3ABN On the Road

The Final Sign

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Mark Finley

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Series Code: OTR

Program Code: OTR000966


01:02 [Foreign Language]
03:32 I thank God for young people who sing
03:36 with their hearts and voices to the
03:38 glory of Jesus. Amen. Would you bow your heads
03:44 with me as we open God's word this afternoon?
03:47 Father in heaven we thank you,
03:51 that at this meeting we can focus our hearts
03:55 and minds on a sense of mission for Jesus Christ
04:01 and his kingdom. Lord when you called us
04:06 to be Christians, you've called us to be Christian
04:10 witnesses and so today lift our vision inspire
04:16 our hearts and encourage us with what we can do
04:20 to advance the kingdom of Jesus
04:22 we pray in Christ name, amen.
04:28 They came from varying directions.
04:34 Some of them came on trails,
04:40 as they walked those miles to the Galilee,
04:45 others have came in what from what
04:48 dessert like areas, climbing over rocks
04:50 and making their way through the sand,
04:53 some of them came along the sea of Galilee.
04:57 Jesus had an appointment with his disciples.
05:00 Christ was about to ready to go home.
05:03 You know man steps off a mountain and goes down,
05:06 but God steps off a mountain and goes up,
05:08 because the law of gravity cannot hold
05:11 the creator down. And so Jesus has set an
05:14 appointment with his disciples in the Galilee,
05:17 there are about 500 of them that came,
05:21 and the Bible records that story of Christ's
05:24 last meeting before He ascended to heaven.
05:29 Final words are extremely important.
05:34 As a pastor I have often been called to the
05:37 bedside of someone that's dying.
05:41 And I've observed the husband, the wife,
05:45 the children maybe it's the wife that's dying,
05:49 and the husband and children gathered around,
05:51 they know she has an hour, two hours,
05:54 three hours to live, they know this maybe her
05:56 last day, the doctors have said that the
05:59 disease is fatal. And that husband with his children
06:03 are leaning over, straining their ears,
06:06 trying to hear the last words of that wife,
06:10 that wife, trying to hear the last word of her
06:13 husband, because they know that final words
06:17 are important. They recognized that they may
06:19 not hear their husbands' speak to them again
06:22 and they want to catch the last significance,
06:26 that last I love you, that last honey be
06:31 faithful to Jesus, that last son never give up
06:35 your faith, hang in there with Jesus,
06:39 that son is listening to his father's last words,
06:42 that wife is listening to her husband's last words,
06:45 Jesus' last words were incredibly important.
06:48 And in Matthew chapter 28 verse 16
06:50 and onward Jesus said, the Bible says,
06:52 "Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee,
06:55 to the mountain which Jesus had appointed
06:58 for them. And when they saw him,
07:01 they worshipped him: but some doubted".
07:05 The Bible says that is Jesus appeared
07:08 in their midst, they were filled with excitement
07:11 and anticipation but some doubted.
07:14 They doubted then and they doubt now.
07:19 They doubted there and they doubt here.
07:22 They doubted in the first century,
07:25 they doubt in the 21st century.
07:27 Jesus had a mission for them to take the world
07:33 with the Gospel. What was the world like
07:35 in the first century? It was secular and Godless.
07:40 It was filled with the philosophy of
07:43 Socrates and Plato. The world was filled with
07:49 Roman military might, it was filled with the sports
07:53 and games and 80 or 100, 000 people
07:56 would gather at the Colosseum in Rome.
08:00 So it was a sex centered, morally twisted,
08:04 spiritually dwarf generation.
08:07 It was a generation that was filled with
08:09 excitement and sports. We have a movie produced
08:13 by Hollywood that was a blockbuster bestseller
08:18 that cost over a hundred million dollars to produce
08:21 called 'The Gladiator'. They did not need to
08:26 produce a movie in ancient Rome called
08:29 The Gladiator. They had the real thing,
08:32 of the gladiator's participating in hand
08:35 to hand combat in the Colosseum.
08:39 You think Chicago is tough to reach,
08:42 try ancient Rome. It is a philosophical mindset
08:47 with the philosophers arguing to get both
08:49 Socrates and Plato. Christianity is very small.
08:53 The Roman games dominate society,
08:59 the Roman affluence in pleasure,
09:02 how are you gonna reach the world with
09:05 500 Christians at the time that are considered
09:10 fanatics, that are considered wild-eyed
09:14 fanatics who have no thinking ability,
09:18 there were no great men among them.
09:20 They were fisherman and a few tax collectors,
09:23 considered the offscouring of the earth.
09:25 The Bible says Jesus gathered them on the
09:27 hillside of Galilee but some doubted.
09:31 You leave a convocation like this you go back
09:34 to your local church, you go back on fire,
09:37 you go back saying God has a mission
09:39 and a message for Chicago. God is a mission
09:41 and message for America, God has a mission
09:44 and message for the world, the work of
09:46 God in earth is gonna be finished and some doubt.
09:49 God does not bless doubt, He blesses faith. Amen.
09:54 Nothing ever great has been accomplished by God,
09:58 for God by people who are filled with doubt.
10:03 There is a statement in a book called Prophets
10:05 and Kings by Ellen White, it's says this,
10:09 obstacles will never disappear before a halting
10:14 and fearful spirit. So if you believe that your
10:19 church is not gonna grow it's not gonna grow,
10:21 if you say look we've been 40, 50 members
10:25 for the last 30 years, this is a tough place
10:28 over here in Broadview and LaGrange,
10:30 we are so sorry we just have a few old members,
10:33 if that is your attitude it becomes a
10:35 self fulfilling prophecy. But if you say our
10:39 church is a place of prayer we are concerned
10:42 about that Brookfield-LaGrange
10:43 community. We are concerned about Burbank,
10:45 we are concerned about North Shore,
10:47 we are concerned about the Southside,
10:49 we are concerned for people that come to
10:50 Jesus Christ. We believe that it's contrary to
10:54 God's will for our church not to grow.
10:57 It is His will that all men and women be saved
11:00 and come to the knowledge of the truth.
