Participants: Various leaders
Series Code: 16ASIC
Program Code: 16ASIC000014A
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00:22 Steal away,
00:26 steal away, 00:31 steal away 00:34 to Jesus. 00:38 Steal away, 00:42 steal away home. 00:49 I ain't got long 00:54 to stay here. 01:00 Steal away, 01:04 steal away, 01:08 steal away to Jesus. 01:15 Steal away, 01:19 steal away home. 01:23 I ain't got long 01:26 to stay here. 01:34 My Lord, He calls me... 01:40 He calls me by 01:44 the thunder. 01:47 The trumpet sounds 01:51 within'a my soul... 01:58 I ain't got long 02:03 to stay here. 02:09 Steal away, 02:13 steal away, 02:17 steal away to Jesus. 02:24 Steal away, 02:28 steal away home... 02:32 I ain't got long 02:35 to stay here. 02:37 I ain't got long to stay... 02:40 ain't got long 02:42 to stay here. 02:55 Steal away, 02:59 steal away, 03:03 steal away 03:06 to Jesus... 03:11 steal away, 03:15 steal away home... 03:23 I ain't got long 03:29 to stay here. 03:40 Amen! Thank you His Voice. 03:44 Has it been a blessing so far our program this afternoon? 03:47 We are going to introduce to you now 03:50 the third group of division presidents 03:53 that are with us today: Africa and the Middle East. 03:57 Our first division president that I will introduce 04:00 as he comes out in just a moment. 04:03 Following Steve is Elder Blasious Ruguri. 04:06 the president of the East Central Africa Division. 04:11 The ECD is comprised of the eleven countries in east 04:15 and central Africa: Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea, 04:18 Djibouti, Kenya, Tanzania, 04:20 Uganda, the DRC, South Sudan, 04:23 Rwanda... which you heard about this morning, 04:25 and Somalia. These countries have a population of over 04:28 400 million people, and the Seventh-day Adventist church 04:32 membership is approximately 3.3 million 04:36 with three union conferences and eight union missions. 04:39 There are seven Adventist universities in the ECD 04:43 and it's the home for the Adventist University of Africa, 04:46 a graduate school serving the entire African continent. 04:49 The ECD is also very proud of it's Maxwell Adventist Academy 04:53 that has been a great blessing for missionaries and their kids 04:55 for quality Adventist education for many many years. 04:59 The ECD has seven hospitals serving the people. 05:02 And an interesting fact: I was actually at their division 05:05 headquarters just a few months ago with Bro. Steve. 05:07 And Elder Rigourri tells me that the division office 05:10 on the grounds has over 50 gazelles, at least 3-4 pythons - 05:14 I'm glad I did not meet them - 05:16 and a few other beautiful animals living in the compound 05:18 very close to the division office. 05:20 Their greatest challenge is to break the culture of members 05:24 thinking that the work is mostly done by the pastors. 05:27 Their vision is to saturate the whole territory 05:30 of the division with the Advent message 05:33 and to get everyone involved in mission. 05:37 Next to Elder Rigouri is Elder Same Vincent 05:43 who is the Sabbath School and Personal Ministries 05:45 and Evangelism Director. He is representing their president 05:48 Elie Weick-Dido, who could not be with us this afternoon. 05:51 But Elder Vincent, you told me that there are 22 countries 05:54 in your division with 4 languages spoken primarily: 05:58 French, English, Portuguese, and Spanish. 06:01 They have a population of over 250 million people 06:06 and a membership of 700,000. 06:10 The biggest challenge in the West Central African Division 06:14 is that they want to reach those countries that are in the 06:17 10/40 window. Their vision is evangelism, though, 06:20 and they want to double the membership by 2020. Amen? 06:23 And to do that they are going to have a special mission focus 06:26 in 2018 where they aim to have 20,000 evangelism 06:31 sites division wide with preachers coming from all over 06:33 the world. Their vision is to encourage their members 06:37 to take part in Total Member Involvement 06:41 that each member will do their part to reach their neighbors 06:43 for Christ. Next to him is Elder Solomon Maphosa who is 06:48 the president of the Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division. 06:52 SID operates in 23 countries and the islands. 06:56 It is comprised of 10 unions and one attached field. 07:01 And the Lord has blessed this division with a membership of 07:03 3,514,060 worshiping in 23,000 churches... 07:09 23, 972 churches throughout their territory. 07:13 Now their greatest mission challenge Pastor Mophosa told me 07:16 is in South Africa where the people struggle 07:19 with many challenges: drugs, human trafficking, 07:21 economic woes, and violence. 07:24 And in this area they are praying for a breakthrough. 07:26 In the South African Union there is a population of 07:29 over 55 million but the membership is only 150,000. 07:33 This is an area in need of urgent prayer. 07:36 They want to see South Africa catch the same fire 07:39 as the other unions have found across their division 07:41 like in Zambia where the membership is over 1 million 07:44 in that country alone. 07:45 In 2018 they plan to have a major mission focus on 07:49 South Africa with church members partnering together 07:51 with church leaders to reach the rainbow nation 07:54 with the gospel. Their vision is to get every member involved 07:58 and participating in the mission of the church. 08:01 And finally, next to him is Elder Rick McEdward, 08:04 the president of the Middle East and North Africa Union. 08:07 Now MENA is not a division but it is a special special area 08:11 of the world as Elder Wilson referenced in the beginning. 08:13 It has the most vast territory. 08:16 And the Middle East and North Africa Union formed in 2011 08:19 is comprised of 20 countries with over 500 million people. 