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It's good to be back home with you

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brothers and sisters in Richmond and to worship

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together with you this morning.

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And as we were worshiping, the Lord was

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really speaking to my heart.

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You know, our heart and heart, it's all

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heart.

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We don't know how hard it really is,

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but only the love of God can melt

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our heart and heart.

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And thank the Lord, His love is real.

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And if we can respond in any way

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in worshiping Him, it's that His love is

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so great, so powerful.

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He has conquered us with His love.

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So thank the Lord for our time together.

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We were here in September.

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You remember we were here in September?

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Okay.

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You remember that day, that weekend?

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You all remember?

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And that Lord's Day, Brother Thornton shared his

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testimony.

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And we were all very helped by his

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testimony.

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And afterwards, Mack approached me.

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He said, next time when you come back

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to Richmond, we'll have the opportunity to hear

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your testimony.

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And so I was waiting before the Lord,

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what do I share?

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And I think I'll just share a little

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bit of my testimony, the testimony of the

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goodness of the Lord, how the Lord is

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real, how real He is, how faithful He

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is, how loving He is, and how true

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He is to Himself.

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So I'll share a little bit of the

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Lord's goodness.

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And then maybe toward the end, I'll just

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share with you my burden that I have

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received in recent months from the Lord.

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And so that you can pray with me

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that the Lord's purpose will be fully realized.

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And the Lord can get all you want

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to get.

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All that He's helped in our generation.

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Now, my testimony.

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Now, I'm glad Brother Kong is sitting here.

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Because he knows a great deal about me,

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my family.

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In fact, I met Brother Kong when he

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was a little boy in China.

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Can you believe that?

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He came to my hometown.

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He knew my grandmom.

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He knew my parents, my aunts.

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And so we have a long, ancient history

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together.

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And now some brothers and sisters in Richmond

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were told that I'll be sharing my testimony.

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And my wife said to those people, she

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said, his testimony is not all that exciting.

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Well, I said, wait and see.

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But don't you dare to go to sleep.

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But you know that China is a pagan

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country.

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I was born in China, in a pagan

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country.

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And I always thought that I was brought

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up in a Christian home.

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But actually, my father wasn't saved until he

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was at the age of 33.

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And that was when I was about five

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or six years old.

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So don't figure out how old I am

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now.

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And it was amazing how my father got

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saved.

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He was not looking for the Lord, but

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the Lord was looking for him.

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Now, isn't that true with most of our

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testimony?

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We are not looking for him, but he's

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out there always looking for us.

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So in the early 30s, I'm sure you've

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heard of a very renowned Chinese evangelist, Dr.

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John Song.

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Some of you may have read his biography.

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There is a short biography of three spiritual

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giants in China, but he needs one.

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And John Song is also another one.

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Another one is David Young.

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But this Dr. John Song, I'm sure some

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of you, when you read him, his testimony

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was most powerful.

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He came to this country to study chemistry

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at Ohio State University.

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And the Lord got hold of him.

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Wonderfully saved.

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And so he had a burden to go

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back to China to evangelize China for the

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Lord.

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And in those days, the only way he

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knew how to prepare himself to go back

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to evangelize China is to go to a

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theological school and to be trained and to

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be qualified for that work.

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So I was told that he went to

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Union Theological Seminary in New York to study

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theology.

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And that was at the height of modernism

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in this country in the 20s.

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They questioned everything about the Lord Jesus, his

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virgin birth, his divinity.

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And so John Song went to that school.

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But he was such a saint that he

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believed every word in this book.

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And so we always have a real controversy

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with some of the professors.

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They just couldn't get along.

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What the professor lectured and what he read

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out of the Bible, they just don't go

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together.

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And he did his biography.

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The professor and official at the Union Theological

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Seminary, they labeled him as psychotic.

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He was mentally off.

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And they sent him to a mental institution.

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And he became very sick.

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Now I won't go into any more, but

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the Lord recovered his health and he went

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back to China.

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And on his way to China, just before

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the boat docked at the pier, he threw

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his PhD diploma into the Pacific Ocean to

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finish all that was of the earthly things.

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And he went and evangelized.

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And he became mightily used by the Lord

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in China.

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Many, many guys saved through his ministry.

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And he happened to come to my hometown.

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Now Dr. John Song is a very temperamental

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person.

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I think Mother Cone knows him personally.

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He's a very temperamental person.

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So because of his mandarin is not a

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proof mandarin, so it's very difficult for people

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to understand what he is saying.

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So whenever he goes to a place, he

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needs a translator to translate his ministry into

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the local dialect.

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So he came to our hometown.

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And he was there to have an evangelistic

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campaign.

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And the local believers, they introduced him to

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several persons.

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They hoped they were qualified to translate for

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him.

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But all those who introduced him to translate

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for him, he was not satisfied.

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Now I heard that he was very temperamental.

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Even right on the stage while he was

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preaching and the brother who was translating for

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him, if he is not satisfied with him,

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he asked him to please sit down and

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get somebody else.

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And so the local saints, when those who

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would sponsor this evangelistic campaign, they were very

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uneasy.

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Just where can they look for a suitable

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person to translate for Dr. John Song?

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And then finally my father's name came up

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to the committee.

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And they said we think we should approach

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this Mr. Wu.

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Maybe he will be a person who I

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can do the translation for Dr. John Song.

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So they approached my father and my father

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agreed.

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Now at that time my father was not

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a saint person.

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So yes, so he agreed.

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And so he became Dr. John Song's translator.

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And somehow both of them did very well.

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My father, he liked the way my father

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was translating for him.

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And so he kept my father through the

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whole gospel campaign.

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And it was then my father got saved

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at the age of 33 through translating for

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Dr. John Song.

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Well, my father got saved first, but not

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my mother.

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My mother was very skeptical.

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And so at that time when my father

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got saved, few of his old schoolmates also

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got saved.

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And miraculously.

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But my mother was still resisting the gospel.

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And she just not receptive.

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And so a friend of my father very

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wisely, the Lord give him that wisdom.

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He said my mother's just like the old

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Jericho.

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You know, wars up to the skies.

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You know, it's not easy to conquer.

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The only way is to follow, is to

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take the way that Joshua did it for

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Jericho.

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So this friend of my father, a very

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cuddly man, and also brought a cognosium.

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And he was also my father's co-worker,

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early co-workers in China.

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So he took note of my mother's resistance.

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And he knew that talking to her and

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convincing her would not do any good.

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So this brother, he's a very gentle brother.

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So he would come to my home and

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he would come and sit and smile.

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And for a short while, maybe for half

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an hour, then he would say goodbye and

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go home.

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And he did this seven times.

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And then at the end of seven times,

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my mother was capriciously to the Lord.

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She got saved.

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Just by this brother going, coming, coming to

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our home and visited us, smiled.

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Did not say a word.

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Seven times my mother got saved.

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Now, this is how my mother got saved.

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Then when my father got saved, few years

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later, somehow he came in touch with, probably

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me, his ministry.

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And the Lord seemed to open up to

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him something that he never knew before.

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He never experienced before.

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He saw something more, far more.

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So in his heart, had a longing to

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want by the Lord once.

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And at that time, he was teaching.

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And for those of you know the history

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of the work in China, for those who

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really, in the early days, who really were

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in fellowship with the local fellowship of global

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assembly, the testing of the Lord once locally,

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that Fr.

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Ni initiated.

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The Lord enabled him to pave the way

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for the Lord to come together.

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That kind of a gathering is, how should

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I put it?

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It's something altogether new to the people.

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Something unheard of.

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Meeting in home.

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Just meet together under the Lord.

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Meet in the name of the Lord Jesus.

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And we call each other brothers and sisters.

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No labels.

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It was completely strange to the Christians, to

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the so-called organized Christianity.

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And so when my father was inclined to

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follow the Lord this way, suffered much rejection.

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In spite or despite.

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And I was small.

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I noticed some of the persecution that we

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went through.

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We were labeled.

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We were called with names.

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And people avoid us.

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And they were really, they think we were

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very dangerous.

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So those are the early days.

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Of those who followed the Lord, it was

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very costly.

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And the misunderstanding, persecution, rejection, did not come

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from the world.

279
00:12:27,750 --> 00:12:30,990
But come from your fellow believers, Christians.

280
00:12:32,230 --> 00:12:34,150
It was in those early days, even when

281
00:12:34,150 --> 00:12:39,310
I was small, I witnessed some mighty miracles

282
00:12:39,310 --> 00:12:40,150
the Lord performed.

283
00:12:41,530 --> 00:12:42,690
Sick were healed.

284
00:12:44,550 --> 00:12:48,050
And people possessed with demons were delivered.

285
00:12:48,950 --> 00:12:49,950
When I was small.

286
00:12:50,010 --> 00:12:53,450
And I believe my salvation, my knowledge came

287
00:12:53,450 --> 00:12:54,390
at that very moment.

288
00:12:55,830 --> 00:13:01,230
Because I witnessed the power of God in

289
00:13:01,230 --> 00:13:01,690
lives.

290
00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:11,180
Then of course later, my father, since the

291
00:13:11,180 --> 00:13:13,400
Lord is calling him into ministry.

292
00:13:16,260 --> 00:13:18,560
And he was teaching at a school at

293
00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:19,020
that time.

294
00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:21,660
And so it was a very difficult time.

295
00:13:23,970 --> 00:13:27,670
And the school seemed to have an imposed

296
00:13:27,670 --> 00:13:28,830
on my father condition.

297
00:13:29,650 --> 00:13:32,690
If he would associate with me, then he

298
00:13:32,690 --> 00:13:34,010
would have to resign from the school.

299
00:13:39,660 --> 00:13:41,620
And my father felt the call of the

300
00:13:41,620 --> 00:13:41,720
Lord.

301
00:13:41,860 --> 00:13:42,520
He had no choice.

302
00:13:44,690 --> 00:13:46,310
So he resigned from his post.

303
00:13:48,010 --> 00:13:51,430
And served the Lord in our hometown for

304
00:13:51,430 --> 00:13:52,210
several years.

305
00:13:52,630 --> 00:13:53,810
Before he went to the Philippines.

306
00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,260
For those early workers in China, when they

307
00:13:59,260 --> 00:14:03,480
served the Lord, their living, their life is

308
00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:04,100
a life of faith.

309
00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:07,520
They trust the Lord for all their needs.

310
00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:11,840
Now you have to remember, China was a

311
00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:13,440
very, very poor country.

312
00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:15,960
Even the saints in those days, if they

313
00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:17,480
want to give to the Lord's servant, they

314
00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:18,020
would not give.

315
00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:25,280
And even when I was small, I sort

316
00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:28,480
of felt, even when I was small, the

317
00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,560
difficulty that my parents went through financially.