11:02 The church is not a comfortable country club
11:05 where we come to hold one and other's hands
11:08 and go eat lasagna and bake beans in the potluck.
11:12 Amen. That's not what the church is all about.
11:20 You know Pierre Berton was an English skeptic,
11:23 he didn't believe that all in Christianity.
11:26 He debunked the Bible but he loved the church,
11:31 because he said the church is the best place
11:33 to go on Sunday morning after you got drunk
11:37 on Saturday night, it's the best place
11:40 to go in town to sleep. You don't have to pay,
11:44 and he wrote a book called, The Comfortable Pew,
11:47 about all these Christians who simply come to
11:51 church Redeemed, How I Love To Proclaim It,
11:55 Redeemed, How I Love To Proclaim It.
11:59 I mean these people wouldn't know a soul
12:00 if they soul one. And there's no passion
12:04 in the soul, no fire in the stomach,
12:08 no burden for the lost.
12:12 The Bible says in Matthew chapter 28 verse 17,
12:18 when they saw Jesus, they worshipped him:
12:21 but some doubted, they doubted then
12:24 and they doubt now. They were complacent
12:27 then and they are complacent now,
12:29 they were laid to see then and they are laid
12:31 to see now, they had no fire in their belly
12:34 then and many have no fire and passion
12:36 for souls now, but the Bible says in verse 18,
12:39 some doubted, next three words, then Jesus came,
12:44 some doubted then Jesus came.
12:48 When Jesus comes he dissolves the doubts.
12:51 When Jesus comes he puts a new sparkle
12:53 in your eyes and a new passion in your heart,
12:57 when Jesus comes in your heart,
12:58 mind and life are redeemed by his grace,
13:02 you have to tell the story, the Bible says
13:04 then Jesus came and spoke to them.
13:06 All authority, all power has been given to be
13:09 in heaven and earth, go ye therefore.
13:11 Jesus says all power is given to me,
13:15 go ye therefore when we step out
13:18 to give out literature, when we step out to give
13:20 a Bible study. When we organize a small group
13:22 in our homes, when we become the lay preacher
13:24 for Jesus, we do not go in our power
13:27 we go in his. We do not go in our strength
13:30 we go in his we maybe week but he is strong,
13:33 we maybe ignorant but he is wise,
13:36 we maybe frail but he is almighty,
13:38 Jesus says all power is given to me
13:41 go ye therefore. Jesus does not call those
13:46 who are qualified. He qualifies those whom
13:49 he calls, amen. Witnessing is not a
13:53 spiritual gift that God gives some Christians.
13:57 Witnessing is a role that God gives to every
14:00 Christian, Jesus says follow me
14:03 Matthew 4 verse 19 and I will make you
14:05 fishers of men. If I have no interest in fishing
14:08 for people the reason is because I'm not following
14:10 him very closely, because he says follow me
14:14 and I will make you fishers of men,
14:16 so when you come to Jesus his love breaks
14:20 your heart, when you come to Jesus he gives
14:22 you a burden for lost people.
14:24 Jesus says all power is given to me,
14:29 we witness not in our power but in his.
14:33 You see mission is really God's work and before
14:37 you ever begin sharing your faith with
14:41 somebody else, before you ever begin passing out
14:43 literature to another person, the Holy Spirit is
14:47 already working in their life to draw
14:49 them to Jesus. When you begin getting involved
14:53 in soul winning and witnessing it radically
14:56 transforms your spiritual experience because
15:00 it puts you in the center of God's activity.
15:04 God does not need you to win some lost person,
15:08 God can use angels to do that, God can use
15:11 Holy Spirit to do that, but if you and I do not
15:15 participate in winning the lost we can not grow
15:19 spiritually and selfishness strangles out our
15:24 spiritual life. So it's not only that God uses us
15:28 to win lost people, it is that we, as we get
15:31 involved in some aspect of soul winning,
15:34 as we use the gifts that God has placed
15:36 in our hearts. We grow spiritually.
15:39 There's many people, they come to church
15:41 and they are the same today as they were five
15:44 years ago, and they keep coming to church
15:46 every Sabbath morning and they are hearing
15:48 these big bang, where they are getting this,
15:49 the preacher is getting up and preaching from
15:52 the word of God, and they are eating these
15:55 spiritual banquets every single Sabbath
15:58 and they keep getting fatter and fatter
16:00 and fatter and fatter spiritually until
16:03 they have a coronary heart attack spiritually
16:06 and fall over dead why? Because all they do is
16:09 take in the spiritual food, never exercised
16:14 their faith so their spiritual muscles
16:16 grow flabby. If you are not witnessing for Jesus,
16:22 you are not growing in Jesus. If you are not
16:25 witnessing in Jesus, if your church is not an
16:29 active vibrant Evangelistic church,
16:33 it will turn inward you will have all kind of
16:36 church squabbles and that church will
16:40 die spiritually. Witnessing churches are growing
16:44 churches Jesus said all power is given to me,
16:48 somebody said Pastor Mark I don't know
16:50 what to say, that's not your problem,
16:52 that's God's, dedicate your voice to God
16:54 and the Holy Spirit will prompt you what to say,
16:57 somebody said I've never had much training neither
16:59 did the demoniac when he found Christ and Jesus
17:02 said you go out now and share what you know,
17:05 if you share the little bit you know what
17:08 you don't know God will give to you.
17:11 You can't share what you don't know,
17:13 you may only have five loaves and two fishes
17:16 but little in the hands of Jesus is much,
17:18 small in the hands of Jesus is great,
17:21 all they had was five loaves and two fishes,
17:23 you may feel like that, we have such a small church.
17:28 Look at Chicago, some nine million people,
17:30 and Jesus said use what you have, when five loaves
17:35 and two fishes are given to Jesus he multiplies
17:38 them and as he multiplies them hungry multitudes
17:41 are fed. When you take your five loaves
17:43 and two fishes and give it to Jesus,
17:45 the little talent you have, Jesus multiplies
17:48 that with his power and he uses you powerfully
17:51 at his kingdom. Look he says all power
17:53 is given to me, if you have your Bible turn
17:54 to Psalms 62 verse 11, Psalms 62 verse 11,
18:00 "the essence of being an effective witness
18:02 for Jesus is to know that the power of the living
18:07 God is gonna work through you as you get actively
18:11 involved for Jesus and his kingdom".
