Road Rules for the Real World - Special Weekend Edition

Transcript of Bob's message to youth group on November 21, 2009
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Hey Guys…I know this may sound pretty old or pretty shallow, but all of us, Billy, Mark, Chris, myself – we are just thrilled that you decided to spend some time with us tonight, and maybe learn a little more about Jesus than you knew before you walked through those doors an hour or so ago.

We all come to youth group every week hoping to have some fun. Am I right on that? And you know, that’s true – that’s part of it. But our job – my job, Billy’s job, Chris’ job, Mark’s job – is to bring Christ alive in your lives – to teach what’s in this book, the Bible, to each one of you. We know that not everyone who comes to youth group is a Christian. Because of all the people that may come to youth group or church on Sunday, we know that many of them are what we would call seekers. And all that means is that they’re just here checking out this God-thing. They’re not Christians. They haven’t bought in. They respect a friend that invited them. If you’re here as a seeker, I respect you that you’d be smart enough and care enough about your life that maybe there is a creator, and there is a designer. That there is a God.

But we also know that there people that come to youth group or church on Sunday that are on the other end. They’re more sold out. They’ve made a strong commitment to God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They are not perfect, but they are sold out to God! We can call them followers of Jesus Christ.

Then we have many people in the middle. They’re not seekers and they’re not followers. They’re what we call stumblers. They’re kind of struggling in their relationship with God. They’ve said yes to God and turned their back to the world’s way, but they’re having a hard time getting their arms around what it means to be a Christian and a follower of Christ.

So no matter where you are in your spiritual journey – whether you are a seeker, a stumbler, or a follower, we are glad you are here tonight.

There are two messages that bring tears to my eyes. Two messages that if I could have five or 10 minutes with you some day at Wendy’s or McDonald’s, I’d probably tear up. One would be a message telling you that God loves you and He forgives you and He wants a personal relationship with you, not a religion. Almost anytime I talk with somebody about that, especially students, I get so emotional because I think, “Your whole life could be different if you had a relationship with God.”

The second message is now that you believe in God, what do you do with that…what to do with your life? Here’s the answer – each one of you can make a difference on this incredible playground that we call earth – and you can start doing that tonight. It doesn’t matter how old you are, what grade you are in, or how well you do in school. Heck, to make a difference fro God in our world, you don’t even have to be a youth leader or a Pastor or a Priest. You matter. You are just not some excess baggage in life. And, anytime I talk to somebody who thinks they’re just excess baggage, I stop “Time out! You’re an original masterpiece created by God, not to be excess baggage but to make a difference in this world.” Those are my two favorite messages.

Tonight I want to take a few minutes to talk to you guys about something we have been talking about at Meetinghouse Church on Sunday mornings. And if you don’t come to Meetinghouse on Sundays, I hope you and your family will give it a try because it is awesome! But tonight I want to talk about how you can make a difference with your life. How to discover your shape. Now I know you must be saying, “Shape, what do you mean by shape?”

The world, the one right outside those glass doors wants to tell you a lie. Here’s the lie: you don't matter...you're just a kid...you can’t make a difference in this world until you’re an adult. When you’re an adult and you’ve got kids and you’ve got money and a house and a car and your checking account, then you can make a difference in the world. Please guys, listen to me – that’s the world telling you a lie!

Did you guys know that some of the most important people in the history of mankind have been students, teenagers? I want to tell you none of you here tonight, and none of your friends at school, are excess baggage. Don’t believe that lie. Because God has created you for an incredible reason and when you discover how He’s created you, your life will be radically changed. You won’t wake up in the morning going, “Dude, I don’t care.” You won’t live with this apathy, and go through life just shrugging your shoulders thinking there is nothing you can do.

