Is There Any Hope For Our Kids?Mark 7:20-23

The past two weeks have been a tragic time of upheaval, uncertainty, andinsanity in the lives of our young people. When the news came forth aboutthe shooting in Littleton, Colorado we were all stunned by the news of twostudents carrying out their plan of unleashing death and destruction upontheir fellow classmates and a teacher. We have been overwhelmed by thepictures and video that we have seen on television and in newspapers. Weare amazed that these boys, so young, could coldly calculate a plan and thenexecute it in such a devastating manner. We are horrified when we found outthat the killers chose their victims because they were athletes, one youngman because he was black, and others because they believed in God. Morethan one person asked out loud, "How could such monsters exist in acivilized society?"The killing in Littleton sparked arrests around the country as other young people leaked their plans for carrying out their anger and hatred upon theirschool. On the day of the shooting a young fifteen-year-old boy at Sante FeHigh School in Edmond was arrested for having a "hit list." My son attendsthat school and it brought the tragedy in Littleton too close to home. The next morning our family held hands in a circle before our kids left for school and prayed for God to build hedge of protection around them. On Friday of last week, Memorial High School in Edmond couldn't hold class until noon because of a bomb threat that kept the kids out of school. This past week a young man was arrested at Putnam City High School for planning an attack on his school. Authorities found the materials for a pipe bomb in his home. Then, on Wednesday, a young man in Alberta, Canada stormed into his school in a blue trench coat carrying a gun. When the attack was over another student lay dead in the halls of learning while another was wounded. Along with these incidents, on Tuesday of this past week Ray and I spent time with students from John Marshall High School who were grieving the loss of a friend who took his life on Friday night. The room was overflowingwith grief and loss, regret and remorse, and the questions of "Why?" I toldthe kids that I didn't come to solve their problems or to give them answers,but I wanted to visit with them because my heart has been broken by the lossof friends who died at their own hand as well. What Ray and I tried to dowas to let the kids talk - to share their good memories of their friend,their sorrow over his loss, and what would they would do different if theyhad it to do over again. I wish you could have been there as God moved in apowerful way.All of these events that have unfolded in the past couple of weeks, andother heartaches having to be dealt with by kids that I've spent time withthis past week have prompted me to take time this morning to speak to theyoung people among us. I am so sorry that you have to deal with suchuncertainty and sorrow on a daily basis. Things were different when I wasyour age.We live in a very different day today in America than we did twenty yearsago when I was a senior in high school. All of the lines of right and wrongseem to have been blurred. You, as young people, have been left alone tomake up your own rules and to suffer the consequences of ill-informeddecisions brought about by your lack of experience at life. My apology isoffered to you in part because you have been left in the dark due to thefailure of many adults like myself. It was not students who took the TenCommandments down from the wall in your school. It wasn't students whoimplemented the teaching of "situational ethics" in your school. It wasn'tstudents who bombarded our society with the teaching that at as long assomething is right for you then it is okay for you to do it. It wasn'tstudents who opened the gates on sexual promiscuity. We, the adults of thisland, have failed you miserably and I am so sorry.Because of our failure you are living in the midst of chaos and things arevery different, diabolically different than they were when I was young. Forthose adults who think I am off-base, let me give you a dose of reality.The National Center for Victims of Crime reports,During 1996-97, about 4,000 incidents of rape or other types of sexualbattery were reported in our nation's public schools. There were about11,000 incidents of physical attacks or fights in which weapons were usedand 7,000 robberies in schools that year. About 190,000 fights or physicalattacks not involving weapons also occurred at schools in 1996-97, alongwith about 115,000 thefts and 98,000 incidents of vandalism. (NationalCenter for Victims of Crime)The National Center for Victims of Crime also reports these startlingstatistics concerning young people in our country.* In 1996, students age 12-18 were victims of about 255,000 incidents ofnonfatal serious violent crime at school (Kaufman & Chen, et al, 1998).* Over the five year period from 1992 - 1996, teachers were the victims of1,581,000 nonfatal crimes at school, including 962,000 thefts and 619,000violent crimes which translates into about 316,000 nonfatal crimes per yearover this time period (Ibid).* In 1995, 14.5% of students ages 12 through 19 reported experiencingvarious forms of victimization at school (Chandler, et al, 1998).* Between 1989 and 1995, the percent of students who reported a street gangpresence in their schools nearly doubled, increasing from 15.3% to 28.4%(Ibid).* One in ten U.S. public schools reported experiencing at least one seriousviolent crime during the 1996-97 school year (Heaviside, et al, 1998).* Fifty-seven percent of U.S. public schools reported experiencing at leastone crime (violent or non-violent) in the 1996-97 school year (Ibid).