Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY018039A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 - Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today. If you are 01:13 a part of our 3ABN family, you know who I am. But 01:16 if you're just joining us, my name is John 01:18 Lomacang. I am a part of this wonderful ministry that 01:21 the Lord has established to get the people of the world 01:24 ready for the soon coming of our Savior. And thank 01:27 you so much for taking the time today to tune 01:28 into the program! You might be wondering at 01:31 this point whether or not you should watch 01:32 this program... Let me tell you. You cannot 01:35 afford to miss it. Talk about inspiration and 01:38 God's divine guidance, turning tragedy into 01:41 triumph and changing the course of human 01:44 history for the glory of His name. Today, you're 01:47 going to hear about that and so much more with 01:49 our guest today. And so, take the time to 01:52 just sit back, invite your friends and family, and we 01:55 know the Lord is going to bless. Thank you for your 01:57 prayers and your financial support of this network 01:59 that continues to go and grow as we get ready 02:02 for the coming of our Lord. I'm going to go right ahead 02:04 and introduce our guest today, because he has a 02:08 story to tell!-and I mean a STORY. You've heard 02:11 stories; but today, I'm sure this one would 02:14 inspire you and take your spiritual walk 02:16 with Christ to another level. Brother Moses, 02:19 Moses Brown, good to have you here today. 02:21 - It's also good to be with you, Pastor. - Yes. 02:23 I can call you Dr. Moses Brown because you have 02:25 your PhD-we'll talk about that in a moment-and the 02:27 guiding of your life; but it's so good to 02:30 get a chance to sit down and converse and to walk 02:34 through your life story. We've been in many circles 02:37 before-together in the music circles-but this is 02:40 a privilege to get a chance to sit down 02:41 and find out more about you and look at some of 02:43 the affinities that the Lord has allowed us to 02:45 share. But for our viewing and listening audience, kind 02:48 of tell them who you are, where you're from, and 02:50 what you do right now. - Well, I am from Tampa, 02:53 Florida-born there in Plant City, Florida. I 02:56 serve as a chaplain, the head chaplain for Florida 02:59 Hospital Connerton. I'm on the pastoral staff of 03:02 Mt. Calvary, and I'm the founder of Feed Our 03:06 Children Ministries. - Okay. And it's good 03:09 to have you here today. We have quite a journey 03:11 to walk through, because I'm seeing you now in a 03:14 completely different light. My wife had a chance to 03:17 talk to you and the privilege of interviewing you on 3ABN 03:20 Radio; and when she came home and told me some of 03:23 your story... I mean, I teared up, realizing that 03:26 the journey that the Lord has taken you on 03:29 has a lot of similarities with mine. We're not 03:32 going to tell my story today; we're going to 03:33 tell your story, and we're going to dive 03:35 right in so that our audience could go on 03:38 this journey with you to see the wonderful providence of 03:41 God. Let's dive into the beginning, and I'll turn 03:44 it over to you. - Well, it started off with a 03:48 girl by the name Cherry. At 13 years old, she had 03:50 lost her parents there in Manning, South Carolina. 03:54 Set of twins; her twin sister's name was Trudy. 03:58 And when her parents died, she had to move in with her 04:01 older sister there in Hallandale, Florida. 04:03 They migrated down to Hallandale, Florida, and 04:07 she was still one of those who loved to go to church. 04:10 She was one who went to Sunday school. Her daddy 04:14 was a Baptist preacher there in Manning. And 04:17 while she was going to church there, that particular Sunday- 04:20 it was on a hot August day-she was walking 04:23 home from a BTU service that they had. And as 04:28 she was walking home, one of the deacons 04:30 invited her to take a ride with her to go 04:34 home. She was a little reluctant at first; and 04:39 she decided, "Well, he's a man of authority; he 04:42 was a deacon," and also one of the first police 04:44 officers there in that city. She got in the 04:48 car, and she still was a little reluctant...but 04:51 she said, "I can trust him." But that trust 04:54 turned into tragedy. At that point, while 04:59 they were driving towards her house, he suddenly made 05:02 a turn that was in a different direction. And 05:05 she said, "Why are you taking me this way?" 05:07 And he indicated to her, "Listen, I don't want you 05:10 to- just look at this new house I got." He 05:12 was a builder, also, and he had a beautiful home 05:14 that he was building. He's like, "I just want 05:16 to take you around so you can at least see 05:18 what my house looks like." And so as they were walking 05:21 through that house... She said when she got 05:24 to the bedroom area, his whole demeanor changed, 05:28 and that's where he took advantage of her, and her 05:31 life never had been the same since. She said she 05:36 didn't think she was pregnant, because she 05:38 was fighting through that thing...so she didn't really 05:42 think really anything happened. But as it 05:46 came out, a few months later, her sister was 05:48 looking at her and she said, "Cherry, you are 05:51 pregnant!" And she didn't know what to do, 'cause 05:55 at that time, she was just a child, herself. She just 06:00 left it in God's hands. She kept it silent from 06:02 her older sisters first. But in the interim of 06:06 that, they had to suddenly move from Hallandale to a 06:09 place called Plant City (which is about four hours 06:12 away), because her older sister's husband had gotten 06:17 in some kind of gambling, disputing... They had to 06:19 get out of town, quickly. But it was still the providence 06:23 of God that God was navigating this whole 06:25 thing all the way through, because in Plant City is 06:28 where she decided she wanted to have her baby... 06:31 and she turned 14 at that time. She told her older 06:35 sisters that, "I want to have my baby. I want 06:38 to keep my baby." But to the surprise to her... 06:43 And so she said, "No, you can't have that 06:45 child here! We're barely feeding YOU! How are 06:50 we going to feed you with the little money we have 06:51 with just beans and rice and..." And her husband 06:55 had a gambling debt and they didn't know what to 06:57 do. She said, "And there is somebody that we know 07:01 in town, and they can kinda clear this whole 07:04 thing up so you don't have to go through this. 07:06 You don't want to have to live with this thing." 