[0:00] Take your Bibles, if you would, and turn to 2 Timothy 2 and verse 15. I'm sure you know what Awana stands for, but I would remind you that it comes from this verse.
[0:11] That's why they had the kids say this verse, Approved workers are not ashamed. And that's a pretty good verse. I want to read it together with the voz unida y voz alta.
[0:25] How about that? Loud voice and all together. Can y'all do that with me? 2 Timothy 2, verse 15. You better put the verse up there, guys, because they probably don't even know how to look it up in their Bibles anymore.
[0:37] I'm not sure they're going to get approved. Say amen. Let's read that together. Everybody, can you say it with me? And your kids, lead your parents so they can learn how to say the verse.
[0:48] Are you ready? The Bible says, Study. You should show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
[0:59] I'd ask you to take your Bible there. 2 Timothy 2, verse 15. I've just got three words mainly emphasized in my notes and what I'm doing here. I think you want to underline approved, workman, ashamed.
[1:13] Approved, workman, ashamed. And the idea is not ashamed, obviously. Approved, workman are not ashamed. I think it's a great verse for our young people to be memorizing and studying and to make a reality.
[1:27] And I want to share five words tonight that you can write down. Young people, I want to ask you to listen. I don't think I get to preach to you very often, and you're spread out now, and you are everywhere.
[1:38] Some of y'all are live wires. I'm just going to tell you right now, you are live wires. I can imagine that the Iwana workers are glad to get a break. Say amen. But anyway, look if you would at Romans chapter 10 and verse 9.
[1:53] I want to pray first, and then I'll take you through Romans chapter 10 and verse 9. Father, I pray for these young people. Oh, God, I'm so blessed that I get to see what you're doing through your people with your people.
[2:05] I pray, God, for these workers in Iwana. They are loving these children. They are teaching these children. They're being patient with these children. They're bringing them up in the nurture and the admonition of you.
[2:18] And I'm very grateful. God, I thank you for the people that work in every Sunday school class, the people that work in every children's church, the people that work in Iwana.
[2:28] I thank you for those that teach our teenagers, the young teenagers and the older teenagers. And I thank you for those that work with the children singing and those that work with the young children, younger adults, that sing the specials tonight and are always singing.
[2:45] God, I pray your blessings on every one of them. Lord, I know that the ministry each of them have is of utmost importance, maybe the most important thing going on in this building at any time, that they are teaching young people to love you.
[2:59] God, I thank you for those you put in my life just like them that helped me when I was little. And I thank you, dear God, for all they are doing. And I pray that you would do a work. And I'll give you praise in Jesus' name.
[3:09] Amen. To the adults, just for a moment before I try to talk to the kids and to all of you, I don't think you can have a more important ministry than working with children. If you understand that, say amen.
[3:20] I was a kid once. How many of y'all were kids once? Say amen. You know, you were a kid. And somebody took time. And I will never forget those people in that little country church in Wrigley, Tennessee, that took the time to show me about Jesus and to help me have a hunger and a desire for him.
[3:37] But real quickly, with you children, if you'll look this way, I'm just going to give you five words. You're getting out early tonight. All the adults are glad it's a want of graduation. But here, I want you to look at this first word. I want you to write down and get your mom and daddy to help you.
[3:49] You know, to be approved, you're going to have to be saved. You need to write that word down. To be approved, you're going to need to be saved. The Bible says, study to show thyself approved. Work on getting where what you're saying and what you're doing would gain God's approval.
[4:05] And the way that happens is for you to be saved. For you to know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. The Bible says in Romans chapter 10 and verse 9, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
[4:23] For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. So kids, I want to teach you something. I want you to listen. I know you've heard it a hundred times.
[4:33] I know your Sunday school teachers tell you. I know you hear it in Awana, and I know you hear it in children's church. But here's what you got to learn. Down deep inside, you're going to recognize that you need God.
[4:46] You're going to realize that you have sinned, just like I had to realize that in every other person in this room that's saved. You're going to realize you sinned, and your sin separated you from God. And here's what he said.
[4:57] He said they believe in their heart. If you look in, go back to verse 9 if you would. If you've got your Bible open, underline, they shall believe in thine heart.
[5:08] It's never about praying a prayer. It's never about saying certain words. It's about believing on the inside, way down deep inside, that Jesus is God, that I sinned, that I deserve punishment.
