Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host), Gem Castor
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY017063A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 01:07 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:10 We are so glad that you're joining us 01:12 and that you've taken this time out 01:15 to just hear a wonderful testimony 01:19 of how God works 01:20 in miraculous ways in our lives. 01:23 I believe you're going to be highly encouraged today. 01:26 And I do want to take this opportunity 01:28 on behalf of 3ABN to thank you all 01:31 for your prayers and your financial support 01:34 of this ministry. 01:36 You know, it is God's ministry 01:39 but He has entrusted it not just to us 01:42 but to you because without you 01:44 we could not do what we're doing. 01:46 And so it's such a privilege to team together with you 01:50 and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 01:53 Well, today we're gonna be talking about 01:56 one of my favorite topics 01:58 and that is the joy of surrender. 02:01 Jesus said in Luke 9:23, 02:05 He said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, 02:08 let him deny himself 02:11 and take up his cross daily and follow Me." 02:14 Now some people think that to take up your cross means, 02:18 "Oh, we've all got our cross to bear 02:20 that we've got this problem or that problem." 02:22 But during Jesus time when He said, 02:25 "Take up your cross," 02:27 they knew exactly what happened when someone picked up a cross. 02:31 It meant they were about to be put to death. 02:34 And that sounds... 02:37 I don't know what... 02:39 It sounds audacious to think that Jesus is saying, 02:42 "Pick up your cross, be ready to be put to death daily," 02:45 but the joy of Christianity, 02:47 the joy of life is found 02:50 when we learn day by day to die to self 02:54 and let Christ live through us, 02:57 because only as we die to self can God really work in us 03:03 and that's where the joy begins. 03:05 And when we use the word surrender so many people think, 03:09 "Oh, that sounds negative too," 03:11 but surrender is simply yielding control. 03:15 It's consenting to let God do His very best in you. 03:21 Well, let me without further ado, 03:23 introduce our special guest 03:25 and we're so excited to have him here. 03:27 We have Gem Castor with us today. 03:30 And, Jim, you are with the Filipino Youth for Christ. 03:33 Yes. 03:34 Thank you so much for coming from, Ilioilio? 03:39 Iloilo. Iloilo. 03:40 Okay, I put something... 03:42 In the Philippines. We're excited that you here. 03:44 Oh, praise God. Praise God. 03:46 You know, I got to know you because of Melody Mason 03:49 and you're very active in prayer ministry with Melody 03:54 but today we're going to get to hear your personal testimony 03:59 of how God arrested your attention, 04:02 opened your eyes and turned you from darkness to light 04:05 and then how He has been working 04:08 mighty miracles in your life ever since. 04:11 Amen. Amen. 04:13 Well, before we get you started because once we get started, 04:16 I don't want you to wait for me to ask you questions, 04:19 just get on a roll and before we get started 04:22 we know how much you at home like music. 04:25 So we want to play a special song. 04:28 We've got a great team with us today, 04:31 the Jim Brady Trio. 04:33 And they're gonna be doing one of my favorite songs, 04:36 "The Love of God". 04:38 Amen. 04:48 The love of God is greater far 04:54 Than tongue or pen could ever tell 05:00 It goes beyond the highest star 05:06 And reaches to the lowest hell 05:11 The guilty pair 05:15 Bowed down with care 05:18 God gave His Son to win 05:24 His erring child He reconciled 05:30 And pardoned from His sin 05:52 Could we with ink the ocean fill 05:59 And were the skies of parchment made 06:06 And every stalk on earth a quill 06:13 And every man a scribe 06:18 By trade 06:23 To write 06:25 The love of God above 06:31 Would drain the ocean dry 06:38 Nor could the scroll contain the whole 06:44 Though stretched from sky 06:47 To sky 06:53 O love of God 06:58 How rich and pure 07:01 How measureless and strong 07:08 It shall forevermore endure 07:14 The saints' and angels' 07:19 Song 07:23 It shall 07:26 Forevermore endure 07:31 The saints' and angels' 07:36 Song 07:40 How wonderful How marvelous 07:45 This precious love 07:49 Of God 07:53 The precious love 07:57 Of God 08:11 Ooh, that gave us chillbumps, didn't it, Gem? 08:13 That was beautiful. The Jim Brady Trio. 08:17 Speaking and singing of the love of God, 08:20 and you know God demonstrated His love for us 08:23 by sending His Son to die for us 08:25 while we were yet sinners. 08:27 And I think He wants someone who's watching today. 08:31 You to know that you are worth nothing less than the price 08:36 that He paid for you 08:37 with the precious life blood of His Son, 08:40 that's the value God puts on you. 08:43 Well, if you're joining us just a little late, 08:46 our special guest today is Gem Castor. 08:48 Now that's not J-I-M, that's G-E-M. 08:51 Yes. 08:53 And where did your mother come up with that name? 08:56 This is quite funny because it was accidental. 09:00 They were expecting a girl. 09:02 So they prepare the name Gemini. 09:04 So when a boy came out, they just got half of the name. 09:08 Well, that's beautiful. 09:10 It still sounded like a girl's name. 09:12 Not to me. 09:13 Gem sounds like a boy's name 09:15 and that just you were a jewel in the crown of the Lord. 09:19 Now, Gem, you are an advisor 09:22 to the Philippine Youth for Christ. 09:24 You're actually a missionary, I guess we would be 09:26 what we call you 09:27 but you're an advisor to Philippine Youth for Christ, 09:29 you're the prayer coordinator as well. 09:32 And you grew up in a Christian family? 09:36 A third generation Seventh-day Adventist. 09:38 And that doesn't really mean a whole lot 09:40 if you don't have a personal relationship with the Lord, 09:41 does it? 09:43 No. 09:44 So you grew up in a culture, 09:46 you grew up in a system of belief. 