3ABN On the Road

Cast Your Net

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: James Gilley

Home

Series Code: OTR

Program Code: OTR000871


01:00 I am gonna do something that's gonna make
01:02 my producers very nervous and so I'll
01:05 be just be out from with it you see I have
01:06 another mike in my hand and I grabbed her she was
01:10 leaving because I wanna do something special and not
01:12 only will it make the producers nervous, but it
01:15 could intimidate lot of folks what I'm about to do,
01:18 but I want this person. We have not talked, this is not
01:20 planned. Brother Redge De Swardt, why don't you
01:23 come up and say hello to folks and give us a little
01:25 testimony and Redge is my buddy and he is a guy
01:30 in ministry that loves the Lord and I just want the
01:32 folks don't know you around the world to get to know
01:35 you and hopefully they can, I'm on mike number 10.
01:38 How you doing my friend? Fine. Can we hug?
01:40 Yeah. Alright,
01:42 Well, How you doing?
01:43 Well, I'm doing alright now.
01:44 This is the first time you hug me, so you should beat
01:46 me in the game of basketball.
01:47 Oh! Well, Yeh! I like this guy is a nice guy,
01:50 since you let me you mean. Alright.
01:54 Tell us a little bit about, you know,
01:55 who are here from around here, right.
01:57 Yes, I am, I live in Duncanville,
01:58 which is just south of Dallas.
02:00 Alright. Now what did you do after you got the
02:01 high school, you went to college and what did
02:03 you do for living for a while?
02:05 Well, I played NFL for five seasons.
02:07 NFL for five seasons. What teams did you play for?
02:09 I started I was the first round draft pick up the
02:11 New England Patriots and then my last two years
02:14 I played with the Washington Redskins.
02:15 He looks like he is a football
02:17 player don't he. Alright.
02:18 First-round draft pick. Correct.
02:21 Alright. So you had things going for you,
02:23 things were going great and you have probably made
02:25 an pretty good money.
02:26 Real good money.
02:27 More and better, better then minimum wage right.
02:29 More than I can make it now, right.
02:31 Yeah, more or so, so you are making money wasn't a problem,
02:35 you probably could buy, you know, nice suits
02:37 and fur coats for Lashanda or whatever.
02:39 Anything I wanted. Anything you wanted,
02:41 you can do that. Then something happen, you
02:44 quit in the peak of your career that doesn't make
02:46 sense to the world. Well, God first of all he
02:49 gave me a lovely wife Lasanda.
02:51 Yeah. As she around here. I would have got her up to.
02:53 Well, my daughter is on a program at another church
02:56 so, okay, they on their way. Sure they maybe here.
02:58 But you know, you guys don't let folk
02:59 in once they come late.
03:00 Yeah, I know they didn't let me in earlier so.
03:03 You, well, Lord bless her and she began the study
03:07 with Seventh-Day Adventist and they showed her
03:09 Jesus Christ, showed her the Sabbath and she in turn
03:12 showed it to me. Yeah, I mean but that's
03:15 incredible, you know, a lot of people accept the Sabbath,
03:18 but when you're in your position you've got your fame
03:20 and your fortune and all those things, it's happening.
03:23 What was it that was, where you open all along
03:26 did you have, what is does it captured you
03:28 blind sighted, I mean, where you are studying.
03:30 What did you expect from blind sighted, but I tell
03:33 everyone the key was that my wife which was,
03:36 she wasn't, she didn't grew up the Seventh-Day Adventist.
03:39 She grow up in the Baptist church and she always go to,
03:42 always went to church. But what showed me the
03:44 most was when she began to live her life and she began
03:47 to be a true witness for Jesus.
03:49 Oh! Okay. So, she accepted the Christ and then she
03:52 joined this Seventh Day Adventist Church.
03:54 That's correct. And then did she
03:56 nag you all the time and say Redge, you know,
03:58 most football games are when, weekends, right.
04:00 They are on the Sabbath, but you know,
04:02 she didn't, she told me she wouldn't be able to support
04:04 the game. She wouldn't go to the games,
04:06 but she loves me and she supported me
04:08 and at the same time she still live her life
04:11 before Jesus. So, when she first did,
04:13 I mean one of the things, she probably enjoyed the
04:15 most is your wife watching you on these great games.
04:18 Well, and all of a sudden she says
04:19 no that doesn't bother your pride a little bit.
