Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW018008A
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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 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 Hello and welcome to another Family Worship. 01:12 And we are glad that you are with us, 01:14 and it is our joy and pleasure to tell you happy Sabbath. 01:18 Amen. 01:20 It's been a wonderful week. 01:21 The Lord has been faithful, 01:23 and here we are to thank the Lord, 01:26 and praise the Lord, 01:27 and enjoy the Sabbath hours with friends and family. 01:31 We have our friends and family here around the table, 01:34 but also we count you as our family too. 01:38 As the years go by, you know, every week, every day, 01:41 we have the opportunity to speak to our viewers 01:45 or communicate through social media or emails, 01:49 and it's beautiful to feel that sense of unity or family. 01:55 Amen. 01:56 And for those of you that don't know us 01:58 or are tuning in for the first time, 02:01 my name is John Dinzey and this is my wife Idalia, 02:03 and we are part of the 3ABN family, 02:05 and we hope that you'd be part of the 3ABN family 02:08 as you join us, as we study together 02:10 and also sing. 02:12 I would like to introduce to you 02:14 the rest of the family members that are with us. 02:16 And would you like to do the honors this time? 02:18 Well, of course. I have Janelle to my left. 02:21 Janelle, welcome to the program. 02:23 Thank you. Thanks for having us. 02:24 I'm so happy that you are able to be with us 02:26 along with your husband, Donald. 02:28 Thank you. 02:29 Amen, yes, glad to be here, and it's a delight 02:30 to get to see you guys' faces 02:32 and be part of the family, just been a joy so... 02:34 It's a privilege. Amen. 02:36 And so to my right is Brother Dan Peek. 02:39 We call him, Dan Peek, Daniel Peek, 02:41 and you are part of the engineering department. 02:45 How many people or how many workers we have 02:48 and volunteers we have in the engineering department? 02:51 Well, as far as engineers go, 02:53 there are three of us plus, Moses, 02:54 but then we also take care of master control and duplicating, 03:00 so I guess we have about six or seven, 03:03 including our administrative assistant. 03:05 Great, wonderful. 03:06 And we're glad that you are with us, 03:08 and we hope that you would join us. 03:10 And today, we're going to talk about something 03:12 that is very, very interesting 03:13 and that should be a part of all of our lives, 03:15 and that is Christian service, Christian service. 03:19 And as we continue, 03:20 you will see what we're referring to. 03:23 But for now, we would like to invite you to join us in prayer 03:27 because not only have we prayed before this program started, 03:30 but we want to include you in the blessing of prayer. 03:32 So let's go to the Lord in prayer. 03:37 Our loving heavenly Father, 03:39 we thank you so much 03:40 for your goodness and mercy to us. 03:43 We pray that as we are together and we draw close to you, 03:48 you would draw close to us. 03:50 We pray, heavenly Father, 03:51 that you would guide our conversation, 03:53 bless us with the Holy Spirit that we may speak words 03:56 that will be of inspiration to your children 03:59 and a blessing to your children 04:00 that are joining us all around the world. 04:03 We thank you, heavenly Father, 04:05 because you have extended your mercy 04:07 to each and every one of us. 04:09 And we pray, Lord, 04:10 that your name will be glorified in our words 04:13 and in our singing. 04:14 And we thank you for hearing our prayer. 04:17 We ask for these blessings in Jesus' holy and blessed name, 04:21 amen. Amen. 04:24 Well, we have picked a song 04:26 that we would like to share with you, 04:28 and what is that song, honey? 04:30 Oh, it's a very special song, 04:31 and every home should be tuning it and singing, 04:36 you know, these words. 04:37 It's "'Tis Love that makes us happy." 04:41 So join us. 04:43 It's 579 in the Adventist hymnbook. 04:48 'Tis love that makes us happy 04:51 'Tis love that smoothes the way 04:54 It helps us mind it makes us kind 04:57 To others every day 05:01 God is love we're His little children 05:07 God is love we would be like Him 05:13 'Tis love that makes us happy 05:16 'Tis love that smoothes the way 05:19 It helps us mind it makes us kind 05:22 To others every day 05:26 This world is full of sorrow 05:29 Of sickness, death, and sin 05:32 With loving heart we'll do our part 05:36 And try some soul to win 05:39 God is love we're His little children 05:46 God is love we would be like Him 05:52 'Tis love that makes us happy 05:55 'Tis love that smoothes the way 05:58 It helps us mind it makes us kind 06:02 To others every day 06:05 And when this life is over 06:08 And we are called above 06:12 Our song shall be eternally Of Jesus and His love 06:19 God is love we're His little children 06:25 God is love we would be like Him 06:32 'Tis love that makes us happy 06:35 'Tis love that smoothes the way 06:38 It helps us mind it makes us kind 06:41 To others every day 06:46 Amen. Amen. 06:49 God is love, we're His little children. 06:52 God is love, we would be like Him. 06:56 'Tis love that makes us happy, 06:58 'Tis love that smoothes the way, 07:00 it helps us mind, it makes us kind 07:03 to others every day. 07:06 So love is above all things. 07:09 And I'll just read that little bottom word there 07:11 says "loving service." Oh, yes. 07:13 Service, that's a powerful little word there, 07:16 "Loving service of that love." 07:17 Yes, that's right. 07:19 We need to consider service for others. 07:22 And, you know, sometimes we're thinking of doing service 07:26 for another person out of the blue, 07:28 and I truly feel that 07:29 the Holy Spirit impresses us to do it. 07:31 Oh, yeah. Amen. 07:32 And it's such a blessing 07:34 in responding to the Holy Spirit, 07:35 when the Holy Spirit impresses you 07:37 to either pray for someone in that moment, 07:41 give somebody a phone call, 07:42 bake some cookies for our family, 07:44 or make some delicious lunch, like Cynthia has done for us. 07:49 Praise the Lord for your wife. 07:51 Oh, well, our privilege. 07:53 Amen. 07:54 And you know, when the Lord impresses us to do something, 07:58 there's an additional blessing in the obeying part. 08:02 Oh, wow, that's great. That's great. 08:03 Have you heard of the text that says, 08:06 "It's better to give than to receive"? 08:07 Yes. 08:09 So I don't know what you guys have done 08:11 to give of your time, or give of that service, 08:14 and how you have felt afterwards, 08:16 but it's very rewarding. It is. 08:18 And we had a lady that we just did a health expo 08:21 little while ago through our church, 08:23 and a lady just stopped and trying to get warm 08:24 for the day as it was little cold, 08:26 and the Lord impressed me 08:27 to bring a specific window scraper. 08:30 And I just went outside, she was out there, 08:32 and I just looked and Lord says, 08:33 "Why don't you scrape her windshield for her?" 08:35 I said, "Hey, can I scrape your windshield?" 08:36 And she says, "Grab a 'Steps to Christ' book." 08:38 So I grab Steps to Christ book, 08:40 and scrape the lady's windshield. 