Participants:
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000254A
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00:01 Stay tuned to meet a man
00:02 who is all about feeding the needs in his community. 00:05 My name is Jason Bradley, 00:06 and you are watching Urban Report. 00:32 Hello and welcome to Urban Report. 00:35 My guest today is Pastor Moses Brown. 00:37 And he is the CEO and Founder 00:39 of Feed Our Children Ministries. 00:42 Welcome to Urban Report. 00:43 It's so good to see you, Brother Bradley. 00:45 And it's good to see you too. 00:47 Now you have a powerful testimony, 00:50 and I'm looking forward to getting into that. 00:54 But I want to start with, like, 00:56 where you grew up and go back into that part, 01:00 the beginning years of your life. 01:02 Where I grew up... 01:03 I'm a country boy. 01:05 There in the city called Plant City, 01:08 and I presently live in Tampa. 01:10 I went to school there, Forest Lake Academy. 01:13 And I just kind of been around into natural environment, 01:17 but that was through a process that God ordained Himself 01:23 with the things I learned how to adjust to 01:27 as I was going through some of my crises in my lives. 01:31 What are some of those crises that you went through? 01:35 Well, when I look back at my crises, 01:38 I always say it was because of Christ. 01:41 And He delivered me 01:43 from some catastrophic situations 01:45 that have funneled me into where I'm today. 01:49 It started with a little girl by the name of Cherry, 01:52 beautiful young lady. 01:54 She was a twin. 01:55 She was born there in a city called Manning, South Carolina. 01:58 Okay. 02:00 She came in the late ages of her parents. 02:04 And they had already had some adult children, 02:07 but they had the twins later on. 02:09 And when they got about... 02:11 I guess about seven years old, 02:13 her parents had both been dead by that time. 02:16 So she had to move down 02:17 to where her oldest sister lived 02:20 there in Hallandale, Florida. 02:23 When she got there, it was a nice experience. 02:26 She was growing up in a good environment. 02:29 They were still poor. 02:31 But her sister was married to a gentleman 02:33 there in that area. 02:34 And that's how they ended up there. 02:37 Coming along, she remembered about going to church 02:42 'cause her daddy was a Baptist preacher. 02:44 Okay. 02:45 Old Baptist preacher would go... 02:47 He was a monitor there, they call into Baptist Church. 02:50 He would kind of oversee other churches. 02:52 Okay. 02:53 And she loved church even as a child. 02:56 That's why I tell people, "Keep your children in church, 03:01 church school if possible. 03:03 Keep them under that auspices 03:05 where they can always hear the name of Jesus proclaim." 03:07 Yes. 03:09 So even while she was growing up 03:10 into her teen years, 03:12 she was attending church even though she was a Baptist. 03:17 But one particular day 03:18 in August of her life, it was hot. 03:20 It's hot in Florida anyway. 03:22 But in August, if you ever go down 03:24 in August, it's hotter. 03:26 Okay. 03:28 And there she was walking home from church, 03:32 and one of the deacons that was there, pulled over. 03:37 She was walking on the sidewalk and said, 03:38 "Hey, let me give you a ride home." 03:42 And in that point, she was a little bit reluctant, 03:46 but she decided that, 03:48 you know, since he was a man with authority in the community 03:51 and in her church. 03:54 She was 13 at that time, and she said, "Okay, I'll do." 03:58 Come to think of it, when she was in that car, 04:02 she was really somewhat panicky because she felt uncomfortable. 04:08 You know, you can feel uncomfortable 04:10 around some people. 04:11 Yes. 04:13 And he, all of a sudden, said, "Let me take you to this house 04:15 I want you to see 04:17 'cause I'm building this beautiful home." 04:20 And she didn't really feel good about it, 04:22 but, you know, when you're young, 04:23 you just say, "Okay, let me go and see," 04:25 'cause you want to amaze her. 04:27 And she got to this house, 04:28 when she went there walking through this house, 04:32 his whole demeanor changed. 04:34 Really? 04:36 I've learned that, a lot of people say 04:37 that he loved the Lord, 04:38 even though he was a deacon in the church. 04:40 Yes. 04:41 But when you are under the satanic power, 04:44 it will come out, and your motives will show up. 04:48 And so it was... 04:50 The sin didn't start in the house, 04:51 it started when he looked at her in lust 04:55 before he even spoke to her. 04:56 Wow. 04:57 A lot of sins start when you answer the phone. 05:01 And this was a situation that started, 05:03 that had already built up. 05:05 And so when he got to the house, 05:07 he knew that, you know, her parents were already dead, 05:08 and she was staying with her sister. 05:10 And some people take advantage of those vulnerable situations. 05:14 And there she was in that house, 05:16 and his whole demeanor changed, 05:18 and he violated that girl right there 05:20 in that house. 05:22 Wow! 05:23 It was so much for her to even digest at that time. 05:28 Yeah. 05:30 Few months later, 05:32 it was hard to even speak about it, 05:34 but her twin sister said, 05:36 "You know, you are pregnant, you're pregnant. 05:39 You're coming forth with a... 05:42 This is not beans and rice." 05:44 Yes. Yes. "This is something else." 05:48 And she revealed that experience 05:50 that she had at that house. 05:54 At that particular time, 05:56 she was trying to contemplate what to do. 05:58 She wouldn't know 06:00 how to even explain it to her older sister. 06:02 Yeah. 06:03 But at that time, 06:05 her older sister's husband got into gambling debts, 06:08 and he had to leave town quickly. 06:12 Okay. I mean, real quick. 06:14 He had people after him. Yeah, had them after him. 06:16 This was some stuff that you see on TV, 06:19 but they knew they had to get out and get out fast. 06:21 Yes. 06:23 They went from Hallandale to a place four hours away, 06:27 that place is called Plant City. 06:28 Okay. 06:30 And there's... 06:31 She had already turned 14, and she had to decide, 06:34 "Okay, it's time for me to have my baby." 06:38 Sister already realized that she was pregnant, 06:41 and she's due. 06:42 And she told them that, 06:44 "Listen, I know you're getting close 06:46 to having your baby, but you can't handle no child. 06:51 You can't, you can't... 06:53 You got about a couple months to go, 06:55 but you can't handle no child." 06:56 And they gave her the ultimatum, said, 06:58 "Listen, once you go down under ghetto out there..." 07:02 You know, they always have somebody 07:04 in the ghetto who can take care of everything. 07:05 And this person was known to take care of abortions. 07:10 Wow! 07:11 So as she was walking that particular day 07:16 to fulfill the needs of her sister... 