Participants: Chad Kreuzer
Series Code: 15GYC
Program Code: 15GYC000008A
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01:42 Oh Father God, those calls to prayer are from the millions of
01:47 Mosques that haunt me day and night. 01:50 There are millions, and millions of people around me in the 01:54 Middle East and North Africa who need to know what we know, 02:00 but, Oh Lord, who can tell them? 02:03 Father You've called all of us. 02:05 You've chosen each of us for a different responsibility. 02:10 Not all are called to the same place, or to the same task. 02:14 But I pray this morning that You'll pour out Your Holy Spirit 02:18 and impress those that You have chosen to take the gospel 02:21 to this final frontier for mission. 02:24 Empower them to be faithful, even unto death, 02:28 if that's what You ask of them. 02:30 In Jesus' name, Amen. 02:32 Achmed is a young Muslim. 02:37 He's a twenty-four year old university student. 02:40 These days he spends much of his time sitting on his dorm room 02:45 bed watching television. 02:47 He hates what he sees, but he can't seem to tear his eyes 02:51 away from the horrors of war, the atrocities of ISIS, 02:55 or the agony of the refugees. 02:58 Sometimes he jumps up from his bed and shouts at the walls, 03:03 What is going on? How can people do that kind of 03:07 thing to each other? 03:08 Even when he's out walking on the Cornish with his friends, 03:13 he can't get these scenes out of mind. 03:15 And his conversation often goes something like this: 03:19 I just don't get it. 03:20 We all pray in the Mosque, we read the Koran, we give Zakat, 03:25 we plan for a Hajj to Mecca, and yet what 03:28 difference is it making? 03:29 ISIS is killing Christians, and Muslims, and men, 03:33 and women, and children. 03:34 Not only that, he says, I've been thinking. 03:38 Ashraf, the fruit seller down at the corner, 03:42 he leaves the Mosque after prayers, and goes back and 03:46 cheats the same people that he's been praying with. 03:50 What is the purpose of religion anyway? 03:54 What's the purpose of life? 03:55 Are we just here to make money, and have lots of wives, 03:58 and children, and then die? 04:00 I hear the Imam's talking about the coming of Isa and judgment. 04:05 What does it mean? I'm afraid. 04:08 I'm afraid of being blown up by somebody's stupid bomb. 04:12 I'm afraid of the coming of Isa. 04:15 I'm afraid of the judgment. 04:16 I just wish I knew somebody that could share with me what's 04:21 happening, and explain to me what's going on in all of this. 04:27 Oh if only we had one young Adventist 04:31 in Achmed's university. 04:33 If only we had one young Adventist in his university 04:37 that could share with Achmed what it's like 04:41 to be a follower of Jesus; somebody who could become his 04:44 friend, because that's what would have to happen first. 04:47 Once Achmed learns that his new friend doesn't drink alcohol, 04:52 or eat pork, or pray to Saints; once he realizes that his new 04:56 friend lives a righteous life, and loves God, then Achmed will 05:00 begin to talk freely with him. 05:02 Opportunities will come up for him to learn about Jesus, 05:05 and he will begin to compare what he's learning with what he 05:09 sees around him in the Muslim world, 05:11 and in the heathen Christian world. 05:14 If only we had one sincere young Adventist who could deliver 05:20 the gospel to Ahmed. 05:22 Not by preaching; Achmed would never attend 05:25 a series of meetings. 05:26 He would never knowingly stop the dial on a 05:29 Christian TV station. 05:31 He would never intentionally pick up a Christian 05:33 piece of literature. 05:35 The only way we can reach Ahmed is for an Adventist 05:42 end time believer in Jesus to move into his community, 05:46 and get to know him, and become his friend. 05:48 Then they can show him what it's like to be a follower of Jesus. 05:53 I want to shift gears a little bit. 05:57 Picture with me a small city in one of our large countries. 06:01 The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been working there 06:04 for a hundred years. 06:06 But mostly, almost totally, our work has been among Christian 06:13 background people and foreigners. 06:16 The members of the church have lived with centuries of 06:20 animosity between Christianity and Islam. 06:23 They don't even think about crossing that cultural, 06:26 and religious divide. 06:28 Oh, they'll do business with each other, but that's it. 06:32 If someone even starts to talk about doing something 06:36 with Muslims, the Adventist members in that city will do 06:40 everything they can to stop them. 06:42 David is eighteen. He sees no future for himself 06:47 in the Middle East. 06:49 He longs to find some way to get a Visa for another place 06:53 where he could get a good job. 06:54 David loves the Lord. 06:56 He goes to church with his family faithfully, 06:59 but he feels there is no opportunity for work, 07:02 or for mission in the Middle East, 07:04 and he longs to go where something is happening; 07:07 where there are other young people singing, and praying, 07:10 and worshipping God together. 07:12 And so one by one, two by two, we are losing what few 07:16 Adventists we have in the Middle East in North Africa. 07:20 If only we had a couple of sincere young Adventists 07:25 who would move into David's city, and inspire the local 07:29 Adventist young people that still remain there, 07:31 by showing them that it is possible to live an Adventist 07:36 Christian life and reach out to the people around us. 07:40 You see, Mena has a problem, a big one, or maybe it's a small 07:45 one, depending on which way you're looking at it. 07:47 We don't have many Adventists at all in the Middle East 07:52 in North Africa, and even fewer young adult Adventists. 07:56 And we are steadily losing the ones we have. 08:00 Mena was a dedicated young Adventist. 08:04 He loved the Lord, and unlike many of his friends, 08:07 he decided he was going to stay in Egypt. 08:10 He wanted to become a pastor to his people. 08:13 Mena finished his secondary education at Nile Union Academy, 08:18 and then he began to work as a Bible Worker. 08:20 Eventually, because of the extreme shortage of pastors, 08:24 he was given several small churches to care for. 08:27 He got married, had a baby, and poured himself into the work 08:32 of taking care of those little churches, 08:34 and the scattered members. 08:36 He eagerly drank up the mentoring that he was given, 08:39 the occasional seminars and classes that 08:42 were provided for him. 08:43 Church leaders were thrilled at the potential for the future. 