08:41 And she was on her way to Indiana. 08:44 And she came in, we prayed with her, 08:46 we gave her the book, 08:48 and she came in just a couple of weeks ago 08:50 and said she was so thankful for that, 08:52 and she wants to share a testimony before the church. 08:54 Amen. You just don't know, yeah. 08:56 Wow, beautiful. 08:58 You know, it's interesting, I think we'll go to you next. 09:03 It's interesting... 09:05 I don't know, you get into the habit 09:07 for a while everything I did was cash, cash, cash, 09:10 but then I started using these debit cards. 09:12 And I saw myself in need of cash 09:16 and I didn't have any. 09:17 But anyway, they're so used to using the debit cards. 09:20 I remember being in the store one day, 09:24 and the question came up on the little screen, 09:27 "Would you like some cash back?" 09:30 I see an interesting question 09:31 because I haven't given them cash yet. 09:34 Would you like some cash back? 09:36 And I say, "Well, why would I want cash back? 09:38 I'm not using cash anymore." 09:40 But anyways, it was like, 09:43 "You never know when you need it." 09:44 So I pressed yes, and $20, and I had $20 in my pocket. 09:48 I said, "What am I going to do with these $20?" 09:50 It was a strange question to ask myself. 09:53 But anyway, I got in the car, and I'm driving away, 09:58 and we got to the corner where there's a stop sign. 10:01 And there was a family, 10:03 a husband, wife, and two children, 10:05 and the sign says, "We have run out of gas, 10:07 we really need your help to buy, 10:09 we really need your help," 10:10 you know, "please help us whatever you can." 10:12 And it was like, "I have $20." 10:17 And it just occurred to me 10:18 as if, may be that's why I got the $20. 10:20 It wasn't for me, it was for them. 10:22 Praise the Lord. 10:23 So I motioned to them, they were able to come, 10:25 and I gave it to them, and they were very grateful, 10:28 you know, you could see the expression on their face 10:30 because I guess, they expected a dollar, 10:32 but I gave them the $20, 10:34 and I was like, "Thank You, Lord. 10:36 Now I know why I needed the $20." 10:39 And you know, the wonderful thing is that 10:42 what you do for someone else 10:45 either the Lord gets it back to you, 10:47 or you have to remember that Jesus... 10:50 There's a scripture 10:51 and, somebody will probably share it as we go along 10:54 that says, "What you have done for others," 10:57 Jesus says, "you have done for Me." 10:59 And I'm, you know, really paraphrasing, 11:01 what you have done for others, you have done for Me. 11:03 And so it's a marvelous opportunity 11:06 and blessing to do something for others, yes. 11:09 Amen. 11:10 Well, Janelle had something to share. 11:11 Yes, please. 11:13 Just thinking of the idea that you mentioned, Idalia, 11:14 about the Holy Spirit impressing us 11:17 because, you know, sometimes I think about, 11:20 you know, when we go out places or, you know, even in church, 11:23 there's so many people that are hurting, 11:25 but if we could go crazy trying to stretch ourselves to, 11:29 you know, try to be there. 11:31 Yeah, and so, I think that's the key is, you know, 11:33 asking the Holy Spirit for those moments 11:36 because He has a person for you at that moment, 11:40 and you can use your energies better 11:43 if, you know, if it's from Him and knowing that it's from Him 11:47 instead of wondering, who do I need to go to help, 11:50 He'll show you if you're asking. 11:51 And I think that's, you know is... 11:53 From my own experience, just, you know, 11:55 the best way that I've been able to stay focused 11:59 and to help people. 12:01 And the awesome thing is when God confirms that, like, 12:04 you know, meeting a need that you don't even know existed 12:07 and just something you say, or do, or whatever, 12:10 and that person needed it right at that moment. 12:13 It's custom-made. Yes, exactly. 12:15 Custom-made, something that was for you to do. 12:18 Intelligent design. 12:19 Exactly. Amen, amen. 12:22 Very good. 12:23 It's interesting they're phrasing, 12:24 intelligent design. 12:26 But, you know, as Christians, it was interesting, 12:30 I was reading something recently 12:32 that says that every Christian is really a missionary, 12:37 and we're all missionaries, and it's interesting. 12:40 God has a work for everyone to do. 12:43 And no one really, 12:45 and I'm sure some people have said it, 12:46 "Well, I don't know what to do," 12:48 but God has something that every person could do 12:52 to be a blessing to others. 12:53 And when we really open our hearts to the Lord 12:57 to use us in some way, 12:59 the Lord provides opportunities to help people. 13:03 And it's amazing how these things work out. 13:08 You and your family, I think your wife also can, 13:11 maybe you can share a little bit about that. 13:13 You have been a missionary at one time or another. 13:16 Tell us a little bit about that. 13:18 Well, we spent... 13:20 Well, really, all of our lives. 13:23 Part of it has just been as expatriates. 13:26 We're still missionaries right here. 13:27 It's actually much more difficult 13:29 to be a missionary in one's own culture. 13:32 When we lived overseas, you know, 13:35 I lived in Latin America, now, you know. 13:38 You can tell that I look a lot like John and Idalia. 13:40 I mean, that's really obvious. 13:43 In one way or another. 13:46 And by the way, Brother Dan speaks Spanish. 13:51 People don't expect me to be fully Latino. 13:55 I mean, I may speak Spanish reasonably well, 13:58 but I'm still not. 13:59 Now my wife has dark hair, 14:01 and as we would drive through Mexico, 14:02 roll down the window, and ask questions, 14:05 "How do we get there?" 14:07 they would invariably turn to her 14:09 assuming that I must have married a Latino, 14:11 and say so and so and so, go here, go there. 14:15 And she speaks, but not nearly like I do. 14:21 And so it's easy, 14:24 you know, when you're expected to be different. 14:27 But when you're in your own culture 14:29 and people, they expect you to be this way, 14:31 it's much more difficult. 14:32 Yeah, that sure is a good point. 14:33 That's right. 14:35 So you were in... 14:36 What particular countries were you in? 14:37 We served in Peru, then later in Belize, 14:42 China, and Guyana. 14:44 Wonderful. Praise the Lord. 14:45 Of course, visited a number of other long way here and there, 14:48 but those are the official places 14:50 that we've actually had residences. 14:51 And perhaps you can share 14:52 because this may be new to some people. 14:54 What type of things were you doing 14:57 that you would say, I was doing missionary work? 15:00 Well, you know, some people might not say, 15:02 oh, you know, I'm an engineer, I'm not a preacher, 15:06 maybe you've already discovered that this far into the program. 15:09 But our first assignment was 15:13 our Adventist University in Peru 15:15 where we were in charge of telephone system, 15:18 the computers, 15:20 getting parts and things for the printing press, 15:23 and large bread bakery that we had there, 15:26 we ran a farm in Belize, in China. 15:33 You know, I did the last thing I thought I would want to do 15:34 where I really did the most evangelism, 15:36 I taught English. 