Participants:
Series Code: TDYL
Program Code: TDYL250012B
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00:09 Hello and welcome back to 3ABN Today Live.
00:13 The great testimonies we've been hearing. 00:15 It's got us all touchy feely. 00:18 We're all old people here enjoying all this. 00:22 Before I go, you said you wanted to put your arm around 00:24 it. 00:24 That's okay now. 00:25 You're married. 00:26 You can do that. 00:28 We've been having a great time here with Coming Together 00:30 Ministries. 00:32 And I was just saying before the break what an incredible 00:35 ministry this is. 00:37 And I didn't say, but what a shame. 00:39 So much of the rejection because so many of our 00:42 universities, our things that we should, would think would 00:46 endorse and support is basically a lot of people are 00:51 saying, hey don't come to, we don't want you on campus. 00:54 We don't want you telling this story, this LGBTQ. 00:58 And you have, all of you in the ministry, you represent victory 01:03 over sin through Christ Jesus. 01:05 And so in a topic that most people don't want to talk 01:09 about. 01:10 We don't want to talk about that. 01:11 We don't want to talk about adultery. 01:13 We don't want to talk about hidden sins. 01:15 We don't want to talk about anything that has to do with 01:18 us, right? 01:19 But this is something that needs to be dealt with. 01:21 We're seeing a change in the people in our church. 01:24 And so I look back and I say, Pastor Ronnie, if I look back 01:29 say 40 years, you're having a church for 140 years or 01:33 whatever, no one, no pastors, nobody would ever got up and 01:37 spoke and said, you know, I think LGBTQ, we can affirm it 01:41 in the church, baptize people, baptize pastors. 01:44 And 30 years ago, wouldn't have, maybe even 20. 01:49 So what's changed? 01:50 Did we find new light in the Bible that says, oh, this is 01:53 all okay, that we can, you know, everything's okay? 01:55 Or have we changed? 01:57 Have we allowed politics and culture to change us? 02:01 And that's really what is happening within the church. 02:05 So we're glad now we left with a thought and you have a 02:08 thought when we come back, you wanted to start us. 02:10 Thank you, Danny. 02:14 is the fulfillment of the law. 02:16 And so anyone that's just provides the love part, but 02:19 doesn't provide the law and the fulfillment of that or 02:22 following that law, you know what, you're not loving an 02:24 individual to just affirm them in the church and say, oh, 02:26 you're okay, God loves you as you are because that love is 02:30 the fulfillment of the law. 02:31 Therefore you might be loving them, but they're still lost. 02:34 And so love and law, love and the fulfillment of that is to 02:39 follow the Bible and what the Bible says about sexuality. 02:42 Pastor, don't you think it's interesting though we as 02:44 Seventh -day Adventists, we have no problem telling people, 02:49 remember the Sabbath day to keep it, the commandment says 02:51 remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 02:54 And we almost pride ourselves in loving people enough that we 02:58 got to tell them the truth. 02:59 Well, you're going to church the wrong day and we're almost 03:03 aggressive sometimes too much so that we're not ashamed of 03:07 that. 03:11 But when it comes to something like this, well, you know, we 03:15 can't say anything. 03:16 We have to be careful what we say. 03:18 We don't want to offend somebody. 03:19 Well, I do think that error is very fragile and it can hardly 03:24 stand to be in the room with the truth. 03:26 But I think about God's list of abominations and it is 03:32 interesting in Proverbs there where it says there's six 03:34 things God hates. 03:36 One of them is hands that shed innocent blood. 03:40 And you know, when we think about the sexual sins that 03:43 define our age and then the corollary and the connected 03:49 ones that follow it, including abortion, we find ourselves 03:52 reluctant to speak up for the innocent. 03:55 And of course, if we could get a loving approach to people 04:00 that was wise without being condemning even though light 04:06 does condemn darkness, but we can have an approach that 04:09 actually gives hope at the same time that it raises the bar on 04:14 health and life and healing. 04:16 And so we as a Church should be at the forefront of all moral 04:21 issues for the sake of those that are confused or blind or 04:25 don't know how to find their way or need a handout. 04:29 You know, we actually for the first time started talking 04:32 about the issue of abortion and we have had two testimonies 04:37 within the two years of our continuing conference where a 04:40 young woman talked about how even as an Adventist girl she 04:43 was basically date-rate at 16, had an abortion and didn't even 04:48 realize necessarily what happened before it was done. 04:50 But as she was going into Christian education, found out 04:55 that she was pregnant again and then had the second abortion 04:57 because after she'd had the first one, it made it much 05:01 easier to have the second one, even realizing years later that 05:04 she had made this huge mistake. 05:06 And I think that a lot of women, young women that have to 05:09 make a very difficult decision like that, you never really 05:12 know what's on the other side until you've made that 05:14 decision. 05:16 And Patty actually talked about how the guilt and the 05:18 condemnation of what she experienced after the second 05:21 abortion, even though she raised three beautiful 05:23 children, the thought in her mind of what she had done to 05:26 those two babies was really powerful. 05:28 And then last year we had Rebecca come and Rebecca talked 05:32 about how, found out she was pregnant at 13, had been 05:36 sexually abused by, you know, kids in the neighborhood and 05:38 things and wound up pregnant at 13, mother drops her off at the 05:42 abortion clinic, she comes out and mother says, we're never to 05:46 talk about this again, so here's a 13-year-old girl that, 05:49 you know, is just a child herself and not having any way 05:52 to process what had happened to that young girl, wound up 05:55 pregnant at 18, and this is where, to me, she went from the 05:59 victim to the hero because she made a determination that she 06:02 was not going to have another abortion, and she fought even 06:05 against, you know, the doctors and even, you know, family 06:08 members that were telling her, you need to have an abortion 06:10 and have this over with, she fought because she had to move 06:13 out of her home, Find another home for an un-wenn pregnant 06:16 girl to live in. 06:18 And then she handpicked the parents that were going to 06:21 adopt her child. 06:22 And three days after she gave birth to this child, hands that 06:25 baby over to parents with a note, please give this to him 06:28 when he's 18. 06:29 And that to me is like, wow! 06:32 Even against the culture and even against, you know, all of 06:35 these things that were pressuring this young girl, she 06:37 chose to save the life of that baby. 06:40 And that to me, those stories are just so incredible. 06:43 That's a hero. 06:44 That's a heroine. 06:45 You know, they're willing to suffer, which is what it takes 06:49 to become a hero or a heroine. 06:51 You have to suffer. 06:53 Before you're celebrated, you're scorned, you're mocked, 06:55 you're set aside. 06:58 And these, which we'll get to, but these Coming Together Live 07:02 events that we're doing are giving lots of people the 07:06 freedom to process, to grow, to heal, to change, to find hope. 07:12 You know, in the area of one of our largest Adventist 07:16 universities, a woman came up to me and she said she's a 07:19 nurse that works in women's health. 