Participants: C.A. Murray (Host), Danny Shelton (Host), Jim Gilley (Host), John Lomacang (Host), John Carter, Julia Outkina, Yvonne Lewis
Series Code: 15HC
Program Code: 15HC000011A
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00:50 Again we bid you good morning and Happy Sabbath!
00:53 We want to transition into our worship experience 00:58 for this 2015 Fall Camp Meeting 01:01 by singing one of the old hymns of the church. 01:05 You know it well. My hope is built on nothing less 01:09 than? Jesus' blood and righteousness. 01:12 Jesus' blood and righteousness. 01:14 We want to sing it with "vivor, " with "verve, " 01:17 with gusto, with an experience with Jesus Christ. 01:21 My Hope is Built on Nothing Less. Lisa, if you will. 01:27 Words are on the screen. Let's sing together. 04:12 Amen! Gracious Father, how true it is 04:15 that Christ is the solid rock. Amen! 04:19 Help us, Lord, to build on that solid rock 04:23 for all other ground is sinking sand. 04:28 Father, we want to stand for You. 04:30 We want to stand on You. We want to stand on Your Word. 04:33 We want to be strong for You. 04:35 We want to be solid rocks for Jesus in a world 04:39 where everything is tossed to and fro. 04:42 Make us strong for You. Bless this worship service. 04:46 Be the honored guest; accept our prayers and our praise. 04:51 And in exchange for these, be pleased, dear Lord, 04:55 to give us Your presence and Your power. 04:59 And we thank you, dear Father, in Jesus' name, 05:03 Amen. Amen! Amen and amen. 05:05 Amen. Praise the Lord. You all happy today? 05:07 Amen. You know, Dr. Gilley... I was going to tell you... 05:11 Aren't you glad to see Dr. Gilley here? Yes! All right. 05:14 Thank you. It was supposed to... For our audience it was supposed 05:19 to have been a surprise, and he came walking out 05:22 to say something to C.A. while ago so our audience here 05:25 already knew he was here. We were going to surprise you. 05:28 This was our big surprise. But you acted surprised again. 05:30 Thank you. Don't we have a great crowd here today? 05:34 We do. But if I'm the great surprise 05:35 this is a real bad deal, you know. 05:38 No it's not. We love it; we love it. 05:41 They all said they're happy in the Lord today. 05:44 It reminded me of something that just happened 05:46 and I haven't gotten to tell most of you about it. 05:48 And I won't tell you all the details. 05:50 But I think I'm just going to start saying "We're all happy. 05:53 We're all happy" 'cause I'll tell you why. 05:56 We found out this week - and we can't go into detail - 05:59 C.A., you know - but somewhere in the world 06:01 we have a television station. I won't tell you which country 06:04 it is, but we found out that someone broke into it, 06:09 went through our security. Said they had a right to. 06:12 Went into security, put in a new transmitter, 06:14 put their own programs up in the air. 06:17 And we found out about it. They're running their programs 06:20 so Moses called them and we talked to them 06:23 and said: "What are you doing? You can't do this... 06:25 this is illegal. " And they said: "Oh, no. 06:27 We're all happy because we put you on, too. " 06:31 Well, we already were on, right? 06:34 So they said: "No... it's no problem. " 06:36 We said: "No, it's a problem. You don't break into somewhere 06:39 and put in your own transmitters and start shooting signals. " 06:42 But they said: "No, no. You misunderstand. 06:44 We're all happy. " Yeah. 06:49 So you know what? I think we'll all just be happy. Amen! 06:53 So you husband and wife... somebody gettin' on to you? 06:56 "Why did you go buy those three dresses this week? 06:59 You shouldn't. " "It's all right... we're all happy. " 07:01 Amen. "We're all happy, honey. It's OK. 07:03 We're fine... we're happy. " That'll work, won't it? 07:06 Ladies? That'll work; that'll work. 07:08 Gentlemen: that'll work. "Why were you out so late? 07:10 You were supposed... " "Honey, we're all happy. 07:13 Don't worry about it; it's good. " 07:15 All right... we're happy in the Lord. 07:17 Praise the Lord. Speaking of being happy in the Lord, 07:19 you happily for about 30 years have made a trip. 07:24 At least once or twice a year. Tell us about it. 07:26 Well, we go to Israel each year, and some people have asked 07:29 if we're going this year. And "Oh yeah. " 07:31 You know, we'll be leaving here on the 15th. It'll be the 07:33 option 1. Leaving from 4 or 5 different places 07:39 in the country. People can go from just about anywhere. 07:41 And this is our Bible Enrichment Tour. 07:43 It'll be my 29th tour. 07:45 And so we're looking forward to it. 07:48 We hope a lot will go. You got room for any more folk? We do. 07:50 We've got about ten seats on option 1 07:52 or more and about twenty seats on option 2. 07:56 So we have plenty of room. 07:57 Yeah. Incredible trip. I think most of us here 08:00 have been there and it's... When you walk 08:03 where Jesus walked then to hear Reggie Smith sing that 08:06 was pretty amazing, too. Oh wow! You walk down the street 08:09 and in the area. Yeah. But what a trip. And it's life changing 08:13 for a lot of people. It really is. 08:15 It has been for me and for my family. 08:17 My young people, my kids in our family 08:19 have been with us several times and it gives them the assurance 08:24 that what they're talking about is something that's really real. 08:27 When you've been right there where Jesus healed people 08:30 it does... it adds to your faith. Yeah. 08:33 Now you don't have to go there to believe in Jesus. 08:35 But if you ever wanted to go then this is a very good time. 08:40 What's the dates? We have... the first departure 08:43 will be the 15th of November 08:45 and the second departure is three days later on the 18th 08:48 of November. And the trips coincide while 08:52 we're in Jerusalem. But the first week goes 08:55 and they get back in time for Thanksgiving. 08:57 The second group stays through Thanksgiving. 09:00 And so we overlap those two groups. We have a wonderful 09:03 time. J.D. and Shelley are going and some of the other folks here 09:07 have told me they're going too. All right. So if anybody wants 09:10 to go, later in the week they can call 3ABN or you 09:13 or somebody, right? Call 3ABN and Jill can give them 09:16 that information or call the tour company. All right. 09:19 John, it's good to see you here today, too. 09:21 You were hangin' around with the Pope on the last couple of days. 09:25 Yeah, yeah. I said last night: "Look at 09:28 that holy glow on him. " He's over there. And then he's... 09:31 then you know what he said? He said: "I ran out here 09:33 so quick I didn't get make-up, any powder on. 09:36 That's why I'm shining. " Yeah. 09:37 But I give all the glory to the Lord 09:40 because it is so exciting to me to know that what we've been 09:44 preaching for years - for decades - is coming to pass 09:47 right before our eyes. Yes. And not in a general way 09:51 but in a specific way. I mean, Protestantism is 09:54 building a bridge with open arms to Rome. 09:56 And we've known for a long time this is going to occur. 10:00 But what's exciting about this: everything is in place, 10:03 Danny, for the final movements to be rapid ones. 10:06 America is pulling itself to the stage. I was just 10:09 moved yesterday... I did as much recording as I could at home... 10:12 but to see at the World Trade Center Memorial 10:16 Museum... to see all these faiths, they would clasp hands. 10:21 And I think the Jew and the Muslim greet together. 10:25 The Hindu and the Sikh greet together 10:27 and the list goes on and on. And they all stand there 10:30 giving their full support to Pope Francis. 10:34 And as we talked about plura- lism? Pluralism, universalism, 10:38 and ecumenism are all alive and well in that room. 10:41 And I thought: the day is coming when God is going to bring 10:45 His truth to the forefront. 10:47 And I'm not concerned about how many people stand with 10:50 Pope Francis. Who is on the Lord's side? 10:53 Amen! That's right. That's the question, and I know 10:56 there are many sincere Catholics and Sikhs and Buddhists and 10:59 Methodists and Presbyterians and all alike. 11:01 The Lord says: "Other sheep I have 11:03 that are not of this fold. " 11:04 But in order for the drawing to occur, 11:07 in order for God's people to come to where God wants them 11:09 to be, we've got to be faithful. 11:11 That's why I'm excited that 3ABN is not just a religious 11:14 network but we have gotten ourselves calibrated 11:17 to evangelism to let people know we are not playing. 11:20 We are living in the last days. Um-hmm. 11:22 If we believe that Jesus is coming, everything that happens 11:25 in Washington is secondary to what's happening here at 3ABN. 11:29 Come on somebody, say Amen. All right; all right! 11:31 It's not the White House, it's the right house that I'm 11:33 focusing on. Oh no, he's getting on a roll. I might as well 11:37 sit down. We'd better go and sit down. Move away everybody. 11:40 John's on a roll. 11:41 Preach it, John. Preach it. The Lord is still God of all. 11:46 He's still the Lord of all. All right. 11:48 When they called him "his holiness" I said: "uh-uh. " 11:50 I don't want to say that's arrogant but that's arrogant. 11:52 His holiness? Holiness is the Lord's. Yep. 11:55 "The Lord our righteousness. " There you go! 11:57 And so this man has really... I tried to be kind 12:00 but I asked people. I said: "What difference would this make 12:03 in what the Pope is saying to the public? " 12:06 They said: "It really doesn't matter what he says. 12:08 He's speaking to all of us and we all embrace him. 12:10 We all love him. " I saw the video footage that 12:13 Brad was editing last night. 12:14 I cannot wait till we get a chance to show that 12:16 and show that as a program and see that everything 12:19 that the Bible forecasts... As a matter of fact, 12:21 to show you how bold I was 12:23 when the Congressman that invited us there asked me 12:25 "What do you think about the Pope and his visit in America? " 12:28 I gave him a Daniel 2, Daniel 7, and Revelation 13. 12:32 Not a synopsis but a detailed study. 12:36 Then I was on the plane going, and Brad Walker and I were 12:39 studying that together. Then on the way back 12:41 I sat next to a guy. He's a Baptist in Murphysboro. 12:45 He asked me the same question. 12:47 He got a study on Daniel 2, 12:49 Daniel 7, and Revelation chapter 13. 12:52 You know, you've got to be unashamed of this gospel! 