Good morning. Good morning.
00:00:19.53\00:00:20.80
Please bow your
heads with me as we pray.
00:00:20.80\00:00:24.60
Loving Lord of heaven and earth,
00:00:24.60\00:00:27.33
what momentous times
we find ourselves in.
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Keep us mindful of the times,
00:00:30.83\00:00:34.33
what a duty is
ours to carry the gospel
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to the whole
world, what a privilege
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to be co-workers with angels.
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Give us faith to
see the invisible,
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and with the angels
to do the impossible.
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What a future lies before us,
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You Yourself will
return to this little world,
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where You gained
the victory over sin,
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and proved without question,
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the righteousness, and holiness,
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and perfection of your
law, which is Your character.
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Lord, grant us
repentance and a deep
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love for You,
restore Your image in us
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as it was in the beginning.
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May Jesus be
praised; may He be the focus
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of our meeting this morning.
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Amen. Amen.
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Good morning. Good morning.
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You know, one of
the passions for like
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mission minded people
is that they're constantly
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coming up with ideas
and tools how to make
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sharing Christ in
the market place easier.
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This morning I
have three individuals
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that would share
with us their dreams,
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their products,
their ideas, their tools.
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The first one to
speak will be Will Evert,
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followed by Will
Evert is, is that right?
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Young Disciples Ministries, yep.
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And then Darryl Thompson,
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the assistant director
of the White Estate at GC
00:02:03.06\00:02:06.16
will talk to us
about the DVD containing
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the writings of Mrs. White.
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And Volker Schmidt
will talk about a special
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product that he
has come up with.
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Now I want you
to listen carefully,
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because we have, you
noticed I have an accent,
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but these three
gentlemen have accents also.
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One of them is
from South Africa,
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the other one is from Australia,
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and the third one
is from, well, Germany.
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So let's listen to
the South African accent.
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Research has shown
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that children
5-13 are five times
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more likely to make a
lifetime decision for Christ.
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Young Disciple Ministries,
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Truth for Youth
Evangelism Program
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has proven highly
effective for children.
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And that is why the
West Central Africa Division
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has made a
commitment to reach every child
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in each of the
countries in their division,
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using the Truth for
Youth Evangelism Program.
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And you have
received many version
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of that program in
your registration packet,
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included our four
programs complete with sermons,
00:03:21.30\00:03:25.46
activities, crafts, and songs.
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Use this program,
take it home with you,
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use it in your
family, use it in your church,
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use it on your mission trip.
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And especially use
it in your neighborhood.
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If the West
Central Africa Division can
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reach every child
in their division,
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surely we can do the same.
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If you want ideas on
how to use the program
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or if you did not receive
one in your registration packet,
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please come by booth number 317,
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Young Disciple Ministries booth.
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Five million children
in Africa is exciting,
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but let's not avoid
reaching the children
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in our
neighborhoods as well. Amen.
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In your
registration packet, you all,
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all delegates,
we'll hand it out,
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one of this
Ellen G. White Writings
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CD-ROM in there is all
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the
comprehensive research edition,
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both in PC and
in MAC on this DVD.
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If you did not get one,
you can come by our booth,
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booth 402 in the exhibition hall
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and you can get
one from us there.
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They're $10 but to the
delegates they are free.
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Okay, now we have a website,
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I don't know if
you've all been there,
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but egwwritings.org,
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currently is in nine languages.
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And with your offering this week
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we hope to go to a
hundred languages. Amen.
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That will be in Steps to Christ,
00:05:04.50\00:05:05.83
in Great Controversy.
00:05:05.83\00:05:08.50
We really know
that the world needs
00:05:08.50\00:05:10.96
the writings of Ellen G. White,
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and if we make them
available freely on the website,
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then people can find
in there, egwwritings.org.
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Now if you want
to contribute to this
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campaign post
this, you can go to
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partner.egwwritings.org
and on there you'll see
00:05:23.40\00:05:27.16
a list of all the
books that we currently have
00:05:27.16\00:05:29.63
scanned that we
would like to digitize.
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And you can make
it a nation there
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at partner. egwwritings. org.
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One of the greatest
things that this world
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or this church has received
is Ellen G. White's writings.
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Amen. But currently it has
only been really in English,
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in that we have added now,
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if you go to egwwritings.org,
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we have added
French, Spanish, Russian,
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Portuguese, Romanian,
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Chinese, Italian, and German.
00:06:00.43\00:06:03.63
Now we hope with
those major languages
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that would touch around
85% of the world's population.
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But as we add more
languages with your help
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then we can reach
even more people worldwide
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with the Great Controversy,
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the Desire of Ages,
and Steps to Christ,
00:06:20.40\00:06:22.90
and many other of her
good books. Thank you.
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Good morning. Good morning.
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We are living in a time
of unparalleled problems
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in the world, have
you noticed that? Yeah.
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The weather is too hot,
it's too hot or too cold,
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or it's too wet, or too dry.
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And then look at
it when we're looking
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at the financial
situation of our country,
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we are in trouble.
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There seems to be
no way out of this,
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and even morally
look at this, headline,
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"You can be good without God,
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" where are we going?
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People are
wondering what in the world
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is going on in this world?
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You and I have been
given a message of hope
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and we need to give
that message to our neighbors
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and friends now, because
they want to have the answers.
00:07:02.10\00:07:06.16
Your ASI has come up with,
00:07:06.16\00:07:08.16
Ramon showing it a
whole series of books here
00:07:08.16\00:07:11.70
that are on subjects that
are talking about us today.
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Give you an idea, it
is read in the paper that
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our health care costs are about
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one trillion dollars a year.
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If people would read the
book Ministry of Healing,
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I think, what do you think?
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I think they
could cut it into half
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don't you think? Amen.
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You see we need
the solution books
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and they are found in the
books that God has given us.
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Here's the book
"The Great Controversy,
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" what is going on in the world?
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How where is it all are going,
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is there any hope?
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We know, you know,
now I want you to consider
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doing something
about these books,
00:07:42.90\00:07:44.36
buy them by the
box, and go out there
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and visit your
friends and neighbors.
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How do you do
it, you want to know?
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Well we also have
come up with a DVD and here
00:07:50.10\00:07:53.96
it is, it says, ASI
sharing happiness books.
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It gives you a canvas on there,
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what to say that
the important things
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and then if you
have some problems,
00:08:01.36\00:08:03.13
what do you do about that.
00:08:03.13\00:08:04.30
So you have all
the tools that your ASI
00:08:04.30\00:08:06.96
has made available to you. Amen.
00:08:06.96\00:08:09.10
Brothers and sisters, friends,
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share the faith
that God has given us
00:08:11.13\00:08:13.90
and you'll have an experience
that you will never forget.
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God bless you. Amen.
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It is my privilege
to introduce our primary
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speaker this morning
after our special music,
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you will hear our
Russian brother David Kulakov.
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David is a graduate
of Zaoksky Seminary and,
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what was the
former Soviet Union.
