Community Youth Outreach
Gen. Y Not ?
“You know a dream is from God when you are in awe at its impossibility.”
This is not to say that God is cruel because He gives us dreams that are impossible.
Jesus said, “With God, all things are possible.” God is the God of possibility.
He awakens desire and passion within us to make a difference, to compel us towards
greatness. Your generation has been mistakenly categorized as an aloof and selfish
generation, fixated on materialism, consumerism and an insatiable appetite to get
what you want and get it now. I have a greater faith in our current stock of youth
on this planet. Opportunities and resources are so available to achieve greatness
and fulfil your God-
A word that my wife and I limit with our three year old son is the word ‘can’t.’ Nothing should stop you when your conviction and passion drives you to achieve what you know in your heart you must do. What I love about the Bible is the theme of promise fulfilment. God promises, man obeys, and the promises of God are not fulfilled by some miracle alone. God walks with us, counsels us, corrects us, guides us, delivers us, equips and empowers us to see that the Word He has given us and the desire he has given us in our hearts will come to completion. So I ask you the question, and I pray we each ask ourselves often, “Why not?”
Our culture, family, friends, education system, occupations, socio-economic situations will appear to place solid immoveable blockages in our way to deter us from reaching our potential and destiny. We regularly hear the winds of doubt echoing in our heads and hearts and the hope of realising our dreams can fade with fear under the threat of impossibility.
Sure, there might be detours and traffic hazards along the way but the path of your destiny never comes to end until its fulfilment. If you have experienced fear, doubt, opposition and hazards trying to reach your destiny and failed, then I have some great news for you. The light at the end of your tunnel is not a freight train speeding at you, it is a light of hope and promise – it is a light of possibility.
One of my favourite things to do when I speak with high school students is to ask what they want to do when they leave High School. There are some whose faces light up with excitement, look me in the eye and announce their dream with prophetic passion and faith. From as early as I can remember I wanted to be a soldier. There was a dream birthed and a decision made before I even started school to be a career soldier and I fed that dream however I could. I served in the Australian Army for ten years and have no doubt that it was in God’s plan for me. The Bible tells me, “God gives me the desires of my heart.” I believe this is two-fold. God not only plants that desire in my heart, He also sees that the desire is given to me in its fulfilment. Some youth have shared with me over the years the dreams and desires of their hearts: V8 Supercar Racing Team, Medium or Long Term Missionary to orphans in Thailand, Emergency Services, Children’s Author and Multimedia Producer, Family Law Lawyer, but to name a few.
“No one plans to fail, one only fails to plan.” Who wakes up one day making a decision to live without hope, promise or a future? We let things slip, the stuff of life takes over and next thing we know the dream has faded. Situations we have allowed to determine our future and the poor choices we’ve made can almost destroy any hope we had. There is righteousness in each and every one of us that wants to make a positive influence and difference with our lives. There is a God given spark in all of us that can ignite the passion and desire to be great. When you allow the dream killers and the faith stealers to have enough say in your life, your future greatness and the promises of hope and a future are under serious threat. Doubt, fear and unbelief then become the overriding rulers in our lives and our dreams fade under a cloud of overwhelming darkness. However, let’s not understand our success and greatness by power and authority, money and social status. Authoritative positional status in this world counts for nothing when it comes to success and greatness. Success and greatness are found in obedience and devotion toward seeing purpose, promise and destiny fulfilled – the execution of the Divine mission for our life. On our way, we need to keep walking in love. Jesus said that a God-honouring life is one that loves God with all we are and all we have, and being a loving neighbour and friend to people around us.
So how do we pursue the fulfilment of our dreams, vision, future, destiny? What can we do? I believe some route markers and destinations we need in our life can be mapped out in the following seven points. We need to take our experiences in each of these points to mature us and become a part of who we are. These seven points will be a continual part of our life’s journey. They are:
1. TRUST GOD
2. FUEL THE FIRE
3. DO SOMETHING
4. STAY HUNGRY
5. BLEED THE VISION
6. LOSE YOURSELF
7. REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR
One of my favourite things to do when I speak with high school students is to ask what they want to do when they leave High School. There are some whose faces light up with excitement, look me in the eye and announce their dream with prophetic passion and faith. From as early as I can remember I wanted to be a soldier. There was a dream birthed and a decision made before I even started school to be a career soldier and I fed that dream however I could. I served in the Australian Army for ten years and have no doubt that it was in God’s plan for me. The Bible tells me, “God gives me the desires of my heart.” I believe this is two-
“No one plans to fail, one only fails to plan.” Who wakes up one day making a decision to live without hope, promise or a future? We let things slip, the stuff of life takes over and next thing we know the dream has faded. Situations we have allowed to determine our future and the poor choices we’ve made can almost destroy any hope we had. There is righteousness in each and every one of us that wants to make a positive influence and difference with our lives. There is a God given spark in all of us that can ignite the passion and desire to be great. When you allow the dream killers and the faith stealers to have enough say in your life, your future greatness and the promises of hope and a future are under serious threat. Doubt, fear and unbelief then become the overriding rulers in our lives and our dreams fade under a cloud of overwhelming darkness. However, let’s not understand our success and greatness by power and authority, money and social status. Authoritative positional status in this world counts for nothing when it comes to success and greatness. Success and greatness are found in obedience and devotion toward seeing purpose, promise and destiny fulfilled – the execution of the Divine mission for our life. On our way, we need to keep walking in love. Jesus said that a God-
So how do we pursue the fulfilment of our dreams, vision, future, destiny? What can we do? I believe some route markers and destinations we need in our life can be mapped out in the following seven points. We need to take our experiences in each of these points to mature us and become a part of who we are. These seven points will be a continual part of our life’s journey. They are:
1. TRUST GOD
2. FUEL THE FIRE
3. DO SOMETHING
4. STAY HUNGRY
5. BLEED THE VISION
6. LOSE YOURSELF
7. REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR
We’ll cover all of these in following issues of the magazine. This issue, we’ll cover the first thing, our start point toward seeing the desires of our heart given. Our prayer is that thousands of young people, including you, are challenged, encouraged and inspired to become the unique person that God created you to be. Our prayer is that the God-given desires of your heart, your dreams and visions, the purpose and mission for your life, are fulfilled.
