Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002404B
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00:03 Welcome back to San Francisco.
00:05 And behind me, 00:06 you can see the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. 00:09 Next up, we traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand 00:12 to hear Karen's story of a modern-day miracle. 00:16 Hey, kids. 00:17 I was wondering, 00:18 have you ever wondered 00:20 if God still does miracles like He used to in Bible times? 00:24 Does He? 00:25 Does He heal people like He used to? 00:27 Well, I used to wonder that too. 00:30 I went to India to do some evangelism. 00:32 And I was sitting in the airport, 00:35 waiting to come back, 00:36 we had had an amazing experience where, 00:38 at every evangelism site, 00:40 about 525 people had been baptized, 00:43 500, somewhere around there at each site. 00:46 And it had been absolutely an amazing experience. 00:50 But I'm sitting in the airport 00:51 and I am really sleepy, I'm tired. 00:53 And I'm afraid, 00:55 my flight doesn't leave for a long time, 00:56 I'm afraid I'm going to go to sleep 00:57 and miss my flight. 00:59 So I looked around to see 01:00 if anybody there might look like 01:02 they might speak English and might want to talk. 01:05 Well, I saw a gentleman sitting there 01:07 with red hair and blue eyes. 01:09 And I said, "Maybe he speaks English." 01:12 And so I went over there 01:14 and he told me an amazing story that I want to tell you today. 01:18 He was a pastor from Australia. 01:20 And he told me 01:22 that the first time he went to India, 01:24 he was preaching every night 01:26 and hundreds and hundreds of people were coming. 01:29 And as they came every night to learn about Jesus, 01:32 they had several baptisms. 01:33 They would go down to the river, 01:35 and they would baptize people and it was going fantastic. 01:39 But the last night, 01:40 he was picking up his computer, and his projector, 01:44 was getting ready to put it away, 01:46 all the people had gone away 01:47 when somebody stepped up on the stage 01:49 and he heard the words, Pastor, Pastor, 01:52 the only words this man knew in English, 01:54 he turned around, and he went, oh, 01:57 now usually you're not supposed to gasp 01:59 when you look at somebody, right? 02:01 But this man looked terrible. 02:03 He was a leper. 02:04 He had leprosy. 02:05 Have you heard of leprosy from the Bible? Yeah. 02:08 Well, he had leprosy, 02:10 and his nose had rotted off and fallen off his face. 02:13 And he had a big hole where his cheek used to be. 02:15 You could see his teeth moving up and down 02:17 when he talked. 02:19 He also didn't have any fingers or toes. 02:21 They had rotted and fell off of his, fallen off of his body. 02:24 And he smelled terrible. 02:27 But with the help of the translator, 02:29 he said to the pastor, 02:30 he says, "Pastor, would you please pray for me? 02:32 I've been coming every night, 02:34 and I sat behind that tree over there, 02:36 listening to the most wonderful news 02:39 I have ever heard in my life about a Jesus that loves me. 02:43 Yes, me, even me, a leper. 02:45 And I would like to ask you 02:47 to pray to God for three things. 02:50 Number one, 02:51 that God would heal my fingers. 02:53 Because you see, 02:55 I want a Bible 02:56 and if God would heal my fingers, 02:58 I would be able to turn the pages of the Bible, 03:02 and that God would give me a Bible, 03:04 and that God would teach me how to read." 03:09 And the pastor said, 03:10 "Wow, 03:11 I don't think I've ever prayed for a leper before. 03:13 I'm not sure what to expect, but okay." 03:16 So he prayed for this man and you know what? 03:19 When he opened his eyes, 03:20 the man looked exactly the same. 03:22 And the pastor felt really guilty. 03:25 And the devil whispered in the pastor's ear, 03:27 you know how sometimes we're tempted? 03:28 And the devil said to him, 03:30 ha, you're the only Christian he knows. 03:32 The Bible says that if you had as much faith 03:35 as a little tiny mustard seed, 03:37 you can tell that mountain over there to move, 03:39 and it would move. 03:40 You're the first Christian he's ever met. 03:43 And you don't have enough faith to heal him. 03:46 Oh, well, first of all children, 03:48 we never heal anybody, do we? 03:49 That would be Jesus' job, right? 