318
00:14:33,950 --> 00:14:35,750
Because my father was teaching.

319
00:14:36,370 --> 00:14:37,490
He had steady income.

320
00:14:39,830 --> 00:14:44,910
And so he has some hobbies.

321
00:14:46,410 --> 00:14:47,970
He has a good camera.

322
00:14:48,410 --> 00:14:49,850
He has a few things in here and

323
00:14:49,850 --> 00:14:49,970
there.

324
00:14:50,090 --> 00:14:51,810
But when he stepped up and served the

325
00:14:51,810 --> 00:14:54,350
Lord, we noticed, our children noticed, some of

326
00:14:54,350 --> 00:14:55,690
the things that we have in our home

327
00:14:55,690 --> 00:14:56,510
gradually disappeared.

328
00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:00,360
Because he had to sell this thing into

329
00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:01,000
a pawn shop.

330
00:15:02,100 --> 00:15:08,520
And to, in exchange for some dollars, so

331
00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:10,420
they can put bread on the table of

332
00:15:10,420 --> 00:15:11,820
food, on the table for our kids.

333
00:15:12,020 --> 00:15:13,860
So gradually, my mother's brain was gone.

334
00:15:14,540 --> 00:15:16,060
A few things in the home could disappear.

335
00:15:18,220 --> 00:15:22,660
But in those days, there's such a joy,

336
00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:28,800
such fulfillment, that in my parents' life, that

337
00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:30,160
we never experienced before.

338
00:15:33,020 --> 00:15:35,680
My mother told me, when they stepped out

339
00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:39,460
to serve the Lord, look, Chapter 12 became

340
00:15:39,460 --> 00:15:39,960
very real.

341
00:15:40,020 --> 00:15:41,340
At that time, there were only five.

342
00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:42,800
Three children and parents.

343
00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:44,200
Five sparrows.

344
00:15:44,980 --> 00:15:46,380
And one doesn't count.

345
00:15:48,380 --> 00:15:49,600
And the Lord took care of us.

346
00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:57,860
I remember wintertime, we had no heavy coats

347
00:15:57,860 --> 00:15:59,000
to wear to school.

348
00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:02,060
Then my father, he's quite handy.

349
00:16:02,620 --> 00:16:04,440
He would take his suit jacket and he'll

350
00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:08,140
convert into coats for us children to go

351
00:16:08,140 --> 00:16:08,500
to school.

352
00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:10,000
So that we have something warm to put

353
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:10,180
on.

354
00:16:11,220 --> 00:16:12,540
And of course, I mean, we were very

355
00:16:12,540 --> 00:16:14,740
not appreciative.

356
00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:17,140
Because all the others, they have such nice

357
00:16:17,140 --> 00:16:17,960
things to wear.

358
00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,940
And we have to wear all these hand

359
00:16:20,940 --> 00:16:22,060
-downs from our parents.

360
00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:24,740
I mean, you know, the coat looks okay.

361
00:16:25,060 --> 00:16:26,700
But when it comes to this pocket, it

362
00:16:26,700 --> 00:16:27,320
looks terrible.

363
00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:29,940
You know, it's not fashionable.

364
00:16:31,180 --> 00:16:33,800
So, but anyway, the Lord somehow allowed us

365
00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:35,100
family to go through this.

366
00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:37,460
And as I look back, I can see

367
00:16:37,460 --> 00:16:39,120
the beautiful hands of the Lord.

368
00:16:40,260 --> 00:16:43,980
But anyway, it was in 1938 and 1937,

369
00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:45,520
my father was called to go to the

370
00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:46,860
Philippines to help with the work there.

371
00:16:48,220 --> 00:16:49,360
And he went there.

372
00:16:50,020 --> 00:16:53,860
And in 1940, the family, we migrated to

373
00:16:53,860 --> 00:16:54,220
the Philippines.

374
00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:56,840
And right after we arrived in the Philippines,

375
00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,760
then World War II broke out shortly after

376
00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:00,040
that.

377
00:17:04,380 --> 00:17:10,280
And so, of course, the Americans in the

378
00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:12,520
islands were defeated within a matter of a

379
00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:13,540
month, within 30 days.

380
00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,020
The Japanese completely captured the whole island of

381
00:17:17,020 --> 00:17:17,460
the Philippines.

382
00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,460
And we were under Japanese occupation for three

383
00:17:21,460 --> 00:17:22,140
and a half years.

384
00:17:23,099 --> 00:17:24,640
And those were difficult days.

385
00:17:24,940 --> 00:17:27,220
You know, the Japanese and American, there's a

386
00:17:27,220 --> 00:17:28,680
big difference.

387
00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,280
The American troops, wherever they go, they bring

388
00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:32,560
their supplies with them.

389
00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:36,080
But with the Japanese in World War II,

390
00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:37,960
they get their supplies locally.

391
00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:43,440
And so the people locally, they'll deprive everything.

392
00:17:43,900 --> 00:17:46,040
Because whatever they can get locally is go

393
00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:46,540
to the army.

394
00:17:47,620 --> 00:17:50,440
So food was scarce, clothing was scarce, everything

395
00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:51,000
was scarce.

396
00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:53,360
It was amazing how the Lord took care

397
00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:54,640
of his own in those days.

398
00:17:54,780 --> 00:17:56,800
But the most amazing thing is that at

399
00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:58,660
the end of three and a half years,

400
00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:04,340
the Allies troops are gaining grounds in the

401
00:18:04,340 --> 00:18:04,700
Pacific.

402
00:18:07,580 --> 00:18:09,580
And we are all very excited.

403
00:18:10,380 --> 00:18:14,520
We are all waiting, hoping the GIs will

404
00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:15,960
come back and set us free.

405
00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:18,960
But during the occupation, the Lord had done

406
00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:19,960
something tremendously.

407
00:18:20,420 --> 00:18:21,700
I'll just touch a few things.

408
00:18:21,860 --> 00:18:23,560
Because when the Japanese came in, they formed

409
00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:29,120
a military government to control the affairs of

410
00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:29,520
the nation.

411
00:18:30,260 --> 00:18:32,300
And they set up a religious department.

412
00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:34,700
So at that time, they want to organize

413
00:18:34,700 --> 00:18:37,900
all the Christian, Protestant churches into an alliance

414
00:18:37,900 --> 00:18:44,280
under the Japanese ministry of religion.

415
00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:47,500
And so they can keep an eye on

416
00:18:47,500 --> 00:18:49,240
what you do, what you preach, all your

417
00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:49,660
activities.

418
00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:52,860
And when you join this group, if you

419
00:18:52,860 --> 00:18:54,580
join it, then you are allowed to meet

420
00:18:54,580 --> 00:18:55,020
openly.

421
00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,100
But once you join this group, they'll put

422
00:18:58,100 --> 00:19:01,340
a picture, photo of Emperor Hirohito right in

423
00:19:01,340 --> 00:19:02,500
your meeting room.

424
00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:06,440
And you have to report to the ministry

425
00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:10,540
of religion what you preach on that Sunday.

426
00:19:11,820 --> 00:19:14,440
They want to know what you do.

427
00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:16,780
So they came and approached my father and

428
00:19:16,780 --> 00:19:19,860
Brother Meek and asked him to join this

429
00:19:19,860 --> 00:19:21,220
religious alliance.

430
00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,320
Now, I was told that Brother Meek was

431
00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:27,220
a little bit inclined because if you do

432
00:19:27,220 --> 00:19:28,580
that, you avoid a lot of problems.

433
00:19:31,100 --> 00:19:36,100
But my father resisted, no compromise.

434
00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:38,020
As far as the things of the Lord,

435
00:19:38,180 --> 00:19:40,040
we cannot compromise with the world.

436
00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,100
We cannot compromise with the system, so he

437
00:19:43,100 --> 00:19:43,540
refused.

438
00:19:44,060 --> 00:19:46,260
But thank the Lord, because of the ministry,

439
00:19:46,780 --> 00:19:48,760
the man, Japanese, who was in charge of

440
00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:53,860
the department of religion, was most understanding.

441
00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:56,360
Even though we refused to join the alliance,

442
00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:58,100
they still allowed us to meet.

443
00:19:58,740 --> 00:19:59,960
And so it was really a miracle.

444
00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:05,340
You can see the Lord's work, the Lord

445
00:20:05,340 --> 00:20:08,000
alone can do, and the Lord's testimony, he

446
00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:09,140
alone can maintain it.

447
00:20:10,100 --> 00:20:11,440
So it's wonderful.

448
00:20:12,360 --> 00:20:16,720
But anyway, during the Japanese occupation, things were

449
00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:17,860
very, very tough.

450
00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:20,280
But at that time, Chiang Kai-shek's government,

451
00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:21,920
they had a person in the Philippines.

452
00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:27,860
He served as the spy for the Allied

453
00:20:27,860 --> 00:20:28,460
headquarters.

454
00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:31,840
And this person, before he got saved, the

455
00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:33,340
Japanese knew that he was in the island

456
00:20:33,340 --> 00:20:36,100
and he was constantly hunted by the Japanese

457
00:20:36,100 --> 00:20:38,020
troops.

458
00:20:38,660 --> 00:20:40,560
So he moved from place to place.

459
00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:42,460
Every few months, he would move from one

460
00:20:42,460 --> 00:20:44,000
location to avoid being captured.

461
00:20:44,980 --> 00:20:48,620
And living in fear, the Lord saved his

462
00:20:48,620 --> 00:20:50,260
life, saved him miraculously.

463
00:20:50,580 --> 00:20:52,240
And he became very close with my father.

464
00:20:52,380 --> 00:20:54,060
Finally, he moved behind our house.

465
00:20:54,220 --> 00:20:55,800
Every evening, he and my father would pray

466
00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,560
together, because he was always very, very fearful

467
00:20:58,560 --> 00:20:59,300
for his life.

468
00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:00,960
Any moment, he was afraid he would be

469
00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:01,300
captured.

470
00:21:01,780 --> 00:21:03,280
And the reason he was afraid, because he

471
00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,140
had a set of a shortwave radio transmitter

472
00:21:07,140 --> 00:21:09,260
sending messages to the Allied headquarters.

473
00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:12,120
And so he was living a very fearful

474
00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:12,380
life.

475
00:21:12,380 --> 00:21:14,300
And then the Lord saved this brother and

476
00:21:14,300 --> 00:21:14,880
saved his family.

477
00:21:15,620 --> 00:21:17,600
Now, the amazing thing is that there are

478
00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:22,300
many of the Filipino and Chinese walking under

479
00:21:22,300 --> 00:21:22,560
him.

