This sermon emphasizes the importance of young people embracing God's preparation through trials and challenges, highlighting the examples of Mary, Joseph, and David. It encourages a life of faith, gratitude, and grace in speech, even in the face of difficulties, as God works all things for good. The message stresses the value of enduring trials to develop a ministry and to be a light in a crooked world, drawing lessons from biblical figures who faced hardships but remained faithful.

A lot of young people are wasting their youth instead of allowing God to prepare them for His plan to be fulfilled in their life. I believe that God begins to prepare people for His service even when they are just finished school, 17-18 years old. So that by the time they are around 30 years old, they can have a ministry. But I find that many young people are not taking those years very seriously because they are not sharing the word in the church or anything like that. People can accept Christ even when they are 5 years old. But by the time a child is 17 or 18 years old, even in the world they recognize that person as an adult. And at that age, even parents feel bored to send their children away from home to some hostel in a college to live by themselves. By the time they are 18 years old. So, from that time, every brother and sister must take their Christian life very seriously. And one of the things that you must do in addition to your secular study or work is to study the word of God. See, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was probably about 18 years old when the angel Gabriel appeared to her. See, they used to get married very early in those days. So, maybe she was 18 or 20 years old. But what a tremendous prayer she prays. Can you think of an 18-20 year old praying like this? But what a tremendous prayer she prays. Can you think of an 18-20 year old praying like this? Remember, this is Luke chapter 1. I am just showing you as an example for young girls. See, when God was wanting some young girl to be the mother of Jesus, God will not pick up anybody. Supposing she is a wayward, mixing around with a lot of boys type of girl, God would not have chosen her. If she was not serious and did not fear God, God would not have chosen her. If she was not serious and did not fear God, God would not have chosen her. And remember one thing when you read the Bible, that everyone in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation never had a Bible at home. That everyone in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation never had a Bible at home. There was no printed Bible. There was only one handwritten Old Testament which will be in the synagogue. If you want to read it, you have to go there and ask the rabbi to read it out to you. If you want to read it, you have to go there and ask the rabbi to read it out to you. Jesus did that regularly and by the time he was 12 years old, he really knew the scriptures. So it is possible even for a 12 year old to know the scriptures, even without a Bible at home. So it is possible even for a 12 year old to know the scriptures, even without a Bible at home. If he goes to an older person and says, please read me the next chapter and the next chapter everyday. So it is all a question of how serious you are to know the word. Jesus made one statement, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from God's mouth. Jesus made one statement, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from God's mouth. You must feed your children properly, then only they will be healthy. You must feed your children properly, then only they will be healthy. In the same way, if they don't have the proper feeding of God's word, they will not be spiritually strong. In the same way, if they don't have the proper feeding of God's word, they will not be spiritually strong. So before you get married, you must really study God's word. Don't neglect your studies. At least 15-20 minutes a day, spend on meditating God's word. It must be a discipline. You must maintain it as a discipline in your life. You never say, I don't have time to read God's word. You never say, I don't have time to eat lunch or dinner. It's all a question of how you find the need in your stomach for food you go and eat. We must have a similar hunger in our heart for the word of God. This is the most important thing I would say to young people. This will prepare you for marriage and it will prepare you for the whole of your life. This is how God prepared my wife and me to get married. Many years before we got married, we just had the habit of reading God's word every day. I did not know about her and she did not know about me. But God knew. He was preparing us by making us read God's word every day. So that we live by the word of God. Even when we had little children and it took so much of our time, she would still read the word of God at night after putting the children to sleep. Now I want you to read Luke chapter 1. I want you to see here in verse 46 onwards up to verse 55. Just see a young 18 or 20 year old girl saying this. This is without any preparation. She did not prepare to say this. It spontaneously came from her heart when she met Elizabeth. All of you just listen. Just read it in Malayalam and listen carefully and see how even if it is 20 year old, a 20 year old young girl is praying. Yes, please read. I will read