Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY018011A
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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 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello, friends, welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:12 My name is John Lomacang, 01:13 I'll be your host for this program 01:16 and we thank you for taking the time to tune in 01:18 for very interesting program. 01:21 Now we cover quite a bit of topics here 01:22 from doctrinal to Bible, evangelism. 01:26 This program is about a personal journey. 01:29 And both of our guests today are going to walk you through 01:31 what the Lord has done, how He found them, 01:34 where He found them, where He has lead them, 01:36 and how He continues to lead. 01:38 And so you might be on their journey yourself. 01:40 I will encourage you to stay tuned 01:42 for a life changing, life transforming testimony 01:46 about the power of God to change and lead a life. 01:49 We always like to thank you for your prayers 01:51 and your financial support of this network 01:53 that continues going and growing 01:55 as we are getting ready for the coming of the Lord. 01:58 And I want to use our time today most effectively. 02:02 So let me at this time before we go to the music, 02:05 I'd like you to meet our guests. 02:07 Good to have here, Wes, since you're so close, 02:09 I could extend my hand to you. 02:10 Thank you. Good to be here. 02:11 Wes Peppers, you know, when I first heard that name, 02:14 I said, "Is that his last name?" 02:16 But your first name is Wes. Yes. 02:17 And then Peppers. Yes, correct. 02:19 Good to have you here. Thank you. 02:20 Tell us what you do and where you are from? 02:21 I currently work in the Michigan Conference 02:24 as the personal ministries and evangelism director. 02:26 And prior to that, I was a pastor 02:28 and then spend some time in Amazing Facts so... 02:31 Okay. 02:32 So it's a blessing to be in ministry. 02:33 Yes, and good to have you back. Thank you. 02:35 And to your right, you have wonderful lady 02:38 who I like to introduce her right now. 02:40 Tell us who you are? 02:41 I'm Marion Peppers. Okay. 02:43 And I get to be support to this wonderful man. 02:46 And I'm also a stay-home-mom with two beautiful children 02:50 and that keeps me pretty busy. 02:51 Wow, you know, I was saying of the air, 02:53 she's a domestic engineer. That's right. 02:54 And why should really be paid something for doing 02:57 such a wonderful job in raising the family. 02:59 Good to have you here today. 03:01 And it's good that your wife is here 03:02 because testimonies are most effective 03:04 when both of you can walk through the journey together 03:07 and I'm looking forward to the testimony. 03:09 But as Marion is here, Marion also pre-tapes some music, 03:13 she is not just a stay-home-mom, 03:14 she is a minister of music. 03:16 And we're gonna be blessed by one of her songs entitled 03:19 "The Lord's prayer." 03:20 After the song, we'll come back 03:22 and begin a walk through their journey. 03:35 I heard the voice of Jesus say 03:41 Come unto Me and rest 03:47 Lay down, thou weary one, lay down 03:53 Thy head upon My breast 03:58 I came to Jesus as I was 04:05 Weary and worn and sad 04:09 I found in Him a resting-place 04:16 And He has made me glad 04:27 I heard the voice of Jesus say 04:33 Behold, I freely give 04:38 The living water, thirsty one 04:44 Stoop down and drink and live 04:50 I came to Jesus, and I drank 04:56 Of that life-giving stream 05:01 My thirst was quenched, my soul revived 05:08 And now I live in Him 05:24 I heard the voice of Jesus say 05:30 I am this dark world's Light 05:36 Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise 05:42 And all thy days be bright 05:48 I looked to Jesus, and I found 05:54 In Him my Star, my Sun 05:59 And in that Light of Life I'll walk 06:06 Till traveling days are done 06:11 Till traveling days are done 06:36 Thank you so much for that song and since you are here, 06:38 thank you, Marion, for that wonderful song, 06:39 "The Lord's prayer." 06:41 And thank you for the way that you communicated 06:43 for the glory of God. 06:44 We want to dive right into the story. 06:47 And, Wes, as we've kind of looked at your journey, 06:50 your journey is very interesting. 06:52 And people have interesting journeys 06:54 but we'd like to begin with yours. 06:55 Take us to the beginning wherever you like to start. 06:58 Sure. 06:59 I did not grow up in the church. 07:01 I know many people have that blessing 07:02 but my parents were not Christians. 07:05 And they did the very best that they could but growing up, 07:08 you know, we didn't go to church 07:10 but my parents were good people, 07:12 they were moral people. 07:14 And, you know, my last name being Peppers 07:17 and when I had hair, I had fire red hair. 07:19 Okay. 07:20 And so with those two combinations, 07:22 I kind of got the blunt end of the jokes in school 07:25 and what not but I was always the biggest kid in my class 07:28 so that was a blessing. 07:30 But growing up, I often went with my grandparents 07:33 quite a bit, they went to church. 07:35 And my one set of grandparents 07:37 were actually in a gospel singing group. 07:39 So I used to travel around with them 07:40 in the summer and whatnot. 07:42 As I got in the high school, I started to play football 07:45 and I became a very talented football player. 07:50 In fact, I had a lot of awards, I was all state, 07:53 I was all county, all area. 07:55 And in my freshman year... 07:56 What position did you play? 07:58 I played offensive guard and defense event. 08:01 And my freshman year, 08:03 I think we have a picture of that there, 08:04 but I weighed about 200 pounds 08:07 and I was the biggest kid in my class. 08:09 And by the time I was a senior in high school, 08:13 I weighed about 260 pounds, and we have a picture as well. 08:17 But I... Now you look like... 08:19 You had some authority in that picture there. 08:21 Yeah, yeah. 08:23 And I still hold the school weightlifting record. 08:26 I was bench pressing about 450 pounds, 08:29 squatting over 700 pounds. 08:31 Wow! And now he is paying for it. 08:32 And now I pay for it 'cause, you know, 08:34 it causes all kinds of pain in the neck 08:37 and all kinds of other places. 