15:38 But, you know, the people were in a learning mode. 15:39 Yes. 15:41 And they would ask us questions 15:44 about our culture and our religion, 15:45 and it was the perfect opportunity. 15:47 Amen. 15:48 You know, in other places I was working with people 15:49 that were already Christians, already Seventh-day Adventists, 15:53 you know, there was still stuff to do. 15:55 I mean, we would go out to the shanty towns 15:57 next to the University in Peru on Sabbath afternoon, 16:00 and talk to the people and try to do things for them. 16:04 In Guyana, I've operated a TV station. 16:08 That was the last... Christian TV station? 16:10 Yes, it was the last assignment before I came here. 16:14 So those were the things we did, 16:16 you know, I wasn't particularly a preacher, 16:19 I did preach a few sermons but for the most part, 16:21 they decided I would do something else better. 16:24 So then it goes to show the sign that has been on 3ABN, 16:28 I don't know if they're still, that sign that says... 16:31 We need to put it back. Okay. 16:34 Now people are wondering what does the sign say. 16:38 So tell us what the sign says? 16:41 Preach the gospel. Yes. 16:43 If necessary, use words. 16:45 Oh, I like that. Amen. 16:46 So it's an attitude of service, you know, 16:50 and sometimes we think that sharing the gospel 16:55 is by preaching our Bible study, 16:57 but your life is a sermon, you know. 17:01 And your faith is going to wake up in the interest 17:04 in somebody else, 17:06 "I want that faith, I want that peace, 17:09 I want to learn 17:10 how to have that relationship with the Lord, 17:13 I want my trust in the Lord to grow." 17:16 And just as we have our journey here, 17:19 in this earth, 17:21 we are being read, you know. 17:24 Yeah, like a letter, yeah. 17:25 Exactly, it's an open letter, public letter, 17:28 and nobody has to put anything on social media about you. 17:33 It's just your lifestyle 17:35 and the service that you offer to others 17:38 that lets the people know about the gospel. 17:40 And then they want to learn more 17:42 of what you have 17:43 and before you know it, 17:45 they'll be enamored with the Lord 17:47 and the gospel that He has left for us. 17:49 I think, you know, what you're hitting on, 17:50 really touching on... There is a word passion. 17:52 Yes. I see your passion... Yeah. 17:54 and what you are passionate about. 17:55 You know, Christ was really passionate 17:57 about seeking and saving that which was lost. 17:59 I think that's what we all should be about as Christians. 18:01 Amen. 18:02 You know, seeing some of these people I rerun into, 18:04 especially doing with addiction recovery 18:07 is just incredible, 18:08 the pain in the brokenness, but yet, they want the healing. 18:11 And just recently, I've been accepted 18:13 to go into a local prison to do an addiction recovery. 18:16 Praise the Lord. 18:17 And these men in there, they said they want healing, 18:19 they want truth. 18:20 They're hungry. Freedom. 18:22 Yeah, they're hungry, and they want to know the Lord. 18:24 Amen. So Lord is good. 18:26 Well, I know you have Bible text to share and all, 18:30 but because of the topic, the service, 18:37 what I felt in my heart to share was one that 18:42 a chapter that you all know and we've heard so much of, 18:45 1 Corinthians, chapter what? 18:48 Thirteen. Thirteen. 18:51 And I think, the Bible speaks for itself, 18:55 and you will be able to identify 18:58 with whichever verse that we're going to read. 19:01 So I think that 19:04 we should take turns reading, why not. 19:11 You all have chapter 13? Yep. 19:13 Okay, very good, 19:14 so we'll start with you, Donald, 19:16 just read two verses, and we go down. 19:18 Sure. 19:19 "Though I speak with the tongues of men 19:21 and of angels, 19:23 and have not charity" or selfless love, 19:27 "I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 19:30 And though I have the gift of prophecy, 19:33 and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, 19:36 and though I have all faith, 19:38 so that I could remove mountains, 19:39 and have not charity," or again selfless love, 19:42 "I am nothing." 19:44 "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, 19:47 and though I give my body to be burned, 19:49 and have not charity, 19:51 it profiteth me nothing. 19:53 Charity suffereth long, and is kind, 19:55 charity envieth not, 19:57 charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up." 20:02 "It does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, 20:07 is not provoked, thinks no evil, 20:11 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth, 20:16 bears all things, believes all things, 20:20 hopes all things, and endures all things." 20:24 Amen. Verse 8. 20:26 Verse 8, "Love never fails, 20:30 but whether there be prophecies, 20:32 they shall fail, 20:34 whether there be tongues, they shall cease, 20:36 whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 20:40 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part." 20:47 "But when that which is perfect has come, 20:49 then that which is in part shall be done away. 20:53 When I was a child, I spake as a child, 20:55 I understood as a child, I thought as a child, 20:58 but when I became a man, I put away childish things." 21:01 "For now we see through a glass, darkly, 21:04 but then face to face. 21:05 Now I know in part 21:07 but then shall I know even as also I am known." 21:11 Oh, it's powerful. 21:12 "And now abideth faith, hope, charity," 21:15 or again selfless love, "these three, 21:17 but the greatest of these is selfless love." 21:21 Love. 21:22 And now by the faith, hope, love, 21:24 here Bible says charity, but in its place is love. 21:29 "These three 21:30 but the greatest of these is love." 21:32 You know, could you love a stranger 21:36 in order to do something kind for them? 21:40 I believe that you can love them 21:42 in the action of helping them 21:45 because you may have pity for the needy, 21:48 for example, the example that you gave us, 21:51 your experience that you gave the $20 21:53 to a person that ran out of gas, 21:56 you didn't know them. 21:57 But once you approach them, you see their eyes, you know, 22:01 the eyes are the windows to your heart. 22:03 And you see their need, their sincerity, 22:06 and something grows in you, 22:09 you know, and it's a sincere help. 22:12 We're not helping to say and boast what I have done for, 22:17 you know, "This is what I did, that's..." no. 22:19 What we're doing during this hour is 22:21 we're sharing experiences, actions of love 22:25 to minister to the needy 22:27 but yet we benefit, you know, we grow, that love grows in us. 22:33 And if we don't have love for the others, 22:36 you know, why are we doing it? 22:37 Yeah, sure. 22:39 Could I share something that goes right along 22:40 with what you are talking about? 22:41 Please, do. Yes! I love this book. 22:43 It's "Christ's Object Lessons." Okay. 22:45 And this is a really old one but it's really nice. 22:49 And this is from the chapter on "Who is my neighbor?" 22:53 And this paragraph here it says, 22:55 "Love is the basis of godliness. 22:58 Whatever the profession, no man has pure love to God 23:01 unless he has unselfish love for his brother. 