07:20 That's why you got to be very careful 07:21 who you allow to influence in your life. 07:25 That's very, very true. 07:27 She was moving forward and fulfill their need, 07:31 but in her heart, she said, "I want my baby. 07:34 I want my baby." 07:36 But economically, it didn't add up. 07:41 The economy wasn't set up for her, 07:43 and everything was just going south for her. 07:46 And so even though she was violated, 07:48 she still wanted her baby? 07:50 She wanted her baby. 07:52 That's amazing too 07:54 'cause there's a lot of different routes 07:55 that she could have gone. 07:57 And she had every... 07:58 She could just check off each box, 08:00 and it will give her 08:01 that right to abort the child. 08:06 She had every right. 08:07 You know, even the church 08:09 would have gave her the right for... 08:10 Let's say, you know, 08:12 "You were in a rape situation and everything else is just..." 08:15 Everything she could think of was checked off, 08:18 the child shouldn't have born. 08:19 Wow. 08:21 But as she was walking towards 08:22 that house to dispense of this child that she wanted, 08:27 because there was no other options laid out, 08:30 she heard a voice speak to her, and that text came to her, 08:33 Proverbs 3:5 and 6. 08:38 "In all your ways, acknowledge Me, 08:39 and I'll direct your path. 08:41 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, 08:42 and lean not upon your own understanding." 08:45 Being a girl that loved church, 08:48 she knew that that was coming from God. 08:51 But in that... 08:53 She knew that He was there, but she couldn't see 08:54 how He was going to work it out. 08:56 She hadn't had that much faith to pull it through, 09:00 to look beyond the barriers. 09:03 She couldn't see anything, but what she didn't have. 09:06 And many people today, 09:08 they're looking at what they don't have 09:10 instead of looking at what God can do. 09:13 She got trapped in that little wedge there. 09:15 And in that quagmire, she heard another voice, 09:19 "God will let you know exactly what He want, 09:22 so you won't have to have questions 09:23 about certain things." 09:25 And He said, "If you let Me have this child, 09:28 I'll be His father." 09:30 Right then, she knew 09:32 that it was God's will to keep that child. 09:34 Wow. 09:36 And that's why I tell people, 09:37 you know, "If it's God's will, it's God's bill." 09:41 He never backs out on His payments. 09:46 He got A class, beyond 700, 800 credit score. 09:52 Come on, now. You just check it out. 09:55 And she knew right then, 09:56 if God said it, it's going to come through. 10:00 She went back home, and she talked to her sisters. 10:05 And they expressed to her, 10:07 "Listen, we gave you the ultimatum 10:11 'cause we can't take care of baby. 10:13 You're just a child yourself. 10:15 How are you going to take care of another child?" 10:18 They said, "Now, if you want to keep your baby, 10:21 don't bring it back here, you and the baby stay away." 10:24 Wow! 10:26 Because we can't feed another child, diapers, 10:29 and then have all those systems in place. 10:32 Now when you have a child, 10:33 then you had to pay for everything. 10:35 Yes. 10:37 And so she knew that God had spoken to her. 10:40 And so she had to trust Him where she couldn't trace Him. 10:44 So she stepped into her faith realm. 10:46 It was something about, when you know God said it, 10:49 you could be bold enough to just move, move anyhow. 10:53 You may have... 10:54 Your whole parameters may be on fire, 10:57 but, you know, you can walk through that fire 11:00 if you know God is with you. 11:01 Ellen White says, 11:02 "You can go through the desert or the sea, 11:04 but as long as God is with you, you're going to be all right." 11:07 And she had a sea, and she had a desert, 11:09 and everything around and everything was telling her, 11:12 "You can't do it." 11:14 But I've learned something, Jason, that one thing if... 11:17 You can have a million people tell you you can't, 11:20 you can have 10 million people say you cannot, 11:22 but God would just give you that one can, 11:26 you can move on that. 11:27 Yes. She moves on that one "can". 11:30 Wow. And she moved forward. 11:31 She went to the hospital to have the child, 11:35 not knowing what God was going to do. 11:37 But while she was there, the baby came out. 11:40 She told to her doctor, she said, 11:41 "Do you know anybody who can take my baby? 11:45 Do you know anybody in this city who can... 11:48 I don't want my child to go anywhere... 11:50 Anybody that know Jesus." 11:52 That's the type of her she was. 11:54 And the doctor said, 11:56 "No, I don't want to get into this. 11:57 This is something for you all to handle." 11:59 He was a Caucasian doctor, nice person, Dr. Gatliff. 12:04 But something about, "When God speaks, 12:07 He can move the hearts of king," 12:09 the Bible says. 12:11 And He stepped into the mind of that physician 12:15 and reminded of one of the patients 12:18 he had that used to bring kids to his practice 12:23 because she was a foster care person, 12:25 she never had no kids. 12:26 Wow. 12:27 And he said, "Let me check this out." 12:29 And he called Annette and Leroy Brown. 12:34 Leroy Brown? Leroy Brown. 12:36 And what was her name? Annette Brown. 12:38 Annette Brown? Okay. 12:40 And they came down 12:41 to the hospital on his invitation and said, 12:45 "This baby is here, 12:47 and the mother cannot take care of it, 12:50 and she wants to go into a home 12:52 with someone who's Christian, and you came into my mind." 12:55 And it was like an epiphany came over to them and said, 12:58 "This is your child." 13:00 And they took the baby up in their arms, 13:04 and there they named the baby Moses Samuel Brown. 13:09 Wow! 13:11 And here I am today because of that. 13:14 So I'm going to give you the name Moses 13:15 because I got you out of the bulrushes. 13:18 Yes. 13:19 And they put the story in the name. 13:23 I didn't know I was even adopted. 13:25 They made sure you had a biblical name too. 13:28 Oh, biblical names. Yes. 13:31 And for a while, they wanted... 13:33 You know, later on, 13:35 they wanted to change that name, 13:36 and I'll tell you about that also, 13:38 because life can give you 13:43 a twist. 13:45 As a teenager, I had a twist. 13:48 Twist that turned me around 13:49 because when I found out that where I was, 13:54 was not the route that I would have taken, 13:59 because I thought I was a Brown, B-R-O-W-N, 14:03 not coming from an adoption situation. 14:06 Okay. 14:07 So I grew up going through that. 14:09 So you had to imagine, 14:11 when I found out that I was not a Brown. 14:15 How did you find that out? 14:17 Well, you know, you're going 14:18 to have people drop little things. 14:20 When you're in the hood, you know, everybody will say, 14:22 "You know, I know your cousin. 14:25 I know, you know, a little thing." 14:26 That's where we talk about each other, 14:28 and it was coming around. 14:29 And then finally... 14:33 Well, I met someone who was actually my cousin, 14:36 and they were going to the same school I was. 14:38 Like your biological cousin? Biological, yes. 14:42 And I had a lady that used to come 14:43 by the house and give vegetables to us 14:46 'cause she would sell produce. 