Participants: Magda Rodriguez
Series Code: 10GYC
Program Code: 10GYC000006
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00:13 Hello, GYC welcome. It's wonderful
00:17 to see each one of you here today. 00:19 As you came in you noticed on your 00:20 chairs a little booklet CQ. 00:23 And I have Bonita Shields with me 00:25 today from the General Conference; 00:26 she's an editor with the Sabbath School 00:28 and Personal Ministries Department. 00:30 And Bonita, would you tell us 00:31 a little bit about what we're 00:32 holding in our hands? 00:33 Sure, CQ a short for Collegiate Quarterly 00:37 Bible study guide for young adults. 00:40 And young adults we define as ages 18 to 35. 00:44 Well, that's exactly the age range of most 00:46 of the people we have here today at GYC. 00:48 Perfect, perfect. Now, I understand that 00:50 CQ is not only a resource that is 00:54 available to youth and young adults 00:55 for their own personal Bible study 00:56 in preparation for Sabbath School, 00:59 but that it's also something that 01:01 we can get involved in and being 01:03 a part of. Tell us a little bit about that. 01:06 Sure, CQ has a couple of goals, 01:09 first is to create a resource for 01:12 Sabbath School and for small group 01:14 study because we believe as I know you 01:16 do that God's word has a transforming 01:18 power and also within community, 01:21 but also one of our goals is to get 01:23 young adults involved. And so, 01:25 right now more than 300 young 01:28 adults contribute to CQ each year. 01:31 And even the illustrations 01:34 are done by young adults. 01:35 So, not only is CQ a quarterly that 01:38 we can utilize in our own personal Bible 01:40 study throughout the weekend 01:41 preparation for Sabbath School, 01:42 but it is something that's actually written 01:45 and illustrated and produced by 01:47 young adults. Yes, you are correct. 01:49 Well, that's wonderful. And I imagine that 01:51 there are probably some of us here 01:53 today that, well I hope all of us 01:55 we love studying the Bible, 01:56 that's really why you're here at GYC, 01:58 isn't it? Because Bible study is important 02:01 and crucial and critical in your life. 02:03 Sabbath School is a wonderful time 02:04 as well as we join as a community as 02:06 you mentioned Bonita. And we grow together 02:08 as Christians, but you also have 02:10 an opportunity with CQ to contribute 02:13 to white part of the Bible study lesson 02:16 that is used throughout the world. 02:18 And Bonita share with us, 02:19 if someone is here today and they 02:22 would like to become part of helping 02:24 to create CQ, how would they do that? 02:27 What I would suggest you do is look at the 02:28 inside cover of your publication in front of 02:31 you and you'll see the editors email address, 02:34 the editors name is Linda Schimenti, 02:36 she is my colleague she was unable to be 02:38 here with you today, but you can email her 02:42 and talk with her about how you 02:44 can contribute, but also right after 02:47 this session I will be standing at the 02:50 registration booth right outside the doors 02:52 here with a handout to give you. 02:54 And I can even talk with you, 02:55 if you have questions or you're 02:57 interested in writing for us. 03:00 Did you get that? If you're interested 03:01 in contributing and writing for CQ, 03:03 you make sure you stop by the registration 03:05 booth right after our meeting today 03:07 and meet with Bonita. Bonita, thank you for 03:09 taking the time to join us, 03:10 and thank you for being part of 03:11 helping to foster a lifestyle of Bible study 03:16 around the world of Seventh-day Adventists. 03:18 Thank you for having me. 03:29 I would like to invite you to bow 03:30 your heads with me as we pray. 03:33 Our dear Father in Heaven, 03:35 thank you so much for leading us 03:36 each year from all around the world 03:39 and I ask that today as Magda speaks to us 03:42 that you would help us to be receptive 03:44 to the message you have for us and that 03:45 You would give her the wisdom that 03:47 she needs from you. And I ask these 03:49 things in the name of Jesus, amen. 03:57 The question for many young adults is, 03:58 is the work can be finished 03:59 in my generation? Is Jesus coming in 04:01 our generation? In this generation. 04:02 Coming in my generation. Is Jesus 04:04 coming in my generation? Are we ready? 04:07 Is my family ready? And my friends ready. 04:09 Am I ready? In Matthew 28 Jesus 04:12 commanded us to take the Gospel to 04:13 the whole world. But the population 04:15 of the world is growing faster than the 04:18 population of the Church. Is there hope? 04:20 Is there hope for us? There is hope. 04:23 The purpose of Advent Hope is to be a lay 04:25 driven service that trains young adults, 04:28 so that they are ready to go out 04:29 into the world. We believe that young 04:31 lay people with the help of their pastors, 04:33 Churches and the Holy Spirit can do anything. 04:36 Including taking the everlasting Gospel 04:39 to the entire world. In a 25 mile radius 04:42 there are 45 Churches. There are 45 Seventh-day 04:45 Adventist Churches with hundreds of youth. 04:48 The leaders of Advent Hope started 04:50 to dream big. The leadership 04:52 of Advent Hope started to think big. 04:54 We were wondering what can we do 04:55 in Central Florida? Where a lot of 04:56 young people can get connected. 04:58 How can we get all these youth to connect? 05:00 We wanna connect the young people, 05:03 to foster energy and synergy. 05:05 With God leading we came with the idea of 05:07 a Friday night service. Each Friday night we'll 05:09 come together and hear inspiring testimonies, 05:12 powerful sermons and be challenged to do 05:14 something that we've never done before. 05:16 Then on Sabbath they'll go back to 05:18 their Churches with this inspiration 05:19 and energy to build the Kingdom of God. 05:21 I want to finish the work. 05:23 I want to finish the work. 05:24 I want to finish the work. 05:25 I want to finish the work. 05:27 In this generation. In this generation. 05:29 In this generation. I want to finish 05:31 the work in this generation. 