* During the 1996-97 school year, schools reported experiencing 4,000 rapesor other types of sexual battery, 11,000 physical attacks or fights in whichweapons were used, and 7,000 robberies (Ibid).* Since the mid-1980's the rate of murder by youth has doubled, increasingto102% (Fox, 1998).* In the United States, homicide causes 20% of all deaths among youth andyoung adults 10 to 24 years of age (Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, 1998).* During the 30 days surveyed, students carried a weapon on school property8.5% of the time, 5.9% of the time the weapon was a gun. The prevalence ofstudents who had been injured with a weapon on school property one or moretimes during the twelve months preceding the survey was 7.4% (Ibid).* According to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, gunfirekilled 5,254 children age 19 and under in 1995, an almost 10% decrease since1994. This means that fourteen children die each day from guns in America(Children's Defense Fund, 1997).* Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistic's National CriminalVictimization Survey and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform CrimeReport indicate that juveniles age 12 to 17 committed about one quarter ofthe serious violent crimes, a category that covers rape, robbery, aggravatedassault and homicide (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Perceived Age, 1997).* Over 2,000 law enforcement agencies reported that 23,388 youth gangs wereactive in their jurisdictions in 1995. Ninety percent of these agenciesbelieve that their gang problem will remain the same or become worse. By thenumber of gangs states reported, California had the most (4,927), followedby Texas (3,276), Illinois (1,363) and Colorado (1,304) (Office of JuvenileJustice and Delinquency Prevention, 1997).With all of these alarming statistics there is talk going on in our societyabout what can be done. How do we stop the violence? How can we providefor our kids a safe environment? Sadly, the focus of the discussion thathas taken place over the past several days is about guns. We've got to getguns out of the hands of our kids. We've got to place more control on gunsin our society. We need to outlaw guns. I understand how people can jumpto this conclusion, but guns are really not the issue my friends.On Wednesday night I was listening to a town meeting in New Jersey with manystudents and authorities talking about the tragedy in Littleton, Colorado.During the discussion Franklin Graham, the son of Rev. Billy Graham spokeand said, "What we have is not a gun problem, but a heart problem. You canput all of the guns in America in a big pile and have a picnic by them ifyou want and the guns will never jump up and shoot anyone. Shooting a gunand killing another human being only happens as a result of human will, whena person makes the decision to kill another person."With all of the confusion surrounding the solutions to the problems we haveto ask, "Is there any hope for our kids today?" Should young people simplygive up their hopes and dreams and become cynical and fatalistic? I havecome today to tell you that I don't believe that for one minute. As dark asthe skies may appear and as chaotic as civilization may be there is one hopeleft for us today, but He is a sure hope for every one of us.Before I share with you the hope that you and I have I want to take a momentto share with you the problem that we have facing us. Some authorities aretelling us that the problem is accessibility to guns, others are saying thatit is having kids in schools that are too large, and others are saying thatit is the fault of parents. I say to you that the root of our problem is amatter of the heart. We have a severe, fatal heart problem in our society.In Jeremiah we read, 9"The human heart is most deceitful and desperatelywicked. Who really knows how bad it is?" (Jeremiah 17:9)Jesus spoke of the wickedness of the human heart lived apart from God.Jesus said,20 "It is the thought-life that defiles you. 21For from within, out of aperson's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,22adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy,slander, pride, and foolishness. 23All these vile things come from within;they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God." (Mark 7:20-23)All throughout God's Word we are taught that we are born as sinners, thatour hearts are hard and bent on living a life that is totally in defiance toGod's will for us. God continues to call us, inviting us to come to Him sothat we can gain a new heart, so that He can take our heart of stone andreplace it with a heart of flesh. We are taught throughout God's Word thatbecause of our hardened hearts, our sin, we will destroy ourselves if we donot confess our need for Jesus as Savior of our life, but we persist ontelling people that we don't need the Lord.Our hearts lead us into sin and sin leads to death. We, in America, havebecome a nation of death because we are becoming increasingly defianttowards God. The time is now for us to cry out to God for our sins andplead with Him to heal our hearts and our land. If we continue to dismissGod's solution for our problem of sin then we are doomed to see even worsethings than we have witnessed in the past.Our hope this morning rest solely in Jesus. Any person who is here thismorning who has never asked Jesus to come into his or her heart as Lord andSavior does not have a prayer of living a life of purity, integrity,sincerity, mercy, grace, and love. That is the bad news, but the Good Newsis this: even though you and I have sinned against God He is willing toforgive you of your sins, give you eternal life, and give you the power tolive by faith and not fear. Through Jesus, God will give you His Spirit andthe Spirit will lead you into a life of Truth and give you the power to havea right relationship with God and those around you.Paul wrote in the book of Romans,22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all whobelieve. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of theglory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemptionthat came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:22-24)I don't know what condition your heart was in when you came in here, but Iknow that God desires to change your heart while you are here and begin yournew life today. You may be thinking to yourself, "I can't change. I've beenliving like this for so long that I know I'll always be this way." What youcan't change my friend God can. Let me give you an example.Cassie Bernall was a 17-year-old junior with long blond hair, hair shewanted to cut off and have made into wigs for cancer patients who had losttheir hair through chemotherapy. She was active in her youth group atWestpool's Community Church in Littleton, Colorado and was known forcarrying a Bible to school. Last week, Cassie was in the school libraryreading her Bible when the two young killers burst in. According towitnesses, one of the killers pointed his gun at Cassie and asked, do youbelieve in God?" Cassie paused and then answered, "Yes, I believe in God.""Why?" the gunman asked. Cassie did not have a chance to respond; the gunmanhad already shot her dead.At Cassie's funeral thousands turned out to hear the story of thismodern-day martyr and hero who loved her Savior so much that she was willingto say "Yes" even in the face of death. Cassie's story will be told longafter you and I are gone. She is a hero and she will be the inspiration forcountless kids who truly want to live their life for Christ in their school,but what most people don't know is that Cassie wasn't always such a boldwitness for Jesus.Cassie's martyrdom was even more remarkable when you consider that just afew years ago she had dabbled in the occult, including witchcraft. She hadembracedthe same darkness and nihilism that drove her killers to such despicableacts. But two years ago, Cassie dedicated her life to Christ, and turnedher life around.According to the Boston Globe, on the night of her death, Cassie's brotherChris found a poem Cassie had written just two days prior to her death. Itread:"Now I have given up on everything elseI have found it to be the only wayTo really know Christ and to experienceThe mighty power that broughtHim back to life again, and to findOut what it means to suffer and toDie with him. So, whatever it takesI will be one who lives in the freshNewness of life of those who areAlive from the dead."Can real change happen? Only through Jesus my friend. Education is good,but it can't change the human heart. A solid family is good thing to helpyoung people grow in a healthy environment, but some of the most passionatefollowers of Jesus have come from dysfunctional homes. Making a good livingis fine, but you can't buy a heart set on serving Jesus. Only Jesus has thepower to change your heart and mine and give us the power to truly seechange happen in our life.Cassie was not the only teenager killed for her faith. Rachel Scott alsodied because she had the courage to say, "Yes" to Jesus.' There was atleast one other student who was willing to cling to Jesus in the face ofdeath and she survived."Valeen Schnurr was studying in the library last Tuesday with her goodfriend Lauren Townsend when a teacher ran in yelling about a gunman andwarning the students to take cover. Valeen and Lauren huddled together,listening to the guns and bombs in the cafeteria below.She saw the two gunmen come into the library and walk past the area whereshe hid. She thinks they threw a pipe bomb because she saw books flying.She heard others students being shot, some pleading for their lives. Thescreams coming from her end of the room drew the gunmen's attention, andthey came back her way, guns blazing.When bullets and shrapnel hit Valeen, she slumped and clutched her abdomen."Oh my God, oh my God!" she remembers saying. "God!" one of the gunmentaunted her. "Do you really believe in God?" Moments earlier, Valeen sawwhat happened when Cassie was asked the same question and answered yes. "Valwas scared to say 'yes,' " says Valeen's mother. "But she was scared to say'no,' because she thought she was dying." Finally, she told the gunman,"Yes, I believe in God." "Why?" he asked, as he stopped to reload. "I dobelieve in God," she said, "and my Mom and Dad have taught me about God."She thinks she babbled on for a few seconds after that, but her memory isfuzzy. Finally she remembers crawling away, under a table.How can those who are so young muster should boldness? Was it because theywere strong? Smart? From good families? All of those may havecontributed, but the real reason they were able to face a barrel of a gunwith faith instead of fear was because they had been given power to live inthe face of death by Jesus.Jesus brings real change to those who are willing to ask Him into theirhearts. The hope for us today, for young and old, is not more legislationor more authorities or more metal detectors, but for all of us to cry out tothe Lord this morning. Cry out to God to give you eternal life in Jesus ourSavior so that whether you and I live or die we may be found in Jesus.One of the pastors in Littleton, Colorado who preached one of the funeralsthis past week sent out an e-mail this week. He said,The killing will not stop with more gun laws, more psychology, morecomputers in the classrooms, more money for teacher's salaries, etc. Onlywhen there is a change in the hearts of our youth can we hope to stop theslaughter. Jesus can make that difference, and we can encourage andembolden the youth of America to stand up and demand safer schools byconfronting evil in their midst. Pastor Bruce Porter