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 01:29 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 02:12 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 02:28 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 02:57 serve as a chaplain, the head chaplain for Florida 03:00 Hospital Connerton. I'm on the pastoral staff of 03:03 Mt. Calvary, and I'm the founder of Feed Our 03:07 Children Ministries. - Okay. And it's good 03:10 to have you here today. We have quite a journey 03:11 to walk through, because I'm seeing you now in a 03:15 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 03:34 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 03:42 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. 03:55 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. 04:04 They migrated down to Hallandale, Florida, and 04:07 she was still one of those who loved to go to church. 04:11 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- 04:21 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 05:15 that he was building. He's like, "I just want 05:17 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 05:32 life never had been the same since. She said she 05:37 didn't think she was pregnant, because she 05:39 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 05:49 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 06:01 left it in God's hands. She kept it silent from 06:03 her older sisters first. But in the interim of 06:06 that, they had to suddenly move from Hallandale to a 06:10 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 06:20 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 06:36 sisters that, "I want to have my baby. I want 06:38 to keep my baby." But to the surprise to her... 06:44 And so she said, "No, you can't have that 06:46 child here! We're barely feeding YOU! How are 06:50 we going to feed you with the little money we have 06:52 with just beans and rice and..." And her husband 06:55 had a gambling debt and they didn't know what to 06:58 do. She said, "And there is somebody that we know 07:01 in town, and they can kinda clear this whole 07:05 thing up so you don't have to go through this. 07:07 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 07:16 knew how to do abortions." And she didn't know what 07:20 to do. She said, "Oh, God, this is not what 07:21 I want to do in my heart." But they told her that, 07:25 "You cannot bring the baby back here." She 07:28 said, "If you want to keep your baby, you 07:30 have to find somewhere where you AND the baby 07:32 can stay." She said, "The only other thing you can 07:34 do is just leave that child there." And so, 07:38 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 07:48 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 08:02 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 08:10 path. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and 08:13 lean not upon your own understanding." And she 08:16 knew that voice; even as a child, she knew that 08:19 voice. See, that's the voice of Jesus. But 08:23 still, she didn't see any way that she could 08:25 keep this child. It was just overwhelming for 08:30 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 08:55 couldn't trace Him. And she put it in God's hands, 08:59 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 09:14 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 09:24 that child here." So she knew there was only 09:27 one option left...to leave the child in the hospital. 09:31 She went down to the South Florida Baptist 09:33 Hospital there in Plant City. And as a 14-year-old girl 09:38 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 09:44 if it's God's will, it's God's bill. - That's 09:47 right. [laughter] I like that; I like that. - And 09:49 He has never missed a payment. And she realized 09:52 that He had the tab for this. And so while she was 09:56 in the hospital, she didn't know where to turn to. 09:58 But after the baby was born, she told the doctors- 10:03 she said, "Doctor, do you know anybody who 10:05 could take care of my baby? I don't want to 10:07 just throw it into the system. Do you know 10:09 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 10:18 really get into those kinds of things; that's 10:20 something for you to handle." But she said 10:22 as he was walking out the door, he heard a 10:24 voice, himself. This is what God? 10:27 He said he would change the hearts of kings, and 10:30 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 10:50 kids of their own; never had any babies at all. 10:53 He was led to call them. When he called them, 10:56 he said, "We got a child down here that the mother 10:59 wants it to be in a Christian home. Do 11:02 you want to come and just investigate it before 11:03 it goes into the system?" And they came down, and 11:08 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," 11:17 she said, "because this child's coming out of the 11:20 bulrushes, and I know this child is for us." 11:24 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 11:37 rooms that somebody trusted God...trusted God in the midst 11:41 of the storm, and they refused to let a good 11:43 storm go to waste, 'cause I gotta take this and make 11:47 something out of it. And there, from that opportunity 11:50 that two mothers made a decision: one made a decision 11:55 to let me live, and the other one made a decision to show 12:00 me how to live. And through that, my life had been 12:03 navigated all the way to this point through their 12:05 influence. And I stand here today, saying, 12:09 Pastor John, that I'm so glad that little girl, 12:13 Cherry, when she had me... She didn't know exactly 12:17 how it was going to turn out, but this is what God 12:21 had in mind-me sitting here, talking to you today. 