Participants:
Series Code: 17GYC
Program Code: 17GYC000016A
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00:33 Oh, GYC, do you love Jesus?
00:37 Oh, yes, we love Jesus 00:40 Are you sure you love Jesus? 00:42 We're sure we love Jesus 00:44 And why do you love Jesus? All together. 00:49 Because He first loved me 00:52 That's the reason we all ought to love Him 00:57 Oh, how I love Jesus 01:01 Singing oh, how I love Jesus 01:08 Oh, how I love Jesus 01:12 Because He first loved me 01:18 How many of you that's why you're here this morning? 01:20 Amen. Amen? 01:22 Oh, what a privilege it is to be here. 01:28 Before I dive headway 01:31 into our message this morning, 01:35 I first want to say hi, Mom. 01:41 Then I want to say hello to my little four Braxtalinos, 01:45 Nafti, Zenin, Marari, and my new baby girl Ava. 01:50 Amen. 01:51 They all prayed for me this morning 01:53 before I came to preach, and I told them 01:55 when Papa gets on TV, I'll say hello to you, 01:59 and, of course, my heart and my best friend, 02:03 my sunrise and my sunset, my wife. 02:05 Amen. 02:07 So thank you for letting me be here at GYC 02:09 to minister for my Lord. 02:11 Amen. It's a privilege. 02:13 I miss you too, baby. 02:17 But moving forward, 02:22 this morning, 02:24 I've entitled my message "here's your church back." 02:28 Amen. 02:30 "Here's your church back." 02:31 Would you bow your heads with me as we pray? 02:36 Mighty God, 02:39 everlasting Father, 02:42 we are so grateful that in this moment 02:46 we can be in the audience chamber 02:49 of the Most High. 02:52 Father, we are not worthy to hear from our Creator. 02:57 But, Lord, as we gather about Your feet, 03:00 we have not come to hear the words of a man, 03:03 but we've come to hear the Word of God. 03:06 And so we pray that this man who is but dust in Your sight 03:10 that You would speak through him 03:12 and You would speak to him. 03:15 Father, that Jesus would be lifted up 03:17 and Jesus would be seen, 03:19 that we may leave this place transformed, 03:23 not the way that we came. 03:26 For whatever level we came to GYC, 03:29 may we finish this final meeting believing 03:32 that we go home to Korea, to New York, 03:38 to Carolina, to California, 03:40 to New Mexico having arisen, 03:45 people find us higher than when we came. 03:50 This is our prayer, 03:51 and we trust that You will help this 03:54 to be our experience. 03:56 For we offer this prayer from our hearts 04:00 in the mighty name of Jesus. 04:03 Let all of God's people say... 04:05 Amen. Amen. 04:07 Take your Bibles 04:09 and turn to the Book of Joshua 1. 04:14 Joshua 1, 04:17 when you're there you can say amen. 04:18 Amen. Joshua 1. 04:25 Are we there? Amen. 04:28 The Bible says, "Now after the death of Moses 04:32 the servant of the Lord, 04:34 it came to pass that the Lord spake unto," who? 04:38 "Unto Joshua the son of nun, 04:41 Moses' minister 04:43 or Moses' assistant saying, 04:47 'Moses, my servant is dead. 04:51 Now therefore arise, 04:54 go over this Jordan thou 04:56 and all this people unto the land 04:59 which I do give to them 05:00 even to the children of Israel."' 05:05 You know it was 05:06 January 30th, 2006 05:11 and Coretta Scott King had passed away. 05:16 She was the widower 05:17 of the civil rights pioneer 05:20 Martin Luther King Jr. 05:24 And at her funeral there were politicians, 05:27 there were leaders, 05:29 there were community influencers 05:31 that came to pay their respects to this great man's wife. 05:36 And one of the comments 05:37 that was made at her funeral was this. 05:42 They said, 05:44 "Coretta took up her 05:45 husband's work quietly 05:50 so that the world would not die from grief 05:52 from losing him so soon." 05:55 She recognized that she had to have 05:58 the courage despite her four children 06:01 having to help them go through the fact 06:03 that your father died at the very hands of hatred. 06:06 She had to have the courage to carry on despite the fact 06:11 that she had to deal with all the other leaders, 06:14 and the political jockeying, and the power struggles 06:17 that were going to go on in the movement, 06:19 she had to have the courage to carry on. 06:22 She recognized that the movement 06:25 was greater than the man. 06:27 And this is the moment that came to Joshua that Moses 06:31 who was his hero, Moses who was his leader. 06:36 Moses is the one that changed Joshua's name 06:40 from Hosea to Joshua. 06:42 Moses was his deliverer from slavery in Egypt. 06:46 Moses was the one that as Joshua sat down 06:50 at the bottom of the mountain 06:51 as it shook in the glory of God, 06:53 he watched his mentor, his hero go in and commune 06:57 with the very creator of the universe 07:01 and come down with the Ten Commandments. 07:05 Moses had died. 07:11 You see, what do you do 07:13 when you are called to follow greatness? 07:17 It is easy for us to come to GYC 07:20 and be spectators of greatness. 07:23 We listen to people, we say, 07:25 "Man, God is really using this individual. 07:27 God is really using this ministry." 07:28 And all along in the background as Moses raised his hands 07:32 and parted the Red Sea, there was Joshua. 07:36 And all along when Moses went into the temple 07:39 and his prayers delivered thousands of people 07:41 from the venom of snakes and serpents, there was Joshua. 07:47 All along, he thought to himself 07:49 who could ever replace Moses. 07:54 And surely Moses was God's chosen 07:57 to lead us to the Promised Land, 07:59 but on this very morning 08:01 after 30 days of mourning the loss of this great man, 08:05 God finally spoke to Joshua. 08:09 And He said, "Joshua, Moses, 08:12 My servant is dead but the movement is not dead." 08:17 "Moses, My servant is dead, but guess what, 08:20 the promises are still waiting to be fulfilled." 08:23 You see, this has always been 08:25 the legacy of the people of God. 08:29 When Abraham died, 08:30 Isaac was there and he had to know 08:33 that the promises still remained 08:35 even though Abraham died. 08:37 Someone had to have the courage to carry on. 08:40 And when Isaac died in blindness 08:43 and Jacob was there in some foreign land, 08:47 estranged from his only other earthly relative 08:50 in his brother. 08:53 Jacob had to have the courage to carry on. 08:57 When you come down to the Apostle Paul 09:00 and he's writing to young Timothy and saying, 09:02 "Look, I fought a good fight. 