Participants: Frank Gonzales
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000117
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth live from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:21 Well we welcome you and we're so happy that you can join us. 00:25 And there are some of you that are watching 00:28 from different parts of the world right now. 00:32 And I just was talking a few minutes ago to someone 00:36 from Florida who is tuning in. 00:38 And we know that there are a lot of people from Florida 00:41 watching tonight, because their pastor, 00:44 those that live in Avon Park, their pastor, 00:47 Pastor Frank Gonzalez, is presenting the Anchors Of Truth. 00:52 And we really have enjoyed and been blessed 00:57 by these meetings so far. 00:59 The title of the series is, The Seven Words of Hope. 01:04 Last night we heard, Forgiven. 01:07 And what a message that was. 01:10 We have an afterglow here that's not taped, 01:13 but we just talk, those that are here, 01:17 with the speaker. 01:18 There were so many questions about forgiving 01:22 and being forgiven. 01:24 And it was really one of the most effective afterglows 01:28 that we've had for participation. 01:31 And I felt like that as Pastor Frank Gonzalez 01:35 shared from his heart, that each individual 01:39 was able to get some answers to their questions 01:43 that they had last night. 01:45 As you know, Pastor Frank was the speaker for 17 years 01:51 for La Voz, which is the Latino Voice of Prophecy. 01:57 For 5 of those 17 years, I had the privilege of 02:01 serving as chairman of the board of La Voz. 02:05 I want to tell you that I've chaired a few boards. 02:07 In fact, at one time I was either chairman or on 02:13 over 65 different boards at one time. 02:17 So I was on a lot of boards. 02:19 And some of those met more than once a year. 02:21 And I was chair of so many. 02:25 But there was not any board that I looked forward 02:29 to the meetings as much as I did the La Voz board. 02:35 One reason, of course, is because of the leader. 02:38 Frank Gonzalez had wonderful ideas, he had exciting plans. 02:44 And the enthusiasm of the leader of the pack... 02:49 You see, there's a saying that the leader of the pack 02:52 determines the rate of the group. 02:57 And so this was a man who was always ready 03:01 to reach out and do something special for the Lord. 03:05 There were some other very interesting 03:07 people on that board. 03:09 One of which was our good friend, Jamie Jorge. 03:14 And Jamie always sat at one particular place 03:18 in those board meetings. 03:19 And Jamie was my friend before those days, 03:24 but we became even closer during the time when 03:27 he was serving on the board of La Voz. 03:32 And I appreciate the ministry of Jamie Jorge. 03:37 Tonight, a second word will be taught and will be examined. 03:46 And that word is, Remembered. 03:49 Remembered. 03:51 And this will be the title of the subject by 03:55 Pastor Frank Gonzalez. 03:57 Pastor Frank is now pastor of one of the largest churches 04:02 in Florida, the Avon Park Seventh-day Adventist Church. 04:06 It's a wonderful church. 04:10 We feel that way because they are so supportive of 3ABN. 04:15 And we often hear from the folks down there. 04:18 It's been our privilege to be there many times 04:22 and to minister in that church. 04:25 And we look forward to coming back again. 04:29 Before Pastor Frank speaks tonight, our pastor here 04:34 of the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, 04:37 Pastor John Lomacang, is going to come 04:41 and he's going to sing, Your Grace Still Amazes Me. 05:30 My faithful Father, 05:37 enduring Friend, 05:42 Your tender mercy's like a river with no end; 05:53 it overwhelms me, 06:00 covers my sin. 06:05 Each time I come into Your presence 06:12 I stand in wonder once again. 06:20 Your grace still amazes me; 06:28 Your love is still a mystery. 06:35 Each day I fall on my knees; 06:45 Your grace still amazes me. 06:52 Your grace still amazes me. 07:13 Oh, patient Savior, 07:21 You make me whole. 07:26 You are the Author and the Healer of my soul. 07:36 What can I give You? 07:43 Lord, what can I say? 07:48 I know there's no way to repay You; 07:56 only to offer You my praise. 08:04 Your grace still amazes me; 08:11 Your love is still a mystery. 08:19 Each day I fall on my knees; 08:28 Your grace still amazes me. 08:35 Your grace still amazes me. 08:41 It's deeper, it's wider, 08:49 it's stronger, it's higher. 08:56 It's deeper, it's wider, 09:03 it's stronger, and it's higher 09:09 than anything my eyes can see. 09:16 Your grace still amazes me; 09:24 Your love is still a mystery. 09:31 Each day I fall on my knees; 09:40 Your grace still amazes me. 09:47 Your grace still amazes me. 10:26 Good evening. 