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Welcome to Issues and Answers.
Today we're going to be talking
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about the publishing work, dead
or alive. Our guest today is
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Java Madison. He's a publishing
director for South Central
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Conference. He's a graduate of
Oakwood University and Andrews
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University with a Masters of
Divinity. Welcome to the program
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today Java. Thank
you so much Karen.
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So the publishing
work, dead or alive?
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Wow. The publishing work is very
much alive. This ministry is
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surrounding the nature of
the word of God. When you think
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about how the word of God
is communicated, how it is
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translated. It is the very
nature of this work and the word
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of God, the Bible says, is
quick the Bible says that it is
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powerful, it is sharper than any
two-edged sword. This ministry
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is very much alive because it
is linked with the very life of
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Christ itself. So I
understand that there has
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been some restructuring in the
publishing ministry within the
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Seventh-day Adventist Church. Is
it still a viable vocation? Can
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people still become
literature evangelists?
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Yes, I'm glad that you asked
that question because we would
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like to invite people to become
literature evangelists like
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never before. Really? This is
an urgent call. We're trying to
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position ourselves to be used
by God in the best possible way.
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By restructuring we are becoming
more nimble. We're becoming more
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capable to meet the demands
of our communities, to give a
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relevant word for the issues
that they face. When you think
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about the very nature of this
ministry, the Bible says that
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Moses was called into a mountain
to speak to God. When he was
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called into the mountain,
you know, he had face-to-face
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communion with God like no one
had ever had until that time.
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And God did a few things; he
spoke, the Bible says, and after
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having spoken and having this
authentic intimacy with Moses,
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to recap the experience,
God said, all right I'm going to
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write down what I just explained
to you and God in his own way
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with his own finger wrote down
the very 10 commandments. Then
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this is what God did. He gave
them to Moses to give to the
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people. Bam, Publishing.
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Publishing.
That's how we got it.
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Wow! So in these time you
know so many things are going on
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right now, what's the
best way to get the word out?
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Wow, you know there's so many
different ways to communicate
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now. I mean the internet is just
one of those prime examples and
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technology, media. So many
outlets to actually reach people
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to communicate to them that God
actually loves them, that he's
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desirous to be intimate
with them. But undergirding all
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levels of communication is the
one form of media that we cannot
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dispense with and that is the
written word of God. This is our
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main safeguard from temptation,
our main safeguard from the
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attacks of the enemy.
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Mmm, wow. So now looking back
in history, things of importance
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have been written down.
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Have always been written down. I
mean, one of the reasons why we
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do publishing is because I
can audibly speak my sermon to a
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congregation and then after the
service people will say that was
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a good sermon. Then you ask
them exactly what it was that I
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actually spoke about and very
few people, I have found, can
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actually tell me my points.
Which would mean either one that
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memory is bad or I'm
just a horrible communicator.
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So writing down the revelation,
the word of God, is important so
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people can go back and they can
read it. So the point would be
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this: The written word of
God endures and lasts throughout
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time. So that's why we
need the written word of God.
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So therefore we need everybody
to share in the publishing
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ministry, not just to sell books
but also to share books and this
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is why the call to the
publishing ministry is so urgent
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because we need more
people sharing the word of God,
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distributing literature,
leaflets, tracts, small
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pamphlets. Then we need a few
people selling the word of God.
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So therefore everybody can
get involved. Everybody can be a
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literature evangelist.
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I was going to ask you that.
So everyone no matter whether or
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not they're directly coming
under a particular group, a
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conference or a ministry,
selling the books or actually
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going online and buying books
or actually picking up books
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from a store, you're saying we
all are literature evangelists.
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We all are literature
evangelists. Think about it in
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this way. Literature evangelists
a lot of people use the word LE.
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But Paul said it in this way in
2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse
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He said ye are living
epistles and then he said you
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are read by all men. In other
words, Paul took this idea of
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literature evangelism to a whole
other level where he says you
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are the very book, your life
is the very book that people are
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reading. Before they even read a
piece of literature that I could
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share with them, they've already
read about who Jesus is in the
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life that I've lived. So in
that way everybody is involved.