08:47 And then, just a few months ago, on his way to visit some 08:51 members, and Bible study interests, a truck ran through 08:56 and intersection and suddenly Mena's wife was a widow, 09:00 and the church had lost yet another young pastor and worker. 09:05 Humanly it will be years before we can find someone 09:10 to be ready to replace him. 09:12 If only we had one dedicated Adventist Arabic speaker 09:18 somewhere in the world who was willing 09:20 to come and replace Mena. 09:23 We can use foreigners, but it takes them years to learn 09:26 the language enough, and the culture enough that they can 09:30 preach, and give Bible studies in the local language. 09:35 Imagine what would happen if two thousand young people, 09:39 young Adventist's around the world would pledge themselves 09:43 to start learning Arabic, or Turkish, or Farsi, or French, 09:47 so that they would be ready to step in and replace one of 09:51 our fallen workers when that happens. 09:53 I praise God that little by little, slowly, slowly, 10:01 is becoming 10:04 And imagine is becoming reality, but it's oh so slow, 10:08 and it's oh so little. 10:10 Three years ago we began sending some young Adventists where 10:15 we had never had Adventists before. 10:18 We called them Waldensian Students. 10:21 We're carefully planting them in universities around the 10:25 Middle East in North Africa. 10:27 We have massive universities there: 75,000 students, 10:32 150,000 students, massive high quality universities. 10:37 And we're little by little placing students 10:40 in those universities. 10:41 I want to share with you just a little of what has happened 10:45 as a result of this beginning experiment. 10:48 On your seat some of you would have seen a card 10:51 for Waldensian Students. 10:52 Feel free to pick that up and contact us 10:56 if you need more information. 10:57 For obvious reasons I'm going to change the names in the stories 11:02 that I'm using so they aren't really the name of the people 11:06 that I'm talking about. 11:07 Three years ago there were no Seventh-day Adventists, 11:12 zero Seventh-day Adventists in a capitol city in one of our 11:16 countries of five million people. 11:19 Now just for comparison, that's twenty times as big as 11:23 Louisville; twenty times as big as Louisville. 11:26 In fact, it's bigger than all of Kentucky combined. 11:29 Not a single Seventh-day Adventist living in that city. 11:33 If you put that city in the United States it would be the 11:38 second largest city in the U.S. 11:40 If you take whole metropolitan regions, that include several 11:45 states, and all of the little cities around a big city, 11:48 it would still be one of the top ten cities in the United States, 11:52 and not a single Seventh-day Adventist. 11:54 And we have many others like it. 11:57 But three years ago in that city, we had a series of 12:04 unplanned, and sometimes disheartening events, 12:08 that ended up with a group of young Waldensian Students 12:12 going to that city instead of the city they had been 12:16 planning on going to. 12:17 And we hadn't planned on sending them there, 12:19 but that's the way it worked out. 12:20 They were a little disappointed. 12:23 We weren't sure what was going to happen. 12:25 On the first day of Freshman Orientation in the university 12:29 one of those Waldensian Students discovered that her limited 12:34 local language ability had gotten her in trouble. 12:37 She had ended up in the wrong part of the 12:40 campus at the wrong time. 12:43 She wasn't sure where she was, but she knew that there were 12:46 thousands of students milling all around her trying to get 12:49 registration completed; going into offices, 12:52 and rooms, and doors. 12:53 And she didn't know where she was, or what she was 12:56 supposed to be doing. 12:57 But instead of giving in to the wave of discouragement that 13:01 started to sweep over her, she began to pray. 13:04 She actually shut her eyes right there in the midst of all 13:07 that was going on and she said, Dear Lord, 13:09 I don't know where I am. 13:10 I don't know why I'm here. 13:12 I don't know what I'm doing. 13:13 But please help me to see Your providential 13:17 guidance in this somehow. 13:19 As she opened her eyes, immediately a young lady 13:24 approached her and said, Are you Korean? 13:27 I have a friend who wants to meet a Korean and learn Korean. 13:31 Just stay here a minute. 13:33 Let me introduce her to you. 13:34 So she ran and got her friend, and in a few minutes came back, 13:37 and introduced our Waldensian Student to Essma. 13:41 Essma was also a newcomer at the university. 13:45 She was quiet, and shy, and she wouldn't even look at our 13:49 Waldensian Student at first, but she gladly gave her 13:53 phone number to her. 13:54 Suddenly our disoriented Waldensian Student felt a little 13:58 lighter, a little happier. 14:00 Maybe Jesus had led her to that part of campus for a purpose. 14:05 Essma was a Muslim from a rural village. 14:08 She had three younger brothers, and a sister, 14:10 and she was extremely shy. 14:12 At first when they would get together she could 14:14 hardly say anything. 14:16 Not because she didn't know anything to 14:18 say, but just too shy. 14:20 So most of the time our Waldensian Student and Essma 14:23 communicated by text message first, but gradually she began 14:29 to teach her a few Korean words, she began to teach her some 14:33 Korean dishes, and how to cook them. 14:35 And soon they began actually talking together about what life 14:40 had been like growing up in Korea, 14:42 or in the small village in that country; 14:44 about what life was like today; about university. 14:47 They began to get together every Wednesday in the Waldensian 14:51 Student's apartment. 14:52 They would study language. 14:54 There they shared a lot about their families, about hobbies, 14:59 even about their spiritual lives. 15:01 And slowly Essma began to open up. 15:04 She began to smile more, and even to initiate 15:07 conversation at times. 15:09 She also began to enjoy spending time with the other Waldensian 15:14 Students in the group. 15:15 Eventually Essma started coming to church with them on Sabbath 15:20 in the little group that they had in that city. 15:24 Essma said that when she was with them she felt peace. 15:29 She liked coming to church. 15:31 Now Essma started to bring some of her conservative Muslim 15:36 friends to the Bible study that they were having each week. 15:39 The main focus of the Bible study was on the gospels. 15:43 They were discussing the life of Jesus. 15:46 And sometimes those discussions became heated. 