It's good to be with you.
00:01:00.39\00:01:01.72
I was talking to
Herman Harp today.
00:01:01.76\00:01:03.09
Herman Harp is a
good friend of mine.
00:01:03.12\00:01:05.36
Ponder and Harp, and Jennings,
00:01:05.39\00:01:06.93
one of my favorite music groups.
00:01:06.96\00:01:09.46
And Herman, he was talking about
00:01:09.50\00:01:13.03
some of the difficulties
of being a gospel singer
00:01:13.07\00:01:17.61
on the road, in the church,
00:01:17.64\00:01:20.61
it's not easy.
00:01:20.64\00:01:23.14
And he said, people
come up to me and say,
00:01:23.18\00:01:26.55
"How do you stay humble?"
00:01:26.58\00:01:29.32
And he says, I
just start laughing.
00:01:29.35\00:01:32.82
How do you stay humble,
00:01:32.85\00:01:34.89
when you can barely
get enough money to eat,
00:01:34.92\00:01:36.93
he said, "How
do you stay humble?
00:01:36.96\00:01:39.83
How do you stay humble?
00:01:39.86\00:01:41.96
Well, let me tell you,
00:01:42.00\00:01:44.33
how do you stay
humble in ministry?
00:01:44.37\00:01:46.84
You fellows know.
00:01:46.87\00:01:49.50
The Lord keeps us humble.
00:01:49.54\00:01:52.04
If it's not one
thing, it's twenty.
00:01:52.07\00:01:54.91
I...
00:01:54.94\00:01:56.85
tonight somebody
asked me, they said,
00:01:56.88\00:02:00.48
"Do you have on
your suspenders?"
00:02:00.52\00:02:03.18
one of our team members.
00:02:03.22\00:02:05.65
See, they'd heard the story.
00:02:05.69\00:02:08.22
Back in '99, I was ill,
very ill, lost a lot of weight.
00:02:08.26\00:02:14.40
And so I had decided
to fly to workers meeting
00:02:14.43\00:02:17.77
instead of drive.
00:02:17.80\00:02:19.53
It wasn't any faster,
00:02:19.57\00:02:21.67
but it was a
little easier on the body.
00:02:21.70\00:02:24.77
And so I flew from Shreveport,
00:02:24.81\00:02:27.78
where I was a
conference president
00:02:27.81\00:02:29.14
over to Dallas.
00:02:29.18\00:02:31.11
And I was changing
planes, and I needed a shine.
00:02:31.15\00:02:35.95
Got up on the shoeshine stand,
and my legs have been so weak,
00:02:35.98\00:02:39.62
that I had walked
only with the cane.
00:02:39.65\00:02:42.72
And my body was just so weak,
00:02:42.76\00:02:44.86
I could hardly
get up on that stand.
00:02:44.89\00:02:47.13
But I finally got up there.
00:02:47.16\00:02:49.93
Men shine my shoes.
00:02:49.96\00:02:52.60
When I came off
the stand, I fell,
00:02:52.63\00:02:55.84
and he helped me up.
00:02:55.87\00:02:58.61
And I reached to my
pocket, and I asked him,
00:02:58.64\00:03:02.01
if he had change, and he didn't.
00:03:02.04\00:03:06.05
And I...
00:03:06.08\00:03:07.42
he said, he
didn't anyway, you know,
00:03:07.45\00:03:08.85
that's how those
guys get those bigger tips
00:03:08.88\00:03:11.59
when they don't have the change.
00:03:11.62\00:03:14.69
But he didn't know me,
00:03:14.72\00:03:16.49
and didn't know my
Scottish heritage and so.
00:03:16.52\00:03:21.46
I said, "Well,
I'll be right back."
00:03:21.50\00:03:24.57
So I walked over to
where there was a stand,
00:03:24.60\00:03:29.50
they were selling
these like slurpy things,
00:03:29.54\00:03:32.34
you know, I mean
they are fruit drink,
00:03:32.37\00:03:34.64
but healthy.
00:03:34.68\00:03:36.85
And when you've been
sick, you're thinking health,
00:03:36.88\00:03:38.68
you're not
thinking of anything else.
00:03:38.71\00:03:41.48
So I ordered a couple of them,
00:03:41.52\00:03:44.22
got them in my hand,
00:03:44.25\00:03:46.25
I went back over there,
00:03:46.29\00:03:48.82
and while I was standing there
00:03:48.86\00:03:50.83
with these two $3
drinks in my hand,
00:03:50.86\00:03:54.93
my pants fell down to my ankles.
00:03:54.96\00:03:56.87
Well, that's what
everybody else did,
00:04:00.34\00:04:02.00
they just laughed at me.
00:04:02.04\00:04:04.31
I'm standing there,
00:04:04.34\00:04:05.67
at the Dallas Fort Worth airport
00:04:05.71\00:04:08.01
with my pants
down around my ankles.
00:04:08.04\00:04:11.88
My wife...
00:04:11.91\00:04:13.68
Now my wife, you could tell her
the funniest joke in the world,
00:04:13.72\00:04:18.09
and she would just
smile and say, "Uh-huh,
00:04:18.12\00:04:20.56
that was nice, yeah."
00:04:20.59\00:04:22.82
But you let
somebody's pants fall off,
00:04:22.86\00:04:26.19
and she sees that as humor say,
00:04:26.23\00:04:28.96
and she was bent over laughing.
00:04:29.00\00:04:32.63
And I was trying
to look for somebody
00:04:32.67\00:04:34.40
to grab one of those things,
00:04:34.44\00:04:35.80
so I could put my pants back up.
00:04:35.84\00:04:39.64
And finally I got a little help.
00:04:39.67\00:04:42.28
And I gave the man
a dollar for the tip,
00:04:42.31\00:04:45.81
which I thought was reasonable,
he charged by $5 for shine,
00:04:45.85\00:04:49.35
and I thought a
dollar was reasonable.
00:04:49.38\00:04:52.89
And he looked at me,
and he said, "You mean,
00:04:52.92\00:04:54.82
you went through all of that
just for giving me a dollar.
00:04:54.86\00:04:57.63
And I almost said, let
me have it back, you know.
00:05:02.06\00:05:05.57
Well, I want
you to know tonight,
00:05:05.60\00:05:07.17
I've got on
suspenders and a belt,
00:05:07.20\00:05:11.74
I'm not taking any
chances tonight, all right.
00:05:11.77\00:05:15.38
And it does,
00:05:15.41\00:05:18.68
those are the kind of
things that keep you humble,
00:05:18.71\00:05:20.88
I guarantee you.
00:05:20.92\00:05:22.35
And there are lot more,
00:05:22.38\00:05:24.22
I've had several
phone calls today,
00:05:24.25\00:05:26.79
that have kept me very humble.
00:05:26.82\00:05:28.42
And so, you don't
have to worry about that.
00:05:28.46\00:05:30.83
Dwight Nelson
came down one time,
00:05:30.86\00:05:32.49
Dwight Nelson, one
of my best friends,
00:05:32.53\00:05:35.13
one of the best
preachers around.
00:05:35.16\00:05:36.67
I love this guy tremendously,
I was conference president,
00:05:36.70\00:05:40.60
I said, "Dwight, come
down and speak to my workers.
00:05:40.64\00:05:43.81
He tried to back out
on me, the last night day,
00:05:43.84\00:05:46.51
he had some kind of a
problem, I just appealed to him,
00:05:46.54\00:05:49.88
please come,
00:05:49.91\00:05:52.21
and he came down, and
he preached on humility.
00:05:52.25\00:05:57.85
And I said to him, "Dwight,
00:05:57.89\00:06:02.02
these guys haven't
been on some net 98.
00:06:02.06\00:06:05.99
These guys haven't
been on net 95 or 96.
00:06:06.03\00:06:09.23
Go preach that to Mark
and go preach that to Doug
00:06:09.26\00:06:12.23
and preach it to yourself,
00:06:12.27\00:06:13.90
my poor preachers are
trying to get up enough courage
00:06:13.94\00:06:16.20
to get up next
week, and preach it again.
00:06:16.24\00:06:19.04
You know, there's
humility is not the battle
00:06:19.07\00:06:21.44
for most of our
Adventist preachers.
00:06:21.48\00:06:24.81
He's trying to have
enough courage to get up
00:06:24.85\00:06:29.88
and go at it again.
00:06:29.92\00:06:32.39
But I will say to you tonight,
00:06:32.42\00:06:35.12
God keeps us humble, doesn't he?
00:06:35.16\00:06:37.73
He knows how.
00:06:37.76\00:06:39.59
This is my fourth time
I believe to preach here
00:06:39.63\00:06:43.03
in the last 20 some odd years.
00:06:43.06\00:06:46.30
It's an honor to be with you.
00:06:46.33\00:06:49.27
This...
00:06:49.30\00:06:50.64
when I was vice
president of the division,
00:06:50.67\00:06:53.38
one of my jobs,
00:06:53.41\00:06:57.21
in addition to
training young presidents,
00:06:57.25\00:06:59.88
which was really
very enjoyable thing
00:06:59.91\00:07:03.15
to share with these men.
00:07:03.18\00:07:06.25
Tell them some of the mistakes
that some of us had made,
00:07:06.29\00:07:09.62
and Elder Kibble
and I envisioned this,
00:07:09.66\00:07:13.63
and Don Schneider says,
00:07:13.66\00:07:15.40
"All right,
you're in charge of it,
00:07:15.43\00:07:16.97
and he put us in charge
of training new presidents
00:07:17.00\00:07:22.40
that have come in.
