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Another Arrow in the Hands of a Warrior
Levi Gray • 10/17/2007
I was amazed at this. It was such a simple concept, but the fact that God had to tell me left me dumbfounded. I was powerfully inspired. But then I realized that it is a commandment for all people. But I've challenged myself to find out God's plan for my generation, because with the impurity of the media today, Christian teens are getting confused. God's Plan For Teens
1. Study and Preach The Word This was what God initially showed me to begin my meditations. It is also the most important one. What better way to know God's plan than to see how His people followed(and strayed from) His commandments? The most important thing in the Bible to preach is what the world needs most: The Gospel. The rest of His Holy Word is also important, but the first thing in God's agenda for the streets of America is the Gospel. Let our voices resound! 2. Protect Your Birthright
Flip Benham introduced this to me in February of last year, but it wasn't until recently that God showed me this was important. You see, Satan is comforting America , seducing it into laziness, so that he can take our birthrights, God's Word, right from under our noses. How do you protect your birthright? By standing against the demonic principalities in this nation, and clench the Word tightly in our palms. We are in a spiritual tug of war with Satan, but with God on our side, we will always prevail. God hated Esau, because Esau despised his birthright for a simple temporal pleasure. Hold on until the end. 3. Discipline
One of the reasons that teens fail in the battle against the world is the lack of discipline. But there are two types of discipline that are needed to maintain purity, which is the "titanium alloy" in the Armor of God. The first type of discipline is outer discipline. You need to challenge your spiritual authorities and your physical authorities(your parents) to discipline you and to do what they can to keep you away from temptation to do evil. I was addicted to pornography since the 7th grade, and I was battling well until I bought a computer with Internet on it. Was it the Internet that caused me to sin again? No, I fell back into the darkness of pornography because I didn't tell my father that I had a problem with it. But, with the help of a friend, I confronted my father and told him that unless he put restrictions on my Internet use(He put a password on my computer) I would not be able to efficiently maintain my relationship with God. Something I learned about being saved is that you have to FORCE YOURSELF OUT OF SIN. You are human and you will sin every now and then. That's why you should NEVER TRUST YOURSELF. God says in Isaiah 30:1: Woe to the rebellious children," says the LORD, "Who take counsel, but not of Me,
And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin; 4. Arm Yourselves
While the previous tasks in God's agenda for teens help us to arm ourselves, I want to emphasize this concept. Ephesians 6 speaks of the Armor of God, which is what I will describe to you to conclude this declaration. First I want you to notice that before Paul tells about the armor, he commands us to both be obedient to our parents and to obey our masters. These are both required to maintain your armor. Without humility and obedience, your armor will rust and decay. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. This is important for you to identify the enemy. We don't want to destroy the abortionists, the homosexuals, or the Islamic nation. We wish to save the abortionists and destroy abortion, save the homosexuals and destroy homosexuality, save Muslims and destroy Islam. Remember this when you declare the Word. Focus on the demons in the person, not the person themselves. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth... Truth is what holds us together as Christians. Without your belt of truth, you may be embarrassed when declaring God's Word, if you catch my pun. Remain truthful. ....having put on the breastplate of righteousness,... When you stand for righteousness, put it on display against the demonic principalities this world, God will use that to protect the most vital part of your spiritual body: your heart. Keep it pure, keep it strong. ....and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;... Why is it, when speaking about the gospel, would Paul use feet as an example? Because, to prepare to spread the gospel, you must first, as Christ said, go out into the world. This means that your witnessing should not be exclusive to the computer in your room. ...above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one... Faith is your ally. When you truly believe in your heart that Christ defeated death and can defeat anything else, Satan will never be able to defeat you. He might as well pack his bags. ...And take the helmet of salvation... The mind is the path which Satan usually takes to deceive Christians today. But when you are saved, you can allow Christ to crown you with this helmet. When Satan deploys his arrows, there is no promise you will not fear it's descent towards your head, or that you won't feel the pain as it rattles against the helmet, but your mind will be protected from fatal wound. But that doesn't mean you don't have the responsibility to protect your mind. ...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; The same sword which pierces your heart in times can and should be used to destroy the principalities. Not only must we be protected, but we must put ourselves on the offensive for God. Will you obey God's plan for you, teens? Will you share God's plan for your teens, parents? |
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During worship last Sunday and I was praying, and Jesus appeared to me. It wasn't a vision, or a dream, just an image in my head. I had just repented of thinking too much of myself, mind you. Christ Himself sat in front of me at a desk, and I told Him, "Lord, Take my thoughts, take it all, just throw it away. What is on your agenda for me?" He pulled out a Bible, mine in fact, and said, "Preach that," tapping on it repeatedly. 
