Let's pray.
00:00:12.67\00:00:14.33
Blessed Father, here we are,
it's the opening night of GYC.
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We're excited.
00:00:18.79\00:00:21.27
We have an understanding
that You will do great things
00:00:21.30\00:00:23.76
through this conference.
00:00:23.79\00:00:25.61
We have a trust that
You would teach us more
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about Yourself
through this conference.
00:00:27.79\00:00:30.80
And so we ask that
tonight through this,
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this opening night
that You would teach us
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something about You.
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We pray these things in
Your precious name, amen.
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I should alert you to the rest
of the tonight's proceeding.
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I'm not actually
gonna preach to you tonight.
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I've asked Israel
to come up and have him
00:00:45.64\00:00:47.98
give our devotional thought.
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He will do that
a little bit later
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because I wanted the opportunity
00:00:50.70\00:00:52.34
to explain a little bit
to you of what I think GYC is
00:00:52.37\00:00:56.35
and why young people
continue to be attracted to it.
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Can I do that? A
very presidential update.
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Am I allowed to do that? Amen.
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So what I would
like to do is take us
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through a very systematic
approach to what GYC is.
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We'll have a
slide in just a second
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but there's a gentleman
by the name of Simon Sinek.
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I maybe pronouncing
his name incorrectly
00:01:20.31\00:01:22.39
but he takes to
look at organizations
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and movements and
leaders and he says that you--
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there's a very common threat
between the three of them.
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If you look at them
you can look at the "What,"
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the "How" and the
"Why" of an organization.
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Anyone ever familiar
with this kind of thinking?
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You can see it up on the screen,
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What, How and Why
of an organization.
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Now with your permission
we'll take that as our filter
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and look at GYC.
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So when outsider
came in, looked at GYC,
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what would be their
perspective as to what GYC is?
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This is the part
where you interact, respond.
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What would they say it is?
Young people coming together.
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Young people coming together.
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A youth
conference. A youth conference.
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Anything else?
Finished the work.
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Finished the work.
00:02:16.14\00:02:17.30
Seventh-day Adventist.
Seventh-day Adventist.
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Revival. Revival.
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All good answers and so,
I think I heard someone say,
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a youth conference.
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Very clearly,
if someone came in,
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look through here
and they looked around,
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they surveyed the
landscape of this,
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they would say undoubtedly
00:02:34.24\00:02:35.91
we're a youth
conference that is meeting.
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Yes? Yes.
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So we must ask
ourselves a question.
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Has GYC been successful
in holding youth conferences?
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I would submit to you, yes.
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Let's take a look
at the next slide,
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this is year one from GYC.
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The short version of
the history of GYC is this.
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A group of young people
16, 17, 18, 19, 20 year olds
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got together and their
collective thesis was this.
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We want to study the Bible
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and there must be
other young people out there
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that what to study the Bible.
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And so they did something
like any rest 16, 17, 18,
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and 19 year olds would do.
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They borrowed their
parent's credit card
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and they put a $50,000
down payment on a venue
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and they held
the youth conference
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and God blessed it.
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And you can see there
visually on the screen
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this is GYC 2002,
there was representation
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from three different
continents or countries.
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You know someone from
China came to the first GYC,
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even Australia?
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It's fascinating to me,
a bunch of young people.
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So we moved on.
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We continued to
have youth conferences
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and God has blessed our efforts.
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And I want to take
just a little bit of time
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to go on
international tangent with you
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because we've been praying
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for discernment
for quite sometime
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as to what GYC would look
like on an international level.
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And for a long time we prayed.
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We want to go to a
difficult territory
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because we thought, you
know, if we went to Asia,
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if we went to Africa, if
we went to South America,
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we could probably
get quite a few numbers
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to come to the conference,
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but we wanted
difficult territory.
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And so we surveyed the
landscape of the church
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and we decided
that Europe was probably
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the most difficult
territory that our church has.
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Middle East is
probably up there.
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That's Europe.
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That's what happens when
you don't have a clicker,
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they go a little aggressively.
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That's Europe.
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Now let you what
happened in Europe.
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We put the Word out, the vibe up
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that we wanted to have
a conference in Europe.
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And you know what
immediately the critic said?
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It's not gonna work.
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You see the
young people in Europe,
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they don't want the same thing
as the young people in America.
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Just because it happens here,
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doesn't mean it
could happen there.
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And further more
listen to this young people,
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the fact that the
Seventh-day Adventist message
00:05:03.48\00:05:06.69
has to be segregated
from country to country.
00:05:06.72\00:05:11.25
The message that we
preach in Switzerland
00:05:11.28\00:05:13.47
will not work for the
message we preach in Germany.
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You think we believe
that? Not for a second.
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We went to our knees,
we prayed and we said,
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Lord, we want to go to Europe,
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we're gonna take a spot in
the middle of the continent
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and we're gonna invite
the entire continent to come
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because the gospel message
is not related to one country.
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The gospel message
transcends culture,
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transcends age,
transcends history
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and it applies to everyone.
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So we went to Europe,
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we picked the place in
the center of the country
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and we put the Word out.
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Critic said, young
people will not come
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and if further
more or maybe one,
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two countries
will be represented.
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Let's put the slide up
again so you do not miss it.
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The entire continent
you can see is colored.
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You know, what happens?
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The same message that
is preached in Switzerland
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or in Italy or in Norway
00:06:05.26\00:06:07.32
or you pick the
continent is relevant.
00:06:07.35\00:06:10.28
The Seventh- day
Adventist message
00:06:10.31\00:06:11.70
is relevant
anywhere in this world
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and young people
are proving that.
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The critics
they can go the side,
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it can be preached anywhere.
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And so the young
people held a conference.
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The word of GYC is a conference.
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Each year we have
young people coming
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from countries and
countries and countries.
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And let me show you a
graphic representation
00:06:30.13\00:06:32.75
of what we've had so far in GYC.
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Fast forward a
11 years from 2002,
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that is the impact.
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That is actual
attendees that have come
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to the conference
in the United States
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or in Europe over
the last 12 years.
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We're creating a revolution.
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The what of GYC
is youth conferences
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and God has blessed us.
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We're the impacting the world
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and we're creating a revolution.
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There's an understanding now
00:07:01.38\00:07:02.43
that the
Seventh-day Adventist message
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for young people applies
to anyone in any country.
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The revolution is happening.
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So what's the next
step? How does it happen?
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The what of GYC is
certainly a young conference.
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And among other
things we produce resources,
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we do mission trips,
we do studies, weekends,
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we do all these different thinks
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that certainly
is the what of GYC.
00:07:26.13\00:07:28.18
But how does it happen?
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And to do that I want
to just use this analogy.
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Just bear with me.
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My wife and I we stumbled across
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some exciting news recently.
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And I was gonna have her stand
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but apparently
she's way, way in the back
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where no one would
see her but she's in here.
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And if she was here
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and if she would
come on stage like
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I was hoping she would,
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you would notice a
certain glow about her,
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because she's pregnant.
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We found out that
my wife is pregnant.
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We're by God's willingness
going to have a baby in July.
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You don't have to clap.
00:08:03.78\00:08:04.81
You don't have
to clap, don't clap.
00:08:04.84\00:08:07.13
We're very excited.
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So you would notice the
glow about her if you saw her.
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Now immediately
what happens is this,
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we found out we're pregnant,
00:08:15.92\00:08:17.32
we found out we're
gonna be having the baby
00:08:17.35\00:08:19.38
and so the next step is
how do you tell the parents,
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because the parents
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are both
grandparents for the first time.
00:08:23.11\00:08:25.45
Now my parents live in Minnesota
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close to where we live.
00:08:26.94\00:08:27.97
So we were able to
tell them face to face,
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but I really sort of a slave
to the dramatic things in life.
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I really just, I just love
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the theatrics
of telling someone.
00:08:36.97\00:08:39.34
And so I was a
discussion with my wife, I said,
00:08:39.37\00:08:41.13
you know, we should
sneak out to your parents place
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and show up there
maybe late at night
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or early in the morning
00:08:45.96\00:08:47.22
and maybe we've a baby
carriage, maybe we don't,
00:08:47.25\00:08:50.33
but we just sneak
out there and tell them
00:08:50.36\00:08:52.58
and it will be so
excited, we'll do this,
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this is a grand
thing to tell them.
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And she said, you know,
we should just call them.