00:08:36.80\00:08:39.03
David is a businessman,
a consultant in Moscow;
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he is the head
elder of the largest
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Adventist church in Moscow.
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He is a ASI type member,
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there is no ASI
proper in Russia yet.
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ASI Europe has
opened I believe 17 chapters
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around Europe, they
open in Serbia this year
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and Russia is next on
their list and David will be
00:09:03.06\00:09:05.56
one of their charter members.
00:09:05.56\00:09:07.30
David has a rich patrimony,
00:09:07.30\00:09:10.66
his grandparents were
leaders in the Adventist church,
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many of his family members have
00:09:14.46\00:09:16.03
suffered and David has a
rich story to share with us.
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He'll be on after
our special music.
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Look at the world,
everything all around us
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Look at the world
and marvel every day
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Look at the world,
so many joys and wonders
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So many miracles along our way
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Praise to thee, O
Lord for all creation
00:10:02.50\00:10:09.20
Give us thankful
hearts that we may see
00:10:09.20\00:10:16.40
All the gifts we
share, and every blessing
00:10:16.40\00:10:23.06
All things come of thee
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Look at the earth
bringing forth fruit and flower
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Look at the sky the
sunshine and the rain
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Look at the hills, look
at the trees and mountains
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Valley and flowing
river, field and plain
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Praise to thee, O
Lord for all creation
00:11:00.06\00:11:07.03
Give us thankful
hearts that we may see
00:11:07.03\00:11:13.73
All the gifts we
share, and every blessing
00:11:13.73\00:11:20.86
All things come of thee
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Think of the spring,
think of the warmth of summer
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Bringing the
harvest before winter's cold
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Everything grows,
everything has a season
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Till it is gathered
to the Father's fold
00:11:53.40\00:11:59.10
Praise to thee, O
Lord for all creation
00:11:59.10\00:12:06.06
Give us thankful
hearts that we may see
00:12:06.06\00:12:13.63
All the gifts we
share, and every blessing
00:12:13.63\00:12:20.10
All things come of thee
00:12:20.10\00:12:26.40
Every good gift, all
that we need and cherish
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Comes from the Lord
in token of his love
00:12:38.30\00:12:45.33
We are his hands,
stewards of all his bounty
00:12:45.33\00:12:52.10
His is the earth and
his the heavens above
00:12:52.10\00:12:58.46
Praise to thee, O
Lord for all creation
00:12:58.46\00:13:05.36
Give us thankful
hearts that we may see
00:13:05.36\00:13:12.76
All the gifts we
share, and every blessing
00:13:12.76\00:13:19.66
All things come of thee
00:13:19.66\00:13:27.53
All things come of thee. Amen.
00:13:27.53\00:13:47.20
Good morning
children of God. Good morning.
00:13:59.16\00:14:03.26
I'm so happy to be
here with you today,
00:14:03.26\00:14:06.40
and so let us bow
our heads, and pray.
00:14:06.40\00:14:12.13
Dear Lord, You
understand how much
00:14:12.13\00:14:15.80
and badly we need
Your presence today,
00:14:15.80\00:14:18.93
because we want
to glorify Your name.
00:14:18.93\00:14:22.63
And we want allt he
glory to be attributed
00:14:22.63\00:14:25.30
only to You, and
may Your Holy Spirit
00:14:25.30\00:14:29.13
guide us through
this presentation,
00:14:29.13\00:14:31.66
and may my words be Yours.
00:14:31.66\00:14:34.23
In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
00:14:34.23\00:14:39.10
Well, some of you
might be still wondering
00:14:39.10\00:14:41.76
what's this guy from
Russia doing on this stage?
00:14:41.76\00:14:45.90
And quite frankly
it's exactly the same
00:14:45.90\00:14:50.46
question that still disturbs me.
00:14:50.46\00:14:54.76
So the very first
thing I'm going to do
00:14:54.76\00:14:56.90
right after the presentation,
I'm going to step down
00:14:56.90\00:15:00.50
and come up to Dr.
Wright, the President of ASI,
00:15:00.50\00:15:04.90
and ask him what did I do?
00:15:04.90\00:15:06.43
God has miraculously
led me through my life
00:15:10.26\00:15:15.40
and I want to share
this story with you.
00:15:15.40\00:15:19.83
I'm a fourth
generation Adventist
00:15:19.83\00:15:22.50
and that's quite
uncommon for Russia,
00:15:22.50\00:15:27.76
from my father's side.
00:15:27.76\00:15:29.90
But today I'd
love to share my story,
00:15:29.90\00:15:32.93
my mom's story,
because she was never,
00:15:32.93\00:15:38.16
she had never been an Adventist
00:15:38.16\00:15:39.66
before she actually became one.
00:15:39.66\00:15:44.93
When she was 23 years old,
00:15:44.93\00:15:48.56
she was one of the
most successful accountant
00:15:48.56\00:15:53.33
and an auditor in
her region, Stavropol,
00:15:53.33\00:15:57.66
that's in Russia,
former Soviet Union.
00:15:57.66\00:16:02.43
And she was also rising
00:16:02.43\00:16:05.76
communist party leader,
00:16:05.76\00:16:08.43
she was also rising star,
00:16:08.43\00:16:10.66
political star is
how they called her.
00:16:10.66\00:16:15.40
And one day her
landlady invited her to come
00:16:15.40\00:16:20.10
for Sabbath evening worship.
00:16:20.10\00:16:24.10
And she started
visiting and she had actually
00:16:24.10\00:16:28.73
known of Adventists
because in the village
00:16:28.73\00:16:30.70
where she grew she
had a distance relative
00:16:30.70\00:16:33.80
of hers that was an Adventist.
00:16:33.80\00:16:37.83
So she became an
Adventist, got baptized,
00:16:37.83\00:16:41.70
and then she had to
come to her boss and tell him
00:16:41.70\00:16:45.83
that she cannot work on Sabbath.
00:16:45.83\00:16:49.33
Her boss really loved her,
00:16:49.33\00:16:51.66
because she was
one of his best workers
00:16:51.66\00:16:54.30
or actually the best.
00:16:54.30\00:16:56.73
And he tried to talk
her out of believing in
00:16:56.73\00:17:00.43
Adventism and you
know, she never gave up,
00:17:00.43\00:17:06.30
she told him that
she will be an Adventist.
00:17:06.30\00:17:11.43
He told her that he
will have to fire her
00:17:11.43\00:17:14.10
as soon as the government knows.
00:17:14.10\00:17:17.76
And she still
remained an Adventist
00:17:17.76\00:17:21.20
and after a while,
00:17:21.20\00:17:22.60
as soon as the
government and the KGB
00:17:22.60\00:17:25.16
knew about
that, they got furious
00:17:25.16\00:17:28.93
and told her boss to
fire her immediately,
00:17:28.93\00:17:31.60
and that's what he did.
00:17:31.60\00:17:35.50
Then since she was a
youth communist party leader
00:17:35.50\00:17:38.60
for branching that same,
00:17:38.60\00:17:41.40
she was summoned
00:17:41.40\00:17:42.36
to her communist party meeting.