09:50 When did it become real for you? 09:53 Well, we were doing Youth Congresses 09:57 and I was the president of the Youth Conference, 10:01 but sadly, I was not having an encounter with Jesus, 10:06 I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus. 10:10 As one pastor says, 10:11 it's like a cerebral relationship, 10:14 not a real relationship until one time 10:18 when we had this Youth Congress, 10:20 this pastor who was our speaker somehow gave an appeal. 10:24 We have to make a choice 10:26 whether to give all to the Lord or nothing at all. 10:31 So I was moving forward with that appeal 10:36 and I know that what I have to give up 10:39 is quite heavy for me. 10:41 I was addicted to DVD's before to movies, 10:44 so I know that I have to turn away from them. 10:48 So when I moved forward I was crying, 10:50 I was crying 10:51 because I don't know what life after DVD is. 10:55 But that is true. Yeah. 10:56 A lot of people feel that way. 10:58 And sometimes when we attack them, 11:01 we don't really realize that that is their life. 11:04 Yes. And that was my life. 11:07 And I was afraid after that what's gonna happen? 11:10 But the Lord showed me 11:12 that there's more to life than this. 11:13 Amen. 11:15 And when that thing happened, it's very inspiring to know 11:20 that you are not just walking in this path alone 11:23 that other young people are having the same issues. 11:26 And when we came together, 11:29 let go of all those things that burden us 11:32 and then that's when we see 11:34 God doing things that blows our mind. 11:38 Amen. 11:40 You know, I think this is something 11:41 when the Lord first called me to ministry, 11:43 one thing that He... 11:45 I grew up in a very dysfunctional environment. 11:47 So I was very good at having verbal camouflage, 11:52 you know, somebody to ask, 11:53 I mean, it could be absolute insanity at home 11:56 but if somebody asked me how I was, well, I'm just fine. 11:59 You know, everything's hunky dory peachy keen 12:03 but when God called me to ministry, 12:06 He told me, I needed to be transparent 12:08 to talk about my own faults, 12:10 my own problems because it gives glory to Him 12:15 because He's the one who came in 12:17 and brought me out of those places. 12:18 I think sometimes people watch television 12:21 and seek maybe Christian personality think 12:25 and they think, "Well, they don't have any problems", 12:29 we've all got the same problems. 12:30 So how old were you at this point? 12:33 Here you are in church leadership but you are a... 12:37 Would you call yourself a carnal Christian? 12:41 Or you even converted at all? 12:43 Let's put it this way. 12:45 I was a hypocrite. 12:46 Okay. Okay. 12:48 That's the painful word but that's reality. 12:51 You are active in the church but somehow you are thinking 12:56 what is life out there. 12:58 You are yearning for a life out there. 13:01 And that's what happens 13:03 when you don't have a personal walk with God. 13:06 And I was already in my 30's 13:09 during that time when the Lord somehow spoke to my heart. 13:12 Praise God. 13:13 And it's never too late. No. 13:15 And although they thought 13:17 that you are, you're doing everything fine. 13:21 And they did not realize that 13:23 it was like a blind leading other blind man. 13:26 Yes, yes. 13:28 It takes that personal encounter, you know. 13:31 Think of... 13:32 Well, I don't want to take all the time. 13:34 I can tell stories here for... 13:35 Okay, so tell me 13:38 when God really converted, 13:43 gave you a new heart, 13:45 what changes did you start experiencing? 13:48 Did you miss your DVDs? 13:50 Or did God just overwhelm you with this love and joy? 13:53 Oh, like when I let go of the DVDs, 13:56 when I let go the movie. 13:58 And this is one thing that I realized, 13:59 I did not have the passion to read a Bible 14:02 or to read a Spirit of Prophecy before 14:05 because my mind was filled up with those things. 14:09 And in a fog. And in a fog. 14:12 And the moment I let go, the moment I let go, 14:15 my desire to read the Bible, 14:16 to read a Spirit of Prophecy came in. 14:19 And I begin to see it, it's very interesting. 14:24 And it's more than that sci-fi movies 14:27 that I was watching before, 14:29 the Lord opened my imagination, 14:30 opened me understanding that there's more to life than DVD. 14:34 Amen. 14:35 And all of a sudden, 14:37 I was not being aware that God is leading me 14:40 to this path like 11 years before I became a missionary, 14:47 I was thinking to be a missionary 14:50 and I'm thinking to myself, 14:51 I could be the biggest blessing in the mission field. 14:54 I know how to lead the youth, I am good with this, 14:57 I am good with that. 14:58 This is obviously before God got a hold of you, right? 15:01 And the Lord said, "No!" 15:03 The Lord stopped me from being a missionary 15:05 because I guess, I would do more damage than good. 15:08 Right. 15:09 When we don't rely on Him and then the Lord led me 15:14 and the Lord is just so patient. 15:16 The Lord led me little by little 15:18 and then I saw my nothingness. 15:21 And at the point that I saw that, 15:23 oh, I could not do this at all 15:26 and the Lord somehow blocked me out 15:28 and now you're ready. 15:30 Amen. Amen. 15:32 That's His whole plan is for us 15:34 to be totally dependent upon Him. 15:36 As was Jesus. Amen. 15:38 It should all be Him and none of us and all Him 15:42 and the Lord just led me into this faith journey. 15:45 And by the way my walk with God, 15:48 I was inspired by the man named George Mueller. 15:52 Yes. 15:53 I did not ask anybody to let... 15:55 Did not even let anybody know about his need, 15:58 only God and I said, "Okay, Lord, 16:01 if you want me to be a missionary 16:02 then I want to live a life like that." 16:04 I'll only depend on You, not on anyone else except You. 16:08 So every time we go to the mission trips I pray. 16:13 If it's Your will then you have to provide. 