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Nobody can be an innocent
bystander or a spectator. Your
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life is a book. People may never
read the Bible, but they've read
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your acts of kindness, they've
read you acts of love, they've
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read the kind words that you've
spoken. So this concept of
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literature evangelism is
far deeper than we actually have
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made it and God is calling for
everybody to take an active role
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You may not be able to preach,
you may not be able to pray, but
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you can share a piece of
literature. But make sure that
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your lifestyle is
lining up with it.
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So, you know, some people look
and say I need a reason to know
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that this really is a calling
of God. Is there anything that
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we've had that's been written or
can let us know that this really
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is an important work?
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I'm glad that you asked
that because in the Colporteur
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Ministry, which is a kind of
a book that's been written about
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why we should do
this ministry umm...
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How long ago was that written?
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Well this book was written
about 100 years ago, you know.
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It still is viable today because
some of the principles that are
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instilled there still apply. But
it's Ellen White. She wrote the
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book. She suggests that when
the church realizes her call to
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share the word of God through
our publications, she says that
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our church will rise and will
to forth and shine as bright as
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the sun. She says our power
as a church has a lot to do with
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our publishing ministry and
therefore everybody has to take
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an active part, whether you are
in your grocery stores, whether
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you're at the gas station,
whether you're at you day cares
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where you drop your children off
or your schools. Wherever you
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find yourself at, there you
can leave a leaflet, a pamphlet
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encouraging
somebody along the way.
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Let me ask you, because
you know, cities or out in the
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country or wherever people are
living, how are people receiving
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you? The people today are they
willing to take a pamphlet or a
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booklet from a perfect stranger?
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You know what, I've found it
to be amazing. There are so many
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beautiful people in the world
today and people are lonely.
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People are hurting. People have
been cut off from society in so
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many ways and that's what I've
found technology has done. While
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it has brought the world closer
together. It also in so many
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ways has separated. For example,
in my home, my daughters and my
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son along with my wife and
myself we all have either an
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I- pad or and I-phone and we're
all at several times of the day
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on these devices. We can all
be in the same room but we are
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so far apart. So technology
too has a way of separating us.
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And so there is an ability to
have high touch meeting. You can
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reach a lot of people. How
so? Through technology. But this
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high tech reality has
also separated people from the
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opportunity to actually have
a personal contact; just to hear
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somebody say you know what,
God is with you. You know God
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loves you. And that's what a
literature evangelist can do.
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So when I go to a home and
I knock on a door, it's almost
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in Revelation 3 when the Bible
says Jesus knocks on the door
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he says behold I stand at the
door and knock, if any man, any
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woman, hears my voice and opens
up I'll come in and sup. That
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to say I'll come and have dinner
with you. Eating with people is
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one of the most intimate
expressions that we have in
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humanity. It sure is. To eat
with someone, to treat them to
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a meal is intimate. So what God
is really wanting to do through
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literature evangelism is to
bring people into intimacy with
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people who have
actually met Jesus.
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So Java, tell me, what kinds of
things are being planned to get
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the word out? Well
I'm glad you asked. In the
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concept mass distribution, total
church involvement. One of the
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things that we're looking for is
in the area that we live in what
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big events are happening?
Whether there are sporting
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events in a city that has some
kind of sports team where large
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crowds gather. You know this is
an opportunity to go as a church
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community to share the word of
God. So in mass distributing you
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want to reach as many people as
possible. Here's the principle.
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In the book Colporteur Ministry
she says that the literature can
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go places where the living
preacher cannot go and the
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reality is there are some people
who would never come into our
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churches and I think we kind
of need to recognize that and
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accept that fact. So we have to
go where they are whether it's
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at grocery stores. Individuals
can share the word of God, the
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literature. One of the things
that we are doing here in the
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Southern Union, we are catering
books to sporting events.
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So this book, Let's Win,
it pictures Jesus as your life
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coach. Everybody wants their
team to win in whatever sport
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you're playing. But bigger
than sports is what some people
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have termed the game of life
and that's a game that you don't
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want to lose in. So this book,
Let's Win, helps you to hear
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from the master coach, Jesus,
as he coaches you through every
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stage of your life. This is a
book that has been put together
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in large quantities. Over
250,000 of these have been put
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in print just within the last
few months. This is a book that
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people can share to anybody who
may have an interest in sports
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and so you can choose an event
like that. This is one example
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where you can distribute
this piece of literature to mass
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quantities of people. Anywhere
in the Southern Union you can
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find this book. I also have here
with me what we call GLOW tracts
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Now these GLOW tracts have
different topics. This topic
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says why do I go to church
on Saturday? You may not ever be
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able to explain to someone why
you attend church on Saturday
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but this little leaflet is
something that can actually
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convince people, share with
people why you go to church on
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Saturday. Also... Simple to read
Simple to read. Also here is
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another topic. A lot of people
want to know is the world coming
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to an end. Yes. Evolution
is another topic. You know the
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story of evolution goes directly
against the story that we have a
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loving creator. Right. People
need to know that there's a God
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that loves them. These are
different methods and ways of
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people can
actually share their faith.