14:48 And she said, "Call me auntie," 14:50 and she would give me stuff free. 14:52 And I would bring it back in. 14:53 And the mother I was living with, 14:55 she was Annette Brown, she was grateful for that. 14:58 I didn't understand, "Who gives stuff free?" 15:00 But she was actually my mother's sister. 15:03 Wow! 15:05 So the stuff was going around me. 15:07 But I was happy to be a Brown. 15:09 I had the most loving people. 15:12 Leroy and Annette Brown, 15:13 I couldn't ask for better set of parents. 15:16 I mean, they were handmade. I kind of look like my daddy. 15:20 My adopted daddy, so it all kind of fit in. 15:22 That's amazing how that happens. 15:24 I actually know some people who are adopted, 15:27 and they look like their parents 15:29 that adopted them. 15:30 Don't God know how to shape it.? 15:32 It's amazing. It's amazing. 15:34 Well, I've been in there, 15:35 you know, and I know a lot of people going 15:38 through the same situation. 15:41 You get in these quagmires of life, 15:44 and you wonder what you're going to do, 15:46 and I became very recalcitrant, I was indignant, 15:50 and I didn't know how to handle it. 15:52 How do you handle trying to figure out 15:55 that you're not who you are? 15:57 Yes. Yes. 16:00 And so I had... 16:02 You know, I met my birth mother, 16:06 you know, 'cause she concluded the fact that, 16:08 you know, in my head that she is my mother. 16:10 And I had to ask 16:12 'cause she didn't want to tell me 16:13 the story of what happened. 16:14 Wow! 16:16 And when I met her it was... 16:19 It was just kind of... 16:21 It did something to me, 16:22 you know, I'm trying to put all this together. 16:23 Yeah. 16:25 But it was so much... 16:26 You know, something about love, love is so strong, 16:28 and the love of my adopted people 16:32 helped me and check. 16:33 I mean, I learned to know that 16:36 there's something different, but it was something 16:39 that really kind of messed my mind up, 16:41 but I knew that their love was genuine. 16:44 Yes. 16:45 But in that, I begin to hate all of them. 16:48 Really? And why is that? 16:51 I hated them because I felt that they betrayed me. 16:54 Oh, by not telling you that you're adopted, 16:57 the way that you found out. 16:59 I hated them because they lied to me. 17:02 And I didn't look at it... 17:03 You know, my young mind, 17:05 I was around in my early teens at that point. 17:08 And I've realized that it's... 17:09 This didn't come together like it was supposed to be. 17:12 "And I thought you were to be a Christian. 17:14 How come you never told me 17:16 that you actually got me from the hospital? 17:18 It made it sound like 17:20 that you had me in the hospital." 17:22 Yes. So in that, I felt bad. 17:27 But then something about the way the Lord does. 17:33 He sometimes let silence takes place. 17:38 And one thing I had to learn, Jason, 17:40 never confuse God's silence 17:43 for His absence. 17:46 Unpack that a little bit, 17:47 because I get where you're going with that, 17:50 and I like that, and that's so true, 17:52 but unpack that a little bit. 17:54 You know, when I was running chaotically 17:57 and being angry at everybody, 18:00 I didn't hear God speak to me. 18:04 But the fact was He had me in that silent mode. 18:10 Okay. 18:11 You know, in the scriptures Moses, 18:12 before he went up to Mount Sinai, 18:16 upon the top of the mountain, 18:18 he laid there in silence for six days. 18:23 And the Bible says, "There was no interaction," 18:27 but he knew that God's presence was there, 18:30 but God was not speaking to him. 18:32 But on the seventh day, God called him up. 18:36 And in my scenario, I was there in silence, 18:40 I was asking for answers. 18:42 And suddenly God just tuned me out. 18:47 I had learned very quickly that it was His silence, 18:51 but I had to learn that it wasn't His absence. 18:53 I was thinking God was not present 18:56 'cause He said, "I'll never leave you, 18:59 I'll never forsake you." 19:02 And so He allowed Himself to be there, 19:07 and He don't just move because I want Him to move, 19:10 He moves when He needs to move. 19:14 It's like a scenario to what I'm speaking about. 19:18 When I was in school 19:20 and raised my hand during the test, 19:22 the teacher refused to answer my question 19:26 because I didn't raise my hand properly 19:30 at the proper time. 19:32 And I came back and asked her, I said, "Why didn't you..." 19:35 After the test was over, 19:36 "Why didn't you answer me while I was doing the test?" 19:39 And she said, 19:41 "That's the reason why I didn't answer you 19:43 because it was during the test. 19:46 So I gave you everything 19:47 you need to get through the test, 19:49 and so when you take the test, I could not answer you, 19:51 you was on your own." 19:53 And sometimes God may not speak to you during that time 19:56 because you're in the test, because life is a set up 20:02 where you've got to go through a process 20:04 to get to God's purpose. 20:08 One thing I've learned 20:09 that He cannot get into your purpose 20:12 because God had preordained that, 20:14 but He can get into the process of you getting to your purpose. 20:18 Okay. 20:19 And so in that process, 20:21 we get discombobulated with distractions 20:24 and Satan feeds us. 20:26 He was feeding me, 20:27 saying that I was unworthy, I was nothing, 20:31 I was nobody, and I couldn't be anything. 20:34 How can you ever become anything 20:36 when you were a child that was given away? 20:40 You're not even supposed to be here. 20:43 And so that was processed in my head. 20:45 "Well, if I'm not supposed to be here, 20:46 how can I have a purpose in my life?" 20:48 So you had all these negative thoughts 20:50 that were just playing over and over in your mind? 20:53 And He was having a field day with it. 20:55 Wow! Satan loves pity parties. 20:58 Yes. 20:59 And if you give him one, 21:01 he'll roll on it and roll on it. 21:03 And then God stepped into the point 21:05 when I felt like I was at my very end. 21:07 He explained to me. 21:09 He said, "It was My hand that put you in that womb." 21:14 That threw me back. Yeah. 21:17 In a situation that's catastrophic 21:19 as that was because He says, "I'm the life giver." 21:25 So even in that rape situation, He gave the life. 21:28 Wow. 21:29 And He determines... 21:31 We may have ugly actions, 21:33 but He takes the mess and makes the miracle. 21:37 I like that. Yes. 21:39 So He took that mess and... 21:42 And we try to fix things that we cannot fix. 21:46 We try to do the possible and the impossible. 21:50 God said, "You take care of the possible 21:51 and let Me handle the impossible." 21:54 And so when God was working through this thing 21:57 and fixing my mind up, 21:59 He spoke to me and said, "You know, I'm with you, 22:03 I have a purpose for you, you're My child." 22:07 And He said, "If you can trust Me 22:09 where you cannot trace Me, 22:11 and you take what I've given you, 22:13 I've given you good parents and everything that happened, 22:17 even from the time 22:19 that they had to leave Hollandale 22:21 to move to Plant City." 22:22 He said, "That was My orchestration 22:24 because there was Annette Brown in Plant City to adopt you." 22:30 Wow. 22:32 And He put me 22:33 into a Seventh-day Adventist home. 22:35 Wow! So they were Adventists? 