from verse 46. See what a fantastic prayer that is. There are one or two quotations from the Old Testament also in that prayer. God saw a young whole hearted girl and picked her up to be the mother of Jesus. God saw a young whole hearted girl and picked her up to be the mother of Jesus. Remember when she travelled on that donkey all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem. At 9 months pregnancy. Remember when she travelled on that donkey all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It must have taken one or two days. When they reached there, there was no place to stay. What would a wife today say to her husband? What would a wife today say to her husband? You should have thought about this earlier, not now come and find out there is no place here. You should have thought about this earlier, not now come and find out there is no place here. You knew that I would have to come here at this time. You knew that I would have to come here at this time. Don't you have some brains? Don't you have some brains? You think God would have chosen a woman who spoke like that to be the mother of Jesus? You think God would have chosen a woman who spoke like that to be the mother of Jesus? Not at all. But God knew she will not complain at all. But God knew she will not complain at all. You have to put yourself in her place to understand how she would have felt. You have to put yourself in her place to understand how she would have felt. With all the straw on the ground, with all the smells and everything. With all the straw on the ground, with all the smells and everything. God would not have chosen such a woman. God knows everybody's heart. And he knows who will complain in such a situation and who will submit. So what I say to all of you young girls who are 18-20 years old. So what I say to all of you young girls who are 18-20 years old. If you were living in Nazareth in those days, 2000 years ago. Would God have chosen you to be the mother of Jesus? You have to ask that to yourself. You have to ask that to yourself. A small thing is happening in your house. You complain about it. You criticize it. Mary was a poor woman. She would have gone through many problems in her life. This grumbling and complaining is one of the main characteristics of the human race. When sin first came in the garden of Eden, the first thing that Adam did, when God asked him, did you eat the tree? Adam pointed at his wife. She is the cause. So this complaining and criticizing started from there. Now the time has come for the salvation of man. Jesus is being born and again a woman is involved. But she does not point a finger at Joseph saying, he is a foolish man, did not prepare for my delivery. So you see how murmuring and complaining makes a big difference. How serious it is. See Philippians 2. I mention this because this is a very common practice among all believers. Always there is something or the other to complain about somebody in the house especially. I mean among 4-5 year old children it is normal, we understand that. Always fighting, quarreling, complaining. What about among grown up people? What about husbands and wives? See complaining always comes because of this reason. There is something imperfect in the other person. Maybe Joseph should have planned ahead and written to some of his relatives and saying please arrange one room for me. He was from Bethlehem, he would have had lot of relatives there. He did not do it. So we can say Mary has a right to complain. This is your home, your relatives, I do not have any relatives here, you should have arranged something. Why did not you think about it? But she did not say that. To me that is a very important reason why God chose her. I believe this is also the reason why God does not choose many people today. They always find something to complain about. Now you see here in Philippians chapter 2 saying in verse 5, have this attitude in yourself which is in Christ Jesus. That is how he begins and how he humbled himself and was even willing to be put to the death of the cross, verse 8. He died on the cross and therefore God has exalted him. So then, verse 12, now he is using the example of Jesus. So now you should also work out your salvation with fear and trembling. And God will work inside you to help you. Verse 13, so you say Paul what should I work out my salvation from first of all? He will tell you. Verse 14, first of all start doing all things without grumbling or disputing. What did he say in verse 5? Have the attitude which is in Christ. And you want to follow him. You want to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. God is at work in you. So do all things. All things means everything in your life. There must never be a grumbling or a complaining coming out of your mouth. Remember this picture of Adam pointing his finger at his wife. His whole life Jesus never pointed his finger at anybody. There is a significance that his hands were nailed to the cross. He can't point a finger at anyone. We also have to be saved from this finger pointing. Because if you do that, that is the only way, verse 15, that you can prove that you are a child of God. Because you live, verse 15, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Why is it a crooked and perverse generation? Because every single one of them are always murmuring and rumbling about something. You can come for a conference like this and before the first day over itself you have started grumbling and complaining. And usually it will be some trivial, unimportant thing. 