12:55 All right. If you believe that this is the light 12:59 amidst all this darkness - Amen! - 13:01 we will be held accountable for the way we proliferate 13:04 and uphold Jesus in all of it. 13:06 And when I was done... 'cause he started asking all 13:08 these questions and I said: "Now here it is: 13:10 America is the last stronghold for Protestantism 13:14 and Republicanism. We're the last place where religious 13:17 freedom is still offered, but the Roman agenda 13:21 based on the Bible is that they're going to trample 13:24 down the world... break it in pieces 13:26 and cause as many as would not worship the beast to be killed. 13:28 I said: "It's coming so let me make a prediction. " 13:31 And I made the prediction. He said: "You know what? 13:32 You've given me a whole lot to think about. " 13:34 All right. And so let's not be ashamed of the gospel. 13:36 Let's tell people because these individuals 13:39 the Lord said He could not ever nurture a seed 13:44 that has not been planted. That's right. So let's 13:46 pray about what's happening in Rome, 13:48 in the United States, in our White House 13:50 but let's not lose sight of the "right house. " 13:53 All right. Thank you, John. 13:54 Speaking... That was a great segway to somebody who's not 13:58 ashamed of the gospel. I'm going to bring out Julia Outkina 14:02 and Pastor John Carter. Thank you all. 14:07 I'm all fired up already. Aren't you? 14:10 That's good. Hey Sister Julia. 14:13 Hi Danny. You know I love you? 14:15 Yes. I love you in the Lord. 14:17 Julia's my little sister now for 23 years. 14:20 Yes. Right. I call Danny "big brother. " 14:23 Yeah... big brother. I'm not too big but I'm older than her 14:26 so that works. Pastor Carter. 14:28 Because of you... because of you Julia is standing here today 14:33 and thousands and hundreds of thousands 14:37 around the world... maybe millions... 14:40 are taking their stand for Jesus 14:43 because of the work God has called you to do. 14:45 You're a pastor from Australia. 14:47 You came about 29 years ago or so. 14:49 You called me at least on the phone. 14:51 He called me. 3ABN was just starting. 14:53 We hardly had... We didn't have 2 or 3 hours of programming. 14:56 And Pastor Carter... I heard this accent 14:59 and I said: "Where is this guy from? " 15:00 Now I'm from southern Illinois. I hadn't traveled anywhere. 15:03 So who has the accent? Hadn't been here... Well you do! 15:06 Of course you have the accent. 15:09 I tell everybody: "Don't be jealous. When you get to heaven 15:11 you can speak just like me. " 15:13 So... So I hear this guy on the phone with an accent. 15:17 We're literally... The studio is not even finished. 15:20 We're inside Kenny and I, building, 15:22 and they say: "There's a phone call... 15:24 a Pastor John Carter. " Well I heard this 15:26 Australian accent and he said: "Donny... " 15:29 He still calls me Donny. I've got a cousin Donny 15:31 but I answer anyway. "Donny... " instead of Danny... 15:34 He told me who he was. "I have some programs 15:37 I've already taped. I'd like to put them on 3ABN. 15:40 I've heard about 3ABN. " And I thought: "Man! 15:43 I don't know if people understand him or not. " 15:46 Then I said: "But we don't have any programming 15:48 so yes, I'll take your programming" 15:51 I told him. He's an Adventist pastor giving the message. 15:54 But honestly, we've become great friends through the years. 15:56 I have a tremendous amount of respect for Pastor John Carter. 16:00 He is one of the... I want to lift up Jesus, not you, John... 16:04 but one of the great all- time evangelists and revivalists 16:08 in Adventist history. I don't know anybody 16:11 who has traveled more, spoken to bigger crowds. 16:13 Sometimes 100,000... 150,000 people a night 16:17 around the world. God has anointed him. 16:20 He has given him a special gift. 16:21 And we became partners a long time ago. 16:24 We're still partners... still brothers in the Lord. 16:27 Can I say something? Sure. 16:30 No... not now. No you can't. 16:36 3ABN had a tremendous part in the campaigns we ran in Russia, 16:41 especially in 1992... 16:46 beginning of the year. 16:49 We, as usual, had no money. 16:52 You know? I know. We had no money. I know that. 16:56 And I talked to you, and you invited me up to 3ABN 17:01 and we raised some money for the campaign 17:04 originally in the Kremlin. 17:06 But then we switched it to Nizhny Novgorod. 17:09 One night with a small audience we raised the money we needed - 17:12 yes we did - for the Kremlin because you told me that 17:14 we're gonna be in Moscow - yes - at the Kremlin. 17:17 We raised the money and then what happened? 17:19 But then we were moved. OK... easy now. 17:24 We were moved to the city of the dissidents. 17:28 That's where Sakharov went. OK. 17:30 But when we talk about our part in this 17:35 and my part in this, I was just blessed 17:41 enough to be in the right time at the right place. 17:45 God has got a time and a place for everything. 17:48 And when we went there and you came with us, Danny, 17:53 I'd already been in Moscow running a campaign in 1991. 17:57 But when we came to Nizhny Novgorod in 1992 18:01 we saw the glory of God. 18:03 And it wasn't that we were extraordinary people 18:08 but we were being used by an extraordinary God. Amen! 18:14 Amen! And that's what happened. 18:17 And with all the work and all the meetings 18:22 and all the stuff we had to carry to Russia 18:26 if there had been no other person who had accepted Christ 18:30 and the message of God than this beautiful lady 18:33 it would have been worth it all. Amen! Amen! Praise the Lord! 18:37 Well, last Monday I was at the General Conference 18:41 and I said: "Wow! How the Lord has moved and how things 18:44 have changed. " Because when Elder Carter called 18:47 back then he said: "I want 3ABN to go with me. " 18:50 I said: "Absolutely. " He said: "We're going to the 18:52 Kremlin in Moscow. " I got a call back from him later 18:56 and he said: "Well the church is putting someone else there. 18:59 They said we can't go there, even though we had raised 19:02 the money. We're going to move... You can go to a place 19:05 called Nizhny Novgorod - formerly Gorky - 19:07 3-1/2 million people. " What I didn't know at the time 19:11 it had been closed to Westerners for 73 years. 19:13 There was one church in this huge city of about 250 people 19:18 and no work there. And so Elder Carter called me 19:22 and he said: "They want to move us. We should go. " 19:25 I said: "Wherever you go, I'm going with you. " 19:27 Right? Wherever he goes I'm going with you. 19:29 We committed to evangelism. So we said: "All right, 19:32 we'll let the Lord do it. " So then he gives me a call back 19:36 and he says: "I'm sorry to tell you 19:38 but the church leaders won't let 3ABN go over there 19:42 'cause they want somebody else to go... 19:45 but not to our meetings. They won't give you a VISA to go. " 19:49 I said: "OK... the Lord's will be done. " 19:51 He said: "But I happen to know people in California that can 19:54 get Visas' for you... 3ABN to go. " 19:57 Am I telling too much? 20:00 Oh-oh. 20:04 No... what's your saying is just true and right. 20:07 It's not what you're telling, it's what we're not telling 20:10 them. Yeah, OK... Yeah, I know. 20:12 We're trying to keep this where it is, but we're going to 20:14 give God honor and glory and praise. 20:16 I've thought about that, and over the years 20:18 problems we've had. Last Monday I sat in the General Conference 20:22 with C.A. Murray and Greg Morikone 20:25 with Mark Finley and a number of other people from Hope Channel 20:27 and Mark Finley said: "3ABN is of the Lord 20:30 and we're going to work together. " 20:32 Amen! And you know, "3ABN is of the Lord; 20:34 we're going to work together. " 20:36 So we were literally working with church leaders. 20:38 "How can we work together? " And I thought about 20:42 for how many years that 3ABN... we couldn't get that 20:44 from anybody because we were young. They didn't know 20:47 what we were going to do... what kind of programming. 20:49 But the end is near and Jesus is coming. 20:53 Everybody senses it. 20:54 We all know that we have a message to give to a lost 20:58 and dying world, and we want to work together with anybody 21:01 who is willing to give the three angels' messages 21:04 to the world. Let's work together. 21:06 So we went to Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. 21:10 And tell us what... did you expect or what did you expect 21:15 about the audiences there? 21:18 In 1992 in the middle of winter in January, 21:22 Julia and Danny, I was there with two other people 21:28 and we went down to the Palace of Sport with some of 21:31 the church survivors. Alexander and Vasily 21:35 and Vitaly. You know them? Yes. 21:38 And we went to this place and we met the old Communist 21:42 in charge of the Palace of Sport. 21:44 He was sitting under a picture of Lenin. 21:48 He said to me through our translator 21:51 "Nobody will come. " 21:54 Then he said the words: "in this place we've taught the people 21:59 not even to think of Him. " 22:01 Wow! He said: "We don't think of Him any more. " 22:05 So we went and saw the television people to do our 22:09 television ads, and they said: "Do you pay for these? " 22:14 We were the first people to use commercial television 22:18 with ads. And we said: "We should pay. " 22:22 They said: "How much? " 22:24 So we told them what we thought was a fair price. 22:27 I wish they'd do that here. So do I. 22:29 And when we came back - I think it was in June, 22:35 end of May - the advertising had worked marvelously. 22:41 But it was the right time and the right place. 22:44 And when I got down... tried to get down to the auditorium 22:48 I couldn't get near it. 22:50 And so the church leaders contacted the military 22:54 and they gave us a big Army vehicle. 22:58 And we went to the meetings in the Army vehicle. 23:02 And the people were literally breaking down the doors, 23:06 breaking down the windows, 23:08 storming this great auditorium. 23:11 I had never seen anything like it. 23:14 An old man stood outside and raised his hands 23:17 and he cried out and said: "I have waited 70 years 23:21 for Jesus. In the name of God let me in. " 23:24 Amen! And as the meeting started 23:28 that first night, Dr. Julia and Danny, 23:32 the opposition came to the meetings and threw fire bombs 23:37 on the stage. Were you there for this? 23:40 There were fire bombs. And Alexander and the brethren 23:43 were running around with buckets and putting out the fire 23:47 as I was preaching the Word. 23:50 Yeah. Cloven tongues of fire! That sounds good. 23:53 So great preaching or great work always goes 23:59 with great opposition. 