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Living Hope SDA Church

Christian Martin

By the Grace of God I Will

And on this World Pathfinder Day, Living Hope Messengers, together with over 40, 000 clubs spread over 150 countries, are reminded of the words of the Pathfinder song, Oh we are the Pathfinders strong, the servants of God are we.

Faithful as we march along in kindness, truth, and purity.

A message to tell to the world, a truth that will set us free.

King Jesus the Savior is coming back for you and me.

Its early beginnings goes back to 1922 when A.W.

Spalding and Harriet Hold gave birth to the basic idea of Pathfinder clubs.

And today, nearly a hundred years later, we have over 2 million members around the world.

And this Sunday Avendist sponsored club accepts any youth who commit to abiding by the Pathfinder Pledge and Law, whose first 7 words are, by the grace of God, I will.

Also the title of today's message, as we prepare to open the Word of God, I invite you to pause and pray with me as we ask the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts.

Father in heaven, you are God who has given us a place to hear your voice collectively because we are the church, we are your body, and we receive marching orders from you.

Today, Lord, help us to understand not only what those marching orders are and what biblical standards you give to us, But above all, Lord, help us to understand the means by which we can stand.

So Lord, have your own way, the Lord, speak to our hearts and we thank you in Jesus name, amen.

I wanna share a photo with you, a picture that I found and it's a photo that was taken in 1884.

I did say it was an old picture, but not that old.

And there I am as a young adventurer, evidently.

Looking at that photo, can you guess who I am?

I'm wearing my yellow scarf and my white shirt and green pants.

Now here I am, 4 years later, this was actually 1984, the first picture was in 1980.

This picture in 1984, here I stand as an 80 year old in Houston, Texas.

And you'll notice that I am in my uniform.

You know, for as long as I can remember, I was always in adventures, I was always in Pathfinders.

It was a ministry that I simply loved to be a part of.

And I remember the first international Camperee, which was held in 1985.

And then from then on over the years, international Camperees have been some of the highlights of my life.

Pathfinders has been just a very, very integral part of my journey with Christ.

From Silankavite in the Philippines, where I first became a master guide, to mission trips in different parts of the world, There in Banana Hill, Kenya, pathfinders can be found just about anywhere.

Where there's an Adventist church, where there's young people, chances are likely that you're also going to find a team of Pathfinders.

And there's also servants of God here in Haymarket, Virginia.

And with 21 Pathfinders strong and growing, the journey is 1 of discipline, it's 1 of dedication, and it's also 1 of discovery.

In fact, Pathfinders can earn honors with over 400 of them to choose from.

Honors are various studies of subjects that range everywhere from, you know, from animal camouflage to wind surfing, from A to W, and I don't know if there's a Z, but there are all sorts of subjects.

1 can find plenty of exciting honors to earn.

But what amazes me is the amount of time that Pathfinders invest in fulfilling all the requirements in order to earn just that 1 honor.

And the time and the effort they put into earning that honor is something to greatly admire.

And so what is this so-called Pathfinder Law?

The Pathfinder Law is a law that is memorized by every Pathfinder.

And at the start of every meeting the Pathfinders begin their meeting by repeating the Pathfinder Law.

And the Pathfinder Law goes like this, keep the morning watch, do my honest part, care for my body, keep a level eye, Be courteous and obedient.

Keep a song in my heart and go on God's errands.

The Pathfinder Law teaches values that we recognize as very important.

Why do our young people, why are our young people taught these values from or of the Pathfinder Law?

Why do we recognize these as very important values for our young people to recognize?

Well, let's begin with a few stats and then you tell me why each 1 of these is of importance in our day today.

In other words, why have personal devotionals to start off the day?

A new study from IDC Research released this week found that 80% of smartphone users, 80% use their mobile devices within 15 minutes of waking up in the morning.

And about 79% of adult smartphones users have their phones with them on hand or close enough for 22 hours a day.

22 hours, they just can't live without their phone.

Why do my honest part, research suggests that some children are capable of lying in a deliberate attempt to deceive by the age of 4, perhaps even earlier.

The problem of childhood obesity in the United States is growing in an alarming rate, and considerably in the few recent years.

Today, 38 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2019, stats from last year.

Unhealthy weight gain is due to poor diet and lack of exercise and is responsible for over 300, 000 deaths a year.

That's an average of more than 800 a day.

1 study found that 70% of the nation's 15 to 17 year olds have looked pornography online.

Why instill these values in our young people?

Researchers found that lying, stealing, disobedience has become increasingly more common for both boys and girls since the year 2000.

In this millennium, we have seen a steady concern within the family unit.

According to Pew Research Center, the number of US adults who attend church regularly has declined, especially in the past 20 years.

Down from 69% in 1998 to 2000 to 52% in 2016 to 2018.

There is a concerning decline in simple church attendance.

So if parents don't even walk, much less walk softly in the sanctuary, it's unlikely, highly unlikely, that their children do as well.

The National Institute of Mental Health reported that in 2019, about 3.2 million 12 to 17 year olds had at least 1 major depressive episode within the past 12 months.

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By the Grace of God I Will

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