12:23 - Wow. - This is what God had in mind when I 12:26 move around and witness to people in evangelism. 12:30 The devil should've took me a long time ago... It's 12:33 too late now. - That's right. - He should've 12:36 took me out then, but he couldn't do anything 12:38 with it. But I'm here today on the testimony 12:41 of those who believe that God can do anything 12:45 through any tragic situation. He took a mess, and He made 12:50 a miracle. That's me. - You know, I think... 12:53 I want to pause right here and just play that song. 12:57 You know, you are not only a person that God 13:00 has rescued... There's so much in your story; 13:03 I'm kind of holding you back that I can see is 13:06 a part of the way that God leads, even in my 13:09 life-you know, the way that your life began... 13:11 the way that my life began. But God has a 13:14 plan! He doesn't take tragedies and chalk 'em 13:18 up as a disaster: "I can't do anything with 13:20 this." And as you listen to this song that brother 13:24 Moses Brown is going to sing, "It Is Well with My 13:27 Soul," I want you to know that- I don't know where 13:30 you are right now, and you may be a young person 13:32 right now at that very same intersection, wondering, "What 13:36 am I going to do? I'm pregnant. I don't know 13:38 what to do. Where's my life headed?" I want you 13:41 to know Moses' life is a testament that you 13:45 don't have to worry. God's... What'd you say about the 13:48 bill? - If it's God's will, it's God's bill. 13:51 - If it's God's will, it's God's bill; and I 13:53 want you to listen to this song "It Is Well with My Soul," 13:55 because it is well with his soul, it is well with MY 13:58 soul. I pray as you listen to this song, it will be well 14:02 with your soul. 14:16 When peace like a river attendeth my way 14:27 When sorrows like sea billows roll 14:37 Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say 14:46 It is well; it is well with my soul 14:57 It is well 15:02 With my soul 15:06 Oh, it is well; it is well with my soul 15:18 Oh, Lord haste the day when Thy faith shall be sight 15:28 And the clouds be rolled back as a scroll 15:37 And the trump, it shall sound, and the Lord shall descend 15:46 Even so, it was well with my soul 15:56 Is it well 16:01 With your soul? 16:05 Is it well; is it well with your soul? 16:16 It is well 16:21 With my soul 16:24 Yes, it is. 16:26 It is well; it is well 16:34 With my soul 16:39 My soul 16:42 My soul 16:50 - Praise the Lord. It is well with brother 16:53 Moses Brown's soul, and I pray that it is also well 16:56 with yours. Tell us about the person that accompanied 16:59 you on the piano! - That was my dear, lovely wife, 17:02 Jeanette ? Brown. She is an accompaniment 17:05 musician, and... Ah, goodness-I couldn't 17:07 live without her. [laughter] - And what an amazing 17:12 beginning; and I know that- I'm going to say 17:13 this to our audience that's listening and watching; 17:17 we'll give you information later on in the program 17:19 how you can invite brother Moses Brown. I call him 17:22 brother Moses Brown although you are very 17:23 qualified; you have your M.Div., you have your 17:25 PhD, and God has qualified you in so many ways- 17:29 educationally and spiritually- but you want to hear the 17:31 full-blown story. You want to invite him to 17:34 come, he and his wife, to share the tremendous 17:38 journey that he has been on ever since the Lord 17:42 stepped in and rescued him. What a name-Moses. Taken 17:46 from the bulrushes. Now, you have this opportunity 17:51 through a woman who God impressed her heart to 17:54 bring you in, but now you're growing up as 17:56 a teenager. When you found out about how your life 17:59 began, were there any kind of emotional challenges 18:02 there? Tell us about some of that, because people 18:05 sometimes don't see that side of it. Sometimes they 18:07 see angry young kids, or children that are rebellious, 18:10 but they don't understand behind it, there's a tapestry. 18:12 - Well, things were going pretty well. As a child, 18:15 I was the baby. And you know, my other siblings 18:20 there said I was spoiled. [laughter] But I didn't 18:25 think I was spoiled, but I was really loved by 18:27 Annette and LeRoy Brown was the day I 18:31 was- LeRoy Brown, a name like that... But they 18:35 gave me so much love that I didn't even notice anything 18:38 that was off from parents who had their own children. 