Participants:
Series Code: HC
Program Code: HC190011S
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00:49 Good morning and Happy Sabbath!
00:52 Good morning! Welcome to Fall Camp Meeting. 00:54 We've been blessed already, haven't we? 00:56 Amen! And it's a full house here today, isn't it? 00:59 It is! That's for sure. Psalm 118:24 says, 01:03 you can repeat it after me, "This is the day 01:05 which the Lord has made. 01:08 We will rejoice and be glad in it. " 01:12 What a blessing to serve a living God, isn't it? 01:14 Amen! He's coming very soon. 01:16 It's a blessing to be with each one of you. You are our family! 01:19 And Camp Meeting... we're already at Sabbath. 01:21 It's hard to believe. It's kind of sad, isn't it? 01:23 I know. This is our final day of Camp Meeting. 01:26 But I want to make a quick announcement since you all 01:29 are here right now. And for those of you who are listening 01:33 at home: we are not having a Spring Camp Meeting, Pr. John, 01:37 next year, 2020. BUT that is due to the fact 01:41 that we have General Conference in Indianapolis. 01:44 It's the end of June and there's no way we can put 01:47 two big events like that back-to-back together. 01:50 However, we are having a Winter Camp Meeting 01:54 and we want to invite all of you. 01:56 It's not going to be here, so that means you will want 01:58 to come. We're going to sunny California. 02:02 We will be in the Campus Hill SDA Church 02:06 in Loma Linda, California, February 13 through 15. 02:11 So we'll be giving you more details on that as we come along 02:14 but make sure you mark your calendars. If you live on the 02:17 West Coast... I know there's people here at Camp Meeting 02:19 who flew in from California 02:21 and who flew in from the West Coast, and we'll be much closer 02:24 to your neck of the woods. And some people 02:27 are saying they might even fly from Maryland 02:29 to the West Coast, so we invite you to our Winter Camp Meeting. 02:32 Yeah, that's right. I've had some people even say 02:33 they're thinking of flying, driving, from here locally 02:36 all the way out there. It's going to be a great time. 02:38 We're going to bring some speakers from here, 02:40 and we're still figuring out all the details 02:42 but make sure you mark that on your calendar. 02:44 I'm saying Valentine weekend, right? February. Yeah! 02:47 You can have a date with 3ABN. You can have a date 02:49 at Camp Meeting. All right... that's great. 02:52 So we are going to sing an opening song. Pastor, 02:55 what is that song? In a Little While We're Going Home. 02:58 That doesn't mean the sermon is ending yet, but... 02:59 That's right. That means spiritually we're going to be 03:02 going home soon, so let's raise our voices right now. 03:04 Yeah, let's do that then we'll have a prayer after we sing. 03:06 Praise God! 03:48 What else are we going to do? 04:06 Raise that chorus. Together: 04:45 Together. When? 05:06 There's one more thing: 05:26 When? 05:54 AMEN! Pastor, pray for us, please. 05:57 Let's bow our heads. Loving Father in heaven, 05:59 thank you for the promise that it won't be long: 06:02 "He that shall come will come and will not tarry. " 06:06 Father, while we're waiting for that glorious visitation 06:10 we pray that you will pour into us today Your Holy Spirit 06:13 on Your people that are waiting to hear from heaven. 06:16 Father, give them spiritual ears. 06:20 And on Your manservant that you have allowed to come 06:22 and to occupy the place where he will become a conduit 06:26 between earth and heaven. 06:28 Give him wisdom and understanding. 06:30 Open his ears to hear and his mouth to speak. 06:33 And may all the glory and the honor be reflected back to You 06:37 and may You be praised and exalted. 06:39 In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Amen! 06:43 Thank you so much, Pastor John. 06:45 What a privilege to know that soon we are going home. 06:48 This world is not our home and in just a little while 06:51 the heavens will open and we will see Jesus 06:55 return for each one of us. 06:57 I want to invite a special couple that we met 06:59 maybe a month or two ago - this is Dan and Denise Henderson - 07:03 to come on out. We were doing a 3ABN Rally 07:06 in Gentry, Arkansas, in May. I think it was May... yes. 07:11 So it was just a couple months ago. Yeah... come. 07:14 Why don't you come over here? Perfect. 07:17 This is live television. That's right! So we were doing a 3ABN 07:20 Rally in Gentry, AR. Don't get nervous; don't get nervous. 07:22 There's millions of people tuning in right now... it's OK. 07:24 Yes, you're welcome. Just want to make you feel a little more 07:27 comfortable. Just the four of us. Just the four of us. 07:31 So we met them in Gentry, AR, and heard just a little bit of 07:34 their testimony. And then they came to Fall Camp Meeting 07:38 and this is their very first Camp Meeting here at 3ABN. 07:42 And 3ABN played an integral role in your own spiritual journey. 07:47 So take us back a couple years ago. 07:49 Well it actually went back to probably around 2013. 07:54 We were in Kentucky at the time. We'd been living there 07:57 for about 20 years. Our son, who is a pastor 08:01 in another denomination, moved back to our home area 08:04 in Springfield, MO, and we chose to come back 08:08 to help him with our grandkids and to help with our aging 08:10 parents. In doing so we did not realize it would 08:14 only be a couple of years before he left. 08:16 So it was very discouraging when that happened. 08:19 And also - at the very same time - 08:22 that year, about 2015, I suffered what they call 08:26 a widow-maker heart attack. 08:28 Wow! Had two stents put in. 08:31 Was in rehab for a while. 08:33 Was very discouraged, and was just wondering, you know, 08:36 what you're prone to do: "Why me? " 08:39 But on the other hand, we chose to buy my wife's 08:44 childhood home where she lived and grew up. 08:47 We needed the Internet, and we had not had TV in our home 08:52 for quite a while. We'd kind of given up on 08:54 secular TV. But it happened to come with a cable package. 08:57 So I was flipping through the channels one evening 09:00 and... Hmm... flipping through the channels? Yeah. 09:03 Happened... That sounds divine! 09:05 Happened upon this 3ABN thing 09:08 and I thought: "What's 3ABN? " 09:10 And it happened to be Pastor Doug Batchelor. 09:13 Pastor Doug Batchelor. Wow! Amen! 09:16 As I recall, it may have been the sermon on the Sabbath 09:21 that kind of originally caught my attention. 09:23 But it was just like a hook. I mean, it was... Things just 09:27 started clicking in my mind and: "Why haven't I heard this? " 09:31 I grew up in a church that was very God-fearing and Bible-based 09:35 and we learned all of the things that you should learn 09:38 about Jesus and Jonah, the ark and everything. 09:41 But we hadn't heard some of these things and 09:44 why not the connection with the Sabbath. 09:47 We thought we were keeping the Sabbath 09:49 by going on Sunday. So in essence we started 09:53 learning, and as Pastor Ryan was saying this morning 09:56 it was like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. 09:59 I mean, things just started coming through 10:01 and all of a sudden we were hearing Pastor Doug 10:05 talk about living in a cave? 10:08 So our interest kept being peaked. 10:12 And before you know it, I am diagnosed with aggressive 10:15 prostate cancer. Wow! And we have a surgery 10:20 that resulted in a stroke very shortly after. 10:23 Wow! So in a year and a half I suffered a heart attack, 10:26 cancer, and a stroke. Hmm! 10:29 And so again I go back into this mindset: "Lord, why... 10:32 why is all this happening to me? " 10:34 And all of a sudden it dawned on me: with all of these other 10:37 pieces fitting together that I had discovered 3ABN. 10:40 Wow! That I was getting all this additional light 10:45 that otherwise I might have never had. 10:48 And I was so very thankful for that. 10:51 Yes. So Denise, so tell us your reaction. 10:55 Was this a team thing when you see 3ABN? 10:57 Like: "Oh, I like this, honey? " 11:02 It is live TV. So we wasn't quite real sure 11:08 honestly. I have to be transparent because 11:10 it's like: "I don't understand this. It's not a cult, is it? " 11:15 I mean, honestly... because you think you 11:20 it's OK. And as pieces started coming together 11:26 it was... turned our world upside down. Amen! 11:30 I wish we had more time for your testimony, but the 11:34 short version is that when were you all baptized 11:37 or joined the Seventh-day Adventist church? 11:39 I was re-baptized January 2018. 11:44 I came by confession. I already had a re-baptized. 11:49 Amen! I appreciate the Adventist message. 11:51 There's more light... there's more light that we need to shine 11:55 for Christ. And what about your cancer today? 11:57 Cancer free! Amen! 12:00 Thank you both so much for sharing. Thank you. 12:06 3ABN is a lifeline and that's thanks to you. 12:10 Isn't that encouraging? 12:11 That's why we like to bring testimonies up 12:13 like we try and do each Camp Meeting. 12:16 Does something to you, doesn't it? 12:18 You give your donations no matter how big, how small... 12:21 It's making a difference! Man... that's powerful. 12:24 Brings tears to my eyes right now thinking about that. 12:26 What an opportunity we have! Jesus is coming soon. 12:29 Seeing lives being changed. 12:30 They're flipping the channels. It's divine appointment, right? 12:33 And someone's life is being changed. 12:35 Just a great big thank you to each one of you 12:37 and you that are viewing and listening on the radio: 12:39 thank you. We have Grandma! 12:41 We call her Grandma Tena. 12:43 This is my Grandma... Grandma Tena. 12:45 I love you. We love you, too. 12:49 Tell us why you support the ministry of 3ABN. 12:53 She's a long-time supporter... She and Grandpa before he 12:57 passed... before he passed. 12:59 Well, I tell you: it was several years ago when I saw 13:01 when my husband and I saw it on 3ABN 13:04 Mollie, Camille, and Shelley talking about 13:08 women's finances and what we should do 13:10 and we heard about 3ABN, what they're doing 13:14 so we just... right away we just said: "This is what 13:17 we want to do. " And so we have been giving 13:20 for quite a few years. And we can't out give God 13:24 for what He has done for us. And when we hear about this 13:27 where it's going all over the world 13:31 where people are hearing about this! 13:33 Not just here but all over the world, and people that are 13:36 coming in to know Jesus that's what we want to do. 13:39 Actually what I want to tell you that I'm just a little farm girl 13:42 planting seeds for Jesus. Amen! 13:46 And I want to just continue doing it as long as I'm here. 13:50 Amen! And I know my husband George would be very delighted 13:53 to be by my side. Today would have been our 56th 13:57 wedding anniversary, so I'm just happy that I can be here. 14:02 We look forward to Jesus' soon return. I do! 14:05 And that's why we want to hurry up and hasten this gospel 14:09 and get out there. And so it takes funds to do this 14:13 and so your gifts will be... You just can't know what 14:18 the Lord has for you to do. Amen! Thank you, Grandma. 14:21 We love you. You are part of the 3ABN family 14:24 and you are a farm girl - yes - who is planting seeds for Jesus. 14:28 Yes. And I still have a few more to plant 14:30 so I'd better get going. 14:32 Thank you! 14:36 What we want to do... What we want to do right now actually 14:39 is take up our offering. Right now I think many of you 14:41 had a little white envelope that was on your seat. 14:44 And we just want to thank you in advance 14:47 for whatever you're able to give, whatever the Holy Spirit 14:51 impresses you to give today we want to say thank you. 14:54 And again, as money goes into the offering bucket 14:57 lives are being changed for eternity. 15:00 Let's pray, and then we'll have the deacons come forward, 15:03 the ushers. Father in heaven, 15:05 Lord, we're so grateful. 15:07 Thank you for the many, many years 15:09 that people have... our family have donated through the years 15:15 and Lord, it's made a difference in the world. 15:18 Lord, again today we just saw a small sample 15:21 of lives being changed for eternity. 15:24 Thank you, God for the sacrifice that many people 15:27 have made to spread the gospel around the world. 15:30 Thank you for multiplying the funds 15:31 that will come in today. Thank you that You are coming soon, 15:34 and may we be found faithful to that end. In Jesus' name 15:37 we pray, Amen. 19:05 Thank you so much, Tim. 19:07 Great is His faithfulness to us! 19:10 The Lord's mercies... Lamentations 3 says: 19:12 "The Lord's mercies are new every morning; 19:15 His compassions do not fail. " 19:18 I'm so thankful for the mercy and the grace 19:21 and the faithfulness of God. 19:23 That is what our message is on this morning: 19:26 He has been faithful to me. 19:29 Our speaker of the hour really needs no introduction. 19:32 He's my boss: Danny Shelton, 19:35 the president and CEO of Three Angels' Broadcasting Network. 19:40 You all know who he is, and I'm sure you all 19:44 have watched him for years, but I want to tell you just 19:46 a moment what he means to me. 19:48 He is a man of God; 19:51 a man of integrity and character. 19:56 He has vision. Without his vision 20:00 millions of people around the world would 20:02 have not even found the truth in God's world. 20:07 Without his vision, 3ABN would not have existed. 20:12 And I know that God called him for such a time as this. 20:16 He possesses great wisdom and he has incredible faith 20:21 to walk out what God has called him to do. 20:26 So I'm looking forward to what God is going to do 20:28 in and through him today for the message. 20:32 But before he comes, his daughter, 20:34 Melody Shelton-Firestone will be ministering in music 20:38 with Lisa on the piano. And the song they will bring 20:41 for us is Once and For All. 20:44 After they sing and we hear that music 20:47 the next voice we will hear is that of Mr. Danny Shelton. 21:05 God, I give You what I can today: 21:09 these scattered ashes that I hid away. 21:15 I lay it all 21:19 at Your feet. 21:26 From the corner of my deepest shame: 21:31 the empty places where I've worn Your name... 21:35 show me the love... 21:39 I say "I believe. " 21:44 Oh help me to lay it down. 21:50 Oh, Lord, I lay it down. 21:57 Oh, let this be 22:03 where I die. 22:08 My Lord, with Thee 22:14 crucify. 22:19 Be lifted high 22:24 and my kingdom fall 22:29 once and for all... 22:34 once and for all. 22:41 There is vict'ry in my Savior's laws 22:47 and in the crimson flowing from the cross. 22:51 Pour over me... 22:55 pour over me. 23:00 Oh let this be 23:05 where I die. 23:09 My Lord, with Thee 23:14 crucify. 23:19 Be lifted high 23:24 and my kingdoms fall 23:29 once and for all... 23:35 once and for all. 23:40 Oh Lord, I lay it down 23:45 Oh Lord, I lay it down 23:51 Help me to lay it down 23:57 Oh Lord, I lay it 24:00 down. 24:04 Oh, let this be 24:10 where I die. 24:15 My Lord, with Thee 24:20 crucify. 24:26 Be lifted high 24:30 as my kingdoms fall 24:36 once and for all... 24:42 once and for all... 24:48 once and for all... 24:54 once and 24:58 for all. Amen! 25:07 Amen! Thank you, Melody. 25:09 Good morning... Happy Sabbath! 25:10 Good morning. I'm back to my normal 25:15 good morning; happy Sabbath. 25:17 A few weeks ago we were in Chicago - 25:19 south side of Chicago at a black church - 25:22 and I always love it 'cause I can get up and say 25:24 "Good afternoon. " 25:26 Preachers don't get up till after twelve, right? 