05:41 Well, good morning. I have with me here 05:43 Albert Marinez and Karla Salazar 05:45 from Advent Hope, Florida. And Albert 05:48 explain to me a little bit more what the 05:50 mission of Advent Hope, Florida is? Sure, 05:53 thanks Aaron. Really, you saw it in the 05:55 video the mission of Advent Hope is to 05:57 connect young people, connect people from all 06:00 over our local region in Central Florida, 06:02 giving them the opportunity to 06:04 collaborate with each other, 06:05 listen to powerful, the powerful messages 06:09 much like GYC. And then taking that 06:11 same Spirit and, and passion back 06:14 to their local Churches Sabbath morning. 06:16 Amen. Now, I also have with us 06:18 here the Karla Salazar and Karla, 06:20 explain a little bit how Advent Hope 06:22 Florida impacted you? 06:24 Well, my Advent Hope involved actually 06:26 began a little over year ago, 06:28 when a friend of mine asked me to be 06:30 a pianist for one of the evangelistic 06:32 meetings which was organized by 06:34 Advent Hope. Now, prior to going to 06:36 these meetings I was really, 06:38 I only knew a little bit about Advent Hope. 06:40 And I was comfortable, I was serving God, 06:42 I was comfortable serving Him within my 06:45 comfort zone, but I thought that it 06:47 was providential that I was at Advent Hope 06:49 because while there I saw the passion 06:52 of the participants and the leaders. 06:54 And they were so excite about helping 06:55 others prepare for eternity, 06:57 that I wanted to become a part of that 06:59 ministry. And so, I continue to attend 07:02 the Worship Services held my Advent Hope. 07:04 And a few months later Advent Hope 07:07 offer scholarships for young adults, 07:09 several young adults to attend GYC in 07:12 Louisville, Kentucky. And while I was there 07:15 I felt God calling me to use my 07:17 passion for music, and to just serve 07:20 him full time. And so, when I went back 07:23 to Orlando, I said a dedicatory 07:25 prayer song prayer, and I said, 07:27 Lord please give me an opportunity 07:30 to serve you more fully and please help me 07:33 to serve you not just within my comfort zone, 07:35 but to throw it all the way altogether. 07:38 And a few months later God granted 07:41 me that request, He answered 07:42 my prayer. And as of the 07:44 summer of this year I have been 07:45 serving Him as music director in Advent Hope. 07:48 And I've had to join the privilege I've seen 07:51 the lives of so many young people being 07:53 changed as a result of Advent Hope. 07:55 And I've also learned the importance 07:57 of anticipating and meeting the needs 08:00 in ministry even before it is expressed. 08:03 Amen, thank you for sharing Karla. 08:05 You're welcome. It's these kind of 08:06 experiences when you come here to GYC 08:10 to take that Spirit here and to go back, 08:11 get involved, start something up 08:13 like this group. So, Albert just 08:15 briefly explain, how can someone get 08:18 involved in Advent Hope Florida 08:20 or start something similar to like this? 08:22 Sure we, we love to invite you that 08:23 come visit us or at our booth, 08:25 we are a little bit right behind the GYC 08:29 booth to the right when you go into 08:31 the exhibit hall, come see us 08:32 we'd love to meet with you. 08:34 Alright, thank you. 08:45 Hello everybody, I have with me a few 08:47 people here from PEACE from England. 08:50 And tell us a little bit about PEACE Adam, 08:52 what is PEACE? PEACE centre of 08:54 evangelism is a school of evangelism 08:57 in England, it is the only school 09:00 in England and I believe the only one 09:02 in Western Europe, we started this year 09:04 we had 20 students, 20 graduates 09:06 and God has been really good to us. 09:07 That's amazing because we have; 09:09 we have several here in the United States 09:10 you know and, and you have the 09:12 same thing going on over there, 09:13 but you're the only one over there, 09:14 right? That's correct, yeah. 09:15 That's awesome. Now, 09:17 now who are these people? 09:18 These are two of the PEACE graduates 09:19 that we had this year's class. 09:20 Okay, and we have Lorraine and we 09:22 have Oby and, and they've graduated 09:24 from PEACE, they've gone through 09:25 the program and I'm sure the most of 09:27 you're familiar with a program like this, 09:28 but I want to ask you a little bit like what, 09:30 what is it Oby that drove you, 09:32 that that inspired you to go to PEACE 09:34 to attend PEACE. Well, the main reason 09:36 I went to PEACE is just basically for myself. 09:39 At the time I was a new Christian and have 09:42 very little knowledge about the scripture 09:44 and about the Bible, so I just went in 09:45 to gain a deeper understanding. 09:48 Excellent, and so when you went 09:49 to PEACE what was the experience 09:51 that you had there, what did you, 09:52 what happened at PEACE? Well, 09:53 there was lots of different classes, 09:55 classes on Righteous By Faith and 09:57 Church History, Personal Evangelism 10:00 all of that and what the main thing 10:02 that we listed out was the Outreach, 10:05 we had to do ten hours of week of Outreach. 10:07 And so, at first I was little bit scared 10:11 because I was just learning from myself, 10:13 and so to share that very little knowledge 10:15 that I had to do this was a bit 10:16 scary at first. Yeah, Outreach that's, 10:19 that's a little bit scary, isn't it? Now, 10:20 we're gonna have an opportunity 10:21 to do it here, but the thing 10:23 that I found is that there is always 10:25 these amazing stories that come from 10:27 experiences like this. You know, 10:28 you're going out, you're meeting people, 10:30 it's a little intimidating there is, 10:31 there is a little bit of uncertainty with it, 10:32 but every time I hear somebody goes out 10:36 and shares something amazing happens, 10:37 so as you're going through this program 10:39 you know you, you get to, 10:41 you get to experience and, 10:42 and have these testimonies of people, 10:44 do you have any testimonies you 10:45 want to share? Anybody that that 10:47 you to just stands out and you remember 10:48 that wow! This was an amazing experience to, 10:50 to meet this person and to see this happen. 