18:43 - They filled the gap beautifully. - Very good. 18:46 My name was Brown, and I just assumed that I kind 18:49 of looked like LeRoy Brown. But as I got 18:53 older, there were relatives that were around, and you 18:56 hear different things that drop here and there, and 19:01 then I finally realized that this is something different. 19:05 And then, when my mother explained to me what happened, 19:11 I didn't see it like they saw it; I saw it as betrayal. I 19:19 saw it as... I said, "You lied to me. I thought I 19:23 was a Brown," and I was actually a Rogers- a 19:28 Scott...wherever they went with it. I said, "What 19:32 kind of stuff is this?" and I was angry at 19:35 everyone in the whole scenario, and I was angry 19:39 at the woman that gave me away, because I discovered 19:44 later that she had got remarried and didn't 19:46 understand what that was about till I found out that 19:49 she got remarried 'cause she got married to someone 19:53 who was very abusive, 'cause she was trying to 19:56 find security. She had no job, no nothing; and it was 20:00 a man that would beat her unmercifully...and the 20:03 children. I looked into that situation, and I 20:07 said, "Oh, God." And she's the one who told me that, 20:10 "If I had kept you, most likely, he would've killed 20:14 you." - Hm. - And that didn't even register like 20:19 it should have at the time. I looked at the 20:23 mother who gave me away, the one who kept me, and 20:26 those scenarios seemed to add up. "You should've kept 20:32 me and kept me where I could've been with you, 20:35 my birth mother." - That longing to be with your 20:39 birth mother. - That longing that I had- 20:41 actually, "Who was my dad!?" Every man wants to know 20:44 who his father is. - That's right. - And she pointed 20:48 out the fact- that's when she explained to me that, 20:51 "You came into a situation where there was an abuse 20:55 situation with a man that took advantage of me." 21:00 And that didn't register deep, but then I knew that 21:03 there was a man that I had his DNA in me. When I 21:08 was going to Forest Lake Academy, we were singing 21:11 down in that area of Hallandale, and I went 21:15 there. And while we were singing, I'd say, "I'm going to 21:17 call these numbers of this man that was name- 21:21 whose last name was Scott, and I looked up the numbers. 21:24 When I got to one of the numbers, I said, "Well, 21:26 that person died just a few weeks ago, and we 21:30 had his funeral." - Hm! - That was my father. 21:34 And I realized right then that God did not want that 21:37 to come across together, and He wanted to block it. 21:41 And I couldn't understand it, but I realized that when 21:45 God told my mother that He would be my father, 21:50 He said, "I'm a jealous God," and He didn't want 21:53 anything to interfere for the path He already laid 21:56 out for me. And that was like a hindrance that I felt 22:01 that even God betrayed me at that point, I thought. 22:06 And then, as I left Forest Lake and I was kind of 22:09 moving around and trying to figure myself out, he 22:13 spoke to me; he said, "Listen- if you would 22:16 give Me your life, if you would take My hand," He 22:20 said, "you will realize that it was My hand that 22:23 put you in that hospital there in Plant City where 22:27 that woman could come and get you- I put you 22:30 into a Seventh-day Adventist home." He 22:34 said, "I started you where I wanted you. And because 22:37 of that, I gave you a place where you can 22:39 have covering and that you can go in the path 22:42 that I have already mapped out for you." He said, "You 22:45 gotta trust me in this, Moses. You gotta trust 22:47 me in this." And when I understood that, I realized- 22:51 when I realized and TRULY realized that it was the hand 22:55 of God that was navigating this messed up life, I surrendered 22:59 all to Him and I gave it to Him. I said, "Lord, take 23:02 this mess..." I said, "Take this mess of mine," 23:09 'cause I didn't know what to do with it, John; I didn't 23:11 know what to do, and I felt that I could trust Him. 23:15 He said, "I will put you in places where you could 23:18 never go, and I will send you around the world." I 23:21 didn't understand that! He said, "I will send you 23:24 around to preach this gospel and I'll help you 23:27 to comfort other people." He said, "I need you to let 23:30 go and forgive." And when I forgave those who I felt 23:34 that did me wrong, I realized they were not doing me wrong; 23:41 they were helping me, to put my life in order, because 23:46 the devil used to whisper in my ear. He said, "How 23:49 can you be anything when you came here accidentally!? 23:53 How can you be- you're a tragedy! You have no 23:57 purpose; you were not even meant to be! How could God 24:00 have an outline for you? You should just"- he would 24:03 tell me, "You should take your life 'cause you never 24:05 had one!" - Mm. - And God had to whisper in my ears 24:10 when I hear those songs, He says, "Peace be still," 24:15 and I used to hear that thing. "Peace be still." 