[5:23] But Jesus took my punishment, and he died, and he was buried, and he rose again. And when I understand that in my heart, then because it's in my heart and I have trusted Jesus, it says I confess it with my mouth.
[5:37] Look at the verse, if you would, Romans chapter 10 and verse 9. You confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus. And once you look at the word Lord, you see what you do is you realize I really believe he's God.
[5:49] I really believe he's God, Lord Jesus. God Jesus. Boss Jesus. I'm not just praying this prayer to be a member of a church. I'm not just praying this prayer to have mom and daddy like me.
[6:03] But I realize in my heart, he is God. And I surrender my life. I give my life. I yield my life to serve him. And here's where it all starts.
[6:13] It starts in your heart. It starts as you realize in your heart of hearts all the way down deep inside of you that you want to trust Jesus and you want to believe in him.
[6:24] And you share that. And the reason we say we love Jesus is never because that's what they taught us to say. It's never because we've heard those words. It's because we really believe that.
[6:37] All the way down inside. I know I've sinned. I know Jesus is God. I know Jesus died for me. And I trust him. I want to take you to a second word you can write down somewhere if you would.
[6:49] Surrendered. To really be approved. To really be approved. It says in 2 Timothy 2.15, study to show thyself approved unto God a workman.
[7:01] You see it says a workman. That's a person that is surrendered. That's a person that's yielded. Now listen to me. Every one of you young kids. And I was your age. When I was your age, at the age of 7, just before I turned 8, I trusted Jesus as my Savior.
[7:16] I think I was probably one of the most restless kids in church. I sang so loud my face turned red. I think I caused all kind of trouble. But when I was a kid, I wanted to know Jesus and I wanted to serve him.
[7:30] And here's what the Bible says in Romans 12.1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
[7:44] You know what we do? When we get saved and we want to obey God, we say, I'm not going to live my life for me. I'm not going to do what I want to do. I want to know what God wants me to do.
[7:55] That's why it says a workman. It says a workman that's approved needs not to be ashamed. And when I got saved, I didn't just get saved not to go to hell. I got saved to honor God with my life.
[8:08] And so I go to him and I say, I want to serve you. And ever since I was a little kid, and I know you can do this. Maybe your parents even doubt you could be real. But I knew it when I was little.
[8:19] I knew it when I was 11 years old. I wanted to be a missionary. I knew it when I was little. All I could dream about is wanting to do something for God. And so you can surrender. So you know what you want to do? You want to make sure you're saved.
[8:30] And then you want to say to God, here's my life. I want to live for you. I want to serve you. I want my life to count. Let me give you a third word you can write down.
[8:40] Study. Study. To be approved, you must study. The Bible says in Romans chapter 12 and verse 2, we'll read that in just a second. But your verse says in 2 Timothy 2, 15, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of God.
[9:02] So here's what the Bible's saying. You know, now listen to me. You don't just love God and serve God by accident. It's going to take some work. That's what it says there when it says study to show yourself.
[9:16] That's what it says here in Romans chapter 12 and verse 2 when it says this in Romans 12, 2. It says, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
[9:34] So you know what you do? You say, I don't want to think like a regular person thinks. I don't want to think like the other people that I know and other friends. I want the word of God to change me. And that's why in Awana, you're memorizing verses.
[9:49] You're memorizing verses so you can teach your mind how to think. You're memorizing verses so your mind can be transformed. And that's what it says here. So I need to study.
[10:00] I need to learn. So while y'all are in sparks and all those other words and chubbies, I know y'all aren't chubby, just me. But while you're in all those little groups, you know what you're doing? You're learning the word of God.
[10:10] You're memorizing Bible. And that's not busy work. That's not just something to keep you occupied while we're having church. That's so you can grow and honor God.
[10:21] Let me give you a fourth word. Give you a fourth word. Go with me to Romans chapter six and verse 19. Write down the word serve. Every kid in here ought to decide, I want to serve.
[10:34] Listen to this verse if you would. Romans 6, 619. Just the last part. If you're looking at the screen up here, it started at even. Even so now, yield your members, servants to righteousness and to holiness.
[10:47] The first part of the verse basically says that when you're not saved, you do wrong. When you're not saved, you give your life to do wrong. But when you do get saved, what you want to do is say, God, here am I.
