All is well, all is well,
00:00:40.84\00:00:49.94
angels and men rejoice;
00:00:49.98\00:00:59.09
for tonight darkness fell
00:00:59.29\00:01:08.33
into the dawn of love's light.
00:01:08.36\00:01:16.94
Sing alle,
00:01:17.04\00:01:21.24
sing alleluia.
00:01:21.28\00:01:31.19
All is well, all is well,
00:01:31.22\00:01:39.96
let there be peace on earth.
00:01:40.30\00:01:49.54
Christ is come; go and tell
00:01:49.57\00:01:58.51
that He is in the manger.
00:01:58.71\00:02:07.52
Sing alle,
00:02:07.56\00:02:11.73
sing alleluia.
00:02:11.76\00:02:21.50
All is well, all is well,
00:02:21.54\00:02:30.71
lift up your voice and sing.
00:02:30.81\00:02:39.79
Born is now Emmanuel,
00:02:39.99\00:02:48.96
born is our Lord and Savior.
00:02:49.16\00:02:57.57
Sing alleluia.
00:02:57.67\00:03:02.34
Sing alleluia.
00:03:02.64\00:03:09.62
All is well.
00:03:11.12\00:03:21.13
Hello, GYC.
00:03:31.91\00:03:33.68
I'd ask you all how you
are, but you'd probably all
00:03:34.44\00:03:36.28
give me different answers.
00:03:36.31\00:03:37.65
It's good to be here.
00:03:39.25\00:03:40.58
I'm very, very honored.
00:03:40.62\00:03:41.95
A bit nervous. There's
quite a lot of you here.
00:03:42.22\00:03:44.65
I've never spoken
before so many people before.
00:03:44.69\00:03:46.96
There we go, that's
a little bit better.
00:03:47.86\00:03:49.19
Now you're all one
person, one large person.
00:03:49.22\00:03:51.66
Like the body of
Christ should be.
00:03:51.69\00:03:53.36
Alright.
00:03:54.00\00:03:55.33
So today's topic,
Human Trafficking.
00:03:56.83\00:04:00.47
I don't know how much
you guys know about it,
00:04:01.07\00:04:02.74
but I was asked to speak to
you about human trafficking,
00:04:03.71\00:04:08.14
about my
testimony, about prayer,
00:04:08.41\00:04:11.11
and about the
investigative judgment;
00:04:11.21\00:04:12.65
and I've got 49 minutes.
00:04:12.68\00:04:14.52
There were some things
I was going to leave out,
00:04:16.48\00:04:18.69
and I was going to basically
just focus on the testimony
00:04:18.72\00:04:20.92
just because the
amount of time that we have,
00:04:20.96\00:04:23.19
but in all honesty I don't
think that you'd be able to
00:04:23.22\00:04:26.56
truly understand the
gravity and the enormity
00:04:26.59\00:04:30.70
of what we call
human trafficking
00:04:31.40\00:04:33.44
without including some parts.
00:04:33.54\00:04:34.87
So I've written them down so
that I can, for sake of brevity,
00:04:34.90\00:04:37.61
read through it real quick.
00:04:37.64\00:04:38.97
I want to warn you...
00:04:40.94\00:04:42.41
...human trafficking
is not a pretty subject.
00:04:44.68\00:04:46.88
So we are going to talk about
some, I guess you could say,
00:04:46.92\00:04:48.92
more mature subject matter.
00:04:48.95\00:04:50.29
If you get uncomfortable
about those kinds of things,
00:04:50.32\00:04:52.15
I won't feel offended.
00:04:52.19\00:04:53.52
I know it's not on
the heart of everyone.
00:04:53.69\00:04:55.02
It's a bit difficult
for some people to swallow.
00:04:55.06\00:04:57.03
But I would also like
to ask for forgiveness.
00:04:58.63\00:05:02.33
If anybody in here knows
who I am and I've offended
00:05:02.36\00:05:04.93
you in any way,
then please forgive me.
00:05:04.97\00:05:07.87
Because I cannot bring
my gift before the altar
00:05:08.20\00:05:10.41
until I've made it good.
00:05:10.44\00:05:11.77
And so I pray
that you would do that.
00:05:12.17\00:05:13.64
I'd like to begin with the
definition of human trafficking.
00:05:14.28\00:05:17.05
Human trafficking
often times is associated
00:05:17.15\00:05:19.98
with just
trafficking; moving of persons
00:05:20.02\00:05:23.25
from one place to another.
00:05:23.35\00:05:24.69
When I talk about it,
people generally assume
00:05:24.72\00:05:27.39
that it's, "Oh, some people
coming from Thailand or Europe
00:05:27.42\00:05:30.16
or Africa to America
being prostituted and whatnot."
00:05:30.19\00:05:33.36
I'm not talking about that.
00:05:33.43\00:05:35.16
Human trafficking often times
is used as an umbrella term,
00:05:35.66\00:05:39.23
but in reality what I'm talking
about is modern day slavery.
00:05:39.27\00:05:42.34
And I want to give you a
definition of what slavery is.
00:05:43.41\00:05:46.71
At its core, it is the
exploitation of another
00:05:46.74\00:05:50.68
person's vulnerability for
the sake of one's own profit.
00:05:50.71\00:05:54.05
If we think about what
that means, ultimately you and I
00:05:55.48\00:05:59.02
can be traffickers, because
we do that to each other.
00:05:59.05\00:06:01.66
There are vulnerabilities
that we see in other people,
00:06:03.26\00:06:05.96
and sometimes we just
want to take advantage of it
00:06:05.99\00:06:08.03
to get our own way.
00:06:08.06\00:06:09.40
We are all capable of
being human traffickers.
00:06:10.87\00:06:14.34
We're all capable of peddling
lies or peddling each other.
00:06:15.94\00:06:19.17
But what we're talking
about today is that principle,
00:06:20.58\00:06:24.58
but at the higher level.
00:06:24.61\00:06:25.95
Slavery in the modern day world.
00:06:26.18\00:06:28.68
If you'd bow your heads
with me, I'd like to open
00:06:30.62\00:06:32.25
with a word of prayer.
00:06:32.29\00:06:33.62
Father, Lord You are our Father.
00:06:37.06\00:06:40.56
And sometimes I wonder how it is
that You see us, Your children,
00:06:42.13\00:06:46.63
and what it is that
we do to each other.
00:06:47.40\00:06:50.04
How it must break Your
heart, not only what we do
00:06:50.64\00:06:53.68
to each other, but often times
those who are nearest to You
00:06:53.71\00:06:56.58
neglect to help
those that are in need.
00:06:56.61\00:06:59.88
Lord, I pray that You
would open up our hearts,
00:07:00.88\00:07:02.55
that You would open
up our minds, to see
00:07:02.58\00:07:05.12
how it truly plays out
in the great controversy,
00:07:06.22\00:07:08.42
this idea of slavery.
00:07:08.72\00:07:10.09
And how You, oh Lord,
the God of the exodus,
00:07:10.63\00:07:13.36
Christ on the cross, all the
examples that You've given us
00:07:14.36\00:07:18.50
of how You've
come to set us free,
00:07:18.53\00:07:20.87
to deliver us, oh
Lord, from slavery.
00:07:21.07\00:07:22.97
How You also want to
make us abolitionists;
00:07:23.97\00:07:26.31
redeemer, oh Lord,
of those who are lost.
00:07:27.64\00:07:30.91
I pray, Lord, that You would
give us wisdom, that You would
00:07:31.81\00:07:33.62
give me, oh
Lord, the words to say.
00:07:33.65\00:07:35.32
There's a lot I could say,
but I pray, Lord, that You would
00:07:35.35\00:07:37.39
give me what I should say.
00:07:37.42\00:07:38.75
I thank You,
Lord, for Your goodness,
00:07:39.35\00:07:40.69
for the
answering of this prayer.
00:07:40.72\00:07:42.12
May Your Holy Spirit be upon us.
00:07:42.29\00:07:43.63
For we ask it in
the name of Jesus, amen.
00:07:43.66\00:07:46.06
Well my last request before
we start is, I want you guys
00:07:47.86\00:07:52.00
not to draw quick conclusions.
00:07:52.03\00:07:54.30
There's a tendency,
when we talk about a subject
00:07:54.44\00:07:56.50
that is so great, that
it's very difficult for me
00:07:56.54\00:07:59.21
to kind of reduce it.
00:07:59.24\00:08:00.64
So there's a lot of aspects
that exists, but we're not
00:08:01.48\00:08:05.21
going to really discuss them.
00:08:05.25\00:08:06.58
I'm going to focus on a
very, very, very small window.
00:08:06.61\00:08:09.65
I'm going to do the best that I
can to give you a general view,
00:08:09.75\00:08:12.69
but most of it is going
to be how I believe God has
00:08:12.95\00:08:15.82
called us to answer the problem.
00:08:15.86\00:08:18.49
If you have more questions about
what the problem looks like,
00:08:18.89\00:08:21.56
find me and I'll tell you.
00:08:21.76\00:08:23.10
But I believe that the
most important part is for us
00:08:23.47\00:08:26.13
to know how God
answers this problem.
00:08:26.17\00:08:29.57
I'd like to begin
with a quick story.
00:08:30.21\00:08:31.84
There were two Australians
and they were in London.
00:08:33.88\00:08:37.35
And they were at a bar,
at a pub, getting drunk.
00:08:37.58\00:08:40.05
And they came out late
at night drunk, stammering,
00:08:40.08\00:08:42.32
falling all over themselves.
00:08:42.52\00:08:44.02
And they walked up to a
gentleman and they said,
00:08:44.12\00:08:46.15
"Excuse me, sir, do
you know where we are?"
00:08:46.19\00:08:48.29
And the man, he was a
very decorated naval officer,
00:08:49.12\00:08:51.79
he felt offended that
these drunk men came to him
00:08:51.83\00:08:54.30
and asked him for directions.
00:08:54.33\00:08:56.83
And he said, "Do
you know who I am?"
00:08:56.87\00:08:59.03
In response, one of the drunk
Australians turned to his friend
00:09:00.87\00:09:03.57
and said, "We're in trouble now.
00:09:03.61\00:09:04.94
We don't know where we are
and he doesn't know who he is."
00:09:04.97\00:09:06.78
The main thing is identity.
00:09:11.11\00:09:13.42
We laugh at it, but
we struggle with it.
00:09:14.35\00:09:16.18
We don't know who we are.
00:09:17.49\00:09:19.95
If we did, we'd fight
in a very different way.
00:09:20.66\00:09:25.86
Because who we are is
dependent, not on what we do,
00:09:26.26\00:09:29.20
but who we belong to.
00:09:29.30\00:09:30.87
Who we are is a hundred percent
dependent on whose we are.
00:09:31.73\00:09:36.04
And we were His,
we'd fight like Him.
00:09:37.97\00:09:40.78
I'd like to read some
notes that I wrote real quickly,
00:09:44.31\00:09:50.29
just to kind of give an overview
of the great controversy.
00:09:51.45\00:09:55.16
Terms that we've discussed of
exploitation and vulnerability.
00:09:55.56\00:09:59.39
It all began in heaven
with a glorious angel who had
00:10:00.60\00:10:02.46
turned his strength
into his greatest weakness.
00:10:02.50\00:10:04.80
Namely, his wisdom and beauty.
