INTRODUCTION:

There is a lovely parable told by Jesus about two brothers who were approached by their father to go out and work on the farm. The one brother said; "I won’t", but later he changed his mind and went. The other brother said to his father: "Yes, sir, I will", but he didn’t go. Jesus then asked the question of his listeners; "Which of the two was obeying his father?" The people replied: "The first one.."

You know, children and adults are not really that different. Many times God tells us to do something, and we say; "Yes, Lord, I will do your will" – and then we don’t it. Other people say; "No God, I am not going to do what you tell me do" and then we do it.

We are going to see 5 new Junior Soldiers enrolled today, and I want them to be young people who, when they say YES to God, will actually do what they promise to do. This morning I want to address my thoughts to the young people, but I do need the older folk to listen as well! Young people, if you look at all these old people in our church today – many of them will tell you that they were just young people your age when they first said "YES" to Jesus. From the young ages of 5, 6, 7 they are still saying yes to Jesus, they are still doing what Jesus wants them to do.

The Bible makes it clear to us that children are really important. I want to mention just three children from the Bible who were willing to say YES to Jesus at an early age in their lives, and God really used them in a special way.

The first person I want us to look at is Samuel. When he was a little boy, he said:

1. YES TO SERVICE:

We all know the story of Samuel so well, don’t we? Samuel’s mother, Hannah, so badly wanted to have a baby, and after much prayer, God gave her what she asked for. Before Samuel was born, his mother had made a very special promise about him. She said to God: "If you give me a son, I promise that I will dedicate him to you for his whole life…" And that is what she did.

Young people, some of you have parents who did just what Hannah did. They brought you to church when you were tiny babies, and they dedicated you to God. They promised that they would keep from you everything that would be harmful to you in body, mind or spirit. They promised to teach you about Jesus, and to help you to meet him for yourself. They promised to be an example of a true Christian. I know that Gerda and Henk made those promises for Sandra here in this very hall some 7 or so years ago.

The time came in little Samuel’s life when he had to say yes to Jesus all by himself. His mother and father had done all they could for him, but he had to decide what he was going to do with his life for himself. You know the story well. It was night time, Samuel and Eli were fast asleep. Then all of a sudden there was a voice calling: "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel thought that it was Eli calling him, and he jumped up and ran to Eli. Eli said: "I did not call you. Go back and lie down." This happened again and again, until Eli realised that it was the Lord who was calling Samuel, and he said to him: "Go and lie down, and if he calls again, say, ‘Yes Lord, I am listening’". And of course, the voice was heard again, and Samuel sat up and said: "Yes, Lord, I am listening.." God told Samuel what he wanted him to do. What he wanted him to do was really hard, and he had to be obedient to God and do what God wanted!

Our 5 Junior Soldiers stand here today because they want to say Yes to Jesus. God has got a plan for their lives, he has a purpose to fulfil, and they have to be obedient. Young people, today is the first day of the rest of your lives. Today is the day when you will say to God in front of all these people: "Yes, I want to serve Jesus".

Samuel went on to be a wonderful prophet, a preacher, and God used him to anoint kings, to warn people about their wrong doing, and it all started when he Himself said to God: "Yes Lord, I am listening!"

O may we never stop listening to God! He still speaks today, He still wants obedience from his children, He still has a plan and purpose for our lives, He still wants us to serve Him in the way that Samuel of old did. Are we willing to say to him today: "Yes Lord, I am listening?"

Another young person who was willing to say Yes to God was David. When he was a young boy, he said:

2. YES TO FIGHT:

That is an easy thing for a boy to do, isn’t it. Boys like fighting. The girls often call the boys bullies and trouble makers! But this was a different kind of fight. I guess that David was one of the very first Junior Soldiers recorded in the Bible!

Goliath was a great big giant from the Philistine camp, and for 40 days – every morning and evening – he would come and challenge the Israelite Army. The Israelites were petrified. There was not one of the soldiers who would dare to go and fight Goliath. But, it took a Junior Soldier, David, to say; "Yes, I will fight Goliath". Saul the king said; "Don’t be ridiculous! How can a kid like you fight with a man like him? You are only a boy, and he has been in the army since he was a boy." But you know, God had allowed David to learn how to be brave and strong when he looked after his father’s sheep, and David had not been afraid to protect the sheep against wild lions and bears. But there is something that was more important. David trusted in God! He said to the Philistine: "You come to me with a sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of the armies of heaven and Israel – the very God whom you have defied". Because David fought the battle with God on his side, Goliath came crashing to the ground!

Young people, and all of us gathered here today, we need to remember that all of us have to face some kind of giant in our lives. That giant might be the temptation to sin, it might be the devil himself who tries to make us do wrong – and we cannot be like that whole army of fighting men who were frightened of Goliath. When our enemy comes up against us, we have to say to God: "Yes, I am willing to fight!"

The founder of The Salvation Army, William Booth, once looked at all the problems that the devil had caused in the world. People’s lives were in a mess because they had not been obedient to God, and had done things that landed them in real situations. William Booth said; "While women weep as they do now, I’ll fight", while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the street, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight, I’ll fight to the very end".

The problem with so many Christians is that we spend our energy fighting against each other, instead of fighting on the Lord’s side, to

do His work. The Bible is clear as to what we need to be doing. Paul wrote to Timothy, and his words apply to us as well. He said in 1 Timothy 1:18,19 "Now Timothy my son, here is my command to you: Fight well in the Lord’s battles, just as the Lord told us through his prophets that you should. Cling tightly to your faith in Christ and always keep your conscience clear, doing what you know is right! For some people have disobeyed their consciences and have deliberately done what they knew was wrong. It isn’t surprising that soon they lost their faith in Christ after defying God like that!"

I speak to everyone here when I address our five new Junior soldiers – Say Yes to fight for God! We are told in the Psalms that "With God on our side, we shall win!"

Goliath came crashing to the ground because David was willing to fight in the name of God!

The third young person who I want us to look at this morning does not even have a name, but because of what he did, so many other people were able to benefit. This little boy said:

3. YES TO SACRIFICE:

Jesus had been teaching the crowds all day and healing the sick, and it came round to supper time, I guess. Jesus turned to Phillip, one of his disciples, and said: "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" They did not have enough money, and I could imagine that Jesus’ disciples started to look around and see if some of the people had brought any food with them. I guess that there would have been some who did have some food – and maybe when they were asked to give up their food for the others and make the sacrifice, they might have said; "No, what about me? I’m hungry, its my food". But they would have gone along to that little boy about whom we read in John 6, and Andrew probably would have said to him: "Are you willing to sacrifice or give up your food for some of these people here?" I can almost hear the little boy saying: "Yes, I am willing to sacrifice, I am willing to give!"

Because one little boy – who we don’t even have a name for – was willing to say YES to help - 5000 other people had their tummies filled to overflowing!

The lesson I want us to learn from that is that when you are willing to make sacrifices for Jesus, He will more that meet you needs and the needs of others. Young people, you might have to give up some of your time to spend coming to church, using your talents for God. You might have to give up some of your pocket money to give your collection to God on a Sunday. You might have to give up doing things that are wrong – and your friends might even think that you are funny for doing that – but in the long run, you will see how God will bless your life. But whatever God asks you to do, you must be willing to say "YES", even if it is really hard to do.

CONCLUSION:

Two brothers were asked by their dad to do the same thing – to go out and work on the farm. The one said: "Yes, I’ll go" and didn’t. The other one said: "No I won’t" but did. I want to challenge each one of you here today to keep the promises that you have made to Jesus – and when we have said yes, to carry out those promises.