04:21 Well, it does Buddy, but I saw a whole demeanor,
04:25 her dress changed, everything changed.
04:28 Alright. Some of the things we used to
04:30 do she no longer could do with me.
04:31 Yeah. And let's tell the whole
04:33 world my business, but. But God knows and so
04:38 she changed in and she was able to be
04:40 a true witness for Jesus. Yeah, well I appreciate
04:43 you so much in what you're doing though, so you accepted
04:46 the call to, to now what were you prepared to do.
04:50 When you quit NFL, I mean you planned on doing
04:53 that when you retire and, Correct.
04:55 And then whatever, but all of a sudden,
04:56 it's a great change. What did you do I mean.
04:58 Well as a key edge, I thank you can play football,
05:00 because being in NFL was a lifetime goal, lifetime dream
05:04 that I've had, I was at the highest level of my
05:07 profession and it was at the time,
05:09 when I was playing in a NFC Championship Game,
05:11 where God really convicted me on the Sabbath
05:14 that I should be playing football and so
05:16 when I retire, I was ensure what I was gonna do.
05:20 But, somehow, how old was you, you're talking about retiring,
05:23 I was 26 years old 26, he retired at 26.
05:25 So, I was fairly young and I had a lot of
05:27 Fairly young. Okay. I thought I had football, good football
05:28 lift in me because some things I want to accomplish.
05:31 Well, of course you could have several good years,
05:33 but you, you heard the call of the Lord you quit,
05:36 now you hadn't planned on retiring so early,
05:38 so what did you decide to do? I mean you didn't have
05:41 enough money you make good money, but not last
05:43 you forever. No, I did save some money,
05:45 but God when open up the door, I had youth ministry
05:48 and I decided to share my experiences and talk to the
05:51 young people about my experience and about the
05:53 Lord and the first thing I've to do, I've to go
05:55 back to school. Because I thought, I'm gonna play
05:57 football forever and so I did, I trained at
05:59 Southern Methodist University in
06:01 Dallas, so I was able to go back and get my
06:02 undergraduate degree and began to witness in,
06:06 I've a youth ministry, where I'm all over the country
06:09 speaking to the young people and what blessed me the most
06:12 was when I got on to 3ABN and we talked about my testimony
06:15 and my ministry really just took off and I've been to
06:19 places, where really tell the truth I've never been
06:21 before. I went to Montana and some places I've been,
06:24 you know, I didn't see any black people in those areas.
06:28 And so, I'm thinking anyone was there.
06:30 If you remember one of your first trips to
06:33 West Frankfort, you and I were together and they are
06:36 not used to say black people, right.
06:37 You have to tell us that story, I'll let that go.
06:38 No, I don't want to tell that story, but we stood toe
06:42 to toe with them anyway. Yes, we did.
06:43 Yes, sir they left to alone after while.
06:45 Amen. Amen. God is good. Yeah.
06:47 Good is good. Yes, surely he is.
06:49 Well, you know, what I love you guys and I love what you
06:52 do and course they do team pathways on 3ABN,
06:54 but the ministry that you're in is so incredible
06:57 because you're looking out for the youth.
06:59 You of all people know that the world has so much to
07:03 offer these young talented kids growing up in church
07:08 that the devil wants them. That's correct.
07:09 And what better do they look up, they don't look
07:11 up to me and they say what's your background, I am a
07:14 carpenter or so what. But you know young kids, you're
07:17 in NFL football player at the peak of your game and
07:20 I mean it's about as high as you can go, right and
07:23 these people disgrabs their attention. Why would
07:26 somebody like you with all of the things that they
07:29 dream for someday give it up.
07:31 And I'll tell you the truth. That's the first
07:32 thing, when I play football I didn't want to talk,
07:34 I used to go places and I wouldn't tell everyone
07:36 else NFL player they want me to sign
07:38 autographs, but now I uses as witnesses into
07:40 That's right. and they want to hear
07:42 and the kids really won't you tell them you are an NFL
07:44 football player, you get the attention and little
07:47 do they know, I'm giving them Jesus. I'll talk about
07:50 Football, but the most important thing I could
07:52 do was change my life and gave
07:53 my life to Jesus Christ. Amen.
