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Summer Youth Camp 2026
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I want to start by acknowledging the summer youth camp initiative. This is our fourth year running this camp, and I'm grateful to Pastor Mark for this vision. The first time I came, I was asked to take six sessions—I ended up taking 16 because the children were so inquisitive and asking wonderful questions. I'm told that some of those children from that first year have now grown and become elders in the church. Please, if you hear this message, make sure you show up next year, even if you're now an elder. The Lord bless you.
The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 12:1:
"Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come and years draw near when you say I have no pleasure in them."
From this scripture, I want to share an important discovery: it is more difficult to convert an elder than a youth. When you are young, your mind is open. But as you grow older, many things collect your attention—work, responsibilities, pressures pulling you in different directions. When the gospel comes, you hear voices saying, "This one is still pushing me here, that one is pulling me there." The best time to serve God is when you are a youth.
When you serve God as a youth, something enters into you that cannot change. The Bible says in Proverbs 22:6:
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
I thank God seriously that I gave my life to Christ when I was eight years old, and I was called to ministry at ten. I began to preach. So today, you cannot change me. It is difficult. When I was in university and they talked about peer pressure, I was the one pressurizing the peer. They could not pressurize me because I was so full of God that nobody could move me. When I speak, everybody follows.
Let me answer two critical questions:
Number one: When should you remember God? Answer: Now. Whether you are a youth or not, now is the time to remember God.
Number two: When are you a youth? Answer: When you are still young, before you are 35, before you get married, before you start getting exposed to work and other things. Remember God during this season.
When you remember God while you are a youth, you become uncommonly useful. You become an asset to the Kingdom of God. It will not be difficult to make you do anything—it is already part and parcel of you. You become so spiritual. You can help. You become a solution to problems everywhere you enter.
While you are a student, you will be helping both the lecturer and the students together. Why? Because you met God early. When you walk with God for a long time, you and God will rub off on each other. Your character will mix with God's attributes. You will behave like God.
There is a story I want to share. A young boy went to Sunday school and they taught him about Jesus—that Jesus is gentle, Jesus is kind, and so on. Then they asked the children, "Who has seen Jesus before?" The young boy raised his hand and said he saw Jesus in their neighborhood. There was a man there who looked like Jesus. By the time they found him, the man was saved because he had been behaving exactly like what the teacher described. When you walk with God for a long time, everything about God will enter into you. You will look like God. So it is better to start looking like God early. Tell your neighbor: start looking like God early. Do not be afraid of him. Say it very seriously.
Before the difficult days come, may they not come upon you unawares. I receive dominion over the difficult days in the name of Jesus Christ.
I want to encourage everybody—please join us in this meeting. This is the fourth year, and each year I see those children change and become very mature when they speak. This year when they were speaking, I was so impressed. I did not do too much work this year—the young people answered loaded with wisdom and understanding. I said, "Wow, these children have grown!" We were not running up and down looking for them. They were just there, doing things because they have matured. They have learned. The things we have been teaching them is now working.
For those of you who did not come to the youth camp, I want you to raise your hand. Raise it above your head with both hands. Say, "Father, forgive my sins." You are a sinner. Next year, I will come. I must go. If I didn't go, forgive me. In fact, I have made up my mind—I will bring my sons from Nairobi. I have started calling other churches: "What are you guys doing? Let us do this thing together so we can be blessed." Because when we do it together and they grow old, we will never be ashamed of them. Hallelujah.
The kingdom of God is the kingdom of youths. Let me break this down by looking at the twelve disciples of Jesus.
You can break the twelve disciples into four categories, and each one reveals something surprising:
First, at least four of them were fishermen. Why would you use fishermen to start any great thing? That is one dimension.
Second, there were what I call "the deplorables"—troublesome people. The sons of Thunder. Matthew was a tax collector, and tax collectors were the most hated people in that generation. Why would Jesus go and call the most hated person in the community to become part of his team?
