Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY018019A
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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 00:30 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 01:10 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:13 My name is Mollie Steenson, and I welcome you. 01:16 And I want to invite you to spend the next hour with us 01:20 as we get to know the inside of an incredible ministry 01:25 that God has given to this world 01:28 to spread the gospel of the kingdom. 01:30 You know, I want to share a scripture with you. 01:32 And that's what... 01:34 The scripture is what 3ABN is all about. 01:37 And it's what the ministry 01:39 that we're going to share with you today is all about. 01:41 And that would be Matthew 24:14. 01:44 And the scripture says, 01:45 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached 01:49 in all the world as a witness to all the nations, 01:53 and then the end will come." 01:55 3ABN's purpose is to get the message 01:57 to the four corners of the earth. 01:59 And this ministry that is with us today 02:03 has the very same purpose, the very same ministry. 02:06 We want to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ 02:09 with as many as we can. 02:11 So allow me now to introduce to you two incredible young men 02:17 that are doing a wonderful job to spread the gospel 02:20 to the four corners of the earth. 02:21 First, we have with us, Tim Arakawa. 02:25 Tim, it is so good to have you with us. 02:28 And I believe that your sister 02:31 is married to your coworker, isn't that correct? 02:36 That's right. This is my brother-in-law. 02:38 Your brother-in-law. 02:39 Related in that way but we're happy to have him. 02:41 And Alistair, this is Alistair Huong. 02:45 Did I get that right? Yeah, that's right. 02:46 I tried. Okay. 02:48 Alistair and you 02:49 are the executive director of AudioVerse. 02:53 And I didn't tell you but Tim is the co-founder. 02:57 You're the co-founder of AudioVerse. 02:59 And today we're going to have 03:01 the incredible opportunity of getting to know 03:03 all about AudioVerse, 03:05 this ministry that is using online media 03:10 to reach the world with the gospel. 03:12 But before, we're going to have a song here in just a moment. 03:16 And it's a beautiful song, "This is My Father's World". 03:19 We're going to have that in just a moment, 03:21 but before we go to our song what I want to do 03:25 is to let you get to know more about Tim and Alistair. 03:29 So, Tim, tell us just a little about yourself? 03:33 Sure. 03:34 Well, I am currently a practicing physician 03:37 at the Guam Seventh-day Adventist Clinic. 03:39 That's on the beautiful island of Guam 03:41 in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. 03:43 And I'm married to my wife Sunny. 03:46 And I have two little boys, Enoch and Noah. 03:49 So you're in Guam, you're in the medical field, 03:52 married with two sons 03:54 but still you're a part of a worldwide ministry. 03:57 So this is going to be interesting 03:59 to know all the details of that. 04:01 And, Alistair, tell us a little about yourself? 04:04 Yes. 04:05 And as you mentioned earlier, Tim and I, 04:06 we are very close friends, but we're also brothers-in-law. 04:10 I'm married to his sister, her name is Deborah, 04:13 and she and I live in the Collegedale, 04:16 Chattanooga area of Tennessee, 04:18 and we have a little girl name Leilani, 04:20 who's two and a half right now. 04:22 And she's just the sunshine of our lives. 04:23 Yes. 04:24 You know, he told me the most interesting thing. 04:26 He said that, 04:28 oh, she is in such a delightful era of her life. 04:32 She's two and half years old and just adorable. 04:34 But he said the first few months 04:36 were a little difficult. 04:38 What made those first few months difficult? 04:39 Well, the reality was that 04:41 the first few months didn't feel like a few months, 04:44 it felt like years 04:45 because night and day would blur together, 04:47 and we never really slept at regular hours 04:50 and so it was just one long day. 04:53 And once our little girl started sleeping 04:56 through the night, everything changed. 04:58 And, boy, it's just gotten better 05:00 and better since then. 05:01 Absolutely. 05:03 Well, I think every parent 05:04 that I know can relate with that. 05:05 Absolutely. 05:07 Well, I told you that we've got a beautiful song coming up, 05:10 the presenter, the person that's going to minister to us 05:13 is Johan Sentana. 05:15 And, again, the name of this song is 05:17 "This is My Father's World". 08:58 Johan Sentana, 08:59 and what a beautiful rendering of 09:01 "This is My Father's World". 09:03 Thank you so much. 09:05 And, gentleman, 09:06 you are here representing or presenting to us 09:10 the ministry of AudioVerse. 09:12 And I would like to know... 09:15 Tim, since you are a co-founder, 09:17 I thought I would go to you and ask you what prompted you, 09:20 what is the foundation or the history of AudioVerse? 09:25 Well, AudioVerse started originally back in 2005. 09:30 And if you can think back that far, 09:34 it was very different back then. 09:36 We didn't have all the social media, 09:39 smartphones with all of our apps 09:41 and things like that. 09:42 But what we did have were MP3s, 09:46 we had the internet, 09:49 and so there were beginning to be ways to spread 09:52 the gospel that hadn't existed before. 09:55 At the same time 09:57 there was a revival that was sweeping 09:59 through the campus of Loma Linda University. 10:03 And so there were young people 10:05 all over the Southern California area 10:06 that were becoming on fire for the Lord. 10:09 Praise God. 10:10 They were learning more about Jesus, 10:11 they wanted to share that with those around them. 10:14 And part of that included some events. 10:17 For instance, there was an evangelistic series 10:20 that was led and run 10:22 by students called "Restoration". 10:25 There was also a young adult Sabbath school class 10:29 in Loma Linda University Church, 10:31 that was called Advent Hope. 10:33 And there were other GYC like events including one 10:36 that's now called GYC Southwest that were happening. 