18:13 Psalms 62 verse 11, God has spoken once;
18:18 twice I have heard this; the power belongs to God.
18:24 So as I go out witness for Jesus the power belongs
18:28 to who. to Him. Psalms 66 and verse 3,
18:34 how awesome are your works through the
18:37 greatness of your power your enemy shall submit
18:40 themselves to you and all the earth shall
18:43 worship you. The Bible says God's works
18:46 are awesome. The Bible says through the
18:48 greatness of his power, his enemies will submit
18:52 themselves to him. Jesus said to his church go
18:56 ye therefore all power is given to me.
18:58 When you step out in faith witness for Jesus,
19:01 when you say I can no longer maintain
19:03 the status quo. Our church can no longer
19:07 maintain the status quo, as a Christian
19:10 I can no longer simply go out to work for 40 hours
19:15 a week, come home eat supper,
19:17 watch television go to sleep, go out the
19:20 next day work for eight hours, nine hours a day,
19:24 come home eat supper, watch television read
19:26 a little bit of book, fall to sleep on my knees,
19:28 when I am praying, fall to sleep when I read
19:31 my three and half minute devotional today,
19:33 I can no longer be that kind of a Christian.
19:36 I can no longer simply have this superficial
19:40 Christian life, that's not the longing of my heart,
19:43 that's not the longing of my mind;
19:46 I want to be involved in the center
19:48 of God's activity I want to seek God at work,
19:50 I want God to use my voice, I want God
19:54 to use my witness, I can no longer simply come
19:57 to church on Sabbath morning and think that
20:00 is Christianity, I want my heart broken with
20:03 Jesus heart. Galatians 6:2 says Bear ye one
20:06 another's burdens, the burden that Jesus has
20:09 is the burden for lost world. We bear
20:12 His burden as we pray for our neighbors,
20:14 as we pray for our husband, doesn't know
20:16 Christ, as we pray our son that doesn't
20:18 know Christ, as we pray our daughter that
20:20 doesn't know Christ. We bear his burden
20:23 as we walk the streets of Chicago and pray
20:25 for that city. We bear Jesus' burden as we pray
20:30 for our neighborhood. We bear Jesus' burden
20:33 as we get actively involved in some formal
20:36 witness Jesus says, David says how awesome
20:40 are your works through the greatness of
20:41 your power, your enemies shall submit themselves
20:43 to you. Psalms 68 verse 35, O God you are more
20:48 awesome, Psalms 68 verse 35, you are more
20:52 awesome in your holy places: the God of Israel
20:54 is he who giveth strength and power to his people.
20:57 God you promised that if I step out for you,
21:00 you are gonna me strength and power.
21:03 I want to introduce you to some people today
21:05 around the world. I wanna take you with me
21:08 on a journey to meet some people,
21:10 simple people, common people, lay people like
21:14 you and lay people that have developed a burden
21:20 for souls. And God is using them powerfully come
21:24 with me to Brazil, come with me down to the
21:31 country in South America that has more
21:33 Seventh-Day Adventists than any single country
21:35 in the world, Brazil. 2.3 million people in
21:41 the South American division,
21:42 well over 1.5 million of them live in the country
21:46 of Brazil. As I was traveling through Brazil
21:50 one of the conference president said to me
21:52 Pastor Mark I want you to meet a man was
21:55 a passion for souls, this man is sharing Jesus
21:58 every place he goes and as the result of his
22:00 ministry 1200 people have come to Christ.
22:04 Well I expected to see, a large Brazilian
22:07 man with the strong booming voice,
22:08 and the conference president introduced me
22:10 to this man and he was a midget about this talk,
22:13 wake up looking up at me and I noticed
22:14 he was straining his neck so I got down on
22:17 my knees and I was eyeball to eyeball with
22:19 the midget. And I said to that midget,
22:22 I said sir, you must be a powerful preacher,
22:25 you must hold the lot of lay
22:26 Evangelistic meetings, I've been teaching
22:29 people to all the lay Evangelistic meetings
22:31 and I thought this is gonna be a good
22:32 illustration he said Pastor Mark I never
22:36 held one lay Evangelistic meeting in my life.
22:39 Well I got a pop my balloon; I said I better
22:42 try another angle here. So I said Mr. Midget
22:47 I didn't actually say that but that's what
22:49 I thought, I said sir, sir, you must give a lot
22:53 of Bible studies. He looked at me with big
22:55 smile and said Pastor Mark, I don't,
22:57 I never gave one Bible study in my life.
23:00 Now, well as I gonna go with that, because
23:03 I tell people the importance of holding
23:04 lay Evangelistic meetings, the whole importance
23:06 of getting Bible studies, and the leading soul,
23:07 I never did what I told them to do.
23:09 So I was getting nervous, now you must give
23:11 out a lot of literature, Pastor Mark I didn't
23:13 give out any literature. I said you want 1200 souls,
23:18 you didn't hold a lay Evangelistic meeting,
23:20 you didn't hold a Bible study and you didn't
23:23 give out literature, what did you do,
23:25 he said Pastor Mark, I will tell you
23:28 it's very simple, do you want me to tell you
23:30 the secret that midget told me?
23:32 You want to here, yeah, are you ready to do it?
23:35 Now we've got to practice here.
23:37 The first thing he said to do is smile,
23:39 now get ready that's what you do now,
23:41 come on I am teaching you what the midget
23:42 told me. You are ready. Your first thing
23:44 to do is smile and he said everyplace I go
23:49 I smile and I develop relationships.
23:52 I make friends then once I made the friends
23:55 I invite them to my house,
23:58 once they are there I just do two things
24:01 this and this, are you ready?
