Participants:
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202004S
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00:56 >> Welcome and 00:57 thank you for joining us 00:58 on It Is Written Canada. 00:59 Today we're going to be 01:00 talking to Maurice Hines who 01:02 is the retail manager at 01:05 The Sprouted Oven here in 01:07 Abbotsford, British Columbia. 01:08 So welcome, Maurice. 01:10 >> My pleasure. 01:11 Thanks for having me. 01:12 >> And we look forward to your 01:13 sharing with us today. 01:15 Tell us a little bit about 01:16 your work to begin with. 01:17 >> Yeah, so as a retail manager 01:20 we have a plant-based facility 01:22 that we provide 01:24 grains, flours, breads 01:27 for those who are interested 01:29 in plant-based living. 01:30 We provide basically 01:31 everything that you need. 01:33 >> Mm-hmm. Healthy living. 01:34 >> Healthy living. 01:36 >> Maurice, can you briefly 01:38 take us briefly back to your 01:39 childhood where your life and 01:41 dreams first started and where 01:42 all of it began? 01:44 >> Yeah, absolutely. 01:45 You know, I was born in 01:47 Jamaica and just the greatest 01:49 life ever, you know, 01:51 just the tropics, running 01:52 around playing. 01:55 Really good experience, 01:57 but when I was ten, 01:59 it's strange enough, 02:00 I had these three life goals: 02:03 to have a bicycle, 02:05 to take karate, 02:07 and to become a pilot, 02:09 to fly an air plane and so 02:11 not quite sure what the 02:12 motivation was, but... 02:14 that's how it started. 02:16 I had a great childhood. 02:17 Loved every moment. 02:19 >> So you had three goals. 02:20 You wanted to 02:21 own your own bicycle, 02:23 do karate, and be a pilot, so... 02:25 >> That's correct. 02:26 >> When did you get 02:26 your bicycle? 02:28 >> Yeah, so as-- 02:30 at fifteen I moved to Ontario 02:33 with my family and shortly 02:36 after when I was sixteen I got 02:38 my first bike. 02:39 It was amazing and 02:42 it was a mountain bike and I 02:44 rode all over, all over the 02:45 city, just loved it. 02:46 >> So you were pretty serious 02:48 about biking, I remember your 02:49 uncle once told me that and 02:51 what about the karate? 02:52 Were you as serious 02:53 about that? 02:54 >> Right. So shortly after we-- 02:58 I was in a plaza and I 03:00 noticed a sign that said, 03:03 "Karate lessons here" 03:04 and I said, "Fantastic!" 03:06 So my second goal-- 03:07 It reminded me of my second 03:08 goal and then I joined up and 03:12 it was basically advertising 03:14 for a six month program. 03:16 Six months that's-- 03:17 And I thought, perfect. 03:18 That's all I need, six months. 03:21 No, so I was not serious 03:21 about it, 03:22 it was not a lifetime goal 03:24 per se, you know, it was just 03:26 something I needed to-- 03:27 I just wanted to learn how to 03:28 kick and punch and to 03:30 have fun with it. 03:31 >> How did that change? 03:33 >> Well, that changed from a 03:35 six-month commitment to 03:38 a year and a half, 03:40 but what happened was 03:43 after about three or four 03:44 months into the program 03:46 one day I was-- 03:49 as I entered the class I was 03:51 asked to go see my sensei 03:53 I walked into his office and 03:56 he said, "Maurice, we're" 03:57 "running a campaign right now" 03:58 "where you can become a" 04:00 "lifetime member of this" 04:01 "organization--" 04:03 "through this karate" 04:04 "organization." 04:04 And I basically said, 04:06 "Well, thank you so much" 04:07 "for the offer," 04:08 "but I'm not interested." 