The Tribune

By Minister Keith Evans

This is a most important piece of advice that I am about to bequeath to my fellow Bahamian brothers. I honestly feel like the apostle in Romans 9:1-3: "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh."

I feel your pain Paul. Yes, I can relate to you, brother! We are losing a plethora of young men to senseless killings and imprisonments. It is obvious that the enemy is at work here. You know the biblical accounts in Exodus and Matthew respectively that I'll use as a foundation to build on. Let's start with maniacal plot by Pharaoh Thutmose II, whom the late Bible theologian Alfred Edersheim puts forth as the one qualified to be the pharaoh in Exodus.

Exodus 1:22 says: "And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, every son that is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive."

The Pharaoh was highly influenced by a demonic entity that sought to eradicate the seed. You see that? Satan from thousands of years ago sought to kill men! The pernicious attack was by design in order to murder the great law-giver Moses from coming forth. And then there's Herod the Great in another biblical account in Matthew concerning the Saviour of the world, Jesus.

Matthew 2:16-18 states: "Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy (Jeremiah) the prophet, saying, in Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."

The point I obviously want to make to our young brothers is that Satan is using the tool of violence among ourselves to destroy us. The crime situation in the Bahamas is telling, especially with the concomitant gang situation.

I want to appeal to my brothers: put down the guns! Put down the knives! Put down the dope! And pick up the Word of God! We are at a juncture within this nation as it relates to crime and violence amongst our young people. One life lost is one life lost too many. One individual imprisoned is one individual imprisoned too many. God is speaking to the young men in the Bahamas.

Over the recent years we have had an average of over a hundred murders annually. With a population of over 390,000, the murder rate is abysmal. There has to be a clarion call to galvanise the prayer warriors as one in order to combat the spiritual forces at work here. We must seek to emulate unreservedly the same passion and fire that was displayed by the first-century church in Acts. It seems every day on the news we see young men hauled before the courts for some dumb stuff - murder, robbery, rape, theft, drugs, et cetera. The crime dilemma has grown exponentially without doubt. The situation seems to be getting out of hand. We are at a crisis mode here. In 1 John 2, the Apostle John gives a poignant admonishment to the young men in the church: "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because you have known the Father. "

This is powerful and straight to the point in reference to the call to my brothers. I would say to all of you, trust Jesus. Give God a chance to come into your life and to change you. He will not let you down and He will clean you up. This is not some convoluted thing to for all of us to recognise here. To assume that everything is all right with the youth of the nation is simply wrong. We need to reach out to the youth, and especially the young men.

The Lord gave me a ministry wake-up call. Find us via Facebook at 'Wakeupeverubody242' to read up on ways to help reach our youths. It's time to wake up! It's time time to make a radical transformation. You might be saying that it ain't all that bad with the crime situation. On the contrary, we are in a state of emergency and need the Church to take a stand. It is not about the conferences, It is not about the big fancy church cathedrals that we have erected. The Church needs to do more as it relates to evangelism and to be proactive in contributing significantly to the lives of our young men.

We need to go into the prisons and anoint those brothers. We need to bombard the streets preaching. God has a plan for our young men. 1 Corinthians 4:15: "For though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have you not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel."

We need mentors that will reach and connect with the young men of the nation. It is never too late to do your part in reference to reaching out to the young men. Paul implied to the Church at Corinth a need for spiritual fathers to fill the void by the biological fathers in the homes. We have a rate of 70 per cent of children born out of wedlock, with a huge percentage of children living in homes without the father figure present. Where are the fathers? Where are the spiritual mentors? My heart's desire is to see a move of God in lives of our young men.

• Minister Keith Evans can be contacted via e-mail at kenazevans242@gmail.com or keithevans242@gmail.com, or on Facebook under Keith Evans or Wakeupeverybody242.