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Making Sense of
Natural Disasters
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Natural disasters; this is
something that affects people
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in so many ways. This is a way
that you can share. I have a few
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more, Breaking Addictions. So
many people... well may be it's
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a smoking addiction,
eating addiction, maybe it's the
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addiction of hate. That's true.
Where's God When I'm Hurting?
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So many people are hurting. They
find it hard to believe that
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there is a God because of the
pain they feel in their own life
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Right. Yeah, I like the way that
you just pull this out of your
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lapel pocket. So you go some
place, what do you do? You just
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put the tract down?
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Well you know it's exciting
to actually see it unfold.
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For example,
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one time I was in Orlando and
I was at a Wal-Mart and I was
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going up and down the aisle and
I was looking for a piece for my
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computer. In there, I don't know
it just grabbed me. I wasn't
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looking for but it was
book called Ministry of Healing.
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It just said, Java, and all of
a sudden I looked and there the
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book was. I picked it up and I
knew that that was a literature
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evangelist who
00:15:07.87\00:15:09.20
just left it there. You know,
this is one thing that really
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excites me about this ministry.
It is a ministry where there are
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unseen agencies always at work.
The reason why I know that book
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grabbed my attention because
Ellen White talks about how God
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positions angels at every piece
of literature that is placed for
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someone to actually read. God
is jealous for this ministry.
00:15:35.63\00:15:40.44
For example, the Bible says
my word shall not return unto me
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void but it shall accomplish the
thing in which I sent it. So God
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will, when you place literature,
whether it's at a bowling alley,
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whether it's at a gas station,
whether it's at a gas pump.
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I've placed them at gas pumps
right by the place where you put
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your credit card. I position a
tract right there. You can leave
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it anywhere and you can
rest assured that God will send
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someone there where it
will arrest their attention.
00:16:12.47\00:16:16.27
Wow. So I can leave it with my
hair stylist, getting my nails
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done. Wow, at the health club.
Just wherever I'm going. You're
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saying that as I'm leaving this
I am leaving a request to God
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to send an angel to
accompany this literature?
00:16:29.68\00:16:32.45
Yes, yes. Because the word
of God is quick, it is powerful,
00:16:32.49\00:16:37.13
it's sharper than any two-edge
sword. The word will arrest the
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attention of the people and
that's one of the reasons why
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we're instructed for this
ministry to be placed in print
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because it arrests the attention
of people. I was thinking about
00:16:49.27\00:16:56.11
another example when I was just
today at a Pilot gas station and
00:16:56.14\00:17:03.02
in the restroom, I saw a piece
of literature there that was
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randomly placed there on
the counter and it grabbed my
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attention. I didn't touch it
because I knew God had placed
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it there for someone else. But
that's a perfect example of how
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we can be a light for God. Can I
just share a scripture with you?
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Sure, please. The
Bible says in Isaiah arise
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and shine for thy light has come
Gross darkness shall cover the
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people but my light shall shine
on you. The reason why this
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tract is called GLOW is because
Jesus wants us to let our light
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shine. Let it shine everywhere.
No matter where you go allow
00:17:43.93\00:17:48.40
the light of God's glory to
shine. Allow the truth of God's
00:17:48.43\00:17:52.73
word to be shared. Wherever
you are that light should shine.
00:17:52.77\00:17:56.91
It should burst forth where
people around can know that God
00:17:56.97\00:18:02.08
loves them, God cares and he so
desperately wants to be with us
00:18:02.14\00:18:06.31
again face to face. I don't know
about you but as I look at the
00:18:06.35\00:18:10.82
times that we are living in,
so much pain, so much suffering
00:18:10.85\00:18:16.32
Yeah, a lot of things going on.