07:55 One time, One time, I was flying on a Aeroplane
07:57 and this guy that was said, it was nearly full plane there
08:01 was one seat beside me and I was happy to have that
08:04 from California empty, and so when they shut
08:07 the door somebody came into last minute
08:09 and the Steward has moved that person, so the guy
08:12 who sit across to me ended up sitting right beside me
08:15 and I had already hide him over. He was black guy,
08:18 he had long hair, he had necklaces and jewelry
08:21 allover and I said he is a rock singer. I can tell,
08:23 he is a rock singer, so he came and sit by me so we
08:27 are flying little bit and I said what kind of
08:28 work you in. He go I'm with the Colts and I said, Oh!
08:31 that's a rock band you know, no I'm thinking
08:35 football, I think I know people, I've traveled
08:37 around the world I see everybody I'm not that
08:40 bad of judging character, this guy is a rock singer.
08:42 I can tell by looking at him. He said I am
08:44 the Colts, I say, Oh! Rock band he says no the
08:47 Indiana Colts Football Team. He was a football player,
08:51 but after we would travel then he asked me what
08:54 I did. Well, what do you do? I said, well I'm
08:56 in television, how did you get into that. I said,
09:00 well, it's a long story, he said well, we got about
09:01 four hours to go, no place to go, but during the course
09:06 of our conversation and he was running back and
09:09 had just was moving from Canada to Indiana and
09:12 I was able to lead him to Christ, Amen
09:15 he had been raised to Christian.
09:16 Amen. Had left turned away
09:19 from God, That's right.
09:20 But before the flight was over I don't know what the
09:24 rest the folks talk he and I held hands
09:26 and we prayed Amen.
09:28 And we prayed together and he asked Jesus into his life
09:30 and that was so rewarding to me to have that opportunity.
09:33 God is good, God is good. Amen.
09:34 Alright, Redge thank you so much and thanks for being
09:36 a minute man, minute person who just come it out I know
09:39 you wouldn't mind it. Oh! That's no problem.
09:41 Alright closing thought for any of the folks at home may
09:43 be watching television today, is closing thought
09:45 for those maybe they are discouraged, maybe they
09:47 not sure what God has restore for them.
09:50 Well, I like to say just keep your eyes on Jesus
09:51 and my focus is on young people and what we
09:53 need to do, we need to continue and encourage them,
09:55 tell them positive things and tell them you may go
09:57 through struggles, but keep your eyes on Jesus, but he
10:00 will never leave you nor forsake you. Amen
10:02 Amen, thank you so much. God bless you.
10:12 It's my privilege now to introduce to our world
10:15 church those watching around the world, but
10:18 of course no stranger to all of you here senior
10:20 pastor Dallas Seventh Adventist First Church
10:23 pastor Jim Gilley for that great testimony.
10:29 Oh! That's a great testimony, Alright, and let me tell you
10:31 I remember when Redge was playing football
10:33 and you know the Redskins are not number
10:36 1 team in this area. I think
10:40 I wonder who would be here in Dallas, I can't.
10:42 In fact when I left this area I went to
10:44 Washington DC, the people their were saying
10:49 Oh! You gonna be a Redskin fan.
10:51 I said I'm so excited I can now watch
10:54 my second favorite team and they said now,
10:57 who would that be and said anybody play
11:00 in the Redskins. Alright. But we were so thankful
11:05 when Redge retired so that the Gospel did
11:10 a great thing he cleaned out a great runner
11:12 back from the Redskins you know. Alright
11:15 and thank you pastor.
11:16 It's so good to be with you and I had seen
11:18 Redge here and I have heard him testified
11:20 before and I'm glad you brought him up
11:23 Danny because he kept me from having to do
11:26 that. We appreciate you you come in every week.
11:30 This is a good place to come.
11:31 I know you are preaching everywhere
11:33 and when you are not out preaching
11:35 you're welcome right here at Dallas first church
11:37 and all of you are welcome here.
11:40 You know, you don't have to just come
11:41 on special days, every week is a special day
11:44 here, Amen, the Lord, the Lord blesses week after week
11:49 and you know I tell you there is several
11:53 people here in red suits today,
11:55 I felt like I should have worn a red suit.
11:59 And I almost wore my yellow sport coat
12:03 a few weeks ago.
12:05 I told the members that my wife taught me out
12:06 of it and she has desecration
12:11 and sometimes that's important to have.
12:15 We just so thankful that all of you are here
12:17 and we just pray that the Lord will lead us
12:20 as we continue this service, so we bow our
12:22 heads for an early morning prayer.