480
00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:27,020
There's always on the lookout, you know, the

481
00:21:27,020 --> 00:21:28,280
activities of the Japanese.

482
00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:32,560
And one of this brother's men, that day

483
00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:33,820
he was at Manila Harbor.

484
00:21:34,380 --> 00:21:39,040
And he saw there was a whole naval

485
00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,780
task force was anchored in the bay.

486
00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:44,740
And this man came back to our brother,

487
00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:45,740
Zhang Jiafu.

488
00:21:46,780 --> 00:21:49,460
Then that informed him about the Japanese are

489
00:21:49,460 --> 00:21:52,080
concentrating their forces, naval force, in Manila Bay.

490
00:21:52,220 --> 00:21:53,820
So he told our brother Zhang, and he

491
00:21:53,820 --> 00:21:57,580
immediately cabled to General MacArthur's headquarters in Australia.

492
00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:00,760
The next day, all the Allies planes, hundreds

493
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:02,320
of them came to the bay and sunk

494
00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:04,060
all those ships in one day.

495
00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:08,280
So General MacArthur, when he came back, liberated

496
00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:08,860
the Philippines.

497
00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:11,340
He called our brother Zhang to his headquarters.

498
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:18,100
And conferred him the Medal of Honor, recognition

499
00:22:18,100 --> 00:22:20,400
of his contribution to the success of the

500
00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:22,260
Pacific operation of the Allied troops.

501
00:22:23,180 --> 00:22:23,840
This is our brother.

502
00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:28,700
Then later on, in the interim period, he

503
00:22:28,700 --> 00:22:32,880
was appointed as the envoy, the ambassador for

504
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:34,600
the Chinese government.

505
00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:37,600
And also under him, several of the brothers

506
00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:39,780
also working with him.

507
00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,360
It was at that time, after the liberation,

508
00:22:42,580 --> 00:22:44,040
the Lord somehow gave me a desire.

509
00:22:44,220 --> 00:22:45,600
If the Lord would open the door for

510
00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:46,820
me to come to the U.S. to

511
00:22:46,820 --> 00:22:47,140
study.

512
00:22:50,180 --> 00:22:50,460
Okay.

513
00:22:51,060 --> 00:22:52,580
Now I talked to my father and said,

514
00:22:52,660 --> 00:22:54,200
now I have a desire to go to

515
00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:54,940
the U.S. to study.

516
00:22:55,460 --> 00:22:55,900
What do you think?

517
00:22:55,940 --> 00:22:56,740
He said, no way.

518
00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:02,400
He said, my heart says, my mind says

519
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,280
yes, but my heart says no.

520
00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:06,400
He said, because I have no way to

521
00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:08,460
guarantee financially that you can go.

522
00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:09,780
I have no way of backing you up.

523
00:23:09,780 --> 00:23:11,940
Even though I want to, but financially I'm

524
00:23:11,940 --> 00:23:13,100
incapable of doing it.

525
00:23:15,980 --> 00:23:17,500
So he told me, he said, now if

526
00:23:17,500 --> 00:23:19,680
the Lord wants you to go, the Lord

527
00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:21,640
needs, the Lord has to perform a miracle.

528
00:23:23,020 --> 00:23:26,140
Unless the Lord performs a miracle, there's no

529
00:23:26,140 --> 00:23:26,700
way you can go.

530
00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:31,540
So in my simple way, I simply pray

531
00:23:31,540 --> 00:23:32,700
and say, Lord, if it is your will,

532
00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:33,540
you open the way.

533
00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:34,860
If not, you shut the door.

534
00:23:35,580 --> 00:23:37,200
An amazing thing is that in one of

535
00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:40,200
the Sundays, in the offering box in the

536
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:45,000
back, there's an envelope containing 800 pesos.

537
00:23:46,020 --> 00:23:47,740
And right on the envelope it marks, it's

538
00:23:47,740 --> 00:23:50,900
for Jose Wu's transport to the U.S.

539
00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:56,740
Now in 1948, 800 pesos is equivalent to

540
00:23:56,740 --> 00:23:58,000
400 U.S. dollars.

541
00:23:59,260 --> 00:24:00,900
Now that's big money in those days.

542
00:24:01,980 --> 00:24:03,860
So when that envelope was given to my

543
00:24:03,860 --> 00:24:05,260
father, my father came to me and said,

544
00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:07,260
you can now proceed to go.

545
00:24:09,780 --> 00:24:11,100
So the Lord really opened it up.

546
00:24:11,820 --> 00:24:14,220
And then, of course, when this came about,

547
00:24:14,740 --> 00:24:18,580
our brother Zhang, he's still the interim ambassador

548
00:24:18,580 --> 00:24:20,500
in the Chinese embassy.

549
00:24:21,460 --> 00:24:23,360
And another brother was his first secretary.

550
00:24:23,660 --> 00:24:25,420
They both are the Lord's and they both,

551
00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:26,740
they met with us in a fellowship.

552
00:24:28,020 --> 00:24:30,060
So I informed brother Zhang and said, the

553
00:24:30,060 --> 00:24:32,320
Lord is opening up an opportunity for me

554
00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:33,520
to go to U.S. study.

555
00:24:34,060 --> 00:24:38,400
He said, don't worry, he said, I'm going

556
00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:39,740
to get you a passport in a matter

557
00:24:39,740 --> 00:24:41,380
of days.

558
00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:42,640
He said, I'll get you a passport.

559
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:44,960
So he provided me with a passport.

560
00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:51,920
And then this brother Zhou, who was his

561
00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,360
first secretary, he said, if you want to

562
00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:56,960
get your U.S. visa, I'll accompany you.

563
00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:02,720
For somebody in the embassy with the official

564
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,400
capacity, I mean, to accompany to the U

565
00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:08,160
.S. council to get a visa, I mean,

566
00:25:09,700 --> 00:25:11,880
it showed how he loves me.

567
00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:15,020
You can see the Lord's hand was upon

568
00:25:15,020 --> 00:25:15,720
this whole thing.

569
00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:17,260
So he walked, he came with, he went

570
00:25:17,260 --> 00:25:19,340
with me to the U.S. embassy to

571
00:25:19,340 --> 00:25:21,040
get visa, we were standing at a counter.

572
00:25:22,020 --> 00:25:23,620
And then all of a sudden, one of

573
00:25:23,620 --> 00:25:26,880
the doors opened and the official, the councilor

574
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:27,940
saw us there.

575
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:29,300
And he recognized brother Cai.

576
00:25:30,580 --> 00:25:32,440
He said, brother Cai, Mr. Cai, come to

577
00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:33,380
my office, come to my office.

578
00:25:33,500 --> 00:25:34,660
Anything I can do for you.

579
00:25:36,580 --> 00:25:39,140
And this brother said, this young man, he

580
00:25:39,140 --> 00:25:40,320
wants to get a visa.

581
00:25:40,460 --> 00:25:42,700
He said, come this afternoon, you will have

582
00:25:42,700 --> 00:25:42,860
it.

583
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:45,680
You can see the Lord just opening up

584
00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:46,340
things for me.

585
00:25:46,980 --> 00:25:49,700
And so I left home in the fall

586
00:25:49,700 --> 00:25:50,660
of 1948.

587
00:25:51,820 --> 00:25:53,540
First time away from home.

588
00:25:56,220 --> 00:26:00,890
And, you know, before you go, I mean,

589
00:26:00,930 --> 00:26:01,690
you're very excited.

590
00:26:01,810 --> 00:26:03,330
You know, you're going to go to a

591
00:26:03,330 --> 00:26:03,870
new country.

592
00:26:04,670 --> 00:26:07,390
All the adventure that's ahead of you, all

593
00:26:07,390 --> 00:26:08,070
the excitement.

594
00:26:08,790 --> 00:26:10,270
But when it comes to the time of,

595
00:26:10,470 --> 00:26:12,630
we are going to go now, leaving now,

596
00:26:13,070 --> 00:26:14,030
you have a mixed feeling.

597
00:26:18,490 --> 00:26:19,970
Was I doing the right thing?

598
00:26:20,890 --> 00:26:22,870
Not knowing anybody in this country.

599
00:26:25,310 --> 00:26:27,230
Not knowing what holds for me in the

600
00:26:27,230 --> 00:26:27,570
future.

601
00:26:29,190 --> 00:26:30,870
Not knowing at all what lies ahead.

602
00:26:31,430 --> 00:26:32,230
It's a mixed feeling.

603
00:26:33,510 --> 00:26:34,970
But now the way is open.

604
00:26:36,350 --> 00:26:38,270
And there's no way of turning back.

605
00:26:39,150 --> 00:26:39,730
I go on.

606
00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:43,720
So I got onto that boat.

607
00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:47,260
And it took me over three weeks to

608
00:26:47,260 --> 00:26:48,100
cross the Pacific.

609
00:26:50,850 --> 00:26:52,970
And my brothers and sisters, those three weeks

610
00:26:52,970 --> 00:26:55,170
were the longest days in my life.

611
00:26:56,690 --> 00:26:59,270
There were hundreds, hundreds of people on that

612
00:26:59,270 --> 00:26:59,490
ship.

613
00:26:59,630 --> 00:27:01,490
It's a passenger ship, a personal liner.

614
00:27:02,750 --> 00:27:04,530
But I was the most lonely person on

615
00:27:04,530 --> 00:27:04,970
that ship.

616
00:27:07,710 --> 00:27:09,230
And many of the students on that ship,

617
00:27:09,250 --> 00:27:10,810
they wanted to be friends with me.

618
00:27:11,710 --> 00:27:13,250
But I was very lonely inside.

619
00:27:16,180 --> 00:27:17,120
I was homesick.

620
00:27:19,810 --> 00:27:24,330
And on many occasions, that loneliness was so

621
00:27:24,330 --> 00:27:28,390
overpowering that I just controlled my tears.

622
00:27:32,180 --> 00:27:34,300
And when you're in that situation, you wonder

623
00:27:34,900 --> 00:27:36,460
if you have made the right choice.

624
00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:40,320
You know?

625
00:27:40,420 --> 00:27:41,740
And my brothers and sisters, it was at

626
00:27:41,740 --> 00:27:45,000
that very moment in the loneliness, for the

627
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:49,900
first time in my life, I experienced the

628
00:27:49,900 --> 00:27:50,900
sweet presence.

629
00:27:56,380 --> 00:27:59,400
On many occasions, it was when my tear

630
00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:01,120
was beyond control.

631
00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:04,940
Then I cried a little.

632
00:28:05,340 --> 00:28:13,110
I said, oh, if you're real, fill my

633
00:28:13,110 --> 00:28:14,110
heart with joy.