15:49 Sometimes they would go on until after midnight. 15:52 During that time Essma did her best to compensate for the 15:58 Waldensian Student's lack of local language ability. 16:02 That meant that often she had to attempt to explain the concept 16:08 of the gospel that they were studying that night 16:10 to her Muslim friends. 16:12 That also meant that she received the brunt of their 16:16 attacks when they would get defensive and upset 16:18 at what was being said. 16:20 But through all of that she became more and more convinced 16:24 about God's true character, and of the person of Jesus. 16:28 One evening, as the two of them were walking back to Essma's 16:31 dorm room, Essma turned to her Waldensian Student friend 16:35 and said, I've never found, I've never found of the love of 16:43 God in the Koran, but as I read the Bible, 16:48 I'm seeing a God of love. 16:50 She confessed that all through her life as a Muslim 16:54 she had felt a void in her heart. 16:55 The void seemed to be vanishing as her learned about 16:59 Jesus through the Bible. 17:00 Essma eagerly began to read Steps to Christ, 17:04 and Desire of Ages, Daniel and Revelation. 17:07 Her conviction of truth was evident. 17:10 But she was very hesitant about being baptized, 17:15 and officially changing her religion. 17:17 And then one day our Waldensian Student felt cell phone buzz, 17:23 and she pulled it out, and there on the cell phone was 17:26 a text message from Essma. 17:30 it read. Essma's baptism was a secret one in a bathtub 17:37 in the Waldensian Student apartments, 17:40 surrounded by her friends. 17:42 They couldn't sing loudly, because of fear of attracting 17:46 attention, but they joyfully sang in 17:49 whispers and soft voices. 17:52 You know, most of us don't understand what that's like; 17:54 to worship in a place where the only singing 17:57 you dare do is in a whisper. 18:00 Essma's journey since her baptism has 18:02 not been an easy one. 18:04 She's lost friends since making the decision to follow Jesus. 18:07 But she continues to share her newfound faith with her family, 18:12 and her classmates. 18:13 And recently Essma's mother accepted Jesus 18:17 as her personal Savior. 18:19 And where we had zero Seventh-day Adventists 18:23 three years ago, today we have a group of almost forty 18:27 that meet together every Sabbath, 18:29 and during the week for Bible studies, partly because of a 18:34 lost Waldensian Student. 18:36 But what if she hadn't left home? 18:39 What if she hadn't gone to this strange country to study 18:43 in a city where there were no Adventists, and where you had 18:45 to sing in a whisper? 18:47 If you want to know more about our Waldensian Student program, 18:51 go to our booth, #113, and talk to us there. 18:54 We have some live Waldensien Students there that you can 18:58 talk with about their experience. 19:00 In that same city, where three years ago we had no Seventh-day 19:05 Adventists, our group has grown to where they can't fit in the 19:09 living room anymore. 19:10 They've rented a little storefront church from another 19:14 Protestant group, and we use it on Sabbath, 19:17 and they use it on Sunday, the other group. 19:19 On one Sabbath a Muslim lady walked into the back of that 19:24 little storefront with a candle, her veil on, 19:27 but she was holding a candle, and came into the church. 19:29 She was nearly in tears as she whispered 19:32 to the greeter her story. 19:34 She and her husband had come to that city as refugees. 19:39 He had left her there and gone on to the U.K. 19:42 to try and find a job. 19:43 But she hadn't heard from him in weeks, and she was almost 19:47 out of money, and she didn't know what to do. 19:50 She didn't know what had happened to him. 19:52 On Friday night she'd had a vivid dream. 19:56 It told her to go out and buy a candle, and go find a church. 20:00 Well, she obeyed. And as soon as it got daylight she went 20:05 and bought a candle. 20:06 But she had no idea where a church was. 20:08 She had never been in a church before. 20:09 She hadn't paid any attention to where churches were. 20:12 She asked a taxi driver to take her to the church. 20:16 The taxi driver dropped her off at the storefront where our 20:20 Adventist group was meeting that Sabbath morning. 20:23 The greeter wasn't able to go up and tell the leader what 20:27 the story was, but she whispered to the leader that this lady 20:31 needed prayer right now. 20:33 And so the group gathered around her, lit her candle, 20:37 and began to pray for her. 20:39 Now you might not agree with lighting a candle 20:42 as we start to pray. 20:43 It's not something that our group there usually did either. 20:47 In fact they were quite uncomfortable doing that. 20:49 But the lady had come with a candle, and she wanted prayer, 20:52 and they didn't know what to do, and so they went ahead 20:54 and lit it and had prayer. 20:56 They didn't know her story at that point, but they prayed 20:59 fervently that God would hear her cry, 21:02 and answer her prayer, whatever it was. 21:05 Tears were streaming down the lady's face 21:09 as the prayer finished, and she sat down with the group 21:12 for the rest of the church service; 21:14 her first time ever in a Christian church. 21:17 In the midst of the service someone's cell phone rang 21:21 and was quickly shut off. 21:22 Nobody noticed who it was. 21:25 Nobody thought much about it. 21:27 But the next Sabbath one of the members who had followed up 21:31 with that young Muslim lady during the week, 21:33 told them the rest of the story. 21:36 That cell phone call, minutes after their prayer, 21:39 had been from her husband, calling to tell her where 21:43 he was, and what he was doing. 21:44 Her prayer, their prayers, had been answered almost instantly. 21:49 This is a currently unfolding story. 21:52 I don't know what the end result will be, 21:55 but I am ever so thankful for a group of young Adventists 21:58 who have gone where no one else has gone. 22:03 A couple of months ago an Adventist Egyptian young adult 22:08 shared with a group of us about an exciting project that she had 22:12 been part of during their school break. 22:14 She had joined a Young Waldensian Student from Brazil, 22:17 who's studying nursing. 22:19 And by the way, he's here. 22:20 He's one of our Waldensian Students that will be at the 22:23 booth, if you want to talk to him. 22:25 But this young Egyptian had joined this young Brazilian 22:28 nursing student, and some other Adventist young people, 22:32 for a project during their break. 