10:27 I'm so glad you're here. 10:29 I'm glad you tuned in. 10:32 We are looking at the seven words of hope. 10:39 They are the seven short sermons that Jesus preached 10:46 while He was on the cross. 10:48 And tonight we're looking at the second one. 10:51 Before I pray and begin with the second message, 10:55 I want to touch on a couple of things, if you don't mind. 10:59 I want to give a holler and a shout and a word of thanks 11:04 to my congregation at the Avon Park SDA 11:08 for their forbearance, for their generosity of spirit, 11:12 for sharing me. 11:15 And I want to tell you that I love you and I'll get back 11:19 with you as soon as I can. 11:21 And I want to tell you that if you are thinking of 11:24 moving to Florida, it gets a little cold where you're at, 11:29 and you start thinking of maybe Florida would be a good place, 11:35 if that's in your heart and your mind at all, check us out. 11:40 Because Avon Park is really one of the nicest places. 11:45 And not just because I'm there, but there are reasons 11:47 I could give you. 11:49 It's in the heartland. 11:50 It's called the heartland of Florida for a reason. 11:56 It's very central. 11:59 We are an hour and a half to two hours from 12:01 everywhere in Florida. 12:03 And it's also called, the highlands; the county. 12:09 So it's nice and elevated. 12:12 No flooding. 12:14 No issues of that kind. 12:17 We're not in the coast, so hurricanes are not 12:23 usually an issue. 12:25 Florida, you have to watch that. 12:27 And in terms of our community, we've got a 12:31 Florida hospital close by. 12:33 We have an academy with about 250 students. 12:38 And our church is about 960 members, we have three pastors. 12:45 But the main thing is we've got lovely wonderful 12:50 warm friendly people that will be delighted to have you. 12:57 So if you are thinking about this, or if you want go 13:04 get in touch with me about anything that I have or will 13:08 talk about in my presentations, there is a website 13:13 that you can visit us. 13:15 It's called, discoverjesus.org. 13:20 Now you can remember that. 13:21 discoverjesus.org 13:26 I don't know how we got that, but it's wonderful, isn't it. 13:30 discoverjesus.org 13:33 We have every message of mine, Sabbath, is web streamed. 13:37 You can get it live there. 13:39 We have some of the old messages that are there. 13:44 And I'll tell you, I'm putting together, by the grace of God, 13:49 my first book in English. 13:54 I've been able by the grace of God; God have given me 11 books. 14:01 The Pacific Press has published, I think, six or seven of them. 14:05 But this is my first attempt in the language of Shakespeare. 14:12 Which I sometimes butcher. 14:15 So this book will be ready soon, maybe in a month or so. 14:21 But if you want to get in touch with me about anything at all, 14:25 it's got all the information, my personal information there, 14:28 how you can reach me and so forth; my email and the like. 14:32 So what is it? 14:34 discoverjesus.org 14:39 And before I pray, I also want to touch on something 14:42 related to last night. 14:44 We talked about forgiveness. 14:47 And in the afterglow we had a very good question. 14:51 Someone asked, "What is the best way to forgive somebody?" 14:57 The short answer to that is, the best way to forgive someone 15:03 is to ask for forgiveness yourself. 15:09 Now, there's something that sometimes doesn't sound right 15:16 about that, but on a practical matter it is the easiest way 15:20 to do it because of the other approach of saying, 15:26 "You know, you're wrong, You hurt me. 15:31 But I'm going to be magnanimous of spirit, 15:35 and I'm going to forgive you." 15:38 Well try it, see how it goes. 15:41 But I don't think that works as well as if you say, 15:46 "You know, I didn't mean to wrong you, but it's clear 15:51 that I did, and I want to beg for your forgiveness." 15:56 That's the best approach. 16:00 And if you say, "Well, but I'm clearly 16:04 the innocent party here." 16:10 You know, I can tell you as someone who's engaged in 16:13 counseling a little bit, sometimes guilt is in the 16:17 eyes of the beholder. 16:18 And there are degrees of guilt. 16:20 But at any rate, who was the most innocent of all people 16:30 that have ever walked on the face of the planet earth? 16:35 Who was he? 16:36 His name was Jesus. 16:38 And what did He do? 16:40 He took the guilt. Right? 16:44 He assumed the guilt, the condemnation. 16:47 He owned it. 16:49 He owned up to it even though it wasn't His. 16:53 "He who knew no sin became sin for us 16:58 that we might become the righteousness of God in Him," 17:02 2 Corinthians 5:20. 17:04 So when you enter into the spirit, 17:13 the spirit of Christ and the spirit of the cross of Christ, 17:20 you are able to extend forgiveness to people. 