Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Many churches take the letter ‘C’ out of the ‘Great Commission’, making it the ‘Great Omission’. The church which is not a missionary church will be a missing church when Jesus comes. David Livingstone says, ‘God had an only Son and He was a missionary and a physician. A poor, poor imitation of Him I am, or wish to be.’ Why did David Livingstone went to Africa? When David Livingstone was a medical student, he decided that since he had only one life he ought to make the most of it. He got a map of the world and decided that China was the neediest country. He planned to go as a medical missionary until he heard Dr. Robert Moffat say, ‘From the hill where I live I can see the smoke of a thousand villages where no Christian has ever gone.’ Livingstone decided to go to Africa instead. He lived with the savage natives, suffered from fever, was separated from his family, and finally died in a hut in the Wilderness.
Missologist David Bryant says, ‘God’s concern is worldwide. All too frequently the church has fallen into lethargy in relation to its worldwide obligations. But God does not leave Himself without a witness. Whether it is William Carey, Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor, David Livingstone, God singles out a man to prophesy to His church. And with remarkable frequency, that man has been a student (a young man).
If you were to ask any missionary what is the most needed resource to fulfill the Great Commission and take the gospel to the world their answer, almost unanimously, would be ‘people’. The gospel is powerful but it cannot provide its own transportation. I mean, I suppose God could have made it self-propelled (because God is omnipotent) but he choose to use people, us, to be the messengers.
This morning I want to share about the Missions role of young people in God’s global plan. I am going to show three young people in the bible and three important truths that God executes.
What did God set out to do for young people?
1. God gives dreams and visions
God spoke audibly to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but in Joseph’s life, God never spoke aloud, but instead communicated through dreams. Joseph had two dreams. Genesis 37: 5-11 says, ‘Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.’
What is a dream? It is a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind while in sleep. Also it could be an object seen in the dream. Dreams ultimately become visions. What is a vision? Vision is the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be. A vision is an experience in which a personage, thing, or event appears vividly or credibly to the mind, although not actually present, often under the influence of a divine or other agency.
These are not ordinary dream. I believed the dreams were vivid and impacted Joseph. The most important thing about the dreams is that they came from God and Joseph believed it. The outstanding feature in this incident was Joseph’s age. He is 17 years old when he received the 2 dreams. Are dreams and visions credible? Acts 2:17 says, ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.’
A Scottish boy, lying on the heather besides a brook, fell asleep and had a wonderful dream. The sky became glorious with a dazzling golden light. Out of this light came a chariot drawn by horses of fire. Faster and faster it came down from the sky and when it came near the boy he heard a voice as sweet as the mountain brook, saying, “come up hither, I have work for you to do’ When he got up to obey, he awoke and found it was a dream. The impression did not leave him, and one day the boy went to his room, knelt down beside the bed, and prayed, “O Lord, Thou knowest that silver and gold I have none. What I have I give to Thee. I offer myself. Wilt Thou accept the gift?’ God did accept the gift and the boy became one of the truly great missionaries. He name was Alexander Duff, missionary to India.
The concentration of my message this morning is on young people. Serve God when you are young; don’t wait until you are old and then give God the leftovers. I have seen this repeated under the sun. A student will say, ‘Let me finish my studies first and then I will serve God and the church.’ They never get to serve God in the end. It is like the young man that says to Jesus, ‘Suffer me to bury my father first, then I will come and follow you.’ What he meant is ‘let me take care of my parents. After they die, then I will come and serve you.’ I have never allowed my education; my family and friends to hinder me to serve God when I was young. Please take note that God did not leave out the old men and old women. It also says in the book of Acts that your old men will dream dreams. I am in that category today. And I just had a dream yesterday and I was woken by that dream. I shared it with Pastor Lily on the breakfast table. The book of Acts is about the church in action, propagating the Gospel throughout the known world at that time. David Livingstone said, ‘I will go anywhere –provided it be forward.’ God will put dreams and visions upon the congregation of the church that wants to spread the Gospel.