08:24 99% of MENA is Muslim. 08:28 The geography of the church ranges from Morocco on the west 08:31 to Iran in the east and includes countries of 08:33 the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey 08:35 in addition to the northern parts of Cyprus and Sudan. 08:38 It includes the Biblical lands of Babylon, Egypt, 08:41 Persia which are made of today's Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, 08:46 and Egypt plus many locations in Jordan. 08:48 The church has 3,500 members. 08:54 Middle East University is operated by MENA in Beirut. 08:58 In MENA there is one Adventist 09:01 for every 148,571 people. 09:07 Their mission challenge is, Pastor McEdward told me, 09:09 there are 48 cities of 1 million people or more 09:12 some of which have never had one SDA set foot in them. 09:17 And they have four countries that are war-torn and completely 09:20 unstable. The church is either illegal or unwelcome 09:23 in almost all of their countries 09:25 and their lack of human resources means 09:27 that they rely on people from other nations to come 09:30 and join them so that they can be a light in a dark place. 09:33 But nevertheless, Pastor McEdwards' courage is strong. 09:35 And he asked me to express his appreciation, especially 09:38 to Elder Homer Trecartin for his sacrificial 09:40 leadership in this field and to say thank you to you, 09:44 the world-wide SDA church, 09:45 for your tremendous support of the mission 09:48 in the Middle East and North Africa Union. 09:51 Thanks, Kyle. Well I want to tell you... Before I tell you, 09:54 before I start my questions, 09:56 I discussed with my group here 09:59 the question I was going to ask them just a few minutes ago 10:01 and they all got great big smiles on their faces. 10:05 They were very excited about the question. 10:07 It's one of my favorite questions. In fact Elder Solomon 10:09 said: "Oh good! It's not a scary question. " 10:14 So they're all relieved and relaxed 10:16 and I'm looking forward to hearing their answers 10:18 to this question: Ellen White has said in several places 10:22 that we should be "home ere this. " 10:24 And I want to know why do you think we're still here. 10:29 Is there something we can do? 10:33 Elder Ruguri. 10:36 There is a promise in scripture 10:39 and all of us are aware of that promise that 10:43 this gospel of the kingdom 10:45 must be preached to the whole world 10:49 and then the end shall come. 10:52 If the end has not come yet, 10:55 it is because we have not preached this 10:58 gospel to the whole world. 11:00 I'll start with my own situation back in the East Central Africa 11:04 Division where Bro. Kyle just announced that 11:10 the population of the countries that form ECD 11:15 is over 400 million people. 11:19 Then he said we are only 3.3 million members 11:24 in the SDA church in these countries. 11:28 If you calculate the ratio 11:31 you don't want to even say one more thing 11:35 then you feel like we have not started 11:38 our work in this territory. 11:40 And I think this question you are posing to us, 11:45 Andi, is a question that begs 11:48 for all of us to really consider 11:51 whether we are in serious Lord's business or not. 11:56 For me and my division 11:59 we do not want to think we can ever rest again 12:03 until we have covered this great population 12:08 of over 400 million people. 12:11 Now I don't know what I can say for the past 12:15 but I need to tell this assembly and those who are watching us 12:21 wherever they are that it is possible 12:25 for us to do exactly what Jesus said 12:28 about finishing this work. 12:30 We tried with one of our unions by involving 12:34 all the members in that union. 12:37 And I will tell you, even though we wanted to do that, 12:40 we were not still able to do it. 12:42 But we were able to involve quite a number of lay people... 12:47 something that we have not done in the past. 12:49 And just in two weeks 12:52 we have been able to generate this report that has been 12:55 going around where we baptized 100,000 plus 13:01 people in two weeks. 13:04 Now my common sense tells me 13:08 that if we did that all through our countries 13:12 in East Central Africa Division 13:16 it will be a surprise. 13:18 And I think if this happens all around the world 13:22 in a few years we will have fulfilled 13:26 this desire our Lord expressed before He left: 13:30 that this message will have reached the whole world 13:34 and THEN He can come! 13:36 Thank you very much. Bro. Same. Thank you so much 13:40 for the comment of Sr. White. 13:42 You know, we constantly like stories. 13:45 Not too long ago my wife got a message. 13:51 Somebody was telling a story. 13:53 A pastor was driving. 13:56 Then he passed by a poor person who was stopping him. 14:00 He stopped, and picked him up in his car. 14:04 And when the person entered - a poor person - 14:08 the person started saying: "Yesterday 14:12 God was so much angry with what is happening in the world 14:17 that He told Jesus: 'Let us stop everything. ' 14:22 'Let us end the world. ' 14:26 And Jesus said: 'Not now, Father, 14:31 because My own friends are not all ready. ' " 14:36 "Some of My friends are not ready. " 14:42 It tells me if we are serious 14:46 is because God still wants us to be ready. 14:51 He calls for revival. 14:56 He calls for reformation. 14:59 It is time for us as Adventists 15:04 to really be what we say we are. 15:10 To really be what we are preaching. 15:14 We need not only to preach but we need to live 15:18 the real life of Jesus Christ. 15:22 And because Christ wants us to be like Him 15:27 if we allow Him, if we belong to Him, 15:32 if our hearts can change, 15:35 if we can allow the Holy Spirit to really take control 15:40 of everything that we do, 15:43 then we will be called ambassadors for Christ. 