07:21 And she told me privately, she said, Mike, the largest users 07:24 of the abortion clinic is the Adventist university and the 07:28 academy that was in our area. 07:30 And this was six, seven years ago. 07:33 So we have this issue that we're not addressing. 07:35 And again, Pastor Ron, you're the only one that is willing to 07:39 give us, you know, that platform. 07:41 Actually, the first time that Patti gave her testimony was 07:44 when I met you, Hector, yeah, in Pasadena. 07:47 But these are very rare opportunities to share. 07:50 But they're gonna grow. 07:51 And you know, one of the things that's important about this 07:54 ministry that I think comes out of these events where people 07:57 are telling their story, sometimes in the now, sometimes 08:00 decades later, is that people change. 08:03 And how you feel when you're 20 about your human sexuality and 08:07 the results of that and potentially abortion, et 08:11 cetera, it all changes. 08:13 And it's good for age -appropriate audiences, 08:17 including age-appropriate young people, to hear these people 08:21 processing their grief, even decades afterwards, because we 08:26 change. 08:30 lot of that blame when you say the university is in church? 08:33 Why are so many going? 08:35 Because it's such a shame we condemn people that way a young 08:39 person or somebody that's not wed, they're pregnant, you 08:42 know, they say, oh, the condemnation I'm gonna get. 08:46 So that pushes them away rather than to love them. 08:49 So we're to love these people. 08:51 We're to love them through this process rather than to 08:56 criticize or rather than to ostracize. 08:59 And we don't do that. 09:00 So there's that imbalance once again. 09:02 And then we have to change the narrative that young women hear 09:06 about abortion. 09:08 Oh, it's just a gentle procedure. 09:11 Oh, it's pregnancy tissue. 09:14 They never referred to as a baby, always a fetus or some 09:18 other term for it. 09:21 And not understanding the procedure itself, which is 09:25 really barbaric. 09:28 And it's like because the narrative has been basically co 09:34 -opted by the culture, it's... people don't know, they don't 09:39 understand women. 09:40 Young women don't know what they're actually doing to that 09:44 little life inside. 09:45 I think if they knew more, which is why we wrote the 09:49 booklet on the truth about abortion. 09:51 We have two books, actually, if you want them, they're free. 09:54 There it is on the screen, the truth about abortion. 09:56 And then also the truth about this LGBTQ or can the Christian 10:02 church affirm LGBTQ. 10:04 So if you want those, you can just call and maybe they can 10:07 put an address up or put our email, whatever. 10:10 And so we'll be able to send those to you free of charge. 10:14 We're thankful for people who have sponsored those and made 10:18 them. 10:22 this, maybe a cliche, but it goes back to Corinthians 13. 10:26 If we don't have love, we can have all these things. 10:29 There's prophecies, but where there's prophecies, they'll 10:32 fail. 10:33 Well, we don't like think about that. 10:34 And you go through all of these things that you can have, but 10:39 if you don't have love, then none of this means anything. 10:42 And so I think what we're missing in the church today, as 10:47 she and I have been talking about it and we're preparing 10:51 some stuff on it is the everlasting gospel that 10:54 sometimes we're so focused on the national Sunday law that 10:57 some of these preachers, all they do and talk about it on 11:01 the television or on the Facebooks and all of that, 11:04 Sunday law, Sunday law, all the while, all of this other, the 11:08 devil's bringing all this stuff in the church and they don't 11:11 even know it because we're worried about what's going to 11:13 happen in the future rather than what's happening to our 11:16 young people and to our churches today. 11:19 Go ahead and we want to talk to Hector. 11:22 That's right. 11:25 example of how the church is somewhat opening up to this 11:29 idea. 11:33 little bit more about that, but there's a woman there named 11:35 Rosalie and she's a very humble woman. 11:38 She raised her son in the church and all of a sudden her 11:41 son announces to her that he's transgender and she doesn't 11:44 know how to really respond to that, but she's praying, she's 11:47 joined our prayer line and then her son showed up at her door, 11:51 you know, fully transitioned to appear as a woman and she was 11:55 just really kind of shocked by that and he had come for a 11:58 visit and then he made the announcement, he goes, I want 12:00 to go to church tomorrow and then the thought was like, oh 12:03 no, how's that church going to receive you that saw you as 12:06 this little boy that was growing up or whatever? 12:08 And as she prayed, the Lord just really convicted her and 12:11 he says, but he wants to go to church and she was like, you 12:13 know what? 12:17 said, I don't care what he looks like, my son wants to go 12:19 to church and she walked into that church, you know, proud of 12:23 her son, the fact that he desired to be in church and she 12:25 sat next to her son in the wig, you know, in the dress or 12:28 whatever, painted nails and in her mind she said, Lord, I 12:31 don't care what anybody thinks, I'm just glad that my son is in 12:35 church. 12:38 shared, you know, in our community to let people know 12:41 that, you know what, that is, I think, the combination of 12:44 loving individuals and also upholding the truth of God. 12:48 Yeah, if we'll make room for God to work, if we can be 12:51 patient, if we can realize that wanting to go to church is 12:55 moving towards the cross, it may seem like he's a long ways 12:59 away, but if we can be patient and not try to redefine what 13:04 love is by changing the law of God, if we can just be patient 13:10 and be prayerful, give God room to work, things can happen. 13:15 Amen, and loving on people and discipling them, you know, it 13:17 doesn't have to be complicated. 13:19 For me, it was simply reading the Bible and praying while I 13:22 was in sin. 13:27 university with my then boyfriend and God met me where 13:31 I was. 13:32 And I did feel lonely. 13:33 I needed to have that wilderness experience, but 13:36 further along in my restoration, having a group of 13:38 men that were not disgusted by me and didn't reject me, but 13:42 were accepting of me where I was. 13:45 And yet, we're also experiencing their own 13:48 difficulties seeking God for themselves, too. 13:50 We were creating a bond in a spiritual community that was 13:53 truly centered around Christ Jesus. 13:56 And I think a lot of our churches, like, that's what we 13:58 need. 14:00 That's such a good point. 14:01 That's such a good person. 14:02 Yes, and then I would want to add to that, too, because 14:05 whether it's pornography, adultery, pre-murder, or sex, I 14:11 think it's also when you have that mindset of humility and 14:15 knowing, like, if we have our past, someone else might have a 14:20 past, too. 14:24 Like, he had a past of homosexuality, but I had a past 14:28 of premarital sex. 14:29 And I didn't think mine was better or his was a greater sin 14:34 than mine. 14:39 that, like, we're all sinful, but the Lord is the one that 14:45 cleanses us, His righteousness that covers us. 14:48 That's right. 14:50 So anything that you were BC, that's the old you. 14:55 That's right. 14:56 That's the old you. 14:57 This is the new you. 14:58 And what a gift. 15:00 Your living testimony of what the Lord can do in your lives. 