TRUST GOD
With all the things we have we trust the manufacturer. The teachers and coaches in our life we trust the most are those who have walked in our shoes and experienced what we want to experience. God is our manufacturer. He made us, created us for a purpose, mission and destiny. Therefore, we need to trust that He provides us with the instruction, council and wisdom we need to do what we are created to do, to fulfil the purpose for which he created you and me.
God’s Son, Jesus, walked in our shoes from birth to death and experienced what it meant to be devoted to the purpose and destiny God the Father gave. That is, to fulfil the dream that humanity would be bought back by the sacrifice of His own life and the broken relationship between God and humanity would be restored. Jesus came to earth, in the flesh, as one of us, to represent us all. He lived an obedient devoted life to the Father and to His dream of restoring a relationship with all of us. Jesus was raised from the dead, ascended to heaven, enthroned in glory. He offers all of us eternal life in Him by putting our trust in Him. Life in Jesus Christ is where it’s at. It is where hope, purpose and destiny is at.
If you haven’t done so yet, trust God and give your life to God by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. Follow the example of obedient devotion of Jesus Christ, and place your faith in what He has done for you. Then with the new life you are given in Christ, you can grow in your relationship with God and you can get to know His design for you, His purpose for you, His mission and dream for you. Your relationship with God and getting to know Him will see the fulfilment of your dreams and visions for your life grow toward maturity and completion. Trusting God by getting to know God is done through prayer, reading your Bible and spending time with Christians who know God intimately.
The Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit, speaks to our spirit to guide, council, comfort, correct, discipline and instruct us in the ways in which God would have us execute our mission on this earth. If God put desires in our hearts and if God will give us the fulfilment of those desires it makes sense to surrender our heart to Him and to His purpose and design for us.
I pray you have been encouraged to seek and take on the mission God has for you. We pray that the spirits of fear, doubt, negativity and impossibility will be driven out of your life so you can be all who God created you to be. Next issue we will be taking up the topic of Fuelling the Fire – doing what you can to make the dream burn brighter with power, and force. Until the next issue, we would appreciate any comments or stories from you about this article and topic. You can email us at info@uthink.com.au.
Gen Y: Those born 1980-1994, are
20.5% of Australia’s population.
That’s 4.2 million!
(ABS Population Pyramid 2006 & McCrindle Research Study 2006).
That’s some significant people power!
TRUST GOD
With all the things we have we trust the manufacturer. The teachers and coaches in our life we trust the most are those who have walked in our shoes and experienced what we want to experience. God is our manufacturer. He made us, created us for a purpose, mission and destiny. Therefore, we need to trust that He provides us with the instruction, council and wisdom we need to do what we are created to do, to fulfil the purpose for which he created you and me.
God’s Son, Jesus, walked in our shoes from birth to death and experienced what it meant to be devoted to the purpose and destiny God the Father gave. That is, to fulfil the dream that humanity would be bought back by the sacrifice of His own life and the broken relationship between God and humanity would be restored. Jesus came to earth, in the flesh, as one of us, to represent us all. He lived an obedient devoted life to the Father and to His dream of restoring a relationship with all of us. Jesus was raised from the dead, ascended to heaven, enthroned in glory. He offers all of us eternal life in Him by putting our trust in Him. Life in Jesus Christ is where it’s at. It is where hope, purpose and destiny is at.
If you haven’t done so yet, trust God and give your life to God by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. Follow the example of obedient devotion of Jesus Christ, and place your faith in what He has done for you. Then with the new life you are given in Christ, you can grow in your relationship with God and you can get to know His design for you, His purpose for you, His mission and dream for you. Your relationship with God and getting to know Him will see the fulfilment of your dreams and visions for your life grow toward maturity and completion. Trusting God by getting to know God is done through prayer, reading your Bible and spending time with Christians who know God intimately.
The Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit, speaks to our spirit to guide, council, comfort, correct, discipline and instruct us in the ways in which God would have us execute our mission on this earth. If God put desires in our hearts and if God will give us the fulfilment of those desires it makes sense to surrender our heart to Him and to His purpose and design for us.
I pray you have been encouraged to seek and take on the mission God has for you. We pray that the spirits of fear, doubt, negativity and impossibility will be driven out of your life so you can be all who God created you to be. Next issue we will be taking up the topic of Fuelling the Fire – doing what you can to make the dream burn brighter with power, and force. Until the next issue, we would appreciate any comments or stories from you about this article and topic. You can email us at info@uthink.com.au.
Gen Y: Those born 1980-
That’s 4.2 million!
(ABS Population Pyramid 2006 & McCrindle Research Study 2006).
That’s some significant people power!
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