24:17 And I found peace. I found peace in trusting in Him. 24:22 And today, I can say that through that, everything 24:26 that God had promised me, I found that He is one that 24:30 keeps every promise. I've learned one thing, Pastor 24:34 John: that if I pursue His presence, He would 24:39 deliver His promise. - Okay, wonderful; wonderful. - See, 24:43 I used to pursue the promise-the things that 24:46 He said He was going to do-but I wasn't pursuing 24:48 Him. But He had to rewind the script and say, "Listen, 24:54 it's not the promise I want you to be pursuing; 24:57 I want you to pursue My presence." For in 25:00 His presence, I discovered my purpose. - Mm. - See, 25:07 one thing the devil couldn't mess with was the purpose 25:10 that God gave me. - Wow. - He could get in the process, 25:14 'cause the process, you can mingle it with all kinds 25:17 of things and try to discourage me and all those other things 25:20 in the process, but it was through prayer that pushed 25:23 me through this to get to the purpose that God 25:26 had placed me here for. - Wow. He hid you from 25:30 what could've been. - Yes. - He put you in the cleft of 25:33 a rock so that you could just get a glimpse of His 25:36 glory. - Oh, yes. - He said, "Moses, if I didn't 25:38 hide you, your life would've been a tragedy complete..." 25:42 But He hid you in the cleft of the rock. That's 25:45 why when you sing that song, which I'm going to 25:47 go to right now-"He Hideth My Soul"-your life is a result 25:51 of Him hiding you from what could've been. See, we don't 25:54 understand the way God works; God works in ways 25:56 that are just mysterious to us. But when we rewind 26:00 the tape of our lives, we recognize, "He shielded 26:03 me at that moment. He came in and rescued me! 26:06 I could've been the child that was killed by this 26:08 man who was abusive to my mother who had given 26:11 me up! He saved me from that!" And we go back and 26:14 we realize, "I would not have had it any other 26:16 way if I could rewind this video tape." That song is 26:19 a wonderful song of ministry; and as you listen to this song, 26:22 "He Hideth My Soul," recognize that you may 26:24 be going through some places in your life where 26:28 you cannot understand it! But the Lord is maybe 26:31 hiding YOUR soul so that what could have been is 26:34 being prevented by His providence and His love 26:37 for you. Listen to this ministry, "He Hideth My Soul." 26:58 A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord 27:07 A wonderful Savior to me 27:15 He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock 27:24 Where rivers of pleasures I see 27:32 A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord 27:40 He taketh my burdens all away 27:48 He holdeth me up and I shall not be moved 27:56 He giveth me strength for my day 28:04 He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock 28:12 Where rivers are dry, thirsty lands 28:19 He hideth my life in the depths of His love 28:27 And He covers me there with His hands 28:34 Oh, He covers me there with his hands 28:47 When clothed in His brightness, transported I'll rise 28:55 To meet Him in clouds of the sky 29:02 His perfect salvation, His wonderful love 29:10 I'll shout with the millions on high 29:17 He hideth my soul in the clefts of the rock 29:25 Where rivers are dry, thirsty lands 29:32 Oh, He hideth my life in the depths of His love 29:40 And He covers me there with His hands 29:46 Oh- yes, He covers me there... Mmm... 29:56 Oh, He'll cover you there... 30:03 Oh, He covered me there with His 30:11 hand! 30:26 - I know that as you listen to that song, you know 30:28 that it is true: many of us wouldn't be here today 30:31 if the Lord had not hidden us from the tragedies of 30:34 life-in the cleft of the rock where we see 30:36 His glory, and we'll experience His protective 30:39 care. Isn't that wonderful? - Yes. - Now, your life... 30:42 As you're unfolding this, I'm sitting here... I'm kind 30:44 of like a balloon being filled with water (please 30:47 don't stick me with a pin; I'm gonna pop), 30:49 because your life is a miracle. It's an amazing 30:51 story, and people are being touched by that. 30:53 And I know there is so much more, which I'm 30:54 going to say to the audience we'll let you know how to 30:57 get in touch with Moses and his wife, to invite them 31:00 to come to your community. But now, the Lord brings 31:04 you beyond that angry childhood-that childhood 31:08 that when you discovered all these things that the 31:11 Lord hid you from, you couldn't organize them 31:14 together. But you get married, you grow up, 31:18 you have children of your own, but another tragedy 31:21 is on the way. Tell us about it. - It was while 31:24 I was doing a crusade, and I just saw God move 31:30 like I've never seen before there in Kenya, 31:33 in Kisumu. - Well, show some of those pictures 31:36 later on. - Yes. And we have other styles of the 31:38 people there, and I got back from there- the 31:43 high of an experience with Christ and then on March the 31:48 6th, 2007, one of my daughters called me and 31:52 said, "Daddy, David is dead." I was stunned. 