The escalation of global
terrorism, crime, immorality
00:00:09.51\00:00:12.63
and natural disasters,
seems to indicate our world
00:00:12.66\00:00:15.77
is spiraling towards it's
ultimate hour with destiny.
00:00:15.80\00:00:18.88
Who, if anyone, will
survive Earth's final events?
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Discover what Bible prophecy
reveals about the rapture,
00:00:21.95\00:00:24.67
the mark of the
beast, and Armageddon.
00:00:24.70\00:00:26.80
Though shrouded in
mystery for centuries,
00:00:26.83\00:00:28.87
the book of Revelation
can be understood today.
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Peer into the future,
and see what wonderful things
00:00:32.29\00:00:35.65
God has planned for His people.
00:00:35.68\00:00:38.37
And now, Pastor Brian
McMahon presents the powerful
00:00:38.40\00:00:41.64
Bible seminar
"Revelation Speaks Hope".
00:00:41.67\00:00:46.92
I am crucified with Christ,
therefore I no longer live,
00:00:51.08\00:00:56.11
Jesus Christ now lives in me.
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I am crucified with Christ,
therefore I no longer live,
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Jesus Christ now lives in me.
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Embrace the cross where Jesus
suffered, though it will cost
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all you claim as yours.
Your sacrifice will seem small
00:01:40.27\00:01:45.32
beside the treasure,
eternity can't measure
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what Jesus holds in store.
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Embrace the love
the cross requires;
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cling to the One
who's heart knew everyday.
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Receive from Jesus fountains of
compassion, only He can fashion
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your heart to move as His.
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Oh, wondrous cross,
our desires rest in you,
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Lord Jesus make bolder to
face with courage the shame
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and disgrace You
bore upon Your shoulders.
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Embrace the life
that comes from dying;
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come trace the steps
the Saviour walked for you.
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An empty tomb concludes
Golgotha's sorrow, endure then
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till tomorrow your
cross of suffering.
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Embrace the
cross, embrace the cross,
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the cross of Jesus.
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For our hymn of
preparation we're going to sing
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"As we come to you in prayer",
and for those of you who'd like
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to come forward, do
so, as we sing this.
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Now, Dear Lord, as we pray,
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take our hearts
and minds far away
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From the press of
the world all around
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To Your throne
where grace does abound.
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May our lives be
transformed by Your love,
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May our souls be
refreshed from above.
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At this moment,
let people everywhere
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Join us now as we
come to You in prayer.
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May all of you who can, please
kneel as we come to our Lord
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in prayer.
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Blessed Lord, we thank
You once again so much for
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the Sabbath day, we thank
You for the rest from the cares
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of the world, we thank You
for lifting burdens from our
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shoulders, there are those in
this congregation this morning
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who have first come to know
You in this recent series of
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meetings that we have had
that we've been so blessed with.
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There are those who have
known You for a long time, Lord,
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and wondered away, like the
prodigal son, have come back
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to see You Lord, and there
are those who have been here
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all along, but maybe are
not as close to You now as they
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once were. We ask
You, Lord, this morning
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to open all of our
hearts to see You, Lord,
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to hear You, to praise
You, and to welcome You into our
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hearts that we may enjoy
the salvation, and the glory,
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and the love that You
have to share with us.
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Please, this morning, bless
Your servant, Brian McMahon,
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who is going to speak for
us, and who's going to open
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Your Word for us, and help
us to listen to the message
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that is poured out by the Holy
Spirit, that we may be blessed,
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and that we may know You
so much more closely this week
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as we go back out into
the world, fortify our hearts
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against sin and temptation.
Lord, we ask You also,
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as You know all the cares
and all the troubles that are
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in the hearts here, and in the
families associated with those,
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to please provide healing
and comfort by Your grace, Lord,
00:07:09.44\00:07:13.33
and through Your
mercy. We thank You for that
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mercy Lord, as we know that
you have given us that which we
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have not earned, but You've
given us the sacrifice of Christ
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in our stead. We
thank You once again, Lord,
00:07:22.82\00:07:25.79
in the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.
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We'd like to do one of our
favorite songs, "Ancient words",
00:07:58.13\00:08:03.15
the word's will be up on
the screen, please sing along.
00:08:03.18\00:08:08.28
Holy words long preserved
For our walk in this world,
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They resound
with God's own heart
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Oh, let the
ancient words impart.
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Words of life, words of hope
Give us strength, help us cope
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In this world,
where e'er we roam
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Ancient words
will guide us home.
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Ancient words ever true
Changing me, and changing you.
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We have come with open hearts
Oh let the ancient words impart.
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Holy words of our faith
Handed down to this age.
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Come to us through sacrifice
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Oh heed the
faithful words of Christ.
00:09:30.16\00:09:35.48
Holy words long preserved
For our walk in this world.
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They resound
with God's own heart
00:09:46.54\00:09:49.66
Oh let the ancient words impart.
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Ancient words ever true
Changing me, and changing you.
00:09:58.17\00:10:03.97
We have come with open hearts
Oh let the ancient words impart.
00:10:07.14\00:10:12.83
We have come with open hearts
Oh let the ancient words impart.
00:10:18.64\00:10:24.33
Oh let the ancient words impart.
00:10:31.23\00:10:34.14
A man walked into my real
estate office 20 years ago,
00:10:46.90\00:10:51.82
and as he walked in, I'd
never seen this man before,
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he was from the island of
Sri Lanka, and he spoke very
00:10:55.96\00:10:59.89
broken up English, but I
invited him in and I said:
00:10:59.92\00:11:04.41
"How are you?
What is your name? "
00:11:04.44\00:11:06.90
He says "My name is
Tom", I said "Come on in Tom. "
00:11:06.93\00:11:09.37
"Can I give you some coffee?
" I was a coffee addict at
00:11:09.40\00:11:11.81
the time, I drank
about 10-14 cups probably,
00:11:11.84\00:11:14.72
I drank every time someone
came into my office, I had a cup
00:11:14.75\00:11:17.17
of coffee, you could imagine
what I was like at the end
00:11:17.20\00:11:19.59
of the day. [Audience laughs]
00:11:19.62\00:11:22.04
He said "No, I'm
not a coffee drinker. "
00:11:22.07\00:11:24.70
I said "Well, come on Tom,
everyone drinks my coffee, "
00:11:24.73\00:11:27.51
"won't you have a cup? "
He says "No, no thank you. "
00:11:27.54\00:11:30.26
Now this should have
tipped me off that this man
00:11:30.29\00:11:33.03
might have been
somewhat different.
00:11:33.06\00:11:35.22
Well, he came in and I said
"Well, what can I do for you? "
00:11:35.25\00:11:38.62
He said "I'm interested
in buying some property. "
00:11:38.65\00:11:42.03
I said "Well you've
come to the right place. "
00:11:42.06\00:11:45.40
So we got talking about a
piece of property and then
00:11:45.43\00:11:48.03
after a particular period
of time "Well Tom, we've gone"
00:11:48.06\00:11:50.59
"about as far as we can go here
on this, let me get in touch"
00:11:50.62\00:11:53.25
"with you, and we'll
do the next business. "
00:11:53.28\00:11:55.79
He said "Well, that's fine
Brian, I want you to call me, "
00:11:55.82\00:11:58.50
"but just remember this
if you would please", I said
00:11:58.53\00:12:01.55
"What's that? " He
said "Please don't call me"
00:12:01.58\00:12:04.13
"between Friday
evening and Saturday evening. "
00:12:04.16\00:12:07.13
I said "Okay,
that's fine, easy enough. "
00:12:07.16\00:12:09.57
He was in my office several days
later, we were talking about
00:12:09.60\00:12:12.12
the same business transaction,
and as we were parting company,
00:12:12.15\00:12:14.61
once again I said I would get
in touch with him, and he said
00:12:14.64\00:12:17.26
"Great, won't you please
do that? But just remember"
00:12:17.29\00:12:20.03
"one thing as I go, remember,
please don't call me between"
00:12:20.06\00:12:22.86
"Friday evening
and Saturday evening. "
00:12:22.89\00:12:25.41
I said "Well Tom, that sounds
kind of permanent, what's"
00:12:25.44\00:12:28.31
"the situation
here? " [Audience laughs]
00:12:28.34\00:12:30.34
He says "Well I'm a Seventh
Day Adventist, and we don't do"
00:12:30.37\00:12:32.45
"do any kind of secular business
like this on the Lord's day, "
00:12:32.48\00:12:34.56
"which is Friday
evening to Saturday evening. "
00:12:34.59\00:12:36.94
This was brand new to me,
I had never consciously met
00:12:36.97\00:12:39.47
a Seventh Day Adventist before
in my life, I grew up some
00:12:39.50\00:12:41.82
1 block away from the church,
and yet, in all the time I
00:12:41.85\00:12:44.11
walked by there going to school
every day, we didn't pay much
00:12:44.14\00:12:46.48
attention to the church, I
noticed with some curiousity
00:12:46.51\00:12:48.70
that cars met there on Saturday,
so we thought they were pretty
00:12:48.73\00:12:51.30
weird people. [Audience laughs]
Well, I went to the Catholic
00:12:51.33\00:12:54.00
church, and as I went to
the Catholic church I went there
00:12:54.03\00:12:56.64
every single week on Sunday, and
we thought that, well, we had
00:12:56.67\00:12:59.25
the Pope on our side, so
that was a pretty good thing
00:12:59.28\00:13:01.82
all things considered, and
we thought we were pretty safe,
00:13:01.85\00:13:04.36
why not? The Pope's with us.
00:13:04.39\00:13:06.74
But going to church on Sunday
and being a Catholic left me
00:13:06.77\00:13:09.19
with a lot of
questions, questions like
00:13:09.22\00:13:11.42
"who is God anyway? ";
and "what does He expect"
00:13:11.45\00:13:13.87
"of me? "; and "what is the
judgment really going to be"
00:13:13.90\00:13:16.44
"about? "; and "what happens
when you die? "; and I would
00:13:16.47\00:13:18.96
lay awake at night as a little
boy looking up at the ceiling,
00:13:18.99\00:13:21.45
thinking about all of these
things and having no answers
00:13:21.48\00:13:23.89
whatsoever. As a
Catholic, I went to what
00:13:23.92\00:13:27.70
we call "Catechism
Class", which would be Catholic
00:13:28.26\00:13:30.88
equivalent of Sabbath school,
or Sunday school for some
00:13:30.91\00:13:33.64
churches, and as we went
to Catechism class we studied,
00:13:33.67\00:13:36.33
not from the Bible, but from
what they call "The Catechism",
00:13:36.36\00:13:38.93
and we'd ask our questions,
and the teacher would give
00:13:38.96\00:13:41.28
the answers, and she would give
the best answers that she knew.
