KwaSizabantu Youth Conference

KwaSizabantu Youth Conference
9 Dec 2002 - Day 4

2002/12/09- 19:00
"Learn from the mistakes of others" - Bill Bathman
Dan 5:1 - 8; 25 - 28

Belshazzar knew all that had happened to his father Nebuchadnezzar:

Daniel's three friends were saved supernaturally from the fiery furnace.
Nebuchadnezzar was humbled because of his pride and for seven years his authority was taken from him. He was driven from men and had to live in the field like an animal.

Belshazzar did not learn from this, but proudly mocked God's warnings.

We must "learn from the mistakes of others, because we will not live long enough to make them all ourselves."

He took the golden and silver cups from the house of God and drank wine in them.
He partied and praised the gods of gold, silver, wood and stone.

When God wrote on the wall, Belshazzar was very scared and he knew that he had sinned greatly. One cannot sin without knowing that you are doing wrong.

When I was young I had a bicycle I bought through money earned from delivering newspapers. I did many tricks with my bicycle, like riding on the back wheel, jumping over hurdles, jumping through a burning loop, etc. I thought to try another trick just once. I built a barricade and rode through it as fast as I could. Something went wrong, and as I hit the barricade, the bicycle stopped dead, but I flew through the air and fell miserably.

So too Satan tells young people that they can try some things just once, like, smoking, drinking and flirting with the opposite sex. However, once you do those things, you are either caught in a habit that will kill you, or you are diseased with AIDS by just sinning once.

The Bible says that "God is not mocked." The wages of sin is death, and the soul that sins will die. Fools make a mock at sin. Fools laugh at sin and sinful jokes. Sin is not a matter to joke about. It will take you to hell for all eternity. God considered it so seriously that He sent Jesus to die for your and my sin.

Belshazzar mocked at sin, but became quite sober when God dealt with him. He urgently called all the wise men of his kingdom to read the writing on the wall but none could do it. Finally Daniel came in, who stood before God, and feared Him alone. He did not regard the king nor his gifts, but gave him God's message of judgment.

God had numbered his days and finished it. We do not know the time on God's clock for our life. Let us therefore be wise and turn to Him while there is still grace.
God had weighed him in the balances and found him wanting. It is not your good and bad deeds that are weighed, but in God's balance, only Jesus Christ can tip the balance. All your good works will help you nothing, unless you have Jesus, for the Bible declares that "there is no other Name under heaven whereby we must be saved".
God had divided his kingdom to the Medes and Persians. The Medes and Persians stopped the river upstream, that passed under the wall and through the city of Babylon. This opened up a way for the armies of the Medes and Persians to get into the city. Belshazzar thought that the city was impregnable, but that night he died.

The Bible declares that the "wages of sin is death". One cannot sin and get away with it. "Your sin will find you out." Only if you confess and forsake your sin will you find mercy.

2002/12/09- 15:00
"Zacchćus" - Frans Huber
Lk 18:35 - 40

Here we read of Jesus going towards Jericho, while the people were rejoicing around him. However, there was a man who knew that he had a need, and he cried out for mercy. He persevered even when the others rebuked him and resisted his plea for help. And he was helped.

As Jesus passed through Jericho, another man felt the need to meet with Jesus. His name was Zacchćus. Because he was small and there was a crowd around Jesus, he climbed into a tree to see Jesus. He did not fear the people's mocking, but pressed through to receive help. Jesus saw his heart and he received help that day too.

What about you today? Do you know your need, or are you indifferent? You have a great privilege to hear the Word of God. You might sing in a choir and think that you are fine, but God sees your heart. He knows the truth about you. Maybe you know that God is speaking to you, but you fear your friends. You will not get help, while you fear people's opinions.

In Revelations we read about those who have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of Jesus. May each of us cleanse our garments and be part of those people.

2002/12/09- 10:00
"Come, let us reason together (1/3)" - Erlo Stegen
Is 1:18 - 20

The Lord calls on us to reason intelligently about the matter of salvation. We must consider it seriously and not play the fool. Christianity is not a religion of fairy tales. Throughout the world you'll see the presence (or absence, where He has been rejected) of God. God's Word washes both mind and brain, e.g.

In Southern Germany the people live a high standard and prospers because of the gospel, whereas in other areas of Germany where they dabble in the occult, they are hard and backward. People used to live in mudhuts, but the gospel brought civilisation.
In certain areas of India, where they regard flies as sacred and would not swat them, the flies are so thick that your food is covered with flies before it can even reach your mouth!
In Russia in 1917 they declared publicly that they would plough and read without God. Later they did not even have so much as to eat. Today the country is in a mess.

Some are afraid to come to the Lord, because they will have to give up their smoking, drinking and sexual immorality. Consider and see that these things destroy you.

Every cigarette you smoke shortens your life, and dagga even more. Some claim that dagga make them clever, but consider and see that those people cannot even manufacture a matchstick! Tobacco is known to be the no. 1 killer in the world. Not only you are killed, but it is even more dangerous to the 'passive-smokers'. By smoking you murder even those around you!
Alcohol destroys your liver and reputation. One does shameful things when you are drunk. Just think of the shame a wife and children must endure, when their husband and father disgrace himself before others, because of his drunkenness. When you combine smoking and drinking it 40 times as poisonous, and kills you quickly.
Sexual immorality cause your body to become diseased. AIDS is killing off Africa. What does one call a girl that is immoral? She is not a miss, for she's lost her virginity. Neither is she a Mrs., for she's not married. She's like a bat, not accepted by the mice nor the birds. The Muslims and other religions despise Christian young people who claim holiness, yet live immoral lives.

Let us reason together and consider the obvious benefits of knowing God in truth.

James King was a missionary in North Africa. He tells the story of an African woman who was always went to church. On Wednesdays she would go faithfully to the prayermeeting at 19:00 and on Sundays to the service at 10:00. When prayer is offered, she always went and knelt at the altar in the front. Her faithful dog always went with her, but she had cruel husband who mistreated her. One day he got so angry with her that he beat her to death, and did not even give her a proper funeral. After some time he noticed that her dog always disappeared on Wednesdays near 19:00 and on Sundays near 10:00. Finally his curiosity got the better of him and he followed the dog, where it went to the church of his wife. He followed too and sat next to the dog. At the close of the service, prayer was offered again for anyone, and as usual the dog would go forward to the altar, as well as some others who wanted prayer. This broke his hard heart, and he too went to the altar, knelt and prayed that God would have mercy on him and save him. He was soundly converted, and went faithfully to church together with his dog, as his wife had done. He was saved through the dog's faithfulness, even after his wife had died.

When my wife died she experienced that the King Himself came to fetch her. It was a great comfort to me, and the cry of my heart was that God would keep me faithful to preach His Word of truth even more than before.

Another woman was dying and she was confident that Jesus was coming to fetch her. However, as she died, she looked with horror to the door and shrieked, "No, not that one", and so she died. The wrong one came to fetch her.

Who will come to fetch you?

'Come, let us reason together' - this is the matter of matters. Here is life and death; blessing and curses. Choose and choose well that you will not regret your decision for all eternity to come.

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