00:07:22.44\00:07:24.11
And so many of
them have told us,
00:07:24.14\00:07:26.11
and he and I both knew that
00:07:26.14\00:07:28.31
it would have helped us a lot
00:07:28.34\00:07:29.98
to have had
that kind of training
00:07:30.01\00:07:31.35
when we became
president of a conference,
00:07:31.38\00:07:33.88
and we've had a lot of
these fellows get back and say,
00:07:33.92\00:07:39.19
some of these
things you've taught us
00:07:39.22\00:07:41.29
really have paid off.
00:07:41.32\00:07:43.43
And that's good.
00:07:43.46\00:07:44.93
But the other, there
are so many joyful things
00:07:44.96\00:07:47.80
about serving at
the division level.
00:07:47.83\00:07:50.60
And Elder Bradford knows this,
00:07:50.63\00:07:52.23
because he served at
that level for so many years,
00:07:52.27\00:07:56.30
and was the
president of that division,
00:07:56.34\00:08:00.91
the North American division.
00:08:00.94\00:08:03.01
And we loved Elder
Bradford, we still love him,
00:08:03.04\00:08:06.18
and Elder Cleveland,
00:08:06.21\00:08:08.22
these men have meant
a lot to me personally
00:08:08.25\00:08:11.09
through the years,
00:08:11.12\00:08:12.45
I've know them
for many, many years.
00:08:12.49\00:08:14.82
T. Marshall Kelly,
first time I met him,
00:08:14.86\00:08:17.69
he won't remember meeting me,
00:08:17.73\00:08:19.13
but I will never
forget meeting him.
00:08:19.16\00:08:21.70
It was in Dayton, Ohio I
believe with Don Jacobson,
00:08:21.73\00:08:26.60
and you were
holding a crusade there.
00:08:26.63\00:08:29.20
That was the first time
I've ever heard you sing,
00:08:29.24\00:08:33.31
and I've fell in
love with your voice.
00:08:33.34\00:08:36.18
And you get better every year,
you really do, that's right.
00:08:36.21\00:08:40.65
God knows that that's true.
00:08:40.68\00:08:43.92
And Elder Bradford,
00:08:43.95\00:08:45.59
the first time I
heard Elder Bradford preach,
00:08:45.62\00:08:48.02
I was a student in
Andrews University.
00:08:48.06\00:08:51.49
And I remember
some of the things,
00:08:51.53\00:08:53.86
he talked about that night.
00:08:53.90\00:08:57.07
One of them tipped
me off on something.
00:08:57.10\00:09:01.07
I knew when I heard this,
00:09:01.10\00:09:04.84
that I had a
fellow baseball fan,
00:09:04.87\00:09:08.14
because he told us, "If
you've got the fast ball,
00:09:08.18\00:09:12.58
we can teach you the curve."
00:09:12.61\00:09:15.45
You don't remember
saying that, do you?
00:09:15.48\00:09:18.02
Yes, I do. All right.
00:09:18.05\00:09:19.55
And when I saw Elder Bradford,
00:09:19.59\00:09:22.52
he reminded me
of Roy Campanella,
00:09:22.56\00:09:24.93
the great catcher
for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
00:09:24.96\00:09:28.10
So I came down and
introduced myself to him,
00:09:28.13\00:09:30.80
and I said, "Sir,
has anyone ever told you,
00:09:30.83\00:09:33.90
that you
resemble Roy Campanella,
00:09:33.94\00:09:37.21
and he said, "Many
times and in many places."
00:09:37.24\00:09:40.58
I think he probably
even signed a few autographs,
00:09:40.61\00:09:42.84
just to get people off his back.
00:09:42.88\00:09:45.65
You know, people do that,
00:09:45.68\00:09:47.05
I was with Dom DeLuise one time,
00:09:47.08\00:09:49.48
just met him in airport
out there in Phoenix, Arizona.
00:09:49.52\00:09:53.79
You know Dom DeLuise,
00:09:53.82\00:09:55.26
don't act like you
don't know, who he is.
00:09:55.29\00:09:57.29
He is a comedian,
00:09:57.33\00:09:59.56
and he wears one of
these hats, you know,
00:09:59.59\00:10:02.10
kind of a golf hat, white one.
00:10:02.13\00:10:04.67
And he looks so
much like Paul Prudhomme,
00:10:04.70\00:10:09.50
who is the chef
out of New Orleans,
00:10:09.54\00:10:12.54
that writes all these cookbooks.
00:10:12.57\00:10:15.11
And so he was sitting
there, we were talking,
00:10:15.14\00:10:17.55
and somebody came
up to Dom DeLuise,
00:10:17.58\00:10:20.48
and they said to him,
00:10:20.52\00:10:22.18
"I've bought all
of your cookbooks,
00:10:22.22\00:10:24.29
and so he signed the
autograph Paul Prudhomme,
00:10:24.32\00:10:28.72
and the lady walked away.
00:10:28.76\00:10:31.33
And I said, now
you're Dom DeLuise,
00:10:31.36\00:10:34.06
"Oh, yeah, well, yeah."
00:10:34.10\00:10:35.43
And he was.
00:10:35.46\00:10:36.80
I said, "But you just
signed Paul Prudhomme,"
00:10:36.83\00:10:39.17
he said, "He does
the same thing for me,"
00:10:39.20\00:10:41.07
when people come up
to him, and they think...
00:10:41.10\00:10:44.31
so we don't
bother to correct them,
00:10:44.34\00:10:46.27
we just sign
whatever they think we are.
00:10:46.31\00:10:48.91
And it takes care of them.
00:10:48.94\00:10:52.38
Elder Bradford
impressed me so much
00:10:52.41\00:10:54.92
that night as a preacher.
00:10:54.95\00:10:57.85
I knew, I could
never preach like he did.
00:10:57.89\00:11:03.12
I could never use the language,
00:11:03.16\00:11:06.16
the English
language so beautifully,
00:11:06.19\00:11:09.56
and use the
vocabulary that he had,
00:11:09.60\00:11:14.20
it was magnificent.
00:11:14.24\00:11:15.57
Andrews
University, I was a student,
00:11:15.60\00:11:18.51
undergrad student,
00:11:18.54\00:11:20.31
not at the
seminary at that time.
00:11:20.34\00:11:22.84
But we became friends.
00:11:22.88\00:11:25.15
And every time I would see him,
I would go up and speak to him,
00:11:25.18\00:11:28.88
I was just a young student.
00:11:28.92\00:11:30.59
And then later on,
00:11:30.62\00:11:32.55
we got to know each
other a whole lot better.
00:11:32.59\00:11:35.76
And then, when he retired,
00:11:35.79\00:11:37.13
I was pastoring the
Arlington Texas Church,
00:11:37.16\00:11:39.49
and he had been
chairman of the board
00:11:39.53\00:11:41.33
of Adventist Health Systems US,
00:11:41.36\00:11:43.10
and I thought that's
good enough, any reason.
00:11:43.13\00:11:45.93
And we gave a banquet
for Elder and Mrs. Bradford,
00:11:45.97\00:11:50.67
and we charged bunch of
money for people to come,
00:11:50.71\00:11:53.91
cost a bunch of
money, a plate to get in.
00:11:53.94\00:11:56.44
It was a nice banquet,
and we had a gift for him.
00:11:56.48\00:12:00.75
And we put him up
in the nice hotel.
00:12:00.78\00:12:02.78
Gave him a nice hotel suites,
and we took care of Elder...
00:12:02.82\00:12:06.09
We offered to
give him a limousine,
00:12:06.12\00:12:08.22
but he said, "No, he
would rather rent his own car.
00:12:08.26\00:12:10.99
So we didn't force
the limousine on him.
00:12:11.03\00:12:15.56
We wanted to let him know,
00:12:15.60\00:12:18.17
how much we appreciated
00:12:18.20\00:12:20.54
his leadership in this division.
00:12:20.57\00:12:23.71
Elder, we do appreciate you.
00:12:23.74\00:12:25.67
Elder Cleveland,
00:12:29.24\00:12:31.78
I wish he were
here, he's just given out,
00:12:31.81\00:12:34.88
he's heard all the
good sermons he could hear.
00:12:34.92\00:12:36.65
And he said, "I don't think,
00:12:36.69\00:12:38.02
I'm gonna get
one on this next one.
00:12:38.05\00:12:39.55
So he stayed
home, but, you know...
00:12:39.59\00:12:44.06
you know, you win
some and you loose some.
00:12:44.09\00:12:45.89
But that man, what a
preacher, and I'm pointing here,
00:12:49.00\00:12:52.83
'cause this is
where he usually sits.
00:12:52.87\00:12:54.30
I remember when I
was a student at Andrews,
00:12:57.31\00:12:59.37
I had gone back
there one summer,
00:12:59.41\00:13:01.24
Camille was had our oldest son,
00:13:01.28\00:13:03.81
and she was staying down
with her parents in Collegedale
00:13:03.85\00:13:07.45
where he was a
pastor, Elder Thurman
00:13:07.48\00:13:09.95
and I heard that Elder Cleveland
00:13:09.98\00:13:13.32
was at the
Wisconsin camp meeting.
00:13:13.36\00:13:16.36
And Friday afternoon,
00:13:16.39\00:13:18.19
I jumped in my whatever I
was driving in those days.
00:13:18.23\00:13:23.23
And headed over
there, and when I got there.
00:13:23.26\00:13:27.54
I slept in the car and
then I got up and I listened.
00:13:27.57\00:13:31.77
Well, I heard him Friday night.
00:13:31.81\00:13:33.17
Then I heard him Sabbath morning
00:13:33.21\00:13:35.48
and then I heard
him Saturday night.
00:13:35.51\00:13:38.01
And then somebody was supposed
to take him the next morning
00:13:38.05\00:13:41.48
back to the airport and
I said, "Could I take you.
