Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY220021A
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00:04 I want to spend my life
00:10 mending broken people. 00:15 I want to spend my life 00:20 removing pain. 00:26 Lord, let my words 00:31 heal a heart that hurts. 00:36 I want to spend my life 00:42 mending broken people... 00:47 I want to spend my life 00:52 mending broken people. 01:06 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:09 I'm Shelley Quinn; I'm JD Quinn. 01:11 And boy, have we got an exciting program for you today! 01:14 If you love Jesus, 01:18 if you want Him to return soon, 01:21 we know the work has to be finished. 01:24 God wants to reach ALL of the world because 01:27 His heart's desire is that all men would be saved. 01:31 And if you want to see Jesus return in the clouds soon, 01:37 you need to stay tuned today 01:39 because we're going to tell you how you can help 01:44 illuminate the whole world with the glory of God. 01:48 Let me read this Scripture to you. 01:50 This is Revelation 18 and I'll start with verse 1. 01:55 Revelation 18:1. 01:57 And John writes: "After these things I saw 02:00 another angel coming down from heaven 02:02 having GREAT authority 02:05 and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 02:09 And he cried mightily with a loud voice saying: 02:14 'Babylon the Great has fallen 02:17 has fallen and has become a dwelling place of demons, 02:21 a prison for every foul spirit, 02:25 a cage for every unclean and hated bird. ' " 02:30 And then he goes on. 02:32 In verse 4 John says: "Then I heard a voice 02:36 coming out of heaven saying: 02:40 'Come out of her, My people... ' " 02:43 Come out of Babylon; come out of the confusion, My people. 02:48 "lest you share in her sins 02:50 lest you receive of her plagues. " 02:52 Boy, that's an important message! 02:55 And if you... if this doesn't make a lick of sense to you, 02:58 stay tuned 'cause you'll understand soon. 03:00 Honey, would you like to introduce our special guest? 03:04 I certainly would: Pastor Oleg Lotca. 03:07 Welcome to 3ABN! 03:09 Oh, thank you. We're so excited. 03:11 We're so excited to hear what you're... the little baby 03:16 that you're in the process of growing. 03:20 And that baby would be a ministry, right? 03:24 That's right! I'm so excited to be here with you today, 03:29 and just the energy that you guys... just inspires me! 03:33 Thank you so much for having me today. 03:36 Well, as president of Streams of Light Intl. 03:41 Oleg, welcome back. You've been here before 03:45 but we're so glad that you're our special guest today 03:48 because as Scripture tells us 03:53 we need to arise, shine... let our light 03:56 fill the earth with the glory of God. 03:59 And that's what we're going to be talking about today 04:03 is how you can go light up your world. 04:06 Scott Michael Bennett, he's a very talented young man. 04:10 He plays the piano; he also sings. Yes, he does. 04:13 And it just so happens that's the name of the song 04:14 that he's going to play and sing for us: 04:16 Go Light Your World. 04:27 There is a candle 04:31 in every soul. 04:34 Some brightly burning... 04:38 some dark and cold. 04:42 There is a Spirit 04:46 who brings the fire, 04:50 ignites the candle, 04:53 and makes His home. 04:58 Carry your candle, 05:02 run to the darkness. 05:06 Seek out the hopeless, 05:10 confused and torn. 05:14 Hold out your candle 05:18 for all to see it. 05:21 Oh take your candle 05:26 go light your world... 05:30 Take your candle 05:34 go light your world. 05:42 Frustrated brother, 05:45 see how he tried to 05:49 light his own candle some other way. 05:57 See now your sister, 06:00 she's been robbed and lied to 06:05 She still holds her candle 06:08 without a flame. 06:13 Carry your candle, 06:17 run to the darkness 06:20 Seek out the lonely, 06:23 the tired and worn. 06:28 Hold out your candle 06:32 for all to see it... 06:35 Take your candle, 06:39 go light your world... 06:43 Take your candle, 06:47 go light your world. 06:55 We are a family 06:58 whose hearts are blazing 07:02 so let's raise our candle 07:06 light up the sky. 07:10 Pray to our Father 07:14 in the name of Jesus: 07:18 "Make us a beacon 07:22 in the darkest night. " 07:26 Carry your candle, 07:30 run to the darkness. 07:34 Seek out the helpless, 07:37 deceived and poor. 07:41 Hold out your candle 07:45 for all to see it... 07:48 Oh, take your candle, 07:53 go light your world... 07:57 Take your candle, 08:01 go light your world... 08:06 Take your candle, 08:10 go light your world... 08:19 go light your world... 08:26 go light 08:28 your world. 08:37 I love to hear Scott Michael Bennett sing! 08:40 And you know what? You may be sitting at home 08:43 and you may be one of those who sit in the church pews 08:46 all the time and you feel like your candle is just kind of 08:50 flickering and about ready to go out. 08:51 We're going to show you how easily 08:55 you can help light the world today. 08:59 And it really is a whole lot easier than you think. 09:03 So before we begin, Oleg, 09:06 tell us just... give us the Reader's Digest version 09:10 because you've had such an interesting life. 09:13 You were a pastor's kid. Tell us a little about 09:16 how you got to where you are today. 09:20 Well awesome. Yes, I was born in a pastoral family in Moldova. 09:26 That's one of the countries in the former USSR. 09:31 When I was 15 I just decided to leave home 09:35 and to go and seek for freedom. 09:37 Freedom from... you know... control. 09:40 Not having parents next to me. 09:42 So I did that. I went to England. 