24:04 We've got to practice it; you are ready
24:06 to practice it? I mean I know these are
24:07 Chicagoans, they are kind of conservative
24:10 and it's hard to, you know, you are ready,
24:11 you got to smile and got to do all things at once
24:13 if you wanna win 1200 souls, you are ready?
24:16 Alright. Smile. Now there's, come on get
24:19 your hand up, you wanna win, come on,
24:21 I know you are little conservative sort but
24:22 that's okay, like this and like this.
24:26 Let's practice once more; I think you almost
24:28 got it. Like this, like this, like this.
24:33 I said what are you talking about?
24:35 He said Pastor Mark it's very simple I smile,
24:38 I invite them to my home,
24:40 this is the object of turning on the video.
24:43 this is the power button I push like this
24:44 and turn the power. This way I put you a video
24:48 in and they've watched your sermons,
24:51 you preach to them, that's what the
24:53 conference president wanted you to meet me,
24:56 you preach to them and I baptized 1200,
24:58 because I always have a house group going
25:00 to my home. All I do is smile at everybody
25:03 I meet, invite them to my house, give them
25:05 a little Brazilian food you know, say or rice
25:07 you know, I give them a little Brazilian beans
25:09 and rice, put the video on, say let's watch
25:12 my friend Mark Finley and that's simple.
25:17 I said man; I could even do that one.
25:22 I mean that's not hard.
25:27 How many of you think you could do that?
25:29 How many can do that? I told you witnessing
25:32 was easy. What does it take? It takes a heart,
25:36 you see, it takes a heart, it takes a passion
25:40 for souls, it takes a love for people,
25:43 here is the simple man that all he did was smile,
25:48 develop relationships, invite people to his
25:52 home for supper, he would have three nights
25:57 a week, four nights a week, different groups,
25:59 8 or 10 in this group, 15 in this group and
26:02 they are coming to his house, watching videos,
26:04 coming to Jesus, coming to Church.
26:08 The midget taught me something,
26:10 this is what he taught me, that you do not have
26:13 to have sophisticated methods but the key
26:17 in soul winning is getting on your knees
26:21 and saying God lead somebody into my life,
26:25 you know that old song, lord lay some soul
26:27 upon my heart and love that soul through me
26:31 that may humbly do my part to win that soul
26:36 for thee. In this journey around the world
26:39 I am gonna introduce you to different soul
26:41 winners who use different methods,
26:45 but every single one of them had a passion
26:48 for souls, the commonality among
26:52 them is not that they have the same
26:54 spiritual gift, the commonality among them
26:58 is not that they use the same method,
27:01 the commonality among them is that everyone
27:05 one of them had a desire to win people for Jesus,
27:09 everyone of them. Let's go from Brazil
27:13 to the Sudan. Not long ago in the Sudan
27:17 continuing there was a terrible,
27:19 terrible civil war. That civil war in the Sudan
27:24 drove many Sudanese villages out of their
27:29 villages and it drove them into Uganda.
27:33 Along the Sudanese Ugandan border
27:36 they set up multiple refugee camps.
27:41 You know the Bible, in Second Chronicles,
27:46 Second Chronicles chapter 16 and verse 9 says this,
27:52 the eyes of the Lord run to and fro through out
27:57 the whole earth to shew himself strong on
28:00 behalf of those whose heart is loyal toward Him.
28:03 The eyes of the Lord are running and fro through
28:06 the whole earth, they are looking,
28:07 here's an honest man, here's an honest woman
28:09 and the spirit to God begins working with them
28:13 to draw to himself men and women that are honest
28:17 toward him. A young man felt that his wife
28:22 was in jeopardy in the civil war in Sudan,
28:26 so he fled his village with many other refugees,
28:29 they've traveled down dirt roads,
28:32 they've traveled through the jungle and they came
28:35 to a refugee camp in Uganda.
28:39 In that refugee camp there was a
28:41 Seventh-Day Adventist Pastor. He began to
28:46 study the Bible in that refugee camp,
28:49 he held a little Evangelistic meeting
28:51 in that refugee camp. They were not a lot of
28:53 people that came but a number did,
28:56 and among them was this young Sudanese
28:58 man who was in the camp for about
29:01 nine months. During the time that the
29:04 Sudanese young man was in the camp,
29:06 he studied the Bible with the Adventist Pastor.
29:09 The civil war in the Sudan succeeded,
29:14 so the refugee decided to go back home
29:16 to his village in the Sudan from Uganda.
29:21 Before he left since he had studied with the
29:23 Adventist Pastor and accepted Jesus,
29:25 accepted the second coming of Christ,
29:27 accepted the Sabbath he decided to be baptized,
29:29 and he was. As he made his way back home
29:33 a 150 kilometers or 90 to 100 miles he came
29:37 back into his village, that this young man
29:39 was thrilled, he said Jesus Christ has given
29:44 me the message of his love and truth I have
29:46 to share it. The Ugandese pastor had given him
29:51 a Bible and he have helped this young man
29:54 know how to mark his Bible and he helped him
29:57 how to share God's word.
29:59 So this new convert who'd only known
30:02 the Adventist message for a year now,
30:05 less than a year, nine months he began to share
30:09 from God's word. His message,
30:12 the God's message of love and God's message
30:15 of truth, he gathered around him quite a group
30:18 there in the village that he lived in Sudan.
30:24 And as his lay Evangelistic meetings
30:27 went on every night, five nights a week,
30:33 this young man would preach everything he knew,
30:36 he'd preached about Jesus and preached about
30:38 the second coming and preached about the
30:39 Sabbath, he is quite a powerful lay preacher.
30:42 Seven young men in his village made a decision
30:45 to be baptized, but he said to them look
30:48 I am not an ordained elder, I'm not a deacon,
30:51 I am just a new Christian.
30:54 And he said I can't baptize you,
30:56 but I will tell you what about a 150 kilometers
31:00 from here, 100 miles there was a pastor
31:02 that baptized me. I will walk there through
31:05 the jungles find him and bring him back
31:08 and he will baptize you. So this young man
31:12 had such a passion for souls, that he walked
31:16 back to the refugee camp about a 100 miles.