00:10:05.17\00:10:06.74
Ezekiel 28:17 says,
"Thine heart was lifted up
00:10:06.77\00:10:10.87
because of thy beauty,
thou hast corrupted thy wisdom
00:10:10.91\00:10:13.94
by reason of thy brightness."
00:10:13.98\00:10:15.38
But listen well, for it says,
00:10:15.88\00:10:17.21
"Thou hast
corrupted thy wisdom..."
00:10:17.25\00:10:19.21
This mystery of iniquity
is that no one created his
00:10:19.71\00:10:22.72
vulnerability but he himself.
00:10:22.75\00:10:24.62
And no one set to
exploit him but he himself.
00:10:25.02\00:10:28.42
He created his own
vulnerability and exploited it.
00:10:28.79\00:10:31.69
It can be at times
that our greatest blessings,
00:10:31.96\00:10:33.90
we can turn them
into our greatest curses.
00:10:33.93\00:10:35.96
And that which was
meant for our benefit,
00:10:36.20\00:10:38.17
wrongly received,
causes our greatest fall.
00:10:38.20\00:10:41.04
As Lucifer began to fuel a
false aggrandizement of himself,
00:10:41.90\00:10:45.97
he began to place his
Creator on a lower plain
00:10:46.07\00:10:48.28
and himself on a higher one.
00:10:48.31\00:10:49.74
And thus began his belief in
himself to be who he was not,
00:10:50.15\00:10:53.65
and his Maker to
be who He was not.
00:10:53.98\00:10:55.98
The corruption of his
wisdom grew ever greater
00:10:56.69\00:10:58.99
until a simple fracture in
his thoughts became a fissure,
00:10:59.02\00:11:02.09
and a fissure
became a great divide.
00:11:02.19\00:11:04.39
Because angels had never
experienced anything other than
00:11:05.09\00:11:07.80
God's goodness, they
had no concept of evil.
00:11:07.83\00:11:10.60
Because of their great
trust in the covering cherub
00:11:10.97\00:11:13.07
who dwells in the
presence of God, they were ripe
00:11:13.10\00:11:15.90
for the seeding of
doubt; that something or someone
00:11:15.94\00:11:18.71
other than God can be
righteous without obedience
00:11:18.74\00:11:21.44
to God's law.
00:11:21.48\00:11:22.81
Because of his
position and proximity to God,
00:11:23.08\00:11:25.01
and the angels' ignorance to
any other option than God's law,
00:11:25.05\00:11:28.25
he was able to sow
doubt in the angels' mind
00:11:28.28\00:11:30.35
of God's true character;
falsely representing Him
00:11:30.39\00:11:33.72
and sowing doubt into
the need to heed God's law,
00:11:33.76\00:11:36.69
falsely representing it
as restricting of freedom.
00:11:37.93\00:11:40.53
This vulnerability, Lucifer
exploited to the fullest.
00:11:41.13\00:11:44.53
When the righteous angels
attempted to plead with the
00:11:44.87\00:11:47.34
discontented ones to
cease from their revolt,
00:11:47.37\00:11:49.90
placing before their
eyes how God had only been
00:11:49.94\00:11:52.31
good and just with all creation,
Lucifer once again exploited
00:11:52.34\00:11:55.68
his previously
created vulnerability,
00:11:55.71\00:11:57.68
the doubt in God's
justice, by claiming that God
00:11:57.71\00:12:00.85
was not the type to
forgive rebellion once it had
00:12:00.88\00:12:03.28
already been entertained,
and that they had already
00:12:03.32\00:12:05.69
gone to far to
be forgiven by Him.
00:12:05.72\00:12:07.72
He solidified the
demise of a third of the angels
00:12:08.32\00:12:10.76
by simply misrepresenting
both parties in the controversy,
00:12:10.79\00:12:14.06
by misnaming, if you will,
God as stern and unforgiving
00:12:14.13\00:12:17.70
of rebellion, and themselves
as the righteous underdogs
00:12:17.73\00:12:20.74
that were already set
on a path of no return.
00:12:20.77\00:12:23.51
So their fate they cemented
according to their beliefs.
00:12:23.81\00:12:26.98
This pattern was repeated to
our first parents, Adam and Eve,
00:12:27.01\00:12:30.01
whose vulnerability of ignorance
of evil ended up being exploited
00:12:30.05\00:12:33.31
in much the same
way as the angels.
00:12:33.35\00:12:35.55
And so began the
earthly controversy
00:12:35.65\00:12:37.42
between the two seeds;
those who believe God is
00:12:37.45\00:12:41.02
who He says He is and
those who believe the devil
00:12:41.06\00:12:44.36
is who he says he is.
00:12:44.39\00:12:45.96
Satan wants nothing more
than to destroy the image of God
00:12:47.23\00:12:50.23
in the eyes of all creation.
00:12:50.27\00:12:51.87
And by destroying the
image of God, he is destroying
00:12:52.30\00:12:55.70
our identity in God.
00:12:55.90\00:12:58.44
When Satan can peddle
you a lie about who God is,
00:12:59.57\00:13:02.74
he can peddle you a
lie about who you are.
00:13:02.78\00:13:05.65
And once he manages to peddle
you a lie about who God is
00:13:05.95\00:13:09.58
and who you are,
he can peddle you.
00:13:09.62\00:13:13.49
Ezekiel 28, once again, says
that by the multitude of his
00:13:15.76\00:13:20.66
merchandise, he has
filled the earth with violence.
00:13:20.70\00:13:25.50
And by reason of his trafficking
he will be devoured by fire.
00:13:25.53\00:13:29.80
Satan is a peddler.
00:13:30.47\00:13:32.41
He is a merchant of souls.
00:13:33.01\00:13:35.28
His job is to create a divide.
00:13:37.11\00:13:40.98
His job is to create fractures.
00:13:41.62\00:13:45.02
But he
represents God in that way.
00:13:46.05\00:13:48.02
But God is actually the
one who repairs the breach.
00:13:49.16\00:13:52.89
He's the restorer
of paths to dwell in.
00:13:53.33\00:13:55.93
What Satan really wants is,
he wants to destroy the family,
00:13:58.87\00:14:02.30
which is the image of God.
00:14:02.34\00:14:03.67
And that's why we have
an early pagan religion:
00:14:04.41\00:14:06.78
ritual rape.
00:14:08.44\00:14:09.94
Pagan rites where tons of people
will basically come together
00:14:10.35\00:14:13.58
with their faces
covered and they have sex
00:14:13.62\00:14:17.29
so that the children being
born to the women, they have
00:14:17.32\00:14:19.19
no idea who the fathers are.
00:14:19.22\00:14:20.66
That was one of his ways
of destroying the family.
00:14:21.89\00:14:25.89
When you don't have a
father, you have no identity.
00:14:25.93\00:14:28.20
When we don't have our
father, we have no identity.
00:14:28.53\00:14:30.90
I want to read to
you some statistics
00:14:33.13\00:14:34.94
before I start my story.
00:14:35.54\00:14:37.01
Here's some information
to try to solidify my point.
00:14:39.01\00:14:42.58
Ninety-five percent
of victims have a history
00:14:43.31\00:14:46.65
of family issues or abuse.
00:14:46.68\00:14:48.08
Actually, one of the
pimps that I talked to, he said,
00:14:48.12\00:14:50.32
"I really have to hand
it to the fathers, because
00:14:50.35\00:14:51.95
they just started
her off in her training.
00:14:51.99\00:14:53.89
I picked up where he left off."
00:14:53.92\00:14:55.92
That's not saying that
all of it is done by fathers,
00:14:57.36\00:14:59.76
but it's all done
by a close figure.
00:14:59.79\00:15:02.33
Generally a
family or family friend.
00:15:02.36\00:15:04.23
Ninety-five percent of
victims of human trafficking
00:15:05.17\00:15:08.00
have a history of
family issues or abuse.
00:15:08.04\00:15:10.34
Over 70%, and it's
about 75% of blacks,
00:15:10.71\00:15:14.58
65% of Native
Americans, 50% of Hispanics,
00:15:14.78\00:15:18.61
and 30% of white children
are born to unmarried women
00:15:18.65\00:15:22.32
in the United States.
00:15:22.35\00:15:23.69
No fathers.
00:15:25.75\00:15:27.09
Over 700,000
children are abused annually.
00:15:27.46\00:15:31.13
80% due to neglect, 10% to
violence, 10% to sexual issues.
00:15:31.99\00:15:36.40
I believe it's
more than that, but.
00:15:36.43\00:15:38.50
40% of the abuse was
perpetrated by a family member
00:15:39.17\00:15:41.84
or a caregiver, 25% of the
abusers were other children.
00:15:41.87\00:15:45.21
One out of every three girls
and one out of every five boys
00:15:45.57\00:15:50.11
will have been abused
by the age of eighteen.
00:15:50.31\00:15:52.05
That's 33% of
children in the United States
00:15:52.08\00:15:55.92
will have been abused
by the age of eighteen.
00:15:56.79\00:15:58.65
Roughly 800,000 children
go missing in the U.S. a year.
00:16:00.16\00:16:03.36
That's more than
2000 children a day.
00:16:03.39\00:16:05.99
And many of them
are not even reported.
00:16:08.93\00:16:10.67
80% of those are
vulnerable runaways who easily
00:16:12.17\00:16:14.57
fall victims to
pimps and traffickers.
00:16:14.60\00:16:16.71
What's the conclusion?
00:16:19.14\00:16:20.48
Satan is preparing the
world to be trafficked.
00:16:21.21\00:16:23.88
He's creating as many
vulnerabilities in the lives
00:16:25.98\00:16:28.42
of children that he possibly can
00:16:29.28\00:16:31.59
by destroying their identity, by
destroying the family structure.
00:16:32.22\00:16:36.32
Most people don't
know who they are.
00:16:39.66\00:16:41.26
That's pretty sad.
00:16:42.76\00:16:44.10
I've been involved in
counter human trafficking
00:16:45.10\00:16:47.14
for the past seven years.
00:16:47.17\00:16:48.60
And I've seen a lot, but it kind
of came to a culmination in 2013
00:16:48.64\00:16:53.88
when I was in New
Orleans during the Super Bowl.
00:16:54.54\00:16:56.64
I just felt darkness
like I had never felt before.
00:16:56.75\00:16:58.95
I don't know if you guys
have ever walked into a place
00:16:58.98\00:17:00.72
and you just feel
like the air is so thick
00:17:00.75\00:17:02.48
you could just like cut
through it with a knife.
00:17:03.49\00:17:05.15
It's just, I don't know,
just oppressive atmosphere.
00:17:05.19\00:17:07.92
And I knew that the
following year, 2014, there was
00:17:08.39\00:17:11.29
going to be a lot
of trafficking going on
00:17:11.33\00:17:15.90
during the FIFA World Cup.
00:17:15.93\00:17:17.27
Because events like
that, they just bring people
00:17:17.30\00:17:20.10
who want other types
of entertainment as well.
00:17:20.14\00:17:22.20
So I did some research.
00:17:22.74\00:17:24.07
It's turned out that 500,000
kids were already being sold
00:17:24.11\00:17:27.54
into slavery in
Brazil during that time,
00:17:27.58\00:17:29.41
and the government had believed
that it would increase by 300%
00:17:29.44\00:17:32.45
during the FIFA World Cup.