09:44 So 4 years I was there going further & further away from God. 09:48 And of course, whenever you do that 09:51 you get quite bruised... a lot of bruises. 09:55 Everywhere... all around. 09:57 So after four years I realized that that life 10:00 is so miserable I needed a change. 10:03 When you say "that life, " how far down did you get? 10:07 Well the life away from God is... usually, it takes you 10:11 step by step, and it goes all the way down sometimes. 10:14 In my case it was using substances: 10:17 prohibited substances like drugs and stuff. 10:20 So that was... I knew that that will 10:24 kill me and ruin my life so I needed a change. 10:26 So I left England. Went to Canada trying to change 10:30 my life. And that change: that was good for a few months 10:34 but then went back down again even lower than before. 10:37 After four years in England 10:39 finally, the Lord has found me in the forest in Canada... 10:45 cutting trees, working there. 10:46 And I believe that the fresh air, exercise, 10:50 and all that did something to my brain 10:52 that I started thinking again. 10:54 I said: "What am I doing with my life? " 10:55 And the Holy Spirit used some- thing that my brother told me 10:59 a few months before that and then used some other things 11:04 that I heard in the past. And those I just came to life 11:07 and I said: "Lord, if there is forgiveness for me, 11:09 I'd like to accept it. " 11:11 And I advised Him: "If You forgive me, 11:13 I would like to give my life completely to You. 11:16 And as much harm as I did to You and others 11:21 I would like just to do good to others 11:23 and bring people to You. " 11:25 So that's where I decided to go to Argentina 11:28 and study theology. I learned Spanish in Argentina. 11:31 Met a young lady there: Karen. Today she is my wife. 11:35 We have four kids together 11:37 and we are enjoying ministering to others. 11:41 The Lord has been just SO GOOD to us! 11:43 That is... Well I want to bring up one thing 11:45 'cause this is so important. 11:47 Good seeds were planted early in your life. Yeah. 11:50 And then there was kind of dry spell. 11:53 You know, and then the "I" kind of took over 11:56 and you wanted to do it your way. 11:59 But the time came whenever 12:02 you know, the little... the little germination 12:06 from your youth. You knew that there was another direction. 12:11 You just didn't know whether you were worthy. 12:13 And then the King of the universe made perfectly clear 12:17 to you "I do have a plan for your life. " 12:20 And if I may... It doesn't have a lot to do with what we're 12:23 going to talk about but I just want to say that 12:25 because I always feel kind of 12:28 worried when I share my testimony. 12:31 Some young people might say: "Oh, I can do the same. " 12:33 "I can go away from God and then I'll come back 12:35 and I'll be on fire for God. " 12:37 I have at least three friends 12:40 that have been Adventists. We were away together 12:43 and they died being away from God. Yes. 12:47 And not only physically... you can die spiritually 12:50 and you'll never have the desire to come back. 12:52 So I would say if you were there in the church 12:55 as a young man don't ever think that out there 12:59 there is something to give you. Whatever is out there is only 13:02 misery. Away from God it's just so miserable. 13:06 Being and walking with God... that's what true life is. 13:09 That's where the freedom is... the true freedom - Amen - 13:12 is walking with God. Amen! Well, put! Well, put! 13:15 All right. So God took you from Brazil to Weimar 13:20 in central California. 13:23 And you began... Well actually you were beginning 13:28 some door-to-door evangelism I'll call it in Brazil. 13:33 Tell us about your transition. 13:35 I was... Yes, I was in South America there in Argentina. 13:39 I did study in Brazil as well 13:42 but Argentina was my main place where I was. 13:45 And what happened there? I ran out of money 13:49 and I had to pay for school, 13:52 for university, and I didn't have any other source of income. 13:56 So I was pushed into... I saw other people that 14:00 they would go in the summer and work canvassing. 14:03 Selling books door-to-door... that's what canvassing is. 14:06 Colporteuring we are calling it as well. 14:09 And I said: "Does it really give you income to pay? " 14:13 They said: "Yes... that's how we pay it. " 14:15 I said: "OK... I might as well try. " 14:17 I tried it. The first few weeks were horrible. 14:20 It was so hard. People would reject me. 14:23 I didn't like it... but then I saw how when you 14:26 meet peoples' needs, when you talk with them, 14:29 people are just buying what you're bringing up. 14:32 Instead of the books that you bring they buy YOU as a person 14:36 and that solutional help that you try to bring 14:40 to peoples' lives. When I saw the connection there 14:43 how we can find sincere people door-to-door 14:46 that are searching for truth 14:48 searching for ways to get better, to do better, 14:51 I said: "Wow! Lord, I want to be in this ministry for 14:54 the rest of my life. " So it's kind of Peter insecurity. 14:57 "You will not wash anything" then "wash me entirely! " 15:00 That was a similar experience for me. 15:03 That's amazing! So when you came to California 15:06 you were working with Weimar 15:08 before COVID and doing something similar. 