24:01 If you're doing something for God, 24:03 you're going to get great opposition. Yes. 24:06 And the devil has got plenty of assistants. 24:08 And so the meetings became so huge 24:12 that the government said to us: "Unless you go to three 24:15 identical sessions a day... " And we had at least 6,000 people 24:19 in each session. Maybe 7,000; maybe 8,000... I don't know. 24:23 And so we went to three sessions 24:26 and the crowds were so great and we didn't have the staff. 24:30 And the local KGB supplied their young men 24:35 who served as our deacons. Glory be to God! 24:38 All right! So we saw... we saw 24:44 thousands come to Christ. Amen! 24:47 Folks, I want to say this to you: 24:50 you heard my sermon last night. Some people say 24:52 "We're not going to get the Holy Spirit until we're sinless. " 24:55 Well I can testify that's not true 'cause I'm not sinless 24:59 and I received the Holy Spirit. All right! Praise the Lord! 25:02 And so can you. As we saw in those meetings - 25:05 I know this may seem too hard to believe - 25:08 we saw the Latter Rain. 25:11 Um-hmm. We saw the mighty movings. 25:15 What do you say about a crowd of 7,000? 25:17 They won't even look you in the eye 25:20 they're so glum and they're so depressed. 25:23 And you know, the Russians are some of the greatest people 25:27 in the world. I love the Russian people. Amen! 25:31 Hear what I'm saying? I love the Russian people. 25:34 And they'd have their eyes down at 6 o'clock, and by 7:30 25:39 when I would make an appeal for Christ 25:41 because of the blood of Christ... 25:45 I would describe the cross and I'd say 25:48 and I'd put up a great painting which we'd had commissioned 25:53 showing Christ on the cross and I'd say: 25:56 "Behold your God oh Russia. 25:59 You are not an animal; you are not a machine 26:02 as the Communists told you. 26:03 You are a child of God! " 26:06 And I would ask them to come forward. 26:08 Do you think they walked? 26:11 They ran, and they would come with their arms raised 26:17 and crying and fall down on their knees. 26:25 The right time, the right place with the message of God. 26:31 Amen! And so we saw the glory of God. 26:34 And if the Carter Report 26:38 had not had a partnership 26:41 with 3ABN, I say this in the fear of God, 26:48 I can't see how it could have happened. 26:51 3ABN came to our assistance, 26:55 helped us raise the money. 26:58 You folks think, you know, you've got tons of money 27:00 for this stuff. We don't get a dime from the church. 27:04 Not a dime... and we don't want it 27:06 because as Danny said, when people say there's only one pie 27:11 I heard Danny say this 28 years ago 27:14 Danny says when church leaders say: "There's only one pie 27:17 and you're stealing from our pie, " 27:19 Danny says: "Why don't they open the refrigerator? 27:22 It's full of pies. " 27:25 So... so... so... Because of this partnership 27:31 we were able to open the refrigerator 27:34 and there were lots of pies. 27:36 And you folks can send me a few, too, if you want. 27:39 But because of the preaching... And support 3ABN. 27:43 I'm telling you: souls should not be dying 27:49 because the saints are sitting on the Lord's money. 27:53 That's right. Because it's the Lord's money. 27:55 Amen! And we run campaigns 27:59 with the smallest budget that you can imagine. 28:03 I mean, we're talking about hundreds of thousands. 28:06 We're talking about millions now. 28:08 But I want to tell you folks something: because we had a 28:12 unique relationship with Danny Shelton 28:15 whom God raised up 28:18 and 3ABN whom God raised up 28:23 we were able to do something that individually 28:26 we could not have done. Absolutely! 28:29 And when I go to Russia by the grace of God 28:33 I'm going in January when the weather warms up over there 28:40 and when I go to 3ABN I stand amazed. 28:46 I stand amazed at what Julia has done. 28:50 I see the quality of the television programs. 28:53 I see the musical DVDs. 28:56 I hear the Russian singers. 28:59 I see the preaching and the teaching of the Russians 29:02 and I say: "I am thankful to God 29:07 that I was permitted to be a part 29:11 of what I consider to be the greatest work in all the world: 29:16 the preaching of the gospel of the blood 29:21 of the Son of God. Hallelujah and praise the Lord! 29:24 Amen! Julia, come up here a little bit. 29:27 I'd like to... You heard our version of it 29:30 and what we saw, I'd like to hear your version. 29:33 Julia has a doctor's degree in linguistics 29:38 in her specialty: English. 29:39 But she had never been anywhere and foreigners weren't allowed 29:42 in Nizhny Novgorod, so you really hadn't heard 29:45 people speaking. Now I understand Elder Carter... 29:48 English as it should be spoken. Well, but... 29:53 but let me ask you... let me just ask you this. 29:56 I won't get in a dog fight with you here. 29:58 But did they ask you to go to the university 30:01 and speak so they could record you? 30:03 See, they asked me but here's why. It's not really that good. 30:08 It's not really good. They didn't ask him 30:10 to go to the university. 30:11 They literally came, the school of language, and said: 30:14 "Could you come to the school of language? 30:16 We want to record you. " And I said: "Why? " 30:19 I know I didn't have a Wintley Phipps voice. 30:21 I said: "Why is that? " 30:23 They said: "We study American dialects and English dialects. 30:28 Yours doesn't fit into any. " 30:31 They said: "You've got a little southern stuff in there; 30:34 you've got some midwestern. " You're sorry for me? I know. 30:39 I'm just affirming you. 30:41 Thank you... thank you. 30:43 So they said: "Really, we want to study this 'cause 30:46 it's very... " So I did... I went and read 30:48 Uncle Tom's Log Cabin or something like that. 30:50 In Russia they had that book. They didn't have Bibles 30:53 but they had Uncle Tom's Cabin. But anyway, Julia. 30:56 So Julia was a professor of English so she should know. 30:59 Let's see how she sounds. Whatever she sounds 31:01 that's the correct way Pastor Carter. 31:03 That's how we settled this. Um-hmm. 31:06 She's got a doctorate in language. From your perspective, 31:09 give us a little version of what was going on 31:12 in this huge city when you heard about an evangelist coming 31:16 from America. OK. I didn't see those fire things 31:20 thrown on the stage because the first one to come there 31:24 was my mother. And then she told me 31:27 "Come. They give free Bibles there. 31:30 You are supposed to attend so many meetings 31:34 and then you will be given a Bible. " 31:37 And it was close to where I lived and I kind of got 31:41 interested to come. I thought, it will be a good 31:45 opportunity to listen to English spoken. 31:47 Because the city was closed for foreigners. 31:51 I was a teacher of English. I had never heard a single person 31:54 whose mother tongue would be English. 31:56 So I came. I always sat in the back. 32:00 I would never raise my hand when Pastor John would 32:03 say: "Do you have some needs that you want for us to 32:06 pray about? " 32:08 I never stood up when he encouraged people to stand up 32:12 for prayer or something. 32:14 And then since his message is solidly based on the Bible 32:20 and the Bible does its work... the Word of God does its work. 32:23 And it did its work in my heart. 32:27 So those things that you spoke about and I am hearing this 32:33 with Pastor John the first time. I never told him that 32:35 I have never been interested in prophecy or in history 32:38 or in archaeology or any of that. 32:41 But when he read about the personality... how did you 32:44 describe apostle Paul's writings where he described 32:50 our characters so well when we are in a fallen condition 32:54 and then how God changes us when we accept Him 32:58 I was just so much moved. 33:01 And on the night before the last baptism... 33:07 No, it was Thursday before the last baptism 33:10 that was to take place on Sabbath 33:11 when he read from the Bible: "Don't you know that your bodies 33:15 are a temple of the Holy Spirit? " 33:17 I didn't regard it in the context of the health message 33:19 but I was awed to hear that God wants to 33:23 regards me His holy temple in which the Holy Spirit 33:29 dwells it was not like a promise that He will dwell if... 33:34 but it was: "You are a temple of the Holy Spirit. 33:38 It dwells in you. " This was when God's love touched 33:41 my heart. I was the only sister of the governor 33:46 of Nizhny Novgorod and I thought: "No matter 33:50 what my brother is going to say I want to be baptized 33:55 at this meeting. " 33:56 And it was the time when I wrote Pastor Carter a letter 34:01 because I wanted to be as beneficial to the cause of God 34:07 and to church as I could. 34:09 And I thought: probably the only available thing that I have 34:13 is being the sister of my brother. 34:17 So I thought I should mention this to Pastor John 34:22 and let him use this for a witness 34:26 that the governor's sister - 34:28 and I was Ph.D. which means a good education and a good job - 34:34 so I wanted that to be a witness of the greatness 34:37 of the message. So, you know, later 34:42 when I talked to my brother about that I was baptized 34:45 it was one on one, and he could say whatever he wanted 34:51 this was when I knew that my brother is really a very 34:54 very progressively-minded person because with all the strong 34:57 Communist opposition which was there he told me: "If this is 35:00 yours, if this is where you find your comfort, 35:05 if this is where you find the meaning of your life, 35:08 go ahead with it. " And yeah... so... 35:11 We found him to be a wonderful person... 35:14 not necessarily on the first visit. Elder Carter knocked on 35:17 my door, Rosia Hotel, and said: "Donny, the governor wants 35:22 to see us. " And I said: "What? " He goes 35:25 "I don't think he's too happy with us but we've got to go 35:28 see him. " And I said: "You really need me to go 35:30 or can you? " I mean, we're in a foreign country, 35:33 right? Everybody's carrying AK-47's around. 35:37 And they look like they're really serious about when they 35:40 tell you. So, he said: "No. We're in this together so let's 35:43 go. " So we did. We went; we met the governor. 