2000 years from now when you are in eternity, you will be ashamed that you grumbled about these silly things. Just think about the things you complain about at home. In your husband or wife or parents or anything. And ask yourself, 2000 years from now will you be worried about that? Won't you have such regret that as a child of God you spoke like that? Because the world is crooked and perverse because they are all like that. And it says here, if you want to shine, verse 15, as a light in the midst of these people and verse 15, to be without any reproach in the midst of such people have a good testimony. If you want to be a light, finish with grumbling and complaining. There are certain things we can finish with very quickly. Some things take a very long time. Two sins that take a long time to overcome. Anger and sexually lustful thinking. Those take a long time to get rid of permanently. But if you battle it, it will go. But some of the easy things we can get rid of. Of getting offended. That is like a kindergarten lesson, we must get rid of it quickly. See, we murmur and complain because we are offended about something. Somebody did not do things according to our expectation. Maybe your wife did not cook the food according to your expectation. Or something was not done in time according to your expectation. Or your husband did not come back from work at the time you expected and things got delayed and so many problems arose. It is always something like that you got offended. And then you complain and grumble. So think of Mary now. If she was a murmuring, grumbling type, I am absolutely sure Jesus would not have been allowed to be born through her. So, I am trying to hold up an example from the old testament. Mary was an old testament saint. She did not know anything about Calvary. She did not receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. She did not have a bible. No church, no fellowship. No conferences. Without all these things, she could come to a life where she is not going to grumble and complain. So, how much more today when we have all these things we can come into such a life? I would say this is one of the most important things we must finish with. If you have a problem with something, go and speak to that person in a gentle way. Maybe with the elder brother. You don't have to get upset. Just go and speak in a gentle way. Brother, I have a little problem here. Can you please explain to me what it is? No, I don't know why you do this in the church. I have a little problem about it. Instead of complaining and grumbling. Instead of going to other people and talking about it. Same way, if you have a problem with your parents. Don't go in a grumbling, complaining spirit. Be a godly young brother or sister. Go and say, Daddy, Mummy, I don't understand why you do things like this. Or, why you don't allow me to do this. Or, why you don't allow me to wear this dress. Like other people in my college are dressing. I am sure your parents will explain it to you. You must give up this confrontational, argumentative spirit. The other thing you must remember is, We are all human beings and we make mistakes. So, we make mistakes sometimes. We said something which may have hurt somebody. Maybe your parents said something that hurt you a little bit. You just follow Jesus and die to yourself. You know what it means to die to yourself? Do you know what it means to die to yourself? In Romans 6, Romans 6. It's important to know this because we speak a lot about it in the church of die to yourself. Romans 6, 6, your old man was crucified with Christ. Now we can't understand that fully. But we believe it. My old man was crucified with Christ. I didn't see it. But I didn't see Jesus taking my sins also. But you all believe that he died for your sins. Did you see it? No. But you believe the word of God. I don't know how he could take my sins when I am committing them now and 2000 years ago he could take the punishment for my sins. But it doesn't matter. I believe it. And I am happy. My sins are forgiven. In the same way, I don't understand how my old man was crucified with him. I don't understand how my old man was crucified with Jesus. But the same bible tells me that. So I believe it. So now what must I do? Because my sins are forgiven, I can be happy. No more guilt in my heart. And because my old man is crucified, what should I do? Verse 11. Very important verse. Consider yourself to be dead to sin. But alive to God. So, whenever I am tempted to commit any sin, Whenever I am tempted to commit any sin, I must consider myself to be a dead person here. Here is a dead body. A dead body will not complain or murmur about anything. A dead body will not complain or murmur about anything. Whatever you may do, you can kick it or shout at it, won't make any difference. I want to reckon myself dead. If somebody treats me badly, I want to be dead. Now, in the beginning, you may not always succeed in reckoning yourself dead. Now, in the beginning, you may not always succeed in reckoning yourself dead. When people irritate you or trouble you, When people irritate you or trouble you, When people provoke you, and after that it won't even be difficult to do it. So I want to encourage