Hello, this is Brother Denny.
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Amen.
We have with us this morning Brother Andrew
Weaver from Guyana.
They are serving there as the Lord has
planted them there at this time and directed
them that way.
So we have asked him to share the
message with us this morning.
So Brother Andrew, you just come and let
the Lord speak through you to us.
Amen.
Praise the Lord for the opportunity to be
together and worship Him.
We are looking forward to going back to
our home in Guyana Wednesday, Lord willing.
We've had a very good six or seven
weeks here in the States visiting our family,
our church home in South Carolina.
And I do want to thank everyone that
we've been blessed by.
We've enjoyed visiting with many of you, getting
to know some of you better.
We wish there would be more time to
spend personal time with so many people that
we love and appreciate.
But we do thank you for your blessings
and encouragement to us.
Thank you for your gifts to God's work.
May God bless and reward every one of
you for what you've contributed.
We do appreciate that very much.
Let's just bow our heads and commit this
time to the Lord this morning.
Father in heaven, we come to you only
in the name of Jesus.
And we thank you that through Him we
have access unto you.
And we give you praise, honor and thanksgiving
this morning.
Lord, we want to worship you.
Thank you that you are worthy of all
of our praise.
That the best we can give to you
is not too much and in fact is
not even enough for what you deserve.
We invite you to be here with us
this morning.
May your Holy Spirit open your word to
our hearts.
May we understand it.
May it become a part of us.
And may we get a clearer vision of
you and of your will for us here
on this earth.
Would you speak through me, Lord?
Sanctify and cleanse me.
And let your truth be unhindered by my
own ideas or agenda.
Let it just flow through in truth.
I ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.
The message that I felt burdened to share
this morning is especially for the youth.
And of course God's principles and God's truth
apply to people, Christians of any age.
But I've gotten a burden in a new
way for the young people during this trip.
Spending time with them.
Hearing their dreams and visions.
Hearing some of their struggles.
And I would like to just especially share
this with the young people.
As a blessing, as an encouragement.
Not to correct, but to encourage the right
dreams and visions that we've heard.
To give some practical preparation for a life
of success.
And that's what I've titled the message is
prepare for success.
In three particular points.
When it comes to money, to marriage, and
ministry.
And I realize those are three huge subjects.
There is no way that I can really
do justice to it.
And I'm not trying to be thorough on
each one.
I'm just trying to give the young people
a few specific things they can do right
now.
To begin preparing to succeed.
And I don't have to tell you that
the way that I'm going to define success.
Has very little to do with the way
that the world defines success.
We want to know God's definition of succeeding.
But there are many things that very young
people, young teenagers can do.
To begin laying a foundation for success.
The way that God sees it.
And sometimes there's a breakdown between the dreams
and the visions that young people have.
And the reality.
Because they seem to feel that this is
all in the future.
And when I'm old, when I'm rich.
Then I'm going to do all of this
and that for God's kingdom.
But the fact is it all begins today.
That the habits are formed now.
And that's what I want to encourage you
in.
That today there are things you can do.
And there's no doubt that everyone wants to
succeed.
That's only natural.
Nobody plans for failure.
We want to succeed.
But we need to know what God defines
as success.
And what we can do today.
To begin preparing to succeed.
To begin succeeding today.
Paul told Timothy that he was to be
an example of the believers.
Timothy was a young person.
Not an example to the believers.
Although that is also true.
But he was saying, Timothy, you as a
young person should be an example of a
believer.
The world should look at you as a
young person.
And you are an example of what a
real Christian is.
You are an example of the believers.
And so young people are called to a
very high and holy calling.
To represent to the world what a real
believer is like.
What a real child of God is like.
That's what God is calling you to.
To be an example of a true believer.
And I'm going to share some practical things.
What I believe that you can do to
prepare.
And if anything that I share contradicts what
your parents believe or wish for you.
I want to make very clear that your
obligation is to your parents and not to
me.
There is some variety allowed in the practical
details.
God does not force us all to be
identical.
And so if your parents would prefer that
you do something differently than I say.
The most specific one I can think of
is in the area of money.
Because different people operate differently.
Your obligation is to your parents.
Life is long enough that God can lay
his convictions on your heart as you study
the word.
And if they end up being a little
bit different than mine.
God bless you.
You just follow the Lord.
I do believe that his ways and his
thoughts are so much higher than ours.
We can't confine him to one simple thing.
But I will define success in money.
As handling your finances in such a way
that God is glorified and the world is
baffled.
And if God is not glorified.
And if the world perfectly understands what you're
doing.
Then something is probably wrong.
The Bible tells us in Romans 12 too.
That we are not to be conformed to
the world but to be transformed.
And we hear a lot about not being
conformed.
And the word non-conformity is often used.
But it is seldom applied to this area
of our life.
Where in fact we have our greatest opportunity
to impact the world by not being conformed.
Because most of our interaction with the world.
With the unsaved is in the realm of
business.
And that's not right or wrong.
That is simply the way that it is.
That is how.
That's where most of our interaction is with
the world.
And so that is our greatest opportunity to
show them a transformed mind.
That is our greatest opportunity to be not
conformed to their way of thinking.
Not conformed to their standard.
And I'm afraid we're often missing that opportunity.
It's our greatest opportunity.
The world should be looking on and be
puzzled at the life of a Christian.
The Bible says that the preaching of the
cross is to those who are perishing foolishness.
And we can say that about a lot
of aspects of our life.
The world looks on and they say this
is foolishness.
It makes no sense.
But too many times when they look on
at our business, our handling of finance.
It makes perfect sense to them because our
goals are their goals.
We hope to expand.
We want to keep pushing this business bigger
and bigger.
We want more customers.
We want more money.
We want the bigger bottom line.
They understand that perfectly because that's their goals
too.
And I feel that we are often missing
our very best and biggest opportunity.
To show them what it is to be
conformed to a different standard.
To be transformed by the power of God.
Matthew 6.21 tells us that where our
treasure is, that's where our heart is.
And maybe we could say it another way.
Where we spend most of our money is
where our heart is.
See, God is very practical.
He gives us some very specific guidelines.
We look at our hearts.
We look at our lives.
We look at what happens with our money.
And we have to ask ourselves, am I
measuring up to the standard?
Am I under God's control?
Is this every detail of my life, the
little purchases that I make, is that under
God's control?
We somehow have this attitude sometimes that God
cares about anything over a thousand dollars or
over a hundred or twenty or whatever.
But below that, it's totally my own thing.
But I believe that God desires to be
a part of all of our life.
Not just in spending money, but in every
part of our life.
I believe He wants the kind of relationship
with us where we are constantly in communication
with Him.
Where He's constantly a part of our life.
And He will naturally influence what we do
with even the one dollar bill and even
with our quarters and dimes and pennies.
God is a part of that too.
One of the first things that I want
to tell you as young people to understand
now is that there is nothing embarrassing.
You don't have to be apologetic about the
fact that you have a job and that
you are earning money.
Sometimes there is this extreme veneration of full
-time workers, missionaries, pastors.
And we feel apologetic for anything different than
that.
But the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians
10.31, Whether therefore ye eat or drink,
what's more basic and earthly than that?
But whether therefore we eat or drink or
whatsoever we do, anything at all, do all
to the glory of God.
And so it is possible to work at
a job, to earn money, to the glory
of God.
That can be a holy thing.
That can be an act of worship.
But of course God wants to be in
control of that too.
But it can be a holy thing.
You never need to feel apologetic for the
fact that you are working and providing for
the people that you are responsible for.
But what often happens is in our minds
we make a division between our life here
on this earth and our spiritual life.
We see it as two different things.
It's what A.W. Tozer called the false,
sacred, secular divide.
When in fact there is no such divide
in our life.
There is no part of our life that
is secular where God is irrelevant.
It is true that in many people's lives
there is a section where God is ignored.
But that does not make him irrelevant.
He still belongs there and he still wants
to be a part of that.
And he deserves to be involved in that.
It is simply a communication where very naturally,
as naturally as breathing, I'm faced with a
decision.