10:52 Yeah, and I just share a short testimony, 10:54 me and my, my Outreach partner 10:56 was doing knocking on the street and 10:58 we came to the last house and, 11:00 and a man said, he was very talkative 11:02 and friendly. And then when he find 11:04 out we was Christian he invited us in. 11:06 And he had the Bible just open on his 11:09 table like as soon as we knocked his doors, 11:11 so he was just searching the 11:12 scriptures. And so, we arranged to do 11:15 Bible studies weekly. And it was just so 11:18 inspiring because we gave him the Great 11:20 Controversy and he read the whole book. 11:23 And that's inspiring to me because 11:24 I've never read it like cover-to-cover like 11:26 I read chapters so that was really inspiring 11:29 and he was always listening to sermons 11:31 on Amazing Facts website. And so, 11:34 we invite him out to the campaign and, 11:36 and he made the decision for Baptism. 11:39 And he was baptized on December the 18th. 11:41 Of this year December 18th of this year, 11:44 wow! So, that's only while like two 11:46 weeks ago. Wow! This is something that's 11:48 happening right now. Now, tell us a little bit 11:50 about you know Lorraine what, 11:52 what happens you know, this Baptism and, 11:54 and that experience what, could you share 11:56 a little bit with us about that? 11:57 Yeah, the Baptism day was just 12:00 a high Sabbath, it was fantastic. 12:02 You know, Heaven is rejoicing 12:04 over one soul that repents and 12:05 comes to Christ, but there's something 12:07 extra special about seeing somebody 12:09 that you studied with and be baptized, 12:12 someone that didn't know anything about 12:13 the remnant Church I mean this guy was a 12:15 member of the Christadelphian Church. 12:18 And he actually wrote a letter to request this, 12:21 this fellowship so that he can join the 12:22 Adventist Church, he also gave up 12:25 smoking and he was baptized, 12:26 and it's just seeing him in the pool 12:29 and then as he went on that is there's 12:31 nothing like that to see like your 12:33 spiritual baby just grow up in Christ 12:35 and get baptized. And also another 12:37 great thing on that day was when Adam 12:39 was doing the prayer for Baptism 12:41 another three of our Bible study contacts 12:44 came up to make the decision for 12:46 baptism, so it was really good. 12:48 So, Adam you know, just to let 12:49 everybody know a little bit more about 12:51 the program and what's going on, 12:52 tell us something briefly, 12:53 if you like to share? 12:54 Very quickly, I mean we next year 12:56 will be our second year, we running in mid this 12:58 July to mid November training program 13:01 in England. So, it's excellent 13:04 opportunity to learn evangelism 13:05 and a post-modern culture society 13:07 and put it into practice and 13:08 implementation there. Amen. And so, 13:11 if you're more interest to come by our booth, 13:12 is booth 101 and get some more 13:14 information if you would like to have some. 13:15 Amen, thank you guys. 13:24 I have with me here representatives 13:26 from SAYJ, SAYJ stands for 13:28 Self Asia Youth for Jesus. 13:30 And it's a grasp routes virtual movement 13:33 that seeks to mobilize people for 13:35 evangelism in South Asia. Now, 13:38 Diana why don't you tell me a little bit 13:39 about what SAYJ is, what it does, 13:42 how you got involved, you know how it's 13:43 impacted you, what, 13:44 what's going on with it? 13:46 Well, in December of 2007, 13:48 Philip and myself and a few other people 13:50 had the vision to start a youth led 13:52 ministry for the young people of South Asia. 13:55 This was after being inspired by GYC 13:58 and other sister organizations 14:00 and seeing the positive impact that it had 14:02 on the lives of young people here in the US. 14:06 So, SAYJ was founded to empower young 14:08 people to be more actively involved 14:10 within the mission of the Church, 14:11 but specifically within the South Asian 14:14 demographic. That being said, 14:17 our SAYJ group is very multi-cultural, 14:22 we come from all over, we're working 14:24 across the globe, across five different 14:26 time zones and we've been able to 14:28 create a ministry to revive and disciple 14:31 young people to be ambassadors 14:33 for the Kingdom of God and 14:34 to reach the unreached. 14:35 Amen, now for those who maybe a little 14:37 geographically challenged, 14:38 where is South Asia like what, 14:40 what countries does that include, 14:42 what kind of people 14:43 groups does that include? 14:44 So, that would be India, Pakistan, 14:46 Afghanistan that area around there. 14:50 I won't name all the countries. 14:51 Great, great thank you. So, 14:53 what has SAYJ have been doing 14:54 so far to accomplish some of the goals 14:56 that you've been talking about? 14:57 Well, we've been working with the 14:59 Southern Asia division and basically 15:02 we've had two major youth revival 15:06 and training events in India. 15:07 The first one was held in Bangalore 15:09 in December of 2009, and the second one 15:12 was actually held just last week and that 15:15 was just outside of Mumbai. In fact, 15:18 most of SAYJ leadership went to India to 15:20 host that event. Amen. So, we found 15:23 that you know, even though we're 15:24 in our Local Churches and active, 15:26 we've been able to used SAYJ as a platform 15:28 to reach the young people in India. 15:31 Praise the Lord, so Philip, 15:32 why don't you tell me a little bit about how 15:34 these young people have been impacted? 15:36 What, what are some testimonies 15:37 that you can share with us? 15:39 At SAYJ we received a lot of testimonies, 15:42 I will share with us the story, 15:44 the story of Kiran, Kiran comes from 15:45 a Hindu background, he has gone through 15:47 secular school systems, but he started going 15:50 to Church because of his mother and brother. 15:53 He was, he got baptized and he felt he was 15:56 like a nominal Adventist. In 2009, 15:58 he came to Ignite which was the first revival 16:01 meeting that we had and he came simply 16:03 out of curiosity and his friends that 16:05 were going. Later on he said, 16:08 I'm not gonna go back home the same 16:10 way I came. For example, like when 16:12 he went back home, he told his boss I, 16:14 I'm not going to work on Sabbaths anymore, 16:16 this kind of upset his boss. 16:18 And his boss said, I'm, I'm not going to 16:21 allow that to happen. So, he said, 16:23 well I'm going to take Sabbaths off any 16:25 ways and since then his boss has been 16:27 trying to find fault with him to fired him, 16:30 but that was not possible. 