04:10 "You know, the six-month" 04:11 "program was all I needed" 04:12 "and I'm quite happy" 04:13 "with that." 04:14 And he was very polite, said, 04:15 "OK, thank you so much." 04:16 "OK, go ahead finish class," 04:17 "have a good day." 04:18 So about an hour later, 04:20 I get another message: 04:22 "Sensei wants to" 04:23 "see you again." 04:24 Mm-Kay, I thought that was 04:25 pretty odd. 04:27 I was just there an hour ago. 04:28 So I walk in, I close the door 04:30 and he said, 04:31 "Have a seat." 04:32 And... 04:34 I don't know what happened, 04:35 but the next thing I know 04:36 I was sitting in the chair 04:39 and I came out of what 04:41 seemed like a trance with a 04:42 pen in my hand 04:43 and I was signing the lifetime 04:45 membership application. 04:47 >> That's weird. Yeah. 04:48 >> Yeah, it's still weird. 04:49 It's been over thirty years 04:51 and it's still weird. 04:52 It's like mind-blowing weird. 04:55 And that began a series of 04:59 really interesting events and 05:01 I became more involved 05:03 than I really wanted to. 05:05 >> So you stuck to that. 05:07 What was your philosophy? 05:09 >> Yeah, so our philosophy was 05:11 whatever it takes 05:12 to get it done and so 05:14 one of the things that we 05:14 adopted was a very 05:16 strict lifestyle. 05:17 I lived out of a day-timer. 05:19 I had a day-timer where I had 05:21 daily goals, 05:23 I had weekly goals, 05:24 two-week goals, 05:26 one-month goals, 05:27 three-month goals, 05:28 six-month goals, 05:29 one-year goals, 05:30 five-year goals. 05:32 I lived out of this 05:33 day-timer and if you wanted to 05:34 talk to me and... 05:37 there was a slot that I 05:39 was doing something, you had 05:40 to book a special time 05:42 to meet with me 05:43 even if you just wanted to 05:44 have a simple conversation. 05:45 >> So all of those are really 05:47 good things. 05:48 Having goals, having-- 05:50 sticking, you know, to a 05:51 strict lifestyle that's going 05:54 to be healthy. 05:56 What was your motive? 05:58 >> Our motive was to 06:00 become a God. 06:01 It was to have a great karma, 06:02 to come back as, yeah... 06:06 as someone famous, great. 06:08 >> How do you see that now 06:10 that you're a Christian-- 06:12 I mean, you weren't a 06:13 Christian then. 06:14 >> That's right. 06:15 I wasn't raised 06:17 in a Christian home. 06:18 I had no Christian 06:19 affiliation, 06:21 we just did whatever. 06:23 You know there was no 06:25 guidelines, restrictions, 06:27 or anything like that at all. 06:28 >> But you wanted to 06:29 come back as-- 06:31 your whole philosophy was to 06:32 come back as a God so it was 06:34 all about you. 06:36 >> That's right. 06:37 You know, now as a Christian, 06:39 you know, I look back, 06:40 absolutely, that's all it was 06:41 and, you know, 06:42 there's a verse here in 06:44 Jeremiah I'd like to share. 06:46 Jeremiah 17, a few verses, 06:49 5, 7, and 9. 06:51 And 5 says: 07:00 And verse 7: 07:07 Verse 9, a very familiar one: 07:15 And that's where I was. 07:16 We were really caught up into 07:19 this mindset that we could 07:22 save ourselves and one of the 07:23 things that early in my 07:25 experience that brought that 07:26 about was one day Sensei lined 07:28 us all up, which he did every 07:30 day, but he lined us up and 07:32 rather than starting the class 07:33 he asked us a question: 07:35 "Who do you believe in?" 07:36 Starting from the lowest belt 07:37 to the senior belt. 07:38 Then everyone gave their 07:40 answer all along the line and 07:42 he got to the senior belt and 07:43 the senior belt said, 07:44 "I believe in me." 07:45 Sensei looked at us and said, 07:47 "That's what I want you" 07:47 "all to say." 07:49 And we started this journey 07:51 thinking and trusting only in 07:52 ourselves and only what we 07:54 could accomplish. 