07:10 And she said, "If you go down to this certain 07:12 house, back in the ghetto back there, certainly, they 07:15 knew how to do abortions." And she didn't know what 07:19 to do. She said, "Oh, God, this is not what 07:21 I want to do in my heart." But they told her that, 07:24 "You cannot bring the baby back here." She 07:27 said, "If you want to keep your baby, you 07:29 have to find somewhere where you AND the baby 07:31 can stay." She said, "The only other thing you can 07:34 do is just leave that child there." And so, 07:37 she was thinking, and she decided that, "Well, 07:42 I have no money; I have no other options." And 07:45 so, she was given that address to go and get 07:47 rid of the child. And while she was walking 07:50 down that way, Pastor John, she heard a voice, 07:55 like an epiphany came over her and said, "In 07:57 all your ways, acknowledge Me." She remembered those 08:00 scriptures; that's why it's good to keep your 08:01 children in Sabbath school and church school, 'cause 08:05 those scriptures came back to her: "In all your 08:07 ways, acknowledge me, and I will direct your 08:09 path. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and 08:12 lean not upon your own understanding." And she 08:15 knew that voice; even as a child, she knew that 08:18 voice. See, that's the voice of Jesus. But 08:22 still, she didn't see any way that she could 08:25 keep this child. It was just overwhelming for 08:29 her. And she thought in her mind, "I gotta 08:34 go through this," so she kept moving 'cause she 08:37 had no other answers. But when she put her 08:40 hand on the door, she said that, "I heard a 08:42 distinct voice: 'If you will let Me have this 08:45 child, I will be its Father.'" And right 08:52 then, she knew she can trust Him where she 08:54 couldn't trace Him. And she put it in God's hands, 08:58 and she turned away with an expression of joy that 09:05 she had never had before, and she walked back home, 09:08 feeling good, because she could tell her sisters 09:10 that God was going to take care of that child. But to 09:13 her surprise when she got back home and told 09:16 them that she was going to keep her child, they 09:19 came back with the same scenario. "You can't have 09:23 that child here." So she knew there was only 09:26 one option left...to leave the child in the hospital. 09:30 She went down to the South Florida Baptist 09:33 Hospital there in Plant City. And as a 14-year-old girl 09:37 trying to figure out, you know, "Do I want 09:40 to do the will of God?" It's something about 09:42 when you do the will of God... Look, I believe 09:43 if it's God's will, it's God's bill. - That's 09:46 right. [laughter] I like that; I like that. - And 09:48 He has never missed a payment. And she realized 09:51 that He had the tab for this. And so while she was 09:55 in the hospital, she didn't know where to turn to. 09:58 But after the baby was born, she told the doctors- 10:02 she said, "Doctor, do you know anybody who 10:04 could take care of my baby? I don't want to 10:06 just throw it into the system. Do you know 10:08 any Christian people?" And first, he was saying, 10:13 "I don't want to get into this," you know? 10:15 He was a Caucasian doctor, and he said, "I don't wanna 10:17 really get into those kinds of things; that's 10:19 something for you to handle." But she said 10:21 as he was walking out the door, he heard a 10:24 voice, himself. This is what God? 10:26 He said he would change the hearts of kings, and 10:29 then He put it on his head a lady's name by 10:32 the name of Annette LeRoy Brown. He knew they keep 10:36 kids! They kept kids, and they were very 10:40 loving parents, 'cause they adopted two children from 10:44 the Adventist Soul Career Orphanage there. 10:48 They had a couple other kids, but never had any 10:49 kids of their own; never had any babies at all. 10:53 He was led to call them. When he called them, 10:55 he said, "We got a child down here that the mother 10:58 wants it to be in a Christian home. Do 11:01 you want to come and just investigate it before 11:03 it goes into the system?" And they came down, and 11:07 God inspired them to stand there. They took the child 11:10 in his hand (which was me!) and they said, "I'm 11:13 going to name this child Moses Samuel Brown," 11:16 she said, "because this child's coming out of the 11:19 bulrushes, and I know this child is for us." 11:23 And they took me and they gave me an opportunity that 11:27 I would never have gotten- I would've never got- I feel 11:30 like I'm sitting here today because it was 11:33 the decision that took place years ago in those 11:36 rooms that somebody trusted God...trusted God in the midst 11:40 of the storm, and they refused to let a good 11:43 storm go to waste, 'cause I gotta take this and make 11:46 something out of it. And there, from that opportunity 11:49 that two mothers made a decision: one made a decision 11:54 to let me live, and the other one made a decision to show 11:59 me how to live. And through that, my life had been 12:02 navigated all the way to this point through their 12:05 influence. And I stand here today, saying, 12:08 Pastor John, that I'm so glad that little girl, 12:12 Cherry, when she had me... She didn't know exactly 12:17 how it was going to turn out, but this is what God 12:20 had in mind-me sitting here, talking to you today. 