17:23 Even if you know for a fact that you are the innocent person. 17:27 I said in most cases because I think there are some exceptions. 17:34 I believe that if you are the victim of rape, or incest, 17:40 or maybe child molestation, something like that, 17:43 I don't believe it is appropriate to say, 17:46 "You know, I was wrong. 17:49 Forgive me." You know. 17:51 In those cases, I think it would be appropriate 17:57 to say something like this... 17:58 And I would put it in writing and send it to the person. 18:02 I would say, "You know, what you did cost me 18:08 a lot of harm; physical, emotional, 18:13 spiritual, and mental. 18:18 But Jesus has healed me. 18:22 And in the name of Christ, and in the spirit of Christ, 18:27 I can forgive you." 18:29 And leave it at that and send that letter. 18:32 And see if a weight equivalent to a ton of bricks is not lifted 18:40 from your shoulders and your heart. 18:43 And you'll have peace. 18:47 And that person will no longer have any power over you, 18:50 any control over you, because you will no longer be linked 18:54 emotionally to that person. 18:56 You have released that toxin out of your system. 19:00 So I wanted to touch that before we get started here. 19:05 But I'm ready for the message tonight. 19:09 The title is, Remembered. 19:12 And I need the help of God. 19:15 If you don't mind, I'm going to pray. 19:18 Heavenly Father, may the meditation of Your servant's 19:23 heart and the words of his mouth be acceptable 19:28 unto You and of help to somebody. 19:32 And we'll give You the honor and the glory and the praise. 19:37 And we'll do it in Jesus' name, amen and amen. 19:44 Some time ago, I read a fascinating article about 19:48 Japan's kodokushi. 19:51 And I know I'm not saying that right. 19:53 But kodokushi. 19:56 It's the name that they give to people who, 19:59 having lived their lives in perfect anonymity, 20:03 also died alone. 20:07 No one to celebrate their presence 20:10 or lament their absence. 20:12 No record of them anywhere. 20:16 They came and they went without a trace. 20:20 Vanished, sayonara. 20:24 Estimates put Japan's kodokushi at over 1000. 20:32 I suspect that Japan is not the only country with kodokushi; 20:39 people who have fallen through the cracks 20:42 of societies care grid. 20:47 The list of the forsaken and forgotten is larger 20:51 and closer to home than we care to admit. 20:55 It is as sad as it is unnecessary. 21:01 Let me ask you this. 21:03 Does God have kodokushi? 21:08 The man dying on the cross next to Christ 21:11 thought he was one of them, to be sure. 21:14 He even had biblical proof to support it. 21:19 Didn't the Bible say that anyone dying on a cross 21:22 was "accursed of God?" 21:26 Or another translation says, "the cursed of God." 21:30 That meant, forsaken, forgotten forever 21:34 by men and by God Himself. 21:39 When Jesus was crucified on His cross, He was 21:43 put between two thieves. 21:47 One ridiculed Him and rejected Him to the bitter end. 21:54 He could have been forgiven. 21:57 He was so close, and yet so far. 22:01 Don't do that today, my friend. 22:03 You're close. 22:05 The kingdom of heaven is here. 22:07 Jesus is right at the hand. And He's here. 22:11 And you're watching for a reason. 22:14 Don't do like this man. 22:16 He decided to ridicule and engage in jest 22:24 to the bitter end. 22:26 He died in a hopeless state. 22:30 The other thief at first joined in 22:34 the ridicule and the reviling so that they took turns 22:39 at making Jesus feel bad. 22:44 But he began watching and listening. 22:49 You say, "Well, I'm too emotionally drained. 22:51 There's nothing I can do, Pastor Frank. 22:53 What can I do?" 22:54 Just watch. 22:56 Just listen. 22:58 That's why 3ABN and things like this are so powerful. 23:03 Because all people have to do is watch and listen 23:07 and behold the Lamb of God that takes away 23:11 the sin of the world. 23:15 That prayer of Jesus that we considered last night 23:21 had touched this man's heart. 23:25 He was amazed to hear Jesus pray for those who murdered Him. 23:30 Who can do that? 23:32 He had never imagined that anyone could do such a thing. 23:38 So he was astonished to hear the words, 23:41 "Father, forgive them. 23:43 For they know not what they do." 23:48 That motivated this thief to begin thinking. 23:52 And new ideas came to him, like this; 23:56 "This man being crucified with us is somebody really special. 24:04 The kind of love He shows is totally out of this world. 24:10 He is different than any man I have ever heard of. 24:14 Could it be that the stories I've heard about Him are true? 24:21 Could He be the long awaited Messiah?" 24:26 The crucified thief heard the priests and the rabbis 24:31 laughing at Jesus when they said, "If You're the Son of God, 24:36 come down from the cross. 