15:48 And as ambassadors for Christ 15:50 we will go out there not only to talk 15:54 but to really represent Christ as He is. 15:59 Once we were ever to do so 16:02 not only we as members of the church will be ready 16:06 but many more people will be attracted to this gospel, 16:12 this special message that was given to us as a church. 16:15 It is so good! We are proud to be Adventists. 16:19 It is good to be a SDA. That is the real church of God. 16:24 When God looks at the earth 16:27 He is pleased to have people who are called SDA church. 16:33 So: reformation, revival. Real Christian living. 16:39 Then Total Member Involvement. 16:42 In our division, this is the message of the new leadership. 16:48 All of us submitting ourselves to God 16:52 and working for Him. Amen! Thank you so much. 16:55 You see the enthusiasm? Elder Solomon. 16:58 Well next time I will be very careful when they ask me 17:02 questions before I come here. 17:05 You get to meet your question here. 17:08 But I believe very very strongly 17:12 that one of the reasons that Christ has not come 17:18 is maybe that we as leaders have not led the church 17:23 the way God expects us to lead the church. 17:27 We have tried to do all the work ourselves 17:31 while the church members just sit and watched us fail 17:36 to do the work. 17:37 I believe... And when I read Ellen White I don't hear her 17:42 saying that it is us, the powerful ministers, 17:46 who will finish the work while the members sit. 17:49 I hear her saying "I saw these things. " 17:53 Saints is more than just a pastor. 17:57 She saw the members going from city to city 18:01 from village to village with the Spirit the Latter Rain 18:05 that we are praying for. 18:07 Maybe why the Latter Rain has not yet fallen 18:10 is because we are still doing it wrong. 18:13 I hear people what the church is now doing to try 18:18 and help the church do this business the right way 18:24 to take ministry where it belongs... the member 18:28 to also know that their role is to share the gospel. 18:34 In our division 3.5 million members. 18:39 You have members who are active 18:42 and maybe some of them feel guilty that they are playing 18:46 a role that is not theirs. 18:48 You know? But they shouldn't be feeling guilty. 18:53 It's because we have even called ourselves ministers 18:57 and they are the lay members. 19:00 And yet the Bible and Ellen White do not say that. 19:04 We need to take the ministry back to the members 19:08 so that they know that they ARE the ministers 19:12 and that the gift of the Spirit that is given to us 19:16 is to train them and equip them for ministry 19:20 according to the Word of God. I believe when we do that 19:24 and we pray... I don't believe the Holy Spirit will come 19:27 or come later and bless us as we sit in our living room 19:31 and enjoy watching television. 19:33 I don't think it will happen that way. 19:36 When the Spirit of God fell on the Day of Pentecost 19:39 they did something: they stood up; they talked about it; 19:44 they did something for God! 3,000 conversions in one day! 19:48 The Spirit of God will not fall upon a church that's just 19:52 sitting. You cannot arm your soldiers for them to just sit 19:56 home and do nothing. You arm them to go to battle! 20:00 I want to believe God operates on the same principle. 20:05 If I'm wrong I hope I'm not going to be censured. 20:08 But that's the... That's the point! That's the point! 20:11 I believe it with all my heart. 20:13 We are not doing church right. Let's do church the way 20:16 the Lord wants it done. All of us! TMI! 20:20 In our division we call it One Member/One Soul. Amen! 20:25 Thank you. Elder McEdward. 20:28 In at least two of the divisions that have spoken 20:31 they have a thousand times the membership that we have 20:34 in our union. Oh boy! Umm. 20:38 And yet our union I think is probably double the size 20:41 of the divisions in terms of population. 20:43 We could sit here and count to 20:45 148,000 people one by one 20:49 before we find one SDA. 20:55 Our problem about the coming of Christ 20:58 is not an external problem. 21:00 It's not about the challenge. It's an internal problem. 21:03 It's about us and our hearts 21:05 and whether we are willing to stand behind 21:09 God's call in each of our lives 21:12 to go where He sends us 21:14 instead of repeating the message over and over again 21:17 to those who have already heard. 21:22 That challenge is mine and it's yours. 21:24 And my heart is very tender 21:29 for the 70% of 500 million people 21:32 who never have met a Christian person 21:34 of any denomination. 21:41 We need prayer. 21:44 We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 21:47 We need to pour resources from the world church 21:50 as is happening but even more 21:54 into territories like the Middle East and North Africa. 21:59 And we need every member of the world church saying: 22:01 "What can I do for those that do not yet know Jesus 22:05 even in a most basic message form? " 22:09 I think it's us - here - 22:12 it's our duty, our responsibility 22:15 to respond to God's call and to say: "Lord, what can I do? " 22:19 Thank you so much. 22:21 I really appreciate your candor... the answers. 22:25 And certainly I think we can all take the challenge 22:28 that the problem is within ourselves. 22:30 And so I appreciate your answers; I appreciate your 22:33 participation. I just pray for each one of us that we will 22:37 examine our own selves and figure out why is it 22:41 that there is indeed a delay. Thank you gentlemen. 22:48 Thank you very much. We have another wonderful testimony 22:52 to share today by a young woman by the name of Elizabeth. 22:56 Now some of you may be looking at this young lady and saying: 22:59 "Wait a second... that's not Elizabeth. " 23:02 Well Elizabeth is a pseudonym for her real name 23:06 because she is going to be working in the Middle East 23:10 and representing the Middle East North African Union. 