A $2, $3 decision and I just very
naturally listen for God's voice and he can
direct me one way or the other.
I'm not talking about looking at some item.
Say you're going to buy a shirt.
You look at the options on the rack.
You find one that the price seems right.
It seems to express what you want to
express.
You tell the clerk, alright I'll go home
and pray about it.
Fast for three days and then I'll be
back with my decision.
That would be a burden.
That would be an impossible burden.
But if you are just walking with God
and your heaven above you is open and
your conscience is free.
And throughout the day you've been having communion
with God.
You're faced with this decision.
You reach for the wrong one and you
just hear the spirit saying no.
And you say yes father.
You back off.
And you get his direction.
You have this feeling of peace.
The sense of his blessing.
His approval on what you're doing.
There's no burden in that.
That's a privilege.
It's a joy.
But you can't expect to ignore God the
rest of the day.
And now you're faced with this decision.
And you say come on now and help
me make this decision.
I need you.
This is in the context of a relationship
that is constant.
Always.
God is involved in every part of it.
And you don't just suddenly bring him in
as your financial advisor.
He is your best friend.
Your constant companion.
And then it happens naturally.
It's not a burden.
It's not something where you have to burden
yourself with fasting and prayer over every decision.
You simply follow the light.
You walk with him and doors open and
close.
And you just follow that prompting.
Right, left, stop, forward, back.
You hear his voice and you just obey
promptly.
I believe many of us would be surprised
probably if we knew how well that other
people could read us.
You know the purchases we make.
The cars that we drive, the clothes that
we wear, the things we buy.
They tell the world, other Christians, they tell
onlookers pretty clearly who's in charge when those
purchases are being made.
Is it God or is it me, my
old flesh?
Who's in charge?
And again, I don't believe that God leads
everyone in precisely the same details.
The important thing is obedience.
The kind of relationship to God where you
know his voice and you know that you
have his approval for what you do.
And I don't think we're all going to
end up identical.
But I think there are certain things, there's
a certain pattern that is going to emerge
after a while.
There are certain principles that are going to
be consistent throughout our lives when we have
God as our constant companion.
Influencing even those little decisions about how we
earn money, how we spend it, where we
give it, and all of that.
1 Timothy 6.8 gives us a standard
that is very much out of sync with
modern American thinking.
It says as long as we have food
and clothing, we should be content.
How many Americans do you know that actually
have that as their standard?
Food and clothing.
Maybe we can stretch it a little and
say shelter as well.
But having that, they're content.
Isn't there always a drive for more and
more and more?
1 Timothy 6, I wish we had time
to read all of that, but there's a
lot of warning in there.
And it is directed to a young man.
Very good for young people to read and
see.
What is God actually saying?
When God is in charge, like I said,
certain principles are going to be consistent throughout
the lives of his people.
The details will differ, but you will see
certain principles.
And one of the very first ones that
God will teach is the lesson of contentment.
Paul said as a testimony, I have learned
how to be content in any condition.
He did not say I've always been content
in every condition.
But he said I have learned how to
be content no matter what my state is.
I know how to be abased.
I know how to abound.
He knew how to be abased, how to
be in real want and need.
And at times he spoke of working night
and day to provide for his own needs
so that he would not be a burden
to someone else.
He also knew what to do when he
abounded.
He knew what to do with plenty.
And there is something that many of us
Americans have forgotten.
We don't know what to do with plenty.
And God has a plan for that too.
And we need to, each one of us
individually, need to cultivate that kind of relationship
with God where he has the freedom to
speak to us about small details.
And we hear it and obey it.
If he's teaching you to be content, and
I believe that will be one of the
first things he will try to teach you
is get contentment across to you when you
put God fully in charge of your finances.
Maybe you're young enough, you don't have a
job.
Maybe you have an allowance.
God wants to begin teaching you how to
involve him, how to give control of that
to him, even at a very young age.
Probably one of the first things he will
do is to ask you to be content
with less than many of your friends and
peers have.
Very, very likely.
I'm not going to make prophecies about what
God will do in your individual lives, but
I suspect some of you are not going
to be given the freedom, as you consult
God, to carry a cell phone like everyone
else does.
I don't know how much of a status
symbol that is here, but in Guyana it
still is in a lot of places that
cell phones are new, and it's a big
thing to have one.
Well, there's no doubt that that's a big
blessing, even in the work of God, to
some people.
But not everybody needs one.
And if you follow God, you might be
the only one out in the crowd that
doesn't have one.
You might have to be willing to stand
out.
And people may not understand your reasons.
You may not be given a chance to
explain, and you have no obligation to make
sure that everyone understands this is a matter
of spirituality.
You know I'm more spiritual than the rest
of you.
Not at all.
You just follow God, keep your mouth shut,
and he'll take care of the rest.
It may mean...
Oh, what's the other thing I see a
lot?
Palm computer?
No doubt that is a real blessing.
I've had one myself when I was in
business in South Carolina.
It was a real help.
It was a blessing.
But not everybody needs one, and I don't
need one now.
I don't need one today.
But if we follow God on those little
details, he may surprise us.
You know, his ways are higher than our
ways.
His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.
He may have a better purpose.
We can't just follow the crowd and spend
the money because we have it available.
We need to be in tune with his
Holy Spirit and sing, Lord, can I glorify
you with this?
And if he says no, we leave it
at that.
And say, yes Lord, I trust your wisdom.
It's very possible, in fact I would say
it's very likely, that as you really put
God in charge of your money and your
finances, that you're going to drive a car
that is a bit older, has a bit
more miles, more wear and tear than a
lot of your friends.
And again, you're under no obligation, in fact
you shouldn't, make sure that everyone understands that
there's a spiritual reason for this, and they
appreciate and admire you for it.
You just follow God's Spirit.
Someone once suggested that when you go to
buy a car, you mentally take the hand
of an orphan from a third world country,
a starving orphan, and just mentally take that
little child's hand, and you take them along
when you go to make your decision on
what you're going to buy.
I thought that was great advice, but even
better than that is take Jesus along with
you.
Take him with you everywhere.
When you're looking at the options on the
cars, have him there.
Hear his voice on it, hear his opinion.
And again, I don't believe he's going to
tell us all exactly the same thing.
God knows he has work for some people
that involves a lot of traveling.
They're going to need a better car.
They're going to need something reliable and dependable.
That is fine.
God is going to show up, each one,
what is best for your circumstance.
And, of course, he may do that through
advice of other people, too.
It's not just a matter of between me
and God alone and nobody else has any
say.
It's all balanced with the input from our
parents, from other people, from godly leaders, whatever.
But God must have his opportunity to speak.
We can't just lay him aside, go do
our thing, and then ask him to come
along and bless and sanction what we've done.
It doesn't work that way.
It's very possible that your clothes will stand
out as being, obviously, Salvation Army tights.
That would be a real embarrassment for some
people.
Instead of the name brands that are popular
and that everybody knows about and recognizes.
How about if God tells you, I have
much better use for the money you've earned
than to spend it on those expensive clothes.
I want you to go and do your
shopping here, buy your shirts for a dollar
a piece.
Would you be willing for that?
That's a small sacrifice.
That's nothing compared to what you're going to
do when you go to the mission field.
And I hear lots of dreams and visions,
very good ones, about how you're going to
live when you get into these difficult circumstances.
But, you know, you could start practicing right
now by being willing to do a little
thing like that if God calls you to
do it.
I didn't say God does that for everyone.
But if, in your following God's leading, that's
what he says, then there's just no questioning
it.
You follow God's prompting.
I can tell you almost certainly that you
won't be wearing Oakley sunglasses, even if all
of your friends are.
I've heard people talking about this particular brand
of sunglasses, which I had never heard of
before.
The figures they were throwing around, one, two,
hundred dollars and more for a pair of
sunglasses.
If you tell me God was along on
that purchase, I will try to believe it,
but I will sure struggle with unbelief.
But God's ways are higher than my ways.
He has sure surprised me before, it's possible.
But that just seems preposterous to me.
Surely God was not consulted in something like
that.
But I don't know.
Another thing, the lack of discernment surprises me.
