Imparting Success To The Next Generation – Part 6 Lawson and Barbara Perdue

  Friends, I’m so glad that you’ve tuned in, that you’re with us today. I have my wife, Barbara, we’re teaching from her brand-new book, “Imparting Success to the Next Generation.” What we’re gonna bring out in this program is that our children are a spirit, soul, and body. And it’s not only spiritual things that matter, but emotional and physical things matter too. We’re gonna talk about helping them walk in a practical trade. Friends, it’s so good to have you here with us. I’m so happy to have my wife, Barbara, and we are talking this week, just continuing to talk about Barbara’s brand-new book, “Imparting Success to the Next Generation.” And Barbara, this is really a fantastic book. I’m thrilled with how it turned out. It took us a while to get this. You’ve actually taught this for over 10 years at Charis Bible College, Andrew Wommack here in Colorado Springs, and Woodland Park, Colorado. And I’m so glad. And we really talked about three things, and we just began to talk about the last one last week. But we talked first of all about, you know, that the Jews taught their children three things. Primarily, they taught them love the Word of God, love God, and love the Torah. What does that look like in a practical way?

 

  Well, we brought out, and it’s also in the book, it’s in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. So we read in Deuteronomy 6, but I believe it’s also in Mark, where it says, “Love the Lord God with all your heart, with all your mind, all your soul, all your strength.” And we’ve been bringing out, a lot of times people don’t realize we’re made up of three parts. And so our children are made up of three parts, you know, spirit, body, and soul. And so all three of those parts need to be nurtured. And so when you say, “What does it look like to say ‘I love the Word’?” Or, “I love God”? Again, that scripture just brings it out. If you’re gonna love him with all three parts of your very being, then you need to ask yourself, “How does that determine maybe the goals I set short term and long term? What kinda decisions am I going to make if I’m saying I’m putting God’s Word first?” And you know, what I get really excited about, and this is how we, what we talked about around the table with each other, even before we had children. And then while we’re raising a family, what it means to say, “I love God.” When we came together, we always talked about God and how nothing is impossible with him. We never talked about the lack. That is, I think, one of the biggest differences, as far as loving the the Lord, loving the Word of God. And it’s always seen that, with God, it’s unlimited what you can believe the promise is for. But you know, our culture or today’s society is always bringing out the lack. You know, how you’re in need, how you’re in need and it’s someone else’s fault. But God has designed us to live a victorious life when we allow him to be a part of our life.

 

  So we can be victors rather than victims. And this is really brought out in Deuteronomy 6, when we love God and put his Word first, then God’s gonna bring us into the promised land. He brought us out of Egypt, of bondage, to bring us into the promised land. And it talks about, in the end of that, and you brought this out last week in the teaching, when our children see these, you know, signposts, these memorials, that we’ve put up, we’re to tell them, “This is when God brought us out. This is what God did for us.” And when we teach our children that they’re victors rather than victims, because it’s not based on the world and the circumstances around you. It’s based on your personal relationship with God and what he promised you in his Word.

 

  Yes, that’s correct. So that’s in Deuteronomy 6:20. And again, we did bring that out in last week’s teaching. It says, “Next time your son asks you, ‘Why do we do all these things, these statutes and testimonies?'” then you are to testify all the things that God has done for you. Have you received Jesus Christ as your savior? You were in a life full of sin and bondage, now he has set you free. Just like in Deuteronomy, it’s talking about how… I love another translation says, “We just stood there and watched as God delivered miracles, wonders, and signs.” God is making his love for us evident, and a revelation. It’s just time for people to open up their eyes and receive that.

 

  And you know, when we praise God, when we glorify God, it’s like calling the angels. And that leads to more success and more victory. When we whine and complain, it’s like calling demons. And so we need to praise God. What’s another aspect? Not only did we talk about, you know, our relationship with God being primary and first and foremost, but we talked about loving our family. So how does loving your family look?