00:13:41.31\00:13:44.34
One day when I was about
7 year of age, I remember
00:13:44.37\00:13:46.94
sitting in the Catechism
class and one little boy asked
00:13:46.97\00:13:50.74
the teacher this question,
the little boy said "Teacher, "
00:13:50.77\00:13:54.81
"how does God know whether
you're good enough to go"
00:13:54.84\00:13:57.66
"to go to heaven, or bad
enough to go to hell fire? "
00:13:57.69\00:14:00.94
And the teacher answered it this
way: "well it works like this: "
00:14:00.97\00:14:05.00
"When you do something good,
God records that on a piece"
00:14:05.03\00:14:08.13
"of paper and puts it in a
jar of good deeds, when you do"
00:14:08.16\00:14:11.50
"something bad, God records
that on a piece of paper, "
00:14:11.53\00:14:14.75
"and puts it in a jar of
bad deeds, and these 2 jars sit"
00:14:14.78\00:14:17.94
"on opposite shelves up in
heaven. Over the term of your"
00:14:17.97\00:14:21.76
"life these good and bad deeds
accumulate in these 2 jars, "
00:14:21.79\00:14:25.58
"and then when you die,
God takes the 2 jars off of"
00:14:25.61\00:14:28.60
"the shelves, and in His
hands He goes like this, "
00:14:28.63\00:14:33.32
"and weighs them up, and
whatever jar is heavier, "
00:14:33.96\00:14:36.99
"that determines what
direction you're going to go. "
00:14:37.02\00:14:40.27
Well, it sounds kind of cold,
I suppose that's about as far
00:14:40.30\00:14:42.90
as you can go in salvation by
works, and I'm not here to say
00:14:42.93\00:14:45.43
this morning that every
Catechism teacher teaches that,
00:14:45.46\00:14:47.94
but that's what I was taught,
and when you're a 7 year old boy
00:14:47.97\00:14:50.65
it makes a difference, believe
me, because nobody had to tell
00:14:50.68\00:14:54.39
me what jar was the heavier jar,
I knew it wasn't the good deed
00:14:54.42\00:14:59.04
jar, so that really worried me.
Well, my father, on occasion,
00:14:59.07\00:15:03.67
would get all us kids
into the car, he'd take us down
00:15:03.70\00:15:06.24
to church to confess
our sins to a priest.
00:15:06.27\00:15:10.10
When we did that we
would go in and we would say
00:15:10.13\00:15:12.78
the things that we knew how
to say, sometimes we'd make them
00:15:12.81\00:15:15.35
up on the spot, but nevertheless
we'd go in there and we'd
00:15:15.38\00:15:17.86
say what we said, and then
the priest would always tell us
00:15:17.89\00:15:20.63
to say certain prayers as a
way of atoning for the sins,
00:15:20.66\00:15:23.45
he'd say "Say 5 'Hail Mary'
prayers, and 7 'Our Father' "
00:15:23.48\00:15:26.36
"prayers and you'll be
forgiven", so I would do that,
00:15:26.39\00:15:29.23
and I got to be very good
at saying those prayers, those
00:15:29.26\00:15:32.07
are about the only 2 prayers
I really could say, but I got
00:15:32.10\00:15:34.87
to be very good at
saying those prayers.
00:15:34.90\00:15:37.53
When it came to the "Our
Father prayer", well, you know
00:15:37.56\00:15:39.98
that, but the "Hail Mary"
prayer, it goes like this:
00:15:40.01\00:15:42.43
Hail Mary, Full of
Grace, The Lord is with thee.
00:15:42.46\00:15:44.63
Blessed art thou among
women, and blessed is the fruit
00:15:44.66\00:15:47.22
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
00:15:47.25\00:15:49.94
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of death.
00:15:49.97\00:15:52.56
Amen.
00:15:52.59\00:15:54.12
I don't have to try to say
it, it's just there, when you've
00:15:54.16\00:15:56.68
said it 10,000 times, you
know it. [Audience laughs]
00:15:56.71\00:15:59.32
So I would say those prayers
over, and over, and over again,
00:15:59.35\00:16:02.01
sometimes 50-100 times as
I would lay on my bed looking
00:16:02.04\00:16:04.49
up at my ceiling, and every
time I said one of those prayers
00:16:04.52\00:16:07.18
I thought of God, or an
angel, or someone up in heaven,
00:16:07.21\00:16:09.55
recording the fact that I'd
say that prayer, because that's
00:16:09.58\00:16:11.89
a good deed, and
putting it in my good deed jar.
00:16:11.92\00:16:13.95
So I thought "Well, I'll
get it a little heavier", but
00:16:13.98\00:16:16.07
the problem is you never
know when you might be 1 slip
00:16:16.10\00:16:19.32
of paper short. So
you'd say another 50
00:16:19.35\00:16:21.93
prayers, well that's
pretty good, but maybe
00:16:21.96\00:16:24.50
I don't get a
slip of paper for every
00:16:24.53\00:16:26.86
prayer, so I say another
100 prayers, and then next night
00:16:26.89\00:16:29.54
I'll say another 50 prayers,
and still I would think that
00:16:29.57\00:16:32.19
good deed jar just
isn't heavy enough yet.
00:16:32.22\00:16:35.51
I'll tell you dear friends
how glad I was when I saw
00:16:35.54\00:16:39.06
that verse in the Bible one
day "For by grace are ye saved"
00:16:39.09\00:16:42.79
"through faith, and that not
of yourselves, it is the gift"
00:16:42.82\00:16:45.13
"of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. "
00:16:45.16\00:16:48.28
That had special meaning
to me growing up like I did.
00:16:48.31\00:16:51.36
After a while church became
very dry, and cold, and formal,
00:16:51.39\00:16:56.00
I would say in church every
week "Lamb of God, who takes"
00:16:56.03\00:16:58.30
"away the sins of the
world, have mercy on me. "
00:16:58.33\00:17:01.21
"Lamb of God, who takes
away the sins of the world,"
00:17:01.24\00:17:04.06
"have mercy on me. Lamb of
God, who takes away the sins"
00:17:04.09\00:17:06.54
"of the world, grant us peace.
" We'd say that every week,
00:17:06.57\00:17:08.99
I had no idea who the
Lamb of God was, no clue.
00:17:09.02\00:17:11.07
I didn't know John 3:16, I
didn't know one verse in all
00:17:11.10\00:17:13.53
the Bible, but I got a lot
of gifts from Catechism class.
00:17:13.56\00:17:16.44
When I was about 15 years
of age, I went to the movie
00:17:16.47\00:17:19.25
theater, I'm certainly not
advocating that, but I went
00:17:19.28\00:17:21.99
to the movie theater
and I saw a horror movie.
00:17:22.02\00:17:25.19
You know how Hollywood just
absolutely slanders the Word
00:17:25.22\00:17:28.61
of God, they never get it
anywhere close to being right,
00:17:28.64\00:17:31.56
but they mentioned the book
of Revelation, and the mentioned
00:17:31.59\00:17:35.11
the beast, and they mentioned
the 666, and I went home scared.
00:17:35.14\00:17:38.69
So I tried to find a Bible in
our house, that was not an easy
00:17:38.72\00:17:42.24
thing in our house, we
never read from the Bible,
00:17:42.27\00:17:44.89
for obvious reasons I didn't
know a verse, so I tried to find
00:17:44.92\00:17:48.52
a Bible, I searched through
the house, and in my brother's
00:17:48.55\00:17:51.12
bedroom, one of my 3 brothers,
I went down there, and on
00:17:51.15\00:17:53.75
the shelf, he had a little tiny
pocket Bible, and I grabbed it.
00:17:53.78\00:17:58.60
I opened up to the book of
Revelation, and I read in there
00:17:58.63\00:18:01.52
and I found where it said
"All the world wondered after"
00:18:01.55\00:18:04.37
"the beast", and I saw
that number "666", and I saw
00:18:04.40\00:18:08.11
where it mentioned the
dragon, and I said to myself
00:18:08.14\00:18:10.25
"Why would they all
wonder after the beast? "
00:18:10.28\00:18:12.87
I said "Wouldn't they know
it? Couldn't they see it? "
00:18:12.90\00:18:16.37
"It can't be a good
thing. Why would they do it? "
00:18:16.40\00:18:20.17
And then I prayed the
first prayer that really came
00:18:20.20\00:18:23.00
from my sincerity of heart,
and I said "Dear God, one day"
00:18:23.03\00:18:28.14
"I want to know what
all those things mean. "
00:18:28.17\00:18:31.04
I closed up that little Bible
and I put it back in its place
00:18:31.07\00:18:34.36
on the shelf, and I
forgot all about it.
00:18:34.39\00:18:37.66
But God didn't forget about
it, and God didn't forget that I
00:18:37.69\00:18:40.34
said that prayer.
Well, after I graduated from
00:18:40.37\00:18:42.62
high school I went into a real
estate career, and I thought
00:18:42.65\00:18:45.75
"This is what it's all
about; by and sell property, "
00:18:45.78\00:18:48.62
"get lots of money, die rich",
and I thought "this is what I'm"
00:18:48.65\00:18:51.72
going to do, I'm going to be
the best real estate agent ever.
00:18:51.75\00:18:54.76
We went and we attended
all of these success classes,
00:18:54.79\00:18:57.96
I'm in British Columbia, Canada,
but we'd have these teachers
00:18:57.99\00:19:01.85
come and tell us how to make a
million dollars, I always found
00:19:01.88\00:19:04.61
it interesting that they
always came from California.
00:19:04.64\00:19:07.15
[Audience laughs]
00:19:07.18\00:19:08.66
Why that is, it
was just that way.
00:19:09.18\00:19:10.89
So they would come, and
they would teach us all of these
00:19:10.92\00:19:13.55
catch phrases, like
"Whatever the mind can conceive"
00:19:13.58\00:19:16.14
"and ardently believe, it
can achieve", and I would say
00:19:16.17\00:19:18.69
"Oh, that's great,
I want to do that".
00:19:18.72\00:19:21.32
So we'd remember all of
these things and we'd come
00:19:21.35\00:19:23.67
supercharged to work, but still
I had an emptiness in my heart,
00:19:23.70\00:19:26.51
and now one day after being
a real estate agent for some
00:19:26.54\00:19:29.51
5 years, here was this man in
my real estate office telling me
00:19:29.54\00:19:35.26
in effect, that God
had demands on my life.