16:16 And the Lord provides. 16:17 People will just call me over the phone 16:20 and they will ask, "Are you going somewhere?" 16:23 And I said, "Yes, how did you know?" 16:25 Because last night I was asleep and the Lord woke me up 16:29 and I could not go back to bed 16:31 unless I resolved to give you a call the next morning 16:35 and ask you where you're going. 16:36 Wow. And they will buy my ticket. 16:39 And that has been happening not just once not just twice 16:42 but it has been happening 16:43 for the past six months, six years 16:46 and ten months of my life now. 16:49 God is faithful. 16:50 Yes, He is and He is Jehovah Jireh, 16:52 the Lord who provides. 16:54 So what you're saying is 16:56 you've been traveling the world, 16:59 no salary, no stipend from any ministry. 17:04 And not letting your requests be made known to man 17:07 only to God. 17:09 And He has been very faithful to meet all of your needs. 17:14 God is good. 17:16 That you know that's an exciting testimony. 17:18 It is. It is an exciting life. 17:21 Amen. 17:22 Because when I think about this before 17:25 I'm thinking how sustainable is this? 17:28 Because most people will ask me, 17:30 how are you gonna survive this? 17:31 Yes. 17:33 And then I begin to realize, I could not, 17:36 only God can make me survive. 17:38 And it has been God from the very beginning. 17:40 And it will be God all the way. Amen. 17:43 So when He called you to missionary, 17:46 to become a missionary, did you... 17:49 You finally got to that point where you realized, 17:53 it's all of God, none of you just as Jesus said, 17:58 "I can do nothing 18:00 except that the Father does it through Me." 18:02 I only speak what the Father tells Me to speak, 18:05 I only do what the Father shows Me to do. 18:08 So Christ laid aside His own will, 18:12 His own power if you will 18:14 and was totally dependent upon the Father 18:18 and of course the Holy Spirit. 18:20 And that's actually the joy of surrenders 18:23 when you get there, right? 18:24 Amen. 18:26 So, but here you finally 18:27 got to that point of humility. 18:32 I mean, if we're trying to run our own life 18:35 that's a sign of pride. 18:37 It's that... 18:39 Letting the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. 18:43 That mind of humbleness, humble reliance upon God. 18:47 How soon, I mean, when you got there did God 18:49 just say to you one day, "Okay, this is it." 18:52 How did you know He was calling you to be a missionary? 18:55 Oh, it's a succession of events. 18:59 Okay. 19:00 And I guess the Lord has placed it in our hearts 19:02 the burden for souls. 19:04 My burden was for my fellow young people 19:07 who are inside the church who have not seen the joy 19:10 of having this close walk with God. 19:12 Because I know, it was not just me thinking 19:15 that what's life out there? 19:17 What is it, is it more fun than this? 19:20 Because we did not see God as a joyful God before. 19:25 I see God as a very stern father, 19:29 as a very stern parent. 19:31 I did not picture God as a God of joy, 19:33 as a happy God. 19:35 But then when you begin to walk with Him, 19:37 you will see that He's not just a faithful God, 19:40 He is a happy God. 19:41 Amen. 19:43 He is a joyful God, He is... 19:44 I love it. 19:45 He is the God who loves to surprise His children. 19:49 And surprised I was and surprised I am still now. 19:54 And the walk just went on 19:57 and when you said a while ago about planning, 20:02 I was a planner. 20:04 I sat my time 20:06 and I'm even had like timeline for my life at the age of 20, 20:10 I'll be doing this, at the age of 25, 20:12 I'll be having this, 30, I'll be earning this and that 20:16 and then all it did to me was stress, 20:22 anxiety, weariness, worry and despondency. 20:27 And then when I walked this missionary type of life, 20:31 all those plans just flew out of the window. 20:33 And I love this beautiful quote 20:35 from Help in Daily Living that says there, 20:37 "Christ in His life on earth did not plan for Himself." 20:41 Amen. Did not plan for Himself. 20:44 He let the Father plan for Him. 20:47 And I like that last line that says, 20:49 "Let God plan for you." 20:50 Amen. 20:52 And somehow this beautiful verse, 20:54 it really coincides with this beautiful verse in Psalms 32:8, 20:58 which says, "I will..." what? 21:00 "Instruct you and teach you in the way which thou shalt go, 21:04 I will guide you with Mine eye." 21:06 And I meditated on those words. 21:09 And it says, God will guide me with His eye. 21:12 He didn't just... 21:13 He did not just say, "I will send you a tour guide." 21:17 Right. 21:18 He says, "I will guide you with Mine eyes," 21:20 and I said to myself, if God will be the one guiding me, 21:24 I will never get lost. 21:26 I'll never, the journey will never be boring. 21:28 And this is one thing that we thought 21:30 that giving your life to the Lord would be boring. 21:34 It's never boring. It's very far from boring. 21:37 Like every single trip is an adventure, 21:41 not knowing what will happen in the place 21:43 where you go, not knowing where you lay your head on 21:47 but the Lord is so faithful 21:48 that you'll always have your head on a pillow, 21:53 on a bed. 21:54 You know, as I'm sitting here thinking two things. 21:57 Number one, I want us to back up just a moment. 22:01 But before we back up, 22:03 because I want to hear the progression 22:05 of how God got your attention. 22:08 It was the word but obviously prayer became important. 22:11 So we want to talk about after He reached down 22:15 and gave you a new heart, converted your heart. 22:18 How He then began to do these things. 22:22 But my thought was not everybody's 22:26 called to be a missionary to go out into the world, 22:30 but life lived day by day with God 22:36 is equally as exciting 22:39 if you are a parent, 22:41 and working somewhere and having five children, 22:43 it doesn't mean that you have to have, 22:48 what somebody might think 22:49 of it's like a flashy lifestyle. 