In the Bible, it talks about one of the kings of Israel – a guy named David. And listen to what King David said about God:

“You have looked deep into my heart, LORD, and you know all about me. You know when I am resting or when I am working, and from heaven you discover my thoughts. You notice everything I do and everywhere I go. Before I even speak a word, you know what I will say, and with your powerful arms you protect me from every side. I can't understand all of this! Such wonderful knowledge is far above me. Where could I go to escape from your Spirit or from your sight? If I were to climb up to the highest heavens, you would be there. If I were to dig down to the world of the dead you would also be there. Suppose I had wings like the dawning day and flew across the ocean. Even then your powerful arms would guide and protect me. Or suppose I said, "I'll hide in the dark until night comes to cover me over." But you see in the dark because daylight and dark are all the same to you. You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me.”

In another part of the Bible, there is the story of a guy named Job who had a pretty tough life. And even in the middle of his worst suffering, he said God “Your hands formed me and shaped me.”

I realize that there are some of you in here think that God had absolutely nothing to do with you. That He didn’t form you and shape you. That He didn’t knit you together in your mother’s womb. I know that some of you or your friends or your family think that there was this huge explosion and that all of a sudden here you are. From a blob you are a complex human.

But, the reason we even have this youth group is to get across this message – that there is a designer. That you are not an accident. That you did not evolve from planets colliding. That our bodies, our world, our minds, are much too complex. It points to a designer. And God doesn’t design junk.

I hope he doesn’t get embarrassed when I tell this story, but I remember it like it was yesterday. It’s about when Stephen was in first grade. Now we all know that first grade is basically cutting, pasting, drawing – a lot of artwork. You know, a bunch of construction paper and a bunch of glue and sprinkles, and abra cadabra, art! But one week, Stephen’s class did some artwork about President’s Day – art about Abe Lincoln and George Washington. And this was just around when they have those parent-teacher conferences. So me and my wife are waiting to see Stephen’s teacher, and we are just wandering in the hallways, looking at all this art work plastered all over the bulletin boards. Some of the art work was good, but a lot of it I just could not understand what that kid who did it must have been thinking.

But you know what made some of that art an incredible work? The name. Stephen Hewitt. All of a sudden it has meaning. When I went to the school and went through the hallways and every kid’s work is up there you know what I do? Junk... Junk... Trash... Stephen Hewitt! This is it! I recognize the name. I know who he is and I have this special love for him. Guys, and that's exactly how God looks at each one of you...you are God's construction paper. You are God's glue. You are God's glitter. You are God's art project, and when He sees you, he says your name, and how much he loves you, just like how I felt when I saw Stephen's art project that day outside his first grade classroom.

You might look at your life and say “My life is worthless, my life is trash, my life is junk. My parents abuse me. Nobody likes me. People make fun of me. I’m not in the right crowd. My grades stink.” But God says, “Oh, I love you just like you are. I knit you and formed you and created you. I love you just the way you are.”

To make a difference in your life for God, God wants you to...

Discover your Spiritual gifts and then open them like presents on Christmas morning.

Here’s what the Bible says about spiritual gifts:

“There are different ways God works in our lives but it is the same God who does work through all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.”

The church does not just mean Meetinghouse Church, or this youth group. The church means the kingdom, the body of believers, the millions and millions of people on this planet that call themselves Christians – that’s the church. He gives you these gifts as a means of helping the entire church.

Some of you in here probably don’t know this because you haven’t discovered this about yourself yet, but you have spiritual gift – it may knowing right from wrong, maybe it is the gift of encouraging your friends or family, or maybe the gift of wisdom which is having an unusual insight about life that some people don’t have, maybe it’s the gift of service, or the gift of mercy, r the gift of hospitality where you love to make people feel welcome. You invite them into your home and you want to care for their needs.

We’re not all gifted the same. And there is no limit to the kinds of gifts you may have.

There is a catch to these spiritual gifts, as the Bible says. The catch is this: spiritual gifts are only available for Christians. That’s not a slam on those of you who are only checking out Christianity and you’re not Christians. It’s not a slam on you. But God said those who have decided to turn their back on the world to have a relationship with me; I’m going to give them special gifts. So if you’re sitting here tonight and you’re not a Christian, you may be saying to yourself, “Hey Bob, what do I need that special gift for to help the church? I don’t even care.”