Controversy, community unrest,
00:18:16.36\00:18:21.80
differences. How can the
publishing ministry help people
00:18:21.83\00:18:26.53
through these times?
00:18:26.57\00:18:27.90
Well it is a direct word of
the Lord for them to that issue,
00:18:27.94\00:18:33.41
which is why there are so many
varieties of topics that the
00:18:33.48\00:18:38.38
word of God has been written
to meet the specific needs of
00:18:38.41\00:18:43.32
people. Wow. So I
kind of want to go
00:18:43.39\00:18:46.32
back to something. Is it
possible that this beautiful
00:18:46.39\00:18:50.83
publishing ministry can be of
benefit to individual families,
00:18:50.86\00:18:55.50
to people who are out of work
perhaps or trying to come up
00:18:55.53\00:18:59.40
with ways to pay for their
schooling, their education?
00:18:59.43\00:19:03.27
You know what there are so many
young people across the world
00:19:03.30\00:19:08.41
right now who actually take this
to another level. In that level
00:19:08.44\00:19:13.11
they have decided to share the
word of God and when they leave
00:19:13.15\00:19:16.95
this literature with individuals
they actually leave a donation
00:19:17.02\00:19:20.62
and this donation has helped
young people to stay in school.
00:19:20.69\00:19:25.43
This donation has paid for
tuition. There's so much that
00:19:25.46\00:19:29.80
can be done through this
ministry. God will provide for
00:19:29.83\00:19:33.44
your needs in this ministry.
I've seen it done for me in my
00:19:33.47\00:19:37.11
personal life. As a matter
of fact, when I left Oakwood
00:19:37.21\00:19:41.81
University they wrote me a
check for $6000 because I was a
00:19:41.84\00:19:46.31
literature evangelist. Wow! So
yes there are ways that people
00:19:46.35\00:19:50.79
who want to do this as a
ministry that it can subsidize
00:19:50.82\00:19:55.69
their ministry desire.
00:19:55.72\00:19:57.93
Now how about for the person
who just loves the internet?
00:19:57.96\00:20:00.40
We talked about tablets,
we talked about this mass
00:20:00.43\00:20:02.53
distribution. What are some
ideas for an individual to be
00:20:02.60\00:20:06.80
able to use maybe their Facebook
or Instagram or some of these
00:20:06.84\00:20:09.80
other ways to get the word out?
00:20:09.84\00:20:11.81
You know, a lot of times in your
personal devotion as you read
00:20:11.84\00:20:16.48
the word of God, the word of God
has an impact on you and what
00:20:16.51\00:20:21.05
I do a lot of times is I take
an excerpt and I'll post that
00:20:21.12\00:20:25.82
excerpt from what I read in my
devotional from what I read on
00:20:25.85\00:20:29.09
my Facebook, on my Instagram.
That's one way that so many
00:20:29.16\00:20:32.73
people are sharing the word
of God today. We have a website
00:20:32.76\00:20:36.80
youthexcel. info. People can
go there. They can receive the
00:20:36.83\00:20:40.87
literature and they can purchase
it to give out, to share it with
00:20:40.90\00:20:44.51
their family members, to give as
gifts. I mean anything you can
00:20:44.57\00:20:48.11
think of or any reason you
can think of to give someone the
00:20:48.14\00:20:51.45
word of God we should do it
because ultimately we know it's
00:20:51.48\00:20:54.78
the word of God
that saves our soul.
00:20:54.82\00:20:56.82
So how accessible is it you know
for a person maybe that's not
00:20:56.85\00:21:00.36
living in the south or they're
living in another part of the
00:21:00.39\00:21:04.03
world, to get these nice little
pamphlets to be able to pass out
00:21:04.06\00:21:08.23
to their neighbors, friends or
other people? Is there a website
00:21:08.26\00:21:12.57
I mean what's the best way for
a person to get started. Just a
00:21:12.63\00:21:16.60
person, I mean not necessarily a
minister or maybe young or old?
00:21:16.67\00:21:20.58
What's the best way
for them to get started?