25:29 So it was good afternoon. That way you just 25:31 feel at home. You know nobody's in a hurry. 25:33 So we're here. So hopefully today we're not 25:35 in too big a hurry. How many are happy today? 25:37 Amen! 25:38 All right. Excited about living in the closing moments 25:41 of earth's history? Amen. I know I am. 25:44 And what an incredible time to be alive! 25:47 It really is! Today my little... 25:50 I don't call it a sermon. I'm not a preacher 25:52 nor the son of a preacher but I'm a talker. 25:55 So I'm a speaker, but today my little talk 25:58 will be entitled He's Been Faithful To Me. 26:01 Has God been faithful to you? Amen. 26:04 All right... has He been faithful to you? 26:06 Let me hear it. Amen... all right. 26:08 Now, we don't have to worry... Ellen White says we don't 26:11 have to worry about the future. Why? 26:14 'Cause all we have to do is look back to the past. 26:16 We'll find that when we go through those valleys 26:19 of the shadow of death that's usually brought on by 26:21 our self. It's never been because God wasn't faithful. 26:24 You remember the footprints in the sand. 26:27 You know, the guy: "Why is there one? " 26:28 "Well that's when I carried you. " 26:30 That's exactly why I'm encouraged about today. 26:35 I'm encouraged about being a Christian, 26:36 a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, 26:38 in the closing moments of earth's history 26:40 because God has been faithful. 26:42 What God assigns you to do He will finish. 26:46 Say "Amen" to that? What God assigns you to do 26:50 He will finish it. Now, 26:52 Jesus wants us all, and I call it the "Go ye" movement... 26:56 Every one of us there's a movement going on 26:58 and God has called us to it and it's called the "Go ye. " 27:01 The "Go ye, " right? You've heard me say it many times. 27:04 Matthew 28:18-20. 27:06 "All power is given Me in heaven and earth. 27:08 Go ye therefore. " 27:10 So each and every one of us 27:12 should be part of the "Go ye" team. 27:14 The trouble is that when we commit, submit and commit 27:18 our lives to God and we become part of the "Go ye" team 27:22 all of a sudden if I can use this term - 27:24 don't anybody get upset - but all "hell" breaks loose. 27:27 Right? I'm talking about spiritually. The devil... 27:30 it breaks loose because it's like we're not even 27:34 on the board. He doesn't even know who we are 27:36 till we start doing something for Jesus. 27:39 When you take a stand for the Lord 27:41 you can be assured that the devil is angry about it. 27:45 I hadn't intended to tell this but it reminds me: way back 27:49 in probably the late 70's or early 80's 27:53 that... I was a carpenter by trade for many years. 27:56 And Melody just sang. By the way, thank you Melody 27:59 for the beautiful song and Lisa for playing it. 28:02 And back when Melody was a little girl 28:04 and her mother and we traveled and sang. 28:08 Well there was a beginning to that where we'd always sang 28:10 since Melody was very young 28:12 but when she was about 9 years old we said: 28:15 "You know what? Let's get a P.A. system 28:17 and we'll start travelling in churches 28:20 and doing music. " Now up to that point 28:23 everything seemed to be going fine to me. 28:26 Right? I mean I was a Christian. 28:28 I mentioned it before. I was a Seventh-day Adventist. 28:30 So much so I kept the Sabbath so good 28:34 that Kenny and I... Well, I shouldn't bring him in. 28:36 Let me take it back to me. Sorry, Kenny. I've already 28:38 blown your cover... my cover, too. 28:40 But Kenny and I used to have a fast pitch softball team. 28:43 We loved fast pitch softball. 28:45 We would play fast pitch... We'd play over 100 games 28:48 a year. Well now, double-headers at night 28:51 after night and weekends. But we wouldn't play on Sabbath. 28:54 We were too good of Christians for that. 28:56 I always say "If sundown was at 8 o'clock 28:59 on Friday night we would pull ourselves out of the game 29:02 at 7:59 PM " 29:04 'cause we wanted to keep the Sabbath, right? 29:07 So then the next night... If our team won, 29:09 we got to play on Saturday night. 29:11 So the game may start at 7:00 PM 29:14 so we'd get dressed in our ball suits, go out to the ball 29:16 diamond, sit in our cars, and wait till 8:01 PM. 29:21 And then we'd call time out and put ourselves back in the game. 29:24 I mean, we could do that. It was our team. 29:25 It was called Shelton Construction, right? 29:27 So when you have that and you're paying the bills 29:32 and buying the ball suits and the balls and all of that 29:34 and the bats, hey, you can put yourselves in when you choose. 29:36 But we did that thinking we wanted to keep the Sabbath 29:40 and be a witness to those around us. 29:42 Well, we were! 29:45 We were, right? 29:47 Somebody got it. 29:49 Somebody got it... we were, but not a good witness, were we? 29:52 Not a good witness. 29:54 But when you start working for the Lord 29:57 all of a sudden you get into the devil's "shot. " 30:01 In his firing range. 30:03 So Melody was 9 years old 30:06 so we said: "Let's get a little P.A. system. 30:09 We'll start travelling around. " 30:11 Rhonda and Lisa were little so we said: "We'll just take 30:13 everybody and we'll call it the Danny Shelton family 30:17 singers. So we'll go to churches, Sunday churches... 30:19 any kind of church that will have us and we'll sing. " 30:22 Bought a P.A. system for the first time. 30:24 Found a guy in Creal Springs. A nice guy, pastor 30:27 of a Church of God. I saw him somewhere 30:30 and he says: "Hey, I know you guys sing. Would you come 30:32 to my church? " I said: "We'd love to. " 30:34 So we get ready. We're going to go like the very next week 30:38 or week after to his church. 30:40 Well, everything's going good. Our first singing. 30:43 We're going to do something for the Lord as a family. 30:46 We're going to get out and do some music. 30:48 And then Melody comes home from school one day 30:50 and her face is starting to swell a little bit 30:53 and by the end of the day or so her eyes were almost shut. 30:56 She was all swollen. She had these marks all over her. 31:00 She looked in the mirror, and I remember, you know, 31:03 when you're the daddy and you've got your little 9-year-old 31:05 daughter at that time... I think she was nine then... 31:07 And she was like: "Daddy, I look like a monster. " 31:10 She got poison ivy and it was spreading all over her. 31:13 So of course we took her to the doctor. 31:15 And the doctor said: "There's really nothing 31:17 you can do about that right now. 31:19 We can't do anything about it. 31:21 I can... But we can give her shots if she's allergic 31:25 for future, but right now we just give her what we can. 31:28 Give her stuff to ease, this. " But I said: "Well how long 31:31 will this take? " He said: "Oh, maybe a couple weeks 31:34 and she'll start gettin' better. " And I'm like 31:36 to myself: "Well, we can't do that. 31:37 This Sunday we're singing for our very first time. " 31:40 Now, that was my introduction to what the devil... 31:43 I suddenly got in his range. 31:45 Right? Because we were... instead of playing ball... 31:47 Not that ball is bad. Still like to play ball 31:50 when we get a chance but not make it our lifeline. 31:52 So here... what are we going to do? 31:55 I don't know what to do. 31:56 So I think of this little lady in our church: 31:59 Jewell Vineyard is her name. 32:01 And Jewell Vineyard has been resting in Jesus 32:03 for many years. She was probably in her 80's, and this would be 32:06 like 1979 or 1980... somewhere in there. 32:10 And I knew that Ms. Vineyard... that when anybody got sick 32:14 in the church they always would call Ms. Vineyard 32:16 and have her pray. They always seemed like 32:19 God just was on her side. No matter what she did 32:22 things just happened when Sr. Vineyard prayed. 32:26 And I'd heard about it; been around her. 32:28 Wonderful lady. I mean grandmotherly, motherly. 32:31 She had all of these. So sweet all the time. 32:34 So I called her. "Sr. Vineyard, 32:36 Melody has poison ivy. " This is probably I don't know 32:40 maybe if it's Tuesday or Wednesday, and we're to sing 32:43 this Sunday. "Melody's got poison ivy 32:45 and her face is all swollen. Her eyes are almost swollen shut. 32:49 She's in a lot of pain. Could you pray for her? " 32:52 "Oh, certainly, " she said. I said: "Oh, great. " I said: 32:55 "We'll bring her out to you. " "Oh, no, I'll come to you. " 32:59 Wow! She's going to drive? I said: "No, Ms. Vineyard, 33:02 don't worry, we'll... " "No, no, no. I'll come to you" 33:04 she said. So she drives out to our house. 33:07 So she has us get in a little circle and we hold hands. 33:12 I don't know if we held Melody's hands. 33:13 Afraid we'd get it or not... I don't remember. 33:16 Probably we did. I think we loved her enough 33:18 we went ahead and held her hand. 33:20 And so... but I remember that Sr. Vineyard prayed for her. 33:24 Now I wanted one of these prayers like: "Lord, 33:27 we need a miracle. Do something, please! 33:31 We're going to sing for You and PLEASE do something. " 33:34 I really wanted it. She's simply like: 33:36 "Well, dear Lord, You know the situation. 33:39 The family's supposed to sing 33:41 and the devil is trying to stop that 33:43 so we ask you to heal Melody. " 33:45 And it was very short, very sweet. "Amen. " 33:49 So she got up, and I'm looking at Melody. 33:51 She looks just like she did when we started the prayer. 33:54 'Cause I'm kind of an impatient guy and I wanted 33:57 like instant... you know, instant healing. 33:59 Like I wanted to be able to say: "Praise the Lord! " 34:02 So she gets up - Ms. Vineyard - and says: "Well, thanks. " 34:04 She's so sweet and so nice and so I said: "Well thank you 34:07 Sr. Vineyard" and she walks out. 34:09 And I said: "Well, I'm really glad she prayed 34:11 but that's not helping us 'cause we need to pray 34:14 this... we need to sing this Sunday. " 34:16 So: "Lord, You know the situation. 34:19 We leave it in Your hands. " 34:21 So I have to go to town and get some stuff. 34:23 So about an hour and a half later 34:25 I come home. Melody's at the front door. She said: 34:28 "Daddy, Daddy! Come here quick, look. " 34:30 And I'm telling you... She's here; where are you Melody? 34:33 I saw her sitting out there. 34:34 Am I right? You can testify to this story. 34:37 She says: "Daddy, look. " The poison ivy 34:40 from the top of her head was starting to clear up 34:42 and you could see it go down. 34:45 Literally go down. 34:49 By that Sunday she may have had a little on her arms 34:52 or whatever but we were in perfect shape 34:54 and we were able to do our first singing together 34:57 as a family. Now... God is faithful, isn't He? 35:00 Amen! When He's assigned you a task 35:03 He's going to give you the resources and He's going to 35:05 give you everything needed to accomplish that. 35:08 How do I know that? Philippians 4:19 says: 35:11 "For my God shall supply... " part of your needs? 35:13 ALL! "all of your needs. " "I can do 35:16 all things through Christ who strengthens me. " 35:19 So what happens is, the little scenario, the little... 35:22 If I can put this all in a nutshell, we're all 35:24 frail human agents. We're all in need of a Savior. 35:27 So when we submit and commit our lives to Jesus 35:30 He says: "Go ye therefore... 35:32 Tell what I have done for you. " 35:34 So Ellen White says... in a quote she says: 35:37 "Our greatest asset is our own personal testimony 35:40 of what God has done for us. " 35:42 Isn't that great? You don't have to... I'll refrain from 35:47 saying "go to the cemetery" but go to the seminary. 35:49 You don't have to do any of that type of stuff. 35:51 You can just simply submit and commit your life 35:54 to Jesus, and now you're already a witness 35:57 because all you have to do is go tell what God did for you. 36:00 Look what He... I was in this tr... 36:02 "I had all these habits, I had all of these things 36:04 in my life, and God took that away and gave me peace. 36:07 Gave me peace of mind. " 36:09 Isn't that incredible that we can serve a God? 36:12 So He equips us so when we go out 36:14 we can be assured that God equips you. 36:17 So as I said already when we DO go out 36:19 the devil... you get in his line of sight 36:22 and so one thing after another happens. 36:26 A few weeks after singing I just bought a car 36:29 and I was driving down the road. 36:33 Never been in a wreck before and somebody ran a stop sign 36:36 and hit my car and totaled out my car basically. 36:41 Now I had had the car and didn't get insurance yet 36:44 it was so new. So now I'm trying to raise... 36:46 A young guy trying to raise a family but I don't have 36:48 insurance and I don't have a car. 36:50 So that's not a good way to get to churches to sing, right? 36:54 So I'm struggling. A few weeks later I'm playing basketball 36:57 and I fall. I'd like to say "somebody tripped me. " 37:01 I probably fell. But I don't want you to think 37:04 I'm that uncoordinated but I probably did. 37:06 And so I broke the navicular bone in my wrist. 37:10 So I go to the doctor; they put on a cast 37:12 and I say: "How long is this going to be on? 37:15 Three or four weeks? " 37:16 Now I'm a carpenter. I need both hands. 37:19 "Oh, it'll probably be... " he said: "I don't know: 37:22 four to six months. " 37:23 Now he's an Asian doctor and he speaks with an accent 37:26 and I said: "You mean four to six weeks? " 37:28 I'm trying to help him. 37:30 He says: "No... I mean four to six months. " 37:33 And I said: "Wow. " And he said: "This cast will stay on 37:36 about 6 weeks then we'll probably have to put on 37:38 another one. " All of a sudden 37:40 what in the world is going wrong? 37:42 Melody has this problem; I have a car wreck; 37:44 now I've got a broken wrist 37:48 and I'm trying to still make a living 37:50 all because I decided to do what Jesus asked me to do. 37:54 Now what do you do at that point? Do you quit? 37:56 No! Or do you go forward? 37:59 You go forward. You have to learn to trust God. 38:02 You see, what I've learned over the years 38:04 I've had people say: "Oh, you have so much faith. " 38:06 And I say: "I don't have faith. 38:08 I'm doing as the Bible says 'the faith of Jesus. ' " 38:11 I'm trusting in the faith of Jesus, the way He commissioned 38:14 us to go somewhere that He knew 38:16 by His grace and by His power we could accomplish 38:20 what He asked us to do. 38:21 And I'm so thankful for that: that God is faithful. 38:25 I'm going to continue to say that. Pretty soon 38:27 I want you to say God is faithful to me. 38:30 Why don't we just say it now together? 38:31 God is faithful to me. 38:34 God is faithful to me. 38:36 Right? It's important that we know that 38:39 because so many times we're looking at other people 38:42 and we're saying: "Man, everything just seems to go 38:44 their way. Just everything works out for them 38:46 but what about me? " 38:48 You know? That's what we're all about today. 38:50 They have the "me" movement... I forget what it is 38:52 but some of you know, but every- thing's about "What about me? " 38:55 You know, and so we in this case 38:58 "Yes, Jesus died for me. " 39:02 He died for you, right? 