15:06 And it starts to small because for me, God didn't start with 15:10 homosexuality sin. 15:12 He actually started for me, like, I was really bitter. 15:14 You know, I was very unforgiving. 15:16 So that's just as much as a sin as, you know, watching porn or 15:20 doing other things, you know, cheating, stealing, what have 15:23 you. 15:27 that community really is what, if it's centered around Christ, 15:31 in His Word, in prayer, yes, have patience and just to trust 15:33 God that He can clean me up, He can clean anybody else too. 15:38 Yes. 15:41 If I can kind of bring you into the conversation as well. 15:45 So can you share with us a little bit more about how God 15:47 met you, where you were and the struggles that you were facing? 15:50 Yes. 15:54 I was very young. 15:55 Also, I grew up in the church, you know, went to kinder, 16:00 primary, junior, all those classes. 16:03 But I remember when we had just moved homes, they had told us 16:09 there was, you know, a family member, there was a duplex, you 16:12 know, there was a property on the top, property on the 16:14 bottom. 16:15 I was very young, I was about five years old. 16:18 We would always, you know, every time there was a 16:21 gathering, we were always together, family was always 16:23 around. 16:24 I grew in a family where alcohol was always in the mix. 16:29 But it was always with family. 16:31 It was always, you know, our uncles, our cousins, you know, 16:34 everybody gathering together. 16:38 It came time, I was about eight years old. 16:41 I would go up, you know, to the top house where, you know, what 16:44 I thought was my uncle and my cousin, after they had video 16:46 games, computers. 16:48 So, you know, I would come home from school or in the summer I 16:50 would go up and play video games with my cousin. 16:52 He was much older than me, but he had a computer and he would 16:56 allow me to play. 16:57 Initially, he would just allow me to play and then eventually, 17:01 little by little, he started showing me pornography. 17:06 Nothing just, nothing happened. 17:08 He would just show it and then he would tell me, okay, it's 17:09 time for you to go home. 17:10 And how old were you? 17:11 I was about eight years old. 17:12 About eight. 17:13 So, and that was kind of the norm. 17:15 I would just go up there to go play video games, but he would 17:18 just show me pornography and eventually send me home. 17:21 There was one time, I remember the first time, I went up and 17:25 it was only his dad, which at that time I thought it was my 17:30 uncle. 17:33 you know, with the computer. 17:34 She was like, oh, well, he's not here. 17:36 She was, but why don't you just go ahead and sit down and watch 17:38 a movie. 17:39 And he, and then he started showing me pornography. 17:43 And I was like, wow. 17:45 By that time, I was already kind of getting used to 17:48 watching pornography because my cousin would show it to me and 17:51 I was like, I was kind of more, a little bit more interested in 17:55 just watching it because it was very interesting to me. 17:57 I had never seen it. 17:58 So, I would start going, I would see my uncle, you know, 18:02 come back from work and I would go up and I would say, oh, can 18:06 we watch some movies? 18:07 And he would say, okay, let's watch some pornography. 18:10 I don't know if he knew what was going on of what his son 18:14 has shown me, but I remember he told me, she was like, where 18:17 does my son keep his pornography? 18:19 Why don't you bring one of those movies? 18:21 So, I remember, it's like, why not where he kept them? 18:23 So, I went and I got one of those videos and he put it on. 18:26 And little by little, it started touching me and just 18:31 started following me. 18:32 He wasn't aggressive, but he did started touching me. 18:37 And I would just go up. 18:39 I didn't feel comfortable when he started touching me and just 18:43 doing things, but I was just gotten so addicted to watching 18:46 pornography that that was the only way for me to watch it 18:49 because at my home, we didn't have it. 18:51 And I was so young, I didn't know where else I could watch 18:53 it. 18:57 could say, get my fix. 18:59 But I knew that it came at a price. 19:03 Even though I didn't like him touching me, I would just go up 19:05 and watch pornography. 19:06 But Hector, you know, for anybody else that is in the 19:09 same situation that you've come from, you really are the 19:12 victim, even if you found it interesting. 19:14 And what this man was doing, he was grooming you. 19:17 He was moving you along that path. 19:20 And so, you know, a lot of the victims take responsibility and 19:23 think that it was their fault that they wound up that way. 19:26 But no, you were an eight-year -old child. 19:27 He was an adult. 19:29 You were definitely victimized. 19:30 That's right. 19:32 So, that happened for about four years just continually, 19:35 and he moved on to different things. 19:38 And it just didn't even happen there. 19:39 Sometimes when we would have gatherings at somebody else's 19:42 house, he would find a way to find an isolated spot and he 19:46 would take me and do things. 19:49 So, eventually, that happened. 19:52 We ended up moving once. 19:54 I started getting closer to high school. 19:58 But even through that transition, I became very 20:01 isolated. 20:02 I kind of parted ways from even communicating with some of my 20:05 siblings who were older. 20:06 Did you ever tell your parents? 20:07 I did not. 20:09 So, I was mentioning to Michael, because at church, 20:11 they don't talk about abuse or they don't talk about if 20:15 someone's touching, or they're not supposed to, please let 20:18 your pastor know, let your parents know. 20:20 Like, I've never heard anything like that. 20:22 So, I just kept it to myself. 20:24 And then through that process, even though I was going through 20:27 that pain, I kind of saw a few things that were happening 20:31 between that individual and my mom. 20:34 Like, there was one time that I had opened the room that led to 20:38 the garage, and I had kind of looked, and I thought that they 20:42 had been kissing, and I was confused. 20:44 So, I was very confused in many different areas, because I even 20:47 had seen something happen between them, and I was so 20:50 confused. 20:52 But again, there was one time where I did see them, and I go, 20:56 I'm going to tell my dad. 20:56 I was so upset. 20:58 And then they came, and they told me, no, no, it was just, I 21:00 was on a trip, and I was following them. 21:01 That was the only area that I was able to hold on, which was 21:04 her buttocks. 21:06 And so, they convinced me, and I was like, okay, whatever, but 21:09 I was just so confused with the pornography, with him touching 21:12 me, and all this just kind of bombarding me, and just seeing 21:15 so many things. 21:16 We eventually ended up moving to a different home, and he 21:20 would come around all the time, and I kind of just avoided him. 21:24 I didn't hate him, because I was blaming myself that, well, 21:27 I put myself in that situation. 21:29 I was the one that was going up and wanting to watch this 21:31 movie, so I ended up getting what I got, because I put 21:35 myself in that position. 21:37 So, I never hated him, so even when he would come around, when 21:39 we would move, I would still say hi, and I would talk to 21:42 him, but I became very introverted. 21:46 I ended up going to high school, and so I got together 21:49 with a group of people, some of my brother's friends. 