00:19:35.84\00:19:38.37
You see, up until then it
was all about what we can do,
00:19:38.40\00:19:41.12
"I'm going to do it, I'm
going to get rich, I'm going"
00:19:41.15\00:19:43.78
"to get success", it was
all "me, me, me", and now here
00:19:43.81\00:19:46.42
this man was saying "No,
God is involved in your life. "
00:19:46.45\00:19:49.31
This was new to me, I never
thought of God in a personal
00:19:49.34\00:19:51.54
way, God, to me, was always
a big angry sheriff, or police
00:19:51.57\00:19:56.40
officer, a billion miles away
that was waiting to catch me
00:19:56.43\00:19:59.23
in something wrong, so He
could say "Aha, I got you. "
00:19:59.26\00:20:01.83
But now to know that God
was a personal God, and that He
00:20:01.86\00:20:04.36
cared for me, I thought
"Okay, this is interesting. "
00:20:04.39\00:20:08.56
So Tom said "Don't call
me between Friday evening"
00:20:08.59\00:20:11.34
"and Saturday evening. " 6
days later I was in the home
00:20:11.37\00:20:14.31
of an older couple,
they'd called me up and asked me
00:20:14.34\00:20:17.21
to come over, they wanted to
put their house on the market.
00:20:17.24\00:20:19.66
I said "Okay, I'll come",
and we were over there, and we
00:20:19.69\00:20:22.08
talked a little while.
This man's name was Ralph,
00:20:22.11\00:20:25.41
and Ralph said to me,
"Brian, we've got about as far"
00:20:25.44\00:20:28.67
"as we could go", I said
"That's right, I'll leave you, "
00:20:28.70\00:20:31.36
"we'll talk about it
more later", and then he said
00:20:31.39\00:20:33.74
"Brian, before you go, I
just want to mention something"
00:20:33.77\00:20:36.56
"to you, please don't
call me between Friday evening"
00:20:36.59\00:20:39.38
"and Saturday
evening. " [Audience laughs]
00:20:39.41\00:20:42.57
I said to myself "Now hang
on a second, I'd just heard"
00:20:42.60\00:20:44.53
"that line. " I
said "Do you know Tom",
00:20:44.56\00:20:49.53
I mentioned his last name,
he said "As a matter of fact"
00:20:49.56\00:20:52.29
"I do. " I said "Do
you go to his church?"
00:20:52.32\00:20:54.78
He said "Yes, I do".
"Are you a Seventh Day"
00:20:54.81\00:20:57.32
"Adventist too? " He said
"Well, as a matter of fact"
00:20:57.35\00:21:00.03
"I am. " I
thought to myself, "Wow, "
00:21:00.06\00:21:02.40
"two in 6 days. "
The Lord knew I needed a
00:21:02.43\00:21:04.65
one/two combination; one
wasn't enough, I had a very
00:21:04.68\00:21:07.58
thick skull I suppose.
So we got talking, and Ralph
00:21:07.61\00:21:10.45
said "Would you mind
waiting here just a moment",
00:21:10.48\00:21:13.26
I said "Sure", and he went
in his bedroom and he got his
00:21:13.29\00:21:16.05
Bible out, and he said "May
I share with you just a little"
00:21:16.08\00:21:18.81
"bit about why we
keep the Sabbath? "
00:21:18.84\00:21:21.15
I said "Well,
I'm open, go ahead. "
00:21:21.18\00:21:23.42
Then he opened his Bible
and Ralph started going through
00:21:23.45\00:21:25.95
his Bible so beautifully, and
so naturally, Genesis, Exodus,
00:21:25.98\00:21:29.21
Old Testament, New Testament,
back and forth, he knew it.
00:21:29.24\00:21:32.70
Then he closed it up and he
says "This is why we do this".
00:21:32.73\00:21:36.45
I said "Wow, Ralph, you are
the most amazing man I have"
00:21:36.48\00:21:41.16
"ever seen in the Bible.
" He was the only one I had
00:21:41.19\00:21:43.25
ever seen in the Bible, but
I said "Ralph, you're the most"
00:21:43.28\00:21:46.59
"amazing man, how do
you know all those things? "
00:21:46.62\00:21:49.65
He said "Well, I've
just memorized where it is, "
00:21:49.68\00:21:52.50
"and now I can turn to
it. " I had memorized sports
00:21:52.53\00:21:55.41
statistics like
you could not believe.
00:21:55.44\00:21:58.88
I grew up in Canada, you know
what sport we play up there,
00:22:00.73\00:22:03.10
right? I played
hockey for 18 years,
00:22:03.13\00:22:06.46
ice hockey that is, and
I could tell you who won
00:22:06.59\00:22:09.64
the Stanley Cup championships
from that current year
00:22:09.67\00:22:12.63
all the way back to the
beginning, I could tell you
00:22:12.66\00:22:15.18
who played in what team,
how many goals the'd scored,
00:22:15.21\00:22:17.77
how many points they had,
I could tell you all of that
00:22:17.80\00:22:20.80
and much, much more, useless
trivia, I had it all up here,
00:22:20.83\00:22:24.02
but I could not tell you 1
verse in the Bible, and I could
00:22:24.05\00:22:27.21
not believe how this man
knew where there was a verse
00:22:27.24\00:22:29.47
in the Bible. So I
said "How do you know it? "
00:22:29.50\00:22:32.26
He said "I've memorized it.
" I said "Ralph, can I ask you"
00:22:32.29\00:22:34.86
"a question? " He
said "Sure Brian, you go"
00:22:34.89\00:22:37.61
"ahead, you ask
whatever question you want. "
00:22:37.64\00:22:40.29
I said "Ralph, who is
the Antichrist and what is"
00:22:40.32\00:22:43.18
"the mark of the
beast? " [Audience laughs]
00:22:43.21\00:22:45.60
And he said to me "What
faith did you say you were? "
00:22:45.63\00:22:48.44
[Audience laughs]
00:22:48.47\00:22:49.76
And I sort of stuck
out my chest and I said
00:22:49.79\00:22:52.21
"Well, I'm a Catholic. "
Ralph had an awesome decision
00:22:52.24\00:22:54.94
to make. [Audience laughs]
00:22:54.97\00:22:57.35
We know that it is in
God's providence that truth is
00:22:57.62\00:23:00.00
unveiled gradually that we are
better able to assimilate it,
00:23:00.03\00:23:02.75
and receive it, but somehow
God must have impressed Ralph
00:23:02.78\00:23:05.44
that he could share with me
a little quicker than usual,
00:23:05.47\00:23:08.58
so Ralph started to share with
me about some future events,
00:23:08.61\00:23:11.65
and I wasn't angered, I wasn't
upset, but I was interested.
00:23:11.68\00:23:14.65
I said "Wow, that is amazing",
he said "I knew that it would"
00:23:14.68\00:23:17.58
"be amazing to you. " He
said "Before you leave, "
00:23:17.61\00:23:20.19
"can I just share
a book with you? "
00:23:20.22\00:23:22.31
I said "Sure, that's okay. "
What book do you think he shared
00:23:22.34\00:23:25.24
with me? Well,
Ralph shared with me
00:23:25.27\00:23:28.72
this book called "The Great
Controversy". [Audience laughs]
00:23:30.23\00:23:33.44
But you knew that;
and I took this book home,
00:23:33.47\00:23:36.39
"The Great Controversy",
and I started to devour it.
00:23:36.42\00:23:40.52
I couldn't put it down, I
read it when I was eating my
00:23:40.55\00:23:43.61
breakfast cereal, I like
breakfast cereal, and I read it,
00:23:43.64\00:23:46.50
and read it, and then I
took it to work to read it,
00:23:46.53\00:23:50.76
except most days I stayed
home from work to read it.
00:23:50.79\00:23:53.31
I'm ashamed to say I tried
to read it while driving one
00:23:53.34\00:23:55.42
day, [Audience
laughs] ...not a smart thing.
00:23:55.45\00:23:59.42
I stopped that practice,
but what I'm saying to you is
00:23:59.46\00:24:02.49
it was fascinating to
me. It answered every single
00:24:02.52\00:24:04.73
question I ever had growing up,
and when I'm finished that book
00:24:04.76\00:24:08.69
I put it down, and without
knowing the author, or anything
00:24:08.72\00:24:12.38
else about it, I said to
myself "Whoever wrote that book"
00:24:12.41\00:24:16.01
"must have been inspired
of God", and sure enough,
00:24:16.04\00:24:20.36
that book did what it was meant
to do, which was to lead me
00:24:20.39\00:24:23.06
to the Greater Book. I
said to myself "I don't own"
00:24:23.09\00:24:25.74
"a Bible, but that book is
saturated with Bible texts, "
00:24:25.77\00:24:28.61
"so I need to go get a Bible",
so I went down to the Christian
00:24:28.64\00:24:31.32
book store and I bought myself
a Bible, and I started to read
00:24:31.35\00:24:33.94
that Bible, and I started
to find out that all the things
00:24:33.97\00:24:36.49
that that book talked
about are in the Bible.
00:24:36.52\00:24:38.89
Then I really began to
be convicted because Tom had
00:24:38.92\00:24:42.44
talked to me about the Sabbath,
and Ralph had talked to me
00:24:42.47\00:24:45.06
about the Sabbath, and
that book mentioned the Sabbath,
00:24:45.09\00:24:47.73
and this book sure mentions
the Sabbath, so I began to drive
00:24:47.76\00:24:51.71
around on Saturday trying to
sell real estate, but the Holy
00:24:51.74\00:24:55.02
Spirit would speak to me,
not in an audible voice, but in
00:24:55.05\00:24:58.27
the closest voice you could
get to audible, and this is what
00:24:58.30\00:25:01.65
the Holy Spirit would say to me?
