Hymns 799

Scripture Reading:

1 Kings 7:13-14           And King Solomon sent for Hiram and brought him from Tyre. He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali whose father was a man of Tyre, a bronze worker; and he was full of wisdom and understanding and skill to do all kinds of work in bronze. And he came to King Solomon and did all his work.

THE NUMBER ONE THING YOUNG PEOPLE NEED
BEING GOD AND THE SECOND THING BEING EDUCATION

You have God, you have all these things. God is the totality of these items. As long as you have God, that is enough; that implies a lot. You may also say that we need a spirit to contact God. Yes, you do have a spirit, but that is not the second thing you need. The number one thing young people need is God. This may surprise you, but the second thing you need is education.

THE BEST TIME TO GET YOUR EDUCATION BEING
FROM AGE FOUR TO TWENTY-FOUR

You need education. At this time you may be in junior high. You must reach the goal of getting a grade point average of 4.0. Let me encourage you to get higher than a 4.0. Does this bother you? The fact is, if you do not take my word, you will regret it when you pass the age of twenty-four, but that will be too late. The best time to get your education is from the age of four to twenty-four. That is the unique time; there is no other time for this. Many of you are close to fourteen. That means that half of your age for education has passed. You have only ten years left. I must tell you that what your life will be all depends upon the upcoming ten years. Please believe my word. If you get a 3.9, that is wonderful, but when you are twenty-four, you will regret it. You will say, “Why did I not spend a little more energy to get a 4.0 or higher?”

Some of you may say that this is too much. No, this is not too much. According to my experience of human life, education is next only to God. I thank God that when I was young, He afforded me the opportunity, the time, to receive Him. I had God when I was young. Moreover, at the same time I received a certain amount of education.

IF YOU DO NOT GET A PH.D,
YOU HAVE TO GET AT LEAST A MASTER’S DEGREE

I encourage you all to consider your education, especially the last ten years of it. Next year you may go on to high school. There is a total of four years of high school. Then you will go on to college for another four years. I encourage you, do not stop your education after graduation from high school. It is a problem for the country of the United States that many of the young people today do not like to go on past high school. That is pitiful. You have to keep going on for another four years. I would like to encourage you all. If you do not get a Ph.D., you have to get at least a master’s degree. This will take you ten more years from today. This seems like a long time, but in actuality, it is very short; it will go by very quickly. Whether or not you are successful in the future depends upon how you spend these next ten years.

The Bible is very important, but I must tell you, education is also important for young people. I do not agree that any one of you would graduate from high school and then stop your schooling. That is absolutely wrong. In Anaheim in 1977, I gave a message saying that all the young ones have to finish college at least, although it would be better to get a master’s degree, and it would be best to get a Ph.D. That word encouraged many young people. Today many have come back to thank me. Some said, “At that time we thought that as long as we loved the Lord, that is all right. It is good enough simply to wash dishes in a restaurant, mow lawns, or wash windows.” I told them, “This is not okay. You must go on to finish your college education. But even this is not the best.” A number of young people took my word. One brother, who is now my useful helper in the translation of the Bible, heard that word. He went on to study and received a Ph.D. degree. Now he is very good in Greek and is the most useful helper to me in Greek. Therefore, please take my word. You must have the goal to receive God, but in fact you have already received Him. Now you have to receive an education. (God, Education, Character, pp. 2-6)

BALANCED ATTITUDE TOWARD EDUCATION

Many of the young brothers and sisters are unbalanced and say, “We are in the Lord’s recovery and we are expecting the Lord to come back soon. He may come back in two years. Why then should we worry about finishing high school and preparing ourselves for college? We should spend our time to pray-read and to fellowship with other brothers and sisters. Since the Lord is coming soon, why should we waste our time reading and studying?” If this is your attitude, the Lord may delay His coming back until you have learned to study. Actually, you should not just aim to finish high school, but also to graduate from college, and even to earn a Ph.D. I know what is on the heart of the young people. Many sisters think that it is sufficient to graduate from high school or, at most, junior college. They may say, “We sisters will not be elders. Why should we waste our time in school? Isn’t it good enough to learn how to type and make six hundred dollars a month? Let us enjoy an easy Christian life and a happy church life.” Sisters, you must abandon this concept. No matter how much you love the Lord, if you hold this concept, you will never be very useful to Him. No time spent in studying is wasted. As young people, you must use your time to study. Although the Lord may come back in a few years, you must still study and learn the “Tyrian” skill. If you are under the age of twenty-three, your time must be devoted to your education. You should finish your university course by the age of twenty-two or twenty-three. This is not a regulation of the church in the Lord’s recovery; this is my teaching. From now on, when young brothers and sisters come to me, I shall ask them what year they have finished in school. If anyone aged twenty-two would say that he has not yet graduated from high school, I would not waste my time in talking to him. Such a person, four years behind in school, might be retarded and would be unable to understand my fellowship concerning the Bible. But if a brother would tell me that he has just finished his first year of graduate school, I would be happy to talk with him concerning the depths of the Bible.

CUTTING THE TIE WITH OUR “TYRIAN” FATHER AND BECOMING
LIKE A CHLD WHO KNOWS NOTHING

Although you should do your best to earn an advanced degree, after you have earned it, you must be prepared to sever the worldly ties. Do not burn your diploma (you will need that for business purposes), but say within yourself, “My ‘Tyrian’ father has died. The day of my graduation will be the day of his funeral.” After you have labored for years to earn your degree, you must put your “Tyrian” father in a coffin and bury him. …If this father does not die, he will bind us to the world, and our education will become the strongest tie. In my ministry throughout the years I have learned that no highly educated person can understand the Bible unless he cuts off this worldly tie. Being proud of your education will hinder you from knowing the Scriptures. No matter how educated you are, you must humbly tell the Lord that you are a teachable little child and that in your whole being you are utterly empty. You should be able to say, “Lord, although I have three Ph.D.’s, I know nothing. I am not filled up by my education. I am empty in my spirit, in my mind, and in my whole being.” Many highly educated professional people are filled to the brim. For this reason, even after they are saved, they are unable to receive anything from the Word. Their pride has usurped them. We need to cut the tie with our “Tyrian” father and become like a child who knows nothing. Although we have knowledge, we would not be proud or filled with knowledge; instead, we would be empty. If we are like this, we shall be able to understand the Bible.

We need some brothers and sisters with doctor’s degrees. It would be very beneficial to have some with Ph.D.’s in biblical Hebrew and Greek. It would also be helpful for some to earn Ph.D.’s in space science and nuclear physics. The church should not be poor or on a low level. Rather, it should have the highest people on earth. Young people, this must become your burden. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 1112-1114)

Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msg. 86