21:53 He was a football player, so he was kind of hanging around with 21:56 other football players and all the popular kids, so I started 22:00 hanging around with them, and they were all about alcohol and 22:03 drugs, so that became my escape, so I just wanted to 22:07 drink, so we started drinking. 22:09 I started doing marijuana, and I did all that through high 22:13 school, and in a sense, I don't want to say that it helped me, 22:16 but it just kind of controlled all the hate that I had within 22:20 me because of what I had gone through. 22:22 Hector, you know, they call that self-medicating. 22:25 You know, if reality is just so difficult to deal with, you 22:28 know, then the pills and the alcohol actually help to 22:31 anesthetize the things that were, you know, just so painful 22:33 that you've been through. 22:35 Yeah, because you had been traumatized and been taken 22:37 advantage of, so it seems like those are deep wounds that you 22:41 still hadn't experienced healing for. 22:43 Right. 22:47 time, it was hurting me more because it came to a time where 22:51 I was so angry at myself, and I started thinking about suicide, 22:55 so there was a couple times, once I graduated and I started 22:58 working, but I was drinking a lot more drugs. 23:01 I was doing cocaine and speed and other drugs. 23:05 There was one time where I did try to slice my veins, and one 23:09 of my brothers came in and was like, what are you doing? 23:11 She was like, that's why, you know, you should be drinking, 23:14 because then you do stuff like that, and so I just cut them. 23:17 I did have some scars. 23:19 I just, you know, just kept drinking. 23:22 Couple years later, I was at the top of the second story in 23:26 the roof, and I was drinking again in a very dark place. 23:29 I was just struggling with myself, just being angry, and I 23:34 said, that's it, like I'm tired. 23:35 I'm just going to jump and get it over with. 23:37 I don't want to deal with this. 23:41 I still hadn't, like during this time, I still had not 23:44 heard of anybody talking about abuse or who I can talk to or 23:48 anybody that I can reach or contact, or my parents saw that 23:52 I was just drinking and doing drugs. 23:54 They were like, why don't you just talk to the pastor and 23:56 tell him, you know, just your alcohol problem and not knowing 24:00 what had happened to me. 24:01 So there was that one time where I was on the roof and I 24:03 said, I'm just going to jump, and right when I was going to 24:05 jump, one of my older brothers, his name's Ernie, he came and 24:09 he was like, what are you doing? 24:10 And he was able to grab me as I was jumping. 24:13 So I'm hanging on the top of that roof and he's holding me 24:17 by his hands. 24:19 And I'm just looking down and I go, just let me go. 24:21 And I go, just let me go. 24:23 And there was some stairs that would go down to the first 24:25 floor. 24:26 He kind of swung me and he tried to throw me to the stairs 24:29 and I didn't reach, but it broke my fall and I ended up 24:33 falling to the garage top and I ended up fracturing my spine. 24:38 The ambulance came, I had drugs on me, I had all this 24:41 paraphernalia and I just gave it all to my brother and I hear 24:44 because the police is going to come. 24:46 So everybody showed up, the police, the ambulance and you 24:48 know, they say what happened, give, you know, the report. 24:52 Ended up being on a body cast for like two months. 24:54 How old were you? 24:55 I was, at that time, I was, I want to say about 19, 19, 20. 25:00 Wow. 25:02 I was still very depressed at the hospital. 25:04 They did send me to the psych unit because I wanted to 25:07 suicide. 25:08 You know, I was there, they took me in in the morning and 25:11 they talked to me and I just said, oh no, it was just an 25:13 episode. 25:16 that I would do again and they just released me. 25:20 But I, again, I went back to the same thing, just drinking 25:24 and doing drugs. 25:26 And eventually pastors would come, they would invite them, 25:30 but it was just to, I had talked to one, but it was just 25:33 more like just leave drugs, come to church. 25:35 I was like, well, what's at church? 25:37 Like there's really nothing at church. 25:38 I'd never had, every time, even though I grew up in the church, 25:41 I never had a relationship with Christ. 25:44 Hector, you know, I wanted to ask you this because it's 25:48 interesting. 25:49 The statistic is very high that boys that have been molested by 25:52 men have a stronger same sex attraction, but that wasn't 25:56 your story. 25:57 And I think it's really important that you're one of 26:00 the bravest people I know right now because, you know, to share 26:04 your story in public, being a Hispanic man, and, you know, 26:07 that these are things that are never talked about in your 26:10 culture. 26:14 And, you know, I just want to let you know that I think that 26:17 it's very, very brave of you to sit there and to tell all these 26:21 details. 26:22 But in that process, you know, these issues didn't just go 26:26 away. 26:27 You ended up getting married, right? 26:28 Yes. 26:29 So eventually I was praying. 26:30 I was like, I just need somebody. 26:32 I want to have a girlfriend. 26:34 I didn't have any girlfriends through high school. 26:37 I was very shy. 26:38 I couldn't talk to anybody. 26:40 I was very introverted. 26:41 My brothers would sometimes make fun of me. 26:43 So how come you don't have a girlfriend? 26:44 You know, you're always by yourself. 26:46 I just couldn't talk. 26:48 So I prayed. 26:49 Eventually there was a youth pastor that started attending 26:52 the church I used to go. 26:53 And I made connections with him. 26:55 He finally, you know, got a hold of me and he befriended 26:58 me. 27:01 just come and try to sermonize me. 27:02 He became my friend. 27:03 He was like, hey, let's go out. 27:05 Let's just like, we don't have to go to church. 27:07 Let's just hang out, talk. 27:08 And so I didn't see him as a pastor. 27:11 I saw him more as a friend. 27:12 So then eventually he was like, oh, well, just look, just come 27:14 to socials. 27:17 basketball, we have volleyball. 27:19 So I started attending the socials. 27:20 I fell in love with the socials. 27:21 And then eventually, little by little, I said, that's it, I'm 27:24 done with the drugs. 27:24 I'm done with the alcohol. 27:26 And so I started leaving the alcohol and I started attending 27:30 church. 27:33 So I was working myself towards that. 27:36 But it was very interesting because as I was going in, I 27:39 reconnected with some of my old friends from childhood who were 27:42 like, oh, well, I'm back at church. 27:44 They were at church, they were happy. 27:46 And as I'm going back and I'm reconnecting with my old 27:48 friends from church, as we became good friends, there was 27:53 a couple months down the road, they were like, oh, well, let's 27:55 go out and hang out and go, oh, sure. 27:57 And I'm telling my parents, hey, I'm going to hang out with 27:59 the young people from church. 28:01 Well, they ended up taking me to the club. 28:03 And then so they started, because they were drinking, 28:05 they were like, what? 28:06 And I go, well, I'm trying to leave that. 28:07 And now I'm going back with people from church. 28:10 So I started drinking again with the youth from church 28:12 because they started taking me out. 28:15 So, Hector, yeah, yeah. 28:17 You know, you could just see the depravity of what sin can 28:19 do. 28:23 And, you know, you were convicted to leave the drugs 28:25 and the alcohol. 28:27 And you met a wonderful woman. 28:29 You know, your wife is just absolutely amazing. 28:31 But the one thing that you brought into your relationship, 28:35 what was that one secret? 