"Brian, all your life you have"
00:25:01.68\00:25:05.84
"wanted to know truth, and now
you know, what are you going"
00:25:05.87\00:25:08.84
"to do about it? "
I'll tell you, it was just
00:25:08.87\00:25:12.06
like an arrow through me, "Lord,
I don't know what I'm going"
00:25:12.09\00:25:15.15
"to do", the voice
would come back even stronger,
00:25:15.18\00:25:18.24
"Brian, all your life you have
wanted to know truth, and now"
00:25:18.27\00:25:20.69
"you know, what are
you going to do about it? "
00:25:20.72\00:25:23.87
And I don't know what it was
in me that inspired me to ask
00:25:23.90\00:25:29.11
Ralph that question that
day about the Antichrist,
00:25:29.14\00:25:31.64
and the mark of the beast, but
the only thing I could think of
00:25:31.67\00:25:36.77
was when I was that 15 year old
boy, and I prayed that prayer
00:25:36.80\00:25:40.52
"Lord, one day I want to know
what all these things mean",
00:25:40.55\00:25:43.48
and God had remembered that
prayer, even though I hadn't,
00:25:43.51\00:25:46.29
and now God had brought
those things to my attention
00:25:46.32\00:25:48.76
and was saying "Well, now
you know, what are you going"
00:25:48.79\00:25:51.37
"to do? " Finally I
said "Lord, there's"
00:25:51.40\00:25:54.81
"only 1 thing I can do,
I've got to follow You. "
00:25:54.84\00:25:58.83
So I got out of bed one Saturday
morning, got dressed in my
00:25:58.86\00:26:02.44
best real estate suit and I
drove to the local Seventh Day
00:26:02.47\00:26:07.66
Adventist church.
When I drove to the local
00:26:07.69\00:26:10.61
Seventh Day Adventist church,
interestingly enough, the local
00:26:10.64\00:26:12.92
SDA church in my little
town of [?], British Columbia,
00:26:12.95\00:26:15.55
was on 7th
avenue. [Audience laughs]
00:26:15.58\00:26:18.87
So there it was, 7th avenue
was a busy, busy thoroughfare,
00:26:19.78\00:26:24.14
other than main street
down town it was the was busiest
00:26:24.17\00:26:26.17
street, it could be
argued it might even be busier.
00:26:26.20\00:26:28.73
So this was a main road, now
I was convicted, but I wasn't
00:26:28.76\00:26:31.73
converted, so I said to
myself "I don't want any of my"
00:26:31.76\00:26:34.67
"friends seeing me go to church"
because I grew up in Canada
00:26:34.70\00:26:37.30
where it's very agnostic,
they don't have the religious
00:26:37.33\00:26:39.97
background of the US, and
people laughed at you for going
00:26:40.00\00:26:42.57
to church, my friends laughed,
it didn't matter what day
00:26:42.60\00:26:45.20
you went to church, they'd
laugh at you, and I didn't like
00:26:45.23\00:26:47.89
being laughed at, so what I
did was I parked my car round
00:26:47.92\00:26:50.69
the back, and I got out of
my car, and I looked left, and I
00:26:50.72\00:26:53.52
looked right, and when no one
was looking, and no cars were
00:26:53.55\00:26:56.32
coming by, I ran to the
front door. [Audience laughs]
00:26:56.35\00:26:59.94
Absolute truth. I
got in that front door,
00:26:59.97\00:27:02.26
and I sat in the back row, and
I said "I don't think anybody"
00:27:02.29\00:27:04.59
"saw me, I'm safe", and
I heard my first Protestant
00:27:04.62\00:27:08.41
sermon. Now, you
know the Lord saw
00:27:08.44\00:27:10.39
me coming because you don't
catch God by surprise, do we?
00:27:10.42\00:27:13.91
And in that morning, the
minister spoke on the 3 angels'
00:27:13.94\00:27:16.81
messages of Revelation 14, God's
last day, final warning message
00:27:16.84\00:27:20.85
to the world, and it
grabbed my heart, and I grabbed
00:27:20.88\00:27:23.41
the minister afterwards by
the arm as he was walking down
00:27:23.44\00:27:25.66
the aisle, and I said
"Can I ask you a few things? "
00:27:25.69\00:27:28.24
He was very, very kind,
and he said "Sure, go ahead",
00:27:28.27\00:27:30.87
and he didn't know what he was
in for, because I had saved up
00:27:30.90\00:27:33.51
1000-2000 questions all my life,
and I poured it out on him.
00:27:33.54\00:27:36.09
This man was so kind, and
so gracious, and he knew his
00:27:36.12\00:27:39.29
Bible so well, the Bible to
him was like an extension on his
00:27:39.32\00:27:43.20
right hand, to this day I have
never met a man that knew his
00:27:43.23\00:27:48.62
Bible more than that minister
in [?], British Columbia,
00:27:48.65\00:27:51.68
Canada, he's deceased now,
his name was Nick Trenchuk.
00:27:51.71\00:27:54.43
Nick Trenchuk was from the
Ukraine, but boy, did he know
00:27:54.68\00:27:57.35
his Bible, he would wear
them out, one after another,
00:27:57.38\00:27:59.91
the pages would be falling out,
he'd buy a new one, he'd wear
00:27:59.94\00:28:02.08
it out till the pages
were falling out of that one,
00:28:02.11\00:28:03.79
he knew his Bible. He
would carefully explain
00:28:03.82\00:28:07.86
things, and talk to me about
it, and finally I got so excited
00:28:07.89\00:28:11.83
I called up my best friend,
Ron, and I said "Ron, you have"
00:28:12.55\00:28:16.26
"got to get down here now. "
Ron was looking for a church,
00:28:16.29\00:28:22.04
I wasn't looking for
a church at the time.
00:28:22.64\00:28:25.81
In the parable of the prodigal
son, the prodigal son went
00:28:25.84\00:28:29.15
away from home, and when the
time came he knew how to walk
00:28:29.18\00:28:32.48
home; in the parable of
the lost sheep, the lost sheep
00:28:32.51\00:28:35.74
got lost and the shepherd had
to come out and get that sheep
00:28:35.77\00:28:38.27
and bring it back, but in
the parable of the lost coin,
00:28:38.30\00:28:40.76
there was a lost coin sitting
out there, and it didn't even
00:28:40.79\00:28:43.21
know it was lost, that
was me, I didn't even know.
00:28:43.24\00:28:46.14
God came and got me, and
brought me to where He needed me
00:28:46.17\00:28:48.86
to be, but you see, Ron
was looking for a church at the
00:28:48.89\00:28:51.45
time, and sometimes
enthusiasm can carry the day,
00:28:51.48\00:28:54.74
even when you don't have
much knowledge, I didn't have
00:28:54.77\00:28:57.19
much knowledge, but I
had enthusiasm that moment,
00:28:57.22\00:28:59.93
and I said "Ron, you've
got to get down here", so Ron
00:28:59.96\00:29:02.60
came down, and I said "Ron, Ron,
I've learned so much things",
00:29:02.63\00:29:05.42
and I poured it, I was talking
a mile a minute, and he said
00:29:05.45\00:29:08.24
"Oh, be careful, you
know you don't know".
00:29:08.27\00:29:10.55
I said "Ron, we're
going to do some visiting",.
00:29:10.58\00:29:13.11
I got a tape recorder, I
didn't have a meeting like this
00:29:13.14\00:29:15.00
where we could come, and
night by night systematically go
00:29:15.03\00:29:16.83
through the fundamentals of
the Christian faith like this
00:29:16.86\00:29:19.47
in a wonderful way from
God's word, I didn't have that
00:29:19.50\00:29:22.07
opportunity at the moment,
so what we did was we got
00:29:22.10\00:29:24.60
a tape recorder, and we went
to visit some local ministers
00:29:24.63\00:29:26.87
around that area, and
we'd call them up, and we'd say
00:29:26.90\00:29:29.37
"Can we come and see you? "
They'd say "Sure, go ahead",
00:29:29.40\00:29:31.84
so we'd come, and we'd
say "Do you mind if we tape"
00:29:31.87\00:29:34.35
"record this? ", and they'd
look sideways at us, and they'd
00:29:34.38\00:29:36.32
say "Well, I guess it's okay.
" So we'd tape record it just to
00:29:36.35\00:29:38.23
be able to take it home and
remember what we talked about.
00:29:38.26\00:29:40.75
I asked the only questions
that I knew, I didn't know much,
00:29:40.78\00:29:43.26
but I said "What do you think
about the 10 commandments? "
00:29:43.29\00:29:45.74
"Are they for us or not?
" "What's the old covenant"
00:29:45.77\00:29:48.41
"to you, what's the
new covenant to you? "
00:29:48.44\00:29:50.74
I'd ask these basic questions,
and the minister would answer
00:29:50.77\00:29:53.21
the best way he knew, and we'd
take it home and we'd listen
00:29:53.24\00:29:55.73
to it, and we'd say "No, it
doesn't square with the Bible, "
00:29:55.76\00:29:58.18
"what he's saying is not what
the Bible says, we've got to"
00:29:58.21\00:30:00.70
"keep looking. " If you
were coming to my seminar
00:30:00.73\00:30:03.09
you'll remember that it was
in this series of going around
00:30:03.12\00:30:05.68
interviewing ministers that
I actually had one minister say
00:30:05.71\00:30:08.11
to me that it would have
been alright if he went out in
00:30:08.14\00:30:10.33
the street with a machine
gun and mowed people down,
00:30:10.36\00:30:12.48
it didn't really matter in the
long run because he was saved
00:30:12.51\00:30:14.46
by grace. Ron and I
looked at each other
00:30:14.49\00:30:18.05
and said "Next
church". [Audience laughs]
00:30:18.08\00:30:21.76
Well, we kept looking, and
we kept looking, and finally we
00:30:22.39\00:30:26.63
decided if we didn't find
a church with any more truth
00:30:26.66\00:30:29.28
than the one we were
at, we were staying put.
00:30:29.31\00:30:31.92
Friends, 20 years
later I'm still here.
00:30:31.95\00:30:34.06
[Audience] Amen. So
we said "We've go to do"
00:30:34.09\00:30:36.75
"what we've got to do,
we've got to be baptized. "
00:30:36.78\00:30:39.06
So I was baptized, but just
before I was baptized I began
00:30:39.09\00:30:42.20
to be convicted of that fact
that I was working on Saturday.