10:39 All of these events were bringing 10:41 in wonderful speakers 10:43 with life transforming messages. 10:45 And we were looking for a way 10:48 to share those with other people, 10:51 they were all recorded. 10:53 But in the old days we had to burn a CD, 10:55 pass it along, it was very difficult to do. 10:59 And all of a sudden this way opened up 11:01 through MP3s to share 11:03 and that was really the beginning of AudioVerse. 11:07 And so here was a means to get the gospel to... 11:12 That was being presented by the young people 11:15 into the hands of other young people 11:17 through this MP3. 11:20 Well, tell the people exactly what AudioVerse does. 11:26 How does it reach the world with the gospel? 11:32 Right. 11:33 So from that small beginning, 11:35 AudioVerse was primarily a website 11:38 that promoted or shared sermon material 11:41 from local events in the Loma Linda area. 11:43 And from that beginning, 11:45 it grew to become a website that ended up posting messages 11:48 from lots of other events, 11:50 the ASI International Convention 11:52 that also is aired on 3ABN every August 11:56 and other youth conferences 11:58 such as the Generation of Youth for Christ 12:00 which is what Tim just referred 12:02 to which is a lay run youth movement conference 12:06 that held annually as well. 12:08 And so it is a website primarily. 12:11 At least that's how we have been known early 12:13 on as a sermon website, 12:14 a website to download free sermons. 12:17 But the ministry has grown 12:19 since those early years to now realizing 12:22 with the internet and with the power of media 12:25 there's a lot of other material that could be shared, 12:27 other than just sermons or seminars. 12:29 And so at AudioVerse, we have a burden to present 12:32 the gospel to all members of the family, 12:35 to people of all faiths and backgrounds, 12:37 to people of all ethnicities and cultures 12:41 because that's what our mission is here. 12:44 You read the verse from Matthew 24. 12:46 And so since that time, 12:47 AudioVerse has grown to provide other content as well. 12:49 We have also Audio Bible in multiple versions, 12:52 we also have the audio books, 12:55 we also have some children's programming, 12:57 we have online courses. 12:59 And what's really exciting 13:01 is that we also have expanded our library 13:03 to not just have English messages 13:05 but also we have websites in seven other languages 13:10 for other people groups around the world. 13:12 And all of this is available through also mobile apps now. 13:15 And just like Tim referred to, it's hard to imagine 13:18 but when AudioVerse first started in 2005, 13:21 YouTube didn't exist, Facebook didn't exist. 13:24 And now here we are 13:26 with all of these amazing technologies. 13:28 And we are continuing to innovate and use technology 13:31 and all of these other media sources 13:33 to reach more souls for Jesus. 13:35 You know, I went online, just googled AudioVerse. 13:38 Yes. 13:40 And went online, 13:41 and when I opened up your homepage, 13:43 I was so impressed 13:45 that there were the seven different languages. 13:48 And you just clicked on the one that was, 13:50 you know, pertain to you. 13:52 And so, you really are reaching 13:53 every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. 13:56 Well, that's what Jesus told us to do. 13:58 Absolutely is. 14:00 And also I know 14:01 that 3ABN has worked with AudioVerse. 14:04 I went in my files because since 2000... 14:07 I believe it was 2009, 14:10 we have been making the audio feed available 14:14 to you for GYC. 14:16 And then you take those incredible sermons 14:19 and make them available to viewers all over the world. 14:23 Now I wanted to ask you this, for instance, 14:26 a sermon that you get from GYC it will be in English, 14:30 is it then translated into other languages 14:33 or is that what happens? 14:35 Well, it's interesting you bring that up 14:37 because we recently have been looking 14:39 at how can we do better in reaching people 14:42 of other language groups. 14:44 Up till now each language website 14:47 has had its own source of content. 14:48 We want to... 14:50 As far as possible to get native speakers and messages 14:52 from their culture and their worldview, 14:54 but we are looking at expanding 14:58 that to allow for some translation 15:00 of really powerful foundational biblical messages 15:04 from the English side over as well. 15:06 And so that perhaps may be something soon 15:08 that we'll begin doing. 15:10 Oh, that will be amazing to be able to translate 15:14 into other language. 15:15 That's right. 15:17 That's always another weapon, 15:19 another tool in God's arsenal to be able to use. 15:24 We like to consider every avenue available 15:29 to get the message. 15:30 You know, people will call us and ask us, 15:32 and I expect they do this to you as well. 15:35 "Can we use your material on our platform?" 15:39 And 3ABN's heart has always been 15:42 what another avenue to get the gospel to the world, 15:45 every avenue, that's more souls that will have access 15:50 to the Word of God 15:53 and be able to come into the knowledge... 15:56 The saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ 15:58 as we evangelize this world. 16:00 Well, you all are doing incredible work. 16:03 Again, it's a stream or a platform 16:06 that 3ABN isn't covering. 16:10 And this is what is so beautiful. 16:12 I think about God in His variety 16:14 Has said He uses every avenue. 16:18 And we're so happy 16:19 that we have been able to partner with you 16:22 for all of these years 16:24 as we encourage and help each other. 16:27 That's right. 16:28 And I certainly agree with you, Mollie. 16:30 It's just been a joy working with 3ABN. 16:32 And as you alluded to, 16:34 we are moved by the same spirit. 16:36 We're here to do the same work in partnership 16:38 and that's to spread the three angels' messages 16:40 to the whole world in this generation. 