12:22 - Wow. - This is what God had in mind when I 12:25 move around and witness to people in evangelism. 12:29 The devil should've took me a long time ago... It's 12:33 too late now. - That's right. - He should've 12:35 took me out then, but he couldn't do anything 12:37 with it. But I'm here today on the testimony 12:40 of those who believe that God can do anything 12:44 through any tragic situation. He took a mess, and He made 12:49 a miracle. That's me. - You know, I think... 12:52 I want to pause right here and just play that song. 12:56 You know, you are not only a person that God 12:59 has rescued... There's so much in your story; 13:02 I'm kind of holding you back that I can see is 13:05 a part of the way that God leads, even in my 13:08 life-you know, the way that your life began... 13:10 the way that my life began. But God has a 13:13 plan! He doesn't take tragedies and chalk 'em 13:17 up as a disaster: "I can't do anything with 13:19 this." And as you listen to this song that brother 13:23 Moses Brown is going to sing, "It Is Well with My 13:26 Soul," I want you to know that- I don't know where 13:29 you are right now, and you may be a young person 13:31 right now at that very same intersection, wondering, "What 13:35 am I going to do? I'm pregnant. I don't know 13:37 what to do. Where's my life headed?" I want you 13:40 to know Moses' life is a testament that you 13:44 don't have to worry. God's... What'd you say about the 13:47 bill? - If it's God's will, it's God's bill. 13:50 - If it's God's will, it's God's bill; and I 13:52 want you to listen to this song "It Is Well with My Soul," 13:54 because it is well with his soul, it is well with MY 13:57 soul. I pray as you listen to this song, it will be well 14:01 with your soul. 14:15 When peace like a river attendeth my way 14:26 When sorrows like sea billows roll 14:36 Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say 14:45 It is well; it is well with my soul 14:56 It is well 15:01 With my soul 15:05 Oh, it is well; it is well with my soul 15:17 Oh, Lord haste the day when Thy faith shall be sight 15:27 And the clouds be rolled back as a scroll 15:36 And the trump, it shall sound, and the Lord shall descend 15:45 Even so, it was well with my soul 15:55 Is it well 16:00 With your soul? 16:04 Is it well; is it well with your soul? 16:15 It is well 16:20 With my soul 16:23 Yes, it is. 16:25 It is well; it is well 16:33 With my soul 16:38 My soul 16:41 My soul 16:49 - Praise the Lord. It is well with brother 16:52 Moses Brown's soul, and I pray that it is also well 16:55 with yours. Tell us about the person that accompanied 16:58 you on the piano! - That was my dear, lovely wife, 17:00 Jeanette ? Brown. She is an accompaniment 17:04 musician, and... Ah, goodness-I couldn't 17:06 live without her. [laughter] - And what an amazing 17:11 beginning; and I know that- I'm going to say 17:12 this to our audience that's listening and watching; 17:15 we'll give you information later on in the program 17:18 how you can invite brother Moses Brown. I call him 17:21 brother Moses Brown although you are very 17:22 qualified; you have your M.Div., you have your 17:24 PhD, and God has qualified you in so many ways- 17:28 educationally and spiritually- but you want to hear the 17:30 full-blown story. You want to invite him to 17:33 come, he and his wife, to share the tremendous 17:37 journey that he has been on ever since the Lord 17:41 stepped in and rescued him. What a name-Moses. Taken 17:45 from the bulrushes. Now, you have this opportunity 17:50 through a woman who God impressed her heart to 17:53 bring you in, but now you're growing up as 17:55 a teenager. When you found out about how your life 17:58 began, were there any kind of emotional challenges 18:01 there? Tell us about some of that, because people 18:03 sometimes don't see that side of it. Sometimes they 18:06 see angry young kids, or children that are rebellious, 18:09 but they don't understand behind it, there's a tapestry. 18:11 - Well, things were going pretty well. As a child, 18:14 I was the baby. And you know, my other siblings 18:19 there said I was spoiled. [laughter] But I didn't 18:24 think I was spoiled, but I was really loved by 18:26 Annette and LeRoy Brown was the day I 18:30 was- LeRoy Brown, a name like that... But they 18:33 gave me so much love that I didn't even notice anything 18:36 that was off from parents who had their own children. 18:42 - They filled the gap beautifully. - Very good. 18:45 My name was Brown, and I just assumed that I kind 18:48 of looked like LeRoy Brown. But as I got 18:52 older, there were relatives that were around, and you 18:55 hear different things that drop here and there, and 18:59 then I finally realized that this is something different. 19:03 And then, when my mother explained to me what happened, 19:09 I didn't see it like they saw it; I saw it as betrayal. I 19:17 saw it as... I said, "You lied to me. I thought I 19:22 was a Brown," and I was actually a Rogers- a 19:27 Scott...wherever they went with it. I said, "What 19:31 kind of stuff is this?" and I was angry at 19:34 everyone in the whole scenario, and I was angry 19:38 at the woman that gave me away, because I discovered 19:43 later that she had got remarried and didn't 19:45 understand what that was about till I found out that 19:48 she got remarried 'cause she got married to someone 19:51 who was very abusive, 'cause she was trying to 19:54 find security. She had no job, no nothing; and it was 19:58 a man that would beat her unmercifully...and the 20:02 children. I looked into that situation, and I 20:06 said, "Oh, God." And she's the one who told me that, 20:09 "If I had kept