People wearing name brand clothing, displaying the name
of an ungodly and immoral, depraved person.
You know in business world, this man should
have to pay for billboard space to advertise.
Instead, you are paying him to become his
billboard and display his name and advertise for
him.
He's getting free advertisement.
And those evil people don't deserve that.
Totally apart from whether God wanted you to
spend that much money for those clothing, you
don't want to become a billboard for the
enemy.
You don't want to be advertising for the
enemy.
They don't deserve that.
Make them pay for their own advertising.
You don't want to do that for them.
God has something better in mind than that,
than to be a billboard, a display for
the other side.
I believe when God has gotten this lesson
of contentment into your heart, of being content
no matter where he leads you, I believe
that he is going to begin to teach
you to give sacrificially.
And I will be honest and say this
is something I don't know very much about.
Most of us don't.
We are so blessed materially that it is
hard to give enough that we actually are
sacrificing, that we actually suffer genuine need because
we've overgiven.
I know very few people who do that.
But I believe as we follow God, we
may very well be called to do that
sometime.
It is entirely possible that we will be
called to give sacrificially.
And like I said before, I hear the
visions of the young people, especially the ones
with a desire to serve God in foreign
missions, and I appreciate those visions of going
among the people, living like they do, doing
your best to live on their level.
I hear people talk about being content with
a dirt floor, not needing a vehicle but
walking or riding a bicycle everywhere.
That's great.
I believe in that vision too.
But my question is when are you going
to start?
Are you going to wait until you get
there?
Are you going to pamper yourself with everything
you can afford here and coddle yourself and
then get there and expect to become a
tough soldier overnight?
It's not going to happen.
The way this world operates with all the
transportation and the freight, the things you can
ship, it's going to be very easy for
you to indulge yourself even in a foreign
country.
I could get basically anything I want shipped
up the river to our house in Guyana.
You won't be hindered because it's impossible.
And if you haven't learned to live sacrificially,
to give sacrificially, to be content, you will
take every means at your disposal to make
your life more comfortable and you won't be
true to that vision you have.
And I want you to be true to
that vision.
That is a good vision to have and
I agree with it entirely.
But you can start today.
You don't have to wait until you're somewhere
in a primitive setting.
You can start right now.
And God will also teach us the very
difficult lesson of trusting in him to provide.
When we give sacrificially, sometimes we're going to
have a few needs of our own.
And God will teach us that he can
be depended on to provide and he will
guide us in those purchases, in the way
we spend our money, what we do with
our possessions.
He will guide us.
Just a testimony I have of learning to
trust him, and I consider it a privilege
because as long as we lived in the
States, I never had an opportunity quite like
this.
But there was a time a while ago
in Guyana when we were completely out of
money.
There was not one dollar in the house.
And we still had food to eat, but
the groceries were getting low and it was
time to buy some food and there was
no money.
I knew that there was a little bit
of money left in our bank account, but
the town was about an hour away and
it takes a dollar to ride the bus
there so I could withdraw it.
And I did not have a dollar to
go to the bank and get the little
bit of money that we needed for our
groceries.
And so we had an opportunity to trust
the Lord and say, God, here's a need.
We need one dollar.
Would you please provide that?
And of course, within a very short time,
someone came and wanted to buy a little
bit of fruit.
I sold a basket of fruit.
I got one dollar.
I went to the bank.
I got what I needed for that week's
groceries.
I would have never had that privilege if
I had been living in such abundance that
God never had that opportunity.
And I genuinely, from my heart, I consider
that a rare privilege.
I feel honored to have been at the
place where I had to ask God for
one dollar.
And he proved himself faithful.
It was a matter of only hours.
And I feel very privileged that my children
get to see that.
They're too young to understand it yet, but
I hope those things will happen again where
we will be able to just gather together
when we're having family devotions and say, Lord,
we're not sure where this week's food is
coming from or maybe even where the next
meal is coming from.
I don't know.
But we're depending on you.
And I want them to see God moving
on our behalf.
I get the impression sometimes that God is
saying, I've got so much wealth, and I
would really like if somebody would just give
me a chance to share a little bit
of it as a testimony of God's leading,
of Him wanting to be involved, of proving
that He wanted to be involved in a
purchase.
My first car, I didn't spend much time
consulting the Lord.
I bought what I wanted, and it was
a very nice car.
In retrospect, I regret it, but I was
only learning then to walk with God, and
I regret the amount of money that I
spent on it.
It was a very nice car.
Then I got an opportunity to spend a
few months in Central America after Hurricane Mitch
had devastated several countries there, and I had
my parents sell the car for me while
I was there working.
And of course, being in the midst of
all that poverty and homeless people, I couldn't
come back and drive a car like that
again.
So I came back, and I told the
Lord, this time I want you involved.
I'm not going to spend as much money.
I'm going to be satisfied with less.
And I went looking for a car.
That's a terrible experience, dealing with used car
salesmen.
I remember being called into this little office
to talk to a guy who found a
particular car I liked, and it was blue
with cigarette smoke.
He was telling me, I'm going to sell
you this car at my cost.
I don't need to make any money on
it.
And he named a price.
We talked a few more minutes.
He had dropped the price $700 more.
I knew he was lying to me, and
that's something I can't tolerate.
So I left.
I said, this whole thing is a big
mess.
And I told the Lord, maybe you don't
even want me to have a car.
That's fine.
I quit.
I'm not going to keep on going out
there trying to find something I like.
If you want me to have a car,
I'm going to trust you to send it
to me, and I'm going to accept whatever
you send.
Even if it's a rusty 74 Beetle, I
will drive whatever you send.
And I asked the Lord for a figure.
How much do you think it is right
for me to spend on a vehicle?
And I felt like he clearly gave me
a dollar figure.
So much, but not more.
The very next day, 24 hours later, I
get a phone call, and our neighbor says,
hey, is any of you boys looking to
buy a car?
My mother-in-law needs to get rid
of a car.
Her husband is going to a nursing home.
Got a nice car.
They need to get rid of it.
I ask, what's the price?
And he named the exact dollar figure that
the Lord had given me.
I said, I don't need to see the
car.
I'll take it.
And it was a blessing.
It was a good car.
It was nothing fancy.
It wasn't as nice as my first one,
but it never made any serious problems for
us, served us well, until the time when
we went to Guyana.
And I thank God for that.
And that was a step of growth for
me, to realize that when I just give
God the opportunity, he will show himself strong
on my behalf.
He went out of his way to make
this happen, to prove to me that when
I just give him a chance, he can
do a much better job at choosing a
car than I can.
It's that simple and it's that practical.
He knows how to do it.
Let's just allow him to do it.
Another practical bit of advice that I would
share is to try, as much as possible,
try to stay out of debt.
And I know that opinions vary on this,
and when I concluded that I was going
to, with God's help, stay out of debt,
the reactions I got from people were very
interesting.
They did everything short of just pat me
on the head and say, there, there, little
man, stay calm about it, nice thought.
But there was really a lot of response
like that.
People were saying, it's a nice thought, it's
really a nice thought, but it's just not
realistic in today's economy.
It's just not possible.
And they all warned me, you will never
own your own home.
You realize that.
The way things function today, you will rent
for all of your life.
Well, that certainly was not an appealing thought
to me, but I said, alright, I feel
that is what God wants me to do.
And I will say, I don't believe there
is a clear scripture where I can give
that as a law of God, that it
is wrong to borrow money.
There's a verse that I think might be
suggesting that, but it is not something that
I condemn someone else for.
But in giving control of these little areas
of my life to God, that was one
thing I felt He told me, that He
wants our family to stay out of debt,
no matter what.
So, my wife and I agreed, maybe we're
going to waste our money, all of our
lives, paying rent every month.
Well, that's the Lord's problem.
It's His money.
If He doesn't want us to do that,
He's going to have to do something about
it.
But we are not going to put ourselves
into debt, put ourselves under bondage, where we're
not free to go anywhere that God calls
us to go.
One year, after we were married, we bought
a house and almost two acres without borrowing
one cent.
Yes, God did intervene and worked a miracle,
and the price was so low that most
people wondered if we had bought a tent
or what.