634
00:28:15,250 --> 00:28:15,850
And he did.

635
00:28:22,350 --> 00:28:26,270
So I came to this new country, and

636
00:28:26,270 --> 00:28:28,190
everything is new to me.

637
00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,700
You know, I came to study, but the

638
00:28:34,700 --> 00:28:35,720
Lord has a different purpose.

639
00:28:37,940 --> 00:28:39,300
He has a higher purpose.

640
00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:46,080
I came in 1948, and after I arrived

641
00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:48,660
here, I went through a period of real

642
00:28:48,660 --> 00:28:49,680
doubts and questions.

643
00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:54,220
And I thank the Lord for that place

644
00:28:54,220 --> 00:28:54,740
I went to.

645
00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:58,660
Because when I was in the Philippines, I

646
00:28:58,660 --> 00:29:00,320
was under the covering of the fellowship.

647
00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:01,760
I was protected.

648
00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:04,020
And now I'm uncovered.

649
00:29:06,770 --> 00:29:07,810
And I question everything.

650
00:29:08,450 --> 00:29:11,970
And particularly, when I compare the way we

651
00:29:11,970 --> 00:29:14,130
live in the Philippines, and some of the

652
00:29:14,130 --> 00:29:15,990
workers we knew in China, how they live.

653
00:29:16,870 --> 00:29:18,990
And when I'm exposed to the religious system

654
00:29:18,990 --> 00:29:20,610
we have in this country, how the ministers

655
00:29:20,610 --> 00:29:21,930
in this country, how they live.

656
00:29:27,570 --> 00:29:31,310
I have a real problem.

657
00:29:32,730 --> 00:29:33,390
Who's right?

658
00:29:33,470 --> 00:29:33,990
Who's wrong?

659
00:29:36,150 --> 00:29:39,590
If somebody's ordained pastors with their position guaranteed

660
00:29:39,590 --> 00:29:42,730
for life, money guaranteed for life, security guaranteed

661
00:29:42,730 --> 00:29:45,410
for life, and my parents, they have to

662
00:29:45,410 --> 00:29:48,030
live by faith, they don't know what's going

663
00:29:48,030 --> 00:29:50,510
to be meal, things going to be coming

664
00:29:50,510 --> 00:29:50,830
from.

665
00:29:51,410 --> 00:29:52,830
Now, who's right?

666
00:29:54,150 --> 00:29:55,330
Which way is right?

667
00:29:56,730 --> 00:29:59,130
Are my parents and those who serve the

668
00:29:59,130 --> 00:29:59,590
Lord, like Fr.

669
00:29:59,710 --> 00:29:59,990
Ni, Fr.

670
00:30:00,130 --> 00:30:01,290
Kong, are they all very foolish?

671
00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:05,400
I question them.

672
00:30:05,620 --> 00:30:06,660
I question the Lord's table.

673
00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:07,740
I question our worship.

674
00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:08,640
I question everything.

675
00:30:09,580 --> 00:30:10,220
Were we wrong?

676
00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:12,820
Was I just following?

677
00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:14,940
Or is it real?

678
00:30:21,330 --> 00:30:22,090
And thank the Lord.

679
00:30:22,630 --> 00:30:25,310
The Lord gradually making those things real back

680
00:30:25,310 --> 00:30:25,630
to me.

681
00:30:27,950 --> 00:30:30,390
God's, man's ways are for man.

682
00:30:31,430 --> 00:30:32,990
Man's ways are never for God.

683
00:30:33,270 --> 00:30:34,910
Man's way can never be for God.

684
00:30:36,050 --> 00:30:40,150
But God's way is for God's purpose and

685
00:30:40,150 --> 00:30:40,810
for God's glory.

686
00:30:44,750 --> 00:30:46,450
Then I had the privilege.

687
00:30:47,110 --> 00:30:47,430
And you know, Fr.

688
00:30:47,550 --> 00:30:49,530
Kong came to this country in 1952.

689
00:30:51,130 --> 00:30:54,490
And through him, we were introduced to some

690
00:30:54,490 --> 00:30:57,510
saints in the Midwest, in Minnesota.

691
00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:03,920
Then I gradually discovered that what the saints

692
00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:09,860
went through in China is the same as

693
00:31:09,860 --> 00:31:13,160
what the saints in this country went through

694
00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,600
if they want to embrace the way of

695
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:16,940
the Lord.

696
00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:18,680
It's one way.

697
00:31:20,780 --> 00:31:22,320
At first, I thought there were two ways.

698
00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:25,240
But I discovered it's one way.

699
00:31:25,900 --> 00:31:28,220
Those who really want the Lord's way, but

700
00:31:28,220 --> 00:31:30,140
there's only one way of the cross, the

701
00:31:30,140 --> 00:31:30,800
narrow way.

702
00:31:31,940 --> 00:31:33,840
This way was never approved by man.

703
00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:39,840
This way, in fact, segmented.

704
00:31:41,740 --> 00:31:43,940
The flesh will go against it.

705
00:31:46,270 --> 00:31:47,070
But it's a real way.

706
00:31:47,530 --> 00:31:48,970
A real way under purpose.

707
00:31:49,190 --> 00:31:51,590
A real way in life.

708
00:31:52,990 --> 00:31:53,790
So through Fr.

709
00:31:53,850 --> 00:31:55,830
Kong, we were introduced to some saints in

710
00:31:55,830 --> 00:31:57,190
the Midwest.

711
00:32:00,180 --> 00:32:02,720
And one is Esther Bodine.

712
00:32:05,950 --> 00:32:08,870
She was a missionary in Africa for many

713
00:32:08,870 --> 00:32:09,210
years.

714
00:32:09,210 --> 00:32:11,930
And somehow, in one of her trips across

715
00:32:11,930 --> 00:32:14,810
the Atlantic, somebody told her about the Honorable

716
00:32:14,810 --> 00:32:15,550
Fellowship.

717
00:32:16,110 --> 00:32:16,910
And she went there.

718
00:32:19,660 --> 00:32:21,240
And that visit with Fr.

719
00:32:21,340 --> 00:32:26,000
Fox, it transformed her whole ministry, her whole

720
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:26,220
life.

721
00:32:26,580 --> 00:32:28,680
She came home, resigned from the mission, and

722
00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:29,540
went back by faith.

723
00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:34,300
She was completely misunderstood by her relatives.

724
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:36,260
They thought she was crazy.

725
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:39,240
So I met such people.

726
00:32:39,300 --> 00:32:39,960
And there are others.

727
00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:44,800
We also meet the widow of a brother,

728
00:32:44,980 --> 00:32:45,620
Milton Lin.

729
00:32:46,900 --> 00:32:51,580
He was a very renowned Swedish Baptist minister.

730
00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:54,240
A conference speaker.

731
00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:57,320
Very influential person in Minnesota.

732
00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:00,280
But somehow, he got hold of the magazine,

733
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:01,060
Whitman Testament.

734
00:33:01,700 --> 00:33:03,320
And one of the articles in there touched

735
00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:03,660
him.

736
00:33:06,380 --> 00:33:09,020
It just revolutionized his whole thinking about ministry.

737
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:13,040
So he wrote to Fr.

738
00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:13,380
Fox.

739
00:33:13,580 --> 00:33:15,000
He said, I have to come and go

740
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:16,840
across the Atlantic to meet you in person,

741
00:33:17,060 --> 00:33:17,600
to have some fellowship.

742
00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:20,780
And he went, had some fellowship with Fr.

743
00:33:20,780 --> 00:33:21,000
Fox.

744
00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:23,520
And he came back, and he resigned from

745
00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:26,080
his Baptist convention.

746
00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:28,940
And I was told that in their official

747
00:33:28,940 --> 00:33:32,480
organ, in the official newspaper or magazine, they

748
00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:34,840
labeled him as mentally deranged.

749
00:33:41,110 --> 00:33:43,090
They pleaded with him not to resign.

750
00:33:44,230 --> 00:33:45,990
They said, if you resign, what happened to

751
00:33:45,990 --> 00:33:46,490
your wife?

752
00:33:46,630 --> 00:33:48,030
What happened to your children's education?

753
00:33:48,150 --> 00:33:49,130
What happened to your future?

754
00:33:50,010 --> 00:33:51,270
But he said, I saw something.

755
00:33:51,670 --> 00:33:52,170
God wants.

756
00:33:53,030 --> 00:33:54,130
You cannot change me.

757
00:33:56,110 --> 00:33:56,850
And he resigned.

758
00:33:56,950 --> 00:33:59,210
And I was told he was a very

759
00:33:59,210 --> 00:33:59,990
lonely person.

760
00:34:01,910 --> 00:34:04,750
Of all those Christians in that Midwest states,

761
00:34:07,230 --> 00:34:09,730
he, we may say, he alone in those

762
00:34:09,730 --> 00:34:10,489
days saw something.

763
00:34:11,449 --> 00:34:13,250
And he stood alone by himself.

764
00:34:14,409 --> 00:34:16,110
And I was told in Minnesota, when it

765
00:34:16,110 --> 00:34:18,790
was very cold in the winter, they have

766
00:34:18,790 --> 00:34:20,409
no food at all for the children.

767
00:34:20,630 --> 00:34:22,449
And then somebody moved by the horse, or

768
00:34:22,449 --> 00:34:24,830
bring food home, bring to their home a

769
00:34:24,830 --> 00:34:25,330
loaf of bread.

770
00:34:25,909 --> 00:34:27,070
Just to get them through for the day.

771
00:34:27,989 --> 00:34:30,449
In the winter, there's no coal in their

772
00:34:30,449 --> 00:34:30,690
heater.

773
00:34:31,150 --> 00:34:33,830
Then somebody will bring a bushel so that

774
00:34:33,830 --> 00:34:34,969
they can do it again.

775
00:34:36,230 --> 00:34:37,929
You see, so what they went through is

776
00:34:37,929 --> 00:34:39,670
exactly what the Bargain Sisters in China went

777
00:34:39,670 --> 00:34:39,850
through.

778
00:34:41,090 --> 00:34:42,250
It's the way of the cross.

779
00:34:42,250 --> 00:34:44,610
It's the way of light laying down.

780
00:34:44,949 --> 00:34:46,389
And I want to impress upon you, my

781
00:34:46,389 --> 00:34:51,190
Bargain Sisters, what we are in now is

782
00:34:51,190 --> 00:34:52,090
easy to us.

783
00:34:53,670 --> 00:34:56,090
As you look back, there were those who

784
00:34:56,090 --> 00:34:57,450
laid down their lives for us.

785
00:35:01,100 --> 00:35:02,400
This way was never easy.

786
00:35:02,700 --> 00:35:04,120
The Lord himself laid down his life.