16:43 And using whatever means is necessary 16:45 and so it's just been a wonderful partnership. 16:47 And we're so privileged to be able to work with 3ABN. 16:49 You know, something that 3ABN takes very seriously, 16:52 and I know you do too is that we truly feel 16:56 that God has entrusted 16:58 an end time message to our church, 17:02 He's made us responsible for it. 17:04 And now it's our responsibility in honor of God to see 17:09 that this message gets into the world 17:13 because He really is going to return soon. 17:16 Yes. 17:17 And in fact, Mollie, we have a video 17:18 that we brought with us to just illustrate 17:22 how just one message or one download 17:27 or one stream or one view 17:29 may translate into something much more. 17:30 All right. 17:32 There is a young man 17:33 that we're going to be seeing named Isaac, 17:35 who's going to just share a brief testimony 17:37 of how the messages on AudioVerse 17:39 has completely changed his life. 17:41 Praise God. Let's see that video. 17:44 So a number of years ago, 17:45 I was really struggling to make sense of Adventism. 17:48 And I was trying to find a basis 17:52 for Adventist beliefs and practices, 17:55 a biblical and logical basis. 17:57 And a friend of mine introduced me 17:59 to AudioVerse at that time. 18:01 And I discovered so many messages 18:03 that were deep in God's Word 18:06 and really relevant and inspiring. 18:09 And it gave me such a richer appreciation 18:11 for the Bible. 18:12 And if not for AudioVerse, 18:14 there's a good chance that today 18:15 I wouldn't be an Adventist, maybe not even a Christian. 18:18 So I'm standing here today a large part 18:20 because of AudioVerse. 18:21 So thank you. 18:35 So you see, Mollie, Isaac is just one young person 18:38 whose life has been completely transformed. 18:41 He said he probably wouldn't even be a Christian 18:44 if it weren't for the messages on AudioVerse. 18:47 He's a young man, 18:49 but we realized particularly 18:50 since Tim and I are both parents now 18:52 that there are also 18:53 even younger members of our families 18:56 that there's not a whole lot of material 18:58 that's available for them. 18:59 As parents, we look at the media landscape 19:01 and there's just a lot of inappropriate material vying 19:05 for children's attention. 19:06 And so, we have just been moved by the spirit 19:10 to also provide something for them. 19:13 And I know Tim has had some experience 19:15 as a young man that has influenced 19:17 some of the decisions that we've made. 19:19 And perhaps you can share a little bit about that. 19:21 So you're not just interested in reaching 19:23 the adults of this world? 19:24 That's right. Yeah. 19:26 Being a parent will really make you... 19:28 It changes things. Tender. 19:29 Yes, it does. 19:30 Yes, the children's souls to be reached as well, right? 19:32 Yeah. Yes. Absolutely. 19:33 I remember as a child, 19:34 sitting around the radio after church just waiting 19:37 in eager anticipation 19:38 for Your Story Hour, Uncle Dan and Aunt Sue. 19:42 And just really just being amazed 19:46 as I listen to those stories 19:48 and to spend that spiritual time together 19:49 with the family. 19:51 And now that I have children, 19:52 I want to share that too with my children 19:54 who have that spiritual bonding time with them. 19:57 Okay. You have two boys. 19:59 Two boys. And their ages are? 20:01 Four and six. And their names are? 20:03 Enoch and Noah. 20:04 Oh, that is beautiful, Enoch and Noah. 20:07 Okay. That's right. 20:09 And so with that burden on our hearts, 20:12 we have embarked on an initiative 20:14 to provide children materials on AudioVerse. 20:16 And we actually partnered with Your Story Hour 20:19 with a few of their programs on there. 20:21 And also like Voice of Prophecy, 20:23 we've also partnered with them. 20:25 But what most exciting to me is 20:27 that we have actually started creating 20:29 a series of children's programs ourselves, 20:32 audio programs called StoryTime Adventures. 20:35 And these are programs that teach true life, 20:38 character building stories 20:40 that help young people develop a love for Jesus, 20:43 to make positive choices. 20:44 And each episode also has a memorable song, 20:48 usually a scripture song or something of that sort 20:50 to just fix these lessons on the tender hearts. 20:53 And, boy, we've just started, 20:56 but the parents have already told us 20:58 they can't wait for the next episode. 21:00 And so we just can't get them done fast enough, 21:02 but StoryTime Adventures is a brand new initiative, 21:05 it's available on AudioVerse now 21:07 with new episodes coming out every month. 21:09 So they can go 21:10 to your website AudioVerse, and click on it, 21:15 and find this material. 21:16 Just look for the stories section, 21:18 and you'll find all the stories there. 21:20 You know, I want to interject 21:21 just a little 3ABN story if I may. 21:24 I was grocery shopping at my local Kroger's, 21:28 and these two little girls came up to me 21:31 and they were just looking at me, 21:32 blinking their eyes saying, "Oh, we know you." 21:35 And, you know, how they know me? 21:38 It was from 3ABN. 21:39 But let me tell you what brought them 21:42 to be viewers of 3ABN. 21:44 Their parents home school them. 21:46 Very godly parents, 21:47 but they're not Seventh-day Adventist. 21:50 And they wanted programming for their children, 21:52 and the only place 21:54 they could find children's programming 21:56 that was appropriate was 3ABN. 21:59 So once they put the children's programming on, 22:02 they never change the channel. 22:04 And now the young girl... 22:06 The older of the two 22:07 they were maybe seven and nine, the older one said, 22:09 "Oh, my favorite story is 3ABN Today." 22:12 And she knew every single one, 22:15 probably not every single but most of the people on 3ABN. 22:18 Children's programming is vitally important, 22:21 it gets the children 22:23 but you know what it did in this instance, 22:25 got the parents as well. 22:26 Wonderful. Praise the Lord. Yes. 22:28 We're trying to do the same thing. 