08:38 But by the time I was a senior, I was being recruited 08:43 by a number of universities and various things, 08:46 but there were two things in my senior year 08:49 that really made the difference 08:52 in my life to begin me on this journey towards God. 08:54 Yes. 08:56 The very first thing was that I had a knee injury 08:58 and, you know, I was big time star, 09:02 everybody knew me. 09:03 I, you know, just had been the very best football player 09:08 in the history of the school. 09:10 And in my senior year, we were playing the largest, 09:14 our biggest rival. 09:16 And about halfway through the game, 09:18 there was a number of college recruits 09:20 that were or college people that were recruiting there, 09:24 and they were watching me, 09:26 and they were gonna give me a college scholarship. 09:28 Well, just before halftime, I actually tore my knee out 09:31 and had to have surgery 09:33 and that kind of ended my high school football career. 09:37 I still ended up playing college football. 09:39 I played for a couple of years there, 09:42 and I think I have a picture of my team, 09:44 it was in near St. Louis. 09:47 And I regained, I continued to work hard 09:51 and ultimately got larger again, 09:53 very strong up to about 260 pounds again. 09:56 And I was not a very nice person in those days. 10:00 So this is college or high school? 10:01 This is college right here. Yeah. 10:03 So this was after I recovered from a knee injury 10:06 and that set me back, you know, I remember sitting 10:10 in the doctor's office with... 10:13 I had an MRI of my knee, he was awaiting the results. 10:17 And I remember praying this prayer I said, 10:19 "God, if you care about me, please let me 10:22 continue to play football, don't let me be finished." 10:25 Literally about 10 seconds later, 10:27 he came into the room and said, 10:29 "I'm sorry but your knee is finished 10:31 and you're done for this year." 10:33 And so that kind of began 10:35 this journey for me into atheism 10:37 because I said, "Well, I prayed that prayer, 10:39 if God cares about me then, you know, 10:41 He'll let me continue to play football." 10:43 Of course, that was very selfish prayer... 10:45 Right. 10:46 And I knew God had something else in mind. 10:48 Hindsight. Exactly. 10:49 It was his heart to connect the dots going forward. 10:51 That's right, that's right. 10:53 So I ended up playing two years of college football 10:55 but the other thing before that was that my parents divorced 10:59 when I was 17 years old. 11:01 And my dad decided after almost 20 years of marriage 11:05 that he was gonna leave my mom 11:07 and he went off and kind of did his own thing. 11:10 But one day I came home 11:13 and my mother had been a different person 11:16 for a long time, it really devastated her. 11:19 But I came home one day and actually found her 11:21 lying on the couch. 11:22 And when I spoke to her, her speech was slurred. 11:26 So I wasn't sure, you know, 11:28 I was 16 going on 17 at the time. 11:31 And I called my grandparents 11:33 and they told me to call an ambulance, so I did. 11:36 And it turns out that my mom had attempted suicide. 11:39 She took numerous sleeping pills 11:43 and was just wanting to go to sleep 11:45 and never wake up. Wow! 11:46 And so that really impacted me 11:49 and I came to the place in my life 11:51 where I just thought, you know, I just don't need anyone, 11:55 I'm just going to do my own thing, 11:58 I can't depend on anyone. 12:00 I was a very nasty person. I was... 12:02 Were you an angry person? A very angry. 12:04 And, you know, I had a younger sister 12:06 that would often take it out on and it was very unfortunate. 12:10 But thankfully as she got older, 12:12 she forgave me, and she's actually 12:13 now in the church as well, she's a Sabbath school teacher. 12:17 And so the Lord with that time began working on me 12:21 but I was resisting and I didn't even have any idea 12:24 he was speaking to me. 12:26 So very angry, I hated Christians, 12:28 I hated Christianity. 12:30 People would come to me and try to talk to me about God 12:33 and I would just push them away, 12:35 and sometimes even send them away in tears. 12:38 And so I just decided I didn't want 12:40 to deal with anyone, I was gonna get a good job, 12:44 I was gonna make lots of money, 12:46 and I was gonna live my life any way 12:48 that I wanted to kind of like Solomon, you know. 12:50 He said, "Anything that my heart wanted to do 12:53 that's what I did." 12:54 And so that was my experience, 12:56 you know, I started doing alcohol. 12:59 Even in high school, I was drinking alcohol. 13:01 But a lot of this was to mask your anger and your pain... 13:04 Because your home is falling apart. 13:06 And I could imagine being on the football field, 13:08 I could see the other guy in front of you, you thought, 13:09 "Okay, he's really gonna get it today 'cause I'm upset. 13:12 That's right. 13:14 I would take it out on, even my own teammates. 13:16 And so I was not a very well liked person. 13:19 Even though people feared me and respected me, 13:21 I was not a friend to very many people. 13:25 So I started drinking even in 9th and 10th grade 13:29 because I was so good on the football team, 13:31 a lot of the other guys would invite me to go with them 13:34 on the weekends to drink and all those things. 13:36 And my coach actually sat me down and said, 13:39 "Look, if you don't change your course, 13:42 you're not gonna have a chance to play college football." 13:45 I mean, I even became known as the school drunkard. 13:48 And so... Wow! 13:49 An amazing thing though is that 13:51 even though I had all this success, 13:53 I was one of the top students in my class as well. 13:56 Even though I had all the success, 13:57 my life was still empty. 14:00 And there was something missing 14:01 and I wasn't sure what it was at that time. 14:04 So I tried to fill that void with all these things 14:07 and there was a lots of addictions 14:08 that I had I could go into but I won't. 14:10 But all kinds of things that a person was trying 14:14 to just be satisfied with, 14:17 and of course I didn't know it then 14:19 but it was only Christ 14:20 that could bring satisfaction to the soul. 14:22 You know, while you're on this journey, 14:23 meanwhile the Lord, 14:24 and the answer to your prayer when you said, 14:26 "Lord, if you want me to play, please heal my knee." 14:30 He didn't want you 14:31 because He had a different journey. 14:32 And, you know, sometimes people are... 14:35 They don't know that God's journey is far greater 14:38 than even anything you can anticipate or orchestrate. 