787
00:35:05,300 --> 00:35:08,200
But along the way, many, many laid down

788
00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:08,700
their lives.

789
00:35:09,060 --> 00:35:10,320
That's what we are today.

790
00:35:14,140 --> 00:35:18,100
Recently, I listened to a tape of Lance,

791
00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:20,220
and he spoke on what is thought like

792
00:35:20,220 --> 00:35:20,780
a ministry.

793
00:35:23,550 --> 00:35:26,470
Few of us, we knew what caused our

794
00:35:26,470 --> 00:35:29,490
brother to walk this way and to have

795
00:35:29,490 --> 00:35:32,750
this tremendous ministry that we are privileged to

796
00:35:32,750 --> 00:35:33,090
receive.

797
00:35:34,190 --> 00:35:36,150
When he began to preach the cross in

798
00:35:36,150 --> 00:35:40,380
the church, he said the whole England turned

799
00:35:40,380 --> 00:35:41,020
against him.

800
00:35:42,980 --> 00:35:46,380
Not the secular world, but the religious world.

801
00:35:48,710 --> 00:35:51,410
On one occasion, the Baptist Convention in England,

802
00:35:51,570 --> 00:35:53,730
they wanted to have a year of Baptists

803
00:35:53,730 --> 00:35:59,460
reaching out to save the unsaved, but to

804
00:35:59,460 --> 00:36:01,160
convert them and to make them more, to

805
00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:03,540
convert more Baptists into the Baptist Convention.

806
00:36:04,900 --> 00:36:07,900
And they asked Boris Fox to take part

807
00:36:07,900 --> 00:36:11,440
in this venture, the year of the Baptist.

808
00:36:12,420 --> 00:36:14,340
And Boris Fox and a few of those

809
00:36:14,340 --> 00:36:16,880
who shared the vision with him wrote back

810
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:18,940
to this tape when he said, if you

811
00:36:18,940 --> 00:36:23,100
want to convert Christians, we are for it

812
00:36:23,100 --> 00:36:24,840
100%, but if you want to make more

813
00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:26,700
Baptists, we don't think we can do it.

814
00:36:28,060 --> 00:36:31,080
And within a week, a letter came from

815
00:36:31,080 --> 00:36:40,560
the headquarters, asked him to vacate his place.

816
00:36:40,820 --> 00:36:42,300
So I was told that he'd move out

817
00:36:42,300 --> 00:36:42,980
within a week.

818
00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:44,180
He did not know where to go.

819
00:36:45,180 --> 00:36:47,200
And in England, they wrote books against him.

820
00:36:50,380 --> 00:36:52,720
And those who stood with him on the

821
00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:55,240
same platform in Kansas from some time, they

822
00:36:55,240 --> 00:36:56,660
will not have nothing to do with him.

823
00:36:57,940 --> 00:36:59,840
So brothers and sisters, if we are in

824
00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:01,920
what the Lord wants, if we are in

825
00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:04,040
the footsteps of the Lord Jesus, what the

826
00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:08,670
Lord Jesus went through, we must be willing

827
00:37:08,670 --> 00:37:09,410
to go through.

828
00:37:10,110 --> 00:37:11,330
There is no other way.

829
00:37:12,510 --> 00:37:16,070
It's a way of rejection, a way of

830
00:37:16,070 --> 00:37:18,230
persecution, a way of despise.

831
00:37:19,030 --> 00:37:20,230
They will never approve us.

832
00:37:20,390 --> 00:37:22,290
But brothers and sisters, when the world disapproves

833
00:37:22,290 --> 00:37:24,870
us, as long as God approves us, that's

834
00:37:24,870 --> 00:37:25,350
what matters.

835
00:37:26,870 --> 00:37:29,890
So whatever we do, whatever we are, are

836
00:37:29,890 --> 00:37:32,890
we man-pleasers or are we God-pleasers?

837
00:37:34,090 --> 00:37:36,870
And you want to be pleasers of our

838
00:37:36,870 --> 00:37:38,630
living God and live according to what he

839
00:37:38,630 --> 00:37:40,570
wants, brothers and sisters, it's a costly way.

840
00:37:42,110 --> 00:37:43,210
But it's worth it.

841
00:37:44,090 --> 00:37:44,910
It's worth it.

842
00:37:50,620 --> 00:37:57,040
In the late 50s and early 60s, when

843
00:37:57,040 --> 00:37:58,660
I began to have some appetite for the

844
00:37:58,660 --> 00:38:02,980
Lord's, deeper things of the Lord, so I

845
00:38:02,980 --> 00:38:05,580
began to read a few of Brother Spock's

846
00:38:05,580 --> 00:38:05,860
books.

847
00:38:08,460 --> 00:38:10,060
Then I was told that there's a Christian

848
00:38:10,060 --> 00:38:13,420
bookstore in Minnesota, he carried some Brother Spock's

849
00:38:13,420 --> 00:38:13,680
books.

850
00:38:14,220 --> 00:38:15,200
He's very selective.

851
00:38:16,060 --> 00:38:18,320
What he considered controversial, he will not touch.

852
00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:21,440
So he had a few of Brother Spock's

853
00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:22,760
books and I was told if you go

854
00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:24,720
there, you have to ask him quietly.

855
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:27,480
Then he will take you to the back

856
00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:30,280
room and open his drawer and show you

857
00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:30,940
his collection.

858
00:38:31,980 --> 00:38:33,460
Because he was afraid to display.

859
00:38:36,860 --> 00:38:40,440
Because that's what, that's about our brother's ministry.

860
00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:43,860
People, they're afraid to display because they think

861
00:38:43,860 --> 00:38:44,980
it's too controversial.

862
00:38:45,720 --> 00:38:47,200
He gets Christians into trouble.

863
00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:55,220
And thank God it was in the, I'm

864
00:38:55,220 --> 00:38:56,760
not so sure when now, but Brother Ernest

865
00:38:56,760 --> 00:38:57,100
Tate.

866
00:38:58,220 --> 00:39:01,400
He was the one who boldly introduced Brother

867
00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:05,240
Spock's books, botanist books, brother boxing books, to

868
00:39:05,240 --> 00:39:06,600
the American Botanist Institute.

869
00:39:06,820 --> 00:39:07,600
He was the first one.

870
00:39:08,660 --> 00:39:10,980
And the Lord laid him a burden to

871
00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:16,520
bring Brother Spock across the Atlantic to this

872
00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:16,780
country.

873
00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:18,520
And at that time, Brother Kong is already

874
00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:18,820
here.

875
00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:22,180
So he had a burden to invite Brother

876
00:39:22,180 --> 00:39:26,180
Spock, Brother Kong, and Brother Fonke to have

877
00:39:26,180 --> 00:39:29,860
some special meetings so that the saints in

878
00:39:29,860 --> 00:39:32,660
this country, those who want the Lord, will

879
00:39:32,660 --> 00:39:36,720
have a chance to hear the prophetic ministry,

880
00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:38,080
God's word to his people.

881
00:39:39,020 --> 00:39:40,900
And Brother Chase himself told me, he said,

882
00:39:41,020 --> 00:39:43,280
Brother Hosea, he said, when I ever mentioned,

883
00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:49,080
approach a Christian conference ground, ask for permission

884
00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:51,080
to use the facility.

885
00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:54,020
And the moment they ask, who are your

886
00:39:54,020 --> 00:39:54,380
speakers?

887
00:39:55,720 --> 00:39:57,720
He said, the moment I mentioned T.

888
00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:00,800
Austin Spock and Stephen Kong, who has some

889
00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:03,160
connection, immediately the door was shut.

890
00:40:09,430 --> 00:40:12,590
Brothers and sisters, the world is against what

891
00:40:12,590 --> 00:40:13,210
the Lord wants.

892
00:40:15,570 --> 00:40:19,930
But the religious world also stands in the

893
00:40:19,930 --> 00:40:21,050
way of our God.

894
00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:25,980
We need to be delivered from the world.

895
00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:29,600
But we also need to be delivered completely

896
00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:31,460
from the religious system.

897
00:40:32,620 --> 00:40:35,500
In some ways, it's easier for us to

898
00:40:35,500 --> 00:40:36,440
be delivered from the world.

899
00:40:37,420 --> 00:40:40,400
It's much harder for us to be set

900
00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:42,720
free from the religious system.

901
00:40:44,420 --> 00:40:45,920
And my brothers and sisters, it's a costly

902
00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:46,340
way.

903
00:40:47,380 --> 00:40:49,420
But it's a way of glory.

904
00:40:50,900 --> 00:40:53,260
Because we touch something for God wants.

905
00:40:55,180 --> 00:40:58,180
And my recent weeks in New Jersey is

906
00:40:58,180 --> 00:40:59,840
that I keep reminding my brothers and sisters,

907
00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:03,120
we gather for what reason?

908
00:41:04,260 --> 00:41:06,380
We meet for what purpose?

909
00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:10,020
And I keep reminding, we meet, we gather

910
00:41:10,020 --> 00:41:10,820
for another reason.

911
00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:12,680
It's for the Lord to get what He's

912
00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:12,940
after.

913
00:41:15,940 --> 00:41:17,300
We meet and gather.

914
00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:18,740
If the Lord is not getting what He's

915
00:41:18,740 --> 00:41:20,840
after, our meeting, our gathering is in vain.

916
00:41:24,250 --> 00:41:27,390
So lastly, I have a few burdens I

917
00:41:27,390 --> 00:41:29,150
want to share with you, brothers and sisters.

918
00:41:29,330 --> 00:41:30,870
You know, in two weeks, Eleanor will be

919
00:41:30,870 --> 00:41:31,830
leaving for the Far East.

920
00:41:32,390 --> 00:41:33,770
We'll be in the Philippines in about three

921
00:41:33,770 --> 00:41:34,050
weeks.

922
00:41:34,370 --> 00:41:35,210
And we need your prayer.

923
00:41:39,300 --> 00:41:41,600
The heartburn of many of those who love

924
00:41:41,600 --> 00:41:43,580
the Lord is that if the Lord delay

925
00:41:43,580 --> 00:41:47,740
in His coming, if He delays, we hope

926
00:41:47,740 --> 00:41:48,400
He will not delay.

927
00:41:48,720 --> 00:41:53,520
But if He does delay, are we preparing

928
00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:58,920
the next generation for Him to go?

929
00:42:01,700 --> 00:42:03,920
Do we have a next generation that are

930
00:42:03,920 --> 00:42:07,200
ready to take up the cross?

931
00:42:10,660 --> 00:42:12,800
Do we have a next generation that really

932
00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:15,800
catch something of what is in God's heart?