00:30:42.23\00:30:44.94
I was trying to sell real estate
because that was the busiest
00:30:44.97\00:30:47.65
day, and finally I said
"No, I'm not going to sell"
00:30:47.68\00:30:50.03
"real estate on Saturday
anymore", Oh, I got mocked
00:30:50.06\00:30:52.34
for that, I got scoffed at for
that, there were 59 real estate
00:30:52.37\00:30:58.09
agents in my home town
of [?], so you know who
00:30:59.83\00:31:01.81
your competition is, and of
those 59 agents I knew of only
00:31:01.84\00:31:06.17
1 that went to church,
just kind of giving you an idea
00:31:06.20\00:31:08.81
of the religious mindset, and
she was married to a minister,
00:31:08.84\00:31:12.25
so we always said to ourself,
"Well she has to go, that's why"
00:31:12.28\00:31:15.08
"she goes". [Audience laughs]
So I said "They're never going"
00:31:15.11\00:31:18.41
"to understand the fact
that I'm not going to sell real"
00:31:18.44\00:31:21.99
"estate", and sure, my
office came to me and they'd say
00:31:22.02\00:31:24.60
"Brain, you got to sell on
Saturday, it's the busiest"
00:31:24.63\00:31:27.29
"day, don't you know how
much you're going to miss? "
00:31:27.32\00:31:29.77
I said "No, I'm not
going to do it"; the Bible says
00:31:29.80\00:31:32.22
"I have not seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed"
00:31:32.25\00:31:34.67
"begging bread". To
God's glory, and not man's,
00:31:34.70\00:31:37.12
I was in the top 5% of the
real estate bracket for that
00:31:37.15\00:31:39.66
area when I became a
Sabbath keeper, when I left that
00:31:39.69\00:31:42.17
industry I was
still in the top 5%.
00:31:42.20\00:31:45.26
God knows how to sell more real
estate in 6 days than man can
00:31:45.29\00:31:48.24
in 7. So I took
care of that problem,
00:31:48.27\00:31:51.78
I said "No, I'm not going to
sell on Saturday", and the Lord
00:31:52.57\00:31:55.88
blessed, but I also was
playing hockey every opportunity
00:31:55.91\00:31:59.12
I could, I played it on 3
or 4 teams at once if I could.
00:31:59.15\00:32:02.36
I'd literally lived at
times in a hockey ring.
00:32:02.39\00:32:05.01
Well, you know that the
tournaments are always on
00:32:05.57\00:32:08.09
the weekends, so I finally
said "Well, I'm not going to"
00:32:08.12\00:32:10.99
"play hockey on the Sabbath
anymore, so I'm going to go"
00:32:11.02\00:32:13.11
"to my team. " Well,
I went there, you've got
00:32:13.14\00:32:16.16
to imagine this team of
men, they care for neither God,
00:32:16.19\00:32:20.47
nor man, they were certainly
not at all inclined to have
00:32:20.50\00:32:24.68
someone come and tell them that
for religious reasons you're
00:32:24.71\00:32:26.89
not going to play, and it wasn't
like I was unimportant, I was
00:32:26.92\00:32:30.04
the captain of the team.
So here I was going to them,
00:32:30.07\00:32:35.01
standing before them, telling
them that no, I'm not going
00:32:35.65\00:32:38.67
to play on the Sabbath anymore,
they didn't even know what
00:32:38.70\00:32:41.63
the Sabbath was, and after that
was all done, and they certainly
00:32:41.66\00:32:47.18
didn't understand, then I was
also playing on a football team,
00:32:47.21\00:32:50.68
totally different set of guys,
and I went before them and said
00:32:50.71\00:32:53.03
the same thing, I'm not going
to play on the football team
00:32:53.06\00:32:55.84
anymore. I want to
tell you this morning,
00:32:55.87\00:32:58.06
that was probably the
hardest thing I've ever done,
00:32:58.09\00:33:00.79
and I was co-captain
of the football team.
00:33:00.82\00:33:03.49
So to stand before those 40 men,
and say what I said, it wasn't
00:33:03.52\00:33:07.77
easy, but I want to tell
you, brothers and sisters,
00:33:07.80\00:33:10.42
it was good for me.
When you lose the fear
00:33:10.45\00:33:13.68
of what man does, or
what man says because of your
00:33:13.71\00:33:17.69
stance for God, you have
got a tremendous victory in
00:33:17.73\00:33:20.00
your life. [Audience Amen]
00:33:20.03\00:33:21.52
...and after I took that
stand in front of those men,
00:33:21.55\00:33:24.00
I felt like a tremendous
weight had been rolled off my
00:33:24.03\00:33:26.42
shoulders, and I was free to
serve God as I desired to serve
00:33:26.45\00:33:30.28
Him. Well, at
that particular time
00:33:30.31\00:33:33.43
I noticed a difference, my
house used to be the popular
00:33:33.52\00:33:36.08
house, people would come by
all the time, and parties would
00:33:36.11\00:33:38.53
go on there, and I'm not going
to go into all the background
00:33:38.56\00:33:40.98
of things that were done,
because we all know that sin
00:33:41.01\00:33:43.64
is ugly, and we all know
that we should leave it alone,
00:33:43.67\00:33:46.26
what do you say? But
all of a sudden the phone
00:33:46.29\00:33:49.01
didn't ring like it used to,
all of a sudden people weren't
00:33:49.04\00:33:51.56
coming by like they used to,
no one was knocking on the door
00:33:51.59\00:33:54.26
like they used to, and I began
to wonder "How come nobody's"
00:33:54.29\00:33:56.93
"coming by anymore? "
And I realized that the Bible
00:33:56.96\00:34:00.23
says "Can two walk together
except they be agreed? "
00:34:00.26\00:34:04.01
Then I would read my Bible,
and Romans 8:5 would come up
00:34:04.72\00:34:07.17
and said "For they that
are after the flesh do mind"
00:34:07.20\00:34:10.19
"the things of the
flesh; but they that are after"
00:34:10.22\00:34:13.19
"the Spirit the
things of the Spirit. "
00:34:13.22\00:34:15.95
So the Lord began to impress
me, "Yes Brian, you're becoming"
00:34:15.98\00:34:18.84
"more spiritually minded,
and the fleshly doesn't want"
00:34:18.87\00:34:21.36
"what the spiritually wants.
" I would sit at night at home
00:34:21.39\00:34:23.86
and I'd open up my Bible,
Sabbath would come on a Friday
00:34:23.89\00:34:26.29
night and I would read
the Psalms, and for the first
00:34:26.32\00:34:28.71
time in my life I had
peace, perfect, beautiful peace.
00:34:28.74\00:34:31.29
I'd read Psalms like
Psalms 16:11, where it says
00:34:31.32\00:34:33.84
"At Thy right hand are
pleasures forever more. "
00:34:33.87\00:34:36.59
Oh dear friends, I
thought "That's what I want, "
00:34:36.62\00:34:39.23
"I want God's approval,
and not man's approval. "
00:34:39.26\00:34:41.82
People would come up to
me and they'd say "Don't you"
00:34:41.85\00:34:44.34
"know what you're giving
up, don't you know, what you're"
00:34:44.37\00:34:46.81
"sacrificing", and I'd say "Yes,
I know what I'm sacrificing, "
00:34:46.84\00:34:49.88
"I'm not sacrificing
anything that's worth more than"
00:34:49.91\00:34:52.97
"the approval of Jesus. "
Then people started to come
00:34:53.00\00:34:56.00
to me, from the church
now, they started saying
00:34:56.03\00:34:59.60
"You know Brian, I feel
impressed that you might want"
00:34:59.63\00:35:02.72
"to be a minister", and I said
"No, you're not impressed with"
00:35:02.75\00:35:05.69
"that, don't even say
that to me". [Audience laughs]
00:35:05.72\00:35:08.46
I thought of a minister,
priesthood, something like
00:35:09.17\00:35:11.16
that, I said "No, that's not
for me", and then someone else
00:35:11.19\00:35:13.62
from the church would come
up and say "You know Brian, "
00:35:13.65\00:35:16.09
"all you're doing is studying
all the time, you're sharing"
00:35:16.12\00:35:18.51
"Bible studies with people", and
that's true, I was doing that
00:35:18.54\00:35:20.89
more than I was selling
real estate, I was giving Bible
00:35:20.92\00:35:23.35
studies, and trying to witness
as I could, and they would
00:35:23.38\00:35:25.78
say "I think you should
maybe become a minister. "
00:35:25.81\00:35:28.54
I'd say "Please don't tell
me that, that's the last thing"
00:35:28.57\00:35:30.78
"I want. " And
then another one would
00:35:30.81\00:35:33.14
come up, and another one,
and I began to say to myself
00:35:33.17\00:35:35.15
"Oh, I get it, it's a
conspiracy", they all got
00:35:35.18\00:35:38.08
together and they said "Now you
go tell him, then I'll go tell"
00:35:38.11\00:35:40.74
"him, then you go tell him", but
no, that actually didn't happen,
00:35:40.77\00:35:43.37
they were impressed one
by one to come up and say,
00:35:43.40\00:35:45.68
share with me what they thoughts
were, sometimes we recognize
00:35:45.71\00:35:48.30
things in each other before
we recognize them in ourself.
00:35:48.33\00:35:50.92
Then I began to think
about it, and I began to think
00:35:50.95\00:35:53.50
"It's true Lord that I really
don't have a burden to do"
00:35:53.53\00:35:56.12
"what I was before, and I
really do have a burden to do"
00:35:56.15\00:35:58.72
"this and this only. " So
I knew that I needed to pray
00:35:58.75\00:36:01.26
because I couldn't open up
the Bible and find a verse that
00:36:01.29\00:36:04.97
said "Brian, you need to
go to college and study for"
00:36:05.00\00:36:07.62
"the ministry", I knew
that verse wasn't in the Bible.
00:36:07.65\00:36:10.23
So what could I do? I
said "Well, I'll be like"
00:36:10.26\00:36:12.62
"Gideon, I'll throw
out Gideon's fleece "
00:36:12.65\00:36:15.18
So I got down by my bed, I knelt
down on my knees and I prayed,
00:36:15.21\00:36:19.42
and this is what I prayed, Id
said: "Lord, school starts in"
00:36:19.45\00:36:22.73
"about a month, I've got this
big fancy car I just bought, "
00:36:22.76\00:36:26.31
"I got a loan on it. I
can't take that to college"
00:36:26.34\00:36:28.27
"because I won't be making any
money, and I don't want to make"
00:36:28.30\00:36:30.78
"payments, so that's got to
be sold, but Lord I need some"
00:36:30.81\00:36:33.07
"money for college, so
it's got to be sold full price",
00:36:33.10\00:36:35.42
see, what I'm going to do is
put so many conditions on God
00:36:35.45\00:36:37.80
that He's not going to answer
it, He can't answer it because
00:36:37.83\00:36:40.17
I've put so many conditions, so
I said "You've got to sell my"
00:36:40.20\00:36:42.50
"my car, if You want me to
go to college and study for"
00:36:42.53\00:36:44.80
"ministry, then You've got
to sell my car", it was a flat
00:36:44.83\00:36:47.04
market, nothing was selling,
real estate wasn't selling,
00:36:47.07\00:36:49.25
nothing was selling,
interest rates were sky high.