22:51 You know all this, just being with God, 22:55 He makes life exciting day by day, does He not? 22:58 He does. 22:59 And God has a plan for each one of us. 23:01 It says in Jeremiah 29:11, 23:05 "For I know the plans that I have for you," 23:07 but most of the time we don't see it 23:09 because we have our own plan set up. 23:11 And we will not know what God's plan for us is 23:16 until we surrender. 23:18 Absolutely. Absolutely. 23:20 That verse, you know, He says, 23:22 "I know the plans I have for you" 23:24 but it goes on and it says, 23:25 "Then you will come and you will seek Me 23:28 and you will find Me, 23:29 when you seek Me with all your heart." 23:31 But you know what? 23:33 Think about that, it isn't... 23:35 I mean, it seems like those should be in reverse order 23:37 as far as the scripture verses 23:39 but it's not until we recognize 23:42 that God has a plan for our life, 23:45 that we really seek Him with all of our heart. 23:48 So walk us back just a step here, 23:51 God get your attention. 23:53 And before you even know, 23:55 you're being called this missionary, 23:56 you give up your DVDs, 23:58 you are in the word and you're finding joy, 24:03 you're finding that God is giving you understanding 24:07 that you didn't have before. 24:08 The words becoming alive and active to you, right? 24:11 Yes. 24:13 Take us, kind of how He progressed you, 24:15 because He started the same way for me. 24:17 It was the word. Yeah. 24:20 So He brought me into the word 24:22 and when you find something that is so precious, 24:26 you cannot keep it to yourself. 24:28 That's right. 24:29 So we gathered a young people and the change was so amazing 24:35 because before we were so excited 24:36 to talk about the movies that just came out. 24:39 And right now we are so excited, 24:41 have you read about this chapter in Desire of Ages? 24:44 Have you read about this chapter 24:46 in Patriarchs and Prophets? 24:48 And all the while we thought that 24:49 those were the most boring books, 24:52 reading the Desire of Ages 24:53 before gave me the desire to sleep. 24:56 It was because God has... 24:59 had us changed our hearts. 25:01 God has changed our minds. Yes. 25:04 And this is one amazing thing and from there, 25:09 the Lord introduced me to prayer. 25:11 Spending time with Him because for me before prayer 25:13 was not really one of my habits. 25:17 My prayer life before was like five minutes total 25:20 for the whole day. 25:21 I am like... 25:23 You ran through your list of who you should pray for? 25:26 What you needed to ask for 25:27 but you weren't trying to get to know God personally. 25:29 I didn't even spend time praying 25:32 because I was thinking that prayer was a waste of time. 25:36 I'm like an energizer bunny. 25:38 I go around and I need... 25:41 I need to accomplish things by doing this, by doing that. 25:45 I did not spend much time praying 25:47 until the Lord somehow put a hold in my life. 25:51 And the Lord brought me to the prayer room 25:54 and that's when everything really 25:57 started to open up even more. 25:59 Okay, when you said, 26:00 He brought you to the prayer room, 26:02 be specific in explaining that? 26:05 There was a conference, 26:06 there was a faith camp back in the Philippines. 26:09 And one of my good friend Melissa Miranda 26:13 also a friend of Melody, 26:14 one of our prayer teams in the General Conference. 26:17 She was leading out in this prayer room. 26:20 And she... 26:21 What is a prayer room for somebody 26:22 that may be watching here who's not even a Christian. 26:24 What is a prayer room? 26:25 That is the place where those people 26:27 who have burdens in their hearts, 26:29 who have problems would just come 26:31 and then as a prayer facilitator, 26:33 you ask them, what can I pray for you? 26:36 And leaders and members alike they just come there 26:40 and humble themselves together before God. 26:43 And I heard about this prayer room. 26:45 And when she asked me to be leading out 26:48 me and my niece together. 26:50 I'm thinking, I don't want to spend time in the room 26:54 sitting for an hour, not doing anything, 26:58 I said, I'll go crazy. 27:00 I should be doing something. 27:02 But God knows what He's doing. 27:05 And during that time, 27:06 I had a lot of resentment in my heart, 27:08 I had a lot of anger, I had a lot of bitterness, 27:12 but the moment I knelt down, 27:14 after I prayed two short prayers 27:17 because the prayer in the prayer room 27:18 is just like one to two sentence. 27:20 After I pray those two prayers of praise, 27:23 the Lord broke down that wall. 27:25 Really? 27:26 And the resentment begin to crumble down, 27:30 the hatred begin to be flushed out. 27:32 It was not done right away 27:35 but that was like the turning point. 27:37 The moment I experience this, 27:39 it's like the moment you read your Bible, 27:41 the moment you had like this is something else. 27:46 When scripture becomes like a Neon sign 27:49 that's flashing at you and you're going wow. 27:50 Yeah. 27:52 And I could not keep it to myself. 27:53 So I went around this camp and I've been asking people 27:57 have you been to the prayer room? 27:58 Have you been to the prayer room? 28:00 You should go visit the prayer room. 28:02 And somehow the Lord made me gather like 40 people in there 28:06 and from that time on, 28:08 I've seen lives that were changing 28:11 because of the humility that we do before God. 28:16 But you know there has to be something special 28:18 about that environment 28:19 because there's a lot of people that get together at church 28:22 and maybe pray a few sentences here and there. 28:26 What do you think the difference is 28:28 about the prayer room? 28:29 Do you think it is 28:31 that the people who have recognized 28:35 the power of prayer have so prayed up 28:38 before they even open a prayer room 28:40 that the true presence of God is there? 