00:17:42.36\00:17:45.16
And she went through hours
00:17:47.96\00:17:50.53
of humiliation;
00:17:50.53\00:17:52.90
dozens and dozens of
people would stand up
00:17:54.86\00:17:57.70
and shout insults at her.
00:17:57.70\00:18:02.36
They told her
that she was a disgrace
00:18:02.36\00:18:04.66
to the communist party,
00:18:04.66\00:18:05.86
that she betrayed their trust.
00:18:05.86\00:18:09.56
And finally after
hours of this process,
00:18:12.16\00:18:16.70
Mr. Gorbachev stood
up, Mikhail Gorbachev;
00:18:18.56\00:18:22.30
I believe know who he is.
00:18:22.30\00:18:25.90
He was the head
00:18:25.90\00:18:28.53
of the youth
communist party for the region.
00:18:28.53\00:18:32.30
He stood up, he
was presiding over that
00:18:32.30\00:18:34.43
gathering and
he said, dear Vera,
00:18:34.43\00:18:39.53
I know that you have always been
00:18:39.53\00:18:42.36
the best in our party,
00:18:42.36\00:18:44.30
and I believe that you've done
00:18:45.83\00:18:49.10
so much good to
improve our party.
00:18:49.10\00:18:53.70
And I believe that
one day you will return,
00:18:55.26\00:18:58.13
and I will keep your member card
00:18:58.13\00:19:03.80
under the glass on my desk.
00:19:03.80\00:19:07.70
Because one day you will return
00:19:07.70\00:19:09.20
and I will gladly
give it back to you.
00:19:09.20\00:19:14.90
However but she
never did, praise God.
00:19:14.90\00:19:18.76
Since she lost her job,
00:19:21.20\00:19:22.60
she had to look for one again,
00:19:22.60\00:19:25.93
but she couldn't find one.
00:19:25.93\00:19:27.00
She would go to
different places to find a job
00:19:27.00\00:19:31.33
and whenever a
boss of her firm would
00:19:31.33\00:19:34.80
hear that she need a
job and saw all her resumes
00:19:34.80\00:19:39.20
and everything, all the papers,
00:19:39.20\00:19:41.70
they were very glad and said,
00:19:41.70\00:19:43.80
they would gladly accept her.
00:19:43.80\00:19:46.60
But after a few days
when she would come back
00:19:46.60\00:19:48.63
to start her work
there, they would sit
00:19:48.63\00:19:53.56
with their heads
bowed and say, you know,
00:19:53.56\00:19:57.56
by the way we
don't need right now.
00:19:57.56\00:20:01.30
Because this position is filled,
00:20:01.30\00:20:04.66
because KGB was tracking her,
00:20:04.66\00:20:07.43
and would not allow any
firm in the town to hire her.
00:20:07.43\00:20:13.20
So finally she
decided to look for a job,
00:20:13.20\00:20:18.10
another job, she
was, I told you the best
00:20:18.10\00:20:23.80
accountant and auditor
at her age in the area.
00:20:24.16\00:20:29.40
And she decided to look
for a job as a housekeeper,
00:20:29.40\00:20:32.56
finally a
professor's family hired her
00:20:32.56\00:20:36.60
and she was able to work
for them for almost a year.
00:20:36.60\00:20:41.23
But after a year
this professor came home
00:20:41.23\00:20:45.26
with his head bowed and said,
00:20:45.26\00:20:46.83
dear Vera, I love you
so much and you know that,
00:20:46.83\00:20:50.10
but you know two KGB
agents paid a visit to me today,
00:20:50.10\00:20:53.53
and they said that if I
don't fire you immediately
00:20:53.53\00:20:58.23
I will lose my position as well.
00:20:59.66\00:21:02.66
And so she lost even that job,
00:21:02.66\00:21:05.43
but they loved her
very much and so they pass
00:21:05.43\00:21:07.63
her onto another
professor's family,
00:21:07.63\00:21:10.53
but she was able to
work for them even less
00:21:10.53\00:21:13.63
about three or four
months, before being found out
00:21:13.63\00:21:17.10
again by KGB agents.
00:21:17.10\00:21:19.60
And she lost even that humble
position of a housekeeper.
00:21:19.60\00:21:24.46
Then one old lady, her
son-in-law was a KGB agent,
00:21:24.46\00:21:30.16
he passed on some information
through his mother-in-law
00:21:30.70\00:21:33.20
and said, tell Vera,
00:21:33.20\00:21:35.33
KGB is going to
put her to prison.
00:21:35.33\00:21:37.93
And so the best way to escape,
00:21:37.93\00:21:40.56
if she leaves
this city immediately,
00:21:40.56\00:21:43.33
and so that's what she did.
00:21:43.33\00:21:44.96
She found a place
where she would collect hay
00:21:44.96\00:21:50.26
and put it with a pitch fork,
00:21:50.26\00:21:53.53
I believe pitch fork on a truck.
00:21:53.53\00:21:57.96
And very soon she
lost even that job,
00:21:57.96\00:22:01.13
she returned to the city,
00:22:01.13\00:22:02.60
tried to find job
for several months,
00:22:02.60\00:22:06.00
and after
starving for several months
00:22:06.00\00:22:08.86
she decided to go back
to her mother in village
00:22:08.86\00:22:12.30
where at least
she could find food.
00:22:12.30\00:22:15.03
The reaso I started this story,
00:22:15.03\00:22:17.40
the reason I
started with this story
00:22:17.40\00:22:19.20
with mom's story is this.
00:22:19.20\00:22:22.73
From my childhood
I was told this story
00:22:22.73\00:22:26.80
over and over
again, and this was a
00:22:26.80\00:22:30.70
paramount example for me,
00:22:30.70\00:22:32.03
and has always been
of a person who really,
00:22:32.03\00:22:37.36
literally gave everything
he had to be with Jesus. Amen.
00:22:37.36\00:22:43.06
Praise God for my dear mom.
00:22:43.06\00:22:47.93
You know, the
interesting thing is that
00:22:47.93\00:22:50.80
she has outlived all
her persecutors. Amen.
00:22:50.80\00:22:55.13
Two days ago she turned 78,
00:22:55.13\00:22:59.40
and among all her relatives,
and among all her relatives
00:22:59.40\00:23:04.36
where she is the
eldest daughter in her family,
00:23:04.36\00:23:07.36
she is the healthiest one.
00:23:07.36\00:23:10.96
God has blessed
her with five children,
00:23:10.96\00:23:13.50
seven grandchildren,
00:23:13.50\00:23:16.16
and all of whom
who are in church,
00:23:16.16\00:23:20.70
working for the church,
00:23:20.70\00:23:22.80
and helping to
promote the God's cause.
00:23:22.80\00:23:25.83
Amen. Praise God. Amen.
00:23:25.83\00:23:29.00
And do you know what?