35:46 The security. We went in and sat down at a table. 35:50 And the governor was a really good looking guy. 35:52 Very young. I think 34 years old at the time. 35:55 Youngest governor in the ex-Soviet Union. 36:00 Ph.D. in Radio Physics at the age of 25. 36:03 Wow... wow! Amazing. Brilliant brilliant man. 36:08 We come in there, and so he's not very happy. 36:12 Hey, we're all happy, right? 36:13 He's not very happy that we're there. 36:18 Elder Carter had just baptized 2,532 souls 36:22 for the Lord. Literally the city had been turned upside down 36:27 for God. And so 6,000 letters had been written to him... 36:32 some in English. He took one that was written 36:35 in English... beautiful English. 36:37 But as we were speaking to the governor 36:39 the governor told him: "Look, you Adventists need to leave. 36:42 You don't need to be here, and why are you baptizing 36:46 all these people? We baptize... everybody just joins the... 36:49 the Russian Orthodox church when they're born. You don't 36:53 have anything for them; you don't need to be here. " 36:55 And I'm like: "OK, I guess. The meetings are over, 36:58 it's time to leave, right? " I'm like... I'm sitting there 37:01 and Elder Carter takes his... You ever see him do this 37:04 when he's preaching? He's like: "Governor, 37:07 you don't know anything about democracy. " 37:09 And I'm looking for doors how to get out. 37:12 I said: "There's not a door... " There wasn't any behind me. 37:16 I thought: "Reckon where they want one? 37:18 We're gonna get out of this. " 37:20 It's probably the only time in my adult life I sat for 37:23 nearly an hour while this man boldly spoke 37:26 to the government and the governor. And I could not 37:29 believe the things that he said. 37:31 I didn't like the thought of Russian prisons... 37:34 especially when they would throw the key in the Volga River. 37:37 But he spoke, a holy man... Literally God blessed him. 37:42 You read in the Bible where these things happen 37:44 and I saw it happening. We're on literally the stage, 37:48 earth's final stage of history, 37:51 and you see things that's nothing that I could read in the 37:54 Bible could hit home any more. 37:56 Here's a man standing before the governor, the princes 37:59 and all the leaders, 52 million people in that constituency, 38:03 and he told them about democracy and told them about 38:06 fairness. And he says: "If you're going to be a democratic 38:09 governor then you have to let us have our rights. 38:12 We have Russian Orthodox church in America and we allow 38:15 them though they're a minority. 38:16 We don't run them out. " He explained to this man 38:19 democracy. And the governor finally said: "Well you 38:22 still don't need to baptize people. What can you give them 38:25 that the Russian Orthodox church couldn't? " 38:28 The Russian Orthodox leader... one of the leaders was there. 38:31 I don't know his name. I won't tell you about his hat 38:33 'cause it's something... I'm old enough... I won't go 38:36 into any detail, but when some of you are old enough 38:38 you kids in school and you acted up 38:40 and they stood you in a corner and put a "hat" on you 38:43 and it was kind of like that kind of hat. 38:46 And so he seemed to be in charge. 38:49 And the governor... he's sitting, working together. 38:53 Then Elder Carter said: "Well you know 38:57 I have thousands of letters written me but one's in 39:00 beautiful English. I'll read it to you. " 39:02 It started out: "You have brought me out of darkness 39:04 into marvelous light. " Began to read, and as he did 39:07 the governor and the Orthodox priest - bishop, 39:12 archbishop - they were just there, kind of motionless 39:15 listening. So finally he read the end of the letter 39:19 and he said: "This was signed by Julia Outkina. " 39:22 And the governor said: "Let me see that paper. " 39:25 Who? Who is that? He said: "Julia Outkina. " 39:27 He goes: "That's my sister. " 39:30 His only sister... his big sister. 39:32 Then he said to the Orthodox bishop/archbishop: 39:37 "Come over here. The media's out here. 39:39 Mr. Carter, Mr. Shelton, the bishop. He told him: 39:43 "You stand here. Shake hands when the media comes in. 39:46 We are going to work together. " He says: "We have a bigger enemy 39:49 than each other. It's Communism. We don't want Communism 39:51 to come back. " And so that was our meeting. 39:55 And from there... 3ABN... we built the largest 39:58 Protestant facility in the ex-Soviet Union 40:01 and we hired Julia as a translator. So I asked 40:05 John Kantor, my cousin, "Would you go over? " 40:07 He's a construction man and he said: "Well, how long? " 40:09 And I said: "Three months. " Well, it was several years 40:12 it ended up being... but I meant well. 40:14 Three months... So we needed a translator. 40:17 Julia is a professor of English so I asked her. 40:20 I met with her in the conference office and said: 40:22 "We'd like to hire you, and how much would it take to pay you? " 40:25 And you were making how much at the time? $15.00 a month. 40:28 $15.00 a month. Has her doctorate's degree... professor 40:32 of English, right? And $15.00 a month. 40:36 And I said: "Well we want you; we'll give you $25.00. " 40:39 Now that doesn't sound... No, no... hang on. 40:43 Hear me out. Oh, they're not going to let me do this. 40:49 If you're making $15.00 a month and you get $25.00, that's 40:53 a big raise, isn't it? So... And people told us there 40:56 "Don't overthrow money around because these Russians don't 40:59 understand it. They think all Americans are rich. " 41:01 But I said: "We really need her. 41:03 We'll up your salary for $25.00 a month. " 41:06 Now anyone would grab at that. 41:09 She didn't. You know what she said? 41:11 "Oh, I could never take that. " 41:13 She said: "I worked for the Communist government during 41:17 Communism for $15.00 a month. I surely wouldn't charge God 41:21 any more than that to work for Him. " 41:23 So then when... I only found out this past year 41:29 or so and I shouldn't have found out. I wasn't supposed to. 41:31 She and Mollie had a pact together. 41:33 But I found out for the last several years... 41:35 We pay her, and of course their wages have gone up to a few 41:38 hundred dollars a month for all the workers. 41:40 She hasn't been taking a salary for years. 41:44 She takes her salary and divides it up among the other 41:47 workers so their standard of living can be a little better. 41:50 I don't say that to uplift Julia 41:52 but the Jesus, John, in her. 41:54 What she has done... She was translator till the whole 41:58 building was built. I'd go out there... brutally cold weather. 42:01 And when I say that I am not exaggerating 42:04 I can tell you in Russia in the winter time. 42:06 She would be dressed up and she had a little sack with her. 42:08 Remind me of a little squirrel. She'd be translating 42:12 and reaching in here getting something. 42:14 John never took breaks. He started early in the morning 42:16 and worked all night. So her eating was like 42:18 eating something as she was on the go. 42:20 climbing up these ladders into the second story, third story 42:24 of the building... Working so hard and happy 42:27 to do it when she could have been this professor 42:30 teaching in the warmth... but she chose to do it. 42:33 Then later when we were ready we said: "Julia, will you be 42:36 the director of 3ABN Russia? " 42:39 As John said, incredible amount of work they're doing. 42:42 And I'm so thrilled, Julia, as John said. All of that 42:46 would be worth it if it were just you. 42:48 The good news is it wasn't. There's been thousands 42:51 and thousands of people. But the devil's been on the attack 42:55 with you, and recently in this past year - 42:57 in fact, April... we were doing Spring Camp Meeting... 43:00 and right... literally minutes before we went on in February 43:03 Spring Camp Meeting somebody said, one of our crew said, 43:06 I forget which one it was, they said: "Did you hear 43:09 that Boris Nemtsov, her brother... " Was on CNN. 43:13 "just got assassinated in Moscow? " 43:16 And I said: "No, I didn't hear that. Are you sure? " 43:19 "Yes, we're sure. " So all the TV channels 43:22 Boris Nemtsov got assassinated. 43:24 He was on kind of an opposition party? Yes. 43:27 Opposition party of the govern- ment. He was actually the leader 43:30 of the opposition uniting all the opposition forces 43:34 against the government. He was literally assassinated 43:38 in Moscow around midnight, something like that. 43:40 So I said: "Oh, I've got to... quickly let's call Julia. " 43:43 So I called Julia to give her condolences 43:46 and I said: "Julia. " She said: "Hello Danny. " 43:49 And I thought that's strange: "Hello Danny. " 43:51 And I said: "Julia... how're you doing? " 43:52 She said: "Oh, do you need some- thing? It must be important. " 43:55 I realized she hadn't heard. 43:57 She hadn't heard. It was 2 o'clock in the morning. 44:01 Two o'clock in the morning your time. 44:04 But you hadn't heard. No, I hadn't heard. 44:06 No one had called her; she hadn't heard. 44:10 So I had one of the toughest jobs of my life 44:14 in letting her know that her brother had been assassinated. 44:17 And she couldn't... She says: "Are you sure? " 44:19 I said: "Well maybe you should turn on Russian television 44:22 and make sure yourself because there can be mistakes. " 44:25 I just... you know... So she did. 44:28 Your response? Danny wanted to make sure that it was 44:32 my brother. He asked for his name, for his age and so on. 44:37 And you know what my first response was? 44:39 It was night from Friday to Saturday. 44:43 The Sabbath already started. 44:45 And my response was: "Praise the Lord that it is Sabbath. " 44:50 Of course, I started crying immediately. 44:53 I couldn't... Well, you can understand how it feels. 44:57 But it was the first thing that I told Danny. "Praise the Lord 45:00 that it is Sabbath. " Because... and you know 45:06 my husband also died on July the 10th 45:09 and it also happened on Sabbath. 45:13 It didn't happen on Sabbath but this was when I learned 45:16 the news about that. And I just thought: "The Lord is in 45:20 control. He wouldn't allow for something like this to happen... 45:23 Thank you. You know, it means that 45:27 in the overwhelming plan of salvation 45:31 for the humankind, for my brother, for my husband, 45:35 for someone else from the family or something 45:38 this was the best thing that could have happened. 