24:38 He saved others, Himself He cannot save. 24:44 He trusted in God. 24:46 He said that He was the Son of God. 24:49 Let God deliver Him now if that's true." 24:54 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him 24:57 reviled Him with the same thing. 25:00 You find this in Matthew 27 verses 40 through 44. 25:08 You know, there's a French writer. 25:11 I forget the name now. 25:13 But he said that the worse thing you can do to a man 25:18 is ridicule him. 25:21 Yeah. 25:23 A man that falls out of respect of people, 25:29 when you become the object of derision 25:34 and of jest, it is the worst thing that can 25:41 ever be done to a person. 25:45 People can withstand everything but that. 25:50 The thief of our story listened intently to this ridicule. 25:57 He watched how Jesus took it all in stride, 26:00 in silence, in perfect peace, with the nobility of a king. 26:08 There was something inexpressibly noble 26:12 about it all. 26:14 Jesus, in this hour of His deepest humiliation... 26:17 Satan had hoped, you see, that by disgracing Him so terribly 26:21 on a cross that no one forever after could believe in Him. 26:28 How could you trust a Messiah who ended up in such a 26:32 hopelessly condemned situation? 26:38 But do you know what the believing thief did? 26:41 He walked right in by faith past all of Satan's road blocks 26:46 to keep him out. 26:48 It's what you need to do. 26:50 There is a power in the cross. 26:53 There's a power in Jesus dying for you. 26:56 We need to meditate, we need to behold it, 26:58 we need to see it. 26:59 And if you do, your heart will be pulled, it will be tugged. 27:05 You don't have to do anything. 27:07 It will draw you. 27:09 It will draw you all the way in to the kingdom of God. 27:16 Finally, bursting with joy, crucified though he was, 27:22 he decided, "This man is the Messiah. 27:27 He is what the Samaritans said of Him. 27:30 He is the Savior of the world. 27:34 While even His enemies are confessing the truth, 27:37 though they don't believe it, He is the Son of God." 27:44 From his lips, the dying man sends up the prayer 27:49 of his believing heart. 27:52 It's found in Luke chapter 23 verse 42. 27:58 He says, "Lord, remember me when You come 28:05 into Your kingdom." 28:10 There is no one... 28:12 Hear me now, dear one, you're watching. 28:15 There is no one who prays that prayer 28:21 that Jesus will not hear him, 28:24 that Jesus will not turn His full attention to. 28:31 And the dying man gets this better than the jackpot answer 28:37 from the lips of Jesus Himself. 28:39 It's found in the next verse, verse 43. 28:43 "Assuredly I say to you today, you will be with Me 28:50 in paradise." 28:52 Wow. 28:55 This is the second of the seven words of hope 28:58 that Jesus uttered in His last hour. 29:01 We're studying them this week. 29:05 Can you imagine the load that rose from this 29:10 dying man's heart? 29:13 It's as if Jesus signed a check then and there 29:16 giving him a place in the first resurrection 29:19 and eternal life in His kingdom. 29:23 One word from Jesus can heal your heart. 29:28 Whatever problem ails you, whatever situation 29:32 you find yourself in, all you need is a word from Jesus. 29:38 And it's always an encouraging word. 29:42 It's always a word of spirit and of life. 29:50 This man didn't get just a little life, 29:53 he got eternal life. 29:56 Right then and there. 29:59 Right where you are, if you listen to this, 30:02 He's saying it to you too. 30:05 If you say it with a conviction and with a believing heart, 30:12 you will hear the same response. 30:17 And I'll tell you what. 30:19 When you and I get to that place, the peace that 30:24 the thief had will be worth more than all the gold 30:29 you could gain in an entire lifetime. 30:33 Nothing will be more precious to you than that assurance. 30:39 "Assuredly I say to you, thou shall be with Me 30:45 in paradise." 30:47 Do you say amen to that? 30:49 Oh my. 30:52 Now the believing thief can spend his last hours 30:56 in an experience that the Bible calls, repentance. 31:02 The Bible says Christ came to give repentance to Israel. 31:07 Paul says that the agape of God leads us to repentance. 31:13 This man repented. 31:15 Don't think that he didn't. 31:17 He repented. 31:19 And he started thinking, and he started remembering his life. 31:26 And to his surprise, he learns that God has always loved Him 31:31 ever since he was a baby. 31:34 Really before that. 31:36 Now he's actually praising God for the terrific honor 31:40 of sharing crucifixion with the Son of God. 31:46 He could say before Paul could, "I am crucified 31:49 together with Christ. 31:52 And I liveth no longer, but Christ liveth in me." 31:58 You can say that too, you know. 32:00 We'll see how in a minute. 