Vermaan die jongmanne – Titus 2:6

In ‘n vorige skrywe het ek gewys op die tragiese verskynsel van ‘n immorele film wat soveel aandag kry, in ‘n land wat meen die groot meerderheid is ‘christene’. Volgens die Beeld was die film Fifty Shades of Grey die film met die grootste kykergetal nog in ons land op die dag wat dit geopen het.

En dan durf ons nog vra hoekom lyk ons land soos hy lyk ?

Dan wonder ons nog waarom ons so ‘n goddelose owerheid het wat ons land vernietig ?

Dan wonder ons nog waarom die seën van die Here nie oor ons kerke en land is nie, en soveel valse profete opstaan ?

As die HERE die huis nie bou nie … Ps.127.

Daar is ‘n baie groot aanslag op ons almal, maar veral op ons jongmense, en nog meer op ons jongmanne: die vaders en ouderlinge en diakens en predikante van die toekoms.

Die Skrif leer ook van die tye waarin ons ons bevind:

1 Maar weet dit, dat daar in die laaste dae swaar tye sal kom.
2 Want die mense sal liefhebbers van hulleself wees, geldgieriges, grootpraters, trotsaards, lasteraars, ongehoorsaam aan hulle ouers, ondankbaar, onheilig,
3 sonder natuurlike liefde, onversoenlik, kwaadsprekers, bandeloos, wreed, sonder liefde vir die goeie,
4 verraaiers, roekeloos, verwaand, meer liefhebbers van genot as liefhebbers van God;
5 mense wat ‘n gedaante van godsaligheid het, maar die krag daarvan verloën het. Keer jou ook van hierdie mense af. – 2 Tim.3

maar dan ook,

14 Maar bly jy in wat jy geleer het en waarvan jy verseker is, omdat jy weet van wie jy dit geleer het,
15 en dat jy van kleins af die heilige Skrifte ken wat jou wys kan maak tot saligheid deur die geloof in Christus Jesus.
16 Die hele Skrif is deur God ingegee en is nuttig tot lering, tot weerlegging, tot teregwysing, tot onderwysing in die geregtigheid,
17sodat die mens van God volkome kan wees, vir elke goeie werk volkome toegerus. – 2 Tim.3

Jongmens, jongman, waar is jy ….. in 2 Timoteus: v.1-5 … of by v.14-17 ?

Ek wil ek elke jongman aanbeveel om die volgende boek van JC Ryle te gaan lees of te luister: Thoughts to Young Men.

As jy dit hoor, sal dit klink asof dit presies vir vandag geskryf is, vir my!

Versprei dit verder onder vriende, ander jongmense, bid daaroor, bespreek dit onder mekaar, dink daaroor, huil daaroor en laat ons ons bekeer terwyl die Here se genade in Christus nog te vinde is, want onthou,

“God het dan die tye van onkunde oorgesien en verkondig nou aan al die mense oral dat hulle hul moet bekeer, omdat Hy ‘n dag bepaal het waarop Hy die wêreld in geregtigheid sal oordeel deur ‘n Man wat Hy aangestel het, en Hy het hiervan aan almal sekerheid gegee deur Hom uit die dode op te wek.” – Hand.17:30,31

Ag, het ek maar as jongseun so ‘n boek gelees, sou dit myself soveel verdriet gespaar het. Ja, die Here se genade is groot, en die bloed van Christus reinig ons van alle sondes, dank God ! …. maar die gevolge van ons sondes moet ons in hierdie lewe mee saamlewe, dink maar aan Dawid!

Daarom jongmanne, maak nou erns met die Here en sy Woord, vandag as jy Sy stem hoor ….

– vaders van jongmanne en toekomstige jongmanne, luister/lees ook die boekie,

– so ook moeders en dogters (sodat jul ook kan weet watter mans om eendag in die Here te volg).

‘n Aanhaling uit die boekie:

“Young men, you may fancy I am laying too much stress on this point. If you had seen old men, as I have, on the brink of the grave, without any feelings, seared, callous, dead, cold, hard as stone — you would not think so. Believe me, you cannot stand still in your souls. Habits of good or evil are daily strengthening in your hearts.

Every day you are either getting nearer to God, or further off.

Every year that you continue unrepentant, the wall of division between you and heaven becomes higher and thicker, and the gulf to be crossed deeper and broader.

Oh, dread the hardening effect of constant lingering in sin!

Now is the accepted time.

See that your decision not be put off until the winter of your days. If you do not seek the Lord when young, the strength of habit is such that you will probably never seek Him at all.  I fear this, and therefore I exhort you.”

Hier kan die boekie gelees word:  Thoughts for Young Men

Opsomming: Advice to Young Men

Hier kan die boekie geluister word: Thoughts for Young Men

(Op hierdie webblad kan jy gerus ook luister hierna: What Young Men Must Learn from John Calvin.  Sien ook die verskillende boeke van Douglas Bond, ‘n gereformeerde Bond!  Vaders, sien ook die volgende boeke daar om jul te help met die opvoeding van seuns: Hold Fast en Stand Fast)

Hier is meer inligting oor die skrywer van die boekie: JC Ryle

Nog preke vir jongmense:

Die vrees van die HERE

Shocking Youth Message (teks is hier)

Jongmens, waarom noem jy My, Here ?

Sien ook die volgende: What Man is Not: Biblical Manhood

Five Dangers for  Young Men

1. Pride

“Young men, do not be too confident in your own judgment. Stop being so sure that you are always right, and others wrong. Don’t trust your own opinion, when you find it contrary to that of older men, and especially to that of your own parents. Age gives experience, and therefore deserves respect.”

2. Love of Pleasure

“Youth is the time when our passions are strongest, and like unruly children, cry most loudly for indulgence. Youth is the time when we have generally our most health and strength: death seems far away, and to enjoy ourselves in this life seems to be everything. ‘I serve lusts and pleasures’, that is the true answer many a young man should give if asked, ‘Whose servant are you?’”

3. Thoughtlessness

“Not thinking is one simple reason why thousands of souls are thrown away forever into the Lake of Fire. Men will not consider, will not look ahead, will not look around them, will not reflect on the end of their present course, and the sure consequences of their present days, and wake up to find they are damned for a lack of thinking. Young men, none are in more danger of this than yourselves. You know little of the perils around you, and so you are careless how you walk. You hate the trouble of serious, quiet thinking, and so you make wrong decisions and bring upon yourselves much sorrow.”

4. Contempt of Religion

“This also is one of your special dangers. I always observe that none pay so little outward respect to Christianity as young men. None take so little part in our services, when they are present at them, use Bibles so little, sing so little, listen to preaching so little. None are so generally absent at prayer meetings, Bible Studies, and all other weekday helps to the soul. Young men seem to think they do not need these things, they may be good for women and old men, but not for them. They appear ashamed of seeming to care about their souls: one would almost fancy they considered it a disgrace to go to heaven at all.”

5. Fear of Man’s Opinion

“It is terrible to observe the power which the fear of man has over most minds, and especially over the minds of the young. Few seem to have any opinions of their own, or to think for themselves. Like dead fish, they go with the stream and tide. What others think is right, they think is right; and what others call wrong, they call wrong too. There are not many original thinkers in the world. Most men are like sheep, they follow a leader. If it was the fashion of the day to be Roman Catholics, they would be Roman Catholics, if it was to be Islamic, they would be Islamic. They dread the idea of going against the current of the times. In a word, the opinion of the day becomes their religion, their creed, their Bible, and their God.”