23:14 So Elizabeth, tell us a little bit about how did your ministry 23:18 begin? All right... very good. 23:21 How many of you all want to see Jesus come? 23:23 Amen! How many of you all want to see the gospel 23:27 go to the Middle East North Africa region? 23:30 OK... here's the real question: 23:32 how many of you all are willing to move 23:35 to the Middle East North Africa region, get a job, 23:38 and share Jesus with your workmates and your community? 23:42 Not very many hands. All right. 23:45 So I work with the Middle East North Africa Union 23:48 of the Seventh-day Adventist church 23:50 and I work with an exciting ini- tiative called Total Employment. 23:54 And basically my job is to prayerfully recruit 23:58 mission-minded, Spirit- filled Seventh-day Adventists 24:01 from around the world to the Middle East North Africa Union, 24:05 not to be pastors, etc., 24:07 but to be lay members. 24:09 To be doctors, dentists, engineers, 24:12 science teachers, high school teachers, artists, musicians, 24:16 graphic designers. Start a business... be entrepreneurs. 24:19 Businessmen to reach out to the local community. 24:22 So this is called Total Employment and we need you. 24:25 We need you in the audience; we need you who are watching 24:28 on TV because the gospel has to go to all the world 24:31 before Jesus comes. Amen? Amen. Amen! 24:35 Now Elizabeth, it's very very difficult obviously 24:38 because what is the major religion in your area 24:43 that you'll be going into? The dominant religion is Islam 24:47 in our area of the world, but I am here to tell you 24:51 that the people of this region are beautiful. 24:54 They have wonderful hospitality and they are searching 24:57 for something more just like everyone else around the world. 25:01 I'm also here to tell you that if you focus on FOX News 25:05 and CNN and what's happening you will not go. 25:08 But if the Israelites had focused on Jericho 25:11 instead of the God that could bring down the walls of Jericho 25:14 they wouldn't have walked around seven times 25:16 and then the wall fell down. Amen! 25:18 So I'm calling you to focus on God. 25:22 For example, Elisha and Gehazi. 25:26 They were surrounded by an army 25:28 but Elisha prayed that their eyes would be open 25:31 and they had an army of angels around them. 25:34 We can go anywhere where God leads us. 25:36 Amen! Well that's wonderful! Now Elizabeth, 25:39 share a little bit now. Obviously you're married 25:43 and your husband... What profession is he? 25:46 My husband is a tentmaker. 25:48 He's part of the Total Employment Initiative. 25:51 We call lay members tentmakers. The apostle Paul... he did tents 25:57 and supported himself while he was ministereing to the local 26:01 people. So my husband and I... I had a great job 26:04 at a university in the United States. 26:07 But we saw that there was this region of the world 26:10 where the people needed to learn about Jesus Christ. 26:13 And so through prayer and our family's support 26:16 God led us to the MENA region. 26:19 And my husband, this last year... For a year and a half 26:22 we were at an Adventist institution. 26:24 But my husband was convicted to be a tentmaker 26:28 so he is going to be a science teacher in North Africa. 26:32 God has clearly led us to this place. 26:35 And I challenge you to get on your knees and pray 26:38 "Is God leading me to the Middle East North Africa region? " 26:41 I want to tell you after we made the decision 26:44 to transition from one country in North Africa to another 26:48 I was a little bit nervous. 26:50 I had gotten comfortable in the first country that we were in, 26:53 and I didn't want to have to buy new furniture 26:56 and this, that, and the other... learn a different dialect of 26:58 Arabic. So my husband and I, we had a special day of fasting 27:02 and prayer. And on this day God led me to the book 27:07 Christian Service and to a quote by Ellen White that said: 27:10 "Adventists need to move out of the Adventist Mecca... " 27:12 I'm paraphrasing. But the Adventist Mecca 27:15 in the United States and other places... "and go into dark 27:18 communities as families, as single individuals, 27:22 and make friends with neighbors 27:24 and work in these different professions as lay people 27:27 to share Jesus. " So we first read that quote 27:30 on the day that we were fasting and praying. 27:32 Secondly, about an hour later I got a phone call from my dad. 27:36 My dad works at a small clinic 27:40 in the southern part of the United States. 27:43 And on the day that we were fasting and praying 27:45 I heard that he had had a patient 27:48 and she was from the exact town and country 27:51 that we are going to. And she lived in my home town. 27:55 And we've been able to meet with her twice over the summer 27:58 and were able to connect with her family that still live in 28:02 the country and city that we're going to. 28:04 So I challenge you guys: pray. Ask God 28:08 where is He calling me? Could it be the Middle East North Africa 28:11 region? Because the Bible says the gospel has to go 28:14 to all the world. Perfect love casts out all fear. 28:17 We do not have to be fearful; we do not have to be dismayed. 28:22 So I challenge you to join our MENA team. 28:25 Thank you... thank you Elizabeth. 28:26 And tell us in the last few seconds... share with us 28:29 your website so that people can contact you 28:32 if they are interested. Or anyone that's out there 28:35 in the viewing audience how can they contact you? 28:37 What's your website? Our website is 28:40 for Total Employment which again is lay members 28:43 coming to the Middle East North Africa. We help you find 28:45 a job. We help you learn the language. 