. Two years ago, we were in Antigua a month after the volcano erupted and we were ministering to the families and stuff that were there. So this was that team two years ago and some of the high schoolers and my leaders and stuff that went. So when you buy the tamales, a couple of things with the tamales that we're doing different this year. We're doing pre-sales. Not just the week before Christmas, but all every week. And so the tamales are on sale all of November, all of December on Sundays between first and second service. And so, but you can also pre-sale and so you can buy them this week for next week and pick them up and just get in that other line and you'll have them already ready for you with your name on it and you can just grab them, pay for them and go. So the proceeds to that not only goes to your gut, and they're delicious as if you've had them, you know this already, they come hot, fresh, you can eat them right then. Mine, the chili cheese are my favorite personally, but all of them are delicious. But it helps offset the cost for the youth. And so, you know, the trip would cost, you know, a couple hundred dollars more per person if we didn't have these things. And so you benefit, right? Buying tamales, blessing the family, different people but the youth benefit because they're gonna go serve the Lord. This is in a hospital, this picture here is in a hospital waiting room. And so some of these people traveled on bus literally for days to get to this hospital and with no food, so we fed them, gave them drink and we prayed over them and stuff as they're not allowed to wait in the room with their family member. And so one of the guys in the room, husband, his wife was having a baby and so we asked him like, did your wife have the baby yet? Don't know. Like boy or girl, don't know. Everything okay? Don't know. When did you get here? Two days ago. So can you imagine like how eager they are to pray? You know, so it was just amazing and so this is Ellie just praying and I think that's me in the background, but just praying, this girl came in with seizures and different things and she just started them and she had brain swelling and different things. And so they're like, yeah, pray for her because we don't know what's happening. And so what amazing opportunities that high schoolers can go travel the world serving Jesus, loving God and sharing the gospel, right? Powerful things and so this is what you're investing in. You're investing in these kids. This is Daniel, his dad, Dan Edwards is on staff and actually Daniel is now on staff. He's one of our video graphic artists and stuff and this is the community right outside of the volcano that had erupted in Antigua and we're passing out bags to the families that had been displaced by the volcano. Their community is gone. Literally the volcano just went down and destroyed their community and stuff and so at this time they're living in schools and different things in the community next to them and here we are passing out. In the bag is like soap and rice and a couple of other things, toiletries that we had given to them and stuff and so this is a powerful thing and so the last thing I wanna bring up is our youth e-bulletin. So the church has an e-bulletin and you can sign up for that online but we also have one for the high school ministry and the junior high ministry so you can go on our church website and sign up for that and so every week on Thursday night you'll get an email and it's all the upcoming events and all the different things and you can click on those things and sign up online and different things and so whether you're a parent, you just wanna know our youth, please feel free, sign up on that e-bulletin and you'll get up-to-date information about what's happening and the junior high are upstairs right now with Josh and one of the coolest things is this, if you don't know him, Josh is our junior high youth minister. Pastor David married his parents years and years ago and so he's grown up in our church, was in our youth group, serving the Lord and now he's our youth minister, right? Like how awesome is that to see God do things like that, right? And so we see the longevity, these guys on the worship team have been around for a long time serving the Lord and here they are now being used by God and investing in the next generation, right? And so that's the heart, right? That's the heart is passing the baton, right? Like here it is, it's your turn, go run, right? So let's pray and we'll get into the actual, my scribble on my page here. Lord, I just pray that you would speak to us through your word, draw us closer to you in Jesus' name, amen. So the other day, last weekend I was in Boston, I got invited to speak at their youth camp and so it was amazing if you've ever been to Boston, I get off the plane, they take me to Mike's Pastries, have a chocolate mousse cannoli. Oh, the love. There was no crumbs left and just an amazing thing. Got to minister to the youth there and the camp actually was in New Hampshire so we drove two and a half hours away in New Hampshire on this lake in the city of Hebron and just beautiful, right? And but I was literally boarding the plane to come home last Monday and I get a message saying, you're up Wednesday night and I was like, okay. So this week I was praying like, Lord, what do you want me to share? And I kind of got a little bit of what I was being asked to share, which was stuff that I just presented to you. But one of the things was, what is it