00:23:29.00\00:23:30.46
She also really enjoys that love
00:23:30.46\00:23:35.13
and admiration that
she surrounded with,
00:23:35.13\00:23:39.03
and I am quite
sure there are very few
00:23:39.03\00:23:41.76
people that are
surrounded with that
00:23:41.76\00:23:43.80
love that she's surrounded now.
00:23:43.80\00:23:47.53
And then next story
I would like to share
00:23:47.53\00:23:53.33
with you is also
one from my childhood.
00:23:53.33\00:23:58.46
When I was seven years old,
00:23:58.46\00:24:00.83
I paid to visit
to a friend of mine
00:24:00.83\00:24:02.60
who was also a
seven years old boy.
00:24:02.60\00:24:06.23
And we were playing in his room
00:24:06.23\00:24:08.03
and suddenly I
noticed that there was a book,
00:24:08.03\00:24:13.40
a type written copy of a book.
00:24:13.40\00:24:17.70
So I picked it up look
at it and I saw that it was
00:24:17.70\00:24:22.03
Patriarchs and Prophets,
00:24:22.03\00:24:23.36
the Patriarchs and Prophets
Books by Ellen G. White.
00:24:23.36\00:24:26.80
Astonished I turned to
the, to my friend and ask him,
00:24:26.80\00:24:30.96
are you reading this
book? He said, yes. Why?
00:24:30.96\00:24:35.00
It's an interesting book.
00:24:35.00\00:24:37.66
You see at my age I
consider that only books
00:24:37.66\00:24:43.03
by Arthur Maxwell are
the best books for children.
00:24:43.03\00:24:47.36
And so being ashamed with,
00:24:49.66\00:24:52.56
I returned home
and immediately asked
00:24:52.56\00:24:55.03
my parents to provide me
with the copies of all the set,
00:24:55.03\00:25:01.00
and started reading immediately.
00:25:02.26\00:25:04.63
My father as soon as he realized
00:25:04.63\00:25:06.30
that I was
persistent in my reading,
00:25:06.30\00:25:07.86
he also gave me a nice
and very expensive notebook,
00:25:07.86\00:25:10.56
so when, so I could
write on my excerpts
00:25:10.56\00:25:13.96
that I like the most from
the writings of Ellen G. White.
00:25:13.96\00:25:19.13
And during the evening worships,
00:25:19.13\00:25:21.33
he would ask me questions
why I had chosen those excerpts.
00:25:21.33\00:25:26.70
So these are the
events that had profound
00:25:26.70\00:25:29.40
influence upon my life.
00:25:29.40\00:25:32.00
And you know what,
at the age of seven
00:25:32.00\00:25:34.73
after reading the
Great Controversy,
00:25:34.73\00:25:38.56
I learned that at the end times
00:25:38.56\00:25:40.90
there would be
only one superpower
00:25:40.90\00:25:43.43
and that is the
United States of America.
00:25:43.43\00:25:48.50
And I shared sometimes my
believes with my classmates
00:25:48.50\00:25:53.30
during the Soviet time,
00:25:53.30\00:25:55.33
whenever they would
boast of the Soviet Union,
00:25:55.33\00:25:57.76
how powerful it was?
00:25:57.76\00:25:59.63
I would tell them, you know guys
00:25:59.63\00:26:01.50
Bible has nothing to say
about Soviet time existing
00:26:01.50\00:26:05.63
at the end time. You
know that was a quite,
00:26:05.63\00:26:08.66
quite a risky thing to say.
00:26:08.66\00:26:12.46
But you know, I'm so
proud God gave me that
00:26:12.46\00:26:15.76
truth at the age of
seven, 30 years ago.
00:26:15.76\00:26:19.53
Because in my short
life, I'm not yet too old,
00:26:19.53\00:26:22.86
you can probably
see that only 37.
00:26:22.86\00:26:26.30
And God has granted me
this opportunity to see
00:26:26.30\00:26:32.20
the ultimate fulfillment
of his prophecy. Amen.
00:26:32.20\00:26:36.10
Who could say 30 years ago,
00:26:36.10\00:26:38.10
that such a huge
superpower as the Soviet Union
00:26:38.10\00:26:41.80
was at the time
would just vanish.
00:26:41.80\00:26:47.10
And, you know, we have
so many more prophecies
00:26:47.10\00:26:51.66
in the Bible that
are going to be fulfilled
00:26:51.66\00:26:56.56
in the same certain way.
00:26:56.56\00:27:01.70
And more over I'm so happy
00:27:01.70\00:27:05.10
that I was on the winning
side back then 30 years ago.
00:27:05.10\00:27:10.86
You know, back
then I look stupid,
00:27:10.86\00:27:13.83
people laughed at me,
ridiculed for my beliefs,
00:27:13.83\00:27:18.40
but, you know, now they
realized that their belief,
00:27:18.40\00:27:23.30
they believed in
communism it doesn't exists now.
00:27:23.30\00:27:29.30
And God helped me
to see that His word
00:27:29.30\00:27:34.76
is always certain,
and always fulfills.
00:27:34.76\00:27:40.06
So I'm so grateful
that God has blessed me
00:27:43.86\00:27:50.66
not only with my mother to
be a paramount example for me,
00:27:50.66\00:27:55.63
to be an example of,
00:27:55.63\00:27:59.16
to show that
example what it means.
00:27:59.16\00:28:02.96
To give your best
to our loving Lord.
00:28:02.96\00:28:08.10
I want to share
another story with you,
00:28:08.10\00:28:10.90
at the age 18 I went to study at
00:28:10.90\00:28:13.80
Zaoksky Adventist University
and there I was introduced
00:28:13.80\00:28:17.86
to a story of Garwin McNeilus,
00:28:17.86\00:28:21.60
praise God for this man.
00:28:21.60\00:28:25.06
You know, this man
supported that university,
00:28:25.06\00:28:29.76
he would invest hundreds
00:28:29.76\00:28:31.40
of thousands of
dollars into that university.
00:28:31.40\00:28:34.96
I lived in the dormitory
that was build with his money,
00:28:34.96\00:28:39.03
I went to classrooms that
were built with his money.
00:28:39.03\00:28:44.00
And now Russia prospers,
00:28:44.00\00:28:46.50
Russian Adventism
prospers in Russia,
00:28:46.50\00:28:49.23
because we have
hundreds and hundreds of pastors
00:28:49.23\00:28:53.30
that were educated
at that university.
00:28:53.30\00:28:57.30
And all of that I do not
even want to talk in if terms,
00:28:57.30\00:29:02.76
I don't know how
would Russia look today
00:29:04.13\00:29:07.33
if it were not for this
man and for his generosity.
00:29:07.33\00:29:12.06
Praise God for people like him,
00:29:12.06\00:29:14.53
who give their
best to our loving Lord.
00:29:14.53\00:29:16.96
There is, there were some events
00:29:22.66\00:29:27.70
that are not so
probably excited,
00:29:27.70\00:29:30.56
exciting but at my early 20s,
00:29:30.56\00:29:36.56
in my early 20s I
realized that due to
00:29:36.56\00:29:39.76
some bad influences
in my teenage years,
00:29:39.76\00:29:43.63
my mind was corrupt,
my character was corrupt,
00:29:43.63\00:29:47.76
and I actually wanted
to somehow clean up my mind
00:29:47.76\00:29:51.66
to make it purer, to
fully resemble Christ character.