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And I'm thinking
what in the world
00:09:00.44\00:09:02.15
is it that we've a great
news, we got to tell them,
00:09:02.18\00:09:04.29
we got to get there and she said
00:09:04.32\00:09:05.35
we got to call them.
00:09:05.38\00:09:06.41
And so we went back and
forth and back and forth.
00:09:06.44\00:09:08.81
And we did like any
happy married couple
00:09:08.84\00:09:10.92
would do, we compromised.
00:09:10.95\00:09:14.11
So as we're dialing
the phone to call them,
00:09:14.14\00:09:18.40
no, no, no, no.
00:09:18.43\00:09:22.76
As we're dialing
the phone to call them
00:09:22.79\00:09:26.78
my wife made an important
00:09:26.81\00:09:29.21
relevant pregnant
with meaning thought.
00:09:29.24\00:09:33.16
There's a point
intended there. She said this.
00:09:33.19\00:09:37.95
Justin, it doesn't
matter how we tell them,
00:09:37.98\00:09:42.59
it's what we tell them.
00:09:42.62\00:09:46.23
We could slop it
together in a text,
00:09:46.26\00:09:48.38
we could, we could call them,
00:09:48.41\00:09:49.97
we can Skype, we
could email them,
00:09:50.00\00:09:51.80
we can do whatever it was
but they are gonna be excited
00:09:51.83\00:09:54.67
because of the message
that we're telling them.
00:09:54.70\00:09:58.35
And if you follow that
logic to the next step,
00:09:58.38\00:10:00.81
it's the person
behind the message
00:10:00.84\00:10:03.16
that we're telling them.
00:10:03.19\00:10:05.47
So how does GYC happen?
It's sacrificial service.
00:10:05.50\00:10:10.43
Sacrificial
service of our volunteers,
00:10:10.46\00:10:13.14
but it's the message
that gives the power.
00:10:13.17\00:10:17.73
Won't you get it?
00:10:17.76\00:10:19.34
It happened in the Book of Acts.
00:10:19.37\00:10:20.75
A bunch of ordinary people
00:10:20.78\00:10:22.11
who preached an
extraordinary message
00:10:22.14\00:10:24.48
and the gospel, the
revolution just flew
00:10:24.51\00:10:26.77
through the whole Book of Acts.
00:10:26.80\00:10:28.87
You're looking,
when our church started
00:10:28.90\00:10:30.00
Ellen White, J.N.
Andrews, James White,
00:10:30.03\00:10:32.17
they are many of
them, ordinary people
00:10:32.20\00:10:34.26
with an
extraordinary message to preach.
00:10:34.29\00:10:37.15
And you look at GYC, last
year we had 636 volunteers,
00:10:37.18\00:10:40.86
this year we'll have
something equivalent to that,
00:10:40.89\00:10:42.66
ordinary people
00:10:42.69\00:10:44.68
with an
extraordinary message to preach.
00:10:44.71\00:10:48.09
As volunteers we
don't have any more talents
00:10:48.12\00:10:50.94
or anything else
that you don't have,
00:10:50.97\00:10:53.88
but we have an
extraordinary message to preach.
00:10:53.91\00:10:57.51
The what of GYC
is a youth conference
00:10:57.54\00:10:59.69
and God has blessed it.
00:10:59.72\00:11:01.48
The how of GYC is
sacrificial volunteers
00:11:01.51\00:11:05.45
preaching an
extraordinary message.
00:11:05.48\00:11:09.48
But what about the
"Why?" What about the "Why?"
00:11:09.51\00:11:14.42
The core of GYC, what it is?
00:11:20.98\00:11:26.22
Why you have been,
00:11:26.25\00:11:27.40
will be or should be
attracted to GYC is this.
00:11:27.43\00:11:32.14
Radical commitment to Him.
00:11:32.17\00:11:38.28
Radical commitment to Him.
00:11:38.31\00:11:42.02
You see my thesis to
this explanation is this.
00:11:42.05\00:11:45.08
If all the money
from GYC dried up
00:11:45.11\00:11:47.60
and we could not
have our conference,
00:11:47.63\00:11:49.44
if we could not have Seattle,
00:11:49.47\00:11:51.11
if we could not
have Orlando next year,
00:11:51.14\00:11:53.05
if all the money dried up
00:11:53.08\00:11:54.26
and we could not
have a youth conference,
00:11:54.29\00:11:56.98
GYC still exist
00:11:57.01\00:12:02.65
because there's
still commitment to Him.
00:12:02.68\00:12:05.86
There are still
men and young men,
00:12:05.89\00:12:07.83
young women who are praying
00:12:07.86\00:12:09.03
to their Savior
night after night.
00:12:09.06\00:12:11.00
There are still young people
scattered around the world
00:12:11.03\00:12:13.17
who are committed
to study in the Word.
00:12:13.20\00:12:15.10
There are still young
people all over the world
00:12:15.13\00:12:17.21
who are committed
to learning more about
00:12:17.24\00:12:18.62
the Sprit of Prophecy.
00:12:18.65\00:12:20.03
There are still young
people who are brought to tears
00:12:20.06\00:12:22.71
when the Adventist
churches are erected.
00:12:22.74\00:12:24.37
They are still young people
00:12:24.40\00:12:25.45
who despite the
clause are smuggling
00:12:25.48\00:12:27.29
in Ellen White
books in to countries.
00:12:27.32\00:12:29.14
They are still young people
00:12:29.17\00:12:30.20
who are coming
up by the thousands
00:12:30.23\00:12:32.24
proclaiming that we
want to be committed to Him.
00:12:32.27\00:12:35.61
We don't need a
youth conference,
00:12:35.64\00:12:36.83
GYC exists without it
00:12:36.86\00:12:39.91
because you are
committed to Him.
00:12:39.94\00:12:43.30
So why is the Why important?
00:12:43.33\00:12:46.78
And Simons account
in his book of What,
00:12:46.81\00:12:49.30
How and Why of explanations.
00:12:49.33\00:12:50.78
He looks at two examples.
00:12:50.81\00:12:53.54
There was a man by
the name of Langley.
00:12:53.57\00:12:56.35
Langley was given
$50,000 by the government.
00:12:56.38\00:13:00.27
He was given all the best
Ivy League mines and flight.
00:13:00.30\00:13:04.71
The New York Times
followed him around
00:13:04.74\00:13:07.23
and he set out to be
the first man in flight.
00:13:07.26\00:13:11.84
At the same time
the Wright Brothers,
00:13:11.87\00:13:14.78
there they were
financing their--
00:13:14.81\00:13:16.73
their mangled
institution with their money
00:13:16.76\00:13:19.65
from their bike shop.
00:13:19.68\00:13:21.21
They didn't have anyone
with the college degree.
00:13:21.24\00:13:23.99
The New York Times didn't
follow them anywhere in fact.
00:13:24.02\00:13:29.14
But you never heard of Langley,
00:13:29.17\00:13:32.01
and my assumption is you
heard of the Wright Brothers.
00:13:32.04\00:13:36.20
Langley didn't
make the first of flight
00:13:36.23\00:13:38.54
and that the
authors premise is this.
00:13:38.57\00:13:41.62
He had the Why mistaken.
The difference was this.
00:13:41.65\00:13:46.64
Langley was driven
by a passion to be rich
00:13:46.67\00:13:49.55
and to be famous and he failed.
00:13:49.58\00:13:52.47
The Wright
Brothers only wanted to fly,
00:13:52.50\00:13:54.92
that's all they cared
about and they succeeded.
00:13:54.95\00:13:59.37
They had the Why in place.
00:13:59.40\00:14:02.43
GYC we must understand
the Why of why we're here.
00:14:02.46\00:14:06.50
It is the
unfiltered, unhindered,
00:14:06.53\00:14:09.47
radical commitment to Him.
00:14:09.50\00:14:13.40
I'm sure it manifests
itself in different ways.
00:14:13.47\00:14:16.57
It gives us a
passion for souls like Paul.
00:14:16.60\00:14:18.92
It gives us the
humility of Mary.
00:14:18.95\00:14:20.86
It gives us the
commitment to our church.
00:14:20.89\00:14:22.81
I don't doubt it,
00:14:22.84\00:14:23.92
but at the end of
the day GYC exists
00:14:23.95\00:14:26.21
because you and I have a desire
00:14:26.24\00:14:28.06
to be radically
committed to Him.
00:14:28.09\00:14:32.26
Now let me be 100 percent
raw and open and expose to you,
00:14:32.29\00:14:36.83
which is not in my nature.
