January 12, 2000

Shape up spiritually to
shape the world, teens told
___By Marv Knox
___Editor
___HOUSTON--Christian teenagers have the power to shape the world in the new millennium--if they are willing to shape themselves in the image of Christ, speakers told about 10,000 participants at YouthLink 2000 in Houston.
___The Texas city was one of seven sites for YouthLink, a millennial youth festival sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention and affiliated state conventions. Nationwide, the event attracted more than 46,000 teenagers
___Christian teens who intend to make a mark on the new millennium need to make sure

THE CROSS OF CHRIST became the central focus of the closing session of YouthLink 2000 in Houston, as banners, skits, music and messages were used to lead youth to a deeper commitment to Christ.

they have become "new creatures," evangelist Voddie Baucham told the Houston crowd.
___"Everybody's talking about a new year, a new decade, a new century and even a new millennium--even though it starts a whole year from now," Baucham observed late in the evening Dec. 30, just hours before Year 2000 celebrations began on the other side of the globe.
___"I want to talk to you about being a new creature," added Baucham, staff evangelist at Sagemont Baptist Church in Houston.
___He quoted from the New Testament book of 2 Corinthians, where the Apostle Paul talks about Christians becoming "new creatures" in Christ.
___Four truths form the key to comprehending that concept, Baucham said:
___ "If we're going to understand what it means to be born again, we've got to look at each other from a new perspective," he began. "We don't see flesh and blood, but a deeper reality."
___Whereas most people judge each other by appearances, Christians must comprehend the spiritual reality of life and living, he said. "We think this (physical world) is all there is, but there is a part of you--a spiritual reality--that will go farther than this physical part can ever go. When you come to Jesus Christ, you realize what you thought life was all about is only a shadow of what God has in store for you."
___ People are called to become "new persons," he added, citing his Christian grandmother, who used to tell him, "I'm not what I ought to be, but, thank God, I'm not what I used to be."
___That doesn't mean Christians never mess up, he reported, calling on young Christians to focus on "feeding the new man"--attending to their spiritual needs--every day.
___"You have to feed the new man so the old man (the pre-Christian, sinful self) won't raise his ugly head," Baucham advised. "The old man gets fed all the time. You just turn on the TV and the old man gets fed. The new man is the one you need to feed with prayer and Bible study and worship."
___ Christians have a new position, reconciled to Christ, he said. "Everything you have comes from God," he added. "You owe God a debt you can never, ever repay."
___ Christ gives Christians a new purpose, he concluded. "Everything we should do is

AT MIDNIGHT, thousands of balloons fell from the ceiling. (BP photos by Denise McGill)

for the glory of the One who made us, but far too many of us think God owes us."
___Louie Giglio, a popular youth speaker from Atlanta, told the teens the Holy Spirit provides the power to respond to God's call to make a difference in their world.
___"If you want to be part of what God is doing on Earth, you cannot do it apart from the power of the Holy Spirit in your life," Giglio stressed.
___Unfortunately, many Christians do not know much about the Holy Spirit and even avoid focusing on the Holy Spirit, he lamented.
___The Apostle Paul called on Christians to be intoxicated with the Holy Spirit, Giglio observed. "Have any of you ever been accused of being drunk on the Holy Spirit?" he asked the teens.
___"If you're going to be missionaries on your campuses, you're going to need major help in your lives," Giglio told the young people. "Jesus said, 'I am sending you another help--the Holy

Youth ring in new era loudly, lovingly 6,000 youth hit the streets of Houston to witness,minister Hawaiian teens hurdle Y2K to hula in Houston Be cool, but share a simple witness, teens taught Wedgwood teens testify in Tampa to feeling God's care

Spirit. He will be in you.'
___"God never intended for you and me to go out as revolutionaries until we received power from on high through the Holy Spirit."
___He urged the teenagers to say to God: "I'm not going out until I know something of the Holy Spirit in me. I'm going to breathe out everything that keeps me from breathing in the Holy Spirit--beer, sex, pleasure, popularity, clothes, whatever it is. Holy Spirit, fill me up."
___Erwin McManus echoed Giglio's call to serve God using the power of the Holy Spirit, speaking moments before the calendar turned over to 2000.
___"Celebrate the future" God has prepared, urged McManus, pastor of Mosaic, a Southern Baptist congregation in Los Angeles.
___"Are you going to just wait for the future, or are you going to take, make, shake, concentrate the future?" he asked the teens.
___"The world is waiting" for an answer, he added, claiming the youngsters will serve God in "the last era of Christian history."
___"The question is, 'Are you going to have the courage to follow the direction of God?'"
___Dan Martin of Texas Baptist Communications contributed to this story
___

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