22:35 There was a Neurologist from Columbia who had given up his 22:39 career and come to help us in a city with very few Adventists. 22:43 There was an Columbian Paramedic who had joined our 22:46 Waldensian Student program, and there were two Syrian 22:50 refugee teenagers who have already given their hearts 22:54 to Jesus, and are reading the Bible faithfully every day. 22:57 That small group decided to go from home to home during their 23:02 break, checking on Syrian refugee families, 23:05 and taking a survey of their health needs. 23:07 They hoped not only to document those health needs, 23:12 but also to be able to help some of the families. 23:15 They visited ninety Muslim homes during their break. 23:21 They were able to help with a few of the physical needs, 23:24 but what brought tears to the eyes of this young Egyptian 23:27 Adventist was that they had offered to pray in each Muslim 23:32 home, and not one home had refused to let them. 23:36 She said, with deep emotion, People, you have to realize, 23:41 I lived my entire life thinking we couldn't do anything 23:46 religious, or spiritual with Muslims. 23:49 I've grown up in a Muslim country, but part of the 23:52 Christian minority, and I didn't think it was possible 23:56 to cross that divide. Now I know I can. 24:01 But what if those other young Adventists hadn't made the 24:06 sacrifice to leave family, and friends, and move to what many 24:09 consider to be a dangerous part of the world? 24:12 What if there had been no one for this young Egyptian 24:15 Adventist to join with in a project like that? 24:18 She still today would think that she can't reach 24:22 across that divide. 24:23 Now let me switch gears slightly. 24:27 What would happen if a dedicated young Adventist professional 24:32 were to move into the heart of one of our closed countries, 24:36 one of our large, difficult cities, and take a job with 24:40 an oil company, or a hospital, or a bank, or something else? 24:44 What would happen if we had some Adventist tent makers 24:48 moving into our communities? 24:50 Well, it is happening, little by little, so let me share with you 24:54 a tiny glimpse of the results of the 24:57 beginnings of our experiment. 24:59 Like an iceberg, I think what we see is only the tip of it. 25:04 When Jesus comes we'll see the full results. 25:08 Roger works as a manager in a large company in one 25:13 of our closed countries. 25:14 He and his family often share some of their ethnic dishes 25:18 from their country with his co-workers, 25:21 and friends, and neighbors. 25:22 They invite them to their house for food, but their purpose is 25:26 to get to know them, and be friends, and hope that they can 25:30 expand that discussion into spiritual things. 25:32 And sure enough, many of their friends now come not just for 25:37 food, but for times of prayer and Bible study with them. 25:41 One of those friends is Mahmud. 25:43 For a long time Mahmud has hated his father, because his father 25:48 sometimes abused his mother. 25:50 Roger keeps talking to Mahmud, pleading with him 25:55 to forgive his father. 25:56 But at one time Mahmud and his father had had an argument, 25:59 and his father actually hit him in the face, 26:02 and Mahmud was furious. 26:04 He actually reported his father to the Office of Human Rights. 26:07 But even that didn't heal the pain, and anger in his heart. 26:11 But Roger kept on, reading him verses from the Bible, 26:16 promises about forgiveness; urging him to forgive his 26:19 father for his own sake. 26:21 Finally, one day, Mahmud came to Roger and said, I did it. 26:26 I decided I was going to forgive my father, and you know what? 26:29 That night when he walked into the room, 26:31 I felt no hatred for him anymore. 26:34 He said, I got up and I kissed him on the forehead, 26:38 which is a very meaningful expression in that culture. 26:41 And he said, My father embraced me, and confessed that he was 26:45 sorry for being so hard hearted toward me. 26:48 Now Mahmud realizes the power in the promises of God's Word, 26:53 and he keeps coming regularly to Roger's house for times of 26:58 Bible study and prayer. 26:59 God is still in the business of turning the hearts of children 27:04 to their fathers, and fathers to their children even in Mena. 27:09 And He's using dedicated tent makers to help do that. 27:13 But what if Roger had decided to stay in his home country, 27:17 and keep on with the good job that he had there? 27:20 What if Roger hadn't made the sacrifice to move to this very 27:25 difficult, closed country? 27:27 You see, Mena is one of the last frontiers for mission 27:32 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 27:34 And yet we have almost no Seventh-day Adventists living 27:39 there who can show what it means to be an 27:41 end time believer in Jesus. 27:43 The people of Menna believe that soap operas are an accurate 27:49 description of Christianity. 27:51 Okay, how do you like that? 27:53 Soap operas accurately describe Christianity. 27:57 That's what they believe; the people around us. 27:59 They think that all Christians eat pork, drink alcohol, 28:03 pray to Saints, kiss idols, and live like the movies. 28:07 And most of the five hundred million people in our Union 28:11 want absolutely nothing to do with what they consider to be 28:16 heathen Christians, and yet they have a 28:19 longing to know something. 28:21 They see what's happening and they say, 28:23 What is going on in the world? 28:24 Is this where our religion leads? 28:27 What? Who knows something that they can share with us? 28:31 They don't want to know from Christians, but when they meet 28:33 a Seventh-day Adventist things are different. 28:36 Many of them are having dreams, but the dreams 28:39 often leave them puzzled. 28:41 They long for someone who understands what's happening 28:45 to be able to share with them. 28:47 Mrs. White says, Christ's method alone will bring true success 28:52 in reaching the people. 28:54 She says that Jesus mingled, met their needs, 28:57 won their confidence, and then invited them to follow Jesus. 29:02 We often want to skip to that last step, don't we? 29:06 We want to skip right to the inviting. 29:09 We want to have a ten day, or a three week evangelistic series, 29:13 and hope that's enough to bring people to Jesus. 29:15 And in some places it may be. 29:17 But in the Middle East in North Africa it does not work. 29:22 We need living, breathing, remnant end time believers 29:27 in Jesus on the ground for the long term, for 3 years, 29:32 5 years, 10 years, for the rest of their lives. 