00:13:41.52\00:13:45.59
I'm going that
way," and somebody else,
00:13:45.62\00:13:48.22
it would just be a
complete round trip.
00:13:48.26\00:13:51.29
And the person
that was to take him
00:13:51.33\00:13:52.99
was very happy to let me do so.
00:13:53.03\00:13:55.86
And on that drive from Wisconsin
00:13:55.90\00:13:58.33
down to the airport,
00:13:58.37\00:14:00.90
we became friends.
00:14:00.94\00:14:03.37
And I listened to him
and he taught me a lot.
00:14:03.41\00:14:07.98
The first thing he taught
me was when he got in the car,
00:14:08.01\00:14:12.31
I put on the seatbelt
00:14:12.35\00:14:15.45
and he said, "When
I'm riding with a man
00:14:15.48\00:14:17.59
who puts on the
seatbelt, I do to.
00:14:17.62\00:14:19.72
And he put on the seatbelt.
00:14:19.75\00:14:21.42
He said if you don't trust
your driving, I don't either.
00:14:21.46\00:14:23.89
And people didn't have seatbelts
00:14:27.46\00:14:29.00
back in those days that often.
00:14:29.03\00:14:31.90
But I had them
and he put them on.
00:14:31.93\00:14:35.37
And so we became friends,
00:14:35.40\00:14:37.41
and by the way I
heard somebody talk about
00:14:37.44\00:14:39.07
emulating these men.
00:14:39.11\00:14:41.54
I have emulated all of them.
00:14:41.58\00:14:43.68
I could give you
the Cleveland cadence,
00:14:43.71\00:14:47.78
I could do it,
00:14:47.82\00:14:49.55
well, I won't do
it tonight, but I...
00:14:49.58\00:14:52.92
You know when you're young
00:14:52.95\00:14:54.29
you're looking
for your own style,
00:14:54.32\00:14:56.16
you know that.
00:14:56.19\00:14:57.76
Man, sometimes people
say, I thought they would,
00:14:57.79\00:14:59.93
Billy Graham was here tonight.
00:14:59.96\00:15:01.30
Well, I was
thinking Billy Graham,
00:15:01.33\00:15:03.97
when I was
preaching that sermon then,
00:15:04.00\00:15:06.84
it was probably
Billy Graham sermon
00:15:06.87\00:15:08.30
with a little
Adventist twist to it, you know.
00:15:08.34\00:15:12.17
And sometimes I'd be preaching
out of Cleveland's sermon,
00:15:12.21\00:15:14.84
and sometimes I'd be preaching
out of Bradford's sermon
00:15:14.88\00:15:17.25
and sometimes I'd be
preaching Detamore sermon.
00:15:17.28\00:15:20.82
And sometimes you would
find yourself in the sermon,
00:15:20.85\00:15:26.15
preaching it
like they preach it.
00:15:26.19\00:15:28.52
Elder Walter,
good friend of mine.
00:15:28.56\00:15:31.36
One night he was preaching
George Vandeman's sermon.
00:15:31.39\00:15:35.86
And he had taken
the printed sermon
00:15:35.90\00:15:38.03
and hadn't even
worked it over yet.
00:15:38.07\00:15:40.24
And he was going
along and he said,
00:15:42.84\00:15:45.17
"And you may say to
me Brother Vandeman."
00:15:45.21\00:15:48.01
He did.
00:15:54.65\00:15:55.98
And everybody was thinking
00:16:02.19\00:16:03.53
how is he going to
get out of this one,
00:16:03.56\00:16:04.89
he said, "You know, I
have a very good friend
00:16:04.93\00:16:07.83
by the name of George Vandeman,
00:16:07.86\00:16:09.20
and he was just really
on my mind right about now.
00:16:09.23\00:16:14.97
And he was on his mind.
00:16:15.00\00:16:18.77
Because he was using his sermon,
00:16:18.81\00:16:21.31
but you know
that's how some of us grow
00:16:21.34\00:16:23.85
and go and then later on
somehow we find our own style,
00:16:23.88\00:16:29.48
it may be inferior,
very inferior, but it's us.
00:16:29.52\00:16:34.42
And we go with what we've got.
00:16:34.46\00:16:37.23
Apostle Paul,
what a style he had.
00:16:37.26\00:16:41.50
If you really look
at the Apostle Paul.
00:16:41.53\00:16:43.87
He probably was very abrasive,
00:16:43.90\00:16:48.57
he would probably not have
won a Dale Carnegie contest
00:16:48.60\00:16:54.84
for getting along with people.
00:16:54.88\00:16:58.05
You see he would
talk to people directly.
00:16:58.08\00:17:01.78
He was willing to talk
to Peter and tell Peter
00:17:01.82\00:17:05.05
exactly what he thought
about what Peter was doing,
00:17:05.09\00:17:09.76
and he was ready to talk
to anybody else that way.
00:17:09.79\00:17:14.40
Apostle Paul
called dramatically by God
00:17:14.43\00:17:19.03
to be a preacher.
00:17:19.07\00:17:21.30
Can you imagine this
man, he's going down the road,
00:17:21.34\00:17:24.44
he doesn't even
believe in Jesus Christ.
00:17:24.47\00:17:28.28
And he is dramatically
called by Jesus Christ
00:17:28.31\00:17:32.61
to preach the gospel.
00:17:32.65\00:17:35.55
That's amazing, isn't it?
00:17:35.58\00:17:38.09
Now you would think that
if God calls a man like this
00:17:38.12\00:17:43.12
and cause him so directly,
00:17:43.16\00:17:44.89
he would completely
build a bubble around him
00:17:44.93\00:17:47.70
and protect him.
00:17:47.73\00:17:50.73
But he didn't do it.
00:17:50.77\00:17:53.34
Our text tonight he
says "from the Jews,
00:17:53.37\00:17:57.54
five times I received
forty stripes minus one.
00:17:57.57\00:18:01.48
You see that was forty,
00:18:01.51\00:18:03.24
was supposed to
be the lethal dose.
00:18:03.28\00:18:07.08
So they would stop one short
00:18:07.12\00:18:10.19
of what was
supposed to kill you.
00:18:10.22\00:18:13.19
You know, we read
that we passed right on,
00:18:13.22\00:18:15.46
listen, those whips were sharp,
00:18:15.49\00:18:19.69
they had sharp
objects at the end,
00:18:19.73\00:18:21.76
they would cut the
back as they came across...
00:18:21.80\00:18:25.47
They would extend fully
and then jerk it as they hit
00:18:25.50\00:18:29.94
and it would cut the back
00:18:29.97\00:18:31.37
and the back would
look like road kill
00:18:31.41\00:18:36.24
and five times
that happened to Paul.
00:18:36.28\00:18:38.38
Don't you imagine that Paul
00:18:38.41\00:18:39.88
somewhere along the
lines said Lord, What is this,
00:18:39.91\00:18:42.38
I was going down the road
00:18:42.42\00:18:44.45
minding my own
business persecuting
00:18:44.49\00:18:47.06
and you called me to this?
00:18:50.36\00:18:54.10
Where is the protection?
00:18:54.13\00:18:58.50
But there he was.
00:18:58.53\00:19:00.64
Then he said, "Three
times I was beaten with rods,"
00:19:00.67\00:19:05.54
three times, you remember that,
00:19:05.57\00:19:07.84
boy over to
Singapore, number of years ago,
00:19:07.88\00:19:09.84
that was beaten.
00:19:09.88\00:19:11.21
They called it caning,
00:19:11.25\00:19:13.48
and he was to be beaten
for something that he did.
00:19:13.52\00:19:16.28
Paul did this three
times, never even made the news.
00:19:16.32\00:19:20.69
Nobody complained about it,
00:19:20.72\00:19:23.02
nobody says that
00:19:23.06\00:19:24.69
his civil rights
were being violated
00:19:24.73\00:19:26.39
or anything else.
00:19:26.43\00:19:28.93
Three times,
00:19:28.96\00:19:31.37
one side was stoned
that's usually enough,
00:19:31.40\00:19:35.77
because stoning is until
death and can you just see Paul,
00:19:35.80\00:19:40.71
he's lying there on the ground
00:19:40.74\00:19:42.61
and here the
stones are coming at him,
00:19:42.64\00:19:44.58
he had to lose consciousness
somewhere along the line.
00:19:44.61\00:19:47.68
He's lying there being
beaten and pelted by the stones
00:19:47.72\00:19:51.59
and they think he's dead.
00:19:51.62\00:19:52.95
And then as some of his friends
began to pull the stones away.
00:19:56.19\00:20:01.53
He begins to shake a little bit.
00:20:01.56\00:20:05.83
And he realizes
that he's not dead.
00:20:05.87\00:20:11.01
Perhaps he wished he were,
00:20:11.04\00:20:15.81
but he wasn't.
00:20:15.84\00:20:18.28
Then he says, three
times I was shipwrecked
00:20:18.31\00:20:21.88
a night in a day I
have been in the deep.
00:20:21.92\00:20:24.45
Camille and I,
we get in the car,
00:20:24.49\00:20:27.09
we start to go somewhere,
we have a word of prayer,
00:20:27.12\00:20:29.22
we ask for God's protection.
00:20:29.26\00:20:32.49
We get down that road.
00:20:32.53\00:20:34.13
Sometimes, you know, I
remember a few years ago,
00:20:34.16\00:20:37.63
we were driving along
00:20:37.67\00:20:39.17
and all of a
sudden we had a flat tire.
00:20:39.20\00:20:42.60
I had to get down on
the side of the road,
00:20:42.64\00:20:44.31
I could not get those...
00:20:44.34\00:20:49.51
they put those lug
nuts on with the power thing
00:20:49.54\00:20:54.72
and they give you a deal
about the size of your finger
00:20:54.75\00:20:58.59
to try to get it off with.