16:31 It is been almost a year now Kiran 16:33 has still had his job, he knows he can be 16:35 fired at any point in time, 16:37 but he still continues to work and knows 16:40 that God will provide if he loses His job. 16:42 Since then, Kiran is now actively involved 16:44 in his Local Church is coming into 16:46 Bible studies. In fact, he was vital and the 16:49 event that just happened last week 16:51 in Mumbai I serving as the 16:53 Vice-President for Arise. 16:55 Praise the Lord, that's awesome. 16:56 So, I think some people now maybe 16:58 buying into like. I want to get involved 17:00 with SAYJ, how can they do that? 17:01 What, what, what opportunities are there? 17:04 SAYJ, you have to understand is a very 17:06 multi-cultural group, not all of us on the 17:08 team are from South Asia or of 17:10 South Asian descent. So, if you think God 17:13 has called you to this ministry and 17:16 you would like to get involved, 17:17 you can email us at info@sayj.org. 17:23 And if you would like to come to South Asia 17:25 to one of our events or just get involved 17:28 in one of our projects, please visit our website 17:30 www.sayj.org. And if you would like more 17:35 information while you're here at GYC, 17:37 come visit Philip and I at 4:30 17:39 we'll be in room 327 and we'll look 17:42 forward to meeting you. 17:43 Great, thank you. The Gospel has to 17:45 go to all the world and that includes 17:46 South Asia. So, so much, thank you so 17:48 much for the work that you're doing. 17:51 The speaker that we're gonna be 17:52 hearing from this afternoon is Magda 17:54 Rodriguez; she is a member of the Board of 17:56 Directors for GYC. She also currently 17:59 serves as the Chair for the Business 18:00 Department at Ouachita Hills College. 18:03 Prior to that she works for several 18:05 different Fortune 500 companies, 18:07 and she's gonna share with us a little bit 18:09 of her testimony today about how she made 18:11 that transition from working in, 18:13 in the secular world to now being active in 18:17 ministry and training our young people 18:18 and how to be effective business people? 18:20 I know that each of us will be blessed hear 18:22 the way that God has led in her life. 18:24 Before we hear from Magda though 18:26 we will have a special music. 22:16 Good morning. You know, I'm so excited to be 22:20 here with you today. My husband and I always 22:24 are looking forward to this time of the 22:26 year when we come to GYC. 22:30 It is our sixth GYC and to be honest we are 22:34 inspired when we see you with your energy 22:37 and your desire to serve the Lord 22:40 and your commitment. It also help us to 22:42 step-up every single year in our 22:45 relationship with God. I need to share with 22:48 you this morning that five years ago 22:52 in Chattanooga, Tennessee where we 22:54 had our GYC in 2005. My life was completely 22:59 changed. And this morning I 23:02 hope that by me sharing this experience 23:04 with you that could impact your life too. 23:08 I would like to start this morning with a 23:10 word of prayer. Our heavenly Father, 23:16 I just want to thank you for everything 23:18 that you have done in my life. 23:21 And this morning I want to ask for Your 23:22 Holy Spirit to give me the words to 23:25 share the incredible things that you have 23:29 helped me to overcome, and the incredible 23:32 experience that you have been giving me 23:34 to me in my experience with You, 23:36 in Jesus name we pray, amen. You know, 23:41 when my husband and I accepted God as 23:45 our Savior and King of our lives that happened 23:49 two years after we got married. 23:52 We learned so many precious truth that 23:56 brought peace and happening, 23:57 happiness to our life. I had been raised 24:01 in a religious environment where many 24:04 ideas about God and about Christianity 24:08 very confusing to me. All of a sudden, 24:12 I receive that light from God and all the 24:15 dots in my mind got connected. 24:19 Finally, I was able to see God 24:22 as a loving friend. Finally, 24:25 my spiritual life became fulfilling 24:28 and meaningful. I was so excited 24:32 to share with everybody what God has 24:34 shown to me. Actually I started 24:37 and I bought boxes of the Great Controversy 24:40 and the Desire of Ages. I learned what 24:43 canvassing was all about and I went 24:45 door-to-door knocking on door just for 24:48 the opportunity of not selling the book 24:49 but actually seeing, that was interesting 24:52 for me, for people, for people to have 24:55 Bible studies. My husband and I 24:57 started having Bible studies every Saturday 25:00 afternoon with our neighbors, 25:02 it was an incredible experience. 25:04 I even remember one time when we were 25:08 doing some grocery shopping that you know, 25:11 that they put those magazines next 25:13 to the cashier and I saw that and I said, 25:16 you know, this is incredible 25:18 we have so many incredible magazine 25:21 with so much information that can 25:22 transform people's life. Why are not these, 25:25 those magazines here? And to make a long 25:28 story short five weeks later, 25:31 every single grocery store and every 25:33 pharmacy in Puerto Rico had all those 25:35 magazines in their cashier area. 25:39 God for whatever reason he used 25:41 my desire to share what He had shown to me, 25:45 but after a couple of years my husband 25:48 retired and we were free to do something 25:51 completely different. I always dreamed 25:54 to be a business woman, to working a 25:57 corporation, leading their strategy 25:59 or having some sort of business. 26:01 It was not clear in my mind where God 26:03 was leading me with this, but I knew one thing 26:07 I wanted to be a business woman. 26:09 I thought to myself why not to work in 26:12 a corporate world and share God with 26:15 other people there, but let me tell you my 26:19 desire to serve God was filled with 26:22 self-confidence and self-dependence 26:25 and even pride. I was completely 26:29 ignorant to the spiritual dangers that 26:32 I was going to face in the corporate world. 