31:58 My only son... He was 21 years old; never 32:02 really got to the bottom of it, but he was one of 32:05 the?. So many different stories I got 32:08 from there-but I just knew the bottom line: 32:11 he was dead at 21 years old. Well, John, my life 32:16 changed at that very moment, and I was there, 32:20 thinking; said, "Lord, what could've happened? 32:22 That's my son-he had a bright future ahead of 32:25 him!" She reminded me, "David is dead." I looked 32:32 around and I said, "Lord, this CAN'T be." I didn't 32:36 know how to handle it. I mean, when a parent 32:38 loses a child, you don't even comprehend how to 32:44 even juggle the different things coming at you. That's 32:48 why when people say, "I understand," I knew they 32:50 didn't, because you cannot understand it until you lose 32:53 that child. - Mm. - And God had to sit me down again, 32:57 and I had to ask, "Lord, WHERE WERE YOU, Lord, 32:59 when You took my ONLY child?" And He said, "I 33:04 was in the same place I was when they took My 33:07 Son on Calvary." He said, "I've never moved. I'm 33:11 still the same God." I had to cope with that, 33:17 but I knew that if God was in it...I can't understand 33:24 the sovereignty of God, because He works in 33:28 mysterious ways. But I knew that if God was in 33:32 it somehow-as Romans 8:28 said, "Everything will work 33:37 together for good to those who love the Lord"-and I 33:40 sat there and said, "Lord, I don't know how this is 33:43 going to come out, but I'm trusting You, again, where 33:46 I cannot trace You." And now that I learned how to 33:51 help others who are going through similar experience, 33:54 who lost loved ones, and some people are 33:58 maybe watching today are defiant because God 34:02 took someone out of their lives that they loved; but 34:05 I want you to know today, wherever you are today, 34:09 God loves you, and He has never forgotten you. You 34:14 have to hold onto every scripture there is because 34:18 that's where you find the peace that passes all 34:21 understanding. - That's right. And you know what, 34:23 let me add a point here: a lot of people think that 34:25 God is the One that took them. - Yes. - But what 34:28 we're actually- necess- saying is, "Why didn't God 34:29 prevent it?" is usually what the question is. 34:32 "Why didn't He stop it?" And if God were to step 34:35 into every scenario that happens to us in this world, 34:38 this actual world would be heaven. But the tragedies 34:41 come, and we look back on these tragedies- 34:44 the loss of a child, the loss of a mother, the 34:47 way that your life was started. And we see at 34:50 these broken places the sovereignty and the love 34:53 of God never, ever wanes. He doesn't stop because 34:57 tragedy strikes us. If a bullet hits us, He's still 35:00 the Healer. If we're incarcerated, He's still 35:03 the One that brings freedom to us in our 35:05 position of incarceration. So, yeah-he allowed it 35:08 to happen, but He wasn't the one that took your 35:11 child. The enemy once again tried to shake your faith, 35:14 'cause he's the one that is the murderer from the 35:16 very beginning. But something came out of this that was 35:19 positive. You know, being raised in a home where 35:23 there's hardly any food, your mother having to 35:26 deal with the same, your natural mom being told, 35:28 "Get rid of your child; we can hardly even 35:30 feed you," the Lord moved you to begin a ministry. 35:33 Let's talk about that for a moment, which 35:35 just changed so many lives. - Yes! It was... 35:38 I was home there in Tampa area, and I just did a brief 35:45 time in the military. I got back, and trying 35:49 to help my mother who had taken care of me for 35:51 a while. And while I was there, there was a shooting 35:53 there in the inner city. At the time, I was doing 35:57 encouragement on the radio at that time, and 36:00 the police department asked me would I come out and 36:02 talk to the kids that were there who watched this 36:06 person get shot down in the parking lot while she 36:10 was begging for her life. I went out in the community, 36:16 and...sometimes, you don't realize how tragically it hits 36:21 people until you're out there with them. I was standing 36:25 around and started talking to the kids and trying to 36:28 encourage them. And brother John, when I started opening 36:31 programs and trying to bring some things in there, 36:33 they started asking me- 'cause I'd bring little snacks 36:35 and we had little talks- and one boy said, "Hey, 36:38 can I have one of those Thanksgiving meals that 36:41 they have on television?" And I said, "What do you 36:44 mean?" "I want one of those Thanksgiving meals 36:47 they have on TV, like the turkey and all the 36:49 other things." And I said, "Well, what did you have 36:53 for Thanksgiving last year?" He said, "We 36:55 had a hotdog and some chips." And right then, 36:59 the Lord said, "Make it happen." I said, "You go 37:03 and get your friends, and I'll ask the people in the 37:05 community to bring food." We set up the whole tables 37:10 with food. And when they came out, I noticed that 37:14 he had more friends than I anticipated. [laughter] 37:18 We had set up for about 100, but it was about 400 37:21 and some people there. - What! - That was lined 37:24 up down the road. And the cameras came out! 37:27 The media came out. They just wanted to see this thing 37:30 was happening, 'cause with the tragedy of the young 37:32 lady... And some of the people who were working with me said, 37:35 "Don't do this, because you will get embarrassed!" 