00:20:58.62\00:21:00.72
A little old thing,
not one of those big ones,
00:21:00.76\00:21:02.56
you had some
leverage, you could do it.
00:21:02.59\00:21:06.16
I had nothing to stick on there.
00:21:06.19\00:21:08.46
Finally three hours,
00:21:08.50\00:21:11.07
I've called for
help, no help is coming.
00:21:11.10\00:21:13.60
I'm standing out
there on the road,
00:21:13.64\00:21:15.27
finally help comes
00:21:15.30\00:21:18.04
but it's just the
guy going down the road.
00:21:18.07\00:21:21.44
And I said, "Man, I
need some help here.
00:21:21.48\00:21:23.85
If you've got a pipe?"
00:21:23.88\00:21:25.21
"Yup, I've got a pipe,
got everything you need."
00:21:25.25\00:21:28.45
"How much do you want?"
00:21:28.48\00:21:30.99
"Hey, give me fifty bucks,
00:21:31.02\00:21:32.35
I'll help you get the tire off."
00:21:32.39\00:21:35.39
There you are, somebody's mercy,
00:21:35.42\00:21:40.83
but then you know, you
start to think about it,
00:21:40.86\00:21:43.93
that's nothing.
00:21:43.97\00:21:46.10
Paul was
shipwrecked three times.
00:21:46.13\00:21:48.67
One night he spent a
night and a day in the water
00:21:48.70\00:21:53.51
holding on to wreckage.
00:21:53.54\00:21:55.84
He says in journey
often imperils of water,
00:21:55.88\00:21:58.55
imperils of robbers,
imperils of my own countrymen,
00:21:58.58\00:22:02.55
imperils of the
gentiles, imperils of the city,
00:22:02.58\00:22:05.49
imperils of the world
innocent, imperils of the sea,
00:22:05.52\00:22:08.42
imperils among false
brethren, brother in.
00:22:08.46\00:22:15.63
And he says, "They
are treacherous to me."
00:22:15.66\00:22:20.84
HMS Richards
Senior was a great man.
00:22:20.87\00:22:24.97
Yeah, you know one
of the great thing.
00:22:25.01\00:22:28.78
One of the great
things about living
00:22:28.81\00:22:31.48
through this period of time
00:22:31.51\00:22:32.88
that we have
lived Elder Bradford
00:22:32.91\00:22:35.85
is that we have come across
00:22:35.88\00:22:37.42
and been able to
know some of these people
00:22:37.45\00:22:41.06
and that's been a real blessing.
00:22:41.09\00:22:43.12
Now I knew him, I
was a very young man,
00:22:43.16\00:22:46.70
but I'll tell you something,
00:22:46.73\00:22:48.06
just spending a little time
with that man was something.
00:22:48.10\00:22:50.83
I was able to go over
to his library one day
00:22:50.87\00:22:53.00
and what you see go
through his library.
00:22:53.03\00:22:55.37
And having talked to me
00:22:55.40\00:22:57.21
and you know he was
talking about the brothering.
00:22:57.24\00:23:02.51
He said, "You would
not believe how many times
00:23:02.54\00:23:06.88
they were
brothering on this committee
00:23:06.92\00:23:08.62
or that committee that
opposed the voice of prophecy.
00:23:08.65\00:23:13.32
Well, you and I
would sit back and say,
00:23:13.36\00:23:15.59
who would ever oppose
the voice of prophecy,
00:23:15.62\00:23:20.16
who would ever
oppose Elder HMS Richards.
00:23:20.20\00:23:24.43
He had opposition all the time.
00:23:24.47\00:23:28.20
And he said, "I used to think
that these were false brethren,
00:23:28.24\00:23:32.84
but he said, "I
finally came to understand,
00:23:32.87\00:23:36.71
they were just brethren
00:23:36.75\00:23:39.21
who had a
different opinion than I had.
00:23:39.25\00:23:44.59
They were not false.
00:23:44.62\00:23:46.69
They were good people.
00:23:46.72\00:23:48.82
But they saw the
proclamation of the gospel
00:23:48.86\00:23:52.53
in a different way
he said than I saw it.
00:23:52.56\00:23:57.23
And it took me a
long time to realize that.
00:23:57.27\00:24:00.87
Now there are also
false brethren, and Paul says,
00:24:00.90\00:24:02.97
he ran into some
of those, he says,
00:24:03.00\00:24:04.91
"We are innocent toil
in sleeplessness often,
00:24:04.94\00:24:07.94
in hunger and
thirst and fasting,
00:24:07.98\00:24:10.35
often in cold and nakedness.
00:24:10.38\00:24:12.61
Besides these other things,
what comes upon me daily,
00:24:12.65\00:24:18.15
my deep concern
for all the churches.
00:24:18.19\00:24:23.79
Stress, stress,
00:24:23.83\00:24:29.46
you know, Danny Shelton's
had some health problems lately.
00:24:29.50\00:24:34.14
In last week we had
00:24:34.17\00:24:36.44
Dr. James Marcum at 3ABN.
00:24:36.47\00:24:42.11
And as he visited with
Danny and with several others,
00:24:42.14\00:24:47.12
but as he visited particular
with Danny, he told him,
00:24:47.15\00:24:50.52
he said stress is
the number one thing
00:24:50.55\00:24:55.32
that causes
serious heart problems.
00:24:55.36\00:25:01.06
And you've got to remove
yourself from as much stress
00:25:01.10\00:25:04.87
as you possibly can.
00:25:04.90\00:25:08.30
Now you try doing
that being a pastor.
00:25:08.34\00:25:11.57
See I was in administration,
00:25:11.61\00:25:13.17
conference
president seven years,
00:25:13.21\00:25:15.01
five years at the division.
00:25:15.04\00:25:16.68
And then I kept
telling the workers,
00:25:16.71\00:25:18.25
at workers meetings like this.
00:25:18.28\00:25:19.91
The last thing I'm
gonna do before I hang 'em up,
00:25:19.95\00:25:24.59
is I'm gonna pastor a church.
00:25:24.62\00:25:28.86
And those
preachers will look at me,
00:25:28.89\00:25:30.73
like you're
looking at me right now.
00:25:30.76\00:25:33.43
Mmm, yeah, I bet.
00:25:33.46\00:25:37.07
And finally, the
call came to go to Dallas.
00:25:37.10\00:25:42.10
And Camille and I went.
00:25:42.14\00:25:44.57
I'm gonna tell you something.
00:25:44.61\00:25:47.18
Pastoring is so much
different that it used to be.
00:25:47.21\00:25:52.21
I'm telling you pastors, I know,
00:25:52.25\00:25:55.82
I pastored back then,
00:25:55.85\00:25:58.25
and I've
pastored now, two years,
00:25:58.29\00:26:02.39
felt like twenty,
but it was only two.
00:26:02.42\00:26:06.29
But I want to tell you,
00:26:06.33\00:26:07.66
that the problems
that we face today...
00:26:07.70\00:26:12.43
so different,
multiplied problems
00:26:12.47\00:26:18.47
that we never
faced in times passed.
00:26:18.51\00:26:22.54
And my heart
goes out to pastors.
00:26:22.58\00:26:26.08
Now see technically,
I'm still pastoring,
00:26:26.11\00:26:28.45
even though September
6th, I took this position.
00:26:28.48\00:26:32.45
I continue to go back to Dallas
every other Sabbath and preach,
00:26:32.49\00:26:36.32
sometimes more often,
sometimes a little less
00:26:36.36\00:26:39.29
according to the
schedule with 3ABN.
00:26:39.33\00:26:41.53
I'll be there this Sabbath.
00:26:41.56\00:26:43.33
I preach Sabbath morning,
00:26:43.37\00:26:44.70
and then this weekend I
had the memorial service
00:26:44.73\00:26:47.54
for a very good friend of mine.
00:26:47.57\00:26:50.27
But pastoral work
00:26:50.31\00:26:53.61
is God's call to most of you.
00:26:53.64\00:26:59.61
He's called you to do it.
00:26:59.65\00:27:02.08
He equips you to do it.
00:27:02.12\00:27:05.15
And I know that it's not easy,
00:27:05.19\00:27:07.22
but neither was the work
that Apostle Paul did easy.
00:27:07.26\00:27:13.83
You see, when God called us,
00:27:13.86\00:27:15.43
He wasn't gonna
build a bubble around us.
00:27:15.46\00:27:17.83
He called
Jeremiah from the womb.
00:27:17.87\00:27:21.77
But Jeremiah did not
have a bubble around him.
00:27:21.80\00:27:24.34
He called John the Baptist.
00:27:24.37\00:27:27.68
He prepared him
for a special work,
00:27:27.71\00:27:31.65
John the Baptist,
00:27:31.68\00:27:33.58
Jesus said of
those born of women,
00:27:33.62\00:27:36.05
there was never one
greater than John the Baptist.
00:27:36.08\00:27:41.06
And John became discouraged,
he's there in the jail,
00:27:41.09\00:27:44.76
and he's discouraged,
and he sends a note to Jesus,
00:27:44.79\00:27:47.53
"Are you the one,
00:27:47.56\00:27:49.56
'cause I'm sick and tired
of sitting here in this jail.
00:27:49.60\00:27:52.30
Are you the one
00:27:52.33\00:27:54.90
or is there another?"
00:27:54.94\00:27:58.01
He was discouraged.
00:27:58.04\00:27:59.54
And Jesus who
said, "I was in prison,
00:28:01.58\00:28:07.55
and you visited me not.
00:28:07.58\00:28:11.32
Didn't go see
him that we know of.