[10:59] I want to be used of you. And I just want to challenge you young people. Do you know when you need to start serving God? Y'all need to start serving God right now. You know, our singers in our church probably seem like big old people to you.
[11:12] But to most of us old people, they're not even quite adults yet. And you know what? In your Sunday school class, you can help. And at your home, you can help. And in children's church, you can help.
[11:24] And so what you want to do is you want to get involved in serving. You want to say, God, I may not be big and I may not do a lot of stuff, but I want to do something for you. I want my life to count for you.
[11:37] So you need to start now serving. Yield your members. Yield your members, servants to righteousness and to holiness. And here's my favorite one to end it with. Number five, write this word down, seek.
[11:48] Write this word, seek. My favorite verse, I guess, of the entire Bible, the verse I've chosen to make like my life's motto is, Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things will be added to you.
[12:04] Seek. So you know what? If you want to be a workman that's approved, you're going to spend the rest of your life trying to please God, trying to seek him. That means you're going to get up in the morning and you're going to say, you know what?
[12:16] I need to read my Bible a little bit. You don't have to read a long time. You don't have to make a big deal out of it. You don't have to be late to school for it. You just want to take some time and say, I want to focus on God.
[12:27] I want to read my Bible and you can start doing that at this age. You can start doing that. I was only 15 when I started studying my Bible pretty hard every day. Before that, I knew a lot and I went to church, but I wanted to seek God.
[12:40] Here's what that means. I don't want to do what I want to do. It kind of sums it all up. I don't want to do what I want to do. I want to do what God wants me to do. That means I study the word of God. That means I don't miss church services if I can help it.
[12:53] That means at church, I sit still and pay attention. It means when I'm in the children's class, I act like an adult. All the time people say, y'all are going to be the church someday, but you're the church today.
[13:05] You are already the church if you're saved. You're already God's people and you're already serving him and you already have an important ministry. I want to challenge you to seek him first to make sure God's there.
[13:17] You know why you obey your parents? You obey your parents because you know that's what God wants you to do. Do you know why you study hard at school? Because you know that's what God wants you to do. Do you know why you memorize those verses?
[13:28] Because you know that's what God wants you to do. Every day in your life, you just get up and say, man, I want to put God first today. I want to obey God today. I want him to be real to me and that's what I'm going to do today. Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer.
[13:41] Father, I thank you for the opportunity to look in your Bible. I thank you for all you're doing in our lives. And I pray to your God that tonight you would be glorified and magnified.
[13:53] And I pray God that you would show your power in these young kids' lives. God, I'd like to ask you to call some of them to preach and to be missionaries, to be pastor's wives and missionary's wives.
[14:05] God, I'd like you to deal with some of their hearts, to grow up, to serve you, give them a hunger for you, and I'm going to give you praise. Lord, I thank you for the chance to serve you. And I pray, God, that if there's somebody here that's not saved tonight, that they would right now put their trust in you and know for sure they'd go to heaven if they were to die.
[14:22] I love you and I thank you and I magnify you for who you are and what you're doing. Would your head still bowed and your eyes still closed? Mom, Dad, maybe a child, you're here and you're not sure you're saved.
[14:34] You're not sure that you've been born again. You're not sure your sins are forgiven. He loves you and Jesus died for you. And you can be saved even today. You could know for sure you'd go to heaven if you died.
[14:46] Would you let me help you? Would anybody say, I'm not sure I'm saved. I want somebody to pray with me, to show me from the Bible some things. Anybody? Father God, I pray you'd magnify your name and I thank you for what you're doing.
[14:58] And I pray, God, that you would be glorified. God, do a work tonight. Show yourself real. Show yourself powerful. And I'll give you praise. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you all very much.
[15:10] Before Trent comes up to pray, this is Lauren. I was going to introduce she. We've been praying for her and her baby. You'll be sure and meet them if you can.
[15:20] Thank you, Lauren. We're praying for you and have been. And so pray for Lauren. And I also want to tell you that work with kids. I don't know how many of you, how many of you know who Jason Rischel is?
[15:31] You know who Jason Rischel is? Jason was 10 or 11 years old. Keith Shoemaker showed up to preach at his church. He's just a little boy. He ran over to Keith and said, I'm going to be a missionary in Africa someday.
[15:44] He leaves this week. And he's already been there for two years. I just want you to know what you're doing is important. And I thank you for it. And I'm blessed for it.