28:48 We are here to support you. 28:49 But it's temena.net 28:53 temena.net 28:56 And you can also come to our booth which is booth 700. 29:00 God bless you! God bless... thank you. 29:05 All right. Thank you, Barbara. 29:08 Praise the Lord for what's happening in MENA. 29:10 How many of you are going to pray for that region 29:12 of the world? Let's pray for them. 29:14 We are ready for our final group of our division presidents 29:18 this afternoon. And now we're going to turn our attention 29:21 closer to home to the Americas. 29:23 And our first division leader is going to be 29:26 Elder Leon Wellington who is the vice president and ASI secretary 29:32 from the Inter-American Division. 29:34 He is representing president Israel Leito 29:36 who could not be with us today. 29:38 But the Inter-American Division consists of 38 countries 29:42 including Mexico, Central America, 29:44 Venezuela, Colombia, and all the beautiful islands 29:47 of the Caribbean. 29:49 The IAD has 24 unions with a membership of 3.8 million 29:54 members and growing in more than 21,000 congregations. 29:58 They speak many languages 30:00 but they operate principally in English, Spanish, French, 30:03 and Dutch. Their members are actively embracing TMI 30:07 through the division's emphasis on "Lord, Transform Me. " 30:11 They have 14 active ASI chapters 30:14 that are impacting their countries and communities 30:17 in positive ways. In fact, their ASI convention 30:20 is just two weeks away in Colombia. 30:23 Their lay members are very involved in mission and are 30:25 enthusiastically working and waiting for the return 30:28 of Jesus Christ. 30:30 Next up is Elder Erton Kohler, the president 30:33 of the South American Division. 30:36 The South American Division is the church office that 30:39 coordinates the work in eight countries: 30:41 Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, 30:46 Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. 30:48 There are 320 million people that inhabit these countries 30:53 and the South American Division is a family of more than 30:56 2.4 million members with 27,000 churches and companies. 31:01 They have 5,000 pastors 31:04 and an educational system with 320,000 students 31:08 in 888 schools, academies, and universities. 31:12 The South American Division is also a very young and dynamic 31:15 division. Of their membership almost 60% 31:21 of them are under 35 years old. 31:24 So they are strongly focused on communication 31:27 to present the gospel. Over 500 people work in their 31:30 media center which is actively promoting the gospel through 31:33 television, radio, and the Internet. 31:36 Their greatest challenge is to involve every member 31:39 with the mission of the church. 31:41 They accomplish this through a vision for discipleship 31:44 that encompasses three key areas. 31:46 Number one: communion with God... spiritual life. 31:49 That's the foundation. Number 2: integration and relationships. 31:52 They focus on small groups as the bridge. 31:54 And number 3: the focus is their mission. 31:57 And their initiative My Talent, My Ministry is that 32:01 everyone finds their talent to reach others for Christ. 32:05 It's another way of saying TMI. 32:06 The vision is that each member, each church, and each 32:10 institution works together to prepare disciples 32:13 to meet the Lord in the clouds of heaven. 32:16 And finally I'd like to introduce to you the president 32:19 of the North American Division: my boss, Elder Dan Jackson. 32:23 And he is there next to Steve 32:26 and I will say only good things because he is my boss. 32:30 We love him, and we pray for you Elder Jackson. 32:32 The North American Division in- cludes the countries of Bermuda, 32:36 Canada, Guam, Micronesia, 32:38 and the United States of America. 32:40 It is home to more than 1.2 million SDA's 32:44 who represent every major cultural and ethnic group 32:46 in the world worshiping in 6,000 congregations. 32:50 The NAD has 60 hospitals, 1,200 schools 32:53 with 15 universities and colleges and over 32:56 6,000 congregations. 32:58 Recently USA Today recognized the Seventh-day Adventist church 33:01 in North America as the most ethnically diverse 33:04 religious denomination in the United States. 33:08 Even though the North American Division was the birthplace 33:11 of the SDA church it wasn't fully recognized 33:14 as a world division until 1985. 33:17 But for more than 150 years the NAD has joyfully participated 33:21 in the mission of the church around the world 33:24 as it has spread the gospel to more than 200 countries. 33:29 The mission statement of the North American Division 33:31 is to reach North America and the world with the distinctive, 33:35 Christ-centered Seventh- day Adventist message 33:37 of hope and wholeness. 33:39 And Elder Jackson's vision for the NAD 33:41 is to mobilize every member of the church 33:44 in North America to participate 33:46 in the final thrust of God's great evangelistic enterprise 33:50 on planet earth. 33:52 Thank you, Kyle. I have mixed emotions here this afternoon. 33:57 I hear these reports. I see that we have 34:00 1,200 schools in the North American Division 34:03 and 800 and something in South America. 34:06 And 2.4 million and 1.2 million and these numbers are wonderful! 34:13 But we're talking today - the thrust of our discussion today - 34:16 is about the unfinished work... 34:19 the unfinished business. 34:21 Gentlemen, today as we are kind of closing out 34:24 maybe one of the challenging questions that could be pondered 34:27 and we would like to seek for your answer 34:30 is to: "What is that unfinished work? " 34:34 Yes, we've made a lot of progress. 34:35 Yes, we have a lot of churches and schools. 34:37 But there's something yet that's unfinished. 