Here’s why you should care, especially if you don’t have Jesus in your life. The Bible says this in 1 Corinthians 2:

“People who aren’t Christians can’t understand these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them because only those who have the Spirit understand what the Spirit means.”

If you have said yes to God at sometime in your life, you have a relationship with him, and here’s what the Bible says: You are gifted. Congratulations, you are gifted.

You may not know what your gifts are yet. I believe God gave me the spiritual gift of teaching. I believe that God gave me the spiritual gift of encouraging others. I believe that God gave me the spiritual gift of loving students. I believe God gave me the gift of writing. And the weird thing is that I didn’t even know I had any gifts until about three years ago! Somebody asked me to teach the high school youth group at another church. I did and they paid attention! Not only that, I liked it.

There’s a guy I know named Cam. I know what some of this guy’s spiritual gift are. One of his God-given gifts is the spiritual gift of encouragement. Ever since I have known him this guy is encouraging everybody. I get better emails from this student than anybody I’ve ever met in my life – encouraging! You know what happens when he types these emails? He feels like he’s being used by God. You know what the receiver of those email does? The receiver is blown away! I’m getting encouragement. Everybody needs to be encouraged. I’ve never met anybody who said, “Stop encouraging me. I’ve had enough encouragement. I can’t take it any more.” Others of you you’d rather take a punch in the stomach than meet a stranger. You say, “No, dude! Kick me in the head but I don’t want to go greet that person who is at youth group for their first time!” But some of you have the gift. You’re good at that. You’re gifted. You’ve got a spiritual gift. You’ve got to discover your gift, and then open it, like a present on Christmas morning.

The H in SHAPE stands for Heart.

What’s in your heart? What do you love? What are you passionate about? Have you ever thought, “What do I really, really love in life?” Some of you love doodling, or drawing. Some of you love to develop. Some of you love to perform. Some of you love to start things. Some of you love to finish things. Some of you love to improve things. Some of you love to be with people. God has given you some loves.

Listen to what Psalm 37 says

“Delight in the Lord and he will give you your heart’s desires.”

Some of your heart’s desires are so incredible, you have such great love but they’re kind of locked up because you haven’t taken delight in God. You’re not going to use those for the right reasons. But believe me when you do, your heart can be filled with selfish ambition – “Me, me, me. Look at me. I love me and I want to take care of me.” Or your heart can be filled with the desire to express love. That is God's will.

The A in SHAPE is Abilities.

You have to determine your abilities which will influence your impact. When you determine what you’re good at, it’ll influence your impact.

When I was in seventh grade I signed up for a speech and debate class. Science – C, English – C, Math – C- (that’s if I cheated just to get that!), Speech and debate – A+. I wasn’t even a Christian, but I loved to debate. I loved to use the logic. I loved to speak. God gave me that ability before I had a relationship with him. When I became a Christian, I had something to speak about; God's love letter, God's Word.

What are your abilities? Graphics? Teaching? Writing? Promoting? Researching? Drama? Cleaning? Some of you are incredible with talking on the phone! That’s okay. That may be one of your best abilities! Surfing. Some of you know Frank. Frank loves surfing. Can he use that for God? Why not? Why not start a surf ministry. You know, have a little Bible study on the beach then go out surfing. Same goes for skate boarding. If you love skate boarding, that may be your ministry.

Determine your abilities which will influence your impact.

2 Corinthians 12 says, “There are different abilities to perform service.” In the Old Testament, in Exodus 31, “The Lord said to Moses, look I have chosen Bezalel son of Uru, grandson of Hur from the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, given him wisdom, intelligence and skill in all kinds of crafts.” God has given you some incredible abilities. Some of you are unbelievably talented. But a talent without passion without a spiritual gift is just used for yourself which becomes empty.