that our youth need? What is it that our youth need? But I honestly, that was kind of the title of the message but it's also something for all of us. And here's the thing that I wrote and it's going to be an acronym tonight but it's this, hope, right? Hope, the Bible says hope is an anchor for our soul, right? Hebrews 619, that's actually my personal life verse. But hope is a confident expectation, right? That's the definition of it. I'm looking forward to what the Lord wants to do but I want to break that into those four letters real quick and I'm going to start with the first one and it's this, what do youth need? Well, we need to help them in their walk. Yeah, help them with the walk with the Lord, right? My story, for those that don't know, I was raised in La Puente by Nogales High School and I was the target over there because I was a white boy, right? Like I was like, hey, what are you doing here? I live here, what? No. And we've moved to Chino two weeks before 10th grade because someone got killed in a drive-by on my street and I didn't do it, I promise, it wasn't me. Not that I know who did it either but so I moved to Chino, I didn't grow up in a religious home, I didn't grow up in a faith-filled home but in my neighborhood, and maybe some of you know this, I didn't know anybody who didn't believe in God. Most of the people I knew were either Catholic or Jehovah Witness but everybody I knew believed in God. What that meant was they believed in God. Like I don't know, we didn't have a Bible or anything. In my house and our family's coffee table was my great-grandma's Bible and you just dusted that thing and you didn't touch it, all reverence, big old red thing. We love that thing, not enough to open it, we just love it like it was great-grandma's, right? And then I played water polo and swam at Dalneugo and my friend on my team invited me to a fun event. We actually went to the beach and I served so I was like, okay. And then the next week I went to the youth group for the first time and I gave my life to the Lord the very first time. My youth pastor was one of the founding guys of the power team and breaking bricks and ripping phone books and the very first time I went he showed Raul Reese's movie, Fury to Freedom and at the end he gave an invitation, I accept the Lord. Well, the next week I went back and I accept the Lord. The next week I went back and I accept the Lord because I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't have a Bible. I was like, who wants to get saved? Who wants to go to heaven? It was like me and then, okay. I don't know this Christian stuff. I don't know this lingo and all that, right? I don't have parents that are going to church and stuff as the first one, so I got saved. My youth pastor later came over and him and I led my parents and Lord in our living room. My brother started coming and all and so my brother started coming to church and stuff and came from there, go to camp, hear about the Bible college, go to Bible college. Here I am now in full-time ministry. It's crazy, right? And I was the first one in my house since my great-grandparents to be active in church. And so one of the things that youth need is helping their walks with the Lord. And I praise God that we have that. Not only the youth ministries, but here and I try to teach book by book and verse by verse just like Pastor David. So the verse that I had you turn to, it tells us this. It says, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness that the men of God may be equipped, thoroughly equipped for every good work. See, the hard thing right now is this. I just turned 47 last week. And because of that, like, you know, I was like, oh, you're getting old, you feel like you still relate. And I'm like, well, I don't relate because I'm 47 and I'm balding. Like, I don't relate, but I love them. And I have two of them. And what they need is what I have. Experience and love and hope and the word of God. I'm not trying to be cool with them because I'm not cool anymore. I thought I was once, so I say anymore. But whether I was or not, I'm not cool. Because I'm balding and I'm 47 and all that stuff, right? But here's the thing like, I still serve so it's cool. But what do they need? They need the word of God. But we need to equip them in the word of God. One of the things I often say to our youth is this, I want you to know what you believe and why. See, it's not just what they were raised in. Praise God that we're raising them in the church, right? Praise God that we're giving them Jesus. But it's gonna come to a time like, the statistics are this. After high school, 70% of people walk away from church. 70%. Now, almost half of that 70% come back to church, but that's only 35% of the 70. So 35% never come back. So what do we do with this? Why are they leaving? Well, there's a bunch of different reasons and honestly tonight I wanna really get into them. But one of the things is because the church sometimes tries to make, and praise God, not us, because I'm not cool. But we try to make the Bible so relevant. Not irrelevant, not that it's irrelevant, but relevant. Again, if you've heard me teach on Sunday nights, by the way, I'm blessed to teach Sunday nights. So if you wanna come Sunday nights and hear, I'm going through first John chapter, I'm in chapter three right now, but love to have you. But here's the thing, there's on Instagram things like preachers and sneakers and pastors and watches and all these other things. And they're so