933
00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:20,700
And brothers and sisters, that responsibility is on

934
00:42:20,700 --> 00:42:21,040
us.

935
00:42:23,460 --> 00:42:26,300
We cannot escape that responsibility.

936
00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:31,020
That responsibility has become heavier and heavier in

937
00:42:31,020 --> 00:42:31,540
my heart.

938
00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:36,400
So I want to share a few thoughts

939
00:42:36,400 --> 00:42:38,160
from the book of Chronicles.

940
00:42:40,900 --> 00:42:45,640
You know that the Chronicles, the first Chronicles,

941
00:42:45,780 --> 00:42:48,000
the first nine chapters are very heavy reading

942
00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:53,220
chapters because they contain genealogies.

943
00:42:55,040 --> 00:42:57,240
And I have to confess for many years

944
00:42:57,240 --> 00:43:00,020
when I come to first Chronicles and the

945
00:43:00,020 --> 00:43:02,200
genealogies, I always have to struggle.

946
00:43:02,360 --> 00:43:05,420
I have to grind my teeth and somehow

947
00:43:05,420 --> 00:43:06,320
get through it.

948
00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:19,920
I never catch spiritually the significance of that

949
00:43:19,920 --> 00:43:22,420
long list of genealogies until recently.

950
00:43:22,860 --> 00:43:23,780
Why is it so important?

951
00:43:23,880 --> 00:43:26,260
Why God puts it there in the Bible

952
00:43:26,260 --> 00:43:30,940
and so long, nine chapters and all those

953
00:43:30,940 --> 00:43:31,640
names.

954
00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:33,880
If you can pronounce them, I'll give you

955
00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:34,400
a PhD.

956
00:43:37,810 --> 00:43:38,750
Difficult names.

957
00:43:39,690 --> 00:43:43,790
And to trace their genome and genealogy is

958
00:43:43,790 --> 00:43:44,670
most difficult.

959
00:43:44,970 --> 00:43:47,330
But just share a few spiritual principles here

960
00:43:48,110 --> 00:43:51,910
because this has to do with the thought

961
00:43:51,910 --> 00:43:54,990
in my heart about the last words of

962
00:43:54,990 --> 00:43:57,230
David to Solomon.

963
00:43:58,730 --> 00:44:00,630
For David was a man of God.

964
00:44:02,170 --> 00:44:03,570
He saw what God wants.

965
00:44:03,890 --> 00:44:05,710
God wants a house, a resting place.

966
00:44:06,850 --> 00:44:08,610
And he just not want Solomon to do

967
00:44:08,610 --> 00:44:10,130
it but he want a generation to come.

968
00:44:10,210 --> 00:44:12,610
Make sure they possess that land and decrease

969
00:44:12,610 --> 00:44:13,730
it to their size.

970
00:44:15,630 --> 00:44:16,250
Because what?

971
00:44:16,670 --> 00:44:20,110
The land is important because there's a city.

972
00:44:21,270 --> 00:44:24,090
The city is important because God's dwelling place

973
00:44:24,090 --> 00:44:24,630
in the midst.

974
00:44:28,180 --> 00:44:30,120
That's where we gather and meet and worship.

975
00:44:30,120 --> 00:44:32,060
If God is not in this process, all

976
00:44:32,060 --> 00:44:32,580
is ruined.

977
00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:33,380
All is chaos.

978
00:44:34,520 --> 00:44:35,560
All is no value.

979
00:44:36,940 --> 00:44:38,840
Of course, David saw more than that.

980
00:44:39,180 --> 00:44:41,760
He saw the coming Messiah, the true seed

981
00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:42,200
for David.

982
00:44:43,420 --> 00:44:45,380
He saw more than that, the coming kingdom

983
00:44:45,380 --> 00:44:47,820
of that seed, Christ.

984
00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:49,060
So he saw.

985
00:44:50,220 --> 00:44:53,220
And I feel that we are very short

986
00:44:53,220 --> 00:44:53,920
-sighted spiritually.

987
00:44:54,540 --> 00:44:55,820
We think of our generation.

988
00:44:56,780 --> 00:45:01,940
We think if we have more foresight, maybe

989
00:45:01,940 --> 00:45:02,660
next generation.

990
00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:04,000
But we don't see the end.

991
00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:06,300
The end that God is after.

992
00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:08,960
But David, being a man of God, he

993
00:45:08,960 --> 00:45:12,800
not only saw his generation, Solomon's generation, but

994
00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:13,740
he saw the very end.

995
00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:18,100
The Messiah and his kingdom.

996
00:45:18,860 --> 00:45:19,560
He saw that.

997
00:45:20,980 --> 00:45:21,800
And he saw that.

998
00:45:21,900 --> 00:45:23,140
He saw what God gets in the end.

999
00:45:24,480 --> 00:45:26,180
And he takes side with God.

1000
00:45:28,550 --> 00:45:29,290
He takes side with God.

1001
00:45:30,450 --> 00:45:33,810
There's one thing about the Book of Chronicles.

1002
00:45:34,650 --> 00:45:35,970
You know, even though Solomon was a great

1003
00:45:35,970 --> 00:45:37,590
failure in a lot of ways, but there

1004
00:45:37,590 --> 00:45:38,630
was no mention of his failures.

1005
00:45:39,430 --> 00:45:41,070
Even David, some of his failures were just

1006
00:45:41,070 --> 00:45:41,910
sort of more or less touching.

1007
00:45:42,770 --> 00:45:44,590
So in Chronicles, you can see God was

1008
00:45:44,590 --> 00:45:45,330
most positive.

1009
00:45:47,110 --> 00:45:49,510
Because he's getting what he's after, most positive.

1010
00:45:51,150 --> 00:45:53,210
My brothers and sisters, we have a problem.

1011
00:45:53,730 --> 00:45:56,450
Because we are very consumed with our family.

1012
00:45:58,150 --> 00:45:59,690
With the condition of our country.

1013
00:46:01,960 --> 00:46:03,140
I just want to share a few thoughts.

1014
00:46:03,240 --> 00:46:04,480
If I'm wrong, please forgive me.

1015
00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:10,480
We should share part of the blame.

1016
00:46:15,750 --> 00:46:16,630
God is patient.

1017
00:46:17,090 --> 00:46:18,090
He can take a lot.

1018
00:46:19,070 --> 00:46:20,070
And he can do a lot.

1019
00:46:20,850 --> 00:46:22,270
But that doesn't mean he approved what was

1020
00:46:22,270 --> 00:46:22,510
wrong.

1021
00:46:24,190 --> 00:46:25,690
He never approved sin.

1022
00:46:26,310 --> 00:46:27,550
He never approved rebellion.

1023
00:46:28,410 --> 00:46:31,150
Sin and rebellion, God does not choose.

1024
00:46:34,490 --> 00:46:35,230
He was patient.

1025
00:46:35,290 --> 00:46:35,850
He is patient.

1026
00:46:36,030 --> 00:46:36,690
He will tolerate.

1027
00:46:37,270 --> 00:46:38,270
So that we will repent.

1028
00:46:39,390 --> 00:46:41,810
Just because he's patient doesn't mean he's tolerant.

1029
00:46:42,350 --> 00:46:44,630
He allows it.

1030
00:46:44,790 --> 00:46:46,150
He approves it.

1031
00:46:47,470 --> 00:46:50,390
And so I feel that as parents, as

1032
00:46:50,390 --> 00:46:53,670
brothers and sisters locally, we have to be

1033
00:46:53,670 --> 00:46:54,730
patient in our brothers and sisters.

1034
00:46:54,910 --> 00:46:55,650
Knowing our flesh.

1035
00:46:55,810 --> 00:46:58,630
But as spiritually on principle, anything that's not

1036
00:46:58,630 --> 00:47:00,050
of the Lord, we have to take side

1037
00:47:00,050 --> 00:47:00,650
with the Lord.

1038
00:47:05,250 --> 00:47:06,830
It's a very delicate matter.

1039
00:47:07,730 --> 00:47:08,550
What is rebellion?

1040
00:47:08,790 --> 00:47:09,250
What is sin?

1041
00:47:09,370 --> 00:47:10,010
We have to say no.

1042
00:47:10,070 --> 00:47:11,370
But on the other hand, there's love.

1043
00:47:11,490 --> 00:47:11,990
There's a patience.

1044
00:47:15,110 --> 00:47:17,530
But somehow our young generation, they get the

1045
00:47:17,530 --> 00:47:18,070
mixed signal.

1046
00:47:19,770 --> 00:47:22,130
When you're patient, when you're loving, they think,

1047
00:47:22,310 --> 00:47:24,230
say, there's some approval here.

1048
00:47:26,340 --> 00:47:28,120
God says, can we, by the Lord's grace,

1049
00:47:28,380 --> 00:47:35,000
show that disapproval, what God does not approve.

1050
00:47:35,660 --> 00:47:38,960
But somehow in the patience of God, show

1051
00:47:38,960 --> 00:47:43,840
our love, our patience for their recovery.

1052
00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:48,640
Because at the end of Chronicles, second part,

1053
00:47:48,960 --> 00:47:51,620
there's that one, there's that fearful phrase, the

1054
00:47:51,620 --> 00:47:53,280
nation Israel, they came to the end, there

1055
00:47:53,280 --> 00:47:53,900
was no remedy.

1056
00:47:55,140 --> 00:47:56,240
They were taken into captivity.

1057
00:47:57,080 --> 00:47:58,760
The Lord endured all he can.

1058
00:47:59,480 --> 00:48:01,380
Until there was no way he can endure

1059
00:48:01,380 --> 00:48:03,100
anymore, they were brought into captivity.

1060
00:48:04,380 --> 00:48:07,460
So there's a time God's patience were in.

1061
00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:09,860
We had to take heed to that.

1062
00:48:10,020 --> 00:48:11,700
Ahoy me share is much more positive.

1063
00:48:13,480 --> 00:48:16,120
In that list of genealogies, there are several

1064
00:48:16,120 --> 00:48:17,280
things, very important.

1065
00:48:19,240 --> 00:48:21,460
We list, we notice that some of the

1066
00:48:21,460 --> 00:48:24,680
names that are, should be in the genealogy,

1067
00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:25,460
they were not there.

1068
00:48:26,960 --> 00:48:28,840
There are some of the names that should

1069
00:48:28,840 --> 00:48:30,580
not be in there, that are there.

1070
00:48:30,820 --> 00:48:31,160
And G.

1071
00:48:31,280 --> 00:48:33,180
Cameron Morgan said, the reason why those who

1072
00:48:33,180 --> 00:48:35,180
are not there are included in the genealogy,

1073
00:48:35,820 --> 00:48:37,140
because they have two things.