26:36 I needed God more than ever, 26:39 but I was ignorant to that fact. 26:42 When God grant us talents, 26:44 education and influence we feel 26:47 completely equipped to jump and 26:49 serve the Lord. We sometimes forget 26:52 the fundamental reality of our, 26:54 in our Christian walk that it is not by might, 26:58 not by power, but by my Spirit says 27:01 the Lord of hosts, Zachariah's 4:6. 27:05 But I will share with you that my experience 27:07 in the corporate world was incredible. 27:10 I never had trouble with my convictions, 27:13 every single person that I worked with 27:17 they knew that I kept the Sabbath; 27:20 they knew that I did not drink any alcohol; 27:23 they knew that I was vegetarian. 27:25 It was really not difficult for them 27:27 to asset me. After all there were 27:30 other peoples in the company that kept 27:32 the Sabbath too. Also there were 27:35 people that were against animal cruelty 27:38 that were vegetarian; there were many 27:41 people that I worked with that were family 27:44 oriented and health conscious. 27:46 Who did not drink any alcohol, 27:49 I blended really well within my, 27:51 within the corporate world. 27:54 I was prepared to face challenges 27:57 with my convictions, and I was ready to 27:59 stand for those, but to my surprise 28:03 I blended really well with my environment. 28:07 I lost the sense of mission of sharing 28:09 God in the workplace. I started to focus 28:13 on my professional development 28:14 and performance. My performance 28:17 in the business world brought me a lot of 28:20 recognitions and started to climb the 28:23 corporate ladder by giant steps. 28:26 Every year according to corporate strategy 28:29 the bar was raised to keep me challenged, 28:34 frequently I was recipient of awards 28:36 and hefty bonuses that made me feel 28:39 respected and wanted. Leadership encouraged 28:44 me by opening opportunities for me to 28:49 every year and half to work in different 28:52 functions within the organizations 28:54 like marketing, finance, 28:56 human resources, IT, legal. They wanted 29:01 me to be able to be a well rounded leader. 29:05 Every single time I was able not only to 29:08 learn very quickly, but to excel in my 29:11 performance. In the competitive 29:14 corporate world success gives measure in 29:17 terms of dollars that you're able to bring, 29:21 either in savings or in revenue, 1, 5, 10, 20, 29:27 50 million dollars and that was where I was. 29:32 I remember like today, many times late in 29:36 night being in a meetings room with 29:40 executives both organization presenting 29:44 resource and developing business 29:46 strategy. I realized how close 29:50 I was to these people with brilliants minds 29:54 and incredible talents that I learned to 29:56 respect yet unable to reach their heart. 30:01 I was overwhelmed by the sense of 30:03 unfaithfulness to my Lord. 30:06 And inability to get out of this 30:08 vicious cycle. There was a saying 30:13 in the office that they said, 30:15 once you get to certain level within the 30:17 organization you are trapped, 30:21 it is like being in a court not having time 30:24 to even think of how to get out of that 30:26 vicious cycle. The sense of emptiness 30:30 overwhelmed me, you have no idea. 30:34 There were moments when I knew that 30:36 God was calling me out of that life, 30:40 but I was not ready to make any decision. 30:44 Yet this step will require me to make 30:47 tough decisions that I was not ready to make. 30:51 Surrendering to God the dream of my life 30:55 to become a successful businesswoman 30:58 was something that I was avoiding. 31:01 I wanted to try so harder, so hard, 31:05 but it was impossible to serve two masters. 31:09 There is an other side to the corporate 31:12 world that people do not like to talk about, 31:16 it is the personal sacrifices required to 31:19 keep up with the hefty demands 31:21 from their job. Being in the office at 3, 31:24 4 O'clock in the morning to be able to 31:26 read and reply to so many emails before 31:30 the staff got in. Leaving my work at 9 31:33 or 10 O'clock at night, there were even 31:36 many crazy weeks when I will work three 31:39 and four days in a row with no sleeping, 31:42 poor eating habits, it really got me into 31:45 a place where my health was 31:46 impacted greatly. In one of those 31:51 experiences I end, ended in intensive 31:54 care where my life was at risk. 31:58 Then I was at risk of losing my voice, 32:03 I took a leave of absence, 32:04 I really needed time to think of what 32:06 was going on, to be able to put 32:09 everything together and they assigned 32:13 for me a, a professional that 32:15 could help me to get back into my feet. 32:20 He was a Christian help professional, 32:23 but the most amazing thing happened one 32:26 day I went to visit to see his office and as 32:30 I was talking to him, he told me they will 32:33 call me Maria , my name is Maria Magdalene. 32:37 And he said, Maria, are you sure this 32:40 is your calling? You know, 32:43 when I heard those words, I felt in someway hurt 32:48 and confused, but I never went back to him, 32:52 I was not ready to face that. 32:53 At that point in my life I felt that I was 32:57 hitting rock bottoms, the good thing of 33:01 hitting rock bottom is that there is no 33:03 other way but up. The simple question 33:08 that he asked me was the beginning of my 33:11 journey to understand God's will for my life. 33:15 And what it really means to work for God. 33:19 It was not easy I need to share this with you, 33:22 it was not easy to figure things out, 33:26 but God was on my side. Even when I didn't 33:30 even feel it sometimes. Gradually I started 33:34 making some adjustments and focus on 33:37 getting my health back. I even started running, 33:41 I started running even marathons, 33:43 I enjoyed that so much I found that that's 33:45 helped me to release my stress, 33:48 but one morning at 5 O'clock in the morning 33:52 when everything was dark in California, 33:55 it was cold, it was during the winter. 33:58 I remember running and I heard this 34:01 inner voice, I don't know how 34:02 to describe it, probably some of you 34:04 had that experience before that told me 34:07 surrender your talents to me. 34:12 My life was touched at that moment 34:14 by the sense of His presence. 