09:04 I have kept the faith 09:07 but, Timothy, this is greater than me. 09:11 You must have the courage to carry on. 09:13 I know the persecution is rough, 09:16 I know that the emperor of Rome 09:18 is making it difficult for you to do evangelism 09:21 but you must have the courage to carry on." 09:23 We believe that secularism is post modernism, 09:27 it's causing us problems. 09:28 Let's go back to ancient Rome 09:31 where it was illegal to be a Christian, 09:34 where it was illegal to do exactly 09:36 what we are doing this morning, to show up 09:41 what's the guarantee certain death. 09:44 Don't tell me you got it hard 09:45 because all your professors talk about evolution. 09:50 Don't tell me you got it hard 09:51 because, well, they're preaching 09:52 all the boring sermons and nothing's really happening. 09:55 I don't invite people out to church. 09:57 You see, Joshua learned 09:59 something very, very, very special this day. 10:03 The Book of Joshua teaches us that leadership is important. 10:09 In fact, it is more important 10:10 than the leader himself or herself. 10:15 I remember when Charles Spurgeon 10:17 was talking to a minister, 10:19 and as Spurgeon was waxing eloquent 10:21 about how the minister is a liability to the gospel. 10:26 He says, "Because you are minister, 10:28 because you are a preacher, because you are a pastor, 10:30 you're a liability to the work of God. 10:34 God did not call you 10:35 because you were stronger than your members, 10:37 God did not call you because you were wiser 10:40 or more spiritual than your members." 10:41 Any preacher who is honest with his or her heart knows 10:45 that if they were not mounting pulpits, 10:47 they would be spiritually dying. 10:51 So Spurgeon said, 10:52 "Let me give you an illustration 10:54 of what I'm talking about." 10:55 He says, "There was a man on a ship. 10:58 And as they were sailing in the ocean across to America, 11:02 all the sudden a storm came in 11:05 and everyone started panicking saying 11:07 the ship is not going to make it. 11:10 So as this man was running around on the ship, 11:12 'We're going to die. 11:13 We're not going to make it.' 11:14 They said, 'Look, man, 11:16 we need you to have some courage. 11:17 Can you do something for us? This could save the ship.' 11:21 And he said, 'Sure, I'll do anything.' 11:22 They said, 'Look, man, you can be a hero right now. 11:24 This is what we need you to do.' 11:26 He said, 'Sure, I'll do anything.' 11:27 They said, 'Take this rope, 11:28 and I want you to pull this rope, 11:30 and hold this rope, and don't let go. 11:33 If you let go, this may be the end of all of us. 11:37 So I need you to hold this rope with all your life.' 11:40 So the man grabbed that rope 11:42 and he wrapped it around his arm, 11:43 and as he held that rope, and he wouldn't let go, 11:45 and people were doing their things on the deck, 11:47 people were doing things below, the captain was giving orders, 11:50 and finally the storm calmed, the ship was saved, 11:54 and everybody just went about their business as usual. 11:58 He was still holding the rope. 12:01 Then finally, he thought, "Man, it's sunny out here 12:04 like nobody's coming saying hey, let go of the rope." 12:06 So finally, he let go of the rope 12:08 and he went into the captain's quarters, 12:10 and he said, "Captain, you know, I'm walking around, 12:13 and I was holding the rope, 12:14 and, you know, the ship is saved. 12:16 How come nobody's giving me thanks? 12:18 And he says, "What are you talking about?" 12:20 "Well, they told me to hold the rope, 12:22 and they said this would save the ship." 12:24 They said, "Brother, we told you to hold the rope 12:26 so you could stay out of the way, 12:27 so we could save the ship." 12:33 This is the calling to preaching. 12:36 God needs to hide you in the work 12:38 so you don't get in and mess stuff up. 12:41 In other words, God doesn't need us. 12:44 God could finish the gospel by speaking one word. 12:48 He calls us to preach as a privilege for ourselves. 12:51 We must take up the work that Jesus started 12:54 that the world would not die from grief 12:56 from losing Him so soon. 12:59 More than anything else, 13:00 the world needs a revelation of Jesus Christ, 13:03 not a discourse, not a YouTube video, 13:06 not a Facebook post, not a Snapchat, 13:09 the world needs a revelation of Jesus through you. 13:15 And so Joshua being called to step up 13:21 in this very moment... 13:23 You know the word "arise" 13:25 is, kind of, like a nice clinical word. 13:27 We need to arise, it just sounds nice. 13:30 But when I started looking up synonyms, 13:32 I said, you know, I'm the kind of person 13:34 that when I was growing up, people say, 13:36 "Sebastian, you know, you need to get in touch 13:38 with your feminine side a little bit more. 13:40 You know, tenderness, compassion, 13:44 you know, smile in a picture every once in a while." 13:48 I'm like, "Well, if it's a virtue 13:50 to get in touch with your feminine side, 13:52 then it must be a virtue at some times 13:54 to get in touch with your masculine side." 13:58 And I believe in so many different ways 14:00 when we have moved the message forward, 14:03 we've neutered the message and just gone towards the nice, 14:07 tender, compassion, Jesus died for us 14:09 as if Jesus died on the cross as a coward. 14:14 No one has gone through what Gethsemane was, 14:17 and no one had the courage to say, 14:18 "You know what, 14:20 I'm going to give up my salvation 14:21 for someone else." 14:23 You know, at some point in time as Joshua was stepping up 14:27 in his mind, 14:28 he had to recognize 14:30 that, guess what, Joshua, 14:32 it's time for you to be the next man up. 14:36 So instead of just saying let's arise, 14:38 what if we just used the phrase "step up?" 14:42 Don't come to me and tell me about all the problems 14:44 in your church, it's time for you to step up. 14:48 Don't tell me about 14:49 oh, my conference this and my conference that, 14:51 it's time for you to step up. 14:54 My youth group, 14:55 you know, we're not really having 14:57 a lot of evangelism and outreach, 14:58 then go out by yourself and step up. 15:01 You know what's so interesting, everybody wants the reward 15:04 but nobody wants to bear the cross. 15:07 Everybody wants the results 15:09 and to stand onstage at GYC and say, 15:12 "Guess what, look at all the souls we reached." 15:14 You go forth sowing in tears that you may reap in joy. 15:20 This is why nobody likes colporteuring 15:24 cause it's hard, 15:26 ain't for boys. 15:30 It's for people who really love souls. 15:33 And someone asked me, they said, 15:34 "Sebastian, you know, 15:35 what would make you do canvassing for 10 years?" 15:39 I said, "You know, to be honest, 15:42 I don't even know 15:44 why I was doing it for 10 years." 