00:28:11.35\00:28:16.96
But I've got a feeling
that he slipped in there
00:28:16.99\00:28:21.16
in the middle of the night,
00:28:21.20\00:28:24.07
and spend some time with John,
00:28:24.10\00:28:26.07
sometime before the end.
00:28:26.10\00:28:29.84
I believe it,
because that's my Jesus.
00:28:29.87\00:28:33.88
He didn't just stay over
there, and send back a message.
00:28:33.91\00:28:38.25
Either he went or an angel went,
00:28:38.28\00:28:43.05
or the presence of
the spirit was there,
00:28:43.08\00:28:46.49
but John did not die alone,
00:28:46.52\00:28:49.46
but he did have
moments of discouragement.
00:28:49.49\00:28:55.70
I want to talk to you.
00:28:55.73\00:28:57.87
My subject is how
to work for the church,
00:28:57.90\00:29:02.40
and still be saved,
00:29:02.44\00:29:06.17
because I want to tell you,
00:29:06.21\00:29:08.58
it's the most
dangerous thing in the world,
00:29:08.61\00:29:11.35
working for the church.
00:29:11.38\00:29:13.82
Dangerous, but it's productive,
00:29:13.85\00:29:17.85
it's rewarding,
00:29:17.89\00:29:20.02
God will do things for
you that you never dreamed of.
00:29:20.06\00:29:25.89
But there will be
times, you would be like Paul,
00:29:25.93\00:29:28.33
and feel like
that he's left you.
00:29:28.36\00:29:31.40
There will be times,
you'll be like Jeremiah,
00:29:31.43\00:29:33.94
and feel like, you're all alone.
00:29:33.97\00:29:35.64
There are times,
00:29:35.67\00:29:37.01
that you'll be
like John, the Baptist,
00:29:37.04\00:29:38.67
and you'll be
looking for your head
00:29:38.71\00:29:40.18
on the platter somewhere,
00:29:40.21\00:29:43.14
knowing that it's
not gonna be easy.
00:29:43.18\00:29:49.08
But number one,
00:29:49.12\00:29:51.15
I'm gonna give
you 10 quick rules
00:29:51.19\00:29:54.26
of being a
Seventh-day Adventist worker,
00:29:54.29\00:29:59.53
and surviving.
00:29:59.56\00:30:01.36
Number one, remember this.
00:30:01.40\00:30:04.27
All human
organization is imperfect.
00:30:04.30\00:30:10.17
It is not perfect.
00:30:10.21\00:30:12.47
I believe that a
Seventh-day Adventist,
00:30:12.51\00:30:14.61
we have doctrines
that are as nearly perfect
00:30:14.64\00:30:17.61
as doctrines can
be from scripture.
00:30:17.65\00:30:20.42
I believe that our teachings
are so good, and so clear,
00:30:20.45\00:30:24.55
and so wonderful, I
really believe in them.
00:30:24.59\00:30:28.06
But I want to
tell you something,
00:30:28.09\00:30:30.29
because we are human
beings, organization,
00:30:30.33\00:30:35.36
human organization
always will fall short.
00:30:35.40\00:30:42.44
You see, God's started
out with frail human beings.
00:30:42.47\00:30:48.58
When Jesus formed the church,
00:30:48.61\00:30:50.78
He did it with
frail human beings
00:30:50.81\00:30:52.95
even after Pentecost
00:30:52.98\00:30:54.68
and the falling
of the Holy Spirit.
00:30:54.72\00:30:56.58
These were frail human
beings, they made mistakes,
00:30:56.62\00:31:03.22
and I will tell you
00:31:03.26\00:31:06.46
that God loves His church,
00:31:06.49\00:31:10.87
but He knows
that it's not perfect.
00:31:10.90\00:31:14.10
Now by the way, remember this,
00:31:14.14\00:31:18.27
sin got started in heaven.
00:31:18.31\00:31:21.18
Heaven was a perfect place,
but sin got started there.
00:31:21.21\00:31:26.18
If you think for a minute
00:31:26.21\00:31:28.25
that the devil is going
to leave the church alone,
00:31:28.28\00:31:31.02
you've got another thing coming.
00:31:31.05\00:31:33.86
I remember Lawrence
Scales, who was the preacher,
00:31:33.89\00:31:37.39
the pastor of the King Church
00:31:37.43\00:31:39.49
when I was a
student in college there.
00:31:39.53\00:31:41.66
Later became a college president
00:31:41.70\00:31:43.90
and then he went out
to Pacific Union College
00:31:43.93\00:31:46.43
and was the pastor
before he died tragically
00:31:46.47\00:31:50.41
and young of
cancer, only in his forties.
00:31:50.44\00:31:55.51
But this man,
00:31:55.54\00:31:57.75
one Sabbath morning
the speaker didn't show up.
00:31:57.78\00:32:01.55
He was already at church,
00:32:01.58\00:32:02.92
he couldn't even go
home and get a sermon
00:32:02.95\00:32:05.15
and so he stood up,
00:32:05.19\00:32:07.46
and he preached
one of the best sermons
00:32:07.49\00:32:10.43
I've ever heard
00:32:10.46\00:32:13.06
and it was entitled
"If I were the devil,"
00:32:13.09\00:32:19.37
Hey, that will
preach by the way.
00:32:19.40\00:32:22.20
If I were the devil,
00:32:22.24\00:32:24.21
and he started
listing all the things
00:32:24.24\00:32:26.74
that he would do
if he were the devil
00:32:26.78\00:32:30.91
and he talked about
some of these things.
00:32:30.95\00:32:33.08
First of all he said he
wouldn't waste time at bars.
00:32:33.11\00:32:37.02
He already has those people.
00:32:37.05\00:32:39.39
Devil doesn't have to
worry about them at all.
00:32:39.42\00:32:41.42
He said, "I would spend
a lot of time in church.
00:32:41.46\00:32:44.96
I would never
miss a church meeting
00:32:44.99\00:32:46.96
if I was the devil.
00:32:47.00\00:32:49.13
And I would get in that church
00:32:49.16\00:32:50.83
and I would cause
trouble in that church,
00:32:50.87\00:32:54.64
because that is what
the devil really does.
00:32:54.67\00:33:01.34
And he says, "I
would do something else,
00:33:01.38\00:33:03.28
I would discourage good people
00:33:03.31\00:33:06.58
and I would get
them out of the church
00:33:06.61\00:33:09.78
and I would get the hard, mean,
00:33:09.82\00:33:12.62
cold people to
stay in the church.
00:33:12.65\00:33:16.36
So they could
run a few more out.
00:33:16.39\00:33:20.26
Have you ever seen
00:33:20.30\00:33:21.90
what somebody like
that can do the church?
00:33:21.93\00:33:24.13
A pastor of the church one time
where I went into that church
00:33:24.17\00:33:27.37
and there were
three or four individuals
00:33:27.40\00:33:30.34
who would consistently run
00:33:30.37\00:33:33.38
one, two, three people
each year out of the church.
00:33:33.41\00:33:39.88
Consistently do it.
00:33:39.91\00:33:41.42
Control freaks,
00:33:44.45\00:33:47.29
who would want to
be in complete control
00:33:47.32\00:33:52.66
and they would one by
one get rid of anybody
00:33:52.69\00:33:57.80
who was a challenge to them.
00:33:57.83\00:34:00.04
Fordyce Detamore, who
was a fantastic evangelist
00:34:00.07\00:34:03.41
and the man who
saved evangelism.
00:34:03.44\00:34:07.64
Some of our
churches, some of our people,
00:34:07.68\00:34:10.08
because in our conferences,
they had quit doing evangelism,
00:34:10.11\00:34:14.35
and Detamore came back
00:34:14.38\00:34:15.75
and started the
three week program,
00:34:15.78\00:34:18.42
came back from
over the Philippines
00:34:18.45\00:34:20.72
and he got things going
00:34:20.76\00:34:22.49
and it saved evangelism
and in the Anglo Conferences.
00:34:22.52\00:34:28.16
But he said that as he went out,
00:34:28.20\00:34:29.63
he was always
looking for former members
00:34:29.66\00:34:34.30
and he said not a single one,
00:34:34.34\00:34:37.04
he had never found a
single one that had left
00:34:37.07\00:34:40.58
because of doctrine.
00:34:40.61\00:34:41.94
Now I have found a few
since then but Detamore hadn't.
00:34:41.98\00:34:45.81
Rapture wasn't that
bigger deal then I'm saying.
00:34:45.85\00:34:49.42
But he said, everyone
00:34:49.45\00:34:50.92
that I have ever
found left the church
00:34:50.95\00:34:53.29
because somebody hurt them.
00:34:53.32\00:34:56.02
Somebody hurt their feelings.
00:34:56.06\00:34:59.26
So you see, if I were the devil,
00:34:59.29\00:35:02.00
that's exactly
what I would want to do.
00:35:02.03\00:35:06.70
And we want to remember
00:35:06.74\00:35:08.07
in order to keep
ourselves from being hurt,
00:35:08.10\00:35:10.94
that all human
organization is imperfect.
00:35:10.97\00:35:17.21
I remember, when I was a
student at Andrews University
00:35:17.25\00:35:19.68
as a undergraduate student,
00:35:19.71\00:35:21.68
there was a big
battle that went on
00:35:21.72\00:35:23.59
between Floyd Rittenhouse,
00:35:23.62\00:35:27.49
who was the president of
the college and a gentleman
00:35:27.52\00:35:31.69
that you and I've
mentioned his name,
00:35:31.73\00:35:33.80
one of the great
German leaders of our church
00:35:33.83\00:35:37.97
and we've had some
great German leaders,
00:35:38.00\00:35:41.37
but this man was very
strong and very determined.