What are the characteristics of the dreams? That Joseph should be the favored ‘first born’ son of a family. He is given authority over not only the family but the nation. I was the first to be born again in my family. They were idol worshippers. But they did not influence me. I influenced them until finally all accepted Christ. I am respected as a leader in my family. He would be a national leader. Joseph would tell Pharaoh later when two dreams had the same message then “the matter had been firmly decided by God, and God would do it soon” When you can never forget that dream or vision, or it is repeated twice in your dream, or the vision kept coming back to you, most likely it is from God. Of course for Joseph the dreams had gone unfulfilled for 13 years. During that time he had been sold into slavery, sent to prison under false charges, and hadn’t seen his family in years. The fact that Joseph could be so sure of God’s answers after years of waiting is a tremendous testimony to his faith. Faith is so important in your dream. Actually faith is so important in your relationship with God. Faith is to have implicit trust in God. If God gives you the dream, that settles it. I believe from the age of 17 until 30 Joseph thinks of the dream probably over a thousand times. As a young man I was given a vision from God even before I step into the Philippines. God showed me that I had to share the Gospel; so I thought I would be an evangelist. But I become a pastor, still sharing the Gospel and also a missionary; again sharing the Gospel. It took 7 years to see the fulfillment of this dream. Another vision I was given is that I would be a commander. I did become the Chairman of JECPP and by God’s grace we planted 341 churches in that 10 years’ span. It took 14 years for the second vision to come to pass. I still have a third vision that is yet to come to pass. And 30 years has passed. I am acting and anticipating that which will or may come to be. I have to say that my visions are vivid to my mind and I am under the influence of a divine power. And I have to say that I think of this vision or dream probably over a thousand times and I am still thinking of its fulfillment. You must hang on to your dreams or visions.
If Joseph had given up on God’s answers to dreams during that time, he wouldn’t have interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, and he wouldn’t have been given the authority to rule that finally caused the fulfillment of his own dreams!
Joseph was only 17 when he received his dreams from God. Don’t think you are too young to receive dreams and visions from God. Seventeen means immature. All 17-year-olds are in one way or another immature. At 17, you’re still right in the middle of puberty. Most countries’ law says that people are “adult” and “grown-up” and “mature” at age 18. So technically you are not an adult, not grown up or mature. Generally your body stops growing at the age of 16 years for girls and 18 years for boys. So physically you are still growing. Seventeen means incomplete or immature. The opposite of the meaning of seven (complete) is incomplete. Probably the best scriptural example showing the meaning of seventeen is Joseph. He was seventeen when he had his first dream about his brothers bowing down to him. In his immaturity, he didn’t know that he shouldn’t tell them which he learned quickly. But In the Bible the number 17 also symbolizes “overcoming the enemy” and “complete victory.” God overcame the sins of rebellious humans when he began to flood the earth through rain on the 17th of the second Hebrew month. Noah’s ark and its eight passengers rested on the mountains of Ararat on the 17th of the seventh month (right in the middle of God’s annual Holy period known as the Feast of Tabernacles). Here we see 17 and 7 coming together. Jesus Christ gained a complete victory over death and the grave when God resurrected him near sunset on Nisan 17 (Saturday, April 8, 30 A.D.). Yes, you may be immature or incomeplete right now when it comes to be ready for the task that is ahead. But you will overcome the enemy and have complete victory in the end. Like Ruth Graham says, this life is still under construction; please be patient. It is very interesting that the date we enter Cambodia with 7 people from this church was July 7, 2017 (7/7/2017). It is so interesting that our Cambodia’s trip see the coming together of 7 and 17. Another interesting revelation is this year is 2017. The number 17 appears again. Joseph was 17, immature and incomplete but he will finally overcome the enemy and have complete victory. We are starting our Cambodia mission in 2017. I believe 2017 is a special year. Just two days ago, August 4 and 5, there was a major conference entitled Manila International Mission Conference 2017 and the shout out was ‘Rise and Shine Philippines’. The speaker was Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth with a Mission. The conference is on Philippines sending missionaries overseas. Yes we are immature and incomplete because it is a very new thing but we will overcome and have complete victory. But before you can catch the drumbeat and the missionary heart of God, God has to give you a dream and a vision. The ultimate purpose of the dream of Joseph is to save a family and a group of people. The family is Joseph’s family and the group of people is the Jews. Likewise the ultimate purpose of a dream that God has given you is to save a family and a group of people. The family could be your family. For me personally, my visions see the salvation of my family. The group of people could be the youth. Loren Cunningham’s vision is to save the youth. That is why it is called YWAM. David Wilderson’s vision is to save the drug addicts. D.L Moody’s vision is to save the children; he fed 10,000 children every day. I believe our Cambodia mission is to save a family and the youth. We are going to kick off our church in Cambodia with concentration on music and worship.
2. God anoints
How old was David when Samuel anointed him with oil. 1 Samuel 16:12-13, ‘So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.’