00:29:51.66\00:29:56.46
And so since I had studied
psychology for many years,
00:29:57.86\00:30:02.03
I knew that it would
require a miracle to change
00:30:02.03\00:30:05.46
the pathways
between the brain cells,
00:30:05.46\00:30:09.43
because years of
undisciplined thinking,
00:30:09.43\00:30:11.70
and immortal thinking
had destroyed my personality.
00:30:11.70\00:30:17.60
So after considering
all the ways and searching
00:30:17.60\00:30:22.00
for difference
ways that I could use,
00:30:22.00\00:30:25.23
I believe I have, I
had found the best one.
00:30:25.23\00:30:29.50
And that was I decided to
copy the whole Bible by hand.
00:30:29.50\00:30:34.93
And this is the Bible
that God has helped me
00:30:34.93\00:30:39.70
to copy by my own hand,
00:30:39.70\00:30:43.80
it took me 800 hours,
00:30:43.80\00:30:46.50
two and half years.
00:30:46.50\00:30:48.26
If you do it one hour
a day you'll be able to
00:30:51.10\00:30:54.83
also to finish it
in two years and half.
00:30:54.83\00:30:57.43
You know, when I
come up with this,
00:30:57.43\00:30:59.00
when I came up
with this idea also even
00:30:59.00\00:31:03.00
my believing
friends would laugh at me.
00:31:03.00\00:31:05.90
And ask, you don't
have a copy of a Bible,
00:31:05.90\00:31:08.66
would you like us
to present it to you.
00:31:08.66\00:31:12.43
I said, you know guys,
I have at least a couple
00:31:12.43\00:31:15.60
of dozens of them and
most of them are leather bond.
00:31:15.60\00:31:19.40
So what I need,
00:31:19.40\00:31:22.10
I need not a
Bible on my shelves,
00:31:22.10\00:31:26.60
I need a Bible in my mind. Amen.
00:31:26.60\00:31:30.70
And praise God, God
help me to achieve the goal,
00:31:30.70\00:31:35.06
you can see it and
after the presentation
00:31:35.06\00:31:38.50
you can come forward and
if you'd like to touch it
00:31:38.50\00:31:41.20
I'll allow you gladly.
00:31:41.20\00:31:44.36
But only I'll ask
you to be careful, okay.
00:31:44.36\00:31:47.70
And you know, I had perceived
00:31:51.26\00:31:55.90
some of the changes that God
would bring into my character
00:31:55.90\00:31:59.10
if I do this, but you know,
00:31:59.10\00:32:02.46
I was absolutely
wrong, I correctly predicted
00:32:02.46\00:32:05.53
only 3% of all the good changes,
00:32:05.53\00:32:09.60
miraculous changes
that God had brought into
00:32:09.60\00:32:13.53
my character and into my mind.
00:32:13.53\00:32:16.43
My character was transformed
00:32:16.43\00:32:19.00
and God had helped
me to build new mind,
00:32:19.00\00:32:24.66
new character,
a new personality.
00:32:25.50\00:32:29.60
But the most
amazing thing God had also
00:32:29.60\00:32:34.00
helped me to
improve my scholar skills,
00:32:34.00\00:32:37.63
scholarship skills or how
do you call it, scholar skill?
00:32:37.63\00:32:40.43
Scholarship skills, thank you.
00:32:40.43\00:32:42.70
God gave me a unique
ability whenever I read books
00:32:45.93\00:32:51.20
written by secular
writers on business,
00:32:51.20\00:32:54.70
I can clearly see
whether they resemble
00:32:54.70\00:32:59.23
the teachings of Christ, God,
00:32:59.23\00:33:02.86
and if they can find support
in Ellen G. White's writings.
00:33:02.86\00:33:08.26
And this ability
has helped me a lot,
00:33:08.26\00:33:12.70
because you know,
90% of all the books
00:33:12.70\00:33:15.13
that you can find in
book stores are just trash,
00:33:15.13\00:33:18.93
I can honestly say that.
00:33:18.93\00:33:20.83
Nine percent of
them are low value,
00:33:20.83\00:33:25.43
and or really good
ones are really few.
00:33:25.43\00:33:30.96
And so, when I was
taking my third year,
00:33:30.96\00:33:36.96
I started my own
business in the nearby town,
00:33:37.46\00:33:43.46
that was a tutoring agency.
00:33:43.46\00:33:48.60
And immediately after that
I was under severe pressure
00:33:48.60\00:33:51.93
from my relatives and
especially my dear mom.
00:33:51.93\00:33:55.93
Because they said, David,
00:33:55.93\00:33:57.70
you're betraying
your call, David,
00:33:57.70\00:34:00.36
you're a forth
generation Adventist,
00:34:00.36\00:34:03.30
David, your call
is to be a pastor.
00:34:03.30\00:34:08.46
And, you know, I was
in severe pain myself,
00:34:08.46\00:34:10.80
because I
couldn't make up my mind,
00:34:10.80\00:34:14.16
and I didn't really
know what to do with,
00:34:14.16\00:34:15.90
and which my calling really was.
00:34:15.90\00:34:18.80
So I had to pray a
lot, but I still continued
00:34:18.80\00:34:21.90
with my business
and developed it,
00:34:21.90\00:34:24.56
and God helped me to develop it
00:34:24.56\00:34:26.76
and so we had between 400
to 700 students at a time.
00:34:26.76\00:34:31.16
But in the year 2000,
I met with Dr. Bill Shea,
00:34:34.16\00:34:41.70
probably some of you
have had an opportunity
00:34:41.70\00:34:45.56
to meet this person.
00:34:45.56\00:34:48.26
And I asked him,
told him my concerns,
00:34:48.26\00:34:52.66
told him about
that severe pressure
00:34:52.66\00:34:54.30
from my relatives that
they did not think that being
00:34:54.30\00:34:58.10
a businessman was a good idea.
00:34:58.10\00:34:59.46
Because you see in Russia,
00:34:59.46\00:35:01.56
we couldn't get educated
during the Soviet period.
00:35:01.56\00:35:05.76
So there were two
options for Adventists,
00:35:05.76\00:35:10.30
you should be, you
could only be a pastor or like
00:35:10.30\00:35:16.40
any woodworker or a
carpenter something like that.
00:35:16.40\00:35:20.26
We could not work
in Soviet organizations
00:35:20.26\00:35:24.23
actually, could
not do much work there.
00:35:24.23\00:35:28.50
And so that's why everybody,
00:35:28.50\00:35:30.20
and all my
relatives and all the people
00:35:30.20\00:35:32.90
that had known me
since my childhood,
00:35:32.90\00:35:34.96
they said that I was wrong.