00:35:41.40\00:35:45.97
And he and Rittenhouse,
they came nose to nose
00:35:46.01\00:35:49.94
and I remember that session
and Rittenhouse was put out
00:35:49.98\00:35:54.18
and not reelected as
president of the college.
00:35:54.22\00:35:57.39
And I remember he came
back and we'd love this man.
00:35:57.42\00:36:00.66
I mean we actually,
the students loved this man
00:36:00.69\00:36:04.73
and we all met
in the auditorium,
00:36:04.76\00:36:08.56
and he reassured us of
his loyalty to the church.
00:36:08.60\00:36:15.77
He reassured us not
to get upset over this.
00:36:15.80\00:36:19.97
What a man.
00:36:20.01\00:36:22.31
And when he got through,
00:36:22.34\00:36:24.51
he did make one statement
where he took a little shot.
00:36:24.55\00:36:28.48
You know, you've got
to take a little shot
00:36:28.52\00:36:29.95
now and then, right?
00:36:29.98\00:36:31.92
You could forgive him
if he takes a little shot.
00:36:31.95\00:36:35.99
He said this,
00:36:36.02\00:36:38.29
"I have no reservations
at all about this message."
00:36:38.33\00:36:45.37
He said, "I have not
lost faith in the message,
00:36:45.40\00:36:50.27
just some of the messengers,
00:36:50.31\00:36:54.04
just some of the messengers.
00:36:54.08\00:36:56.44
And you got to remember
that the messengers are human.
00:36:56.48\00:37:02.25
You're a messenger.
00:37:02.28\00:37:04.05
I'm a messenger.
00:37:04.09\00:37:05.82
Let's make sure that
we do the best we can
00:37:05.85\00:37:10.96
not to be a stumbling
block to somebody else,
00:37:10.99\00:37:16.77
but remember all number one,
00:37:16.80\00:37:19.13
all human
organization is imperfect.
00:37:19.17\00:37:22.34
Number two,
00:37:22.37\00:37:23.71
maintain a reasonable
distrust of your own opinions,
00:37:23.74\00:37:27.74
your ideas and your programs.
00:37:27.78\00:37:32.18
Years ago, I was really young
00:37:32.21\00:37:36.82
and I came up with a plan Elder.
00:37:36.85\00:37:40.06
Now, this was actually before
you were president of N.A.D.
00:37:40.09\00:37:43.26
I came up with a plan
00:37:43.29\00:37:44.63
to reorganize the
North American division.
00:37:44.66\00:37:50.03
It was a very logical plan,
00:37:50.07\00:37:54.80
I felt like it
was a very good plan.
00:37:54.84\00:37:58.87
I took it to church leaders.
00:37:58.91\00:38:02.51
They just shook their
heads when they looked at it.
00:38:02.54\00:38:06.01
They said no, it won't work.
00:38:06.05\00:38:09.05
And you know
something I thought,
00:38:09.08\00:38:10.85
they just protected their
jobs, this is a good plan.
00:38:10.89\00:38:16.83
When I became a
conference president,
00:38:16.86\00:38:21.00
I looked at my plan again
00:38:21.03\00:38:24.83
and I said, you know
what, they were right.
00:38:24.87\00:38:28.90
My plan wasn't any good.
00:38:28.94\00:38:32.11
Every once in a
while I see my plan
00:38:32.14\00:38:34.61
crop up in a
different form here or there.
00:38:34.64\00:38:37.91
Somebody will pull it out
because it had some circulation
00:38:37.95\00:38:42.58
and somebody will pull
it out and they'll redo it.
00:38:42.62\00:38:45.02
Not long ago a
young man pulled it out,
00:38:45.05\00:38:48.29
and he went a little beyond
what I was planning on doing
00:38:48.32\00:38:52.06
and he did some
other things to that plan
00:38:52.09\00:38:54.50
and he got so
sold on that planning.
00:38:54.53\00:38:56.87
I began to look at
it, and I began to wonder,
00:38:56.90\00:39:00.34
is this...
00:39:00.37\00:39:02.34
and I recognize my old
plan changed a little bit,
00:39:02.37\00:39:06.54
different face on
it, but my old plan,
00:39:06.57\00:39:10.58
and then I
remember who that man was
00:39:10.61\00:39:12.61
and I remembered who
he often consulted with
00:39:12.65\00:39:16.05
and I knew I had
given a copy to the man
00:39:16.08\00:39:18.72
he often consulted with.
00:39:18.75\00:39:20.39
I put it all back together
00:39:20.42\00:39:22.52
and I want to
tell you something,
00:39:22.56\00:39:24.09
I hung my head in shame.
00:39:24.13\00:39:27.43
I wished I had never
come out with that plan,
00:39:27.46\00:39:32.20
but at the time I thought
it was such a good thing.
00:39:32.23\00:39:35.00
But you see
sometimes if you wait,
00:39:35.04\00:39:37.81
you see that there may be wisdom
00:39:37.84\00:39:41.81
in not doing something that
you think there's wisdom in.
00:39:41.84\00:39:45.78
2 Corinthians 1:9 says,
00:39:45.81\00:39:47.28
that we should not
trust in ourselves,
00:39:47.32\00:39:49.95
but trust in God and you
see God wants us to do that.
00:39:49.98\00:39:55.99
Romans 8:28 all things
work together for good.
00:39:56.02\00:39:58.76
As we work together
and as we plan together
00:39:58.79\00:40:01.70
and as we trust God in
His leading and His church
00:40:01.73\00:40:06.77
and I have seen
over and over again,
00:40:06.80\00:40:09.27
God working through committees.
00:40:09.30\00:40:11.97
I've seen it, my friend.
00:40:12.01\00:40:14.28
As I have gone and
worked at the different levels,
00:40:14.31\00:40:17.01
my faith has not been shaken,
00:40:17.05\00:40:19.15
my faith has been secured
00:40:19.18\00:40:23.12
by seeing how God has
led in this organization,
00:40:23.15\00:40:27.32
but maintain a distrust.
00:40:27.36\00:40:31.19
I remember one time in
a conference committee,
00:40:31.23\00:40:33.53
there was a man that
kept pushing as he said,
00:40:33.56\00:40:36.56
you are being...
00:40:36.60\00:40:37.93
you know, I was a
conference president,
00:40:37.97\00:40:39.30
he said, "You're being audited
00:40:39.33\00:40:40.70
by the General
Conference auditing service."
00:40:40.74\00:40:43.91
He said, "You need
an independent auditor."
00:40:43.94\00:40:47.71
I said, "There ain't
anybody more independent
00:40:47.74\00:40:49.58
than that bunch,
I guarantee you."
00:40:49.61\00:40:51.65
If you're conference
president, you've been audited,
00:40:51.68\00:40:53.85
you know how
independent they are.
00:40:53.88\00:40:57.82
And he said, "No,
00:40:57.85\00:40:59.19
you need somebody like
Arthur Anderson, independent."
00:40:59.22\00:41:04.79
Well, that was before
00:41:04.83\00:41:06.16
Arthur Anderson got
mixed up with Enron.
00:41:06.19\00:41:09.76
And before Arthur Anderson
00:41:09.80\00:41:11.37
got mixed up with this
other nonprofit organization
00:41:11.40\00:41:14.64
out there in Arizona.
00:41:14.67\00:41:17.64
And I remember asking my friend,
00:41:17.67\00:41:22.44
say I notice that, you know,
00:41:22.48\00:41:25.68
you have a little fun with
this every once in a while,
00:41:25.71\00:41:28.95
just happen to notice
that Arthur Anderson...
00:41:28.98\00:41:32.05
Yeah, yeah he
says, I know, I saw that.
00:41:32.09\00:41:35.96
But you see, God
has a plan in his church
00:41:35.99\00:41:41.43
and if we can just
maintain a reasonable distrust
00:41:41.46\00:41:44.97
of our own ideas.
00:41:45.00\00:41:47.00
And then number three,
00:41:47.04\00:41:49.27
you see you don't
really work for the church,
00:41:49.30\00:41:51.27
you work for God.
00:41:51.31\00:41:53.17
But you're
employed by the church.
00:41:53.21\00:41:56.71
There's a balance in that.
00:41:56.75\00:41:59.35
God has called you.
00:41:59.38\00:42:01.42
But we...
00:42:01.45\00:42:02.78
there's nothing wrong
with our putting ourselves
00:42:02.82\00:42:06.29
in to the
authority of the church
00:42:06.32\00:42:08.76
and allowing the church to
have the authority over us,
00:42:08.79\00:42:12.96
committees,
00:42:12.99\00:42:14.76
your church board
even if you're a pastor.
00:42:14.80\00:42:17.37
As a pastor I
will have certain areas
00:42:17.40\00:42:20.14
of church leadership
00:42:20.17\00:42:21.87
that I say to my board.
00:42:21.90\00:42:23.61
You are the ones
that make these decisions
00:42:23.64\00:42:27.08
and I will go with you on
the decision that you make.
00:42:27.11\00:42:31.25
Now they don't make
00:42:31.28\00:42:32.61
all the
spiritual decisions for me
00:42:32.65\00:42:34.42
and they don't
make all the decisions
00:42:34.45\00:42:36.22
that I am involved with.
00:42:36.25\00:42:37.65
So many I'm
involved with the conference,
00:42:37.69\00:42:39.95
but when it comes down
to those individual things
00:42:39.99\00:42:42.86
that affect them,
00:42:42.89\00:42:44.23
things they are
going to be paying for,
00:42:44.26\00:42:46.19
things they've got to
live with after I'm gone.
00:42:46.23\00:42:50.57
Then I want to
have them be in charge.
