Furnishing

Equip your house with what’s NECESSARY.

Would you build a house from the inside first, and raise the walls later? Would you arrange the furniture first before laying the foundation and building the structure? No. You would be a fool to do that.

The furniture is the last thing you add to the house, even though you might have an idea of how you’d like it to look.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what some young people do. Instead of spending their teenage years working the ground and digging deep, as we learned these last two Sundays, they want the furniture first.

The furniture here represents your love life. Your love life can’t be just any “cheap” asset. It must be the perfect match for the rest of the house. It has to fit.

Many youths don’t want to respect this law of life. They are in too big of a hurry. They need a girlfriend or boyfriend; they need to feel the adrenaline rush of being “in love.” They forget about a career, an education or faith, just dive into an experience that you’ll pay for dearly in the end. We’ve seen so many young girls abandoning their studies and their dreams because they got pregnant. Others, both guys and girls, ended up contracting a disease.   

Worrying about having a relationship now is equivalent to arranging the furniture before building the house. It makes no sense.

Just think. If you get into a relationship right now, will you marry that person in one year? Probably not. You still have other things to accomplish that are more important, such as your relationship with God (Foundation) and your career (Structure). That unhealthy relationship will just drag on and on, attracting more disappointments while everyone else passes you by. 

Pr Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator

Are you digging deep?

Depending on a person's decisions and actions, they can either be building a house that will withstand a hurricane or one that will get blown away by the first winds. Both individuals are given the same instructions and tools to do the job. However, when  a storm comes, only one house will remain standing. Why?

The Lord Jesus explains why in the book of Luke.

"But why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say? Who ever come to me, and hear My sayings and do them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house; he dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great." (Luke 6 46-49)

From looking at this passage, we can clearly see the difference between those who hear Jesus’ sayings and put them to practice, and those who heard but failed to act. However, let’s all focus our attention to the part of this passage that states '...dug deep...' and '…laid the foundation on the rock...'

What do we understand from the term '...he who dug deep...'? Well we know that earlier in the passage, Jesus compares this person to the one that hears His sayings and does them. So, this shows that in order to do what God asks of us, it takes sacrifice. As digging a pit is not easy and involves sweating, getting our hands dirty, etc, digging deep in practical means staying away from the things of this world, reading the Bible, seeking the Holy Spirit, praying, fasting, obeying the Word of God and doing all that is required to receive His presence.

Many people confuse the meaning of the other term from this passage which states '...laid the foundation on the rock...' If a foundation is simply laid upon a rock, make no mistake; it can be moved. However, to dig into a rock and lay the foundation makes it very different. This foundation becomes unshakable. (Usually, when people dig into the earth and come across a rock in their path, the only way of removing such rocks could be by using dynamite). This just illustrates how hard we have to work.

The process of digging and laying the foundation upon the rock would be very lengthy and hard; but the motivation we should have in choosing to do so is the assurance that our base is sound and unshakable, which is Lord Jesus.

As for the other person mentioned in this passage, we see that he saw no importance in digging deep and laying his foundation. These set of individuals become more concerned with the appearance of their house. Youth who are like this person usually start off very strong, but along the way, they become complacent. Youths such as these are not really bothered about investing in their faith. They come to church and make weak prayers and think it's okay to miss important services during the week.

"These set of individuals become more concerned with the

appearance of their house. Youth who are like this person usually

start off very strong, but along the way, they become complacent... "

Their houses are already built. Since they are convinced that their work is finished, they become idle; leaving their minds open to thoughts and suggestions. What happens next is that the stream will rise.

They will face persecutions, temptations, accusations and problems that will make them fall.

Pr Luke Castro

YPG National Coordinator