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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Dave Steward

When I Was An At-Risk Youth, You Mentored Me

The title of my message today is when I was an at-risk youth you mentored me Those of you who came to church today hoping to hear a deep theological sermon I'm sorry to disappoint you.

This is going to be more of a practical sermon.

Doesn't James say in James 1.22, let's be doers of the word and not just hearers only?

Before I pray this morning, I want to paint a scenario for you.

I want you to imagine that you grew up in a rough neighborhood in San Bernardino or Rialto or Colton.

Your mother got pregnant with you out of wedlock.

Once your father realized that your mother was pregnant, he took off.

You grew up in a neighborhood infested with gangs and drugs.

And almost all, if not all, of your friends got sucked into joining gangs and abusing drugs.

You also joined a gang because it's the only family that you knew.

Predictably, you committed crimes yourself and you ended up being a ward of the state.

You were removed from your mother and your brothers and sisters.

Your mother continually has abusive boyfriends that beat her, beat you, beat your brothers and sisters.

And now you live in a group home with other troubled youth who feel neglected and unloved.

With no support, you struggle in school, and your grades are not very good.

Most importantly, you grew up without being taught about God and doing what's right.

The only time God's name was mentioned was in swearing.

You were not taught that Jesus Christ died for you.

Consequently, you feel like your life doesn't have much value.

Your life is a nightmare, and you have no hope of anything better.

Your life is a nightmare, and there's no 1 to help you.

Dear Heavenly Father, I know you brought us to this place for a reason this morning.

Lord, your heart aches for so many hurting children, children that don't know you and there's no 1 there to teach them about you.

Lord, you've put Loma Linda here in this area for a reason.

I used to wonder why Ellen White would have a vision in a place that would become such a smog infested area.

I wish that she had put, had her vision in San Diego, on the beach.

But Lord, you want this neighborhood to be a light to so many areas around us that need Jesus.

Lord, may your Holy Spirit be among us today.

May it speak to each heart on how we can help.

We can do something to help others around us.

I wish I could tell you that the scenario I just painted before prayer is fiction, not based in reality.

But unfortunately it is based in reality.

This scenario I painted and described is all around us.

Take a guess of how many kids are referred every year just in San Bernardino County to the Department of Children's Services.

Guess how many children are referred there every year for suspected neglect or abuse?

In your own mind, have you thought of a number?

With that in mind, let's read a passage in Scripture where I got the title for the sermon today.

And These are the words of Jesus himself.

Jesus himself is speaking about the end of the world Where every human will come before the judgment bar of God it's a day of reckoning Matthew 25 verse 31 when the Son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him.

Then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.

And before him shall be gathered all nations.

And he shall separate them 1 from another as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats.

And he shall set the sheep on his right hand but the goats on the left.

Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Then shall the righteous answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered and fed thee, or thirsty and gave thee drink?

When saw we thee a stranger and took thee in, or naked and clothed thee?

Or when saw we thee sick or in prison and came unto thee?

And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 1 of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Then shall you say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was a hungered and you gave me no meat.

I was a stranger, and ye took me not in, naked, and ye clothed me not, sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a hungred, or a thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Then shall he answer them saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did not do it to the 1 of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal Pretty powerful passage, isn't it?

Let me ask you a question brothers and sisters do you think that this passage applies to at-risk youth and kids living in group homes?

Do you think it applies to kids within a 15 to 20 minute drive from here?

Do you know how quickly you can get into these neighborhoods?

I like the way that 1 Christian mentoring website put it, and who is my neighbor?

Of course, they're referring to the question the lawyer asked Jesus when he told the story about the Good Samaritan.

Our neighbor is the young boy who thinks he must have done something wrong because his mother died and his dad walked out on him and his 3 siblings.

Our neighbor is the girl who cut out of school for a month because she was afraid that if she did go, people would be able to see right through her and know that her father was sexually abusing her.

Our neighbor is a brother and sister who are floundering among 9 other kids in a foster home because her mother signed herself into rehab because she keeps falling off the wagon.

Spend time as a mentor with 1 of these children and find the rewards of being a mentor.

You know, in spite of the gloomy Scenario that I painted this morning.

I don't mean to start with such a depressing message I never do that without trying to end on good news and You know what?

There is good news in this situation with these scenarios.

I've mentioned, You know what the good news is?

Did you know there's a fertile mission field right outside our doors?

And you don't even have to learn another language to go there.

You don't have to empty people of Buddhism or Hinduism.

For the most part, they may have been to church a little bit, maybe not at all.

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When I Was An At-Risk Youth, You Mentored Me

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