37:39 But then I had to go back to that same thing: if it's 37:41 God's will, it's God's bill. - That's right; I 37:43 like that. - And I remember that He did it in the scriptures with 37:46 fish and the loaves of bread, and I said, "That's the same 37:50 God that was there! He's here! That is not a fantasy 37:53 book; that Book transcends all the way throughout time." 37:57 And I said, "I'm trusting God in this scenario to make 38:01 it happen." I said, "This is not MY reputation; 38:04 it's His." - That's right. - See, a lot of the time, 38:06 we get messed up with our reputation, but when 38:08 I'm doing something for God, it's all on Him. - And 38:11 what happened? How did the people get fed? - The 38:13 people went through the line, everyone went through 38:16 the line, and in our community, people usually bring Tupperware 38:21 and foil. I mean, they want something to take 38:23 home with them, and I was looking at that. You 38:25 can't tell them, "Don't do it"; but when they 38:27 got done, it was enough food left over, brother 38:31 John, that they could take TWO servings with them. 38:34 - That's right. - So when God showed up, He also 38:37 showed out. - That's right. Twelve baskets of? 38:39 - Yes! - You have some pictures that connect 38:41 to that. I want to have them walk through these 38:44 pictures with your Feed the Children organization. 38:46 Let's look at some of those. Explain to us 38:48 what we're going to be seeing here. - These are 38:51 some kids that our ministry spread out into Kenya, 38:55 so when I started going preaching in crusades, I started 38:58 taking Feed Our Children Ministries in those areas, and 39:01 these are a lot of the kids we were reaching out to and 39:03 some of the orphanages there. Some of the families 39:06 in the communities were, when they called us, one 39:09 of the things they had to do- they had to go 39:10 through no red tape; all they had to do was call, 39:12 and we'd bring out gifts and food, AND we'd give 39:14 them literature-Seventh-day Adventist literature. We may 39:19 not see them again, but I believe I'll see them in 39:21 heaven. This is some of the feedings that we do 39:24 during the Thanksgiving. And people from- we 39:26 worked mainly with the migrant families, and you'll 39:30 see some of them coming up next. - Mm. - This is a 39:35 lady in the wheelchair as she was sitting there, she 39:38 hadn't had anything for a long time, and she was 39:41 thankful for the food that we were bringing 39:43 to her. - Wow. - We have huge community outreach 39:49 during the end-of-the-year season, and we just had 39:53 a couple thousand people there, and we were giving 39:56 out. One thing-I want you to know-we've never 39:58 run out. - Amen. - Never- from that time, I learned to 40:02 trust God that we'd never run out. - God's will is God's bill. 40:04 - You can't deplete them. Yes, it is. - I like that. 40:08 - We tried to run a summer camp for the kids, and we 40:11 do the Vacation Bible School for people who 40:13 don't have nowhere to go, and we have good people 40:16 there that we can trust them with those kids, and 40:18 they learn about Christ Jesus. - Mhm. That's 40:21 amazing. But you know, the Lord has done so many 40:24 things in your life; we're just getting little snippets, 40:25 like snapshots, as one person said many years 40:28 ago, of your life. It's amazing how God turns 40:30 tragedy into triumph, and I'm not going to forget that 40:34 anytime soon: "God's will is God's bill." It's amazing; 40:39 while they are cliches, they are true! - Yes. 40:43 - That God... But the Lord allowed you to rub shoulders, 40:45 because He'd not only given you this ministry, 40:48 but then He got you involved in preaching ministry- 40:50 evangelism! And you had an opportunity to meet 40:53 a couple of people that were a part of the 3ABN 40:57 family: brother- Little Richard! You had a chance 41:00 to minister to him. Talk about that briefly. - Just 41:02 before I went to Oakwood, I was in LaGrange, Georgia. 41:05 We used to do something called "Dark County Evangelism," and 41:10 they brought in this man named Little Richard who 41:13 I didn't know. "Come on, let us listen to things." 