As I look around I see that most of you are very young and your lives are still ahead

of you, you're just at the beginning... and here tonight maybe the night where you will make the most important decision of your life. You've heard the song, you've seen the video, you read the lyrics...this is one of his lines: But while I'm here livin' man I gotta ask why, what am here fo' I gotta figure out I grew up in the former communist Czechoslovakia. My life was very hard. Very dysfunctional family physical abuse, alcohol, black market business, deals with Ukrainian mafia, lots of deception and on top of it being in the communist country felt like a permanent prison, no way of escape from all of it. But that's the only thing I longed for to escape the communism and come to Canada. Deep inside I longed for peace and joy in my life and my heart...but it was nowhere to be found. So I went looking for freedom in the wrong places, and I started to waste my life in wrong pursuits. Now if Jesus was physically here right now, he would probably tell you how not to waste your life in a parable of a rich man. Do any of you know what a parable is? It's an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Or a short story that illustrates a moral principle. Jesus told this parable to the people about 2000 years ago. Here we go... 15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." 16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. ' 18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' 20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? ' 21 "This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:15b-21). Ok, lets use a present day parable: There was a young man who was born to a very poor family and he was very greedy and always wanted what others had but he couldn't have the best laptop, the best games, the best clothes, the best food, the best bike or skateboard...you name it. And he decided that he would study hard, get a good career, get lots of money, get a car, house, speedboat, lots of pretty girls, go on vacations with friends...etc. He planned to invest money in well to do companies, and make much, much more money than all his friends ever made. He also planned to make a name for himself, he was good runner and wanted to prepare for the Olympics one day and win some gold medals. And he would save at least a couple of million dollars for the retirement and have lots of fun going to places, playing golf, being a beach bum, eat good food, and have fun with women, for the rest of his old days. Now this was his biggest desire and dream, we could call the North American dream. BUT! One day he went out and had a bad accident, and his life changed, drastically! He was in constant pain. The doctors didn't know what to do. They tried everything they could to stop the pain, but it got so bad that he eventually lost all he had paying the doctors to fix him. It's a very sad story, but things like that do happen all the time. But let me tell you something, even more sad is what he was planning to do with his life. No real purpose in his life, just vanity! And I'll tell you more about that young man in a moment. Whether you have much or little, it is easy to be greedy and fix your mind on getting things and status and chasing all the good things with wrong reasons, and missing on why you are here on earth, and missing the real life of purpose. So, if you are like the rich man or the poor young man I told you about, and if something similar to them is the aim of your life, if that's what you want more than anything else in your life, you've missed what life is all about, big time! God has created all things, but you and I are the best part of his creation. If God has created you for the purpose of showing who he is and how great he is through your life, than wouldn't you say that the most reasonable thing to do with your life would

be to get to know him, to learn from him and to make him known through your life? Do you know that our lives do not belong to ourselves, but to God, who created us? We owe our lives and allegiance to him alone. He made us and we rebelled against him. He died for us in the person of Jesus Christ, and we have rejected him. But may tonight be the crossover from death to life, for many of us here. God gives life and God alone has the right to take life. He gave physical life, but he wants to give us ever-lasting life. That life will never end and will remain forever, that life is found only in Jesus Christ, God's Son. OK! I am that young man I told you about who had the great North American dream, who had the accident and his dream went down the drains. But I am also the young man who by God's amazing grace was found by God, and he has given me purpose in life love, joy and peace which comes from the relationship with Jesus Christ. That I never had, until I came to Canada. I lived in a rich neighbourhood about 8 years and about 9 years in a ghetto. Whether rich or poor, a business man or gangster I've seen them all chasing after riches and other things...but the true and everlasting fulfilment is found only in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Most of you are familiar with these words in John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. This is the good news, God loved us so much, that he gave his Son Jesus to die in our place, for our sins, so that we wouldn't have to die for our sins. He did it so that we would have life which will never end, forever. And this life can be had only by putting your trust, your faith in Jesus, believing that he is God's Son and that he died for you and was risen from the dead, because he loved you. Do you believe this? I did, and God has changed my life, given me purpose, given me joy and peace in my heart, even though I have pain from my accident for over 18 years now. He has also given me love for others, like you guys, to tell you of this wonderful God! So Christians! Make much of Jesus! Get to know him better, trust him, love him, serve him, and do something radical with your life for him! And those of you who don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, come to know him, perhaps tonight. He is your God and Creator! He loves you, he gave his life for you, he is your friend, and he is not far from each one of you, he is here by his Spirit. And he is wonderful to know. He will welcome you just as you are, with all the good and bad in your life. He wants to be the captain of your life, and save you from your sins and ultimately from death. So what will you be chasing after in your life? Will you be chasing the North American dream? Or will you be go after God and his good purpose for your life? My plea with all of you guys is, please don't waste your life, but let your aim and pursuit in life be to know and love Jesus. May he be the purpose why you live!