consumed on looking cool and being cool and all this other stuff. And it's like, it breaks my heart that the message isn't the thing that matters, it's how cool you look. Are you wearing the coolest sneakers and all this other stuff? And it's just heartbreaking to me because that's all people care about. Was service cool tonight? Was it entertaining? Was all that stuff? Now, I understand that we're at a cavalry chapel and we're not just any cavalry chapel, right? We're at Pastor David's cavalry chapel. So some of us don't think like this, but it has to be addressed. What the youth need right now is to be equipped in the word of God. This is actually, this passage is our theme for our high school ministry. We call ourselves Epic, equipping people in Christ. That's our heart. I want them to know what they believe and why, not just what we teach them, but I want them to go investigate it, right? Don't you like, I want you to be able to walk out the campus and go, I know what I believe, not just what I was raised in, not just what was taught to me, and I'm not gonna just regurgitate that, but I wanna study it and I wanna know what I believe. And so that's my heart, and I believe that should be our heart. See, the Bible tells us to not look down on the youth and not let anyone look down on the people who are young, but set an example for the believers in speech and conduct and love and faith and impurity. And I think sometimes we get it wrong, personal opinion. We get it wrong because we try to get them to do church like us. And what I mean by that, and forgive me, I love our church and please, if it ever sounds like I'm speaking against how we do church, I'm not. But sometimes we try to get people to fall in love with how we do church and not get them to fall in love with Jesus. We get so occupied, it's like, no, you can't do this and you can't do that. And it's like, why? And I think sometimes, listen, the youth needs structure. But I think sometimes, like, when I was younger, my dad's very meticulous on things and when he mows the lawn, it had to be straight lines. And so he's like, you go mow the lawn now and it wasn't straight lines. He's like, get out of here. You're ruining my yard. And I was like, yes. But it was one of those things like, oh, you kids, you can't do anything right. And I'm like, and I'm never gonna learn when you don't let me do it. Because I'm a young man, and he said, oh, here's the thing. It's like the equipping process. The first thing we wanna equip them in is the word of God. In John chapter 13, it says this. Jesus says in verse 13, you call me teacher and Lord and you say, well. But in verse 15, it says, for I've given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Most surely I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who has sent greater than he who sent. We want the youth, and I think for all of us, right? We wanna see Jesus. And we wanna have Jesus as the perfect example. We want them to look to Jesus because so often what we do is, and I think even as adults, we can do this. Well, I was like, I'm not as bad as him or her, right? It's like, that's not what the Bible teaches. Well, yeah, there's sinners and I'm a sinner too, but I'm not as bad as them, so I'm doing all right. That person isn't your balanced thing. It's Jesus. And so when we look at that, the Bible says in Philippians chapter three, brethren, join and follow my example and note those who walk as you have us as for a pattern from any walk of whom I have told you often and I'll tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, whose glory is their shame, who set their mind on earthly things. It says, for our citizenship is in heaven, for which we are eagerly waiting for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his glorious body. And so the reminder is this. We're trying to get the youth to have this hunger and a desire for God's word so they can be equipped and so they can follow God's example that he's left for us. He's left us examples. That's why we teach the Bible book by book in verse five verse. And so we wanna equip them in the word so they can learn to make decisions. Why? Because first Timothy four says this. The spirit expressly says in latter times some will depart from the faith. Given he the deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their own conscience, forbidding the marrying, commanding to abstain from foods and all these things. He says this in verse seven, reject profane and old wives fables and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little bit but godliness profits for all things. Having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. And one of the things I wanna point out is this. One of the things that youth don't like, well, how come? See, we don't like when as a parent, it's hard, right? When your kid starts questioning you, you're like, don't talk back to me. But what I've discovered is this. The youth today, they're not talking back. They're serious of saying like, but why? And here's what we often do. Well, because the Bible says so, that's why. And here's what we have to learn. They're not okay with that answer. So let's go a little deeper with them because if you don't go deeper with them, the world will and the world's gonna answer their questions and it's not gonna be biblical but because the world is willing to talk with them and everything else, they're gonna be open to that. Both online, in classes and all that other stuff. And if we're not equipping them