45:41 So I just... I don't remember 45:44 what you remember as my first phrase, but I remember 45:47 my first phrase was: "Praise the Lord that it is Sabbath. " 45:52 So several months... Last year Fall Camp Meeting 45:56 many of you met her husband, and her son 45:58 was here with her. You remember? 46:00 A lot of you remember. I remember taking them over 46:02 to the house and putting them on a horse. 46:04 They never get to ride a horse, so we put them in the round pen 46:07 and led them around. And they were hanging on to that 46:09 horn like not knowing what to expect 46:12 and had a great time. 46:14 Talked to them both a little bit about the Lord, 46:16 and her son and her husband... great changes in their lives. 46:21 That's the beauty of it. 46:23 Her son, who used to not believe in God, 46:25 said - he's a scientist also - he said: "I actually know 46:29 that this is by design. This couldn't just be happening. 46:31 There is a Supreme Being some- where that designs all of 46:35 these things. " I mean, huge strides from where they 46:37 used to be. Um-hmm. And so her husband was here 46:40 then... Danny, may I interrupt about my husband's visit? " 46:45 It was... We didn't plan 46:50 what people would talk about with my husband 46:54 or with my son. But it felt to me like 46:58 God was putting together a picture - a small puzzle - 47:02 which fit in so well. For example, someone would share. 47:06 They all knew that they don't go to church. 47:09 And someone would share something and then the next one 47:14 just very close to that would add something 47:17 that would make the picture broad. So I am so thankful. 47:21 Danny invited my husband and my son to come 47:24 at the very first years of 3ABN Russia 47:28 and somehow it didn't happen. 47:30 And I am so thankful that it happened now 47:32 and I know that it was God's plan also. 47:35 Amen. Julia, shortly after... 47:38 That's only... When was that that your husband died? 47:40 What date? July the 10th. 47:42 So you can see it's only been a couple months. 47:44 And 40 years been married. He drowned. 47:47 And so he wasn't sick. She had no idea. So her brother 47:51 in February then her husband. I mean, how devastating. 47:57 She wrote me an e-mail and she said: 48:00 "I cannot breathe a breath or take a step 48:04 without Him now. " Without God. 48:08 We did a little program with Lanny Wolfe 48:10 and sang Whatever It Takes. 48:14 Julia was listening at the other end. You said that 48:16 drew you closer to the Lord. Oh yeah. 48:19 You know, I haven't... In all my life, I know and I think 48:23 it's with everyone that would go from one level of 48:27 relations with God to higher and higher and higher 48:30 through different things. And now it's the best possible 48:35 relationship between me and God that I have ever had. 48:39 And yes, during that program 48:42 they were laughing and crying on this end 48:44 and I was laughing and crying with them on that end 48:47 there in Russia. Yes. Says: Take my houses 48:53 and lands. Change my dreams and my plans. 48:58 For I'm placing my whole life 49:02 in Your hands. And if You call me today 49:07 to a land far away 49:10 Lord I'll go and Your will obey. 49:16 Next verse says: 49:18 Take the dearest things to me 49:22 if that's how it must be 49:27 to draw... draw me closer to You. 49:33 Let the disappointments come 49:40 lonely days without the sun 49:44 if through sorrow 49:47 more like You I become. 49:51 Sing it with me if you know it. 49:52 For whatever it takes 49:56 to draw closer to You, Lord, 50:01 that's what I'll be willing to do. 50:07 For whatever it takes to be more like You... 50:09 For whatever it takes 50:14 to be more like You 50:18 that's what I'll be willing to do. 50:24 Amen! Says: I'll trade sunshine for rain, 50:30 comfort for pain, 50:32 that's what I'll be willing to do. 50:34 Whatever it takes for my will to break... 50:37 And that's the question for all of us today: 50:41 Are we willing? Can we sing these verses 50:45 to this song? And can we live them? 50:47 Julia is living it. Pastor Carter, I want you to 50:49 say a special prayer for Julia, 50:51 the Russian brothers and sisters, and for all of us 50:56 that right now are in need of a Savior 50:58 that have not fully surrendered to Him. 51:04 Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the great grace of God. 51:09 We thank you that the will of God will never take us 51:13 where the grace of God cannot keep us. 51:16 We thank you, our Father, for what our eyes saw in Russia. 51:21 We thank you that the Russian people are very precious 51:25 to the heart of God. And dear Father, 51:30 we just want to pray earnestly today for our sister Julia 51:35 and for her family. 51:38 We thank you for her brother Boris 51:41 and that he was a light standing for freedom. 51:46 We thank you that he is safe in the hands of God. 51:50 We thank you for Julia's husband, too. 51:54 A good man whose life was touched by Your grace 51:59 through the influence of his wife. 52:02 And we thank you that Julia has been in this city which is 52:07 almost given over to unbelief in Russia: 52:11 the great city of Gorky... 52:13 as they call it today Nizhny Novgorod. 52:15 We thank you that in this city Julia and her team 52:20 are a light shining for God. A light shining in the darkness. 52:24 We pray that You will bless dear Julia, dear Father. 52:29 We thank you for her. We thank you that You saw her 52:33 in Your plan. 52:35 We thank you that when Christ was on the cross 52:41 she was on His mind - Amen - and He thought of her. 52:47 And when they said: "Come down from the cross" 52:49 He could have come down but He thought of Julia 52:53 and He thought of the rest of the world and He thought of 52:56 our Russian brothers and sisters. 52:59 And so He stayed on the cross and took hold of the Roman nails 53:03 until His heart was broken 53:06 to save us and to redeem us. 53:08 We thank you that there's a better day coming. 53:12 A better day, a better time, a better place 53:14 when there's going to be no more sin and no more sorrow 53:18 and no more death. Yes! We pray that you will keep us 53:21 faithful in Christ until that day. 53:23 And so dear Father, we pray that you will take our beloved 53:26 sister Julia into Your gracious hands now. Yes! 53:30 Watch over her, Lord. 53:32 Bless her; comfort her; 53:36 and save her with us with an everlasting salvation. 53:39 And we worship You and we bless You 53:42 and we praise You and we give you glory 53:45 and we give You thanks in Jesus' name, 53:50 Amen and amen. Pastor Carter, 53:53 I want you to do in just a minute before you go 53:55 what you did one time. And I don't even know if you know 53:58 about this. But one time several years ago pastoral told us 54:02 they got a call from a man. 54:04 He said it was late at night. He had no reason to live. 54:09 Everything of earth meant nothing to him. 54:12 He chose to kill himself. 54:15 He said: "I'm going to kill myself. " He had a gun 54:17 and he lived in a duplex or apartment area. 54:21 For whatever reason he said: "I don't want 54:24 people knowing about it tonight. 54:26 I'm just gonna take my life. " 54:28 So he went and got his gun 54:30 and said: "I'll just turn up the television 54:35 as loud as I can. Maybe people won't hear the gunshot. " 54:40 He said: "When I turned the television on... " 54:43 he knew nothing about 3ABN... 54:47 "John Carter was on. " 54:50 3ABN. He said: "Friend, Jesus loves you. 54:55 He died for you. He made a plan of salvation for you. 54:58 He's coming back for you soon in the clouds of glory. " 55:02 The guy said: "He was looking right at me. " 55:04 "He was looking right at me. " Amazing! 55:07 He called to surrender his life to Jesus. 55:12 Do you high-five in Australia? I don't know. 55:15 OK... you do. 55:17 Do you high-five in Russia, Julia? You do now, right? 55:19 All right. I want you to take just a moment to look into 55:24 that camera because there may be someone right now 55:27 who's in that same position: 55:31 down and out, discouraged. They think there's no reason 55:34 to live. Just take a minute or two - couple minutes - 55:37 and talk to that viewer today. 55:39 Point him which... Right over there. That camera's on 55:41 right now. The greatest truth in the Bible is 55:46 this truth: that there's a God in heaven 55:49 and He gave His Son and His Son died for you. 55:53 And you may feel a million miles from God today 55:57 but He's not a million miles from you. 56:00 He's with you now. 56:03 And the Bible tells me "For God so loved the world 56:06 that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him 56:10 shall not perish but have everlasting life. " 56:14 You may have come to the end as far as you're concerned 56:19 but as far as God is concerned for you 56:22 this is only the beginning. 56:24 He has a great plan for you my brother, my sister, 56:28 and He wants to touch you tonight. 56:31 Don't give up, because God hasn't given up on you. 56:34 I say to you tonight... or today... 56:37 believe in the God who believes in you 56:42 because He loves you and He cares for you 56:46 and He's preparing a place for you in glory. 56:50 And I want to say to you today 56:53 if you'll just open up your heart now to Christ 56:57 Christ will come into your heart. 57:00 And when He comes into your heart He'll forgive your sins 57:06 and He'll wash you clean 57:08 and He'll give you peace 57:11 and He'll save you because He'll give you everlasting life. 57:16 And I want to say to the person sitting there right now... 57:20 I don't know your name; I don't know who you are. 57:22 You may not know who I am. 57:24 It doesn't really matter. But the truth is God knows you 57:29 and God knows your name 57:31 and He knows what the problem is 57:33 and He knows everything about you 57:36 and He loves you and He cares for you. 57:40 And I want to pray for you now. 57:42 Dear Father, here is this person watching this telecast 57:46 today, and this person has come to the end 57:50 of his or her tether. 57:54 The bottom has fallen out. 57:56 That person's got nowhere to go. 58:01 But help that person to know today 58:03 that God is the place to go 58:08 and that Jesus knows about us. 58:11 And Jesus knows about this person 58:14 and Jesus died for that person. 58:17 And therefore as we're praying here today, 58:22 people are watching this telecast we're saying this: 58:26 dear Lord, we are weak. 58:29 We don't know what to do. 58:31 We've made a mess of things. 