1074
00:48:37,260 --> 00:48:39,060
They have faith in Jehovah and obedience.

1075
00:48:41,050 --> 00:48:41,830
Faith and obedience.

1076
00:48:44,040 --> 00:48:45,500
Now why genealogy is so important?

1077
00:48:47,960 --> 00:48:50,400
Because the land was promised to Abraham.

1078
00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:53,280
And he's seed, he's descended.

1079
00:48:56,290 --> 00:48:58,330
Only the true seed are Abraham.

1080
00:48:58,490 --> 00:49:00,830
That's registered in the genealogy of Abraham.

1081
00:49:01,070 --> 00:49:03,170
They have the right to enter into the

1082
00:49:03,170 --> 00:49:03,790
promised land.

1083
00:49:11,330 --> 00:49:14,150
Now second thing is that once they enter

1084
00:49:14,150 --> 00:49:16,670
into the land, the people in the land,

1085
00:49:17,050 --> 00:49:22,670
they need genealogies for the dividing of the

1086
00:49:22,670 --> 00:49:23,630
lands among the tribes.

1087
00:49:23,850 --> 00:49:25,970
So they know who inherit this part, who

1088
00:49:25,970 --> 00:49:26,310
inherit that.

1089
00:49:26,310 --> 00:49:27,730
So genealogy is also very important.

1090
00:49:28,150 --> 00:49:31,030
So without inheritance, you cannot enter and you

1091
00:49:31,030 --> 00:49:33,050
have no share of your inheritance.

1092
00:49:37,240 --> 00:49:39,580
The other important thing about genealogy is that

1093
00:49:39,580 --> 00:49:41,900
prevent them from mixing in with the nations

1094
00:49:41,900 --> 00:49:42,540
around them.

1095
00:49:44,320 --> 00:49:47,160
So that line will be pure for the

1096
00:49:47,160 --> 00:49:47,880
coming of Messiah.

1097
00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:51,200
And of course there are others.

1098
00:49:51,700 --> 00:49:53,860
The genealogy is absolutely necessary for our worship,

1099
00:49:53,980 --> 00:49:54,520
our service.

1100
00:49:54,880 --> 00:49:57,680
So all the Levites, they have their place.

1101
00:49:57,960 --> 00:50:02,720
The priests, the gatekeepers, they all trace their

1102
00:50:02,720 --> 00:50:03,300
genealogy.

1103
00:50:04,560 --> 00:50:06,800
Particularly when they came back from captivity.

1104
00:50:10,110 --> 00:50:11,830
Because when they were in captivity, they may

1105
00:50:11,830 --> 00:50:13,470
be mixed with the nations.

1106
00:50:13,810 --> 00:50:15,290
When they came back, they had to trace

1107
00:50:15,290 --> 00:50:16,390
their genealogy.

1108
00:50:16,770 --> 00:50:18,730
You know, you read Ezra and Nehemiah, how

1109
00:50:18,730 --> 00:50:20,870
important genealogy was to them.

1110
00:50:20,870 --> 00:50:22,450
And they'll return to get from captivity.

1111
00:50:23,030 --> 00:50:25,510
Make sure those who have a part in

1112
00:50:25,510 --> 00:50:28,150
worship and their stories are listed in the

1113
00:50:28,150 --> 00:50:28,710
genealogy.

1114
00:50:30,230 --> 00:50:33,730
My thought is, for those who are older

1115
00:50:33,730 --> 00:50:36,110
now, by the Lord's grace, we hope we

1116
00:50:36,110 --> 00:50:37,450
are listed in that genealogy.

1117
00:50:38,690 --> 00:50:42,230
We are the seed of faith, Abraham.

1118
00:50:43,370 --> 00:50:46,790
We can come into our rightful inheritance and

1119
00:50:46,790 --> 00:50:47,490
can inherit it.

1120
00:50:47,590 --> 00:50:49,710
But brothers and sisters, how about our next

1121
00:50:49,710 --> 00:50:50,030
generation?

1122
00:50:50,030 --> 00:50:52,990
Do we have guarantee that their names will

1123
00:50:52,990 --> 00:50:55,910
be listed in that genealogy and come into

1124
00:50:55,910 --> 00:50:56,530
the good of it?

1125
00:50:57,310 --> 00:50:59,410
And should we turn to 1 Chronicles, Chapter

1126
00:50:59,410 --> 00:50:59,970
28.

1127
00:51:13,880 --> 00:51:14,640
1 Chronicles.

1128
00:51:28,460 --> 00:51:30,160
Now these are the last words of David

1129
00:51:30,160 --> 00:51:35,140
to Israel, to the nation Israel and also

1130
00:51:35,140 --> 00:51:36,980
to his son Solomon.

1131
00:51:43,260 --> 00:51:44,560
It's so wonderful to read them all but

1132
00:51:44,560 --> 00:51:45,200
we don't have time.

1133
00:51:45,200 --> 00:51:48,720
Let me just read verse 8.

1134
00:51:50,040 --> 00:51:53,260
1 Chronicles 28, verse 8.

1135
00:51:53,420 --> 00:51:55,940
Now these are the words of David to

1136
00:51:55,940 --> 00:51:57,160
his son Solomon.

1137
00:51:58,640 --> 00:52:00,860
So now in the sight of all Israel,

1138
00:52:01,700 --> 00:52:04,640
the assembly of the Lord, and in the

1139
00:52:04,640 --> 00:52:09,540
hearing of our God, observe and seek after

1140
00:52:09,540 --> 00:52:12,680
all the commandments of the Lord your God

1141
00:52:12,680 --> 00:52:15,180
in order that you may possess the good

1142
00:52:15,180 --> 00:52:18,820
land and be created to your sons after

1143
00:52:18,820 --> 00:52:20,160
you forever.

1144
00:52:22,740 --> 00:52:24,620
Brothers and sisters, what the Lord has given

1145
00:52:24,620 --> 00:52:26,800
to us is not for us.

1146
00:52:27,740 --> 00:52:29,380
What the Lord has given to us should

1147
00:52:29,380 --> 00:52:30,620
not stop with us.

1148
00:52:33,600 --> 00:52:34,300
We are but channels.

1149
00:52:37,520 --> 00:52:42,400
And I'm speaking to myself as parent, as

1150
00:52:42,400 --> 00:52:42,860
grandparents.

1151
00:52:43,600 --> 00:52:47,280
For instance, do we have something of real

1152
00:52:47,280 --> 00:52:50,160
value, of eternal value that we can pass

1153
00:52:50,160 --> 00:52:52,660
on to our offsprings?

1154
00:52:54,460 --> 00:52:57,000
That they can possess that land and stay

1155
00:52:57,000 --> 00:53:01,950
in that land and build God's house and

1156
00:53:01,950 --> 00:53:04,810
bring his kingdom in if the Lord delays

1157
00:53:04,810 --> 00:53:06,250
in his coming in our generation.

1158
00:53:07,870 --> 00:53:09,510
And David has four signs.

1159
00:53:10,650 --> 00:53:14,610
He said, observe, seek, keep, and possess.

1160
00:53:14,830 --> 00:53:15,950
They're already in the land.

1161
00:53:16,110 --> 00:53:16,730
They came back already.

1162
00:53:16,870 --> 00:53:19,070
But you may possess and be created to

1163
00:53:19,070 --> 00:53:22,520
your children because he was a man of

1164
00:53:22,520 --> 00:53:22,800
God.

1165
00:53:24,200 --> 00:53:25,240
He's foresighted.

1166
00:53:25,440 --> 00:53:26,180
He sees the end.

1167
00:53:27,420 --> 00:53:29,700
And then verse 11.

1168
00:53:33,520 --> 00:53:36,640
Then David gives his son Solomon the plan.

1169
00:53:40,770 --> 00:53:42,930
And then we read verse 19.

1170
00:53:47,400 --> 00:53:51,060
All this said David, the Lord made me

1171
00:53:51,060 --> 00:53:53,500
understand in writing by his hand.

1172
00:53:53,940 --> 00:53:58,040
Upon me, all the details of this path.

1173
00:53:58,940 --> 00:54:00,820
Brothers and sisters, you see the difference between

1174
00:54:00,820 --> 00:54:02,760
what Moses saw on the mountain and what

1175
00:54:02,760 --> 00:54:03,480
David saw here.

1176
00:54:06,340 --> 00:54:07,780
Moses saw what's objective.

1177
00:54:09,660 --> 00:54:12,700
He saw the path he saw.

1178
00:54:14,890 --> 00:54:17,350
But David said, what I saw the Lord

1179
00:54:17,350 --> 00:54:18,470
wrote in my heart.

1180
00:54:25,760 --> 00:54:26,600
Do we have a plan?

1181
00:54:26,920 --> 00:54:28,800
Does God's plan is writing in our heart?

1182
00:54:30,960 --> 00:54:34,220
If we see, we hear, it will soon

1183
00:54:34,220 --> 00:54:34,760
disappear.

1184
00:54:35,280 --> 00:54:36,060
Very quickly.

1185
00:54:39,380 --> 00:54:40,620
But if we allow the Lord to write

1186
00:54:40,620 --> 00:54:41,900
in our heart, it's there forever.

1187
00:54:43,240 --> 00:54:44,340
We may fail.

1188
00:54:44,580 --> 00:54:45,400
We may come short.

1189
00:54:45,540 --> 00:54:46,680
But we'll never get away from us.

1190
00:54:47,220 --> 00:54:48,020
It's there forever.

1191
00:54:48,240 --> 00:54:48,860
He will do it.

1192
00:54:49,940 --> 00:54:51,620
And by fear for the next generation, they

1193
00:54:51,620 --> 00:54:52,300
hear much.

1194
00:54:53,000 --> 00:54:54,100
They think they know much.

1195
00:54:58,300 --> 00:54:59,340
That it will not last.

1196
00:55:00,020 --> 00:55:01,600
But we have to give them the example.

1197
00:55:01,860 --> 00:55:03,760
We have to show them something the Lord

1198
00:55:03,760 --> 00:55:06,160
has written with his fingers in our heart.

1199
00:55:07,880 --> 00:55:08,940
That we can pass on.

1200
00:55:10,300 --> 00:55:12,320
And David gives a plan to Solomon.

1201
00:55:12,760 --> 00:55:14,560
That plan the Lord has written in his

1202
00:55:14,560 --> 00:55:14,900
heart.

1203
00:55:16,160 --> 00:55:23,370
You know, and David not only instructs Solomon,

1204
00:55:23,850 --> 00:55:24,630
but he prayed.

1205
00:55:27,620 --> 00:55:27,980
He prayed.