29:35 Whenever we find someone who's willing to make that kind of 29:39 commitment, and we move them into a community, 29:41 things begin to happen in that community. 29:45 John is a Civil Engineer in one of our 29:49 difficult countries in Mena. 29:51 He's worked there for a number of years. 29:52 At first he had challenges with his work, because the boss 29:57 wanted to require him to come to work on Sabbath. 30:00 Everybody else worked on Sabbath. 30:02 But through God's intervention, and John's personal 30:04 determination to be faithful, finally his Muslim employer 30:09 agreed to give him all of his Sabbath's off work. 30:11 He's the only employee in that company to have that privilege. 30:15 His work has been increasingly successful. 30:18 He has enabled his employer to get some contracts for massive 30:23 buildings in that city. 30:25 The best friend of his employer noticed what was happening. 30:29 He noticed that John was an excellent designer and engineer. 30:33 He also noticed all the money that his best friend was 30:37 making from John's work. 30:39 And so one day he invited John to come to his office; 30:43 have a personal meeting. 30:45 While John was there he strongly urged him to leave his boss 30:50 and come work for him. 30:51 Now this is a best friend, okay? 30:54 But he urged him to leave the boss and come work for him. 30:58 He said, John I'll double your wages. 31:01 Well, John told him, I need the pay increase, but I can't break 31:07 my promise, and betray your friend, and my boss. 31:11 If you get his permission, I will gladly 31:14 come and work for you. 31:15 The man laughed! He'll never give his permission for you 31:19 to leave his company. 31:20 You make him way too much money. 31:21 Well, at this time John's boss had become quite unpredictable. 31:27 He was moody. Without warning he would yell at the employees. 31:32 Things were tense in the office. 31:34 In many ways John wished that he could leave that business 31:38 and go somewhere else. 31:39 He wondered if he had done the right thing. 31:41 I mean, it was just a promise. 31:43 Why not go somewhere else? 31:46 A few days went by, and the best friend invited John to come 31:51 again to his office. 31:52 While he was there he said to John, John, 31:56 what's your favorite sports car? 31:58 John thought for a moment and he said, Ah, a BMW Roadster. 32:03 The man typed something into his computer and turned the screen 32:06 toward John, and there was a picture of a 32:08 brand new BMW Roadster. 32:10 He said, John, if you will leave my friend, and come work for me, 32:14 I will double your wages, and give you that car by tomorrow. 32:18 Well, John thought about the low pay that he was getting. 32:26 He thought about the pressures at work. 32:30 He wanted to say yes, but finally he repeated his first 32:34 response to the man. 32:36 The man said, John, you are an absolute fool! 32:39 I know that my friend is not paying you what you're really 32:42 worth, but you still refuse to leave him and come work for me. 32:46 John left the man's office with a heavy heart, wondering if he'd 32:51 made the right decision. 32:52 But he finally decided to go talk to his employer. 32:55 John got up his courage; went into the boss's office. 33:00 He could see that the man looked disoriented, distracted, 33:04 irritated, frustrated. 33:05 But finally he blurted out, Sir, one of your friends has asked me 33:11 to come and work for him full time. 33:13 The boss looked up, startled. 33:16 John said, You know my wages are a little low for the industry 33:20 standard, and Sir, things have been very tense 33:23 in the office lately. 33:25 You've not been treating us very kindly. 33:28 But I told your friend that I would not break my promise 33:31 to you, and leave your company unless you gave your permission 33:35 and agreement for that. 33:36 His employer got up from the desk and turned around, 33:39 walked to the window with his back facing John. 33:42 And then he began to sob; sobs shaking his body. 33:46 After several minutes of crying there at the window, 33:49 he came back and sat down in front of John, 33:51 wiping the tears out of his eyes. 33:53 And he began to tell him that he was the 33:56 oldest son in the family. 33:57 That the father had just been diagnosed with a terminal 34:00 disease that was ravaging his body; how he longed to do 34:04 something to help him, but all the money that he had, 34:07 all the possibilities couldn't do anything to save his father. 34:10 And he was distraught continually. 34:13 He looked at John, and he thanked him for his willingness 34:19 to stay on with the company. 34:21 He told him that he was sorry for the way he'd been treating 34:24 them, and that he would do better, and would do whatever 34:27 he could to retain John. 34:29 And from then on things changed. 34:31 The relationship between John and the boss became close. 34:35 Many times they pray together now. 34:38 But what if John hadn't gone to that difficult country 34:44 to work as an engineer? 34:45 There's a young Philipino procurement officer in one 34:50 of our difficult closed countries. 34:52 It's a country where we're not allowed to have 34:54 Christian churches. 34:56 Our Adventist groups that are there have to meet secretly. 34:59 Now probably the government knows where they are, 35:02 but they don't bother us right now. 35:04 Someday they might, but right now they're not. 35:06 So we're not sharing with you what country it is, 35:09 or what they're doing. 35:10 But Lucas, when he came to the country, was not an Adventist. 35:15 When he grew up in the Philippines 35:17 he wasn't an Adventist. 35:18 When he married his wife he wasn't an Adventist. 35:21 She was a former Adventist, but she was no longer practicing, 35:25 or attending church. 35:26 Years went by; the kids got older, 35:29 were getting ready to go to school. 35:31 He needed more money, so like many, he moved to this difficult 35:35 country where he could make good money, and send money back 35:38 to the family every month. 35:39 There in that country one of his wife's cousins is an Adventist 35:45 attending one of our secret churches. 35:47 She kept inviting him to come to church, but he kept saying, 35:53 Why should I go to a church that my wife 35:56 is no longer a part of? 35:57 Eventually he began to go for the fellowship and the food. 36:01 But little by little his interest increased, 36:05 and he began to study the Bible with some of the members. 36:07 A heart longing he didn't even know he had was beginning to 36:11 be filled by the friendships in the Word of God. 36:14 Almost every night he was sharing with his wife by phone, 36:18 and by Skype, what he was learning in the Bible studies. 