14:41 And you didn't know He had a future for you in ministry, 14:43 you didn't know He had a wife waiting for you, 14:45 you didn't know anything that was going on 14:47 but here you are 14:48 and that's why I said, a moment ago, 14:50 you cannot connect the dots going forward. 14:52 The hindsight is always 20-20. That's right. 14:54 And so meanwhile, now you are at 17. 14:56 Yes. 14:58 Eighteen years old, were you living in Alabama at the time? 15:00 Just kind of tell our viewers and listeners 15:02 what your background is 'cause I don't want to leave. 15:04 You know, we often joke that 15:07 if we had known each other back then, 15:08 we would never have gotten married. 15:11 But I was raised in a very different home obviously 15:14 and I was a good little Christian girl on the outside. 15:19 And but I went through my own journey too, 15:20 and had to realize that I couldn't come to the Lord 15:24 based on my parents' conversion, 15:26 I had to find my own way. 15:28 And so when I was about 18, 17, 18, I decided to go 15:34 to the Amazing Facts College of Evangelism. 15:37 And so our journey kind of meets up 15:39 a little bit after what he went through 15:41 but around that time 15:43 as I was getting into evangelism, 15:46 I started doing some Bible work. 15:48 He was going through his own journey 15:49 and coming to the Lord. 15:51 And God worked it out 15:53 but he worked it out in his timing. 15:56 That's right, that's right. It's amazing, so continue. 15:59 So when I was 22 years old, you know, I... 16:02 And by this time you hadn't met yet? 16:03 No. Have not met yet, no. 16:05 Okay, just for the record. Yes. Yes. 16:06 And I had gone to public school all my life. 16:09 So I was from elementary school all the way through university. 16:13 So when I was 22, I was at a public university 16:16 and I was actually studying geoarchaeology 16:19 and which has high levels of evolution 16:22 and those kinds of classes, anthropology, 16:25 and I had all those courses. 16:27 And when I was also in school, I began to read some literature 16:32 or some letters that have been written 16:33 between two parties and one was expressing 16:36 why they believed in God, 16:38 it was actually Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson. 16:40 Okay. 16:41 And why Thomas Jefferson believed in God 16:43 and why Thomas Paine did not? 16:46 And as I read those letters, 16:47 I felt very drawn to Thomas Paine's reasons 16:51 why he didn't believe in God 16:53 that Jesus never left the written record of himself 16:55 and there's just number of things 16:56 that he gave us evidence. 16:58 And so between my experience in football, 17:02 and also with my parents, and just the anger that I felt 17:07 and those influences, plus the evolution, 17:10 I decided that I was gonna be an atheist. 17:13 And so I lived my life that way for a little over three years. 17:16 And when I say atheists, I was hardcore. 17:20 I mean, I was like openly blasting Christians 17:24 and Christianity in the Bible 17:26 and I just hated the concept of a God. 17:30 So if somebody said, "God exist." 17:32 What would you have said at the time? 17:34 I would have given them all the reasons he didn't, 17:36 and I would have attacked Christianity 17:39 and told them the Bible is nothing 17:40 but a book of fairytales. 17:42 In fact, when my own mother 17:44 had that experience of committing suicide, 17:46 she had friends and coworkers that she worked with 17:48 who tried to actually get her to go to church. 17:51 And I tried to persuade my own mother 17:55 that God didn't exist 17:56 and she should not get herself wrapped up in such foolishness. 17:59 In other words, I don't accept him 18:00 so would neither should you. 18:01 That's right, that's right. 18:03 I said, "There is no intelligent reason 18:04 why God exist," 18:06 of course, I know the opposite is true now. 18:08 But so when I made that decision, 18:11 you know, I just kind of cut loose 18:12 and I was addicted to pornography, 18:15 I was addicted to women, 18:17 I was addicted to cigarettes, and tobacco, and... 18:21 You spent all out. Alcohol everything. 18:24 And just whatever I wanted to do is what I did 18:27 but I found no peace in those things. 18:29 I found no joy. 18:31 You find a lot of pleasure, momentary pleasure 18:33 but then you have to come home look at yourself in the mirror 18:36 and see that those things 18:37 did not provide the joy that you want. 18:39 Like a football player where the goal 18:40 just keep moving further and further away from you. 18:42 I'm running but I just can't get a touchdown in life. 18:45 Exactly. 18:46 So I became a heavy alcoholic, 18:49 you know, there were times that I would drink upwards 18:50 of a case of beer a day. 18:53 And my life was just spiraling downward 18:56 and I had no control over myself. 18:59 And so finally I realized that 19:03 there was no purpose in life that I could see. 19:06 And so I thought to myself, 19:07 "Why don't you just commit suicide?" 19:10 And so the reason I didn't do it that day 19:13 is because I want to think about 19:16 and plan it so I could do it in such a way 19:18 that my family would feel responsible for my death. 19:22 Wow! You know, my father... 19:24 I really hated my father at that time, I didn't want... 19:28 Because he did eventually leave your mom? 19:29 Yeah, he did leave my mom. 19:31 And there were a number of other things 19:33 that happened between him and I 19:35 and just caused me to really have resentment 19:38 and bitterness towards him. 19:39 And so I, you know, 19:41 I just had no satisfaction in life 19:45 and I was thinking about suicide 19:46 but I wanted them to be responsible. 19:48 But at the same time the most amazing thing 19:50 was happening is that I didn't hear a voice 19:53 but there was a thought that kept coming to my mind, 19:56 "Why don't you study the Bible? Why don't you study the Bible?" 19:59 While you're an atheist. While I was an atheist. 20:02 And the first time I thought that thought... 20:04 I thought to myself why would I even think that, 20:07 you know, I don't believe in the Bible, 20:08 I don't have anything, any interest in the Bible. 20:11 But the thought kept growing stronger. 20:13 And so finally, I yielded to that thought, 20:16 I said, "All right, I'm gonna study the Bible, 20:18 I'm gonna prove..." 20:19 Strengthen my argument. That's right. 20:20 I'm gonna prove that it's false. 20:22 And then I'm going to commit suicide, 20:24 prove there is no God, the Bible is rubbish, 20:27 and then I'm gonna kill myself. 