1206
00:55:28,140 --> 00:55:29,780
You know, we all can instruct people.

1207
00:55:30,940 --> 00:55:32,900
But we all fail miserably to pray for

1208
00:55:32,900 --> 00:55:33,020
them.

1209
00:55:33,180 --> 00:55:33,600
Pray for them.

1210
00:55:36,650 --> 00:55:37,710
We all think there's a need.

1211
00:55:38,550 --> 00:55:39,890
Next thing, there's a real need.

1212
00:55:40,050 --> 00:55:41,050
But do we really pray?

1213
00:55:45,660 --> 00:55:46,620
Do we really pray?

1214
00:55:48,000 --> 00:55:49,480
Not so much pray for them.

1215
00:55:49,480 --> 00:55:52,520
But interceding on behalf of God, that God

1216
00:55:52,520 --> 00:55:53,680
will get them for himself.

1217
00:55:58,940 --> 00:56:01,620
And Boris Borg says, he said, very few.

1218
00:56:02,180 --> 00:56:05,000
We pray, but we're always interceding on people's

1219
00:56:05,000 --> 00:56:05,360
behalf.

1220
00:56:07,140 --> 00:56:12,540
The harmony that our priestly, true ministry, who

1221
00:56:12,540 --> 00:56:16,220
touch something of the heart, will intercede on

1222
00:56:16,220 --> 00:56:17,540
behalf of what God wants.

1223
00:56:21,730 --> 00:56:22,490
And David prayed.

1224
00:56:29,060 --> 00:56:32,420
It's chapter 29, just a couple of verses.

1225
00:56:47,940 --> 00:56:48,700
Verse 18.

1226
00:56:49,140 --> 00:56:50,280
29 verse 18.

1227
00:56:51,260 --> 00:56:51,880
David's prayer.

1228
00:56:59,540 --> 00:57:00,740
Maybe we can start with 16.

1229
00:57:02,780 --> 00:57:06,320
Oh Lord our God, all the substance that

1230
00:57:06,320 --> 00:57:09,300
we have provided to build thee a house

1231
00:57:09,300 --> 00:57:12,380
for thy holy name, it is from thy

1232
00:57:12,380 --> 00:57:15,840
hand, and all is thine.

1233
00:57:20,720 --> 00:57:24,080
What is given by him can go back.

1234
00:57:25,260 --> 00:57:26,420
Again, it's the origin.

1235
00:57:30,160 --> 00:57:34,900
Since I know, oh my God, that thou

1236
00:57:34,900 --> 00:57:39,900
triest the heart and delightest in uprightness, I,

1237
00:57:40,220 --> 00:57:42,440
in the integrity of my heart, have willingly

1238
00:57:42,440 --> 00:57:43,880
offered all these things.

1239
00:57:45,040 --> 00:57:48,860
So now with joy, I've seen thy people

1240
00:57:48,860 --> 00:57:52,120
who are present here are making offerings willingly

1241
00:57:52,120 --> 00:57:52,800
unto you.

1242
00:57:57,070 --> 00:57:57,590
Willing.

1243
00:58:07,060 --> 00:58:07,900
So what God wants.

1244
00:58:09,040 --> 00:58:10,140
So what God longs for.

1245
00:58:11,240 --> 00:58:11,680
18.

1246
00:58:12,380 --> 00:58:15,580
Oh Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and

1247
00:58:15,580 --> 00:58:19,880
Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the

1248
00:58:19,880 --> 00:58:22,640
intention of the heart of thy people and

1249
00:58:22,640 --> 00:58:24,060
direct their hearts.

1250
00:58:26,160 --> 00:58:28,200
That's true intercessory prayer.

1251
00:58:35,740 --> 00:58:37,680
What is the issue is the heart matter.

1252
00:58:39,200 --> 00:58:41,180
If the heart is there, nothing is there.

1253
00:58:43,080 --> 00:58:45,640
And so David's prayer is to preserve forever

1254
00:58:45,640 --> 00:58:47,780
the intention of the heart of thy people.

1255
00:58:49,240 --> 00:58:51,300
What was David's life passion?

1256
00:58:52,860 --> 00:58:53,900
God's dwelling place.

1257
00:58:55,500 --> 00:58:57,780
If God is not in the midst, they're

1258
00:58:57,780 --> 00:58:58,080
scattered.

1259
00:58:58,960 --> 00:59:00,040
They experience that.

1260
00:59:03,360 --> 00:59:05,700
When God is not central in their national

1261
00:59:05,700 --> 00:59:07,060
life, it's ruined.

1262
00:59:08,960 --> 00:59:10,620
There's no blessing, there's no glory.

1263
00:59:12,520 --> 00:59:13,700
It's the heart matter.

1264
00:59:14,940 --> 00:59:17,420
And he said, preserve in the heart that

1265
00:59:17,420 --> 00:59:18,920
intention, that desire.

1266
00:59:22,280 --> 00:59:23,540
Direct their heart.

1267
00:59:25,870 --> 00:59:28,470
And give my son Solomon a perfect heart

1268
00:59:29,550 --> 00:59:33,450
to keep thy commandments, thy testaments, thy statutes,

1269
00:59:33,570 --> 00:59:34,150
and to do them.

1270
00:59:34,430 --> 00:59:35,350
And to do them all.

1271
00:59:36,150 --> 00:59:39,450
And to build the temple for which I

1272
00:59:39,450 --> 00:59:40,450
have made provision.

1273
00:59:41,250 --> 00:59:41,990
Always there.

1274
00:59:44,210 --> 00:59:47,530
And now obedience is the way to do

1275
00:59:47,530 --> 00:59:47,690
it.

1276
00:59:51,490 --> 00:59:56,440
A perfect heart is a pure heart.

1277
00:59:57,260 --> 01:00:00,440
A pure heart is an undivided heart.

1278
01:00:01,640 --> 01:00:02,200
Singleness.

1279
01:00:04,720 --> 01:00:06,600
And brothers and sisters, we need to remind

1280
01:00:06,600 --> 01:00:08,780
ourselves, when we gather, what are we doing

1281
01:00:08,780 --> 01:00:09,100
here?

1282
01:00:09,960 --> 01:00:10,940
Hear messages?

1283
01:00:12,000 --> 01:00:12,280
Yes.

1284
01:00:12,980 --> 01:00:13,780
Worship them?

1285
01:00:13,880 --> 01:00:14,120
Yes.

1286
01:00:15,520 --> 01:00:18,360
The brother and sister is to build God's

1287
01:00:18,360 --> 01:00:18,620
house.

1288
01:00:21,200 --> 01:00:22,320
That's what he's here for.

1289
01:00:23,580 --> 01:00:26,340
That's why he has blessed us with so

1290
01:00:26,340 --> 01:00:26,720
much.

1291
01:00:27,540 --> 01:00:28,520
It's for the house.

1292
01:00:29,260 --> 01:00:32,420
Are we gathering all his blessings unto his

1293
01:00:32,420 --> 01:00:32,760
house?

1294
01:00:33,460 --> 01:00:34,060
For his building.

1295
01:00:34,740 --> 01:00:35,400
For his blessing.

1296
01:00:37,040 --> 01:00:37,940
There's a lot of this.

1297
01:00:39,200 --> 01:00:41,020
If we delay in his coming, brothers and

1298
01:00:41,020 --> 01:00:42,740
sisters, do we have something to pass on

1299
01:00:44,500 --> 01:00:45,520
to the next generation?

1300
01:00:46,480 --> 01:00:48,360
As we pass on what we see, what

1301
01:00:48,360 --> 01:00:53,180
we hear, there's something the Lord's finger has

1302
01:00:53,180 --> 01:00:54,040
written in our heart.

1303
01:00:56,930 --> 01:00:58,490
Yes, we need to talk to our youngsters.

1304
01:01:00,840 --> 01:01:02,100
I think the most important thing is to

1305
01:01:02,100 --> 01:01:03,380
bring them to see God's purpose.

1306
01:01:05,950 --> 01:01:07,890
The root matter is seeing what God wants.

1307
01:01:09,630 --> 01:01:11,930
And pray the Lord will capture those hearts

1308
01:01:11,930 --> 01:01:12,350
for themselves.

1309
01:01:12,510 --> 01:01:13,930
We are problem-oriented.

1310
01:01:14,510 --> 01:01:16,890
We're dealing with a surface that God wants

1311
01:01:16,890 --> 01:01:17,690
to deal with the heart.

1312
01:01:18,970 --> 01:01:22,590
And that's why David was a man after

1313
01:01:22,590 --> 01:01:23,590
God's own heart.

1314
01:01:26,040 --> 01:01:28,500
And his heart passion is for one thing.

1315
01:01:29,580 --> 01:01:30,500
God's dwelling place.

1316
01:01:31,260 --> 01:01:33,640
And he wants to see that thing continue

1317
01:01:33,640 --> 01:01:34,580
in the next generation.

1318
01:01:35,760 --> 01:01:39,040
Because once God is in the center, all

1319
01:01:39,040 --> 01:01:39,980
is of no value.

1320
01:01:41,000 --> 01:01:42,120
So may the Lord help us.

1321
01:01:43,460 --> 01:01:46,820
We can't afford this opportunity to share his

1322
01:01:46,820 --> 01:01:47,100
goodness.

1323
01:01:47,420 --> 01:01:49,560
We may fail, but he can never fail.

1324
01:01:49,960 --> 01:01:52,820
As long as our heart, the plan of

1325
01:01:52,820 --> 01:01:53,760
his purpose is good.

1326
01:01:57,400 --> 01:02:06,330
Father, we thank you for time together.

1327
01:02:06,490 --> 01:02:09,990
We confess what we share is so weak,

1328
01:02:11,090 --> 01:02:15,670
so evil, oftentimes just mere human words.

1329
01:02:16,410 --> 01:02:19,990
But Lord, we ask your Holy Spirit to

1330
01:02:19,990 --> 01:02:23,810
work and to speak beyond us.

1331
01:02:24,690 --> 01:02:26,430
Register something deep in our hearts.

1332
01:02:27,030 --> 01:02:31,310
It will cause our hearts to respond to

1333
01:02:31,310 --> 01:02:31,630
you.

1334
01:02:32,850 --> 01:02:34,050
Wholehearted response.

1335
01:02:37,230 --> 01:02:40,610
In line with what you want.

1336
01:02:41,810 --> 01:02:43,010
Lord, get all you can.

1337
01:02:43,690 --> 01:02:44,630
Get what you have to.

1338
01:02:47,420 --> 01:02:50,840
And to you be all the glory, all

1339
01:02:50,840 --> 01:02:51,440
the praise.

1340
01:02:52,700 --> 01:02:53,340
Precious things.