36:20 And eventually she started going back to church, too, 36:24 and recommitted her life to God. 36:26 But Lucas' job was still requiring him 36:29 to work most Sabbaths. 36:31 Eventually he came to the point, after a long struggle, 36:34 months of struggle, that he decided he wanted to make 36:38 the decision to keep the Sabbath faithfully. 36:41 He called his wife and he said to her, Honey, I'm going to tell 36:45 the boss tomorrow that I'm going to not work on Sabbath anymore. 36:48 He'll probably fire me. 36:50 He'll probably send me home. 36:52 We won't have any money anymore. 36:53 She said, That's okay; be faithful to Jesus. 36:57 Amen! 36:58 They prayed together, and with fear and trembling Lucas went 37:02 to the bosses office the next day, and just like he expected, 37:06 the boss was furious. 37:09 His boss threatened to fire him, and then he threatened to deport 37:13 him, finally he threatened to have him put in prison 37:15 for breach of contract. 37:17 For hours it went on, and then they went to the next higher 37:20 bosses office, and on and on for three days. 37:24 Finally, part way through the third day, they took him 37:27 to the big bosses office. 37:29 This was a huge, ornate office where the boss seemed big, 37:34 and the visitor seemed little. 37:36 And the boss was just like all of the others. 37:39 He was unrelenting in his demands. 37:43 He was firm, he was severe. 37:44 But suddenly the big boss stopped 37:49 his tirade against Lucas. 37:53 He smiled, he leaned back in his chair and he said, Lucas, 37:57 you can have your Sabbaths off. 37:59 We've been testing you to see if you were severe, 38:02 if you were sincere, not severe. Sorry about that! 38:05 He said, You are a valuable worker to us. 38:10 We trust you. We need people like you in this company. 38:14 You can work Friday while the rest of us take off 38:17 to go to the Mosque. 38:19 But, Lucas, and he smiled at him, he said, Make sure and stop 38:23 work before sundown on Friday, because we've been researching 38:28 you Seventh-day Adventists on line, and we know that your 38:31 Sabbath starts Friday night, not Sabbath morning. 38:34 Amen! 38:37 I realize Lucas didn't go as an Adventist. 38:40 He didn't go with any intentions to be a missionary. 38:43 But God used some others who had gone ahead of him to reach 38:48 Lucas, and He used Lucas to reach out to his bosses. 38:52 If only we had more people like those faithful Adventists, 38:57 working in each of the massive cities of Mena. 39:01 But we have hundreds of cities the size of Louisville, 39:06 without a single Adventist in them. 39:08 Hundreds of cities the size of where we are today 39:12 without an Adventist. 39:14 If I gathered every Adventist in our entire Union... 39:17 Our Union is way way bigger than the United States. 39:20 If I gathered every Adventist we would have only a small part 39:25 of what's here this morning. 39:26 We have more people here this morning than we have in our 39:29 entire Union, and yet every time we plan to dedicate and end time 39:35 remnant believer in Jesus in a city, things begin to happen. 39:39 You know, we had tried for several years to get one or two 39:44 of our Middle Eastern Arabic Adventist students to take a 39:49 year off and work as a student missionary. 39:52 We have some projects that are wide open for the gospel. 39:56 But we need an Arabic speaking young person to go live in that 40:00 project for a year, and it would make a powerful difference. 40:04 We would probably have a small group of believers 40:06 by the end of the year. 40:08 It's that open. But for two years we have been unable to 40:11 find one single Middle Eastern Adventist Arabic speaker 40:16 who was willing to take off school and go. 40:19 If we wanted to send them to the U.S., or Brazil, or Europe, 40:23 fine, they would be glad to go. 40:25 But go work with Muslims in a difficult place, 40:28 and interrupt my school? No way! 40:32 Then a group of Seventh-day Adventist families came... 40:37 I was going to say this year, but we're in 2016 now. 40:40 It's last year. A group of South American Division families 40:45 came to the Middle East University, 40:46 our Adventist University in Lebanon. 40:48 They came for a month of training. 40:51 We had chosen this group and were sending them out to some 40:55 of our difficult and challenging parts of the Union, 40:59 but we wanted to give them some training first. 41:01 They ate, and studied, and played football, soccer we call 41:05 it here, but played with the students for that whole month. 41:09 The students saw that these families were different from 41:12 what they had expected. 41:14 They saw that they had left high paying jobs, 41:17 in highly developed countries, and were willing to come 41:21 and work in dangerous, and difficult parts of the Middle 41:24 East in North Africa for only one salary; not one for husband 41:28 and one for wife, but one between them. 41:31 At the end of that month, one of those young missionaries stood 41:36 up... We didn't ask them to. 41:38 It was kind of impromptu. 41:39 He stood up at the end of the last meeting that they had 41:42 together, the last Vespers, and he made a call for the students, 41:47 the Arabic speaking Middle Eastern students, to be willing 41:51 to start preparing to be missionaries. 41:54 And many of those young people came forward. 41:57 It's a new day for Mena. 42:00 But we need to follow up on that. 42:02 Now we need some of you to come to the Middle East 42:07 University as students to study for a year, or a semester, 42:12 to work with our Adventist students, our few Adventist 42:16 students that are there. 42:17 You can come on the ACA program. 42:19 That's the Adventist Colleges Abroad program, 42:22 and study Arabic and Middle Eastern culture for a year. 42:25 Or you can come on your own and study business, or theology, 42:29 or education, or something else, and then transfer your credits 42:32 back to your U.S. university. 42:34 Your presence and involvement on our campus, your involvement 42:39 in the mission projects around Middle East University 42:42 would be a statement to our students, and would help to 42:46 transform their lives. We need you. 42:49 We have a representative at our booth for Middle East 42:52 University, if you want to go there later and talk to them; 42:55 see what courses are being offered. 42:57 We would love to have you come; not just for the thrill of it, 43:01 but for the mission. 43:03 Every time that we put someone into a community, they begin to 43:12 find people who have already had dreams, who've already been 43:15 searching, and longing. 