 

  So, when we talked about that, we read from Colossians 3:17-24. And when we’re talking about teaching our children to love their family, it’s really talking about teaching them that, how to have healthy relationships in the home, in the church, or our spiritual family, in the workplace, in our communities. Like, basically, how do we serve people? Over and over, a lot of this is repetitious. And it starts off in Colossians 3:17. It says, “In whatever you do, do it as unto the Lord.” And then it talks about wives submitting to their husbands, husbands loving your wives. Fathers, don’t provoke your children. Bondservants, don’t just let it be about eye servants. In other words, bondservants are in the workplace. And then it sandwiches all these relationships up and goes into, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, knowing that your reward,” or your inheritance, “is from the Lord.” So ultimately, when I serve our family, when I serve you, when I serve our children, when I serve in the body of Christ, I can do it as a brand-new day, and excited, and full of joy, because I know that I’m doing it ultimately as unto the Lord. I am serving in the home, serving in the workplace, or in our spiritual family, ’cause I know my reward is gonna come from him.

 

  Amen. And then we’re beginning to talk about, and we’ll just go ahead and get into this today, about a practical trade, and the value of a practical trade. And you brought out, just at the beginning of this broadcast, that we’re a spirit, soul, and body. And I think a lot of Christians make the mistake of thinking, you know, “I’m taking my child to church, I’m getting them in the Word.” That’s spiritual things and that’s all good, you know, we need that, you know, the world leaves that out. But we still need to have, you know, a good education, for instance. We need to have the ability to, if we want our children to be leaders in society. If we want them to be lawyers, and doctors, and engineers, and teachers, and if we want ’em to, you know, rise to the top in different areas, they have to have an education that equips them to do that. And so, you know, all three of our sons went to secular colleges, and we actually had ’em in public school, and we taught them the Word of God. We taught them the basic principles of the scripture. You know, we taught ’em basically some things on how to work, a good work ethic, so on and so forth. But they had to get a good education to equip them so that they could go and be able to succeed. And now, you know, our oldest son, Aaron, has come back and works in the ministry, and we’re very thankful for that. But he also has an online business, which, you know, he does very well. He makes a few thousand dollars a month at that, you know, with not a lot of time involved. He developed that business while he was getting his doctorate at Rice University in Houston. Our middle son, Andrew, went to Colorado School of Mines and got his undergrad and his master’s, and he now is part-owner of an engineering company and actually vice president, he actually manages a bunch of people, and, you know, oversees their engineering. So he’s doing a fantastic job and really prospering. And our youngest son, Peter, who just turned 33, is now the what Chief Operating Officer of Burger King of the Americas. And he’s done phenomenal. He went to Princeton University and, you know, we could see God directing their steps, even though they didn’t know quite what they were doing. You know, God would turn things, and he directed them by the Spirit into certain areas of education, and things that worked out for their good.

 

  That’s correct. And so I wanna get started here, as we come into teaching on what you just mentioned, practical trade. So we believe there’s three things that every parent should teach their children: love the Word, or as the Jewish community, Hebrew community, would say, the Torah. Love the Word of God and love God, teach them to love their family. And what we’re gonna be talking about today is a practical trade. And so this we turn to Proverbs 22:6, and it says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he’s old, he will not depart from it.” And as you mentioned, a lot of times Christians will put a lot of emphasis into nourishing spiritual things, but this is actually talking about practical things because when you study this scripture out. Another translation puts it up this way: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and in keeping with his individual gift or bent, and when he’s old, he will not depart from it.” I like, again, another translation says, “Point your kids in the right direction, when they’re old, they won’t be lost.” Think of how many people, regardless of what age, if they’re in their 50s, 60s or 90s, who really did never understand or discover who they were, what they create created to do. I believe that we are all born with God giving special anointings and talents. And let me just, and we’re gonna talk about understanding, discerning what your children’s gifts are, and nurturing those. But again, I always ask people, no matter what age there are, not everyone was raised in a Christian home. Because a lot of times when you’re really naturally gifted or strong in an area, you’re not even aware of it. You just assume everyone else is really good in that area. So you need to ask yourself what are you strong in or gifted in, your anointing in. And then you need to ask yourself what brings you joy because it’s just so easy to you. And then one more thing is, where do you see the need?