22:30 Same thing. 22:31 Yes, with another avenue, another tool. 22:33 And in addition to that, 22:35 we've also been looking at other ways to expand 22:37 other types of content. 22:39 And, you know, we are looking into some online classes. 22:43 And Tim can explain a little bit 22:44 of the background for that. 22:45 Well, you know, 22:47 there's another segment of people 22:48 who also want to find more resources. 22:51 Perhaps, some would want to learn more about 22:55 how to share Jesus with a friend, 22:58 use some evangelism, some witnessing, 23:00 or maybe how to grow in their healthy habits 23:03 in their lifestyle. 23:05 But many people don't have access 23:07 to let's say a Bible training school 23:09 or other resources like that. 23:11 And so what we want to do 23:13 is we want to think about those people 23:15 and produce courses 23:17 that they can access wherever they are in the world. 23:20 I live in Guam, and I don't have access 23:22 to some of the resources that most people do. 23:24 And I'm really excited that AudioVerse has the ability 23:27 through the internet to provide courses. 23:32 Now something that I've noticed 23:34 that you haven't said at any instance, 23:37 concerning the sermons that you make available, 23:39 the children's programming, and now an online school, 23:43 is that there's a charge for any of this? 23:46 So this online school, 23:49 it sounds so powerful 23:53 to be able to go online 23:55 and get some education in some areas. 23:58 And you make this available at no cost to the person 24:01 that's looking at it? 24:02 Well, the school, there is a minimal cost. 24:04 Praise God. 24:05 Just because of the cost of production. 24:06 3ABN understands that very well. 24:08 But the goal here is not primarily to make money, 24:12 it's just simply to cover the cost, 24:14 keep the lights on but to make it available 24:17 as affordably as we possibly can. 24:19 And so... 24:21 But, of course, the children's program 24:22 and the sermon, 24:24 they are all available at no cost. 24:25 Yeah, I knew that you were a faith ministry. 24:29 But we certainly do understand 24:31 that you do have to pay the electric bill. 24:33 That's right. 24:34 That's just... 24:35 And for some reason that is vitally important. 24:38 And we do have some free courses. 24:39 So it's not that everything has a charge attached to it. 24:43 But some of the courses that we offer are things 24:46 really related to practical aspects of life. 24:49 So as to mention, 24:50 we have a flagship series of evangelism training courses 24:54 that we did in partnership 24:55 with the Emmanuel Institute 24:57 of Evangelism found in Michigan. 25:00 And we have three courses currently... 25:01 Actually four courses, 25:03 one is a free introductory course, 25:04 and then we have a personal evangelism course 25:06 that teaches people 25:08 how to share their faith more effectively, 25:10 how to give Bible studies and call for decisions. 25:12 We have a course on public evangelism. 25:15 And also an exciting course called 25:16 how to create a culture of evangelism 25:18 in your local church. 25:20 And personally, I think every church should take 25:22 that course 'cause it's practical, 25:24 and it gets your church members on fire to work for Jesus. 25:27 But besides that we also have some other courses like 25:30 Introduction to Natural Remedies, 25:32 we have a course on how to reverse heart disease 25:35 called Heart Savvy, naturally, 25:37 reversing heart disease naturally 25:38 and also even an organic gardening class. 25:41 And we have also other courses in the pipeline 25:44 that we're working on right now 25:46 and we'll be excited to share soon. 25:49 You know, online schooling is becoming more 25:51 and more popular as people find... 25:54 We have young people here at 3ABN that work here. 25:58 But, you know, at night, 25:59 they're taking online courses furthering their education. 26:02 So this is one of those cutting edge tools 26:06 that you are offering to further people 26:10 in becoming more effective tools 26:12 to be used by God. 26:13 Exactly. Right. 26:14 And so, you know, we have another video to share 26:18 about the online courses. 26:20 And Keith, as you will see in just a moment 26:22 is an individual 26:24 who realized that in his line of work, 26:26 he could actually use these online courses 26:28 to improve his ministry, but also as a tool to help 26:31 others come to know Jesus as well. 26:33 And maybe we can take a look at that now. 26:35 Oh, I'd love to see it. 26:38 I teach CPR in first day 26:39 for the American Heart Association. 26:41 And, you know, it's kind of a standalone business. 26:45 And so I have people come in to train for a CPR class. 26:50 And as they're training, I'm asking God like, 26:53 "Okay, how do I talk to these people? 26:57 How do I share Christ with these people? 26:59 How do I transition them from CPR 27:02 into the Christ gospel?" 27:06 And so I'm praying about that on this particular day. 27:09 And then one day, 27:11 it was the same day as I'm praying, 27:14 I go in my email, I get a email from AudioVerse, 27:18 and it has on the email, 27:22 Heart Savvy which is a course on AudioVerse events 27:26 which is awesome because I say, 27:28 "Wow, now I can 27:29 transition people from CPR, 27:35 from health into the gospel." 27:38 And I know Ellen White said 27:39 that health ministry should be presented 27:43 as a Bible study. 27:44 And so I saw that opportunity, 27:47 and I went ahead and did that opportunity, 27:50 it's been a blessing. 27:51 And I've learned a lot, 27:52 and I shared a lot with me and my students. 27:54 Praise the Lord. 28:06 You know, I love the story that Keith tells 28:08 because it embodies that spirit of witnessing 28:12 and wanting to share 28:13 and find any avenue possible to share Christ. 28:16 And so really that's something 28:20 that AudioVerse has always been interested in. 28:21 But as we've been talking about AudioVerse 28:24 is really currently a major resource 28:29 for Adventists all around the world. 