43:17 Most of the people around us don't trust most Christians. 43:21 They consider them to be heathens. 43:23 But when they get to know an Adventist they're always amazed, 43:28 and they soon start asking questions. 43:31 We need you to come and help us reach out to the 43:35 people around us, but we also need you to come and help 43:39 us reach out to the few remaining Adventists 43:41 in the Middle East in North Africa. 43:44 Those who come as missionaries are making a difference 43:47 in the lives of those remaining Adventists who have grown 43:50 discouraged through the years; who don't think there's 43:54 anything else they can do. 43:56 We need you to come to Mena. 43:58 But even if you don't come, we need you to pray. 44:02 Maybe you'll come later. 44:03 Maybe God hasn't called you to come at all. 44:05 You know, I get a little frustrated sometimes that, 44:09 that me included, we all think that our ministry, 44:14 our particular gift is what everybody else should have. 44:17 But as an Adventist church, we believe in the multiplicity 44:21 of gifts, don't we? 44:22 Not everybody is called to the same thing. 44:25 Not everybody is called to be a pastor. 44:28 Not everybody is called to be a teacher. 44:31 Not everybody is called to go to the Middle East 44:34 in North Africa Union. 44:35 I don't want to give the impression that those who 44:39 respond to my call at the end of this time are more spiritual 44:43 than those who don't. 44:44 We are pleading with the Holy Spirit to be poured out on our 44:47 hearts, and help us to know that all of us are called. 44:50 All of us are chosen for something. 44:53 And may we be faithful to what we've been 44:56 called and chosen for. 44:58 Amen! 44:59 We have five things that we would like you 45:04 to add to your prayer list. 45:06 Because that is something you can do for us, 45:08 even if God doesn't call you to come and join us. 45:11 Let me share with you five current things that are gong on. 45:14 There are many we could have shared. 45:17 But there's a couple from the United States who have given up 45:21 their jobs, and gone to one of our countries that's often 45:25 in the news because of massive terrorist attacks on tourists. 45:29 I'm not going to say the name of the country, 45:31 but that couple are already there. 45:33 They're studying the language, and looking for work that they 45:37 can do as tent makers. 45:38 He's a social worker, and she was a professor at one of our 45:43 Adventist universities. 45:45 Some of you here know who they are. 45:48 There's a young physician from Columbia, who's given up a high 45:52 paying job at a prestigious university where he taught, 45:56 and I can hardly even say what he taught, 45:59 he taught neuro rehabilitation, okay? 46:02 He hade an excellent job in Columbia. 46:06 He left all of that and has gone to one of our largest countries, 46:09 one that's been through a very trying time of 46:13 political change and unrest. 46:15 A young lady from Lithuania has just completed her masters 46:21 in business, and she'll be traveling to one of our 46:24 countries next month, in February, 46:26 to begin searching for a job. 46:28 A couple from the United States... 46:31 Their parents are here today. 46:34 A couple from the United States, both have doctorates in physical 46:38 therapy, they're ready to give up their jobs, and are currently 46:42 searching the internet for possible positions in Mena, 46:45 where they can serve. 46:47 And the parents shared with me, a day or two ago, 46:50 that they've now gotten an appointment for an interview 46:54 in one of our countries. 46:55 A lady dentist from Columbia has left her private practice, 47:00 and is currently in one of our countries processing her 47:04 paperwork with the government. 47:06 As soon as it's approved and processed, then her husband 47:09 and children will be able to join her in that 47:11 difficult mission challenge. 47:13 These, and many others, have already made the decision to go. 47:18 They aren't just thinking about it, they have actually picked up 47:23 their crosses and entered Satan's territory, 47:27 and that old roaring lion is not going to sit idly by and let 47:31 them have an easy time of it. 47:33 These pioneer missionaries are pioneers in 47:37 every sense of the word. 47:39 When the Adventist church used to send missionaries 47:42 to Lake Titicaca, or to the heart of the Amazon, 47:45 or to Central Africa, or wherever it was, 47:47 they were pioneers. 47:49 They often didn't come back. 47:52 These pioneers have pledged their lives to Jesus. 47:58 They have gone. They're going to need prayer warriors around the 48:02 world holding up their hands, and they need 48:07 teammates to join them. 48:08 It's a lonely and discouraging work to be a pioneer missionary. 48:12 We need teams of people in each of these unentered cities. 48:17 But one by one we're finding people, and putting them 48:20 together in teams, and placing them there. 48:22 We need more teammates. 48:24 Are you willing to join them? 48:26 Wednesday night Natasha shared with us the goal of GYC, 48:34 to take the gospel to every man, woman, and child 48:38 in this generation. 48:40 She said that would require a love for God so strong that we 48:45 would be willing to be a martyr for Him. 48:48 Right now I'm going to make a very specific call. 48:53 It's not a general call. 48:56 You need to consider carefully before you answer this call. 49:00 I often cry as I'm making these calls, and as I'm sending people 49:06 to various parts of Mena, because I know that someday 49:10 some one of them that I've sent will never return home. 49:15 We're recruiting workers for this final frontier of mission, 49:21 and we aren't looking for those who just want an adventure. 49:25 We don't believe that God has called 49:28 everybody to come to Mena and work. 49:31 We know that some of you He's called to stay right here, 49:34 and witness to the people in Louisville, or Chicago, 49:38 or wherever you happen to live. 49:39 But we know that He has called and chosen some to come, 49:43 and our prayer is that the Holy Spirit will poured out on your 49:46 hearts, and that those He has called and chosen to come work 49:49 in Mena, who are willing even to give their lives for Jesus, 49:54 if necessary, would respond. 49:57 Some of you that respond will be asked to make the 50:01 ultimate sacrifice. 50:03 So today I'm not making a call for people to give 50:06 their hearts to Jesus. 