Transcript for:
How Can Youth Find Success & Happiness?

and to get us started off we' like to invite up brother Jonathan knight from the West congregation and he is going to approach to the the title how can youth find success and happiness to all you young ones in the audience thank you for being here of course all of our meetings here all the meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses are so valuable for you to attend and learn from but please give special attention to this one it was made just for you remember the title how can youths find success and happiness now when I was your age that was a goal of mine finding happiness and success those are things that I wanted for myself and I'm sure Naturally you're no different that's what you want as well but I'm also sure that you have many people in your life who are doing their best to help you do that to help you find what they think will bring success and happiness to you your parents your friends your schoolmates your teachers but what have you probably noticed about the advice that you get from those different groups of people well it can be quite different in fact it can contradict each other perhaps your parents encourage you to focus on spiritual Pursuits but your teachers they're pushing you to get lots of education so that you can get a good job and make lots of money those things are in conflict with each other it can be tough to know who to listen to they all think they have your best interest in mind so who do you listen to well have you ever gone on a bus trip or perhaps a plane flight somewhere now at the the bus station or the airport there are many different passengers and many buses or planes going in all different directions to different destinations which way should you go which one will you get on well that's a simple question for you right because what was in your hand was your ticket and it said this is where I'm going this is the bus I get on simple in a way choosing what you will do in your life is similar there are many options you can go anywhere you want to you're free to choose how to live your life but you want to know where you want to end up getting on the wrong bus it could take you in the wrong direction now let's focus back on our theme success and happiness that's the destination that we want you to reach in your life that's where you want to end up now which one of life's buses is going to take you there what do you need to do in your life to get there well this morning I want to show you how Jehovah God's way of life will bring you both success and happiness but first before we get into that we need to address a big question can choosing a life that follows God's standards even do that will that accomplish that for you now many young people would say no they would say that what makes you happy is doing what you want to do what I want to do right now that'll make me happy but is that true is that really true does doing what you want to do in the moment make you happy in the long run let's get Jehovah God's take on it let's read what he says about being happy in your youth it's in the book of Ecclesiastes 11 Ecclesiastes chap 11 and we'll read verse 9 Rejoice young man while you are young and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth follow the ways of your heart and go where your eyes lead you but know that the true God will bring you into judgment for all these things so what does that verse tell us about Jehovah he wants you to be happy he wants you to enjoy life but he wants you to not break his laws in the process think about Jesus was he happy as a child yes absolutely many scriptures show that and was he happy and successful later on as an adult absolutely yes why because his whole life was focused on doing what his father Jehovah wanted he enjoyed his life but he never had to disobey God to find that enjoyment so that's the standard that we're going to look for this morning true happiness and success in your life while pleasing God why do we group those two things together though pleasing Jehovah being happy well it's because they go together they're really the same thing making choices in our life that please Jehovah really are the same ones that make us happy so important for you to clearly understand what an impact the choices that you make in your life right now can have on the rest of your life of course it's never too late for anyone to make changes in their life anyone can turn their life around and make better choices that please God but it's so much easier if you start out as a young young person following Jehovah remember we're on that bus trip through life here if you get on the wrong bus you might be able to get off later get on another bus headed back in the right direction but some choices are permanent and the effects of some choices can never be undone let's consider another scripture in this regard it's just a little bit over in Galatians chapter 6 Galatians chapter 6 and verse 7 do not be misled God is not one to be mocked for whatever a person is sowing this he will also reap this scripture reminds us that there are consequences for our actions they may be good consequences or they may be bad it all depends on the choices we decide to make but today let's focus on good choices let's keep it positive for the rest of our discussion this morning we'll look at three areas of your life where the choices that you make right now as a young person are especially critical remember I mentioned that some choices can affect the entire rest of your life well these are like that they are your choice of friends your moral conduct and the goals that you set for yourself these choices are also ones that the Bible provides really reliable and helpful guidance on so we can rely on the scriptures to show us where to go you could think about Jehovah's standards for our lives kind of like the height requirement to ride a roller coaster have you ever done that written a roller coaster some other ride you walk up to it and there's a sign there and it has a line says You must be this tall to ride well who said that height was it