The P in SHAPE is Personality

My challenge to each of you tonight is to delight in your personality. I am here to tell you tonight that each one of your personalities is unique and important. What your personality is will impact what you do in this world. Some of us in here are real outgoing. Some of you here would rather just mind your own business, and would be happy if no one bothered you. One is not better than the other.

God has given you a very unique personality. Some of you that aren’t Christians yet, you’re going to see how God's going to use your personality to make a difference in this world.

There was a guy in the Bible named Paul. He wrote over half the books in the New Testament. Before he was a Christian he was a murderer. He was going to stomp out Christianity. He was zealous. He was radical. He was driven. He was passionate. He was going to destroy Christianity - until he came into relationship with Jesus Christ. Then that personality was used, that same passion, that drive that was against Christ was now used for Christ.

I am here to tell you that each one of you in here tonight has a personality that is perfect for making a difference in this world. God's given you an incredible personality. Don’t try to be like somebody else. Don’t be copy when you are created as an original masterpiece.

The E in SHAPE is your experiences (both positive and negative).

A hurt will not be wasted. I know some of you in here you may only be 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 but you have some experiences both good and bad that make up your shape. Here’s what I’m saying. For those of you who are Christians, you’ve got the “S” part. For those of you who aren’t, you’ve got all the other ones. The Christian has the Spiritual gifts, the Heart, the Abilities, the Personality and Experiences and you look at those together and say, “God, all that I am and all that I’ve been through, what can I do to make a difference in this world?” Your experiences – God will use your good experiences and God will use your bad experiences.

Your good experiences…2 Corinthians 9 says, “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospels.” Because of the service by which you have proved yourself, what happens? People will praise God.

Some of you here may have heard the word testimony. It’s a churchy word that basically boils down to what your personal story is – how you came to believe in God. Chris gave his testimony a few weeks ago. Each us has their own testimony – their own story – and no two are alike. Now, some of the testimonies that we hear are pretty radical. Some of you that don’t have a lot of negative experiences, sometimes you feel guilty. You say, “My life hasn’t been like that. I’ve had a pretty positive life. My parents aren’t divorced. I don’t do drugs. I haven’t had sex. I don’t kidnap animals. I don’t sacrifice the neighbor’s kitten. That’s not me. I’m not a chronic drug addict. I have no story.” Yes, you do! By you not having that type of story you’ve got a story. You’re actually more in the minority because most people mess up their lives. Depend on God to use your experiences.

What about the painful experiences? Some of you are going, “I was abused. How is God going to use that? I was sexually molested. How is God going to use that?” Maybe something bad has happened to you. But the cool thing about that is that you can use that horrible experience to build others up. Because once you talk about it openly, and how God has come into your life and healed your heart, one by one, people in and around your life, whether it be at school, or on the ball fields, or in your neighborhoods, or at home…one by one, people will come to you, and ask for your help. “Ethan, can I talk to you? Matt, you got a minute?” God takes your pain. God shares your pain with others. And now, those others are now on the road to recovery to get help. And in the end, God didn’t waste your hurt- he used your hurt.

Some of you are seekers, you know what you’re doing? You’re using that hurt to keep you from God. You think it’s God's fault that you are hurt. You say, “I don’t want to have a relationship with God. He’s the one who hurt me.” No. God doesn’t bring hurt. There may have been circumstances. God loved you so much He gave you free choice. And in a free-choice world, bad things sometimes happen to good people. You are a good person and there’s some pain. It’s not God's fault. But give it to God and let him heal you. And let him bring some positive out of that negative.

SHAPE – Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, Experiences. That’s a lot to think about, so let’s pray together.

God thank you that you created us and shaped us and you love us unconditionally not based on our abilities. You love us not based on our spiritual gifts. You love us not based on our personality, what we look like or how much money we have. You love us because you created us and you want us to have a relationship with you. God, I pray that the students in here tonight and the thousands of students who live in this area will discover their shape and they’ll understand that they’re not excess baggage; that they can make a difference. And God, I pray that you would show us what that difference is. Thank you for your love. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.