39:04 He died for all of us that not one should perish 39:07 but all have everlasting life. 39:10 Somebody say "Amen" to that? Amen! 39:12 So now He says: "OK, go ye into all the world. " 39:15 Dr. Thompson used to say: "When the Lord said that 39:17 He counted His resources in advance 39:20 and found that He's not wanting. " 39:22 So it's not a big deal, but we make it a big deal 39:25 because we allow ourselves to be distracted 39:28 from the simple task of telling people what Jesus had done 39:32 for us and that there is a heaven waiting for us 39:35 and there is a mansion with our names on it 39:37 already waiting for us. 39:40 We like to say heaven... We wrote a song that says 39:42 "Heaven is not heaven till God's children are home. " 39:45 So the Lord wants to come back. 39:48 We're not waiting on Him as I said last night. 39:50 He's waiting on us to perfect His character 39:53 within our life. He wants to come back 39:55 for a purified bride and a purified church. 39:57 But we, folks, get distracted. 40:00 So when we get into ministry all we have to do 40:03 is go forward by faith. 40:05 And here's what I learned: my faith doesn't begin... 40:08 now think about this... my faith doesn't begin 40:11 till my sight ends. 40:14 All right? My faith doesn't begin 40:17 till my sight ends. 40:18 That's why when I go to churches and I travel 40:22 to a lot of churches over the years... 40:24 And I'll ask sometimes the pastor, ask people: 40:26 "When's the last time you had an evangelistic series? " 40:30 "When's the last time? " You think about your church. 40:32 Don't out loud. "When's the last time you had 40:35 an evangelistic series? " 40:36 Sometimes they'll say: "Oh, we had one 40:38 three or four years ago or five. " 40:40 "What have you been doing meantime? " 40:42 It's OK to come and praise the Lord and be happy 40:44 and see each other every week 40:47 but we should be all about evangelism. Amen! 40:50 Evangelism, evangelism, evangelism. 40:53 You see, Christianity and evangelism 40:56 go together. We can't call ourselves a Christian 40:58 and not be involved in evangelism. 41:01 We can't be in evangelism and not be a Christian. 41:06 I almost wrote a song this morning, then I realized that 41:09 it's probably already been written. But mine was going to 41:12 say: "Christianity and evangelism go together. 41:15 Any time and any weather Christianity and evangelism 41:20 go together. " Any of you ever heard that? 41:24 Soup and sandwich; soup and sandwich... 41:27 any time or weather 41:30 you can't have one without the other. 41:33 Anybody here ever? You're old enough... 41:36 Some of you are old enough. I can look at you. 41:38 How many have heard that commercial? 41:39 Thanks for being honest, OK. 41:41 All right. Campbell's soup, right? 41:44 Well, that's it: Christianity and evangelism 41:47 go together. Any time, any weather. 41:49 Right? You can't have one without the other. 41:53 Now is that going to stick in your mind? 41:54 If nothing else I say today 41:56 hopefully that sticks in your mind. 41:58 When you say "I'm a Christian. " OK, what are you doing about it? 42:01 Are you trying to work your way into heaven? 42:03 No, but Jesus says "Go. " 42:05 If Jesus says "Go, " tell the world. 42:08 He says "teach all nations. " Right? 42:11 So all nations. When we go 42:13 the blessing is on the "Go. " 42:16 The blessing is on the "Go. " 42:19 Any time, any weather Christianity and evangelism 42:22 go together. I want you to remember that. 42:25 Forget Campbell's soup. 42:26 You can wait till the winter and it's cold, then you can 42:28 think about that. Right now 42:30 if we're a Christian we should have a mind of evangelism. 42:33 Should be on our minds all the time, right? 42:36 And if we're in evangelism, we need to stop and 42:39 say: "You know, I really need to become a Christian first. " 42:41 Because we have a lot of folk out there 42:44 who are working in ministry 42:46 but they're not necessarily Christians. 42:48 I used to travel and sing years ago 42:51 with my brother Tommy and Melody's mother 42:54 who was killed in the automobile accident in 1982. 42:57 We used to travel and sing with a lot of gospel quartets. 43:01 Like southern gospel music. We'd travel around 43:04 and I was amazed that these folk openly 43:07 would tell you after the services 43:09 they're not really Christians. 43:11 Some of them had bars. 43:14 I went in one of them's bus... very famous group. 43:16 They had their wine rack and offered me if I wanted 43:18 any drink or what have you. 43:20 And they had signs up that said things 43:22 that I won't be able to repeat to you now. 43:24 So one day a guy asked me... They were there for a night 43:27 and they were doing 2 or 3 nights of singing. 43:29 Said: "Hey, why don't you go with me? 43:30 We'll go bowling tomorrow. I like to bowl. Is there 43:32 any place? " I said: "Sure. " I took him bowling 43:34 and every time he didn't get a strike 43:36 he would say some string of curse words. 43:38 And he was smoking a cigar. Back then you could 43:40 smoke in the bowling alley. 43:43 And so finally I said to him... 43:45 I won't give his name but I said to him - 43:47 he was very well known - I said: 43:50 "I don't get it. Last night I heard you 43:52 up front. You were crying; you were giving a testimony. 43:55 Tears running down your eyes. 43:57 And today away from that 44:00 you know, the smoking, the cursing, 44:03 all of these things. 44:05 How can you do that? " And he said: 44:07 "Oh, I never said I'm a Christian. " 44:09 He said: "I'd love to be singing country music. 44:13 I just haven't made it yet and I want to make a living 44:15 in music so I do gospel music. " 44:18 See, Christianity and evangelism go together. 44:21 Evangelism and Christianity go together 44:24 any time, any weather. You can't have one without the other. 44:27 Right? That's not exactly all the verses to the song, but 44:31 we'll put that much together. 44:33 So what happens? So what happens? 44:37 We're doing what God told us to do 44:43 and all of a sudden the devil... we get in his radar 44:47 and one thing after another after another. 44:51 And I've found over the years 44:54 that the more the devil does 44:56 if I'm not discouraged and I go forward 45:00 God will open doors that I couldn't possibly do. 45:03 As I said earlier, our sight... our faith doesn't even begin 45:08 till our sight ends. 45:10 And that's very important for us to know it. 45:12 When I ask the people: "Why haven't you had evangelistic 45:16 series for 4 or 5 years? " 45:18 number one reason: "Well, we just don't have any money. " 45:22 Now think about it. You're a church 45:24 that's here to be a beacon on a hill 45:27 and if you have money for anything, what should it be? 45:31 Evangelism! I mean, that doesn't take a rocket scientist, 45:34 right? to figure that out. 45:36 But they say: "Well, we just don't have the money. " 45:39 You know, it may cost $10,000. 45:41 Might cost $15,000. 45:43 Well I've said to people: "Boy, I notice you've got 45:46 a beautiful gymnasium. " "Well, that's for the church school. " 45:49 "Well, that's great. You've got a beautiful church, 45:53 a beautiful lawn. " "Oh yeah, we want to have a nice 45:56 church, we want to have all these things. " 45:58 "Well who do we want that for? " 46:00 Who do we want it for? 46:03 They don't have that in India and Africa and many of the 46:05 places I've been. They're not worried about building a, 46:08 you know, great facilities. They're worried about 46:11 winning souls for the kingdom of God. Amen. 46:14 So nothing wrong with having a great facility. 46:17 I praise God for this facility. 46:19 Thank you by the way. You all paid for it... I didn't. 46:21 So I tried to help a little, but we all did it together, right? 46:24 It's a great facility; it's a great thing to have 46:27 but it's not our focus. 46:28 The focus is evangelism. 46:31 So... is to take the undiluted three angels' messages 46:34 one that would counteract the counterfeit 46:37 into all the world. Amen! 46:39 But time and time again 46:41 as I go forward the devil tries to stop. 46:45 He hates 3ABN. The devil hates you, too. 46:49 But he hates the ministry of 3ABN as you just heard 46:51 some testimonies earlier. How many of you? 46:54 Anybody out here came to the Lord or joined the church 46:57 from watching 3ABN? Let me see your hands. 46:59 All right... raise them high. 47:01 All right! Quite a few all over. Thank you. 47:03 Many of them. Some of our speakers! 47:06 Shelley Quinn's back there. Ryan Day's back there. 47:08 Others and many of you. 47:10 Everywhere we go we see that. The devil hates it. 47:13 So what does he try to do? 47:15 He tries to get us discouraged. 47:17 So I'm going to go back and I'm just going to re-live 47:20 a little bit of the past if that's OK with you. 47:22 Because I want to look back. When I get discouraged 47:25 I want to look back and remember God's been faithful to me. 47:28 Amen! When you get discouraged, 47:31 you're tempted to get discouraged, 47:33 you want to look back and recall the times 47:36 God has been faithful to you. Amen! 47:38 You're here today; He's blessed you. 47:40 Now it's not a matter... Somebody said: "Well, 47:42 you know, I lost this person to death and I lost this... " 47:46 That's not the worst thing that can happen to us. 47:48 Being separated from God for eternity 47:51 is the worst thing that can happen to us. 47:53 Right now death is just a sleep. 47:55 There are many folk who are asleep resting 47:57 that's going to spend eternity with Jesus. 47:59 This time on this earth: that's just a fleeting moment, 48:02 you know, compared to eternity. 48:04 The worst thing that can happen to us? We can be distracted 48:08 from the Bible, from the Word of God 48:11 and our commitment to God, and we can end up living 48:14 for the devil instead of for the Lord. 48:17 Right? Somebody say "Amen? " 48:19 Amen! So what are we going to do? 48:22 We're working in ministry 48:24 and I thought when we started 3ABN 48:27 everybody would be happy about it. 48:29 Boy... was I young and naive. 48:33 No... I did. Wouldn't you think so? 48:35 We never had... Adventist church never had a television station. 48:38 There was not one television station in the entire world 48:42 when 3ABN started that 24/7 was giving the Bible message 48:49 three angels' messages. 48:51 Not one. So, when I'd go tell people 48:54 you'd think they'd be excited about it. 48:56 So many naysayers. "Oh no, you can't do that. " 48:59 "What's your background? " And you tell them. 49:00 "Oh, that'll never work. Why that's too big... 49:02 Why don't you do something else? " 49:05 But I knew what the Lord had impressed. My family knew 49:08 so we continued to go forward. 49:09 God began to open every door. 49:11 Guess what happens? Your faith begins to grow! 49:14 And all of a sudden it's like: "All right. Whatever it is 49:16 we don't care... God is there before us. " 49:19 "God is there before us. " 49:21 He said and John quoted it last night. I think I wrote it down 49:24 here. It's a great scripture. 49:26 He said, Philippians 1:6 says: "Being confident of this very 49:29 thing: that He who has begun a good work in you 49:32 will... " Do what? "complete it until the day of Jesus. " 49:35 So when God calls you to do a good work 49:37 He couldn't call you to do anything but a good work. 49:40 Right? So when God calls you to do a good work 49:43 He's going to complete it. 49:45 All we have to... He'll complete it in spite of us 49:48 as long as we rely on Him. 49:50 He allows us to make mistakes. 49:52 He knows we're frail human agents. 49:54 He lived on this earth, but He died 49:56 and gave His life so that we now when we fail 49:59 and when we falter, we can go to Him 50:01 and ask Him to forgive us. He takes it to the Father 50:04 and says: "I know what they're going through; I've been there. 50:07 And they're sorry... they're repentant. 50:09 Please forgive them of their sins. " 50:12 We are literally... our sins are... How does the Bible 50:16 say it? "from the east to the west, " right? Forgotten! 50:21 The Lord forgives and forgets. We forgive but we don't forget. 50:25 "I forgive you, but don't you ever do that again. " 50:29 "I forgive you, but I still remember what you did to me 50:32 back in 1985, " right? 50:33 I mean, that's the human nature. 50:35 Jesus forgives and forgets. 50:38 And so now when we serve Him and we go forward 50:42 and we try to become Christ-like 50:44 we're knowing that whatever He sets us to do 50:48 that when we do it if we stick to the Word of God 50:51 it's going to finish and it's going to be good. 50:54 Not for our honor and our glory but it's going to be good. 50:57 'Cause He says it's a "good work" - right? 51:01 And little is much when God is in it. 51:04 So when we start all we have to do is say... 51:06 I didn't look to the end "Well where is 3ABN going to be? " 51:10 If I'd have known that it'd cost 15 million a year plus 51:13 whatever and all this stuff and I'm a carpenter 51:16 and have no money I would say: "I'm sorry, Lord. I'm not 51:19 the right guy for that. " 51:21 Are there things that you wouldn't have done 51:23 if you knew in advance? Right? 51:26 Am I the only one? 51:27 No. There's many things that you've done. 51:29 But now we know we can be confident 51:32 of this: that what God starts... 51:35 the good work He starts He's going to finish. 51:37 It's easy for me to decide 3ABN is good work. 51:40 You know why? 'Cause it's not about me. 51:42 It's not about you. 51:44 It's about saving souls for the kingdom of God 51:47 and doing what God asks us to do. 51:49 So... "no-brainer" in my mind 51:51 that 3ABN... I'm not saying all of us individuals... 51:55 but the mission of 3ABN is a good mission. 51:59 So therefore we can go do what we need to do. 52:01 But the devil never quits... never quits. I remember 52:05 one time back a number of years. 52:08 I don't know if it's 15, 16 years ago. 52:11 In fact, if Johnny Dinzey... Johnny Dinzey, are you around? 52:15 I'd ask somebody. If he's around maybe he could come out. 52:17 Oh there he is! Thank you. They found you. 52:20 I was thinking about this this morning. 52:23 I said: "Well maybe I'll let Johnny Dinzey. " 52:25 What I want to tell you about is don't be discouraged 52:28 because of finances, any other reason. 52:30 When you're in ministry like this, it's a constant. 52:32 Right now we are as of this date... 52:36 What is it? September 28th of 2019? 52:39 We are running over a million dollars behind 52:42 the last two years. 52:44 That's no fun... and we have, you know, 52:47 we don't have money in the bank that we can just spend 52:49 money or get money from there. 52:51 And that's a tough thing. 52:54 We're looking at... and it could get worse 52:57 by the end of the year... it could get better. 52:58 What do we do? We go forward. 53:01 So I recounted the past and said: 53:03 "He's been good to me; God's been good to you. " 53:06 When I say me... us. God's been good to all of us. 53:09 3ABN. Your money those of you... Your prayers and financial 53:12 support. What are we going to do? 53:15 What we do is you don't allow that... 53:17 like the little churches that say: "We can't have evangelistic 53:19 series because we don't have enough money. " 53:22 That's no excuse. If you go for- ward God will supply that money. 53:26 Amen! See, they're not allowing their faith 53:30 'cause if you see the future you're not really going out 53:33 by faith anyway if you think you know the future. 53:35 So all you have to do is weigh what it says. 53:38 We're supposed to witness to those around us 53:41 so let's do it. So the church? Let's have an evangelistic 53:44 series every year... at least one. 53:46 Right? And people will come because God's Word does not 53:51 return void. And if we go forward 53:53 people hear that, they're going to walk in this church. 