34:17 With tears in my eyes, I remember stopping 34:22 and giving up. I gave everything 34:25 to him for the first time in my life, 34:28 the sense of freedom that I felt 34:31 was incredible. In our Christian work 34:36 it is one thing to know the truth 34:39 and share with others. The sense of 34:45 real life it was incredible it, 34:46 in our Christian work it is one thing to know 34:49 the truth and get excited about 34:51 sharing the good news with others, 34:53 after all with all the tragedies and 34:56 miseries in the world, it is a blessing to 34:59 share some good news, but it is a complete 35:03 different thing to surrender 35:07 completely to God. That involves a 35:09 battle with self, that is the great 35:13 controversy that each one of us need to 35:17 face sooner or later. At that point I 35:21 thought that surrendering every, 35:22 after surrendering everything to Him 35:25 I really believe that God, that I was gonna 35:27 lose my job, I was just at that 35:29 point I just went home, I don't know expecting a 35:32 miracle or something, I thought that God was 35:34 gonna do something so extraordinary 35:37 to take me out of where I was, 35:39 but you know that's not God operating 35:42 procedure. The reality was that 35:45 success continue calling my way. 35:49 That year I was selected as one of the 35:51 top 100 employees in a company of more than 35:54 30,000 employees, but things changed 35:58 somehow, at that point I was 36:01 more depending on God, I was stay, 36:04 able to set more boundaries in my 36:07 heart I was journeying, journeying to share 36:10 God with others, but I feel 36:12 completely unequipped and inadequate. 36:16 I didn't even know where to start, 36:19 I remember I started to pray for my 36:21 co-workers and the company leadership, 36:24 I thought that that was a good place 36:25 work to start. I felt a sense of responsibility 36:30 towards them, but unable to reach out to them. 36:34 At that point my husband and I decided 36:36 to get more involved with outreach 36:38 in the community, I started to mentor, 36:42 be a mentor for students at a public 36:44 school and we also started to 36:46 participate in some mission trips. 36:50 I remember going to a mission trip 36:52 with Maranatha to Peru. And when my boss 36:55 found on she immediately wanted to 36:58 go and get something for me. 37:00 So, she went to a store and bought 37:02 like a dollar, one of those lollypops 37:05 that cost a dollar, she bought 37:06 hundreds of them. And just gave it to me, 37:10 when I look at her, I thought it just 37:12 you know, no I think that 37:13 children's in Peru eat so much sugar, 37:15 but at the same time I just realized that 37:18 her heart was touched and that she 37:21 wanted to be part of that experience, 37:24 there is one thing that I have learned and I, 37:26 I will love to share this with you. 37:29 You know, sharing Christ 37:30 in the work environment sometimes 37:32 it's not easy, but I will share 37:35 with you what I have learned, 37:36 where the starting point is. 37:39 I will tell you one thing, there are four 37:42 critical things that you need to have. 37:45 Number one is excellence in your work, 37:49 as Christians we should not settle 37:51 for anything but excellence 37:53 in what we do. We also should just 37:56 make sure that our integrity is there, 37:59 is modest. You know, I was sharing in my 38:02 seminar the crises that we have in the 38:06 corporate world with integrity. 38:10 Did you know that an average 38:12 of $9 per week, the employee theft 38:15 and frauds average $9 per day per employee? 38:19 That is about $2000 per a, 38:22 per employee every year. Now, how that 38:25 does come about? You know, things 38:28 come in a way that you can never imagine, 38:31 you just mold things like fraud, 38:34 like tardiness, like job hopping, 38:38 having another employee punching, 38:40 punch in or out from that for them, 38:43 taking office applies for personal use, 38:47 unauthorized use of the Internet. 38:50 Using company e mails for personal use, 38:54 leaving work early, calling in sick to take 38:59 an authorized day off. You know what, 39:02 listen to this one, careless at work. 39:06 You know, there are many small things 39:08 that we do that impacts what we have to 39:11 say and share with them and I will tell 39:14 you one thing as I mention excellence, 39:18 integrity, service to others and you know, 39:21 what? Humbleness, leadership do not need 39:26 so much criticism, they need prayer. 39:29 And it doesn't work all in the Church, 39:31 it work in the, in the world also. 39:33 Those are soul that God is calling you 39:36 to reach out, but going back to 39:39 my experience with Maranatha, 39:42 that experience allowed to my husband 39:44 and I to learn more about a self-supportive, 39:46 self-supporting ministry. And all the work that 39:50 they are doing to share Christ, but when I, 39:55 we came from Peru I realized that I was 39:58 so excited about the work that we did 40:00 here and I came with the mindset that 40:03 coming back that I need to work harder, 40:05 I need to work harder because this ministry 40:08 they need financial support and that was 40:11 a great way to work for God. You know, 40:16 but God's plans were completely different. 40:19 The same year in 2005 my husband and I 40:23 were invited to come to GYC in Chattanooga, 40:26 Tennessee. We were not having 40:30 any idea what to expect. 40:33 The only thing that I knew it was that I 40:35 carry my cell phone and my computer. 40:39 And my plans were that I was going to 40:41 do work during the seminar sessions 40:45 and probably during the plenary I was 40:46 going to participate as part of them. 40:52 But I will tell you one thing it was 40:54 that morning during a plenary 40:56 session like now, like right now. 40:59 There were thousands of people in the 41:01 auditorium, but you know, when that speaker 41:06 said these words, God doesn't need 41:10 your money, He needs you. I felt that I was alone 41:15 in that auditorium, I heard the voice 41:18 of God loud and, and clear through 41:21 His servant, calling us to step up 41:24 higher in our relationship with Him. 41:28 I have a Godly friend that was always 41:32 mentioning about me being a teacher, 41:36 she speak even it can mention that 41:37 I could do a really good job in this place 41:40 called Ouachita Hills College. 