you, most likely, he would've killed 20:13 you." - Hm. - And that didn't even register like 20:18 it should have at the time. I looked at the 20:21 mother who gave me away, the one who kept me, and 20:25 those scenarios seemed to add up. "You should've kept 20:31 me and kept me where I could've been with you, 20:34 my birth mother." - That longing to be with your 20:37 birth mother. - That longing that I had- 20:40 actually, "Who was my dad!?" Every man wants to know 20:43 who his father is. - That's right. - And she pointed 20:47 out the fact- that's when she explained to me that, 20:50 "You came into a situation where there was an abuse 20:54 situation with a man that took advantage of me." 20:58 And that didn't register deep, but then I knew that 21:02 there was a man that I had his DNA in me. When I 21:07 was going to Forest Lake Academy, we were singing 21:10 down in that area of Hallandale, and I went 21:13 there. And while we were singing, I'd say, "I'm going to 21:16 call these numbers of this man that was name- 21:20 whose last name was Scott, and I looked up the numbers. 21:23 When I got to one of the numbers, I said, "Well, 21:25 that person died just a few weeks ago, and we 21:28 had his funeral." - Hm! - That was my father. 21:33 And I realized right then that God did not want that 21:35 to come across together, and He wanted to block it. 21:40 And I couldn't understand it, but I realized that when 21:44 God told my mother that He would be my father, 21:48 He said, "I'm a jealous God," and He didn't want 21:52 anything to interfere for the path He already laid 21:55 out for me. And that was like a hindrance that I felt 22:00 that even God betrayed me at that point, I thought. 22:05 And then, as I left Forest Lake and I was kind of 22:08 moving around and trying to figure myself out, he 22:11 spoke to me; he said, "Listen- if you would 22:14 give Me your life, if you would take My hand," He 22:18 said, "you will realize that it was My hand that 22:21 put you in that hospital there in Plant City where 22:26 that woman could come and get you- I put you 22:29 into a Seventh-day Adventist home." He 22:32 said, "I started you where I wanted you. And because 22:35 of that, I gave you a place where you can 22:38 have covering and that you can go in the path 22:41 that I have already mapped out for you." He said, "You 22:44 gotta trust me in this, Moses. You gotta trust 22:46 me in this." And when I understood that, I realized- 22:50 when I realized and TRULY realized that it was the hand 22:53 of God that was navigating this messed up life, I surrendered 22:57 all to Him and I gave it to Him. I said, "Lord, take 23:00 this mess..." I said, "Take this mess of mine," 23:08 'cause I didn't know what to do with it, John; I didn't 23:10 know what to do, and I felt that I could trust Him. 23:14 He said, "I will put you in places where you could 23:17 never go, and I will send you around the world." I 23:20 didn't understand that! He said, "I will send you 23:23 around to preach this gospel and I'll help you 23:25 to comfort other people." He said, "I need you to let 23:28 go and forgive." And when I forgave those who I felt 23:33 that did me wrong, I realized they were not doing me wrong; 23:39 they were helping me, to put my life in order, because 23:45 the devil used to whisper in my ear. He said, "How 23:48 can you be anything when you came here accidentally!? 23:52 How can you be- you're a tragedy! You have no 23:55 purpose; you were not even meant to be! How could God 23:59 have an outline for you? You should just"- he would 24:01 tell me, "You should take your life 'cause you never 24:04 had one!" - Mm. - And God had to whisper in my ears 24:09 when I hear those songs, He says, "Peace be still," 24:13 and I used to hear that thing. "Peace be still." 24:16 And I found peace. I found peace in trusting in Him. 24:21 And today, I can say that through that, everything 24:24 that God had promised me, I found that He is one that 24:29 keeps every promise. I've learned one thing, Pastor 24:32 John: that if I pursue His presence, He would 24:37 deliver His promise. - Okay, wonderful; wonderful. - See, 24:41 I used to pursue the promise-the things that 24:45 He said He was going to do-but I wasn't pursuing 24:47 Him. But He had to rewind the script and say, "Listen, 24:53 it's not the promise I want you to be pursuing; 24:55 I want you to pursue My presence." For in 24:59 His presence, I discovered my purpose. - Mm. - See, 25:05 one thing the devil couldn't mess with was the purpose 25:08 that God gave me. - Wow. - He could get in the process, 25:13 'cause the process, you can mingle it with all kinds 25:15 of things and try to discourage me and all those other things 25:18 in the process, but it was through prayer that pushed 25:22 me through this to get to the purpose that God 25:25 had placed me here for. - Wow. He hid you from 25:28 what could've been. - Yes. - He put you in the cleft of 25:31 a rock so that you could just get a glimpse of His 25:34 glory. - Oh, yes. - He said, "Moses, if I didn't 25:37 hide you, your life would've been a tragedy complete..." 