00:17:33.08\00:17:34.88
I wasn't in the
best spiritual place.
00:17:36.52\00:17:37.89
I was kind of depressed.
00:17:37.92\00:17:39.25
I was tired of
being in the darkness.
00:17:39.29\00:17:40.72
I was tired of trying
to fight the darkness.
00:17:40.76\00:17:42.39
And the thing is,
when you spend so much time
00:17:42.56\00:17:44.03
in darkness, it
just gets to you.
00:17:44.06\00:17:46.06
I said, but I know
that I need to do something.
00:17:46.46\00:17:49.16
So I went to ASI, I went to GYC.
00:17:49.63\00:17:52.73
I tried to talk to a lot
of Adventist organizations.
00:17:52.77\00:17:55.57
There's not a lot going on in
the realm of human trafficking.
00:17:55.60\00:17:58.37
There was probably
one; I think Asian Aid
00:17:58.41\00:18:00.41
that did some
things in Nepal and India.
00:18:00.44\00:18:02.34
But nobody wanted to
hear anything about it.
00:18:03.65\00:18:06.01
Nobody wanted to
hear anything about it.
00:18:07.12\00:18:08.45
"Oh, that's nice."
00:18:08.48\00:18:09.82
"Yeah, okay."
00:18:09.85\00:18:11.19
"We don't know who
you are. You're a nobody.
00:18:11.22\00:18:12.65
Do you have some
organization or something?
00:18:12.69\00:18:14.42
You're a nobody.
Okay, that's nice.
00:18:14.46\00:18:16.19
Go do your thing."
00:18:16.22\00:18:17.56
I said, "Well, you
know what, if nobody wants
00:18:17.59\00:18:18.93
to help me,
that's fine. I'll do it."
00:18:18.96\00:18:20.30
I felt that if I did nothing,
knowing what was going on,
00:18:20.33\00:18:22.90
I would not be able to
live with myself as a man.
00:18:22.93\00:18:25.10
Knowing that generally
it's me who is the problem.
00:18:25.80\00:18:28.10
Men, we are the problem.
00:18:31.27\00:18:32.77
I mean, women, don't hate on us.
00:18:33.44\00:18:34.88
Because we're also
part of the solution.
00:18:34.91\00:18:36.68
But help us.
00:18:36.91\00:18:38.25
And so I made connections with
non-Adventist organizations,
00:18:40.42\00:18:42.82
and they seemed more willing.
00:18:42.85\00:18:44.19
I got to Brazil and
all those connections
00:18:44.22\00:18:46.35
completely fell through.
00:18:46.39\00:18:47.72
No emails were answered,
no phone calls were returned.
00:18:48.82\00:18:52.43
And I was like,
"Man, I already committed.
00:18:52.96\00:18:55.46
I told everybody
that I was going to
00:18:55.50\00:18:56.83
be here for at least six months.
00:18:56.87\00:18:58.20
What's going on?
00:18:58.23\00:18:59.57
So what do I do?"
00:18:59.60\00:19:02.54
I was tired of being depressed
and feeling sorry for myself,
00:19:03.14\00:19:05.41
so I started to walk outside.
00:19:05.44\00:19:07.04
And literally, just a block
away from where I was staying
00:19:07.74\00:19:11.15
I saw this woman
who looked so much more
00:19:11.18\00:19:13.21
depressed than I was.
00:19:13.25\00:19:14.58
I was like, "Um, maybe I
should say something to her."
00:19:14.62\00:19:19.19
I didn't speak Portuguese
at the time so I said,
00:19:19.22\00:19:20.66
"Oh, you know what?
I'll just pray for her."
00:19:20.69\00:19:22.19
So I ended up praying for her.
00:19:22.89\00:19:24.26
And so I prayed for her.
That's not something that I do.
00:19:25.29\00:19:26.86
I'm not a praying
person. Let me do something.
00:19:26.90\00:19:29.00
I want some action. I
want to build something.
00:19:29.03\00:19:30.47
I want to rescue some kids.
00:19:30.50\00:19:31.83
I want to do
something, you know.
00:19:31.87\00:19:33.20
But, you know, at
this moment, praise God
00:19:33.23\00:19:35.27
I didn't speak the language,
I couldn't talk to her.
00:19:35.30\00:19:37.04
I couldn't give her my wisdom on
how to deal with her problems.
00:19:37.07\00:19:39.37
So I just prayed for her.
00:19:39.41\00:19:40.74
And after I'd prayed for
her, I started walking again.
00:19:40.91\00:19:44.95
Saw another person.
00:19:45.31\00:19:46.65
Prayed for him.
00:19:46.68\00:19:48.02
Saw another
person. Prayed for them.
00:19:48.05\00:19:49.38
I'm like, "What is wrong?
00:19:49.42\00:19:50.75
Is this like
depressed day or something,
00:19:50.79\00:19:52.12
that everybody is walking
around looking all gloomy?"
00:19:52.15\00:19:54.29
So I just started
praying for people and walking.
00:19:54.46\00:19:56.19
And I walked
through a place that I knew
00:19:56.22\00:19:57.99
seemed a little bit shady.
00:19:58.03\00:19:59.36
I mean, my experience in
trafficking said that this is
00:19:59.39\00:20:00.73
probably a place where there's
either drug or prostitution use.
00:20:00.76\00:20:04.67
And so I prayed for that place.
00:20:04.87\00:20:06.33
And before I knew it,
five hours had passed.
00:20:06.60\00:20:09.34
And all I did was just pray.
00:20:09.84\00:20:11.74
And I got back to the
house and I look at myself,
00:20:12.47\00:20:14.48
and I go, "This is
what You wanted to tell me
00:20:14.51\00:20:17.18
the entire time, isn't it?
00:20:17.21\00:20:18.55
You wanted to basically root
out my dependence on people,
00:20:19.61\00:20:23.15
on programs, on organizations.
00:20:23.18\00:20:25.45
And all You wanted to do was
to show me that You're enough.
00:20:25.49\00:20:29.42
I get it.
00:20:29.62\00:20:30.96
I know I'm
stubborn, but I get it.
00:20:30.99\00:20:32.46
But I'm going to
need something from You.
00:20:33.03\00:20:34.93
If You want me to pray, I
want to go to every single city
00:20:34.96\00:20:38.43
that is hosting the World Cup.
00:20:38.47\00:20:39.80
And You know I've only got $800
and I've got six months left.
00:20:39.83\00:20:43.57
You're going to have to
take me to every single city
00:20:45.17\00:20:47.84
in Brazil, twelve capital
cities of states in Brazil,
00:20:47.88\00:20:52.08
that are hosting the World Cup.
00:20:52.11\00:20:53.45
And I'm going to walk a
thousand miles minimum."
00:20:53.48\00:20:55.52
And I ended up
walking fifteen hundred.
00:20:55.55\00:20:57.09
I'm going to walk a
thousand miles minimum,
00:20:57.65\00:20:59.59
and pray, and intercede
for each one of those cities.
00:20:59.62\00:21:02.06
I'll walk around
the stadium seven times.
00:21:02.09\00:21:04.09
But then I was later
corrected that Joshua actually
00:21:04.19\00:21:06.13
done it thirteen times.
00:21:06.16\00:21:07.60
I had forgotten that he
did six days one time and
00:21:07.86\00:21:10.37
then on Sabbath he did it seven
times, and then it fell down.
00:21:10.40\00:21:12.03
But anyway, I walked around
seven times around each stadium.
00:21:12.07\00:21:14.64
I had my friend that
actually came with me,
00:21:14.67\00:21:16.00
my friend Levi, so
that I wouldn't go alone.
00:21:16.04\00:21:17.91
I mean, it looks kind of
shady if you walk by yourself
00:21:17.94\00:21:20.18
and say you're praying
for prostitutes, right?
00:21:20.21\00:21:21.91
I mean, so.
00:21:21.94\00:21:23.28
So I needed somebody
to keep me accountable
00:21:23.31\00:21:24.71
and be with me and
make the ministry work.
00:21:24.75\00:21:26.85
And so my friend,
Levi, just on short notice.
00:21:27.02\00:21:28.75
He came also with no money.
00:21:28.78\00:21:30.19
And we decided,
"Okay, let's do this.
00:21:30.52\00:21:33.36
We've got 800 bucks."
00:21:33.39\00:21:34.82
By the way, at the end of
the time period that we had,
00:21:35.22\00:21:38.39
we had received $8000 in
donations without asking.
00:21:38.43\00:21:41.00
And we never had
to stay in a hotel.
00:21:41.33\00:21:43.63
There were just people
who'd wait for us at the airport
00:21:43.67\00:21:45.57
and at the bus stops we'd
never met in our lives before
00:21:45.60\00:21:47.90
and let us stay in their homes.
00:21:47.94\00:21:49.27
Talk about like the
book of Acts, you know.
00:21:49.30\00:21:51.94
It was kind of like that.
00:21:51.97\00:21:53.31
We gave ten
percent, God gave the rest.
00:21:54.81\00:21:56.78
We tithed, and
He gave us the rest.
00:21:56.81\00:21:58.45
But I wanted to do more
than just pray for the stadiums.
00:22:01.32\00:22:04.09
I wanted to
actually go into favelas.
00:22:04.12\00:22:05.69
And favelas are
basically Brazil's type of slum.
00:22:05.72\00:22:09.09
Now the favela's are
quite notorious because
00:22:09.12\00:22:12.39
not even cops go in.
00:22:12.43\00:22:13.76
If there's anything
that they have to accomplish,
00:22:13.80\00:22:15.13
they'll go in,
basically, as a swat team.
00:22:15.16\00:22:16.90
Twenty minutes, thirty minutes;
they're in, they're out,
00:22:16.93\00:22:18.83
and they're on with their life.
00:22:19.03\00:22:20.37
Because they don't
want to stay in there.
00:22:20.40\00:22:21.74
It is just a bad place.
00:22:21.77\00:22:23.67
Not all favela's are like that,
but general, that's kind of...
00:22:23.71\00:22:27.41
So we were in a
town called, Recife.
00:22:27.61\00:22:31.01
And we were staying there.
00:22:31.31\00:22:32.68
And the family said,
"Listen, we really like
00:22:32.71\00:22:35.42
what you guys are
doing; we appreciate it.
00:22:35.45\00:22:36.79
You guys can stay at our house.
00:22:36.82\00:22:38.15
But please do not
walk into a favela.
00:22:38.19\00:22:39.82
You guys are ignorant Americans.
00:22:39.85\00:22:42.86
You don't know our culture
or what goes on in there.
00:22:42.89\00:22:45.46
I know you think
you can handle it.
00:22:45.49\00:22:46.83
But you will get
shot, you will get robbed."
00:22:46.93\00:22:48.80
And I said, "You know what?
00:22:49.16\00:22:50.50
I really appreciate it, mom."
00:22:51.60\00:22:53.37
She was kind of
like our Brazilian mom.
00:22:54.14\00:22:56.37
They adopted us.
00:22:56.40\00:22:57.74
But we have verses that we had
the foundation of our mission.
00:22:57.91\00:23:04.45
It was Proverbs 1.
00:23:04.48\00:23:05.81
Our ministry was
called, Crying at the Gates.
00:23:05.85\00:23:08.02
But at this point there
was another verse that was
00:23:08.12\00:23:09.68
coming to mind; and that was the
one that Natasha read to you.
