I’m Bobby Bosler, and our guest here today comes from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. He’s a good friend of mine, Caleb Forster. He works with the Young Singles here at Falls Baptist Church and also does a lot with our facilities here.

And, you know, one of the things that you will get to know as you get to know Caleb is he’s got a heart for God and he wants to see young people. Of course, his mission field right now are the Young Singles of the church and the surrounding area. But he’s got a passion to see young people go on and do great things for Jesus.

So Caleb, why don’t you share with the young people what God’s put in your heart for today? What a privilege it is to share from God’s Word on Thee Generation. I was thinking about my own growing up years.

I grew up as a missionary kid to the Navajo Indians in Standing Rock, New Mexico. My parents have been missionaries there for over 40 years. That’s a whole podcast in and of itself.

My dad committed as a young person, his faithfulness, and God continuing just to bless there. But I wanted to share a truth that I had to learn. A godly FOMO of eternity.

A godly fear of missing out on making an impact on eternity. As a teenager growing up way out in the desert there in New Mexico, I know at times I looked around and I thought I was missing out on the fun things in life, being a missionary’s kid. And the truths that I want to share with you from Colossians chapter 3 are truths that they’ve come from the Apostle Paul.

They’ve been impacting lives through the centuries. They were definitely a help in my own life, and I know they will help you here even as you listen. Colossians 3, verses 1-3 says this, If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Satan wants us as young people to think that we are missing out by being a believer.

You know, it could be the way we dress that he gives us thoughts of, you’re dressing so funny. Why do you have to dress like this? It could be the things that we listen to as God is dealing with us and we’re putting away that worldly music as we’re taking in the Psalms, the hymns.

Satan can come and he can work on our lives and say, you know, you’re really missing out. By listening to all these church things, you really should listen to some other things. Could be the things that we spend our time on.

You know, even good things, hobbies. But when it becomes a priority in our lives more than seeking Jesus Christ, more than being a part of our local church, Satan has us right where he wants us. This fear of missing out on earthly things.

It can come in so many shapes, sizes, forms. Now with the internet, technology, our smartphones right in our hands, our social media accounts that are feeding us what our friends are doing. It’s so easy for Satan to get us thinking about all that we could be missing out on.

Satan isn’t the only one that wants us to have a FOMO. I see here in this passage that God wants us to have a proper fear of missing out on eternal things. Look here as we go through these verses.

He starts off, If ye then be risen with Christ. What does it mean to be risen with Christ? We realize that that relationship with Jesus Christ, this resurrection power that’s being talked about, is when Jesus Christ died and he rose again, and we place our trust on that finished work of Jesus Christ.

This is being born again. You know, if any of you that are listening to this podcast have not made that decision to place your trust in Jesus Christ, I would challenge you to do it right now. That this power of Jesus Christ being risen from the dead is the same power that can free you from your sin, that can give you a home in heaven as you would place your trust in him.

For those of us that have placed our trust and we are believers, it says if ye then be risen with Christ, well then now this is what you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to seek those things which are above. Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

This is an incredible reality. The things that we’re supposed to be seeking is not the earthly things that we can fill. It’s not the things that Satan would tell us are going to be fun in our lives.

What he wants us to seek is those treasures that come where Jesus Christ is seated. If you have an opportunity, sometime go to Revelation chapter 5 and look at the description of Jesus Christ at the right hand of God. It’s an incredible experience that the Apostle John had there recorded for us in Revelation chapter 5.

I challenge you sometime to go and look at that. But this godly FOMO of eternal things comes as we’re believers. It comes as we’re seeking God first.

We’re seeking Jesus Christ who’s seated at the right hand of God. Verse 2 then says, Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Young person, this setting of our affection, the things that we think about, the things that we dwell on, the things that we want to have happen in our life.

Oh, today with social media, it’s so easy for young people to be looking. And, you know, you can see your friend and where they went for vacation. You can see who got the latest gadget, the latest toy.

I know growing up there in New Mexico, I would see people get a new motorcycle or new four-wheeler. And out there where it’s just wide open and you can go and explore in the canyons and drive around. There was times that I thought I was missing out.

By being a missionary’s kid, by not being able to have a job because we live so far out, I thought, you know what? I am really missing out. It would be nice to get a new ATV like that.

Something fun that would have some speed and go and explore the canyons, the areas up here, the mesas and that. And had to come to the point that that’s not truly where my time needed to be. That, yes, it would be fun and God gave me opportunities.

People would share their things and so I was able to enjoy those. But yet, realizing that those things were just for a moment. They have their proper place.

They can be fun. We can enjoy it. But it couldn’t be my all-consuming desire.