25:41 But He hid you in the cleft of the rock. That's 25:43 why when you sing that song, which I'm going to 25:45 go to right now-"He Hideth My Soul"-your life is a result 25:50 of Him hiding you from what could've been. See, we don't 25:52 understand the way God works; God works in ways 25:55 that are just mysterious to us. But when we rewind 25:58 the tape of our lives, we recognize, "He shielded 26:02 me at that moment. He came in and rescued me! 26:05 I could've been the child that was killed by this 26:07 man who was abusive to my mother who had given 26:10 me up! He saved me from that!" And we go back and 26:12 we realize, "I would not have had it any other 26:14 way if I could rewind this video tape." That song is 26:18 a wonderful song of ministry; and as you listen to this song, 26:20 "He Hideth My Soul," recognize that you may 26:22 be going through some places in your life where 26:26 you cannot understand it! But the Lord is maybe 26:29 hiding YOUR soul so that what could have been is 26:33 being prevented by His providence and His love 26:35 for you. Listen to this ministry, "He Hideth My Soul." 26:57 A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord 27:06 A wonderful Savior to me 27:13 He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock 27:22 Where rivers of pleasures I see 27:30 A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord 27:39 He taketh my burdens all away 27:46 He holdeth me up and I shall not be moved 27:54 He giveth me strength for my day 28:02 He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock 28:10 Where rivers are dry, thirsty lands 28:17 He hideth my life in the depths of His love 28:26 And He covers me there with His hands 28:32 Oh, He covers me there with his hands 28:45 When clothed in His brightness, transported I'll rise 28:54 To meet Him in clouds of the sky 29:01 His perfect salvation, His wonderful love 29:08 I'll shout with the millions on high 29:16 He hideth my soul in the clefts of the rock 29:23 Where rivers are dry, thirsty lands 29:30 Oh, He hideth my life in the depths of His love 29:38 And He covers me there with His hands 29:45 Oh- yes, He covers me there... Mmm... 29:54 Oh, He'll cover you there... 30:01 Oh, He covered me there with His 30:09 hand! 30:24 - I know that as you listen to that song, you know 30:26 that it is true: many of us wouldn't be here today 30:29 if the Lord had not hidden us from the tragedies of 30:32 life-in the cleft of the rock where we see 30:34 His glory, and we'll experience His protective 30:37 care. Isn't that wonderful? - Yes. - Now, your life... 30:40 As you're unfolding this, I'm sitting here... I'm kind 30:43 of like a balloon being filled with water (please 30:45 don't stick me with a pin; I'm gonna pop), 30:47 because your life is a miracle. It's an amazing 30:49 story, and people are being touched by that. 30:51 And I know there is so much more, which I'm 30:53 going to say to the audience we'll let you know how to 30:55 get in touch with Moses and his wife, to invite them 30:58 to come to your community. But now, the Lord brings 31:02 you beyond that angry childhood-that childhood 31:06 that when you discovered all these things that the 31:09 Lord hid you from, you couldn't organize them 31:12 together. But you get married, you grow up, 31:16 you have children of your own, but another tragedy 31:19 is on the way. Tell us about it. - It was while 31:22 I was doing a crusade, and I just saw God move 31:28 like I've never seen before there in Kenya, 31:31 in Kisumu. - Well, show some of those pictures 31:34 later on. - Yes. And we have other styles of the 31:36 people there, and I got back from there- the 31:41 high of an experience with Christ and then on March the 31:46 6th, 2007, one of my daughters called me and 31:51 said, "Daddy, David is dead." I was stunned. 31:56 My only son... He was 21 years old; never 32:00 really got to the bottom of it, but he was one of 32:03 the?. So many different stories I got 32:06 from there-but I just knew the bottom line: 32:09 he was dead at 21 years old. Well, John, my life 32:14 changed at that very moment, and I was there, 32:18 thinking; said, "Lord, what could've happened? 32:20 That's my son-he had a bright future ahead of 32:23 him!" She reminded me, "David is dead." I looked 32:30 around and I said, "Lord, this CAN'T be." I didn't 32:34 know how to handle it. I mean, when a parent 32:36 loses a child, you don't even comprehend how to 32:42 even juggle the different things coming at you. That's 32:46 why when people say, "I understand," I knew they 32:48 didn't, because you cannot understand it until you lose 32:51 that child. - Mm. - And God had to sit me down again, 32:55 and I had to ask, "Lord, WHERE WERE YOU, Lord, 32:57 when You took my ONLY child?" And He said, "I 33:02 was in the same place I was when they took My 33:05 Son on Calvary." He said, "I've never moved. I'm 33:09 still the same God." I had to cope with that, 33:15 but I knew that if God was in it...I can't understand 33:22 the sovereignty of God, because He works in 33:26 mysterious ways. But I knew that if God was in 33:30 it somehow-as Romans 8:28 said, "Everything will work 33:35 together for good to those who love the Lord"-and I 33:38 sat there and said, "Lord, I don't know how this is 33:41 going to come out, but I'm trusting You, again, where 33:44 I cannot trace You." And now that I learned how to 33:49 help others who are going through similar experience, 33:52 who lost loved ones, and some people are 33:56 maybe watching today are defiant because God 34:00 took someone out of their lives that they loved; but 34:03 I want you to know today, wherever you are today, 34:07 God loves you, and He has never forgotten you. You 34:11 have to hold onto every scripture there is because 34:16 that's where you find the peace that passes all 34:19 understanding. - That's right. And you know what, 34:21 let me add a point here: a lot of people think that 34:23 God is the One that took them. - Yes. - But what 34:25 we're actually- necess- saying is, "Why didn't God 34:27 prevent it?" is usually what the question is. 34:30 "Why didn't He stop it?" And if God were to step 34:33 into every scenario that happens to us in this world, 34:36 this actual world would be heaven. But the tragedies 34:39 come, and we look back on these tragedies- 34:42 the loss of a child, the loss of a mother, the 34:45 way that your life was started. And we see at 34:48 these broken places the sovereignty and the love 34:51 of God never, ever wanes. He doesn't stop because 34:55 tragedy strikes us. If a bullet hits us, He's still 34:58 the Healer. If we're incarcerated, He's still 35:01 the One that brings freedom to us in our 35:03 position of incarceration. So, yeah-he allowed it 35:06 to happen, but He wasn't the one that took your 35:09 child. The enemy once again tried to shake your faith, 35:12 'cause he's the one that is the murderer from the 35:14 very beginning. But something came out of this that was 35:17 positive. You know, being raised in a home where 35:21 there's hardly any food, your mother having to 35:24 deal with the same, your natural mom being told, 35:26 "Get rid of your child; we can hardly even 35:28 feed you," the Lord moved you to begin a ministry. 