28:38 So by the time that I was praying and I said, God, I want 28:41 you to give me a good wife, you know, I want to get married. 28:46 I ended up meeting my wife at church and we started dating. 28:51 And I was her name is Laura. 28:52 That's right. 28:53 And I was very happy. 28:55 She was very beautiful and her family was very wonderful. 29:00 But I was still watching pornography. 29:02 That's one thing that I couldn't let go even through my 29:04 teenage years. 29:06 I was still, now that I was back at church, I was still 29:08 drinking. 29:09 I started drinking again. 29:11 So when we were going out, you know, with our friends and 29:13 stuff like that, and we were at a house, I would hide and 29:16 drink. 29:16 Eventually she caught on. 29:18 She was like, hey, I don't want no one, you know, I don't want 29:21 to be with anybody that's going to be drinking. 29:22 So when I proposed to her, that night before we got married was 29:28 the last day that I drank. 29:29 So we have been married for 22 years. 29:32 I've been 22 years sober. 29:33 Wow, praise the Lord. 29:35 But the one thing that I did bring into our marriage was 29:39 pornography. 29:40 So I was hiding around, still watching pornography. 29:44 What was the effect that that had on your marriage and also 29:47 in your family? 29:48 Well, because I was hiding, I wasn't being honest with my 29:54 wife. 29:55 So there was always a lot of disconnect, you know, a lot of 29:58 hiding, a lot of like, oh, would you go over here? 30:00 And when I was free at home or she was at work, I was, you 30:04 know, watching pornography. 30:05 There was one day when I had came home early from work and I 30:09 was watching pornography. 30:10 She was at work and I go, I have time. 30:13 Well, she wanted to surprise me to go and have lunch and she 30:15 shows up at the house and I'm watching pornography. 30:19 So we started having a lot of issues like, well, what's going 30:21 on? 30:23 And we started having a lot of just marital issues. 30:25 I mean, even to the brink of almost divorce. 30:28 We had my two children already. 30:30 So that was creating a lot of chaos. 30:32 So again, I had never told my story about my abuse to anybody 30:37 up to that point. 30:40 When she discovered what I was doing, I sat down with her and 30:43 I go, okay, I'm gonna tell you how I became addicted to 30:45 pornography. 30:49 happened to me in childhood and this is how I got addicted to 30:52 pornography. 30:53 What was her reaction? 30:55 She was very just, to me, I always say that she's my angel 31:00 because she didn't hate me. 31:02 She was like, why didn't you just tell me a long time ago 31:04 and we could have gone, you know, I could have helped you. 31:07 And she was very comforting. 31:09 She didn't, you know, get mad at me or say, oh, like, I don't 31:11 want to be, no, she was very comforting and very supportive. 31:14 So when I saw that she was being very supportive, I knew 31:17 that I had to put effort to try to leave that. 31:20 So through that whole process, we had left my old church, 31:25 Spanish church, so we ended up going to an American church. 31:28 And we met a group of people, like we said, community. 31:31 You know, we have to find communities that are like 31:33 -minded and have the same goals. 31:36 So I found a ministry called In Times Like These Ministries 31:39 with Pastor Michael Johnson. 31:41 And I started attending him. 31:43 He had a lay evangelist course. 31:45 So I did that and he showed us how to do sermons, Bible 31:48 studies. 31:51 that time in that. 31:53 And I started doing a lot of the lay evangelist courses with 31:57 that ministry. 31:58 And he taught us, he kept me busy. 32:00 So my thing was like, I had to replace pornography with 32:03 something else. 32:04 And I praise God that he put that ministry in our path that 32:08 helped me to be more involved in the things of Christ and 32:12 showing me how to give sermons and Bible studies. 32:17 And through that, it was 2020 when our ministry was having a 32:22 mini camp or a camp meeting at Pasadena. 32:25 And Michael was one of the speakers. 32:27 And when I heard his testimony and Patty's testimony, I was 32:30 just blown away. 32:31 I was like, what, they're actually talking about 32:32 pornography and all this. 32:33 And on a break, I remember going to Michael and I go, 32:37 Michael, can I talk to you? 32:38 And he says, sure. 32:39 So we go to a back room and we talk. 32:41 We had good conversation. 32:42 We had a wonderful prayer. 32:44 And after that, that was pretty much it. 32:47 We didn't talk anymore until 2022. 32:50 Wait, how funny? 32:54 time and then nothing for a couple of years. 32:56 And then we got connected again. 32:58 I just want to jump in and say, one of the things that I think 33:01 is really profound and I'm just kind of putting this together 33:04 is that when you got busy in church and that's when you 33:08 really got tight with your family because you don't do 33:10 anything without them. 33:11 I mean, if he has something, they all go. 33:14 If the son has something, they all go. 33:15 If the wife has something, they all go. 33:17 And that's really a very powerful thing. 33:20 And does that help you in your own victory that you walk in? 33:23 It does. 33:25 Because even when we're doing ministry, yeah, it's always a 33:28 group. 33:28 It was always my whole, always. 33:30 I mean, wherever they asked me to go preach, my whole family 33:34 was there. 33:37 in the back of a van with 10 people and she's doing 33:39 homeschool while we're bouncing down the road in a church van 33:42 to get here. 33:44 So, yeah, yeah. 33:45 What I love about Hector's story that I think is really 33:47 interesting is the minute you decided to follow the 33:51 interventions that got put in your path, which was to serve 33:53 him and to live in purpose, you started to experience victory. 33:57 And I think that's really powerful because even whenever 34:00 you're reviewing your testimony with me, I was dumbfounded. 34:03 I'm like, so he didn't tell you to go to a group. 34:05 He didn't have you go to a therapy. 34:07 He didn't have you do this or that. 34:08 And your answer was no. 34:11 Like this is the thing that worked for you. 34:13 And I think that's beautiful because everyone's testimony is 34:16 going to be different. 34:17 God, He knows what we need. 34:19 He knows how to intervene. 34:20 And I think that's powerful. 34:21 How important was prayer? 34:23 And what I'm looking for, there are people watching and they're 34:26 struggling with all of that. 34:27 I've heard you say you made up your mind not to do it anymore. 34:30 You didn't since the night. 34:32 But tell me about prayer and communion with God, what an 34:39 impact that's had on you for all these years. 34:42 Yeah, well, prayer became very essential and even opening our 34:45 Bible. 34:49 And the way I grew up going to church is we just go to church 34:51 on Saturday. 34:52 You go to class, you worship on Sabbath. 34:54 And then that's pretty much it. 34:55 There was nothing throughout the week that we didn't have 34:58 family worship. 35:00 It was just Saturday. 35:01 So it was just Sabbath keeping. 35:02 So when I started changing with the community, with the 35:06 ministry, I mean we were studying throughout the week. 35:10 We were having our family worships. 35:12 We were having prayer. 35:13 We were preparing, you know, we and my wife were preparing 35:17 sermons and I was asking her, Oh, help me out. 35:19 So we were more engaged in the study or the Word of God. 35:23 So that became very essential. 35:25 So my spiritual life didn't just become on Saturdays. 