WHERE ARE THE YOUNG FOLKS?

Young people are very instrumental to the plan and purposes of God here on earth. All through Scriptures, we see strength attributed to young people. Young people are strong. Young people are energetic. Young people are very zealous and passionate. However, it is always the case of young people either using this strength-treasure to either advance a righteous cause or an evil one. When a man is full of energy and zeal, he wants to do something; he wants to exercise his abilities. The Word of God tells us that “The glory of young men [is] their strength: and the beauty of old men [is] the gray head.” (Proverbs 20:29).

The famous king of Israel, Solomon, gave a heart striking admonition and caution to young people in Ecclesiastes 12:1-14 (I pray you take some time to study it today, it’s so important you do). Verse 1 of that portion of Scripture says: “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;” We are instructed to remember the Lord in the days of our youth because the evil days are coming fast. Because the years are drawing near. Because there would come a time when we can not do what we can do now. This is a very important admonition. Please think about it for a moment.

In my endeavours, I have often had the privilege of coming across a lot of aged people and having some time with them. I have noticed that, unfortunately, it is difficult to find one of them without regrets. Most of the time their regrets stem from the fact that they never utilized the opportunities of their youths. Now they wish they could do more but they can barely do much. Time has gone and they are trying to catch up. This is sad. I feel so emotional as I write this. Today I see a lot of aged people going into missions and serious kingdom service but very few youths are involved and I am forced to ask this vital question: WHERE ARE THE YOUNG PEOPLE? Destiny is a force that has a pull on everyone. We must respond to the call of our destinies in God. Time is ticking fast. If we don’t spend our youthful energy in earnest service to the Lord today, when are we going to do so? We must be mindful of the fact that a man can only be a youth once in a life time – just once.

I once heard a preacher explain how that when a man is young, he can both see (have dreams) and run (pursue them), but when he starts aging, this dual abilities reduce till it gets to the point where he can only see but can’t run, can’t pursue what he sees. Are we rightly spending or wasting our youthful season. We must be mindful that the youthful stage of life has a lot of distractions that we must contend with on purpose if we must make unhindered advancement in life. We must fight for this. We either fight or lose.

There is a prophetic Word for the young people in Joel 2. The Prophet Joel, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, declares “…your young men shall see visions:” (Joel 2:28). I believe this is the day for the fulfilment of this prophecy. I believe these are the days for the manifestation of more visionary youths. I see the Holy Spirit stirring up young people all over the world for unquantifiable Kingdom impact. It has already begun. In many parts of the world we are seeing many young people arising and stepping into their destinies in God, doing amazing and mind blowing things in honour of the Master. Don’t be left out. Stop everything that stops you from properly maximizing your youthful days. When you do this, you’ll rejoice and be so fulfilled at old age, mentoring the next generation. This is how it ought to be. Glory to God!

THE THRONE OF GRACE

What would you do if you knew there was a place where you could find anything – I mean anything – you both need and want in life? Guess what? There is such a place. Now this is for real! The Word of God tells us in Hebrews 4:14-16: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [our] profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” The throne of grace is not just an abstract imagination. It’s a real place, a place in God. It is a place where you get everything for free from admission to content. The Throne of Grace is a please you can approach from any location, no need for travels. But it is so unfortunate that we have not been able to truly see this place as our source of hope and comfort. We seem to struggle so hard through life exploring every human, man-made options only to approach this place when we have lost all. Joyce Meyer rightly said “prayer should not be our last resort but our first response.” When we pray on time we deal with situations headlong. We stop certain progressions of the situation and put it under control.

The big thing about The Throne of Grace is that we have been given express invitation through the blood of Jesus. Every blood-washed believer has free access into the Throne room. We are asked not just to come but to come boldly. This is exciting! So why don’t believers seem to respond to this gracious opportunity? Why do we rather struggle in our own limited efforts? The truth is that the devil will do everything possible to ensure that he keeps you from coming to the Throne of Grace. He can use guilt, doubt, feelings etc. to keep you from approaching that place of prayer. Any praying Christian would tell you that the place of prayer is the place of strength and safety. This is actually the reason the devil would do everything possible to stop you from dropping to your knees. The devil hates praying Saints. He doesn’t mind you being fully engaged with activities – even Kingdom activities – but not prayer. But, you see, when activities are carried out in a praying atmosphere, the devilish forces are put off, their weapons become counterproductive. Our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, was a praying man while on earth. He lived a life of prayer. Mark 1:35 always inspires me. It says: “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” It is truly impossible for anyone to make it through these times without prayer. The devil fights your prayer life personally because that is your power house!

Prayer is fellowship. Prayer is the fellowship or communication with God that stabilizes our lives here on earth. Prayer helps us align with God’s plans and purposes for our lives. Prayer is joining forces with God to see His Kingdom come and His will done on earth as it is in heaven. It is dangerous to only pray when you feel like praying. We pray whether we feel like it or not. We pray when things are good or bad. We pray when we experience success or failure. Prayerlessness is powerlessness. Prayerlessness is the greatest weakness of all. When we don’t pray we become a prey to the enemy. We can’t afford to lose our grounds. When we don’t pray, we operate at the same level with the devil – the level of the senses and the devil is highly experienced at this level. It should deeply concern you when your prayer life is inconsistent. It is a risky place to be. God cannot help a prayerless person. Prayer is the link – it’s the lifeline – of Heaven. You must cry out to God in earnest trust for His help in your prayer life. Never be silent about prayerlessness. It is deadly! A prayerless life is a life disconnected from power!

According to Hebrews 4:16, whenever we approach the Throne of Grace we find 2 things; mercy and grace to help in time of need. Scripturally, Mercy speaks of God’s love and compassion. Grace can be defined in 3 ways: unmerited favour, Divine empowerment, Manifesting The Blessing. At what better time are mercy and grace more needed in our lives than now? You see, a single day on earth without God’s mercy and grace is enough to bring our lives to a halt, a place of disaster and destruction. We are daily preserved by God’s mercy and grace. This is why prayer ought to and must be an everyday, every hour, every moment thing. Mercy and Grace are 2 things we need on a daily bases. We daily need mercy and grace more than we need water. We daily need mercy and grace more than we need air. We daily need mercy and grace more than we need food. So you see why it is dangerous and so costly to live a prayerless life? At The Throne of Grace, we not only find mercy and grace for ourselves but we find mercy and grace to also help others in their times of need. This is the place of intercession. When we come to the place of intercession, it means that we have gone a step further, beyond ourselves, to reach others in need. That’s the place God wants to bring us to.

The Holy Spirit helps our prayer life if we let Him. It is the Holy Spirit who always inspires us to pray. If the Holy Spirit is active in your life, there would never be a day that He wouldn’t remind you to pray. The Word of God tells us that it is the Holy Spirit who helps our prayer life (see Romans 8:26-28). The Holy Spirit quickens our hearts to call upon the Lord. A Christian experiences prayerlessness when he/she has a prolonged habit of ignoring the voice and nudging of The Holy Spirit to pray. That is why I believe, just as Pastor Benny Hinn says, that prayerlessness is a sin. We must repent of prayerlessness. Prayerlessness doesn’t happen by accident. Prayerlessness has a voice. Whenever a person is prayerless, he is simply saying: “God, I can do this or that without you.” That’s not a good place to be. It’s a place of misery and gracelessness. The Holy Spirit bids you to come to the Throne of Grace today!