00:35:34.96\00:35:37.43
And so then I
shared all these concerns
00:35:37.43\00:35:39.90
with the Dr. Bill Shea,
and said that I wanted to fully
00:35:39.90\00:35:44.70
fulfill God's
calling in my life,
00:35:44.70\00:35:48.70
and also to fully show
what a good businessman
00:35:48.70\00:35:56.30
can do for the church,
00:35:56.30\00:36:00.60
and for promoting God's cause.
00:36:00.60\00:36:04.13
And so this man
then asked me a question,
00:36:04.13\00:36:07.16
he said, David,
how many good preachers
00:36:07.16\00:36:10.26
do you know in your division?
00:36:10.26\00:36:12.63
I said, well, I
know probably a hundred.
00:36:12.63\00:36:16.90
He said, no, I mean,
really excellent preachers.
00:36:16.90\00:36:20.66
I said, well, I
know at least a dozen.
00:36:20.66\00:36:24.00
He said, well, then
that was ten years ago.
00:36:24.00\00:36:27.90
Well how many good
businessmen do you know
00:36:27.90\00:36:32.56
that fully live
out the principles,
00:36:32.56\00:36:36.86
open for us in the Bible
and in the Spirit of Prophecy,
00:36:36.86\00:36:39.83
how many business people
of this kind do you know?
00:36:39.83\00:36:43.20
I was astonished, confused,
00:36:43.20\00:36:45.06
didn't know what to
answer, my jaw dropped,
00:36:45.06\00:36:49.00
he looked at me and
said, David, that's the answer.
00:36:49.00\00:36:54.26
You know, that the greatest need
00:36:54.26\00:36:56.10
in your division is
of godly business people
00:36:56.10\00:37:00.20
who can promote God's
cause with their means.
00:37:00.20\00:37:04.30
I didn't listen to
Bill Shae's advice at once,
00:37:04.30\00:37:10.73
it took me sometimes to
realize how right he was.
00:37:10.73\00:37:14.36
So after the time I went to
Zaoksky Adventist University,
00:37:14.36\00:37:20.40
actually to the
pastor of the central church.
00:37:20.40\00:37:23.93
And told him that
00:37:23.93\00:37:25.30
I had developed
seminars based on Bible,
00:37:25.30\00:37:28.93
on the Bible and
Spirit of Prophecy
00:37:28.93\00:37:31.43
on how to become successful,
00:37:31.43\00:37:33.16
how to improve your personality,
00:37:33.16\00:37:35.43
how to become highly affective?
00:37:35.43\00:37:39.66
And he was so happy,
he told me I give you,
00:37:39.66\00:37:44.53
I'll give you all the
Friday evenings after vespers,
00:37:44.53\00:37:49.40
so you can use
them for seminars.
00:37:49.40\00:37:51.63
And so I started
conducting my seminars
00:37:51.63\00:37:54.86
and after a year, I
was teaching students,
00:37:54.86\00:37:59.30
both the students
from the university.
00:37:59.30\00:38:02.50
How God had improved
my life through my copying
00:38:02.50\00:38:07.70
the Bible by hand and
that by studying the Bible.
00:38:07.70\00:38:12.20
By the way do
you know that most,
00:38:12.20\00:38:15.66
most of the most
successful people in this world
00:38:15.66\00:38:20.83
are those who learned
a lot the Bible by heart,
00:38:20.83\00:38:27.50
do you know this information?
00:38:27.50\00:38:29.16
You can find this
information about Bill Gates.
00:38:29.16\00:38:32.80
He was the guy
who knew the most,
00:38:32.80\00:38:36.80
he knew more than
anyone in his class
00:38:36.80\00:38:40.06
the Bible by heart,
he was known for that,
00:38:40.06\00:38:42.93
he in his childhood
he knew the whole sermon
00:38:42.93\00:38:49.13
on the mount of
blessings, all three chapters,
00:38:49.13\00:38:52.83
you can find that.
00:38:52.83\00:38:54.20
Oprah Winfrey, she also knew
00:38:54.20\00:38:57.60
more than anyone
else in her class,
00:38:57.60\00:38:59.63
parts from the Bible by heart.
00:38:59.63\00:39:02.10
And so the same with,
the same with many other
00:39:02.10\00:39:05.83
prominent people, some
of the richest people in
00:39:05.83\00:39:08.50
the world are thos
who learned the Bible
00:39:08.50\00:39:11.23
by heart a lot in
their childhood or continue
00:39:11.23\00:39:13.53
learning Bible by heart even
when they're adults already.
00:39:13.53\00:39:19.03
So I would teach
that to the students
00:39:19.03\00:39:20.76
and I would also
teach them that studying
00:39:20.76\00:39:23.60
the Spirit of Prophecy
especially the testimonies
00:39:23.60\00:39:27.70
for the church helps
you to really improve
00:39:27.70\00:39:31.16
your character, has
the best advise except
00:39:31.16\00:39:34.73
for the Bible of
course, it has the best advice
00:39:34.73\00:39:38.06
on how to make
your will power strong,
00:39:38.06\00:39:42.76
the best advice
on leadership skills.
00:39:42.76\00:39:46.20
But after a year the
same pastor approaches
00:39:46.20\00:39:48.10
me and says, you know, David,
00:39:48.10\00:39:49.83
some people are concerned
00:39:49.83\00:39:51.63
that you are using this
time after Friday vespers
00:39:51.63\00:40:00.06
and you don't allow other
00:40:00.06\00:40:02.70
prominent
speakers to use the time.
00:40:02.70\00:40:04.63
So could you please stop
with your lectures for a moment?
00:40:04.63\00:40:08.40
And so I stopped my
lectures and that time
00:40:08.40\00:40:12.90
has never been used for
any lectures of seminars.
00:40:12.90\00:40:17.30
Later I learned from
my friends that there
00:40:17.30\00:40:20.23
was a discussion and
there were concerns that David
00:40:20.23\00:40:28.50
was teaching some odd teachings.
00:40:28.50\00:40:31.96
He was teaching how to
become successful using
00:40:31.96\00:40:34.80
Bible, the Bible,
and Spirit of Prophecy,
00:40:34.80\00:40:39.20
and his teaching
sounded too alter conservative.
00:40:39.20\00:40:45.86
And to save, to
save the youthful minds
00:40:45.86\00:40:49.73
from such an influence,
00:40:49.73\00:40:52.03
they decided to
stop my lectures.
00:40:52.03\00:40:56.30
So after that, I
started praying a lot
00:40:56.30\00:41:01.10
and ask whether God
was really guiding me.
00:41:01.10\00:41:04.53
And you know what I did?
00:41:04.53\00:41:07.63
I rearranged those
same seminars into secular
00:41:07.63\00:41:11.90
ones, I just took away
all the religious terms
00:41:11.90\00:41:17.60
and since I had
read a lot of books on
00:41:17.60\00:41:19.50
leadership skills, on
management, on success.
00:41:19.50\00:41:23.86
I clothe pure Bible
teachings and teachings
00:41:23.86\00:41:28.56
from the Spirit of
Prophecy with secular terms
00:41:28.56\00:41:33.70
and started
selling these seminars
00:41:33.70\00:41:37.00
at a humble
price eight years ago.