28:43 I guess it's that one. 28:45 And another thing in the prayer room is 28:47 you're not there to speak. 28:49 You're not there to sing. 28:51 You're just there to humble yourself before God. 28:54 And that act alone brings everything 28:59 into a different light. 29:00 The moment we humble ourselves before God, 29:03 things begin to change drastically. 29:06 And God has His request for His people. 29:09 2 Chronicles 7:14. 29:12 "If my people which are called by My name shall..." 29:14 what? 29:15 Humble. 29:17 That's the first request that God did, 29:19 if My people humble themselves and I'm thinking why? 29:23 Why was the first request humble? 29:26 And not pray but then I realize because we are not. 29:30 And when His people begins to humble themselves 29:33 then that's when the Holy Spirit can descend. 29:39 Okay, so now God's got your attention. 29:41 He's... 29:42 You know, James, 1:21, says, 29:45 "That the word 29:46 when it's implanted in your heart 29:48 has the power to save your soul," 29:49 this word that's alive and active 29:52 and God now is teaching you His word, 29:56 He has brought you to an understanding 29:58 of what it means to humble yourself 30:01 before the Lord. 30:02 To be depended upon Him, to look to Him for His will. 30:05 Amen. 30:07 He's teaching you the joy 30:09 of coming into His presence of knowing He is God. 30:14 Listening for His still small voice. 30:17 Is this... 30:18 At what point now do you become aware 30:21 He's calling you to be a missionary? 30:23 Oh, during the time that I was already in India. 30:28 I begin to realize. 30:29 Oh, maybe this is it. 30:32 How did you end up in India? 30:34 You jumped ahead on that one. 30:35 So fast because when I was asked by 30:39 then Melissa to join her in that, 30:41 in that prayer room, 30:43 I became part of the prayer team 30:45 that she set up 30:47 and we went to the division meeting 30:48 to the year end meeting of the division. 30:51 And all of a sudden a few days later, 30:55 I flew to India. 30:57 And the Lord brought me to India 30:58 to pray with the leaders. 31:00 And the Lord is just opening doors for me right now 31:02 and I was not prepared. 31:05 And this is one thing that I am seeing, 31:07 it's not because of our preparedness. 31:09 It's true. 31:10 When the Lord sees that the time is right for us 31:14 all we had to do is, yes, Lord, where to, 31:18 what do you want me to do? 31:19 Here I am Lord, it's in me. 31:21 Sometimes we're more dangerous when we're prepared 31:23 because we would not be able to ask help from Him. 31:26 That's true. 31:27 But when we know we're not, 31:29 but when we know that it's all Him, 31:31 that's Him taking over, that's when, 31:33 that's when He is the one who is shining and not us. 31:37 And after India, 31:40 it was just like a succession of invitations. 31:44 Go from one place to another, 31:46 travel from this place to that place. 31:48 Where you well traveled before, hadn't you been to this day? 31:51 No. No. No. No. 31:54 That is another testimony 31:55 but I'd like to focus now on a lot of miracles 31:58 that happened after that. 32:00 Like after before that I traveled only one time 32:05 and that is to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. 32:08 And that is like two hours away from the Philippines. 32:11 And I traveled 32:12 because there is a promo ticket that cost like $12. 32:16 That's the only amount of the ticket that I can afford 32:19 and now brought me out of the business. 32:24 I'm now salary zero, stipend zero 32:28 but now the Lord is bringing me from one place to another. 32:31 And I'm thinking, this life is amazing, Lord, 32:34 depending on You, 32:36 surrendering everything upon You. 32:39 It's amazing. 32:40 Now when was your first time to the United States? 32:43 Oh, it was 2013. Okay. 32:46 And that is a testimony in itself having that visa, 32:50 having that visa is quite a miracle. 32:54 Like for us Filipino to apply for US visa is, it's not easy. 33:00 For some it's like winning a lottery, 33:02 for some people like me who does not have any work, 33:05 it's like entering heaven. 33:06 So I'll jump right into the interview 33:09 when the interviewer asked me, "So how much is your salary?" 33:14 Because they always want to know 33:16 what's your income like? 33:18 And I told the visa... 33:20 The council. 33:22 "I'm sorry, sir but I don't... 33:23 I don't receive any salary." 33:25 And he said, "Why is that?" 33:26 I said, "I'm a missionary volunteer, 33:28 so I don't get paid for my work." 33:30 "Then how do you live?" 33:31 And I said, "I live by faith, sir." 33:34 And then He looked at me strange 33:35 and He thought that I was not serious. 33:38 He thought I was joking. 33:39 And he said, "I live by faith 33:41 but tell me how do you really live? 33:42 How do you buy your food? 33:44 How do you buy your clothes?" 33:45 And I said, "The Lord provides, sir." 33:47 And he was not happy with my answer. 33:50 And he looked at my passport 33:52 and he said, "If you are not paid for your work, 33:54 how come you travel so much." 33:56 And I said, "Sir, I prayed to the Lord 33:58 and the Lord uses other people to pay for my fare." 34:01 And then he was getting frustrated. 34:03 And then he asked, "And how about emergencies? 34:06 Do you encounter emergencies?" 34:07 And I said, "Yes, sir. 34:09 The Lord is faithful that the Lord provides 34:11 the right amount of money 34:12 for the right amount of emergencies." 34:14 And then he asked, 34:15 "Then you receive money for emergencies then?" 34:17 I said, "Yes, sir, the Lord is faithful." 34:19 And he just yelled. 34:21 He yelled at me and said, "That you just lied to me." 34:24 And I said, "How come, sir?" 34:26 "Because a while ago you're telling me 34:28 that you don't receive 34:29 any amount of money for your work 34:31 and now you're telling me 34:32 that you receive money for emergencies." 