15:12 But during COVID... I mean, it wasn't what? 15:16 Five months after you got here? 15:19 During COVID they wouldn't let you go out. 15:22 But you decided to do it on your own time. 15:26 Tell us your experience. And by the way, 15:28 I just want to tell you: we're not trying to talk you 15:30 into selling books so don't say: "Oh, I don't want to. " 15:34 Just listen 'cause we're not talking about selling anything 15:38 except the introduction to the love of God. 15:44 So tell us what happened as you were going door-to-door 15:49 when people thought: "Oh, nobody wants to 15:52 hear anything right now during COVID. " 15:55 Yes. I just got to Central California Conference. 15:58 They invited me to work and to start the adult canvassing 16:02 program for adults. 16:03 And COVID hit so all that was canceled. 16:07 You couldn't do ANY door-to-door work. 16:09 And they told me: "Well you just have to stay home 16:12 and do Zoom meetings... whatever you do via Zoom. " 16:15 I said: "I can do that for a few months 16:17 but I don't know whether I can do that for too long 16:19 just because of the active way of being. " They said: 16:22 "People need now to hear... people need hope. " 16:26 So I said: "Can I do that on my own time? " 16:29 So I went and did that on my own time not work time 16:32 and I decided to distribute a book called 16:35 The Great Controversy because I thought 16:37 for the time it was just an appropriate book. 16:39 And when I was taking it to doors and I saw how people 16:43 would receive it when I would tell them that that book 16:45 was a blend of history and Bible prophecy 16:48 and people would just take it. And some people 16:51 would ask for 4, 5 for their co-workers as well. 16:54 When you're saying "distribute" you're not selling. 16:56 You're giving it away? Just giving it away. 16:57 I bought the books myself. 16:59 I paid for them and I would go door-to-door 17:01 and give it as a gift to people. 17:03 I would say: "I am delivering a gift in the community. 17:07 Here is a free copy... enjoy it. " 17:09 That's all what I would say. And they would say: 17:11 "What is the book about? " And I would tell them: 17:12 "It's a blend of history and Bible prophecy. " 17:15 And people would be so... When they would hear Bible 17:18 prophecy they would be so open to it 17:20 so that would spark conversation. 17:22 Praying with people. Powerful! 17:25 So I said: "This is just too good to leave it just me alone 17:29 doing it" so I started sharing that 17:31 with other churches... church members. 17:33 And pretty soon one church, they said: "We want to 17:37 cover our entire city with this book. " 17:40 And they did it! In just like 2-3 months 17:42 they completed the entire city. 17:44 So that was like... that sparked a fire within me 17:49 saying: "Wow! This is a powerful ministry 17:52 that could help people to get that hope at their door. " 17:56 And that book... when you say that it combines 17:59 or blends the history - world history, church history - 18:03 with Biblical prophecy that's where Rev. 18 comes in 18:10 because this book so clearly explains 18:14 Bible prophecy. Who is Babylon? 18:17 What we're looking out for. 18:19 So you're enjoying success in sharing this 18:23 and attracting people. And I believe people 18:27 everywhere... people KNOW there's something going on 18:30 in this world and people want some answers. 18:34 So how did this inspire you to start 18:38 Streams of Light International? 18:40 Well I was actually reading those very texts that you read 18:44 this morning: Rev. 18:1-2. 18:48 And for the first time in my life, I saw a connection 18:51 there between verse 1- the angel that lightens 18:55 or illumines the earth with his glory, 18:57 with the glory of the Lord - 18:58 and verse 2 where that angel with a loud voice 19:01 denounces the Babylon. What is Babylon? 19:04 That's the mixture of truth and error... the confusion. 19:08 And we are told that Satan will try to confuse people 19:11 at the end time. Yes. And I said: "Wow! This is powerful! " 19:14 So as people are desperate 19:17 people need hope, and people need to know that Satan 19:20 will try to trick them into something. 19:22 And I said: "What book? " Because people have 19:24 Bibles at home. Unfortunately, not everybody reads them. 19:28 But: "What book besides the Bible 19:31 talks clearly about the truth, the true character of God, 19:36 and the character of Satan? " 19:38 I said: "That's the book The Great Controversy. " Um-hmm. 19:40 That's why I started distributing, and I saw 19:43 a huge interest in people. 19:45 So that's how the idea of Streams of Light came. I said: 19:48 "This is just too good to keep it to a small level. " 19:52 So that's when the idea came to place a Great Controversy 19:57 into every home in North America by 2026. 20:01 A hundred and how many? 20:03 Hundred and forty-eight? This just... 148 million homes 20:09 in the United States... 148 million! 20:14 Now all of a sudden boy the room just got really bigger. 20:18 I mean I can't even imagine that. 20:20 Let me say one thing further: 20:23 for those that may not... do not pick up... 20:26 when we mention The Great Controversy 20:28 we're talking about the great controversy between good & evil. 20:31 Correct. You said between Jesus and Satan 20:34 which is the great controversy. 20:37 So... 148 million homes? 20:40 I don't know how many copies of this book have already gone out 20:44 before but here's my point: 20:46 you, inspired by the Lord... 20:49 Anybody that has a goal to reach 146 million homes 20:53 or 148 million by 2026- hmm - 20:56 that's a God-sized goal! 20:59 It's impossible to do without the help of the Holy Spirit. 