you to really seek to reckon yourself dead as the bible says. I say to myself a dead man will not murmur or complain about what people say about him or how he is treated. So I have no complaint. In many many areas, for example you are tempted with your eyes. See Jesus said pluck out your eye. That means be like a blind person. Close your eyes or turn away. Or like Paul said reckon yourself to be dead. A dead man has got no eyes to see anything. For every temptation this is what the holy spirit helps us to do. The holy spirit helps us to be dead to that. That is the meaning of taking up the cross everyday. If you don't take up the cross, you sin. At least in words. Many of us don't take our sinful words as serious. I want to encourage you to take your sinful words very serious before God. See Colossians 4 and verse 6. The important word there is always. Do you think God would give us a command that is not possible to obey? I read that verse and I say it is possible for me to have my speech always with grace. That means you don't deliberately hurt anybody. You don't deliberately get angry. You reckon yourself dead. And if you say something, it will be with grace. Now I am not saying this will happen to you in one day. But if you start on it, it will be like a child learning to walk. See how excited a mother is when a 10 month old child is beginning to walk. But the mother knows it will still fall 1000 times. Doesn't matter. But it will get up. And one day it will not only be walking, it will be running. Or a child learning to swim. Stand on the edge of the water for a long time, afraid, afraid, afraid. And even when it begins to swim, it is scared. It takes many years but finally they become such perfect swimmers. Everything is like that. You teach a child how to ride a cycle. It falls down, falls down. But one day it is riding even without holding the handle of the cycle. So in the same way our speech can become like this with grace over a period of time. But if you never attempt it, it will never happen. So it says here you must know how to speak to each person. Verse 6. You take that verse. Say Lord I want you to make that verse real in my life. Think some of you young people, you take that verse, in a few years you will see a tremendous change in your speech. Or even some of you older people who have no control over your tongue. You take that verse and say Lord I want that to be true in my life. Always with grace. I want to speak to my wife always with grace. I want to speak to my husband always with grace. Like you know the taste that comes by adding salt in the food it says. So this is a very important area that God wants to control in our life. So like Mary is a very good example for young sisters. One of the finest examples in the Bible for young brothers is Joseph. Now one of the things I want you to see about him. Genesis 37. He was only 17 years old. We read in verse 2. You know somewhat like Mary's age. 17 years old and looking after the flock with his brothers. And at that time he had some dreams. What type of dreams do ordinary 17 year old young boys have nowadays? They have seen so many movies and so many dirty pictures that all their dreams are filthy. What comes out in our dreams is what we have stored in our mind through many years. So Joseph had a dream. And these were prophetic dreams about what God is going to do in his life in the future. And we read exactly like this it happened 20 years later. When Joseph was 37 years old all these things happened. And again remember like Mary Joseph had no Bible, no fellowship, no church, nothing. So that is the first thing we learned from him. He was a young man who really must have thought a lot about God. That's why he had dreams about God. He would have heard about God from his father Jacob. The next thing we read here is he suffered so many bad things at the hands of others. His own brothers tried to kill him. But we don't read him complaining about that. If you really trust God you don't have to complain about the way other people treat you. It will all work for your good. Joseph did not know what plan God had for him. And you don't know at a young age what plan God has for you. But what was God's plan? Joseph must be the second ruler of Egypt which means the second ruler of the whole world. Because Egypt was like America or something, biggest country in the world, most powerful country in the world. And it was like being assistant to the ruler of Egypt. That was God's plan. But he is living in Canaan. But how can God take him to Egypt? There was no way that his father would take him to Egypt. So how to fulfill God's plan? See how God works it. He makes his brothers jealous of him. And then he sells him to some Ishmaelite traders. And they took him and sold him in Egypt. See how God fulfills his plan. Through the first step, through the jealousy of his brothers. Do you believe that the jealousy of your brothers and the harm they do to you can fulfill God's plan for your life? That's what we learn here. Then when he goes there, again he is treated in a very bad way. This time by an evil woman. I want you to see something in Genesis 39. Verse 7. The master's wife looked with desire at Joseph and said, lie with me. He refused. And what is the reason that he refused? He didn't say somebody may catch us. That's not what he was afraid of. Many people avoid sin because