15:50 But I said, "When I look back at the years of service 15:53 in canvassing, 15:55 I recognize what canvassing produced in me." 15:58 When it's a 100 degrees, 100 % humidity, no shade, 16:04 nothing but rejection, 16:05 you're sitting and you're thinking yourself, 16:06 what am I doing out here. 16:09 Go into houses, and they said, 16:11 "Brother, do you have money in that bag? 16:13 You should not be in this neighborhood. 16:15 And you're still knocking doors. 16:17 When you roll up, 16:18 and somebody's dog is rushing out, 16:20 and you're like that dog does not have a leash. 16:25 And I used to tell people 16:26 I'm not afraid of what the dog will do to me, 16:28 I'm afraid of what I'll do to their dog. 16:35 But I remember grabbing a young lady's hand, 16:37 she was one of my canvassing students 16:39 and this dog was coming. 16:41 And it had like an eye that was like 16:43 at least two inches lower than the other eye. 16:47 And then it had pictures of the dog 16:49 all around the yard, 16:50 big posters that said, "Beware." 16:53 She said, "Mobile one, needs support." 16:59 So I drive up to this house. 17:04 Now as I'm driving up, I see the posters, 17:06 and you see the dog going back and forth, 17:08 and this yard was at least an acre. 17:10 So this dog's running back and forth free. 17:13 And she's like, 17:14 "There's no way we can do this house." 17:16 I said, "What if this is their last chance 17:17 to receive the gospel?" 17:21 She said, "I'm sorry. I can't do it." 17:23 So I grabbed her by the hand. 17:24 I said, "Sister, I know this may feel inappropriate... 17:30 But we're going to go to this house." 17:33 She says, "What are you doing?" I said, "Let's go." 17:36 She was a little Korean girl. I pulled her. 17:41 We started walking into the yard, 17:43 the dog started running to us, the girl started screaming. 17:48 She broke free and ran out of the yard. 17:52 So I ran out, and went and got her again. 17:55 And we walked back into the grass again. 17:59 And when we got to the door, there was a young man there. 18:02 And after all of this, he was like, 18:03 "Yeah, my parents are not home." 18:05 And he was interested in some Bible study. 18:06 So we signed him up and we walked out. 18:08 She says, "Nobody was even here. 18:09 We didn't even sell any books." 18:11 And I said, "Now you understand 18:12 what it's like to go to the cross." 18:15 You're not guaranteed results. 18:17 We don't go to the door for results, 18:19 we go because He commended us to go. 18:23 And guess what? 18:24 When I get to heaven, 18:26 this mortal will put on immortality. 18:28 I can survive a dog bite if it's going to save a soul. 18:33 How come we don't preach that? 18:37 How can we walk around and say, 18:39 "Well, you know, I'm not telling people 18:40 to go do crazy stuff." 18:41 That's not the point. 18:43 Don't put yourself in unnecessary harm 18:45 but recognize 18:46 if God called us to do this work, 18:48 He called us to success. 18:49 And whether we see that success here 18:51 or in heaven is irrelevant 18:56 because it's time to step up. 18:59 You know, I have to tell you 19:00 that when Joshua goes forward, 19:05 everyone's not called to be a Joshua, 19:09 everyone's not called to be a leader. 19:10 That's clear. 19:12 But everyone's called to cross the Jordan. 19:16 Everyone's called to engage 19:18 the battle on the other side of Jordan. 19:21 And everyone is called to go in 19:23 and possess the land that God is giving to them. 19:31 You know, I go back to the Bible 19:34 and look in verse 3. 19:36 The Bible says 19:37 that as God charges Joshua to arise 19:42 and go over this Jordan, He says in verse 3, 19:46 "Every place that the sole of your foot 19:49 shall tread upon 19:50 that have I given you, as I said unto Moses." 19:54 Now it's very interesting 19:56 that people will take this verse 19:58 and they start doing these, 19:59 you know, zip code prayer walks. 20:02 We're going to walk around this zip code 20:03 and we're going to claim this thing 20:05 because Joshua 1:3 says, 20:06 "Every place the sole of your foot treads," 20:08 Well, guess what? 20:09 We're not reading the whole text correctly. 20:12 It says, "Every place that the sole of your foot 20:15 shall tread upon." 20:16 And then verse 4 says, 20:18 "From the wilderness in this Lebanon 20:22 even unto the great river, 20:24 the river Euphrates all the land of the Hittites 20:27 and unto the Great Sea toward the going down of the Sun 20:29 shall be your coast." 20:30 In other words, Lebanon's in the north, 20:33 the wilderness is in the south, the Euphrates is on the east, 20:37 and on the other side is the west. 20:38 This is your land. 20:41 If you tread in any other land, you will not have victory. 20:45 God doesn't just send people on and be like, 20:47 "Well, I'm just going to go here 20:48 and I'm just going to claim this land." 20:49 No, God is giving you the land. 20:52 You need to focus on and I need to focus on 20:54 what is God giving to me. 20:57 So when we go home, 20:59 we sometimes focus on this one soul 21:02 that we want to reach, 21:03 this one group of people that we want to reach. 21:05 We say, "Oh, you know, we have a big homeless problem 21:07 but what if God wants to give you 21:09 the wealthy and the influential?" 21:12 But we got no ministry for them, 21:14 all those people are hard, they have no need. 21:17 I said, "Yes, they do. 21:18 If they don't have Jesus, they got everything but... 21:23 That's all you have as need." 21:26 You like Jesus, you like everything. 21:28 I don't care how big your house is, 21:30 I don't care how much money you have in the bank, 21:33 I don't care what kind of connections 21:35 you have or political alliances, 21:37 you don't have Jesus, you have nothing. 21:40 And until we believe that, 21:41 it doesn't matter what color the suit the person is wearing, 21:44 how much money, 21:46 what kind of car he drives or she. 21:50 Do you know the Lord or don't you? 21:53 If you don't, you got need, this is the ministry. 21:57 Joshua goes forward and God says, 21:59 "This is the land and the territory 22:01 that I'm going to give to you." 22:05 And He outlines the boundaries. 22:08 Then in verse 5, he tells him, in Joshua 1, He says, 22:12 "There shall not any man be able to stand 22:14 before you all the days of your," what? 22:18 "Of your life. 22:19 As I was with Moses so I will be with," who? 22:23 And God says, 22:25 "I will not fail you nor forsake you." 22:30 You know, the funny thing is God told Moses 22:32 the same thing in Deuteronomy 7:24. 