22:37 Seventh-day... 22:38 They started a church there. 22:40 And they were strong Seventh-day Adventists. 22:42 It's amazing 22:44 how when you look back at your life, 22:45 you can see how God 22:47 has had His hand on your life the entire time. 22:49 Yes. Wow. 22:50 And He never let up. 22:52 So you were in this Adventist home, 22:54 and so how did that play a part in your development 22:59 because you had those negative thoughts 23:01 going through your head and all of that? 23:04 How did you get out of that? Forgiveness. 23:09 The simplicity of forgiveness 23:11 is the complexity of people's lives, 23:14 because they have held on to something 23:18 that they can't fix, they can't understand, 23:22 and they can't move, 23:24 and they try to use a lot of keys, 23:27 like it's only one key that go to one door, 23:30 but you try to use all the other keys, 23:32 but the forgiveness key is the one that works. 23:36 And they try to avoid all those things, 23:38 getting around of and... 23:40 And they don't want to use forgiveness 23:41 because they know how much that person did to them, 23:45 and they lied on me, and they cheated on me, 23:48 and they walked away from me, 23:50 they're the reason why my finances so broke up, 23:52 and the reason I'm not at the stage 23:54 I should have been and all these excuses, 23:56 and they have never forgive them. 23:57 And some people are in their grave. 24:00 And those who are alive have not forgiven those 24:03 who are lying in their grave and the devil uses that. 24:06 And I had to break 24:08 that yoke that was holding me, choking me. 24:10 Yes. And I had to forgive. 24:13 First off, I had to forgive myself. 24:15 You know, there's a certain thing 24:16 you have to do 24:17 which is you have to forgive yourself, 24:20 and then you can forgive others. 24:22 If I forgive myself, I had to look at me and say, 24:25 "Lord, I'm not worthy 24:28 and because of Your blood that saved me, 24:31 I am where I am." 24:33 And then I look around me and when God can break me, 24:37 He can put me back together again. 24:41 And in my rejection, I found direction. 24:46 That's where I found it. 24:47 In my rejection, God gave me direction. 24:52 He said, "I didn't take this away from you 24:55 that so you could fail." 24:57 He said, "I wanted you to have..." 24:59 Like He said in Jeremiah, "I have great plans for you. 25:03 And for these plans to come to fruition, 25:05 I had to take you down this road." 25:07 I wouldn't be sitting here today 25:09 if He hadn't took me down that road. 25:10 If He had not taken me down that road, 25:12 I wouldn't be here today. 25:14 But He showed me that in that process, He was... 25:18 Even though the devil tried to get into it, 25:20 He said, "I still got a purpose 25:21 to all the setbacks and dropouts and all that, 25:25 what looks like failure was just a set up." 25:28 That's like, when you look at the story of Joseph, 25:30 and Joseph was taken 25:31 and sold into captivity by his brothers, 25:34 and then he ended up running Egypt. 25:38 That is amazing. Isn't God amazing? 25:41 Yes, continue. I'm thoroughly engaged in this. 25:46 I've seen God 25:48 how He works in situations 25:52 where people have dropped the bomb on... 25:57 I use that term 25:58 who have given up on their children. 26:01 And there might be 26:03 some out there today, just saying, 26:04 you know, your children using drugs, 26:06 and they're out there smoking, 26:11 sleeping in another people's sheets, 26:13 and you have decided not to pray for them no more. 26:16 I want you to know, pray for them. 26:19 God is not through with them yet. 26:20 And sometimes 26:22 He had to take you down that road, 26:23 for Him to get you where He you want you to be. 26:26 Yes. 26:27 And through my struggles, it gave me strength. 26:30 And I kept pushing, I kept pushing, 26:33 and I could see God right there in every movement 26:36 from my mother, 26:38 my adopted mother and my birth mother, 26:41 it was like two mothers working in sync for me 26:44 to be what I am today. 26:50 If one had to give me life, 26:53 and one had to produce that life to make it 26:56 where God could use me. 26:58 Wow! And I'm grateful. 27:00 I'm grateful for what I've been through. 27:04 When I look back over my life, 27:07 I said, "You know, God, I couldn't do this myself." 27:11 And this has brought me into other places 27:14 when I saw what God has done for me. 27:19 I said, "I can't just sit on my blessing." 27:20 No. 27:22 One thing about a blessing... 27:23 How you know it's a blessing? 27:25 If you cannot share 27:27 that blessing with somebody else, 27:29 it's not a blessing. 27:30 Okay. 27:31 If your blessing can't be a help 27:33 to help someone else 27:35 who's worst off than you is not a blessing. 27:38 Let me ask you this question. 27:39 Did you ever meet your biological father? 27:44 I went down to Hollandale, 27:45 I was going to Forest Lake Academy. 27:47 I was with the singing group. 27:49 And while I was down there, my mother had told me his name. 27:53 I went through the phone book, 27:55 trying to find this person's name. 27:58 And I was calling all the Scotts, 28:00 last name was Scotts. 28:01 And when I got to one number, they said, 28:03 "Well, that's Scott you're speaking about, 28:06 we had his funeral several weeks ago." 28:08 Wow. God blocked it. 28:12 Wow. 28:13 You see when God told my mother before she got to that door, 28:18 He said, "I will be his father." 28:22 That would have interrupted God's plan. 28:27 He has the sovereignty to know 28:33 when and when not. 28:35 And I was stunned. 28:36 I said, "How could it... 28:38 I'm just this close to seeing him. 28:41 I mean, what is it that... 28:42 Why would God do something like that?" 28:44 I said, God, but it was His providence 28:47 that would work out. 28:50 And so that was the closest I got. 28:53 Later on, down the road, just a few years back, 28:57 I met some family members of his. 29:01 Oh, how did that go? Beautiful. 29:04 Really? Beautiful. 29:05 I went back to that church where he used to go. 29:09 And Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church there... 29:11 In Atlanta? 29:13 No, Ebenezer in Hallandale. Oh, in Hallandale. 29:15 Okay, I was going to say, "Wait a minute," 29:17 Oh, you never said you were in Atlanta. 29:19 Okay. 29:20 Now, this was the... 29:21 It's a big church down there, but he went there. 29:23 And I told the preacher, I said, "You know, anyone..." 29:26 'Cause he was head deacon of the church in that time. 29:30 And they said, "Well, I know this lady over here, 29:32 she knows everybody's business." 29:34 You know, there's got to be one person... 29:35 There's always one. That's right. 29:37 And thank God, for someone in there that knows. 29:39 That's right. 29:40 And he got with there, and she got with me, 29:42 and she said, "Yes, I know Deacon Scott. 29:46 And matter of fact, 29:49 one of his first cousin's wife is my beautician." 29:53 Wow! 29:54 They were living there in that area also. 29:57 Okay. 29:58 And that's when the connection was made 30:02 with that side of the family. 