34:35 And before that interview, I was so nervous 34:37 and I know for a fact that if the Lord left me to myself 34:40 I would have just passed out and died. 34:43 Seriously, Shelley. 34:45 But the Lord gave me the answer even before, 34:48 even before he finished the question 34:50 and the answer came like, sir, 34:53 a while ago you're asking for a regular income 34:56 but emergencies are irregular. 34:59 That is a smart answer, isn't it? 35:00 Yes. And I'm not that smart. 35:03 And even at the back of my mind 35:05 I had this expression like what? 35:08 What did he said? 35:10 And he was not... 35:12 He was getting confused now. 35:14 And then I told him, 35:15 "Sir, from the very beginning I wanted, I wanted to tell you 35:18 that I don't really earn anything. 35:21 I don't want to give you a salary range 35:23 that I don't earn. 35:24 I don't want to give you a bank account 35:25 that I don't have. 35:27 Sir, I don't have any bank account." 35:29 And he looked at me and said, 35:31 "Then tell me how should I fill in this question, 35:34 monthly income?" 35:36 And I said, "Honestly sir, I don't know." 35:38 And then he said, "Okay, monthly income," 35:42 he typed in, not applicable. 35:46 How wonderful. How true. 35:49 Now see that answer came to the Lord, 35:51 from the Lord because it isn't applicable in your case. 35:54 No. 35:56 And even the answer that I gave would not support my security. 36:01 I just admitted to him 36:03 that I am not eligible to go to the US 36:05 because I'm not earning anything. 36:07 Then I'll be a threat 36:09 but he just said after a few more questions, 36:12 congratulations your application has been approved. 36:15 Praise God. 36:16 And he gave me a ten year multiple entry. 36:19 Now that was the work of the Lord. 36:21 That's the Lord. That's all God. 36:23 God wants to shine in everything. 36:26 He wants His signature in every aspect of our lives. 36:30 He does not want that we will shine 36:34 because we could not take the glory, 36:36 He wants Him to shine. 36:38 And the more He gets the glory, the more we get the joy. 36:41 Amen. 36:42 And I'd rather have the joy than the glory. 36:45 I can't handle the glory. 36:47 He says, He will not share His glory with another. 36:50 And you're right, we can't handle this. 36:53 As a matter of fact I think people 36:55 who falsely receive glory that's due to God you see 37:00 that they often fall in hurry. 37:04 You know, their lives become... 37:06 Well, look at, 37:08 this is what Satan tried to do is take glory. 37:10 And this is why He failed. 37:12 So tell us... 37:14 I'm gonna pretend like, I'm the immigration agent. 37:19 Tell us some of these stories of how God provides... 37:23 You've told us how you get a ticket 37:25 but once you get somewhere, 37:27 how is He providing for your housing 37:29 or your food or for emergencies? 37:31 It's amazing, Shelley, because it's different. 37:35 Every story, every trip is different. 37:38 I even have like, I took a picture, 37:41 I took a selfie of one bed one time 37:44 because I'm noticing that in the two weeks 37:47 that I was traveling, 37:49 I was having like eight beds already. 37:51 So I took a picture of the bed, posted in Facebook 37:54 and people begin to comment, what? 37:56 This the eighth bed already. 37:57 And then I begin to realize that this could be a testimony. 38:02 So now I'm taking a selfie of every bed that I sleep on 38:05 and I call that album the bed blog. 38:09 It talks about the faithfulness of God 38:12 that even though we don't have a house, 38:15 the Lord could provide a roof over our head and a pillow 38:18 under our head. 38:20 Amen. 38:21 And last year, it's amazing. 38:23 After a very grueling trip, it was my birthday. 38:30 It was December. 38:31 And in the morning I woke up and I said, "Lord, 38:34 what do You want me to meditate on?" 38:37 And the Lord just brought this beautiful song, an old song, 38:41 it's like, the song goes like this. 38:45 "Count your blessings name them one by one 38:48 and count your blessings and see what God has done." 38:50 So I begin to write down those blessings. 38:53 First I went to countries. 38:57 How many countries the Lord bring me to in this, 39:00 in these 12 months. 39:02 The Lord brought me to four different countries. 39:04 Forty four? Four, only four. 39:06 Oh, only four. I thought you said 44. 39:08 Mercy. Four countries in 12 months. 39:10 Scary, I'd die with jetlag. 39:13 Four different countries 39:15 and 22 different states in the US. 39:19 That's amazing. And 67 beds. 39:23 And I began to realize 39:25 that's more beds than weeks in a year. 39:28 We only have 52 weeks. 39:30 Yes. And I had like 67 beds. 39:34 And 65 airplane rides. 39:38 That's amazing. All made by God. 39:41 And this song is so true, 39:43 count your blessings and see what God has done. 39:47 When I look back on all those miracles 39:50 that would not happen, 39:52 that would not have happened because of me. 39:55 I didn't play anything. 39:57 It's all God. It's all Him. 40:01 Sixty five airplane rides. 40:03 I could not even afford one airplane ride 40:06 before without salary, without anything. 40:09 It's all God doing everything. 40:13 It's just living in the joy of surrender 40:15 and riding the wave of His will. 40:18 You know, that is an amazing story. 40:21 So how... 40:26 Has your family, 40:27 how have people who knew you before, 40:31 do you think they've recognized, 40:34 they have to recognize the huge change in you. 40:37 Oh, it became so obvious. 40:41 I was a happy kid before 40:44 but not really happy in the inside. 40:47 Now I'm joyful. 40:48 Yes. I'm overflowing. 40:51 I could say that 40:52 and it's funny because sometimes... 40:54 It shows. 40:55 It's all because of God. 40:57 Sometimes people will ask me, "Why do you smile too much?" 41:00 I said, "Because of Jesus." 