22:36 This is why God is saying, 22:37 "You thought that the success of the movement 22:39 in the wilderness 22:40 and all these things came about because of Moses. 22:42 No, it's because My promises were with Moses, 22:46 My presence was with Moses, 22:47 and I told Moses I will not fail him." 22:50 So now that you are called to step up 22:55 into a fresh position, 22:57 you are now called to see fresh revelations 23:00 of the faithfulness of God. 23:03 You don't have to be afraid to step up 23:05 because as he was with the great men 23:07 and women before you, 23:08 He's going to be with you in the same way. 23:12 Listen, brothers and sisters, we sometimes sit back 23:14 and we're all afraid about the time of trouble. 23:16 Do you want to live through the time of trouble? 23:19 Are you afraid to go through the time of trouble? 23:21 And I said, "You know, 23:22 if you read The Great Controversy, 23:25 and you look at John Wesley 23:27 preaching on the plains of England, 23:29 and while he's preaching on the plains of England, 23:31 he says two men in the crowd with big pieces of wood, 23:35 super-strong men came looking for him 23:37 while he was preaching. 23:39 So as they come approaching him, 23:41 he's still preaching. 23:42 He's not backing down, he's not running, 23:43 he's not doing anything. 23:45 He just keeps preaching. 23:46 And finally, he finishes the sermon, 23:47 as he's walking out, they are cutting 23:49 through the crowd to try to find him, 23:50 and finally they find him, and he says, 23:53 "The man punched him so hard in the face 23:56 that blood immediately started coming out 23:58 of his mouth, just gushing out." 24:01 But he said, "It felt like someone had hit me 24:03 with a straw." 24:06 And he just kept walking. 24:08 And you're talking about 24:09 you're afraid of the time of trouble. 24:11 Because as I was with John Wesley, 24:13 so I will be with you, if you learn to step up. 24:19 These promises do not apply to you 24:21 if you don't arise. 24:24 The success and the victory does not apply to you 24:26 if you do not arise, if you don't step up. 24:32 If you leave this conference 24:34 and go back to your regularly scheduled program, 24:36 you will not receive those promises. 24:39 You will not see the testimonies 24:41 you saw on stage in your very life, 24:43 the Spirit of God is not restricted 24:45 by geography. 24:47 He's not restricted by, 24:49 "Well, you know, Elder Finley is not in our area, 24:51 we don't have any big preachers in our area." 24:53 That does not matter. 24:55 These men preach, these women preach 24:56 because the Spirit uses them. 25:00 There is nothing in them. 25:05 So this call to arise 25:07 is not just a nice little thing for us 25:08 to talk about for five days. 25:12 The whole concept of "arise" is to call us 25:15 to even greater dedication and service for God 25:19 when we leave. 25:21 GYC is not a conclusion of the year. 25:24 It is the inauguration of the next one. 25:27 This is where we need to take the movement. 25:31 And now we've been around for over a decade, 25:34 year after year, 25:36 seminars after seminars, and people say, 25:37 "Well, you know, can GYC do this? 25:40 Can GYC do that? Does GYC have this?" 25:43 This is not the kingdom of heaven. 25:46 This is a five-day conference that God uses to inspire us 25:50 but it's supposed to let us go and say, 25:52 "If GYC doesn't have it, then I'm going to build it." 25:57 You don't need the logo in order 25:59 to make it official of God. 26:04 But in our minds if it's not under GYC, 26:06 then I guess it won't happen, we'll wait. 26:09 You know, as Moise said, "Stay tuned." 26:12 And I'll just wait to hear from Moise. 26:14 I'll wait to check the GYC blog 26:17 or we could go home and step up. 26:26 He says in verse 5, 26:28 "There shall not any man be able to stand 26:31 before you all the days of your life." 26:37 He's talking about victory. 26:39 You know, what's interesting is God says, 26:42 "I want you to go possess this land 26:44 that I'm giving to you." 26:46 Then all of a sudden, He turns around and says, 26:47 "Oh, don't worry, 26:48 no one's going to be able to stand 26:50 before you in battle." 26:51 What do you mean battle? 26:52 I thought You just said You're giving me the land. 26:56 "Yeah, I'm giving you the land but you got to go possess it." 27:01 "Yeah, I'm giving you the land 27:02 but you got to go engage in the battle. 27:05 And whoever, and whatever, whenever it stands against you, 27:09 it will not be able to stand, you will win." 27:13 You know, I love the fact that this statement, 27:18 the testimony says, 27:20 "To stand in defense of truth and righteousness 27:24 when the majority forsakes us, 27:27 to fight the battles of the Lord 27:29 when champions are few." 27:31 This will be our test. 27:33 It is at this time... 27:35 At what time? This time. 27:37 It is at this time that we must gather courage 27:41 from the cowardice of others, loyalty from their treason, 27:45 warmth from the coldness of others. 27:49 People tell me, they say, "My church is cold-hearted, 27:51 I want to invite you to my church." 27:52 Then you better gather warmth 27:54 from the coldness of the others. 27:59 Listen, I came into a church that was not perfect. 28:04 But there were some people in there 28:05 that were living like Jesus. 28:08 All it takes is one. 28:10 Amen. 28:12 All it takes is one. 28:16 He says, "No men shall be able to stand before you." 28:19 You see that statement is so potent 28:22 because if we say 28:23 we're going to go fight the battles of the Lord, 28:24 the question becomes 28:26 what are the battles of the Lord 28:28 when champions are few? 28:30 We're not talking about arguing in your board meeting, 28:33 we're not talking about posting on blogs, 28:35 super-long comments. 28:37 That is not fighting the battles of the Lord. 28:40 The battles of the Lord are against three things. 28:42 How many things? Three. 28:44 Three things. The first one is against error. 28:48 We preach against error. Amen. 28:51 We recognize that when GYC started, 28:53 the goal was to make sure people knew 28:55 that there was an army of young people 28:57 on a mission for the Lord that loved the teachings 29:00 and the pure doctrine of this church. 29:03 We are unashamed, 29:04 unabashedly Seventh-day Adventists. 29:08 And people say, "Well, Sebastian, 29:10 you know, you don't think that's a little exclusive? 29:12 You don't think that's a little bit arrogant 29:14 to say those things?" 29:15 I said, "The truth is the truth." 