00:23:09.72\00:23:12.35
"Judgment is
turned away backward,
00:23:12.45\00:23:14.02
and justice standeth afar off;
00:23:14.06\00:23:15.39
for truth is fallen in the
street, and equity cannot enter.
00:23:15.42\00:23:18.29
Yea, truth faileth; and
he that departeth from evil
00:23:18.43\00:23:20.73
maketh himself a prey.
00:23:20.76\00:23:22.10
And the LORD saw it,
and it displeased him
00:23:22.13\00:23:23.80
that there was no judgment.
00:23:23.83\00:23:25.17
And he saw that
there was no man,
00:23:26.53\00:23:28.04
and he wondered that
there was no intercessor."
00:23:28.70\00:23:30.71
You know, people said, "Well,
you can intercede from outside."
00:23:32.17\00:23:36.11
Well sure, I suppose so.
00:23:37.28\00:23:39.45
But that doesn't make us very
good soldiers in that regard.
00:23:39.48\00:23:41.85
I mean, when Satan
came as a representative
00:23:41.88\00:23:44.32
of his territory, he basically
said, "Look, I'm coming
00:23:44.35\00:23:47.49
from walking to
and fro in my place."
00:23:47.52\00:23:49.19
And God says, "No, I've
got My outpost right there
00:23:49.22\00:23:53.80
in the middle of your territory.
00:23:53.83\00:23:55.30
For his reason, have
you even considered him?"
00:23:56.53\00:23:58.43
See, we've got to be in
the midst of Satan's territory
00:23:59.87\00:24:02.20
if we're going to be
representatives for God.
00:24:02.24\00:24:03.71
I mean, God, He allows, He
respects choice and free will.
00:24:03.74\00:24:08.08
He's not going to enter a place
where He's not been invited.
00:24:08.11\00:24:10.58
Satan doesn't
follow those rules.
00:24:11.11\00:24:12.68
He'll force anything
that he wants upon anyone.
00:24:12.71\00:24:15.15
But God has to be
invited, He has to be asked.
00:24:17.25\00:24:19.59
He's not going to violate.
00:24:19.62\00:24:21.16
That's His rules of engagement
in this spiritual war.
00:24:22.39\00:24:24.73
We have to go.
00:24:25.19\00:24:26.53
We have to cry from
the midst of that place.
00:24:26.56\00:24:28.76
And we're going to
believe what God said to Joshua,
00:24:29.66\00:24:33.77
"Everywhere you have
placed the sole of your foot,
00:24:33.80\00:24:35.97
that have I given you."
00:24:36.00\00:24:37.34
So I said, "We're going
to place the sole of our feet
00:24:37.77\00:24:39.97
in the midst of those places.
00:24:40.01\00:24:41.44
If it risks our
life, then whatever."
00:24:41.54\00:24:43.28
So we did.
00:24:44.41\00:24:45.75
We went into those
places, we walked in,
00:24:45.81\00:24:48.18
and a guy stopped us at the
door, and he basically said...
00:24:48.22\00:24:51.32
At the door, at the entrance.
00:24:51.35\00:24:52.69
One of the roads
leading into the favela.
00:24:52.72\00:24:54.72
And he said, "What
are you guys doing here?'
00:24:54.76\00:24:56.09
We said, "Oh, you know..."
00:24:56.12\00:24:57.46
We had a friend with
us who was Brazilian.
00:24:57.49\00:24:58.83
Because we still didn't
speak Portuguese at this time.
00:24:58.86\00:25:00.23
He said, "Oh,
these are Americans.
00:25:00.33\00:25:01.66
They're here to pray for
you, and stuff like that.
00:25:01.70\00:25:03.47
Yeah, we just
wondered if we could walk in."
00:25:03.50\00:25:05.43
"You're here to pray for us?
00:25:08.04\00:25:09.37
Oh yeah, come on in. Come on in.
00:25:09.40\00:25:11.24
We love..."
00:25:11.27\00:25:12.61
"You love what?"
00:25:13.61\00:25:14.94
"Anything.
00:25:14.98\00:25:16.31
You come pray for us."
00:25:16.34\00:25:17.68
"Ok, alright."
00:25:18.08\00:25:19.41
So we walked in, and the
first person he takes us to:
00:25:19.45\00:25:21.98
the high priest of black magic.
00:25:22.68\00:25:24.32
Candomblé, it's called.
00:25:24.35\00:25:25.69
The high priest of
black magic, voodoo religion,
00:25:25.72\00:25:27.52
in that place.
00:25:27.56\00:25:28.89
And we talked with him, and
basically this is the situation.
00:25:29.12\00:25:32.16
The favela's are controlled by
candomblé religion, in general.
00:25:32.89\00:25:36.53
This is a
religion of black magic,
00:25:36.73\00:25:38.40
this is a religion
where you cast curses.
00:25:38.43\00:25:40.10
And believe me, it works.
00:25:40.14\00:25:41.47
There are so many people
who have lost their spouses
00:25:41.50\00:25:42.84
because other
people cast spells on them.
00:25:42.87\00:25:45.41
One of the prostitutes
that we talked to later on
00:25:45.44\00:25:47.51
said that she was
working as a prostitute because
00:25:47.54\00:25:50.05
on her three children someone
cast a black magic spell.
00:25:50.41\00:25:54.35
And she was so afraid
that they were going to die
00:25:54.45\00:25:56.79
that she had to pay ten
thousand dollars equivalent
00:25:56.92\00:25:59.99
to pay another high priest
to cast a protective spell.
00:26:00.02\00:26:04.39
We're walking into the situation
where darkness rules the place.
00:26:05.56\00:26:09.73
And he says, "You know what?"
00:26:10.93\00:26:12.27
He says, "No one comes
in here and talks to us.
00:26:12.60\00:26:14.64
We know that
spiritual warfare exists.
00:26:15.74\00:26:17.57
We know because we
see the darkness of it.
00:26:17.61\00:26:19.44
We wish we had something
else, that someone would
00:26:20.38\00:26:22.14
give us another option,
but nobody comes in here.
00:26:22.18\00:26:24.01
They're scared.
00:26:24.05\00:26:25.38
You're the first person
to come in and pray for us.
00:26:27.32\00:26:29.35
You think we want to
do what we want to do?
00:26:30.72\00:26:32.22
You think we
like doing what we do?
00:26:32.25\00:26:33.89
But we don't
know anything else."
00:26:34.42\00:26:35.79
The man that let us in ended
up crying as we were leaving.
00:26:41.30\00:26:43.77
The Lord answered that prayer,
00:26:46.80\00:26:48.14
whether we should
enter or not into favela's.
00:26:49.04\00:26:51.54
We ended up entering
into more than fifteen
00:26:51.57\00:26:53.17
while we were there.
00:26:53.21\00:26:54.54
Next was the prayer
whether we should be praying for
00:26:55.94\00:26:58.41
prostitutes or not.
00:26:58.45\00:26:59.78
So we were with another friend.
00:27:01.02\00:27:02.35
Once again, we didn't
speak Portuguese at the time.
00:27:02.95\00:27:05.32
In the same town.
00:27:05.35\00:27:06.69
And we were driving,
and he said, "Oh hey, Alex,
00:27:06.76\00:27:08.86
look, there's a
prostitute under that bridge.
00:27:09.56\00:27:11.59
Do you want to
stop and talk to her?"
00:27:11.63\00:27:12.96
I said, "Yes absolutely,
let's stop and talk to her."
00:27:12.99\00:27:14.76
And so he rolls down
the window, she comes by.
00:27:15.96\00:27:18.10
She's looking in.
00:27:18.70\00:27:20.04
He says, " Oh listen,
I've got two Americans here."
00:27:20.07\00:27:21.64
"Oh Americans, alright.
Do they want a program?"
00:27:21.67\00:27:23.84
"Oh no, no, no, no, no.
They're not here for that.
00:27:24.24\00:27:26.44
They're here to pray for you."
00:27:26.47\00:27:27.81
Her face changes.
00:27:29.21\00:27:30.55
As if she was a
completely different person.
00:27:30.85\00:27:32.45
Because let me tell
you; in prostitution,
00:27:32.48\00:27:34.08
prostitutes are
two different people.
00:27:34.35\00:27:36.22
They put on a
mask to make you think
00:27:37.65\00:27:39.55
that they're
someone who they're not.
00:27:39.59\00:27:41.09
So she comes up and her demeanor
just completely changes.
00:27:43.06\00:27:46.70
She says, "Oh, that's wonderful.
00:27:46.73\00:27:49.20
Thank you so much for
coming to pray for me."
00:27:49.56\00:27:51.73
She says, "You know, I don't
want to be doing what I'm doing.
00:27:52.47\00:27:54.34
But you know what, I've got two
kids and my husband left me."
00:27:54.37\00:27:56.97
She says, "I don't
have any skills whatsoever.
00:27:57.57\00:27:59.41
He used to pay the
bills for everything.
00:27:59.44\00:28:00.91
And so I'm trying my very
best to support my family.
00:28:00.94\00:28:03.88
And I don't
know what else to do.
00:28:03.91\00:28:05.25
But every single day, I
pray to God that He would send
00:28:05.38\00:28:08.48
someone to take me out of this.
00:28:08.88\00:28:10.95
And I've been studying the Bible
and I want to get baptized,
00:28:11.12\00:28:13.99
but I'm afraid that
if people know who I am
00:28:14.02\00:28:16.46
that they won't
let me get baptized.
00:28:18.36\00:28:19.86
And I don't know if you've ever
heard of the Adventist church,
00:28:19.89\00:28:21.90
but I believe everything they
say and I want to get baptized."
00:28:21.93\00:28:24.37
What?
00:28:27.90\00:28:29.24
She's looking for us, and
we're not looking for her.
00:28:34.08\00:28:36.58
"Listen, we know who you
are, and we're Adventists,
00:28:42.65\00:28:44.55
and we don't care.
00:28:44.59\00:28:45.92
Because we know
who you really are."
00:28:45.95\00:28:47.29
And you know what her name was?
00:28:48.22\00:28:49.59
Hosanna.
00:28:50.16\00:28:51.49
And we praise the Lord for that.
00:28:52.39\00:28:53.83
We ended up
going to another city.
00:28:56.87\00:28:58.20
We said, "Ok, now we know we
need to pray for prostitutes,
00:28:58.23\00:28:59.93
but now we need to train
people in every single city
00:28:59.97\00:29:02.80
to go and pray."
00:29:02.94\00:29:04.27
And we had a project in mind.
00:29:04.31\00:29:05.64
Because in the three years
that I worked with the ministry
00:29:05.67\00:29:07.21
in Atlanta, we did something
called, princess night.
00:29:07.24\00:29:09.64
And what princess night
is, we basically go out,
00:29:09.68\00:29:12.01
we hand out cards with
little messages, a phone number,
00:29:12.21\00:29:15.52
and a rose, to prostitutes
on the corner of streets.
00:29:15.55\00:29:18.05
And we tell them, "Hey
listen, you've got value.
00:29:18.09\00:29:19.85
You're
beautiful, you're special.
00:29:19.99\00:29:21.82
God does not
want you to be here.
00:29:21.86\00:29:23.43
I know that you've only
seen bad things, and people have
00:29:24.03\00:29:26.43
said that they love
you and they care for you,
00:29:26.46\00:29:27.80
and have only
treated you like dirt.