07:55 >> Mmm. So you're doing a lot 07:56 of fighting here. 07:58 Did you ever get injured? 07:59 Did you ever experience a lot 08:01 of pain? 08:02 >> Absolutely, you know... 08:04 It takes a lot of hours to... 08:09 become proficient in anything 08:11 and yeah, we would get hurt. 08:15 We would get bruises. 08:17 One particular event 08:18 I remember clearly, 08:20 I was at a tournament 08:21 in a large city in Ontario 08:23 and I had gone through-- 08:27 at my belt level we had gone 08:28 through about half of the 08:30 contestants, but by them I had 08:32 broken both my big toes. 08:34 They were completely jammed. 08:36 Completely broken. 08:38 Just excruciating pain. 08:41 I went to Sensei, found him in 08:42 the crowd and I said, 08:43 "Sensei, I've broken my toes," 08:45 "I can't continue." 08:46 He turned around, looked at me 08:48 just as if nothing happened 08:50 and he said, 08:51 "Are you still in" 08:52 "the competition?" 08:53 Because the way that it was 08:54 set up was if you-- 08:55 every time if you sparred and 08:56 you lost, you would just be 08:57 down for the day. 08:58 You became a spectator for the 08:59 rest of the day. 09:00 Enjoy it that way. 09:01 And I said, "No, I haven't" 09:02 "lost a fight." 09:03 And he said, 09:04 "OK. Forget the pain." 09:08 And so when he told me that, 09:10 it wasn't a foreign thought to 09:11 me because we were trained... 09:14 whenever we got hurt or had 09:16 pain we went into 09:18 what was called-- 09:19 we called the 09:20 "White Light Meditation." 09:22 But either we laid down or we 09:23 went into the typical Buddha 09:25 sitting position. 09:27 So when it came to pain or 09:29 trauma, that's how we dealt 09:31 with it. 09:32 So for the whole period I was 09:33 in martial arts, I never had 09:35 a cold, a sniffle, anything. 09:38 I would go-- 09:39 as you can see I'm a dark 09:41 complexion and I would go 09:42 sometimes into the change room 09:44 with my friends and I would 09:46 take my shirt off and there 09:47 would be literal fist marks 09:49 left on my body. 09:50 There would be imprints-- 09:52 a foot, a foot on my chest. 09:55 You could still see it 09:56 but there was no pain. 09:57 >> No pain. 09:59 >> So you had a lot of these 10:00 experiences where you did 10:01 these mega training. 10:02 Do you want to talk 10:02 about that? 10:03 >> Yeah, mega trainings. 10:04 Mega trainings were like a 10:06 boot camp and so we would 10:08 train for twenty-four hours. 10:10 We would go for two hours 10:12 and have a ten to fifteen 10:13 minute break. 10:14 And through all that we would 10:18 do certain things, specific 10:20 things and around 3:00 in the 10:22 morning we would get into a 10:25 lot of Buddhist philosophy. 10:27 And for most people, as you 10:29 know around 2:00, 3:00 in the 10:31 morning, you're not really 10:32 clear on anything. 10:34 You're pretty foggy and you're 10:36 just dying to sleep. 10:38 But that's how it was. 10:39 And that's how we would have 10:41 all the philosophies on 10:43 Buddhism. 10:44 >> So you weren't 10:45 thinking deeply. 10:47 It was kind of just 10:48 coming at you. 10:48 >> That's right. 10:49 We were basically like 10:50 Sponge Bob. 10:51 We were just soaking 10:52 everything up. 10:54 Whatever came, we embraced it. 10:57 And there were other times 11:00 where we had what we call the 11:05 "Elevator Talk" where we would 11:07 go through an exercise where 11:09 you would start out at the 11:10 tenth floor and you'd pass out 11:12 and around the fifth floor you 11:14 had no idea what was going on 11:15 and you got to the ground 11:16 floor and then you'd be 11:17 awakened, but all that time 11:19 your Sensei was talking to you 11:21 through the whole experience. 