There are a lot of arguments over the age of David when Samuel anoints him with oil. Some bible commentators says he is as young as 13 years old, while others say he is as old as 25. We are living in a society that if the young people don’t want to give their lives to God, it will be used by the Devil. Last Tuesday, we heard from a prayer that reports are coming out that at a young age of 13, teens are already committing rapes and murder and the LGBT community is rising at an alarming rate. So I believe YHWH is intervening in lives as early as 13, and this is seen many times in the bible. The oldest they give David was 25; and 25 is still a pretty young age. Before we come to deduce his age, we must understand a few things concerning David. He became King of Israel at Hebron at the age of 30. He was the eighth son of Jesse, so definitely 7 years younger than his eldest brother. Only the first three sons of David were conscripted to join the army of Saul and thus fight against the Philistines. If you take a survey of all the countries; there are more than 200 countries in this world, those conscripted to join the army of the countries, are from the age of 16 to 20. I joined the Singapore Armed Forces when I was 18 years old. And David couldn’t join the army because he was too young. He has 4 other elder brothers who are yet to join the army. When you are young, you are always treated with a measure of disrespect. He wasn’t even present for the selection as Israel’s king. When he wants to fight against Golaith, Saul told him that he was but a youth. Other translation uses the word ‘boy’. 1 Samuel 17:33 says, ‘”Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” Here Saul called him a boy and hinted that when Goliath was a youth like David then, he had already been trained as a man of war and not like David. That is why David has to tell Saul that he killed a lion and a bear while protecting sheep. And the time period between Samuel anointing David and David fighting Golaith could be a few years in between. So you can safely assume that David was definitely around the age of 17, more or less.
Leaving aside the age matter my emphasis in this second point is that he is anointed by God. Let’s learn something about the anointing. David was anointed in the midst of his brethren. Sound familiar. Joseph’s dreams involved his brothers. A person is anointed usually in the midst of people around. Anointing is never a quiet matter. Anointing is the act used to set apart an individual and signified that person is consecrated for God’s use. This consecration was further confirmed with the gift of God’s Spirit upon David in power. Another translation says, ‘the Spirit of YAHWEH came upon David’. This represents a sudden change because the Hebrew text states that the Spirit ‘rushed’ upon David and stayed upon him from that day onwards. If you want to do things for God, Isaiah 61 has to be fulfilled for you. Isaiah 61 says, ‘The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ The anointing gifted you the Lord’s favor and empower you. Yes, Samuel was silent after the anointing, probably because of the high destinies of the boy standing before him. When you are anointed, you are immediately endowed with extraordinary gifts of God’s Spirit, such as strength, and courage, and wisdom, and magnanimity, and other excellent qualities, which fitted you for and put you upon noble attempts. He was to be distinguished, marked for a great position. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day onward. The effect of this descent of the Spirit of the Lord upon David was that the shepherd boy grew up into a hero, a statesman, a scholar, and a wise, far-sighted king. The effect of the departure of the Spirit from Saul was that from that hour the once generous king became a prey to a gloomy melancholy, and a victim to a torturing jealousy of others, which increased as time went on, and which goaded him now and again to madness, ruining his life, and marring utterly the fair promise of his early years.
If you have a dream or a vision, you need the anointing to see the fulfillment of the dream or vision. His anointing was not an empty ceremony, a Divine power went with that instituted sign; he found himself advanced in wisdom and courage, with all the qualifications. I remembered that when we stepped into the Philippines in 1986, we had to be anointed. Very early in our ministry, one day Pastor Lilly was praying in her private room and suddenly she was anointed with the gift of prophecy. With the anointing, definitely she was fearless, found herself in wisdom and courage and excellent qualities. Remember Pastor Lily was just 22 years old. And the early members in our church had difficulty addressing her as Pastor because she was so young and her members were older than her and some already in their 30s or more. But her wisdom in counsel and interpretation of the bible and life’s situation astounded many. I remembered the former General Superintendent of the Assembly of God saw us and said, we were kids. And they wondered how is she so wise and yet so young. Because in the anointing God gifted you. Edgar and Rowena are already in Cambodia. They are to seek God for the anointing. Mike Mike has to seek God for the anointing.
As Joseph’s dream and vision is to save a family and a group of people, David’s anointing is to establish a kingdom. Our anointing is to establish a kingdom. The kingdom of God represents God’s reign being established in a new way through your life. A new group of people will be ushered into the Kingdom of God through your anointing.
3. God goes with you
Matthew 28:20 says, ‘Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.’