41:43 I remember countless times asking her 41:46 how to spell Ouachita and I remember 41:49 countless time writing things down and I 41:52 remember countless time losing my 41:54 piece of paper, but guess what when 41:57 I received that call at GYC she was next to me. 42:01 And the first thing that she did 42:03 was asking me, why didn't you go to 42:05 Ouachita Hills Booth and stop by. 42:09 You know, my husband and I 42:10 at that point look at each other and we 42:12 said you know what? What is the problem, 42:14 lets just stand by and get to know 42:16 these people. We visited the 42:18 booth and we were so impressed by 42:20 the leadership, humbleness and 42:22 dedication to the school. We went back after 42:25 GYC and we started reading a lot more 42:28 about God's plan for education. 42:31 We were actually embarrassed by the 42:33 fact of how little we know about, 42:35 we knew about God's plan for education. 42:39 To make a long story short, 42:41 four weeks later after GYC my 42:43 husband and I decided to leave everything 42:45 behind and go on work at Ouachita Hills, 42:50 it was it has been a blessing since then, 42:53 but one thing that I want to share with 42:55 you this morning, it was not that that, 42:56 that was not the end of the story, 42:59 when I went back to my job one of the things 43:01 that my husband and I desire was that, 43:03 we did not wanna share with anybody 43:07 about the planning, plans of, of me leaving 43:09 the company because we said, 43:11 that we were gonna, I was gonna resign 43:13 at the beginning of April. You know, 43:16 two years ago if I mention that word 43:18 secretary bonus to you maybe you had 43:21 no idea what I was talking about, 43:23 but now you know, because in the 43:24 news there has been, you know, a hot topic. 43:27 Well, by the end of March my executive 43:30 bonus was due. And we said you know, 43:33 now I think the salary difference is 43:35 significant enough, so we better stay 43:38 quiet and make sure that I get my 43:40 bonus at the end of March. 43:42 And then in April I can resign. 43:46 I think that made perfect business 43:47 sense to me, but God had 43:50 a different plan to be honest. 43:53 I went back to my work trying to keep 43:56 things quiet you know I'm Hispanic 43:58 and you know what I mean. It just, you, 44:02 even if I don't open my mouth, 44:04 you can read it in my eyes you know. 44:07 They knew that something was going on. 44:10 In my job I'm really always passionate 44:13 about what I do, that passion 44:15 started kind of going down I could not 44:18 focus that well, I was so excited 44:20 about reading, I will leave on time to 44:22 make sure that I could go back and read 44:24 about my you know education and other 44:26 books that I just realized that I didn't 44:28 know anything about, but they called me 44:31 one morning and they said, you know Maria, 44:33 I want you to come, we wanna discuss 44:35 some plans that we have to consolidate 44:38 operations in St. Louis. And I, 44:42 it was just a nightmare for me just 44:44 listening to that voice mail. 44:47 I just wasn't sure what to do, 44:49 I decided not to call them back, 44:52 but you know they, they are pretty good, 44:53 they never give up or anything like that. 44:56 They really thought that I was interviewing 44:58 with the competition, so they were ready 45:01 after me and they call me and call me 45:04 until I said, you know I don't 45:05 know lose anything, let me just go and talk 45:07 to them and see what they have to say. 45:10 For somehow when we made a decision 45:12 we knew that Satan was gonna put something in 45:15 our way to try to make us change our mind. 45:18 And when I went and listened to them 45:21 they were just talking and I don't know 45:23 if you have been in meetings when you're 45:24 just not hearing, you just hear the, the, 45:28 you know, that's how I felt. 45:31 But, but it was in my mind it was 45:32 just God I was just, I didn't know what to do. 45:36 I felt that I wanted to share so much 45:38 about what I was gonna do, 45:40 and I went back I, I talk with my husband, 45:43 I pray about it. And we realized one 45:45 thing God was calling us to start 45:47 leading by faith. And, and we realized that 45:52 it was the right thing to do, 45:54 it was to share with them my decision. 45:58 I went back that day and I met with them, 46:01 I shared my decision of leaving 46:03 the organization, I need to be 46:05 completely honest, I didn't want to tell 46:07 them exactly the college and I didn't 46:10 want them to ask me how many students 46:12 'cause they could never understand that. 46:15 Every time that they will ask me I just 46:17 like smile and change the topic you know, 46:21 they had no idea, but the most precious 46:26 things happened after I share that with them. 46:29 You know, it was almost like every time 46:32 that I will talk to them it's just their 46:34 boundaries and their defenses will go down. 46:38 And I learned so many things about them, 46:40 tears in their eyes. So, how many times 46:43 they were actually thinking about doing 46:46 something like that and they were just 46:48 amazed that I had the courage to stop. 46:52 You know, I think the interview that 46:54 impacted me the most it was when the GC 46:57 or the General Council of the company came, 47:00 came from Germany, the first thing that 47:01 she did was you know, it was, she wanted 47:04 to talk to me. And I knew her pretty well, 47:07 a very strong woman and I knew what I meant 47:11 when she asked me to you know, 47:13 talk in a sofa, that's usually a good 47:16 way of trying to make sure that I'm gonna 47:18 get my way out of here. And, and when she came 47:23 she asked me this question looking 47:25 on my eyes, Maria, are you sure about 47:29 what you're doing? And I said, yeah I 47:32 think I'm sure. Then she look at again 47:34 on my eyes and she said, do you realize what it 47:38 means for your career to leave at this stage? 