30:03 They had no clue that this was even existing, 30:08 a child from him. 30:10 Wow. 30:12 So I figured that God wanted that to be different, 30:13 but it had been an encounter 30:15 that has been really unforgettable experience 30:18 being with that side of the family. 30:21 And when I make the circles from all sides of the family, 30:23 because I have adopted side, I have my birth dad side, 30:28 I have my birth mom side, and every one of those sides, 30:33 God has surrounded me with people 30:36 who are lovers of God. 30:39 And so I'm safe in any environment. 30:43 Yes. Yes. 30:44 And so your mom never... 30:46 She never pressed charges or anything, 30:48 like your biological mother, 30:50 she never pressed charges, never pursued it? 30:52 Lot of the things like that never have happened 30:56 in people's situations, 30:58 and especially in those times... 30:59 Wow! 31:01 It was just kind of... 31:03 She just mentioned it to me, and she going on. 31:06 I mean, she was living... 31:08 I mean, she got... 31:09 To me, she was living in an abusive situation. 31:12 Well, you know, she was a teenager 31:14 trying to find security, 31:15 and when you're broke, you got nothing. 31:17 You always... 31:18 Some men and some women, they get together for finances 31:23 or someone secured and she did... 31:25 She made a decision 31:27 that really wasn't on principle but on need. 31:31 And she found... 31:32 She's got a man that was beating her 31:35 and her children. 31:37 And with that, it made 31:38 a whole environment of just chaos, chaos. 31:43 And she told me when I met her, she said, 31:45 "If you had came here, if you had came here, 31:50 he would have killed you." 31:52 Wow! 31:54 The father of my other brothers and sisters, 31:58 'cause she had three children from there. 31:59 Okay. And they went through a lot. 32:02 And, you know, there are some women today, 32:04 and I'm speaking to women that's in abusive situations. 32:08 And you wonder, 32:10 "Why I'm staying in this thing?" 32:12 My words to you, get out, get out. 32:16 It's not worth you 32:17 being humiliated day after day, 32:21 sometimes it's verbally and physically. 32:24 But it's hard. 32:26 And some Christian Adventists people live 32:29 in abusive situations. 32:31 I mean, and they get up in front of the people 32:33 in the congregation, 32:34 and they go home and beat the spouse. 32:38 That's not God. No. 32:39 That's not God. 32:41 And I want to be sure this audience understands 32:43 that's not God. 32:45 And if you need help, find some help, 32:47 because that's not an instrument of God. 32:49 God said, "The body is the temple of the Lord," 32:52 and you should not allow anyone 32:53 to misuse it, beat it, or abuse it. 32:56 And if I said anything today, get that, 32:59 and you may have to pack up today and go. 33:02 But like I said earlier, if it's God's will, 33:04 it's God's bill. 33:05 He will take care of you 33:08 when you step out under His auspices. 33:11 But you got to make that step. Yeah, absolutely. 33:13 Where God leads, He provides. Yes, yes. 33:16 Definitely. Definitely. 33:17 Now shifting gears a little bit. 33:19 See that... 33:21 I like to get to know the man behind the mission. 33:25 You know, now shifting gears into what you're doing now 33:28 and what you started "Feed Our Children Ministries", 33:33 how did that come about? 33:35 And what are you guys doing? 33:36 Feed Our Children Ministries started in 1986, 33:39 a beautiful year for many people. 33:41 Absolutely. 33:43 I have to say that's a beautiful year for me. 33:47 And with that... 33:49 I started it when I was doing some radio. 33:54 Well, I'd say radio commentaries 33:57 for the community 33:58 because they were having an R&B station. 34:00 And the Lord said, "Don't just go down there 34:01 and just ask them about saying a few encouraging words." 34:05 And I was doing that, I got the little community. 34:08 At the same time 34:09 there was a shooting in the inner city 34:12 right in the parking lot, and the kids watched the lady, 34:15 who is the manager of the Davis Clinic, 34:18 get shot, begging for her life, trying to get in the car, 34:21 it was traumatic for everyone. 34:23 And these kinds of things happen 34:24 in the inner city. 34:26 And the police department actually would come out 34:29 and talk to the kids that had watched it, 34:31 'cause they were traumatized. 34:33 And so when I came out there, 34:35 we were trying to give them encouragement, 34:36 a lot of kids were coming out. 34:38 And one boy came to me and said, 34:40 "Hey listen, I like to have one of those." 34:42 'Cause we were giving snacks. Okay. 34:44 And it was near November, and he said, 34:46 "Can I have one of those meals that they have on television?" 34:50 I had never heard anyone asking me questions like that. 34:53 And I said, "What'd you mean?" 34:54 I never heard a phrase like that either, 34:56 a meal that they have on television. 34:57 Well, it's Thanksgiving meal, 34:59 you know, people sitting at the table. 35:00 People take for granted that... 35:02 People sit at a table, 35:03 and they have this long spread of... 35:04 It was during Thanksgiving. 35:06 He wanted a Thanksgiving meal. 35:07 Okay. 35:09 With the... 35:11 Well, I don't know what they all have on their, 35:13 you know. 35:14 Slashed ham, no ham, 35:17 but we would have gave him some wham. 35:19 Yes, we definitely don't swine and dine, 35:22 no swining and dinning, absolutely. 35:25 I said, "You know, what, we're going to do this." 35:26 I said, "You invite your friends, 35:28 and I'll invite the community to bring some food." 35:31 I thought he had about 100 or so friends, 35:33 so we set up for about 100 of them coming. 35:36 But he had more friends than I could count. 35:39 It was about 400 some people standing out there. 35:41 Four hundred and some. 35:43 Now if you go to inner city, 35:44 when they come out with stuff like that, 35:45 they bring their foil and Tupperware. 35:47 Oh, yeah, they are going. 35:48 They're leaving with the gold plates. 35:50 If you know our people. Yeah. 35:52 They are not coming just for that meal. 35:54 They are going to come for the meal 35:55 that they are going to have later on today 35:57 and the next day too. 35:58 Yeah. 36:00 And when the people I was standing over with, 36:02 "You might need to close this down 36:04 because you don't want... 36:05 You want no excitement in the hood out here, 36:07 because if they don't get all their food, 36:09 the people are standing in the line, 36:10 they came out here to eat. 36:12 And you got the media right here." 36:13 And they said, 36:14 "You don't want to embarrass yourself like this." 36:16 And, then I just think about this, I said, 36:17 "You know, I serve a God 36:20 that fed 5,000 or more than I got on this table." 36:24 Yes. Yes. 36:25 With fish and the loaves of bread. 36:27 And I said, "The same God that was there, He's here now." 36:31 And I stepped into that faith realm. 36:34 There's something about when you step into faith. 36:35 It's not like stepping in no other place. 