29:17 Amen. 29:21 And number two, someone comes and they say, 29:24 "Well, you know, this doctrinal purity 29:27 is not just about doctrine." 29:29 It's true. 29:30 It's not just about doctrine but it sure includes it. 29:34 Sometimes we got people beating up 29:36 on our doctrines, and I used to tell people, 29:37 I said, you know, coming into the church 29:40 from the world as an unbeliever. 29:44 It's interesting, people say, 29:46 "Sebastian, why do you think that people who are converted 29:50 in the church are "more dedicated"? 29:54 More dedicated than people who were raised in the church, 29:56 they just don't come in as on fire." 29:58 And I said, "You know why? 30:00 Because when you come into the church 30:02 and someone says, "Guess what, 30:03 this is the Seventh-day Sabbath?" 30:04 So all those Friday nights, and that partying, 30:07 and all the stuff you like to do, 30:08 you got to give that up." 30:10 And I said, "In other words, 30:12 in order for me to follow the truth, 30:13 and to come to know Jesus, and to join this church, 30:16 I had to give up things I liked. 30:18 It cost me something." 30:21 "I didn't just receive it by osmosis." 30:25 Oh, yeah, I'm used to singing these songs, 30:26 I know the drill, we always keep this out. 30:28 That's just how life is. 30:30 This is exactly what happens when we take people 30:33 who are raised in the church 30:34 and we do not call them to account. 30:39 So I love what Justin said, accountability. 30:43 But you know why? 30:44 Because we're afraid to offend somebody. 30:47 And I'm not talking about these people 30:49 who want to confuse, rebuke with being rude. 30:52 Some people are just plain rude. 30:55 It's the truth. 30:56 Oh, brothers... 30:57 So they think, if they pray with you and, 30:59 you know, if we say, "Hey, brother, 31:00 can I talk to you for a second?" 31:02 I just pray with you and as long as I'm quoting 31:03 the Spirit of Prophecy in the Bible, 31:05 you know, it's okay whatever I say to you, 31:07 however I say it to you. 31:10 It's not true. 31:12 You're just trying to mask the fact 31:13 that you're a judgmental person. 31:15 And you need the Lord in your heart. 31:18 Walking around accusing the brethren, 31:21 doing the devil's work for himself, 31:25 all in the guise of I'm more spiritual, 31:27 holier than thou. 31:29 You're not arising because your light has come, 31:31 you're walking in the sparks of your own kindling. 31:40 We talk about stepping up against error. 31:45 We need to learn to stand and be counted 31:47 when it comes to the truth. 31:52 But, you know, for many of us, it's about those worldly gains 31:55 and respectable conventionality. 31:59 The second thing we fight 32:00 the battles of the Lord against is hatred. 32:04 You know, if there is anything 32:06 that we need to grow as a church 32:08 and as a movement is the ability 32:11 to love people we disagree with. 32:15 I don't agree with you, 32:17 but you need to love that person 32:18 because Ellen White says, "The most fatal deception..." 32:22 Fatal means deadly. 32:25 "The most fatal deception is that people think 32:27 they're going to heaven 32:29 without having Christ-like love for their brethren." 32:33 You think you're just going to live on the other side 32:35 of the New Jerusalem. 32:37 Oh, yeah, her mansion ain't going 32:38 to be next to mine. 32:41 You won't be there. 32:46 Many people will come to Jesus, 32:47 did we not prophesy in Your name? 32:50 Did we not do many wonderful works 32:52 in Your name? 32:54 Did we not tell other people about You? 32:59 But God is against hatred of all forms, 33:03 even if the other member across the table 33:06 at the board meeting was your enemy, 33:08 the Bible says, 33:09 "Love your enemy even if they were your enemy." 33:14 But, you know, it's all just a deception of the devil 33:18 to bring us back in and forget the fact 33:21 that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. 33:24 People are not our problem. 33:29 Error, hatred are our problem. 33:32 And the last battle of the Lord 33:34 that we must fight as illustrated 33:36 by the Book of Joshua is sin. 33:41 We are against sin. 33:44 We fight against sin, not sinners. 33:46 Can you say amen? Amen. 33:50 The only thing that we should have a problem 33:52 with is sin. 33:55 And people come and they act all shocked, 33:56 "Can you believe 33:57 that this brother did XY and Z?" 33:59 I'm like, "Why are you shocked? 34:00 The Bible said, 34:02 "The heart is deceitful above all things 34:04 and desperately wicked." 34:06 Why are you surprised that a sinner 34:08 does what a sinner does? 34:10 The point is we need to be against sin, 34:13 preaching against it. 34:15 As we are always told 34:16 that the greatest one of the world 34:18 is the one of what? 34:19 Men. Men who do what? 34:21 Call sin by its right name, not justification. 34:25 You get to these people where they're like, 34:27 "Oh, you know, God knows my heart." 34:29 You're right, He does know your heart, 34:30 you're backslidden. 34:33 He does know. 34:35 But we come in, 34:37 and we want to justify, and say, 34:38 "Well, you know, is it really wrong 34:39 to have oral sex? 34:41 Is it really wrong 34:42 if you're kissing and making out? 34:43 You're not sleeping together." 34:45 Really, how close to the edge do you want to get? 34:48 Are you willing to bet your salvation on that 34:52 and find out in the judgment you were wrong 34:55 because we don't have the humility 34:56 to admit the fact 34:58 that I got a lust problem and I need to go to Jesus. 35:02 'Cause the gospel is able to overcome every tendency 35:05 to wrong. 35:08 Not just the ones we want 35:09 to come out of that bring us shame, 35:11 even the ones we enjoy. 35:16 But those aren't the sins that we want to rebuke 35:18 because the battles of the Lord 35:19 when champions are few. 35:25 People say, "I'm against sin in all its forms, 35:30 small white lies, 35:33 as well as gross dark deception." 35:38 You know, the next verse, 35:44 verse 6, 35:46 He tells Joshua three times 35:49 to be strong and of a good courage. 35:55 He says, "Joshua, I want you to be strong 35:58 and of a good courage." 36:00 And he says, "For unto this people, 36:02 you shall divide for them a," what? 36:05 What does the word say in your Bible? 36:07 Inheritance. "An inheritance." 36:09 He says, "You're going to divide an inheritance 36:11 unto this people." 36:13 So wait, wait, wait, why does 36:14 that require strength and courage? 36:17 What kind of courage do you need 36:19 to divide an inheritance among a group of people? 36:23 You see, when I was a little kid, six years old, 36:25 living in Chicago, 36:28 you know, I remember playing baseball. 