00:42:50.60\00:42:55.94
And then number
four, you need to totally,
00:42:55.97\00:42:58.47
listen by the way is
the most important thing
00:42:58.51\00:43:01.54
I think I'm
going to say tonight,
00:43:01.58\00:43:03.91
trying to get
these ladies to stay.
00:43:03.95\00:43:07.32
You need to totally separate
00:43:07.35\00:43:10.39
your spiritual experience
00:43:10.42\00:43:13.46
from your
position with the church.
00:43:13.49\00:43:16.79
You've got to separate that.
00:43:16.83\00:43:19.43
You work for the church, yes,
00:43:19.46\00:43:21.40
but your spiritual
experience has to be separate.
00:43:21.43\00:43:25.33
I remember one
of our institutions
00:43:25.37\00:43:27.74
they had to do a layoff,
00:43:27.77\00:43:29.54
one of them in
there got so angry
00:43:29.57\00:43:31.61
because he was
chosen to be laid off.
00:43:31.64\00:43:34.21
This man had great talent,
00:43:34.24\00:43:35.58
he could have
gone to another place
00:43:35.61\00:43:37.28
and been picked up,
but he became so angry,
00:43:37.31\00:43:39.95
he left the church,
his wife left the church,
00:43:39.98\00:43:42.25
his daughter left the church,
his son-in-law left the church,
00:43:42.28\00:43:45.59
his
grandchildren left the church,
00:43:45.62\00:43:47.72
and it has gone all to none
00:43:47.76\00:43:50.83
affected by the
anger of one man,
00:43:50.86\00:43:56.26
he was not able to separate
his spiritual experience.
00:43:56.30\00:43:59.37
Let me tell you
quickly another man.
00:43:59.40\00:44:02.24
This man, I was
at a camp meeting
00:44:02.27\00:44:03.61
about a year ago
and he came to me,
00:44:03.64\00:44:04.97
and he said, "You
ever heard my story?"
00:44:05.01\00:44:06.57
And I said, "No."
00:44:06.61\00:44:09.04
He said, "Years ago,
00:44:09.08\00:44:10.41
I was a
Seventh-day Adventist worker."
00:44:10.45\00:44:12.21
He said, "I had
worked my way up,
00:44:12.25\00:44:13.78
I was now in the
conference office."
00:44:13.82\00:44:15.68
And then he said,
"My wife suddenly left me
00:44:15.72\00:44:19.92
and ran off with another man."
00:44:19.95\00:44:23.36
And he said,
"Three weeks after that,
00:44:23.39\00:44:27.33
there was a
church business meeting
00:44:27.36\00:44:30.07
and they
disfellowshipped my wife,
00:44:30.10\00:44:33.30
and while they were at
it, they disfellowshipped me.
00:44:33.34\00:44:37.61
And he said,
00:44:37.64\00:44:38.97
"I was trying to hold
all with our three children
00:44:39.01\00:44:42.14
and trying to raise them."
00:44:42.18\00:44:44.55
And you see there is
no job for you my friend
00:44:44.58\00:44:46.82
if you're not a
member of the church.
00:44:46.85\00:44:50.09
Then so now he was out.
00:44:50.12\00:44:51.45
His wife went off
into the distance took off,
00:44:51.49\00:44:55.09
left the church,
went out into the world,
00:44:55.12\00:44:57.99
was living a very ungodly life.
00:44:58.03\00:45:00.73
He found a job
five hundred miles away.
00:45:00.76\00:45:05.00
Well, first of all the next week
00:45:05.03\00:45:07.00
after they disfellowshipped him,
00:45:07.04\00:45:08.77
he was at church with
his children right there
00:45:08.80\00:45:10.97
where they had
disfellowshipped him.
00:45:11.01\00:45:14.04
And they said,
"What are you doing here?"
00:45:14.08\00:45:18.28
He said, "You can
take my name off the books,
00:45:18.31\00:45:22.05
but my children
are still members
00:45:22.08\00:45:25.09
and I'm bringing
my children to church
00:45:25.12\00:45:28.32
and you can't take my
name off the records in heaven.
00:45:28.36\00:45:31.19
They got a job
five hundred miles away,
00:45:34.56\00:45:36.53
he went over there.
00:45:36.56\00:45:37.93
They didn't know that he
was not a member of the church,
00:45:37.97\00:45:40.54
he was very active
in helping his children
00:45:40.57\00:45:42.70
move their membership
00:45:42.74\00:45:44.34
and then word finally came,
00:45:44.37\00:45:47.88
that he was not a
member of the church.
00:45:47.91\00:45:50.98
But the conference
president in that area
00:45:51.01\00:45:54.38
was a man with some wisdom
00:45:54.42\00:45:57.49
and he worked
it out very quietly
00:45:57.52\00:46:00.79
for that man's
membership to be restored,
00:46:00.82\00:46:04.13
and for him to go without
any further embarrassment.
00:46:04.16\00:46:08.26
He married again.
00:46:08.30\00:46:10.63
Forty years went by,
raised those children,
00:46:10.67\00:46:15.00
they were all at the church
00:46:15.04\00:46:17.64
and then one day
he and his second wife
00:46:17.67\00:46:20.71
found out that his first wife
00:46:20.74\00:46:22.61
was only living a
few miles away from them.
00:46:22.64\00:46:25.51
Living in sin,
00:46:25.55\00:46:27.85
divorced several
times since then, lost.
00:46:27.88\00:46:33.99
And they went to see her,
00:46:34.02\00:46:37.19
and they said, why don't
you come to church with us.
00:46:37.23\00:46:40.83
And they brought
her back to church.
00:46:40.86\00:46:44.43
And she has been re-baptized.
00:46:44.47\00:46:48.00
And every Sabbath, she
sits on the same row with them
00:46:48.04\00:46:51.74
at church in Joshua, Texas.
00:46:51.77\00:46:55.94
Now let me tell you my friend,
00:46:55.98\00:46:58.61
that's what God does
when someone doesn't give up,
00:46:58.65\00:47:03.08
when someone doesn't separate
00:47:03.12\00:47:05.02
their spiritual life
from their employment.
00:47:05.05\00:47:07.79
By the way, God
continue to bless him,
00:47:07.82\00:47:09.72
he became a very wealthy man,
00:47:09.76\00:47:12.33
a very wealthy man.
00:47:12.36\00:47:15.06
It was a big company.
00:47:15.10\00:47:17.93
And God blessed him,
00:47:17.97\00:47:20.14
because he did
not blame the church,
00:47:20.17\00:47:25.84
even though they
were those in the church,
00:47:25.87\00:47:28.88
that caused him a lot of
grief, and a lot of heartache.
00:47:28.91\00:47:33.38
Hey, I am thinking
about somebody else
00:47:33.42\00:47:36.35
that could have
been very bitter.
00:47:36.38\00:47:39.15
Let me tell you no
matter where you stand
00:47:39.19\00:47:40.86
on that situation guilty,
00:47:40.89\00:47:42.59
innocent whatever, you
look at Bob Falkenberg,
00:47:42.62\00:47:47.26
highest position in this church.
00:47:47.30\00:47:49.66
I have head elders
00:47:49.70\00:47:51.63
come up to me at
camp meetings and crying,
00:47:51.67\00:47:54.17
and say "I've been the
head elders for 17 years
00:47:54.20\00:47:57.41
and they just didn't reelect me
00:47:57.44\00:47:58.77
and I'm never going
back to church again.
00:47:58.81\00:48:02.54
I said, ''Brother, they
made the right decision,
00:48:02.58\00:48:04.48
didn't they?"
00:48:04.51\00:48:07.42
They probably
should have done it sooner
00:48:07.45\00:48:10.55
if that's your attitude.
00:48:10.59\00:48:13.42
But when Bob...
00:48:13.46\00:48:14.79
Now look, Bob had
some time of struggle,
00:48:14.82\00:48:18.69
let's face it.
00:48:18.73\00:48:20.33
There are a lot of
things he could have done.
00:48:20.36\00:48:22.03
He could have gone off
somewhere and started trouble.
00:48:22.06\00:48:25.20
He could have
got on the Internet
00:48:25.23\00:48:26.90
and started to save
the Seventh-day Adventists
00:48:26.94\00:48:29.37
through some kind
of a website, see.
00:48:29.40\00:48:32.54
And he could have
begin to knock people
00:48:32.57\00:48:34.98
and hurt people,
and sly about people,
00:48:35.01\00:48:37.51
and do all kinds
of things like that.
00:48:37.55\00:48:39.38
He could have done that.
00:48:39.41\00:48:41.88
Another thing he could have done
00:48:41.92\00:48:44.62
is by their constitution
and as I understand it,
00:48:44.65\00:48:47.59
he could have just
gone and sat in an office
00:48:47.62\00:48:49.22
with the G.C.,
00:48:49.26\00:48:50.59
because there are to give
the former president an office.
00:48:50.63\00:48:55.00
And he could've
just gone and sat there.
00:48:55.03\00:48:57.57
Gone into committees
00:48:57.60\00:49:00.14
and sat in the
seat of the scornful
00:49:00.17\00:49:04.11
or wherever he
wanted to sit, see.
00:49:04.14\00:49:07.01
But what did he do?
00:49:07.04\00:49:08.88
He started doing soul winning.
00:49:08.91\00:49:11.18
He started doing evangelism.
00:49:11.21\00:49:13.25
Not any single
man in the history
00:49:13.28\00:49:16.58
of the
Seventh-day Adventist church
00:49:16.62\00:49:18.52
has organized more
evangelistic crusades,
00:49:18.55\00:49:21.42
and has seen more baptisms
than Bob Falkenberg has seen..
00:49:21.46\00:49:25.56
You know, you
see what I'm saying
00:49:25.59\00:49:27.50
when something happens,
don't fall out with the church.