21:03 But God has given Oleg a plan, 21:07 and that plan is to involve church members 21:11 to involve even little mission groups that we talk about 21:15 to distribute this book. 21:17 Not selling it but giving it away. 21:20 But you have something... kind of an interesting... 21:24 We've seen some people who give a digital download 21:28 for a link for this or they'll mail it out. 21:32 But God specifically told you 21:35 in person and a printed book. Why? 21:41 Well, that's a good question, and I get that question a lot. 21:44 People are asking: "Why a physical book? 21:47 Isn't it a lot cheaper to just mail it out 21:50 I mean e- mail it out to people? " 21:52 Distribute digitally. It's easier; it's quicker. 21:55 That's where people are today. 21:57 I love the physical book. Why? 22:00 Because it pushes someone - a human being - 22:04 physically to go and find someone physically. 22:07 And that's personal contact. 22:09 There is power in that! Yes. Even before... even before 22:13 the book will do its work at some point 22:16 that powerful connection there with a human being - 22:20 with human beings - that is just... 22:22 And the biggest blessing is to the one 22:26 who is delivering the message? Yes! 22:28 I mean, I am doing this with churches now. 22:30 I am training churches how to do it: 22:33 how to organize outreach in their community. 22:36 And when the church members are coming back to the church 22:40 in the evening they start sharing testimonies. 22:43 You cannot stop them! 22:44 And that glow on their faces... so it's just amazing to see. 22:48 So the physical book because of that personal contact. 22:51 And it's an immediate benefit. 22:55 They may not open the book for another 6 months. 22:58 You never know, but people do. 23:00 Because I know when we were distributing Ten Commandments 23:04 Twice Removed we're still getting... from years ago 23:08 we're still getting people who call and say: "I finally 23:10 read that book. " And they've come into the church. 23:13 So The Great Controversy handed out in person. 23:19 But it is a fairly lengthy book. 23:22 You've done some amazing things. 23:26 In my mind this is EXTREMELY special 23:30 what you've done so that it won't be 23:32 as intimidating. Tell us about that. 23:35 Well yeah. You know people ask me: "Do people still read 23:38 books? " You know, and we realize 23:41 that the young generation especially - younger people - 23:44 they are not inclined to read a thick book, a 500-page book. 23:48 And they are more inclined to watch videos. 23:52 So what we did: every chapter 23:56 in The Great Controversy has a QR code 23:59 at the beginning of the chapter. 24:01 So what people can do: they just scan the QR code 24:04 with their phone and it takes them to a video 24:07 related to the chapter. 24:09 So this way they can have the digital version of it. 24:12 It's a short video - a 6-minute video that just 24:15 gives them an appetizer that would lead them 24:18 to the message. And who did the videos? 24:20 Well the videos are done, most of them, by Lineage Journey. 24:24 Oh, praise the Lord! 24:26 Lineage Journey... they have done a fantastic job! Oh my! 24:29 Some are done by 3ABN. 24:31 We took some videos that 3ABN has done 24:33 of Doug Batchelor and It Is Written. 24:36 But now Lineage Journey is recording the 42 videos 24:41 for the 42 chapters of The Great Controversy 24:44 so soon we'll have all of those available. 24:48 Praise God! To me is absolutely amazing to see the contrast 24:52 between going out and actually walking, 24:55 going up and knocking on a door, 24:57 it doesn't get more distance... 25:02 Distance wise they were doing this in the 1800's. 25:05 Now you mention QR code in the same breath! 25:10 I mean, to me that's absolutely amazing. 25:13 So it's really... there's a large audience out there. 25:18 And once again, the personal impact... 25:21 You had an experience with Maribel. I want you to tell us 25:25 about that because when you connect one on one... 25:29 that's what people are... Nowadays people are thinking 25:32 they're connecting with people when they're sittin' here... 25:35 It's an artificial connection. 25:37 But when one-on-one you go up to offer somebody 25:40 a gift that could be life changing... 25:43 Tell us about Maribel. 25:45 Yes, so I was in... I... 25:48 I had my vacation time and I said: "You know what? " 25:51 I talked with my wife and said: "Let me try to do something 25:54 with The Great Controversy is Texas. 25:55 Let me... " So I went to McAllen, Texas, 25:58 during my vacation time for a month 26:00 distributing the Great Controversy. 26:01 Just buying them and distributing them everywhere. 26:04 So in the parking lot - Sam's Club parking lot - 26:07 a person comes out and I give them the book. 26:09 I said: "This is a gift. Enjoy it. " 26:11 And then the questions are coming. 26:13 So this lady... she's coming out. I'm giving her the book 26:16 and she says: "What is the book about? " 26:17 I tell her it's a blend of history and Bible prophecy. 26:20 She said: "I'm looking for a church. " 26:22 But she said: "But I'm looking for a church that would preach 26:25 the truth. Not just stories... the TRUTH. " 26:28 AMEN! I said... This was Friday, 3 PM. 26:31 I said: "I happen to go to a church like that tomorrow. 26:34 Why don't you join me? " 26:35 Maribel came to church that day 26:38 and actually, I think we have a picture of Maribel... 26:42 picture somewhere there. 26:44 And Maribel came to church. That's her book there 26:48 in Spanish. So Maribel started studying the Bible 26:52 with the pastor, and she said... she told the pastor: 26:55 "So what do I need to do to be baptized right that same day? " 26:59 And the pastor said: "Well, there are Bible studies 27:01 that you have to... " "How many of them? " 27:03 Said: "About 20... 