58:34 And so we're asking You, the great God of the universe 58:37 who made the stars, who died for our sins on the cross, 58:42 we're asking You "Come into our hearts. 58:45 Wash us clean. Take the hate out of our hearts. 58:51 Take the fear out of our hearts. 58:55 Take this awful depression off our souls 59:01 and grant us peace and everlasting life. " 59:06 So bless my brother, my sister, 59:10 who is watching right now. 59:12 Put Your hand upon him, Lord. 59:15 Put Your hand upon her as You did upon Julia. 59:20 And bless him and bless her. 59:26 And so we thank you today and we worship You 59:31 and we bless You and we give You glory 59:36 and we put these souls right now into the hand 59:41 that was nailed to the cross. 59:44 And we do so with thankfulness and joy 59:47 in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. 59:52 Amen. Amen. 59:54 Thank you Julia; thank you Pastor Carter. 59:57 God bless. 01:00:04 Ya'll been blessed? Amen! 01:00:07 Isn't it great for hope? 01:00:10 To have hope in Jesus Christ? 01:00:13 In what time we've got left I want to talk to you 01:00:16 for a little bit. I'm not good at notes. 01:00:18 Usually I just talk. I have so many stories 01:00:20 about what God is doing. This morning I made a few notes 01:00:23 and... because it occurred to me: I had no idea 01:00:28 why I wanted to talk about what I wanted to talk to. 01:00:31 It couldn't have been a better segway had you planned it 01:00:35 because the very first thing I have written down 01:00:39 was... I'm going to talk to you about this. 01:00:42 Has anybody ever watched the movie It's a Wonderful Life? 01:00:47 Let me see how many have watched it. 01:00:49 All right. The rest of you probably should. 01:00:51 All right? Nothing wrong with it. 01:00:53 1938 or whatever... 1935. 01:00:56 Who was in it? Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. 01:01:00 Yeah... a lot of you watched it. All right? 01:01:02 It's a Wonderful Life. It happens around Christmastime. 01:01:05 A young man... What was his name? 01:01:07 George. Name is George, right? 01:01:11 George ended up - it was around Christmas - getting ready 01:01:14 to celebrate Christmas, but things didn't go right 01:01:18 and somehow some money was lost at the bank 01:01:22 and he ended up... decided that he wanted to, 01:01:25 to end his life. He couldn't face anybody 01:01:28 and was going to end his life. So he goes to a Christmas... 01:01:32 It's snowing. He goes to a bridge 01:01:34 and he says: "I'm just going to jump in and kill myself. " 01:01:38 But there happens to be - now take this with a grain of salt - 01:01:41 It's just a movie, right? - 01:01:43 but a grain of salt. There happened to be an angel there 01:01:45 whose name was? Clarence. 01:01:48 All right. So did George jump in the water? 01:01:52 He jumped in the water, right? 01:01:54 And Clarence pulled him out. 01:01:57 'Cause what he said was... he said: "What's wrong? " 01:02:00 He made this statement: "I wish I had never been born. " 01:02:04 Now that's the key to it: "I wish I had never been born. " 01:02:08 So when he gets out of the water he goes to get dried off 01:02:12 and he goes into a place where people are partying 01:02:14 and they're laughing. And he talks to: "Hey, 01:02:17 so and so. " And they look at him: "I don't know this guy. " 01:02:18 Everywhere he goes it suddenly occurs to him 01:02:22 he had never been born. 01:02:24 And the whole city was changed. 01:02:27 'Cause there was a guy... What was his name? The greedy guy? 01:02:32 Yeah. Potiphar? No... Potter. 01:02:37 Potter. So the city had a name of - the town - 01:02:42 but when he went in it had a different name. 01:02:46 Potters? Pottersville. Thank you. Somebody's 01:02:50 watched every bit of this. 01:02:52 So... Pottersville. 01:02:55 And so the point of it is 01:02:58 he saw over a period of time 01:03:01 what the world would have been like if he hadn't of been born. 01:03:04 That he DID make a difference. 01:03:07 And that's what I wanted to ask you today. 01:03:09 What if you had never been born? 01:03:14 Would the world be different today? 01:03:17 Think about it. 01:03:19 If you hadn't been born, would the world be different today? 01:03:24 Would there be a big hole all around you? 01:03:30 I want to use that as Elder Carter. 01:03:33 And I had written this about Elder Carter. 01:03:36 What? Let's take for granted or take as illustration: 01:03:40 what if Elder John Carter had not been born? 01:03:45 What if Elder John Carter had not been born? 01:03:49 Julia's here. Thousands of people there. 01:03:53 El Salvador I think it was, San Salvador. 150,000 01:03:57 a night, thousands being baptized. 01:03:59 Africa... thousands being baptized. 01:04:02 All across New Guinea... thousands being baptized. 01:04:05 What if he hadn't been born? 01:04:07 What if Julia had not been born? 01:04:12 Thousands of people are hearing about the gospel. 01:04:14 Millions of people, yea, being born into Jesus 01:04:20 through the ministries of these people. 01:04:23 So I want you to think about it for just a few moments 01:04:26 that what are you doing in this world 01:04:32 that makes it worth you being born in these closing moments 01:04:37 of earth's history. 01:04:39 It's no accident that each and every one of us are here. 01:04:43 Now here's the trouble: 01:04:45 facts prove to us that all of us were born. 01:04:48 The only guy who could argue that is probably my uncle 01:04:51 Clinton 'cause he could argue anything you say. 01:04:53 Doesn't make any difference. 01:04:55 He'll find an answer and almost convince you. 01:04:56 But the facts are everyone here has been born. 01:05:01 But how many have showed up? 01:05:04 That's shown or showed? 01:05:06 Shown, right? How many of us have shown up? 01:05:08 Right? How many showed up? 01:05:10 Are you with me now? 01:05:13 We know we've all been born; here we are. 01:05:15 But how many showed up to do something for God? 01:05:20 How many of us said: "Lord, I accept You as 01:05:26 Lord and Savior of my life 01:05:28 and I want to make a difference in the world around me today? " 01:05:32 You see, when we realize we're not here by happenstance, 01:05:36 we're not here by accident, 01:05:38 when that hits home to us it also hits home that God has 01:05:42 a plan for us. Somebody say amen? Amen! 01:05:46 God has a plan for us. Each and every one of you here 01:05:49 and watching around the world God has a plan for you. 01:05:53 As Pastor John said: when Jesus was hanging on the cross 01:05:56 you and I were on His mind. That's right! 01:05:59 Think about that. Jesus Christ on the cross 01:06:03 carrying the sins of the world thought about you and me. 01:06:07 He could look down the stream of time and see a people that 01:06:10 would be willing to give their lives unto death if necessary 01:06:14 for the cause of God. Well mostly in my lifetime - 01:06:17 and I'm sure with some people it has - 01:06:20 we've not seen world events 01:06:22 where all the things that we've been told are going to happen... 01:06:26 All of these things: National Sunday law, 01:06:29 all of these closing events where Christians are going to be 01:06:33 persecuted. Things have changed... things have changed. 01:06:37 Right now we have turned a corner 01:06:39 and it happened... As far as I'm concerned, it's been turning 01:06:42 for a long time. But a 90 degree or maybe a turn around backwards 01:06:45 however you want to do it: 180. 01:06:47 But when the Supreme Court re-defined marriage 01:06:50 here in the United States of America. 01:06:52 Now that's huge. If somebody doesn't know that's huge, 01:06:55 we need to wake up. That is huge! 01:06:59 Why is that huge? Because the government of the United States 01:07:02 of America just trampled on God's law. 01:07:07 We thumbed our nose at God. 01:07:11 Am I telling the truth? 01:07:13 Amen. Other countries will follow, I'm sure, and have. 01:07:18 But this is absolutely incredible. I never thought 01:07:22 I'd live to see this. Did you? 01:07:26 Or do you even care? 01:07:28 Do I care? Do we care? 01:07:30 Yes! All right... we care. 01:07:32 If we care we've gotta... 01:07:34 Somebody said about... At church one day he said: 01:07:36 "Are you happy? " I heard a preacher... 01:07:38 And everybody said: "Yes. " He said: "Then 01:07:39 notify your face... I can't tell. " 01:07:41 So that's the way maybe the Lord is saying. 01:07:44 We're saying: "We're happy, Lord. " He says: "Well notify 01:07:46 Me. Let Me see that by your actions 01:07:49 that you're happy in the Lord. " 01:07:51 There's so many events happening, but the movement 01:07:54 that anything that you do towards God or for God 01:07:58 or proclaim God is being downtrodden right here 01:08:01 in the United States of America. 01:08:03 Did you know there's more religious freedom 01:08:05 in Russia... There was 23 years ago when we went 01:08:09 to Russia... than there was here in the United States? 01:08:11 In Russia they brought in... All the young people that we 01:08:15 could bring from America, they brought them in to 01:08:18 the schools to teach them English 01:08:20 and allowed them to teach the Bible to them. Amen! 01:08:23 They were saying: "Teach us about the Bible. " 01:08:25 Our schools said do what? 01:08:28 "We don't want to hear anything about God. " 01:08:32 These schools were saying: "Teach us to pray. " 01:08:35 Government, formerly Communist government, saying 01:08:39 "You can pray in our schools. " 01:08:41 The schools in the United States of America 01:08:43 were doing what with prayer? Throwing it out! 01:08:47 Now here you are seventy-three years without God 01:08:51 and here we are all of these years 01:08:54 with America we're supposed to be the "Christian" nation 01:08:58 if I can use that term 01:08:59 and yet while we're throwing God out 01:09:02 these people had sense enough, spiritual sense enough, 01:09:06 to know seventy-three years without God 01:09:09 was too long and it wasn't going anywhere except to death. 01:09:13 And they were open to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior 01:09:16 of their lives. Julia Outkina said: "I wasn't 01:09:19 an atheist. I just didn't know about God. 01:09:22 Didn't know about Him; hadn't thought much about Him. " 01:09:24 That's hard for my mind to understand. How about you? 01:09:27 To not even think about whether there's a God or not. 01:09:31 I mean that's just hard to comprehend. 