EVERY YOUNG MAN’S TRUTH(Your Personal Journey into God’s Word)
This week’s reading assignment:
chapters 5–6 in Every Young Man, God’s Man
Our whole mission was to let loose, have fun, and play around. That’s why all of us bought into every experience the world had to offer. But when we became high-school seniors, we were getting tired of the party and girl scene. It was just stale. In fact, I remember tape-recording a late-night conversation at my kitchen table with some of the guys. Out of the blue I asked my friend Pat, “What would you do if Jesus Christ were here right now?”
—from chapter 6 in Every Young Man, God’s Man
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S TRUTHYou live in the world. But how much of the world lives in you? Can you be God’s young man and blend perfectly with the culture too? According to the scriptures below, it’s impossible. Check them out. As you do, ask yourself what it means, in practical terms, that Christ has called you out of the world to be His servant in the world: What do you watch? What do you listen to? Who do you hang out with?
Yes, you need to have non-Christian friends if you are to be a witness. You need to understand the values and priorities of others if you are to influence them for Christ. But be wise in the way you go about it. Don’t let the world form you into it’s mold. Know better than to blend.
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. (John 15:18-19)
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us tends toward envy, but he gives us more grace? That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:4-10)
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)
1. What evidence of the world’s values do you see around you? How tempting are these values for you?
2. According to James, what is the cure for being double-minded?
3. How can you tell when you are loving the world? What do you do about it?
4. What encouraging truth comes through to you in 1 John 2:15-17?
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S CHOICE Then it happened. My car—actually, my mom’s—kissed a railroad tie. While it was just a “touch,” I ended up denting the driver’s side door. Now I was in deep linguine.
My first impulse was practical—save my own skin!
A true God’s young man must abandon the middle ground and determine, in his own mind, that he cannot peacefully coexist with his enemies. This pattern of taking a strong stance is well illustrated in the Bible for us to clearly see. Think about: Moses … David … King Hezekiah … Elijah … Daniel … Jesus … Peter and John … and the believers in Revelation who were not afraid to die.
5. When was the last time you were in deep linguine? What was your first impulse? your second impulse? Jot down some notes about how you would like to respond the next time you land in a sticky mess.
6. Think through the challenges faced by the men Kenny lists in the second quotation above. Which of these guys do you most respect for their stance against the world? Why?
7. Kenny says that when you wreck your life, either pride will drive you, your fear will deter you, or your faith will direct you. As you look back over your life, assign percentages to each of these three motivators—pride, fear, faith. How often have you let each take control of your responses to serious hassles?
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S WALK [Some young men] are light-years apart from God when it comes to wisdom, yet they fling their “wisdom” around like they spoke and created the heavens and the earth. In fact, their ignorance makes them dangerous to themselves and to others. Their mind-set and actions seem to say: “Thanks for coming along for the ride, God, but I’ll take the wheel from here.” They would never utter those words, of course, but their actions say otherwise. I can just imagine God scratching His head in amazement when people shine Him on.
The world wants to define what’s normal for you—and it will if you let it happen. Just flip on MTV, study the newest Abercrombie & Fitch catalog, or check out the latest run of Bachelor. What the world values isn’t hard to pick up. The world will always emphasize feelings over commitment, a free spirit over character.
8. Make a two-column list of the things you are (1) wise about and (2) ignorant about. Then think: Where in my life do I need more of God’s wisdom?
9. In the second quotation above, check out the sources Kenny names as places where the world’s values come through. Can you come up with some specific examples of how they emphasize feelings and a free spirit? Jot down your thoughts about it.
10. Go back to the stories of Jeremy and Nate. They both figured they were missing out on something. When you feel that way, where do you go to hang out? Have you told anybody about that yet?
11. In the middle of chapter 6, Kenny talks about three specific ways you might become more a friend of the world than a follower of Christ. Look at the three ways below and, on a separate piece of paper, jot an example from your own life of an action that demonstrates your kind of friendship.
a. You look at God’s forgiveness like a credit card advance: How I do this … or, how I avoid this …
b. You compartmentalize your behaviors: How I do this.… or, how I avoid this.…
c. You allow your feelings to dominate decision making.How I do this.… or, how I avoid this.…
12. In quietness, review what you have written and learned in this week’s study. If further thoughts or prayer requests come to your mind and heart, you may want to write them down.
13. What for you was the most meaningful concept or truth in this week’s study? How would you talk this over with God? Write down your response as a prayer to Him. What do you believe God wants you to do in response to this week’s study?
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S TALKKey Highlights from the Book for Reading Aloud and Discussing
Pride says [to God]: I know better.… Fear says: I’ll miss out.… Faith says: You know better.
If you continue to resist God, He has ways of showing you that you don’t know better. That’s what happened to a guy named Naaman in the Bible. He was a hotshot Syrian general who was powerful, commanding, and successful. Underneath his armor, however, his body was racked by a skin disease called leprosy. On the outside—shining armor and victory. Underneath and on the inside—sores and shame.
Changing into God’s young man requires a change in your perspective about spiritual warfare. You can no longer dismiss it, deny it, or deflect your responsibility to engage it. Instead, you must forget the notion that you can play both sides without taking it in the shorts every now and then. In other words, you cannot blend God’s purposes with opposing purposes and practices. Specifically, you are warned not to blend with what the Bible describes as the “world.”
Discussion Questions
An opening question: Which parts of these chapters were most helpful or encouraging to you? Why?
A. Which of the three voices did you listen to for most of your day yesterday—pride, fear, or faith? How could you tell?
B. Together, go back over the story of General Naaman (see 2 Kings 5:1-14). How did God teach this tough guy humility?
C. How do you define spiritual warfare? In light of Kenny’s comments about it, what is your win-loss record over the past month?
D. Kenny talks about the moment in a game when a team surrenders to its fate. Have you ever reached that point with God? What could you share with the other guys about this?
E. Kenny entered UCLA “trying real hard to be cool so people would like me.” How cool are you at the moment, dude? Who seems to be impressed?
F. A dead squirrel taught the author: don’t delay the instinct to obey. If you agree, tell why.
G. What are your prayer requests to share with the other guys?