They actually asked me that.
You bought land and a tent, or what's
the deal with this price?
But God did that.
And again, it was like, I sensed that
He was saying, I've got all this wealth.
I can do anything.
Why don't you just give me a chance?
So, when people tell you, it's a nice
thought, but it's an impossible dream, I just
want to tell you, please don't accept it.
You don't have to be rude to them.
You don't have to defy them.
But it is not true.
It is possible that God will work on
your behalf.
And I admit, I have not proved that
in Lancaster County.
I know that the land prices here are
much, much higher than they are in South
Carolina.
But the $15,000 that God provided for
us to buy a house is a drop
in the bucket for Him.
He can do ten times that much if
He needs to.
He can be trusted.
God is not only trustworthy up to $20
,000.
There is no limit to what He can
do.
And I believe, even if He may not
call everyone to that exact standard, I believe
that He honored our obedience to Him.
In staying out of debt, He provided this
place that we could afford.
The next year, I was busy starting a
new business from scratch.
We had no real income that year.
We only broke even.
Yet, when the call came for us to
go to Guyana, somehow God had provided so
that we were able to buy another place
there.
So, without ever having been in debt, we
owned two homes.
And I will admit that neither of them
would quite meet Lancaster County's standards.
But they've been beautiful homes for us.
One of them is a Third World shack,
15 by 20.
I believe the book Pursuit of God in
the Seed says that we live in a
house 17 by 20.
And sometimes we look at that and we
say, boy, we wish for those extra two
feet.
But that was a misprint.
It's 15 by 20.
And sometimes the 17 would be nice, but
it is actually only 15 by 20.
So, most people would not be content with
that.
But it is the perfect house for the
place that we live.
It fits in with our neighbors.
It doesn't stand out as being anything extraordinary.
It's just the perfect place for our family,
the size that it is now.
I don't know about the future, but that's
the Lord's problem.
He's going to be taking care of that,
too.
So, I just want to encourage you.
If God lays that vision on your heart,
that you want to remain debt-free, and
you get nothing but discouragement from other people,
you just listen politely and smile, but you
know that it's not true that it is
impossible to stay out of debt.
Because it is possible.
And I'm not the only one that has
done it.
I know other people who have made that
commitment, and it has worked.
God has honored their vision.
Something that I did a number of years
ago that I would like to encourage young
people, especially young men, to do.
Sometime you are, most likely, going to be
responsible for providing for a family.
And you want to know God's heart on
providing for your family's needs, on earning money,
on giving.
And this was a real blessing to me
and formed a lot of my convictions.
I read through the New Testament from Matthew
to Revelation with a notebook in hand, and
I copied out every verse that I felt
applied to the issue of possessions, covetousness, money,
borrowing, lending, everything.
The book of Proverbs also has a lot.
I just chose to go through the New
Testament because I wanted Jesus' heart on the
matter.
And boy, when you have that all together
in one notebook, that is one powerful formula
for success by God's standards.
You go back and you read over all
that, all the warnings about covetousness and greed
and about the dangers of those who want
to be rich and the things that Jesus
had to say about money and about contentment.
I would really encourage you to do that
sometime as an exercise in studying the Word
and in filling your heart and mind with
God's principles and preparing for a life of
success when it comes to handling your money.
That's a real blessing.
I have a vision of people in the
States being willing to live sacrificially.
Somehow, there's sometimes this mentality that those who
go to other countries, to the foreign field,
they're called on to sacrifice.
Those at home give of their extra and
everything's all right.
But you know, I believe we could do
so much more.
I believe, I know that it would be
entirely possible for one family in the U
.S. to support one family in a foreign
country.
And it's going to vary from one place
to another.
The expense, maybe sometimes it would take two,
three, or four families to support one.
But where we live, one family could very
easily support us the amount that we need
every month.
And I think it would be such a
blessing for a family to feel so connected
to God's work in another part of the
world.
And of course, I'm not talking about striking
out on your own and two families forming
a mission.
I mean under the blessing and authority of
the church where they would approve the plan,
we're sending out this family, and this family
is committed to living sacrificially.
The one, the family that stays lives sacrificially
just like the one that went and they
support them all their financial needs.
It's a dream that I have, but I
know that it's possible.
I know that it could be done.
I know that a church of even ten
families could send three or four of them
out and support them.
They would not continue living the same standard
of living that they do now.
There would be real and practical sacrifices that
would need to be made, but it could
be done.
And who knows what would happen in God's
kingdom.
Who knows what he could do if a
church would send half of its families into
the mission field and the other half would
stay home and sacrifice, lower their standard of
living to whatever is necessary in order to
support them, to support God's work.
That's an exciting possibility just to dream about.
And again, I want to emphasize the most
important thing in this success in handling money
is a personal, close relationship with God.
There's no substitute for that.
You cannot take my experiences and make some
kind of a law out of them or
anyone else's for that matter.
But it takes a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ, a walking with him every day where
he has the freedom to speak into your
heart whatever he wants and you say, Yes,
Lord.
It is a simple fact that most of
you young people will eventually be married.
And so we'd like to look at a
little bit of what you can be doing
to prepare for success in marriage.
And I will define success in marriage as
having a relationship that accurately portrays Christ's love
for his bride and inspires other people to
aim for that same standard.
It doesn't matter what the society or the
community around you accepts as normal or good.
God's standard is that we strive to love
our spouses as Christ loved the church.
And yes, there are things that even very
young people can do to prepare for that.
Marriage is really about relationship.
It is the closest and most important human
relationship.
And so one of the best things you
can do to prepare for that relationship is
to learn to build and maintain good, healthy,
honest relationships with other people.
With your parents, yes, with your bossy older
brothers and sisters and the younger ones that
you think are past.
Build good, healthy, respectful relationships with them.
Maintain those relationships with them.
That is, in fact, some of the best
preparation that a young teenager can make for
marriage.
Your parents, your brothers and sisters especially.
You can build such meaningful, good, lasting relationships
with them.
And they are foundation stone.
They are preparation for marriage.
And of course, the most important relationship of
all that you need to build and maintain
is with the Lord Jesus Christ.
I don't believe that a person is going
to experience a blessed marriage until they have
had a relationship with Jesus that so satisfied
them that they're willing to have that one
alone for the rest of their life.
And I remember when the Lord showed that
to me, my problem was not that I
was in a hurry to get married.
I had my plans of how long I
was going to wait because I had a
lot of other things I wanted to do
with my life first.
And so, I had to say, Yes Lord,
I'm giving control of this to you.
Whether it's soon or later, I don't care.
It's in your hands.
And I remember coming to the place a
while later where suddenly I realized this growing
relationship with Jesus is such a treasure, such
a joy, such a constant friendship that even
if I never do get married, and even
if this is the relationship that I have
for the rest of my life, I will
not feel slighted in any way at all.
That would be perfectly satisfactory.
That is all that I need.
And it wasn't too long after that when
God led me into another relationship with my
wife.
But, I could honestly say from my heart,
whether that happened or not, I was going
to be content.
I was going to be satisfied because this
relationship with Jesus is so rich and so
meaningful that there's nothing missing if that's all
I ever have.
That's all I ever need.
And that is the most important.
You cannot, you cannot overdo your efforts, your
time in building this friendship and even this
relationship, this love relationship with Jesus.
When you can read the Song of Solomon
with a pure mind and all of that
is deeply meaningful to you in relationship, in
your relationship to Jesus Christ, then He is
preparing you for a human relationship.
But that is the goal, to learn to
know Christ as an intimate friend and lover.
And to understand the spiritual meaning of the
Song of Solomon.
I remember when that became so precious to
me, I began to realize this is real.
Yes, it has another application to marriage, but
this relationship between Jesus and me and all
of those spiritual truths through that book is
just beautiful.
And there was, as I studied that, I
realized this is perfectly satisfactory.
I don't need more in order to be
complete and to be fulfilled.
But then, of course, God added so much
more and I praise Him for that, the
relationship that I have with my wife.
I would encourage you young people to set
very high goals and to dream very lofty
dreams.
