Broadcast Date – March 24, 2002 on KCXY (Y95) - 95.3 FM

Friends, make no mistake about it; our young people face a vast array of struggles in life. Every day, they are faced with a variety of temptations as Satan tries to keep them away from God. Friends, it is possible for a young person to escape Satan’s deathly grip. It is possible for a young person to escape these temptations, though admittedly it is often difficult. One example can be found in the young king, Josiah.

Reading from II Chronicles 34:1-8: "Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about. And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God."

Friends, let’s first consider Josiah’s chosen path. Consider the following from verses one through three of our text. "Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father:"

Josiah decided, at a very young age, to devote his life to God. In the eighth year of his reign, when he was sixteen years old, he began to seek after the God of his father David. Notice the following from verse two, "And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD." Friends, at a time when many his age would be enjoying the sinful pleasures the world has to offer, developing bad habits, and establishing friendships that would lead to spiritual destruction, Josiah sought to please God.

Further, it is evident from our text that Josiah realized the importance of using God’s word, not his own ideas or opinions, as his standard of right and wrong. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jeremiah 10:23). The scriptures tell us Josiah declined neither to the right hand nor to the left. Friends, what is your standard in determining right from wrong? Unfortunately, many go to Hollywood and its perverted sense of values. Many go to humanistic thinking and its twisted sense of morality. Young people would do well to follow Josiah’s example and let God’s word be the standard for right and wrong in their lives.

Every young person today must make a decision concerning which path in life they will take. Young people today are encouraged to, like Josiah, choose the path that leads to God. The wise man Solomon wrote, "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;" (Ecclesiastes 12:1). To Timothy, Paul wrote, "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity" (I Timothy 4:12).

Second, consider Josiah’s purging. "and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about. And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem" (II Chronicles 34:3-7). Josiah knew Judah could not prosper if he allowed evil to exist alongside the good. Josiah purged, or cleansed, Judah of the high places, the groves, the carved images, and the molten images. The high places and groves were places where people would go to worship their many false gods. In purging the land of their idol worship, Josiah went against the religion of his father and grandfather. Young people today are urged to follow after the one true God and be a part of the one church we read about in the Bible, even if it means going against the religion of their parents. Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:32-37).

Friends, our youth can imitate Josiah by purging their lives of evil. Consider the following, written by Paul to the church at Colosse, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful" (Colossians 3:12-15).

But no young person can "put on" these positive attributes until he first "takes off" the negative attributes. "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; (Colossians 3:5-9).

Third, notice Jeremiah’s participation in repairing the temple. "Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem. And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD, to repair and amend the house: Even to the artificers and builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick. Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters" (II Chronicles 34:8-13).

It’s not enough to merely rid our lives of evil; we must also fill them with good. If we fail to do so, the evil will soon return.

Friends, a parallel can be drawn between Josiah’s participation in repairing the temple and a young person’s participation in the work of the church. We often hear young people spoken of as "the church of tomorrow." But friends, young people are a big part of the church today! Notice Paul’s words to Timothy, recorded in I Timothy 4:12-16. "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee."

Friends, what a wonderful example we find in Josiah. Josiah’s life reminds us that a person’s youth should be dedicated to God. Josiah serves an example for young people today, because of his chosen path; that is, he chose at an early age to devote his life to God. Josiah is an example because he purged Judah of its evil and replaced it with good, just as we ought to purge our lives of evil and replace the evil with good. Josiah is an example because of his participation in repairing the temple.

Rod Halliburton