28:31 But over the years, 28:33 many people have come up to me and asked, 28:35 "Is there an evangelistic way that I can spread the blessings 28:39 that I've been receiving 28:40 from AudioVerse to those around me. 28:42 Especially, to those who may not know Jesus 28:45 or maybe are not familiar with Seventh-day Adventism." 28:49 And so, we have recently created 28:52 a special website 28:53 that's designed specifically for witnessing. 28:58 And really at AudioVerse, 29:00 we have over 16, 000 messages now 29:02 in our archive. 29:04 Wow. 29:05 They're downloaded over four million times 29:06 around the world over 200 countries. 29:09 And it's real quite frankly, it's a little overwhelming. 29:11 Yes, it is. 29:12 And so for a new person 29:13 who is unfamiliar with AudioVerse 29:15 or what ASI or 3ABN might be, 29:19 just landing on a website 29:20 with all of these thousands of choices 29:22 is sometimes counterproductive, they don't know where to start. 29:25 And so we wanted to do better at sharpening the point 29:29 of the spear so to say 29:30 to make an inroad into people's hearts. 29:32 And as we looked at our data, we realized, 29:34 "Hey, the most powerful and most engaging content 29:38 we have in our library were personal testimonies 29:41 because, hey, everyone loves a good story." 29:44 Isn't that right? That's right. 29:45 And so we realize, 29:47 "Wow, we are sitting on a treasure trove 29:49 of so many powerful testimonies 29:51 that if we only could bring them to the surface 29:53 to make them easily accessible, we can touch so many people." 29:57 And that's what Journeys Unscripted is all about. 30:00 JourneysUnscripted.com is a sister site 30:04 that was developed by the AudioVerse team 30:07 with the express focus of making it a friendly place 30:10 for people of all faiths 30:12 and all persuasions to come find the divine author 30:16 who wants to script our lives for us. 30:19 And these stories are just amazing miracle stories 30:23 of God's healing power, 30:24 deliverance from besetting sins, 30:26 or addictions. 30:27 And so we are using this 30:29 as an outreach tool for people to share. 30:32 And I just want to also bring this out and that is that, 30:35 we wanted to make this a very effective tool 30:38 for people to use offline not just online 30:42 because that personal touch is so important. 30:44 And so we have actually created these small tracts 30:48 that goes along with Journeys Unscripted 30:51 where each tract is actually a summary of a story 30:55 that can be found on the website. 30:57 And these can be read by the individuals, 31:01 there's an appeal at the end and also a link to say, 31:04 if you want to hear this story with all the details, 31:07 the rest of the story 31:09 or if you want to sign up for Bible studies, 31:12 we can just send them to the website, 31:14 and it's a wonderful tool to lead other people 31:17 to make a decision for Jesus. 31:18 So that's JourneysUnscripted.com. 31:20 That's right. Click on that. 31:22 And now tell me again 31:24 how you can actually receive the tracts? 31:26 Yeah, so these tracts are all available right now 31:28 at the AudioVerse store. 31:30 And if you just visit our website at AudioVerse.org 31:33 there are links to Journeys Unscripted and links 31:35 to our online courses, links to our store, 31:38 it's easily accessible right on the homepage. 31:41 Now I want to tell you that we are going to give an, 31:44 you know, an address roll here before very long. 31:48 So get your pencil and paper 31:49 because I know you're going to want 31:50 to get these addresses 31:52 and contact information for these gentlemen. 31:55 But just for now, 31:57 we are telling you these different addresses 32:00 so that you can... 32:01 It's just exciting, it was exciting for me. 32:05 Again, the way I got to their website 32:08 was I googled them AudioVerse, 32:11 just google them and then click, 32:13 and you can find 32:14 all of this wonderful information 32:16 that we're telling you about. 32:17 That's right. 32:19 And I just have to share this 32:20 because the impact that we've had 32:23 with Journeys Unscripted has already started 32:25 to trickle in. 32:27 We launched the website just around Christmas time, 32:31 at the end of 2017, 32:33 and it's only been a few short months since then. 32:34 Yes. 32:36 But we've already gotten 32:37 a number of Bible study requests 32:39 for personal Bible studies, people are signing up for them. 32:42 And what's amazing 32:44 is that a number of these individuals 32:46 are from countries outside North America, 32:49 like, Indonesia and Malaysia 32:52 which as you know are both Muslim countries. 32:55 And this type of early response, 32:57 and I believe there is a lot more to come, 32:59 it just goes to show the power of technology, 33:01 how the internet can transcend boundaries, 33:04 geographical boundaries 33:06 but more important than that personal testimonies 33:10 also can transcend boundaries, cultural boundaries, 33:13 religious boundaries 33:14 even to bring the gospel of Jesus 33:16 right to the home, 33:18 right into the heart of individuals. 33:20 And I'm just so excited to see 33:21 what God is going to keep doing. 33:22 You know, you can argue with somebody 33:25 about their theology or so forth. 33:27 But you just can't argue 33:29 with somebody's personal testimony 33:30 when they say, "This is what happened to me." 33:33 You can't argue with that. 33:34 And, you know, it's so exciting 33:36 that you're already getting the feedback. 33:38 Yes. 33:39 Because there is some equations percentage, 33:42 and I don't know what that is. 33:43 Now I've heard various... 33:45 If for every email you get... 33:48 How many more people were actually watching 33:50 that didn't respond to you 33:53 so if you're getting feedback that means 33:56 that is an effective ministry. 33:57 It's actually doing 33:59 what you had intended for it to do. 34:03 God's word never returns unto Him void. 34:05 Yes. 34:06 And we believe that with all of our hearts. 34:08 And that's what we're all about. 