00:14:36.86\00:14:40.07
But I've alerted to
the board, to the fact that
00:14:40.10\00:14:42.14
and the executive committee,
next year after Orlando
00:14:42.17\00:14:45.58
I'm gonna step
down as president.
00:14:45.61\00:14:48.38
It's time for me to
retire, I'm getting old.
00:14:48.41\00:14:53.99
And I think through
this process of understanding
00:14:54.02\00:14:57.22
what no GYC in my life
means, at least in the capacity
00:14:57.25\00:15:01.30
I'm now understanding that
00:15:01.33\00:15:03.21
I've hit a bit
of a midlife crisis.
00:15:03.24\00:15:07.92
I've always
plague with the sense
00:15:07.95\00:15:10.18
of under accomplishment.
00:15:10.21\00:15:12.96
I just can't shake it.
00:15:12.99\00:15:15.28
And when I take a long
unfiltered look in the mirror,
00:15:15.31\00:15:18.34
here's my conclusion.
00:15:18.37\00:15:20.35
Sure there are
selfish worldly ambitions
00:15:20.38\00:15:22.58
that I've to push
through but at my core,
00:15:22.61\00:15:26.24
at my core of my
unrest is the unsettling fact
00:15:26.27\00:15:29.64
that I'm the president of
one of God's greatest movements
00:15:29.67\00:15:33.17
and I think we've settled.
00:15:33.20\00:15:37.37
I think through our success
of all these great pictures
00:15:37.40\00:15:40.41
and all these
great people coming
00:15:40.44\00:15:42.21
and all the thousands
and thousands of people
00:15:42.24\00:15:44.97
that we get, we have
settled and we missed the Why.
00:15:45.00\00:15:51.92
We understand the What.
00:15:51.95\00:15:53.10
We understand the How
but we missed the Why.
00:15:53.13\00:15:57.74
When GYC started we're
gonna preach to the world,
00:15:57.77\00:16:01.09
we're gonna wear out
the pages of our Bible,
00:16:01.12\00:16:03.63
we're gonna pray without ceasing
00:16:03.66\00:16:05.40
and Jesus was gonna
come again in our generation.
00:16:05.43\00:16:09.17
Jesus in our generation.
00:16:09.20\00:16:12.42
It was the heart of GYC then
00:16:12.45\00:16:14.72
and it needs to be
the heart of GYC now.
00:16:14.75\00:16:17.92
GYC is not a youth conference.
00:16:17.95\00:16:20.00
It is not an association of
youth club presence at the GC.
00:16:20.03\00:16:23.57
It's not a series.
00:16:23.60\00:16:24.63
It's not a bunch
of biblical preaching.
00:16:24.66\00:16:27.54
It's not a map. It's
not any of those things.
00:16:27.57\00:16:30.66
GYC is you and
your commitment to him.
00:16:30.69\00:16:37.93
Young people
don't screw up the Why.
00:16:37.96\00:16:42.54
Some of you have
come because it was cool.
00:16:42.57\00:16:46.19
But I pray you leave
and come back next year
00:16:46.22\00:16:48.12
because you're committed to Him.
00:16:48.15\00:16:50.45
Some of you came
because your youth group came
00:16:50.48\00:16:52.39
but I pray you leave
and comeback next year
00:16:52.42\00:16:54.34
because you're committed to Him.
00:16:54.37\00:16:56.08
Some of you came and met,
00:16:56.11\00:16:57.93
hoping to meet
someone from the opposite sex
00:16:57.96\00:17:00.65
but I pray that
you comeback next year
00:17:00.68\00:17:02.64
because you're committed to Him.
00:17:02.67\00:17:05.04
GYC is you.
00:17:05.07\00:17:07.52
Believe you can
preach to the world.
00:17:07.55\00:17:09.40
Wear out the
pages of your Bible.
00:17:09.43\00:17:11.44
You pray without
ceasing and you believe
00:17:11.47\00:17:13.73
Jesus gonna come
in your generation.
00:17:13.76\00:17:16.51
GYC is you and
your commitment to Him,
00:17:16.54\00:17:20.77
radical commitment
that is what GYC is.
00:17:20.80\00:17:23.73
We're not a youth conference,
00:17:23.76\00:17:24.79
we're not an
organization of young people,
00:17:24.82\00:17:26.97
we are you and
your commitment to Him.
00:17:27.00\00:17:29.95
And I would submit to you
00:17:33.74\00:17:34.78
that GYC can be
summed up into one word.
00:17:34.81\00:17:38.91
One word.
00:17:38.94\00:17:40.11
You can pass all the preaching,
00:17:40.14\00:17:41.51
you can pass the
stage, the lights,
00:17:41.54\00:17:43.72
the great graphics, the
flowers, everything else,
00:17:43.75\00:17:46.35
and at the end of the day
00:17:46.38\00:17:47.76
GYC can be
expressed in one word.
00:17:47.79\00:17:51.97
At the core of GYC
it is faithfulness,
00:17:52.00\00:17:59.06
faithfulness, faithfulness,
00:17:59.09\00:18:04.98
faithfulness, faithfulness.
00:18:05.01\00:18:09.17
Let's pray.
00:18:11.74\00:18:14.05
Heavenly Father,
00:18:14.08\00:18:16.72
we understand that
You blessed us greatly.
00:18:16.75\00:18:20.53
The What of GYC
that youth conference is.
00:18:20.56\00:18:25.09
We don't deserve it
00:18:25.12\00:18:26.15
but You've done
something great here.
00:18:26.18\00:18:29.39
We look at the How and
it's that sacrificial service.
00:18:29.42\00:18:33.24
Young people volunteering
with a powerful message,
00:18:33.27\00:18:38.20
it's the message that makes
the volunteers extraordinary.
00:18:38.23\00:18:42.30
It's not the
volunteers themselves.
00:18:42.33\00:18:45.70
And Lord, we looked at the Why.
00:18:45.73\00:18:49.34
We come to the realization
00:18:49.37\00:18:50.56
that GYC is not
a youth conference,
00:18:50.59\00:18:52.46
it's not an
association of youth,
00:18:52.49\00:18:54.38
it's-- it's not
any of those things
00:18:54.41\00:18:56.75
where we need to placein
the What category it's us.
00:18:56.78\00:19:01.95
It's the young
man sitting in a seat
00:19:01.98\00:19:03.75
that's what to
be committed to you.
00:19:03.78\00:19:06.25
It's the young woman
that sitting in her seat
00:19:06.28\00:19:08.00
that wants to
be committed to you
00:19:08.03\00:19:09.62
and so Lord, as we go
through this weekend we pray
00:19:09.65\00:19:13.11
that we'd have a
more firm understanding
00:19:13.14\00:19:15.08
of why it is we're here,
00:19:15.11\00:19:18.56
because we want to be
radically committed to You.
00:19:18.59\00:19:22.40
We want to wear out
the pages of our Bible.
00:19:22.43\00:19:25.35
We want to pray without ceasing.
00:19:25.38\00:19:27.80
We want to believe that
You can come in our generation.
00:19:27.83\00:19:33.27
We want all the scores
away and when we go home
00:19:33.30\00:19:35.74
we pray that at
the end of the day
00:19:35.77\00:19:39.45
we would be found faithful,
00:19:39.48\00:19:42.70
faithfulness, faithfulness,
00:19:42.73\00:19:49.27
faithfulness, amen.
00:19:49.30\00:19:55.94
I like to invite you
to bow your heads with me
00:19:55.97\00:19:57.55
as pray this evening.
00:19:57.58\00:20:02.21
Our Father in Heaven,
00:20:02.24\00:20:04.77
we thank you
for this opportunity
00:20:04.80\00:20:06.61
that we're having to
come into Your presence.
00:20:06.64\00:20:12.20
We recognize tonight
that Your strength is perfect
00:20:12.23\00:20:17.59
when our strength is gone.
00:20:17.62\00:20:21.55
As we talk about
revolution, as we talk about
00:20:21.58\00:20:26.48
how You moved in
the Book of Acts,
00:20:26.51\00:20:30.89
how priorities were shifted
in the hearts of Your people
00:20:30.92\00:20:37.73
we pray that You
would speak to us.
00:20:37.76\00:20:42.73
We pray that
Christ would be uplifted
00:20:42.76\00:20:46.23
that Jesus would be seen.
00:20:46.26\00:20:49.88
Cover us with Your robe of
righteousness here tonight.