41:16 I was listening to Del Decker most of the time. And 41:18 during that time, we were just kind of seeing him walk 41:23 up, I saw these cameras come up, and I said, "What's 41:26 going on? Who's this?" They said, "It's Little 41:28 Richard." [laughter] And he came in with his entourage, 41:32 and he sung in the tent that night. I was over 41:37 the movie for that? effort. When he brought 41:40 him in, he asked me, he said, "Listen, on weekends, 41:43 when you get a chance from school, come on out 41:44 and sing with me!" And that's when he was 41:47 preaching. - Okay! - And so, I thought he was just 41:49 a rock star preacher, and found out that he was this 41:54 big superstar. I traveled around with him for years- 41:58 got to see people who... You know, sometimes you 42:02 see people in a whole different genre, and you 42:04 realize that they're just people, too. And when he 42:07 was in an accident, I saw these stars coming up to 42:09 his room, and I saw how God wanted to use him 42:14 to reach them. - That's right. - And many that 42:17 have never heard this truth, this three angels' 42:20 message, got it because he gives out those books 42:23 everywhere he goes. - That's right. Every day, he does that. 42:25 But you've also been involved in ministry- 42:28 a lot of ministry events. We're going to walk through 42:30 some of those pictures and have you explain to 42:32 the audience, and even those who are on the radio, 42:35 give a little detail so they can understand 42:37 what we're seeing here, because God has taken 42:38 you places preaching in different parts of our- 42:41 baptizing, and so many different things. The 42:44 multi-faceted blessing of God is still anointing 42:48 your life and your wife's life and making a difference 42:50 to thousands. Explain what we're seeing right 42:53 here in this picture. - Oh, this is there in?. 42:56 The whole conference wanted to have an evangelistic crusade, 43:02 and I was in that part. We baptized over 20-some 43:06 people just when that week we were there. 43:09 And this is what it's all about, brother John, just 43:12 bringing them to that foot of the cross through the 43:15 pool. That was some of the men that we were 43:19 baptizing. Good to see men baptized! And in 43:22 that area, Curso, they speak a different language; 43:25 so when you're preaching, it's good to have somebody 43:28 who can preach with you- translator that can preach. 43:32 - Ah, I see; the translator's preaching there, too. 43:33 - And this is in Kenya- Kisumu. We had thousands 43:37 of people to come out there, and we were in 43:39 the stadium out there. We just saw many give 43:43 their lives to Christ in the baptism that we 43:45 had there with 300-some souls. - Mm. - This is in 43:49 Ethiopia, and these are the souls that were baptized 43:53 there. If you're watching in Ethiopia and you see yourself 43:57 there, you oughta give a shout right now how 44:00 God has done miraculous things in your life. - I see 44:02 you out in the crowd there. - Yeah, I'm right there in the 44:04 middle. [laughter] This is in Panama! Many places I 44:09 would go, when they wanted a black preacher to come along 44:14 in some places-and this was in Panama, where 44:17 Elder Faulkenberg called me up and sent me down 44:21 there to preach in that area-couldn't speak a 44:23 lick of Spanish! I knew "gloria Dios," but there, 44:29 God had showed Himself in that area there in Panama 44:32 with the baptism. Just left there in Guyana- 44:36 Linden, Guyana. Went there twice; two churches 44:39 came out of that, and this was our last time 44:42 there. We just saw these beautiful souls from revival 44:44 there in Guyana. - Mm. It's amazing what the 44:48 Lord does. He does it continuously. And when 44:51 you go back-and I wanna just say to the listening and 44:54 viewing audience-when you go back and look at how your 44:56 life begins, you could never tell what fruit 45:00 or what plant is going to come from that seed. 45:04 You could look at that mustard seed and realize 45:06 it's so tiny, but it's a symbol of that little 45:09 spark of faith; and your life has been just replete 45:11 and filled with so many stories of God moving in 45:16 providential ways. And right now, you minister; 45:18 you have a couple of CDs. Talk about that, and you 45:21 use that in the ministry there at the Florida hospital. 45:24 - Yes. I'm fortunately the head chaplain for 45:27 there at Florida Hospital Connerton, and serve also 45:30 at Florida Hospital Tampa and just ministering to many 45:34 people who are on their dying beds, are going 45:37 through life-changing scenarios through health, catastrophic 45:42 health situations... I sing to them, and it's like when 45:48 David was singing to the Lord. There's something 45:52 about music that transcends into a soul that's been ruptured, 45:56 and just hearing those songs brings them comfort, 45:59 so I put a list of songs of hymns. I call it, "Healing 46:02 Hymns," and then get it through the Adventist 46:06 Book Center. And there, I just proclaim God's Word 46:10 through music. - We could also give the website for 46:13 your ministry, Feed Our Children, and we'll give 46:16 that in just a moment. But something... There 46:18 was a tragedy that happened in Florida not too long ago... 46:22 Helena Ramsay. I know the young lady, because I was 46:25 able to interview her good friend who was a family 46:30 acquaintance. They were close friends, and she and 46:35 her friend- her friend stood by her and watched 46:37 her when the tragedy happened, and she was 46:41 shot. Talk about that. You had a chance to meet the 46:45 family members. - Yes. - And after you preached, 46:47 and it was in Tabernacle SDA Church in Miami. Talk 46:51 about that for a moment. - When the grandma came 46:53 up to me, she said, "Please pray for my family." She 46:55 said, "We had our granddaughter's funeral 46:58 the day before." And I realized that this was one 47:03 of those kids that was shot in the school there, 47:06 and in Douglas High School. And so, I was leaving, and 47:11 the Lord inspired me to go by the school that day, 47:14 'cause they were having orientation, trying to bring 47:16 them back in. And while I was there-you know, 47:19 being a chaplain-I just wanted to offer my services. 