00:41:37.00\00:41:40.40
And you know what, since then,
00:41:40.40\00:41:43.56
some of the most
prominent people in my country,
00:41:43.56\00:41:47.83
some of the
wealthiest people in my country,
00:41:47.83\00:41:51.73
some of the most powerful
people in the government
00:41:51.73\00:41:55.26
of my country have
heard of my seminars.
00:41:55.26\00:42:00.73
And I have a two
year list of people
00:42:00.73\00:42:05.90
wanting to hear those seminars,
00:42:05.90\00:42:09.40
wanted to hear the
secrets on how to become
00:42:09.40\00:42:12.26
a good strong leader,
how to become successful,
00:42:12.26\00:42:17.53
how to develop your character.
00:42:17.53\00:42:20.06
And by the way
they're ready to pay
00:42:20.06\00:42:22.73
six U.S. dollars
for a single minute.
00:42:22.73\00:42:26.16
Wow. Praise God. Amen.
00:42:26.16\00:42:30.26
God is really
good, our church enjoys
00:42:30.26\00:42:35.20
the best material,
00:42:35.20\00:42:38.26
the best material on
character improvement.
00:42:38.26\00:42:42.63
God has granted our
church with the best
00:42:42.63\00:42:44.86
teachings on leadership skills.
00:42:44.86\00:42:48.10
You know, sometimes
I wonder when I hear
00:42:48.10\00:42:50.10
people amazed with Dr. Covey,
00:42:50.10\00:42:54.20
I like this man,
he's really good man,
00:42:54.20\00:42:56.60
you probably you've
also read a couple of his
00:42:56.60\00:42:58.73
books on leadership.
00:42:58.73\00:43:01.00
You know, he
developed a principle inside out
00:43:01.00\00:43:03.90
and he's so praised
for opening and developing
00:43:03.90\00:43:07.10
this principle,
that principles tells you
00:43:07.10\00:43:09.60
that everything
starts from your character,
00:43:09.60\00:43:11.90
never try to improve
just your appearance,
00:43:11.90\00:43:16.70
just your image.
00:43:16.70\00:43:18.16
You have to start
with the character,
00:43:18.16\00:43:19.90
who told that 150 years ago?
00:43:19.90\00:43:24.60
Who told that more
than 3,000 years ago?
00:43:24.60\00:43:29.03
Folks, God has
blessed us with the best
00:43:29.03\00:43:31.66
teachings on
every possible subject
00:43:31.66\00:43:35.50
and if we are good
00:43:35.50\00:43:37.73
and diligent
students of His word,
00:43:37.73\00:43:41.26
and of the wisdom
God has granted us
00:43:41.26\00:43:43.96
through the Spirit of Prophecy.
00:43:43.96\00:43:46.13
You cannot imagine
how far up you can go in
00:43:46.13\00:43:53.06
glorifying God's name,
00:43:53.06\00:43:55.06
in being useful for the church,
00:43:55.06\00:43:57.70
in being useful
for your country.
00:43:57.70\00:44:02.00
You know what, some
friends of mine when they learn.
00:44:02.00\00:44:06.20
some business people
00:44:06.20\00:44:07.63
or people of the government
they learn that I pay taxes.
00:44:07.63\00:44:12.60
You know, in
Russia no one pays taxes
00:44:12.60\00:44:14.70
and government also
almost just has to go
00:44:14.70\00:44:19.56
with revolvers,
take taxes out of people.
00:44:19.56\00:44:25.50
And when they learn
that they are amazed and say,
00:44:25.50\00:44:28.00
why you do that? And
I tell them you know,
00:44:28.00\00:44:30.16
I love my homeland,
and I want to support
00:44:30.16\00:44:33.00
my homeland
Russia with my taxes.
00:44:33.00\00:44:38.70
Because I enjoy
peace there and I like,
00:44:38.70\00:44:42.83
the police protects me
from terrorists and so on.
00:44:42.83\00:44:49.30
And I'm a kind of a
thorn in their eyes,
00:44:49.30\00:44:51.43
you know, well being
faithful with my tithe,
00:44:51.43\00:44:54.86
with my taxes.
00:44:54.86\00:44:55.93
But you know, by the
way I've already said
00:44:55.93\00:44:59.23
what I'm about to say.
00:44:59.23\00:45:00.30
You know, we all here
belong to a heavenly country.
00:45:03.96\00:45:09.00
And it's so sad
to hear sometimes
00:45:12.23\00:45:16.93
that 50 to 60% of
all the church members in
00:45:16.93\00:45:21.30
Seventh-day Adventist
church are not faithful
00:45:21.30\00:45:24.23
with their tithes and
offerings, it's so sad.
00:45:24.23\00:45:28.03
Actually the
figures are much worse.
00:45:28.03\00:45:30.76
And--
00:45:33.63\00:45:36.63
one of the miracles
that God created in my life
00:45:39.73\00:45:45.63
was to make me
willing to pay all the tithes
00:45:45.63\00:45:50.90
that I could read
about in the Bible.
00:45:50.90\00:45:55.40
And I found out
that there is a question
00:45:55.40\00:45:57.16
between whether we should
pay two tithes or three tithes,
00:45:57.16\00:46:00.43
one is the regular tithes
that we put into envelopes
00:46:00.43\00:46:03.20
and give it on Sabbath
00:46:03.20\00:46:06.20
that goes to support our church.
00:46:06.20\00:46:10.53
But I decided that I will
not since there is no certainty,
00:46:10.53\00:46:15.20
I'd better do my
best for the Lord.
00:46:15.20\00:46:18.43
So I decided that I
would give two more tithes,
00:46:18.43\00:46:23.33
so one tithe goes as offerings
to support God's church,
00:46:23.33\00:46:28.20
pastors' families
or whatever activities
00:46:28.20\00:46:32.13
that is promoting God's cause.
00:46:32.13\00:46:35.16
And there is
also a third tithes,
00:46:35.16\00:46:37.13
by the way I was
asked to mention that
00:46:37.13\00:46:39.43
I've pay my tithe
from my gross income
00:46:39.43\00:46:42.80
and if you'd like
know how I do that,
00:46:42.80\00:46:44.60
please come forward and
after the seminar I'll tell you,
00:46:44.60\00:46:48.03
after the presentation.
00:46:48.03\00:46:51.10
And you know what?
00:46:51.10\00:46:53.76
God has so richly and
abundantly blessed me.
00:46:53.76\00:46:58.90
Since the year 2008,
when the crisis started
00:46:58.90\00:47:03.60
and this crisis
severally shook Russia.
00:47:03.60\00:47:07.90
Praise God my income
has grown up five times.
00:47:07.90\00:47:12.40
And I was able to,
and I have been able to
00:47:12.40\00:47:15.20
open new
businesses in the same period,
00:47:15.20\00:47:19.16
that are successful
and give me profit now.
00:47:19.16\00:47:23.33
Praise God.
00:47:23.33\00:47:25.03
God always blesses
us if we're faithful.