00:21:20.64\00:21:22.24
Well I tell you. If you
are a member of the Seventh-day
00:21:22.28\00:21:24.88
Adventist church I would suggest
that you first start with your
00:21:24.91\00:21:29.15
local publishing ministries
director. The GLOW ministry the
00:21:29.18\00:21:33.36
Lord has blessed to become
global and worldwide. Many
00:21:33.42\00:21:37.49
publishing ministries are
now carrying the GLOW literature
00:21:37.53\00:21:42.13
that was birthed by a God
in Central California by Nelson
00:21:42.16\00:21:46.17
Erts. They have placed this
literature in so many places.
00:21:46.20\00:21:50.64
I'm talking about multimillion
of copies have gone across the
00:21:50.67\00:21:55.24
world. I would suggest you start
there. If your ministries leader
00:21:55.31\00:21:59.85
doesn't have these literatures
available, you're more than
00:21:59.88\00:22:03.59
welcome to visit our website
and again that website is
00:22:03.62\00:22:07.09
youthexcel.info. There there's
a link where you can go to GLOW
00:22:07.16\00:22:12.53
literature and you can purchase
this literature for a very
00:22:12.56\00:22:16.93
minimal fee of just five dollars
for a pack of 100. So a small
00:22:16.97\00:22:21.77
investment of just five dollars
you can reach 100 people to let
00:22:21.80\00:22:26.64
them know Where is
God When You're Hurting.
00:22:26.68\00:22:28.01
So let's say I'm at my
church and I'm listening to Java
00:22:28.08\00:22:31.88
Madison and I'm all gung ho
and I'm all excited you know,
00:22:31.91\00:22:35.12
forward ever, backward never.
I've heard that at literature
00:22:35.15\00:22:38.05
evangelists. Forward ever,
backward never. I'm like yeah,
00:22:38.09\00:22:40.99
yeah I want to go.
How do I get started?
00:22:41.02\00:22:43.12
What's the best way to organize
at my church, maybe just a
00:22:43.16\00:22:48.50
committee of one or
how would you suggest it?
00:22:48.53\00:22:51.00
Well definitely, I'm glad you
asked. If you go to our website
00:22:51.03\00:22:55.50
youthexcel.info there again
there is a process. The GLOW
00:22:55.54\00:22:59.34
ministry has a process in which
you can start in your own local
00:22:59.37\00:23:04.41
Okay, now let me ask you
something just for clarification
00:23:05.95\00:23:08.68
about the GLOW ministry.
Is this something that all the
00:23:08.72\00:23:11.52
publishing directors and
all that are involved in all the
00:23:11.55\00:23:14.09
conferences, they're all kind
of working together on this?
00:23:14.16\00:23:16.59
Yes. The GLOW ministry is a new
initiative that breaks down the
00:23:16.62\00:23:21.93
barrier that we have placed
up almost unknowingly to keep
00:23:21.96\00:23:26.74
people from this ministry. What
do you mean? Well the idea of
00:23:26.80\00:23:31.21
selling the literature has made
so many people in our church
00:23:31.24\00:23:35.64
feel like that
ministry isn't for me.
00:23:35.68\00:23:39.05
Okay. So unless they signed up
and became a formal literature
00:23:39.08\00:23:43.12
evangelist then people just kind
of stayed away from it. That is
00:23:43.15\00:23:47.22
for the LE's but not for me.
00:23:47.26\00:23:48.82
Yes because of the fear or the
desire to not want to sell the
00:23:48.86\00:23:53.50
literature. But when everybody
can share the literature, it
00:23:53.56\00:23:58.03
makes it possible for everybody
to get involved. So what does it
00:23:58.07\00:24:01.64
take for you to get
involved? Find a friend. Gather
00:24:01.67\00:24:05.77
individuals in your church who
want to reach people with the
00:24:05.81\00:24:09.61
word of God. That's the only
criteria that you need to be a
00:24:09.64\00:24:13.85
literature evangelist.
Then you equip yourself with the
00:24:13.92\00:24:18.05
literature. That means God is
calling for sacrifice. That is
00:24:18.09\00:24:23.86
to say you set aside funds
that you are going to use to
00:24:23.93\00:24:28.73
sacrifice to purchase
inexpensive literature
00:24:28.76\00:24:31.77
in bulk quantities.
00:24:31.80\00:24:35.40
Okay, okay, so like
large numbers, bulk quantities.
00:24:35.44\00:24:39.31
Maybe I'm going to say we're
going to target... Is this based
00:24:39.37\00:24:42.84
upon a goal maybe that our group
would have. Say we get out 5000
00:24:42.88\00:24:46.31
pieces of literature.