47:22 And one of the Adventists there, he is a counselor, and 47:26 so I was standing with him and just praying for 47:28 those who were there. I read something that 47:32 Danny Shelton wrote in his book about the shooting 47:35 in different schools. One thing he said was this: 47:39 "We focus on that, but it's because we're breaking 47:44 the Commandments." And I realized that all these 47:47 tragedies come from, just like Danny said- the Commandments 47:51 of God must be kept in order for His peace to come back into 47:54 our country. And so, I saw how these children were, 47:59 and many of them still are, and our schools 48:02 are being just on lockdown because the enemy is on 48:06 attack. I was instrumental in trying to bring some healing 48:11 to a lot of those that I met there, that I was 48:14 praying for them. And I found out that-"you saved 48:17 my people if we pray, He will bring healing." And so 48:20 while I was there, I saw God move through the 48:23 prayers of giving those who wanted to have some 48:25 type of way out understanding. I was able to cope with that 48:29 because of my past experience with my son. I knew what those 48:36 families were feeling, because by losing my 48:41 son and HIS death, I understood what it was 48:44 like to walk by that bedroom at night and look in that room 48:49 and looking for your child and realizing they're not 48:51 there anymore. It just grips at and tears your 48:56 heart out. But then the more it tears your heart 48:58 out, the more you lean into Christ, and He'll give 49:02 you that peace. - There's a passage you gave to me 49:04 before the program began in Lamentations 3:37. Share 49:08 that with our audience right now. Should I read 49:10 and then you want to explain that to us? 49:12 - You read it, 'cause I have my version of saying 49:14 it. - Okay. Well, use your version of saying 49:16 it. I love the way that you include that in your 49:18 life. I was reading that text in Lamentations 3:37. 49:21 It says, "Who can speak it in your life and it comes 49:25 to pass if God has not commanded it?" - Mm. 49:30 - I had to resonate with that word, because many 49:33 were speaking the can't-do and "you're not able to do," 49:37 and "you don't have enough finance to do it," and "you're 49:39 not in the right place to do it," "you don't have the 49:42 right background," and all these other things. But if 49:46 you get all those "no's from a thousand people 49:49 and you get one million "cant's from others, all 49:53 I need was one "can" from God, and that one "can" from 49:57 God... 'Cause if He had not commanded it, I don't 50:00 worry about what other people say. - That's right. 50:03 - I don't look at a budget. I can do great things on 50:05 a 0 budget. [laughter] 'Cause God can take 0 50:09 and make hero, so I'm not confined to these things 50:13 that we have, because God said, "I can handle this." 50:16 And so, that text has stayed with me. Even though I had 50:20 all these things going against me, and even life 50:22 dictated that "you shouldn't be where you are," but I 50:26 think I'm sitting here with you today-representing all 50:30 the children that could've been here, that should've 50:33 been here, and may have been here-but I hope that 50:37 from this point on, there might be somebody out 50:40 there, sitting there and you're looking at 50:42 this program, and you say, "Should I keep my 50:44 child? Is it worth it?" I want you to know that 50:47 it's worth it all. God took a nothing like me, 50:50 and He turned my life around. And I promise 50:54 you: if you put it in His hands, He'll take 50:56 your tragedy and He'll bring triumph. That's 50:59 what I want you to know today. - That's right. And 51:02 you know, what a powerful testimony-and we're JUST 51:04 getting started! So here is the information. I know 51:07 you want to invite Moses and his wife to your community. 51:11 Here is the information that you need to make that connection. 51:17 - If you would like to invite Pastor Moses 51:19 Brown to sing at your church, or if the Holy 51:22 Spirit impresses you to support his ministry, you 51:24 may contact him in a variety of ways. Visit 51:27 FeedOurChildren.org to find out how they 51:31 provide much-needed food and care for children and 51:34 their families. Their website, again, is 51:36 FeedOurChildren.org. If you would like to call 51:40 them, dial (813) 784-1021; or write to Feed Our Children 51:47 Ministries, Post Office Box 290415, Tampa, Florida 33687. |
Revised 2021-06-20