you could you walk up there and make some adjustments well no of course not it's set by the roller coaster operator because that's what's safe that's what will protect you from harm you have to meet the standard to ride the ride similarly Jehovah sets standards because he knows what's good and safe for us it's not a matter of opinion it's a matter of fact so three areas friends moral conduct and goals now as we talk about these I'm going to mention some articles from our website jw.org did you know that there's an entire section dedicated to young people I was blown away I did not realize there were so many different topics covered I stopped counting at 100 and there were many more anything you're facing there's an article for it on there now that's way too many to talk about this morning but as we go I'd like to just mention a few that are relevant that may help you when making these decisions so let's talk about friends first that's our first area your friends they have a huge impact on your life think about what Proverbs 13 and verse 20 says I'll just read it to you the one walking with the wise will become wise but the one who has dealings with the stupid will feare badly I remember way back in school one of my teachers phrased that a little bit differently once when a normally well- behaved student got into some trouble no it wasn't me not that time anyway he said if you lie down with dogs you'll get up with fleas both that scripture and the teacher were absolutely right we naturally tend to act like the people that we hang out with especially as a young person the desire to fit in is powerful but even more powerful than the desire to fit in is the desire to not stand out as different so if your friends are doing good things you'll likely do good things as well but if your friends are doing bad things sooner or later you're likely to end up doing some bad things as well if you attend school have you seen that for yourself I think you have now all of the things that we're going to talk about this morning regarding what makes a person truly happy how to live your life in a way that Jehovah approves of those things are not what your average friend at school is going to agree with they just aren't they won't believe that any of this matters they won't think it's the real way to be happy and if you make people like that your close friends they'll do their best to stop you from believing it as well so to be happy and successful you need to find friends that will help you make good choices ones that will build you up that set a good example of course there's no way to isolate yourself from Bad Association impossible you have to go to school you have to go to work but the difference is how much you allow them to be a close part of your life are they just workmates and schoolmates or do you invite them into your life as Close Associates there's a difference there really the only ones who can be a close part of your life are those that share the same wholesome values that you're trying to develop if the people you surround yourself with Build You Up spiritually you'll grow so much more as a spiritual person we see that in our congregations in the area we see strong spiritual people moving into the area to commute and what do they do they they build each other up and we have amazing young people because of that Association so how do you find friends like that well here's an article for you on jw.org in the section for young people there's an article titled what if I'm lonely here's one suggestion it gives for making high quality friends it says don't limit yourself to people of your own age some of the warmest friendships recorded in the Bible were between people with considerable age differences such as Ruth and Naomi David and Jonathan and Timothy and Paul well just how big of an age difference was there well here we see the case of Jonathan and David David was about 30 years younger than Jonathan big age difference but what happened in their life they became very close friends and they were good for each other spiritually they helped each other to be spiritual successes of course it is important to have friends your own age you need that and you're going to find friends your own age but when you get close to someone who's older than you their experience their maturity their life lessons that they've already learned that becomes available to you you can benefit from it when making friends really the quality is more important than and how many you have or how old they are relative to you that same article from jw.org went on to say this a starving person will eat almost anything in a similar way people who are starved for friends could look for friendship in all the wrong places they could even become easy targets for manipulators thinking that such relationships are normal and that they shouldn't expect anything better of course friendship is a two-way street isn't it to make friends we have to work at being someone they want to be friends with let's talk about our second point now one reason why making those good solid friends is so important is because of your moral choices now I have no doubt that all of you are very familiar with how your schoolmates or your workmates view morality and having sex and I know that it may not be what you want to talk talk about this morning it can come across as an awkward topic but we need to we need to talk about it because the choices that you make regarding these things they can really affect the rest of your life Jehovah created humans all of us with a natural desire for intimacy that's how he built us he wants us to be able to enjoy it he gave it to us as a gift but a gift to be used only in the correct circumstance only in a way that won't damage you either physically or emotionally let's go back to the Bible this time to Proverbs chap 5 and see what that circumstance is Proverbs 5 Verse 18 just notice the second part of that scripture may you rejoice with the wife of your youth well you might ask perhaps someday I Will Rejoice with a wife but does that mean that it's wrong to have sex in the meantime what's the