36:38 You know that God's presence is there. 36:40 That's why I start... 36:41 I've learned one thing, 36:43 I start pursuing God's presence, 36:46 and I found that He will give you 36:48 His promise. 36:51 So when I started pursuing His presence, 36:53 I used to pursue the promise and not His presence. 36:58 But when I was feeling His presence, 37:00 that's when the promise that He promised me. 37:03 He said all His promises are yes from the scripture. 37:06 Yes. 37:07 And so I had to step in that realm, 37:08 that is a beautiful experience 37:10 when you are in that divine realm. 37:13 And I said, "I know 37:14 this is God's reputation, not mine." 37:16 Yes, that's on the line. It's on the line. 37:19 I said, "Lord, whichever way it come out is You." 37:21 Yes. 37:23 You'll learn that you have a lot less stress 37:27 when you just put it in God's hands. 37:29 And you truly, any program, anything that you're doing, 37:32 anything that you plan to do, 37:34 you put it in God's hands and say, 37:35 "Lord, this is Your reputation. 37:37 I did all I could, now it's You." 37:40 When they went through that line, Jason, 37:43 they came through and everybody was looking and wondering 37:46 how I was going to run out. 37:47 I was walking around just encouraging people, 37:49 talking to them, 37:50 because the media was out there, 37:52 and they want an interview with me. 37:53 And 'cause I wasn't, 37:55 you know, I had no fear at that particular time. 37:58 Love for Christ will eradicate all fear. 38:02 And when you know that He's spoken to you. 38:05 And, you know, He said, "Go left," even though 38:07 everybody telling you to go right, 38:09 but He said, "Go left," and you know it's God's word, 38:11 you can just drop everything 38:12 and just put a smile on your face 38:14 because, you know, God got it. 38:15 You don't know how it's going to end. 38:17 But you know He got it. 38:18 And you can take Him at His word. 38:20 You can't take many people at their word, 38:22 but you can take Him at His word for sure. 38:25 The scripture say, "Don't trust no man." 38:27 Yeah. Yeah. 38:29 But when He got... 38:30 When they got through, 38:32 He don't work things just to impress you, 38:38 He work things to amaze you. 38:41 That's the kind of God I serve. Okay. 38:43 And when they got through, there was... 38:45 With all their tableware, 38:46 and our black folks brought those foil 38:51 for that meal for the next day. 38:53 And I was thinking, they're going to be just... 38:54 I'm going to get a few people, and there was food left over. 38:59 Wow! 39:01 Food left over, and that's when I got on my knees and said, 39:04 "Lord, I thank You." 39:06 Because He authenticated my purpose, 39:09 and He was with me. 39:10 Yes. 39:13 Many times, some people are struggling 39:14 because He hasn't authenticated His word in your life. 39:19 But when God authenticate that word in your life, 39:22 you can move forward. 39:23 That had propelled me all the way to today 39:25 from that one experience, 39:27 because I know that God, He will show up, 39:30 and He will show out. 39:31 That's right. 39:33 And that was such a great witness 39:34 to all of those people that were telling you, 39:36 "Oh, you shouldn't do this. 39:38 You definitely don't want to get this excitement 39:40 going in the hood. 39:41 If you don't have enough food for, 39:43 you know, all these people," but God provided. 39:47 And a lot of programs 39:48 that people start in their church, 39:50 if even they don't go through it, 39:51 they have calculated on their calculator. 39:54 Your calculator, 39:55 I'm going to you something that you can do, 39:58 but God's calculator show you what He can do, 40:02 and something 40:04 that you should be doing in the community now, 40:06 so one of the things that Feed Our Children 40:08 is trying to do is to get a place for women 40:11 with their children who sleep in their cars, 40:14 and we're trying to get a place for them, 40:16 and we got it on our website. 40:19 I'm trusting God, 40:21 and I'm working from a zero budget. 40:23 You know, I don't know 40:25 if anybody worked from zero budget. 40:27 That's true. Stepping out on faith. 40:30 But God had already said, "This is what will take place." 40:33 I don't know how, 40:34 and I don't know when, I just... 40:37 I'm His instrument. I'm a conduit of His message. 40:40 And so I put it out there, but I know there's a need. 40:44 And I know that it's not just where I am, I said, 40:46 "There has to be other places." 40:48 Yes. 40:49 So I'm hoping today that those who are watching, 40:52 and God has you watching today 40:53 because He wanted to tell you something. 40:57 In your communities where you are, 40:59 you can't just have something in your church to satisfy 41:03 those around you. 41:05 What good is a flashlight in the sunlight? 41:07 What good... 41:09 And we come to our congregations 41:11 to bring our light, 41:13 and we just out blind 41:15 each other with our scriptures and this and that. 41:16 But God said, "Take that light out." 41:18 So there's a lot of... 41:19 Every church should have something going on 41:22 to reach the needs of their community. 41:26 I love that, 41:27 "What good is a flashlight in the sunlight?" 41:29 Yes. 41:31 You know, that's like, 41:32 you know, why just solely preach to the choir? 41:36 Exactly. 41:37 You have to get out 41:38 and do something in your community. 41:40 You know, if a church is missing, 41:42 like if a church has been there for 20, 30 years, 41:45 and then, all of a sudden, they close the doors, 41:47 and nobody in the community even notices that they're gone, 41:51 that's a problem. 41:53 And they open up with a shopping center, 41:55 and then you recognize that your church was there. 41:58 Yeah. Yeah. That's a problem. 42:00 We have some pictures... 42:02 From Feed Our Children, 42:06 and we want to take a look at those. 42:08 Will you describe what's going on in those? 42:10 Yes, this is one of the events that we have 42:13 where we give out the turkeys and stuff. 42:16 And we had just hundreds and hundreds of people coming. 42:19 And we have never ran out. Wow! 42:21 Ever since that day, I learned to trust in God. 42:22 We have our summer camps that we open up, 42:25 and they have the Vacation Bible School 42:27 for inner city... 42:29 It's all circling around, letting them know about Jesus. 42:32 Everything that we do 42:33 has given them that opportunity. 42:35 Even we spread it out to different countries. 42:36 This is over in Kenya... 42:38 Wow! 42:39 Where we have huge orphanages, 42:42 and that we're reaching those places where they are. 42:44 And God has transcended me from Plant City to that place. 42:48 That's nothing but God. Wow! 42:50 This is a family that someone 42:53 you know helped to contribute to help that family out. 42:57 And they made that happen. 42:58 A lot of people are sitting around 43:01 trying to figure out what to do. 43:02 This is on our Thanksgiving meal, 43:04 we opened it up. 43:05 And we have many of the migrant families 43:07 that come out there. 