03:51 But the pastor felt so bad. 03:53 Maybe he didn't have enough faith. 03:56 Oh, dear. 03:57 But he said to the man, "Can I take your picture? 04:00 I'll print it out and look at it every day 04:02 to pray for you." 04:03 The man said, "Yes." 04:05 So he took the man's picture. He went home to Australia. 04:09 He printed it out, put it on the refrigerator door 04:11 with some magnets, 04:12 and every day 04:14 when he got his milk out for his breakfast, 04:16 he would see that face looking back at him 04:17 and he would pray for him. 04:19 Finally, two years went by. 04:21 And the pastor had a chance to go back to India again 04:24 to do evangelism again. 04:26 And he wanted to see the people 04:28 that he had baptized the time before, 04:29 but he was going to be 100 kilometers away 04:32 from where he had been the time before. 04:34 And he was afraid if he told him he was coming, 04:36 maybe he wouldn't have enough time to go see them. 04:38 So he thought, I'm not going to tell them. 04:40 I'm just going to show up as a surprise 04:41 when I get some free time. 04:43 And so, he decided to do exactly that. 04:47 So he got on the airplane, he went to India, 04:49 he preached a meeting. 04:51 But you know what? 04:52 There was even more people at that meeting 04:54 than there had ever been at the other meeting. 04:56 And so he didn't have enough time 04:59 to go see the first village 05:01 because it was about 100 kilometers. 05:02 That's quite a ways. 05:04 So the last night 05:05 he's putting away his stuff again, 05:06 inside this huge tent that they had pitched. 05:09 And he was putting stuff away 05:11 when he heard somebody running from outside. 05:13 He thought, "That's strange. 05:14 I wonder who is here. 05:16 " And before he could turn around, 05:17 somebody gave him a big sweaty hug. 05:20 That really surprised him. 05:22 Because in India, in that section of India, 05:24 nobody hugs anybody. 05:26 So he was very surprised that he got a hug. 05:28 He turned around and he said, "Ah, hi." 05:32 And the man said, "Pastor, Pastor," 05:34 he called over his translator, 05:35 "Do you remember me?" 05:37 He looked at the man. 05:38 He said, "No, I've never seen you before." 05:40 "Oh, Pastor, look at my eyes. 05:42 Do you remember me?" 05:44 Pastor said, "You know, it's very strange. 05:46 I do recognize your eyes, but not your face. 05:49 I don't know why, I'm so sorry." 05:52 The man says, "But, Pastor, I'm the leper." 05:55 And the pastor knew he was telling him the truth, 05:57 because those were the same eyes 05:58 that looked at him 06:00 from the refrigerator door every day. 06:01 He said, "Oh, my, what happened?" 06:03 He said, "Well, I went back to my village. 06:06 And when I went back to my village, 06:08 I told them about Jesus. 06:09 And I told them about Jesus every single night, 06:12 for a whole week for about an hour every night. 06:14 And then I ran out of stuff to say, 06:16 I couldn't remember anything else. 06:18 And so somebody said, 06:19 "Can't you remember anything else?" 06:20 He said, "No. 06:22 " Well, where could you find out 06:23 more about this Jesus? 06:24 He said, "Well, 06:26 if somebody would buy me a Bible, 06:27 that's God's book, 06:29 I could read you lots more stories 06:31 and tell you a lot more things about Jesus. 06:33 But I don't have any money." 06:35 And somebody said, "Really? 06:37 How are you going to read?" 06:39 And he said, the guy said, "You don't go to school. 06:42 None of us have gone to school in this little village. 06:44 We don't know how to read." 06:46 He said, "But the God of heaven is all powerful, 06:48 and He will teach me how to read. 06:50 So if you will buy me a Bible, I will read it to you." 06:54 "Really" said a lady, 06:55 "Well, if this God is so powerful, 06:58 how come you still have leprosy?" 07:00 Hmm. 07:02 He didn't know what to say. He thought about it. 07:04 And he said, "Oh, 07:05 because you see, 07:07 it's not essential that I be healed. 07:09 But it's essential that you know about Jesus. 07:12 So if you get me a Bible, 07:14 I will learn how to read 07:16 because the God of heaven is going to teach me." 07:18 A little old man said, "Okay." 07:19 He says, "I'm going to go, 07:21 and I'm going to go to the big city tomorrow, 07:23 I'm going to take all my life savings, 07:25 and I'm going to buy a Bible. 