00:20:49.91\00:20:55.38
May our hearts be drawn
closer and closer to You.
00:20:55.41\00:21:00.47
For we ask these
things in Jesus name, amen.
00:21:00.50\00:21:06.17
This evening I'd like to
invite you to turn with me
00:21:06.20\00:21:08.31
in your Bibles
to Psalms 90:10-12.
00:21:08.34\00:21:13.05
The Book of Psalms
00:21:15.63\00:21:18.30
Chapter 90:10-12.
00:21:18.33\00:21:24.41
Revolutions even though
they are corporate events,
00:21:28.32\00:21:35.40
always begin with
individual change.
00:21:35.43\00:21:41.85
God always changes
the world by changing me.
00:21:41.88\00:21:49.04
Revolutions even
though they are mass scale,
00:21:49.07\00:21:52.50
always begin with an
individual conversion.
00:21:52.53\00:21:59.06
A conversion is a reorganization
00:21:59.09\00:22:01.42
of the thoughts and
priorities of the hearts.
00:22:01.45\00:22:03.66
It's a radical experience
and as Pastor Wes Peppers
00:22:03.69\00:22:07.43
mentioned this morning,
00:22:07.46\00:22:08.68
it begins the
process with repentance.
00:22:08.71\00:22:15.29
The Book of Acts is no exception
00:22:15.32\00:22:19.37
and this evening I'd like for us
00:22:19.40\00:22:21.34
to reflect on some
scriptures that show us
00:22:21.37\00:22:23.91
that there are certain
times in our human experience
00:22:23.94\00:22:28.05
when even
unconverted individuals
00:22:28.08\00:22:30.97
recognize heavens values.
00:22:31.00\00:22:35.08
The Bible tells
us what is important,
00:22:35.11\00:22:37.51
what we should live for
00:22:37.54\00:22:39.33
but there are
certain in aid experiences
00:22:39.36\00:22:42.86
that help us to recognize
00:22:42.89\00:22:45.31
what is
ultimately important in life.
00:22:45.34\00:22:50.84
In Psalms 90:10-12,
00:22:50.87\00:22:54.49
it's a reflection by
the psalmist and he says,
00:22:54.52\00:22:57.50
"The days of our
lives are seventy years,
00:22:57.53\00:23:02.87
and if by reason of
strength they are eighty years,
00:23:02.90\00:23:07.80
yet their boast is
only labor and sorrow,
00:23:07.83\00:23:10.50
for it is soon cut
off, and we fly away.
00:23:10.53\00:23:15.09
Who knows the
power of Your anger?
00:23:15.12\00:23:16.86
For as the fear of
You, so is Your wrath.
00:23:16.89\00:23:21.31
So teach us to number our days,
00:23:21.34\00:23:25.59
that we may gain a
heart of understanding."
00:23:25.62\00:23:31.56
The Bible tells us
that life is short.
00:23:31.59\00:23:36.65
Life is finite, we
do not live forever.
00:23:36.68\00:23:39.62
And he says here and even back
in the days of the psalmist,
00:23:39.65\00:23:42.40
he says, there are 70 years
00:23:42.43\00:23:44.42
and if reason of
strength they are 80 years.
00:23:44.45\00:23:49.43
The Bible is telling
us that it is good for us
00:23:49.46\00:23:52.10
to recognize our mortality
00:23:52.13\00:23:54.62
that we do not live forever.
00:23:54.65\00:24:00.09
So the psalmist
goes on and says,
00:24:00.12\00:24:01.63
"So teach us to
number our days."
00:24:01.66\00:24:06.29
We need to count to calculate,
00:24:06.32\00:24:08.17
to recognize that life is short
00:24:08.20\00:24:11.80
and this helps us to
gain a heart of understanding.
00:24:11.83\00:24:16.93
And so this morning
with your permission
00:24:20.15\00:24:21.56
I'd like to have us meditate
00:24:21.59\00:24:25.50
for a little bit
about the brevity of life.
00:24:25.53\00:24:27.87
It says to number our days.
00:24:27.90\00:24:29.40
So I want to
take this literally.
00:24:29.43\00:24:32.24
Let's say that you live till 70
00:24:32.27\00:24:34.34
and I pray that you live longer
00:24:34.37\00:24:36.05
if the Lord doesn't come, amen.
00:24:36.08\00:24:38.79
But just for the
sake of illustration,
00:24:38.82\00:24:40.46
let's use the
psalmist example and say,
00:24:40.49\00:24:42.63
you live till 70
years of age that comes to,
00:24:42.66\00:24:46.41
if you multiply 365
00:24:46.44\00:24:48.34
by 70, 25,550 days.
00:24:48.37\00:24:55.20
If you're 20 years of age,
00:24:58.39\00:25:03.05
you have 18,250 days left.
00:25:03.08\00:25:10.76
If you're 35,
00:25:10.79\00:25:13.52
and you paid the penalty
00:25:13.55\00:25:16.07
for being over 35,
00:25:16.10\00:25:21.84
you have 12,775 days left.
00:25:21.87\00:25:29.83
If you're 50, 7,300 days.
00:25:29.86\00:25:35.16
James says in James 4:14.
00:25:40.05\00:25:43.30
"Whereas you know not
what shall be tomorrow.
00:25:43.33\00:25:46.60
For what is your life?
00:25:46.63\00:25:48.76
It is even a vapor that
appears for a little time
00:25:48.79\00:25:51.51
and then vanishes away."
00:25:51.54\00:25:52.72
Life is short. Life is finite.
00:25:52.75\00:25:55.95
I remember my
grandmother telling me
00:25:55.99\00:25:57.51
in one of those moments
that I had, that I treasure.
00:25:57.54\00:25:59.93
She was sitting down with
me at the table in my home
00:25:59.96\00:26:06.00
and she said,
David, I want to tell you
00:26:06.03\00:26:09.14
a reflection of my life.
00:26:09.17\00:26:10.52
She told me how she
escaped from North Korea.
00:26:10.55\00:26:15.38
Went to Japan as a missionary.
00:26:15.41\00:26:18.93
Came to America,
worked her fingers to the bone
00:26:18.96\00:26:22.19
to provide an
education for her family.
00:26:22.22\00:26:25.73
Finally she said, she
got to the point in her life
00:26:25.76\00:26:28.18
where she could
breathe or sigh of relief
00:26:28.21\00:26:30.05
and then she
looked in the mirror
00:26:30.08\00:26:31.35
and she was
over 70 years of age.
00:26:31.38\00:26:35.18
And she said, live is
short. Life is finite.
00:26:35.21\00:26:40.12
We do not live forever
and it's in this moment
00:26:40.15\00:26:42.75
that the Bible tells us
00:26:42.78\00:26:44.16
reflecting upon
our own mortality
00:26:44.19\00:26:47.96
that it shows us
something about values.
00:26:47.99\00:26:51.16
It shows us
something about priorities.
00:26:51.19\00:26:56.75
I found another statistic,
00:26:56.78\00:26:58.03
it said, for
the average American
00:26:58.06\00:26:59.53
who leaves college at
22 and lives to be 70.
00:26:59.56\00:27:03.48
So average college
student graduates at 22,
00:27:03.51\00:27:08.43
he lived to 70 it's
48 years from 22 to 70.
00:27:08.46\00:27:13.11
The adult
lifespan can be broken down
00:27:13.14\00:27:17.53
into a few key activities.
00:27:17.56\00:27:21.10
You will spend 16 years working.
00:27:21.13\00:27:25.66
Sixteen years if you
would have compressed
00:27:25.69\00:27:27.25
that time to 16 years
non-stop without taking breaks
00:27:27.28\00:27:30.79
for eating,
sleeping or vacationing.
00:27:30.82\00:27:35.53
You will spend
15 years sleeping.
00:27:35.56\00:27:40.85
Some of us more than other.
00:27:40.88\00:27:45.50
Sixteen years
working, 15 years sleeping.
00:27:45.53\00:27:50.73
The next biggest
strain on your time,
00:27:50.76\00:27:52.31
they say, on average it's media.
00:27:52.34\00:27:55.42
They're saying, you could spend
00:27:55.45\00:27:56.50
up to eight years
watching television,
00:27:56.53\00:27:59.62
on the internet
or other sources.
00:27:59.65\00:28:03.60
Four years eating.
00:28:03.63\00:28:05.80
Two years commuting
for the average American.