Daniel was sent to Babylon when he was approximately 15 years old at the time. The right word was exiled. Daniel 1:3-4 says, ‘Then the king ordered Asphenaz, the chief of his officials to bring in some of the sons of Israel including some of the royal family of the nobles, youth in whom was no defect, who were good looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the King’s court.’ Then verse 8 says, ‘But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Again the word ‘youth’ is used again in the bible. There is no better example that the Bible gives us than that of Daniel and his three Hebrew friends who were called to live in differently in the midst of the wicked city of Babylon. Babylon is far way from Jerusalem, home. It is a world center, and more specifically a center of heathendom. Babylon first appears in the Bible under the guise of the tower of Babel. The Hebrew word for “confused” is babal, which sounds like babel (Babylon). The great evil of the tower builders is their sinful pride against the rule of God. The dominant image of Babylon in Revelation is the city’s personification of a rich woman, the “mother of prostitutes”. Babylon is a great city that rules over the earth. Babylon is also a world system filled with immorality represented by the great harlot of Revelation. Babylon is also the historic oppressor of God’s people, who represents the new oppressor of Christ’s church. Daniel is exiled to Babylon.
Speaking at the University of Glasgow in 1896, David Livingstone said, ‘Would you like me to tell you what supported me through all the years of exile among a people whose language I could not understand, and whose attitude toward me was always uncertain and often hostile? It was this, ‘Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ On these words I staked everything, and they never failed.’
The Christian life in this sinful world and society is difficult. God has called us out of this world to be a people consecrated to His cause in this world. Yet He places us in the midst of this sinful world to be a witness to Him and His workings of grace in us. That means we are called to live in this world of sin—a world that is opposed to the cause of Jesus Christ. We are called by God to live in a world where temptations abound and where all kinds of sins are at our fingertips. Cambodia will be no different.
But Babylon also represents a place that is not your home. Jerusalem is Daniel’s home. But he was sent to Babylon. Babylon represents Bible Prophecy where this period is called the Times of the Gentiles.
The best place to be in is where YHWH says, ‘Lo I am with you always’ when we get out of our country and preach the Gospel. Adoniram Judson, the apostle of Burma was once flung into prison, a lonely, friendless man, at the mercy of his captors. It seemed a hopeless task, to which he had set his hand. He found frustration on every hand. As he lay in that foul Burmese prison, his captors jokingly said, ‘What about the prospects of Missions now, Judson?’ The swift and unhesitating reply was ‘There are just as bright as the promises of God.’
How Daniel did thrive in Babylon? I have to be honest that Daniel was in Babylon at the age of 15 and he lives there until he was above 90. He never left Babylon. Daniel lived in Babylon through the entire seventy years of the Jews’ captivity there. Actually he thrives in Babylon. He lives in prominence under 5 worldly kings. But how did he thrive in Babylon. Daniel provides vital life principles concerning how to stand for God in a corrupt society. He resolved in his heart that he would not define himself. It shows to us the godly resolve of Daniel. We read, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank. It should be noted that Daniel resolved in his heart but with tact and politeness. He trusted in God, but did not flaunt his faith.
It should be of special value to young people because he made that resolution when he was just 15 years old. Another principle is what Herbert Lockyer calls Daniel, ‘The Man who kept his window open.’ But there is something more important about Daniel that far, far surpasses any of these physical and intellectual characteristics. He was a child of the covenant.
They were raised in covenant families and they had been well taught by the age of 14 or 15 in the ways of God. That means they were taught from childhood on in the fear of the Lord.
Because Daniel followed principles of God, God was with him always. The name Daniel means God judged. Yes we are living in this world (Babylon) and especially if we go to a foreign country, like Cambodia, yet God’s hand is providentially with you. Through you He will show His power. The bible says in Daniel 1:7 ‘God granted’. It shows God’s presence and purpose in every situation you are put in. God is with you and would use you for His purposes. Daniel also shows how God is in control of the history of all nations. The great overarching theme of Daniel is the sovereignty of God over all the affairs of men.
In conclusion, because William Carey studied foreign language and the travel reports of Captain Cook, he was called a foolish impractical dreamer. Even after he became a minister he was called foolish. Then he proposed for discussion at a minister’s conference on the topic “Whether or not the Great Commission is binding upon us,’ an older minister rebuked him saying, ‘Sit down young man, When God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid or mine.’
I remember my younger brother said this to me in my early years as a missionary, ‘God does not need your help to preach the Gospel.’
When we think of the great heroes of the Bible it’s easy to forget that many of them were just recently over the throws of puberty when God began to work in their lives. Mentally go back through the Scripture. Think of men such as Daniel, Joseph (of Genesis), David, Gideon, Samuel and Josiah. When God called them they had barely begun to shave, which I suppose is a moot point as ‘clean-shaven’ was not a desired look for Jewish men. Think of women like Ester and Mary the mother of Jesus, none of them could get into an R rated movie, which is another fabulously moot point. Quite typically God initiated his plans through the youthful zeal and passion of young men and women. You are one of them that YHWH had in mind.