20:29 Well, it's very funny because at the same time 20:31 my uncle who was the only 20:33 Seventh-day Adventist in my family... 20:35 Wow! 20:36 Who had come into the church 20:38 also from being not an Adventist previously, 20:41 gave me a set of Amazing Facts Bible study guides. 20:44 Wow! 20:46 And so I took those study guides 20:47 to my college apartment, 20:49 22 years old and I began to study the Bible. 20:52 My biggest reservation was that 20:56 I didn't think it could be trusted. 20:58 But when I started to study the prophecies, 21:00 Daniel and Revelation, it gave me more evidence 21:03 than I could have ever imagined that the Bible was true. 21:07 Then I started researching archeology 21:09 and many other things, and my conformation came, 21:13 really it came to a crossroads and I said, 21:16 "I mean, they're gonna have to realize that it's true 21:19 or then I'm gonna have to reject it," 21:20 but my heart knew that it was true. 21:22 You know, it's amazing, you talk about prophecy 21:24 and as a pastor's daughter, your dad is preaching, 21:27 you know about these things which you already 21:29 in your own spiritual journey at this time 21:31 that he is still going through his discovery journey. 21:34 Prophecy and I want to just put this, 21:37 pin the tail on this donkey. 21:39 Prophecy always opens our eyes to the reality 21:43 that there is no way that these things 21:45 could be prognosticated or predicted 21:47 and come to pass with such accuracy. 21:49 Absolutely. 21:50 And before told, before it happens, 21:52 unless somebody said it and there has to be some... 21:56 You know, I remember one person said, 21:59 "There's got to be some higher power 22:01 in this picture here 22:02 because how could this possibly happen?" 22:04 They didn't want to go to the point 22:05 where they actually said God, 22:07 but they knew that somebody is behind this. 22:09 That's right. Did that happen to you? 22:10 Exact same thing happened to me. 22:12 I just realized that how could a mere man foretell, 22:16 you know, over 2000 years of world history, 22:18 you know, I'm talking about Daniel and John 22:20 with 100% accuracy 22:22 and there is no explanation for it 22:24 except that there had to be 22:25 God guiding the course of this world. 22:28 Right. 22:29 And that conviction settled in my heart, 22:31 I even went to my atheist professors 22:33 and they didn't have an answer for me. 22:35 And so at the same time, 22:37 I started seeing all the loopholes 22:39 and all the problems with evolution. 22:42 And so my conviction deepened that the Bible was true, 22:45 but I still had not at that point 22:47 surrendered my life to Christ. Right. 22:49 But I remember the day that that happened, 22:51 I was in my college apartment 22:53 and there was this overwhelming sense 22:56 that God was near. 22:58 And I read this verse, I thought about all the things 23:02 I had done in my life and I thought, 23:04 "How could God accept me?" 23:06 But the study guide was talking about the love of God 23:09 and the grace of Christ, 23:11 and the joy that He wants to bring to our lives, 23:13 and how He wants to cleanse us. 23:16 And I had never really had that experience, 23:18 I know I had an end. 23:20 And I just thought could God really do that for me. 23:23 And then I came across this verse in John 6:37, 23:27 beautiful passage and it says, "All that the Father gives me, 23:31 will come to me and the one who comes to me, 23:34 I will by no means cast out." 23:37 And that verse sunk deep into my heart, 23:39 I realized that if I would just come to Jesus 23:42 as a child with simple faith, 23:45 He would receive me 'cause He cannot lie. 23:48 And at that time, I broke and the tears began to flow 23:52 and my heart just began to melt 23:54 and it was that time I said Lord, 23:56 I choose you if you'll have me. Amen. 23:58 And there wasn't a light in the room, 24:00 or a flash, or anything. 24:01 But I sensed a peace filled my heart 24:04 and away I lifted off my shoulder 24:05 kind of like Christian in the Pilgrim's Progress, 24:07 you know. Okay. 24:08 That weight just came off of sin. 24:11 And I knew I had found the savior. 24:13 But you just made a touchdown, yes! 24:14 Yes, that was the ultimate touchdown. 24:16 I finally reached the goal line. 24:19 And all this journey, you know, the amazing thing about 24:21 the journey is that many people are on 24:23 is they are going towards something. 24:25 And the farther away they are from God, 24:28 the farther away the goal line gets from them. 24:30 It's a journey of non-satisfaction. 24:32 But it's a constant pursual 24:34 and I'm glad you mentioned that, all the... 24:36 I've often said everything that we fill our lives 24:38 whether it's alcohol, pornography, 24:40 drugs, cigarettes, women, stealing, 24:44 whatever the vice is, it's an attempt to fill a void 24:47 that only God can fill. That's right. 24:48 But now you got to take us 24:50 through the transitions in your life 24:51 because you had some challenges, 24:53 some health challenges also along the way. 24:54 That's right. That kind of a... 24:55 But then prior to that... Did you meet Marion? 24:59 Yes, we did. Okay. 25:01 We did. May be you should tell that. 25:02 Yeah, tell that story. 25:04 Well, I'll leave some things out, 25:05 I don't want to embarrass him too much. 25:08 But so I guess, you had been in the church 25:12 for about a year when we met. 25:14 And we met, it's kind of a long story, 25:16 I won't go into all the details 25:17 but he actually was living in Alabama 25:20 and I was a Bible worker in California at the time. 25:23 And he started to attend... 25:25 My father used to minister his church, 25:27 which was a new church, they were church plant, 25:29 they were very excited into evangelism. 25:32 And unbeknownst to me, 25:35 my parents fell in love with him 25:37 and they started secretly praying that 25:38 when I came back home, 25:40 I would fall in love with him too. 25:41 So, of course, if they had told me that 25:42 I probably would have run the other direction. 25:44 She did anyway. 25:46 No, no, but so I always tell people 25:50 that it was an arranged marriage, my... 25:52 In America. 25:53 Arranged with God for us to be married 25:55 but I did indeed come back to Alabama. 25:59 And we met and we really just became friends. 