 

  Right. Along with that, you know, because I’ve seen some people that think they really have a gift, but nobody else would say they have a gift. And I think if you really have a gift in an area, other people are gonna recognize that, and they’re gonna be able to tell, you know, that. And you know, one of the saddest things is somebody that thinks they’re a singer and they really aren’t. And, you know, we had a gal came to church years and years ago, but they had some money and she actually made a CD of her singing, and it was terrible. And she actually gave that to a guest minister that was here, ministering. And he asked me, he said, “Is she serious?” I said, “Oh yeah,” he said, “I thought it was a joke.” And that’s really sad. So, you know, you need to have gifts and talents, you need to enjoy doing it, but also other people can recognize that and it should bring you joy. You know, when you like what you do, I love what I do in the ministry. There are difficulties that come with it. There are difficulties sometimes, in dealing with people, and so on and so forth. But when that’s God’s purpose and he’s put it in you, you can work around those difficulties and deal with those difficulties. And it’s not like it’s drudgery, going to work every day.

 

  So I’m gonna share a couple more examples because I’ve shared this with a wide group of people, whether it was Bible school students, or I’ve taught in women’s Bible stage for a long time. So this is women of all different ages with children of all different ages. And you know, there’s a lot of things that aren’t gonna hurt to put your children in any way. I am like, if your child is jumping on the couch and doing flips on the bed, you might wanna put ’em in gymnastics. Or say, if they’re taking the crayons and writing on the walls, you might wanna get ’em some art classes. But I’m gonna share a perfect example of our oldest son when we come back from a break.

 

  Okay, so we’re gonna take a few seconds, we’re gonna have a break. Stay tuned, we’re gonna be right back and we’re gonna continue to talk about this. And you don’t wanna miss what Barbara’s gonna talk about in seeing the gifts, and talents, and abilities in your children, and beginning to develop them at a young age so they can succeed in life. Not only spiritually, not only emotionally, but physically and financially. So we’ll be back right after this break. Thank you so much. Blessing. Hey everyone, I’ve just finished reading the final script for my wife, Barbara’s book on “Imparting Success to The Next Generation.” It’s a fantastic tried and proven thing that Barbara has proved in our lives on how we can teach our children to succeed. Andrew Wommack wrote the forward, you don’t wanna miss it, you’ll be blessed. Thanks so much. It doesn’t happen by osmosis. The will of God is not just automatic, it takes faith to believe God. And you know what? When you pray in the Holy Ghost, the Bible says that you build up your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. You just can’t put yourself in neutral and think you’re gonna go anywhere. Friends, I’m glad that you stayed with us, and I’m glad you’re here. And Barbara’s gonna go ahead and jump into this, on seeing the gifts and talents in your kids so that you can help them develop in the area of a practical trade.

 

  So we raised three sons, so we could actually share different examples for all of them, but I just was thinking of our oldest son when he was in elementary school. I believe it was around when he was in fourth grade, but the school that he went to had a band program. And when they’re in kindergarten, they give everybody a recorder to get him started in music. But it was when he was in fourth grade, he came home, all excited, with a brand-new flute that the band instructor was letting him use. And it was still all packaged up, never had been open. And our son began to mention how this band instructor noticed that Aaron had the right armature, or the way his lips were, was perfect for playing the flute. And as he was talking to us, I don’t know about you, but I remember thinking usually flutes are played by women. But later we found out that actually, in other countries, a lot of times professional flutists are, people who play flute, are men, because it takes a lot of strength in your lungs to be able to play. But anyway, as Aaron opened this flute up, which had never been taken outta the package, and this was one of the first weeks in band, he took this flute out and began to play “Amazing Grace” with no music, no notes. And in my lightning-fast mind, or I could say ours, we decided, “Our son has a gift.”