But then turn those back on yourself.
Instead of having a very high list of
standards for who your future spouse will have
to be and what he or she will
have to measure up to, turn that back
on yourself and become that ideal spouse.
Yes, I do believe in having a very
high standard.
You don't want to just accept the first
person who comes along.
I believe in having a high standard, but
I believe in having a higher standard for
yourself.
Turning those dreams that you have of what
your future spouse should be like, turn those
back on yourself and ask God to make
you that kind of person.
And He's going to do it by pruning
and chastisement sometimes and also by just the
life of daily growth with Him.
It's not going to be all unpleasant and
painful, but there will be some of that
because our flesh and our old self nature
has to be put to death.
And that's a painful experience, but that is
God making us into the kind of person
that we someday want to marry.
So, I encourage you to dream high dreams
and to believe that beautiful things are possible.
But turn those dreams back on yourself and
promise God that you will cooperate fully with
Him in His task of making you one
of those people.
And again, your relationship with your family.
Beautiful practice to put your flesh to death.
To let the Holy Spirit within you direct
your responses and reactions instead of your flesh.
Have any of you girls ever had a
daydream like this, you picture?
Beautiful little house, all in order, everything spick
and span, soft music playing, wonderful smells coming
from the oven as you wait for your
husband to come home from work.
The baby is lying in the playpen cooing
to herself and the two-year-old is
folding the laundry and singing a song.
Six-year-old boy, he's probably studying his
algebra book or something.
You're just waiting for your handsome husband to
come and open the door and suddenly your
daydream is interrupted by your little brother tugging
at your elbow.
I can't find my socks.
And you say, oh, why don't you ever
put your socks away where they belong?
I don't have time to help you.
I'm busy.
Do you think there's any possibility that a
person responding in the flesh like that is
going to come even close to the daydream
they were having?
Don't count on it.
God has you in a school now with
the people that you think are the hardest
to get along with.
He is giving them to you as a
gift to learn not to respond in the
flesh.
He's teaching you to put that flesh to
death and to respond in the power and
grace and anointing of the Holy Spirit.
That's what He wants to do.
And that is your preparation for marriage.
And that begins when you're very young.
But it is God working on you to
make you the kind of person that you
think you deserve to have.
Someday, when you are in love with a
person, you will realize you owe them much
more than you can even give.
And you will want to be all that
you can possibly be.
And then you will thank God for all
of the sanctifying work that He's done in
you to at least start you on that
road to becoming who you want to be.
You don't have to settle for what you
see around you.
And I would encourage you to observe other
people and families, not in a critical way,
but observe them and see what you want
to emulate.
Find role models, who you want to learn
from and ask advice from, and who you
don't want to.
You don't even have to settle for exactly
the kind of marriage that your parents have.
And it is very important that you understand
you have no right to criticize or condemn
them.
But you can set an even higher goal.
And something that may help you to understand
and to give them grace is this example
I've used sometimes.
Let's say that line represents an awful marriage.
This line represents a perfect marriage.
Your parents, before they were saved, may have
started out here.
And by God's grace, outpoured in their lives,
and by a lot of hard work and
sweat on their part, they have moved all
the way up to here.
And they have a good relationship.
And God has done a lot of beautiful
things in their lives and has brought them
so far.
Now they are giving you the gift of
starting here instead of back here.
And you, because you have a good start,
you may eventually be all the way to
here.
But do you see what would be wrong
with criticizing your parents for where they are
and having a critical attitude?
Look at the distance they've traveled.
Look at what God has done with them.
You've done this and you think somehow you
have the right to criticize them.
Definitely not.
It is possible to aim for a higher
standard than other people have and even than
your own parents have and yet not be
critical or condemn them in any way.
Because just look, look at the grace of
God and what He has done and how
far He has brought them and be thankful
that you were given the privilege of starting
from there.
What if you travel as far as they
did?
Look where you will end up.
That's your goal.
That's what you have to work for.
You have no right.
We have no right to criticize or condemn
someone else who has experienced the grace of
God and who have traveled a great distance.
Many of us who are tempted to be
critical, we haven't done anything near like they
have.
We have not experienced God's grace to the
same measure of bringing us that kind of
distance.
So set your goals high and follow after
godly examples and if you pass someone up,
you have no right to ever look down
at them or criticize them.
They have experienced God's grace in bringing them
a long distance too.
But as I said, I don't know high
standards.
Don't just think that because someone else tells
you that disagreements and arguments are inevitable that
they are because they're not.
God does have a higher standard.
And again, let me demonstrate something here.
The culture around you will have a standard
and possibly even the culture within the church
may have a standard and they may say,
okay, this is you.
And they may say, out here is a
line that you may never cross.
And this could be physical abuse.
Husband beating his wife.
And nobody, no couple would think of crossing
that line.
Another couple might draw the line back here
and say, well, there's a line that we
would never cross.
We would never argue, shout, get angry at
each other.
But the culture would say, as long as
you're on this side of the line, you
have a good marriage.
Everything is alright.
But the verse I always think about in
connection with this is, put ye on the
Lord Jesus Christ.
And I picture it like this.
Put him on.
How big a field does that give you
for sin?
You know, the closer you get, the smaller
the sins are.
Here, it might just be to ignore your
spouse, try to teach them a lesson.
There might just be subtle little things of
disrespect.
The lines get closer and closer.
Some people will cross this one, they'll cross
this one, but not that one.
But when you put on the Lord Jesus
Christ, make no provision for the flesh, the
lines are so tight that you make no
excuses for any kind of sin.
And that is the standard that I want
you to have.
Someone else may have their line out here
and say, well, we'll go that far, but
no farther.
And I believe that everybody does have a
big roadblock line somewhere.
I would never do that.
But I will tolerate this little sin.
God is asking us to put on the
Lord Jesus Christ, to make no provision for
our selfish old flesh.
And that puts us in a very tight
standard.
Then we cannot make provision for any of,
even of those small sins.
We are called to a much higher standard
than that.
And that is the standard that I want
you to aim for.
Again, without being critical of other people who
are also on their way toward that standard.
It is a process.
You're not going to be there instantly.
It is a process of walking with God,
of being conformed to the image of Jesus,
of becoming like Him.
But go for that.
I would encourage you to read in the
Amplified Bible sometimes the verses on marriage.
There are some especially powerful ones to the
wives, but even to the husbands.
The way that they amplify some of those
words to bring out the meaning.
Maybe type them out and hang them on
your mirror.
Be sobered when you look at what God
is calling you to be.
That gives you a purpose to work for.
You look at what God is calling you
to be for your future spouse and you
say, Lord, I know I'm not there yet.
And I need your chastisement, your pruning, whatever,
to make me like that.
And invite God to work in your life
in that way.
And remember that you owe it to your
future spouse to be conscious of them as
you interact with members of the opposite sex.
Young men, you owe it to your future
wife to be aware of her, to be
conscious of her as you interact with young
ladies and vice versa.
I don't mean that you have to know
who your future spouse is going to be,
but you need to be aware that sometime
you want to present yourself as a pure
and undefiled gift to that person.
And that means even in the way that
you relate to other people.
And it is entirely possible to have good,
healthy friendships between young men and young men
ladies.
And to be able to come to marriage
with no regrets.
But I would encourage you, again, the most
important thing is to be walking with God
and to have the voice of God speaking
to you and directing your actions.
But sometimes it would also be good to
develop a consciousness.
Someday I probably will be married.
The girl who I will one day marry
may be watching me now.
She may be watching the way I'm interacting
with young ladies.
What is it going to mean to her
once God finally leads us together?
Is she going to have to struggle with
distrust because of the way that I've been
too free and flirting?
Or is she going to be very confident
that I've kept myself physically, mentally, spiritually only
for her?
I believe there could even be some value.
This is not for everyone.
But some people I've heard of that write
letters to their future spouse.
Again, not knowing who it is.
They start quite early and they say, this
is a journal of my spiritual growth.
This is what God is teaching me.
This is what I'm learning about interacting with
young men or young ladies.
These are the temptations I've had.
It doesn't have to be explicit.