00:49:27.53\00:49:30.73
One of the
things that concerns me
00:49:30.77\00:49:32.47
when I'm in a meeting like this
00:49:32.50\00:49:34.14
is that some of you
will not be here next year,
00:49:34.17\00:49:37.47
because some of you will not
be in the ministry next year,
00:49:37.51\00:49:40.91
because some of
you will give up.
00:49:40.94\00:49:44.31
And I don't want you to give up.
00:49:44.35\00:49:48.05
I want you to hold on
00:49:48.08\00:49:50.99
and to trust.
00:49:51.02\00:49:52.99
Number five, learn tolerance.
00:49:53.02\00:49:56.79
Learn how to disagree
without becoming disagreeable.
00:49:56.83\00:50:02.03
I could preach a
whole sermon on this.
00:50:02.06\00:50:05.00
I've seen some
individuals in our church
00:50:05.03\00:50:08.07
who could do this.
00:50:08.10\00:50:10.27
They could smile and
disagree with each other,
00:50:10.31\00:50:15.31
and I have seen some
that could not disagree
00:50:15.34\00:50:18.48
without getting into trouble
00:50:18.51\00:50:19.88
and getting
upset with each other.
00:50:19.91\00:50:23.79
You see, we've got
to learn to do that.
00:50:23.82\00:50:28.39
Number six,
learn to take a punch.
00:50:28.42\00:50:34.96
Sometimes you
have to take a punch.
00:50:35.00\00:50:38.13
Somebody wrote a poem,
takes a little courage,
00:50:38.17\00:50:40.57
a little self-control
and some grim determination
00:50:40.60\00:50:43.41
if you want to reach that goal,
00:50:43.44\00:50:44.91
takes a deal or striving
a firm and stern-setchin.
00:50:44.94\00:50:48.08
No matter what the battle
if you really want to win.
00:50:48.11\00:50:50.71
There's no easy path to glory.
00:50:50.75\00:50:53.42
There's no rosy road to fame.
00:50:53.45\00:50:55.08
In life,
however you may view it,
00:50:55.12\00:50:57.15
is no simple parlor game.
00:50:57.19\00:50:59.92
But its prizes
call for fighting,
00:50:59.95\00:51:02.22
for endurance and for
grit in a rugged disposition
00:51:02.26\00:51:06.09
and they don't
know when to quit."
00:51:06.13\00:51:08.03
You must take a
blow or give one.
00:51:08.06\00:51:09.56
You must risk and you may lose
00:51:09.60\00:51:11.37
and they expect
that in the struggle
00:51:11.40\00:51:12.73
that you'll
suffer from a bruise.
00:51:12.77\00:51:14.34
But you mustn't wince or falter
if a fight you once begin,
00:51:14.37\00:51:17.74
be courageous, face the battle,
00:51:17.77\00:51:20.81
that's the only way to win.
00:51:20.84\00:51:24.98
And you see, my friend,
00:51:25.01\00:51:27.38
God wants you to win.
00:51:27.42\00:51:29.92
And He wants you to
be able to take a punch
00:51:29.95\00:51:32.05
if you need to.
00:51:32.09\00:51:33.42
Number seven, do not complain
or discuss the faults of others
00:51:33.46\00:51:36.49
to your family.
00:51:36.52\00:51:39.03
Don't do it.
00:51:39.06\00:51:41.26
Preachers come along wondering
00:51:41.30\00:51:42.63
why their wives
have lost their faith,
00:51:42.66\00:51:46.70
wondering why they can't get
their children to go to church.
00:51:46.74\00:51:51.01
When you've come home
00:51:51.04\00:51:52.37
and talked about how
sorry the head elder is,
00:51:52.41\00:51:55.58
how mean the head deacon
is, how controlling this one is,
00:51:55.61\00:51:59.75
and how
ridiculous the others are.
00:51:59.78\00:52:02.08
And then you
try to get your kids
00:52:02.12\00:52:03.55
to go to church.
00:52:03.59\00:52:06.12
They don't want
to go to that church.
00:52:06.15\00:52:08.86
They don't want anything
to do with those people.
00:52:08.89\00:52:12.49
Whatever you do,
00:52:12.53\00:52:14.60
do not talk about it...
00:52:14.63\00:52:16.10
don't do it with
your wife either.
00:52:16.13\00:52:18.50
Find a friend...
00:52:18.53\00:52:19.87
if you got to...
00:52:19.90\00:52:21.24
best friend is Jesus.
00:52:21.27\00:52:23.71
Get out there
and dump it to Jesus.
00:52:23.74\00:52:27.01
If you can't find a friend,
00:52:27.04\00:52:29.14
hire a psychiatrist or
psychologist to talk to,
00:52:29.18\00:52:33.42
that's cheaper my friend
00:52:33.45\00:52:34.78
than trying to
save your kids later on.
00:52:34.82\00:52:38.35
But whatever you do,
00:52:38.39\00:52:40.49
don't go home and
dump all that stuff.
00:52:40.52\00:52:43.39
You feel better,
00:52:43.43\00:52:45.93
but then you
will not feel better.
00:52:45.96\00:52:51.03
Number eight, have a
positive faith in God
00:52:51.07\00:52:54.87
because that is always rewarded.
00:52:54.90\00:52:57.11
You remember the Jacob,
00:52:57.14\00:52:58.74
Joseph said to his brothers,
00:52:58.77\00:53:02.58
you meant it for evil
but God meant it for good.
00:53:02.61\00:53:05.31
If you have faith, Romans
8:28, all things work together.
00:53:05.35\00:53:10.09
You see number nine, it really
comes down to forgiveness.
00:53:10.12\00:53:13.62
David, Saul, he forgave him,
00:53:13.66\00:53:18.69
he forgave Absalom.
00:53:18.73\00:53:20.90
These men would have
killed him, both of them,
00:53:20.93\00:53:22.90
his own son would've killed him,
00:53:22.93\00:53:24.90
but he cried out
in forgiveness to him.
00:53:24.93\00:53:28.64
Number ten,
00:53:28.67\00:53:30.47
continue to commit your
service to Jesus Christ,
00:53:30.51\00:53:35.94
because my friend
you can trust Him,
00:53:35.98\00:53:38.48
He is unparalleled
and He's unprecedented.
00:53:38.51\00:53:42.08
He's the
centerpiece of civilization.
00:53:42.12\00:53:44.45
He's a
superlative of all excellence.
00:53:44.49\00:53:46.99
He's the sum of human greatness.
00:53:47.02\00:53:50.39
He's the source of divine grace
00:53:50.43\00:53:53.40
and His name is the
only one able to save.
00:53:53.43\00:53:56.83
His blood is the only
power able to cleanse.
00:53:56.87\00:54:01.77
His ear is open
to the sinner's call,
00:54:01.80\00:54:03.97
and His hand is quick
to lift the fallen soul.
00:54:04.01\00:54:08.24
He's the eternal
lover of us all, everyone.
00:54:08.28\00:54:12.71
And my friend you can trust Him.
00:54:12.75\00:54:15.28
He supplies mercy
for the struggling soul.
00:54:15.32\00:54:18.15
And He sustains the
tempted and the tried.
00:54:18.19\00:54:20.92
He sympathizes with
the wounded and the broken.
00:54:20.96\00:54:23.89
He strengthens, strengthens
the weak and the weary.
00:54:23.93\00:54:28.60
He guards and
guides the wanderer,
00:54:28.63\00:54:30.77
and he heals the sick
and cleanses the leper.
00:54:30.80\00:54:33.74
He delivers the captives
and defends the helpless.
00:54:33.77\00:54:37.41
He binds up the broken hearted.
00:54:37.44\00:54:41.71
He is the all sufficient King.
00:54:41.74\00:54:44.58
He's the King of righteousness,
00:54:44.61\00:54:47.32
the King of ages,
the King of heaven,
00:54:47.35\00:54:49.45
the King of
glory, the King of kings,
00:54:49.48\00:54:52.49
and the Lord of Lords.
00:54:52.52\00:54:54.59
You see the
Pharisees could not stop Him.
00:54:54.62\00:54:57.96
Then the Pilate
could not condemn Him.
00:54:57.99\00:55:02.86
And Herod couldn't kill Him.
00:55:02.90\00:55:06.43
Death couldn't conquer Him.
00:55:06.47\00:55:09.87
And the grave
could not hold Him.
00:55:09.90\00:55:13.88
He's the alpha and the omega.
00:55:13.91\00:55:17.35
The first and the last.
00:55:17.38\00:55:20.62
He's the God of the future,
and He's the God of the past.
00:55:20.65\00:55:26.42
And you, my
friend, can trust Him.
00:55:26.45\00:55:31.19
Father I thank You tonight
00:55:31.23\00:55:33.66
that we know
that we can trust You.
00:55:33.70\00:55:36.67
I thank You Lord,
that You are the one
00:55:36.70\00:55:41.40
who has given to us life eternal
00:55:41.44\00:55:45.07
and that through You,
00:55:45.11\00:55:47.81
we will and are being saved.
00:55:47.84\00:55:54.28
And Father, I pray
00:55:54.32\00:55:55.68
that you will bless
each one who is here.
00:55:55.72\00:56:00.06
I pray Lord, that You
will touch their hearts.
00:56:00.09\00:56:03.66
I pray that You
will give them courage
00:56:03.69\00:56:07.23
that they will
never ever leave You.
00:56:07.26\00:56:12.13
They will never forsake You,
00:56:12.17\00:56:15.04
because they know
00:56:15.07\00:56:16.87
that You will never
forsake them in Jesus name.
00:56:16.91\00:56:21.31
Amen.
00:56:21.34\00:56:22.68
Amen.
00:56:22.71\00:56:24.05