43:09 And we feed them, and we encouraged them. 43:12 Even the handicaps, they say, you know, 43:14 "I never had nothing like this in my life happen." 43:17 And they come white, black, blue, and yellow, 43:19 no matter which color they are. 43:20 We bring them where God would bring them. 43:24 We first meet the physical need 43:26 then we reach their spiritual need. 43:28 It took me out. 43:29 This is Curacao, 43:31 the country where they called me 43:32 the other year, last year, 43:33 and this ministry has reached out there 43:37 'cause I love evangelism. 43:38 So this is moving into the evangelism side. 43:40 This is moving into the evangelism side. 43:41 Okay. Okay. 43:42 Had a great baptism there, 43:44 over 20 some people there in one week 43:47 God just moved, and I love... 43:48 This is what I love to do. Yes. 43:50 I mean, take me to the water to be baptized. 43:53 Yes. 43:54 I mean, somewhere in there, I may not do it, 43:56 but I'm believing that everyone 43:58 that I come across that don't know Jesus, 44:00 but because they knew me, they get to know Jesus. 44:03 Yes. Yes. And so that was it. 44:05 We had a great interpreter that was pushing the gospel 44:08 as hard as I was. 44:11 We also... 44:13 That was in Kenya, that stadium, 44:15 thousands and thousands of people 44:17 coming out each day, and they preach the gospel. 44:20 And I told them my story, 44:22 and I met a lot of people in that area. 44:24 This is here in Panama where we were down there 44:27 and when Elder Falkenberg called me to this one 44:30 when he was there and he said, 44:32 "Hey, we need a black preacher down here." 44:34 And so that's when I went there to preach there, 44:36 and God won us those souls. 44:38 This was is in Guyana, 44:40 Linden in Guyana where we were serving there. 44:43 And just recently, 44:44 that was the second time I went there. 44:46 And that was a small group of baptisms that we had. 44:48 Wow. 44:49 And these are a lot of volunteers 44:50 that work with us, and thank God, 44:52 my ministry works through volunteers. 44:55 Yes. Yes. Wow. 44:57 I guess the better question is where haven't you been? 45:01 You've been all across the globe. 45:03 Where He leads me, I will follow. 45:06 I mean, I take engagements to preach every weekend. 45:12 And I fly out here, wherever the plane can get be, 45:15 I'm willing to be there. 45:17 Okay. Okay. 45:19 Now what made you so passionate about, 45:25 you know, getting active in the community? 45:28 I know where I was. 45:30 You know, sometimes we get in these comfort zones. 45:34 I think a lot of our Christians, 45:35 we're addicted to comfort, 45:39 we are addicted to convenience, 45:42 and if it's raining, we don't want to go out. 45:44 And there's always conditions we set for God 45:47 that we don't set for our job where they're paying us, 45:50 but getting down to work for God, we have... 45:53 I had to learn. I couldn't do that. 45:55 My passion had to push me into places 45:57 I didn't want to be 45:59 because I knew there was a need, 46:01 and God had assigned me 46:03 to that need to be taken care of. 46:06 When God assigned you to something, Jason, 46:09 you don't just unassign yourself. 46:12 I know that ain't even a word, but it sounds good. 46:16 You have to... 46:18 You have to stay there, 46:21 and I've stayed in places where I knew I was doing 46:24 what God called me to do, but I was ready to cut it off. 46:27 I had other things I wanted to do. 46:28 So I said, "Lord, I'm tired of this one, 46:30 don't you have something else?" 46:32 And I had to stay in it to win it. 46:35 Yes. 46:37 What it looked like was the... 46:38 Where I was putting a period, God had put a comma. 46:41 Okay. 46:43 And He said, "No, I need you to go on, 46:45 the sinners ain't over yet." 46:47 So you were trying to release yourself from... 46:49 Trying to release myself. 46:50 The assignment that God had assigned you to? 46:53 But the passion pushed me. You got to love what you do. 46:57 Absolutely. 46:58 First, we got to... 47:00 Let me put it back... 47:01 You have to love God first then you'll love whatever 47:04 He wants you to do. 47:06 You'll draw nearer to Him. 47:10 Otherwise, you have that Jonah experience. 47:13 I call it the Jonahsize. Unpack that. 47:16 Yes, Jonah once had an assignment, 47:19 but he wanted to make his own assignment. 47:24 And this assignment wasn't over till he went to Nineveh. 47:28 And sometimes you're feeling frustrated today and say, 47:32 "I just don't feel like... 47:34 I'm meeting what... 47:35 I want to do... 47:37 I fell unsatisfied." 47:38 Because you're probably in that place 47:41 where there is an assignment 47:45 that you're not fulfilling. 47:48 You have to fulfill your assignment, 47:50 otherwise there's always a whale. 47:53 That there's a whale, sometimes a whale of... 47:55 You wonder why you can't get your finance together, 47:58 that's a whale of finances. 48:00 You wonder why you can't get this relationship together. 48:02 And it's always something. 48:04 It won't work out until you allow God to fulfill 48:07 what He called you to do. 48:09 There's a scripture that I love to work 48:12 with that comes from Lamentations 3:37. 48:16 It says, "Who can speak into your life 48:19 and it comes to pass 48:20 unless God has not commanded it?" 48:23 Wow. 48:24 I take that back into, 48:26 you know, when people try to give you 48:29 what they want you to do, 48:31 and they tell you what you ought to do 48:33 or what you couldn't do or should've done. 48:35 You know, and a lot of times, 48:37 we have taken resonance in the can't doers. 48:42 But that text says, 48:43 "I can do all things through Christ." 48:46 So my passion to move even when it looks impossible, 48:50 you know, it says, "Who can say it come to pass 48:53 if God has not commanded it?" 48:55 Nobody told you, you were a failure. 48:57 Nobody told you can open up that new business. 48:59 Nobody told you 49:01 that that marriage could not work out. 49:03 Nobody told you that it wasn't going to be, 49:07 so you have drived into this stuff, 49:09 and you have let your life miss a lot of great opportunities 49:13 because you have looked into the door of failure 49:16 and stayed there, and you say, "It looks comfortable." 49:18 But God says, "I have not told you that." 49:20 That's why He asked you, "Who told you that?" 49:24 So my purpose and my passion has come together. 49:27 Yes. 49:28 And that's my drive because... 49:30 And when I hear people say, "Well, you know, 49:33 you're not going to really get this thing, 49:35 this project is too big." 49:37 And I looked at the scripture and said, 49:40 "Did God commanded it not to happen?" 49:45 If God said, "No, that's not yours." 49:48 One thing, let me tell you, Jason, 49:50 I don't want nothing that does not belong to me 49:53 'cause as the song say, 49:54 "What God has for you, it is for you." 49:57 Yes. I don't want your stuff. 49:59 I got enough stuff 50:01 that He has already prepared for me. 50:02 Abundantly, I mean, beyond what I can imagine. 50:06 So I say, "Lord, let me stay in my zone". 50:09 Don't be looking at everybody else, 50:11 I'm going to stay in my zone. 50:12 And where He takes me, 50:13 I don't have time for envy or jealousy. 