53:55 Several of you... Anybody here that comes to THIS 53:58 church because you heard, watch 3ABN television or radio? 54:01 Any hands? OK... there's some back here 54:04 in the back. Numbers of people have just walked in - 54:06 thank you - have walked in to this church 54:09 saying: "We listen to 3ABN on the radio. " 54:12 "We watch it. " Well Johnny, I want to go to your... 54:16 Tell us, 'cause you reminded me this morning. 54:19 I asked you about it. I had been talking 54:22 and I had made a statement. I guess you were aware 54:25 that I made a statement towards the end of the year 54:28 we were three-quarter million dollars behind? 54:30 All right. Tell me what happened. Tell the folks. 54:33 Well it was for many, many years 54:36 the idea of a Spanish channel was in my mind. 54:39 Nobody knew it but Idalia. 54:43 That started in 1993, but it was in the year 2000 54:47 that you said something in a 3ABN day of prayer 54:51 that caught my attention and I took it as a personal 54:54 invitation. 'Cause this is what you said... something like this: 54:56 "If you have an idea to help further the gospel 55:00 to reach the world, come and talk to me. " 55:02 "I've learned a few things throughout the years 55:05 and I may be able to help you. " 55:06 I said: "That's what I needed to hear! " 55:08 So I started doing research. How many Spanish people 55:11 are there here in the US? I was shocked! 55:14 The census was coming out, and I said: "Well wait a minute. 55:17 It'd still be on satellite. It's gotta reach more people 55:19 than just the US. " I was overwhelmed 55:23 over 350 million people spoke Spanish 55:26 as their first native language. 55:29 And it was the second language in the world 55:32 as far as number of native language speakers... 55:35 but English was third. 55:36 But when you count people that learn a second language 55:40 English is #2 and Mandarin is #1 by far. 55:44 Chinese people. 55:46 So I was amazed when I thought I had all the information 55:50 I said: "I'm going to go and talk to Mollie, 55:52 Danny's secretary. " I said: "Mollie, I'd like to 55:55 talk to Danny about... " And she said: "OK. " 55:59 She wrote my name down, and she said: "What do you 56:02 want to talk to him about? " I didn't want to say it 56:04 right then. I said: "About Spanish programming. " 56:07 She says: "OK... you are #17. " 56:11 I said: "You mean 17 people need to talk to Danny? " 56:15 "Yes! You're #17. 56:17 I'll let you know when he's ready. " 56:18 Well it was about 3 weeks later. 56:22 He was traveling and doing other things. 56:24 I was tired... I had to get some sleep. 56:27 He was in different places and then he finally... 3 weeks later 56:31 I get the call. I was in Pastoral Ministries then. 56:34 "Danny is ready to talk to you; come down. " 56:38 I was so happy! Grabbed my folder with information. 56:41 Did a very quick prayer. 56:43 And then when I got to the stairs that go down 56:46 to go down the stairs the thought came to my mind: 56:50 "Oh, wait a minute. Last week I heard we were 56:52 about a half a million or more down in offerings. 56:56 This may be the worst time to present this idea. " 56:58 So I went back to my office. Knelt and prayed 57:02 and I said: "Lord, You know this has been a burden in my heart 57:05 for many years. If it's Your will for this 57:07 to happen, impress Danny. 57:09 If it's not Your will, let me know 57:11 and give me peace about this. " 57:13 I let it go... I had peace. Went downstairs 57:16 and started presenting point by point. And then 57:21 you said something that... "You know what we've learned" 57:24 because I was sharing about the millions of people 57:26 all of these places. You said: "You know what we've learned 57:28 throughout the years is in Russia when we started doing 57:31 our English programming to Russia it made a great impact 57:35 in Russia. BUT when we started doing Russian programming 57:39 the people... the numbers increased by thousands 57:43 that wanted Bible studies and Bibles. " 57:46 And I said: "That was the very next point! " 57:48 And so then you said: "Where are we going with all this? " 57:52 And I said: "I believe we need a Spanish channel. " 57:57 And this is what Danny did: 57:58 he blinked and he said: "Let's do it! " 58:05 I didn't prepare myself. 58:10 I didn't prepare myself for a "yea" or a "nay. " 58:13 I just heard that and I said: "Did he just say yes? " 58:18 And then you said: "Pray. We're still over half a million 58:23 dollars behind in offerings. " Three quarters... 58:29 I was shocked; I didn't know what to say. 58:31 I said: "We'll pray. " When I stepped out of there, 58:33 Danny, I said to myself: "This man still believes! " 58:38 Because I looked at it this way: if these 58:41 car manufacturers are about to go bankrupt 58:44 and you come and say: "Hey, let's build another plant 58:47 over there in Bucharest or something like that" 58:49 they'd say: "Are you out of your mind? We're about to go 58:51 bankrupt here... we need to close down things. " 58:54 But you said: "Let's do it. " 58:57 And I said: "This man still believes in God. " 59:00 Danny, about a month later... And I'll stop here. 59:02 About a month later I'm going through the lobby 59:05 and Leonard Westphal was there 59:07 and I greeted him and I asked: "How are you doing? " 59:10 "Oh I'm doing great... I'm doing great. " 59:12 He says: "I have a fantastic report. Fantastic! 59:15 Fantastic! " He used to like to repeat things like that. 59:18 And I'll leave it there because it's amazing what God has done. 59:22 I'll finish it. Thank you, Johnny. 59:24 So 59:28 Johnny could remember the story better than me 59:31 so that's why I wanted him to tell it. 59:32 Now we're not lifting up people but he said I blinked. 59:36 You'll be shocked how many things can go through your mind 59:39 in a blink. A lot of things can go through your mind 59:44 in a blink. I mean like really quickly. 59:47 But my first thought was: "We can't... " It was actually 59:51 3/4 million dollars behind. "We just can't do that. " 59:56 But I guess before the blink ended 59:59 it's "Go ye in faith. " In other words, 01:00:01 the reason maybe we don't have what we need 01:00:03 is because we need to center more on evangelism, 01:00:05 go forward. So we stepped forward. 01:00:08 Well then when he was talking about Leonard, what happened was 01:00:12 I had gone on the air and I had talked about it. 01:00:15 And I didn't say: "Oh, we have to have this. " 01:00:17 I just told the folks this - it's what I'm going to tell you 01:00:19 today... those of you watching, those of you here... 01:00:21 that I said to the folk on the air. We were doing 01:00:24 a rally somewhere and I said: 01:00:26 "Right now we're about 3/4 million dollars... " 01:00:29 This was November what have you... 01:00:31 "that we have to have above and beyond everything else 01:00:33 that we need to keep us going and growing 01:00:37 3/4 million dollars by the end of the year. " 01:00:39 And we get no other money. We're independent as far as 01:00:45 legal. We're our own 501C3. 01:00:47 So when the church takes up offerings for church ministries 01:00:51 3ABN's not included in that. 01:00:53 A lot of people think we are. 01:00:54 But rightfully so we shouldn't. We're not part of the 01:00:57 officially the denomination but we support the church 01:01:00 and the work of the church. 01:01:02 We always have. So when I made an appeal 01:01:05 I just said to the folk: "We're 3/4 million dollars down 01:01:09 but I will tell you come January I'll come on the air 01:01:11 and tell you how God blessed 01:01:13 and how He made up that because God is faithful. " 01:01:16 Amen! God is faithful. 01:01:18 So what happened was there was a lady in Oregon. 01:01:21 She was 97 years old. 01:01:24 And she had called Leonard. She had a will 01:01:29 or a trust with 3ABN that when she went to sleep 01:01:32 the money would go to 3ABN. But she said: 01:01:35 "I'm impressed that I should give it now. " 01:01:37 It was $865,000 01:01:40 and we needed $750,000, right? 01:01:43 $865,000. But she said: "I'll do it on one condition: 01:01:46 that Danny Shelton comes out to visit me at my house. " 01:01:50 Now I didn't care if she lived in Timbuktu. 01:01:53 I didn't care. She could have been in the far sides of the 01:01:56 jungles in the Amazon. She could have been in China. 01:01:58 I was going one way or the other. Ride a bike, 01:02:02 fly, boat, whatever... Swim. 01:02:04 I was going to be there, right? for that kind of money. 01:02:06 So I said: "OK. " So thank- fully she just lived in Oregon. 01:02:11 We can take planes out there. 01:02:12 So I went out. I looked up the address. 01:02:15 Didn't have a GPS then. Looked up an address 01:02:18 and I kept driving by. There were beautiful homes over here 01:02:21 and nice... Then I'd come by and there was a street with only 01:02:24 like two houses, but they really were really poor-conditioned 01:02:28 houses. So I said: "Well this can't be the right 01:02:30 address. " There was nothing on the mailbox. 01:02:32 I said: "It can't be. " So I drove around town. 01:02:35 Maybe there's another side across the highway 01:02:38 to this street. No, it's a short little street. 01:02:40 It ends right here. So finally I didn't know what to do. 01:02:42 I said: "Well I'll just see if anybody's home 01:02:45 at this little house. " So I knocked on the door. 01:02:47 and I heard this voice. Said: "Oh, Danny! Come on around. " 01:02:51 The lady's gettin' ready to give $865,000 01:02:55 and she lives in a house that probably you and I wouldn't 01:02:59 live in, but she had her priorities right. 01:03:03 Amen! She said: "I know I'm not long for this world. " 01:03:07 And she didn't want to waste any money. She said: 01:03:10 "I'm going to give this money to make sure it goes to 01:03:12 the Lord's work. I want it to go to 3ABN. " 01:03:14 So I went and visited with her for a while. 01:03:16 Listened to her story. Incredible story. 01:03:19 God blessed that, and I learned from that. 01:03:22 Every time that happens I learn. 01:03:23 Then it took my mind back to several years before. 01:03:27 We were just beginning in ministry, and this may have been 01:03:29 in the early 90's... a few years. 01:03:31 And so I got a call. I don't know if it was Mollie then 01:03:35 or who it was that gave me the call. But they said: 01:03:37 "You know, there are some people that have some money 01:03:40 they want to give to 3ABN 01:03:43 but they want Danny to come out and pick it up. 01:03:45 They want to meet him; they've watched him. 01:03:47 They're going to be giving quite a bit of money 01:03:48 and so they want him to pick it up. " 01:03:51 So, well... some people may think $1,000 01:03:54 is a lot of money. It would cost me more than that to fly. 01:03:56 So you have to be, you know, try to use some tact 01:03:59 in how to find out so I said: 01:04:00 "Well see if we can find out how much it is. " 01:04:02 And they said: "Well it's cash money. We don't 01:04:05 have it in the bank. It's cash. We want you to pick it up. " 01:04:07 So I said: "OK... find out how much it is. " 01:04:10 Came back and said: "It's $50,000 in cash. " 01:04:12 An older couple... they both have cancer. 01:04:15 They were x-ray technicians and their health was really bad. 01:04:19 They felt like they only had less than a year to live 01:04:21 but they wanted this $50,000 to go. 01:04:24 So Harold Follett, who lived... at the time was 01:04:28 on 3ABN's board out in Oregon... 01:04:30 he was coming to a board meeting in the next couple days 01:04:33 and I said: "Well, we can save some time and money. " 01:04:35 So I called them and said: "Would you mind if Harold 01:04:38 came and picked up the money? " They said: "We don't really know 01:04:40 him. " But I said: "Well, he'll introduce himself. 01:04:43 He'll make sure. " So they said: "Sure. " 01:04:46 So Harold came by, and his story when came to us 01:04:51 is: I walked in the house. They made sure I was who I was. 01:04:54 And they called me. I said: "Yes this is Harold. Talk to him. " 01:04:57 So Harold said: "We talked a while and they didn't mention 01:05:00 money. But what I walked into was a little camper 01:05:04 pulled behind a car. It was about 6-7 feet wide 01:05:07 and 12 feet long. 01:05:09 That's what they lived in. 01:05:10 Their mattress was a little 6" mattress. 01:05:13 When you opened the door they had to roll the mattress up 01:05:16 so you could come in. " They said: "We sold our house. 01:05:19 We want to make sure everything we have is going to ministries. 01:05:22 3ABN's a part of that. 01:05:24 We're just now getting ready. We don't need this. 01:05:26 We're not going to take it with us to heaven. 01:05:28 We don't need a nice house so we're making sure 01:05:30 this money goes. " So Harold says they talked about it 01:05:33 but they never said "Here's the $50,000 cash. " 01:05:36 So said in front of him there was a Kleenex box, and the lady 01:05:41 said: "Here Harold... have a Kleenex. " 01:05:43 What am I? You know... 01:05:46 Maybe something's running or I've left food or something here 01:05:49 so you can guess yourself... I don't know. 01:05:52 They never told me but said: "Here Harold, have a Kleenex. " 01:05:55 "Oh, no, thanks... " he said: "I don't need one. " 01:05:57 She picks up the box and says: "Harold, please! 01:05:59 Have a Kleenex. " 01:06:01 "OK. " He said: "I pick it out, 01:06:03 pull out the top Kleenex and when I do 01:06:05 I look inside I see green. " 01:06:08 She said: "Now take the top off. " 01:06:10 He said: "I took the top off 01:06:12 and there was $5,000 banded together like $100 bills. " 01:06:17 $5,000 in the Kleenex box. She went to the cabinet, 01:06:20 and brought 9 more Kleenex boxes. 01:06:22 Right? And said: "You want to have another Kleenex? " 01:06:26 He said: "Absolutely! Sure! " 01:06:28 So he's picking this up. $50,000... Kleenex, right? 01:06:34 So he brings it home. 01:06:36 We count the money and there's like $50,565. 01:06:40 So I call them to thank them and I said: "I want to let you know 01:06:44 that you made a mistake. 01:06:46 There's an extra $560 some dollars here 01:06:50 and let us know what you want us to do with it. 01:06:53 We'll send it back. " "Oh, no, we won't do that, but 01:06:56 you still never came out here. " She said: "We really wanted to 01:07:00 meet you personally. We've watched you for years. 01:07:02 We've supported you. " She said: "Listen, if I have 01:07:05 a few more Kleenex boxes would you come and see me? " 01:07:10 This was Sunday. I said: "I'll be gettin' my flight 01:07:13 tonight. By tomorrow or Tuesday the first flight I get 01:07:16 I'll be out there. " So I flew out to Oregon. 01:07:20 Went to the little camper just as Harold had said. 01:07:23 They rolled up their mat. We went in and we talked 01:07:25 a while. We prayed with them. 01:07:27 They told me what 3ABN had meant to them 01:07:29 and to people in their area. And they said: "We're just 01:07:32 waiting on Jesus to come and we want you to have it. " 01:07:36 So she said: "By the way, Danny, would you... 01:07:39 you want a Kleenex? " I said: "Absolutely! " 01:07:41 So I grabbed a Kleenex and I was looking around for other boxes. 01:07:45 Right? I didn't say anything. I used... I have 01:07:48 some filter but I was like "I wonder. I only see one... 01:07:51 Maybe there's some more. " 01:07:52 There's $5,000 in there. So she went and brought back 01:07:55 nine more boxes. Ten times five is how much? 01:07:59 $50,000... right? Another $50,000 they gave us. 01:08:04 Now at that time, you know, the airlines you could do 01:08:07 whatever. I just wore a big belt and put money. 