23:04 But we can never come into possession of this spirit 23:07 by trying to love others. 23:09 What is needed is the love of Christ 23:11 in the heart. 23:12 When self is merged in Christ, 23:14 love springs forth spontaneously. 23:17 The completeness of Christian character 23:19 is attained when the impulse to help and bless others 23:22 springs constantly from within. 23:24 When the sunshine of heaven fills the heart 23:26 and is revealed in the countenance." 23:28 Amen. Wow. 23:30 I liked it and it kind of falls true 23:31 with Romans 15:1 and 2 in your Bible, 23:34 this is really good... 23:36 Okay. For us to read. 23:38 I got this in amplified version here 23:39 but let's turn to it. 23:41 Okay. Romans, what? Romans 15:1 and 2. 23:43 Okay. 23:45 This is speaking to the church. 23:47 Okay. 23:48 It says then, 23:50 "We who are strong, in our convictions 23:51 and of robust faith, 23:53 ought to bear with the failings and the frailties 23:55 and the tender scruples of the weak, 23:57 we ought to help carry the doubts 23:58 and qualms of others, 24:00 and not to please ourselves. 24:02 Let each one of us make it a practice 24:03 to please, make happy, 24:06 his neighbor for his good and for his true welfare, 24:08 to edify him, to strengthen him and build him up spiritually." 24:12 Wow. Amen. 24:14 Now, you know, we've been talking about the strangers 24:17 but what about reaching to our brethren 24:19 within the church body? 24:21 I know what this is speaking about. 24:22 You know, the congregation itself. 24:24 So I was raised going door to door Bible, obra misionera, 24:29 it's what it's called. Missionary work. 24:31 So it's mission work, yes, 24:33 door to door, frame Bible studies, 24:36 prayer, and it's beautiful. 24:38 It's nice to see even the pathfinders, 24:40 you know, going door to door and sharing tracks. 24:44 But when we are... 24:47 It's so easy to, you know, 24:49 "A stranger? Oh, sure, I'll do that," 24:51 but we need to nurture each other 24:55 within a congregation 24:56 because we are all going through something. 25:00 So praise the Lord, tonight is Friday, right? 25:05 And Sabbath hours, and the Lord, if you pray, 25:10 and ask the Lord, "Please place that person 25:13 that should need me to minister to, 25:17 and give me the opportunity to be able to fulfill our need." 25:23 I'm going to share 25:24 the actual definition of nurturer is 25:25 to care for and encourage the growth or development of, 25:30 support, another word, or tend, look after. 25:34 So we're giving our family, homework, right? 25:37 Yeah. 25:39 Is it good to do... 25:41 Is it bad to do good on Sabbath? 25:44 Well, I guess Jesus could answer that question. 25:46 He seemed to be asking that frequently. 25:48 Yes. 25:50 Can I share testimony to that? Yes. 25:53 We went and did a thing last year. 25:54 It was called Moonstock down in Carterville, Illinois. 25:59 And they had some big names there, 26:01 I won't go in the detail, 26:02 but just the fact that we were very... 26:04 The Lord definitely opened the door there, 26:06 and we were ministering the people through the books, 26:08 Hacksaw Ridge giving out books. 26:10 Well, anyways this young man who is from Kazakhstan 26:14 flew all the way over there 26:15 just to hear one particular group 26:17 which, guess what, they canceled on him. 26:18 Wow! 26:20 All the way, first time to America ever. 26:22 Wow! 26:23 And he is in this tent asking, 26:24 he said, well, it's a tent 26:26 where they are serving and stuff, drinks. 26:28 And he said, "I just want to get a tent. 26:31 Do you happen to have a tent that I can rent?" 26:33 We were like, "We don't have a tent that you can rent." 26:35 And so he said, "Well, I would like to, 26:36 I need to go buy a tent." 26:39 And my mind says, "Oh, okay." 26:40 I said, "Guess what? Get in my car, let's go. 26:42 We're going to get you a tent." 26:44 And so we went to Walmart, 26:45 he bought his tent, got in the car. 26:47 He said, "I would like to go to the little gift shop there, 26:50 it's at this place." 26:51 I said, "Sure, let's go there." 26:52 It happens that I get to strike a conversation 26:54 with this lady about addiction recovery, 26:56 she's a Baptist I believe, just a good conversation. 26:59 So we got in the car, he says, "Donald, 27:00 I want to tell you something, you have made my day. 27:04 It's the best time ever." 27:05 And that turned out he was Muslim. 27:07 Oh, wow! He did not even know. 27:09 Yeah, he was a Muslim. 27:10 We took him to Amtrak the next day, 27:12 and he wanted to pay me for taking him there. 27:15 I said, "No, we don't have to do that." 27:17 He was in shock. He's like... 27:20 "Thank you," that's all he could say. 27:21 He didn't know what to do. 27:23 Wow. 27:24 You know, it's marvelous 27:26 because there are so many things 27:29 that we can share concerning this. 27:30 I mean, so many scriptures, 27:32 but right now, I'm thinking of what Jesus said 27:34 to His disciples in John 13 27:37 because it helps us understand where our focus should be. 27:43 And so here in John 13:34 and 35 27:48 is what I'm going to read. 27:49 "This is a new commandment I give unto you, 27:52 that ye love one another, as I have loved you." 27:57 Now there is a difference here. 27:59 As I have loved you, so now I say to you... 28:02 I'm sorry, 28:03 "That ye may also love one another. 28:05 By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, 28:09 if you have love one to another." 28:12 And so this is what Jesus had left us 28:18 to understand, 28:20 this is how you know, 28:21 this is how you know that you are my disciples 28:25 if you have love one for another. 28:26 And it's very interesting because it doesn't say here is, 28:29 by the way you dress, by the way you eat, 28:32 by the way you speak, 28:35 but if you have love for one another. 28:38 And so this is an opportunity for us 28:41 to show the love of Christ to other, 28:42 and this is what you did. 28:43 You know, you showed the love of Christ to someone else, 28:46 he said you gave him one of his better days. 28:49 Yeah. 28:50 So we praise the Lord for the opportunities He gives us. 28:53 And you know, I think that should be a prayer for us 28:56 to say, "Lord, help me to recognize 28:59 that you're giving me an opportunity 29:02 to be a witness to show others your love." 29:05 You know, there is another scripture, 29:07 it says, "Let you light so shine before men 29:11 that they may see your good works and..." 29:13 Glorify. 29:15 "Glorify your Father which is in heaven." 29:17 And so much as that we do good things 29:20 is to really point people to Christ, 29:23 really to glorify our heavenly Father. 29:26 And so not to say, "Well, did you see what I did?" 29:31 No, it's to glorify our Lord. 29:33 And that's really was going to impact people's lives. 29:37 People know when you have done something 29:40 like actually, you kept using the word selfless love, 29:43 you know, actions 29:45 where you're not really expecting anything in return. 29:47 Yes. 29:48 Yeah, and if you find yourself expecting something in return, 29:51 you're going to be disappointed. 