26:02 But I think the whole church was in on it. 26:04 Because we'd go on these walks, and we look around, 26:06 and everybody would be gone. 26:07 And so we had a lot of chance to talk 26:09 and we found out that, 26:11 you know, even though he hadn't been 26:13 in the church for very long, 26:14 the Lord had really worked in his life 26:16 mightily in a short time. 26:19 And he had been able to spend a lot of time in prayer, 26:21 and Bible study, and it was amazing 26:23 that our goals weres very similar, 26:25 and that he wanted to do ministry, 26:28 and I wanted to do ministry, and we just felt 26:30 the Lord was calling us together, 26:32 to do it together. Right. 26:34 And around that time I know, he started asking me 26:37 if I had ever heard of this place called AFCOE. 26:39 Amazing Fact Center of Evangelism 26:41 and I said well, I just finished working there, 26:43 I was a Bible worker there. 26:45 And so I was able to recommend it to him 26:48 and he ended up actually being a student at AFCOE. 26:52 At the same time I was Bible working for that class. 26:55 Had you been married yet? 26:56 We were dating at that time. Okay. 26:57 So we had to get special permission... 26:59 You know, to... Right. 27:01 But it was very good 27:03 because we were able to see each other 27:04 and doing ministry together before we were married. 27:08 And that's kind of how it happened. 27:10 The Lord just brought us together 27:11 and we have been working for the Lord ever since. 27:13 Wow, and you got to tell us about the question, 27:15 I mean, "Will you marry me." 27:17 Yeah, she proposed to me 27:18 a few years later, just kidding. 27:20 Not exactly. That's not far fetched. 27:22 Yeah, the Lord let us to do that 27:23 and it was a blessing, it was a wonderful experience 27:26 and tell you I wouldn't be doing half the ministry 27:30 if the Lord has led me to if it hadn't been for her. 27:32 Yeah, I feel the same about my wife. 27:34 I understand, God... 27:37 As my good pastor who is resting in Jesus 27:39 now CD Brooks says, the Lord sent our wives 27:42 and he said it this way, 27:43 "He gives us wives so we don't make fools of ourselves." 27:46 That's right. 27:47 And praise God, He knows what He is doing. 27:49 Amen. But now you had a... 27:52 There was a transition 27:53 that something happened in your health. 27:55 Yeah, I... 27:57 Few years, probably five or six years 27:59 after that time, I was 29, 28 actually. 28:04 And I noticed that I had 28:06 some strange sensations in groinal area. 28:10 And so I went to the doctor and he initially thought 28:13 that it was nothing, just an infection. 28:15 So I went on a mission trip 28:17 and as I was on this mission trip with... 28:20 I had some Amazing Fact students, 28:22 I was working there at that time. 28:25 And these students were preaching 28:27 in evangelistic meeting and I was preaching also. 28:30 So the pain that I had experienced 28:33 was growing worse. 28:34 And it got to the point where almost each day, 28:38 I was doubled over laying on the bed. 28:42 And it was incredible because all day 28:44 while I was preparing my sermon, 28:46 I would be in this pain 28:49 and then when I would go down to preach at night, 28:52 while I was preaching, 28:54 I would have pain all the way through the preliminaries. 28:56 But when I got up to preach, the pain would go away. 29:02 And then once I finished preaching, 29:03 the pain would come back again. 29:05 And so it was mind-blowing that God did that 29:08 19 nights in a row. 29:10 It was an absolute miracle, 29:11 where I had no pain while I was preaching. 29:14 And so when I came back home, 29:16 we realized something more serious was going on. 29:19 And they sent us to do some testing 29:21 and they found out 29:23 that I had cancer in my groinal area. 29:26 And so I ended up having to have a surgery 29:29 and when they did the surgery, they found out 29:31 that it had spread upward 29:33 into my lymph nodes of chest and abdomen. 29:35 So I actually... 29:36 Yeah, we have a picture of you lying in the hospital there. 29:38 Yeah, yeah, I had to have chemotherapy 29:40 and after the chemotherapy session, 29:43 I ended up getting a septic infection 29:46 and that's what you see in the picture there. 29:48 So I ended up in ICU for a number of days 29:51 and I almost lost my life. 29:53 And there were my AFCOE students 29:56 who actually came and prayed for me. 29:59 We have a picture of that 30:00 and they did a prayer walk around the hospital. 30:03 Wow. Like the Battle of Jericho. 30:05 Yeah, and it was amazing because the doctors and nurses 30:08 were talking about it, 30:09 they actually put it in the hospital newsletter. 30:12 And when they came and prayed, 30:15 the very next morning I had breakthrough, 30:18 they found the infection 30:20 and they were able to start treating it. 30:22 And so I knew that had been the result of those prayers. 30:27 And there were people actually all around the world 30:29 that were praying for us. 30:31 And the Lord heard those prayers, 30:34 and answered, and he saved my life, 30:37 I mean, I was literally on my death bed, 30:38 the doctors were actually telling her 30:40 that they didn't think I would make it. 30:42 And but you were by his side in the hospital. 30:45 She was. Praying there... 30:46 You know, there is your wife there. 30:48 It was a challenging time, definitely the Lord 30:52 had to be our side during that time. 30:54 Did you have to do chemo at all? 30:56 Anything... I did... 30:57 I did chemo and I had after my first round 31:01 is when I ended up with that infection. 31:03 And I was in... 31:05 The infection was almost worse 31:08 and I was paralyzed where I couldn't move my legs. 31:10 I mean, they had to feed me, I mean that was just terrible. 31:14 And once that's finished, you know, 31:17 I got through all that 31:18 and I had ended up with pneumonia as well 31:20 and all these additional problems. 31:23 My cancer doctor came, and visited me, and said, 31:25 "You know, I'm going to give you a week 31:27 but we're going to have to start the chemo again." 31:30 And that was just scary to me because I thought, man, 31:33 I just went through this, now I got to do it again. 31:36 But the Lord really worked a miracle 31:38 and even before I was supposed to have 31:42 the last session of chemotherapy, 31:43 I had a couple more rounds. 31:45 Even before that, the Lord had brought healing, 31:48 and we had an anointing 31:49 and I ended up not having to do the last round of chemo. 31:55 They did some testing and they found no cancer. 31:57 Praise God. 31:59 And yeah, they told me that it would be a year 32:01 before I even went back to work, 32:03 I went back to work like just two months later. 