47:42 I realize what she was trying to tell me 47:44 and I appreciated her desire to help me. 47:48 And I look at her eyes and I said, you know, 47:52 I will tell you one thing, if the Lord that I 47:57 help or I learn to love so much is true 48:00 in the Bible. And if the stories 48:03 in the Bible that I read are truth and I'm 48:06 certain about that. The same way that he 48:10 took care of all those people, 48:11 all his people in the past he will 48:13 take care of me. I knew for sure that 48:16 I was not gonna live in the prestigious 48:18 places that I used to live. 48:21 I knew for sure that I was gonna be 48:23 driving the latest model, model cars, 48:26 but I told her my food and bed will be certain. 48:31 And I trust the Lord. You know, 48:34 I never planned to say those words to her, 48:37 but those words actually made an 48:40 impact in her life. And she said these words, 48:44 Maria, I will take my GCO hat off and I 48:49 will tell you one thing, if that opportunity 48:53 doesn't work for you, I'll find you one, 48:56 I'll find you one. I knew at that point 48:59 that her life was touched And you know, 49:04 those two months that I spend over 49:06 there working there were months, 49:08 those were months for witnessing that I had, 49:11 I never had the opportunity in the past 49:13 to do something like that. 49:15 It is against company policy, 49:17 was against company policy to share 49:20 or talk about religion or politics, 49:23 but those two last months what else 49:24 could they do to me. So you know, 49:28 I just had the opportunity to share, 49:30 but it was in such a nice way, 49:32 but this is the miracle that happened 49:34 at the end of March, I opened my envelop 49:37 and my bonus was intact, was not touched at all. 49:41 I knew at that point that God was taking 49:44 care of us and that faith it was something 49:47 that I needed to learn in my journey with 49:50 God to be honest I needed to all learn 49:53 and many things that I learn and I needed to 49:57 learn new things and what a perfect place 49:59 to have that experience then in a 50:01 college like that. I will tell you this 50:04 morning that God had transformed my life; 50:08 He turned my life upside down. 50:11 And I will tell you God's ways are far 50:14 better then men's way. In my life there is no 50:18 turning back. I am not sharing this 50:23 message with you, this morning to tell 50:27 you that you should not work in the corporate 50:29 world just the opposite. There are many people, 50:33 many professionals that God is 50:35 calling right now. I'm sharing this 50:38 message with you this morning because 50:40 I want you to understand that your 50:43 talents and your time belongs only to God. 50:49 And you should always ask for His 50:51 guidance on where does He want you to 50:53 serve Him. Remember, do not try to put 50:58 your own agenda, surrender and follow 51:02 God's agenda for your life. 51:06 God right now is working in the hearts 51:08 of many professional people and He is 51:12 waiting for you to share His message 51:15 with them. And only God knows where 51:19 those people are? So, you better just ask 51:22 Him where He wants you. If you have a burden 51:27 and desire to serve Him and are willing to 51:31 surrender your talents to Him. Remember, 51:36 we are witnesses for God in any field 51:39 of work that we are called to labor. 51:42 And I want to repeat this because this is 51:44 very important, we are witness for God 51:49 in any field of work that we are 51:53 called to labor. And I will 51:55 encourage you first, take a one-on-one 52:00 crash course of how to work for the Lord. 52:04 It is His job you are His disciple. 52:09 It is not your agenda, it is His agenda. 52:13 His role is to lead; lead, your 52:16 role is follow. There are many 52:19 promises for those that learn to wait 52:21 upon the Lord. Secondly, ensure that you're 52:27 communion with God is not interrupted 52:30 by anything; this is a fact, 52:34 there are many dangers for the Christian. 52:38 Satan is on guard constantly to try to 52:41 make you lose your dependance on God. 52:44 And God warned us about this. 52:47 And thirdly, do your own assessment 52:52 probably many of you are academically 52:55 fitted to serve the Lord, but you probably like 53:00 me are not prepared or have no idea how 53:04 to share your faith. There are so many 53:07 resources available, they were not that 53:10 many a few years ago, you can just also go 53:14 and go to the booth area. GYC has many resources, 53:18 they have other self-supporting 53:21 ministry, they have a one month, a weekend, 53:23 a three months and six months training program, 53:26 they have websites, they have books, 53:28 they have seminars you name it. 53:31 I like the passage from the Book of 53:33 Education page 271, 71. "With such an army 53:38 of workers as our youth, rightly trained, 53:43 how soon the message of the crucified, 53:46 risen, and soon-coming Savior might be 53:49 carried to the whole world." 53:52 Make it part of your agenda to be 53:55 evangelistically fitted to share your faith. 53:59 My prayer this morning to each and 54:02 everyone of you, surrender your 54:04 talents to God, make your life a life 54:10 of ministry 24/7. Sometimes we have this, 54:15 we have this mindset that we have 54:18 work and we have ministry. 54:20 Your life completely is a ministry, 54:24 make it a 24/7 ministry. And you will be amazed 54:28 of how God will use you to reach the souls 54:32 of those that He is already calling. 54:35 May God bless you this morning 54:37 and lets close with a word of prayer. 54:44 Our Father in Heaven, I just pause 54:48 to thank you, thank you for 54:51 what you are willing to do for us. 54:54 Thank you for leading not only my life, 54:56 but also for the willingness that you 54:59 have to lead each and everyone person 55:03 here in this auditorium this morning. 55:06 I wanna ask for Your Holy Spirit 55:08 to guide them. I just want to ask 55:11 Father that they can have the strength 55:14 to surrender, help them to 55:17 understand they need to serve You, 55:20 they need to follow You, they need to be 55:23 faithful workers for You Father and help 55:27 us to always be witness for You 55:30 everywhere that you called us to serve. 55:33 In Jesus name we pray, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17