Participants:
Series Code: LAC
Program Code: LAC180003A
|
00:01 There are only a few things in life you can't plan for,
00:04 like being born and it is especially difficult if no one 00:08 else is planning for you either. 00:10 No one that is, except for the God of the universe 00:14 who had a divine plan after all. 00:17 There is Life After Choice. 00:19 My name in Brian Hindman and this is my story. 00:40 There is a verse in the Bible that I've often wondered, 00:43 does it apply to me? 00:44 It's found in Jeremiah 1:5. 00:47 It says: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." 00:51 Because of my experience and the circumstances surrounding 00:55 my birth,I have wondered, did God know me? 00:59 Me, before I was born and as my life has continued 01:05 and as I have grown, I believe that the answer is YES, 01:08 a resounding YES. 01:10 No matter who we are and no matter what the 01:12 circumstances are surrounding our beginnings, 01:15 that God knows us and has a specific plan and a purpose 01:19 for us. Well my story begins back with a young teenage girl 01:25 and a teenage boy who were together and had been dating 01:29 for a little while and as a result, there was an unexpected 01:34 or unplanned pregnancy. 01:35 As a result of this pregnancy of the lady that was my mother, 01:41 she was only 15 at the time, both her and my father 01:45 were sophomores in high school. 01:48 They were very scared about what had transpired 01:53 because of this pregnancy and so my mom, she was so afraid 02:00 as I have been told, that she kept this to herself 02:03 for a long time. 02:04 In fact she kept it to herself for over 8 months. 02:08 I was told this by her sister who actually shared a bedroom 02:13 with her, that she even kept it from her. 02:16 So private was she about this pregnancy. 02:18 Well it didn't take long as the pregnancy continued 02:24 though and got to that point, before she had to share or 02:29 tell her parents. My grandparents. 02:31 And they were faced with a difficult decision 02:34 and that difficult decision was, what should we do with him? 02:38 What should we do with this pregnancy? 02:40 Now it's interesting to me that I happened to born the same year 02:43 that abortion was legalized in 1973. 02:46 But I understand that abortion was never an option though 02:50 for my mother and so, they had another decision to make. 02:55 Would they keep me, because my mother was so young? 02:58 and she had a younger brother and a younger sister 03:03 one of which is only 9 years older than me and I could just 03:06 be raised with my aunts and uncles, but thinking they were 03:10 my brothers and sisters. 03:12 So they contemplated this for awhile and there was a strong 03:17 pull and desire to want to keep me and take care of me. 03:20 But I think God intervened and God saw that a day would come 03:27 when they would have to sit down and explain to me 03:29 that your brothers and sisters are really your 03:33 aunts and uncles and your mom and dad are really 03:38 your grandparents, grandma and grandpa and how that 03:41 would just be really confusing and devastating for me. 03:43 So the wise decision was made to put me up for adoption 03:46 and after seeking out some counsel, they wanted to 03:51 make sure I was adopted by a good family. 03:53 They found a person, a contact rather that knew of a family 03:58 that was in another state, that had been trying to plan 04:02 and start a family and they had been unsuccessful. 04:05 In fact this young family had had several miscarriages 04:11 and because of this, they thought they wouldn't be able 04:14 to have any children. 04:16 They decided they were going to seek out and try to find someone 04:19 to adopt and it just so happened that I came along at that time. 04:23 This young family out of state so my adoption as it was, 04:30 the way it turned out, it was supposed to be a 04:32 closed adoption. 04:33 That means that neither party would know about the other side. 04:36 They wouldn't understand or know the other names and the 04:40 other individuals involved. 04:41 But through some interesting circumstances, both parties 04:46 happened to find out the names of each other 04:48 relatively early on. 04:50 One of the things that happened was the hospital, when they 04:54 carried me to my adopted parents, the pastor rather 04:58 that carried me over, that was the go between, 05:01 they left the bracelet on my wrist... 05:03 It had my name on it and it also had my mother's name on it. 05:06 My adopted parents saved that for me and so we always knew 05:12 and I always had a name for my biological mother. 