12:23 Father of heaven for your spirit we pray,
12:28 for your guidance in your word Lord,
12:33 we depend, we just pray that you will
12:36 speak to our hearts in Jesus name. Amen.
12:40 Amen. I can just see the scene
12:42 I wish I had been there.
12:44 In fact I have a theological belief,
12:49 I have a feeling that during the millennium
12:54 that we will be able to call up any scene
12:56 that we want to see that has happened
12:59 in the history of the world.
13:01 I really believe that, I believe that is
13:03 gonna happen to us. See the Lord is just so
13:05 far ahead of us with technology that
13:08 what he can do we have no idea,
13:12 we just see a little bit of grass today
13:14 right now for the first time,
13:15 we are up streaming our service
13:18 right out of this little church
13:21 of course on 3ABN, but in addition to that
13:24 on dallasfirstchurch.org
13:27 and we are gonna be doing it
13:28 everyday, there is gonna be messages
13:32 on all the time, you can go on and click
13:34 and watch a message from this church
13:36 anytime 24 hours a day anywhere
13:40 around the world. Now, if man can do
13:42 that, what can God do? Amen.
13:47 Now, I do believe that those of us that are
13:50 covered with the blood, there are lot of scenes
13:54 we don't want to pull it up, right.
13:56 A lot of things that we want to forget.
13:58 God says those have been just done away
14:01 with dropped out, nobody ever,
14:03 you go to that scene that will be blank
14:07 it's covered by the blood.
14:09 But the good scenes, these things like
14:11 Christ teaching and preaching,
14:13 I think we will be able to see every sermon
14:16 that he ever preached on this earth
14:18 I believe that, you know, I have also wondered
14:20 Lord to wish I have lived at that time.
14:23 Wish I could have seen you,
14:25 then sometimes I thought you know it's so
14:27 much better to live now probably if I had
14:29 to live at that time, I might not even accepted
14:32 Christ, at that particular time.
14:34 It was a great difficulty for those
14:36 people that accepted him when he was here
14:39 on this earth, it's actually easier to
14:42 accept him now, years later
14:44 when we have seen all of the history transpire,
14:47 it's easier to accept him then it was
14:51 to accept him if you were
14:52 right there at that time.
14:56 But here he was preaching
14:59 on the sea of the Galilee.
15:01 Early in the morning, the fisherman
15:03 have been out fishing all night, but nobody
15:05 had caught anything you remember the story
15:07 it's found in Luke the fifth Chapter and they
15:11 had been out there fishing all night long.
15:14 They had caught nothing.
15:16 Jesus Christ is preaching
15:18 and as he is preaching things are happening.
15:23 You know when Lord talked all of a
15:26 sudden hearts were touched.
15:28 I would imagine that they were people man
15:30 for instance who had not been down to the temple
15:33 in years, who had not been down for the pass
15:35 over services they had given up on all kinds of
15:38 religion, but when Jesus spoke, he spoke
15:41 right to their hearts and suddenly
15:44 they are moved and they know what they
15:46 have to do, that they have to make a decision
15:49 to follow him that he is their savior,
15:53 there are women there.
15:55 Women who have lived lives of shame,
15:58 they are ashamed to be anywhere,
16:00 ashamed to go to the synagogue,
16:03 ashamed to go to the temple,
16:06 right all of a sudden they realize as
16:08 Jesus is speaking to them and speaking to
16:10 their hearts, they realized
16:12 there is forgiveness, there is restoration.
16:16 the Christ takes away all the shame
16:20 from our lives and those women standing
16:23 there with tears streaming down their
16:25 chicks and even some of those with hard faced
16:28 fisherman find that there is a tear
16:30 dropping off into the sand here and there.
16:33 And than Jesus turns to his to some people
16:36 who are standing there fisherman. These are
16:37 men, he is coming contact with before, but he
16:40 says to them cast out I wanna preach in your
16:42 boat for a while and he incept his message
16:45 in the boat, and then he turns to those men.
16:51 And he says cast your nets into the water.
16:57 That's, wait a minute Lord.
16:59 You are a carpenter. You don't know nothing
17:02 in the world about fishing
17:03 this is what we do for our living.
17:05 This is not a hobby with us.
17:08 These is our livelihood.