26. " 27:05 And she said: "Can I do three a day? " 27:07 Three Bible studies a day. 27:08 She was so desperate to get baptized! 27:11 Then stuff happened in between. She got distracted with... 27:15 There is somebody who was not happy that she was - 27:17 Satan - and he was disrupting her. 27:20 But then the great news is 27:23 just this past Sabbath Maribel got baptized. 27:27 And we have a picture there: Pastor Antonio 27:31 baptizing her - Glory to God! there in McAllen Central Church. 27:35 So just one book, and she didn't read the book yet. 27:39 So there was no influence of the book itself 27:42 but just the act of meeting the person and inviting... 27:45 that was... that brought her to study the Bible. 27:48 So what we want to do 'cause we've got a special guest 27:53 that's going to be coming up in just a second 27:55 joining us by Skype 27:56 but let's get back on the QR code. 28:01 You have a short video 28:04 that we'd like to show you about the QR code 28:08 because it is amazing how this works. 28:31 They are certain events 28:33 of such significance 28:35 that they are referred to as turning points in history. 28:42 Chapter 7: Luther's separation from Rome. 28:46 Foremost among those who were called to lead the church 28:49 from the darkness... 29:05 Beautiful and how exciting. I want a copy of that book 29:09 just so I can go see this. I've got one for you. 29:11 Oh good! But you're doing something else 29:15 because you actually had a shrink-wrapped envelope. 29:18 You've added what we call "the right arm of the gospel. " 29:22 Tell us about Thrive Magazine. 29:25 Yeah. So when I was thinking about that 29:29 I read something written by Ellen White 29:33 where she said that the health message 29:37 that is exactly what Jesus was doing. 29:39 Jesus would come and supply the needs - the immediate needs 29:42 of the people - and then He would tell them "Follow Me. " 29:45 So I said: "Somehow we have to get the health message 29:47 into this as well. " So we came up with 29:50 Thrive Magazine. Actually Pat Humphrey is the editor 29:53 of this health magazine. 29:55 Dr. Neal Nedley; Dr. Daniel Binus; & then Pr. Mark Finley: 30:00 they have done a wonderful, wonderful job 30:03 of putting this together. 30:04 And so this comes as well. So when the book comes 30:09 in a little bag, on the rear side is the health magazine - 30:14 here Thrive Magazine - and on the other side 30:18 is the book. So that's how it's presented: 30:20 in a little bag like that. 30:22 And you can put the local church information on a little card 30:27 or whatever goes in there. 30:28 Also, we suggest to every church to put GLOW tracts 30:32 in there as well because if somebody's not attracted by 30:34 a big book like that they might be attracted by 30:36 something small like that that will spark the interest. 30:39 So this health magazine has a QR code as well 30:43 inside where people can scan and it leads them to extra 30:47 information. And I think we have a video. 30:49 OK... we'll show that. Very short video. 30:52 So the health magazine is on mental health 30:56 and the subtitle is Coping in the midst of crisis. 31:00 And it shows how in the midst of pandemic 31:03 how people's mental health was affected. 31:06 So when you scan the QR code it just leads you to 31:08 tons of health information. 31:11 How to cook healthy. Eight natural laws. 31:14 Blue zones and all of that. Different videos that 31:17 people can get so that they can get more resources 31:20 for their immediate benefit. 31:22 Oh amen and amen! And that is something 31:25 that people will pick up and read that right away 31:28 because that's something that's attracting everyone. 31:30 There's so many people who have suffered 31:34 from depression, anxiety throughout the whole COVID 31:38 pandemic. Well right now we have a special guest 31:43 who's "waiting in the wings" so to say. 31:45 It is Pastor Dan Serns, and he is the president 31:51 of the Central California Conference 31:55 of SDA churches. It's a big, beautiful conference. 32:01 So Pastor Dan, are you with us? 32:04 Yes! I'm happy to join you today. 32:07 Oh, we're so glad that you're here. 32:09 You know, Oleg has been telling us about all of the new 32:13 energy and vision that you're bringing to the CCC. 32:19 Tell us a little of your plan, your vision, 32:24 what God is asking you to initiate 32:28 for the churches in central California. 32:32 Well, when I got to Central California about six months ago 32:35 as the conference president I was asking God 32:37 "What do You want us to do? " Amen. We have 32:40 10 million people in our territory 32:43 that need to know that Jesus loves them, 32:46 He's coming again soon, 32:48 He has a good plan for their life, 32:50 and now's the time to take Him seriously. 32:52 And so we just started brainstorming and looking for 32:55 ways to do that. And of course, I'm meeting the staff 32:59 at the same time and I bumped into Oleg. 33:01 And you've already seen the fire God's put in Oleg's heart 33:05 so we started feeding off of each other. 33:07 And he says: "Yes, we want to get a Great Controversy 33:10 and a health magazine and GLOW tracts 33:12 to every home in the world. " 33:15 And I said: "This is my kind of guy! " 33:17 We've got 10 million people, but we know 33:20 that you'll never have... you can never raise enough money 33:24 to hire enough pastors and teachers and Bible workers 33:27 and literature evangelists to take the Adventist message 33:30 to everybody. You'll never have enough money to hire people. 