31:21 Found the old pastor, he said Pastor
31:24 I've got seven converts in my village I want you
31:27 to come baptize them, it's not too far away,
31:29 it's only 100 miles, let's go. And the pastor
31:33 was really nervous, he said look
31:35 I'm a little older; I don't think I can make
31:36 the journey. God will sustain you;
31:38 I don't think I can do it. Really there is a
31:41 civil war going on and I can't do it.
31:44 The young man now walked back
31:46 to his village alone. As he got back to the
31:49 village he came into the village and he said
31:51 Praise God, Praise God, I found the pastor
31:56 let's go, let's walk back.
32:03 Now I want you to calculate this in
32:05 your head, when he came back from the
32:07 village nine months before he walked 100 miles,
32:10 then he had to walk back to the village to find
32:12 the pastor, that's a 100 miles, then he had
32:14 to walk to back get the converts that's a
32:18 100 miles without the pastor,
32:19 then he has to bring the converts back to
32:21 the village, he must be really healthy.
32:25 This fellow had walked 350, 400 miles by this
32:29 time in the story. I asked when we heard
32:32 the story, this came to the general conference
32:34 of the Seventh-Day Adventists last year.
32:37 When I heard the story I said I wanna know
32:39 how long was it taking him to walk
32:42 this 100 miles, they said it was averaging
32:44 maybe 15 miles a day, so would take him
32:47 six days, seven days, he would rest on
32:49 Sabbath so it was about a week a little longer
32:51 maybe eight days. But they said Pastor
32:54 here's the amazing story. When the seven
32:58 converts were baptized in Uganda
33:02 in the village and they left the village
33:05 to walk back to Sudan after their baptism
33:09 it took them six months to get back.
33:12 And I said why, the war must have in fears
33:15 and they about no pastor. Because now every
33:19 village they came to on the way back
33:23 they stopped and they preached it. Amen.
33:26 Today all along that road from Uganda back
33:30 to Sudan we have seven, eight, nine, ten,
33:33 Seventh-Day Adventist churches. Amen.
33:36 Why? Why? Because of the passion,
33:46 the passion for souls. You say Pastor where
33:49 can I begin, where I can begin,
33:51 what can I do? The first thing you can do
33:55 is to begin to pray the dangerous prayer.
33:59 Also when it begins on our knees,
34:03 on your knees begin to pray, dear Lord
34:06 I wanna be a soul-winner. I'm not sure what
34:09 you want me to do, you may want me to give
34:11 out literature, you may want me to be part
34:14 of core of lay bible workers, you may want
34:17 me to have a video small group in my home,
34:20 you may want me to invite people to my home
34:22 to study the Bible with. I don't know what
34:24 you want me to do Lord, you may want me
34:26 to start a youth ministry for kids or
34:28 children's ministry, you may want me to be
34:30 a lay preacher. God has a witnessing role for you.
34:37 God has something special for you.
34:40 The first step is to get on your knees and say God
34:44 use me in whatever way you want. Amen.
34:48 Maybe God is calling you to be a prayer warrior.
34:52 Recently we saw a magnificent answer
34:56 to prayer. I would like to go to the screen
34:59 here please; I want to show you on the screen
35:04 a miraculous answer to prayer.
35:07 This story that I'm gonna tell you now happened
35:11 just six weeks, seven weeks ago.
35:14 This is Nigeria, I was preparing to a hold day
35:18 large Evangelistic meeting in this stadium.
35:22 Seven to eight thousand people came a night,
35:26 all around this stadium is a village known for
35:30 its witchcraft. As we came to the stadium
35:34 every night packed with people to know God.
35:39 One night 6'o clock in walked into the stadium,
35:43 something strange was happening I've never seen
35:45 anything like it before, dark clouds cam in over
35:49 the stadium at 6'o clock at night.
35:51 As I looked up the wind began to blow,
35:53 and we had huge screen, do you seen one
35:55 of the screens there in the upper portion
35:59 of the picture right here. These screens were
36:02 like 16 feet height, 24 feet wide,
36:06 they were five of them all over this stadium.
36:08 I stood and I saw the dark clouds come in
36:11 it had been beautiful all day,
36:13 the wind begin to blow it ripped the first screen
36:16 apart the second screen apart the third screen
36:18 apart before my eyes five screens have ripped apart.
36:21 Pretty soon it was thundering and lightening,
36:23 the chairs were blowing everywhere people
36:26 were running and screaming underneath the stadium
36:29 trying to hide, look at what happened,
36:31 these chairs were blown right over the
36:33 stadium walls. Here our auditorium our stadium
36:37 was absolutely devastated. Look at the stadium,
36:42 devastated, the platform devastated,
36:45 look here you see left-hand side way
36:48 up on the left-hand side this was the frame
36:50 of the screen, here's another screen here,
36:52 here's another screen turned apart,
36:53 platform turned apart. We as the rains came,
36:58 as the winds came that night that was I there
37:01 we get on our knees and we said God hold
37:03 the winds back but they weren't held back,
37:04 they came they devastated everything.
37:08 Some people who are involved in kinds of
37:13 witchcraft said where is your God now?
37:15 Where is your God now? Your God has no power;
37:18 your God can't keep the winds and rains away.
37:21 Look at those people praying in the mud,
37:23 look at them kneeling down in the rain,
37:25 nothing is happening; there is no power in God.
37:30 Chairs devastated, auditorium devastated.
37:34 Here's one of our screens, look at it devastated,
37:39 here's our platform, the wind was so strong,
37:43 look at that bar upper left the winds just
37:45 bent that bar right down. Everything was
37:51 in turmoil. Our staff came out,
37:53 we looked at the screens, we said,
37:55 what can we do? How can we repair
37:57 these even for tomorrow night?