big deal please read another scripture so we can find out what Jehovah thinks about it it's back in 1 Thessalonians 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 here's God's standard beginning in verse three for this is the will of God that you should be holy and abstain from sexual immorality each one of you should know how to control his own body in Holiness and honor not with greedy uncontrolled sexual passion like the Nations have that do not know God yes despite what some may try to tell you the simple truth is that Jehovah does not allow for sexual relations outside of marriage but not only is it a sin against his standards consider the immediate physical possibilities here's some data for for you according to a recent CDC study 47% of high school students had participated in sexual activity and almost half of those took no precautions against disease or pregnancy 20 million Americans get a new sexually transmitted disease every year and half of those are teenagers in 2017 there were 200,000 babies born to teenage mothers those mothers then had only a 50 50 chance of completing High School imagine how different the lives of all those young people would have been if they had been willing to stick to Jehovah's standards in the Bible yes Jehovah's standards they exist for a reason they make a happier and a healthier life for anyone who's willing to follow them but making a decision like that a positive decision to avoid immorality requires a firm resolve on your part you have to take it seriously you have to make up your mind in advance that no matter what you're not going to compromise a man in the Bible had to do exactly that do you recall the story of Joseph it's in the book of Genesis well Joseph had been sold into slavery by his own Brothers finally after years of work he had moved up the ranks he had gained a prominent role in an important man's house and that man's wife was very interested in Joseph what would he do let's find out it's in Genesis chapter 39 Genesis 39 we'll scroll down to verse 7 and see what happens now after these things the wife of his master began to cast her eyes on Joseph and say lie down with me but he refused and said to his master's wife here my master does not know what is with me in the house and he has entrusted everything he has into my care there is no one greater in this house than I am and he has not withheld from me anything at all except you because you are his wife so how could I commit this great Badness and actually sin against God so day after day she spoke to Joseph but he never consented to lie with her or to remember with her what would happen though what would be the outcome but verse 11 but on one of the days when he went into the house to do his work none of the household servants were in the house then she grabbed hold of him by His Garment and said lie down with me but he left his garment in her hand and fled outside Joseph already had his mind made up he knew that no no matter what he was going to stay chased he was willing to literally run away from it he actually ended up in prison because of this choice that he made the same is true for you if you're going to be successful in this way you have to make up your mind right now and develop habits to control desires when they try to lead you into making bad decisions there he is he had his mind made up in advance thank you for that a large part of this control is learning to control your thinking that has a big impact on it you know immoral thoughts they're kind of like stray cats do you know what happens when you feed a stray cat well I fed one once we had her for 10 years yes if you feed your immoral thoughts through entertainment through daydreaming there they're going to stick around they're going to grow in your mind this right here this cell phone is an endless Buffet of food for immoral thoughts if you use it the wrong way going back to those articles that we mentioned on jw.org there are about 22 that cover this topic just go to jw.org click on Bible teachings then click on teenagers take a look at those articles they're valuable and don't be afraid to talk to your parents or a trusted friend if this is something that you're struggling with but parents this won't be an easy conversation for your kids if you make it an awkward conversation if you quickly judge them or overreact so foster an environment in your home that makes your children comfortable talking to you about whatever they're dealing with young people you can win this battle you can stay chased you can maintain your self-respect you can Safeguard your future and most importantly you can please Jehovah God now finally let's talk about goals that you can make on this bus trip that we're imagining you couldn't expect to show up at the bus station without a plan for where you want to end up right the employees there they're not going to choose a destination for you they won't take you by the hand and drag you onto the correct bus you have to know where you're going you have to pick what you want out of your life in the same way you have to decide what's going to make you happy what's going to make you successful many people your teachers your Associates at school perhaps at work they'll tell you that focusing on yourself will make you happy that focusing on your personal advancement of goals in this system of things will make you happy get as much education as you can get the best job you can find to make as much money as you possibly can the secret to happiness but is that really true are people who Focus their lives on material possessions truly happy well I'll quote you a scripture from Ecclesiastes 5 and verse 10 it says a lover of silver will never be satisfied with silver nor a lover of wealth with income this too is futility now you have to have enough money to live your life that's true you must be able to afford a place to stay you have to have food to eat clothes to wear enough to support your family to provide a reasonable reasonable amount of relaxation and entertainment but once you get past that point once you have the foundation of life covered simply