29:53 You know, and it's best just to do something from the heart, 29:57 and you're going to grow from it, 29:59 and you're going to be really... 30:02 You feel the blessing of doing 30:04 what the Lord promised you to do. 30:05 You know, I was... 30:07 You just reminded me of something 30:08 but you go ahead and say what you want to say. 30:10 Go ahead. 30:11 You know, I was driving down the road, 30:13 and you get into these places in the middle of the highway 30:16 that there is this box, and there is somebody in it, 30:19 you recognize it as a tollbooth. 30:21 I don't know if it's happened to you 30:24 but, well, I'm talking about going through a tollbooth, 30:27 I'm sure a lot of people have gone through a tollbooth. 30:29 But I have gone up to the tollbooth and he said, 30:33 and the person says, "You can go, 30:36 the guy in front of you paid for you." 30:38 Oh, wow. And I said, "Really!" 30:40 The first time that happened to me, I was like, "What?" 30:43 He had no idea who was behind him, 30:45 but yet he paid for me. 30:46 And I don't remember how much it was 30:48 but the act, the idea 30:50 that he did something for someone 30:51 he doesn't know behind him, 30:53 I said, it really touched me. 30:55 And I was like, 30:57 "Oh, well, thank you. I was surprised." 31:00 And so many different things we can do for people. 31:04 And really go, as you say unnoticed 31:07 because I couldn't thank him, I couldn't return money to him, 31:11 but he did me a kindness. 31:13 And so in the same way, 31:15 we can do a kind thing for others. 31:18 There used to be... 31:21 People do things here at 3ABN, it's amazing, it's amazing. 31:24 Angelo blessing. 31:25 Many years ago, the Angelo blessing, 31:27 you want to tell Angelo blessing? 31:28 No, go ahead. Go ahead. 31:29 Many years ago, 31:31 there was a person that had a need at 3ABN, 31:35 and they said, "Could you please pray for me? 31:38 I need to get..." I forgot what it was, 31:40 "So I need to get a tent," and you know. 31:42 And the next time we had worship, 31:47 that person said, "I'm just so grateful 31:51 because by my door, there was this tent, 31:56 and I don't know who did it, 31:59 but the sign said, 'The Angelo blessing.'" 32:03 And so everyone was, 32:05 "Oh, wonderful. Praise the Lord." 32:07 About a day or two later, somebody else said, 32:09 "Oh, I don't know how they knew I needed this 32:12 but there was this thing by my desk, 32:14 or this thing by my door," 32:15 and the person said, "And there was a sign 32:16 that said, 'The Angelo blessing.'" 32:18 And I think people were just saying, 32:20 "Hey, that's a good idea. 32:21 That's a good way to help someone 32:23 and not really know who it was." 32:25 And so, I don't know how long, 32:28 there were these things being done for people. 32:29 I think somebody even was given money 32:32 for a vacation or something, 32:33 and it was the Angelo blessing that did it. 32:36 And that's a wonderful thing to do for people. Yes, it is. 32:38 It's a neat idea. 32:40 I was thinking about this little quote I had 32:41 out of "Steps to Christ," 32:43 it kind of represents what you're saying. 32:44 It says... 32:45 It's actually in chapter 13, "Rejoicing in the Lord" 32:47 it says, "The children of God 32:48 are called to be representatives of Christ, 32:50 showing forth the goodness and mercy of the Lord. 32:53 As Jesus has revealed to us 32:54 the true character of the Father, 32:56 so we are to reveal Christ 32:58 to a world that does not know His tender, pitying love. 33:01 'As Thou hast sent Me into the world,' said Jesus, 33:05 'even so have I also sent them into the world. 33:08 I in them, and Thou in Me 33:09 that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me.' 33:12 The apostle Paul says to the disciples of Jesus, 33:15 'Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ,'" 33:18 we talked about this, 33:19 "'known and read of all men.' 33:21 If every one of His children, Jesus sends a letter to..." 33:25 okay, "In every one of His children, 33:27 Jesus sends a letter to the world. 33:29 If you are Christ's follower, 33:31 he sends in you a letter to the family, 33:33 the village, the street where you live. 33:36 Jesus, dwelling in you, desires to speak to the hearts of those 33:40 who are not acquainted with Him. 33:41 Perhaps they do not read the Bible, 33:43 or do not hear the voice 33:44 that speaks to them in its pages. 33:46 They do not see the love of God through His works. 33:48 But if you are a true representative of Jesus, 33:51 it may be that through you 33:52 they will be led to understand something of His goodness, 33:55 and be won to love and serve Him. 33:58 Christians are set as light-bearers 34:00 on the way to heaven. 34:01 They are to reflect to the world 34:02 the light shining upon them from Christ. 34:05 Their life and character should be such that 34:07 through them others will get a right conception of Christ 34:09 and of His service." 34:11 Wow. 34:12 Beautiful. Wow. 34:15 It's a powerful thought. Any comments? 34:16 Yeah. It's tremendous. 34:18 It's tremendous. 34:20 I think just being available and relatable 34:26 and really desiring, like you said, 34:29 pray for those opportunities 34:31 and asking the Holy Spirit to say, 34:32 "Hey, would you have me to help today? 34:35 Lord, it's not about me, it's about you." 34:38 Well, I've had the opportunity 34:40 of talking with quite a few people 34:44 that are going through a lot of trials, 34:49 and they are so discouraged. 34:51 And as many of you know, we were in this, 34:56 could have been a very easily a fatal car accident 34:59 but it was not fatal. 35:01 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 35:02 And they say, "How can you look up? 35:06 How can you even open your eyes every day?" 35:10 You know, I am going through so much right now, 35:13 and it's incredible 35:15 how much time you can spend on social media, Facebook. 35:21 Many people write private messages 35:24 and share their situations. 35:27 It could be marriage situations, 35:30 it could be situations that they're requesting prayer 35:32 for their children. 35:35 How can I get my children interested in mission work? 35:38 Because our children... 35:40 We share so many pictures and experiences 35:43 in mission work, projects of service. 35:46 And as you don't focus in your condition 35:52 but seek to lift somebody else's spirit out, 35:56 you know... Yes. 35:58 That is better than going to a... 36:02 A therapist? A therapist, yeah. 36:05 I mean, I am not saying, "Don't go," you know, 36:07 you have your conditions, 36:08 and what have you, and your needs, 36:10 but if you're one of those people 36:13 that are feeling discouraged, 36:15 and feeling lonely, or no one cares, 36:18 or you just want to give up, 36:20 or my marriage is going down to drain, 36:24 just try to focus in the positive side 36:29 of helping somebody else out. 36:31 And you will not be dwelling on your condition, 36:35 but then you are going to make somebody else smile, 36:38 you are going to feel happy and satisfied 36:41 that you have set yourself aside and your needs 36:44 to tend to someone you need. 36:46 And you don't even have to knock on a stranger's door, 36:48 there are so many needs within our congregations. 