50:08 I hope everyone here has given their heart to Jesus, 50:11 and will continue to do that. 50:13 I'm looking for those who know they've been called and chosen, 50:16 to go to the difficult parts of this earth, and maybe even to 50:21 give their lives, if necessary. 50:24 So please don't respond to this call unless in your heart 50:29 you are willing to be a martyr for Jesus. 50:33 Don't respond if you just think, Yeah, that sounds neat. 50:36 It would be fascinating to go there. 50:38 If that's the way you feel, come as a tourist. 50:40 I could tell you many stories of people who are now Adventist, 50:43 because of Adventist tourists that came to 50:46 our part of the world. 50:47 That's fine. God may not have called you to come. 50:55 I want to ask for those that feel God calling them to make 51:00 an incredible sacrifice, to go to a difficult part of the world 51:04 and maybe even to be a martyr, if you feel God placing that 51:09 call on your heart, would you come forward now? 51:14 I'm making a call for those who feel convicted that God may be 51:18 asking them to go to a place that could even result 51:23 in them being a martyr. 51:28 Last night Sebastian said he'd found the chapter 51:32 that Satan hates most. 51:34 He said it's Revelation 12. 51:37 And I just would like to re-read with you verse 11. 51:40 And they overcame him, Satan, by the blood of the Lamb, 51:43 and the word of their testimony; and they loved not 51:47 their lives unto death. 51:48 The glory of that victory goes to God, not to us. 51:55 It's the blood of the Lamb that won the victory, 51:58 not what we decided we would do. 52:01 But finishing the work in our generation is going to require 52:07 people who have been called and chosen to be faithful 52:11 to that calling, and to that choosing. 52:13 It's going to require us to share our testimony, 52:16 and not love the easy lives, but to be willing to 52:20 risk all for Jesus. 52:22 A few months ago I was at our Adventist 52:26 university in Columbia. 52:28 It was a mission weekend. 52:31 On Friday night the president, Dr. Abraham Acosta, gave a call 52:36 for those who were willing to be martyrs 52:38 to come up on the platform. 52:40 More than a hundred young adults came forward. 52:45 And then he asked me to come up and pray for those who had 52:49 responded to the call to be martyrs, but I could hardly 52:52 pray because of the tears that were running down my cheeks, 52:56 and choking my voice. 52:57 You see, Dr. Acosta hadn't just called other 53:02 people's children to come. 53:04 There on the platform behind him was his own young university 53:10 aged daughter telling her Daddy, and God, that she was willing 53:16 to be a martyr for Jesus. 53:17 Not only that, I knew that his other daughter, his son-in-law, 53:23 and his grand daughter were even then making the final 53:27 preparations to leave Argentina and go to one of our difficult 53:31 countries as tent makers. 53:34 What a sacrifice; for a father to instill a sense of mission 53:39 in his daughters, and then call them himself to be martyrs. 53:47 I want us... We have just a few minutes left. 53:51 I want us to take those few minutes in prayer. 53:54 Groups of two or three... 53:56 And I want the group that's here to stay here. 53:58 At the end of that time I will pray, and I'd like you then that 54:02 are up here to just step to the sides, 54:04 so we can scan your badges. 54:05 We want to talk with you; stay in touch. 54:08 We're going to try to have even a little meeting tonight 54:10 with those of you that have come. 54:12 I want to ask those of the rest of you, all of us, to hold these 54:16 folks up in prayer. 54:18 I want you to pray for those who have made the decision 54:21 to come, even it means being a martyr for Jesus. 54:23 I want you to pray for those who have already gone. 54:26 I want you to pray that the Lord of harvest will send 54:29 laborers into His harvest. 54:31 The harvest is ripe in Mena. 54:33 It's time for Jesus to come. 54:35 What we need now is to plead for laborers who will move in 54:39 to that harvest no matter the cost. 54:42 And then we need people holding them up in prayer. 54:45 Would you join me, and lets just kneel and pray for the next 54:49 two or three minutes, and then I will close with a prayer. 54:52 Lets kneel. 55:01 Those of you here in the front can pray 55:03 together as the others are. 55:06 Oh Father God, I long for the day when there won't be a single 55:13 country in Mena without a Seventh-day Adventist group, 55:16 even if it's a secret one, worshipping there. 55:20 I long for the day when there won't be a single city in Mena 55:24 that doesn't have a small group of Seventh-day Adventists 55:28 praying together in a living room even. 55:30 I long for the day, Lord, when there won't be a single 55:33 university in Mena that doesn't have any 55:36 Seventh-day Adventist students. 55:38 I long for the day when there's not a single Mosque giving 55:42 a call to prayer over, and over again without an Adventist who 55:46 lives near enough to hear that. 55:48 I long for the day when Jesus will come. 55:51 I don't know how this work is going to finish, but I believe 55:55 that it's going to finish soon. 55:57 We're at the end, the edge of the Jordan River. 56:00 You haven't asked us to figure out on our 56:03 own how to get across. 56:05 All You've asked us to do is to step into the water, 56:08 and then You will open the river. 56:10 And Lord, a group of young people, and some that aren't 56:14 so young have come forward this morning saying that they feel 56:17 You have called and chosen them for a special work, 56:21 a work of going to the challenging, 56:24 difficult places on earth. 56:25 Lord as they step into the water, I pray that You will 56:31 open up the river before them, and that hundreds, 56:34 and thousands, and millions will be standing with us on the 56:38 sea of glass, on that wonderful day. 56:41 It's time for You to come. 56:44 We pray that Your Spirit will be poured out; 56:46 that You will help us to use wisdom in the work that we do. 56:50 But help us to do it faithfully. 56:52 And Lord for each of us, those who feel called to a different 56:56 kind of work, I want to pray that Your Spirit 56:59 will be with them; that You will enable them to be doing 57:02 the work that You've called and chosen them for as well. 57:06 Thank You so much that You are with us wherever we go, 57:10 even to the ends of the earth. 57:13 This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world 57:17 for a witness to all the multitudes, 57:20 and then the end will come. Amen. 57:23 Even so come, Lord Jesus. Amen. |
Revised 2016-07-28