11:22 >> And it was all 11:23 being taken in. 11:24 >> And it was all taken in. 11:25 >> How did you know if you 11:26 were on his wave-length? 11:28 >> Yeah, and so he 11:29 demonstrated that very 11:30 clearly for us. 11:32 We were in class one day in 11:33 particular and 11:34 I was sparring, 11:36 literally felt like the hairs 11:37 on the back of my neck 11:38 stood up. 11:39 I just paused, 11:40 stopped and looked around to 11:42 see what was going on and 11:43 there was my Sensei, smiling 11:45 and he just called me over. 11:47 And as I went to him, he said, 11:49 "I just want to see if you're" 11:50 "on my wavelength." 11:51 And he said, 11:52 "Just stand here." 11:53 And he turned around and did 11:55 the same thing to another 11:57 colleague of mine and 11:59 I was just mind-blown. 12:00 I mean, the stories 12:02 go on and on. 12:03 I can tell you so many 12:05 interesting things that 12:07 started to let me really think 12:09 about what I was doing, 12:11 but because I didn't have a 12:13 religious background. 12:14 I didn't have 12:16 any other support system. 12:17 There was really no one I 12:18 could talk to about it. 12:19 It-- even though it seemed 12:22 weird, but you accepted it 12:24 as this is a norm. 12:26 Because initially in the early 12:27 stages when I was thinking 12:28 about, you know, 12:30 thinking about killing people 12:31 all the time, 12:32 I had spoken to my friend 12:33 and he said it was normal. 12:35 But this is what we do. 12:37 >> Just thinking about killing 12:38 people all the time. 12:39 >> This is how we think. 12:40 This is how we function. 12:41 And-- 12:42 >> So, Maurice, listening to 12:44 you speaking like this, 12:45 would you say that karate was 12:47 a spiritual experience for you 12:49 or a religious experience 12:51 for you? 12:52 >> Yeah. 12:54 Yeah, it was a religious 12:55 experience because we would 12:58 spend certain classes, 13:00 quite a few, 13:01 as I continued to grow in the 13:03 whole process, 13:05 we would sit, 13:06 a class would be consisting of 13:07 sitting in the dark with 13:09 candles and meditating. 13:11 That would be the whole class. 13:13 And I got very involved. 13:15 I was teaching 13:17 classes of my own. 13:20 Other white belt-- 13:21 I was teaching white belts 13:22 or younger classes. 13:24 Lots of little kids. 13:25 We had lots of little kids 13:27 that would be part of this 13:28 club and I was involved with a 13:31 few of my colleagues teaching 13:33 at a local high school. 13:35 I would be teaching grade 9 13:36 self-defence classes. 13:39 >> And some of your fighting 13:40 was in the dark 13:41 or with your hand tied 13:42 behind your back... 13:43 >> Yes. 13:44 >> or with a blindfold on... 13:45 >> Yes. 13:46 >> How'd you do that? 13:47 >> Yeah, so the philosophy 13:48 behind that was to develop a 13:52 never-quit attitude. 13:53 And so we were trained to 13:55 fight with our arms tied 13:56 behind us, 13:58 blind-folded, 13:59 feet tied together, 14:00 so all the different 14:01 scenarios, not all the same. 14:03 So with our feet tied, 14:04 our hands would be free 14:06 or our hands would be tied, 14:07 our feet would be free 14:09 or blind-folded and both your 14:11 hands and feet would be free. 14:13 And so it made you learn 14:15 to adapt to-- 14:17 all your senses 14:19 became heightened 14:20 so you didn't just see 14:22 any more, now you could hear. 14:24 You could hear things that you 14:24 wouldn't hear before. 