36:51 And yes, we want our church to grow. 36:53 Yes, we want to give Bible studies, 36:55 we want to go out into the community 36:57 and invite people to our church. 36:59 But every congregation, now mind you, 37:02 I am not particularly referring to one particular church, 37:06 this is a general statement 37:08 because in every single church building, 37:13 we are the church. 37:15 So every one has a different need, 37:17 whether it's for prayer for health, 37:19 prayer for your talent, 37:21 students, you know, they have tests coming up, 37:23 college students that have been married 37:26 but are going through school and dealing with marriage 37:30 and all the low that comes with that. 37:32 I mean, there are so many needs. 37:34 But if we focus in each other, 37:38 you know, make the church stronger, 37:41 and who wouldn't want to be part 37:44 of such a nice solid church family. 37:47 And you first mentioned the topic of nurturing 37:50 in Christian service, 37:51 I was just like, "What?" 37:53 We had a friend that talk to us about the exact same thing 37:57 about couple of months ago... That's right. 37:59 Gave us some really good counsel. 38:00 And so, you know, 38:03 as personal ministries in our church, 38:07 you know, we do these things in the community, 38:09 but God has been shown us through different ways 38:11 that maybe it's time to change the focus, 38:14 not totally change the focus to the outward 38:16 but the inward 38:18 that could be done in the nurturing 38:19 that, maybe there are some that need more, 38:24 you know, uplifting, and some prayers, 38:26 and you know, Lord shows those people that need it, 38:29 because we want visitors 38:31 to come in and see a healthy church. 38:33 Exactly. I think too. 38:34 I think if they don't... 38:36 It will be, you know, why, 38:37 what's the point of coming to this? 38:39 It's a club for them. 38:41 But they are not doing anything for anybody else, 38:43 so they are just going through the actions. 38:46 And, you know, we just kind of touched on the word nurture 38:48 means support. 38:50 And that's something, I think, 38:52 for probably most denominations, 38:54 they don't really have that safe place to come in to 38:57 to have support and to be able to share some, 39:00 like you are saying, the hurts and the pains, 39:02 it's like we just kind of, we put on this... 39:04 as our friend upstairs, Claude said, he goes, 39:06 "It's time to remove the makeup." 39:08 The makeup remover 39:09 'cause people put on their makeup and look all, 39:12 but inside, the people are hurting, 39:14 and they want to be able to feel comfortable 39:15 to share what they are going through. 39:17 And that's why we're really been thankful for with us 39:18 doing addiction recovery about two years now, 39:21 it's just seeing the tremendous need 39:24 for people to be able to open up and share, 39:26 you know, and not being judgmental, 39:28 judged wrong, or feel condemned, you know. 39:30 Jesus said in John 3:17, He said, 39:32 "I didn't come into the world to condemn it, 39:34 but the world through Him might be saved." 39:36 So it's like, you know, we really need a place 39:38 where people are going to be safe, 39:40 they can feel supported and they feel welcomed. 39:43 So you have a ministry that the Lord opened up for you 39:49 where you say, you mentioned addiction recovery, 39:52 it's like addiction recovery is not a program. 39:54 But what is it? What would you call it? 39:56 Addiction recovery seminars, you do, what is it that you do? 40:01 It's, like, it's a program. 40:02 Yes, consider it a program. It's a program, yeah. 40:04 And well, we have used Cheri Peters' 40:06 Celebrating life in Recovery material, 40:08 and we also went 40:09 and did kind of our own thing and got some of books, 40:12 it's called, what is it? 40:14 We use Life Recovery Bible, 40:16 and there is a workbook that goes with that. 40:18 But after we finished the Celebrating life in Recovery 40:21 which is a 14 week program, 40:23 we asked the group if they want to continue 40:25 because people still need support even after 14 weeks. 40:28 And so at that time, it was decided to form our own group, 40:33 actually have a name and we came up 40:35 with "Dove recovery group." 40:37 And Don remembers better than me the acronym, 40:40 I always mess it up. 40:41 Divinely overcoming, 40:42 becoming victorious and empowered. 40:44 Yes. Amen. 40:46 Yeah. 40:47 So there's such a great need in the church, I mean really, 40:50 there's so many people I guess are hurting and brokenness, 40:53 and God wants to heal that brokenness, 40:55 and we need to know that we can go somewhere. 40:57 I got a gentleman I've been talking to, 40:59 I mean, pastoral now, and he was telling me about 41:01 how this church he's been going to. 41:03 And they have a first, like, 41:04 worship together on a certain night, 41:06 and they break into individual groups like, 41:08 if you have anxiety and depression 41:09 you go to that room, when you go to this room, 41:11 it has like whatever, 41:12 they have got like eight or nine rooms 41:14 for people to go to, and they can break 41:15 and talk private. 41:17 I think that's great. 41:18 You know, it's like something 41:20 that I would love to see in our church, you know. 41:21 But, you know, we are talking about the people 41:23 that are broken and have a contrite spirit 41:26 and all, but you know, 41:28 we don't come to church looking like what we're feeling, right? 41:34 Our members don't. 41:36 So, you know, it is a joy 41:38 to come to the house of the Lord 41:41 and worship together. 41:42 It is strengthening to, spiritually speaking, 41:47 to worship with the Brethren, 41:50 you know, but there are issues in the lives that, 41:53 I don't want to give the impression that everybody 41:55 that goes to church is going through something, yes, 41:58 something very big and positive in celebrating something big, 42:01 and there are some challenges 42:03 is to reality of life, you know. 42:06 But when we all pull together and might my weakness 42:11 with your strength, you know, we make a good team 42:14 because we balance each other out. 42:17 So I was thinking about our Sabbath experiences. 42:23 How can my Sabbath experience be nurtured in such a way 42:28 that I can just break away 42:30 from whatever is going on in my life, 42:33 and really sense, you know, the gift of worship, 42:39 and adoration, and Sabbath, you know, 42:42 because sometimes we carry everything 42:44 into the Sabbath hours. 42:45 How do we disconnect? 42:47 Well, you know, it's interesting how, 42:50 by those divine appointments, 42:52 they contribute to me being able to, 42:55 "Okay, it's going to be fine 42:57 and let's just continue to worship together." 43:00 There is a connection, there is a support system. 43:03 There are so many names, whether it's spiritual, 43:07 financial, physical, we cannot meet them all 43:12 but we all have a gift. 43:14 Amen. 43:15 So for God's glory, 43:18 let's use our gifts to build each other up, 43:21 and don't forget about our pastors too, you know. 43:23 Oh, my! It's like, you know, we... 43:26 The pastor's the preacher, the pastor's the nurturer, 43:28 the pastor... 