Five honorable characteristics for a young man

Genesis 41, reading at verse 12. And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew servant to the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. To each man according to his dream he did interpret.

And there was, verse 12, there was with us a young man, a Hebrew servant to the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. Thank you. There's something that has stirred me as of the last few days, and that is when I see young men and young women that are among us, how wonderful it is, how delightful it is to see young men.

There are young men here from different assemblies, young men that have known what it is to be saved, baptized, and gathered outside the camp, weighing his reproach. Let me ask you, young man, if you're saved and baptized, but not in the assembly, why? It's the nearest place. It's the best place.

Can I go one step further? The only place that God sees as far as the gathering collection is concerned. I'm not going to talk today, and I'm going to leave time if I can possibly do it. If I can be off of here in 20 minutes, leave time for another.

There was something about Joseph. We were reminded about Joseph a couple of times earlier today. There was something about what the king saw in Joseph, and that is three times over, it is said the Lord was with him.

If the Lord was with him, there was something about Joseph that automatically would draw one's attention. So there is a nice thought as far as the Lord was with him and able to see that he could only, he only could interpret the dreams or the butler and the baker and others could not. It was Joseph that could interpret the dreams.

I want to take today for just about 10 minutes, 15. I want to take five smooth stones from the brook to be able to show and be able to make the application as far as the young man is concerned. You'll notice that our verse said, there is, there is, there was there with us.

There was with them a young man, a young man who had head and shoulders above as far as intelligence and as far as ability and interpret than anybody else with us. Young man, you don't know what a thrill it is for you to be with us. I'm getting towards the end of life and to see young men, to be able to have young men here at the conference, they're with us.

They aren't hoping to skirt the conference. They aren't hoping to plan some other thing to do on this particular weekend. They have set aside plans to be here and to hear words from our dear brethren who know their Bible far more than I do, but you're with us.

Wonderful. You could be sitting in the stands. Well, no, you wouldn't want to do that.

I was going to say you could be sitting in the stands watching the badgers get beat. You could be any place else as far as this world is concerned, but oh, what a delight it is that you're with us. One of the first smooth stone I'd like to take in that is this, that this is a man who's dependable.

He's here. He's with us. He stands, he stands with us.

And, and in other words, if there's any, if there's any work, if there's any responsibility to do that he is here, he has the potential. He has the potential. He's not looking for ways to skip out.

He has a potential to be helpful, to love his work. He has a potential to be a tremendous asset. And dear brethren, young men, young ladies, we stood not that long ago.

Well, that's a few years ago at the foot of Trump Tower. You don't have to wonder which Trump, which, which tower is Trump's. It's unique in all of its, it's unique in all of its erection.

I got my picture taken between two big guards that had rifles as long as my leg and a bayonet at the end. God is more interested in the little company where two or three are gathered together than Trump's tower, than the diamonds in Africa, than the oil in Saudi Arabia. God has an interest in the little assembly gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus.

Now, young men, don't you want to be a part of that? How can you ignore that tremendous truth? Young men, we have a young man here today from Ireland. He's so interested in this conference. He wants to hear God's voice.

Young men here from Iowa, young men here from Wisconsin, young men here from a neighboring state, you're with us. Thank God that you are made your point and to be with us. Stone number two.

You notice that it is a young man, a young man. It's not so much a companion now and dependable. It's a man.

It's my smooth stone is that he is committed. He's young man committed. He has zeal.

The young man has zeal and energy. He has the ability to get up and go. He's a self-starter.

It always bothers me when I'm working with men and they have to be helped along. But thank God for men who are self-starters. Timothy was a man who perhaps may be timidity and so on, but he was a man that was committed.

He was a man that would go wherever Paul wanted him to go. He was a man that knew what it was to be devoted to the assembly, the truth of God, as Paul had tremendous confidence in that young man. I had the great joy of working with the Spring Creek assembly in the month of June.

Every night there was a different brother that would share the meeting with me. Every single night, brother, there was a man on this platform from that particular assembly that I would not be ashamed to take him in full-time service. They knew their book and they preached the gospel acceptably.

Marvelous to watch them. Marvelous to be able to listen to them. Marvelous to be able to see them grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

This young man is going to have to make choices, seeking spiritual truth, seeking guidance for the day. Young man, you're going to have to know what it is to make a choice, whether it's the marital, whether it's the business. Choices are going to determine a lot of times, most of the time, the ability, whether you grow in grace or not.

Timothy was told to flee youthful lust, and those youthful lusts are still here today. The young have to make choices. So he was not only a companion, but he was committed.

Stone number three from my little book is that he was a servant. You notice what our verse says, with us a young man, a Hebrew servant, a Hebrew servant. Wonderful to see the servants, the servants here.

He's not a companion now, and yet he's not committed now, but a servant is controlled. A servant is controlled. He's under new management.

He has the discernment to be able to go here or to go there. Mr. Slabo taught me a very valuable lesson. Thank God for men like that.

He taught me, he said, Al, be flexible. Let the Lord shove you. Let the Lord shove you here.

Let the Lord shove you there, but be flexible, under the control of none other than the Holy Spirit of God to guide, willing to stand beside and wait for the orders. He's willing to be subject to the captain. Thank God for our young men who come into the assembly and say, I would like to do this job, and don't say, I would like to do this job.