41:03 And seeing His miracles in my life every single day 41:09 and seeing people see that 41:12 and also would want to yearn for that as well 41:17 gives you so much joy, 41:18 going around and I've been to a lot of places 41:21 and they will see in my Facebook 41:23 that I've been to this place to that national park 41:26 and they will ask me, 41:28 "Which one is the most, 41:30 it's like the highlight of all these trips?" 41:32 And I tell them, "You know what? 41:34 It's not actually the views, 41:36 it's not actually the national parks, 41:40 it's when you see people respond to the appeal of God. 41:45 And when they give their lives to the Lord, 41:48 that's the peak of every trip." 41:51 So you go to these national parks 41:53 and just start witnessing to people. 41:56 What are you doing in the National parks? 41:58 I don't, I don't witness in national parks. 42:00 Some of my friends will bring me to national parks. 42:02 Okay, okay. 42:03 After I speak in their churches. 42:06 So I get invited now to multiple places, countries. 42:11 And it's all God. 42:13 I didn't even present myself, 42:14 it's all God leading in everything. 42:17 And even the invitation, even the planning and all, 42:19 I said to the Lord, 42:21 "I want to make sure that it's You who is leading. 42:24 So I will not tell people 42:26 that I can speak in your church, I can do this, 42:29 I can lead out in prayer session. 42:30 I will just wait on You. 42:32 When the invitation comes, 42:34 I will know for a fact that invitation came from You." 42:36 You know, that's exactly how God led me. 42:38 I mean, He told me not to promote anything 42:41 and He just opened door after door. 42:45 And you knew but you know, let me ask you, did God... 42:50 Do you agree with me? 42:53 And I know Sister White does, so you've got to say, yes. 42:57 But what was so life changing for me first was, 43:03 when I started praying the word. 43:07 But then when the Lord taught me 43:09 as I was pressing into His presence 43:12 to sit at His feet be still and know that He is God. 43:15 Amen. 43:16 And then He taught me to really follow the leading 43:20 of His still small voice. 43:21 You know, God never just tells us everything 43:23 and a lot of times He will tell us 43:25 one or two little sentences 43:27 and give us a little bit of direction 43:30 and He'd often tell me, 43:31 look at up and I go to the word 43:33 and I find even deeper meaning in that 43:35 but in your personal experience, 43:38 you've gone from watching God, 43:40 and learning to listen for God's voice, 43:43 seeking Him for provision, 43:45 in a personal one on one ministry 43:47 as you go around the United States 43:50 but now you're working with an organization 43:52 that's doing great things. 43:55 Tell us how God is leading? 43:58 How God has even maybe used you to teach others? 44:01 That there's total dependency. 44:03 If you're in ministry whatever you're doing. 44:05 Being totally dependent upon God is the answer to joy. 44:08 Amen. 44:10 And I want to add to what you just said a while ago, 44:14 like my understanding about prayer before 44:16 it was like a genie in a bottle. 44:17 Yes. 44:19 Like asking, asking the Lord what we need? 44:21 What we want? 44:23 But then the more I spend time in the presence of God, 44:25 I begin to understand 44:27 that the real essence of prayer is to know His will. 44:30 Amen. 44:32 And I like when you said it. 44:33 You just be still and know that He is God. 44:36 And in our prayers 44:38 that's really needed to just be still 44:41 and seek His will. 44:42 And now as you have mentioned about the organization 44:46 about Filipinos for Christ that I'm very passionate 44:49 and very excited about. 44:52 Shelley, we would like to invite you to go there 44:54 and do witness, 44:56 this very passionate young people, 44:59 doing everything for the Lord. 45:01 And one particular time like last year. 45:05 I was planning to... 45:07 And the Lord somehow open opportunity for me 45:09 to go to Canada 45:10 but there was no confirmation with that invitation. 45:13 But the more I spend time with the Lord, 45:16 the Lord's leading was, go, I got my visa. 45:21 I got everything set up but there's no confirmation. 45:25 The more I prayed the Lord just convicted me to go. 45:29 So I said, "What do You want me to do, Lord? 45:31 And the more I read, spent time in His word, 45:34 the Lord spoke, "Buy your own ticket." 45:37 And I'm thinking, my own ticket? 45:40 The ticket cost $1,100. 45:44 And for somebody who does not earn anything. 45:46 And now remember, I've been going around 45:49 and the Lord's goodness through His people 45:52 and I received it. 45:53 And now I have a bank account. 45:55 So I put it in my bank account. 45:56 Now when I looked at my bank account, 45:58 wow, I'm quite secured now. 46:00 And the Lord demanded it, buy your own ticket. 46:03 And I'm thinking, Lord, 46:05 I, this money should be used for the ministry, for PYC. 46:10 But then the Lord somehow spoke to my heart, 46:12 that is not your money, that's My money. 46:14 Yes. 46:16 So at first reluctantly I bought my own ticket 46:20 and later on I found out that they did not have funding 46:24 that's why they did not responded 46:27 or did not confirm. 46:28 And when I arrived there, Shelley, 46:30 God just did amazing things. 46:33 They didn't have a funding 46:34 but the contribution of our brothers and sisters, 46:37 I did not even ask remember I should not be asking, 46:40 I should not be letting people know about my need. 46:43 Throughout those travel 46:45 the Lord multiplied it more than ten times. 46:46 Wow. 46:48 We were able to do a conference. 46:50 And that year, 46:53 that year supposed to be the most expensive conference 46:56 that we ever have yet. 46:59 But the Lord took care of our venue, our Sabbath venue 47:03 which is an auditorium of a Catholic University. 47:07 God is just so good. 47:09 And that's an expensive event, $2,000. 47:12 We're able to pay two speakers from Hawaii, 47:15 from China and paid off a lot of stuff. 47:19 We were able to sponsor nearly 40 young people 47:22 to attend because they could not afford. 