34:40 And besides the numbers or statistics 34:42 what would you say is that unfinished work 34:45 that we really need to be focusing on? 34:51 We have to see that in the context of the mission 34:55 that this church has been given. 34:58 We have a work to do, and our role as leaders 35:04 is to facilitate this work by allowing our members 35:10 to become active participants rather than spectators. 35:14 In our region we have long realized that this work 35:20 is not going to be finished 35:21 by the employed workers of the church. 35:25 We have to engage 35:28 the members... the members at the local level. 35:34 And we do have some challenges there as well. 35:38 Although the Inter-America Division is growing, and growing 35:42 pretty fast, we do have challenges 35:44 because in some areas we have gatekeepers. 35:48 And for whatever reason we don't know. 35:52 But we have to move the gatekeepers 35:57 so that our members can become even more involved 36:02 than they are. That's why we are so happy 36:05 for this TMI: Total Member Involvement. 36:11 Which we have placed that within a larger context 36:16 of "Lord, transform me. " 36:20 We want each member to own the mission. 36:25 And so what we are driving is that personal transformation 36:31 and we use as our text Romans 12 and verse 2. 36:37 That's what we are using now to motivate our members. 36:43 Let me try to use my powerful English now. 36:46 And I think that when I listen these numbers and ministries 36:50 and activities that we have 36:52 I can imagine that we are doing our best. 36:55 Everyone: the lay people, the church. 36:58 But we need to do more. 37:01 In my mind we need two things. 37:03 First of all, we are working alone. 37:06 We need the Holy Spirit in the life of our church. 37:10 We are doing and doing and doing a lot of things 37:14 but with the power of the Holy Spirit 37:16 we will reach the people and we can finish the work 37:19 that we received. And the second, we need to involve 37:24 the church. That's a challenge. 37:26 We need to take up the people from the comfort and invite them 37:30 to go out to the church to share the gospel. 37:34 I know that we need to forget the numbers, but 37:37 please... allow me to say just one thing. 37:41 Some years ago I started to do some mathematics. 37:45 And I discovered that in South America - 37:47 I will use our example - 37:49 if every member works with one person per year 37:54 giving Bible studies or preparing that person 37:57 to bring their life to Jesus 38:00 in 9 years we can reach all our territory. 38:05 And I did the same mathematics for the global church. 38:08 If every Seventh-day Adventist, 38:10 19 million Seventh-day Adventists that we have, 38:13 prepared one person to be baptized 38:15 or studied the Bible with one person 38:18 in 9 years we can reach more than 7 billion people 38:23 on the planet. We have a huge work to do. 38:26 But with the Holy Spirit and the participation of every 38:30 member in the church we can finish that work. 38:36 You know, Steve, I don't think that the work of God will 38:39 be finished anywhere till it's finished everywhere. 38:42 And I think that as I look 38:46 at what is the unfinished 38:49 business in the church 38:51 obviously it is true: we need to develop the liaison, 38:55 the strong liaison, between our pastors and our lay members. 39:00 We need to revisit - especially in North America - 39:04 because I have a feeling that these brethren in their 39:07 divisions have advanced a little more rapidly 39:10 down this area than we have in North America. 39:15 We need to revisit our theology. 39:17 Now that sounds horrible and people will get worried 39:20 but I think we need to revisit I Peter chapter 2. 39:25 And that is the whole idea that every single person 39:30 is a minister. Amen! Called by God. 39:33 When you are baptized you become a minister of the Most High God. 39:37 That... you know... that's a fundamental step. 39:41 But I also believe... When I begin to think of 39:45 what is it that really needs to form a basis of that 39:51 I think of Pastor John Bradshaw's sermon this morning 39:57 where he quoted the statement out of Acts of the Apostles 40:00 that the church is the repository of the riches 40:06 of the grace of Christ 40:08 and through the church will be manifested 40:12 even to principalities and powers the final 40:16 and the full display of the love of God. 40:19 When you look up the I Peter 4 passage 40:23 that we should show forth the praises of Him who called us 40:28 out of the darkness into His marvelous light 40:32 we haven't done that. We need to be 40:36 lovers of God and lovers of man 40:40 and we need to love each other in the church 40:43 in spite of our deficiencies. 40:45 Amen. You know, Andi, I'm really... I've been blessed 40:50 today as we have visited with our world division presidents 40:54 and we've heard their heart cry as well. 40:58 I've seen them this afternoon in a little different light 41:03 than maybe I had before. 41:05 And I appreciate what we've heard today. 41:09 And you know, it is true that we have some challenges. 41:15 And I believe if I have to look at it honestly 41:18 I'll say that that unfinished business 41:21 should probably begin with each one of us. Amen! 41:25 Each one of us getting ready and willing to get down on our 41:29 knees and ask God to show us in our own hearts 41:33 what He wants to do. 41:36 And to cry out for the Holy Spirit 41:39 because over and over again today I've heard that we need 41:42 the Holy Spirit. And we're told that 41:47 God wants to give us that gift even more than 41:50 we like to give good gifts to our children. 41:55 But do we really want the gift? 41:58 Am I really ready to receive that gift 42:02 and what it means to me personally? 42:05 So today as we're here together 42:07 I'm just challenging you to think about that. 42:10 We're out of time with our division presidents. 