50:15 Yeah. 50:16 Matter of fact, I want to see you do better 50:19 than I ever did. 50:20 As long as I know, 50:22 I'm fulfilling what God told me to do. 50:23 When I leave this place, 50:25 and they lay me down on my grave, 50:27 if He does not come before that time, 50:30 you will see the smile on my face 50:32 because I know I've done everything 50:34 that God has called me to do. 50:35 That's driving. That's living. 50:38 Not just going through, you know, careless of, 50:41 you know, just day-to-day... 50:43 I have a purpose when I get up in the morning 50:44 because I know 50:46 that I wasn't supposed to be here anyway. 50:47 Yes. Yes. I was supposed to be aborted. 50:51 So when I get up in the morning, 50:53 it's not like other people, 50:54 I know that I'm on borrowed time. 50:55 Oh, yeah. 50:57 So people are wondering, 50:58 "Why are you doing all this stuff?" 51:00 Because I have a drive in me because I know 51:01 that I wasn't supposed to be here 51:03 under all natural conditions of man. 51:06 I was supposed to be gone long time ago, 51:08 and the devil should have took me out when he could. 51:10 But now that I'm here, brother, I'm going to push for my Lord. 51:14 I'm gonna fight this fight till the very end. 51:16 I might get knocked back sometimes in a bout, 51:19 you may stumble, but I'm not going to fall. 51:21 Come on. My hands are in God's hands. 51:23 Wow! 51:25 It's so important to find your purpose, 51:27 your God-given purpose. 51:29 Yes. 51:30 And, like you said, 51:32 that passion comes about when you find that as well. 51:35 So, okay... 51:37 So Feed Our Children, 51:38 you're extremely passionate about that. 51:40 That's your purpose. You're fulfilling your purpose. 51:43 You're also a head chaplain as well. 51:47 Yes. 51:48 But before we talk about that, I'd like to talk about 51:51 some of the needs of Feed Our Children. 51:53 What are your current needs for the ministry? 51:56 We need prayer. Okay. 51:58 I think, wherever you are, 52:00 you can always just call that name, 52:03 Feed Our Children Ministry 52:04 that God's will will be done in it. 52:07 On our website, you can always go and... 52:10 What is your website? FeedOurChildren.org. 52:14 Okay. And you go in there. 52:16 If you want to give, donate, you're welcome to... 52:19 And we appreciate anything that you can provide. 52:23 If volunteers, we try to do some outreach places, 52:27 like we said we have different orphanages 52:30 in different places, 52:31 and even going to some of those places 52:33 and reaching out to some of those people there. 52:36 And they always tell us, "We need more rice and beans," 52:40 and we try to send those funds there 52:42 that they can get it right there 52:43 in their country in Kenya. 52:45 And so it is a... 52:47 We're a small ministry, but we're doing big things. 52:50 Yes. Around the world. 52:52 Yeah. That's a God thing. 52:56 He's not limited by geographics. 52:58 He's not on the side of stop. 53:00 Hey, I like that. 53:05 Well, you've given me plenty today too. 53:07 So I'm going to have to watch this over and over again 53:10 so I can get some of those sayings. 53:13 Very powerful. 53:15 It's amazing what you have been able to do 53:19 by the grace of God to help people. 53:21 I mean, it's practical Christianity. 53:23 Yes. 53:24 And you're getting out in the community, 53:25 and you're feeding the community, literally, 53:28 feeding the community 53:30 and communities around the globe. 53:32 Well, what I'd like to see while I'm out there is... 53:35 We were down there in Parkdale 53:37 when the shooting took place, Parkland. 53:39 In Florida? 53:41 Yes, particularly I went over there, 53:42 and I saw all of those broken kids, 53:45 and being a chaplain, 53:47 it helped me to be in the place when I was needed. 53:51 I just preach at a church in that area, 53:52 and a grandmother came and told me 53:54 that she just buried her child a day before, 53:57 and that was one of the kids that got shot. 53:59 But I saw that in those places, 54:03 God needs those who are willing to serve 54:07 and that has pushed me in... 54:10 As part of my ministry, I appreciate... 54:12 I had been a chaplain at Florida hospital. 54:16 I have found people 54:17 that were in the most vulnerable situation. 54:21 If you have been in a hospital, 54:23 and, you know that it's one of those things 54:27 you look death in their eyes, 54:30 and you're wondering, "So, Lord, is this it?" 54:33 And then you're wondering 54:34 if doctor's going to pull you through this? 54:36 Or is this sickness going to take you out? 54:40 And as a chaplain, and I salute all the chaplains, 54:45 even from Chaplain Barry Black 54:47 who works now as the senate there to chaplains in the army, 54:51 and those who are working in the hospitals 54:54 and those who are working in the prisons. 54:56 The Adventist chaplaincy covers all those. 54:59 To be in the chaplaincy in the hospitals, 55:02 there you have to go through a lot more 55:04 than even a pastor. 55:06 You have to already be in the ministry, 55:08 but it take you through another year, so CPE. 55:11 And there you learn how to eradicate 55:14 some of your prejudices, because you're going in rooms 55:17 where there are people who are different ethnicities, 55:22 you have people who have different viewpoints, 55:25 you have the homosexuals, 55:27 you have everybody from all walks of life. 55:30 The Baptists, the Methodists, 55:32 and you are their pastor when they are there. 55:34 And they take you in. 55:36 So God had to... 55:37 I'm learning one thing about the ministry like that, 55:39 you had to disband your prejudices and minister. 55:42 Yes. 55:45 That's a level of ministry that, 55:46 "I can't look at you 55:48 'cause you got all tattoos on and earrings 55:51 and all the other things." 55:52 God says, "That's my child too." 55:53 And that's the time 55:55 when those people are so vulnerable 55:56 and they feel... 55:58 A lot of them will feel their need for God. 56:00 They're helpless at that point. Yes. 56:02 Helpless. 56:04 And that's when 56:07 some who never would even listen to you, 56:10 pray for them, asks you, "Will you pray for me?" 56:14 Yes. "Will you hold my hand?" 56:16 And I not only pray for them, but I sing. 56:19 I made a CD that you can actually get it 56:21 from the Adventist Book Center. 56:24 It's online, called Healings Hymns. 56:28 And those are the songs that I sing to my patients. 56:31 Nice. 56:32 And they find that there's healing 56:33 in those beautiful words that come from, 56:36 "Amazing grace, 56:38 how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me." 56:41 That was my story. Wow. 56:44 You have a very, very powerful testimony. 56:48 And I hope that our viewers at home have been inspired 56:52 by today's interview. 56:55 I want to thank you so much. Thank you. 56:57 It was a blessing to be here with you. 56:59 Yes, sir. And thank you. 57:00 Well, we've reached the end of another program. 57:03 Join us next time, and remember, 57:04 it just wouldn't be the same without you. |
Revised 2018-05-17