HOW SHALL THE YOUNG SECURE THEIR HEARTS?

By David J. Riggs

Intro.
   A. One of our songs, written by Isaac Watts, begins with the      
      phrase, "How shall the young secure their hearts?" (No. 435).
   B. No doubt, this is from Psalm 119:9, which says:
      1. "How can a young man cleanse his way?" (NKJV).
      2. "How can a young man keep his way pure?" (NASV).
      3. "How can a young person live a pure life?" (NCV).
   C. In this lesson we give some exhortation to you young people to
      keep your lives and hearts pure.
      1. As we give encouragement to our young people, much will
         also apply to those who are no longer young.
      2. We encourage you to:

I. SEPARATE YOURSELF.
   A. From places of sin.
      1. Like Nehemiah, refuse to go down to the plain of Ono.
      2. Some places are detrimental to your spiritual health.
   B. From people of sin.  2 Cor. 6:14
      1. Choose your friends wisely. They do have a strong influence
         over you.  1 Cor. 15:33
   C. From the power of sin.
      1. Don't be conformed to this world.  Don't join with the
         world.  Don't love the world.  Rom. 12:2; 1 John 2:15-17
   D. From the practice of sin.
      1. As Paul said to Timothy, "Keep thyself pure."  1 Tim. 5:22
      2. Purge yourself from sin.  Cleanse yourself.  2 Cor. 7:1
      3. Don't tamper or meddle with sin. If you do, you will get
         burned.  Prov. 6:27
   E. From all appearance of evil.  1 Thess. 5:22
      1. Be wise enough to identify things that are harmful to your
         soul and avoid them.

II. SURRENDER YOURSELF.
   A. Surrender your time.  Use your time wisely.  Eph. 5:15-16
      1. It's difficult to comprehend the waste from watching
         television. By the age of 20, the average American will have
         been exposed to at least 20,000 hours of television.        
         Calculate for a moment what could be done with even a part  
         of those hours. 5,000 hours are what a typical college      
         undergraduate spends working on a bachelor's degree. In     
         10,000 hours, you could have learned enough to become a     
         doctor, lawyer, or an engineer. In that time, you could have
         learned to speak several languages fluently. You could have 
         learned to read the Bible in both the original Greek and    
         Hebrew. You would have had enough time to walk completely   
         around the world and written two books about it.
      2. We will give an account to our Creator as to how we have
         used our time. Let us use it wisely. 
   B. Surrender your speech.
      1. Discipline yourself to have pure speech.  Learn to have a
         spiritual vocabulary.  Eph. 4:29
         a. Consider the example of Boaz and his workers.  Ruth
            2:4
         b. One's speech shows what's in one's heart.
   C. Surrender your thoughts.  Prov. 4:23; 23:7
      1. You are what you eat - physically, and you are what you
         think - spiritually.
      2. We must strive to bring every thought into captivity to the
         obedience of Christ.  2 Cor. 10:5
      3. We should strive to have the mind of Christ.  Phil. 2:5