42:12 We're not done yet with the program, but with our division 42:15 presidents. Thank you so much for joining us today. 42:18 And we have another story now 42:20 about working shoulder to shoulder. 42:27 Well we have a wonderful wonderful testimony here. 42:31 This afternoon we have Pastor Steven Orian 42:36 and he is the president of the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference. 42:41 And then we have Magda Rodriguez. She is the president 42:45 of Ouachita Hills College. 42:47 Now tell us, Magda, what event happened on your college campus 42:53 that presented a little problem for you? 42:57 Yes Barbara. As we presented this morning 43:01 at Ouachita Hills College canvassing goes beyond selling 43:05 books in order to pay tuition for our students. 43:10 Canvassing is an essential component of the Christian 43:14 education of our students. And one the things that we do 43:17 is that we organize five canvassing programs 43:21 throughout the year. 43:23 And we... As a leader I never like to set goals 43:28 for our students... tangible goals like 43:31 number of books or how much money we want to bring. 43:35 The goal that I set in front of the students 43:37 is I want them to be faithful at each door that they knock. 43:42 I want them to be faithful at each person that they meet 43:46 and that they do their best to leave a message book 43:50 in every single hand. 43:52 And one of the things that we do also is we 43:56 try to make sure that we cover every single town 43:59 in the territory that we are targeting. 44:02 And in the state of Arkansas 44:05 we had a challenge with one town. For multiple years 44:09 we went to the town and they will not allow us 44:13 to canvass in that town. 44:14 And last year we decided to go to the same territory 44:18 and we found out that they came up with an 44:23 ordinance that requires to fill out an application 44:28 to be able to canvass for each student 44:30 and $50 for each application. 44:33 And not only that, the criteria for evaluating that application 44:39 they were not given to us. The guidelines... nothing. 44:44 It was actually up to the chief of police 44:47 to decide if we were going to be allowed to go to that town. 44:52 And even though that town is really.. it is a small town - 44:57 it's only 5,000 people - 45:00 you know, we felt the sense of responsibility. 45:04 When we go out we want to make sure 45:06 that we bring light to those people that are in darkness. 45:10 And we felt like we needed help, and that was at that point 45:14 that we reached out to the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference. 45:19 Tell us just briefly, Pastor Orian, how did you 45:23 get involved in this and what were the results. 45:27 You know, the church works best when the church works together. 45:31 And what affects a self-supporting institution, 45:37 a supporting institution of the church, 45:39 also affects the ministries of a local congregation. 45:43 The impact in one community can have impact in other 45:46 communities within the state. 45:48 And so we felt it was extremely important 45:51 that the situation in Whitehall, Arkansas, 45:54 be resolved favorably in behalf of the students 45:57 at Ouachita Hills College. 46:00 So with the support of the North American Division 46:04 the attorney serving the division, 46:09 Todd McFarland, intervened with us on behalf of the conference 46:13 and two of the students who were engaged as 46:16 literature evangelists 46:18 and filed a suit against the city of Whitehall. 46:22 To make a long story short 46:26 as the date was approaching for the court 46:32 hearing to take place the city revised its ordinance 46:38 so that it would accommodate the literature evangelist 46:42 and for that matter any other religious organization 46:46 or charitable organization that would desire to do 46:49 a work such as that. 46:51 So we considered that a tremendous victory 46:54 in behalf of the church. And as that case was proceeding 47:00 and news within the cities of the state heard about 47:05 what was happening in Whitehall 47:06 the city of Fayetteville - we were told - did some revision 47:10 of their city ordinance so that it would also accommodate 47:14 literature evangelists and other such similar work. 47:17 So we consider that a tremendous victory 47:19 in behalf of the church, the ability to do ministry, 47:23 to be able to serve not only by the literature evangelists 47:27 at the college but also all of our churches as well. 47:33 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! 47:35 Well also just in the last few minutes - 47:37 the last few seconds - tell us what were the results 47:40 and what were the students able to achieve? 47:44 Yes. The week after that change was made 47:48 our students went to Whitehall. 47:51 And we were able to canvass the whole city 47:54 and we left actually 1,400 message books behind. 48:00 So I know that the Lord blessed our efforts. 48:03 Amen! Amen! Well have a blessed and wonderful evening. 48:06 God bless. 48:13 It's a blessing this afternoon that we've had the opportunity 48:17 to hear the heart of our world church leaders. 48:20 Elder Wilson, I was personally blessed as I was able to 48:24 talk with our division presidents and to understand 48:28 the heart that they have for mission. 48:31 And this afternoon to our ASI family 48:34 I'd like to say just how much we appreciate 48:39 you inviting your world church presidents to join us here 48:43 and what that means to us. 48:45 But I want to invite you to give us a challenge today. 48:48 Just lay before us what God has put on your heart 48:53 as we look forward to the work that needs to be finished. 48:57 We are called to proclaim the three angels' messages. 