by going more than just saying because the Bible says so, that's great that the Bible says so let's show them where and why, right? It's the whole equipping process so that they can know and understand and believe why. See, today, the youth are so different today. The culture's so different. For example, here's the thing that you and I never had to deal with. We never thought about, I don't think most of us, like this, am I a boy or a girl? Like, I'm kind of being silly but at the same time, I'm not, right? It's never an issue for us. Like, are you kidding? But for the youth? Because the world's like, yeah, you could choose. What cares what they told you you are? Like, you could choose. I can? Hmm. Matter of fact, if you don't want to be a boy or a girl, there's a bunch of other things you could be. Really? It's capturing their minds. It's capturing them, you guys. And for us, for some of us that are older, like, I can't believe this. No, I can't either, but it's happening. So rather than ignore it, we have to be equipped and help equip them, right? Because the Bible tells us this, be in the world but not of the world, right? God doesn't say, hey, you guys, everybody, grab your sleeping bags, grab your pillows, we're all moving in to Calvary-Tapucino Valley campus and we're going to be a Christian community and we're going to save ourselves from the world. And forgive me, because that's just not the kind of parent or when I read the Bible, I don't think it tells us to do that, right? Bible says, go into the world and make disciples. Praise God that there was Christians at Don Lugo because I got invited to church and I'm here today because there was Christians at a public high school. By the way, I'm blessed, I get to do Bible studies now at Don Lugo, at Chino High, Chino Hills High at Ayala, my favorite Buena Vista continuation school this week, 25 students, 25 students at continuation school, yeah, how cool is that? Now we feed them pizza, but it's lunchtime so they deserve to eat, right? But praise God, they're coming in and I asked them last week, how many of you guys go to church? None of them. All of them, their church is Tuesdays at lunch, so pray, because their church is on campus of their public high school. Praise God, yeah, that's cool. So, second point, second point. Offer Godly counsel, what are the things like, in the times that I've met with families and stuff and it's okay, why are we here? So the families will fill me in. So then I'll turn to the student and say, you know, hey, Joel, tell me what you think about this? And they're just kind of like twiddling their thumbs and don't want to talk about it. So all of a sudden, their parents are jumping in. Well, you know, because they want them fixed, right? And all that stuff, and I'm like, so what I do, you know, gently and I say, mom, dad, can you do me a favor? Yeah, can you be quiet? I didn't ask you. You already told me why we're here. Now I want to ask them. Now's your time. And sometimes I ask the parents, can you just step out real quick? Like, if they're not willing to talk, because I just want to like, let them say it. Try to be that safe place, right? To say like, here, if you need a vent about your parents, like, even, like, let's talk. But here's the thing. Like, if I don't want to talk and my parents answer for me, I'm like, so is that true? Well, they said so. Like, if that'll get me out of this meeting faster, cool. But one of the things that I think is important is this. Youth need to learn how to make decisions. And we got to let them fail. But one of the things in helping them succeed is giving them Godly counsel. Not making the decision for them, but helping them make their decision, right? What do you think you should do? What do you think the Bible says about this? And so helping them, you know, it's kind of one of those things like we had the bracelets years ago, right? What would Jesus do? And it is that, but it's much more than that. Because it's not just what would Jesus do. What would you do? How would you handle this? What do you think you should say to this person? What does the Bible talk about this? Forgiveness, healing, restoration, you know, boundaries. What does it mean about like, okay, separation, all this other stuff? One of the things in offering Godly counsel is we're offering them truth. We're teaching them a biblical worldview. We're helping them to observe and grow in the decisions that we make. But again, we're giving them Godly examples. We're trying to be real with them, but we're also offering them the opportunity to say, what do you think you should do? Well, I think I should do this. All right. I had a youth tell another one like, hey, Dustin said I'm not supposed to talk to you anymore because you're not healthy for me. So the one youth wanted to leave the church and was all hurt by me. And I'm like, come here. They go, I didn't say that. I asked them, what do you think you should do? Well, this and this. And I'm like, okay, how's the Lord leading you in that? And I'm like, well, just don't brush them off and don't just stop texting. Don't just stop calling, but you need to talk this out and tell them what the Lord's showing you. And maybe it is time for a little bit that you guys take a break in your friendship, not in a permanent thing, but just saying, you know what? I need to work on something right now with my walk and here's where I'm at with that. And so I became a scapegoat and all that, but here's the thing, if Ephesians