 

  Yeah, I mean, it was really easy to see. And actually he was in fourth grade, and by the end of the year he was playing. We lived in Kit Carson, in Karval, Colorado, Karval’s out here about 75 miles east and a little bit south of Colorado Springs. And Dr. Ken Singleton, who was the head of the music program at University of Northern Colorado, actually was there, directing the elementary honor band. And when we came there, as soon as we got there, he said, “Hey, your son is playing, I have kids in college that can’t play at this level.” And his wife was a professional flute teacher. So, from that point until Aaron was in eighth grade, throughout eighth grade, so fifth grade, sixth grade, seventh grade, and eighth grade, through that summer, we begin to take Aaron once a month to Greeley. And it was a big commitment ’cause it’s over a three-hour drive one way. And Aaron would have a two-hour lesson, and then we would go grocery shopping, get the things that we need, you know, and then we would take, sometimes we’d have the other boys with us, and we’d eat lunch, and then we would drive back to Kit Carson. So it was actually over a eight-hour day just driving up there, you know, Aaron having a two-hour flute lesson, and us doing our shopping, and then having lunch with the family, and then coming back. But we made that commitment. And then when Aaron got here in Colorado Springs, immediately, you know, he was in the youth symphony. He was first chair, I mean, he was, we put him in Shine Mountain, which had one of the top music programs in the state at that point in time. And Aaron was first chair in the high school band. And you know, he just began to be developed and at a new level. And then he was, had a professional flute teacher here. And later, you know, Aaron went to college with, actually, two of the three top flute professors in the world, he studied. And he got his, you know, his undergrad, his master’s, and his doctorate. And God really blessed him and opened the doors, and made provision for that. So, you know, actually he graduated from college with his doctorate where most people in that field have about $1,500,000 of debt. He had zero debt because God blessed him and helped him. You know, God gave him a business, and God just supernaturally provided for him.

 

  You know, the Bible says your gift will make rooms. And I know a lot of times we share that scripture in offerings, “Your gift will make room and bring you before great people.” But I know, while Aaron was studying at Rice University, he played in places where a former President’s wife was in attendance. He traveled to other countries playing his flute. And what I like even, you know, we’re talking about our children understanding their identity in Jesus Christ, while they also understand a practical trade and work ethic. But you know, all that time he was always telling people about the Lord. I know when he traveled with the flute trio to these other countries, he would hold Bible studies. He was always taking students to church with him. And so it’s neat to see that no matter who you are, what you’re doing, you can keep shining that light bright while you’re being nurtured in those gifts. And did you… I have one more scripture I wanted to share, but did you look like you have another thought with that?

 

  Well, I mean, we could see that in Aaron, but also in Andrew. And Aaron went to Carnegie Mellon University, studied with the person who used to be a first chair in the New York Philharmonic, and then later got his master’s and doctorate at Rice University, where his teacher used to be first chair at the Boston, you know, Orchestra. I can’t remember the exact name of that, but you know, he had this tremendous opportunity, traveled all over the world. He was in a young musician’s, the, actually, top young musicians orchestra in this country, and went to Santa Barbara, California, for three years, and he won competitions. As a freshman in college he was beating out doctorate students and won competitions at this young musician’s orchestra in Santa Barbara, California, where, I mean, it is top. They auditioned people from all over the world, and he had these great opportunities. He traveled to Brazil, to Central America, to Spain. He traveled, you know, really, all over the world. Played in Carnegie Hall. Actually, when he made the decision to come here and serve us, and help in pastoring, he was actually playing at the National Flute Convention. They had 14,000 people there. He was playing at the largest venue. He was handpicked to play there with four of the other… It was five of the top flute players in the world. He played on national public radio, and God blessed him. But it wasn’t only with that. Andrew, our son, became an engineer. He studied at Colorado School of Mines. He was the outstanding chemical engineering student both with his undergrad and his master’s. And then God supernaturally positioned him and, you know, God led him through desires, and he actually passed some big positions to take an hourly wage, you know, but that’s what he felt like God was leading him to do. And then God promoted him very quickly, and now Andrew’s, you know, really prosperous, and you know, God’s blessed him. And then Peter went to Princeton University, you know, thinking he was gonna be an engineer, studying it, hated engineering when he got there. Princeton, that’s not their forte. But in a little bit he moved over, after the first semester, into business finance. That’s one of the top things that Princeton does. And so God was directing him to go there supernaturally. You know, when he was a junior in high school, he heard from the Holy Spirit. And it’s so important, our kids’ relationship with God. And we need to know that, you know, God. You know, some people put down all this, but you know, your children can have a foundation in the Word of God. They can have a foundation in their relationship with God, and with their family. So when they go out into these secular education eras, they actually are evangelists. And Aaron would’ve have Bible studies in Santa Barbara, California, and take other students to church with him. And when he studied at Rice University, he took a lot of people. He said, “Daddy, half the young men that are in higher level education where I’m at are either experimenting sexually with homosexuality, or they’re practicing it.” But he would take them to church. He said, “Many of ’em have never heard of Jesus. They’ve never really heard the gospel. They really don’t know how much God loves them.” And you know, we were afraid, initially, we had some fear, when Aaron was young about, “Hey, if he goes into this field, we know there might be challenges.” And Bobby Jean Merck actually came to our church and Kit Carson years and years ago, and prophesied over him, and those prophecies that she prophesied over three of our children, we wrote things down from them, and we would actually mail them to them, the boys, on occasion. And it would help them and help direct them into what the Lord had for them.