14:26 You would feel things that you 14:27 never felt before. 14:28 And so every sense 14:30 became super heightened. 14:34 >> So where was the turning 14:34 point for you? 14:36 >> The turning point for me 14:38 was I remember a Sunday 14:41 my uncle and aunt, 14:42 they owned a 14:44 stationary supply store 14:46 in a mall 14:47 and they asked me, 14:47 "Can you cover the store" 14:49 "for us one day," 14:50 "this Sunday." 14:51 And I said, "Sure." 14:54 "OK, I can do it." 14:56 You know, check your calendar, 14:58 check your schedule. 15:00 And so this particular store 15:02 was right across from one of 15:03 those old video stores that 15:05 had these monitors and screens 15:07 and this kid came along, 15:09 I think had to be 15:10 ten, twelve, thirteen 15:12 and he stood right in front of 15:13 one of those screens that I 15:14 wanted to see. 15:16 It troubled me 15:17 and I, of course I, you know, 15:20 I thought, "Fine, I could" 15:21 "take care of this right now." 15:22 So I basically just went into 15:24 a slight meditation, 15:25 of course I can't explain all 15:27 the details right now in this 15:28 interview, but-- 15:29 that we would normally do, 15:31 and I whispered to myself-- 15:32 he's about fifteen, twenty 15:34 feet away across the hall 15:36 and I said, 15:37 "Move to the left." 15:39 Just whispering to myself 15:41 and opened my eyes and I 15:43 looked at him and he made a 15:44 huge, not just a normal step, 15:46 but a literal, almost a jump 15:49 to the left. 15:50 And I don't know what he was 15:51 looking at, there was nothing 15:52 over where he was at. 15:53 But he made that move 15:55 and the monitor was clear 15:56 and the screen was clear 15:57 and I was like, 15:58 "Oh, this is fantastic!" 16:00 And about ten seconds and it 16:02 dawned on me: 16:04 What did I just do? 16:07 I'm not even in the dojo. 16:09 Because in the dojo, the 16:10 training room, the karate club 16:11 that was normal to do. 16:13 I expected to do that. 16:15 But at this point I said, 16:17 "Here I am" 16:19 "manipulating someone that" 16:22 "is not even conscious" 16:24 "that I just" 16:26 "manipulated them." 16:27 And that's when it started 16:29 to hit me. 16:30 How many other people are 16:32 being manipulated 16:34 and doing things that they're 16:36 not even aware? 16:37 And so, again, I'm not a 16:38 Christian, OK? 16:40 I don't believe in God, 16:41 I mean, I don't 16:43 have any practices, 16:44 any religious affiliation, 16:47 but the first thing that came 16:48 to my mind was I said, 16:49 "This has to be the devil!" 16:51 "This is crazy!" 16:53 "I can't--" 16:54 "This can't be happening!" 16:55 >> And you didn't know 16:56 who the Devil was. 16:57 >> That's right, I didn't know 16:58 who the Devil was and so-- 17:01 >> How did you know about 17:01 the Devil? 17:02 You watched a movie...? 17:03 >> Yes, so back when 17:05 I was ten, 17:06 ten was a pivotal 17:07 point for me. 17:08 I watched this movie called, 17:11 The Omen. 17:13 And in this movie was a little 17:14 boy by the name of Damien 17:16 and in the movie it had-- 17:18 he had in his head, 17:20 written on his head 17:21 the number 6-- 666. 17:23 I meant-- 17:24 it meant nothing to me. 17:25 So at home I had-- 17:27 I was given a Bible 17:29 about seven years previous 17:32 and it sat there with 17:33 all my trophies. 17:34 I had a dresser full of 17:36 trophies and medals, 17:37 I had a bookcase full of 17:38 certificates, medals, 17:39 and trophies. 17:40 >> All from karate? 17:41 >> All from karate. 17:42 >> OK. 17:43 >> And there was this Bible. 