43:29 But even... 43:31 They need support, yeah. 43:32 The shepherds need their support too. 43:35 So anyway, I just pray that the Sabbath experience 43:42 when we gather together as church members 43:45 and family in Christ 43:47 that we've come to a strong unity in Christ 43:53 and with each other. 43:55 You know, I would love to see 43:59 many people come to the church, 44:03 to the foot of the cross because of the testimony 44:08 or the open letter, 44:10 public letter that people are reading on us. 44:14 I want to... 44:17 There are so many things in my heart right now 44:19 but I don't even know where to start, 44:21 but I will share two things, okay. 44:24 We are so blessed with our church family. 44:27 Amen. 44:28 The deaconesses department has, 44:32 when we've gone through our trials 44:34 of the car accident and all, 44:36 we had meals on wheels gourmet. 44:40 Amen. 44:42 Gourmet, you know, the ladies took turns, and not only that, 44:48 but then we had Garland and Donna, 44:51 Brandon who would pick us up 44:53 and take us to doctor's appointments. 44:55 And we're talking about five different community towns, 44:58 now we have appointments in. 45:00 Day after day, it's a full time job trying to keep my schedule, 45:04 right, honey? 45:05 Oh, yes. 45:07 And our church has helped us so much 45:10 and with our children as well. 45:12 But then, being that there is a community out there 45:17 that does not get a chance to come to a church building, 45:22 I'm talking about those in prison, 45:25 and those that are in nursing homes or hospitals, 45:29 even from your bed, even from yourself, 45:32 you can bless somebody else. That's right. Amen. 45:35 So don't let the rails around you 45:37 keep you from or limit you 45:41 to not being able to reach out to somebody else in need 45:44 because other cellmates have family, 45:48 other cellmates are anxious to hug your children 45:51 or to see their children, you know, 45:54 and we cannot forget about that community. 45:58 When you are in the hospital, 46:01 don't forget that your attitude 46:05 will also rub off on the caretaker, 46:10 the nurses, the doctors, you know. 46:13 Your testimony is being read by the medical staff, 46:17 are you going to be a blessing to them, 46:18 because we are waiting for our blessing, 46:20 you know, as a patient. 46:22 We want our blessing, we want you to serve me, 46:25 we need you to do this and that, 46:26 but what are we doing for them? 46:28 It's like you want to put God as genie. 46:30 You just reminded me of a video I saw recently. 46:32 It's a campaign in the United Kingdom. 46:37 It's called Campaign to End Loneliness, I think. 46:40 And there's a video of this guy, 46:43 he went on week, a whole week 46:45 with no interaction, no phone, 46:48 no contact with humans at all, no interaction period. 46:53 And throughout the video, you could see his face, 46:56 he was just so distraught. 46:58 And, you know, 46:59 he's kind of sharing his experience and stuff. 47:01 And at the end, he goes and talks to a man next door, 47:05 and it's an older man, 47:07 and I think the whole campaign is actually, 47:09 the target is to visit older people. 47:14 And so he goes and visits this older man. 47:16 And older man was like, 47:18 "Yeah, it's pretty rough, isn't it? 47:19 He said, "I lost my wife a couple years ago 47:21 and hardly ever get visitors." 47:24 And so it really touched me. 47:26 That's right. 47:27 It's a lonely stage adapting, 47:30 you got to get used to the new lifestyle, 47:33 after having your companion and all. 47:36 But I want to say that, praise the Lord 47:39 that we have a worldwide church family. 47:41 Amen. Yes. 47:43 The Seventh-day Adventist Church 47:44 is not just the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist church, 47:48 it is worldwide. 47:50 Anywhere you go in the world, 47:51 there is a Seventh-day Adventist congregation. 47:55 And it's family, 47:58 and that family was also present in Michigan 48:01 when we were dealing with our accident. 48:04 And I just wanted to share with you 48:08 that a lot of times the pathfinders 48:10 or the Sabbath School classes... 48:12 Dan, have you gone to nursing homes 48:14 and stuff for singing and... 48:16 Yeah, yeah. Oh, yes. 48:18 And on Sabbath afternoon, we often go out 48:19 and visit people that are shut in. 48:21 And, you know, we think, you know, 48:23 we don't even get to our neighbors 48:25 that are around us that, you know, 48:26 aren't church members 48:28 to know what's going on in their lives so much. 48:31 But, yes, we often do that 48:32 and go to nursing homes from time to time. 48:34 That's right. Yeah. 48:36 Yeah. 48:37 You know, Idalia, you mentioned, 48:38 you were going to say something else, weren't you? 48:40 Well, tagging on that is that, sometimes there are members 48:44 that are just not strong in that area, 48:48 or gifted, or interested, for a lack of better word, 48:52 to attend a nursing home. 48:55 But if you're not wanting to go inside, 48:59 but you can be a driver, 49:01 you know, and support that visit. 49:03 That's right. 49:04 Because you don't necessarily have to be the one in there, 49:08 everybody, you know, 49:10 just like the body has different parts, 49:11 you know, so we all have a function. 49:13 That's right. 49:14 And that support is so pleasant. 49:17 And what I wanted to share was that 49:19 the Traverse City Seventh-day Adventist Church, 49:26 Cadillac 13th Street, 49:28 Cadillac Seventh-day Adventist church 49:30 was very pleasant. 49:31 While we were in the hospital, you're talking about? 49:33 Yes, when we were in a hospital. 49:35 Hospitals are not fun to go to. 49:37 But oh, boy, does that ever 49:38 make a big difference in our lives 49:41 when we are there 49:43 because you would charge our energies our batteries, 49:46 and you encourage us to witness, 49:47 just your presence is a witness 49:49 to those that are taking care of you. 49:51 They are like, 49:52 "Who are all these people coming to see you?" 49:54 You know, and wow! 49:56 Sure, I am glad you asked, you know, 49:58 so you share about your congregation, 50:00 you share about your church, and the pastors. 50:02 And not only that, when you're home, 50:05 you have your coworkers visiting, 50:07 your church members visiting, even organizations like, 50:11 you know, any organization from ministries. 50:14 And, you know, and I wanted to show a collage of pictures 50:18 of different people that have nurtured us. 50:20 When I left the hospital, 3.5 weeks there, 50:25 two weeks in ICU or what have you, 50:27 I cried because I felt like, you know, we had a family. 50:32 They would see us or hear us praying for them, 50:37 encourage them in the Lord, 50:39 and encourage them in their workload 50:42 because it's not easy to be a caretaker, 50:45 not every patient is patient. 50:49 It is not fun to take care of, right? 50:52 So anyway, that just goes to 50:54 try to meet the needs of the others 50:56 and not just focus on your needs. 50:58 Yes. And we had tremendous... 51:02 And it was hard for us 51:04 because here we were in a situation 51:07 where we normally are helping others 51:11 and now people were helping us, you know. 51:12 Yes. They were bringing us food. 51:13 They were even taking me to the store 51:16 to get things for us. 51:17 Yes, Catherine and her husband Chris. 