34:09 Yes. Amen. 34:11 Well, I see now that we want to look 34:15 at how do you get people involved 34:19 in this ministry? 34:21 Well, AudioVerse, 34:22 we really have a lot of different avenues, 34:25 you know, we look at the technology in the world, 34:28 social media 34:29 so there are lot of opportunities 34:31 for people to share 34:33 and also people to get training like with the courses, 34:35 and now with these tracts 34:37 that we talked about that people can utilize 34:39 these as evangelistic tools to share with their friends. 34:42 We believe that the media piece, 34:44 the technology piece, 34:45 that's not the full picture, we as disciples of Jesus, 34:50 we have to do our part. 34:51 And so we want to encourage our viewers, 34:53 our listeners to do their part, get the discipleship training 34:58 whether it would be with an online course. 35:00 Be a soul winner for Jesus by sharing a message, 35:03 improve your spirituality by listening to messages 35:05 and share the tracts maybe even. 35:07 And so these are just some of the ways 35:09 that people can get involved. 35:12 If it's all right, I just want to share 35:14 just a story that just ready to burst out of me 35:17 about an individual 35:18 that's just whose life has changed 35:21 and just really goes to show, 35:22 tie together all of these things 35:23 that we're talking about. 35:25 And this young man, his name is Tad. 35:28 And he was brought up in a unique home, 35:31 he was of the Hmong descent, 35:34 minority group and the ethnic group 35:36 in the Southeast Asia region. 35:39 But he was raised in Minnesota in the US. 35:42 Cold country Cold country. 35:44 And also in the Catholic faith. 35:47 However, they did go to church every Sunday but really God 35:50 and religion didn't permeate their lives during the week. 35:54 But in the early 2000s somewhere in there 35:57 he was introduced to the Bible in a real way, 36:00 and he started reading, and he got interested. 36:03 But he didn't understand, 36:05 he just couldn't grasp what was the message 36:08 he was supposed to take home. 36:09 And I'm sure many of us go through similar dry spells 36:12 in our Bible study. 36:14 And in the year 2007, a family member introduced him 36:17 to the Generation of Youth for Christ Conference 36:20 which happened to be held that year 36:23 in his hometown of Minneapolis. 36:24 All right. 36:25 So for the first time, 36:27 he was in a room or in a convention center 36:29 with thousands of people 36:30 talking about Jesus, praying, and singing. 36:32 Young people, in fact. Young people on fire for Jesus. 36:36 And he realized, I need this. Yes. 36:39 But he couldn't go to all the meetings. 36:41 There were so many seminars and there was so much going on. 36:44 He just wanted more of it. 36:45 And he heard that all of the messages 36:48 were being recorded. 36:49 And that they would also be available on AudioVerse. 36:51 And that was 3ABN probably was there too. 36:55 And so after the conference, he went home, 36:58 and he logged on to AudioVerse, 36:59 and he just absorbed and devoured 37:02 all of the thousands of messages, 37:04 he just began listening nonstop. 37:07 And he started to realize 37:09 the Bible was not a mystery anymore. 37:11 Jesus was not a foreign mysterious figure anymore. 37:15 He started to understand things, 37:17 the Bible started making sense. 37:18 He started having a basis for believing the Word of God. 37:24 And he had a very unique work situation 37:28 where he was working in a manufacturing job 37:31 in a factory 37:32 where he had to wear hearing protection 37:33 in order to protect his hearing every day. 37:36 And he realized he could be playing music 37:38 and listen to the radio, but it hit him, 37:41 "Why not listen to sermons to improve my time 37:43 while I'm at work 37:45 since I have to do this anyway." 37:46 What a unique opportunity. Yes. 37:49 And he would work Monday through Thursdays, 37:51 10 hours a day. 37:53 And so he would load up his MP3 player, 37:56 and he would listen to sermons for 10 hours a day, 38:01 every day at work. 38:03 That can do nothing but change you. 38:06 Oh, yes! That much input of God's Word. 38:08 And as we know by beholding, we become changed, right, 38:12 into the same things we fill our minds with. 38:14 You know, the amazing thing is, 38:16 he didn't do this for just one week or a month 38:18 or even a year, get this, 38:21 he listened to 10 hours of AudioVerse sermons 38:24 every day at work for seven years. 38:28 Wow! Seven years. 38:29 Seven years? 38:30 And he told us that he estimates, 38:32 he listened to at least way over 38:34 I would imagine by now 38:36 5,000 hours of sermon material, 38:40 all from AudioVerse and during his time at work. 38:44 And just like you said, Mollie, 38:45 it is absolutely impossible for someone 38:48 to hear the truth that much 38:51 and not have an effect on him. 38:52 Absolutely. 38:53 And, you know, during this time, 38:55 he told us also that he was struggling 38:56 with addictions and things in his life. 38:59 Sometimes he would be smoking 39:01 while listening to sermons at the same time. 39:04 Realizing on one hand his need of Jesus 39:06 but not necessarily knowing how to go about it. 39:09 But seven years later, in the year 2013, 39:12 he said, "Enough is enough, 39:14 I have to turn everything over to Jesus." 39:16 And he was baptized into Jesus Christ in 2013. 39:20 But he didn't stop there, as you were mentioning earlier, 39:23 the whole idea is to get involved 39:25 and to use our talents for witnessing. 39:28 He has actually gone through 39:30 the Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism training course 39:34 for full time ministry. 39:35 Praise God. 39:36 And just to see, 39:38 you know, over a prolong period of time 39:40 such a simple idea that started 39:42 as a bunch of young people putting sermons on a website, 39:46 the multiplication effect 39:48 on the life of now this young man, 39:49 his whole family, 39:51 and now as a minister for Jesus. 