GYC Africa 2024 Conference: ONE

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GYC Africa

Relationships – Ambassadors

Debora Njiru

Justice Njiru

Preparing to Be One

Alright, now once you've done that, now I want you to discuss this question that is on your screen.

What are the attributes you would want for your future husband or wife to have?

Now you've broken the ice, you know the person sitting next to you.

So you can make sure you have somebody you'll discuss with.

If you're sitting at a sub-conference, what are some of the attributes you would want your future husband, and I'm supposing that the people who are here are not married, but even if you are married just discuss what attributes you want them to have just discuss that quickly because it will be very instrumental in the presentation we are about to make I like the fact that there are discussions.

Now, we would have given us more time to have these discussions, but in the interest of time, I want us to move quickly into the objectives for the seminar today.

You remember, when you were doing the introduction, you said today we will be looking at preparing to be the 1 and then tomorrow, preparing to be 1.

So what are some of the objectives that we are going to cover for this seminar?

So appreciating the role of Jesus in character formation while anticipating courtship and marriage.

We hope to learn the importance of preparation before courtship and knowing the characteristics to look for in a good husband, a good wife, and also accepting Jesus to want us to be good wives and husbands.

Yes, so those are some of the objectives.

At the end of this session, that is our prayer.

So with that in mind we can get into today's presentation.

Everything has a beginning and it would be nice to take us back to creation when God created everything in this world.

There are 2 things that God gave man when they left Eden.

And these 2 institutions, 1 was the Sabbath, 2 was marriage.

And the Sabbath was to remind us about the, to remind us that we are, we are God's by creation and by redemption, while marriage was meant to be a platform for exercising, self-sacrificing love.

And these 2 truths are to prepare us for heaven.

And so, even as we learn this, then it's important to also understand that the devil is not happy, and that's why he will try to fight.

If it's Sabbath, he will bring a counterfeit.

He will try to fight us not to keep the Sabbath holy because he knows that this is something to prepare us for heaven.

If it's marriage, he will try to bring confusion.

And that's why right from the beginning, because we have to get it right from courtship, because courtship, that's where we practice for marriage.

And so we have to really be aware that the devil is not really happy, and that's where we will have many, we will have confusion, but if we allow God to be the foundation, even in our courtship, then we are assured to have foundations, strong foundations when it comes to marriage.

Yeah, and it is no wonder that Satan has waged great war against this 2 institutions, that is the Sabbath and marriage.

You see, the Sabbath reminds us of our origins and it is going to be the final test that all of us are going to be subjected to.

It's going to be the final test of loyalty to God or to Satan.

And The Sabbath reminds us that we are God's by creation and by redemption, while on the other hand, marriage gives us the platform for exercising the love that God has given us towards men.

Now you remember the 10 commandments are about you loving God?

And then the last 6, yesterday we said there shouldn't be a clear line, but you remember the first 4 are about your relationship with God.

And then the last 6 are about your relationship with human beings and what is that laboratory that we have been given by God to be able to exercise this love that God has given us the family is a setting In fact the Bible says you cannot tell me that you love God when you hate the brother that is next to you.

Those 2 institutions from Eden, that is marriage and the Sabbath, are meant to give us practical platforms to exercise the love back to God and man.

So the Sabbath and marriage are about their in essence sanctification tools.

And so Satan knows that clearly and ever since the beginning he's been waging a great war in fact you discover that when Satan has been trying to bring God's people down and they've been very loyal to God what he normally does he picks on the seventh commandments if you read your Bible you remember the story in Numbers 24 Balaam has tried to curse God's people but it hasn't worked so in 25 what does he do they introduced the Moabites and they come and the children of Israelites the Israelites commit adultery and by that reason there are many people who died and many people went to worship false gods so Friends what we are saying is this the things that we are discussing here today are matters of eternity You know you can ask yourself does it really matter the choice of a spouse?

Does it really matter the choice of a husband and what we are saying is this yes because Satan knows very well in fact Helen White was shown a vision in the last days and Satan is having a discussion with his demons.

And he says, before going to the extreme measures of passing the Sunday laws and making sure God's people will suffer persecution, we are going to attack this sect of Sabbath keepers by doing 1 thing, by making sure that they don't get the issue of marriage and the second commandment properly.

This is testimonies to ministers and gospel workers.

But before proceeding to these extreme measures, we must ensnare those who honor the true Sabbath and we can separate many from Christ by worldliness, lust, and pride.

Listen to this, they may think themselves safe because they believe the truth, but indulgence of appetite or the lower passions, which will confuse judgment and destroy discrimination, will cause their downfall.

So in essence, do you know that when you violate the seventh commandment, that's the only commandment that you sin, not only against other people, but also against your own body.

And that is why right now there's a whole pandemic of things like pornography even within the church.

Satan's end goal is not pornography in and of itself.