01:08:09 So I had $50,000 in cash going through the airport. 01:08:13 Came home. God is faithful, right? 01:08:16 He's been faithful to me. Can you say that? 01:08:19 He's been faithful to me. He's been faithful to me. 01:08:21 He's been faithful to me. 1991, Romania: the opportunity 01:08:25 for Romania came up. So the doors of Communism 01:08:29 have fallen. Ceausescu has been literally 01:08:32 killed... literally he and his family were killed 01:08:36 and suddenly Romania is opening up. 01:08:38 So we get an invitation to go to Romania. 01:08:41 And I said: "Let's build a studio. " 01:08:44 There's a man there named Joseph Palhegyi. 01:08:46 Adventist who had lived through Communism. A young man. 01:08:50 He said: "We'd love to do a studio. " 01:08:52 And so Gonsolo Santos who was our electrician 01:08:55 here and an engineer we went to Romania 01:08:58 and decided that we wanted to see about building a studio 01:09:02 that we could put Adventist programming in this Communist 01:09:07 country for 73 years at that time. 01:09:10 And so what an incredible opportunity 01:09:13 to go forward. So we spent $250,000 01:09:17 that we really didn't have. But by faith I said: 01:09:19 "We've gotta do this! Let's build a studio 01:09:22 in Romania. This is amazing. They'll produce 01:09:25 Romanian programming in their own language. 01:09:27 We'll be able to get it on the air. 01:09:29 Jesus said: 'Go ye into all the world. ' " 01:09:31 We were happy about it. 01:09:33 Now this is in the fall of the year. 01:09:35 Around the first of December my treasurer says to me: 01:09:40 "You know what? We're about $250,000 short 01:09:46 and I think that money we spent for Romania 01:09:49 if we had that we could have come out in the black. " 01:09:52 'Cause every year you want to come out in the black. 01:09:53 Yvonne always liked that for some reason 01:09:55 when I say "come out in the black" and it's positive. 01:09:57 She's always: "All right! In the black! I like that. " 01:10:01 So some of you got it and the rest of you don't need to. 01:10:06 If you didn't get it it's OK. 01:10:11 that we were going to be in the red 01:10:15 at this point was what we call, they call financially. 01:10:18 I'm not a financial person but I've learned a little bit 01:10:20 over the years. So we were going to be in debt basically. 01:10:23 "If something doesn't happen, we really need a miracle. " 01:10:26 So we began to pray about it as we always do. 01:10:29 So we prayed about it and said: "Lord, my first thought 01:10:32 was 'Wow! that $250,000... ' No, You said 'Go yet into all 01:10:36 the world. ' " In Romania I was standing on terra firma. 01:10:39 I knew this was part of the world. 01:10:41 Psalm 2:8: "Ask of Me and I will give you the heathen 01:10:44 for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth 01:10:46 for thy possession. " 01:10:48 There we are: an opportunity. Historic event 01:10:51 to be there and to get Adventist programming 01:10:55 in a Communist country for all those years. 01:10:57 "No, I'm not sorry we did it but, Lord, 01:11:00 we really need help. " So a few days later 01:11:04 somebody says to me, secretary says: "Hey, we got a 01:11:07 call. There's a doctor who wants to talk to you. " 01:11:09 And I try to take calls as much as I can. 01:11:11 And I said: "OK. " And she said: "He's from Washington state. " 01:11:14 And so I said: "OK. " 01:11:16 So I'm going to take you back just a little bit now 01:11:19 and then I'll come back to this. 01:11:21 But my Uncle Olin... have any of you watched 3ABN long enough 01:11:25 you ever heard Uncle Olin sing? Let me see your hands. 01:11:28 Ah, look at this. All right. See all those hands? 01:11:30 Uncle Olin... Yeah, I loved him with all my heart. 01:11:34 Uncle... he was my dad's brother. 01:11:36 Raised 12 kids... all in the church. 01:11:38 Had a used tire business, 6th-grade education. 01:11:40 Put the kids all through college, through academies 01:11:44 and colleges. Very dedicated to the Lord. 01:11:46 My dad sang country music for years before they 01:11:50 became Adventist Christians and in the nightclubs 01:11:52 and that type of stuff. And Uncle Olin didn't. 01:11:55 He never played out anywhere. My dad was more Eddy Arnold, 01:11:59 Jimmy... what was? Jim Reeves type. 01:12:03 Uncle Olin was: "Life is like a mountain railroad... " 01:12:08 "a windin' through... " Whatever he felt like coming in. 01:12:11 He didn't care about the beat or the rhythm. 01:12:13 Just whatever. "this world of woe. " 01:12:15 And he'd always want me to sing with him. I couldn't! 01:12:19 Something... the rhythm in me says I have to go on the beat. 01:12:23 But he didn't... and it was OK. 01:12:24 And then he'd put a French harp on a cord around his neck 01:12:28 and he'd do "Who, who, who. " He'd sing a little bit 01:12:30 and he'd blow on the French harp 01:12:32 and then he would come in whenever. 01:12:34 Tammy, my sister Tammy, and my cousin LeRay 01:12:37 they could stay right with him. 01:12:39 And I'm not good enough to do that. I could not. 01:12:41 I have to sing on time... I can't do it. 01:12:43 They could sing with him. But Uncle Olin... Somebody... 01:12:45 I love Uncle Olin. He sang on tune. 01:12:48 He only sang at the West Frankfort church or his house. 01:12:52 So what happens is a guy I'll never forget is Randy Merser. 01:12:57 A guy that was going to the church at the time and he said 01:12:59 at the West Frankfort church right in front of Uncle Olin 01:13:03 'cause 3ABN had been on the air three or four years. 01:13:06 He said: "Danny, I just love Uncle Olin's 01:13:09 music. Why don't you have him on 3ABN? " 01:13:12 And I start looking real fishy, right? 01:13:15 How am I going to deal with that? 01:13:18 You know, I love Uncle Olin but now he's not television 01:13:21 material - I think - to be singing. And I knew 01:13:24 and was banking on the fact he wouldn't want to sing on TV. 01:13:28 So he said it again. I tried to ignore it. 01:13:30 He said: Uncle Olin, you ought to sing on 3ABN. " 01:13:34 Uncle Olin said: "Well, I'm not a professional. " 01:13:37 He always said "profassional. " 01:13:39 "I'm not a profassional and I never sing up front 01:13:43 except at home, and you know I can't... " He's 75 years old; 01:13:47 his family is raised. His wife had passed away 01:13:49 a couple years before. 01:13:51 "I really don't... I'm not that good. " 01:13:55 And I'm like: "OK. Uncle Olin, that's all right. " 01:13:59 "I don't have to say anything 01:14:00 Danny says, but if Danny ever needs me 01:14:03 I'll be there... I'll sing. " 01:14:06 So I said: "Well, OK. " 01:14:08 I figured conversation over, right? 01:14:14 About a week later I get a phone call. 01:14:18 When I was a little boy my name was Danny 01:14:20 so they called me Daniel Boone so Boone stuck. 01:14:23 "Boone, Uncle O. " We called him Uncle O 01:14:26 instead of Olin. Uncle O... affectionate. 01:14:29 Love Uncle Olin. 01:14:30 He said: "Boone? Uncle O. " 01:14:33 I said: "Big O... how're you doin'? " 01:14:35 He said: "Well, I got to thinkin' the other night 01:14:38 what we talked about at church. " And he said: 01:14:41 "I felt like my ministry was over. 01:14:43 I raised all the kids and Mildred being gone 01:14:46 and everything and being... " I think it was 75-6 years old. 01:14:51 "But you know what? I think if you can use me 01:14:54 I'll be happy to come and sing. " 01:14:57 What're you going to do? I loved the guy. 01:14:58 I said: "Well Uncle Olin, why don't you come out? 01:15:00 You've got a great testimony of how you paid tithe 01:15:02 when you didn't have money and how you were able 01:15:05 to put all these kids with a 6th-grade education. 01:15:07 Come out and do testimony. " "I'll just bring my guitar 01:15:10 and we'll sing a song or two, " he said. 01:15:12 I said: "OK... let's do it. " 01:15:13 A song or two. I said: "OK, we'll do a song or two. " 01:15:16 Uncle Olin... Now he knew these songs. 01:15:19 He sang them 40 years. He could sing What A Friend 01:15:21 We Have In Jesus. Put the song book open, 01:15:23 put his spectacles on. He dressed like Doc on Gunsmoke. 01:15:27 Anybody ever watch Gunsmoke? It's OK... 01:15:30 you can raise your hand. 01:15:31 Yvonne and I watch Gunsmoke. She loves Gunsmoke, right? 01:15:35 Don't ask me how from New York 01:15:37 she loves Gunsmoke, but she does 01:15:39 so sometimes we watch it. 01:15:41 So he looks like Doc Adams on Gunsmoke. 01:15:44 Wears the little tie and all of that. 01:15:46 Came out; we did the interview. 01:15:48 He did two songs. Reads the words. 01:15:51 Never looked at the camera reading it. Plays his harmonica 01:15:54 a bit. When he's ready jumps in, starts singing again 01:15:56 with his guitar. 01:15:59 When that program airs our phones light up. 01:16:03 "Where has he been all this time? " 01:16:07 "We love Uncle Olin! " We had him back 01:16:09 and did five more programs... twenty-two songs! 01:16:13 And he was the most sought-after singer 01:16:15 on 3ABN. Now I'm telling you the truth. 01:16:18 People loved Uncle Olin. 01:16:20 They saw his sincerity; they loved the music. 01:16:23 What they grew up on. So many people they loved... 01:16:26 I learned a lot from that. 01:16:28 I really did. See, it's not about us. 01:16:30 It's not about how good you sing, 01:16:32 but the offering you bring is yourself... 01:16:35 what God has given you. 01:16:36 And he brought an offering that was legitimate. 01:16:39 It was sincere, it was real and people loved it. 01:16:43 So now back to the phone call. 01:16:47 So they say: "This doctor wants to talk to you 01:16:50 from Washington state. " I say: "OK. " 01:16:52 "Hello. " He gives his name. 01:16:54 I don't think he would mind me giving his name 01:16:56 but I'll just call him Bob. 01:16:58 So Dr. Bob, he says: "The other night I was listening 01:17:03 to 3ABN. " I'm like: "Well great, praise the Lord. " 01:17:06 "And I listened to your Uncle Olin sing. " 01:17:08 I'm: "Ooh-oh. " 01:17:11 He said... he's a sophisticated doctor, right? 01:17:14 Eye doctor and all this, so... 01:17:16 He said: "I listened to your Uncle Olin 01:17:18 and it reminded me of what I read in the Spirit of Prophecy 01:17:21 that men in the last days will come from the plow. 01:17:25 God will use anybody willing to be used. 01:17:27 And at 3ABN you don't have to be a superstar; 01:17:31 you don't have to be a big name. 01:17:32 I've been watching it lately and you have common people 01:17:35 on who have common testimonies. 01:17:38 And that song was sung I think was my wife's mother's 01:17:42 funeral some time ago. I'd never heard it. 01:17:45 And the other night I heard: 'Life is like a 01:17:48 mountain railroad. ' " He said: "I love it so much 01:17:50 that the Lord has impressed me to give you a donation. " 01:17:53 I said: "Well great! Praise the Lord! " 01:17:55 "Well how much do you need? " 01:17:57 Well my mind was like - calculating sound - 01:18:00 but I said... 01:18:02 Well, I don't want to scare him off. I'd never met the guy. 01:18:06 I'd say $250,000 is a lot of money. 01:18:10 So I said to him: "Well, Dr. Bob, 01:18:13 the Lord has impressed you to give a gift. 01:18:15 Why don't you think about it and pray about it over the weekend 01:18:18 and since He told you to give a gift He'll tell you 01:18:21 how much to give. " "Well that's interesting. 01:18:24 I've never had anybody tell me that" he said. 01:18:26 "You don't want to give me a figure? " I said: "No, sir. 01:18:28 The Lord is dealing with you. Whatever He gives 01:18:31 that's exactly what we need. " 01:18:34 Monday morning Dr. Bob's on the phone. 01:18:38 Dr. Bob said: "Danny, I prayed about it 01:18:40 and the first time ever I've ever done this 01:18:44 the Lord gave me a specific amount. " 01:18:47 And I said: "Great! " 01:18:49 And he said: "So I put it in the mail this morning. " 01:18:51 And I said: "Well praise the Lord! Thank you. " 01:18:53 I'm being real cool and calm, right? But my mind's like: 01:18:56 "Oh, man! " So I'm like: "Well thank you; I appreciate it. " 01:19:00 He said: "Well don't you want to know how much it is? " 01:19:02 I said: "I'm dying to know. I just didn't want to, you know, 01:19:04 to press you. " He said: "Well it's already in the mail. 01:19:07 I can't change my mind. We've already got it in the mail. " 01:19:10 So he said: "The Lord impressed me to give you 01:19:13 $250,000. " Now come on, somebody... 01:19:18 Somebody give God the praise. 01:19:21 He's been faithful to me. 01:19:22 Say it with me: He's been faithful to me. 01:19:25 And I'm talking about you. I can say it for me; 01:19:28 you say it for you, right? He's been faithful to me. 01:19:32 God is faithful to you. 01:19:33 He loves blessing His people. 01:19:36 He loves giving you what you need to get the gospel 01:19:39 to the world. So now go up several more years. 01:19:43 I know my time is running short here. 01:19:45 Several more years. We're at Forest Lake Academy. 01:19:47 We're down to the end of the year. 01:19:50 Again the figure we're down: almost $750,000. 01:19:56 This is a long story, so I'm going to make it short as I can 01:19:59 and you still get the picture. 01:20:01 So we're down this time again: $750,000. 01:20:05 So in my testimony I say: "You know what? 01:20:07 We're down but we're not going to be discouraged, 01:20:10 Ryan. We're going to go forward. " 01:20:12 I said: "By January I'm going to get on the air 01:20:15 and tell you... " So Christianity has to be practical 01:20:19 and has to be real for me to tell everybody: 01:20:21 "Oh, God will supply your needs" and then me get discouraged. 01:20:24 That's not any good, right? 01:20:26 So I said: "I'm going to tell you January 01:20:29 you call me or I'll get on the air and I'll tell you 01:20:31 how God bailed us out of this $750,000. 01:20:36 And I knew God would. 01:20:38 Right? By now I know if we're faithful, 01:20:41 we keep to the message, right? 01:20:44 That's what it's all about. The messenger is not important. 01:20:48 It's the message that's important. 01:20:49 So if we give the message 01:20:52 God will honor that in spite of us. 01:20:54 So I come home from Forest Lake Academy 01:20:57 where we had the live program. 01:20:59 So here we are at maybe first of December. 01:21:02 I'm not sure of the date. So we're here 01:21:05 and I get a phone call. 01:21:07 Mollie Sue says... I went home for lunch 01:21:10 and Mollie Sue sittin' over here. 01:21:12 With my hand up, Mollie, I'm tellin' the truth now, 01:21:14 right? There we go. So Mollie Sue 01:21:16 she didn't even hear what I said; I hadn't said it yet 01:21:18 and she said "Yes" so that's good. 01:21:21 That's loyalty. Thank you, Mollie. 01:21:23 No, she knows the story. That's why her hand goes up. 01:21:26 So she said: "There's two people just called 01:21:29 wanting to talk to you. " 01:21:30 One of them is from California 01:21:32 and the other one is from Grand Junction, Colorado. " 01:21:36 And she said: "They both said they had some money 01:21:39 they want to donate, but they want you to call them. " 01:21:42 So I said: "OK. " 01:21:43 So this one has to be quick. 