four one says, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of your calling. Isn't that it, right? We're trying to teach them to walk worthy of their calling. Ephesians chapter one, two and three, tell us what that calling is all about. And so we're to live a life as a child of God. And so we're teaching our youth, but I think all of us need to learn like, what does this mean to make decisions? What does this mean? Because we've all been given different positions. Ephesians four, 11 through 16 talks about that. These positions in verse 11 were given, it says in verse 12, for the equipping of the saints, for the work and ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. And so the whole idea is that we would be a body knit together and joined together that we would build each other up. Now, one of the things that's hard sometimes because some of us, there are students that their whole life is this campus, homeschool through here, church here. They don't know anything else, but Calvary Chapel Chino Valley and there's kids that do that at other churches. And one of the things that I want to encourage like is this is like, let them be them. I know sometimes like, again, I have kids here. So as a dad, I want to tell you like, I always tell my kids, you be you. I don't care what everybody says, you be you. I don't expect you to be perfect, you be you. And I told them this, I said, nobody can get you in trouble but you can get you in trouble. So when people snitch on you and tattle on you and all that stuff, they're not gonna get you in trouble. But if you did that, you might get in trouble. See, there's still rules and regulations. There's still standards and structures. I'm not just saying let them live their life and do their own thing. No, we have to equip them, right? We have to give them structure. But here's the thing, I think sometimes we're like, we could be like, well, you were raised in the church, you should know better. Here's the thing I've discovered. Not every person is the same, right? Some of us like instant, saved, set free, never go back to the world, never tempted, just super on fire for Jesus, never give in to trials, all that other stuff. And others are like, there's a trial every single minute. It's like, Lord, I take one step forward and it seems like the world pulls me back two steps. I don't wanna get pulled back, but it just, man, it's happening. And each one of us handle things and we go through things in such a different pace and we have to understand that here's the thing that I've discovered, my kids aren't me. My kids aren't me, my leaders aren't me. I'm a workaholic. That's just my natural thing, right? But I have to be careful not to put my expectations both on my kids, the youth group, my leaders, all that stuff, right? And I think we could do that. Who does that? All of us who serve a lot. Because then we get excited, like I just love serving Jesus, but then we get disgruntled. Why? Because other people aren't serving Jesus and I have to do everything and all this stuff. And it's like, wait a minute, you had joy serving Jesus. Now you're all cranky serving Jesus. I've been there. I have to do it all. Then somebody comes along, you need help. No, no, no, I got it. Praise God. Right? All right. You sure? No, no, no. Praise God. And then they walk away. I was like, man, nobody helps me. Just suffering for Jesus. No, you're suffering because you're suffering because you don't love people how. And we used to do it for joy, but now we do it because nobody else would do it. Well, you don't bring other people along either. That's one of those things. Listen, this summer, I oversee the kitchen and the cafe and things like that. So in the summer, Pastor was like, hey, why don't we have Shave Ice? So what do we do? If you guys have Shave Ice in the summer, I'm like, hey, youth, we're serving Shave Ice. Why? Because I oversee it. And so the youth oversee it because it's mine and so it's theirs. So the youth throughout their serving, that's not a fundraiser, you guys. Like they just do it because they, I asked them to, but they volunteer because I let them have a free one at the end, but they love doing it. Like if you saw the tamales this weekend, wasn't that crew amazing? Man, those guys and those ladies, they're just there and they're just like, oh, how many tamales? Oh, okay, boom, boom, boom. All that stuff. And our line's going quick at first time, 110 dozen tamales. Amazing. Our record, a couple of Christmases ago, 440 dozen in one Sunday. Man, heart attack. Offering God the counsel, Proverbs 4-1, here are my children, the instructions of a father and give attention to no understanding. See, first, John chapter two talks about children, young men and fathers. Children first get saved, excited about Jesus. Young man going through the fires. They're in the battle. Fathers, patriarchs. Being through it a little longer, all that stuff and just need Godly counsel. Listen, as a father of teenagers, I have a few men here. I'm like, hey, can I meet with you? Yeah, what's up? Can you teach me? They're like, but you're the youth pastor. Yeah, but these are mine. It's a whole nother world. Can you help me? Can you pray with me? Yeah, so I get Godly counsel from people who've been at it longer than me. Praise God, right? Praise God that we're at different levels, right? We can help each other out, build each other up. Third point, gotta hurry up. Patience. So not only helping them in the walk, not only offering Godly