47:24 And God has been doing a lot of miracles. 47:28 In the previous conferences 47:30 we will know that we have paid off everything 47:33 after every payment has been given 47:35 but that year even before the conference started, 47:40 everything was paid off. 47:41 Glory to God. 47:43 And by the way, the Lord somehow compelled me 47:47 not to do any solicitation letter. 47:50 No solicitation letter was sent out. 47:53 I did not talk to people about our needs. 47:56 And the Lord showed us 47:58 that He is the real source of blessings or provision. 48:02 And what He asked from us is, what's in your hands? 48:07 Are you willing to give it? 48:09 And this is one thing that made it difficult for me 48:12 because I'm thinking, Lord, this... 48:16 The ticket is so expensive. 48:19 It will cost us a conference. 48:21 And I'm thinking as well, 48:23 sometimes the Lord demands things from us 48:25 but we're thinking 48:26 but it will cost me my retirement car, my house. 48:32 My house that I want to purchase. 48:34 My vacation that I have been saving up for. 48:37 But then the Lord will remind us, 48:40 the Lord has been constantly reminding us 48:42 that we should not be living for ourselves. 48:44 We should be living for the glory of His name. 48:46 And this is I guess the reason why that a lot of us 48:50 have not experienced this joy 48:51 because we have not surrendered what God is requiring us. 48:56 And it hit me, like I don't want to stand before God 49:00 in the end and the Lord will ask me, 49:03 why did you hold back from me? 49:05 Because you sat on top of the blessings 49:09 that I've given you, 49:11 now the whole village have not known Me. 49:15 And that I could not bear. 49:17 And, you know, I want to say this or ask this. 49:20 Do you believe that, you know, 49:23 it's like when the rich young ruler came to Jesus. 49:27 And he said, what do I need to do? 49:28 And Jesus said, 49:30 go sell everything and then come. 49:32 Well, He didn't tell all of His disciples 49:34 that He knew that one man needed that. 49:36 Don't you believe that 49:37 what God requires of each of us. 49:39 He requires something 49:41 but it's not always the same thing 49:43 that He requires of each of us. 49:45 Amen. Okay. 49:46 That's why when we spend time with God we will know. 49:49 Amen. What He wants us to surrender. 49:52 And this is one amazing thing. 49:54 When we corporately bow down, when we bend our knees together 49:59 and that's when His will becomes clearer. 50:04 And I'd like to share some photos of what just happened 50:08 in Philippines Youth for Christ. 50:09 Sure, please. 50:11 Yes, these are some photos that happened at 4.00 am. 50:15 Four o'clock in the morning. 50:16 Now that is GYC. 50:18 GYC at 6 o'clock in the morning. 50:21 Glory to God. 50:23 All the while we thought that people will not come. 50:26 That's your prayer room? That's a prayer room. 50:28 That was in the middle of the prayer session. 50:32 At the end of the prayer session 50:33 people just flock to the prayer room 50:35 when I opened my eyes, 50:37 there were more than 400 people who were there. 50:39 And they could not be contained in the prayer room, 50:41 people were kneeling outside of the door. 50:44 And I could sense right now 50:46 that God is really calling His people. 50:47 And this is Philippines. 50:49 Philippines at 4:00 am, 50:50 we started our prayer session at 4:00 am. 50:53 And we started with 200 young people 50:55 who were there and they kept on growing and growing. 50:58 And we prayed for three hours. 51:00 And at the end of our prayer session, 51:02 there were more than 500 young people 51:04 who were there. 51:05 That's amazing. 51:06 And who could not be blessed 51:09 when you see this corporate humility 51:14 coming from this young people. 51:16 And this is a video. 51:18 And when you get young people up that early, 51:21 somebody is really that means 51:23 that they have connected to the power of prayer. 51:26 It's the Holy Spirit that's waking us up. 51:28 And I could see right now 51:30 that the Lord is really intense right now 51:33 in waking up His people because everywhere I go 51:35 and I lead out some prayer session. 51:38 When we did, when we did a number of revival weekends, 51:44 there's this hunger that I have not seen before. 51:48 We are really coming near to the end times. 51:52 Yes, we are. 51:54 And praise God that He has chosen our generation. 51:57 Isn't it a privilege to witness this? 52:00 And I'd like you to see this, this short video. 52:03 Surely. 52:05 It's different when it's video 52:06 and it's different when it's pictured. 52:08 A friend John would took this. 52:10 This is during the prayer session. 52:13 This group of young people. 52:15 This is not even the end yet. 52:17 Amazing. 52:19 So corporate humility, 52:20 this is one thing that the Lord is asking us to do. 52:25 That's beautiful. 52:27 Beautiful, beautiful to see people's hearts being touched, 52:31 so that they're coming to prayer 52:33 to know the Lord and to know His will. 52:36 Amen. 52:37 Now you do go and speak at churches, 52:40 you do a variety of things. 52:42 We want to put an address up for people to, 52:47 if you would like to get in touch with Gem. 52:51 Maybe to invite him 52:52 or maybe God is going to touch you 52:56 on the shoulder and say, you're one of those 52:58 who's gonna pay for his next airline ticket. 53:00 This is how you can get in touch with Gem. 53:05 Philippine Youth for Christ 53:06 is part of a growing youth movement 53:08 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church 53:10 that yearns to demonstrate leadership, integrity, humility 53:15 and Christ love to those about them. 53:17 If you would like to learn more about PYC 53:20 or would like to support their ministry, 53:23 please visit them online at pycweb.net. 53:27 That's pycweb.net. 53:31 You may also call them in the Philippines 53:33 by dialing (092) 296-9950. 53:39 That's (092) 296-9950. |
Revised 2017-11-02