49:04 We are chosen for a unique 49:07 purpose as God's Advent 49:10 movement. And we are committed 49:13 to Christ and His mission. 49:16 You've heard this afternoon from these wonderful reports 49:19 and the heartfelt yearnings 49:23 of these division leaders how God can use all of us 49:28 to accomplish this work. 49:31 Around the world as you tune in to your own favorite 49:35 newscast or website 49:39 you will see that the world is literally disintegrating 49:42 around us. What a time for God's people to step forward 49:48 in a powerful called, chosen, and committed way. 49:54 The Seventh-day Adventist message is a unique message, 49:59 a unique movement on a unique mission. 50:05 We have many things that we have offered 50:09 our church in terms of activities to reach 50:13 the millions of people around the world. 50:15 Mission to the Cities. My heart and I hope yours 50:20 burns heavily for the people of these large metropolitan areas 50:25 such as we're in right now here in Phoenix. 50:28 What are we doing for the people of the cities? 50:32 How are we using comprehensive health ministry 50:35 or medical missionary work to reach people? 50:39 We've heard wonderful reports here at ASI. 50:41 Pathway to Health and so many others who are involved 50:45 in this wonderful outreach of health. 50:47 All of us need to become involved in every possible way 50:52 to reach people. 50:55 I want to make an appeal... 50:57 an appeal to each of us... 51:01 to remember who is in charge. 51:07 The General Conference is not in charge. 51:11 The divisions are not in charge. 51:15 ASI is not in charge. 51:19 The Lord Jesus Christ is in charge. Amen! 51:24 I want us to give God the glory for all the good things 51:28 that do happen and never to take to ourselves 51:32 that which God has done for us. 51:37 Briefly in that interesting story in II Chronicles 51:40 chapter 26 the king - Uzziah, 51:46 who was 16 years old when he became king - 51:50 reigned for 52 years in Jerusalem did what was right 51:54 in the sight of God. And it says in verse 5 51:58 "As long as he sought the Lord God made him prosper. " 52:05 Unfortunately it says in verse 15 52:08 that after he had many interest- ing and creative people, 52:12 skillful people who created all kinds of things 52:15 that shoot arrows and large stones, his fame spread 52:18 far and wide and he became very strong. " 52:24 And the next verse tells us 52:27 "When he was strong his heart was lifted up. " 52:35 He took upon himself 52:40 to burn incense before the Lord and only the priests 52:44 were to do that. May we recognize 52:48 where our strength is to accomplish all that you have 52:52 heard this afternoon needs to be accomplished. 52:55 When Paul was praying "Lord, take away this problem" 52:58 three times the Lord told him "My grace is sufficient 53:02 for you; My strength is made perfect in weakness. " 53:05 And finally Paul understood. 53:08 And my appeal to you as we move forward 53:10 into the enormous challenge 53:14 of reaching the 7.4 billion people 53:18 is that Paul finally admitted 53:21 and we need to admit it: "When I am weak 53:27 then I am strong. " 53:30 Our weakness in Christ is made strong. 53:36 And so I appeal to you: 53:39 humble yourselves. I want to humble myself. 53:45 I want to be part of revival and reformation. 53:51 I want to take part in Bible study and prayer. 53:57 I want personally and I appeal to you to have a focus 54:01 on mission. Don't be distracted by side issues. 54:06 Focus upon the mission of the church: 54:09 the three angels' messages; the 4th angel of Revelation 18. 54:15 Allow the Lord to use us as we lift up Jesus 54:20 and His righteousness. As we are faithful 54:24 to Him and to His Word, and as we become 54:29 involved in Total Member Involvement. 54:34 Total Youth Involvement. 54:37 Total Family Involvement. 54:39 The other day right here at ASI I spoke to the Juniors. 54:43 I told them "Total Junior Involvement. " 54:46 Everybody involved for Jesus. 54:50 That beautiful statement in volume 9 page 117: 54:54 "The work of God in this earth 54:56 can never be finished until the men and women comprising 55:00 our church membership rally to the work 55:03 and unite their efforts with those of ministers 55:08 and church officers. " What a beautiful way 55:12 to be shoulder to shoulder with ASI, with our lay people. 55:17 All of us working together 55:19 to accomplish the one goal of proclaiming 55:22 Christ's great salvation to the world 55:26 and the second coming of Jesus Christ. 55:30 Just a few Sabbaths ago 55:33 a number of us in this group stood on a promenade 55:38 next to the Sea of Galilee. 55:41 And as we looked down on the Sea of Galilee 55:44 we watched about 22 new believers 55:50 being baptized and becoming members of the SDA church. 55:55 You see, God intends for His people 55:57 everywhere, including Israel, 56:00 to become members of this great family. 56:04 As we close this session of ASI, 56:11 and as you go to supper and then as you continue 56:15 to be part of this ASI convention, 56:19 just before we leave I want to appeal to you 56:22 to be part of this great collaborative effort. 56:27 God's people - His paid workers, 56:32 His lay members - everyone united 56:35 in God's great effort to reach this world. 56:39 And as an act of consecration 56:43 as an act of commitment to this appeal, 56:48 I'm going to ask that the division leaders 56:52 come a little bit closer in a little tighter circle 56:57 and our ASI administrative group 57:01 has the privilege of laying their hands on these leaders: 57:06 a symbol of how all of us wish to work together 57:11 shoulder to shoulder in a powerful way. 57:15 Called, chosen, and committed 57:19 as we finish God's work 57:22 through the Holy Spirit's power. 57:24 And let us pray for the Latter Rain. |
Revised 2022-07-03