00:28:10.50\00:28:15.29
And when you
subtract all these things,
00:28:15.32\00:28:17.86
16 years working,
15 years sleeping,
00:28:17.89\00:28:23.91
four years eating,
eight years in media,
00:28:23.94\00:28:27.58
two years commuting,
00:28:27.61\00:28:29.18
you have less than four years
00:28:29.21\00:28:31.63
to do what you actually like.
00:28:31.66\00:28:37.58
Time with a spouse or loved one.
00:28:37.61\00:28:40.94
Time with the
children and grandchildren,
00:28:40.97\00:28:43.39
outings, and vacations,
00:28:43.42\00:28:45.50
it comes down to
1/12 of your life.
00:28:45.53\00:28:50.73
A maximum of five
minutes every hour
00:28:50.76\00:28:55.75
and tragically most of that time
00:28:55.78\00:28:58.44
will be postponed to a
period called retirement.
00:28:58.47\00:29:02.79
When many people no
longer enjoy the health
00:29:02.82\00:29:04.85
needed to live
life to the fullest.
00:29:04.88\00:29:09.21
Life is short.
00:29:09.24\00:29:14.45
James 4:14 says,
"For what is your life?
00:29:14.48\00:29:16.49
It is a vapor that
lives and appears for a time
00:29:16.52\00:29:19.71
and vanishes away."
00:29:19.74\00:29:22.15
Psalms 39:5 says,
00:29:22.18\00:29:23.67
"Indeed, You have made
my days as handbreadths,
00:29:23.70\00:29:26.23
and my age is as nothing
before You, certainly every man
00:29:26.26\00:29:29.82
at his best
state is but a vapor."
00:29:29.85\00:29:35.31
Psalms 103:15-16.
00:29:35.34\00:29:37.45
"For as a man, his
days are like grass,
00:29:37.48\00:29:40.10
as a flower of the
field, so he flourishes.
00:29:40.13\00:29:42.26
For as the wind passes
over it, and it is gone,
00:29:42.29\00:29:44.61
and it remembers it no more."
00:29:44.64\00:29:49.66
Billy Graham that
American evangelist said
00:29:49.69\00:29:51.69
the greatest surprise to me
00:29:51.72\00:29:54.02
is the brevity of life.
00:29:54.05\00:29:59.65
Life is short, so
the obvious question is,
00:29:59.68\00:30:04.92
how should I spend it?
00:30:04.95\00:30:07.75
If you only have a few
moments to actually do,
00:30:07.78\00:30:13.77
to actually be, to
actually prioritize,
00:30:13.80\00:30:17.10
what should I do?
00:30:17.13\00:30:19.04
How should I spend my life?
How should I spend my time?
00:30:19.07\00:30:23.00
Ecclesiastes 7:2, that
great experiential chapter
00:30:23.03\00:30:29.93
from the wisest
man that ever lived
00:30:29.96\00:30:32.51
in a personal reflection
upon life says these words.
00:30:32.54\00:30:38.46
Ecclesiastes 7:2, he says,
00:30:38.49\00:30:44.77
"Better to go to
the house of" what?
00:30:44.80\00:30:49.81
He says, "Better to go
to the house of mourning
00:30:49.84\00:30:53.51
than to the house of feasting,
00:30:53.54\00:30:56.48
for that is the end of all men,
00:30:56.51\00:31:00.43
and the living
will take it to heart."
00:31:00.46\00:31:06.07
Solomon is saying that
it's better to go to a funeral
00:31:06.10\00:31:10.71
than to a wedding.
00:31:10.74\00:31:13.47
If I had my choice I'd
rather go to a wedding.
00:31:13.50\00:31:18.79
Solomon is not saying
that we should go to funerals
00:31:18.82\00:31:21.71
because he's a
melancholy individual.
00:31:21.74\00:31:27.35
He is saying that,
funerals, places of mourning,
00:31:27.38\00:31:31.91
help the living to
recognize their mortality
00:31:31.94\00:31:36.61
and it's in this event
00:31:36.64\00:31:39.04
that priorities and
values are recognized.
00:31:39.07\00:31:45.73
Several years ago
I had the privilege
00:31:45.76\00:31:47.22
of going to
Africa on a mission trip
00:31:47.25\00:31:54.47
and it was an
incredible experience.
00:31:54.50\00:31:57.09
I'd never been to Africa before
00:31:57.12\00:31:58.33
I've since gone
a few more times.
00:31:58.36\00:32:02.85
And I noticed immediately
that economic poverty
00:32:02.88\00:32:07.90
does not equates
spiritual lethargy.
00:32:07.93\00:32:13.08
People would stop me
in the jungle and say,
00:32:13.11\00:32:16.84
do you have any literature?
00:32:16.87\00:32:19.52
In America you
can't give it away.
00:32:19.55\00:32:22.72
And it was an experience
00:32:22.75\00:32:24.77
where I saw
souls come to Christ.
00:32:24.80\00:32:27.30
We had a wonderful time.
00:32:27.33\00:32:29.50
There was an
element of discomfort though
00:32:29.53\00:32:31.27
and it seems like
even in the States
00:32:31.30\00:32:33.29
whenever I'm in a
place that is more tropical,
00:32:33.32\00:32:36.88
I don't know because I'm
Asian or because of my blood
00:32:36.91\00:32:41.21
but it seems like
I can be in a place
00:32:41.24\00:32:43.35
and no one else is
getting bit by mosquitoes
00:32:43.38\00:32:45.39
but they are just
swarming all round me.
00:32:45.42\00:32:49.39
And this was the
case I had multiple welts
00:32:49.42\00:32:51.94
all over my
body but I said, hey,
00:32:51.97\00:32:53.75
this is for
missions, this is for the Lord.
00:32:53.78\00:32:57.88
I would suffer for Him
00:32:57.91\00:33:01.63
and I came back to the States
00:33:01.66\00:33:06.29
it was around December,
went to my parents home,
00:33:06.32\00:33:10.99
it's around Christmas break
and I started getting flu like
00:33:11.02\00:33:15.56
symptoms there's
a flu going around.
00:33:15.59\00:33:20.18
And this is a
little bit different.
00:33:20.21\00:33:22.26
I would wake up in the
middle of the night chills.
00:33:22.29\00:33:25.26
I've to change all my clothes
00:33:25.29\00:33:26.92
and lot of
other things happening
00:33:26.95\00:33:29.58
which I won't go into detail.
00:33:29.61\00:33:33.12
It was absolutely
misery and one day, two day,
00:33:33.15\00:33:36.12
three days, four days,
five days, six days go by
00:33:36.15\00:33:39.38
and finally in the
middle of the night
00:33:39.41\00:33:42.10
I feel this
incredible impression.
00:33:42.13\00:33:44.28
David you need to
go to the hospital,
00:33:44.31\00:33:45.59
this is not normal.
00:33:45.62\00:33:48.99
I'm a typical male. I
do not like hospitals.
00:33:49.02\00:33:56.61
I can't remember the last time
00:33:56.64\00:33:57.79
I've gone to the
doctor for a check up.
00:33:57.82\00:33:59.48
My wife keeps
reminding me I should go.
00:33:59.51\00:34:01.87
And that night I crawl upstairs,
00:34:01.90\00:34:04.77
I said, mom, dad,
something is wrong,
00:34:04.80\00:34:06.31
we need to go to the hospital.
00:34:06.34\00:34:07.37
They bundled me up,
took me off to the hospital.
00:34:07.40\00:34:09.91
The doctor on call that
night had been to Africa.
00:34:09.94\00:34:16.12
He took one look at
me and he said David,
00:34:16.15\00:34:20.61
I don't even need
to see the blood test.
00:34:20.64\00:34:23.78
You're six days into
this, I think you have malaria.
00:34:23.81\00:34:30.40
He educated me very
quickly about what malaria was.
00:34:30.43\00:34:33.48
When mosquito
comes and bites you
00:34:33.51\00:34:35.72
and he takes your
blood but leaves a gift.
00:34:35.75\00:34:41.89
He leaves a parasite
00:34:41.92\00:34:44.84
and that parasite
incubates in your liver
00:34:44.87\00:34:47.10
and then in a few days
or few weeks it comes out
00:34:47.13\00:34:50.72
and this parasite goes
into your red blood cell,
00:34:50.75\00:34:53.81
starts multiplying
and then when it reaches
00:34:53.84\00:34:56.03
a certain capacity it bursts.