 

  Yeah. I have another scripture I was really hoping to share in today’s-

 

  Go ahead.

 

  Program. ‘Cause it goes right along. And as we mentioned, we raised several children, and they all had different gifts. And you brought out our middle son, Andrew, was really gifted in math and science. So he really needed, it was really important for him to have those gifted classes. But there’s another scripture I really wanna make sure we get across today. And this is found in Psalm 127:4. And it says, “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.” And I like this, “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior.” You know, years ago, as you know, as they would take sticks and shape those into an arrow, and there’s no such thing as a straight stick, they would have gives or bends. So they’d have to take that stick and sharpen it. And the whole point was to make it fly as smooth, accurate, and efficiently as it could through the air. And I wanna ask a quick question. What is the purpose of an arrow? No matter what you’re using it for, recreational, or hunting, or whatever, but the purpose of an arrow is to hit the target.

 

  Yes.

 

  I am surprised how many families or people treat their own life like a bag of confetti. “Well, wherever my child lands, or wherever I land, it must be the will of God.” No. We treat ourselves and our family as an arrow. We wanna help our children hit their God-given target.

 

  Amen, we can prosper on purpose.

 

  Amen.

 

  Amen? We can do the will of God on purpose. We can find the purpose, the plan God for our life. And I believe that we as parents can, and you are very good at this. And you’re not only very good with our own children, you’ve been very good in counseling others and helping others in the church, different ones, but… Get their children going in the right direction. You know, we have an old saying that says, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” And I still believe that. And you know what? If we get our children directed in their relationship with God, in their relationship with their family, in their relationship, you know, with work, so on and so forth, our children can have a lifetime of success. And our children have all married young ladies, our three boys, who love God, who love Jesus. They’re good moms. You know, they’ve all got good educations, and they’re actually making a difference in this world. And so I believe God wants us to make a difference in this world. I believe God wants our children. And I don’t believe that we have to lose our children to the world. I don’t believe that we have to live in fear of all these things when we develop a good foundation. And Barbara, you’ve really laid this out well. And this is your very first book, “Imparting Success to the Next Generation.” And if you don’t have this book, I wanna encourage you, you can get it on Amazon, you can get it at charischristiancenter.com. Off our bookstore that actually redirects you to Amazon. But we had to do that for tax purposes, so on and so forth. So we fulfill all the laws, and God is so good. But I just wanna tell you how much God loves you today. And if you need prayer, I want you to call in today. We have prayer ministers, they’ll pray for you, they’ll pray for your family, they’ll minister to you. And I wanna say a huge thank you to our partners. It’s our partners that actually help us make this show available. Make all these teachings available online, downloadable, videos and audios, free of charge, that you can get on our website. And so thank you for our partners. And if you wanna become partner, if you need prayer, please give us a call today. Thank you so much, and blessings.

 

  It is important to keep God first, family second, and our ministry third. In a busy world it is essential that we understand and act upon these priorities. Raising kids to love the Word, value family, and live with purpose, will bring them great success. Get your copy of Barbara’s new book, “Imparting Success to the Next Generation,” for 15.99. Go to charischristiancenter.com and order yours today.

 

  Friends, the scripture says, “If you will continue in the Word of God, you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” If you go to our website at charischristiancenter.com, you can get all of our materials there on the website as you watch ’em, as you listen, absolutely free of charge. And we’ve done that just to be a blessing to you. And I believe that the Word that has freed me will free you. Blessings.

 

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