51:19 Pastor Charles Brooks, Pastor Jeff, 51:22 they also came and, 51:24 you know, still they are contacting us, Mr. Evelyn. 51:28 It's amazing what an impact they have had in our lives, 51:31 and it's really been a tremendous blessing. 51:34 And what can you say but, you know, "Thank you, Lord, 51:37 thank you for this church family 51:39 that has been such a blessing to us." 51:41 But we have the opportunity to be a blessing to the others. 51:44 Yes, absolutely, absolutely. 51:46 And, you know, the Lord, you know, 51:49 we mentioned several things, we mentioned prison ministries, 51:52 we've mentioned 51:53 addiction recovery of ministry... 51:55 Nursing homes. We mentioned nursing homes. 51:57 I remember when we were able to, I say able, 52:01 because traveling for 3ABN has, sometimes we're not able to do 52:04 as many things locally that we used to do. 52:07 I remember we used to go to nursing homes 52:09 and a group of people comes 52:12 that are not necessarily preaching 52:15 or doing any of the in front work 52:17 but they are just singing along. 52:19 Yes. 52:21 And that helps the 52:22 all of the nice wonderful senior citizen people, 52:25 some were on wheelchairs, 52:27 some are, you know, just with a walker, 52:31 and some really, they need help, 52:34 and they are so grateful just for someone to say, 52:39 "It's good to see you" because some of those people 52:43 and some of the people in the nursing homes 52:45 are not visited as often as they would like, you know. 52:48 Their children are busy, members of the family are busy, 52:51 and they don't always get out as much as they would like to. 52:55 But some of the people who are there 52:58 just longing for attention from someone else. 53:02 Because, yes, the nurses are there, 53:04 but to see someone else that becomes a friend to them, 53:07 and you've done that. 53:09 And there are people that are very quiet, 53:12 but they go to the nursing home anyway and sing, 53:14 and those voices are heard by the people that are there, 53:18 and they are blessed, you know, and so it's a tremendous thing. 53:21 And we were talking the other day to Brother Fitz, 53:26 he was saying, "Well, I got to go. 53:28 I'm going to the nursing home." 53:29 And I said, "Okay." 53:31 And so we have that ministry here for the Benton 53:35 and the West Frankfort area, people that are doing this, 53:37 and we praise the Lord for the opportunity 53:40 that He gives to each one of us to do something. 53:42 And if so, if you don't think you have anything to do, 53:46 well, if you don't think you have anything to do, 53:49 just say to the Lord, 53:50 "Well, Lord, I want something to do." 53:51 And guess what's going to happen. 53:53 So Lord is going to provide something for you to do. 53:56 I'm willing to share the scripture 53:57 on kind of what you are touching on Galatians 6:2, 54:00 it says there, 54:01 "Bear ye one another's burdens, 54:03 and so fulfill the law of Christ." 54:04 Yes. That's really huge. 54:06 And, you know, kind of what we've been talking about 54:08 is being intentional. 54:10 We have to be intentional 54:11 when we go to want to nurture people 54:13 'cause there is people walk in our churches, 54:14 and they are first timers, or they just come in. 54:16 And if you don't go up and shake their hand, you know, 54:18 people get upset, you know how it is. 54:20 And they're like, "Oh, nobody came and said hi to me, 54:22 nobody shook my hand." 54:24 You know, it's like we need to be intentional 54:26 about nurturing. 54:27 We've actually talked about 54:28 sitting at the back of the church, 54:30 and watching people come in, 54:31 and going, and trying to 'cause, you know, 54:33 people are like swarm you like, 54:34 "Hey, you know, I got to get to this one though." 54:36 So you are trying to get to that one person, you know, 54:38 just to say hi and say, "Hey, it's glad to see you here," 54:41 and just let them know that they've been seeing, 54:43 and I think it's really intense. 54:44 That's a ministry in itself. 54:46 I received a very long handwritten letter. 54:49 And I know, time is short right now in the program, 54:53 but this young lady and her mother 54:56 were watching 3ABN Latino, 54:59 and they decided to visit a Spanish church, 55:02 and you know, they're like, 55:03 "Oh, please, I want to visit a church. 55:06 We've learned so much watching 3ABN Latino. 55:09 Where is the nearest church, you know, where we live?" 55:12 I'm not going to say the town or the place, but I told them. 55:16 And they went, and they were so excited, 55:19 so excited to go to church. 55:21 But then when church was over and fellowship dinner was over, 55:25 they were heartbroken 55:27 because no one greeted them and at lunchtime, 55:30 everybody with their own groups, you know. 55:33 And the two were eating by themselves in the corner. 55:36 I mean, this doesn't happen in every church 55:38 but I think we should create awareness 55:40 so that this doesn't repeat itself. 55:43 So be in the joy of the Lord, today's Sabbath, 55:46 and we don't have any obligations 55:50 that would draw us away. 55:52 So make sure that just as you want 55:55 or you need to be nurtured 55:57 that you nurture somebody else today. 56:00 And, you know, it's amazing. 56:02 I don't know why I've thought about this. 56:03 I remember when, when Samuel and Caleb, 56:05 they both did the same thing. 56:06 It's kind of interesting. 56:08 I guess, they gained some of this from Idalia. 56:12 They're more prone to say hi to somebody 56:16 than I probably would be. 56:18 And Samuel was in a little car, little tiny, 56:21 and were passing people in the store 56:23 and Samuel's going, "Hi" 56:25 out of the blue and the people go, "Oh, hi. 56:28 How are you?" they would say to Samuel. 56:29 And he would say, "I'm doing fine." 56:31 And we would... 56:32 And that's the way, you know, he was as a little boy. 56:35 And, you know, we praise the Lord 56:38 that they were able to minister to people that way 56:41 because people were suddenly smiling, 56:44 you know, they weren't smiling before 56:45 but now they're smiling 56:46 because someone said hi to them. 56:48 And so, well, it's unbelievable. 56:50 The time is drawing to close here. 56:52 We just have seconds to be with you. 56:54 So we are grateful that you have been with us 56:57 during this time that we have been together. 56:59 We thank you Donald for being with us, 57:01 Sister Janelle, 57:02 and Brother Daniel Peek, they had been with us. 57:04 And we just praise the Lord 57:06 for the time we've had together. 57:07 Sorry, that we can't stay with you any longer, 57:09 there's another program coming on very soon. 57:11 We were just getting started. We were just getting started. 57:13 But we want to encourage you to let the Lord know 57:16 that you are available, 57:17 that you are willing to be used by the Lord 57:19 to say something, or do something, 57:21 to help someone, find encouragement, find hope. 57:25 And so just make yourself available to the Lord. 57:27 And finally, we'd like to all say to you 57:30 have a happy Sabbath, God bless you. 57:33 Amen. |
Revised 2018-04-09