32:03 Not only does the Father treat him as though he had 32:05 never sinned, but he sees that all through his past life 32:10 God has always been treating him with that same grace 32:14 in spite of his sins. 32:16 Do you know what his only regret is? 32:20 He wishes that he had known this good news decades before. 32:28 Now the words of Jesus have lifted from his soul 32:33 that awful sense of being cursed by God 32:36 for hanging on a cross. 32:38 You see, backward from what the world believes, 32:42 the best place for any person is to be crucified together 32:45 with the Son of God. 32:49 Let us note that when Jesus makes this all important 32:51 promise to this sinner, He emphasizes to him 32:56 that it is today, Jesus says, "Today, I'm saving your soul. 33:02 Today when I seem to be an utter failure, 33:05 today when the world despises Me, 33:09 today when even My Father appears to have forsaken Me, 33:13 today when My hands and your hands are nailed to wooden beams 33:19 and we can't shake hands on the promise, 33:23 today I give you the assurance of eternal salvation 33:27 with Me in paradise." 33:31 Now we need to understand something here 33:34 a little bit more clearly. 33:37 The dying thief had no way to enter paradise that day. 33:41 Because we know that Jesus Himself did not enter 33:47 paradise that day, that Friday. 33:51 You know how we know that? 33:53 Because when He rose from the dead 33:55 on the first day of the week, Sunday, He told Mary... 34:01 Mary was the first one to see Him. 34:03 He said to her, this is in John 20 verse 17, 34:08 "Do not cling to Me, Mary. 34:10 For I have not yet ascended to My Father." 34:15 That's clear, right? 34:17 That's clear as water. 34:19 Friday Jesus didn't go up. 34:22 He went up, well, Sunday. 34:26 Sunday He today Mary, "I haven't gone up yet. 34:30 I haven't ascended yet." 34:32 He had rested in the tomb all of that time. 34:36 So here's a question, if neither the repentant thief nor Jesus 34:41 ascended to paradise on Friday, how then are we to understand 34:46 the words in our English Bible, and really Spanish Bible too, 34:49 that says, "I say to you," comma "today you will be with Me 34:56 in paradise." 34:59 You know, the answer to that question is more simple 35:02 than you imagine. 35:06 Punctuation is an invention, a modern invention, 35:11 that was not around in the days of the New Testament writers. 35:16 They didn't put a comma anywhere. 35:19 And so the original Greek, all the words run all together. 35:25 You see? 35:27 So it is up to us to put the comma where it's suppose to go. 35:36 And we need to put it where it makes sense, 35:39 it makes sense with the narrative. 35:42 So we find that if we instead of putting the comma after, "you," 35:52 "I say to you," comma "today you will be with me in paradise," 35:56 if we put the comma after, "today," 36:00 "I say to you today," comma "you will be with me in paradise," 36:06 it makes perfect sense. 36:07 Not only does it make perfect sense with the narrative 36:10 and what happened there, but it makes perfect sense 36:13 also with everything that the Bible has to say 36:17 about death, dying, resurrection, and so forth. 36:22 The Bible truth about what happens when 36:24 people die is comforting. 36:27 It's encouraging. 36:29 When Jesus' friend Lazarus died, He told His disciples, 36:34 "Our friend Lazarus sleeps. 36:35 But I go that I may wake Him up." 36:39 The disciples assumed that his fever had gotten better. 36:43 You know, he was just taking a nap. 36:46 A siesta, like we say. 36:48 And Jesus said, "No, no, no. Lazarus is dead." 36:54 You know Paul tells us in that wonderful chapter in 36:57 Thessalonians chapter 4... 36:59 I'm not going to read it all, but you can look it up. 37:01 He says that God's people sleep until Jesus returns 37:05 when He will resurrect them, never to die. 37:08 And Paul adds at the end, he says that this blessed truth 37:12 is a comfort to know and to believe. 37:16 The prophet Daniel, in chapter 12 of the book 37:20 that bears his name, verses 2 and 3, 37:24 he says, "Many of them that sleep in the dust 37:27 of the earth shall awake... 37:29 And they that be wise shall shine in the brightness 37:34 of the firmament." 37:36 So according to the truth of the Bible, the dead 37:39 are not suffering now in either hell or purgatory. 37:43 They are asleep. 37:46 They do not go to heaven when they die, you know. 37:52 And thank God for that, because they would be watching all the 37:55 mess down here. 37:58 Oh, you can't have heaven if you're watching this 38:02 in your heaven channel and you're seeing all of the 38:08 bad things happening here. 38:09 How could heaven be heaven? 38:13 No, the Savior tells us what's going to happen. 38:16 Jesus Himself said in John chapter 5 verses 29 and 30... 