32:07 And the Lord just raised me up and gave me strength, He said, 32:09 "You're not going to be lying around. 32:12 I got something for you to do." 32:13 Yeah, and so it was a miracle, it really was. 32:16 And, Marion, where were you at this time? 32:17 Did you have children you had at that point? 32:19 No, thankfully we did not have children at that time. 32:21 I was working also at Amazing Facts 32:24 in the office there. 32:25 And it was a challenging time 32:28 because I was still working during the day, 32:29 and then I would come to the hospital in the evening, 32:32 and stay there until late, and then go home, and... 32:35 Especially, when you go home and they call you back, 32:37 and they say you need to come back 32:39 because we don't know if he is going make it 32:40 through the night. 32:41 It was a hard time, 32:43 my mom came out to stay with us for a while and help, 32:45 and that was a really a big blessing. 32:48 But honestly people, you know, they say, 32:50 "Oh, you were such a brave, such a strong person." 32:53 And those who have been through it, 32:54 they know that if it were not for the Lord, 32:57 there is no way I could have made it. 33:00 But God just gives you strength that you don't have 33:04 and it's amazing that when you need it, 33:07 He gives it to you, 33:08 and you just kind of survive, and you get through it. 33:11 And I remember, you know, going through that time 33:13 and having this feeling that I'm either going to have 33:17 to just live my life in fear 33:19 now that I'm going to lose my husband. 33:21 Or I'm going to have to trust in the Lord that 33:23 He is going to do what is best 33:26 and no matter what, I need to just trust Him. 33:29 And when I did that, the Lord gave me peace 33:31 and He was able to get us through it. 33:33 And I'm just glad now to be on the other side 33:36 and to have a happy ending to that story. 33:40 You know, I... 33:41 This was kind of funny but I was lying in the bed, 33:44 and I looked over her, and I said, Lord, 33:48 I don't want to die and some other man come 33:50 and marry my wife, I said that's my wife, you know. 33:55 But I remember in all seriousness, 33:56 there was one evening that I was lying in bed 34:00 and it was about 3 o'clock in the morning. 34:02 And I realized it was an overwhelming sense 34:07 that my life was hanging by a thread. 34:10 And it was a very solemn feeling that knowing 34:14 that there was no one in this world 34:16 that could do a single thing for you. 34:19 The doctors had said, "We can't do anything else." 34:22 My wife as much as she loved me, 34:24 couldn't do anything. 34:25 My own mother couldn't do anything for her son. 34:27 Nobody could do anything for me and I realized that, 34:31 Lord, if I'm going to live, 34:33 it's because You're going to do something, 34:35 You're going to have to do something divinely, 34:38 divine intervention to raise me back to life. 34:43 And I remember that I had never surrendered 34:48 in my life like I surrendered that night. 34:50 But I realized God, whether I live or die, 34:54 it's not about me, it's about You. 34:57 And whatever You want from me, 34:59 that's what I'm willing to surrender to. 35:01 But if You want me to, if it's my time to die 35:03 then You please do it in a way 35:06 that would bring glory to You in some capacity. 35:09 And when I prayed that prayer, 35:10 I just sensed the Lord draw so close, 35:13 it's always no matter what situation we're in, 35:15 it's always about surrendering to His will. 35:19 And I had great peace 35:21 through the rest of the night after that. 35:23 Can you imagine facing that as an atheist? 35:25 I always wonder when atheists are in the hospital room, 35:28 and they have cancer, and they have no one to call. 35:32 Yes. That's the difficult thing. 35:33 The Lord saw that journey and He said, 35:35 "Wes, you're going to come to an intersection 35:37 in your life, 35:38 where I'm going to be most important to you." 35:40 And so did any of those... 35:42 What we didn't do 35:43 and I want to just kind of go back 35:45 just a slight bit. 35:46 We talked about you getting to the church, 35:48 just give me that snippet of how did you go from 35:51 I don't believe this to I'm going to church. 35:54 Yeah, absolutely. 35:55 You know, as I continued to do 35:58 those Amazing Facts study guides, 36:00 I was just consuming the Bible. 36:03 And when I learned the truth about the Sabbath, 36:05 seventh day Sabbath, I was convicted 36:09 I needed to be in that place. 36:10 And I remember, I actually visited several churches. 36:13 I went to all these different churches 36:15 and say, are these churches teaching the truth? 36:18 And there was no church, I mean, 36:20 and they were good people in those churches, 36:22 not to criticize them. 36:24 But I could not find a church 36:26 that taught the truth like the Adventist Church. 36:29 From salvation to the Sabbath, 36:31 to every aspect that we believe, 36:33 I found that all in scripture, 36:34 and I said Lord, I have to be here. 36:37 And so I started going to a little Adventist Church, 36:40 and my home church, and I was the youngest person, 36:45 one of the youngest people there. 36:46 You know, there was people that... 36:48 I was in my 20s 36:50 and the next person up was in their 50s. 36:51 Not that that's old 36:53 but it was old for me at that time 36:54 and then it went up to 70s and 80s. 36:55 You're certainly not old now. Yeah, exactly. 36:57 Not old now, I'm getting close to 40, so... 37:00 But I realized that it wasn't about having friends, 37:04 but it was about being with the Lord. 37:06 Right. And I rejoiced... 37:08 So I remember the first time 37:10 I sat in the church on Sabbath, my very first Sabbath. 37:13 It was like the Spirit of God just came over me 37:17 and I just started to cry. 37:19 And I just knew that this was 37:21 where I had always God intended me to be. 37:24 I had come home. 37:25 And that I would always be there 37:29 and that this was God's will for my life. 37:33 And this was the church where... 37:36 Actually, it was a different church 37:37 before her dad's. 37:38 I attended her dad's church when I was going to college. 37:41 I see. Just shortly after that, yeah. 37:43 The Lord had to get you grounded in Him. 37:45 That's right. 37:46 Before He led you to the place 37:47 where you could be a blessing to your wife. 37:49 That's right. That's wonderful. 37:50 And how long was it between the time 37:52 you found the Lord, and went to church, 37:54 and to the time that you met Marion? 