35:28 It was just throughout the week. 35:30 And that is what changed. 35:31 And that changed your lifestyle. 35:34 That's the thing that changed what you did every day, what 35:37 you have started to value. 35:39 And there really is power in the Word of God. 35:41 I think a lot of people miss that. 35:44 You know, they might hear that testimony and think, well, 35:46 that's just the Word of God. 35:47 Well, you have to taste and see that the Lord is good. 35:49 You know, it sounds so simple, but that's exactly what God 35:52 used to start the journey for me. 35:54 So I thank you for sharing and being vulnerable. 35:57 But Daniel, it is simple. 35:59 You know, isn't that the beauty of the gospel? 36:00 It is simple. 36:02 And you know, Jesus talks about it. 36:06 Ellen White talks about it. 36:07 Jesus says you can clean the house out, but if you leave it 36:09 empty, the old demons come around looking for an 36:12 opportunity to come in and they know where the key is. 36:14 It's hidden in the back, under the mat. 36:16 And if it's pornography, whatever it is. 36:19 Then the book, Education, Ellen White says that as a safeguard 36:24 against evil, the preoccupation of the mind with good is worth 36:27 unnumbered barriers of law and discipline. 36:30 So if you fill that life up with something, especially 36:33 because when you're serving Christ, your connection is 36:37 deepening with Christ. 36:38 And then you're also in communion with these other 36:41 people. 36:44 And so there is a cooperation with God that really kind of 36:49 allows him to work and works with him. 36:53 And it squeezes, you know, it puts the squeeze on the old 36:57 life and actually brings life in a way that you haven't had 37:01 before. 37:01 And, you know, it's beautiful. 37:04 And just being around you for even really just today, it's 37:09 very evident that the love of God is active in your heart, 37:12 transforming you. 37:13 It's beautiful. 37:14 And I just want to praise his name for your testimony and 37:17 your journey. 37:21 was always interfering with connecting with Christ was the 37:24 excuses. 37:30 And as soon as I let go, I was like, no, I got to avoid the 37:33 excuse. 37:36 to go to trials and tribulations and arguments with 37:40 my wife, but I got to remember who is at playing. 37:44 And I think getting away from, I'm excusing my sin, I think 37:48 that was a big part of it. 37:49 It's so important to spend time with the Lord. 37:56 That's how, that's really how we're changed. 38:00 By beholding, we become changed. 38:02 So we connect with him and by doing that, he changes us. 38:06 There's nothing we can do to change ourselves. 38:09 And I think it's really important to know like it is 38:12 not your work, it is your decision to give your heart to 38:19 Christ. 38:19 That's all you can do. 38:21 And in doing that and giving him time, giving the Holy 38:24 Spirit time, he works on us. 38:27 He's the author and finisher of our faith. 38:30 We can't do it ourselves. 38:31 So you were giving the Lord his time and he has changed you. 38:37 You know, there's so many children that are, and adults 38:41 and pastors too, who are addicted to pornography and 38:47 don't know... 38:50 Whoa! 38:51 Because it's secret, because it's something you do privately 38:57 and it's taking over and you can't tell anyone. 39:00 It's a very personal shame producing... 39:04 Yeah, that's a lie that you can't tell anyone because there 39:07 is help. 39:11 there as well, if people want to use them. 39:14 So that's also another liar. 39:16 I hate to say the word excuse because the shame is real. 39:19 It's hard and you feel guilty, especially as a pastor. 39:24 But Daniel, you bring up a really good point because I 39:26 think even if there are places that you can go, I think that 39:31 first and foremost on everybody's mind is, if I tell 39:34 somebody, will I be exposed? 39:36 Will I lose my career? 39:38 Will I lose my family? 39:39 And so those real fears I think do keep us even from the 39:42 options that are out there. 39:43 And I think that that's why these discussions are so 39:46 healthy. 39:49 that allowed you to tell your story to someone, then imagine 39:52 the power when, what is it, by the testimony of two or three, 39:56 shall that thing be established. 39:58 So the more stories that we have like this, I think it 40:00 really helps individuals that are watching to say, hey, if 40:03 God can do that for them, you know, God can do that for me. 40:06 That's right. 40:07 Faith comes by hearing. 40:09 It's like the seed sows like, this could be my story too. 40:13 And I think by talking about it, I think it helps. 40:16 Like I said, the only person that I had discussed this with 40:19 was my wife. 40:20 And then I had shared it a little bit with Michael. 40:22 Yeah, but what a beautiful response from your wife. 40:24 Had you not had that? 40:25 I don't think you'd be here either. 40:27 Yes, that's right. 40:28 It was the grace of God through her. 40:29 Right. 40:34 Conference a couple of years ago. 40:36 And he was just searching. 40:38 He wasn't a Christian raised, you know, in another 40:40 denomination. 40:42 But somebody had told him about our conference and he lived in 40:45 Detroit and so he drove a couple of hours to be there. 40:48 His idea was he was going to come for Thursday and leave 40:50 Friday. 40:54 he was going to hear. 40:55 And, you know, we just swooped on him and, you know, we just 40:58 loved on him and, you know, we talked to him and you just had 41:01 conversations. 41:02 And the guy ended up staying until Sunday night. 41:05 And he starts work at 6 a.m. 41:07 so he used to get up at like 3 .30 a.m. 41:09 and he didn't even leave our pizza party until like 7.30 at 41:13 night to drive home to be there. 41:15 The point I want to make is that, you know, he started 41:18 coming to our prayer lines and we have prayer lines for 41:20 individuals that are wanting out of LGBT lives. 41:23 We also have our general prayer lines that are designed for 41:26 anybody that, whether you're a parent or an individual 41:29 struggling with anything else, you know, can come to as well. 41:31 But as he got involved in our ministry, he started making 41:34 connections with some of the people that he saw there that 41:37 he could actually, you know, see with his own eyes. 41:39 And through that process, we had people from Australia and 41:43 New Zealand and, you know, South Africa. 41:46 And yet, he's been involved in our prayer lines and on our 41:48 chat rooms. 41:49 You know, it was so amazing is that he had the bravery to give 41:54 his testimony on the last night of our last conference, which 41:58 was a year later after we met him. 42:00 And the next day on Sunday, he got baptized in Lake Michigan. 42:04 So we do have a picture. 42:05 I don't know if you can... 42:06 But then look at that, look at that! 42:08 Isn't that amazing? 42:10 Well, this is one of the byproducts of these Coming 42:12 Together Live events is the amazing sense of family and 42:16 connection that develops out of it. 42:18 It was a surprise to me. 42:20 But the amount of time that's being spent together, the 42:23 hopeful messaging, the non -condemnation, it's not that 42:28 standards are lowered, it's just that the standard of love 42:31 is raised higher. 42:33 And the connecting time, and pretty soon people feel like I 42:38 could change. 42:39 I do want to belong with a group of people like this and 42:42 God loves me the way he loves them and I'm choosing to go a 42:45 different route. 42:46 And you know, something better is our watchword and what's 42:49 better than being loved and being a loving family. 