But just a little bit of an accountability
between you and the journal.
And someday you will have that as a
gift to give to the special person that
God brings into your life.
And what a privilege, what a treasure it
would be to give them a record of
your spiritual growth, your relationship with other people
that would cause her, him or her no
doubts, no grief, no disappointment.
What a gift that would be to give.
And I would also like to encourage you,
don't burden yourself with trying to figure out
all of God's will for the future.
When it comes to marriage, some people, it
seems like such a big burden of needing
to figure out God's will, needing to find
every detail of God's will.
You know, the example I think of is
Peter.
When he was in his jail cell and
he thought it was all over, suddenly a
bright light shone in the cell and what
did he do?
He just followed that light and one door
after another opened in front of them until
they came to the big city gate.
It opened of its own accord and he
was free.
He just followed the light and God opened
the doors as they went.
There was nothing burdensome, there was nothing heavy
or difficult about that.
It was simply a matter of obedience step
by step by step and sometimes God does
impress on us the gravity of the decisions
that we're making and the life-changing possibilities
and effects and yes, it's right to feel
that responsibility very heavily but it is not
a burden to seek God's will.
It is a joy to walk after God
in obedience.
One step today, another step tomorrow, another step
and he should have freedom as we walk
along to just correct our course a little
bit to this side or that side and
we should be in the kind of relationship
with him where we respond immediately.
I think God could save us from a
lot of heartache and tragedy if we just
walk that way.
We may make one small step in the
wrong direction but his spirit is right there
to say not that way.
Just redirect our course a little bit and
it doesn't have to be a painful, burdensome
thing.
It can be a joy to just follow
that direction as he goes along and again
I understand God works differently in different people's
lives.
That doesn't mean it's going to be easy
sailing for everyone but overall the principle is
we follow God in obedience today.
Tomorrow, God may have a new requirement for
us.
Again, we follow him in obedience and like
Peter, we see the doors opening ahead of
us one after the other until we're out
where God wants us to be.
It's not a burden.
Discerning God's will is not a burden.
It's simply a light surrender, obedience, joy and
peace in the Holy Spirit.
A few thoughts on preparing for success in
ministry and again, you know that I'm not
talking about huge crusades, huge offerings, very popular
ministry.
God does use some people in a very
visible and public way that's wonderful.
Other people are called to a ministry that
is invisible and I would define success in
ministry simply as offering yourself as a living
sacrifice willing to pay any price for God's
glory and for the sake of His kingdom
and at the same time saying from an
honest heart I am an unworthy servant.
I have done what it is my duty
to do.
That to me would be successful ministry whether
it is the ministry of being a godly
parent and raising godly children or of an
encourager to other brothers or of an intercessor
or a more public one like an evangelist
or pastor or teacher.
Any one of those.
We just offer ourselves to God for any
price as a living sacrifice but the attitude
of our heart is I am an unworthy
servant.
I am only doing what it is my
duty to do.
This is nothing special.
But something that is hard for us to
understand is that God prepares us for ministry
in the most basic things of life.
Did you know that God actually prepares us
for ministry by seeing how good a job
we do mowing the lawn washing the dishes
doing laundry building furniture laying bricks whatever it
is God is actually testing us for ministry
in those things.
I believe there is a direct relationship between
how well we do those little what we
think of as secular things those little things
how well we do that and how much
ministry God can trust us with.
I believe there is a clear connection there.
And we often fail to see it.
We divide it.
Now I am living my secular life sometime
God will speak out of the clouds and
lead me into a wonderful public ministry and
thousands of people will get saved.
Maybe.
God is higher than us and his thoughts
are not our thoughts.
But more often he is going to watch
us and watch our faithfulness in the little
details serving our family doing our job serving
our boss honestly giving him an honest day's
work and then when he sees we can
be trusted then he has more for us.
In fact the Bible says very specifically that
if we are not faithful in that which
is least God cannot trust the true riches
to us.
That's in Luke 16 in the context of
the parable of the unjust steward and it
seems to be suggesting that God tests us
with how we use unrighteous mammon.
That's the phrase it uses in that verse.
How well we use what stewards we are
of the unrighteous mammon.
And when we have proven that we can
be trusted with the unrighteous mammon then it
says then and only then can God trust
us with the true riches which could be
spiritual gifts or ministry things like that.
But he watches to see how we deal
with this unrighteous mammon that has been put
into our hands.
If you can't rejoice and be faithful in
the drudgery of your life as a teenager
today don't imagine that you are going to
be some powerful missionary for God tomorrow.
Let me give you another daydream.
You're picturing God calling you into a public
ministry in some foreign country and heathen are
turning to the Lord by the hundreds and
maybe thousands and God is working miracles through
your ministry and finally of course something this
big comes to the attention of the enemies
of the cross and you are arrested and
suffer for your faith and you're let out
to be executed publicly you go out calmly,
serenely you give a last message to the
crowd of people watching and there's your little
brother again.
I can't find my shoes.
And you tell him why don't you ever
put your shoes where they belong?
I don't have time to help you.
I'm busy thinking.
You know what thinking is?
If you respond in the flesh at that
moment what reason would we have for thinking
that somehow in the future we will be
so controlled and filled with the power of
this Holy Spirit that God would trust us
with a martyr's death?
See a martyr's death is something very powerful.
It can bring tremendous honor and glory to
God.
But God would not trust something so powerful
into the hands of a person who is
still used to responding in the flesh.
A person who is still afraid to hurt
the flesh.
Who doesn't like to have the flesh disturbed.
Until we have learned to put our flesh
to death to say no to it to
respond, to react in the spirit to rejoice
in where we are to rejoice not only
tolerate but to rejoice in the drudgery of
life as it is today.
We can't expect to be used in either
ministry or martyrdom tomorrow.
God is looking at how we are handling
the drudgery the little details of life the
chores day in, day out.
And while he's watching he's evaluating can I
trust them with something more?
Can I trust them with the true riches?
And no matter what your calling or your
ministry is going to be you are going
to need to know how to pray.
It does not matter if God is calling
you to be a godly parent to be
an intercessor to be a pastor teacher evangelist
it is so important that as young people
you learn how to pray.
To learn to enjoy to pray.
To have the kind of relationship with God
where you naturally pray.
Where it doesn't have to be a discipline
where you spend an hour each morning.
That would be great if you have an
hour each morning.
But more than that that you would be
communing with God throughout the day.
That you would be in contact with him.
You would be telling him what's on your
heart.
He would have the freedom to speak to
you.
To give you revelation to give you guidance
to give you correction to direct your course.
No matter what your ministry is going to
be you can begin preparing today.
No matter how young you are you can
begin preparing for your future ministry by learning
to pray.
And again no matter what your ministry is
you are going to need to know the
Word of God.
I think it is so important while you're
young to develop a habit of not only
reading but studying the Word of God.
We need to keep our minds active and
sharp.
You don't want to put the pure Word
of God into a lazy sluggish mind.
I would suggest some of you young people
study a biblical language.
Study Greek or Hebrew so that you can
learn to read the Bible in its original
language.
That would be a tremendous blessing and it
would be a very good exercise for your
mind to keep it from getting lazy.
So many people finish their schooling go out
and begin a job and their mind just
kind of goes into hibernation.
I believe it's important that you young people
don't waste the best possession God has given
you in your body.
Keep the mind active sharp be memorizing Scripture
be studying the Bible in a regular systematic
way.
You should become familiar with the customs culture
practices of Bible times so that you can
read the Bible with clear understanding of the
context.
There's so much to be learned here.
The sooner you can develop a lifetime love
for this Word and a habit of studying
it the better off you're going to be.
So much of ministry has to do with
warfare.
You know we are in a war.
The devil is out to destroy us and
the only weapon God tells us that we're
given is the sword of the Spirit which
is the Word of God.
And if you don't know this Word of
God you're going to be very handicapped in
the war.
And God is not going to call a
soldier into battle who doesn't even know his
weapon or how to use it.
So I would encourage you to develop this
habit of studying loving the Word of God
filling yourself with it making it a part
of your mind heart your thoughts your attitudes
your reactions to things just let it be
filling you.