counsel, but offering patience. And again, I mentioned already, like just because the youth are grown up in church, doesn't mean they won't face trials and challenges. I know we know that, but remember they're learning to own their faith. And one of the things that I was thinking about is this is often we don't see the full fruit of an investment until five or 10 years down the road. Now that I've been a youth pastor here for a long time, I have youth that come back to me and was like, Dustin, remember that time when you were teaching, you told me, you told all of us, like don't go get a testimony? You were right. And I'm like, I wasn't trying to just be, I knew I was right, but it hurts me that you went out and now you have these scars. Yeah, these scars. But at the same time, I've learned that some people can learn from your mistakes and some people are gonna learn from their mistakes. But our prayer is that we train them up in the way they should go and when they return, the Bible says, right? That's the hard part because some of them are gonna go. But praise God for stories like the prodigal son who comes back. So we need to pray and invest in them because here's the thing. Again, I mentioned, we need to allow them to fail. Here's the thing. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to convict them. We need to invest in them, give them Godly counsel and all, but we also have to let them learn to hear the voice of God. We have to be patient in their growth because sometimes, and again with each person, we don't know what everybody's going through. We don't understand. We don't know. Listen, they might've lost a loved one. They might be suffering a sickness. They might be getting bullied. They might, you know, all these other things. They might deal with depression. They might listen to that. And outside, you're like, oh, they're such a great kid, but inside, they're dying. And you don't know that. But our thing is to, again, point them to Jesus and be patient with them. Bible says this, James chapter one, verse 22 through four. My brother, count it all joy. When you fall into various trials, join that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work. They may be perfect and complete lacking nothing. So one of the things is learning patience, learning patience with our youth, learning patience with each other and going, listen, again, sometimes we have this mindset, well, you should know better. Okay, but they don't. So let's learn to be gracious and direct them towards Jesus and not just shun them because they're not a perfect Christian like you or like you expect from them. But one of the things I mentioned this on Sunday night, when we think about perfect Christians, the Lord just kind of gave me this picture and it was a picture of fruit because Bible uses fruit as an illustration and fake fruit, fruit that's like on a coffee table or a kitchen centerpiece or something, it's usually kind of shiny, kind of perfectly shaped all that stuff. But here's the thing about fruit, like if you go to Sprout's and Tunnel Hills or something and the center, there's all the fruit and stuff, but you go to the back center where it's like the organic stuff, you know what's interesting about the organic stuff? It doesn't look as good. It's better for you because it's not full of GMOs and all this other stuff. It's not sprayed with a bunch of junk. It's not all, you know, it's like, hey, this is organic, it's best for you straight from the tree to you, all that stuff. And you're like, but it doesn't look as good. It's all bruised up, it's all banged up and everything else, like Peter, Jesus, I'll serve you, Peter, relax. Jesus, let's do this, Peter, stop. Jesus, let's go, I won't deny you, Peter. You're gonna deny me three times. Jesus, Peter, but here's a cool thing, Peter, Book of Acts. Hey, why do you look at me as if I healed that guy? No, listen, let me tell you about my God who doesn't give up on me. My God is so powerful, he healed this guy and he loves me even though I've done so many knucklehead things. And he never gives up on me. Peter is an organic fruit and he's like, I'm real. I don't look good, but I'm real. And I think that's one of the things that not only the youth, but all of us need with each other, right? Listen, I'm not gonna get into it, but I've been going through horrid things lately. Well, I'll tell you, but I'm only gonna tell you because I ask for your prayers. My younger daughter just got diagnosed with seizures and epilepsy and we just went to a doctor again today. She's had EEGs now and MRIs and a bunch of other things. And they told us like, we don't even know right now because she has this seizure and this seizure and this seizure. And so we're not sure exactly how to treat her just yet. And so she has signs of a focal seizure and a petite mall seizure and this thing and that thing. And so we don't even know. And then they threw something else in the work today and we're like, okay, like, and so this is all new for us. We went to the ER, October 3rd and here we are today going, all right, Lord, my 12 year old is suffering and I can't fix it. And today we're in Kaiser Fontana and drawing blood and she's like, I decided no on this. We're like, you can't decide no on this. You gotta draw blood. And so they can do it and then she's like, what are they gonna do it? I'm like, they're done. She's like that exactly, relax. But we're going through this process and mama's tired and Emma's dealing with it too. And she's