37:55 Probably year and a half or so, yeah. 37:58 That's wonderful. 38:00 And, you know, I talk about this journey 38:01 and the reason I went back 38:02 is because a lot of times people say, 38:04 "Well, how did he get from being an atheist 38:06 to attending church?" Yeah. 38:07 And it was those studies that God had given to you 38:09 from your uncle. 38:11 That's right. See. 38:12 And, you know, what the thing about it 38:14 is all you've got to do... 38:15 And I just say this to the audience 38:16 listening and watching. 38:18 All you've got to do is just... 38:19 As somebody once said, I've a guy 38:20 that travels sometimes and haven't seen in many years 38:22 but he'd walk up to people and say, 38:24 "Give me 30 days of your life 38:25 and after the end of the 30 days, 38:27 if you don't like what I am sharing with you, 38:28 you can walk away without any strings attached." 38:32 And that's a wonderful challenge 38:33 because that's actually what happened in your life. 38:35 When you started studying the Amazing Facts lessons... 38:37 That's right. 38:39 You said to yourself, "Wait a minute, 38:40 there is something happening here." 38:41 Fast forward now, you come out of the cancer, 38:44 but God had something else He was leading you to. 38:46 That's right. 38:48 And, you know, one thing that was very powerful was 38:52 when I went through the cancer, 38:53 you know, my first year as an Adventist, 38:56 I read the Bible about 15 times. 39:00 Because I just could not get enough 39:02 and I was spending a lot of time 39:04 with the Lord in prayer 39:06 and the Lord began to convict me 39:08 that He wanted me to be in ministry. 39:10 And so, you know, I went into ministry 39:14 and I've been working in ministry 39:16 for a number of years when I had the cancer. 39:17 But when I came out of that cancer, 39:20 I remember thinking to myself, 39:22 you know, the Lord has called me, 39:24 He saved my life 39:25 so I could continue to preach His message. 39:26 Right. 39:28 But then I read this letter that 39:30 Ellen White had written to a man 39:32 who had a similar death bed experience. 39:34 And she basically told the man that, 39:37 "You thought that the Lord was raising you up 39:40 because there was some special virtue in you." 39:43 She says, "But the truth of the matter was 39:45 the Lord was extending His mercy 39:47 because you were unprepared to die." 39:49 Wow. 39:50 And that struck me and I realized that, 39:53 that was my life. 39:54 She actually told the man, she said, 39:55 "Satan stood at your bedside ready to take your life. 39:59 But God intervened to give you another chance." 40:02 Amen. 40:03 And then she says basically, "Don't waste it." 40:06 And when I read that, 40:07 I was sitting in my home office and I wept, 40:10 I cried for the next two hours 40:13 realizing that was my experience, 40:15 that the Lord had not saved me for some special virtue 40:18 but because I needed to have a deeper experience with Him. 40:22 And so I approached ministry 40:25 from a different way and the Lord called me... 40:29 I was at Amazing Facts then, 40:30 the Lord called me then to Michigan 40:32 and I served there as a pastor for several years. 40:37 But then... 40:38 Now He has called me into 40:40 to be the director of evangelism. 40:42 But I don't believe that 40:44 titles make us who we are, that it's... 40:47 We have to have the surrendering of the heart 40:50 and we have to say, 40:51 "Lord, I want to serve You faithfully wherever You are." 40:53 But the joy at Amazing Facts, 40:55 you know, we got to see a lot of exciting schools 40:59 established around the world, training schools 41:02 and I think we have a few pictures of some of those. 41:04 There is one from Ukraine. 41:06 This is one of our classes, I think 20, several years... 41:10 I'm not sure exactly what year it was 41:12 but several students there that we trained. 41:14 We trained over 200 students in Ukraine 41:18 to do personal and public evangelism. 41:19 And then we had several evangelistic meetings 41:22 and several hundred people 41:24 throughout those few years were baptized. 41:26 Look at that... There were some baptisms there. 41:29 Folks coming from all walks of life, other atheists, 41:31 people who had cancer, 41:33 I mean, people that were just looking for hope. 41:36 And God spoke to them through His word 41:38 just like He did through me. 41:40 And it's been a blessing for me to share 41:42 those stories of my cancer and whatnot around the world. 41:46 And God has used those stories 41:48 to bring others to Himself as well. 41:50 So it's been quite a journey and quite a blessing. 41:53 And, Marion, you are in this journey with him now, 41:56 as a student of AFCOE 41:58 before he even knew what AFCOE was. 42:00 How did that mesh in your ministry together? 42:03 Well, right away we started doing ministry together. 42:05 And we traveled a lot together when we were at Amazing Facts, 42:08 and was able to experience a lot of different cultures, 42:12 and see the Lord work in some powerful ways, 42:14 and that was very exciting. 42:16 And then I also worked 42:17 as I said earlier in the office at Amazing Facts for a while. 42:21 But right before we moved from Amazing Facts to Michigan, 42:24 where we are now, 42:26 I ended up being pregnant with my first child. 42:29 And so we knew that it would be difficult 42:32 to continue to travel, 42:33 we were may be eight months out of the year, 42:34 we were traveling internationally. 42:36 So that will be very hard with children, 42:38 some people do it, I'm not sure where are those people, but... 42:41 So we started praying that 42:42 if the Lord had something else for us 42:44 that He would show us and that was about the time 42:46 that He called us to pastor in Michigan. 42:48 And it was perfect for our family. 42:51 And it still is, now we have two children 42:53 and I've been enjoying life there. 42:55 So my life kind of took a turn then 42:57 when I became a mom obviously. 43:00 I wasn't able to do ministry the same way with him 43:03 that I had previously. 43:04 'Cause you had a new congregation. 43:06 A new ministry, exactly. 43:08 My new role as a mom 43:10 and so that was a hard transition in the beginning 43:12 because I had always been 43:14 actively involved in his ministry. 43:17 But the Lord has shown me since that... 43:18 As you said they are my congregation, 43:20 now they are my first work, 43:22 and I have learned so much in being a mom, 43:24 and it has been a tremendous blessing. 