39:53 Praise God. Praise God. 39:54 And it goes back to his diligence 39:58 and listening to God's Word. 40:00 And you making that Word available 40:03 to him to readily access. 40:05 Thank God, it takes all of us working together to accomplish. 40:10 There's a saying, 40:12 "None of us have it all together, 40:13 but together we have it all." 40:15 And if we all do our part, 40:18 then the whole gets accomplished. 40:20 So that's what we're doing. It's a beautiful testimony. 40:23 Yes. 40:24 And it just brings chills up and down my spine 40:27 when I think about, "Wow, God is really working." 40:30 Yes, He is. 40:31 Do you have other testimonies? 40:32 These testimonies are so exciting. 40:35 Yes. 40:36 We know God is working all over the world. 40:40 And I know of a wonderful young man, 40:43 his name is Micet. 40:45 And he grew up on the island of Palau 40:50 which is a small group of islands 40:52 in the middle of the Pacific Ocean 40:54 even smaller than Guam, believe it or not. 40:57 And he grew up there without access 41:01 to a lot of the resources 41:02 that we take for granted nowadays. 41:05 And they don't even have very reliable internet there. 41:10 You know, it's such a small island. 41:12 And so there was a difficulty to hear wonderful sermons 41:16 like AudioVerse has. 41:18 But what one of his friends would do is they, 41:20 when they were off island, 41:22 they would download sermons from AudioVerse, 41:25 and they would burn them onto a CD, 41:26 remember we talked about those old way of doing things. 41:31 They would bring it back on CD to the island. 41:33 And there they would put in a CD player 41:36 and gather around as a group of friends 41:39 and listen to these sermons over and over and over again. 41:44 Some of those sermons, 41:45 they probably listened to 100 times he tells me. 41:48 So they really ingrained the message into their hearts. 41:52 And that's really where Micet learned 41:55 to become a faithful Adventist. 41:57 And as that desire grew in his heart, 42:01 he began to want to be a Bible worker. 42:03 And so that's the first time that I actually met Micet. 42:06 It was on the island of Guam, 42:08 he was a Bible worker for an evangelistic series 42:10 we're having with our church. 42:13 And I remember him walking up to me, 42:15 and he recognized me right away and introduced himself. 42:19 But he told me the way that he recognized me 42:21 was not from my face 42:24 because he had never seen me before, 42:26 but he recognized my voice. 42:29 Because it just so happens that my voice is the voice 42:31 at the end of each AudioVerse sermon, 42:33 there is a bumper at the end. 42:34 And so he had heard that bumper 42:36 so many times that he actually knew me 42:39 from just hearing the voice. 42:42 But the bottom line is 42:45 that he became a Bible worker 42:47 and eventually he heard God's calling 42:50 in his life to become a pastor. 42:52 And so, he actually became if you can believe this or not, 42:56 he became the pastor of my church. 42:58 So now I call him Pastor Micet. 43:01 And it's just wonderful to see 43:02 how the Lord used a small ministry to work 43:08 in the life of a little boy 43:09 in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. 43:11 And now that's come around full circle. 43:14 And now I am a recipient of the blessings of the pastor 43:19 that I love very dearly. 43:20 You know, something that you're saying about 43:22 this gentleman as well as he listened 43:24 to the Word over and over and over again. 43:27 Sometimes on 3ABN 43:29 because we do reruns, sometimes people will, 43:32 you know, say, 43:33 "Oh, you've got too many reruns." 43:35 Do you know that the power 43:36 that's in that Word never changes, 43:39 it never loses its power. 43:41 And it's like reading the Bible, 43:43 every time you read 43:45 the Bible you get something else out of it. 43:47 And you can say, "You know, I read that chapter, 43:50 but I never saw this before. 43:52 Or I know I've heard that sermon four times, 43:56 but I didn't hear that." 43:58 It's so important... 43:59 I tell people, it's amazing as it is, 44:02 people get come into the saving knowledge 44:05 of the Lord Jesus Christ, 44:06 they get delivered, they get set free on reruns. 44:11 Thank God for reruns. 44:12 That's right. 44:13 Thank every time you listen 44:15 to something over and over again. 44:16 Faith comes by hearing and hearing by God's Word. 44:20 That's powerful. 44:21 But going back to a common denominator 44:25 is that they listen to the Word over and over and over again. 44:29 Other testimonies, I love testimonies. 44:32 You know, we talk about 44:33 the effect of the messages of AudioVerse 44:37 on an individual's life 44:39 but really there are other ways 44:41 that the Lord uses these messages 44:43 that we don't really even realize. 44:45 And one of the most amazing things 44:47 that I have come to realize is that AudioVerse 44:50 has been a source of support, 44:52 encouragement, and nourishment for our missionaries overseas. 44:56 Yes. 44:57 I have had so many of them come up to me 44:59 when they are back in the States on furlough 45:01 or when I see them at various places 45:03 when I travel. 45:05 More than one occasion, they come and they say, 45:07 "Thank you so much for AudioVerse. 45:09 We're out there, and we're very lonely. 45:12 We're somewhat isolated from our support system." 45:15 And sometimes they're just working so hard 45:17 to save the souls of those that came to minister to that. 45:20 They don't have time for themselves. 45:22 And so the Word of God delivered to them 45:24 through the medium of the internet 45:25 has been a way to support them. 45:27 Some of them even say 45:28 they might be six hours away from town, 45:30 they only go in for supplies 45:31 once a month or once every two weeks. 45:33 And they always make a stop at the internet cafe 45:37 with their flash drive 45:38 with plenty of space to download 45:41 every single message that has been released 45:43 since their last visit. 