35:31 Let's talk about that for a moment, which 35:33 just changed so many lives. - Yes! It was... 35:36 I was home there in Tampa area, and I just did a brief 35:43 time in the military. I got back, and trying 35:47 to help my mother who had taken care of me for 35:49 a while. And while I was there, there was a shooting 35:51 there in the inner city. At the time, I was doing 35:54 encouragement on the radio at that time, and 35:58 the police department asked me would I come out and 36:00 talk to the kids that were there who watched this 36:04 person get shot down in the parking lot while she 36:08 was begging for her life. I went out in the community, 36:13 and...sometimes, you don't realize how tragically it hits 36:19 people until you're out there with them. I was standing 36:23 around and started talking to the kids and trying to 36:25 encourage them. And brother John, when I started opening 36:29 programs and trying to bring some things in there, 36:31 they started asking me- 'cause I'd bring little snacks 36:33 and we had little talks- and one boy said, "Hey, 36:36 can I have one of those Thanksgiving meals that 36:39 they have on television?" And I said, "What do you 36:42 mean?" "I want one of those Thanksgiving meals 36:45 they have on TV, like the turkey and all the 36:47 other things." And I said, "Well, what did you have 36:50 for Thanksgiving last year?" He said, "We 36:53 had a hotdog and some chips." And right then, 36:57 the Lord said, "Make it happen." I said, "You go 37:01 and get your friends, and I'll ask the people in the 37:03 community to bring food." We set up the whole tables 37:08 with food. And when they came out, I noticed that 37:12 he had more friends than I anticipated. [laughter] 37:15 We had set up for about 100, but it was about 400 37:19 and some people there. - What! - That was lined 37:21 up down the road. And the cameras came out! 37:24 The media came out. They just wanted to see this thing 37:27 was happening, 'cause with the tragedy of the young 37:30 lady... And some of the people who were working with me said, 37:33 "Don't do this, because you will get embarrassed!" 37:37 But then I had to go back to that same thing: if it's 37:39 God's will, it's God's bill. - That's right; I 37:41 like that. - And I remember that He did it in the scriptures with 37:44 fish and the loaves of bread, and I said, "That's the same 37:47 God that was there! He's here! That is not a fantasy 37:51 book; that Book transcends all the way throughout time." 37:55 And I said, "I'm trusting God in this scenario to make 37:59 it happen." I said, "This is not MY reputation; 38:01 it's His." - That's right. - See, a lot of the time, 38:03 we get messed up with our reputation, but when 38:06 I'm doing something for God, it's all on Him. - And 38:09 what happened? How did the people get fed? - The 38:11 people went through the line, everyone went through 38:14 the line, and in our community, people usually bring Tupperware 38:18 and foil. I mean, they want something to take 38:21 home with them, and I was looking at that. You 38:23 can't tell them, "Don't do it"; but when they 38:25 got done, it was enough food left over, brother 38:29 John, that they could take TWO servings with them. 38:32 - That's right. - So when God showed up, He also 38:35 showed out. - That's right. Twelve baskets of? 38:37 - Yes! - You have some pictures that connect 38:39 to that. I want to have them walk through these 38:41 pictures with your Feed the Children organization. 38:44 Let's look at some of those. Explain to us 38:46 what we're going to be seeing here. - These are 38:48 some kids that our ministry spread out into Kenya, 38:53 so when I started going preaching in crusades, I started 38:55 taking Feed Our Children Ministries in those areas, and 38:58 these are a lot of the kids we were reaching out to and 39:00 some of the orphanages there. Some of the families 39:03 in the communities were, when they called us, one 39:07 of the things they had to do- they had to go 39:08 through no red tape; all they had to do was call, 39:10 and we'd bring out gifts and food, AND we'd give 39:12 them literature-Seventh-day Adventist literature. We may 39:16 not see them again, but I believe I'll see them in 39:19 heaven. This is some of the feedings that we do 39:21 during the Thanksgiving. And people from- we 39:24 worked mainly with the migrant families, and you'll 39:27 see some of them coming up next. - Mm. - This is a 39:33 lady in the wheelchair as she was sitting there, she 39:35 hadn't had anything for a long time, and she was 39:39 thankful for the food that we were bringing 39:41 to her. - Wow. - We have huge community outreach 39:47 during the end-of-the-year season, and we just had 39:51 a couple thousand people there, and we were giving 39:54 out. One thing-I want you to know-we've never 39:56 run out. - Amen. - Never- from that time, I learned to 39:59 trust God that we'd never run out. - God's will is God's bill. 40:02 - You can't deplete them. Yes, it is. - I like that. 40:06 - We tried to run a summer camp for the kids, and we 40:08 do the Vacation Bible School for people who 40:11 don't have nowhere to go, and we have good people 40:14 there that we can trust them with those kids, and 40:16 they learn about Christ Jesus. - Mhm. That's 40:19 amazing. But you know, the Lord has done so many 40:21 things in your life; we're just getting little snippets, 40:23 like snapshots, as one person said many years 40:26 ago, of your life. It's amazing how God turns 40:28 tragedy into triumph, and I'm not going to forget that 40:31 anytime soon: "God's will is God's bill." It's amazing; 40:37 while they are clichés, they are true! - Yes. 40:41 - That God... But the Lord allowed you to rub shoulders, 40:43 because He'd not only given you this ministry, 40:45 but then He got you involved in preaching ministry- 40:48 evangelism! And you had an opportunity to meet 40:51 a couple of people that were a part of the 3ABN 40:55 family: brother- Little Richard! You had a chance 40:57 to minister to him. Talk about that briefly. - Just 40:59 before I went to Oakwood, I was in LaGrange, Georgia. 