00:36:49.28\00:36:51.55
I said "You've got to sell my
car, and Lord, you need to sell"
00:36:51.58\00:36:54.58
"it within 30 days, and
Lord, I want full price. "
00:36:54.61\00:36:57.73
[Audience laughs]
00:36:57.76\00:36:59.24
I got off my knees pretty
confident because I didn't want
00:37:00.24\00:37:03.69
to go. What
happened next, brothers
00:37:03.72\00:37:06.27
and sister,
happened just this way.
00:37:06.30\00:37:08.79
When I got off my knees
the phone rang, there I was in
00:37:08.82\00:37:11.71
the bedroom, I walked around
the corner to the kitchen,
00:37:11.74\00:37:14.57
I picked up the phone,
like this and I said "Hello".
00:37:14.60\00:37:17.54
A lady was on the other end,
she said "I hear you have a car"
00:37:17.57\00:37:20.30
"for sale". [Audience laughs]
00:37:20.33\00:37:22.95
And I went: [demonstrates]
00:37:24.02\00:37:26.43
And I said "...yes... "
She said "Well, can I see it? "
00:37:28.57\00:37:34.05
After I took a breath I said
"I guess so", I drove that car
00:37:35.21\00:37:40.06
over there, she bought that
car full price, and I had to say
00:37:40.09\00:37:45.32
"Lord, that's quick enough
for me". [Audience laughs]
00:37:45.35\00:37:48.29
Now lest anyone get depressed
over this story, I want to tell
00:37:48.32\00:37:51.80
you that's the only time
I've ever had a prayer answered
00:37:51.83\00:37:54.36
that way; the Lord has
answered prayers for me,
00:37:54.39\00:37:56.35
but never in that way, but
the Lord knew I needed it then,
00:37:56.38\00:37:59.80
it was a life changing moment,
and God gave me that moment,
00:37:59.83\00:38:03.18
and I thank Him for that.
So I said "Well Lord, I think"
00:38:03.21\00:38:05.46
"that You're
telling me something here. "
00:38:05.49\00:38:07.26
So I started having garage
sales, I said "I've got all"
00:38:07.29\00:38:09.93
"this worldly stuff I've
accumulated through the years, "
00:38:09.96\00:38:12.46
"I really don't need it anymore,
I'll start selling it off. "
00:38:12.95\00:38:15.50
So I sold off all kinds of
books, and sold of equipment,
00:38:15.53\00:38:18.31
and sold off...you name
it. Garage sales are great when
00:38:18.34\00:38:20.83
you want to get rid of stuff.
So I said "Well, I'm selling"
00:38:20.86\00:38:24.20
"all this stuff off, I've got
to keep my hockey stick because"
00:38:24.23\00:38:27.61
"you never know who I might
impress at college by how fast"
00:38:27.64\00:38:30.75
"or hard I can shoot a hockey
puck, and I've got to keep"
00:38:30.78\00:38:34.00
"my football because you
never know who I might impress"
00:38:34.03\00:38:37.29
"by how far I can through a
football", I didn't have many
00:38:37.32\00:38:40.55
talents, you've got
to use what you have.
00:38:40.58\00:38:44.36
So I kept my hockey stick, and
I kept my football, and I kept
00:38:44.39\00:38:48.21
one other thing,
I had to keep this.
00:38:48.24\00:38:51.62
When I was flat on my
back with the flu one time,
00:38:55.84\00:38:59.22
someone, you know what this is,
[shows a Rubik's Cube] and it
00:38:59.25\00:39:02.62
was a real rage in the mid 80s,
so someone threw this into my
00:39:02.65\00:39:05.95
hand, early to mid 80s, someone
threw this into my hand and
00:39:05.98\00:39:09.21
said "Here, play with this while
you're sick there on the couch",
00:39:09.24\00:39:12.93
so I looked at that, and having
a real mathematical left brain
00:39:12.96\00:39:15.45
mind I said "Well,
sure, I'll figure that out. "
00:39:15.48\00:39:18.33
So I scrambled it up, and
I learned the key, the codes
00:39:18.36\00:39:20.71
to it, the equations to
it, so I started to get faster,
00:39:20.74\00:39:23.03
and faster, and faster, pretty
soon I was like the neighborhood
00:39:23.06\00:39:26.04
champ, I wasn't ready for the
national level, but I was fast
00:39:26.07\00:39:31.20
enough at it that I thought
I could impress people at
00:39:31.23\00:39:34.02
get togethers. So
we'd have a social, a party
00:39:34.05\00:39:36.65
would happen, and at the right
time, or at the right moment
00:39:36.68\00:39:39.13
I'd whip this out of my
pocket and scramble it up,
00:39:39.16\00:39:41.29
and put it back together again,
"See, pretty good, right? ",
00:39:41.32\00:39:44.77
put it back, well I took my
Rubik's cube to college thinking
00:39:44.80\00:39:48.25
it would impress somebody.
You've got to understand that
00:39:48.28\00:39:51.15
this is a Christian college,
this is Weimar College here
00:39:51.18\00:39:53.99
in California, just up the road.
When I got to Weimar College
00:39:54.02\00:39:58.69
they didn't care about my hockey
stick, they didn't care how hard
00:39:58.72\00:40:01.99
I could shoot a hockey
puck, they didn't care how far I
00:40:02.02\00:40:04.77
could throw a football, and
they sure didn't care about my
00:40:04.80\00:40:07.42
Rubik's cube. So, not
having anyone to impress
00:40:07.45\00:40:10.08
I put my Rubik's cube up
on my shelf in my dorm room,
00:40:10.11\00:40:13.39
and about every month or so
I'd take it back down, and I'd
00:40:13.42\00:40:15.58
scramble it up, and
put it back together again,
00:40:15.61\00:40:17.88
I thought if I couldn't impress
anyone else, I'll just impress
00:40:17.91\00:40:19.85
myself I'll guess. Then
I'd scramble it up, and put
00:40:19.88\00:40:23.17
it back together and
say "Ahh, still the champ",
00:40:23.20\00:40:26.47
put it back up. But
I was getting involved
00:40:26.50\00:40:28.63
in Christian activity now,
and I was getting involved in
00:40:28.66\00:40:31.72
outreach, ministry,
Bible studies more and more,
00:40:31.75\00:40:35.25
and finally one day after so
many months of college I took
00:40:35.28\00:40:38.00
my Rubik's cube down, scrambled
it back up, and I couldn't
00:40:38.03\00:40:40.59
remember the first thing about
how to put it back together.
00:40:40.62\00:40:43.36
I couldn't remember the first
level even, it was frustrating
00:40:43.39\00:40:46.06
to me, and I had anger all
over my face, and I was trying,
00:40:46.09\00:40:48.80
and trying, and trying,
and just one of the dorm mates
00:40:48.83\00:40:51.48
walked into my room and he
saw all this frustration on my
00:40:51.51\00:40:53.78
face, he said "Brian,
what is the matter with you? "
00:40:53.81\00:40:56.69
And I told him the whole story
of the Rubik's cube, how I used
00:40:56.72\00:40:59.38
to be the neighborhood champ,
and now I can't remember at all,
00:40:59.41\00:41:02.06
and he got the biggest smile
on his face folks, and he said
00:41:02.09\00:41:04.71
this, he said "Brian, you ought
to be rejoicing today, God has"
00:41:04.74\00:41:07.29
"just healed your mind.
" I said "You know what? "
00:41:07.32\00:41:11.88
"I get your point, this is
a time waster", so I looked
00:41:12.21\00:41:16.33
for the round file in the
corner and I went [does action],
00:41:16.36\00:41:18.83
2 points right in the corner,
I said "No, that's not what"
00:41:18.86\00:41:21.57
"I'm going to spend my time
with, I'm going to spend my"
00:41:21.60\00:41:23.56
"time with this. " I had
a Rubik's cube wasting my
00:41:23.59\00:41:26.45
time, I don't know what you have
wasting your time this morning,
00:41:26.48\00:41:29.43
but we all have these little
Rubik's cubes that are taking
00:41:29.46\00:41:32.67
up time in our life; some might
be TV, some might be improper
00:41:32.70\00:41:35.85
reading, whatever it is, but I
decided that if I really wanted
00:41:35.88\00:41:38.97
to make good use of my time
I'm going to study God's word
00:41:39.00\00:41:41.57
like never before. So I
made a renewed commitment
00:41:41.60\00:41:44.06
to it, and we had a dorm hallway
there, and I would walk up
00:41:44.09\00:41:46.37
and down, and up and down,
and I would take passages, like
00:41:46.40\00:41:49.71
the sermon on the mount, long
passages, and I would commit
00:41:49.74\00:41:52.73
them to memory, 1
Corinthians 13, Psalm 91,
00:41:52.76\00:41:55.84
Psalm 23, Psalm 1, Psalm 51,
all of these beautiful passages,
00:41:55.87\00:41:59.21
I'd commit them to memory
and it's amazing how much you
00:41:59.24\00:42:03.35
can commit to memory when
you really put your mind to it.
00:42:03.38\00:42:07.43
Just before I'd left Canada
to come down to Weimar College,
00:42:07.46\00:42:11.66
someone had thrown a set of
camp meeting tapes in my hand.
00:42:11.69\00:42:15.26
They said "Well, it's a 1000
mile trip, here's something"
00:42:15.29\00:42:17.46
"to pass the time. " I
took the little cassette tapes
00:42:17.49\00:42:19.74
and I said "Great,
who is the speaker? "
00:42:19.77\00:42:22.46
They said "Well,
his name is Joe Crews".
00:42:22.49\00:42:25.12
"Joe Crews? Never heard
of him, what's he about? "
00:42:25.15\00:42:28.47
"Oh, he has a ministry
called 'Amazing Facts', it's on"
00:42:28.50\00:42:30.68
"the east coast", I
said "Never heard of it".
00:42:30.71\00:42:33.47
So I listened to these
tapes, and as I listened I said
00:42:33.50\00:42:36.15
"Wow, that is
powerful preaching. "
00:42:36.18\00:42:38.56
I said to myself, "Well, it was
nice to listen to Joe Crews' "
00:42:38.59\00:42:41.76
"tapes, but I'll never
meet the man, his ministry's on"
00:42:41.79\00:42:44.55
"the east coast", at that
time it was, "and I'm here on"
00:42:44.58\00:42:47.28
"the west coast, but it was
nice listening to Joe's tapes. "
00:42:47.31\00:42:50.86
So when I got to Weimar
College, being a single man,
00:42:50.89\00:42:54.79
I looked around and I saw
a beautiful, sweet and petite
00:42:54.82\00:42:59.90
lady names Heidi, and Heidi
was there for just that 1 year,
00:42:59.93\00:43:05.36
and as it turns out,
Heidi was Joe Crews' secretary.