01:21:45 If you haven't heard the whole story, it's worth listening to 01:21:48 some time. But I called the lady 01:21:51 and she said: "Oh Danny, I'm so glad. 01:21:53 I heard you at Forest Lake the other night... " 01:21:56 and she said: "saying you were down 3/4 of a million dollars. " 01:21:59 And she said: "I was so excited 01:22:01 about that. Now I can't give $750,000 01:22:04 but... " she said... "I want to help 01:22:06 and I've got some money but it's cash. 01:22:08 And I'm living by myself and I want you to come 01:22:12 and pick it up. " I said: "You can't put it in the bank? " 01:22:14 "No, I took it out of a bank" she said "over the last 01:22:17 several years 'cause I didn't want everybody knowing where 01:22:20 my money and my business so I'd take out some at a time. 01:22:23 I've got it in my closet 01:22:25 and... " she said... "I have a great big box. 01:22:27 Looks like an orange box with a lid. 01:22:29 And it's all in there. I've got it in stacks of $50,000 01:22:32 with aluminum foil 'cause I don't want the government 01:22:34 flying over and shooting things 01:22:36 and finding out how much money I have in the house" she said. 01:22:40 I said: "OK... that's fine with me. " 01:22:42 Right? What do I know about it? 01:22:44 I don't know everything. So I said: "Well that's great! " 01:22:48 Wonderful lady; she loves 3ABN. She told me all the programs 01:22:52 she liked, what she'd been doing. Been an Adventist 01:22:54 for many many years. So she said: "I'll tell you what? 01:22:57 Would you come out this week and get it? " she said. 01:22:59 "I want to give it to you. " So I said: "Well I hate to ask you 01:23:02 this but I need to know 'cause it's a long way to California 01:23:06 and... " I said... "I can't travel with that kind of money. 01:23:10 I'd have to get a plane to take me out there. 01:23:13 If it's cash, I don't know what to do, " 01:23:16 I said. "I've never faced this with that much money. " 01:23:19 So she said: "Well... " So I said: "So how much is it 01:23:23 total? " She said: "Well, it's 6CMs. " 01:23:27 I said: "Excuse me? " 01:23:29 She said: "It's 6CMs. " 01:23:31 And I said: "Well, you'll have to help me with that one. " 01:23:34 And she said: "Well, didn't you go to school? " 01:23:39 I said: "Yeah, I did. I didn't go a long time. 01:23:43 I just made it through twelve grades is all, but... " 01:23:46 I said... "I did to go school some. " 01:23:48 She said: "Well didn't you ever study Roman numerals? " 01:23:51 I said: "Well I did some, yeah. " 01:23:54 She said: "Well, when you figure it out call me back. " 01:24:00 So now what are you going to do? Right? 01:24:03 So I'm racking my brain: 6CM. 01:24:06 So I said: "I know! C's 100, right? 01:24:09 M's a thousand, right? " 01:24:12 Some of you look at me like you never went to school. 01:24:16 Yvonne... Yvonne's a life-long student. She... 01:24:20 I know she knows. She knows. 01:24:23 So I don't know. So I'm thinking 01:24:25 that she... 'cause big money can be... it's to who it is. 01:24:28 "Is she talking about $6,000? 01:24:31 Would she be talking about $60,000? 01:24:33 Is she talking about $600,000? " 01:24:36 I don't know, so I call her back. 01:24:39 I say to her: "I think I figured it out. " 01:24:44 "Can I tell you how much it is? " 01:24:45 "No... 'cause I don't want anybody hearing. That's why 01:24:48 I said 6CM. People listen on the phone, " she said. 01:24:52 I said: "But we're at a cross- roads 'cause I don't know how to 01:24:57 come out and deal with this if you don't tell me how much 01:25:00 it is. " She said: "Well, I'll tell you what: 01:25:01 if you'll come out I'll make it 7CM's. " 01:25:06 Ooh! I'm like: "OK. " So we're going figure out. 01:25:08 We're going to get out there. So I know it's probably going to be 01:25:10 at least $70,000 so I said: "That's worth it. " 01:25:12 Well the other person that called three minutes after her 01:25:16 that Mollie told me, I called that person and the lady said: 01:25:18 "My husband is not a Christian. 01:25:21 Hasn't been for years. His health is bad. 01:25:23 He probably doesn't have long to live. " 01:25:25 But she said: "You're the only" take this with a grain of salt, 01:25:29 it's not lifting up people, I'm just telling you: 01:25:31 "You're the only person on television that he will watch 01:25:34 that he feels like he trusts 01:25:36 but he still doesn't know. But he says if you'll come out 01:25:38 here personally he has $40,000 of gold he'll give you. " 01:25:42 "Not in the bank but $40,000 of gold coins. " 01:25:46 So I said: "OK. " So I called the Marion Airport. 01:25:49 I want to get a little plane to take me out there. 01:25:51 and I get big Dave Everett. He's about 6'5" or 6'6" 01:25:54 and 260 lbs. My brother-in-law. He's not mean but he just looks 01:25:58 mean: Bruce. And so I said: "We need to get a plane 01:26:01 big enough we can fly out there. " So I called the Marion 01:26:05 Airport and get this. I said: "Now how many stops will this 01:26:10 make and where are you going? " I told them: 01:26:13 "Up in the Oroville, California, area. " 01:26:15 They said: "Well, we can't go all the way non-stop 01:26:18 but we'll have to stop in let's see: a place called 01:26:21 Grand Junction. " 01:26:24 My hand's up now. 01:26:26 Grand Junction. Where did I tell you the call came from? 01:26:28 Grand Junction; Oroville. 01:26:30 Grand Junction. "Now we could have stopped at Denver 01:26:33 but it's better if we stop at Grand Junction. " 01:26:35 I said: "We want to stop in Grand Junction. " 01:26:36 So we go out; we see the lady. 01:26:41 Go to her house. She picks us up. 01:26:44 She's late 80's. Picks us up. 01:26:47 And what happens is she takes us to her house. 01:26:50 Guess what it is. It's a mobile home. 01:26:52 Now I've just come all the way from Illinois, right? 01:26:55 I'm going to a mobile home. 01:26:57 Nice lady but now, is she telling me she's got 01:27:00 all this money? So finally we get there in the car. 01:27:04 She said: "Well, wait till we get to the house. " 01:27:06 So we go to the house. "Oh, I love 3ABN! " 01:27:09 She starts talking. I'm starting to sweat 01:27:12 'cause now wait a minute. I've just rented this plane. 01:27:14 We've gone all the way out here 01:27:15 and I don't know yet how much money she's got. 01:27:18 So finally I say: "I'm sorry to say this: 01:27:22 can we figure out how much money you've got now? " 01:27:24 "Oh, yeah, " she said... "well come in the closet 01:27:25 and take this... pick up this cover. It's a big box. " 01:27:30 And there was all these stacks of money... 01:27:34 all these stacks of money: 01:27:36 $50,000 in each one. 01:27:39 There was $700,000. 01:27:43 $700,000. 01:27:45 Now we needed how much money? 01:27:48 $750,000. 01:27:50 $700,000. She said: "Well yeah, that's simple. 01:27:53 CMs. C's 100; M's 1,000. 01:27:55 You should have figured that out. " 01:27:56 $700,000... dumb me. 01:27:59 So I said: "OK... my bad. " 01:28:02 So we get the money and then she says... 01:28:05 Oh, there's a little safe. It wasn't this big. 01:28:07 We're leaving, she says: "Oh, by the way, take this... 01:28:10 take this safe with you. You want it? " 01:28:13 I said: "Oh, no, that's OK. " What am I going to do 01:28:15 with a little safe? Got no money to put in it. 01:28:17 She said: "Well I think you'll want it. " 01:28:20 I said: "Really? " She said: "Yeah, there's a little bit of 01:28:22 something in there, too: there's $40,000 of gold coins. " 01:28:27 So now we're just $10,000 short. 01:28:30 The Lord said He'll "supply all your needs. " 01:28:32 So I'm: "OK, where's that other $10,000? " 01:28:33 Right? So $740,000. 01:28:36 Now when we leave... now is when I've gotta hurry this story up: 01:28:39 so as we get ready to leave 01:28:40 she said: "Bring the biggest case you can. " 01:28:44 So by faith I got the biggest suitcase I could get 01:28:47 and so it literally filled it up. 01:28:50 And then we had another little box. Filled it up 01:28:53 with all of this money: $700,000 plus the coins. 01:28:57 As we're leaving she says: "Whew! 01:29:00 I've never been so glad to get rid of something 01:29:02 in all my life! " 01:29:05 And I'm like: "How could anybody say that? " 01:29:07 I've never seen that kind of money in my life. 01:29:09 Looked pretty good right then. You know, that was great! 01:29:12 We know what our needs are: $750,000 01:29:15 we believe is our need. So mercy! Here it is! 01:29:18 So we go out to... Things change. 01:29:22 People change when they've got money. 01:29:25 People change when they've got money. 01:29:28 Now, can be for the good or for the better 01:29:30 but people change 'cause I know; I went through it. 01:29:33 I never had money. I had money right now... 01:29:34 at least for the time being, right? 01:29:36 I had $740,000 with me and Big David and Bruce. 01:29:40 So we go out to the airplane and it's got a little 01:29:44 hatch in the back, you lift it up. I've got this big case 01:29:46 and the pilot says: "Here, put this in the back of the plane. " 01:29:51 I said: "No, no... it's coming up with me. " 01:29:54 He said: "You don't want that big case up here 01:29:56 with you. " I said: "Yes I do! " 01:29:58 "No, honestly... it'd be better. Is it real heavy? " 01:30:01 "It's not that heavy. " 01:30:03 "So there's hardly room for you three guys. " 01:30:05 I said: "It's OK... we'll sit together if we have to. 01:30:08 We're not... I'm not separating myself. " 01:30:11 The reason I'm not... The reason I wouldn't put it in the back 01:30:14 end: I saw the hinges. And it was a little door about this big 01:30:18 that opened up bigger. 01:30:19 Reminded me of my friend in town, Mike Adkins, 01:30:22 who is a singer. And Mike said he went to... 01:30:24 to a funeral. 01:30:27 And at the funeral... I guess grandma had died 01:30:30 or grandpa had died and grandma was a... 01:30:32 you know, grieving. And so during the funeral 01:30:36 he said she got up, and he was singing Amazing Grace 01:30:39 how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. 01:30:41 Grandma went over and she said: "Oh, Henry. " 01:30:44 She leaned over the casket 01:30:45 the casket hinge came loose and fell on her. 01:30:50 Did that twice, and I said: "Wait a minute. 01:30:52 Who would think about a casket hinge not working? 01:30:54 If that casket hinge doesn't work, what if that airplane 01:30:57 hinge didn't work and now that money 01:31:00 $700,000 flies out in the Rockies somewhere? 01:31:05 No way to get it. That's staying with me. 01:31:07 We're all going to make it or we're all going to go down. 01:31:09 It's going to be one or the other. " 01:31:11 So now we ended up going back. We stopped in... 01:31:14 in Grand Junction on the way back. 01:31:16 Met the man; prayed with him and helped lead him to Jesus. 01:31:19 He wanted... I didn't do much but he wanted to 01:31:21 be there anyway. He gave us $40,000. 01:31:24 So we get home and finally make it back 01:31:27 but my attitude's changing because when she said 01:31:30 "I'll come and get you the next morning. " 01:31:31 We stayed all night at the hotel. 01:31:33 So to the guys with me I said: "I've got to go visit 01:31:35 this lady and her husband. " 01:31:37 I said: "Stay in the room. " 01:31:38 They said: "Well, we're going to go eat breakfast. " 01:31:40 I said: "No you're not! You're going to stay right here 01:31:42 in the room. We are not leaving that money 01:31:44 in that room. " So I said: "I'll stay here while you 01:31:47 go and then when I leave do not leave this room. " 01:31:50 So all of a sudden I'm acting different. 01:31:52 I've got some money there and I'm just totally changing. 01:31:55 So finally we get the money. We come home; 01:31:57 let those guys out. It's about 4 o'clock on Friday. 01:32:01 The bank over here in Galatia... Neal Patterson was the president 01:32:04 at the time - a friend of ours - and so 01:32:07 I called Neal and I said... 'cause I'm thinking 01:32:10 "Man! I've got now about $780,000 cash! " 01:32:15 So I'm going to drive... It's ten or eleven miles 01:32:18 and I'm going to drive over there and what if I had a wreck 01:32:22 and this money flew out? People wouldn't be trying 01:32:25 to help me. They'd be grabbin' the money and running. 01:32:28 Right? "Oh, he'll be all right. " 01:32:31 I'll be bleeding all over... "Oh, he'll be OK. " 01:32:33 "Call an ambulance, somebody. " 01:32:36 You know how people do, right? 01:32:38 Over money people do crazy... So 01:32:40 my mind's working playing tricks on me. 01:32:42 So I call Neal and I say: "Hey Neal. " 01:32:46 I said: "I need you guys to have people stay late 01:32:50 because I've got money that we're going to have to count. " 01:32:54 "It's not a check? " "No... it's cash. " 01:32:56 "Well how much is it? " He knew about the other Kleenex money. 01:33:00 He'd handled that before. 01:33:01 So he said: "How much is it? " 01:33:02 I said: "It's a lot more. " He said: "Well how much? 01:33:04 Can you give me an idea? " 01:33:06 I said: 'Yeah... 7 CM's. " 01:33:12 He said... he said: "How much? " 01:33:16 I said: "You don't know what 7 CM's is? " 01:33:19 He said: "No. " I said: "You're a bank president? 01:33:21 Did you go? " I said: "Did you go to school? " 01:33:26 "Yeah, I went to school. " 01:33:27 I said: "Then you figure it out and let me know. 01:33:29 Just have people there. I'll be... " 01:33:32 I was afraid somebody's listening on my cell phone. 01:33:35 Right? They may have radar, helicopters maybe comin' over. 01:33:39 My mind's going wild on me, right? 01:33:42 So I'm driving over to Galatia like this. 01:33:46 "Oh, what if I run off the road? There's a little curve. " 01:33:49 I'm concentrating on it nearly wrecking myself. 01:33:52 So I get over there. And so the bank's a little bank. 01:33:56 I'm sure it's never been robbed in its history. 01:33:59 And I get out and I lock the car 01:34:00 and I'm looking at the car and I'm looking in the window 01:34:02 of the bank. It's a small bank, right? 01:34:06 I am. I'm telling you: you change when you get that... 01:34:09 So I'm looking over here; I look over here 01:34:12 and I'm thinking... So I peek in the door but I'm still 01:34:16 looking at the car out there. And so I said: "That's not 01:34:19 going to work. I need to bring this big suitcase. 01:34:22 No, what if somebody's in there robbing the bank? " 01:34:25 So finally I say: "Can you ask Neal to come out here, 01:34:28 please? " So Neal comes out and he says: 01:34:30 "Danny, what's going on? " I said: "Neal, 01:34:32 I've got a lot of money here. " "How much is it? " 01:34:34 I said: "We'll talk when we go inside. " 01:34:36 So we go. He says: "Are you kidding? " I said: "No! " 01:34:39 "You grab the safe and the other; I'll grab the suitcase. " 01:34:43 So I'm rolling it in like: whistling. 01:34:46 You know, this is nothing. I'm just Kleenexes or whatever. 01:34:49 It's not money. So I'm really thinking crazy stuff 01:34:53 like: "Oh, man! What a responsibility. " 01:34:55 So I go in. They count for almost 5 hours 01:34:58 to make sure all of this is right. 01:35:00 Finally he gives me a receipt 01:35:02 and I promise you I said to him: 01:35:05 "I have never been so glad to get rid of anything 01:35:07 in my life! " That's with my hand up. 01:35:11 That's true. Never been so glad to get rid of anything 01:35:14 in my life. I could go on and on. 01:35:16 Our time is about gone but I promise you... 01:35:19 I wrote down several things but I want to talk about 01:35:22 the blessings of God. Now we're talking about money 01:35:25 and finances, but souls. The reason He does all this 01:35:28 is for souls We went to Green Bay, WI. 01:35:31 This is as short as I can make it. 01:35:33 After a service a couple came up 01:35:35 and said: "We have to talk to you. " We've interviewed them 01:35:37 and I only asked the crew yesterday 'cause I wanted to 01:35:40 play it today, but we'll get it and re-play it 01:35:43 another time. Interviewed a couple who said: 01:35:45 "We went on vacation. " The guy said: "I'm not a Christian. 