17:10 If you go over that today you will find
17:12 fishermen's still fishing in boats
17:14 very similar to the boats
17:17 that those fishermen were using, using that
17:21 very similar to the nets that they used
17:25 and if you ever watch them,
17:26 they stretch out those nets to dry them,
17:29 it's not a simple process, it takes
17:31 a while to do it and they keep them
17:33 from getting all tangled up with each other
17:36 and it's not an easy job
17:39 and all of a sudden Jesus is saying throw
17:41 them out there. There is no fish out here.
17:43 This is shallow water, this is clear water
17:46 the sea of Galilee has very clear water
17:49 and when fishermen go out to fish they usually
17:51 fish at night because fish are not gonna
17:53 swim into a net if they can avoid it.
17:59 And yet Peter says, he says when Jesus said
18:04 launch out into the deep, let down your nets
18:06 for a catch. Peter answered him
18:09 said master we toiled all night,
18:12 and caught nothing. In other words,
18:14 we have been at the best spots
18:15 of all over this sea of Galilee.
18:18 It's not very big only about 30 miles wide
18:22 and about 8-10 miles, a 30 miles
18:25 long about 8-10 miles wide.
18:27 He said we have been all over this.
18:31 We have not found any fish
18:33 and you are telling us to cast out right here.
18:37 We will be fools in front of all
18:38 these people. These are other fishermen
18:42 they know this is ridiculous.
18:45 But he says nevertheless at your word,
18:50 I will let down the net and he does.
18:55 And that net is so full,
18:57 it's about to break it's like fishes
18:58 jumping into the boat and Peter is so moved
19:01 by this, he falls down in front of Jesus
19:05 and he says the depart me my
19:06 Lord, for I am a sinful man
19:11 and he was not kidding he was a sinful man.
19:15 And when he saw this, he realized he was
19:18 seeing the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
19:21 He was seeing the power of the creator.
19:23 He was seeing the power of the one who made
19:26 the fish and all of a sudden he was
19:30 overwhelmed by it. And you remember
19:34 that when they got to shore
19:38 the Bible says that Jesus said to them
19:41 follow me and I will make you fishers of man.
19:45 And the Bible says they walked off
19:48 and left everything. Peter, Andrew, James
19:51 and John incorporated towards shutdown
19:55 and they walked off and followed Jesus
20:00 and became fishers of man.
20:03 That sometimes people say well these were,
20:06 these were poor fishermen,
20:07 yet they were uneducated fishermen,
20:09 Yes. And you know the God does not call
20:13 the educated, not always sometimes
20:17 he does, but usually he does not,
20:20 if you go back to first Corinthians
20:22 you read what Paul said,
20:23 Paul by the way was a well educated man.
20:26 He was an exception to the rule,
20:29 but if you go back here and you look at first
20:31 Corinthians, you look at the first
20:33 chapter verse 18 for the message
20:35 of the cross is foolishness
20:36 to those who are perishing, but to us
20:39 who are being saved it is the power of God,
20:42 for it is written. I will destroy
20:44 the wisdom of the wise and this comes
20:46 out of Isaiah. The 29th chapter verse 14
20:49 it says, I will destroy the wisdom
20:51 of the wise and bring to nothing,
20:53 the understanding of the prudent
20:56 And then Paul continues he says,
20:59 where is the wise, where is described,
21:03 where is the disputer of this age
21:05 Has not God made foolish
21:08 the wisdom of this world
21:12 and then going down to verse 26,
21:15 he says for you see you're calling brethren
21:19 that not many wise.
21:22 According to the flesh, not many mighty,
21:26 not many noble are called.
21:30 You see God says I don't reach very many
21:36 of the mighty you see the reason
21:38 that Redge story is unusual, is there are
21:42 very, very few professional football
21:45 players that have walked away from a career
21:48 at their prime for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
21:53 Very few and even fewer that have walked
21:56 away and become a part of his
21:57 remnant Church. There are not many
22:01 at all that have done that.
22:03 Not many mighty as we might call them.
22:07 Those who stand in a position of where the
22:10 world looks at them and where the world
22:12 rewards financially, I would refer
22:15 to that is the mighty not many.
22:18 Not many noble. At one time years ago
22:21 when I was living in Dallas.
22:22 I was part of a group called Dallas 40.
22:25 These were 40 young man supposed to be,
22:30 I wanted two of us slipped in there
22:31 that shouldn't been, but supposed
22:33 who have been men with a future
22:36 and leadership in Dallas
22:39 and I was in this group.
22:41 I want to tell you I cannot tell you
22:43 that there was a single one in that group
22:45 that was interested in the Lord Jesus Christ.