00:29:27.83\00:29:29.20
So there's very little
reason for you to believe us,
00:29:29.73\00:29:31.57
but I'm asking you
that you believe me."
00:29:31.60\00:29:33.10
And they did this for years.
00:29:33.47\00:29:34.80
And the organization that
I worked with, the first year
00:29:34.84\00:29:37.47
that we ran a
twenty-four hour call center
00:29:37.51\00:29:39.44
forty-five women
came off the street.
00:29:39.54\00:29:41.01
The second year, a
hundred and fifteen.
00:29:41.04\00:29:42.54
And the third year,
two hundred and forty-five.
00:29:42.58\00:29:44.58
And it was all because
there were people praying
00:29:45.65\00:29:47.98
twenty-four hours a day
every day for the ministry.
00:29:48.02\00:29:51.49
So I said, "Lord,
You've got to give us somebody.
00:29:54.66\00:29:56.42
You've got to send
people to us to pray.
00:29:56.52\00:29:57.86
Because we're not
going to just walk in here.
00:29:57.89\00:29:59.93
You know, we can
pray for the stadiums,
00:30:00.03\00:30:02.03
we can pray for
favelas, but we need somebody
00:30:02.06\00:30:03.73
to constantly be here to
pray for those in trafficking.
00:30:03.77\00:30:07.80
So You've got to
bring us somebody."
00:30:08.77\00:30:10.11
So we went to the next city
and we arrived at the same time
00:30:10.14\00:30:12.21
that Carnaval was
going on in Brazil.
00:30:12.24\00:30:14.11
Now during Carnaval, most
Adventists leave the cities
00:30:14.14\00:30:16.54
because they don't want
to observe what's going on.
00:30:16.58\00:30:18.81
And they actually
go into little camps.
00:30:19.11\00:30:20.92
So we went to this little camp.
00:30:20.95\00:30:22.28
And, you know, something
happened and some people were
00:30:22.38\00:30:25.49
speaking English, and
they were trying to show off
00:30:25.52\00:30:27.42
how good their English was.
00:30:27.46\00:30:28.79
And then I spoke up
in English, and they go,
00:30:28.82\00:30:30.16
"Oh, your
English is really good."
00:30:30.19\00:30:31.53
I said, "Oh, well
I'm from America."
00:30:31.56\00:30:32.89
"Oh you're from
America. That's fantastic.
00:30:32.93\00:30:34.26
Do you want to tell
us what you're here for?"
00:30:34.30\00:30:35.76
I said, "Oh, well I'm here doing
a project in anti-trafficking."
00:30:35.80\00:30:38.67
"Oh, do you want to
come up and present?"
00:30:38.70\00:30:41.50
And so they give
me a little spot.
00:30:42.04\00:30:43.37
And basically, you
know, it was voluntary.
00:30:43.71\00:30:45.77
You didn't have to come
and actually listen to me.
00:30:45.81\00:30:47.71
But forty people actually came.
00:30:47.81\00:30:49.24
It was a group of maybe eighty
there, so about half the people
00:30:49.28\00:30:51.98
came and listened
to me for three hours.
00:30:52.01\00:30:54.22
Now you're not going to
have to go through that.
00:30:54.75\00:30:56.08
Don't worry about it, alright?
00:30:56.12\00:30:57.45
I've only got about
another twenty minutes left.
00:30:57.49\00:30:58.82
But they listened
to me for three hours.
00:31:00.06\00:31:01.39
And afterwards,
afterwards, a group of like ten,
00:31:01.42\00:31:04.33
or I don't remember
if it was ten or twelve,
00:31:04.36\00:31:05.83
young people came up to me and
said, "Listen, three weeks ago,
00:31:06.03\00:31:08.90
three weeks ago the
Lord put it upon our hearts
00:31:09.23\00:31:11.20
that we should start
singing songs or doing something
00:31:11.23\00:31:12.93
for prostitutes in the streets.
00:31:12.97\00:31:14.30
And we don't even know
why, because we don't like them.
00:31:14.34\00:31:15.97
But here you come three weeks
later saying how you're looking
00:31:17.54\00:31:19.51
for people to go into the
streets and minister to them.
00:31:19.54\00:31:21.68
And we're thinking,
you're an answer to our prayer."
00:31:21.88\00:31:23.51
And I'm thinking,
you're an answer to mine.
00:31:23.55\00:31:25.05
So we trained them.
00:31:26.61\00:31:27.95
We write the
cards, we get the flowers.
00:31:28.55\00:31:30.25
In America, you know, you
usually go with twenty roses
00:31:30.29\00:31:32.49
and you come back with
five after three or four hours.
00:31:32.52\00:31:34.66
I mean, very
low acceptance rate.
00:31:34.69\00:31:36.76
We take them to the streets
and in forty-five minutes
00:31:37.93\00:31:39.93
all the flowers
and cards are gone.
00:31:39.96\00:31:41.43
People are crying,
five people want Bibles,
00:31:41.46\00:31:43.30
and two want Bible studies.
00:31:43.33\00:31:44.67
These kids come
back and they're like,
00:31:46.80\00:31:48.60
"How could I have been so wrong?
00:31:49.17\00:31:51.07
I thought they
wanted to be there.
00:31:53.38\00:31:55.38
I thought that was their life.
00:31:55.41\00:31:56.78
I thought that they
enjoyed that kind of thing."
00:31:56.81\00:31:59.35
They began to
see their own faults,
00:32:02.45\00:32:05.05
their own misconceptions.
00:32:07.46\00:32:09.62
And God was taking the
blinders from their eyes.
00:32:11.43\00:32:13.70
They stood for, I don't
know, two and a half hours
00:32:14.23\00:32:16.50
talking to one o'clock
at night with their parents
00:32:16.60\00:32:18.90
just crying and
telling them, "I had no idea.
00:32:19.10\00:32:22.24
I feel so bad.
00:32:23.51\00:32:24.84
And one of them
gave us his real name."
00:32:26.07\00:32:28.21
One of them was a man.
00:32:28.24\00:32:29.58
Sometimes it's safer
to be a man in the streets
00:32:29.94\00:32:32.01
dressed as a woman
than it is to be a woman.
00:32:32.05\00:32:33.68
We won't go into that.
00:32:36.05\00:32:37.39
But they said, "He
gave us his real name.
00:32:38.29\00:32:40.79
He felt that we had
treated him with enough dignity
00:32:42.49\00:32:45.66
that we deserved to
know who he really was,
00:32:46.06\00:32:48.13
not who people thought he was."
00:32:49.76\00:32:51.40
His name was Alexandre.
00:32:53.87\00:32:55.40
Alexandre.
00:32:55.80\00:32:57.14
And they thought that
was the greatest thing ever.
00:32:59.11\00:33:00.91
There's a lot
of power in a name.
00:33:03.71\00:33:05.35
There's a lot of
power in identity.
00:33:05.85\00:33:07.42
Do we know who we are?
00:33:08.82\00:33:10.15
The next city, I
don't want to leave it out.
00:33:13.42\00:33:15.19
I may not even
get to a conclusion.
00:33:15.22\00:33:17.63
If you ever want to hear
part two, come talk to me.
00:33:18.66\00:33:21.10
But I have to tell
you about the last city.
00:33:23.30\00:33:25.10
It's not the last city,
but the last city on our list.
00:33:25.13\00:33:27.14
We ended up going to
eight more after this.
00:33:27.17\00:33:29.30
But the name of it is Fortaleza.
00:33:30.74\00:33:32.61
And Fortaleza is the
second biggest destination
00:33:34.11\00:33:39.51
for child sex
tourism in the world;
00:33:39.55\00:33:41.75
after Bangkok, Thailand.
00:33:41.78\00:33:43.39
And so I knew that we
needed to do something.
00:33:44.69\00:33:46.15
We get there, and the
pastor doesn't want us
00:33:46.19\00:33:51.03
to talk about our ministry.
00:33:51.06\00:33:52.56
He said, "Listen, it's nice.
We do enough projects here.
00:33:52.59\00:33:55.33
Listen, you know,
we're doing evangelism,
00:33:55.36\00:33:57.00
we're doing outreach,
we're doing all this stuff.
00:33:57.03\00:33:58.53
We really don't want
our people going and talking
00:33:58.57\00:34:02.04
to prostitutes, honestly."
00:34:02.07\00:34:03.64
I said, "That's fine, I
understand that it's a bit of
00:34:04.57\00:34:07.38
a difficult subject, situation.
00:34:07.41\00:34:09.84
Don't worry
about it. It's okay."
00:34:10.18\00:34:11.55
But that same week a
man came in asking for help
00:34:12.91\00:34:18.42
to the church while
the pastor was there.
00:34:18.45\00:34:20.72
And he said,
"Listen, I'm from Sao Paulo
00:34:20.96\00:34:22.76
and I need to get back.
00:34:22.79\00:34:24.13
Will you give me money
to get back to Sao Paulo?"
00:34:24.39\00:34:26.53
And Sao Paulo is very
far away from Fortaleza.
00:34:27.10\00:34:29.16
And so it cost a good bit
of money, and the pastor said,
00:34:29.70\00:34:32.03
"No, we don't give money away.
00:34:32.07\00:34:33.57
But if you're willing to
work, we'll buy your ticket."
00:34:33.60\00:34:37.74
He says, "Okay,
that's fair enough."
00:34:37.77\00:34:39.11
"So what do you do?"
00:34:39.47\00:34:41.51
He said, "Well, I paint."
00:34:41.54\00:34:42.88
"Good, our church is due
for a nice fresh coat of paint."
00:34:43.14\00:34:45.81
So he started
painting the inside.
00:34:45.85\00:34:47.32
The pastor had mentioned
that two Americans were staying
00:34:47.42\00:34:49.58
at his house, and the guy
says, "I want to meet them.
00:34:49.62\00:34:52.52
Can you have them come
paint with me on Thursday?"
00:34:52.55\00:34:55.02
He's like, "Okay, I
don't know why, but sure."
00:34:55.49\00:34:57.26
And this was on Monday or
Tuesday, I don't remember.
00:34:58.73\00:35:02.10
So a few days had passed
and he had been listening
00:35:02.26\00:35:05.10
for about three days to
the pastor and the Bible worker
00:35:05.13\00:35:08.80
going through a
Revelation seminar.
00:35:08.84\00:35:10.67
And he just quietly listened
because they were basically
00:35:12.24\00:35:14.74
preparing, so he had
basically heard the entire
00:35:14.78\00:35:16.71
27 days or 28 days worth
of Bible studies in three days
00:35:16.75\00:35:20.32
while he was painting.
00:35:21.38\00:35:22.72
He said, "I really, really
need to meet these Americans."
00:35:22.75\00:35:25.12
"Okay, we'll be
here tomorrow, Thursday."
00:35:25.15\00:35:27.72
So we came in and we
started painting with him.
00:35:28.19\00:35:32.23
His name was
Williams, and he said,
00:35:32.43\00:35:34.16
"I know why you're here."
00:35:35.20\00:35:36.53
"Okay."
00:35:38.03\00:35:39.37
He said, "I know
why you're here."