01:35:48 My wife wasn't a Christian. We came back and our cable 01:35:51 had been shut off, so the only channel I could get 01:35:53 on at night there at midnight was channel 57 01:35:57 I think up in Green Bay which is 3ABN. 01:35:59 But he said: "I have a pornography magazine 01:36:03 that I circulate and my wife is a madam 01:36:06 and has a lot of prostitutes. " 01:36:08 And so he said: "I was watching TV because 01:36:12 that's what I do. I turn it on and... " he said... 01:36:15 "I listened for a bit and I went to turn it off 01:36:18 and a grey-haired preacher said to me: 01:36:20 'Jesus loves you. 01:36:23 He died for you; made a plan of salvation for you. ' " 01:36:26 And he said: "That preacher was John Carter. " 01:36:30 And he said: "I just was spellbound, and before 01:36:33 I realized it I literally dropped to my knees 01:36:36 and I asked Jesus to come into my life. " 01:36:39 Amen! He said: "I woke my wife up 01:36:41 and I went to tell her and she said: 'What? ' " 01:36:44 You know: "What? " He said: "I've just become a Christian. 01:36:46 "I just got saved, " he said! 01:36:48 "I'm a Christian, " and he said: "I don't know how long it takes 01:36:52 that you need to be a Christian before you can cast out demons 01:36:54 but my wife had some so I was trying. " 01:36:57 He said: "I was trying to cast them out of her. " 01:36:59 So he said: "Finally - it took several weeks - 01:37:02 but they were both in church. We've never been to an Adventist 01:37:04 church in our life, but thank the Lord for 3ABN 01:37:08 because we heard the gospel. " 01:37:10 We were in Grants Pass, OR. 01:37:14 Grants Pass. I was there; E.T. Everett was there. 01:37:16 We had a little group of us doing some music and other stuff 01:37:19 in the evening. And then what happens is 01:37:22 there's a couple sitting right on the front row. 01:37:25 Both of them had dark black hair. 01:37:27 And it was a man and a woman; looked like they were in their 01:37:29 50's and just tears down their... The whole night 01:37:33 literally the whole evening just crying. 01:37:35 So after it was over I was shaking hands. 01:37:37 I said: "E.T., go talk to those folks 01:37:39 and see what's happening in their lives. " 01:37:41 She says to E.T. Everett 01:37:43 "I've been raised in a family of Satanists 01:37:47 and Satan worshipers. " 01:37:49 And she said: "My health has gotten really bad. 01:37:51 My husband, we're Satanists. We have an 11-year-old boy. 01:37:54 We've raised him that way. My folks were Satanists 01:37:57 and my health is really bad. 01:37:59 I've got sugar diabetes; I've got heart problems. 01:38:01 I'm 60 pounds overweight and the doctor said 01:38:04 I have to lose weight. " So she said: "I was sitting in the 01:38:06 doctor's office and somebody said to another patient: 'Have 01:38:10 you watched 3ABN? They've got some good health programs. ' " 01:38:13 So she thought: "I'll go home and watch 3ABN. " She didn't. 01:38:16 She said: "The next week I went back. 01:38:18 Different people in the office and waiting room 01:38:21 and somebody said: "Have you watched 3ABN? 01:38:23 Boy, it's really helped me! I've lost weight. " 01:38:24 So she said: "I went home 'cause the doctor said 01:38:27 'If you don't change, you don't have long to live. 01:38:30 You have to make some drastic changes. ' " 01:38:32 So she said: "I go home and finally I say: 'Well, I've gotta 01:38:34 look up this channel. ' " 01:38:36 And she said: "I turned on the television. " 01:38:38 I'm just going to tell you what she told E.T. 01:38:40 and she told me... E.T. told me. 01:38:42 She said: "I changed the channel 01:38:45 and when I did, somebody was sitting there reading a Bible. " 01:38:49 And she said: "In a matter of seconds 01:38:52 I fell prostrate on my face 01:38:54 and I asked Jesus to come into my life. 01:38:58 The last thing I'd ever intended 01:39:00 but I met Jesus face to face 01:39:02 through somebody reading a Bible. " 01:39:05 So she said: "That's been six months ago. 01:39:07 I've lost nearly 60 pounds. " 01:39:08 She said: "My health is better, and... " 01:39:11 she said: "I'm so glad it happened. I had intended 01:39:13 before I died to kill my husband and my son 01:39:16 because I didn't want them to ever be Christians 01:39:19 to turn out. I wanted them to go to hell with me. 01:39:21 But praise the Lord, this is the first time we've ever been 01:39:24 in a Christian church - an Adventist church - 01:39:27 was when we were there. We watch you on 3ABN 01:39:29 all the time. " That's what, folks: when you give 01:39:32 to 3ABN, that's what's happening around the world. 01:39:35 And we have story after story after story 01:39:38 the same way like that. I don't have time to do it today 01:39:41 but I just want you to know that God is faithful. 01:39:47 God is faithful, and today we do not want to leave 01:39:51 this facility - I know we're going a little bit long here 01:39:54 but we'll be through in a few minutes - 01:39:56 but I want Yvonne to come and sing. Then after Yvonne sings 01:39:59 I'm going to give you a great, great announcement. 01:40:03 I mean, this is one of the greatest things 01:40:06 that I can't wait to share with you. 01:40:08 So right after Yvonne sings... 01:40:10 Don't be thinkin' about it while she's singing 01:40:12 'cause... I'm just kidding. 01:40:15 And she's going to do this song. She really didn't know the song 01:40:19 but I asked her "Would you sing this? " 01:40:21 because it really... It's written by Carol Cymbala 01:40:26 of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. We were able to meet 01:40:29 Jim and Carol and they had us to lunch 01:40:32 and met them. Wonderful people! 01:40:34 And Carol wrote this song. It's an absolutely incredible 01:40:38 song. Says: "He's been faithful to me. " 01:40:41 And Yvonne said: "It's really not... I don't know it 01:40:43 but I'll do the best I can. " So we're praying for you 01:40:46 and I know the Lord will bless. And I want you 01:40:48 to think about your life, your relationship with Jesus 01:40:51 as she sings He's Been Faithful to Me. 01:41:02 In my moments 01:41:06 of fear, through every pain 01:41:12 every tear 01:41:15 there's a God 01:41:18 who's been faithful to me. 01:41:25 When my strength 01:41:30 was all gone 01:41:32 and my heart 01:41:35 had no song 01:41:37 still in love 01:41:42 He's been faithful 01:41:45 to me. 01:41:50 Every word He's promised 01:41:55 is true. 01:41:58 What I thought was impossible 01:42:05 I've seen my God do! 01:42:12 He's been faithful... 01:42:18 faithful to me. 01:42:24 Looking back 01:42:27 His love and mercy 01:42:30 I see. 01:42:35 Though in my heart I have questioned 01:42:40 and failed to believe 01:42:44 but He's been faithful... 01:42:48 faithful to me. 01:42:59 When my heart 01:43:04 looked away, 01:43:06 the many times I couldn't pray 01:43:11 still my God 01:43:14 has proved faithful to me. 01:43:20 The days are spent 01:43:23 so selfishly 01:43:26 reaching out for what pleased me. 01:43:31 And even then 01:43:34 God was faithful to me. 01:43:41 Every time I come back 01:43:46 to Him 01:43:49 He is waiting 01:43:53 with open arms 01:43:56 and I see once again 01:44:02 He's been faithful... 01:44:08 so faithful to me! 01:44:14 Looking back 01:44:17 His love and mercy 01:44:20 I see. 01:44:24 Though in my heart 01:44:28 I have questioned 01:44:30 even failed to believe 01:44:35 yet He's been faithful... 01:44:39 faithful! Oh, in my heart 01:44:44 I have questioned 01:44:47 even failed 01:44:50 to believe 01:44:55 yet God's been faithful... 01:45:00 so faithful 01:45:05 to 01:45:08 me. 01:45:18 Amen! 01:45:20 You can stay here. 01:45:22 God is faithful, isn't He? I'm going to ask 01:45:24 Pastor Doug if he'll come up. 01:45:28 Karen if you want to come up too. If not, feel free to sit. 01:45:32 John, Angie, Kenny, Chris. 01:45:36 Have any other pastors out here? 01:45:40 If you're a pastor and you want to come up here and join us... 01:45:46 Oh, yeah, sure... J.D., Shelley. 01:45:51 Mollie Sue... you're a pastor. 01:45:54 Ryan Day... you're a pastor. 01:45:57 Come on up here. 01:46:03 Greg and Jill Morikone. 01:46:05 I'd like for them to come out. 01:46:09 OK. Terry Gene... you're a pastor. 01:46:13 You want to come up? 01:46:18 I've got a great announcement. 01:46:20 I don't want to make it without Greg and Jill. 01:46:22 They're right there. Where are they? Oh, sorry. I'm looking 01:46:25 back here. No excuse... I'm blind in my right eye 01:46:28 not my left... I just didn't see you. 01:46:30 Come on over here. 01:46:32 I want to talk just for a moment 01:46:34 then we want to have some special prayer. 01:46:36 We want to pray for you, and we want you to pray for us. 01:46:41 And 20 years ago yesterday 01:46:44 I believe God brought you, right? 01:46:47 That's correct. Greg, to 3ABN. That's correct. 01:46:50 I drove my little white car onto the campus of 3ABN 01:46:53 20 years ago yesterday. 01:46:56 It was a Sunday or Monday. And I went to work 01:46:59 on Monday morning not really knowing how to run a camera 01:47:02 or anything like that... but God is faithful. 01:47:04 God is faithful. So 20 years later, we'll fast forward, 01:47:09 you're vice president. You're a production manager. 01:47:14 You wear numerous hats. 01:47:16 But about what? 3 years after Greg, was that? Or less? 01:47:19 How long have you been here now, Jill? 01:47:21 Seventeen years. Seventeen years. 01:47:24 Absolutely incredible people. 01:47:27 What you see on the outside they're even more beautiful 01:47:29 on the inside. Their commitment to God 01:47:32 and to the three angels' messages 01:47:34 is amazing. Their business skills and their senses 01:47:38 and their love for people is absolutely incredible. 01:47:44 Yvonne and I talk about it all the time. 01:47:46 I mean... And I'm not saying this to uplift them 01:47:49 but I'm so thankful you guys have dedicated your time, 01:47:53 your talents, your gifts, your abilities to God. 01:47:56 They work too hard 'cause Jill's sending me texts 01:47:59 at 10:30, 11 at night. 01:48:00 6:30, 7 in the morning Greg's over doing production, 01:48:04 he's getting ready for things like this 01:48:06 and his crew working literally day and night. 01:48:09 And y'all are young enough you can do that right now. 01:48:11 When I remember I was 40 01:48:14 and I was goin' all the time 01:48:16 and somebody said to me: "You're going to have to slow down 01:48:19 'cause if you don't you're going to burn your candle out. " 01:48:22 When you're 40 years old, you're at the top of your game, 01:48:25 right? As they say. You've got health enough 01:48:28 that you're still in great health. You've been around 01:48:30 long enough you've got a little bit of wisdom. 01:48:32 So I said - not on purpose but almost arrogantly - 01:48:36 "Hey, I'd rather have my candle lit at both ends 01:48:40 and burn out too soon than not have it ever been lit. " 01:48:45 Well, that's OK for a while. 01:48:47 But as you get older you realize 01:48:49 there are times you need to slow down. 01:48:52 So I've asked Greg and the Board asked him 01:48:55 and Jill's the COO, she's operating officer 01:48:59 and wears numerous hats. 01:49:01 Incredible as a team. 01:49:03 I've never seen anything like it. So I've asked 01:49:05 Greg to come and help. The Board said: "Greg, 01:49:09 we need help. " I need help with day-to-day operations. 01:49:11 Now y'all've been doing it anyway for some time. 01:49:15 But I want to... My life is 3ABN. 01:49:19 It always will be. 01:49:20 So I'm not resigning lest anybody say: 01:49:22 "Danny's quitting... Danny's resigning. " 01:49:25 I couldn't. I just gave them a talk about never quitting, 01:49:27 right? That's right... don't quit. Never give up. 01:49:29 So... but what I want to do as our Board has asked 01:49:32 Greg if he would take over the responsibilities 01:49:36 of the day-to-day 3ABN and become the president of 3ABN 01:49:41 and I can go back... 01:49:50 All right. Love you guys. 01:49:53 I love you guys. Have a tremendous amount of respect... 01:49:56 And they told me I have to stay around and help 01:49:59 not that I'm that much help. He's a lot of help! 01:50:02 He's a lot of fun to be around as well. 01:50:03 He's a great encouragement. Yeah, we're so thankful 01:50:05 you're not retiring and leaving and this is not it. 01:50:07 Yeah, for sure. I want to just say a few words 01:50:10 if I can. It's an emotional day for me. 01:50:14 3ABN has meant a lot to my family through the years. 01:50:17 Remember those giant dishes, those 10' dishes, right? 01:50:20 So I remember years ago I was a young man 01:50:23 and my mom and dad couldn't afford it so we got a used 01:50:26 big dish, 10' dish. I helped my dad with a post-hole digger. 01:50:29 We dug the hole; put the 10' dish in. 01:50:31 We were so excited 'cause in rural West Virginia 01:50:33 down in a holler we got 3ABN! 01:50:36 Wow! It was amazing right in our own living room. 01:50:38 We saw the projects such as 3ABN Russia. 01:50:42 And my sister and I would grow strawberries 01:50:46 and send the money to 3ABN. 01:50:49 Amen! I remember we got a little cassette tape. 01:50:52 That's when cassette tapes were kind of in, I guess. 01:50:54 A cassette tape of Gerilynn, your niece, it was 01:50:57 I got as a little gift, and then when the building across the 01:51:00 street was being built - 1995? 1996? - 01:51:04 we sent a little more money in. We grew watermelons. 01:51:08 It's an emotional day for me. 01:51:13 All right. Take your time. 01:51:28 I'm not qualified. 01:51:30 Praise the Lord; He'll qualify you. 01:51:34 Yeah, But God provides all that we need, and He is faithful. 01:51:38 He's been faithful to me... faithful to Jill and myself. 01:51:41 And we are blessed to be a part of the ministry of 3ABN 01:51:44 and we're partnering with each one of you. 01:51:46 Mr. Danny, Dr. Yvonne: it's a special day. 01:51:49 We have nothing to give but ourselves. 01:51:53 But God is faithful, and I'm so encouraged by that. 01:51:56 And I'm looking forward to the future. 01:51:57 God has great plans for the ministry of 3ABN. 01:52:00 All God asks us to do like you said for many years 01:52:03 "What do you have in your hand? " "God, it's just me 01:52:06 so do what You can" and make ourselves available. 01:52:08 I appreciate the whole team that we have to work with. 01:52:11 I appreciate each one of you, those that are joining 01:52:13 through the airwaves: what a blessing to be partnering 01:52:16 with you. And thank you, Mr. Danny, for still being here 01:52:18 by our side working together. Looking forward to the future. 01:52:20 Yeah, it's part of my life. I've been over 1/2 of my life... 01:52:24 I'm 68... this November it's 35 years. 01:52:28 It's over half my life, so Yvonne and I aren't going 01:52:31 anywhere. We're still here... Praise the Lord for that! 01:52:34 assisting you with whatever we can do. 01:52:36 But it's too big a job for any one person. 01:52:39 For those of you that say: "Well the times of the knights 01:52:43 in shining armor are gone" I have to give you hopefully 01:52:47 this little story about Greg and Jill. 01:52:49 I said to them a few weeks... well, a few months ago... 01:52:52 We've talked about it. Those of you on the air 01:52:55 you've heard me say they've been if we can use the term 01:52:58 "grooming" for years to take over the day-to-day operations, 01:53:02 and for them to be, either one. So I talked to them, I said: 01:53:06 "Either one of you are quali- fied; you could be president. 01:53:08 You have the commitment; you have everything you need. 01:53:11 You're brilliant in mind. I mean, dedicated... 