37:59 That night I said to my staff, I have to talk
38:04 to this audience, people are hallooed under
38:07 cement overhangs of the stadium,
38:11 people are trying to get out of this fear
38:13 storm that came through, I said I have to
38:15 speak to the people they said Pastor Mark
38:17 every cable is under three inches of water
38:20 you can't, you can't speak to them not
38:22 possible. But they said if you are willing
38:24 took them inside the control room put
38:28 a headphone on; you can talk to the people
38:32 because we'll use the speakers that
38:34 are on the stadium. I came in and I talked
38:36 to them about unanswered prayer.
38:38 I said you know there are times that God doesn't
38:42 answer our prayers and some of you are
38:44 wondering why hasn't God answered?
38:46 Does it take more faith to have your prayers
38:48 answered or does it take more faith
38:50 to have your prayers not answered.
38:53 And I said I know God I've walked with
38:56 God for 40 years, God's preparing to do
38:58 something great and dramatic in this series.
39:01 And if the Lord allows this storm to devastate
39:04 the stadium tonight, it's because he wants
39:07 to make his power and his grace even more
39:10 apparent. Because it's rained tonight,
39:13 because we've had an apparent defeat
39:14 tonight, it doesn't mean that we have
39:16 defeated all. It means that we believe by
39:19 faith that God is gonna move powerfully
39:22 tomorrow night, he is gonna move powerfully
39:24 the next night, he is gonna manifest his hand
39:26 in this meeting. After talking to the audience
39:30 we prayed and that night I went home,
39:33 and as I knelt down in my little room,
39:36 I said God I've walked with you for 40 years,
39:39 I've seen you worked miracles in Moscow,
39:42 in former Soviet Union, I've seen you worked
39:44 miracles in India and Pakistan,
39:46 and in intern South America.
39:48 I've seen you God worked miracles
39:50 through out Africa, through out
39:51 North America. God you do not have to
39:54 keep the rain back for me to believe in you.
39:57 You don't have to give me a sign God because
39:59 I've had signs all my live I've seen your power,
40:02 but God the people's faith here is so fragile.
40:05 The people's faith here is so, it so week
40:09 Lord and I know that many people
40:15 are practicing witchcraft and satanic
40:19 occult-arts. Lord manifest your hand and
40:23 tomorrow night give us a clear night.
40:25 The next night I went to the stadium
40:29 and as I went to the stadium that
40:30 night 6'o clock I want you to see what I saw,
40:33 this was the second night the dark clouds
40:38 came over the stadium, gentle rain
40:41 began to fall, I saw a repeat of what
40:45 was happening the night before as
40:47 one of our screens was devastated,
40:49 we called our prayer warriors, we got
40:52 on our knees and we cried out to God
40:54 in the rain, and in the mud, we said God
40:57 manifest your hand. Now you are gonna
41:00 see a miracle. I want you to see the center
41:02 of the picture, do you see the center
41:04 of the picture, I had people photographing
41:06 this as we prayed as it happened.
41:08 You see the center of the picture here
41:09 what is this, it's a white cloud, this white
41:13 cloud came over the stadium it
41:15 poured in rain in village around the
41:17 stadium, the wind devastated all around
41:19 the stadium, this white cloud got bigger
41:22 and bigger and bigger in a matter of
41:23 ten minutes. And as it did here
41:26 look you see this is, this is what I saw
41:29 on the stadium but this white cloud
41:30 covered over the stadium it protected
41:32 the stadium we did not get a drop of rain,
41:34 amen. Not a drop of rain.
41:41 All around the stadium it was pitched black,
41:44 but that white cloud covered over that
41:47 stadium for two hours and at the end
41:50 of my preaching it moved and it rained.
41:52 God is a mighty God. Amen. God is
41:59 a mighty God. God is willing to do incredible
42:04 things in the city of Chicago.
42:07 God is willing to do incredible things
42:09 in Chicagoland. The God who answers
42:12 prayer in Africa, answers prayer
42:14 in Chicagoland, amen. The God who answers
42:16 prayer in Brazil has not forgotten about
42:18 Chicagoland. The God who answers prayer
42:21 intern South America has not forgotten about
42:23 as here. Amen. There were three things
42:26 you can do to make a major difference,
42:32 how many of you want to, I wanna make
42:33 a difference for Jesus, I just wanna make
42:35 a difference for Jesus, there are three
42:36 things you can do. Number one, first get
42:40 on your knees and begin to pray, Jesus
42:42 whatever you want me to do I am
42:45 gonna do it. Lord lead into my life
42:50 people that I can share your love with.
42:54 All effective soul winning begins on our
42:59 knees opening our hearts for the blessing
43:04 and miracle of God in our life.
43:07 On our knees we say I am willing Lord,
43:10 I'm willing to be your witness;
43:12 I'm willing to do whatever you want
43:14 me to do. Step number one is a personal
43:18 encounter with the living Christ in prayer
43:22 in which we open our hearts and submit
43:25 our lives to him and tell him that we
43:29 will make ourselves available.
43:31 If you feel weak tell him that he
43:32 already knows it, say God I feel weak I need,
43:36 I need your strength, God if you will
43:38 ignorant I don't know what to say I need
43:40 your words. God my life is gym packed,
43:44 I work fifty hours a week I am a busy
43:47 professional God, I work 60 hours a week
43:49 I'm a busy professional, Lord
43:51 I don't have time, tell God that.
43:53 And then say God you help me rearrange
43:55 my priorities. The only way you can
43:58 have more time to do something is to take
44:00 less time to do other things.
44:02 The only way you could have more time
44:04 to do something is to take less time to
44:05 do other things. God I am willing to rearrange
44:10 my priorities for souls. On your
44:13 knees be honest with God. Second step
44:19 as the Lord places with in your heart,
44:23 the desire to participate in
44:27 witnessing do not squelch that desire.
44:30 If the Lord is leading you to get involved
44:32 in a literature ministry get involved in it.
44:35 If the Lord is leading you to get involved
44:37 in a Bible study ministry, go to your
44:38 pastor, say Pastor I really believe that God
44:42 is leading me to get involved in a Bible
44:43 study ministry help me pastor to get
44:45 involved in that ministry. If the
44:46 Lord is leading you to get involved in
44:49 a small group ministry go to your pastor
44:51 and say Pastor I believe the Holy Spirit
44:53 is pouring in my heart I want to get involved
44:55 in a small group ministry help me
44:56 to organize a small group in my home.