42:51 And that's what develops around so many of these events. 42:54 And then you have the faith that grows when God's Word is 42:57 shared and the testimonies are given. 42:58 We only have about 14 minutes or so left, but I want you to 43:03 kind of tell us what you're doing, what's new, where you're 43:06 going to be, how that we can get involved. 43:09 And so once again, that you're being here, what I'm seeing is 43:13 that you're letting people know that no matter what the problem 43:17 is in their life, that we can gain victory over. 43:20 And that's what all of our churches, all of our 43:23 universities, all of our health system, everywhere we go, 43:26 people have to understand if we as Christians, it's our 43:30 responsibility to help them understand. 43:33 There's nothing so bad. 43:34 You said it earlier, gossip, whatever else in the church, 43:38 it's just as bad in God's sight when we reject God's love and 43:43 His Ten Commandments and we reject His laws. 43:45 But God can give us victory no matter what it is. 43:49 We'll bring people all the time to say, oh, this guy was in 43:53 prison for 23 years. 43:54 He killed a guy and everybody's willing to forgive him. 43:57 You know, oh, this is great. 43:58 Well, this guy was homosexual. 44:00 He's what, uh-oh, you know, really? 44:02 I mean, you know. 44:03 We're gonna watch him for a couple of years and see how he 44:05 does. 44:06 Really? 44:09 years. 44:14 give you victory over that. 44:15 And so that's what each of your testimonies are showing us. 44:19 And so thank you for that. 44:21 But let us know what some of the things that's happening, 44:23 how can we get involved. 44:24 And we want you to be thinking about, we want to put their 44:27 address up before the program's over because if I could 44:31 encourage you, I want you to pray and ask the Holy Spirit 44:33 what he would have you to do financially. 44:36 They're growing and more people involved. 44:38 The ministry center they have. 44:40 All of this is so important right now for us as Christians 44:44 and Adventists for this church and that we want to say we need 44:49 you, but we do. 44:50 We do. 44:50 We need you all. 44:51 And thank you for what you do. 44:53 And I'd like for our people at home to donate because 44:58 financially a lot of people can't, maybe they can't get 45:02 out, they can't go somewhere, they can't do whatever, but 45:04 they can send $20 or $100 or some people can send $1,000, 45:09 whatever's on their hearts. 45:10 But we have to keep this ministry. 45:13 God's going to do it. 45:14 But it's like the preacher said, once a church they wanted 45:17 to build this big, they were building a big addition to the 45:21 church. 45:22 And he said, "I've got some good news and bad news." 45:24 And said, which you want to hear it? 45:26 You want to hear it? 45:27 And they said, yeah. 45:31 project." 45:32 And everybody clapped and cheered. 45:34 Oh, they were so happy. 45:36 Then he said, "bad news, it's still in your pocket." 45:40 So that we don't want that to be with our viewers. 45:43 We've good news and bad news. 45:44 The money we don't want to still be in your pockets. 45:47 We want you to pray and ask the Lord what he would have you to 45:49 do to support the coming together ministry. 45:52 And we'll put their address up in just a little bit and we'll 45:54 keep it. 45:57 scroll it on the screen, whatever you want to do the 45:59 rest of the program. 46:01 But we hats off to you all, all of you. 46:04 And thank you for what you're doing for the cause of God. 46:07 What a need in this church. 46:09 And when we're seeing the, from what was totally, you know, the 46:15 percentages of young people accepting of these, these, you 46:18 know, LGBTQ and the lifestyle and affirmation. 46:22 We love the people, but we can't affirm, you know, open 46:25 sent. 46:26 But anyway, tell us, catch us up here. 46:28 I put for the radio, for the folks who are just listening, I 46:31 can't see the screen. 46:33 The website is comingtogetherministries.org. 46:36 Oh, thank you. 46:43 .org. 46:44 That way, if you're riding in your car, you can still donate 46:48 because you can get in touch with them through the website. 46:51 See there, that's one of the reasons we need you here 46:53 tonight. 46:54 Oh, thank you. 46:55 We got a phone number. 46:56 We have a phone number as well. 46:59 Errico 269-815-9007. 47:04 You got about 10 minutes. 47:07 So, thank you so much. 47:09 And, you know, now that we have bought a building and we have 47:12 full -time employees, and, you know, we aren't supported by, 47:16 you know, the denomination, but we definitely support it by 47:21 people's generosity and we really do need you to keep the 47:25 doors open. 47:26 But, you know, you use this interesting analogy, Ronnie, 47:29 said, you know, the ministry has been flying. 47:31 You know, we took off the ground, but we've really never 47:33 really elevated and gotten high up in, you know, to really get 47:37 some altitude on us. 47:38 And really, it's starting to build momentum, but we really 47:42 can't do it without, you know, individuals that are believing 47:45 in this ministry and standing behind us. 47:47 We have salaries now, we have lights to keep on and a 47:51 building to maintain. 47:52 And that, to me, is just shocking even to have that 47:54 reality. 47:55 We've been open for a year. 47:56 It's amazing to sit in that beautiful office to see this 47:59 cross -generational ministry. 48:01 And, you know, anybody listening, I think all you have 48:03 to do is think about somebody you know who knows somebody who 48:05 needs to hear that life could be different. 48:07 And sending these beautiful people out to share their 48:10 testimonies, give hope, the prayer lines that go on, the 48:14 variety of connection points there are with this ministry. 48:16 I mean, you can call now, you know, five days a week, you 48:20 know, eight hours a day. 48:21 And, of course, sometimes they call outside of those hours, 48:24 too. 48:26 hope, give you practical help. 48:27 And to have two, you know, master-degree social workers on 48:33 our staff now, too, is amazing, lining that up with all the 48:36 experience we have. 48:36 And an administrator. 48:38 The administrator is now keeping us very focused and 48:41 organized. 48:41 That's right. 48:46 places, delivering a true gospel message of hope. 48:49 Amazing. 48:53 which is our annual conference that we were talking about. 48:55 And this year, we're not just focusing on LGBTQ issues, but 48:59 we're also going to add a couple of different programs. 49:02 One major one, or a few major ones, social media and 49:05 predators. 49:06 At the age of 13, I found myself in that type of 49:09 situation. 49:13 iPhones and a lot of access to young people, as well as 49:17 betrayal trauma. 49:18 There's a lot of spouses, a lot of women that experience 49:21 feeling betrayed after finding out that their husband was 49:25 either watching pornography or had committed adultery. 49:28 And what are some of the other topics as well? 49:30 Yes, somewhat of like Hector's story. 49:32 So the aftermath of the aftermath after sexual abuse, 49:36 courting and dating, and unforgiveness as well, and 49:43 restoration of what God can do. 49:46 It's beautiful. 49:50 So if you're interested in signing up for our conference, 49:52 we're having it in September in Berrien Springs. 