00:47:25.03\00:47:30.46
And about the
third tithe by the way,
00:47:30.46\00:47:35.80
you know,
sometimes we get annoyed
00:47:35.80\00:47:38.40
when people come up
to ask and ask for money.
00:47:38.40\00:47:42.46
We preserve it as a threat
00:47:42.46\00:47:45.73
to our own wallet.
00:47:45.73\00:47:48.90
And we don't really
like people asking for money.
00:47:48.90\00:47:52.16
But you know what, if
you from the very beginning,
00:47:52.16\00:47:54.53
you set aside this tithe
as also not belonging to you,
00:47:54.53\00:47:59.36
but to our loving Lord.
00:47:59.36\00:48:01.73
Then you have a
different state of mind,
00:48:01.73\00:48:05.33
and then you're looking for
an opportunity to serve others
00:48:05.33\00:48:09.60
with this money
that God has given you.
00:48:09.60\00:48:14.53
Then you're looking
for who are the recipients
00:48:14.53\00:48:17.36
and so my third
tithe I used for charity.
00:48:17.36\00:48:21.86
And God has blessed
so many people around me
00:48:21.86\00:48:25.30
with this third tithe
that has never belonged to me.
00:48:25.30\00:48:31.26
As soon as I get money I
always set aside three tithes.
00:48:31.26\00:48:36.66
And you know, it's so joyful
00:48:36.66\00:48:38.46
you just cannot imagine that.
00:48:38.46\00:48:42.86
You know, I had a
teacher of English
00:48:42.86\00:48:47.43
who taught me English
exactly twenty years ago.
00:48:47.43\00:48:51.90
By the way he now lives
in America, in New York.
00:48:51.90\00:48:56.46
And so two
years ago, he had some
00:48:56.46\00:48:58.66
very, very
severe health problems.
00:48:58.66\00:49:02.23
And so God helped
me to support him,
00:49:02.23\00:49:07.10
by the way with my
third tithe greatly.
00:49:07.10\00:49:11.06
I actually hired a
housekeeper for him
00:49:11.06\00:49:13.33
so she could cook a
good Adventist vegan food.
00:49:13.33\00:49:18.20
Can you image this?
00:49:18.20\00:49:21.83
And his health
considerably improved.
00:49:21.83\00:49:25.93
And, you know, after the time
00:49:25.93\00:49:28.40
he once asks me a question,
00:49:28.40\00:49:30.70
David, if God really exists.
00:49:30.70\00:49:36.40
He's an atheist by the way,
00:49:36.40\00:49:40.40
if God really exists and He sees
00:49:40.40\00:49:44.06
how generous you
are, and He sees that
00:49:44.06\00:49:49.33
you have to work very hard
00:49:49.33\00:49:52.63
to earn this
money, and I know that
00:49:52.63\00:49:56.13
you are almost
wearing yourself down,
00:49:56.13\00:50:00.16
why doesn't He just drop
down money from heaven for you?
00:50:00.16\00:50:04.53
Since He knows that
you're a trustworthy,
00:50:04.53\00:50:07.96
steward of his means.
00:50:07.96\00:50:11.00
You know, that
question puzzled me,
00:50:11.00\00:50:16.00
and I knew that
there was a good answer
00:50:16.00\00:50:19.50
for that question
since the very beginning,
00:50:19.50\00:50:21.60
I just wanted to find one.
00:50:21.60\00:50:26.23
And I'd, of
course, I knew that God
00:50:26.23\00:50:28.73
was not supposed to drop
money from heaven to anyone.
00:50:28.73\00:50:33.96
And you know
what God after weeks,
00:50:33.96\00:50:37.83
because I was really
concerned, because I really
00:50:37.83\00:50:40.53
wanted to know the
answer to that question.
00:50:40.53\00:50:43.96
And so after weeks of
diligent pray and studying.
00:50:43.96\00:50:48.86
God had blessed me
00:50:48.86\00:50:52.96
with one of the
most amazing answers
00:50:52.96\00:50:56.53
for this question.
00:50:56.53\00:50:58.80
And here it is,
"gift that cost us
00:50:58.80\00:51:03.96
nothing have no value."
00:51:03.96\00:51:09.46
You know folks tithes,
00:51:13.16\00:51:17.90
offerings, and charity
00:51:17.90\00:51:21.33
will always require
sacrifice on our part.
00:51:21.33\00:51:22.33
However rich we become,
00:51:26.93\00:51:30.13
that will always
require sacrifice.
00:51:30.13\00:51:35.36
You know, Jesus Christ
00:51:37.06\00:51:38.13
on that cross
showed that absolute,
00:51:38.13\00:51:44.10
ultimate example for us.
00:51:44.10\00:51:47.56
That God never accepts
00:51:47.56\00:51:51.90
partial service, never accepts
00:51:51.90\00:51:55.10
partial
sacrifice, He's offended,
00:51:55.10\00:52:00.60
He's deeply offended
00:52:00.60\00:52:02.80
when we are not giving
our best to our loving Lord.
00:52:02.80\00:52:07.36
In that gift on
Calvary, He has given all heaven
00:52:07.36\00:52:13.03
in just that one gift,
00:52:13.03\00:52:16.20
and He expects
from us nothing less.
00:52:16.20\00:52:21.86
So may God bless each one of us,
00:52:21.86\00:52:25.20
so that we can share
this massage with those
00:52:25.20\00:52:28.36
who haven't been
able to hear it today,
00:52:28.36\00:52:32.83
that our church
needs you business people,
00:52:32.83\00:52:36.56
good managers to
promote God's cause.
00:52:36.56\00:52:41.46
As no one else you've
been blessed with a special,
00:52:41.46\00:52:46.56
special probably
most special talent
00:52:46.56\00:52:50.00
of leadership and management.
00:52:50.00\00:52:54.03
And this ability
can greatly promote
00:52:54.03\00:52:57.00
God's cause on our earth.
00:52:57.00\00:53:00.60
And may this
example of the Godly people
00:53:00.60\00:53:03.16
that I've mentioned
in my presentation today,
00:53:03.16\00:53:08.90
and may that example
that was shown to us on Cross,
00:53:08.90\00:53:13.26
stay with us always
and make us more generous
00:53:13.26\00:53:18.00
and give us more
sacrificial spirit, let us pray.
00:53:18.00\00:53:21.46
Dear Lord, you
know how much we need
00:53:25.13\00:53:28.30
Your Holy Spirit
to soften our heart,
00:53:28.30\00:53:33.03
so that we can be more generous,
00:53:33.03\00:53:35.50
so that we can do really
our best for our loving Lord.
00:53:35.50\00:53:41.03
Dear Lord, we
need Your power today,
00:53:41.03\00:53:45.00
to make our hearts receptive
00:53:45.00\00:53:49.70
to Your influence, so
that we can fully resemble
00:53:49.70\00:53:54.20
Your Christ like
sacrificial character.
00:53:54.20\00:53:57.96
In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
00:53:57.96\00:54:00.33