the older sister and I but Miley, she's just going, why is this happening to me? And as dad, I'm going, Jesus, I know you're with us, but where are you right now? Because like we want you to heal, right? You know what I'm saying? I'm not questioning these not around. I'm just saying like he hasn't healed her yet. And though it's just started but it's just one of those things where it's like, okay, God, we're ready. Like you could take these away anytime now. It would be great because since they were diagnosed she has them every day and they're getting worse every day all day. So again, it's kind of one of those things like we're not leaving her alone, all that other stuff. And here's the thing, being a Christian, it's hard, right? It's not for the faint of heart. But the Bible says we have something to look forward to, heaven. Is that exciting? We get to go to heaven one day, all of us. I don't know when, but when we praise God so we get something to look forward to. That's the thing. We have to have patience because here's the thing. We're not trying to get the youth to serve though we want them to. We're trying to get them to heaven. We want them to know Jesus. We want them to know that he loves them. We want them to rest at his feet before we have them serving Jesus all over the place and stuff, which I think is amazing. But we want them to know why they're serving. We want them to know who they're serving. And so we have to have patience for them to get to that place. Last thing, I think it sums it up is encouragement. Encouragement. How can we encourage them? We could pray for them. Here's the thing. How can we encourage each other? How are you doing? No, really. I had a friend from Cavitepomino Valley call me today. He's like, how's things? I'm like, good. What'd you call for? I wasn't that abrupt, but I like, hey, what's up? What can I do for you? I literally just called to check on you. I pray for you. Oh my goodness. And I know some of you are thinking, I need that. Well, here's my recommendation. Be that, and hopefully the people around you start catching on, right? Like we need that. We need that for each other. Like we need to be encouraging each other. Not just, here's the question. Lang Stevens, who used to come here and move, but he used to tell me things like, he used to tell everybody. He was like, hey, how's Jesus today? And I was like, uh, what? I'm like, oh, wait, he wasn't asking me how I was doing. He was like, how me and Jesus do it? And I thought, this is a good question. Here's the thing, I think sometimes, I can say this as a parent, but I think sometimes as a youth pastor too, we like to talk. Can I encourage some of you? Be quiet. Like I'm learning this. It's so hard for me. Be quiet. Just listen. And then pray. And then maybe God's, what you're listening, it's gonna give you verses or a word of encouragement or something like, stop interrupting them and listen to them. And you might be so against everything they're saying, but that's what they're saying, because that's what they're feeling, that's what they're going through. So we have to listen. And sometimes it's hard for me because I just wanna fix it and get on with the next thing. Cause that's who I am. Cause I just like, okay, we don't have time for that. Let's move on. Just stop it. And here's the thing. I process things like that. And I grew up with boys and I have daughters and I'm like, they don't process things like that. So I'm learning. Lord, help me to listen. Pray for me for that. Cause it's hard sometimes. So listen, when someone encourages us, we stand straighter, we feel reinvigorated. We move with purpose and meaning. We're strengthened and ready for what lies ahead. The Bible says this in 1 Corinthians 13. Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself. It's not puffed up. It does not behave rudely. It does not seek its own. It's not provoked. Thinks no evil. Does not rejoice in inequity, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and dures all things. Love never fails. The Bible says in John 1633, these things I've spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. See, the Bible tells us and reminds us things like Hebrews 13, Hebrews 10, 23 to 25. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. For he who promised is faithful and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. Not forsaken, the sibling of ourselves together is in the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. The Bible says this, first Thessalonians 511, comfort each other and edify one another just as you also are doing. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 13, therefore we also, since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and ascend with so easiness narrows. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and he has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who adored such hostility from sinners against himself, least you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted the bloodshed striving against sin. The Bible tells us in Matthew 6 to seek first the kingdom of God at his righteousness. It says therefore, verse 34, do not worry about tomorrow or for tomorrow we'll worry about its own thing sufficient for the day it's its own trouble. And so there's so many verses that I wrote down but here's the thing I wanna share with you, another verse real quick, two more and then I'll close. Psalm 46, one, God is our refuge and strength, the very present help and trouble. Matthew 11, 28, 29, come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I'm gentle and lowly and hard and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, my burden is light. So when we're encouraging each other, not just the youth, what we're doing is we're pointing them back to Jesus and what we're doing is saying, you could do this. You could do this. Like, I can't, it's exhausting, I know, but you could do this, you're gonna make it. God's gonna see you through this. How do you know? Because we serve the God of all comfort, right? Second Corinthians chapter one. How do you know? Because the Bible says in our weakness he makes us strong. So we've invested in the word, we offer Godly counsel, we have patience as we grow, and now we're encouraging going, you got this, you got this. And here's one of the things I wanna leave you with. When you see young people out, don't ignore them and don't be like, all those kids are sitting outside during service and all they do is talk and mess around and all this stuff. Here's the thing, instead of being a disgruntled, grumpy old person, why don't you get into their life and encourage them? Why don't you praise God that they're actually on a church campus and not partying somewhere? Like, again, forgive me, because it's a youth pastor of me, so forgive me if it sounded hard. All of my emotion is just passion for them. Just remember where you once were. Remember that you were once in the world too. In some of you, it took a little longer than others. And it doesn't matter if they grew up in the church or if they didn't or not, just be, we offer grace. Again, forgive me if I'm also saying and I've said that we need to give them structure and direction and all that stuff. I'm not saying there shouldn't be consequences. That's part of offering Godly counsel, right? Is understanding that your choices have consequences, good and bad, right? So there's all that. But sitting and encouraging them, sitting and building them up, not being afraid of like, oh, they're gonna be thinking I'm weird. Of course they're gonna think you're weird because you're a stranger, but hey, you know what? Just go up, introduce. Hey, my name is so-and-so. I just wanna tell you, praise God to see you. Praise God that you're here. Just praying for you, man. Like, is there anything I pray for you about right now real quick? Are, you know, ladies, or maybe you know a youth? Here's the cool thing. I mean, if they're a close family friend or something, like, take them, get a soda. Go sit outside a Starbucks or something. Say, how's things? Invest in them. And if, here's the thing, if it's not a youth, invest in each other. Invest in each other. And here's the thing. This is our family. And we have some closer friends than others, but here's the cool thing. Meet new people. Or invite people into your circle. And say, hey, we're all gonna go to the women's bazaar. Hey, we're all gonna go to the men's thing. Like, hey, I'm not sure what's your name? Oh, are you going to that? Like, yeah, I was thinking about it. Like, well, come with us. Come hang out with us. We'll meet you outside the cafe. We'll meet you here at this and that. I don't know you, but like, hey, bring your friends. We're like, whatever. The broom ball? Been telling the youth, bring your friends. Why? Cause I got saved after going to the beach. Come to broom ball. Your friends are like, wait, not all Christians are weird. Like you play broom ball. That's pretty cool. Then they come to church the next week. We give them the gospel. Lord willing, they get saved, right? Maybe they're going to take over the youth group one day and say, you know what? I got saved the week after I played broom ball. And then next week I got saved too. And this week I got saved. And now here I am as the youth pastor. You know, it's like, it's just one of those things. You guys like, I'm so thankful for my family and my church family. And I'm thankful for your prayers. I'm thankful for your support. I'm thankful that we get to serve the Lord together. And when we have that understanding, like here's the thing. We always, we have to have this mindset that the youth aren't the church of tomorrow. They're our church. This Sunday, every second Sunday of the month, the junior high and high school go in to hear from their pastor, Pastor David. The reason why we do that, case your parents that don't know is so they can hear from our pastor, their pastor, right? This is our church. So when they're sitting in your seat in the pew that you're like, hey, what are you doing? Do it like, you didn't know that was my seat? What are you thinking? I'm sitting next to him like, hey, how are you? Like in my seat, but how are you? Like, it's all good. Like, I know you didn't know I sit there, but it's cool. I'm gonna sit next to you today because I know it's only the second Sunday. Next week I get my seat back, but praise God you're here. Like it's all good. If anything, what do we all need? We need hope and we need love. The greatest of all things is love. And that's, we need to love each other. We love each other. And when we're family, sometimes family bicker, but we love each other. And here's the thing. What we need to do is point each other to Jesus. So whether it's the youth or all of us as adults, may we do that? May we love each other and point us to Jesus? May we help each other in our walk? May we offer each other Godly counsel? May we have patience with each other? And may we encourage one another? Let's pray.