45:45 And that's their source of life 45:48 giving water for the next two weeks 45:51 or month before they come back to town. 45:54 When I think about it that to us in our statistics, 45:57 that's just one download or one view or stream 46:01 but by impacting the life of that missionary, 46:04 we could change entire cities, entire countries. 46:07 Continents, yes. Continents. 46:08 You know, if they're coming into town 46:11 so probably they're getting supplies, 46:12 food supplies for their physical bodies. 46:15 But they're getting food supplies 46:17 for their spiritual upkeep as well. 46:20 That's exactly right. 46:21 And it's for missionaries all over the world 46:24 because it's on the internet. 46:26 And the internet isn't local to any one area, 46:29 that's available everywhere, there is internet access. 46:33 And that is growing exponentially 46:35 throughout the whole world. 46:36 That's right. 46:38 And we just praise the Lord for Him using 46:41 through the ministry of the Holy Spirit 46:43 to just open the way 46:45 as long as we're doing our part, 46:46 the end result may not be what we intended 46:49 or even knew was possible, but the Lord knew all along, 46:53 and He knows exactly how He can multiply 46:54 the effect of the Word. 46:56 You know, we look at technology and technology is abused. 46:59 And some times technology can carry evil content. 47:05 But we don't want to do away with technology 47:08 because also it's a means 47:10 that the Lord can use to share the gospel. 47:15 Going back to our opening scripture, 47:17 this message of the kingdom has got to be preached where? 47:21 It's to the whole world. 47:22 And we know that physically, 47:24 we aren't able to do that but in countries, 47:28 we call them darkened countries, 47:30 where the gospel isn't even allowed. 47:33 We get feedback from countries 47:37 where to acknowledge that you're a Christian 47:41 could be life threatening, 47:42 we get feedback from them about their services 47:46 if they have underground. 47:48 And how did they received it? 47:50 On this modern technologies, 47:51 how they received the message that has changed their life. 47:56 And now it's changing their family's life 47:59 as you're saying. 48:00 It is so important 48:03 that we use every means available to man. 48:07 And that's why we exist. 48:09 Absolutely. To gospel. 48:10 Now I know that we're going to go to an address roll here 48:13 before long, I've mentioned this before 48:15 because it's so vitally important 48:18 that you take advantage of all of this information 48:21 that we're making available to you 48:23 and that AudioVerse is making available to you. 48:26 But also, I am going to dare to say 48:30 that you need financial help as well. 48:35 Would you like to tell us some of the areas 48:38 that financial help would be 48:40 a blessing to AudioVerse at this time? 48:44 Sure. 48:45 You know, as a ministry that operates by faith, 48:48 we have to testify 48:50 that the Lord has always supplied 48:51 all of our needs. 48:53 And yet, we want to make the opportunity available 48:55 to those who want to participate, right, 48:57 to have the opportunity to be a part of this mission. 49:01 And so, we have so many projects 49:05 that really are looking at ways to enhance 49:09 the technology use, just like you say, 49:10 so there are needs to improve our infrastructure 49:14 and the technology 49:15 we're using because as you know technology 49:17 is not standing still. 49:19 There are always new innovations and the phones, 49:22 you know, five years ago are no longer in operation, 49:25 and technology five years from now will also change. 49:28 And so investment in technology is always something 49:30 that's needed. 49:31 We've talked about the international growth. 49:33 We have a deep burden for reaching people 49:36 not of this country. 49:38 And the people who perhaps 49:40 may not be able to understand English. 49:42 And so we want to do more in translation work 49:45 and reaching to other language groups. 49:48 And that is a real big burden of our team. 49:51 And also the children's programming 49:53 is something we continue to invest in. 49:55 And new courses for training individuals, 49:59 and we also have ideas to create 50:01 other outreach platforms similar 50:03 to Journeys Unscripted 50:04 that can be on other topic areas 50:06 perhaps to make it 50:08 even more effective to reaching people. 50:11 Whatever means that the Lord provides 50:12 through the 3ABN family or elsewhere, 50:16 we use every single penny expressly 50:21 for the purpose of taking the gospel to the world. 50:24 There's no other reason why we exist. 50:26 And I believe that's also why 3ABN exists, 50:28 and we know that the Lord will provide, 50:31 and He always blesses. 50:32 But we invite any of our listeners or viewers 50:36 to join us in this mission because we're in it 50:39 to the very end until Jesus comes. 50:42 Well, I can see just by the testimony 50:45 that you've shared both of you 50:47 that AudioVerse is an effective ministry. 50:50 It's a ministry that really is getting 50:53 the gospel to those that need it so badly. 50:57 So this would be a ministry 50:58 that would be very vital 51:03 to furthering the cause of Christ. 51:06 And a ministry that we can take great confidence in 51:09 that you're handling the finances properly 51:11 and that you are furthering the reach of the gospel. 51:16 And so I know that you want to get 51:18 in contact with them, 51:19 and we have contact information now. 51:21 So here is how you can reach 51:23 either Alistair or Tim or AudioVerse. 51:28 AudioVerse is an online collection 51:30 of Bible based media content that's available for anyone 51:34 in the world to stream and download for free. 51:37 Each year millions of files that inspire and educate 51:40 spiritually minded people of all ages 51:43 are downloaded in over 200 countries. 51:46 Check out their presenters, sermons, Audio Bibles, 51:49 and testimonies by visiting AudioVerse.org. 51:53 That's AudioVerse.org. 51:56 You may also reach them by telephone at (951) 223-6794. 52:02 Or write to AudioVerse, P.O. Box 2288, 52:06 Collegedale, Tennessee 37315. |
Revised 2018-05-23