I would like to do that, thinking that they need to do something, rush to the table on Sunday morning to break the bread or to pass the cup. I think that's not for young men, but he's willing to be the cap, willing to listen to the captain. Loyal to the captain's waiting, the servant.

Is that important? Listen to the words of Paul when he could say to Timothy, Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints at Philippi. There were servants to the saints. There were servants to the saints at Philippi.

They were willing to help out. Whatever they wanted to help, whoever they wanted to help, they were willing. They were servants to the church.

But listen to what he says later on, or rather before that, being in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 5, we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord, and ourselves, your servants. They were servants to the Corinthians. They were servants to the Corinthians to be able to preach Christ and him crucified.

But I like also what Peter says in 2 Peter chapter 2, as free, not using the cloak of maliciousness, but as servants of God. Servants of God. Young man, do you know you're a servant of God? And you think that people, and you think that you're just nobody? I don't, excuse me for saying, brethren, but negative ministry bothers me just a little bit.

I want to get positive ministry. Positive to the point where you're just not a nobody. Young man, you're just not a nobody.

You're somebody, a VIP that Christ has died for. He's gone back to heaven, as we've been listening to, and he lives in the power of an endless life for you. He's somebody.

You're somebody. Because you're a servant of God, notice that also in Romans chapter 6, being made then free from the law and sin, you became the servants of unrighteousness. No, you became the servants to righteousness.

So, servants to righteousness, servants to Christ, servants to the Corinthians, servants to God. Men and women think that they're nobody. Servants.

There is a lovely, lovely thought that I can be a servant meat for the master's use. To thank dear brother, taking you out of the sex and systems of men, to take you out and put you into a place where you can appreciate giving thanks, giving thanks to God, bringing you in. Have I brought something to God in worship? The ecclesia.

Dear young people, get a hold of, yes, everything Frank has said, but get a hold of this fact that we are in the ecclesia. We are brought into that outside company, and one of the greatest verses in Acts of the Apostles chapter 15 is verse 14, that Simeon hath beginning at the first to bring out of the Gentiles a people for his, his, his name. And I'm gathered to a man who's crowned with glory in the heavens.

I'm gathered to a man. I'm gathered to a person. You know why we don't have a pastor? A paid pastor, I should clarify that.

It does away with much of the New Testament teaching. It does away with the gifts in the New Testament. And to think that you and I have been brought into this ecclesia, and we're just a tiny part of God's great program, and God has included you into his program to bring you into a place where the place is perfect.

No, I don't think anybody can say the place is perfect, because we have people in this place, and people are usually imperfect. So we have been brought into a place where we all agree with one thing, that Christ is all and in all. So today, where am I? My fourth smooth stone.

Told him, you notice what the verse says? A Hebrew captain of the guard, we told him, and he interpreted to us our dream, told him. Why did they tell him? Because they could see something in Joseph that they could never see in anything else, anybody else. They saw in him a man that they could trust, that they could get there, that he would be able to tell them, and he would be able to tell them the true story.

I like a companion. I like a committed man. I like a man who's controlled.

I like a man who has character. Told him, character. Thou, O man of God, Paul tells Timothy, thou, O man of God, follow after righteousness, godliness, patience, faith, love, and meekness.

Follow after. A tremendous character if I was to follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness. They told him.

What a character that we would have with our young man. I gotta stop. The last smooth stone is, and we told him, and he interpreted.

He's communicating. He's now communicating. We told him what that dream was, and he opened up his mind.

He gave us exactly what it says. He communicated. Oh, dear brother, I can almost feel for my brethren here, begging you, pleading with you.

I don't know whether you know it. Of course, you don't. But I'm praying that five men will be commended to the Lord's work before the turn of the decade.

Before 3020, whoops, before 2030. Before 2030 comes around, that there's five men from New Jersey to New Mexico and all in between. We have too many men that are 80, too many men that go to a conference and they have a hard time getting up out of the chair.

Their knees hurt. Their hips hurt. Where's our young men? And I'm praying that there's young men who will learn to be studiers.

They interpreted. Joseph interpreted the dream. In other words, Joseph spent time.

In other words, in 2025, a young man today will spend time, will spend time doing their homework, will spend time a studying, will take their Bibles, their encyclopedias, their vine concordances, and helps and tools. Never have we had a day when there's more helps, websites, books, helps to help us to feed our minds and feel our intelligence. Second Timothy chapter two will tell me, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Young men, would you go in for it? Perhaps at this conference, there's a young man that would have a turning point in his life. I had a turning point. I remember well, and it makes the tears flow every time I think of it.

The kindness of God, just, I was going to say just a poor farmer's son, but these poor farmers that aren't making much money, they have a hard time the way it is. So I wasn't just a poor farmer's son, but I was a farmer's son. And a good grade on the report card was a C. And God takes me up and puts me into his school, gives me a love for souls, and makes me very, very happy that I can labor with my dear brethren here and be in fellowship, in fellowship with God's people.

A young man, a young man, oh, dear young man, you're needed. Go in for it and make something of your life because only what's done to only one life will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last.