Young people, would you set your affection on things above and not on things on this earth? I don’t know what it is for you. Maybe it’s the brand of clothes that you feel you have to wear.

Maybe it’s the things you feel you need to spend your time on. Or even just the hobbies that you have. Something you enjoy so much.

But let me ask you young person, are you thinking about that more than your relationship with Jesus Christ? Are you dwelling on that, pursuing it, spending more time, more money, more resources? Maybe you don’t even have anything to put into it, but you’re just thinking on it.

It’s consuming you, what you think about. It’s hard for you to focus in your devotion time. It’s hard for you to focus in the sermons that you would hear on a Sunday, on Wednesday.

Well, then your affection is probably not set in that right place. Not on things on the earth. Verse 3, for ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.

The Apostle Paul right here says you’re dead. A dead person doesn’t feel these things. A dead person doesn’t feel the pressure by the peers to be doing a certain thing, to be laughing at certain jokes.

A dead person doesn’t feel, oh, I’m missing out because I don’t have these material possessions at my disposal. A dead person is dead. And here he says, you’re dead, but your life is hid with Christ in God.

And we realize that we’re dead to these things, but we still live this life. And what we need is a focus on God himself. So to have a proper fear of missing out means that we have to realize that we’re dead to these things, that they don’t matter.

These earthly pressures, they don’t bring lasting satisfaction. what we need is Jesus Christ in our lives. We want to focus on him.

We want to focus on those things for eternity. My life is hid with Christ in God. That’s where my life is at.

My life is Jesus Christ. Well, so how can we have a godly FOMO? We can have it through reading God’s word on a daily basis, taking that time, not just reading it to check something off, but asking Jesus Christ to speak to our hearts, Asking him very honestly, saying, Jesus, is there something that’s taking my attention from you and that relationship with you?

Memorizing scripture then. Young people, would you memorize scripture? Satan wants us to think that we can’t memorize it.

That, you know, I have photographic memory, but I ran out of memory. You know, we say these different things, but young person, how can you know how to cleanse your way? It’s by taking heed thereto to God’s word.

How can we know we have a proper fear of missing out if we’re not focused on earthly things but focused on eternal things is by thinking on God’s Word, taking that time in prayer, another opportunity to come before God, to quiet our hearts before Him and say, Jesus, would you speak to me? Point out areas in my heart.

And then as He does or as He has through His Word, then talk back to Him and just tell Him, God, I’ve become focused on this. God, I have desired this or I saw this on the Internet My heart is just longing for that. Or, oh, this hobby is taking over my time.

God, would you help me to put that in its proper place and help me to seek you? And then lastly, would you be involved in your local church? Young person, get involved however you can.

I know you might just feel like you’re young, that you can’t do much, but maybe it’s just greeting at the door. Maybe it’s going out and passing out tracts as your church would have that time. Talk to your youth pastor.

Talk to your pastor. Ask him, how can I be involved? What can I do?

Even sweeping the lobby, sweeping outside, pulling weeds. Those kind of things are things that being part of the church, helping God’s house to look good, and it helps your focus to be on those things of eternity because you want the church to be that testimony to the world. This past Monday, I was driving back from Kansas.

My brother got ordained and drove from 6 o’clock in the morning until 6 in the evening. I knew I was going to be tired, but I decided in my heart that I was going to be part of our church outreach that evening. We were getting ready for vacation Bible school.

As I was out, we had some great opportunities to talk, and I was finishing up the evening at a park, talking to some families there. There was a young mom that was with her child watching her husband play basketball and got into conversation with her, had my wife come over and meet her, and what a great opportunity we had to give her the gospel. No, she didn’t get saved right then.

She was very open to being involved in a Bible study, to hearing more and growing that relationship with God. concerned about her child. Young person, that’s a fear of missing out on eternal things.

If I had thought the rest that I needed because that long trip was more important, it would have been nice, but it would have been so short-lived. But given the gospel and being able to be involved, that ministry opportunity, as I walked away from that, I knew that was making a difference for eternity. Young person, do you have a godly fear of missing out on eternal things?

Or is your FOMO on earthly things, things that are going to pass away, the clothes, the technology, your phone, your gadgets, the time, the hobbies you’re spending? Are you putting that time, that focus? Is Jesus Christ the one that you are seeking with your whole heart and your whole life?

Would you live with a godly FOMO? Amen, Caleb. That’s wonderful.

You know, I love that thought just that there’s so much that you could miss out on. And that’s exactly Paul’s point there in that passage. Don’t miss out on the heavenly realities of Jesus, of his amazing plan for your life and God’s power to accomplish it.

And that’s exactly what we’re about here at The Generation, totally surrendered to the will of God and totally dependent on his power to reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thanks for listening.