00:43:06.06\00:43:10.85
I didn't know that until she
informed me of it, but she had
00:43:11.63\00:43:14.12
taken a year out of being
Joe Crew's secretary at Amazing
00:43:14.15\00:43:16.61
Facts on the east coast, then
it was in Frederick, Maryland,
00:43:16.64\00:43:19.18
and she decided she would
come to the college that year.
00:43:19.21\00:43:21.75
Well, when we got to
know each other as friends
00:43:21.78\00:43:23.86
she found out that I had an
interest in Joe Crews, and she
00:43:23.89\00:43:26.45
was Joe Crews' secretary, so one
day she came to me and she said
00:43:26.48\00:43:30.02
"You know, Joe crews is
doing a series of meetings",
00:43:30.05\00:43:33.16
similar to what I've
been sharing with you here,
00:43:33.19\00:43:35.35
"in Hayward, not too far
away, would you like to go? "
00:43:35.38\00:43:38.90
Well, I said "Yes", but I really
had an ulterior motive, I wanted
00:43:38.93\00:43:42.10
to go to see Joe, but I wouldn't
mind being with her either,
00:43:42.13\00:43:44.61
[Audience laughs], so
I said "Yes" on 2 fronts.
00:43:44.64\00:43:48.36
So we went there, and
I listened to Joe preach,
00:43:48.39\00:43:52.04
and the Spirit spoke to me
and said "Brian, this is what"
00:43:52.07\00:43:54.60
"I want you to do. "
00:43:54.63\00:43:56.50
Not only did I meet Joe Crews,
but to show you how the Spirit
00:43:57.93\00:44:01.15
works, I married his
secretary, Joe did the wedding,
00:44:01.18\00:44:05.89
and then I went to work for
his organization, so God does
00:44:06.27\00:44:08.64
lead His people.
Time is not adequate this
00:44:08.67\00:44:14.56
morning to share all that God
has done in my life, but I do
00:44:14.59\00:44:17.64
want to share this with
you, this is a precious faith.
00:44:17.67\00:44:22.50
Being a Catholic, like I was,
it was coming out of a dark,
00:44:22.53\00:44:27.32
dark closet into the
light of the noonday sun.
00:44:27.35\00:44:31.46
When you come out of darkness
into light, sometimes you've got
00:44:31.49\00:44:34.26
to rub your eyes to get
adjusted, but oh, when you get
00:44:34.29\00:44:36.72
adjusted the light is sweet.
00:44:36.75\00:44:38.93
Being a Seventh Day Adventist
gives you 2 very, very precious
00:44:38.96\00:44:41.91
things, it gives you
many things, but I'm going
00:44:41.94\00:44:44.72
to summarize it in 2 things:
it gives you the clearest
00:44:44.75\00:44:49.12
understanding of who God really
is; all of the other faith
00:44:49.15\00:44:54.07
emanates from what your
understanding of God is,
00:44:54.10\00:44:57.31
so that's so important.
So it gives you the clearest
00:44:57.34\00:44:59.85
understanding of who God really
is, and secondly, it gives you
00:44:59.88\00:45:04.76
the clearest understanding
of what God's will is for
00:45:04.79\00:45:08.06
your life. Those 2
things together are
00:45:08.09\00:45:11.58
very powerful.
When I first started
00:45:11.72\00:45:14.95
studying the Bible, there
was a girlfriend that was there,
00:45:15.13\00:45:19.70
not Heidi, but a girlfriend
that I knew, she invited me over
00:45:19.73\00:45:23.57
to her house, she had a
bunch of people that were Sunday
00:45:23.60\00:45:27.69
attenders in her house, I had
just started to read the Bible,
00:45:27.72\00:45:31.86
and I remember that I was
like the new person, the new
00:45:31.89\00:45:34.74
Christian, so I said "I'll just
be quiet and listen", and they
00:45:34.77\00:45:37.89
were talking about all
kinds of subjects, and they were
00:45:37.92\00:45:41.54
giving their input, but
most were just giving opinion.
00:45:41.57\00:45:45.12
Then when it came around to me,
and I said "Brian, what do you"
00:45:45.15\00:45:47.79
"think on the matter? " I
said "Well, in Genesis it"
00:45:47.82\00:45:50.30
"tells us over here, and in
Matthew it says here, and in"
00:45:50.33\00:45:53.15
"the Old Testament it
tells us this, and in the New"
00:45:53.18\00:45:55.62
"Testament...", and I was
going like this back and forth,
00:45:55.65\00:45:58.25
and there mouths dropped open
and they said "How do you know"
00:45:58.28\00:46:00.88
"all these things?
We've gone to church all our"
00:46:00.91\00:46:03.07
"life and never known these
things, we've gone to church"
00:46:03.10\00:46:05.35
"school all our life and
never learned these things",
00:46:05.38\00:46:07.56
and then it hit me, we had a
saying in real estate, it went
00:46:07.59\00:46:10.99
like his: "You can have 20 years
experience, or you can have"
00:46:11.02\00:46:14.39
"1 years experience
and repeat it 20 times. "
00:46:14.42\00:46:18.52
Some people could have 20 years
of church attendance and have
00:46:18.64\00:46:21.54
20 years of Christian
experience, or they can have
00:46:21.57\00:46:24.87
1 year of Christian experience
and repeat it 20 times.
00:46:24.90\00:46:27.91
It's not how long you go to
church that matters, it's what
00:46:27.94\00:46:31.31
you put in the years,
it's what you put into it.
00:46:31.34\00:46:34.92
I determined that I
wanted to put the most into it.
00:46:35.75\00:46:39.38
I had a girl come to me one time
and she said "Brian", this is
00:46:39.66\00:46:43.31
back at home now, she said
"Brian, I thought you would be"
00:46:43.34\00:46:46.15
"the last one to become a
Christian", oh, that hurt.
00:46:46.18\00:46:50.42
I said "Was I really that
bad? " She said "No, you really"
00:46:50.45\00:46:53.95
"weren't that bad, but I
just never thought of you as"
00:46:53.98\00:46:57.51
"a Christian", and that
really spoke something to me,
00:46:57.54\00:47:01.00
we ought not to write anybody
off; the enemies of the church
00:47:01.03\00:47:04.97
today could be the champions
of the church tomorrow.
00:47:05.00\00:47:07.34
Never underestimate
somebody, Paul was turned around
00:47:07.37\00:47:09.65
in 1 day, and so can many people
who are opposing God's truth
00:47:09.68\00:47:13.77
today, God is calling
people out of Babylon as we sit
00:47:13.80\00:47:17.44
here this morning, and this
set of meetings that we've been
00:47:17.47\00:47:19.89
having, people have been coming
out and standing for truth,
00:47:19.92\00:47:22.67
and when you come out of
Babylon you've got to come into
00:47:22.70\00:47:25.35
something, you can't just
come out and wonder around
00:47:25.38\00:47:27.97
with no meaning and purpose,
God calls us out, so that we
00:47:28.00\00:47:31.61
can come into the remnant.
And as we sit here this morning,
00:47:31.64\00:47:35.60
thousands of people across
the US, and millions of people
00:47:36.69\00:47:39.25
across this world are
being called out of Babylon to
00:47:39.28\00:47:41.82
an understanding of
God's remnant church.
00:47:41.85\00:47:45.02
It's not the man that
gives the message that matters,
00:47:45.05\00:47:47.83
the message can carry itself,
and it's because of the message
00:47:47.86\00:47:51.61
that we have that so many
people's hearts are moved.
00:47:51.64\00:47:56.46
Is Satan going to
attack that message?
00:47:56.82\00:47:59.33
Absolutely. Is
he attacking it now?
00:47:59.36\00:48:01.79
Yes, he is. Will he
continue to attack it?
00:48:01.82\00:48:04.05
Yes, but nothing is going
to stop this message, why?
00:48:04.08\00:48:06.87
Because it's the message of
Jesus, it's the faith of Jesus,
00:48:06.90\00:48:09.41
and I want to be part
of that faith, don't you?
00:48:09.44\00:48:12.61
I want to be like Paul,
in 2 Timothy 4:7,8 Paul said:
00:48:12.64\00:48:16.52
"I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course, "
00:48:16.55\00:48:20.43
"I have kept the faith,
henceforth there is laid up"
00:48:20.46\00:48:22.61
"for me a crown of righteousness
which the Lord, the righteous"
00:48:22.64\00:48:25.05
"Judge is going to give me
that day, and not to me only, "
00:48:25.08\00:48:27.58
"but to all of them also
that love His appearing. "
00:48:27.61\00:48:30.48
I want to be like Paul, in
Isaiah 25, I want to be like
00:48:30.51\00:48:33.27
one of those who when the
Lord comes will say: "This is"
00:48:33.30\00:48:35.99
"the Lord, and He will save us;
this is the Lord, we'll be glad"
00:48:36.02\00:48:39.96
"and rejoice in His salvation.
" Don't you want to be one
00:48:39.99\00:48:42.52
with those that lift up your
heads and your voices, and say
00:48:42.55\00:48:45.04
that very thing? This
morning I wonder how many
00:48:45.07\00:48:49.14
of you are giving up things
so that you can be part of this
00:48:49.17\00:48:51.58
remnant movement.
Some of you this morning
00:48:51.61\00:48:54.29
have been giving up jobs,
some of you are giving up maybe
00:48:54.32\00:48:59.27
worldly friends, some of
you are giving up a past diet,
00:48:59.30\00:49:03.32
or lifestyle, some of you
are giving up churches that you
00:49:03.35\00:49:07.84
used to belong to, but
friends, whatever we give up,
00:49:07.87\00:49:12.34
if the Lord asks us to move in
a certain direction, He's only
00:49:12.37\00:49:15.86
asking us to give up that which
hinders us in the heavenward
00:49:15.89\00:49:19.38
journey. God will
always supply us with
00:49:19.41\00:49:22.98
something better, will He not?
In my life there was that time
00:49:23.10\00:49:27.66
when I was afraid to be
seen going into that church,
00:49:27.69\00:49:31.11
by God's grace, it wasn't
long before I was standing
00:49:31.14\00:49:34.75
on the porch of that church
waiting for cars to drive by
00:49:34.78\00:49:37.95
so that I could wave to them
just like this, and I could say
00:49:38.40\00:49:41.58
"Hi, this is where I am, this
is my church, you should be"
00:49:41.61\00:49:45.41
"here too", isn't God wonderful?