00:34:56.06\00:34:58.94
Then they go out to
another red blood cell
00:34:58.97\00:35:01.53
and it keeps going and
that's why you get fever
00:35:01.56\00:35:03.31
and flu like symptoms.
00:35:03.34\00:35:04.51
And the type of malaria I had,
00:35:04.54\00:35:07.36
I found out later
was called falciparum
00:35:07.39\00:35:11.93
and they say that you have
up to seven days to treat it.
00:35:11.96\00:35:16.35
I was on day six and they said
00:35:16.38\00:35:17.79
even if you catch
it at day six or seven
00:35:17.82\00:35:22.89
you get liver
failure, kidney failure,
00:35:22.92\00:35:25.94
you could be on dialysis
for the rest of your life
00:35:25.97\00:35:28.09
and you could die.
00:35:28.12\00:35:31.86
And I'm sitting there
00:35:31.89\00:35:35.13
in that hospital bed
00:35:35.16\00:35:39.95
sweat pouring down my
face, my parents looking at me,
00:35:39.98\00:35:45.36
and I said look,
this is something
00:35:45.39\00:35:47.02
you read out in Readers Digest.
00:35:47.05\00:35:50.80
I said this is always
happens to someone else not me.
00:35:50.83\00:35:56.18
And I recognized that night,
00:35:56.21\00:36:01.84
a recognition on what I
thought was my death bed
00:36:01.87\00:36:09.17
knowing that I might not
making it through the night.
00:36:09.20\00:36:12.08
I want to tell you that
my priorities crystallized.
00:36:12.11\00:36:18.57
It's an element
of human experience.
00:36:18.60\00:36:21.89
I recognized what
was ultimately important.
00:36:21.92\00:36:26.95
And it came down to two things
00:36:26.98\00:36:30.29
or two
individuals or two entities.
00:36:30.32\00:36:33.00
God, if I don't make
it through the night,
00:36:33.03\00:36:38.40
do I have a
relationship with Him
00:36:38.43\00:36:42.24
and the other one was people,
00:36:42.27\00:36:44.89
everything else
paled into insignificance.
00:36:44.92\00:36:51.01
There was no fog,
00:36:51.04\00:36:53.71
there was ultimate clarity.
00:36:53.74\00:36:58.74
"Better to go to
the house of mourning
00:36:58.77\00:37:03.98
than to the house of feasting,
for that is the end of all men,
00:37:04.01\00:37:09.75
and the living
will take it to heart."
00:37:09.78\00:37:15.98
Recognizing our
mortality is a healthy endeavor.
00:37:16.01\00:37:22.81
I did youth
ministry for a few years
00:37:26.28\00:37:32.04
and as I would talk
to these academy kids
00:37:32.07\00:37:35.21
and high school
kids, I would ask them,
00:37:35.24\00:37:39.63
let's say that
you're on a plane,
00:37:39.66\00:37:42.25
Transatlantic
flight and the pilot comes
00:37:42.28\00:37:47.69
over the intercom and he says,
00:37:47.72\00:37:51.46
we're having some
technical difficulties,
00:37:51.49\00:37:56.48
this is not turbulence
and for whatever reason
00:37:56.51\00:38:00.84
he tells you that we're going
to crash in the Atlantic Ocean
00:38:00.87\00:38:05.58
and you have five
minutes before impact.
00:38:05.61\00:38:10.89
And the pilot says, use
those five minutes well.
00:38:10.92\00:38:15.72
And I ask these teenagers,
00:38:15.75\00:38:19.10
what would you do for the
last five minutes of your life?
00:38:19.13\00:38:25.00
And I said how many of
you would play video games
00:38:25.03\00:38:27.19
for the last five
minutes of your life?
00:38:27.22\00:38:31.40
Not a single hand went up.
00:38:31.43\00:38:34.38
I said how many of you ladies
would go off to the bathroom
00:38:34.41\00:38:37.25
and check your hair
because you want to die pretty?
00:38:37.28\00:38:42.90
Not a single hand went up.
00:38:42.93\00:38:44.84
I said how many of
you would watch television
00:38:44.87\00:38:46.73
or be on the internet?
00:38:46.76\00:38:47.79
Not a single hand went up.
00:38:47.82\00:38:50.90
And then I asked them,
how many of you would pray?
00:38:50.93\00:38:56.09
Every single hand went up.
00:38:56.12\00:38:58.96
And I said how many of
you would call your parents?
00:38:58.99\00:39:03.45
Every single hand went up
00:39:03.48\00:39:05.95
and I said, isn't it
ironic that the two people
00:39:05.98\00:39:09.13
you want least in
your life right now
00:39:09.16\00:39:10.90
when you're about to
die are the two people
00:39:10.93\00:39:12.68
that you want most in your life.
00:39:12.71\00:39:17.83
Better to go to
the house of mourning
00:39:17.86\00:39:22.35
than to the house of feasting,
00:39:22.38\00:39:27.41
for the living
will take it to heart.
00:39:27.44\00:39:31.89
I was listening on the radio,
00:39:36.01\00:39:40.84
it was the 10th
anniversary of September 11.
00:39:40.87\00:39:47.55
And I don't know how many
of you ever heard StoryCorps.
00:39:47.58\00:39:51.93
It's an audio
description of people
00:39:51.96\00:39:56.70
testifying about certain events.
00:39:56.73\00:40:01.15
And on the 10th
anniversary of September 11,
00:40:01.18\00:40:04.53
they had different
individuals that would come on
00:40:04.56\00:40:06.48
that had lost loved
ones in that terrible event.
00:40:06.51\00:40:13.71
And there was one
widow that was on the radio,
00:40:13.74\00:40:18.93
her testimony
just broke my heart.
00:40:18.96\00:40:20.64
She says that, her
husband worked on tower one.
00:40:20.67\00:40:25.67
She heard the news that
one of the towers had been hit
00:40:25.70\00:40:29.61
and then she received
a chilling phone call,
00:40:29.64\00:40:33.56
it was her husband.
00:40:33.59\00:40:37.50
And her husband is on
the phone and he says,
00:40:37.53\00:40:42.11
I'm above the explosion.
00:40:42.14\00:40:46.03
I've checked every exit
00:40:46.06\00:40:49.63
and I don't think
I'm going to make it.
00:40:49.66\00:40:53.24
And she tells the story
about how for half an hour
00:40:53.27\00:40:56.89
they are on the phone.
00:40:56.92\00:40:57.95
What would you do with that
last half hour with your spouse
00:40:57.98\00:41:00.22
and she's talking and
their sharing experiences
00:41:00.25\00:41:03.05
and finally
they get to the place
00:41:03.08\00:41:04.69
where they had
nothing more they could say
00:41:04.72\00:41:07.42
and all they are
saying is I love you,
00:41:07.45\00:41:10.31
I love you, I
love you, I love you,
00:41:10.34\00:41:13.44
and then there is
the crash and silence
00:41:13.47\00:41:15.68
and she says,
she was sitting there
00:41:15.71\00:41:17.08
with the phone
on her heart weeping
00:41:17.11\00:41:19.09
and she said she-- not
want to go to bed that night
00:41:19.12\00:41:22.76
because as long
as she stayed awake
00:41:22.79\00:41:24.51
she believed that it was the day
00:41:24.54\00:41:26.19
that she had
spent with her husband.
00:41:26.22\00:41:30.22
Instinctively people
that knew they were perishing,
00:41:30.25\00:41:35.96
knew what was
important and knew whom to call,
00:41:35.99\00:41:42.49
people, relationships.
00:41:42.52\00:41:47.27
If we discovered we
only had five minutes left
00:41:47.30\00:41:49.92
to say all that we
ever wanted to say,
00:41:49.95\00:41:53.49
every cell phone
would be occupied by people
00:41:53.52\00:41:56.88
calling other people
to stammer, I love you.
00:41:56.91\00:42:04.79
"Better to go to
the house of mourning
00:42:04.82\00:42:07.88
than to the house of feasting,
for that is the end of all men,
00:42:07.91\00:42:13.79
and the living
will take it to heart."
00:42:13.82\00:42:19.69
Blaise Pascal says this,
00:42:19.72\00:42:20.85
"I've learned to
define life backwards
00:42:20.88\00:42:24.34
and live it forwards."
00:42:24.37\00:42:28.42
I like to invite
you to turn with me
00:42:28.45\00:42:29.79
in your Bibles to the
Book of Acts, Acts 4:32.