22:49 I spend a lot of time with those men
22:52 and if they were involved with church
22:54 it was strictly to involve as far as
22:57 their career was concerned.
22:59 When I came to Dallas the last time and
23:02 we negotiated to a buy a house,
23:04 I met a young man and he is very successful
23:10 and he told me, where he had
23:11 gone to church very humbled church.
23:14 Here in over Oak Cliff
23:18 and I said you're still a member of that church.
23:19 Oh! No he said and then
23:21 he mentioned a very significant church
23:25 in Highland park, I said why did you go there.
23:31 He said because of the people, who go there
23:34 to rub shoulders with those people
23:38 to get to know those people had nothing
23:41 to do with what they taught, what they
23:44 believe. I said to him but coming from
23:46 the church where you came from,
23:49 you must be running into theological
23:51 conflict with the church where you are going,
23:54 you cannot say that you believe in what
23:56 that church teaches.
23:59 Oh! No, he said, I'm not worried about
24:01 what they teach.
24:03 I go there to for who I can reach.
24:07 You see we have to make sure that we
24:10 are reaching out with a gospel
24:13 of Jesus Christ not many who are wise.
24:19 Now there are some who are wise, the apostle
24:21 Paul was wise. We have some professors
24:24 in our universities who are extremely wise
24:27 Individual, but God says he doesn't
24:30 call many that are wise.
24:33 I believe the General Conference
24:34 president is an wise individual as
24:37 I have ever known, I believe his
24:39 predecessor is one of the most intelligent
24:42 human beings, I have ever known.
24:44 And the one before that, God has
24:47 called a new some wise people,
24:51 but not many, not many, not many noble,
24:56 you just don't run into very many
24:59 with that have a big pedigree after
25:01 their name, they are noble, nobility.
25:04 Somebody asked me one time they said what about
25:09 this Galilee name, where do you all come from.
25:11 Well, I said they were three brothers they came
25:13 over and they came into Boston once stayed in
25:19 New England and out of that group there are a lot
25:23 of educators and physicians, even one
25:29 president of Harvard University whose mother
25:31 was a Galilee and so that's the educated group.
25:36 The other group went to out in around St. Louis,
25:40 Missouri, out of that group there are lot of
25:42 attorneys and CPA's and a lot of legal individuals.
25:49 The third brother went down to Virginia on to
25:52 Tennessee just ahead of the law and then others
25:59 came on Texas and that's the group that has a lot of
26:03 country singers and preachers and outlaws
26:09 and that's the group I came from, I would like
26:17 to tell people I am came from that New England
26:19 Group. When I was in the New England, Oh! You are
26:21 a Galilee you know that was pretty nice, you
26:23 know down here they say you are not a Galilee, yeh
26:26 not related to that yeah, I know, how do you
26:30 know? But you see my friend not many noble are
26:38 Called. There was a lady over in England. Her name
26:42 was Lady Huntington and she was a very noble
26:45 person and there was an evangelist by name of
26:49 Rowland Hill, who held a meeting and she came
26:51 and she accepted the Lord Jesus Christ and she gave
26:56 him her heart. She was not interested in which
26:59 church she belong to or whether it was a
27:01 fashionable church or whatever. She was a person
27:04 who was born of the spirit who loved the Lord Jesus
27:08 Christ and you know what she said she was
27:12 saved by one letter and somebody said what was
27:16 that, she said I was saved by the letter M. It said not
27:21 many she said if they had left M it would have been not any.
27:26 And she said I would not have been saved not any, you
27:31 see God has called a lot of common people Billy
27:34 Sunday very common. A baseball
27:38 player, and a major league baseball player. At one
27:42 time he was a clerk at YMCA, but he had drifted
27:45 away from the Lord, he came back to the Lord
27:47 and when he came back he gave everything he had
27:52 to Jesus. You know we can't make a fun of Billy
27:55 Sunday because he was such a funny character he
27:58 would do all kind of wild Shenanigans and
28:01 some of the things that you see that he would do
28:07 we are pretty well warn how to spirit the prophecy
28:11 not to do those kind of things. And we can see
28:14 why that they talked about some of these because
28:17 it was just overdone.
28:19 He would run and fire across the stage and slide across
28:23 the stage do you remember they didn't
28:24 have microphones in those days and he would
28:26 be speaking to thousands of people, Billy Sunday.