God always gives us grace
00:49:45.44\00:49:49.31
for what we need, and God
always supplies something better
00:49:49.34\00:49:53.14
for what we give up. I
wonder how many champions
00:49:53.17\00:49:56.74
we have this morning
for God's faith right here?
00:49:56.77\00:50:00.27
God is looking for champions
of the faith this morning,
00:50:00.30\00:50:02.84
God is looking for people
who, in their inmost souls, are
00:50:02.87\00:50:06.19
true and honest, God is
looking for people who are going
00:50:06.22\00:50:10.32
to stand up for what is
right when champions are few.
00:50:10.35\00:50:14.40
This morning I want to know if
there are some champions here,
00:50:14.43\00:50:17.41
I believe that you're
all champions for the faith.
00:50:17.44\00:50:19.90
There's a song that I'd
love to close this message with
00:50:19.93\00:50:22.45
called "Pass Me Not, O
Gentle Saviour", can we get
00:50:22.48\00:50:24.75
that song played here, I
don't know who we have playing
00:50:24.78\00:50:27.46
the piano this
morning. Here we are.
00:50:27.49\00:50:30.82
As Seth plays this song
and as we put the words up on
00:50:31.17\00:50:35.31
the screen, I'm going to ask you
to stand right now, would you
00:50:35.34\00:50:39.44
stand, up in the
balcony, would you stand?
00:50:39.47\00:50:43.33
Listen dear friends, brothers
and sisters in the faith,
00:50:44.77\00:50:49.75
some come down when it's
time for prayer because you have
00:50:50.98\00:50:54.20
a burden on your heart, I'm
going to ask you to come down
00:50:54.23\00:50:57.40
to the front this
morning because you want to be
00:50:57.43\00:50:59.15
a champion of the faith.
You may never have come forward
00:50:59.18\00:51:02.90
before, come
forward this morning.
00:51:02.93\00:51:05.79
When Paul stood before the
governor Felix, Seth, play a
00:51:05.82\00:51:09.81
a little quieter, when
Paul stood before the governor
00:51:09.84\00:51:14.64
Felix, Felix said to him
"Paul, go your way, when I have"
00:51:14.67\00:51:20.04
"a more convenient season, I'll
call for you", the Bible never
00:51:20.67\00:51:24.00
records any time when
Felix ever made that call.
00:51:24.03\00:51:28.46
God is calling people
this morning, is He not?
00:51:28.55\00:51:31.58
Today's the day to say "Lord,
I want to be a champion of this"
00:51:31.61\00:51:34.70
"faith", come forward as
we sing this wonderful song
00:51:34.73\00:51:37.38
right now.
00:51:37.41\00:51:38.38
You all can see it on the screen
so let me hear your good voices.
00:51:42.21\00:51:47.72
Pass me not, O gentle
Savior, Hear my humble cry;
00:51:47.75\00:51:53.47
While on others Thou art
calling, Do not pass me by.
00:51:57.85\00:52:03.89
Savior, Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
00:52:07.76\00:52:12.19
While on others Thou art
calling, Do not pass me by.
00:52:17.99\00:52:23.53
My brothers and my sisters,
did Jesus suffer publically
00:52:29.12\00:52:32.54
for us? Amen. Did He go to
the cross publically for us?
00:52:32.57\00:52:36.54
Amen. Jesus
asks us to publically
00:52:36.57\00:52:39.03
acknowledge Him as He publically
died for our very sins.
00:52:39.06\00:52:42.04
Those of you up in the balcony,
don't think you're up in
00:52:43.21\00:52:45.05
the balcony you can't
come forward, you can start
00:52:45.08\00:52:47.60
early, okay? Just
start early, come on down
00:52:47.63\00:52:50.26
and join us down here, we
don't want to leave you out.
00:52:50.29\00:52:52.83
I think it's important
that when we leave a place
00:52:52.86\00:52:55.35
of worship we leave closer
to God than when we came in.
00:52:55.38\00:53:00.40
I thank God that all of these
people are standing up in front,
00:53:00.43\00:53:03.05
but we've got room in these
aisles, I can see the room down
00:53:03.08\00:53:05.70
this aisle, and I can see
some room down this aisle,
00:53:05.73\00:53:08.25
we've got some room in these
other aisles, and I'm going
00:53:08.28\00:53:10.78
to ask, just as a public
acknowledgment that you want
00:53:10.81\00:53:13.25
to be a champion of the faith,
you don't want to just come
00:53:13.28\00:53:15.83
to church every week and go
through the motions, but you
00:53:15.86\00:53:18.54
do truly want to stand
for what this faith believes,
00:53:18.57\00:53:21.29
it's the faith of Jesus,
it's the faith that honors
00:53:21.32\00:53:24.00
the commandments
of God, is it not?
00:53:24.03\00:53:26.08
Is that what you want for
you life, brothers and sisters?
00:53:26.11\00:53:28.64
Then do something this morning
that will let heaven know
00:53:28.67\00:53:30.68
that you want to take a stand,
let's fill up these aisles
00:53:30.71\00:53:33.08
right here, and as we do so,
come on down from the balcony,
00:53:33.11\00:53:35.50
and make a more to show that
you too want to be part of this
00:53:35.53\00:53:37.91
faith, and heaven takes notes of
these things, we don't just do
00:53:37.94\00:53:40.29
it for exercise, we do it
because heaven takes a note,
00:53:40.32\00:53:43.56
let's fill up these
aisles and sing together.
00:53:43.59\00:53:47.74
Thou the Spring of all my
comfort, More than life for me,
00:53:48.71\00:53:54.92
Whom have I on earth beside
Thee? Whom in Heav'n but Thee?
00:53:58.40\00:54:05.22
Savior, Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
00:54:08.49\00:54:13.62
While on others Thou art
calling, Do not pass me by.
00:54:18.57\00:54:25.11
Aren't little
children wonderful?
00:54:30.21\00:54:33.23
We're told to be like little
children, have a trusting faith,
00:54:34.17\00:54:37.54
some of us get above that,
we feel too proud for whatever
00:54:37.57\00:54:40.92
reason to take a stand for
Jesus, but heaven notes it,
00:54:40.95\00:54:44.24
and the Holy Spirit is given
to those that especially want
00:54:44.27\00:54:48.14
to witness for the
faith. Some of you are giving up
00:54:48.17\00:54:52.05
worldly lifestyles, some of you
are giving up body destroying
00:54:52.08\00:54:55.77
vices, or you're giving up
just the approval of peers,
00:54:55.80\00:54:59.59
but to take a stand
for Jesus means something.
00:54:59.62\00:55:02.07
"Blessed are you when men shall
revile you and persecute you, "
00:55:02.10\00:55:04.53
"and say all manner of
evil against you for My name's"
00:55:04.56\00:55:07.14
"sake, rejoice and be exceeding
glad, for great is your reward"
00:55:07.17\00:55:10.75
"in heaven. " I hope
you're exceeding glad
00:55:10.78\00:55:13.96
for the faith. Never
think it more important
00:55:13.99\00:55:17.10
what you're faith denies you,
than what your faith gives you.
00:55:17.13\00:55:21.21
The true Christian will
always say "What does my faith"
00:55:21.24\00:55:23.08
"give me? " I
hope that you feel this
00:55:23.11\00:55:25.29
morning a joy, and a
love in your heart for Jesus
00:55:25.32\00:55:27.65
because of what
your faith gives you.
00:55:27.68\00:55:29.69
Let's finish this wonderful
song together, and let's fill up
00:55:29.72\00:55:32.29
these aisles just a
little bit more for Jesus' sake
00:55:32.32\00:55:34.80
this morning.
00:55:34.83\00:55:35.99
Thou the Spring of all my
comfort, More than life for me,
00:55:38.46\00:55:45.55
Whom have I on earth beside
Thee? Whom in Heav'n but Thee?
00:55:47.97\00:55:54.99
Savior, Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
00:55:57.78\00:56:02.51
While on others Thou art
calling, Do not pass me by.
00:56:07.92\00:56:14.16
Let's pray together as we close.
Father in heaven, we thank You
00:56:19.66\00:56:25.17
that You love us enough
to take us through trials
00:56:25.20\00:56:27.77
and difficulties, don't
remove all the mountains Lord,
00:56:27.80\00:56:31.32
but give us strength to
climb them, don't remove all
00:56:31.35\00:56:34.13
the valley's of difficulty, give
us the faith to walk through
00:56:34.16\00:56:37.13
them. Lord, help us to know
00:56:37.16\00:56:39.22
that no matter what we go
through, no matter what we
00:56:39.25\00:56:42.31
deny ourself for Jesus'
sake, it's going to be worth it
00:56:42.34\00:56:45.40
because one day we're
going to get to be with You,
00:56:45.43\00:56:48.86
and Lord, when we're with You
all of these things will have
00:56:48.89\00:56:51.96
passed away, and we'll be
so thankful that you allowed us
00:56:51.99\00:56:57.26
to go through it, for Your sake.
So bless us this morning Lord,
00:56:57.33\00:57:01.41
I ask for Your blessing
especially on all of those
00:57:01.44\00:57:04.16
who have stood for the faith
this morning, maybe they've
00:57:04.19\00:57:07.10
come to church for a lot of
years, but never really stepped
00:57:07.13\00:57:09.94
out of the pew
into an aisle before.
00:57:09.97\00:57:12.26
Lord, I want to thank You, and
ask You to honor that stepping
00:57:12.29\00:57:14.83
out this morning, and give
them a greater portion of Your
00:57:14.86\00:57:17.37
Spirit. And
those this morning that
00:57:17.40\00:57:19.42
maybe had difficulty doing
that, Lord, bless them also,
00:57:19.45\00:57:22.14
give them courage, give
them a great faith, Lord,
00:57:22.17\00:57:25.96
give them an understanding
to know that You are wanting
00:57:25.99\00:57:28.68
to move in their life too,
and help them to be standing
00:57:28.71\00:57:31.37
up for champions
before Jesus comes back.
00:57:31.40\00:57:34.00
Lord, we ask You now to
bless us each one according
00:57:34.03\00:57:37.38
to our faith in Thee, give
us a greater faith, and help us
00:57:37.41\00:57:40.92
to all be ready when
You come soon, Father,
00:57:40.95\00:57:43.70
for Jesus sake, amen.
00:57:43.73\00:57:46.14