17:44 >> And you never read it. 17:45 >> I never read it. 17:46 Never opened it. 17:47 And I thought I'm going to 17:49 find out who Satan was. 17:50 So one of the philosophies 17:51 that we had in 17:52 martial arts at the time 17:53 was that if there's a problem, 17:54 you deal with it right away 17:55 because you have to 17:56 be progressive. 17:57 Problem, solve it, move on. 18:01 I felt that what just happened 18:03 to me 18:04 or to this poor kid 18:06 I felt that this 18:08 can't be right, it just-- 18:10 there's something about it. 18:11 Again, I wasn't raised a 18:13 Christian, but it just didn't 18:15 feel right 18:16 that this should be happening. 18:18 And I said, 18:19 "It's gotta be the Devil." 18:20 So, you know, in-- 18:21 just in my nïve mind, 18:23 I went home, opened this Bible 18:24 and I remember in the movie it 18:26 was in Revelation and so forth 18:28 so I finally fiddled through 18:29 the whole book of Revelation, 18:30 I found where it says, 18:32 you know, "Six hundred" or 18:34 "Six-score-something" and I 18:35 found it and I was like-- 18:37 But I was at square one, 18:38 it meant nothing to me, so... 18:39 >> No one could help you. 18:40 >> And no one could help me. 18:41 There was no one 18:42 I could talk to. 18:43 I didn't know anyone, right? 18:45 And my mother at this time had 18:46 become a Christian, but... 18:48 I couldn't even talk to her 18:50 because I don't think anyone 18:51 could relate 18:52 to my experience. 18:54 >> Kind of like the blind 18:55 leading the blind. 18:56 >> Kind of like the blind 18:56 leading the blind. 18:57 >> Absolutely. I couldn't-- 18:59 So strange enough, 19:01 everywhere I went, 19:03 I travelled with this Bible 19:04 from that day on 19:06 I had this Bible under my arm. 19:07 It was a little blue Bible 19:08 and I had it with me. 19:09 And a few weeks later, 19:11 I'm not sure if it was the 19:12 following Sunday, 19:13 but a few Sundays later, 19:14 my uncle and aunt, they had to 19:16 go out of town 19:17 and they asked me, 19:17 "Can you cover the store" 19:18 "for me again?" 19:19 And so this is where the 19:20 turning point really happened. 19:22 So... 19:24 Man, so many events. 19:26 But up to this point, 19:29 I said, "Sure." 19:30 Calendar was open, I was still 19:31 involved in karate. 19:32 Never quit at this point, 19:34 but I just knew something 19:35 wasn't right, 19:36 the vibe wasn't right, 19:37 something wasn't right. 19:39 And so I had this Bible under 19:41 my arm and 19:43 this gentleman came by looking 19:44 for my uncle. 19:46 And he asked where my uncle 19:47 was, I said, 19:48 "He's not here today." 19:50 And he looked at me and he 19:52 said, "Are you a Christian?" 19:56 And I said, "What?" 19:58 "Why would you ask me that?" 20:00 Like, "What would give you" 20:02 "such an idea?" 20:03 Like-- 20:05 He said, "Well, you have a" 20:06 "Bible under your arm." 20:08 I just said, "Oh, this!" 20:10 I said, 20:12 "No! I'm not a Christian." 20:13 "Does that mean I'm a" 20:14 "Christian because I have" 20:15 "a Bible?" 20:16 "Is that what that means?" 20:18 And he goes, "Well, yeah." 20:20 "Well, why do you have" 20:22 "the Bible?" 20:23 I said, "Well, funny you" 20:24 should ask me." 20:25 "I'm trying to find" 20:26 "the Devil." 20:27 [chuckles] 20:28 As serious as a heart attack, 20:31 that's just where I was. 20:34 You know, I'm trying to find-- 20:36 So he looked at me 20:39 and he said, "Oh!" 20:40 And then 20:42 it had to be the Holy Spirit 20:43 guiding this man. 20:45 He said, "Have you ever heard" 20:48 "of the Sabbath?" 20:49 >> Wow! 20:50 >> And I went, "Hmm." 20:52 >> Strange question. 