01:09:33 But when she heard it... She didn't go there to hear 01:09:35 about God. She went there to hear English. 01:09:38 She wanted to hear it, then she got to hear me speak 01:09:40 which didn't help her any... much. 01:09:44 But here we are... She got to hear Elder Carter speak, 01:09:46 of course. But as he was reading, the words 01:09:49 jumped off of that Bible right into her heart. 01:09:51 Amen! You know why? Because she knew there must be 01:09:54 something better. She knew there must be some hope 01:09:58 for this world. And when she heard about it 01:10:02 the Holy Spirit pricked her heart and she accepted Jesus 01:10:05 Christ as Lord and Savior of her life. 01:10:09 We have to show up. Today if we're a Christian, 01:10:13 Seventh-day Adventist Christians in particular, 01:10:15 we have to show up. 01:10:18 We're here, and what are we going to do about it? 01:10:21 We're making a decision whether we think we are or not. 01:10:25 Everybody's making a decision. You don't have a choice. 01:10:27 Say: "Oh, I don't want to be bothered with this. 01:10:29 I really don't... I'm not that concerned about it. " 01:10:32 You just made a choice... you just made a choice. 01:10:36 Today is the day of salvation. 01:10:39 Now all of us: "Oh, I'm a Christian. I've been an 01:10:41 Adventist. I've been raised all these years. " 01:10:43 I talk to people. I say: "How long you been a Christian? " 01:10:45 "Oh, I'm a fourth- generation Adventist. " 01:10:47 And I say: "How long you been a Christian? " 01:10:49 "Well I'm a fourth generation. My mom; my grandpa; 01:10:53 You know, great... " "No, no. How about you? " 01:10:56 "Well, I was raised in the church. " 01:10:58 I said: "Did you ever stray away? " 01:11:01 I've done over 10,000 interviews. 01:11:02 "Do you ever stray away? You were raised in an Adventist 01:11:05 church. Did you ever stray away from the Lord? " 01:11:08 "No... I always just served the Lord. " 01:11:11 "Did you ever? You didn't have any problems as a teenager? 01:11:13 You didn't go any? You wanted to? " "No, I've just always 01:11:16 been good. " No... I'm serious. 01:11:20 That's what some people tell me: "No, I've just always 01:11:22 been good. I never never really strayed away from the Lord. " 01:11:26 Everybody strays away from the Lord. That's right! 01:11:29 Everybody. Because we're born with a separation. 01:11:32 You don't see Jesus standing here right now. 01:11:35 Why not? We're separated by sin. 01:11:38 In a sinful world, if He showed up right now 01:11:40 what would happen to us? We would die, right? 01:11:43 Because we're not ready for it. People say: "Oh you know, I'm... 01:11:46 I'm just born this way. I've been good all my life. " 01:11:48 No, we haven't been good all of our life. 01:11:50 Now is the time we're going to have to understand 01:11:52 that we have to submit and commit our lives to Jesus 01:11:55 and be willing to go and tell what He's done for us 01:11:58 no matter how popular it is or how unpopular that it is. 01:12:02 We have to stand up. It's such a political climate 01:12:05 in this country you can't say anything 01:12:08 about anybody or about sin 01:12:11 because they say you're - I'm going to use the term - 01:12:15 doggin'. Can't think of something else. 01:12:17 Doggin' people. But it's got where you cannot 01:12:20 say anything. And television stations and radio stations... 01:12:23 It's already happened in Canada and some other places. 01:12:25 You can't say anything about sin because if you do then 01:12:30 you've got to go off the air 'cause you're a people hater. 01:12:33 So now how do you preach the gospel? 01:12:35 See, it's not our job to judge people. 01:12:38 Right? We don't know. Man looks on the outward appearance; 01:12:41 God looks on the heart. We can pretend... 01:12:42 "Oh, I can tell by looking at him he's not a Christian. " 01:12:45 "I can tell by looking at him. " But we really can't. 01:12:48 If we think we can, we don't believe the Bible. 01:12:50 Right? You don't believe the Bible if we really think we can 01:12:53 do that. But it's not our job to judge. 01:12:56 It's our job to take the message to a lost and dying world. 01:13:00 It happened - not by coincidence but by divine providence - 01:13:04 most of those within my hearing have been able to receive 01:13:09 not only Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our life 01:13:13 but we received information that's found in the back of the 01:13:18 book in Revelation that tells us Jesus is coming very soon. 01:13:22 He's coming for a purified bride; He's coming for 01:13:25 a purified church. He's coming for a victorious church. 01:13:28 People say: "Why we've been hearing that Jesus is coming 01:13:32 for years. Why isn't He here? " 01:13:33 Well, I don't see a victorious church. Do you? 01:13:35 We have all the same problems that the world has. 01:13:38 I know 'cause I'm dealing with them, too. 01:13:40 I've had the problems and I've been part of the problems. 01:13:45 And If you're honest with your- self you'll admit you are, too. 01:13:49 Amen! You're all there. 01:13:50 God is not seeing, He's not saying... coming back 01:13:53 for a purified bride and a purified church. 01:13:55 That's why He says: "I... if I be lifted up 01:13:57 will draw all men unto Me. " 01:13:58 But if we don't, as Wintley Phipps was speaking last week, 01:14:01 and I've been studying on this a long time myself, 01:14:04 the character of God. You see, people don't care. 01:14:07 They don't want to see us. I don't blame them. 01:14:09 But if they see Jesus they'll be drawn. 01:14:12 Now not everybody will accept it. When Jesus 01:14:14 was on earth Himself most people rejected Him. 01:14:18 But at least they made a decision. 01:14:20 They saw the truth; they had an opportunity. 01:14:23 It's their problem if they turn away from it. 01:14:25 But you and I are living in such a day 01:14:27 that we don't want to say anything because we might 01:14:30 offend somebody. That's right! I mean, it's amazing to me. 01:14:34 Again, God loves everybody. Has people in all churches. 01:14:38 And I can't judge people, but homosexuality 01:14:41 is a sin according to the Bible. 01:14:43 Just as stealing is a sin and just as adultery is a sin 01:14:47 and just as you can go down the list of those 01:14:49 but I said to somebody the other day: "Isn't it amazing 01:14:52 how things have changed? " I talked to a guy yesterday. 01:14:55 He's a Baptist friend of mine. 01:14:57 Came out here yesterday and we went in the office and talked. 01:15:00 I said: "Now think about it. If I went to your church 01:15:03 and I said: 'You know what? I'd like to be your choir 01:15:08 director. ' I've got a little musical background. 01:15:11 You know, not the greatest. But hey, it's a small area. 01:15:13 You probably don't have a lot of great musical directors 01:15:16 around here but I could probably fill in one of those 01:15:18 churches. I'd like to be your music director. " 01:15:22 "Oh really? " I said: "Yeah, but I've got a little problem. 01:15:25 You know, I have a little drinking problem. You know, 01:15:29 I drink and my dad drank and my grandfather drank. 01:15:33 But you know, it's no big deal. I'll try to keep it under wraps. 01:15:36 But I guess you could say I'm an alcoholic. 01:15:38 Would you let me be your choir director? " 01:15:40 He said: "No. " I said: "OK. " 01:15:43 So I go in and I say: "Hey look. I really want to be your 01:15:46 choir director. " Well, we need a choir director. " 01:15:48 "Now I need to tell you that I like women 01:15:53 and, you know, my dad was a run around, 01:15:57 my grandpa. I mean, it's just kind of in the family. 01:16:00 No harm done, but I'm just maybe an adulterer you could say. 01:16:03 Can I be your choir director?" 01:16:05 "No, you cannot be the choir director at our church. " 01:16:08 No? So I go in and I say: "You know I really want to be 01:16:12 the choir director of your church. " I can go down the list 01:16:14 on and on. "But I do a few little drugs. I smoke a little 01:16:17 pot. Nothing big... just a little here and there. 01:16:19 And can I be your choir director? " 01:16:22 What are they going to tell you? No! 01:16:24 Can't be any choir director of our church. 01:16:27 So I say: "Look, let me try one more time. 01:16:30 I really want to be the choir director of your church. " 01:16:33 So I go to the next guy and I say: "Now I have a little 01:16:36 problem but it kind of runs in the family. 01:16:39 But all of us sin. Hey, nobody's perfect. 01:16:42 I steal a little bit. 01:16:44 I mean I don't know why I do it. I just see something that I like 01:16:47 and I take it. And I'll try not to take any offering 01:16:50 or anything. Don't put that around me. But I still want to 01:16:53 be your choir director, and we've all got a few problems, 01:16:56 you know, so... I mean, we're all sinners. 01:16:59 Can I be your choir director? " "No you can't. " 01:17:02 OK. So finally I come up and I say: "You know what? 01:17:05 I'd like to be the choir director of your church. 01:17:08 I've got a musical background; I can do a decent job. 01:17:10 But I need to tell you that I'm homosexual. 01:17:17 Can I be your choir director? " 01:17:20 "Well, let me talk to the board and we'll see. " 01:17:23 "Well, OK. You can be our choir director. " I know that 01:17:27 for a fact. I'm not just giving you illustrations. 01:17:29 I know where it's happened. I don't know what churches 01:17:31 and I don't even want to say what the name of the churches 01:17:34 are, but that is OK. Now why is that OK? 01:17:38 Why is it OK that a church... 01:17:41 Is the Bible clear about homosexuality as it is stealing? 01:17:46 Yes! Is it as clear as it is about... Hey, 01:17:48 what if I go out and say: "Hey look, I've got this little 01:17:51 problem. If I get mad I kill people sometimes. 01:17:53 But honestly, if no one makes me mad I won't do any harm 01:17:58 to anybody and I'm a good choir director. " 01:18:00 You won't hire me as a church. "Out! " 01:18:03 Why? Because they know the difference in sin. 01:18:06 They know that is sin when I say that, right? 01:18:09 All of these other things. And I said to my friend, 01:18:11 I said: "They know that is sin. " 01:18:13 Now a lot of churches say "Oh, the old commandments were 01:18:16 thrown out. " But if I want to be the choir director 01:18:19 in any church they know what sin is. 01:18:21 They... All of a sudden they believe the Ten Commandments 01:18:24 are still valid. I was at a big church in Tennessee... 