36:31 And this girl, her name was Collette, 36:33 she has the same name as my mom. 36:35 But she was like the tough girl in the neighborhood. 36:37 I mean, she was known for beating boys down. 36:42 And so when it came to play baseball, 36:43 if the game was close, 36:45 she just had ways of pitching the ball, 36:49 that it was just either impossible to hit 36:52 or she would almost hit you with the ball. 36:56 And so there I was, six years old, 36:57 Collette was like eight or nine, 36:59 she was bigger than me. 37:01 And so she was pitching the ball, this crazy thing, 37:03 and, of course, everyone else was like, 37:04 "Sebastian, man, just let it go." 37:05 I'm like, "She's not supposed to do this, man. 37:07 This is not how this is supposed to work." 37:09 So I catch the ball, throw it back, 37:12 and then she throws the same thing. 37:14 Then I catch it and throw it back, same thing. 37:17 Third time, I said, "You know what, 37:18 I'm just going to throw this ball at her." 37:20 Everyone's eyes just opened wide. 37:23 After I threw the ball at her and almost hit her, 37:25 she started running at me. 37:27 I just held the bat in my hand. 37:31 And the whole neighborhood was gathered around. 37:34 They said, "Sebastian, this is a girl. 37:37 What are you doing with a bat?" 37:38 I'm like, "She is not a girl. 37:40 There's a female tiger as well." 37:45 "Put the bat down, Sebastian." 37:47 And one of my friends looked at me, 37:49 he said, "Sebastian, 37:50 are you really going to hold a bat to fight a girl?" 37:53 He says, "You don't have the courage to fight her 37:55 like a man." 37:58 See that just gets you right there in your pride. 38:02 So I put the bat down and I took my beating. 38:13 And after I took my beating, went in the house crying. 38:17 "What happened?" 38:18 You know, we don't talk about it. 38:23 But, you know, 38:25 she never pitched like that again. 38:29 You see, brothers and sisters, sometimes we have to recognize 38:32 that when we have the courage to do the right thing, 38:37 sometimes we don't win. 38:42 Sometimes we do everything right 38:44 and we still lose. 38:47 And too many of us, 38:48 we get discouraged when we did everything right 38:50 and the result doesn't come as if God is a magic lamp. 38:55 "Well, Lord, I fulfilled this. So You have to do this." 38:57 No, He doesn't. 39:01 Joseph was faithful to Potiphar and to God, 39:04 he ended up in prison. 39:06 Jesus lived a perfect life, they crucified Him. 39:13 Paul preached the truth and even humbled himself 39:17 to his brethren request, 39:18 he ended up in prison the rest of his life. 39:23 Brothers and sisters, 39:25 we have to come to accept that courage 39:27 is not the absence of fear, it is not presumption, 39:30 it is not just rush into it blindly 39:32 without thinking, without plans. 39:34 Courage is saying, 39:36 "Yes, I'm afraid but I'm going to go anyway." 39:40 I'm not the best speaker, but I'm going to go anyway. 39:44 That's courage. 39:46 Courage is saying, 39:47 "I'm going to go back home and they're going to say, 39:49 'Oh wait, weren't you the kid before you went to GYC, 39:52 you was out partying, 39:54 you was dating this girl and that girl 39:56 and now you want to come back all spiritual 39:57 talking about we need to have a Bible study? 40:00 Please, you need to go somewhere with that."' 40:03 You need to have the courage to go forward anyway and say, 40:06 "Yes, I was that guy. 40:08 Yes, I was doing that but guess what? 40:10 I went to GYC and Jesus found me. 40:13 Jesus transformed me and now I am ready to step up." 40:20 We got to have courage. 40:24 Three times He tells Joshua and guess what? 40:28 If a little girl came to me and she said, 40:31 "You know, Brother Sebastian, 40:32 I hear you're preaching on Sunday morning, 40:35 be strong and have a good courage." 40:38 You know, you'd be like, "Oh, that's so cute." 40:41 But if a Navy SEAL came to me and he said, 40:44 "Sebastian, you need to be strong 40:48 and of a good courage." 40:50 You're like, "Now, this guy's a Navy SEAL. 40:52 He's telling me to have courage, 40:54 that means there's some serious danger 40:56 waiting over there." 40:59 But how much more when God, who fears nothing, 41:04 comes to you and says, 41:05 "You need to be strong and of a good courage 41:09 because there's going to be battles 41:11 you have to fight in your life, I'm not sure I can win. 41:14 There's going to be dangers lurking for you 41:17 when you go into that land to fight 41:19 those battles of the Lord." 41:20 And it is no different, GYC, when we leave this place, 41:23 the devil is waiting on the other side of the doors 41:26 of this convention center. 41:27 As soon as you get on the plane, 41:29 as soon as you get on the bus, as soon as you get in the car, 41:31 as soon as you get back home, the devil is waiting for you. 41:36 And God says, "Guess what? 41:37 I'm charging you to arise, to step up, to go over this, 41:40 Jordan, to finish this work 41:42 but there are dangers waiting for you 41:44 on the other side." 41:49 And as my favorite preacher used to say, 41:51 "When you give your life to Jesus 41:53 and you want to do the right thing, 41:54 what do you expect the devil to do? 41:56 Pat you on the back and wish you well?" 42:00 "Thanks, man, you chose Jesus. Good job. 42:04 Have a good life." 42:05 No, as soon as you decide at this conference, 42:08 when you came up for the appeal, 42:10 when you came up and said, "You know what? 42:11 I'm going to do something for God. 42:13 I'm going to go on a mission trip, 42:14 I'm going to go through the Middle East, 42:16 I'm going to go on this service project." 42:17 As soon as you decided to do that, 42:21 you were put in the devil's crosshairs 42:23 and please believe your life 42:25 may go awry when you leave this place. 42:30 And then people come back and say, 42:31 "Maybe God doesn't want me to do it." 42:34 That's the exact opposite. 42:37 It is because we are doing the right thing 42:39 that the devil is there to try to discourage us. 42:41 He will contest every inch, every what? 42:47 Every inch of ground that we made back 42:49 to the heavenly Canaan, every inch. 42:54 The devil's not just content trying to get you into sin, 42:57 he's also content about making it hard for you 43:00 to wake up and study the Bible, 43:02 making it difficult you want to pray. 43:04 You know, I love the fact 43:05 that we're getting together in the prayer room. 43:07 My question is how many of us 43:08 are going to be in the prayer room 43:09 when we get home? 43:13 That's my favorite part of GYC is outreach. 