07:26 I sure hope you know how to read." 07:29 So he did. He went to the big city. 07:31 It took him all day to find a Bible. 07:33 They wanted to sell him a Quran, 07:35 and other important religious books, 07:38 but that are not Bibles. 07:39 And they don't tell us that much about Jesus. 07:42 And so finally he found the Bible, 07:44 he brought it back. 07:45 The little leper was waiting for him, 07:47 he gave him the Bible and he said, 07:49 "I sure hope you can read." 07:51 While the little leper had seen street signs, 07:53 you know how you see street signs 07:54 that says the name of the street, 07:55 but he didn't know what those letters meant. 07:57 He opened the Bible. 07:59 He says, Pastor, you know where it opened to? 08:01 It's now my favorite text. 08:03 I don't know. 08:04 But it's the first time I ever read it. 08:05 It said, "For God so loved the world, 08:09 that He gave His only begotten Son 08:11 that whosoever believes in Him 08:13 should not perish but have everlasting life." 08:16 Whosoever pastor includes people like me, 08:19 and he says, "I don't know how I could read, 08:21 I just could. 08:23 " And he said, "The little man got so excited. 08:25 He ran through the village yelling, 08:27 'he can read, he can read,' 08:29 and he woke up people and they came out.'" 08:30 And he says, "I read to them for about an hour. 08:32 We started in Genesis, and I read them about creation. 08:35 And, Pastor, 08:36 we've read every night for about an hour. 08:38 We've read through the Bible more than once. 08:40 And the other day, 08:42 we heard that the red-haired pastor was back. 08:45 "So I was wondering, Pastor, if you would baptize us." 08:50 "Us" said the pastor. 08:51 He said, "Yes, Pastor, as I kept reading the Bible, 08:54 my nose grew back, my cheek filled in, 08:57 my fingers came back, I don't know how. 09:00 But I went to see a doctor. 09:01 And he said that I'm no longer a leper. 09:04 And he couldn't believe it, 09:05 because none of his gods 09:06 have ever done anything like that for him before. 09:08 And I told him, 09:09 "It's because the God of heaven 09:11 is, of course, the greatest God 09:12 and that's why He is the only true God 09:14 and that's why I was healed. 09:16 And so, Pastor, we've been reading every night 09:18 and there's 25 people outside the tent, 09:20 Pastor, that want to get baptized. 09:22 We've been walking day and night to get here. 09:24 Would you baptize us?" 09:27 And that night, boys and girls, 09:30 that previous leper 09:32 and 25 people from his village got baptized, 09:36 because the God of heaven hasn't changed a bit 09:41 since Bible times. 09:43 God can do the same through you. 09:46 Don't ever say you're too young. 09:49 While we're still in San Francisco 09:51 and behind me here, 09:52 you can see these California sea lions, 09:55 where you can see them you can possibly hear them, 09:58 but lucky for you, you can't smell them. 10:01 Well next up, we're traveling to Brazil. 10:03 And we're going to meet Juliana 10:04 who gave up her birthday cake 10:06 so that she can help feed the homeless in her city. 10:10 Mom didn't expect 10:11 Juliana to refuse a cake for her 11th birthday. 10:14 "I want to bake you a chocolate cake, 10:17 " mom said a few days before Juliana's birthday. 10:20 "No, thank you," Juliana said. 10:22 Mom looked surprised. 10:24 "Why not?" 10:25 she said. 10:26 "I want to feed the homeless people 10:28 rather than have a cake," 10:29 Juliana said, 10:30 "Let's make soup for the homeless." 10:33 Juliana had seen a crowd of homeless people 10:35 sleeping at the bus stop 10:36 when she and mom had gone out 10:38 and she couldn't stop thinking about them. 10:40 "It's too difficult and too much work," 10:43 mom said, 10:44 "it would cost too much money for the ingredients. 10:46 We also don't have a big pot to cook enough soup." 10:50 But Juliana wasn't discouraged. 10:52 "I want to give soup to the homeless," 10:54 she insisted. 10:56 This is the work of God. 10:58 Juliana had learned about God 11:00 at a Seventh-day Adventist Church in Salvador, Brazil. 11:03 She first went to the church 11:05 because she wanted to join its Pathfinder club. 11:07 She had seen a neighborhood friend 11:08 wearing the Pathfinder uniform, 11:10 so she wanted to be a Pathfinder too. 11:12 A little while after she joined the club, 11:14 she gave her heart to Jesus and was baptized. 