01:18:29 east Tennessee. Baptist church. They asked me and Melody 01:18:32 to sing years ago. 01:18:34 And so I didn't ask any questions. 01:18:37 Said: "Sure, we'll go. " We were singing, so we went 01:18:39 to this big church. After the church service was over 01:18:42 the pastor came up and he said: "I just want to ask you 01:18:48 something. " He said: "Somebody said to me you're one of those 01:18:50 old Seventh-day Adventists. " I figured that wasn't very 01:18:54 positive in his mind because he said: "Old. " 01:18:56 And I was younger at the time. He says: "You're one of those 01:18:58 old Seventh-day Adventists but you're not a SDA, are you? " 01:19:01 And I said: "Yeah, I am. " 01:19:03 "What? You're a Seventh-day Adventist? " 01:19:05 I said: "Yeah, is that a problem? " 01:19:07 "Well, no, it's not a problem with me but man... " he said... 01:19:09 "you live under that old law. " 01:19:11 He said: "You live under that old law. 01:19:13 You need to be free. " He said: "You need to be free. 01:19:16 Why do you live under that old law? " 01:19:18 And so I said: "Oh really? " 01:19:20 Well, they had taken up an offering for Melody and me 01:19:25 and they also had taken up their morning tithes and offerings. 01:19:28 And of course that was a lot bigger than our offering, right? 01:19:31 So we were in the pastor's study so he said: 01:19:33 "No... " I said... "So you're not under the law? 01:19:36 You don't believe in the Ten Commandments? " 01:19:37 "Ten Commandments were nailed to the cross. " 01:19:39 I said: "You know what? You sold me! " 01:19:41 "You sold me; I'm with you... I'm with you. " 01:19:44 I said: Melody, honey, we need to go. " 01:19:45 So I walked over to where the deacons are and I took four 01:19:48 big plates of the offering. 01:19:51 I said: "Pastor, I'll see you all later. " 01:19:53 I said: "We're going to take off. " Started walking. 01:19:56 He came behind me: "Umph, umph. " Now it's Bro. Shelton. 01:19:59 "Bro. Shelton, " he says: "hang on just a second. 01:20:01 That's not your offering. " 01:20:03 He said: "This is our Sunday tithe... " It was big! 01:20:07 And he said: "But yours is over here. " 01:20:09 Well it was one plate, right? Why would I want to take 01:20:11 that little one? So I said: 01:20:14 I mean, there was a lot... enough. 01:20:16 We could have gone... We didn't have to stop at McDonalds 01:20:18 on that one. We could have gone to a really... O'Charleys 01:20:21 or something on that offering 01:20:23 and driven all the way home on a full tank of gas. 01:20:27 But I said to him... I said: 01:20:30 "Well, I know. " And he said: "No, really. 01:20:33 That's the wrong offering. " 01:20:36 And I walked through the doors, went up the hallway 01:20:39 going out to the outside. He's still following me. 01:20:42 "Bro. Shelton, I hate to say that but that's our offering. " 01:20:46 I said: "No, it's my offering. " 01:20:48 So he said: "How do you figure it's yours? " 01:20:51 I said: "Well... because I took it. " 01:20:53 "Well you can't take that. " 01:20:54 I said: "Why not? 01:20:57 Why can't I take that offering? I want it! 01:21:01 You just told me there's no stealing. 01:21:03 You told me the Ten Command- ments are done away with. 01:21:05 I haven't done anything wrong. 01:21:07 What are you going to do? Call the police and tell them 01:21:09 I stole? Why there's nothing wrong with stealing 01:21:11 'cause you just said it was done away with. " 01:21:14 He said: "OK, you made your point. Can I have my money 01:21:16 back? " I said: "OK, I'll give you your money back. " 01:21:21 But we live in a time where it's politically "uncorrect" 01:21:25 but we are being led around by the noses 01:21:28 by all sorts of powers, and they're antichrist powers. 01:21:33 Somebody says: "Oh well, you talk about the antichrist. 01:21:36 The church. But you know what? I think it's much 01:21:38 bigger than that. " Now I'm not the theologian. 01:21:40 Some of you can agree and disagree with me. 01:21:42 One morning a few years ago I woke up. 01:21:45 Had a pencil and paper beside my bed 01:21:47 and when I woke up like 6 in the morning the first thought 01:21:51 that hit me: "The antichrist is nothing more than the 01:21:55 spirit of the devil garbed in the clothes of Christianity. " 01:21:58 Wow! Do I need to say that again? Wow! 01:22:03 The antichrist is nothing more than the spirit of the devil 01:22:07 garbed in the cloak of Christianity. 01:22:11 So you see, we may want to look off over here 01:22:13 and say: "Well, that's the antichrist; 01:22:15 this is the antichrist. " May Chung told me one time. 01:22:18 She said: "Son, it's very simple. 01:22:19 We have two spirits within us. 01:22:21 We have a spiritual part 01:22:26 and we have an earthly part. " 01:22:28 She said: "You have a spiritual being 01:22:31 and you have a beastly being inside of you. " 01:22:35 Because the physical part is anti-Christ. 01:22:39 We can't be saved by our physical, right? Am I right? 01:22:42 So we can only be saved by the spiritual side 01:22:44 when we invite Jesus into our life. 01:22:46 So she said: "Whichever one you feed the most 01:22:50 grows the most. If you're feeding the physical, 01:22:55 then you don't need to be looking somewhere else for the 01:22:58 antichrist because it's within you. " 01:23:00 That's right. Antichrist spirit. Now am I too... 01:23:02 Is that too? Anybody upset? 01:23:05 All right. A couple of people are. 01:23:06 Well, we're over in about four minutes anyway. 01:23:09 So then you think about it and you take it home. 01:23:11 My point is this: that God has called us 01:23:14 to be movers and shakers 01:23:16 to do something for the cause of God. 01:23:19 And I was praying about it and I said: "Lord, what are we 01:23:22 going to do? " Financially... 3ABN financially 01:23:26 is the lowest situation we've been in ever. 01:23:30 In the last couple years we're spending sometimes 01:23:33 $200,000... $300,000 more a month 01:23:36 than we're bringing in. And I said: "This can't go on. " 01:23:40 We all know this can't go on. For the last several years 01:23:43 our donations remained the same but our spending goes up. 01:23:46 The government says: "You've got to make all your stations 01:23:49 digital... hi-def. " So that's a few million dollars. 01:23:52 Then they say: "All of your equipment in your studios, 01:23:55 your cameras, all have to be hi-def. " 01:23:57 That's several million dollars. You've got to stay on the air. 01:23:59 But for some reason... For some reason our giving is 01:24:02 the same but all of our expenses are going up 01:24:05 tremendously. And yet no business, religion, 01:24:09 a church, or a non-profit ministry... 01:24:11 none of them can continue to go forward 01:24:14 because they're still a business. You've got to have 01:24:16 more coming in than going out. 01:24:18 So I said about six weeks ago: "Lord... " Seven weeks ago... 01:24:22 "Lord, we have got to have some answers. 01:24:24 We have got to have help. What can we do? 01:24:27 I don't know what to do. You're going to have to help us. " 01:24:30 And the Lord impressed me about "The Blessing Is on the GO! " 01:24:35 And I said: "Wow! This is great. "The Blessing Is on the GO! " 01:24:38 That we have - get this - 18 million SDAs. 01:24:42 Only 7,000 to 10,000- tiny fraction of a percent - 01:24:47 ever give anything to 3ABN on a monthly basis 01:24:50 or a one-time gift. That's about how many offerings we get 01:24:54 a month. And only about 1,000 people out of 18 million give 01:24:57 even $5 a month to 3ABN. Did you know that? 01:25:01 I want you to think about those figures. 01:25:03 That is nothing really. 01:25:05 And I said: "Lord, we need this. And how we gonna do it? 01:25:08 We've got to do something to raise money. " 01:25:11 And I said: "How can we do it? " We've never gone on the air... 01:25:13 We've never done beg-a-thons; we've never done praise-a-thons 01:25:17 as they call them. What are we going to do? " 01:25:19 And the Lord impressed me of something significant. 01:25:22 Was we don't need... The money's not what the problem is. 01:25:28 I'm thinkin' it's the money that we're after. 01:25:31 And the Lord says: "No, this is a wake-up call 01:25:34 spiritually because the money will not help you 01:25:38 get the gospel to the world if the people in the church 01:25:41 don't reflect the character of God. " 01:25:43 The people... We have to have a Latter Rain experience 01:25:47 in order for Jesus to come back for a purified bride 01:25:50 and a purified church. So the idea came to me: 01:25:53 "Anybody who gives $5, $10, $100, or $1,000 01:25:57 a month, whatever the Lord impresses you to give, 01:25:59 every month we will send you an evangelism tool like 01:26:03 a CD of sermons or Elder Carter's, or Mark Finley's 01:26:07 or Brother Kenny's. Anybody who wants... 01:26:09 sometimes a music CD... because what that does 01:26:13 it puts you... it makes you an evangelist. 01:26:15 You can't do it by yourself. 01:26:17 In homes, you can't get the gospel to the world. 01:26:19 We've got all the equipment but we can't get it to the world 01:26:22 without you! So as we join hands together - 01:26:25 become evangelistic team members together - 01:26:28 we can go forward. But more importantly to God 01:26:31 than the money is revival and reformation. Amen! 01:26:34 So that's what I'm... I said: "Lord, I understand it now. 01:26:37 We're going down. Finally You woke me up. " 01:26:40 And I'm trying to do this to you. I want you all to think 01:26:42 about it. It's not just a money situation. 01:26:45 It's about Jesus wanting to come back 01:26:48 and He wants to see His people with revival and reformation. 01:26:51 We're not going to do it by just giving. 01:26:53 We have to "go ye into all the world. " 01:26:55 Jesus says: "All power is given Me in heaven and earth. 01:26:58 Go ye therefore. " 01:27:01 Imagine that. "All power is given Me. 01:27:04 Now I'm transferring that power to you 01:27:06 and you can do anything in My name when you come in My name. " 01:27:10 Amen! I mean what an incredible opportunity. 01:27:13 So we're asking you... all of you at home... 01:27:15 to join with us in "The Blessing Is on the GO! " 01:27:18 Because it's not just an awakening for finances. 01:27:21 It's an awakening to make evangelists out of all of us 01:27:24 so that we can get this gospel of the kingdom 01:27:27 into all the world and Jesus can come back quickly. Amen! |
Revised 2016-02-03