20:53 >> Strange question, I said, 20:55 "Black Sabbath, yeah." 20:57 "I used to listen to them." 20:58 And he goes, "No, no, no, no." 21:02 And then he shifted again. 21:05 And he said, "Have you ever" 21:07 "heard of the Seventh-day" 21:08 "Adventist Church?" 21:10 So, you know, being in Ontario 21:12 and, you know, 21:14 all I know is the 21:15 Catholic Church. 21:16 I said, "Mmm..." 21:17 "Catholic Church..." 21:19 "Baptist Church." 21:20 I said, "No." 21:22 "Never heard of that." 21:23 "Seventh-day Adventist." 21:24 "What is that?" 21:26 And he said, "OK...OK." 21:29 And then he shifted again. 21:32 And he said to me, 21:34 "Would you like to learn how" 21:35 "to play the guitar?" 21:38 And I was blown away! 21:41 Because he didn't know that 21:42 was also one of my goals. 21:45 That was another goal I had. 21:46 I had a lot of goals. 21:47 My day-timer. 21:49 And so I thought, 21:51 "This man's like me." 21:52 "He can read my mind." 21:54 You see, because that's the 21:55 level I was at 21:56 that if someone can connect 21:58 with me then they must have 21:59 the ability to sense 22:01 what I can sense. 22:02 Right? 22:03 Because I would do that with 22:04 other people. 22:05 I would be able to pull out 22:06 their thoughts 22:07 in a sense, in a way. 22:08 And so he said to me, 22:10 "You want to play the guitar?" 22:11 And I said, "Absolutely!" 22:13 "Absolutely I want to learn" 22:14 "to play guitar!" 22:16 And I don't know if I asked 22:17 him how he knew, but was-- 22:18 I didn't-- 22:19 I was like-- 22:20 We connected right away. 22:21 Then he said, "By the way," 22:23 "if you come over," 22:24 "I can help you with that" 22:27 "trying to find" 22:28 "the Devil situation." 22:29 I said, "Fine!" 22:30 "When can we meet?" 22:32 You know? And... 22:34 that was kind of the beginning 22:36 a turning point and 22:37 I found out later, 22:39 I found out later with this 22:40 gentleman that he was part of 22:42 a small group that were 22:45 meeting together on a regular 22:47 basis praying to find souls 22:50 that needed to be found. 22:53 Praying for folks. 22:54 And so I met with him and his 22:56 family and he started studying 22:58 with me. 22:59 Actually, he never studied 23:01 with me, his wife did. 23:02 But I explained to him 23:03 in detail, 23:04 everything was fresh 23:05 in my mind, 23:06 I told him everything that 23:07 had happened in Karate Club 23:08 as much as I could 23:10 and he basically told me that 23:12 "You can never go back." 23:14 "You can never go back there." 23:16 And of course that was my 23:17 family in a sense 23:19 and I felt it was-- 23:20 I was torn. 23:22 And he basically said, 23:23 "If you go back" 23:24 "you will die." 23:25 And I said, 23:26 "I have to go back" 23:27 "for my bow." 23:28 So I had gotten to weapons 23:30 training and so one of my 23:31 weapons of choice was a bow 23:32 and I said, "I have to go back 23:33 to get my bow." 23:34 And he said, "Well, no." 23:35 "You don't need it." 23:36 "You don't need to go back." 23:37 And that was the last time-- 23:39 I have had a few contacts with 23:41 a few of them over the years, 23:42 many, many, many years later, 23:43 but I've stayed away from 23:45 all of it, but 23:46 the whole experience was 23:49 just amazing to see how God 23:52 led me through this valley 23:56 to bring me to this truth 23:58 of knowing that I need to 24:00 trust in Him 24:02 and not in myself. 24:03 >> And now you have a 24:04 different perspective. 24:05 You become a Christian. 24:07 >> Yes. 24:09 >> What from the scriptures 24:10 can kind of help people as we 24:12 close off today? 24:13 >> Absolutely. 