III. DENY YOURSELF.
   A. Note the words of Jesus in Luke 9:23.
      1. Decision - "If anyone desires to come after Me."  We must
         make a choice.
      2. Denial - "Let him deny himself."  We must be willing to
         sacrifice.
      3. Dedication - "And take up his cross daily."  We must have
         continual commitment.
      4. Determination - "And follow me."  We follow the Lord
         wherever He leads.  Jesus told those early disciples,       
         "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." The next    
         verse says, "They immediately left their nets and followed  
         Him."  Matt. 4:19-20
   B. Deny yourself of pride.
      1. Notice this wisdom from Poster Board: "Attention
         Teenagers - If you are tired of being hassled by            
         unreasonable parents, now is the time for action!  Leave    
         home and pay your own way while you still know everything!"
      2. It seldom occurs to teenagers that someday they will know
         as little as their parents.
      3. This was written by an unknown author and is very true to    
         life.        
         4 years of Age - My Mommy can do anything. 
         8 years of Age - My Mom knows a lot, a whole lot. 
         12 years of Age - My Mother doesn't know quite everything.
         14 years of Age - Mother doesn't know anything.
         16 years of Age - Mom is hopelessly old-fashioned.
         18 years of Age - I know so much more than Mom does.
         25 years of Age - It's amazing how Mom has gotten wiser.
         35 years of Age - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.
         45 years of Age - What would Mom have thought about it?
         65 years of Age - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.
   C. Deny yourself of interest solely of yourself.
      1. Instead of being wrapped up in your own interest, learn to
         genuinely submit to your parents, and love your parents. 
         Eph. 6:1-3; Prov. 23:25
      2. Consider this old illustration: "Ancient history records    
         that a certain city was besieged, and at length was         
         encouraged to surrender. In the city were two brothers to   
         whom, in some way, the conquering king was indebted. In     
         consequence, they received permission to leave the city     
         before it was destroyed, taking with them as much of their  
         property as each could carry on his person. Accordingly, the
         two young men appeared at the gate of the city, one of them
         carrying their father, and the other their mother."

IV. STAND YOURSELF.
   A. Make your own stand for the Lord.  Eph. 6:10
      1. Have purpose of heart like Daniel.  Daniel 1:8
         a. After about 70 years later, after Daniel purposed to live
            for God, he was freed from the den of lions.
         b. He made his commitment, and there was no turning
            back.
   B. Make your stand for the Lord as did the three Hebrews.  Dan.
      3:24-27
      1. There three young men were gladly willing to make a stand
         even though they knew full well it would cost them their
         lives.
   C. Make your own stand for the Lord when various problems arise.  
      1. Put on the whole armor of God.  Eph. 6:13
      2. If we don't make our stand for the Lord, and His cause, He
         will not stand in our behalf in the great day of judgment. 
         Mark 8:34-38

V. DEVELOP YOURSELF.
   A. Develop your own close spiritual relationship with God.
      1. Make God a vital part of your life.  Eccl. 12:1; Prov.      
         3:6-7; Isa. 40:28-31
   B. Worship God regularly.  Make up your mind that you will, for   
      the rest of your life, worship with the people of God as       
      commanded in the Scriptures.
   C. Study the word for yourself.  Psalm 119:9b
      1. "Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth."  1 Sam. 3:9
      2. "Buy the truth and sell it not."  Prov. 23:23
   D. Train yourself.
      1. Don't be a weak, sick, lukewarm Christian.
      2. Develop yourself into a knowledgeable, capable teacher of
         God's will.
      3. By doing this, you will make yourself strong, and through
         the years to come you will lead others to salvation.
   E. Work for the Lord.  Be a ready volunteer yourself in the Lord's
      service.  Put your heart and soul into it and do it.  Psalm    
      110:3
      1. Develop yourself so that you can be proud of yourself.

Concl.
   A. To the young people we say, "May the Eternal God richly bless
      you in every good way, as well as all of us, as we endeavor to 
      do His will."
      1. We pray that you young people will grow and develop so
         things will always be well with your souls.
   B. And in the ages to come, when these bodies of ours have long
      since been decaying into dust, may we stand on mount Zion,
      singing the new song of Moses and the Lamb.
      1. When asked, "Who are these arrayed in white robes before
         the throne?"
      2. The answer will come, "These are the redeemed from the
         earth who followed the Lamb whithersoever he went."
         a. "These are those who have washed their robes and made
            them white in the blood of the Lamb."

Chart #1
How Shall The Young Secure Their Hearts?

Separate Yourself

Surrender Yourself

Deny Yourself

Stand Yourself

Develop Yourself

Chart #2
The Words of Jesus in Luke 9:23:
                        
Decision - "If anyone desires to come after Me."
We must make a choice.

Denial - "Let him deny himself."
We must be willing to sacrifice.

Dedication - "And take up his cross daily."
We must have continual commitment.

Determination - "And follow me."
We must follow the Lord wherever He leads.