38:21 It's clear, people. 38:23 He said, "The hour is coming.." 38:24 The hour is coming. 38:27 It isn't here yet. The hours is coming. 38:30 "...in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice, 38:36 and come forth. 38:38 Those who have done good, to the resurrection of life. 38:41 And those who have done evil, 38:43 to the resurrection of condemnation." 38:49 And my friend, today, today, today, right now, 38:54 you can choose in which resurrection you want to be in. 39:02 Let me suggest the first one. 39:07 That's the good one. 39:09 You have to do what the repentant thief did. 39:17 Behold your Savior. 39:20 Look at Him. 39:21 He will melt your heart if you do. 39:24 He will draw you. 39:26 He will forgive you. 39:28 He will change you. 39:30 And one day He'll take you to heaven. 39:36 You need to listen to that. 39:39 Listen to the words. 39:42 You need to hear these words. 39:44 These words are not just for that man. 39:46 They are for every man. 39:49 Because Jesus is the Savior of the world. 39:52 "He is the light which enlighteneth every man 39:56 that cometh into the world," John 1:9. 39:59 God was in Christ reconciling the world, 40:03 not imputing onto men their trespasses. 40:07 2 Corinthians 5:19 40:09 This is for you, buddy. 40:11 This is for you. 40:12 If you're in the world, if you're part of this here, 40:16 this is for you. 40:17 And these words are words that Jesus is saying 40:21 to you right now. 40:23 "You shall be with Me in paradise." 40:29 Oh, isn't that good news? 40:34 Do you know that Jesus always comes through with His promises? 40:38 His promises are always true. 40:41 Do you know that He can do what He says? 40:44 If He says He can take you to heaven, 40:46 He can take you to heaven. 40:48 You need to trust Him. 40:50 You need to let Him do it. 40:52 Let Him do it. 40:58 You know, I decided tonight, the Lord put in my heart 41:02 to tell you my personal testimony. 41:06 Is that okay? 41:08 I don't know that I have ever in all my years 41:14 told it in English on television. 41:20 So this is a first, Jim. 41:24 You know, I wondered as a young man 41:31 if I was one of those kodokushi. 41:33 Now I didn't know the word and I didn't know anything about 41:37 Japan at that time. 41:39 But does God really care for me? 41:42 Does he remember me? 41:45 And frankly, I had come to the point, and I'll explain it 41:48 to you, where I almost knew for a certainty that He didn't. 41:57 That's the way I felt. 42:00 It wasn't true, but that's the way I felt. 42:04 The reason was, I had prayed to God for the release 42:10 of my father from political prison in Cuba for 13 years 42:18 from the time I was four when it happened. 42:21 And I prayed every night. 42:23 Can you imagine a little boy getting down on his knees 42:26 and begging the Lord and crying, sometimes hours into the night, 42:32 for 13 years. 42:39 Ah, there was a moment I stopped praying. 42:43 There was a time when I said, "No, He doesn't care 42:46 for Frank Gonzalez." 42:49 And I started drifting away from God. 42:53 And it wasn't just a drift. 42:56 It was more than that, unfortunately. 43:01 I began to harbor bitterness against God. 43:06 Oh, it pains me to say it now. 43:09 Ah, but I have to be honest with you. 43:12 I began to have hatred in my heart for God. 43:18 I can hardly say it now. 43:20 Oh God, thank You for forgiving me. 43:23 But that was the feeling that was in my heart. 43:27 Maybe there's somebody today that has gone through something, 43:30 and maybe that's what you are feeling. 43:33 And because you have that feeling and that sensation, 43:37 there is a sense in you that says, you know, 43:40 "God cannot possibly want anything to do with me. 43:43 Because in the depth of my heart..." 43:46 You know, Martin Luther felt that way at some point. 43:49 "...in the depth of my heart I really, really hate God. 43:53 How can He love me if I hate Him?" 44:01 The situation came to a crisis when I found myself 44:07 in a street of Orlando, Florida surrounded 44:12 by a bunch of young men, misguided young men. 44:18 Young men that were filled with the attitude of the times. 44:25 They weren't bad men, you know. 44:30 They weren't especially wicked, or anything like that. 44:33 In fact, after I tell you the story, I became friends with 44:37 most of them afterwards. 44:40 But in that moment they weren't my friends. 44:44 And they had sticks in their hands, and chains. 44:48 And there were so many of them. 44:50 I didn't stop to count, to put it that way. 44:54 But there were cars and motorcycles and bicycles. 44:59 And there I was surrounded by them. 45:03 They did a circle, they encircled me. 45:08 But they were not holding hands and singing, 45:11 "We shall overcome." 