24:15 You know, we touched on not 24:17 trusting arm or flesh 24:19 and I find that... 24:23 trusting in God has-- 24:26 you know, I believe in the 24:27 philosophy that we can find in 24:29 the Bible called 24:30 Righteousness by Faith 24:31 that our salvation or trust 24:33 can be found in Jesus 24:35 and John 3:16 is a classic 24:37 one, you know... 24:46 And so that has been the 24:49 mantra for me now 24:51 versus the other mantras that 24:52 I used to do in martial arts. 24:55 >> And this also 24:57 kind of reminds me of 24:59 Ephesians 6, verse 12. 25:04 >> Our struggle is not against 25:06 flesh and blood, right? 25:08 That we wrestle not against 25:10 flesh and blood... 25:20 >> So it was a 25:22 spiritual battle... 25:23 >> Absolutely. 25:24 >> And God has rescued you 25:27 from that. 25:28 >> Absolutely. 25:30 >> Now, before we let you go, 25:31 Maurice, did you ever achieve 25:32 your third goal 25:34 of becoming a pilot? 25:36 >> After many years of taking 25:37 ground school-- 25:39 ground school was easy, 25:40 many years of still flying, 25:41 I had left karate and had 25:44 become a Christian and on 25:46 December 24th 25:49 I believe it was '91 25:51 I went solo 25:53 and started flying. 25:55 >> So you achieved 25:56 that goal, too. 25:57 >> So I checked that off. 25:59 And so all things are possible 26:01 with God and yeah. 26:04 And so I feel that, you know, 26:06 having these experiences has 26:10 given me the belief that if I 26:13 trust in God, I can accomplish 26:15 many more things and many more 26:17 things for God. 26:19 >> As we close off, 26:20 can I ask you to 26:21 have a word of prayer for us? 26:23 >> Absolutely. OK, let's pray. 26:26 Father in heaven, I want to 26:27 thank You so much for how You 26:30 work in each one of our lives. 26:32 I want to thank You so much 26:34 for directing and for guiding. 26:36 We know, Lord, that without 26:38 You we can't do anything good, 26:40 but with You, Father, all 26:41 things are possible. 26:43 And so we thank You for how 26:45 You've led in my life and each 26:46 one of all our lives because 26:47 we all have a story to tell. 26:49 And so we thank You for Your 26:51 love and for Your mercies. 26:53 For we pray all this in Jesus' 26:54 precious name, amen. 26:56 >> Amen! Maurice thank you 26:58 very much for being with us 26:59 and God truly gave you a gift 27:03 when He gave you that Bible 27:05 and that friend who came along 27:07 so thank you for sharing 27:08 with us. 27:08 >> My pleasure. 27:09 Thank you for having me. 27:10 >> Yeah. 27:11 And friends, our gift for you 27:14 today is called A Gift For You 27:16 and it is a free offer, 27:19 a little booklet and get out a 27:21 pen and paper or take it on 27:23 your smart phone and here's 27:24 the details right now: 27:26 >> To request today's offer, 27:27 just log onto: 27:29 www.itiswrittencanada.ca 27:33 That's www.itiswrittencanada.ca 27:36 If you prefer, you may call 27:38 toll free at 1-888-CALL-IIW. 27:42 That's 1-888-CALL-IIW. 27:45 Or if you wish, you may write 27:47 to us at: It Is Written 27:49 Box 2010, Oshawa, 27:50 Ontario, L1H 7V4 27:53 And thank you for your prayer 27:55 requests and your generous 27:57 financial support. 27:59 >> Friends, we just want to 28:00 invite you to follow us on 28:02 Instagram, on YouTube, 28:04 Facebook, on our website 28:07 and there you will find all 28:09 the material free of charge 28:10 for you to look at any time 28:12 because we want you to keep in 28:14 mind the words of Jesus where 28:15 He says, "It Is Written," 28:16 "man shall not live by" 28:17 "bread alone, but by every" 28:19 "word that proceeds" 28:21 "out of the mouth of God." 28:22 ♪♪ |
Revised 2020-10-21