God provided another grand opportunity to speak to a Russian youth conference down in Florida. What a neat group of young people! Now most of them have grown up in the States, so they know English super well and are basically like American teens.
What was interesting was that they did almost all of the songs in Russian! So they are bilingual and even did a lot of the readings in Russian. One young man saw that I was totally lost, so he sat down next to me and interpreted. What a great servant heart he has!
On Sunday when I was speaking at a Russian church, I had an interpreter! That was fun. Of course I could only speak half as long as I usually would!!
During the youth conference, we did a question and answer time. I always love those! You can see how the audience is processing the information. I thought the students and adults were going to raise hands up and ask questions. Instead they had them write them on pieces of paper and pass them up.
Do you remember how you, not me, used to pass notes in school?! This is basically what it was. So I was sitting there and all of these pieces of paper were being passed my direction! So I got a chance to filter through them before I went back up to answer them.
Here are some of the questions that the youth presented:
As a Christian our faith is on God’s Word (the Bible) and that is our source for the answer. Well how do you share to a; person who just views the Bible just as a book because the person does not look at the Bible as authoritative?
How do you know if you found the One? (That Christianity is the right answer)
What do you think or how do you view for a Christian to wear jewelry or have tattoos?
What is your view on dating?
How do you witness to unsaved family members or relatives who either have addictions or have been deeply hurt by other Christians?
What do you do when you have no energy or passion to witness?
It seems to me that I excel in my faith above many others: love church, love Christ, love to pray, and love the Word of God. But one of my greatest fears is to witness. It is always on my mind, but I fail again and again. It hurts so bad. What do I do?
Equal rights has been a big thing lately. How can you win the argument that same sex marriage is a sin? People tend to say God loves His children no matter how different they are or they also say that they are born that way.
What are your thoughts about reformed theology?
What if someone tells you they are going to hell and it doesn’t bother them? What if they say, I just want to party with the devil. How do you answer that?
How do I fight temptation? What I should do when temptation comes so that I won’t sin?
How would you answer this question to a non-Christian: If God is so loving, why does He let so many bad things happen in this world?
Those are some great questions aren’t they?! Those are the same questions that you get from most teens around the country.
Do you know the interesting part to all of their questions? The answer to every single one of them is in God’s Holy Word!
1 Peter 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
People have questions and we have answers!
Acts 16:30,31
And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Great question and a great answer!
Matthew 24:3
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
What did Jesus do in the rest of Matthew 24? He answered their question!
I just want to encourage you as keep studying the Scriptures daily, that the answer you are looking for are right there.
And what do you do with those answers? Go tell someone!
The Russians were doing a great job of witnessing down in Florida when I was there! One of them even got to witness to a police officer who pulled me over the day before! (I am pretty sure the street sign was in Russian so that was why I was going the wrong way down a one way street!)
By the way, the Russians aren’t coming. They are already here and they are reaching the lost for Jesus Christ! Make sure you do the same.
Until the nets are full,
P.S. Daniel 12:3
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.