49:55 So like you mentioned, you feel free to email info at 49:59 comingtogetherministries.org. 50:01 And we'll be glad to follow up with you and send you that 50:04 information so you can be part of this movement where we 50:07 believe that God is able to transform our lives and make us 50:10 into his image as he's designed us to be. 50:13 You know, the best way to support our ministry, if anyone 50:16 is really interested, what we're really trying to promote 50:19 is a monthly donation. 50:21 You know, we have a young girl that was helping us out in our 50:23 IT department and single girl, you know, and she's got her own 50:27 bills or whatever, but she gives us $100 every month, you 50:30 know, and she sends that check. 50:32 And it's those monthly donations that really help us 50:34 to be able to plan ahead, you know, whether it's $20 or $200 50:38 or $2,000, you know, that monthly donation will actually, 50:42 you know, really benefit us much more than just a one-time 50:45 gift. 50:48 ministries because the book we wrote, Canada Christian Church 50:52 Affirm LGBTQ, had somebody who said, they read it and they 50:56 said, oh, we love it, and I want to give you a good-sized 51:01 donation, but I can't tell anybody because I have family 51:04 that's there, so, you know, we don't want to, you know, so 51:08 most of them is, oh, well, we got this, we're going to give 51:11 this, but they say, oh, we got to be careful if we give to 51:14 this ministry and people find out whatever. 51:17 So they need all the help they can get. 51:20 I'm telling you, the Lord's going to do it, but he's going 51:22 to do it through you. 51:23 And so we were going to be not only praying for them, they 51:27 need your prayers, but also financial support. 51:29 And those of you that watch, we've been on not quite 40 51:32 years, but 40 years ago, you know, the idea came to build 51:35 with, so about 38 years, we rarely go on the air and ask 51:39 people to support and donate. 51:41 We always say, if the Holy Spirit's impressing, we do that 51:44 again here tonight, but this is a ministry that the devil 51:47 hates, absolutely hates, because he doesn't want people 51:51 to know they can get victory over this, and no help from a 51:55 bunch of the Christian universities that say, well, we 51:58 can't really have you on here talking about it because we got 52:01 LGBTQ clubs and we don't want, in fact, if we do, and I'm 52:07 talking this not from you all, but information I got from 52:09 others that, in the note, that says some of the, and at least 52:15 in the last administration, I don't know where we're going 52:17 here, but if you so much as have people like yourselves on 52:22 to try to teach people victory over this lifestyle, that the 52:27 government says, we're not going to give a student student 52:29 loans only to qualify student loans if universities are 52:35 supportive of LGBTQ so you you have to support it and i mean 52:39 that's a shame because a lot of the christian universities and 52:43 i don't want to say which ones because i'm embarrassed to 52:46 actually shame it too but there are some that we all know that 52:50 won't have people well we can't have you on campus telling 52:54 people you can overcome sin because we can't tell them that 52:57 it's in and well what good does it do to have a christian 53:01 university if you can help young people overcome sin. 53:04 But Danny, there's a movement, and you know, what's really 53:07 great is some people, you know, maybe they've heard something 53:10 negative about our ministry, and I'm just so grateful 53:13 because now people are trying to check us out and find out a 53:16 little bit more about us, and if they'll take the time, if 53:19 they'll bother to just take a few minutes and hear some of 53:22 our testimonies, they'll see, you know, that our ministry is 53:25 not to take something away or to force anybody, and you know 53:29 what's starting to happen is there's this there's like a 53:32 movement, a little bit of growth happening in our 53:34 ministry, and we're very close to, you know, a major 53:37 university, and we're now having, you know, opportunities 53:41 to have access to individuals and leadership and stuff that I 53:45 think is going to make a big difference. 53:47 And the Bible says we can do nothing against the Gospel but 53:50 for it. 53:51 So I met Muhammad Ali years ago in Berrien Springs, and I was 53:55 talking to him one day, and he said, not just me, there were 53:57 several others, but he said, you know, I really don't care 54:00 if people pay to see me get beat up, or if they pay to see 54:03 me win, as long as they know about me and who I am. 54:07 So in a sense, people can talk about us all they want to, 54:10 good, bad, or whatever, but with the Lord's blessings, 54:13 greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. 54:17 So we realize that there's victory, not only we're talking 54:20 about in sin, over sin, but God has called this ministry as 54:25 surely he's called any other ministry, you know, in this 54:29 church and outside our supporting ministry. 54:31 So that's why we're so focused in sin, asking our folks to 54:35 really support you. 54:37 Thank you, Denny. 54:40 also have other programs that we're wanting to grow with the 54:42 grace of God and the skills that he's given us, and one of 54:45 them is the life coaching program, which I believe is an 54:48 asset and a tool for many people. 54:50 Would you like to share So our life coaching program is still 54:55 in development, but once it's out, we want to open up that 54:59 platform for those who are watching, listening, like if 55:03 you feel that calling to become a life coach, to be like as a 55:07 mentor, a disciple, if you yourself have overcome a sexual 55:11 issue and the Lord has restored you and you want to help 55:15 others, that's what we want to open up is life coaching and 55:19 also for those who are struggling with any sexual 55:23 issue we also want to be able to provide that platform 55:27 primarily of course through God and to journey together and 55:32 using those practical tools as well. 55:35 So God willing that will be coming out. 55:37 We'd like to put the address up or the email up maybe one more 55:40 time just kind of leave it up for a bit here. 55:42 Yes and one last program I'm sorry. 55:45 If you feel called and you feel that God has helped you, you 55:49 want to be able to help someone else. 55:50 We have an associate student Hector here with us as well and 55:54 he shared his testimony vulnerably and we've been able 55:56 to witness how God's worked in his life and our associate 55:59 pathway program is also a program that's going to be 56:02 available to you as well. 56:04 So we want to equip those to teach others how they can 56:08 overcome by giving sermons, teaching tools and 56:12 presentations to schools, conferences and around the 56:15 world. 56:18 I believe God answers short prayers. 56:19 We only got a few seconds that short prayer because we got to 56:22 be out of zero. 56:23 Father God how grateful we are for you sending your son Jesus 56:29 Christ and Lord Jesus. 56:30 We're so grateful to you for what you've done and Holy 56:33 Spirit for living in us. 56:34 So thank you Lord continue to be with this ministry open up 56:38 the windows of heaven to bless them we pray and continue to 56:42 give them victory we pray in all of us in Jesus name. 56:46 Amen. 56:46 Amen. 56:47 Amen. 56:50 I want to thank each and every one of you again for what 56:52 you're doing. 56:53 Be sure, call, write. 56:55 If you can't and didn't get the address you can always write to 56:58 us or call us and we'll give it to you. 57:00 But for now our time is all gone. 57:02 So until we see you next time may the Lord richly bless you 57:05 abundantly more than you could ever ask or think. 57:07 Amen. |
Revised 2025-04-11