41:03 We used to do something called "Dark County Evangelism," and 41:07 they brought in this man named Little Richard who 41:10 I didn't know. "Come on, let us listen to things." 41:14 I was listening to Del Decker most of the time. And 41:16 during that time, we were just kind of seeing him walk 41:20 up, I saw these cameras come up, and I said, "What's 41:24 going on? Who's this?" They said, "It's Little 41:25 Richard." [laughter] And he came in with his entourage, 41:29 and he sung in the tent that night. I was over 41:34 the movie for that? effort. When he brought 41:38 him in, he asked me, he said, "Listen, on weekends, 41:40 when you get a chance from school, come on out 41:42 and sing with me!" And that's when he was 41:44 preaching. - Okay! - And so, I thought he was just 41:47 a rock star preacher, and found out that he was this 41:52 big superstar. I traveled around with him for years- 41:55 got to see people who... You know, sometimes you 41:59 see people in a whole different genre, and you 42:01 realize that they're just people, too. And when he 42:05 was in an accident, I saw these stars coming up to 42:07 his room, and I saw how God wanted to use him 42:11 to reach them. - That's right. - And many that 42:15 have never heard this truth, this three angels' 42:18 message, got it because he gives out those books 42:21 everywhere he goes. - That's right. Every day, he does that. 42:23 But you've also been involved in ministry- 42:25 a lot of ministry events. We're going to walk through 42:28 some of those pictures and have you explain to 42:29 the audience, and even those who are on the radio, 42:32 give a little detail so they can understand 42:34 what we're seeing here, because God has taken 42:36 you places preaching in different parts of our- 42:38 baptizing, and so many different things. The 42:41 multi-faceted blessing of God is still anointing 42:46 your life and your wife's life and making a difference 42:48 to thousands. Explain what we're seeing right 42:50 here in this picture. - Oh, this is there in?. 42:54 The whole conference wanted to have an evangelistic crusade, 42:59 and I was in that part. We baptized over 20-some 43:03 people just when that week we were there. 43:07 And this is what it's all about, brother John, just 43:10 bringing them to that foot of the cross through the 43:13 pool. That was some of the men that we were 43:16 baptizing. Good to see men baptized! And in 43:20 that area, Curso, they speak a different language; 43:22 so when you're preaching, it's good to have somebody 43:25 who can preach with you- translator that can preach. 43:29 - Ah, I see; the translator's preaching there, too. 43:31 - And this is in Kenya- Kisumu. We had thousands 43:35 of people to come out there, and we were in 43:37 the stadium out there. We just saw many give 43:40 their lives to Christ in the baptism that we 43:42 had there with 300-some souls. - Mm. - This is in 43:46 Ethiopia, and these are the souls that were baptized 43:51 there. If you're watching in Ethiopia and you see yourself 43:54 there, you oughta give a shout right now how 43:57 God has done miraculous things in your life. - I see 44:00 you out in the crowd there. - Yeah, I'm right there in the 44:01 middle. [laughter] This is in Panama! Many places I 44:06 would go, when they wanted a black preacher to come along 44:11 in some places-and this was in Panama, where 44:15 Elder Faulkenberg called me up and sent me down 44:18 there to preach in that area-couldn't speak a 44:21 lick of Spanish! I knew "gloria Dios," but there, 44:26 God had showed Himself in that area there in Panama 44:29 with the baptism. Just left there in Guyana- 44:33 Linden, Guyana. Went there twice; two churches 44:37 came out of that, and this was our last time 44:39 there. We just saw these beautiful souls from revival 44:42 there in Guyana. - Mm. It's amazing what the 44:46 Lord does. He does it continuously. And when 44:49 you go back-and I wanna just say to the listening and 44:51 viewing audience-when you go back and look at how your 44:53 life begins, you could never tell what fruit 44:57 or what plant is going to come from that seed. 45:01 You could look at that mustard seed and realize 45:03 it's so tiny, but it's a symbol of that little 45:06 spark of faith; and your life has been just replete 45:09 and filled with so many stories of God moving in 45:13 providential ways. And right now, you minister; 45:15 you have a couple of CDs. Talk about that, and you 45:18 use that in the ministry there at the Florida hospital. 