Third, notice who was not called. We did not see the higher mighty. We did not see the theologians. We did not see any rabbi. We did not see any high priest in their midst. We did not see the bankers or those who have great wealth—apart from possibly Matthew, because he was a tax collector and therefore rich. But Jesus did not call them. You would think that if I start any big thing, I need rich people, I need influential people. But none of them apart from possibly Matthew had great influence in the way of the world.
Fourth, most of them were youths—specifically under 20 years old. How do we know? Because when it was time to pay taxes, Peter came to Jesus and said, "It's time to pay taxes." Jesus said, "Okay, go and find a fish. When you find a fish, you will find a gold coin in his mouth to pay the tax for you and me." The age for paying the temple tax was 20 years old. This means only two of them were certainly over 20—Matthew, because he was older, and possibly Judas. Most of the others were under 20.
So the kingdom of God is the kingdom of youths. Let no one deceive you or convince you that you are not supposed to be here, that this is not a place for you.
Many years ago, we were doing a mission in Scotland—a great outreach in some places—and that outreach is standing to the praise and glory of God today. Many of the exploits God gave us came through our youths. There were young people in our church, and my niece was also visiting. They were the ones going around place to place, preaching when they were maybe 15 or 16 years old. They preached to a couple who today are running a church in this part of Scotland.
Someone tried to discourage them, saying, "This place is not for people like you." When I heard that, I was so angry and upset. But years later, it is the people that they reached—that God used them to reach—who are the pastors of that church today. Hallelujah.
So I have come to discover in the mission field that God uses anyone. He can use the high, he can use the low, he can use the old, he can use the young. Anyone that makes himself available for the Kingdom of God, God is able to use them. Jesus Christ can even use the children. Hallelujah.
Let no one tell you that you are too old, you are too young, you are too this and that. God loves to use the young ones—the people that are unexpected to do great things. Why? For many reasons.
Number one: He is a God of all flesh. He uses everyone.
Number two: Sometimes those who have not been so fixated in their ways of thinking are easier for God to use. God can bend them, shape them, talk to them, and they respond. Some people are so old—not just in years, but in their ways—that they are so fixed. Even if God comes down and tells them to do something a certain way, they say, "No. We have never done it this way before."
Consider what happened to Peter in Acts 10. The Lord told him to go and speak to the Gentiles. Peter said, "No, we have never done it this way before. We do not talk to Jews—we do not mix with them, we do not eat with them."
But then Peter had a vision. Let me read from Acts 10:1-5:
"There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming and saying to him, 'Cornelius!' And when he observed it, he was afraid and said, 'What is it, Lord?' So he said to him, 'Your prayers and your alms have come up as a memorial before God.'"
Your prayers. Your giving. Your service is being collected in heaven. Heaven takes perfect record. It may look like it is not working, but heaven keeps those records. That is why some people serving God see God do miraculous things for them.
In the last two months, some people have got houses unusually. Yesterday we went to bless a house, and there was a great testimony. This family said that on the first day of Penniel 2026, when Pastor Mark introduced the service, I said that day is the first day of Penniel and God has changed our address for the last many years. Our Penniel used to be in a beach ballroom, but this year God has changed our address. I said, "By the grace of God, if you are here and you want to change your address, stand to your feet and go around." They stood up. When was Penniel? Only a few weeks ago. And yesterday, they entered their new house. That day they chose it, they walked around, they sat around. They kept reminding me: "You said it is not for everybody; only for those who stand up." So yesterday they entered their new home. Hallelujah.
Now, at the same time God is speaking to Cornelius, God is also speaking to Peter somewhere else. God said to Peter, from Acts 10:19-20:
"Behold, three men are seeking you. Therefore go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them."
You never know that while you are sitting like this, heaven is working. Your case is being discussed. Your case is being discussed in heaven. Hallelujah. That is why you must always be encouraged to say, "What is heaven saying about me now? What is heaven planning for me now?" The Bible says His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. So heaven is always having good thoughts, good plans, good purposes for His children. The only key for us is to key into what God is doing.