43:15 What outreach are you doing at home? 43:17 There's houses in Phoenix 43:19 and there's houses in your neighborhood. 43:20 Amen. 43:22 There's no difference between them. 43:23 The only difference is if you decided to step up. 43:28 Stepping up in a crowd is easy. 43:31 Stepping up when you're by yourself is not. 43:36 That takes courage. 43:40 You see, I believe there's a lot of stepping up 43:43 for us to do. 43:45 You know, if you're a preacher, 43:48 stepping up means that, 43:50 you know, I need to make sure 43:52 that my sermons are biblically correct 43:54 and not politically correct. 43:57 I need to mount the pulpit 43:59 as the mighty proclaimer of truth 44:01 that Jesus called me to be 44:03 when I stepped into the ministry. 44:05 I need to make sure that the message 44:07 and not the massage of my ego is the goal. 44:11 I need to make sure that I'm worrying 44:13 about when God invites me to give an account 44:15 for my sermon 44:16 than if they're going to invite me back. 44:20 Everybody wants to be popular. 44:22 Nobody wants to be Jeremiah. 44:26 Nobody wants to say the uncomfortable things 44:28 but those are the sermons that change lives. 44:31 But, you see, we can also step up as members. 44:34 You know, stop complaining 44:36 about boring sermons and preach one. 44:38 That's fire. 44:39 Stop worrying about my church is a dead church 44:41 and start a prayer 44:43 and Bible study group to revive it. 44:45 No, no, no, stop worrying about what's happening 44:48 at a GC vote 44:50 but you don't even show up to a church business meeting. 44:54 And probably don't even know 44:56 what a union constituency meeting is. 45:00 We're constantly looking for the next event 45:02 as if it was cocaine. 45:05 "When am I going to get my spiritual fix? 45:07 Oh, there's GYC affiliate meetings, 45:08 I'm going to go to GYC, 45:10 I'm going to go to GYC Southeast, 45:11 and I'm going to go to GYC West, 45:13 and I'm a volunteer here at Pathways." 45:14 We're just looking for the next event. 45:16 That ain't going to carry you through the end time. 45:19 You got to have your own personal experience with Jesus. 45:22 Amen. 45:23 When all the lights are off, 45:26 you got to have the courage to carry on. 45:33 But, you know, even as a GYCer, 45:37 we got to stand up and be counted. 45:41 You know, the beauty of the movement, 45:45 since I've been a part of it, is that we all don't agree. 45:49 That's part of the beauty. 45:51 There are things we all agree on 45:53 but there are things that we don't. 45:56 And the fact that we can come to unity 45:58 on the mission 46:00 and the message of what God is calling us to do, 46:03 that's what makes it beautiful, 46:05 that's what makes it unity in diversity. 46:08 But, you know, even stepping up there reminds us of the fact 46:11 that many of us, 46:13 we need to stop worrying about being judged 46:15 and we need to welcome accountability. 46:18 We can't dis-phrase of saying, "Hey, man, you know..." 46:20 Before we say that we did something, 46:22 we know we shouldn't be doing it. 46:23 "Hey, man, don't judge me." 46:26 As if that's just going to give you an excuse to do 46:28 what you did. 46:30 Rather than being like, "You know what? 46:32 I know I was tripping, I was backsliding, 46:35 I was whiling out, 46:36 I was doing something I knew I shouldn't be doing, 46:38 and I'm welcoming the accountability. 46:40 Don't judge me, get on your knees with me, 46:43 and pray for me." 46:44 Amen. 46:46 And say, "If a brother be overtaken in a fault, 46:49 restore such a one." 46:50 Amen. 46:52 Considering yourself also 46:55 with meekness and gentleness. 46:58 Amen. 47:01 I got to hurry to my conclusion. 47:03 My time is out. 47:08 I want you to notice in verse 9, 47:10 the last question. 47:15 The only question that God asked Joshua 47:19 when He charges him, 47:21 He says, "Joshua, 47:25 have not I commanded you, 47:30 be strong and of a good courage." 47:34 You know, I remember in the military, 47:37 they have this concept called "the commander's intent." 47:42 The commander's intent, 47:45 the purpose of this concept is to say 47:47 that most military plans... 47:49 And they are long, you get a military briefing 47:51 it's like 40 pages long, everything you can think of, 47:55 every possible contingency. 47:58 And they say, "Here is your plan." 47:59 But the first thing they learn is 48:01 that the plans become obsolete the moment 48:04 you come in contact with the enemy. 48:06 You laid all these plans and then you get out there, 48:08 and you're like, "This ain't going to work." 48:11 So then they're like what do we do, 48:12 these soldiers are out there. 48:14 We told them to go forward. 48:15 We told them here's the mission 48:16 and now the step-by-step nitty-gritty instructions, 48:20 it doesn't work 48:21 because they get to step five, and they're like, 48:22 "Wait, what do we do? 48:24 It's not here. It doesn't work." 48:25 So they came up 48:26 with the concept in the 1990s called 48:28 "the commander's intent." 48:31 And the purpose of the commander's intent 48:33 is when you get your military briefing, 48:36 at the very top and very plain language 48:40 is the very central objective of the mission. 48:44 It'll say something like, 48:46 "To neutralize the enemy in this city." 48:49 That's the intent. 48:50 So when you get out there, and you're following the plans, 48:52 and everybody says, 48:54 "Oh, man, the plan, this is not working." 48:56 We learn to improvise 48:59 because we remember what's the commander's intent. 49:02 So in the same sense, when we go to GYC, 49:04 yes, we can give you workbooks and step-by-step instructions 49:08 of how to start a Bible study group 49:09 but then you start going forward 49:10 and guess what? 49:12 Plans fail immediately upon contact. 49:15 "Oh, we can't do that. Oh, this is not working out." 49:17 Well, guess what? 49:18 We need to remember the commander's intent. 49:22 The goal is to leave this place to arise, 49:25 to step up, and to go over this Jordan. 49:28 It is to finish this work. 49:30 So if that means, guess what? 49:31 The step-by-step plans are not working, then so be it. 49:36 I got to improvise and go a different way. 49:40 So he said, "Hey, here's your step-by-step plan 49:42 of how to start your small group." 49:43 And you're like, "It's not working for me." 49:46 Then you say well, 49:47 but the intent is to start a small group of people 49:49 who study and pray over the Bible. 