they think they may be caught. But see what he says. This evil woman. Last part of verse 9. How can I commit this great evil and sin against God? There may be nobody in this house. But God is here. And he is watching me. How can I commit this sin against him? See his father had taught him about God and he kept that in mind. He was only about 20 years old. And it says in verse 10, she spoke to Joseph day after day. You can be tempted day after day in your college, in your office, in your place of work. But it says he would not be with her even. As soon as he saw her, he would avoid her and go somewhere else. That's what you must do when you see a woman who is likely to tempt you. Turn and go some other direction. College or office or anywhere. And one day she just caught him and again he just ran away. Verse 12. Then she got so humiliated that she told a lie against him. She complained to her husband. The husband believed her. He was put into jail. Now you got to see the reason. As long as he was living in Potiphar's house as a slave, there was no chance that he could make Pharaoh. So God has to arrange a meeting of Joseph with Pharaoh. How does he do that? He gets him to be falsely accused and put in jail. And there he allows Pharaoh's cup bearer also to be thrown into jail at the same time. He gives Joseph the interpretation of a dream that God gave to the cup bearer. And like that Joseph gets an introduction to Pharaoh. All the ways which God used were humanly speaking against Joseph. That is the next thing all of you young people must remember from a young age. Even the evil that other people do to me, God can make it work for my good. If you can believe that from a very young age, you will not complain against your brothers. You will not murmur against Potiphar's wife. You will complain against nobody. Because you will say, my God will make it all work for my good finally. That is why these stories are written in the Bible. God wants you to be like that. If you are a serious young Christian like Joseph, God will make everything other people do to you to work for your good. You will fulfill God's plan for your life. And you older people also who work in office or anywhere. See we live in a world where always there are people who want to do something against us. In school teachers will do something against us. They may not like you and they may even fail you. God can make it work for good. I will tell you a story about my wife. She was studying in medical college final year. Her best subject was obstetrics and gynecology. That means treatment of women. She always used to get full marks in that. So in the final exam, she did very well in the written test. So from Vellore CMC she had to go to Chennai for the oral interview and test. And when she went for her test, the one who interviewed her was a very strong Hindu lady. She had all her marks on her forehead and all. And she saw my wife without any jewelry and she knew this is a Christian. Interview is only 5 minutes. Some case they have to discuss. She never asked anything about that case. 5 minutes she kept on criticizing her. You people think you are so great. Despise Christians and despise those who came from CMC Vellore. 5 minutes the bell rang, the test is over. She didn't even test her. My wife submitted the written report. That woman just failed her. In her best subject. How will you feel if that happens to you? So she came back and she had to stay in Vellore for another 3 months. She lost time because of that. And during those 3 months, I went to Vellore. And brother Bucksing, who was a godly man and our elder, suggested her to me and me to her and we could meet. If she had passed, she wouldn't have been there. Then she was going to North India somewhere. So, see that was God's plan. I told her, I wish I could meet that Hindu doctor. I will go and thank her so much for failing my wife. She does not know what a lot of good she did for her and for me and for the church in India and everything. What a lot I have to thank her for. Nobody can do evil to you. You can't see the good that God has in future. If you have faith, you will say, Thank you Lord. I don't know why this completely unrighteous thing this person has done against me. But it is not without your permission. So, I will not complain. I will not murmur. I will only give thanks. You know what it says in Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5 verse 20. Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Can you give thanks for all things? Even things that look so bad. The evil that other people do to you. Yes. Because our Father in Heaven is controlling everything. And He is making it all work together for your good. There are many stories like this in the Bible how everything works for good. I can tell you many stories from the Bible just on this point. What looks like bad God turned into good. For example, here is another young man. 20 years old. David. Because he killed Goliath, King Saul was very jealous of him. Because he killed Goliath, King Saul was very jealous of him. For the next 10 years, David had to run for his life from one cave to another to another. Young 20 year old man. Always wondering when will I be killed. I don't know. The whole army of Israel was looking for David. And do you know when David was running like this? Sometimes sitting alone in a cave, he would write a