No matter what the future ministry is going
to be that will be valuable.
If you have an interest in foreign missions
if you believe some day God may call
you there even if you don't there's great
value in studying another language.
I mentioned a Greek and Hebrew.
If you want to study something that is
more likely to be of use in relating
to other people that's a very good exercise
too.
And there is no better time to do
it than when you're young.
Very young children can absorb languages effortlessly but
young people teenagers you can still learn them
much much more easily than older people can.
And there's tremendous value in that.
And even if God calls you to a
different place where you don't use the language
skills you have I'm living in Guyana where
the official language is English and I've invested
a lot of time and effort in learning
several other languages they're not being put to
use right now but I don't regret it
at all.
It's good discipline for the mind it still
opens up communication with several hundred million people
throughout the world that I would not be
able to communicate with otherwise.
So there's great value in that.
I would encourage you to consider doing that.
Another thing that I believe we could do
is to adopt a certain country for prayer.
And that does not mean that you're making
some kind of commitment or limiting yourself to
someday serving God only in that country.
Because God has a heart for the nations
of the world.
And we are so focused on only a
few of the ones that we know about.
Who is praying regularly for the spiritual needs
in Uzbekistan?
Who knows what the spiritual needs are in
Angola?
Who's praying specifically for Rwanda?
Who is spending regular time in prayer asking
God to crack the bamboo curtain in North
Korea?
Who is studying Korean so that when God
brings down the bamboo curtain we'll be ready
to move into North Korea with the gospel?
There are several generations of people have grown
up in there with no knowledge of the
gospel whatsoever.
Do not even realize that it exists.
Somebody should be preparing.
Somebody should be praying in faith for God
to tear down those walls.
And there should be an army preparing, studying
Korean, prepared for the day when God is
going to open that country and we can
move in there with the gospel.
There's no use sitting around with light business
as usual, Brother Ron.
No use going on with business as usual
and thinking someday in the future God is
just going to drop a ready-made ministry
into my lap and I'm going to be
a great foreign missionary.
It doesn't start that way.
It doesn't work that way.
It starts today.
I would encourage you to choose a country
and you could even rotate it every month
or every week or however often you want
to.
But it's so easy with today's communication to
actually keep up to date with the needs
and the events in a country.
I know many of you have access to
the internet.
I would say if you have something so
powerful and so potentially dangerous in your house,
at least put it to good use.
Don't just let it be a tool of
the devil.
Put it to good use.
Find that country's official website or a website
about that country.
Check on it every so often.
Find out what is happening and read it
through the perspective of discerning the spiritual needs
and being able to pray knowledgeably about that
country.
Learn what it means to carry a nation
on your heart and a people.
And again, I'm not saying that you will
then become focused only on that one place
and believe God has called you to a
very specific place.
Give God the freedom to lead you as
you go through life.
But I think that's only a reasonable service.
That's the very least that any one of
us could be doing for foreign missions.
Even those who never are called to leave
this country.
That is something you could be doing and
making a powerful difference.
I know it.
I know it is a fact.
I know of someone who felt led by
God to pray for a certain country a
devastating situation that was going on there of
warfare and bloodshed and killing.
And this person began to pray very specifically
and constantly about this need.
God was just burdening him for the need
of that country.
And within a very short time God turned
the circumstances completely around.
Against all human expectations God began to relieve
the suffering of those people and to stop
the bloodshed and the warfare.
God can do that through our prayers.
God can open the way for the gospel
where the way is closed now.
And any one of us can do that.
Here's a suggestion that you definitely need to
check with your parents.
But you can get a very cheap short
wave radio and once a week listen to
broadcasts from almost any country in the world.
They almost all have an English broadcast.
Some of you already may have access to
a little radio like that.
It's completely different than the AM and FM
that is full of commercials and music and
things.
Generally this is nothing more than a statement
of the events of the previous week.
And the government of each country sponsors that.
Now of course you have to be discerning.
I've heard a broadcast from the Islamic Republic
of Iran and you can't believe everything that
you hear on there.
But it certainly gives you a burden for
the spiritual condition of that country.
And if your parents would support that idea
or maybe it's something you could do with
them so that they could watch over it,
that would be a way for you to
understand what is happening around the world in
a country that you've begun to carry on
your heart.
Or even if you don't have access to
a shortwave or the internet or your parents
prefer that you don't use those methods, you
realize you can subscribe to newspapers from almost
any country.
You could get a weekly or a monthly
newspaper from almost any country around the world
and very likely you could find it in
English.
You might have to do some searching to
find out the name and how you can
get it but it is possible because there
are people from countries all around the world
who live in the U.S. who have
an interest in their home country.
They receive this weekly magazine or monthly just
to keep track of what's happening in their
home country.
You could use that as a tool for
the building of God's kingdom.
One way or another, be involved now.
Don't wait until God hands you something.
Begin learning about the needs of the nations
of the world and begin to carry them
on your heart.
Begin to learn how to intercede and to
pray.
Learn how to stand in the gap for
a nation.
I believe it could be a powerful exercise.
Maybe someday God would allow you the privilege
of visiting the country that you've cared about
for so long.
Maybe not.
It doesn't matter.
Your prayers could still literally change the history
of that country.
It is entirely possible.
God has done it before and he would
do it again.
One more thought in preparing for ministry.
We need to learn to find joy in
serving without being noticed, without being appreciated.
And where could you learn that better than
right in your home, with your family, your
brothers and sisters?
God wants us to learn to find genuine
satisfaction and joy in serving without even being
noticed or appreciated.
When we are appreciated, that's wonderful.
And let's be more appreciative to each other.
But if you are the one serving and
you're not being noticed, if you are able
to find genuine joy in that, you've passed
one of your courses in God's preparation for
mission, for ministry.
I believe that.
And again, in all of these areas, everything
we've talked about, the money, the marriage, the
ministry, there is nothing that is more important
than that you walk with God every day
and that you keep a clear relationship with
him, that you keep a conscience void of
offense because you know that allowing any sin
into your life dulls the voice of God.
Imagine all the damage that can be done
if you're walking without the benefit of God's
guiding voice and you're making all these decisions
in the flesh.
But if we keep our heart free and
our conscience clear and God has the freedom
to speak into our heart at any time
and we hear it, just imagine what God
might do with our life for his glory
and for his kingdom.
I'd like to finish, to close, by reading
a few verses from Colossians, chapter 1.
This is my desire for all of you
young people who have a desire to be
successful for God.
And I mean to glorify God.
You have a desire for God to be
glorified in your lives.
You want to learn to walk in the
Spirit, to put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
to not make provision for the flesh.
You want to learn to involve God in
all of the details and decisions of your
life, all of your purchases.
You want him to be working to perfect
you, to transform you into the image of
Christ, preparing you to become a wonderful spouse
or another wonderful person someday.
You want God to be teaching you, preparing
you for ministry.
And I know I haven't been able to
cover any one of these subjects even to
my satisfaction.
But I hope I at least gave you
enough inspiration that you will study them out
more carefully.
You will see what the Word of God
has to say about those things and that
you will walk with God and let him
take you further, teach you, let you grow.
There's a very, very long sentence here in
Colossians chapter 1.
Glorious sentence.
I'm not going to read all of it.
Just part of it.
Paul is saying he has just heard of
the Colossians love for Christ.
And he says, For this cause we also
since the day we heard it do not
cease to pray for you and to desire
that ye might be filled, filled up to
the top with the knowledge of his will
in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
I desire that for every one of you
young people.
Your desire to walk with God.
Your desire to glorify him.
I pray that God is going to fill
you with the knowledge of his will that
in the smallest details of your life before
you spend 25 cents for a pack of
gum that you will be filled with the
knowledge of God to the extent that God
could easily say not this time and you
would hear and respond promptly.
I desire for you to be filled with
his knowledge in that way.
Not to be put under a law.
I don't want you to think of me
the next time you spend a dollar and
feel guilty about it.
I want you to be walking with God
and be filled with the knowledge of his
will for you and his will for you
is not going to be precisely his will
for me.