00:35:39.57\00:35:41.04
He said, "There's a
lot of things that I can't
00:35:41.87\00:35:43.51
tell you right now, but
I've listened to absolutely
00:35:43.54\00:35:46.57
everything that this pastor
and the Bible worker have said,
00:35:46.61\00:35:49.74
and I assure you that I've
never heard anything like that
00:35:49.84\00:35:53.05
from a Christian
religion in my life.
00:35:53.08\00:35:54.92
And being a Satanist...
00:35:54.95\00:35:56.75
...and I've been in
Satanism for a long time.
00:35:57.75\00:35:59.25
And every single one of
my family members is part of
00:35:59.29\00:36:01.36
either the Church of Satan or
the Masonic Lodge in Sao Paulo.
00:36:01.39\00:36:04.89
And I tried, you know, I
was thinking that I'd get away
00:36:06.90\00:36:09.10
by coming here,
but nothing worked out.
00:36:09.13\00:36:10.57
So I was going to go back.
00:36:10.60\00:36:11.93
But I came into this church and
I've heard a part of the gospel
00:36:11.97\00:36:14.14
that I've never heard before,
no other church is preaching.
00:36:14.17\00:36:16.20
And I know you
guys have the truth.
00:36:16.24\00:36:17.74
But I still know that
even though you talk about
00:36:17.77\00:36:19.61
the
controversy, they don't know.
00:36:19.64\00:36:21.48
The pastor and the Bible
worker don't know, but I know."
00:36:22.61\00:36:25.15
He said, "I know
what you're doing.
00:36:25.81\00:36:27.15
But I have to get baptized
first before I can tell you."
00:36:27.18\00:36:29.55
He said,
"That's why I've decided
00:36:31.25\00:36:32.59
to get baptized this Sabbath."
00:36:32.62\00:36:33.96
In three days he was
ready to get baptized.
00:36:33.99\00:36:35.49
So he came, he got baptized.
00:36:36.46\00:36:38.09
After he got baptized,
he comes to me and he says,
00:36:38.59\00:36:40.50
"Alex, Levi, what
you're trying to do is take
00:36:40.53\00:36:46.57
Satan's property from him.
00:36:46.60\00:36:48.87
Those are his girls.
00:36:49.94\00:36:51.27
You don't
understand that. They're his.
00:36:51.31\00:36:52.71
He doesn't play nice.
00:36:52.81\00:36:54.34
Other people talk and they
evangelize, and they do things,
00:36:54.74\00:36:57.35
but you are literally
taking, plucking his property
00:36:57.38\00:37:00.45
from his hand.
00:37:00.48\00:37:01.82
You can't do that
without fear of repercussions.
00:37:02.28\00:37:06.09
Everyone talks about
the great controversy,
00:37:08.19\00:37:09.76
everybody talks
about spiritual warfare,
00:37:09.79\00:37:11.33
but nobody engages in it.
00:37:11.36\00:37:12.89
You're on the front
lines. You're doing something.
00:37:13.70\00:37:15.26
And I don't know if
you understand how much
00:37:15.30\00:37:16.83
in danger you are."
00:37:16.87\00:37:18.20
I'll be honest
with you. I didn't.
00:37:19.20\00:37:20.60
He says, "I'm telling you
because Satan wants your life.
00:37:22.57\00:37:25.14
You've been marked
because of what you're doing.
00:37:25.77\00:37:27.94
And I feel sorry for you.
00:37:28.81\00:37:30.35
I'm glad for you and
I'm glad you're doing this,
00:37:30.38\00:37:32.35
but I feel so sorry for you.
00:37:32.38\00:37:34.05
Because Satan is going to do
everything to either cause you
00:37:35.15\00:37:37.25
to fall into sin or to
completely end your life.
00:37:37.29\00:37:40.46
Will you listen to me and
take some certain precautions?
00:37:42.29\00:37:44.53
All the people who just
want to be part of this ministry
00:37:44.56\00:37:47.00
because it sounds
cool and looks cool,
00:37:47.03\00:37:49.06
get some t-shirts,
stay away from them.
00:37:49.43\00:37:52.60
Their very presence
with you while you enter into
00:37:53.10\00:37:55.44
these places where
your life is in danger
00:37:55.47\00:37:57.27
will endanger you more.
00:37:57.31\00:37:58.71
The very presence
of someone who doesn't
00:37:59.27\00:38:01.08
think in a manner of prayer,
in a manner of intercession,
00:38:01.11\00:38:03.98
is risking your life.
00:38:04.08\00:38:05.75
You can't walk into
the devil's territory
00:38:07.35\00:38:09.52
thinking about soccer."
00:38:09.55\00:38:10.99
We got the
warning. We got the warning.
00:38:20.80\00:38:22.93
Afterwards, I came and I
apologized to my friend, Levi,
00:38:24.17\00:38:28.20
and our translator
at that time, Andréa.
00:38:28.24\00:38:30.37
I said, "There's
something I need to tell you.
00:38:30.71\00:38:32.41
I didn't tell you
before because I didn't think
00:38:33.58\00:38:35.61
we'd confront it."
00:38:35.64\00:38:36.98
But in the previous years
that I've been involved in
00:38:38.61\00:38:40.18
human trafficking, in reality
00:38:40.22\00:38:41.92
there's a lot of
religion involved.
00:38:43.82\00:38:47.42
There's a tendency for us to
think that it's organized crime,
00:38:47.92\00:38:50.29
that it's just some
small time pimp, that whatever.
00:38:50.33\00:38:52.56
But in reality, you know, the
pimps, they use William Lynch's
00:38:52.59\00:38:57.00
manual for how to train slaves.
00:38:57.10\00:38:59.10
That's how they
basically beat into them
00:38:59.13\00:39:01.50
the whole
slave/master relationship.
00:39:02.50\00:39:04.44
If you think that
slavery is over, it's not.
00:39:04.47\00:39:06.27
The same manual that
was used in colonial times
00:39:06.31\00:39:09.41
is still being used
now to make prostitutes.
00:39:09.44\00:39:12.95
We've had girls that
we've rescued, and at times
00:39:17.62\00:39:20.16
on specific days of
the year they disappeared.
00:39:20.19\00:39:23.36
And they showed
up a few days later,
00:39:23.56\00:39:25.49
usually two to three days
later, gang raped and dead
00:39:25.53\00:39:29.36
on the side of the street.
00:39:29.40\00:39:30.73
It was always
after pagan feast days.
00:39:31.13\00:39:34.27
We had girls that had tremendous
amounts of dissociative
00:39:37.77\00:39:40.94
identity disorder.
00:39:40.98\00:39:42.44
They had gone under
certain types of programming,
00:39:43.35\00:39:46.15
monarch programming.
00:39:46.18\00:39:47.52
You guys probably
don't know about that.
00:39:47.55\00:39:49.15
Mind control programming.
00:39:50.12\00:39:51.45
You think it's a joke. It's not.
00:39:51.49\00:39:52.85
I see it. I've seen it.
00:39:52.89\00:39:55.12
I'm not some
conspiracy theorist.
00:39:56.69\00:39:58.23
I've dealt with
people caught in it.
00:39:58.26\00:40:00.03
There are churches in America
that are working actively
00:40:03.80\00:40:07.37
to destroy Christianity.
00:40:07.40\00:40:09.40
"Everywhere I go, I've tried
to disassociate it sometimes
00:40:11.97\00:40:15.41
and just think that all
I'm dealing with is just,
00:40:15.44\00:40:17.25
oh it's just we're
dealing with some pimps
00:40:17.28\00:40:18.91
and some organized crime.
00:40:18.95\00:40:20.28
And I'm sorry I didn't
tell you beforehand that we are
00:40:20.32\00:40:22.48
really in spiritual warfare.
00:40:22.58\00:40:24.49
And only until this man
came and really told us that
00:40:24.52\00:40:26.89
Satan is trying to kill
us am I finally getting it.
00:40:26.92\00:40:30.66
We need to pray."
00:40:32.73\00:40:34.06
So the three of
us started to pray.
00:40:35.46\00:40:36.80
I prayed, Levi
prayed, Andréa prayed.
00:40:36.83\00:40:38.40
While Andréa was
praying, I began to see a tree.
00:40:39.50\00:40:43.30
And I saw a tree, and
its branches reached to
00:40:44.57\00:40:46.91
the ends of the earth, and I
couldn't see the horizon at all.
00:40:46.94\00:40:51.21
The tree was just vast.
00:40:51.25\00:40:53.08
It covered the sky completely.
00:40:53.11\00:40:54.62
And it was kind
of dark, you know.
00:40:55.32\00:40:56.65
Very little light was
filtering through the branches,
00:40:56.69\00:40:58.25
through the leaves.
00:40:58.29\00:40:59.62
And all of a sudden I
hear this like clanging sound.
00:40:59.65\00:41:01.79
And I look up in the
branches and there's these dolls
00:41:01.82\00:41:04.89
and these mannequins without
a face, tied about the neck
00:41:05.63\00:41:08.93
with chains,
dangling from these branches.
00:41:08.96\00:41:11.07
A very eerie and
unsettling scene.
00:41:11.17\00:41:13.27
And I'm wondering, "Why in the
world is this coming to my mind
00:41:13.30\00:41:15.80
while we're praying?"
00:41:15.84\00:41:17.17
And I open my eyes
and it's still there.
00:41:19.47\00:41:21.44
It's not going
away. I'm shaking my head.
00:41:21.48\00:41:23.18
I'm looking, "Lord, take
this away, this is ridiculous.
00:41:23.21\00:41:25.68
I have no idea why
I'm thinking about this."
00:41:25.71\00:41:27.32
And after time I
just lose my patience.
00:41:29.72\00:41:31.45
So I start grabbing the chains,
these dolls and these mannequins
00:41:31.49\00:41:35.19
without faces, and I'm
pulling them from the branches.
00:41:35.22\00:41:36.89
And it's not helping at all.
00:41:36.93\00:41:38.29
And all of a sudden I
get desperate and I just say,
00:41:41.50\00:41:43.53
"God, help me.
00:41:43.97\00:41:45.30
Please help me."
00:41:45.70\00:41:47.04
The moment that I
cried out for help, I noticed
00:41:47.47\00:41:49.74
the base of the tree, the trunk.
00:41:49.77\00:41:51.27
And there was a man
standing there with an ax.
00:41:51.77\00:41:54.38
And I was getting the idea that
he was about to do something.
00:41:54.71\00:41:56.75
And I said, "Yes.
Lord, give him strength."
00:41:56.78\00:41:59.51
And the man picked up
the ax and he began to
00:42:00.25\00:42:01.78
chop at the base of the tree.
00:42:01.82\00:42:03.15
And the tree was shuttering.
00:42:03.18\00:42:04.52
And all the
branches were shaking.
00:42:04.55\00:42:05.89
And these dolls
and mannequins were
00:42:05.92\00:42:07.26
raging violently
from side to side.
00:42:07.29\00:42:09.12
And I said, "I don't
care how unsettling it is.
00:42:09.16\00:42:11.43
Cut down the tree."
00:42:11.59\00:42:13.86
He kept on chopping,
and chopping, and chopping.
00:42:17.83\00:42:19.40
And finally the tree
gave way and it fell.
00:42:19.43\00:42:21.57
And all the
branches, for some reason,
00:42:21.60\00:42:22.94
it didn't make sense to
me, they all were spread out
00:42:22.97\00:42:25.31
around me on the floor.