33:33 God has called every converted man, woman, and child 33:37 to be involved in this work 33:39 in their circles of influence and however, they can. 33:42 To make that the top priority in their life. 33:44 So in brainstorming with our team 33:48 and we did some restructuring so that we could bring people 33:51 who had a passion on board 33:53 we came up with this slogan right out of the book of Acts: 33:57 "Arise and Go. " 33:59 You find it lots of times in the book of Acts. 34:02 And we said: "That's our theme for the next 3 years: 34:04 to Arise and Go and let your light shine. " 34:07 Wherever you are, whatever you're doing. 34:10 And we believe in prayer, but sometimes people pray 34:14 and they keep putting off arising and going. 34:17 We said: "Pray... and then get up and go and share! " 34:22 And so the way that this dovetails with Pastor Oleg 34:26 is, I said: "You know, our 10 million people in our territory: 34:30 half of them live in our two biggest mission fields: 34:34 San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. " 34:37 We all know San Francisco. 34:39 We all know about the Silicon Valley. 34:41 In our territory we need to reach the CEO's 34:45 of Google and Facebook and Instagram and Twitter 34:49 and the tens of thousands of people that work for them. 34:51 And we need to reach all the people of San Francisco. 34:54 But only about 1/4 of our members live there 34:58 so we need to do some special things. 35:00 And as Pastor Oleg and I were talking 35:03 I said: "What if we picked a time every year 35:07 where you can mobilize hundreds of people like you do 35:10 into one of those areas 35:13 and we will pass out The Great Controversy 35:17 and the health magazine and the GLOW tract package 35:19 with a smile, with a prayer, looking for Bible studies. 35:24 We'll send in Bible workers afterwards to follow up. 35:28 And let's mobilize our members that live there. 35:30 Let's also mobilize everybody from across our conference 35:35 and beyond that wants to come help us. 35:37 So the next three years on Labor Day weekend 35:41 for Wednesday to Sunday 35:44 we are inviting people to come together to help us 35:48 pass things... these things out. And I have to say that 35:52 this can be done by any church anywhere. 35:55 Everybody can do this. 35:56 They can help their own churches do it in their community. 35:59 But if you want to go on a mission trip and you're not sure 36:02 about going overseas or you want to help us 36:04 with a mission trip to San Francisco and Silicon Valley 36:07 then this is a way to do it 36:09 because we're serious about the mission. 36:13 I have to make a personal confession: 36:15 earlier in my ministry I took kind of the approach 36:19 that you know: Why start with The Great Controversy? 36:22 Why not start with Steps to Christ or Desire of Ages? 36:25 And all of those are wonderful books... 36:28 but when I read what God told Ellen White 36:31 that she should see this book - The Great Controversy - 36:35 brought to the forefront and given to everybody 36:38 at the time we're at I said: "We're going to go after this. " 36:42 This is inspired counsel and we're going to act on it. 36:44 So that just gives a little bit of the picture of what we're 36:47 trying to do. We have other initiatives 36:50 to multiply groups and church plants. 36:53 To tell the stories more effectively of mobilizing 36:58 lay preachers... all of those things. 37:00 But this is a key part of what we're doing: 37:03 to Arise and Go and get a Great Controversy 37:07 and one of those packets to every house 37:10 in Silicon Valley and in San Francisco in the next 3 years. 37:13 So Pastor Dan, do I understand then that 37:16 people in the churches... you are training people 37:20 how to do this? 'Cause some people just... 37:22 their knees knock to think about going door-to-door. 37:26 Are you training people how to do this? 'Cause 37:29 really you're just bringing a gift from the Lord: 37:31 a great magazine and a wonderful book. 37:34 How do you do that? 37:36 Yes. One thing we do is we do simple, short training 37:41 and then we go do it. 37:42 I found that sometimes we love more and more and more training 37:46 and we have lots of certificates on the wall. 37:48 We never arose and went. 37:50 That's it! Arise and Go! 37:52 So we just went around the conference. 37:55 This Sabbath we'll complete our eighth training 37:57 in eight of our areas on Sabbath afternoon. 38:01 And it's a short training. 38:02 The first hour and a half is inspirational and motivational 38:07 and the last half hour is to actually go out 38:09 and deliver things. I love it! So... 38:11 we will give training but it's not that long. 38:15 The real training is on-the-job training 38:18 watching the Holy Spirit work. Amen and Amen! 38:21 Thank you so much our dear brother for joining us. 38:25 Thank you for allowing God to use you. 38:29 I know your heart is for evangelism 38:32 and you're allowing God to flow through you to help 38:35 light up Central California Conference. 38:38 Thank you. 38:39 OK... Oleg, I want to come back to one thing 38:43 because somebody is sitting there saying: "OK, 38:46 if our church does this do we have any parameters? " 38:51 "How do we? " And I know... I forgot to mention earlier 38:55 you developed or have had developed 38:59 some apps to help the church members 39:03 in this distribution. Could you tell us about that? 39:06 Yes, that is correct. So in our goal of placing a book 39:09 in every home, how do you know where the book already has been 39:13 placed or not. So what we did: we have... 39:15 we are developing an app that whenever somebody - a church 39:19 member - delivers or goes to a door they just push a button. 