11:18 Mom was glad that Juliana loved God, 11:20 but she wasn't interested in going to church. 11:23 After mom said 11:24 she couldn't cook soup without a big pot, 11:26 Juliana visited some of her Adventist neighbors 11:28 and asked if they had a big pot that she could borrow. 11:31 Two neighbors gave her big pots and she brought them home 11:35 three days before her birthday. 11:37 But she still didn't have the ingredients for the soup. 11:40 The matter seemed hopeless. 11:41 So Juliana prayed, 11:43 "God please give me wisdom and touch mom's heart 11:47 to allow me to make soup for the homeless." 11:50 The next day, 11:52 Juliana gingerly asked mom again 11:54 whether she could make soup for the homeless. 11:56 Mom got angry. 11:58 "Go to the store 12:00 and ask for them to donate the food for the soup," 12:02 she replied. 12:03 She secretly hoped that Juliana would be too shy 12:06 to go to the store. 12:07 But Juliana happily skipped to the neighborhood store 12:10 praying, "Thank you God for answering my prayer." 12:14 At the store, 12:15 she told the manager about her desire 12:16 to make soup for the homeless 12:18 and asked if he would donate the ingredients. 12:20 He told her to return the next day. 12:24 Juliana went to several other stores 12:26 with the same request. 12:27 But all the managers also told her 12:29 to return the next day. 12:30 She visited her Adventist neighbors again 12:33 and they promised to bring over some vegetables. 12:36 The day before Juliana's birthday, 12:38 she stopped at the first grocery store 12:39 after school. 12:41 The manager gave her a huge bag of vegetables. 12:44 The other stores 12:45 and her Adventist neighbors also gave her food 12:47 as they said they would. 12:49 Mom was shocked 12:50 when she saw bags of onions, chili peppers, potatoes, 12:54 carrots, pumpkins, corn, spices 12:56 and other ingredients for soup. 12:59 "What is all this?" 13:00 she asked. 13:02 "These are the ingredients for the soup 13:03 that you're going to make, 13:05 " Juliana beamed and showed mom the two big pots 13:07 that she had borrowed. 13:10 Mom was amazed at Juliana's determination 13:12 to help the homeless. 13:14 With the help of several Adventist women, 13:16 they made the soup. 13:18 On her birthday 13:19 Juliana put on her Pathfinder uniform 13:21 and with her friends and mom 13:23 they loaded the two big pots of soup into a car. 13:27 When they arrived at a bus stop 13:28 where some homeless people sat, 13:30 a friend announced, 13:32 "Today is Juliana's birthday 13:34 and she has made soup for you." 13:36 The homeless people were delighted. 13:38 Everyone formed a circle around Juliana and clapped 13:41 and sang Happy Birthday to her. 13:45 Mom felt ashamed 13:47 that she hadn't wanted to help the homeless. 13:49 She realized that Juliana was filled with the love of God 13:53 and she wanted to be filled with God's love too. 13:56 Two months after Juliana's birthday, 13:58 mom was baptized. 14:03 Today, Juliana, mom 14:05 and several other church members 14:07 go out twice a month 14:08 to feed the homeless and share God's blessings. 14:12 You can give to this quarter's 13 Sabbath Offering 14:15 part of which will help open a place 14:17 in Juliana's city, Salvador, Brazil 14:20 where people can take Bible studies 14:21 and healthy cooking classes. 14:23 Think about ways 14:25 that you too can help people in need in your community. 14:28 Thank you for your mission offering. 14:44 Well, that's just about it for today's program. 14:46 And thanks so much for joining us. 14:48 It's just so encouraging 14:50 to see young kids involved in mission. 14:52 I love the story of the girl in Brazil 14:55 and that little boy in the Solomon Islands. 14:58 What an amazing thing. 14:59 It was just so natural to him to share his faith 15:02 and start a new group of believers. 15:04 But I want to thank you 15:06 for being a part of Adventist Mission. 15:07 I want to thank you 15:08 for the way that you support through your prayers, 15:10 your offerings, 15:12 and also through your personal involvement. 15:14 Well, for Adventist Mission, I'm Gary Krause, 15:16 and I hope that next time, 15:18 you can join me right here on Mission 360. |
Revised 2020-10-04