00:42:25.34\00:42:26.68
And the first thing
that I did was look up.
00:42:26.71\00:42:28.11
I could see the sun, and
I said, "God, thank You."
00:42:28.34\00:42:30.45
And then I began
to pull the chains
00:42:31.31\00:42:32.75
once again from the branches.
00:42:32.78\00:42:34.12
And this time the
chains disappeared.
00:42:34.15\00:42:35.48
By the time it finished,
Andréa had finished her praying.
00:42:38.82\00:42:41.79
And I told Levi and
Andréa what I had seen.
00:42:43.49\00:42:45.26
And we all agreed.
00:42:45.29\00:42:46.63
Just like it was
for Nebuchadnezzar.
00:42:47.73\00:42:50.17
The tree was a system,
a kingdom, whose influence
00:42:50.93\00:42:54.30
spreads to the
ends of the earth.
00:42:54.34\00:42:56.30
There's not one thing that
is not under its influence.
00:42:58.14\00:43:00.84
And the dolls
and the mannequins,
00:43:02.24\00:43:03.58
the mannequins were adults
and the dolls were children,
00:43:03.61\00:43:05.98
with no face, no identity,
00:43:06.01\00:43:07.68
that were being held by
this system of oppression.
00:43:08.88\00:43:12.19
And if we try in our
own strength like I did
00:43:13.69\00:43:15.96
to pull them
free, to rescue them,
00:43:15.99\00:43:18.49
it does absolutely nothing.
00:43:19.09\00:43:21.03
Only when I cried out to
the only One who is able,
00:43:22.46\00:43:25.37
Christ the Intercessor,
to cut down the tree,
00:43:25.63\00:43:29.57
once He separates that
tree of slavery, that system
00:43:30.04\00:43:33.64
of corruption
from the roots of sin,
00:43:33.68\00:43:35.74
once we've interceded on behalf
of those who are caught in it,
00:43:36.68\00:43:39.88
and He's covered
them in His righteousness
00:43:40.12\00:43:41.75
so that they're not
held by the bonds of sin,
00:43:41.78\00:43:44.02
so that His Spirit can
reach into their lives.
00:43:44.19\00:43:46.39
Just like He did
into that prostitute
00:43:46.42\00:43:47.76
who said she was
studying to be an Adventist.
00:43:47.79\00:43:49.52
It is only by intercession that
this system can be brought down.
00:43:56.10\00:44:01.20
And once intercession has
been made, then you can rescue.
00:44:02.40\00:44:06.14
Then you can pull free.
00:44:07.21\00:44:08.81
But until that point,
our efforts are useless.
00:44:11.58\00:44:13.85
Evangelism is useless.
00:44:14.08\00:44:16.02
Debate is useless.
00:44:17.49\00:44:19.05
We read in Isaiah 59 that
truth is fallen in the streets.
00:44:20.46\00:44:23.93
"Yeah well, all
we stand for truth."
00:44:24.46\00:44:25.96
No, truth is
fallen. It's not standing.
00:44:25.99\00:44:28.16
Judgment has
turned away backward.
00:44:29.66\00:44:31.50
Justice is far away.
And equity, where is it?
00:44:31.53\00:44:34.10
Oh, it can't
even enter the gates.
00:44:34.14\00:44:36.00
We stand for
truth, and social justice,
00:44:37.97\00:44:39.87
and judgment, and equity.
00:44:39.91\00:44:41.24
Oh great!
00:44:41.28\00:44:42.61
But it's dead. Because what?
00:44:42.64\00:44:44.01
Something's missing.
00:44:44.21\00:44:45.55
Intercession.
00:44:46.51\00:44:47.85
What power do we
have without God?
00:44:50.82\00:44:52.75
When will we get it,
that in this great controversy
00:44:54.39\00:44:56.56
our efforts are nothing?
00:44:56.79\00:44:58.99
If we knew who God
was, the great Intercessor,
00:45:01.63\00:45:04.63
we would be intercessors. Why?
00:45:04.67\00:45:06.67
Because we'd realized
that the battle that we fight
00:45:06.80\00:45:08.47
is a spiritual one,
and only He can fight it.
00:45:08.50\00:45:10.54
I mean, don't
we know the verses?
00:45:12.57\00:45:13.91
"We war not against
flesh and blood, but against
00:45:13.94\00:45:15.38
principalities, against
powers that rule the darkness
00:45:15.41\00:45:17.08
in high places."
00:45:17.11\00:45:18.45
And yet, what do we do?
00:45:22.02\00:45:23.35
Programs.
00:45:23.42\00:45:24.75
"Let's do more
programs. Let's get together.
00:45:26.49\00:45:28.12
Let's think how we
can solve these issues."
00:45:28.16\00:45:29.82
No, God has the solution.
00:45:29.86\00:45:31.46
I'm not belittling
organization. It's great.
00:45:33.56\00:45:36.90
I'm not
belittling evangelization.
00:45:37.00\00:45:39.10
It's great.
00:45:39.20\00:45:40.54
I'm just saying, we can't
do it without the power of God.
00:45:42.04\00:45:46.14
And too often we do.
00:45:47.11\00:45:48.51
I want to tell you a
little story about vengeance.
00:45:52.21\00:45:54.08
You guys like vengeance?
00:45:54.12\00:45:55.55
I'm going to see if you have
the wrong idea about it or not.
00:45:56.65\00:45:58.52
Suffice it to say, that in
that town where we received
00:46:00.86\00:46:03.93
very little welcome, Fortaleza,
at 11:00 o'clock the day
00:46:03.96\00:46:07.90
before we were suppose
to leave, two people said,
00:46:07.93\00:46:11.57
"We'll do your project."
00:46:11.60\00:46:13.17
Talk about the
eleventh hour, right, you know?
00:46:13.90\00:46:15.40
They said, "We'll do it.
00:46:16.91\00:46:18.24
But we don't have
enough time to train."
00:46:18.27\00:46:20.14
So the people from the
previous city who we had trained
00:46:20.18\00:46:22.88
who were so willing
came and trained them.
00:46:22.91\00:46:25.58
"Oh yeah, yeah,
yeah. We'd love to do that.
00:46:26.08\00:46:28.12
Let me show you
how to do the cards
00:46:28.15\00:46:29.48
and the roses and everything."
00:46:29.52\00:46:30.85
They were so excited.
00:46:30.89\00:46:32.22
That's what we wanted.
00:46:32.25\00:46:33.59
I get a call a month
later after I'd left Fortaleza.
00:46:34.72\00:46:38.53
And they said the
girl, Hadassah, who agreed
00:46:38.93\00:46:42.50
to do the project, she
said, "I got this phone call.
00:46:42.53\00:46:45.23
Because two weeks ago
we did the princess night.
00:46:46.17\00:46:49.40
We reached out
to the prostitutes.
00:46:49.44\00:46:51.11
And two weeks after we had
done it, I get this phone call.
00:46:51.74\00:46:55.81
And I thought you
should know about it.
00:46:56.14\00:46:57.48
You know, we give the
cards with our phone number.
00:46:57.95\00:46:59.51
I put my phone number on there.
00:46:59.55\00:47:00.92
And this woman calls me
and says, 'I don't know if
00:47:01.45\00:47:03.12
you remember me, but
two weeks ago you were out
00:47:03.15\00:47:05.55
handing cards and
roses to the prostitutes.
00:47:05.59\00:47:09.22
And I was one of them.'
00:47:09.49\00:47:10.83
She says, 'And I want to
let you know that my husband
00:47:11.29\00:47:13.03
had left me and I've got kids
that I have to take care of.'"
00:47:13.06\00:47:15.23
The same thing, fatherlessness.
00:47:16.26\00:47:18.03
If you think it's not an issue.
00:47:18.07\00:47:19.40
"And I didn't know what to do.
00:47:20.97\00:47:22.30
And so I decided
that I was going to
00:47:22.34\00:47:23.91
sell myself into prostitution.
00:47:23.94\00:47:25.41
But I want to let you
know, that was the first night
00:47:26.01\00:47:28.14
that I was going to do it.
00:47:28.18\00:47:29.51
And before I got
to my first client,
00:47:30.05\00:47:32.68
you stopped me midway.
00:47:32.98\00:47:34.48
You stopped me midway.
00:47:36.38\00:47:37.79
And you prayed for me.
00:47:37.82\00:47:39.15
And you gave me a card and
you told me that I have value.
00:47:39.19\00:47:42.06
And I realized that
God values me so much
00:47:42.29\00:47:44.23
that I can't do this to myself."
00:47:44.26\00:47:45.73
You know, the church
had asked us a question that
00:47:47.60\00:47:49.66
even the pastor and
his wife and a lot of
00:47:49.70\00:47:51.83
well meaning people said.
00:47:51.87\00:47:54.20
"Listen, we like this
idea, but you don't have
00:47:54.34\00:47:56.54
a recovery program.
00:47:56.57\00:47:57.97
Once they come off the street,
what are they going to do?
00:47:58.44\00:48:00.68
I mean, you need institutions
and all this kind of stuff."
00:48:01.01\00:48:02.91
I said, "Listen, if you
don't even have the need
00:48:02.94\00:48:07.18
on your radar,
there's not going to be
00:48:07.48\00:48:09.05
organizations to receive them.
00:48:09.08\00:48:10.75
You've got to realize
that there's a need first,
00:48:12.22\00:48:14.62
and then the
organizations will come."
00:48:14.66\00:48:16.42
Anyway, this woman said,
"So, um, I didn't believe you.
00:48:16.99\00:48:23.40
It took me two weeks to
get up the courage to actually
00:48:23.43\00:48:25.30
call the phone
number on the card.
00:48:25.33\00:48:26.70
But I'm
desperate. Will you help me?"
00:48:27.10\00:48:28.54
And she said, "Yeah,
come clean my house."
00:48:30.91\00:48:33.64
And members from the
church heard what happened
00:48:34.41\00:48:36.08
and they started hiring
her to clean their house.
00:48:36.11\00:48:39.48
To me, that's vengeance.
00:48:40.75\00:48:42.18
Not the way
that you think it is.
00:48:43.08\00:48:44.42
"Oh yeah, we
revenged on the pastor."
00:48:44.45\00:48:46.62
No, no. He was a wonderful man.
00:48:46.65\00:48:48.49
He helped us so much.
We stayed in his home.
00:48:48.52\00:48:50.59
What I'm talking about
is true religion vengeance.
00:48:50.73\00:48:54.86
Do you know what
true religion is?
00:48:55.30\00:48:56.97
What does James 1:27
say? Does anybody know?
00:48:57.33\00:49:00.14
"True religion before God
and the Father is this..."
00:49:00.27\00:49:02.47
What?
00:49:02.50\00:49:03.84
"To visit the fatherless and
the widows in their affliction,
00:49:03.87\00:49:05.74
and to keep oneself
unspotted from the world."
00:49:05.77\00:49:08.11
That's true religion.
00:49:08.14\00:49:09.48
Isaiah mentions the fatherless
and the widows so many times.
00:49:09.51\00:49:11.95
Why?
00:49:11.98\00:49:13.31
Because to the Hebrew,
identity, name, was everything.
00:49:14.38\00:49:18.42
If you don't have a name,
you don't have an inheritance.