It's to ensure that number 1 we do not have a solid foundation for establishing long-lasting marriages and by doing that then we are not able to exercise the love that God wants us to exercise towards 1 another self-sacrificing love which will ensure that we are ready for the crisis that is coming so friends we thought of starting this presentation with a background as to why this subject is very important in these last days in fact before we go to the story of the day, Jesus had something to say about marriages in these last days.

You remember when the disciples were asking, what will be the sign of the end?

The first 1 was focusing on the destruction of Jerusalem, and the second 1 was focusing on the signs of the times.

Very quickly, we could look at Matthew 24 verses 36 to 39.

For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also with the coming of the Son of Man.

There's a reason why in this verse, they're likening this marriage to the time before the flood.

And very quickly, we could go to Genesis.

Now it came to pass where men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.

So very interesting, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and they took wives for themselves.

And this is why these marriages ended in a period and we are being warned that in these past days it shall be the same as it was.

If they would have gotten wives who are daughters of God, the end would have been different, but they took daughters of men.

Another thing, the verse 2 ends by saying that they took wives for themselves, meaning they did not allow God to choose wives for them.

And that's 1 of the periods we are facing even in this time that Justice Nomadi likes to use this example.

You look at, let me use a gentleman looking at a lady.

So a gentleman looks at a lady, and since that, they are attractive, and then they tell God, that beautiful 1, I want you to bless that lady.

Instead of going to God and praying that God will choose someone for you.

So we need to be very careful not to end up in the same mistake that the sons of God did before the flight.

Yeah, and Ellen White puts it in the book Adventist Home.

She says, marriage is something that affects your life, both in this world and in the world to come.

That is Adventist Home, page 43, paragraph 3.

So it's very important for us to thoroughly prepare ourselves in this regard.

Yes, so now it is time to mark the assignments.

We were having discussions as to the qualities you would want in a husband or a wife.

I don't want to volunteer someone because my eyes are all over and I can volunteer anyone but I want us to volunteer anyone who wants to come and give the attributes that they've been told All right.

Okay, should I mention at the name of a country?

Yes, thank you, we've gotten a lady, thank you.

So what are some of the attributes that you, you can tell us your name, where you come from, and then tell us the attributes that you've been told.

Number 1 is a godly woman, number 2 a strong woman but feminine.

By strong he meant someone who can hold his own, her own story, she's strict and she's able to be feminine at the same time.

Right, I'm not sure what you least heard.

Processing the ONE

So therefore, we are able to have the seminar today.

And we praise God that he's given us a chance to be alive.

I'm sure there's been some confusion, because yesterday we were there and then we've been moved here.

So there are people who are still finding their way.

But in the interest of time, I want us to begin so that by the time they come, we are already into the topic, and they'll catch up as we move on.

So I will say a prayer, and then we begin.

Our loving Father, we thank you for the privilege of being your students.

Lord, we are here so that you can teach us.

So we pray that may you send the Holy Spirit, who is our teacher, to teach us important truths for this time and truths that will impact us for eternity.

So my name is Justice Njiru Nyaga, and she is?

So we are a family, This is everyone in our family.

And yesterday, I told you that the name justice means you getting what you deserve.

Mercy means you not getting what you deserve.

Grace means you getting what you do not deserve.

So which 1 is better between justice, mercy, and grace?

All are good because Jesus and God at the cross was able to balance the 3 of them.

So justice, and mercy, and grace, all kissed at the cross.

So God is able to balance that which appears to be impossible.

Today, we are going to be doing some mathematics.

I need to tell you something about the name.

Njeru, because that's our family name, means buffalo.

In our culture, we name people according to animals.

So because I did not make it to the gala yesterday to make any presentation, I observed from a distance and then went to sleep.

So the name Njeru, I just want to tell you something about our culture.

So I'm an ostrich, which is a buffalo that gives you what you deserve.

So names are powerful, and names are good.

And then the name Gile means mountain goat.

All people in our family are named after animals, somehow, Whether it's in English or in a cultural name, I mean God is able to balance some equations that appear to be impossible.

Now both of my parents are teachers, so when they transferred me to a classroom Now I felt like I am able to swim faster.

Now, once we've done the introduction, I want you to turn to the person next to you because I can see their new faces.

Look at the person next to you and tell them that God loves you dearly.

So make sure it comes with a broad smile.

Now turn to that person, Ask them what their name is and what the name means.

It could be that you discussed that yesterday.

But because it's a place of different cultures.

Ask them what their name is and what their name means.

Yeah, if your name has no meaning, don't mind.

I mean, it's Still, you can give it a meaning by living a righteous life.

All right, people are familiar with each other.

We begin with a question, and I told you we are doing math.

I promised you it's a mathematical class.

In fact, the title told you that it's it has something to do with math.

Question number 1, what is 1 plus 1 plus 1?

And give your biblical support for your answer.

And you'll give us your answer to that, all right?

When it comes to forming a relationship between the man and the lady, who should make the first move?

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Series

Relationships – Ambassadors

Preparing to Be One

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Parts

Preparing to Be One

1h 6m

Processing the ONE

1h 25m

Sound Doctrine