00:24:46.35\00:24:47.92
Yes. Set your goal high because
one of the mandates is to spread
00:24:47.95\00:24:52.72
the gospel through the written
word of God like the leaves of
00:24:52.75\00:24:56.52
autumn. And if you've ever seen
a beautiful autumn setting it's
00:24:56.56\00:24:59.96
so many leaves that if you
had to pick them all up it would
00:25:00.06\00:25:04.20
just drive you insane. But not
only like the leaves of autumn
00:25:04.27\00:25:08.44
but also like never
before. Whatever you have prior
00:25:08.47\00:25:12.11
experience in terms of
the success of the publishing
00:25:12.14\00:25:15.74
ministry, God is saying in the
last days, which we're in, this
00:25:15.78\00:25:19.65
word will go forth like never
before. She said like clear
00:25:19.68\00:25:24.39
streams of light beaming around
the world. Like never before.
00:25:24.42\00:25:28.99
So set your goals high. I was
in a community of 40,000; then I
00:25:29.02\00:25:33.06
would be saying I need 40,000
pieces of literature. What would
00:25:33.13\00:25:36.83
it take for me to order 40,000
pieces of literature. I would
00:25:36.87\00:25:40.54
organize myself; I would get
sponsors, I would get donors, I
00:25:40.60\00:25:44.07
would make the sacrifice first
if I were doing it. Maybe for
00:25:44.17\00:25:48.38
you it would be $1,000. For some
$10,000. I've had individuals
00:25:48.41\00:25:52.58
write large sum checks and they
distributed in some cities by
00:25:52.61\00:25:56.75
themselves, a single individual,
over 200,000 pieces of
00:25:56.79\00:26:00.89
literature. They distributed it
in different churches. They set
00:26:00.92\00:26:05.13
up stations and one individual
had impacted a whole city. I
00:26:05.16\00:26:08.63
want to be that kind of impact
player for Jesus. I don't know
00:26:08.66\00:26:12.17
about you but I'm just excited
about the thought that I can
00:26:12.20\00:26:16.64
let my light shine. It's time
if I were in a locker room to go
00:26:16.71\00:26:20.38
hard or go home. We're either
going to be disciples of Jesus
00:26:20.41\00:26:24.25
or we're not. And because I know
everyone wants to be a disciple
00:26:24.28\00:26:28.08
of Jesus, then I'm
saying let's go hard for Jesus.
00:26:28.12\00:26:30.49
Would you mind offering prayer
for those of us who are asking
00:26:30.59\00:26:34.42
to become a part
of this ministry?
00:26:34.46\00:26:38.13
Yes, thank you so much. Dear
heavenly Father we are again
00:26:38.16\00:26:42.76
indeed grateful that you love
us. We're glad that this love
00:26:42.80\00:26:47.84
has sprung up in our hearts to
fountains of living water that
00:26:47.87\00:26:52.64
never run dry. We've asking as
we set our minds to join hands
00:26:52.67\00:26:57.45
to share the word of God with as
many people as possible like the
00:26:57.51\00:27:02.32
leaves of autumn, like
never before, that you bless our
00:27:02.35\00:27:05.99
efforts. Move upon the hearts
of people right now who may be
00:27:06.02\00:27:10.96
looking at this show today
and bless their efforts. Impress
00:27:10.99\00:27:15.56
upon their hearts to make a
sacrifice to tell somebody that
00:27:15.60\00:27:20.07
Jesus is soon to come. Not
only bless our efforts but we're
00:27:20.14\00:27:24.21
praying now a blessing upon the
books. Send your angels, send
00:27:24.24\00:27:27.91
your Holy Spirit that as
people come in contact with this
00:27:27.94\00:27:31.55
literature, that they meet Jesus
This is our hope, this is our
00:27:31.58\00:27:35.52
desire. And we know they need
him. To know him is eternal life
00:27:35.55\00:27:39.49
We love, we bless
you in Jesus' name. Amen.
00:27:39.52\00:27:44.36
Amen. Thank you so much for
coming and thank you for joining
00:27:44.39\00:27:47.30
us today in Issues and Answers.
We hope that you've learned now
00:27:47.40\00:27:50.23
that we all are
literature evangelists.
00:27:50.27\00:27:53.00