This place in Joppa where this happened still exists today in Israel and Jerusalem. The house where this thing took place is still there. In fact, the well is locked up now for 400 years—they have not been able to go in because non-Christians have been contending over it. This place is still there in Jerusalem today. I encourage you: plan to go to Israel sometime. It will change your thinking. If you are interested in governance—how to change your community, cities, and nations—there is a place you must visit. Apostle Eric and I have been there, and we are going again in October for those interested in governance.
From Acts 10:9-16, here is what happened:
"The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the house top to pray about the sixth hour. Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance. And he saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals, beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air.
"And a voice came to him, saying, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' But Peter said, 'Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.' And a voice spoke to him again the second time, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.'
"This was done three times, and the object was taken up into heaven."
Here is the key teaching: God breaks protocol.
Normally you give your life to the Lord first, then foundation class, then baptism, then the Holy Ghost. But God jumped all that protocol because He wanted to show His method and His power.
Now, Peter was wondering what this vision meant. Acts 10:25-35 tells us:
"As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, 'Stand up; I myself am also a man.' And as they talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together... And he said to them, 'You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?'
"Cornelius said, 'Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God.'...'
"And Peter opened his mouth and said: 'In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.'"
From a Jewish perspective, this was the breakthrough to the Gentiles. This was one of the biggest breakthroughs in history. A Messianic Jew explained to us: For a Jew, you do not eat the same food as non-Jews. You cannot even use the same kitchen because your cooking has to be so procedurally separated. A Jew cannot stay in the house of a non-Jew. Even their kitchens have different places for doing fish, different places for doing meat. So for Peter to journey three days and then stay with Cornelius and eat with him—this was the biggest breakthrough because his whole mindset, his whole way of thinking, had to be broken. God was showing him that He is the God of all peoples, whether you can eat with them or not.
Before this, the Jewish religion was not a proselytizing religion. They did not preach or invite people to come in. But now Peter went, and from Acts 10:44-48:
"While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, 'Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?' And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay with them a few days."
Imagine: God broke every protocol. God jumped the normal procedure. When they received the Holy Spirit, they started speaking in tongues. Then Peter baptized them. They even asked him to stay with them. This is revolutionary for a Jewish man in that time.
The kingdom of God is not for the qualified only. The kingdom of God is the kingdom of unusual people. Hallelujah. In the kingdom of God, God breaks protocol. God breaks your mindset and takes you into a higher mindset. God will use you for great things.
People of God, the challenge that we come across: we call things common. We say, "He is too young, she is too old." But God called Abraham at 75 years old to go and walk before Him. He called Moses at 80 to do what he could not do at 40. God can do anything and He can use anyone.
Do not look down on anyone. Do not look down on anyone that has no qualifications. Do not discourage or disqualify a person. But heaven uses the uncommon things—the things that people despise—to do great things. And do not despise yourself either. You are the number one. Don't despise yourself. "I don't have this qualification. I don't have that." No! Don't despise yourself.
God wants to do great things with you. Let me tell you again: God wants to do great things with you. In this land, in this city, God wants to do great things with you. Let no one look down on you, and let yourself not look down on yourself.
Now, the challenge we face as human beings: we commonize people. Tell your neighbor: may you not commonize yourself. You cannot take respect from others, but do not commonize yourself. Do not hold yourself common. You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Stand to your feet now. Hallelujah. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of young people. It is a kingdom of unusual people. Hallelujah. And in the kingdom of God, God breaks protocol.
Now, I pray for you that God will break protocol for you. God will use you to break protocol in the name of Jesus. I pray for you that you will allow God to use you for great things. Allow God to break your mindset and take you into a higher mindset in the name of Jesus.
If you are here in the sanctuary today and you want to give your life to Jesus or rededicate your life to Jesus, let me see your hand. If you are online, we encourage you this morning. Anyone. Now, pray for your neighbor. I pray for you that you allow God to use you to the maximum, to the fullest, in Jesus' name. Begin to bring your prayer to a close now. Father, we give You praise. Thank you, Father. May Your name be glorified.