05:15 Well the family that adopted me, just so happened to be 05:19 a pastor, a young, just beginning the ministry, 05:24 Seventh-day Adventist pastor and his wife. 05:27 So I feel so fortunate and so blessed that even though my... 05:32 the beginnings of my life were really surrounded by 05:36 embarrassing circumstances, I was placed is a position 05:40 where I would have every opportunity to know God 05:44 and to learn about God and to find out His plan for my life. 05:48 So from the earliest days... My mother's a nurse 05:53 and although she had a rough childhood herself, 05:57 she was always very very loving. 05:59 One of the things that was so special was that we were born 06:03 on the same day, December 5. 06:06 So my mother would always tell me, you were my 06:10 birthday present, you were very special to me. 06:12 So I would always bask in her love and affection for me 06:16 and one of the wise things that my parents did for me 06:20 looking back now is... I was adopted when I was only 06:24 3 days old. But my parents, my adopted parents, 06:29 when they picked me up from the hospital and took me back 06:33 across the state line, back to where they were living, 06:36 they began telling me on the way home, Brian, 06:41 you are adopted and you are very special to us. 06:43 So they began to tell me this and they repeated that 06:47 every so often, every few weeks or so, my whole early life 06:50 so I can't ever remember not knowing what it was like 06:54 to not be adopted. 06:55 The way that they dealt with this situation in such an 06:59 open way, I think it really shows the importance 07:03 of being open with things that are difficult or hard. 07:07 I never had any stigma or any negative feelings 07:11 associated with being adopted. 07:13 In fact, I thought I was more special because I was adopted 07:17 rather than people that have their own children. 07:20 My parents came and picked me out, they came and got me. 07:23 So the Bible says in Proverbs 28:13, he that covereth his sin 07:29 shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and 07:32 forsaketh them shall have mercy. 07:34 So I think that principle is so important, that we are open 07:37 with each other. We're open with God most importantly 07:40 because He already sees and knows everything, 07:42 so why would we want to be open with him so that we're not 07:45 covering and hiding from the mistakes that we've made 07:47 and we've all made mistakes but rather we're taking it 07:50 to Him and saying Lord, please I want you to 07:53 forgive me and to help me with whatever situation I've created 07:57 that is because of my poor choices. 08:00 Well, wouldn't you know it that my parents 08:02 who were not able to have kids, my adopted parents, 08:04 they got pregnant right after they adopted me and 11 months 08:09 after they adopted me, they gave birth to a girl. 08:13 So I have a sister named Kristen who is very close to me 08:17 in fact I find it very interesting that even though 08:20 we're not blood related, there's so many times 08:23 when we have met people and they have said 08:26 time and time again, you look just alike, you look so similar. 08:30 Same color hair, same color eyes and we'd been brought up 08:34 and been so close together that I would never even 08:36 consider that she's not really my sister, we're that close. 08:39 I don't think she would ever consider the same about me, 08:43 that I'm not really her brother. 08:44 Well one of the tremendous advantages that God gave me 08:48 through my parents, was the importance of 08:51 Adventist Christian education. 08:53 Placing me in elementary schools and high schools 08:56 that would give me the opportunity to learn 08:58 from a Bible perspective what God's will is for my life 09:02 and what His plans are for my life. 09:04 To realize that's the most important thing of all 09:07 is to find out what God's plans are and then to seek 09:11 to follow Him with His strength because He'll help us to do 09:14 His will. Right! 09:16 So going through Adventist schools and then later on 09:20 when I attended Southern Adventist University 09:22 for college, I decided to take Theology. 09:25 Because of my adoptive dad, because he was a pastor 09:29 and I looked up to him so much, I thought, I want to be 09:31 just like my dad. He was my dad in the highest sense 09:35 of the word. So I took Theology, but after several 09:39 years of taking Theology, I became scared of 09:43 public speaking and so I said this is too scary. 09:46 I began to ask for God to lead me an still guide me, 09:50 thinking this was too difficult, into a different direction. 09:53 So He led me into education and I had the privilege 09:57 after graduating from college of serving as a teacher 10:00 in high school for 18 years. 