00:49:19.39\00:49:21.96
If you don't
have an inheritance,
00:49:21.99\00:49:23.32
you suffer the second death.
00:49:23.36\00:49:24.69
You're forgotten.
00:49:24.76\00:49:26.09
A widow and an
orphan has nothing.
00:49:27.10\00:49:30.37
No name, no man to
give them an identity.
00:49:30.97\00:49:34.44
That's why true religion
is to intercede on behalf of
00:49:35.64\00:49:38.57
those who are most vulnerable.
00:49:38.61\00:49:40.38
Namely those who
don't have a name.
00:49:40.84\00:49:42.91
The widow and the orphan.
00:49:44.31\00:49:45.65
But every single
time it mentions,
00:49:46.35\00:49:48.08
almost every single
time it mentions the widow
00:49:48.12\00:49:50.22
and the orphan in Isaiah, it
always couples it with vengeance
00:49:50.25\00:49:54.22
or judgment.
00:49:54.26\00:49:55.59
And even this verse
that we read in Isaiah 59
00:49:55.62\00:49:57.69
where it's talking about how
all this stuff is going wrong
00:49:57.73\00:50:00.83
and judgment is backwards,
and all that kind of stuff,
00:50:00.86\00:50:03.23
and how intercession was
needed, if you read later
00:50:03.90\00:50:07.54
in verse 17, "He put on
righteousness as a breastplate,
00:50:08.04\00:50:14.24
the helmet of
salvation upon his head,
00:50:14.28\00:50:15.74
he put on the
garments of vengeance..."
00:50:15.78\00:50:17.81
He clothed himself with
vengeance when he saw that
00:50:17.85\00:50:20.52
nothing was going right and
that there was no intercessor.
00:50:20.55\00:50:23.55
Why?
00:50:24.22\00:50:25.55
Why is the widow and the
orphan always associated with
00:50:25.69\00:50:28.36
judgment or vengeance?
00:50:28.39\00:50:29.72
You know what's interesting?
00:50:30.09\00:50:31.43
We always think
that vengeance is,
00:50:31.46\00:50:32.79
"Oh, God's going
to judge the wicked.
00:50:32.83\00:50:34.16
He's going to lay
down the smack down.
00:50:34.20\00:50:36.06
You know, we're
going to pummel these guys.
00:50:36.10\00:50:38.03
I'm going to take my Bible and
smack some people on their head,
00:50:38.07\00:50:39.93
show them that they
don't have the truth."
00:50:39.97\00:50:41.30
That's not vengeance.
00:50:42.14\00:50:43.47
That's not vengeance.
00:50:44.81\00:50:46.14
If you have ten
against ten, alright,
00:50:46.27\00:50:48.71
ten people against ten people,
and you manage to kill five,
00:50:48.74\00:50:52.11
is that great?
00:50:53.78\00:50:55.12
No, because Satan doesn't
care if his own people die.
00:50:55.18\00:50:57.89
Why? Because that's a
person who's died lost.
00:50:57.92\00:51:00.82
Satan has no loyalties to
the people who follow him.
00:51:01.69\00:51:04.49
He wants you to
die while serving him.
00:51:05.63\00:51:07.33
Because that means
God can't have them.
00:51:07.36\00:51:09.20
God's vengeance is redemption.
00:51:11.33\00:51:13.84
So say that we've
got ten against ten,
00:51:14.47\00:51:16.20
and five have been
converted, we're now three times
00:51:16.34\00:51:18.61
the number of them.
00:51:18.64\00:51:19.97
That's why He says, "'Avenge
not yourselves, but rather
00:51:22.74\00:51:24.81
give place unto wrath;
for vengeance is Mine,'
00:51:24.85\00:51:26.68
says the Lord."
00:51:26.72\00:51:28.05
"Therefore, if your
enemy hungers, feed him.
00:51:29.22\00:51:31.25
If he thirsts, give him drink.
00:51:31.29\00:51:32.62
For in so doing, you shall heap
coals of fire upon his head."
00:51:32.65\00:51:35.09
"Be not overcome of evil,
but overcome evil with good."
00:51:35.69\00:51:39.29
Every single time somebody
learns of their true identity,
00:51:40.90\00:51:44.13
God is avenged.
00:51:44.23\00:51:45.57
Every single time you get
on your knees and you intercede
00:51:47.17\00:51:49.40
for somebody who is
lost, God is avenged.
00:51:49.44\00:51:52.44
The war that we
fight is one over identity.
00:51:57.41\00:52:00.68
God has been misrepresented.
00:52:00.72\00:52:02.75
If we knew who He
was, we'd know who we are.
00:52:03.55\00:52:07.26
If we knew who we
are, we'd intercede because
00:52:08.22\00:52:11.33
Christ is an intercessor.
00:52:11.36\00:52:12.69
Was it not the greatest
intercession on the cross?
00:52:12.73\00:52:15.23
Do we not follow in
our Savior's footsteps?
00:52:16.97\00:52:19.23
Do we not say that we're a
part of the great controversy?
00:52:20.14\00:52:22.67
"God beheld that there was no
man, there was no intercessor."
00:52:27.08\00:52:32.01
I pray that will
not be the case with us.
00:52:33.15\00:52:35.22
Will there be a man?
00:52:35.95\00:52:37.29
Will there be an intercessor?
00:52:37.72\00:52:39.22
I've come to the end
of my time, I probably...
00:52:39.89\00:52:41.69
They said, oh they said I can
go two to three minutes over.
00:52:42.36\00:52:44.29
That's good.
00:52:44.33\00:52:45.66
There's still a lot
I wanted to say, but.
00:52:48.96\00:52:50.97
Let me make an appeal to you.
00:52:54.64\00:52:56.07
Let me make an appeal to you.
00:52:58.71\00:53:00.24
First of all, I want to
make an appeal to the abused.
00:53:00.58\00:53:03.51
There are some
people here no doubt...
00:53:05.41\00:53:06.85
The church is not foreign
to the existence of abuse,
00:53:06.88\00:53:11.49
of exploitations,
of vulnerabilities
00:53:11.52\00:53:13.79
in our own church.
00:53:13.82\00:53:15.16
It's just as bad as
the rest of the world.
00:53:15.19\00:53:16.69
We can't ignore that.
00:53:17.49\00:53:18.83
If you have suffered from abuse,
I would first and foremost
00:53:20.30\00:53:22.93
like to apologize myself.
00:53:22.96\00:53:24.60
I'd like to apologize
that I was not always aware
00:53:26.67\00:53:29.57
of your
existence, of your plight,
00:53:29.90\00:53:32.24
of the things
that you go through.
00:53:32.87\00:53:34.38
And that even after I
became aware, I did not always
00:53:35.41\00:53:37.71
intercede on your behalf.
00:53:37.75\00:53:39.21
I feel very
responsible for that.
00:53:41.98\00:53:43.72
I'm sorry.
00:53:43.75\00:53:45.12
But if you have been, I ask
that you avenge not yourselves.
00:53:46.72\00:53:51.93
But rather give
place unto wrath.
00:53:52.73\00:53:54.10
"Vengeance is
Mine," says the Lord.
00:53:54.13\00:53:55.86
God will avenge you,
God will give you a name,
00:53:57.17\00:53:59.33
better than sons and daughters.
00:54:00.57\00:54:02.44
Please accept that.
00:54:04.41\00:54:05.74
And by that, I don't mean
saying that if you're already
00:54:06.04\00:54:08.04
caught in it, that you just
accept what's happening to you.
00:54:08.08\00:54:10.28
By no means.
00:54:10.31\00:54:11.65
If you are caught in it
and you can hear me right now,
00:54:11.68\00:54:13.48
I encourage you, I
want to give you the courage
00:54:13.52\00:54:16.12
to get out.
00:54:16.85\00:54:18.19
I know you've been
scared, you've been shamed,
00:54:18.22\00:54:21.29
you've been told lies into
thinking that it's your fault.
00:54:21.32\00:54:25.33
That's not true.
00:54:26.23\00:54:27.56
The devil always
misrepresents himself.
00:54:28.26\00:54:30.20
And he always misrepresents God.
00:54:31.00\00:54:32.70
God wants to give you freedom.
00:54:33.20\00:54:34.70
So please accept it.
00:54:35.34\00:54:36.67
To those who want to do well.
00:54:37.84\00:54:41.38
I know there's a lot of
people who want to do well.
00:54:41.41\00:54:43.35
I know I wanted to do well.
00:54:43.38\00:54:44.71
But sometimes you get so
bogged down by sin, by lust.
00:54:44.75\00:54:48.78
You know, I personally
don't believe that lust or
00:54:49.68\00:54:52.35
problem relationships
or serial relationships
00:54:52.99\00:54:55.89
is a problem of perverseness.
00:54:55.92\00:54:59.13
It may be.
00:54:59.16\00:55:00.50
But I honestly think that
most people who are struggling
00:55:01.00\00:55:02.86
with lust, who are
struggling with always having
00:55:02.90\00:55:05.50
to be in a relationship,
with always seeking attention,
00:55:05.53\00:55:08.20
do it because they
have never fully accepted
00:55:08.47\00:55:10.61
God's adoption of them.
00:55:10.64\00:55:12.01
You don't know fully
who you are because maybe
00:55:13.68\00:55:16.24
you don't know fully who God is.
00:55:16.28\00:55:17.95
Please accept
God's call to adoption.
00:55:20.32\00:55:23.42
And let that be
your key to freedom
00:55:24.05\00:55:26.72
from what it is
you struggle with.
00:55:26.92\00:55:28.92
And last of all is
a call for everyone.
00:55:29.89\00:55:31.79
Especially the
righteous in here.
00:55:31.89\00:55:33.60
The leaders in here.
00:55:34.16\00:55:35.50
The, "I'm doing pretty
well spiritually right now."
00:55:35.90\00:55:38.40
My question
first and foremost is,
00:55:38.80\00:55:40.24
why haven't you interceded?
00:55:40.27\00:55:41.60
Because God says there's no man.
00:55:41.64\00:55:43.10
And He wondered that
there was no intercessor.
00:55:43.41\00:55:45.14
Is the world a mess? Yes.
00:55:45.17\00:55:46.51
The same as it was in
Israel during that time.
00:55:46.54\00:55:48.34
Our intercession is
either rather sporadic or weak.
00:55:49.34\00:55:53.62
You don't have to stand
up, you don't have to come up,
00:55:56.02\00:55:57.39
unless you really want to.
00:55:57.42\00:55:58.75
But I really want
you to think about it.
00:55:59.49\00:56:01.39
Will you become an intercessor?
00:56:04.06\00:56:06.80
Can God look and say that
judgment was facing forward,
00:56:08.56\00:56:13.23
that justice was coming close,
00:56:14.14\00:56:16.54
that truth was standing
and that equity was nearby,
00:56:17.27\00:56:22.04
it was entering at the gates,
00:56:22.08\00:56:23.75
because there was a man and a
woman, there was an intercessor?
00:56:23.85\00:56:28.02
And by their intercession,
they brought vengeance.
00:56:28.95\00:56:31.85
Do you want to be that person?
00:56:33.62\00:56:35.19
Do you want to be the
avenger, the intercessor?
00:56:35.89\00:56:38.89
That's my brother
here; I guess stand if you do
00:56:41.46\00:56:44.60
so that I can pray for you.
00:56:45.73\00:56:47.24