pursuing more money isn't going to make you TR happy the focus of your life has to be on productive things in order to gain satisfaction from it otherwise you're just running in the Rat Race For No Good Reason the things of this world really aren't worth spending your time on that's not where you want to have your life focused why not please turn to 1 John Chapter 2 this is an important concept when it comes to what we focused our life on 1 John Chapter 2 I'll give you a moment to find that we'll start down in verse 15 do not love either the world or the things in the world if anyone loves the world the love of the father is not in him because everything in the world the desire of the Flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one's means of life does not originate with the father but originates with the world furthermore the world is passing away and so is its desire but the one who does the will of God remains forever remember this world and all of its things all the stuff that you could accumulate in life what did the scriptures say the world is passing away it's only temporary Jehovah God has promised that very soon his kingdom is going to take over and we will inherit the paradise Earth that's clearly promised in the Bible when that day comes when we're in Paradise enjoying eternal life in Perfection what difference will it make how famous or wealthy you were in Satan's system of things who's going to Care at that point it will be far more valuable to have spent that portion of your life living a life that Jehovah approv approves of learning how to be one of his faithful followers and building a strong spiritual Foundation when you compare those real future rewards with what you might miss out on right now there's no comparison really true satisfaction and happiness it comes from putting God's will first in your life and if we stop to think about that even just for a second it makes sense doesn't it it's so logical that that would be true after all Jehovah created us he knows exactly what's good for us and he knows what will make us truly happy the guidance in the Bible it's never going to harm you it's never going to hold you back from something that would be good rather it will benefit you more than anything else in the long run you simply must choose your destination get your bus ticket and get on the right bus these choices these three and so many others that you make in your life right now are critical we've talked about three areas in your life where you what you do right now can make a major impact on your life in the future remember what they were they were the goals that you set the moral decisions that you make and the friends that you have but there's one factor that ties all of these things together and that's your personal relationship with Jehovah in each of those aspects of our life and all others the thing that makes it possible for you to stand up against wrong influences and to make right decisions is the fact that you know and love Jehovah God as we wrap things up this morning let us take just a few moments more and examine a situation in the Bible where that strong personal relationship with God made all the difference for some young people it's the account of Daniel and three others being pressured to do something that was against Jehovah's law at the time the account is in Daniel chapter 1 it's a bit too long for us to read this morning but let's just pick out a few key moments in that account Daniel chapter 1 and notice first of all verse 8 Daniel resolved in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's Delicacies or with the wine he drank so he asked the principal Court official for permission not to defile himself in this way so Daniel made a choice I'm going to follow God's standard he spoke up and said hey this is what I need to do but then he faces pressure from the court official notice our picture here of this happening in effect the court official is saying come on man I could lose my job over this can you not just eat the food what's the big deal he's facing pressure other people are around him pure pressure what will he do Daniel stood firm in his decision thanks for the picture notice Verse 18 So Daniel refused to give in to the to the court officials pleading for him to give in here's how it turned out for them at the end of the time that the king had specified to bring them in the principal Court official brought them in before King Nebuchadnezzar when the king spoke with them no one in the entire group was found to be like Daniel haniah mishael and Azariah and they continued to serve before the King Daniel had his mind made up he wasn't going to compromise even on something as seemingly minor as dietary rules if he had given in he would have been no different than anyone else in the king's court just another guy eating the King's food but because he stuck with Jehovah because he stood firm in his beliefs he was blessed with a role that made him even more useful to Jehovah in future assignments now you have a choice to make you get to pick what to to do but it's not a choice that you can just make today and then forget about it no this choice is an ongoing way of life not only do you have to get on the bus toward your destination you have to stay on the bus on that Journey you may look out the window of the bus and see something very interesting something that looks like it's worth spending your time on something that you want to get distracted with but remember your only focus in this life is reaching the destination a happy and successful life that pleases Jehovah God that gets you to the greatest reward of all time eternal life in that paradise Earth and let me tell you friends that journey is almost over the bus is almost there in fact if you look closely up ahead you can see Paradise it's just around that next corner so whether you're young or not so young the message is the same stay focused on what really matters pay attention to the decisions that you're making be wise in how you spend your time if you can do that you'll have something that's very rare these days true happiness