43:27 But it's been nice as well to also still be involved 43:31 in what Wes is doing 43:32 and to be able to share musically with him, 43:36 as he preaches different places, 43:37 and to just be a support, and God is good, 43:40 that's all I can say. 43:42 That's nice because you have 43:43 your singing evangelist with you. 43:44 That's right, that's right, it's always been a blessing. 43:46 I know people always say to me as a pastor they say, 43:48 "Does your wife play piano? 43:50 Does she sing?" Yes. 43:51 Do you play the piano? 43:53 I do not, my mother is a piano teacher, 43:55 I know it's embarrassing but I do not. 43:58 And we don't have to 43:59 because God has given you a different ministry 44:00 and that is the ministry of voice. 44:02 My wife doesn't sing, doesn't play the piano, 44:03 but she is very much a significant 44:05 part of the ministry that we have. 44:07 And God chooses the mate, 44:09 you see, God chooses the person that needs to be by your side, 44:12 He chose Wes for you, and He chose Marion for you. 44:15 Take us through where you are today 44:17 'cause you had traveled together in AFCOE, 44:20 but there was one another place 44:22 that you had gone to do an evangelistic series overseas. 44:24 Yeah, over in India, we also had a school there. 44:28 And it was really exciting, 44:30 we saw hundreds of lives change 44:33 and we were combining that with some medical mission work. 44:36 And we saw one guy 44:38 who had not walked in over 20 years. 44:41 They did some massage and some treatments to him, 44:44 and the man began to walk after 20 years. 44:46 I mean miracles and God just did some amazing things, 44:49 lives were changed, 44:51 and we just count ourselves unworthy 44:53 but privilege to be a part of what God is doing all over. 44:56 You had Pastor Batchelor, 44:58 who is the President of Amazing Facts, 44:59 he and I began an evangelism back in 1987, 45:03 working together. 45:04 And so I know that, that whole journey 45:06 where the Lord let him 45:07 to where he is today and now praise God, 45:09 Amazing Facts is a tremendous 45:11 supporting ministry of the Adventist Church. 45:13 He is a pastor, you're a pastor, 45:15 we're all in the denomination together. 45:17 But also the work that God does for Amazing Facts, and 3ABN, 45:20 and other supporting ministries is to advance His kingdom. 45:23 Now as you see where you are now, 45:26 what would you say to them... 45:27 May be there is an atheist listening to the program, 45:30 what would you have to say to that person? 45:32 You know, I would say to that person, 45:33 you know, consider the evidence. 45:36 A lot of times, people say, "Where is the evidence for God? 45:39 Where is the evidence that He is real, that He exists?" 45:42 And I believe that there is evidence 45:44 everywhere from the nature around us 45:46 to the Bible itself, how it was written, 45:49 the prophecies, all these different things. 45:51 And I realized in my journey that there was actually 45:55 much more evidence in favor that God exists 45:59 than there is evidence that He doesn't exist. 46:02 And you just have to dig a little bit, 46:04 you have to get away from popular culture 46:08 from what people assume 46:09 and, you know, atheism and evolution, 46:13 most of those are based upon assumptions. 46:16 But when we're willing to be 46:17 on honest and open with ourselves, 46:19 and honest with God's word, it will change our lives, 46:23 and God will reveal Himself to us in ways 46:27 that we've never thought possible. 46:28 You know, my wife and I, 46:29 not too long ago went to the holy land, 46:31 the Bible land, the holy land is heaven. 46:33 But the Bible lands 46:34 where many of the Bible 46:36 events are chronicled in the scriptures. 46:38 And we said, "There should be a Bible land to offer atheists." 46:42 'Cause when you look at the chronology of history 46:45 and the archeology to back up all the things 46:46 that are in the Bible, 46:48 there's no way that you could be an atheist, 46:49 it's not possible. 46:50 Yeah, that's right. There's too much evidence. 46:52 So the evidence is not missing, the evidence is actually there. 46:54 Before we go to our music 46:55 and I'm so thankful that you're here today, Marion, 46:57 because we're going to have a second song in just a moment. 47:00 But I want to give you the address 47:01 that you need before we go to that music. 47:03 Because Wes and Marion has a powerful story, 47:06 it's not possible to communicate it all 47:07 in this short program. 47:09 But you might want to invite them to come to your community 47:11 with their children to share how God found them, 47:14 how He leads them, and what kind of blessing 47:17 He can continue to be in your life. 47:19 Here is the information that you need. 47:24 If you've enjoyed Pastor Wes Peppers' testimony 47:27 and would like to contact him 47:29 or invite him to speak in your area, 47:31 then please take a moment 47:33 to write down his contact information. 47:36 You may reach him by telephone at area code 47:38 517-316-1587. 47:44 That's 517-316-1587. 47:49 You may also write to him 47:51 at the Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventist, 5801, 47:56 West Michigan Avenue in Lansing, Michigan 48917. 48:09 I know that you'll be blessed 48:11 when you invite the Peppers to come to your community. 48:13 But Marion is going to bless us with another song. 48:16 After the song, we'll go to a news break 48:19 and we'll come back for a few closing thoughts. 48:21 But sit back as you're blessed with a song entitled, 48:24 I heard the Voice of Jesus. 48:38 Our father in heaven 48:45 Hallowed be Thy name 48:51 Thy kingdom come 48:54 Thy will be done 48:57 On earth as it is in heaven 49:04 For Thine is the kingdom 49:10 Thine is the power 49:16 And the glory forever 49:23 Forever Amen 49:39 Give us, Lord give us, 49:44 this day our daily bread 49:50 And forgive us 49:53 Forgive us Lord 49:57 Forgive us of our debts 50:03 For Thine is the kingdom 50:10 Thine is the power 50:15 And the glory forever 50:22 Forever 50:24 Amen 50:30 Amen 50:37 Lead us from temptation 50:43 Lead us from temptation 50:49 But deliver us 50:52 Deliver us from evil 50:57 To thy salvation 51:02 For Thine is the kingdom 51:09 Thine is the power 51:14 And the glory forever 51:20 Amen 51:28 Thine is the kingdom 51:35 Thine is the power 51:40 And the glory forever 51:46 Forever 51:49 Amen 51:56 Amen |
Revised 2018-02-22