That's part of the greatness of God that
he loves us each personally and he is
willing to step by step reveal his will
to us personally.
Isn't that an awesome thought?
God cares enough about me to give me
instruction on buying a car or something even
much less.
God cares about me.
So I desire that you will be filled
with all wisdom spiritual understanding and that you
might walk worthy of the Lord unto all
pleasing.
Being fruitful in every good work.
Every good work.
Every little good work that you will be
fruitful in that and increasing in the knowledge
of God.
Every day increasing in the knowledge of God.
That's my prayer not only for the young
people but for every one of us.
For myself that every day we would be
filled with the knowledge and wisdom of God.
We would be increasing in knowledge of him
and that every little decision we make and
every action we take pleases and glorifies the
Father.
May God bless you.
Did we hear from the Father's heart today?
We did.
Amen.
Thank you Brother Andrew for sharing with us
in that very practical way.
It's for us too.
It wasn't just for the young people Brother
Andrew.
It was for me too.
I know that every father in this room
it's your heart's desire for your young people
to get this.
Live it out in reality.
And I know that a lot of you
young people that's your heart's desire too.
And that's a joy to us.
So where you're at today you see some
needs you see some areas where you can
grow in go for it.
Amen.
Just like to open it up maybe there's
someone that would like to share a testimony
confession just mind the Lord.
Is there someone?
Raise your hand we can get a microphone
to you.
And if not that's okay too.
Amen.
Praise God for His word to us this
morning.
God bless you Brother Andrew for declaring all
the counsel of God.
I'm just thinking of the verse in Hebrews
that says seeing we're encompassed with such a
great cloud of witnesses and gives us instruction
how we must live our lives.
I think we heard another witness this morning
of what it's like to live a life
of faith.
And I feel like the message was for
me.
I'm still a young person.
I'm married and have a family and some
of those things but it's a beautiful message.
But the challenge comes to my heart.
As a young father I can only transmit
that which I have.
And by God's grace and mercy our children
may pass us up but I just had
to think of the words you shared Brother
Aaron about every father's heart is that.
But how many fathers of us are willing
to pay that price to live the way
Brother Andrew laid out so their children can
follow and be an example.
So that they can go there.
So they can live that way.
Yes the young people have a burden but
I believe we have a responsibility those of
us who have families to live that sacrificial
way and lift up an example so our
young people can follow.
Maybe it starts with our PDA or our
cell phone.
Maybe it starts with the car we drive.
Maybe that's what it takes sometimes for the
young people to get it.
I just want to examine my heart and
say God help me to be that kind
of example to my little ones looking on.
Amen Brother.
Thank you.
Someone else?
Up here in the front.
I want to say thank you Andrew for
sharing with us.
It's on your heart.
I greatly appreciate that.
I would agree that to those who have
the faith to walk that way it is
the most blessed way to live.
So just an encouragement to everyone here.
Yes it is possible and it is the
most blessed way to live.
Amen.
Thank you Brother.
A hand on the sister's side.
On the outside there.
Thank you.
I too appreciated the message this morning.
It really spoke to my heart.
The testimony that I have last night as
I was in bed waiting for sleep to
overtake me and just thinking about what God
had done for me this week.
What He brought me through and what He
taught me.
A testimony came forth out of my heart
and God spoke to me and said you
have something to share with your brothers and
sisters.
And I said no Lord I don't think
so.
I praised Him for the testimony but this
morning when I woke up that very same
thing was on my heart so I need
to share out of obedience.
This week I confess there were times when
I got to looking at the waters around
me.
I got to looking at the sea and
the waves were a little stormy and I
began to sink into discouragement and despair.
And I had to just cry out to
God Lord save me from this discouragement.
And I began to look on Jesus and
I felt Him pull me up out of
the waters.
And I began to walk on the waters
just as Peter did.
Did the circumstance change?
No.
The circumstance still stays the same.
But with my eyes on Jesus I can
walk on the waters.
Praise the Lord.
Amen.
That's a hand right there.
I would just like to say something before
the mic goes past the bench.
I thank God for the message this morning
and it echoes what is in my heart
to follow in obedience to His voice and
the little things that He shared and the
decisions that we make each day in responding
to our siblings and our choices.
But those do make a difference in the
peace that can flood our hearts over such
small things like that.
And also just I have a testimony in
my heart like when Andrew shared when he
was so close to God that he didn't
that his love was so satisfying that he
didn't know that love could even be needed.
And I just was thinking that the last
few weeks I've been able to walk in
that peace that just enjoying my Savior's love
and the satisfying just it satisfies my soul
much more than any other thing.
And it just I even thought those same
thoughts.
Oh God, if I could just walk like
this for the rest of my life I
wouldn't need any other relationship nothing else but
that just I know it can be done
and if we could just walk in that
that love can overflow our hearts to other
people around us.
I even found out that a lot of
those problems that I was having through the
week were just taken care of by simply
abiding in His love.
And they just spread out over my heart
and I just thank God for the message
I heard this morning.
Thank you for sharing.
I was just so thankful for the message
this morning.
I've always said to God Lord, I want
to minister for you.
Lord, I want to serve you.
I want to be there.
I want to just pour my life out
to you but it was always later.
It was always not now.
There's not much I can do now.
But I realized that there's so much that
I could do to practice now.
There's so much I could do to prepare
for then.
And I just want God to use me
in that way and open to Him.
Thank you.
Amen.
You know, now's the time.
I think maybe one of the subtle lies
that we give in to at times is
well, we have plenty of time to get
ready or what can I do and I'm
too young or I'm too old or whatever.
You know, all kinds of different thoughts but
now's the time.
And you're in the right place too.
So God bless you, my dear brothers and
sisters.
Is there another hand over here on the
brother's side?
Well, I had something on my heart to
share.
I was struggling with it some.
I really did appreciate our brother sharing this
morning.
Thank you so much.
I know that in my life there was
a time, you know, I wanted to do
the things that were spiritual and then God
brought me to that scripture that our brother
touched on in Luke chapter 16.
He that is faithful in that which is
least is faithful also in much.
And he that is unjust in the least
is unjust also in much.
If therefore you have not been faithful in
the unrighteous manner who will commit to your
trust the true riches?
And if you have not been faithful in
that which is another man's who shall give
you that which is your own?
And I remember God bringing that scripture so
clearly to me and I being so far
in the dish that I wanted to be
that spiritual person and not get wrapped up
in the things of this life.
And God using that scripture showed me that
when he wants someone that's spiritual he does
look for someone that's faithful in the material
things in life.
And I would testify of the goodness of
God that when we give ourselves to that
which God shows us in that way he
fills our lives so full we hardly know
where to turn at times.
God is so good.
Amen, brother.
Thank you for sharing, Luke.
Was there another hand right in that area
as well?
Yes.
Yeah, I was very blessed with the message
this morning too.
I was just thinking as Merle was talking
about the fathers too going before us and
I was just thinking we're looking up to
you fathers.
Be a leader for us.
We need some encouragement at times.
I was just thinking I really appreciate this.
You say, please you want your children to
pass you up but please don't take that
as an excuse.
Go for it anyway.
Amen.
Thank you, Elo.
Is there one over here?
Yes, thank you.
Go ahead.
Yeah, I was just really challenged by Andrew's
message.
I was just thinking about the way that
he spoke about financially and the dollars and
how the Lord just can lead us to
spend even a dollar or two dollars in
His will.
I thought about all the girls that are
starting up housekeeping and I just wanted to
give a testimony that it does work because
the Lord's been teaching me this in the
last couple of months and it does work.
Maybe some of you might think, well, Andrew
and Elizabeth live far away in Guyana and
they have to do that but I just
wanted to give testimony that it does work
here in the States too because the Lord
has been teaching me.
It's been exciting to live that way, to
go grocery shopping and there's so many selections
and so many brands and just to be
able to go and know that the Lord's
going to guide me that I get what
I need but yet not too much and
it's just been exciting and it's been a
blessing.
Praise God.
Thank you for sharing.
Well, may we meditate, reflect in these coming
days what God has given to us this
morning and not just be hearers but doers
of the Word of God.