44:58 Lord is putting it on your heart to
45:01 get involved in lay preaching, say to your
45:03 pastor, Pastor where are opportunities
45:05 that I can get materials DVD new beginnings,
45:07 DVD revelation of hope, DVD truth for
45:11 the end time, where can I, how can
45:15 I get some materials Pastor? Once God puts
45:20 in your heart the desire to be involved in
45:23 witnessing, make a decision that you
45:27 are gonna do whatever he puts in your
45:29 heart seek the material, seek the training.
45:32 And then thirdly as soon as you possibly can
45:37 implement what God is told you to do you
45:42 start to pray, you go to your pastor,
45:44 you get a few materials, you get some basic
45:46 training, and then you move, you move ahead.
45:49 If you wait until you feel you are ready,
45:54 will wait till the Lord comes. God will equip
45:59 you as you do. We are launching this year
46:04 a major Evangelistic initiative for Chicago,
46:10 what if? We had a thousand people
46:13 radically praying for the city.
46:17 How many of you today would like to commit
46:21 yourself to pray. I'm not going to tell you a
46:25 length of time only God can do that.
46:28 But to spend serious prayer time for Chicago,
46:33 Chicagoland, will you say Pastor Mark
46:36 we are going to, I'm gonna begin to pray
46:38 that the Holy Spirit will be poured out
46:41 on Chicagoland and that God will awaken
46:45 spiritual desires in the hearts and minds
46:48 of people. Pastor Mark, I'm gonna begin
46:50 to pray that God will touch my son,
46:53 my daughter, my husband, my wife,
46:57 I'm gonna pray that God will touch
46:58 my neighbors. Pastor Mark I am going to,
47:01 I'm gonna develop a prayer list,
47:04 a prayer list of names and begin to
47:07 pray for people by name. If you are
47:09 willing to say I wanna be a prayer warrior
47:11 for Jesus, I wanna do some serious
47:13 time praying for the lost of this city,
47:15 would you just raise your hand.
47:18 I want to pray, you look God tell you
47:20 how much time that is. There's something else
47:24 that God maybe calling you to do.
47:26 Maybe God is calling you to be involved
47:28 in Bible study ministry. We are gonna have
47:30 training classes starting this coming
47:33 September, my wife and some of our
47:35 other Bible instructors are gonna be here.
47:37 We are gonna have large classes to train
47:39 people to be involved in Bible study ministry.
47:41 Maybe that's a ministry God is calling
47:43 you to be involved, maybe He is calling
47:46 you to be involved in small group ministry,
47:48 sharing DVDs and cassettes, maybe
47:51 he is calling you to be involved in a ministry
47:53 for former Seventh-Day Adventists.
47:55 Are there any former Adventists in Chicago
48:00 and every city in the World that has
48:05 Adventists presence, there are former
48:07 Adventists. Do you feel that God is
48:11 leading you to do something special
48:12 for him? Give a Bible study be involved
48:16 in a small group, do you feel he
48:18 is leading you to do something special
48:20 for him, this year, maybe do some
48:23 lay preaching. How many of you feel God
48:26 is stirring me, God is stirring me,
48:29 I need to do something for Jesus beyond
48:32 what I am doing, I feel the Holy Spirit
48:35 moving in my life, I'm not quite sure
48:37 what that is but I want to be
48:40 involved in some area of witness for Jesus,
48:43 can I see your hands? God is gonna move,
48:45 God is gonna move on this city,
48:48 what if we had a thousand people
48:49 radically praying, what if there were two
48:52 or three hundred lay Bible instructors
48:54 giving Bible studies every week, what if
48:57 we had three, four, five hundred small groups
48:59 in homes, people are studying the Bible
49:01 watching the videos and DVDS.
49:04 What if we had a 100 lay preachers in Chicago
49:07 preaching, what if every church was opened
49:11 for an Evangelistic meeting, what if there
49:14 was a spiritual revival that swept through
49:17 Adventist churches in this city that lead us
49:19 to have a passion for Jesus Christ
49:23 and souls? Could Chicago be a model
49:27 for North America? With all of its complexity
49:32 of financial center, an academic center,
49:36 an intellectual center, a medical center,
49:40 diversity of cultures and peoples, could
49:44 Chicago be the spark that lights the flame,
49:52 that opens the hearts of men and women,
49:58 in the Adventist fellowship and community
50:01 through out North America to get actively
50:04 involved in service for Jesus.
50:08 Jesus is reaching out right now through
50:13 you to Chicago. Would you like to say
50:17 Lord I wanna make a deeper commitment
50:19 that I have ever made before. There is a
50:21 battle between Christ and Satan going on,
50:25 there is a battle between the forces
50:27 of good and the forces of evil, it will
50:29 take no half hearted commitment
50:32 to win this battle. A number of years ago
50:36 there was a pastor's meeting in Boston,
50:40 Massachusetts. The pastors there were not
50:43 at Seventh-Day Adventist pastors they
50:45 were pastors from a variety of
50:46 denominations. They were meeting
50:48 together to pray to study the Bible,
50:50 to talk about reaching America for Christ.
50:53 A pastor here in Chicago, one of the
50:57 pastors Evangelical pastors in Chicago
50:59 got an American airlines flight out
51:02 of O'Hare Airport to fly to Boston.
51:06 As he was sitting in the aisle seat,
51:11 he looked over at the window seat and
51:15 as they took off he saw the man sitting
51:17 at the window bow his head to pray.
51:21 And the pastor thought this is wonderful,
51:23 I have a Christian seatmate. As they flew
51:30 the man prayed for a while then he stopped.
51:33 The pastor looked over and he said
51:35 I'm really delighted to have a Christian
51:36 seatmate, he didn't identified himself
51:38 a pastor, certainly didn't say that
51:40 he was going to the pastors meetings
51:41 in Boston. And the man looked up
51:43 and said what made you think
51:46 I'm a Christian. And he said I saw you
51:48 praying. And the man was rather cynical
51:51 and he said do you think only Christians pray?