00:42:29.82\00:42:37.52
The corporate revolution
in the Book of Acts was made
00:42:37.55\00:42:44.94
and represented by individuals
00:42:44.97\00:42:49.19
that had one heartbeat,
00:42:49.22\00:42:54.41
one priority.
00:42:54.44\00:42:57.93
Acts 4:32.
00:42:57.96\00:43:04.01
"Now the multitude
of those who believed
00:43:06.68\00:43:08.70
where of one heart and one soul,
00:43:08.73\00:43:13.40
neither did anyone
say that any of the things
00:43:13.43\00:43:16.17
he possessed was his own,
00:43:16.20\00:43:18.64
but they had all
things in common.
00:43:18.67\00:43:23.14
And with great power
the apostles gave witness
00:43:23.17\00:43:25.65
to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
00:43:25.68\00:43:28.41
And great grace
was upon them all.
00:43:28.44\00:43:31.16
Nor was there anyone
among them who lacked,
00:43:31.19\00:43:33.63
for all who were possessions
of lands or houses sold them,
00:43:33.66\00:43:37.22
and brought the
proceeds of the things
00:43:37.25\00:43:40.18
that were sold, and laid
them at the apostles' feet,
00:43:40.21\00:43:44.60
and they distributed to
each as anyone had need."
00:43:44.63\00:43:51.77
The energies, time
00:43:51.80\00:43:53.62
and resources
in the Book of Acts
00:43:53.65\00:43:56.49
was sacrificed for
the salvation of souls.
00:43:56.52\00:44:01.82
The Book of Acts represents
a radical paradigm shift
00:44:01.85\00:44:06.06
in the minds o f the disciples
00:44:06.09\00:44:08.55
where every
resource was invested
00:44:08.58\00:44:13.51
in what heaven values
most, souls in the kingdom.
00:44:13.54\00:44:19.84
It was a paradigm
shift of priorities
00:44:19.87\00:44:22.09
where God and the worth of souls
00:44:22.12\00:44:24.83
was supremely realized.
00:44:24.86\00:44:28.40
There was a man
that had a dream.
00:44:34.14\00:44:38.97
And in this dream
he was hearing voices.
00:44:39.00\00:44:44.29
One voice in particular
told him to go down this path
00:44:44.32\00:44:49.48
and was giving him
direction around the path,
00:44:49.51\00:44:51.70
go left, go right and
finally the voice said stop.
00:44:51.73\00:44:56.29
He stopped and the voice said,
00:44:56.32\00:44:58.00
I want you to
pick up these rocks
00:44:58.03\00:45:00.27
and place them in your pocket.
00:45:00.30\00:45:03.29
So he did that.
00:45:03.32\00:45:04.35
He place the rocks in his pocket
00:45:04.38\00:45:06.05
and, then the voice told him
00:45:06.08\00:45:09.21
go back out the path, go home,
00:45:09.24\00:45:11.68
don't look at the
rocks until you get home
00:45:11.71\00:45:13.49
and when you look at the rocks
00:45:13.52\00:45:14.75
you will be extremely elated
00:45:14.78\00:45:18.43
and at the same time
you will be extremely sad.
00:45:18.46\00:45:22.23
He thought that was strange
00:45:22.26\00:45:23.29
to experience two
conflicting emotions
00:45:23.32\00:45:25.26
but he followed that instruction
00:45:25.29\00:45:27.57
and went out of the
path, came back home
00:45:27.60\00:45:29.89
and reached into his
pocket to pick out the rocks
00:45:29.92\00:45:34.10
and he looked at
them in the light
00:45:34.13\00:45:37.16
and they were not
rocks, they were diamonds.
00:45:37.19\00:45:42.53
And then he understood
the meaning of the words.
00:45:42.56\00:45:45.50
You will be extremely happy,
yet you will be extremely sad
00:45:45.53\00:45:48.60
because he was happy.
00:45:48.63\00:45:49.86
Yes, because he had the diamonds
00:45:49.89\00:45:52.88
but if he recognized
the value of the rocks
00:45:52.91\00:45:57.11
he would have taken more.
00:45:57.14\00:46:00.25
I believe that
we won't recognize
00:46:00.28\00:46:02.75
the value of a
soul until we stand
00:46:02.78\00:46:06.75
on the sea of glass in heaven.
00:46:06.78\00:46:09.43
And it's my prayer here
tonight that none of us,
00:46:09.46\00:46:12.92
when we get to heaven
we'll have any regrets
00:46:12.95\00:46:16.03
as to what God would have
us to have done here on earth
00:46:16.06\00:46:21.12
while we had the opportunity.
00:46:21.15\00:46:25.90
I think of Jesus.
00:46:25.93\00:46:29.61
In Luke Chapter 15,
00:46:29.64\00:46:32.77
He's portraying to the disciples
00:46:32.80\00:46:35.01
and to the people,
00:46:35.04\00:46:36.84
how heaven looks at individuals.
00:46:36.87\00:46:42.42
He's hanging
around with individuals
00:46:42.45\00:46:45.29
that the Pharisee say,
He should not be around
00:46:45.32\00:46:47.58
and suddenly the Pharisees
come up to Him and say,
00:46:47.61\00:46:50.21
why you're hang
around with these people?
00:46:50.24\00:46:52.91
And Jesus says to them,
I want to tell you a story.
00:46:52.94\00:46:55.88
It was actually one story
00:46:55.91\00:46:57.14
but it's three stories
combined to portray a point.
00:46:57.17\00:47:01.96
It's the parable
of the lost sheep,
00:47:01.99\00:47:03.65
the lost coin and the lost son.
00:47:03.68\00:47:08.12
In all three stories
there is something that is lost.
00:47:08.15\00:47:13.40
Illustrating
three lost conditions,
00:47:13.43\00:47:15.28
the sheep,
doesn't know he's lost,
00:47:15.31\00:47:18.63
doesn't know the way back home.
00:47:18.66\00:47:20.88
The coin--
doesn't know he's lost.
00:47:20.91\00:47:26.60
The Prodigal
Son knows he's lost,
00:47:26.63\00:47:30.44
knows he's way back
home at the end each parable
00:47:30.47\00:47:34.32
there is a
celebration that takes place.
00:47:34.35\00:47:39.04
The lost coin, the
lost sheep and the lost son
00:47:39.07\00:47:44.43
and it helped me to recognize,
00:47:44.46\00:47:47.02
that when I knelt down
in the hills of Pennsylvania
00:47:47.05\00:47:51.20
and gave my heart to
the Lord Jesus Christ
00:47:51.23\00:47:55.32
that heaven, God
the Father, God the son,
00:47:55.35\00:47:59.25
God the Holy Spirit,
the angels they stopped.
00:47:59.28\00:48:05.49
Those are moment of
silence and then celebration.
00:48:05.52\00:48:13.47
And there was place
reserved in heaven for me
00:48:13.50\00:48:18.71
just in that moment.
00:48:18.74\00:48:23.50
Who can estimate
00:48:23.53\00:48:25.72
the value of a
soul in the eyes of God?
00:48:25.75\00:48:33.54
I like to read the
statement from Ellen White.
00:48:33.57\00:48:39.10
Review and
Herald, March 25, 1880.
00:48:39.13\00:48:45.53
"Here is a work for
every one of us to do.
00:48:45.56\00:48:50.39
Never did I see and
sense the value of souls
00:48:50.42\00:48:54.12
as I do at the present time.
00:48:54.15\00:48:57.36
How can we realize the important
00:48:57.39\00:49:01.58
the importance of
the work of salvation?
00:49:01.61\00:49:04.89
In comparison with
the value of the soul,
00:49:04.92\00:49:07.57
everything else
sinks into insignificance.
00:49:07.60\00:49:11.94
This world and its treasures,
this life and its happiness,
00:49:11.97\00:49:16.82
are of little consequence,
when we compare them
00:49:16.85\00:49:19.68
with the joy of even
one soul eternally saved.
00:49:19.71\00:49:25.10
Until we have a
clear and distinct ideas
00:49:25.13\00:49:29.23
of what that soul will enjoy
00:49:29.26\00:49:31.51
when saved in
the kingdom of glory,
00:49:31.54\00:49:34.12
until we can fully comprehend
the value of that life
00:49:34.15\00:49:38.38
which measures
with the life of God,
00:49:38.41\00:49:41.17
until we can fully realize
the riches of that reward
00:49:41.20\00:49:45.57
which is laid up for those
00:49:45.60\00:49:47.04
who overcome and
gain the victory,
00:49:47.07\00:49:49.54
we cannot know the
inestimable value of the soul.