39:22 And if we can go to the screen there of the app 39:25 the app automatically locates where you are. 39:30 So it locates the address so you just have to 39:33 click a button there: delivered the book here. 39:36 So you just click that button and it takes you to the next 39:39 screen. And the next screen is they have an option 39:42 of giving a donation because some even kids - 39:48 young kids in our church - they need a donation for something 39:50 they can do that. Deliver the book and people might 39:53 want to donate towards that. 39:54 But the book is absolutely free for people. 39:56 Or you can take a prayer request there in that app. 40:00 That's wonderful! Or you can conduct a survey 40:02 asking people what their interests are 40:04 so that we can... as a church we can supply their needs. 40:07 If people need smoking cessation classes, 40:11 we want to deliver that to people. 40:13 So the survey... everything goes directly to the church 40:16 admin. digitally so that they see 40:19 what addresses have rejected the book, 40:21 what addresses have accepted the book. 40:23 So then you see an icon. On every home that has the book 40:28 you can see an icon. This way it shows you 40:31 the entire amount of houses. How many houses you have 40:33 in your territory. What's the percentage of the advancement. 40:36 And I think that one there 40:42 that slide there it shows actually... tracks your steps. 40:45 How many steps; how many doors you knocked on; 40:48 how many books you have delivered. 40:49 Not only on that day but your history - the entire history - 40:52 so you can see where the books are being delivered around 40:56 the country and who is coming closer to their goal 40:59 of completing their entire... 100% of their territory. 41:02 Hallelujah! Boy, if you want to get your 10,000 steps 41:05 in, this would be the way to do it. Amen! 41:07 To share the love of Christ. 41:09 Something that Pr. Serns said really grabbed my attention. 41:14 It's not just that churches can do this in your local community. 41:19 But maybe you are a mission-minded person 41:24 and right now travel's a little bit... there's some challenges. 41:29 But you can still travel within the United States. 41:33 We're not just going to limit it to the States. 41:35 But you can travel to do a mission and help 41:40 small churches cover their area. 41:42 You've got a great story about Flagstaff. Tell us. 41:46 So last year in August I was traveling through Flagstaff 41:50 with my family. My truck breaks down 41:52 and I'm there for Sabbath. 41:54 So the pastor said: "Since you're here why don't you 41:56 preach? "And I spoke about The Great Controversy topic 41:59 that now is in my heart. 42:01 And the church says: "We love it! 42:03 We want to cover every home in our town with the book. " 42:07 But there are only 15 members in that church. 42:10 They counted. It would take them between 8 42:13 to 9 years to distribute that book home to home. 42:17 So... And they said: "We don't have money. 42:19 We don't have people. What do we do? " 42:21 I said: "By faith move forward. " 42:22 God gave them the finances to buy the books 42:25 and He gave them the team. We put together a mission trip 42:29 to Flagstaff where we brought together 103 volunteers 42:32 for four days. And in 4 days we have covered 42:35 the territory that would have taken them 9 years. 42:37 Was done in four days! We have a video... 42:39 just a summary of what happened in Flagstaff 42:42 we can watch now. Wonderful! Let's see. 43:03 Going through the different packets that are going to 43:06 peoples' houses with a combo of The Great Controversy 43:12 Thrive Magazine and a flyer 43:16 of some meetings that were coming up. 43:18 These are the little ones that they might find interesting 43:22 like What to do when I'm hurting. 43:25 There's some extra material, literature to meet the needs 43:29 of the heart. 44:10 So we're here in Flagstaff, Arizona, 44:12 with the Streams of Light Ministry and we've been going 44:15 door to door to homes. 44:16 It's been a nice, sunny day and there's been 44:19 some really good connections made. 44:21 But specifically this afternoon it was good experience. 44:24 I was able to talk to someone who was just on their porch 44:26 chopping kindling and listening to music. 44:28 And he at first rejected the book but by God's grace 44:31 I was able to ask him a question that got us into conversation 44:34 and finally, he was... he said if it would make me happy 44:36 he'll take the book. And so he has it in his hands 44:38 and I'm just praying that God will continue to bless. 44:41 All right, guys. 44:43 We've got our territory... we're moving fast. 44:47 Dear heavenly Father, we just pray that You will be 44:49 with each member of the team, each member of every team 44:52 with every band. That You will give them courage 44:54 and energy and just the right words to say at each door. 44:58 Touch the people's hearts who are receiving the books, Lord. 45:00 Thank you for this beautiful weather and the sunshine 45:04 and the mountains that we get to look at today. 