51:57 And the man said, I guess not.
52:01 And the pastor didn't quite know what to say.
52:04 Do you think only Christians pray and
52:05 the pastor gonna fumbled for words
52:07 and he looked at me say well if
52:08 you not a Christian, what are you?
52:10 And the man looked at up and he said
52:12 I'm a Satanist. And he said let me tell you
52:16 something, there is a pastors meeting
52:19 in Boston and the pastor said the
52:21 hair back of his head just stood up,
52:23 he got all cold chills, he said there
52:25 is a pastors meeting in Boston and a group
52:28 of pastors are gonna be gathering together.
52:31 I'm meeting a group of Satanists there
52:34 and we are gonna pray that pastors
52:36 families are broken up that their marriages
52:38 end up in divorce, we are gonna pray
52:41 that Satan disrupts those meetings
52:43 and that their children are lost.
52:45 We are serious about the prince
52:48 of darkness dominating the world.
52:51 I was preaching in Melbourne, Australia and
52:54 I told that story at the end of my
52:58 presentation to a group of Seventh-Day
53:00 Adventist pastors, Greg Evans was
53:02 the Evangelistic coordinator in
53:03 Melbourne. He stood up and he said
53:05 Mark I have to say something. I said,
53:07 tell me about it. He said my wife was
53:10 on train in Melbourne, Australia a couple
53:13 of months back. As she was on that train
53:16 she saw a woman sitting across
53:18 when her praying. My wife said oh I
53:22 don't meet many Christians in Melbourne,
53:24 Australia because it's pretty secular you
53:25 must be a Christian, the woman said
53:30 I'm not a Christian at all but what you
53:31 need to know is that every noon at
53:33 12'o clock Christians, that Satanists
53:37 pray that the evil forces will come
53:39 over Melbourne. I told both of those stories
53:43 at a prayer conference in South Africa.
53:45 We had representatives from all over the
53:48 world there. They were leaders in
53:51 the Seventh-Day Adventist church
53:52 from around the world. A leader from Europe
53:54 came up after and he kind of looked
53:55 a little white and he said Mark
53:57 we need to talk, I said why? He said
53:58 I was in Spain recently where one
54:01 of our church elders told me a similar
54:05 story of meeting somebody who was
54:07 intent on prayer but he was a Satanist
54:11 praying for the forces of darkness.
54:13 Now let me open my heart for you.
54:15 We are in a battle between good and evil,
54:17 we are coming into the narrows, the narrows,
54:20 just before the coming of Jesus.
54:23 Those who were involved in the occult and
54:26 Satanism recognized. They are pouring
54:32 out their souls in agony to their lord
54:37 Satan to cover this world in darkness,
54:39 to keep the light of the gospel from going.
54:42 Now here's my question is for you.
54:44 Are the Satanists more intent about winning
54:49 the world for darkness? Then we are
54:52 about bringing light to the work.
54:56 Are the Satanists more intent about keeping
55:00 people in darkness? While we at times
55:04 are in laid to see in complacency, they
55:08 are fighting a battle because they believe
55:11 that the destiny of the world is at stake.
55:15 They believe that Satan one day will rule
55:19 the world as prince of the world. I thank
55:23 God that the power of the living Christ
55:26 is greater than the power of Satan. Amen.
55:29 I thank God for the resurrected Lord.
55:32 And I thank God that when Christians
55:36 step out to follow Jesus Christ
55:40 armed with prayer, filled with
55:43 the word of God as we step out
55:46 on the mission of Jesus, as we entered
55:51 here in Chicago, a year long journey
55:54 to take this city for Christ, I thank God
55:57 that the words of Jesus echo and re-echo down
56:00 the cars of time, I thank God
56:02 that the words of Jesus speak to our
56:05 hearts this afternoon I thank God that the
56:07 words of Jesus lift us from our seats
56:10 send us into the street to witness for Jesus.
56:13 Jesus said all power is given to me,
56:17 go ye therefore, would you like to say
56:21 Jesus I wanna be used of you,
56:23 would you stand right now if you
56:24 wanna say that Jesus I wanna be used of you,
56:27 Jesus I wanna be used of you.
56:29 All power is given to me Jesus said go
56:33 ye therefore, will you go with the prayer
56:36 in your heart, will you go committed on
56:40 your knees to pray for souls, will
56:43 you go saying as opportunities availed
56:46 himself I wanna be involved for Jesus.
56:49 I wanna do something for Jesus maybe
56:52 a youth ministry, maybe giving out literature,
56:53 maybe a prayer ministry, maybe a Bible
56:55 study ministry, maybe a small group ministry,
56:58 maybe a lay preacher, I wanna do something
57:00 for Jesus, I don't want the status quo,
57:02 I don't want business as usual.
57:04 I don't wanna simply maintain the experience
57:09 of God, I wanna grow in Christ.
57:12 I wanna have my heart burned with love
57:14 for Jesus. I wanna have passion in my soul,
57:19 I wanna leave this place committed
57:20 to get on my knees and ask God
57:22 what you wanted me to do.
57:24 If I need a little training I wanna
57:26 get that, if I am not God let trained
57:27 and keep me back wherever you puts in
57:29 my heart I'm gonna do. I wanna take
57:32 advantage of participating, touching,
57:35 Chicagoland for Jesus. And that word
57:38 Chicago is an interesting word
57:40 Chicago, I like that go, the go part.
57:45 Jesus said go ye therefore, Chicago.
57:49 You go and you grow, you don't go,
57:53 you don't grow. Will say Jesus
57:57 I'll go and grow for Chicago, let's
57:59 say it together. Jesus I'll go and grow
58:06 for Chicago, let's pray. Father in heaven
58:09 I thank you for my friends in Chicago,
58:13 Lord renter again to a year long
58:15 Evangelistic meeting for Jesus,
58:17 we wanna grow, and go grow
58:20 to reach Chicago for Jesus.


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Revised 2014-12-17