10:03 I had the privilege of serving and sharing with young people 10:08 and encouraging them who are in the same age as my parents 10:12 when they had me and made a mistake. 10:14 To be able to reach out to them and encourage them 10:17 and try to nurture them and lead them to trust God 10:21 with their lives and to realize that He has a plan for them, 10:24 so that was always a tremendous privilege... 10:27 But God had another still further plan that was 10:31 unfolding in my life 10:32 Boy, His plans are amazing, His thoughts are not our thoughts 10:37 and His ways are not our ways and His plan began to grow 10:40 in my heart from a conviction that He really was calling me 10:44 to serve as a full time pastor, just like my adopted dad. 10:50 So I was at this time still teaching but as the month 10:57 began to go by, I thought you know what, 10:59 I've got to explore this, I've got to trust that God 11:03 is going to be calling me to do something that He 11:06 will equip me to do, even though I am afraid of 11:08 public speaking and I'm scared of getting in front of people 11:10 I'm going to trust that He is going to show me and help me 11:13 to be able to do that if that's what he is calling me to do. 11:15 So I quit my job as a teacher and I waited and searched for, 11:21 sent out my resume to different conferences and churches 11:25 and got no response. 11:26 In the meantime, I thought what can I do 11:30 because I still have this conviction that God wants me to 11:33 serve Him in such a precious important capacity 11:37 and so I decided to go to Amazing Facts Center of 11:41 Evangelism and learn on working practical evangelism 11:45 training skills. 11:46 So while I was at Amazing Facts in California, 11:49 I received a phone call from a church in Hendersonville, 11:53 North Carolina that said, we need an Associate Pastor 11:57 and we want to interview you, we think you would do 12:00 a great job. 12:02 So low and behold, I find myself being flown across 12:04 the country from California out to North Carolina 12:07 and interviewing for what I thought was from my earliest 12:12 days, when I was just a very young person, I always dreamed 12:15 of being a pastor and then low and behold I was 12:18 hired to be a pastor. 12:20 By the grace and privilege of God, the last three years 12:25 I have been serving now as a teacher and a preacher 12:29 and visiting and sharing and giving Bible Studies 12:33 in a wonderful church there in Hendersonville, North Carolina. 12:36 So God isn't finished with me yet, He has led me to a 12:39 wonderful woman that is such a, not only is she a 12:43 beautiful woman but she is also God fearing. 12:46 She is a tremendous compliment and support in my life 12:50 and we have one incredible son who is attending 12:53 Weimar Institute out in California and we are thankful 12:57 for the way the God is leading in his life. 12:58 One of the things that is so important that I have learned 13:03 is that God is inviting and calling all of us 13:06 to be part of His divine family. 13:09 As I mentioned at the beginning, heritage and ancestry 13:12 matters and God is calling us to be part of the greatest, 13:16 most wonderful family of all and we find this in the 13:20 scriptures in John 1:11-13. 13:25 Notice what the Bible says here in John 1:11-13 13:29 and this is the experience of Jesus. It says: 13:32 "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." 13:35 Jesus knows what it is like to be rejected, 13:38 He knows what it is like to be separated from His family 13:40 and to be an outcast. Now verse 12. 13:44 "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power 13:48 to become the sons and daughters of God," 13:52 The ability, the invitation and privilege to be His sons 13:58 and His daughters. 13:59 Notice what it says here right after that. 14:02 "Even to them that believe on His name." 14:04 If we receive Him and if we believe on His name 14:08 these are the prerequisites that are necessary 14:09 in order to be part of His family. 14:11 We can do that right now. The last verse says: 14:15 These who do this which were "born, not of blood, 14:19 nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, 14:22 but of God." 14:24 To be born of God, means to be part of His family 14:28 and to have the greatest privilege in the universe 14:31 to be His son or daughter. 14:33 So today I want to invite you to accept Jesus 14:36 and to believe on His name, because He has a plan 14:38 for your life, just as He had a plan for my life. 14:41 He will show you if you will just reach out and ask Him 14:45 to do so. |
Revised 2019-01-16