49:52 So if I got to do it in my house, 49:53 if I got to do it at the park, 49:55 if I got to go to Barnes & Noble, 49:56 then that's what I'm going to do. 49:58 Because I know the commander's intent. 50:06 You know, I want to end... 50:11 With this story. 50:14 It's about a man named 50:17 Charles Decatur Brooks. 50:23 Also known as CD Brooks. 50:28 It's on June 5th last year 50:30 that he passed away at 85 years old. 50:35 They said that CD Brooks 50:40 probably brought somewhere around 20,000 people 50:43 to the church in his ministry. 50:50 And when he passed away last year, 50:54 you know, as a product of his ministry 51:00 influenced by the fact 51:03 that he was willing to preach the Word with nerve, 51:06 with backbone, 51:08 and unafraid of what people thought. 51:13 And you think to yourself what do you do 51:16 when you're called to follow greatness? 51:22 We lost this man 51:23 whom God had been using for so many years. 51:28 And I thought to myself, 51:30 one of his signature sermons was titled 51:34 "I want my church back." 51:38 The church was going awry as he says in the sermon, 51:42 Sabbath on the golf course, 51:45 picnicking, theater-going. 51:50 And he said right before he got up to preach, 51:52 he didn't know what to title his sermon, 51:53 and his friends slipped a note under his door, and said, 51:55 "Charles, I want my church back." 52:00 So as he was preaching his sermon to other ministers, 52:05 eventually we had the privilege to have him come to GYC, 52:09 and I had the privilege to pick him up, 52:12 and also to pick up his wife. 52:16 And I remember 52:18 just talking to him and in my mind, 52:20 you know, I didn't even know how to behave, 52:21 I was a young GYC volunteer. 52:24 You know, you just say nothing, just be quiet. 52:29 You don't want to mess this up. 52:32 So I just said nothing. 52:35 And every single time, 52:37 you know, I had to check on him, 52:38 make sure everything was fine, 52:39 he would say, "Everything's fine, brother." 52:44 But eventually when I reflected on last year 52:47 and I think about that sermon, 52:49 I realized that GYC 52:52 was supposed to be an answer to that question. 52:56 He said, "Those individuals 52:58 who died spent their whole lives in ministry, 53:03 they didn't die for a backslidden church, 53:06 they didn't endure weeks, 53:08 and hours, and days away from their wives 53:10 and family for a backslidden church 53:12 that doesn't now want to step up 53:14 to its identity and its mission, 53:17 that doesn't want to surrender to its calling. 53:21 They spend all these things and that's why 53:23 when they saw where the church was going, 53:25 the statement was made, "I want my church back." 53:28 And so I decided that, you know what? 53:33 It's time for us and for me 53:35 to live a life that says to him, 53:37 here's your church back. 53:39 I'm going to show you 53:41 that we are still holding to the old values 53:43 that have always been since very beginning. 53:46 We are still holding the truths, 53:48 we are still holding the mission, 53:50 we are still pushing things forward. 53:53 So that Martin Luther who died for the truth, 53:57 who was persecuted for the truth, Jan Haas 53:59 because he was persecuted for the truth, 54:02 the apostles who died for the truth 54:06 as they stand in the halls of the champions 54:09 who have run the Christian race before us. 54:11 That means now it's time for us to step up to the starting line 54:16 and to tell Peter, here's your church back. 54:19 We are still here. 54:21 There is a remnant that the dragon 54:22 could not squash out of the earth. 54:25 And we're going to hold on 54:27 and we're going to run this race with patience. 54:29 Amen. 54:31 Because no man shall be able to stand 54:33 before us all the days of our life. 54:37 Because God is not going 54:38 to fail us. 54:43 So my appeal is very simple. 54:50 You want to say to those great men and women 54:54 who have gone before us, you want to say, 54:58 "Here's your church back." 55:00 And I'm coming to represent, as the song says, 55:03 though no one joined me, still I will follow. 55:08 If I'm the only one that's holding on 55:11 to true Adventist values, 55:13 if I'm the only one moving forward 55:15 in the mission, then let it be me. 55:19 As Athanasius said, contra mundum, 55:21 me against the world, if that's what it takes, 55:23 then I'm going to stand 55:24 because me and God is a majority. 55:28 And no man shall be able to stand 55:30 before you all the days of your life. 55:32 You want to come up front, and you say, 55:33 "This morning, Sebastian, 55:35 I want to say to the faith of our fathers, 55:38 here's your church back. 55:41 I'm going to stand and be counted. 55:44 I'm going to leave this conference 55:46 and I'm going to be strong and of a good courage." 55:51 "And I'm going to make sure 55:53 that when the devil thinks he has squashed 55:56 this little remnant group of people off the earth, 55:59 there is still one like God told him in Job." 56:03 He says, "Have you considered my servant Job, 56:07 that there is none like him in the earth." 56:10 Everyone else had gone 56:13 but Job said, 56:15 "I'm still going to stand and be counted." 56:16 And when he lost his children, when he lost his wealth, 56:20 when he lost his health, 56:21 he didn't go back in discouragement and said, 56:23 "God, I was faithful. 56:24 Why did You forsake me?" 56:25 He bowed down and he worshiped. Amen. 56:29 And he says, "Even when I lose everything, 56:31 even when I feel like I'm discouraged, 56:33 even when I want to give up, 56:38 You're still worthy 56:40 of all that I am and all that I have. 56:44 I'm still going to stand and be counted," 56:47 even when his wife comes and says, 56:48 "Curse God and die." 56:52 I'm still going to stand and be counted. 56:56 You want to frustrate the devil, 56:58 you got to learn to arise 57:01 and step up. 57:07 Be strong and of a good courage 57:12 because when we leave this conference, 57:15 I've been in this movement a long time, 57:19 I know the struggles you face 57:22 because I've counseled many of you. 57:27 I know the losses you've had, 57:30 and my wife knows the truth, and pray for you all the time. 57:37 But, brothers and sisters, we're almost home. 57:41 This is not the time to go back. 57:46 We want to let the apostles, and the reformers, 57:49 and the angels of heaven, here's your church back. 57:54 And one day the church of this earth is going 57:56 to be united with the church in heaven. 57:58 Amen. 58:02 And Gabriel is going to say, 58:04 "You stood exactly the way I would have stood. 58:12 Because you were strong and of a good courage." |
Revised 2018-07-06