Shindig Messages....Continued

"Marriage Responsibility"   -Nathan Pearl

-Your responsibility is not just to your spouse, it is a responsibility to God.
- You won't stand before God and give an account for your spouse's conduct, you will give an  account for your words, your thoughts, your deeds and how you carried that responsibility.
- A wife's unwillingness to submit to and reverence her husband is really an unwillingness to submit to and reverence God. (Ephesians 5)
- We act in accordance to the Word of God because it is the Word of God.
- A wife's submission is an act of pure worship. It brings a crown of honor to God. James 4:6
- Humility is when you come to God and say, "God, you are right and I am wrong." It requires faith. It requires understanding that God is more important.
-1 Peter 5:6
- We don't get to pick the time when God will exalt us, but it will come.
- These thoughts completely alter the way we look at marriage. It is not a formula. It is saying, "This is my job and I am going to do it before God."
- Does God deserve your respect, honor and submission?
- Christ extended forgiveness and love to those who crucified Him. This is God's challenge to us- extending His love no matter what.
- We don't get a list- we get concepts, "husbands love your wives," "wives, honor your husbands."
   Matt. 22:36
-The #1 commandment in marriage is LOVE.
-Let's get past the "I don'ts" in marriage. "I don't run around on my husband!" "I'm not unfaithful to my wife!" "I don't throw things at him!" "I don't beat her!"
-Let's start keeping the "I Do's" of marriage; you know, the commitments that were made on the wedding day?
- An "I Do" list to get the thoughts flowing : )
       - patience 2 Tim. 2:21
       - gentle
       - it takes time
       - leadership ( for husbands, Gen. 3:6, Job 2:9)
       -joy (this is #1 for the wives) -the best barometer for the house is the wive's forehead! Have
        some joy! -Ten minutes of joy will change the next 5 Hours!
       - thankfulness. There is nothing more marked in a home than the spirit of thankfulness.     Thankfulness is a sacrifice to God, it is why we were created. John 2:9, Heb. 13:15
       -peace. Peace does not just happen, it is established by words, easy to be intreated, no         bitterness.
       -hopeful. -Looking forward to something with expect. 1 Cor. 13:14. Build hope or you will   build anxiety and fear. Having hope gives you the ability to minister to those who have no hope.
- Your responsibility in marriage is not just to your spouse, it is a responsibility that you committed to before God. It is meant for life. It is an expression of worship. It is not about you, it is about loving service to God!
- If you want to be used of God in a mighty way, if you want to bless others, then understand this in your marriage and commit to this responsibility before God!

                     

"Serving God in Your Youth" 

                                    

-Panel discussion given by Nathan Pearl, Shalom Brand, Debi Pearl,  and Joshua   Steele

-Unless God does something drastic in your life, if you aren't interested in the things of God today you won't be interested in serving Him later! (How's that for an opening comment? :)

- You start serving God when you are young, where you are at and to who you are around.
-God has given you an opportunity to serve him by obeying your parents (and other authority figures that He has placed in your life).
The story of David was discussed and used as an example of a young person who was faithful in the little things and therefore received much greater things later in life. He cared for the sheep, protected them, fought for them. He quickly obeyed his father in going down to the battle carrying cheese for his brothers. He didn't know that God would use him that day to accomplish a great victory for God! He was just doing as he had been told to do.
-After David had killed the lion and bear he could have hit the road talking about how to overcome the lions in your life, but he didn't. He stayed and did his job.
- After slaying Goliath he could have hit the road talking about how to overcome the giants in your life, but he didn't. He returned to do the job that he had been given. He was faithful to do that which he knew needed to be done, waiting on God to give him more responsibility as a result of his daily obedience and walk with God.
- There was something in David bigger than himself!
-Until God calls you to do something specific do what you know to do.
-Some examples from those giving this discussion: Joshua Steele says that from the time he was fourteen he wanted to be serving God. God convicted him of submission to his parents and having a clear conscience; he addressed those issue in his life. He passed out gospel tracts and Bibles, knocked on doors with his friends, and went on mission trips. He determined that nothing would hinder him from serving God completely, to the point that late one night he carried the video game he was addicted to out to the garage and broke it into little pieces with a hammer to show God that he meant what he said! Shalom (Pearl) Brand shared about how she served her family, helped her Dad with the ministries they were involved in, served other busy mothers, and passed out tracts with her siblings. Nathan Pearl recounted some of the adventures he and his sister had while working in a mountainous village of Papua New Guinea translating the Bible into a never-before recorded language. Before that he did much the same as every other person, being faithful in the things that seem little.
- Debi Pearl shared about how hard it was as a mother to let her children go out and pursue the vision that God had given them. She said that alot of parents raise their children to be 15, 16 years old and then they want to close the door and keep their children close and safe. The children then never have the chance to make a difference in the world for the glory of Christ. Parents, don't shut the door when God calls your young person!
-God likes pathetic things. He's not concerned with quality, He's concerned with the heart of the person behind the pathetic, little thing. He wants to see a heart that desires to serve Him and honor Him in what they have  been given to do. That is a person that God will take not of (as he did with David) and can use for great things in the future!
-If you are unwilling to follow God in the little things then you won't be ready for the big things!

Today, there are still lions and giants that need to be slain, battles that need to be fought, victory that needs to be proclaimed, great tasks that need to be accomplished for the glory of God. But if you and I will have any part of this we must begin today.......serving God in our youth, doing what we know to do.  The Lord is still looking for those that he can use, those who are committed to following Him no matter what, those who are not willing to let anything get between them and God, those who carry His message of saving grace, those who seek to honor and please him in every aspect of their life. Will you be that one?