45:21 - Yes. I'm fortunately the head chaplain for 45:25 there at Florida Hospital Connerton, and serve also 45:28 at Florida Hospital Tampa and just ministering to many 45:31 people who are on their dying beds, are going 45:34 through life-changing scenarios through health, catastrophic 45:39 health situations... I sing to them, and it's like when 45:45 David was singing to the Lord. There's something 45:49 about music that transcends into a soul that's been ruptured, 45:53 and just hearing those songs brings them comfort, 45:56 so I put a list of songs of hymns. I call it, "Healing 46:00 Hymns," and then get it through the Adventist 46:03 Book Center. And there, I just proclaim God's Word 46:07 through music. - We could also give the website for 46:10 your ministry, Feed Our Children, and we'll give 46:13 that in just a moment. But something... There 46:16 was a tragedy that happened in Florida not too long ago... 46:19 Helena Ramsay. I know the young lady, because I was 46:23 able to interview her good friend who was a family 46:27 acquaintance. They were close friends, and she and 46:32 her friend- her friend stood by her and watched 46:35 her when the tragedy happened, and she was 46:38 shot. Talk about that. You had a chance to meet the 46:42 family members. - Yes. - And after you preached, 46:44 and it was in Tabernacle SDA Church in Miami. Talk 46:48 about that for a moment. - When the grandma came 46:50 up to me, she said, "Please pray for my family." She 46:52 said, "We had our granddaughter's funeral 46:55 the day before." And I realized that this was one 47:00 of those kids that was shot in the school there, 47:03 and in Douglas High School. And so, I was leaving, and 47:08 the Lord inspired me to go by the school that day, 47:12 'cause they were having orientation, trying to bring 47:13 them back in. And while I was there-you know, 47:16 being a chaplain-I just wanted to offer my services. 47:19 And one of the Adventists there, he is a counselor, and 47:23 so I was standing with him and just praying for 47:26 those who were there. I read something that 47:29 Danny Shelton wrote in his book about the shooting 47:32 in different schools. One thing he said was this: 47:36 "We focus on that, but it's because we're breaking 47:41 the Commandments." And I realized that all these 47:45 tragedies come from, just like Danny said- the Commandments 47:48 of God must be kept in order for His peace to come back into 47:52 our country. And so, I saw how these children were, 47:56 and many of them still are, and our schools 47:59 are being just on lockdown because the enemy is on 48:03 attack. I was instrumental in trying to bring some healing 48:08 to a lot of those that I met there, that I was 48:11 praying for them. And I found out that-"you saved 48:14 my people if we pray, He will bring healing." And so 48:17 while I was there, I saw God move through the 48:20 prayers of giving those who wanted to have some 48:22 type of way out understanding. I was able to cope with that 48:26 because of my past experience with my son. I knew what those 48:33 families were feeling, because by losing my 48:38 son and HIS death, I understood what it was 48:41 like to walk by that bedroom at night and look in that room 48:46 and looking for your child and realizing they're not 48:48 there anymore. It just grips at and tears your 48:53 heart out. But then the more it tears your heart 48:55 out, the more you lean into Christ, and He'll give 48:59 you that peace. - There's a passage you gave to me 49:01 before the program began in Lamentations 3:37. Share 49:05 that with our audience right now. Should I read 49:07 and then you want to explain that to us? 49:09 - You read it, 'cause I have my version of saying 49:11 it. - Okay. Well, use your version of saying 49:13 it. I love the way that you include that in your 49:15 life. I was reading that text in Lamentations 3:37. 49:18 It says, "Who can speak it in your life and it comes 49:22 to pass if God has not commanded it?" - Mm. 49:27 - I had to resonate with that word, because many 49:30 were speaking the can't-do and "you're not able to do," 49:34 and "you don't have enough finance to do it," and "you're 49:36 not in the right place to do it," "you don't have the 49:39 right background," and all these other things. But if 49:43 you get all those "no's from a thousand people 49:46 and you get one million "cant's from others, all 49:50 I need was one "can" from God, and that one "can" from 49:54 God... 'Cause if He had not commanded it, I don't 49:57 worry about what other people say. - That's right. 50:00 - I don't look at a budget. I can do great things on 50:02 a 0 budget. [laughter] 'Cause God can take 0 50:06 and make hero, so I'm not confined to these things 50:10 that we have, because God said, "I can handle this." 50:13 And so, that text has stayed with me. Even though I had 50:17 all these things going against me, and even life 50:19 dictated that "you shouldn't be where you are," but I 50:23 think I'm sitting here with you today-representing all 50:27 the children that could've been here, that should've 50:30 been here, and may have been here-but I hope that 50:34 from this point on, there might be somebody out 50:37 there, sitting there and you're looking at 50:39 this program, and you say, "Should I keep my 50:41 child? Is it worth it?" I want you to know that 50:44 it's worth it all. God took a nothing like me, 50:47 and He turned my life around. And I promise 50:51 you: if you put it in His hands, He'll take 50:53 your tragedy and He'll bring triumph. That's 50:56 what I want you to know today. - That's right. And 50:58 you know, what a powerful testimony-and we're JUST 51:01 getting started! So here is the information. I know 51:04 you want to invite Moses and his wife to your community. 51:08 Here is the information that you need to make that connection. 51:14 - If you would like to invite Pastor Moses 51:15 Brown to sing at your church, or if the Holy 51:18 Spirit impresses you to support his ministry, you 51:21 may contact him in a variety of ways. Visit 51:24 FeedOurChildren.org to find out how they 51:28 provide much-needed food and care for children and 51:31 their families. Their website, again, is 51:33 FeedOurChildren.org. If you would like to call 51:37 them, dial (813) 784-1021; or write to Feed Our Children 51:44 Ministries, Post Office Box 290415, Tampa, Florida 33687. |
Revised 2025-04-02