01:53:16 unbelievably so. Never worry about compromising 01:53:19 the message - the undiluted three angels' messages. " 01:53:23 Not these two. They're nicer than I am 01:53:25 and they won't get in your face like I do 01:53:27 but they still will stand their ground 01:53:29 and you're not going to... I'm a little more emotional 01:53:31 you know and go right at stuff. But they are solid! 01:53:35 So I said to them: "Either one of you could be president. 01:53:38 You're both qualified; you both do a great job. " 01:53:42 And I can't believe in a position like this we can have 01:53:45 two people - a husband and wife - that either one 01:53:48 3ABN's going to flourish. 01:53:50 So I said: "I'll let you two decide. " 01:53:53 Greg said: "Well, then I guess I should be president. " 01:53:59 Well that could mean several things. 01:54:01 If you stop you say: "Well, maybe it's just the husband 01:54:04 thinking 'Well, I should be the head. ' " 01:54:06 You know, maybe: "I'm the man; I should... " 01:54:10 and he finished the sentence. He said: "Well, 01:54:12 based on everything I guess I should be president 01:54:16 and here's why. " 01:54:17 He said: "I see the darts that people have been throwing 01:54:21 at you in this position and the ministry 01:54:23 for so many years. I cannot let my wife 01:54:26 take those darts. I'm going to stand... 01:54:29 I'm going to stand in front of her. " 01:54:36 He said: "It's my job to shield her from all the attacks 01:54:41 that are coming this way. " And Greg, that's a 01:54:45 great thing for you to say. 01:54:47 And I've asked Doug Batchelor to come and maybe say 01:54:51 a special prayer. And we want to kind of get around these folk 01:54:53 and lay hands on them because the times... 01:54:56 You really have no idea the things that people can do 01:55:00 and say. They can write books about you; 01:55:02 they can tell all kinds of lies. 01:55:04 And it's a shame that people in churches 01:55:06 when they hear something will say: "Oh, I didn't know 01:55:09 he was that bad. That's terrible! " 01:55:11 Instead of saying: "Wait. What are you saying? 01:55:15 Is this gossip? Is it true? " 01:55:17 It's OK... people should be held accountable. 01:55:19 But we seem to have - many of us - itching ears. 01:55:22 We just want to hear gossip. We jump on any one thing. 01:55:25 You can't imagine. Doug knows the controversy 01:55:28 that goes on around you at Amazing Facts. 01:55:31 Everybody up here has been that. 01:55:33 If you've not been in this position, 01:55:35 I can tell you it's no fun. But you know what? 01:55:38 I'll say this till the day I die: 01:55:40 "If I could do anything I wanted to do in my whole life, 01:55:44 be anywhere that I wanted to be, 01:55:46 I'd be right here doing what I'm doing right now. " 01:55:48 It's all been worth it. 01:55:50 Everything's been worth it. First moment of eternity 01:55:53 we'll look up and say: "Lo! This is our God 01:55:55 whom we have waited for. He has come to save us. " 01:55:58 And so I'm so thankful, but thank you for carrying 01:56:02 the load that you've been carrying anyway. 01:56:04 But I just wanted to make it official. 01:56:06 And Jill carries tremendous responsibility. 01:56:10 Greg can help more. They each have gifts 01:56:12 as Greg said, each other, that's just a hand and glove fit 01:56:16 and is so beautiful. So thank both of you. 01:56:18 I love you with all my heart. Yvonne does, too. 01:56:20 We love you, too. We didn't do this for any other reason 01:56:23 that we feel that it's time. And we're still here 01:56:27 as we said. Going nowhere unless you want us to. 01:56:29 No! No! We don't want them to go anywhere! I will 01:56:31 admit now last week it was... I never really thought about it 01:56:35 but I did buy a little used bass boat. 01:56:37 So I may be gone a little bit, you know, fishing once in a 01:56:40 while. But other than that, I'll be here. I've got my cell phone. 01:56:42 Amen... that's good. OK... Pastor Doug. 01:56:45 Absolutely. Father in heaven, we're 01:56:48 very thankful for just this reminder 01:56:52 of the truth that You are faithful. 01:56:55 And Lord, we look back and we see 01:56:58 in our lives just how many times You've been so patient 01:57:02 and loving, faithful. You provided 01:57:04 through the history of this ministry 01:57:07 we've seen just miracle after miracle 01:57:09 all the way to this very day. 01:57:11 And we have faith You will continue to provide 01:57:14 and to bless. And Lord, this is a very important moment. 01:57:17 Um-hmm. It harkens back to times in the Word 01:57:20 where living leaders conferred and transferred blessing 01:57:24 on others who were to take up the mantle 01:57:27 as Moses with Joshua. 01:57:30 As David with Solomon. 01:57:32 As Elijah with Elisha. 01:57:34 And for each of them, You then equipped the new leader 01:57:38 with special gifts that would be unique 01:57:41 to their personality and the needs of the day. 01:57:44 Right now we pray that You will look down, Lord, 01:57:47 from heaven and in a special way 01:57:50 bless both Greg and Jill 01:57:53 with the special power of Your Spirit. 01:57:56 As Samuel poured the oil on David Your Spirit came upon him. 01:58:00 Right now, Lord, we pray that that Spirit will once again 01:58:03 fall. As You gave a double por- tion of Elijah's mighty spirit 01:58:07 to Elisha, do that again. 01:58:10 The needs, the requirements, 01:58:14 the demands are very great 01:58:16 but we know that with all things You are able. 01:58:20 And so we pray that You'll continue to bless. 01:58:22 We ask Your blessing on Danny, Yvonne, the whole team 01:58:26 and continue to give them strength, life, and wisdom 01:58:29 as they help shepherd and guide. 01:58:31 And just empower every part of the ministry 01:58:34 that it may proclaim the good news 01:58:37 and there'll be a great harvest in Your kingdom. 01:58:39 We thank you, Lord, for the Sabbath 01:58:41 and we just give ourselves all to You afresh. 01:58:44 And we look to You with joy 'cause we know that You are on 01:58:46 the throne and You are leading and You are faithful. 01:58:49 And it's in Christ's name we pray, Amen. Amen. 01:58:53 We're hoping... My hope and prayer is each and every 01:58:56 one of you will show tremendous support. 01:58:59 And we're going to ask you to do something. We want you 01:59:01 to be a part of the miracle that we're going to share in January 01:59:04 for the million dollars that we're down. 01:59:06 We know God will do it but we're asking each of you 01:59:08 do your part and help do this. It's not our ministry. 01:59:11 It's all of our ministries. 01:59:13 And so it's yours as well as ours. 01:59:15 But Doug, before we close here I just want you... 01:59:18 Would you give them? If anybody would be in a position 01:59:22 that's been through it could give some advice to 01:59:24 Greg and Jill, you and Karen, what would you say to them 01:59:28 in just a few minutes? Put on the armor of God! 01:59:34 That's good. Yeah, I just... I'd say: "You know, God 01:59:39 will never... what do they say? The will of God will never 01:59:42 lead you where the grace of God will not keep you. " 01:59:45 That's good. As long as you know you're walking in His will 01:59:47 He'll provide everything you need for ministry. 01:59:49 And I know you know that. Amen! 01:59:51 All right. Bro. John... a word for them? 01:59:54 Yes. Danny, you've been saying it all morning. 01:59:57 I want to give you your first box of tissues. 02:00:05 Fifty thousand dollars. 02:00:07 You keep pulling the paper out! I wanted to help 02:00:12 but all I had was some little heart medicine. 02:00:14 Angie... sweetheart. 02:00:18 They're doin' their own thing those two. 02:00:22 They're sisters. Greg, I... 02:00:28 Greg, when he was my head elder, 02:00:31 even though he had great responsibilities at 3ABN 02:00:34 he was always on the cutting edge: 02:00:38 "Pastor, don't forget this. " "There's somebody here today. 02:00:41 Here's their name. Don't forget that. " 02:00:44 And I've watched Greg grow. I've looked back at some of the 02:00:46 video tapes. I remember when I used to call Jill Julie. 02:00:50 I just could not remember her name. 02:00:53 But we have watched you both grow 02:00:55 in such a way that we are praising God. 02:00:59 There are tears in our hearts and tears of joy 02:01:02 because we look back, Danny, and we see that this day 02:01:06 is not coincidental. But God saw you both 02:01:10 as young people. God saw Danny's journey 02:01:14 and He said: "I've gotta put two people in this position 02:01:17 that I know I can trust, that I know are faithful. " 02:01:21 And I'm amazed. I don't know how Jill does it. 02:01:25 I don't know where she gets the brain power, 02:01:28 but I've seen Jill in the toughest of moments 02:01:31 maintain... We call her "the steel magnolia. " 02:01:37 Because don't let her exterior fool you. 02:01:40 The steel butterfly. 02:01:42 And Greg I know as a husband a man of great wisdom 02:01:45 and integrity who protects his wife. 02:01:48 Who is faithful to the Lord. We know that the future is bright. 02:01:51 As Pastor Doug says we also say: 02:01:54 don't ever wake up without put- ting on the whole armor of God. 02:01:58 Amen! Thank you, Pastor. Kenny? 02:02:00 God a little word of wisdom? We've got just 2 or 3 minutes 02:02:03 here before our time goes out. 02:02:05 You got any wisdom for them? We're always praying for 02:02:08 wisdom, you know, and wisdom comes from God. 02:02:11 And we're thrilled with the announcement. 02:02:13 We know that God's going to use you in a very very special way. 02:02:16 Only advice I could give - Chris may have something else - 02:02:18 you know: turn your eyes upon Jesus. 02:02:21 Oh, thank you. Continue to look to Jesus: the Author 02:02:23 and Finisher of your faith. The thing the devil hates most 02:02:26 is those who stay close to Christ. 02:02:28 And when you stay close to Christ, the enemy can't stand 02:02:30 Christ and so he goes away. 02:02:32 So stay close to Him; keep your eyes on Him. 02:02:34 Lift up the truth always. 02:02:37 Lift up the truth; never compromise what is truth. 02:02:40 God has given you a mission. 3ABN is to lift that mission 02:02:43 of giving the three angels' messages to the world. 02:02:45 Stay true to that vision. Stay true to God. 02:02:49 Amen! This is what this station is raised for: 02:02:51 Danny mentioned beautifully today: win souls to the kingdom. 02:02:54 Keep doing the same work. God will bless you for it. 02:02:57 Mollie Sue? Love you, my friend. 02:02:59 Mollie and Hal were young pastors when I first met them. 02:03:01 Charismatic pastors. 02:03:03 Had a large church, one of the largest in southern Illinois 02:03:06 about 2,000. They joined us here and joined the Adventist church. 02:03:10 Mollie, so you and Hal have been through it. 02:03:12 You've been through the good and the bad. 02:03:14 Any advice here? We've got a couple minutes here before we 02:03:17 go off the air? Well, I've watched these two 02:03:20 as the others have said, grow. 02:03:22 And it has been such an encouragement to me 02:03:26 to see them stay... What is it? True... 02:03:30 true to the pole... as the needle to the pole. 02:03:32 Their integrity runs deep. 02:03:36 And what you see is what you get. We were always 02:03:39 able to say that about Danny. "Honey, what you see 02:03:42 is what you get. " Which is... sorry... 02:03:48 No, integrity. I think that's the word in this ministry 02:03:53 is people that have integrity. 02:03:54 And you know what integrity is? 02:03:56 Doin' right 'cause it's right to do right. 02:03:58 And that's what I see in Greg and Jill. 02:04:00 They don't have to second-think it. 02:04:02 They don't have to say: "Now what should we do in this 02:04:04 situation? " They will do right because it's right to do right 02:04:08 because that's what's in them. 02:04:09 J.D. Thank you, Mollie. 02:04:11 You know, we have no children. 02:04:14 Shelley and I have no children 02:04:16 but if I was, speaking for both of us, 02:04:20 if we had children these would be our children. 02:04:23 Amen! Honored to have you as parents. 02:04:29 You know, it just brings joy into our heart 02:04:33 to know that on our scorecard 02:04:37 you are prepared. With the power that Jesus is going to give you, 02:04:44 thank you - we'll be able to continue to go forward 02:04:47 and finish this race. Amen! 02:04:51 These two people are so humble. 02:04:55 And you know, humility is total dependence upon God. 02:04:59 So that's what I would tell you is the only way you can be 02:05:02 for this is to stay dependent and protect your marriage. 02:05:08 Protect your marriage 'cause we know the devil will come 02:05:11 against you. But pray for them. 02:05:13 They're precious young people and I'm so excited and so proud. 02:05:18 We've got 2 minutes on the clock. Greg and Jill, 02:05:20 it's your time. 02:05:25 It's an emotional day. 02:05:27 God called Danny 35 years ago 02:05:30 to build a television station that would reach the world 02:05:34 with the undiluted three angels' messages, 02:05:36 one that would counteract the counterfeit. 02:05:39 For 35 years he has remained faithful to that vision. 02:05:45 We are all here because God called him. 02:05:48 And I am so grateful that you are here 02:05:52 and so grateful that our heavenly Father is faithful. 02:05:55 In the midst of our inadequacies, 02:05:59 in the midst of us just being Greg and Jill, 02:06:01 God can still use each one of us and I'm so grateful for that. 02:06:06 I think of the scripture that says what? "Not by might 02:06:09 nor by power but by My Spirit says the Lord of hosts. " 02:06:13 So we're looking forward going forward because 02:06:16 God's going to do great things. 02:06:17 Yes! We appreciate Danny and his leadership 02:06:19 through all the years. He's not going anywhere like he said. 02:06:22 The responsibility is great 02:06:24 but God is greater, right? That's right! 02:06:26 So we look forward with great hope to the future. 02:06:29 Amen! The future is bright, and I'm so excited 02:06:32 with the plans and initiatives 02:06:34 that we're talking about with our executive team 02:06:36 and from the 3ABN Board of Directors. 02:06:38 New avenues and ways to spread the gospel 02:06:42 because that's what it's all about. 02:06:44 I want to go home. I don't know about you 02:06:46 but we want to go home. 02:06:48 Jesus is coming back for a purified bride 02:06:51 and a purified people 02:06:53 and He says: "I want you to come home and be with Me. " 02:06:57 And not just us but our challenge, 02:07:00 our mission, is to spread this message 02:07:04 in our neighborhood, in our community, and to the world. 02:07:07 So so grateful that you are here 02:07:10 partnering with the ministry of 3ABN to spread the gospel. 02:07:13 And we're so thankful for you at home 02:07:15 that you have joined hands with us 02:07:18 to spread that gospel message. 02:07:20 You know, in closing let's just actually stand for prayer 02:07:22 and we'll go off the air as we pray and thank the Lord 02:07:24 for what He is doing and for His faithfulness to each one of us. 02:07:27 Father in heaven, we thank you for today. 02:07:29 Thank you for Your faithfulness. 02:07:31 Thank you for the inspiring message that Mr. Danny has 02:07:34 brought to us. I thank you for the people 02:07:35 that are here and their faithfulness to You. 02:07:38 Lord, thank you for 3ABN and as the message goes out 02:07:41 may many more souls be won to Your kingdom. 02:07:44 In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. |
Revised 2020-03-02