45:12 You know, they weren't doing that. 45:15 They had something else in mind. 45:17 They had something different in mind. 45:19 You see, my uncle... 45:23 We told him not to do it. 45:24 My uncle, the pediatrician, he moved into sort of a little more 45:29 upper middle class neighborhood, and they had never seen 45:33 people like us, you know. 45:35 And it seemed like we were almost like from another 45:39 planet the way they reacted. 45:41 But it was the times, you know. 45:43 Aren't you happy that's kind of behind us, in a way? 45:48 You know, at least for the most part. 45:50 That we have changed so much. 45:53 Aren't you happy for that? 45:55 I mean, I am. 45:56 But there I was surrounded by these people. 46:01 Now I've got to tell you, 46:06 as a boy in Cuba I had taken boxing and judo. 46:14 How that came to be was because my uncles were always 46:19 concerned about me because my mother, you know, 46:21 she was very refined, and she loved classical music, 46:25 and she loved opera, and she loved the ballet. 46:30 Oh I hate to say it, but I took ballet classes as a boy. 46:37 But thankfully, Jim, my uncle would rescue me from ballet 46:42 and take me from ballet to boxing and to judo. 46:46 And my mother would say, "What in the world?" 46:50 Because I'd come back with a black eye, and she'd say, 46:53 "How did you get a black eye in ballet?" 46:58 I had to come up with some cockamamie story, you know. 47:02 "Well, you know, a kick. Somebody kicked me. 47:05 It was an accident mom, you know. 47:06 Somebody kicked me in the eye." 47:12 But my uncles were, you know, they were worried about me. 47:16 They were worried about this mama's boy. 47:19 So anyway, I knew how to defend myself. 47:25 But when you know how to defend yourself, 47:26 you also know when you are over matched. 47:30 And I was over matched. 47:36 And there was a problem, because I knew 47:42 that only One could help me. 47:46 "One," with a capital "O." God. 47:51 But He and I were not on speaking terms. 47:55 It had been a long time. 47:57 I talked to Him for a long time, but He didn't seem to talk back. 48:01 And so I stopped talking. 48:05 And now, what was I going to do? 48:10 You know, there was a first elder of the Adventist 48:15 Spanish church in Orlando that would come to give Bible studies 48:18 to my uncle, the pediatrician, and his children. 48:24 And I was there to greet him every Sabbath afternoon 48:30 to take delight, sadistic delight, 48:34 in telling the man, "No." 48:38 "Oh, you represent God? Oh yeah, you do? 48:41 Okay, well, you know. 48:44 No. 48:46 No." 48:47 And I was there punctually to receive that man 48:52 and to have the pleasure of telling him no. 48:59 But you know what? 49:00 He always invited me with the same smile 49:04 and the same kindness. 49:06 Never gave up, Never ever gave up. 49:09 Now they say curiosity killed the cat. 49:13 Have you heard that? 49:14 I don't know what that means, but you know, 49:16 it's a nice expression. 49:18 And so, I didn't go in to the room where they were 49:25 having the Bible study, but I would sit in the sofa chair 49:29 that was right next to it. 49:31 Because I wanted to hear. 49:33 I wanted hear what this man was telling my uncle 49:36 and my cousins. 49:40 And so I would listen. 49:42 I was really taking the Bible studies. 49:45 I was. I was just not in the room. 49:47 But I was listening to everything. 49:50 And judging by what happened at the end, 49:52 I probably was listening more intently 49:54 than some of my cousins. 49:57 And I remember the day before this incident. 50:03 This happened, this circle of, situation, this scary situation 50:10 happened on a Sunday. 50:12 So the last thing I had heard from this gentleman... 50:17 And I want to give him credit, by the way. 50:19 I had the pleasure of really dedicating my 50:26 whole ministry to him, in a sense. 50:30 You know, they use to tell him, "Why don't you 50:32 move to another family?" 50:33 Because we were hard, we were difficult. 50:35 We didn't respond right away. 50:38 And he would come and it took years. 50:42 And he was a busy man. 50:44 He would go to the bakery, he worked in a bakery. 50:47 And then after the bakery, he went to a laundry. 50:49 And he worked hours and hours to put his three daughters 50:55 through Adventist education. 50:58 You know how hard that is. 50:59 And they would tell him, "Why don't you just move on? 51:04 Move on. 51:05 Those people are too... They're not..." 51:09 So... 51:11 But he didn't. 51:13 He didn't. 51:14 And every time that I made a call and somebody came forward, 51:20 all these thousands and thousands and thousands 51:23 and thousands of people that the Lord used me to bring to Him, 51:29 every time, Jim, one of those people came up, 51:33 I remembered this man. 51:35 And thank God for him. 51:42 If you're working with somebody that is being difficult, 51:45 keep at it, keep at it. 51:47 Don't give up. 51:49 Don't give up with your children. 