45:07 In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen. Amen! 45:09 I just... I'm thankful that I came. 45:12 And it's hard, but God has a work for us to do. 45:16 There's a lot of people out there that need some help. 45:20 Amen! 45:24 Hello! So we are here in Flagstaff 45:27 on the streets walking and giving this marvelous book out. 45:30 Thousands and thousands of books have been distributed 45:33 in just three days. By the end of the day 45:37 we should be done with 26,000 books. 45:41 Every home in Flagstaff should be getting this book. 45:44 Some people accept it very gladly 45:46 and some people reject it. 45:47 Others are getting it at the door. 45:49 But the main thing that we are giving the chance 45:52 and opportunity to everyone to know the truth. 45:55 We invite you wherever you are 45:57 in your community, in your neighborhood with your church 46:00 to distribute the three angels' messages 46:02 door to door. Businesses, neighbors, friends: 46:06 to EVERYONE because Jesus is coming soon. 46:15 I love seeing pictures. I love watching the video 46:17 and everything 'cause it brings it all to life. 46:19 You also... what about this St. Louis Mission Project? 46:24 Well, this is another project. We distributed more than 20,000 46:28 books in Flagstaff, but in St. Louis the plan is 46:31 to distribute close to 100,000 books in four days. 46:35 So what we are doing... It's going to be right before 46:38 the General Conference session of the SDA's there in St. Louis. 46:42 So what are the dates? The dates are May 31 46:45 through June 5. May 31 through June 5 46:48 in St. Louis, Missouri. And I think we have a video 46:50 on that as well and I think we have time to show it. 46:52 Surely! 46:56 What if you could get the three angels' messages 46:58 into tens of thousands of homes in just five days? 47:02 According to recent statistics 47:03 more than 1/3 of the 308,000 people 47:07 who live in St. Louis, MO, have no religious affiliation. 47:10 That's a high percentage of people that need to hear 47:13 the gospel. But you can help change those statistics. 47:16 How? From May 31 to June 5, 2022, 47:20 over 100 missionaries will be in St. Louis, Missouri, 47:23 hand-delivering Great Controversies to thousands 47:26 of families and you can be one of them. 47:28 The current world crisis has caused many people 47:31 to be in a desperate situation. 47:32 They need the hope that we have to offer them. 47:35 The people are more open now than they've ever been. 47:38 And to be honest, we have an opportunity 47:41 to spread the truth while the doors are still open now 47:43 that we might never have again. 47:45 With God's blessing and your efforts 47:47 we will bring light to every person in St. Louis. 47:51 And it's not just about passing out books 47:53 and literature. It's about bringing people out of darkness 47:56 into God's truth. 47:57 So if you want to experience personal revival in your life 48:00 and be on the front lines, 48:01 visit streamsoflight.net/mission trips 48:04 to find more information and to register. 48:16 If you did not get that down, we're going to put their 48:20 address up, their web address, in just a second. 48:23 But one thing I wanted to say: 48:25 Streams of Light International is a 501c3. 48:29 That means it's a non-profit organization. 48:32 And you work... You've got an international mission 48:35 but you're working so closely with the Central Calif. Conf. 48:41 You're actually officed there. Your board of directors 48:44 many of you will know: Luis Torres and of course 48:49 Pat Humphries. But tell me what your needs are 48:53 because how do people just give away books? 48:58 Yes. Well, what we're trying to do: 49:00 we're trying to buy paper to print 1 million books 49:05 'cause now paper is very difficult to get. 49:07 We have to wait for like 8, 9 months. 49:10 And we've got a window of opportunity to buy 750,000 lbs. 49:15 of paper. That's enough to print a million books. 49:17 And we want to go ahead and do that. 49:19 We stepped out by faith and we are raising money 49:23 to buy that. Where are we going to get it? 49:25 The Lord knows. We are moving forward. 49:27 He has provided in the past; He will provide now as well. 49:30 We are fundraising for the St. Louis mission trip as well. 49:33 For the San Jose mission trip and other trips that happen 49:36 all over the place which will show videos later. 49:39 But now the concentration is basically, we are trying to get 49:43 volunteers for the St. Louis mission trip. 49:45 We are trying to get 300 people... volunteers. 49:49 Funds for the St. Louis mission trip and funds to buy paper. 49:53 So if a church is watching and they want to get these 49:57 books does the church buy the books from you? 50:00 Is that how that works is they raise the funds - yes - 50:02 to buy the books and then they give them away? 50:04 That is correct. The church buys. 50:06 They can go onto our website and they can order them there 50:09 and then they give them away to the people. Great quantity 50:12 discounts. This is such an exciting project 50:16 and I believe that many of you who are sitting at home 50:19 are saying: "You know, our church needs to do something 50:22 like this. We need this kind of blessing. 50:26 We need this kind of contact with the community. " 50:30 Or maybe you're one of those who's saying: 50:33 "Sign me up for a mission trip! " 50:35 Or you may be one who is saying: 50:38 "I can't go on a mission trip. 50:40 I'm unable to go door to door 50:42 but I can certainly help buy the paper. " 50:46 It's very expensive nowadays to do that. 50:48 But what we want to do right now 50:51 is we have an address roll? We'll let you know how 50:56 to contact Oleg at Streams of Light International. |
Revised 2022-09-01