00:49:49.57\00:49:54.40
If I had a thousand
lives, I would devote them all
00:49:54.43\00:49:59.36
to the service of the Lord.
00:49:59.39\00:50:03.24
Let us consider, dear friends,
00:50:03.27\00:50:06.01
what joy
unspeakable will fill our hearts
00:50:06.04\00:50:10.49
in the day of God,
00:50:10.52\00:50:12.30
if, as we gather
around the great white throne,
00:50:12.33\00:50:15.62
we shall see souls, saved
through our instrumentality,
00:50:15.65\00:50:19.12
with the crown of
immortal glory upon their brows.
00:50:19.15\00:50:23.36
How shall we feel as
we look upon that company,
00:50:23.39\00:50:27.21
and see one soul
saved through our agency,
00:50:27.24\00:50:30.94
who has saved
others, and still others,
00:50:30.97\00:50:34.72
a large assembly
brought into the haven of rest
00:50:34.75\00:50:38.90
as the result of our labors,
00:50:38.93\00:50:41.38
there to lay their
crowns at the feet of Jesus
00:50:41.41\00:50:44.98
and to praise him
with immortal tongues
00:50:45.01\00:50:48.21
throughout the
ceaseless ages of eternity."
00:50:48.24\00:50:52.98
The Book of Acts represents
00:50:55.82\00:50:57.98
a radical
transformation in human nature,
00:50:58.01\00:51:00.70
recognizing what
heaven values most
00:51:00.73\00:51:06.52
is people.
00:51:06.55\00:51:09.42
What heavens
values most is souls
00:51:09.45\00:51:14.72
and heaven forbid
that when we get to heaven
00:51:14.75\00:51:21.02
that we will live
a moment of regret
00:51:21.05\00:51:25.83
recognizing on
that side of eternity
00:51:25.86\00:51:29.12
what is ultimately valuable.
00:51:29.15\00:51:32.34
I was at a pastor's retreat...
00:51:38.09\00:51:40.14
and one of the pastor stood up
00:51:43.79\00:51:45.40
and told us an
experience that his wife had.
00:51:45.43\00:51:50.64
And he said that his
wife was praying to the Lord,
00:51:53.81\00:51:57.61
she has a
powerful prayer ministry
00:51:57.64\00:52:01.16
and she was praying, Lord Jesus,
00:52:01.19\00:52:04.78
please show me Your heart.
00:52:04.81\00:52:07.70
I want to see Your heart.
00:52:07.73\00:52:12.44
She fell asleep and in her sleep
00:52:12.47\00:52:16.34
she had a dream.
00:52:16.37\00:52:19.58
It was after the millennium,
00:52:19.61\00:52:23.51
the New Jerusalem
had comedown from heaven.
00:52:23.54\00:52:28.90
Praise the Lord she
was inside the city.
00:52:28.93\00:52:33.37
And she said the walls
were of transparent gold.
00:52:33.40\00:52:37.24
She could see through them
00:52:37.27\00:52:38.54
and on the horizon
she could see a shadow
00:52:38.57\00:52:41.85
that filled the entire landscape
00:52:41.88\00:52:43.81
and the shadow
approached the city
00:52:43.84\00:52:47.47
and she said that,
she could see that,
00:52:47.50\00:52:49.85
it was not a
shadow but it was people.
00:52:49.88\00:52:54.11
They got closer
and closer to the city
00:52:54.14\00:52:57.29
and she started to see faces.
00:52:57.32\00:53:01.02
There was one face
that broke her heart,
00:53:01.05\00:53:05.02
it was her son.
00:53:05.05\00:53:06.71
Her son saw the
mother through the walls
00:53:10.01\00:53:15.45
and in the
dream the son walks up
00:53:15.48\00:53:18.46
to the walls of
the New Jerusalem,
00:53:18.49\00:53:21.48
places his hands on the walls.
00:53:21.51\00:53:25.49
She places her
hands on the wall.
00:53:25.52\00:53:29.72
And she could not
hear through the wall
00:53:29.75\00:53:31.37
but she could
hear or read his lips
00:53:31.40\00:53:33.90
and he's saying mom,
00:53:33.93\00:53:37.47
let me in, please let me in.
00:53:37.50\00:53:42.18
And instinctively
from the mothers heart
00:53:44.61\00:53:46.46
she turned to
try to let her son in
00:53:46.49\00:53:48.87
and she recognize
that she couldn't.
00:53:48.90\00:53:53.05
And in that moment
she heart the voice,
00:53:53.08\00:53:54.76
now is the time and she woke up.
00:53:54.79\00:53:59.16
And it was as if the
Spirit of God was telling her
00:54:03.45\00:54:08.15
now you know My heart.
00:54:08.18\00:54:16.12
Friends,
00:54:16.15\00:54:22.58
I pray this evening
00:54:22.61\00:54:27.69
that God would give us
00:54:27.72\00:54:31.17
a love for souls
for whom Christ died.
00:54:31.20\00:54:33.51
Amen? Amen.
00:54:33.54\00:54:37.35
I want to say Lord
Jesus, help me to love people
00:54:37.38\00:54:39.89
like You love
people because I don't.
00:54:39.92\00:54:43.90
Give me a love for
souls for whom Christ died
00:54:43.93\00:54:46.53
so that when I stand
in that New Jerusalem
00:54:46.56\00:54:50.69
I can say by the grace of God
00:54:50.72\00:54:52.44
that I've done
everything possible
00:54:52.47\00:54:55.73
to influence as many
people for the kingdom.
00:54:55.76\00:54:59.22
And tonight I want to
make a very simple appeal,
00:54:59.25\00:55:03.05
this has what
moved the revolution
00:55:03.08\00:55:04.65
in the Book of Acts.
00:55:04.68\00:55:05.73
They valued what heaven valued.
00:55:05.76\00:55:08.32
They invested in
what heaven valued.
00:55:08.35\00:55:10.21
They gave up everything
for the salvation of souls.
00:55:10.24\00:55:15.23
And tonight, I want
to pray in my heart.
00:55:15.26\00:55:19.08
David, asking the Lord Jesus
00:55:19.11\00:55:23.96
give me a love for people
00:55:23.99\00:55:28.99
that You shed Your
blood upon Calvary for.
00:55:29.02\00:55:31.54
Is that your
desire here tonight?
00:55:31.57\00:55:34.42
It's something that
we can not manufacture.
00:55:34.45\00:55:38.27
It's not
something that we can try
00:55:38.30\00:55:39.98
to conjure up in our own nature.
00:55:40.01\00:55:41.68
It is a divine love for
souls for whom Christ died.
00:55:41.71\00:55:46.90
Let the revolution begin
and let it begin with me.
00:55:46.93\00:55:52.17
When we love the world
as Christ loved the world,
00:55:52.20\00:55:59.58
then His mission
for us is accomplished.
00:55:59.61\00:56:07.05
Is that your
desire here tonight?
00:56:07.08\00:56:08.53
Amen.
00:56:08.56\00:56:09.59
Lord, help me to love
people like You love people.
00:56:09.62\00:56:13.73
Let's bow our heads
together as we pray.
00:56:13.76\00:56:15.93
Our Father in Heaven,
00:56:20.49\00:56:26.95
we pray tonight
00:56:26.98\00:56:31.13
that You would help us love
people like You love people.
00:56:31.16\00:56:36.13
We pray tonight
that You would help us
00:56:36.16\00:56:38.80
to see people the
way that You see people.
00:56:38.83\00:56:44.04
That heaven values
would become our values.
00:56:44.07\00:56:51.62
That when we stand on
the sea of glass with You
00:56:51.65\00:56:55.60
that You would
help us to recognize,
00:56:55.63\00:57:00.38
by the grace of God
00:57:00.41\00:57:01.49
that we've done
everything possible
00:57:01.52\00:57:04.19
to lead people into the kingdom.
00:57:04.22\00:57:07.43
May we not live
a moment of regret.
00:57:07.46\00:57:12.52
Help us to recognize
from your perspective
00:57:12.55\00:57:17.09
what is ultimately important.
00:57:17.12\00:57:20.60
For we ask these
things in Jesus name
00:57:20.63\00:57:24.80
and for His sake, amen.
00:57:24.83\00:57:29.64