psalm. You read some of the psalms written when David was running away from Saul. Sometimes sitting alone in a cave, he would write a psalm. You read some of the psalms written when David was running away from Saul. When he was in this cave or when he went before some heathen king. See, inspired scripture is coming out of all these pressures in his life. Today, for 2000 years people are reading it, what David wrote in those times of pressure. So, God teaches us lessons through times of pressure. So, don't be afraid when God takes you young people through difficult times and times of pressure. So, don't be afraid when God takes you young people through difficult times and times of pressure. Let me tell you a lesson from the first 3 kings of Israel. Who was the first one? Saul. Was he a good king or a bad king? Bad. Why? He came from a very rich family. Never faced any pressures in life. As a rich man's son, he became king. He became a useless king. Second was David. Third was Solomon. Was Solomon a good king? No. Bad king. Why? He grew up in a very rich family. Lived in a palace all his life. No pressures, no difficulties. Like Saul, he became a useless king. Now, look at the second king. David. He may have made a few mistakes, but he was a very good king. Why? Because he grew up in poverty. He faced a lot of pressures between the age of 20 and 30. To many struggles. Then he became a king. And as I have observed, I have found that those Christians who go through a lot of struggles, they come to a good life. And those who have a very easy way through life with plenty of money and no problems, usually they have no ministry at all. God's way of preparing you is by taking you through trial. But in those trials you must learn one thing. I will not murmur. I will not complain. I will only give thanks because I believe God is working me for my good. See this Psalm. 66. It is not written here who wrote this. Maybe it was David. But if so, see what he says. Verse 10. You have tried us, O God. You have refined us like silver is refined. That means you put us in the fire. And then you brought us into a net. That means like fish caught in a net, you can't escape. And then you put such an oppressive burden upon our loins. And then on top of that you allowed men to just trample us down and ride over our heads. And then you put us in the fire. And then took us out of the fire and put in ice cold water. But finally you brought us into a place of abundance. That is how God leads His people to a place of abundance. In the Old Testament you can have a ministry by going to a mountain, listening to God, coming and preaching it. Even today you go into a room, sit down, pray, study and go and preach. Or listen to the internet, get a few points and preach a message. But New Covenant ministry is not like that. God gave a message to Paul through trials. He was beaten, stoned, so many things. That's how he got a ministry. He was stoned three times. Beaten 195 times. Imprisoned. Shipwrecked. What for? To give him a message to preach. He says in 2 Corinthians 1, God comforts us in all our afflictions so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the same comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. In our difficulty He gives us some strength and courage. That is the message we give to other people. So, where did Paul get his message? It's not by sitting in an easy chair and studying the Bible. But in prison and due to hunger and thirst and being opposed by others and being called a false teacher. And escaping for his life. All these pressures. You know like toothpaste is squeezed out of the toothpaste tube, the message is squeezed out of Paul. That is how God gives a message to His new covenant servants. So, he says just as the sufferings of Christ are in abundance, so also the comfort is ours about the day of Christ. So, that is a message not only for young people but for all older people as well. What is the biggest problem in family life? Very often husband and wife cannot understand each other. So many things go wrong and they complain against each other. Or complain against in-laws and relatives and neighbors and all that. Supposing you believe that all these things will work for my good, I will live by faith in God. I won't become a doormat for everybody to walk over me. No, but I will not speak evil and I will not murmur or complain. I will always have grace in my speech. Think what God will be able to do through you in the days to come. If you start learning now, you will be quite educated by the time you are 30 years old. God can give you a ministry. And you older people, maybe you have failed in the past, but you can start now. Even in your home, everything that happens, God can work it to make you a better Christian. If you never grumble or complain, like Mary and like Joseph, God can do great things through all of us. Now, there is this little book that my wife had written. And it was written for, it's not a true story. It's a, but it's a story of, fictitious story. It's not a true story. It's a fictional story to encourage young girls to live a godly life. And my wife had a burden suddenly to write it and in a very few days she wrote the whole book. But it came through her contact with many young girls and mothers of young girls. That's how she had the burden to write this. So now she is going to come and give this to you.