51:51 Don't give up with your grandchildren. 51:53 Now probably the best thing, frankly, that you can do 51:59 for some family member is to pray for them, to love them. 52:02 Just love them. 52:04 Love them. 52:06 Because sometimes the more you try to... 52:10 ...they're not, they just... 52:11 It's just noise to them. 52:14 It irritates them. 52:16 But be nice to them. 52:18 This man was always nice to me. 52:20 He was always friendly. 52:23 Well anyway, there I was. 52:26 My mother... 52:29 If you remember the Sound of Music, 52:33 that woman, Maria; my mother, it reminded me of my mother. 52:40 Just like her. 52:41 My mother studied in a convent. 52:44 My mother had the same story. 52:46 If it hadn't been for my father, she would have been a nun. 52:54 And it was an interesting thing because, you know, 52:57 my mother's side of the family, Jim, my grandfather 53:01 was like one of these cattle barons, you know. 53:04 Bu my father was a city boy. 53:07 You know, business man. 53:09 But didn't want anything to do with cows, horses, or anything. 53:13 You couldn't get him on a ranch. 53:16 So it was striking; and my father was an agnostic, 53:20 and my mother was pious, devout, and meek. 53:24 You know, she had God oozing from every pore. 53:28 And so the difference. 53:32 The priest did not want to marry my mother to my father. 53:37 Trust me. 53:39 It took a significant donation of money 53:43 to make that happen. 53:45 Oh, you could see it in the cathedral. 53:46 The cathedral, the renovations in the cathedral, 53:49 because my father had to do something. 53:53 Anyway, there I was in the middle of that street. 53:58 And this man had talked about, the day before, angels. 54:05 He said, "You know, angels are ministering servants 54:09 of the Most High. 54:10 God sends them to defend us and protect us." 54:15 I was thinking of that, "I wonder." 54:18 He said, "You know, it's likely that each of us has 54:21 a guardian angel looking out for us." 54:24 I said, "Whoa, I wonder if all of that was true." 54:29 It had all of a sudden become a matter of 54:31 life and death for me. 54:33 And my mother had said to me, "You know, Frankus..." 54:37 She was concerned. 54:39 And in her little knowledge of the Bible that she had... 54:42 So she had other ideas. 54:44 ...she said, "You know, it's like when we go to the 54:45 barber shop, Frankus. 54:48 That's why God hasn't answered your prayer. 54:51 Because it takes a while. 54:53 You know, you take your number and you wait. 54:56 Well, imagine all the people making petitions to God. 55:01 You've got to take your number. 55:02 You've got to wait, dear. Just wait, be patient." 55:04 Well I had no time now, I had no time. 55:07 I had seconds here. 55:08 You know, I was there. 55:10 And I had a prayer. 55:12 It was the most irreverent prayer ever prayed. 55:17 I said to God, "I don't know where my number is, 55:24 but if You have and ever are going to do something 55:27 with Frank Gonzalez, let me suggest to You 55:32 that this is a good time to show it. 55:36 Because You may not get another chance. 55:40 But do whatever You please." 55:43 That was my prayer. 55:49 If God only answered good prayers, 55:52 that prayer would not have been answered. 55:56 And so I got ready, I got ready. 56:00 And I threw a few punches. 56:02 And I hit a few of them. 56:04 But I started noticing that even those that I did not hit 56:09 were being thrown back. 56:13 They were being repelled. 56:14 They launched at me, and it was as if there was a shield. 56:17 They were bouncing from this thing and going back. 56:21 It wouldn't hurt them. 56:22 They would shake the dust and come right back and, 56:24 boom, they were out. 56:25 Shot like a canon. 56:27 And pretty soon, they got on their cars and they got on their 56:32 bicycles and they got on their motorcycles and left me there 56:38 thinking to myself, "What in the world happened here? 56:43 What in the heavens happened here?" 56:46 And when the man came the next Sabbath, and he said, 56:50 "Do you want to join us?" 56:51 I said, "I'm going to have to join you. 56:53 Because you have to explain something to me." 56:56 And he said, "Frank, God has a plan for your life." 56:59 You see, God has a plan for your life, my friend. 57:02 He cares for you. 57:04 He didn't care for me because I'm special. 57:07 He cared for me because He is special. 57:11 His love is special. 57:14 And if you open your heart today, I don't know what 57:16 your condition is and where your heart is, 57:20 turn to God and you will hear Him say, 57:25 "You shall be with Me in paradise." 57:29 God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17