28:30 One time was given a call and there was a man that
28:35 came down to the front and Billy Sunday was
28:38 enamored with this man's beard. It look
28:40 like father tie. It was really long. And he went
28:44 down and went down on one knee. First, he patted
28:48 the man on the head and said I'm so glad you came.
28:51 He knelt down on one knee and took hold of that beard
28:55 and pulled it twice and said
28:56 Hock Hock, when he knelt down.
28:58 Now that's Billy Sunday, a character, but you
29:03 know something Billy Sunday led over one
29:07 million people to Christ without radio without
29:12 television without even a microphone, he led all of
29:17 those people to Christ. God uses simple things.
29:21 Dwight L. Moody, he had no education at all he is one
29:26 of the greatest evangelist in the history of this country
29:30 came out of a little town Northampton,
29:32 Massachusetts went over to Clinton, Massachusetts.
29:35 I lived in that area for a While, he sold shoes there
29:38 at an uncle shoe store. Then he went to Boston
29:41 and worked in another shoe store and then he
29:43 ended up outing Chicago and he started taking
29:46 children to church. He is getting in some
29:53 kind of a conveyance and taking them to church and
29:54 then before long he began to preach and he
29:56 absolutely slaughtered the King's English.
30:00 There was no church of any repute anywhere
30:04 around that would let him in the poppet, they wouldn't
30:07 do it. But soon God kept use of him, he kept
30:11 bringing people to Christ, he kept bringing them one
30:15 by one and one time there was a man in the
30:19 audience, a very well educated man that
30:21 became so upset with the Dwight L. Moody that he
30:25 took a piece of paper and wrote one big word on it,
30:30 folded it and sent it up front. He wrote the word
30:33 fool and sent it up to Dwight L. Moody and
30:38 Dwight L. Moody took it and he said this is
30:41 interesting he said, you know I have had many
30:44 many people write me letters and forget to sign
30:46 it, but this is the first time I've had a person
30:50 sign the letter and forget to write me a letter.
30:53 You see my friend, God uses those who come to
31:04 him, he says but God has chosen to use the foolish
31:07 things. He names five things that God has chosen. God
31:08 has chosen to use the foolish things of the
31:14 world to put to shame the wise and the God has
31:18 chosen the weak things of the world to put the
31:21 shame the things which are mighty and God has
31:24 chosen the base things of the world and the things
31:27 which are despised and which are not to bring to
31:33 nothing to things that are, now I am not putting
31:36 down education please. I got all the education that I
31:39 could, I went through college went through seminary,
31:42 I've studied beyond that, I believe in education and
31:46 believe we should get all the education that we
31:48 possibly can, but do not depend upon that. You
31:53 see that Lord Jesus Christ when he is talking, when
31:57 he talked it says back here in Luke the 4th chapter
32:01 verse 36, Then they were all amazed and spoke
32:04 among themselves, saying, "What a word this
32:07 is! For with authority and power He commands the
32:12 unclean spirits, and they come out with
32:14 authority and power", now listen I've got, I've got
32:18 a credential here. This gives me the authority to
32:22 speak in an Adventist Church, but it didn't give
32:25 me the power, the power comes only from the Lord
32:30 Jesus Christ now. I honestly believe in our organization,
32:33 I believe the authority is our right too, but it
32:36 comes from him too, but the authority alone will
32:40 not do it. I can walk in here with the authority
32:44 but if the spirit of God is not in the message it's a
32:47 waste of time that I spend my nights before
32:53 preaching crying out to God to fill a message
32:56 with power because with out the power it is
33:01 absolutely worthless. You see God had three
33:07 periods of 40 years with Mosses. First of all, he
33:10 took 40 years and taught him to be
33:12 Somebody. Mosses was well Educated. He knew all the
33:17 system. He knew all about it, he seemed to be
33:21 pretty fool of himself if you have noticed and then
33:25 God let him go down and he took 40 years to
33:32 teach him to be nobody, absolutely nobody then
33:36 when he got into the place, where he knew he
33:40 was nobody then he said now I'm gonna teach
33:43 you how to be somebody with God. Amen. You see
33:48 somebody with God can be used in a powerful
33:52 way. When we stand alone without him, we are
33:58 nothing, we are nobody, but when we stand with
34:03 him and with his complete assurance then
34:08 God uses us, he uses the foolish, he uses the
34:12 weak, he uses the base, he uses the despised
34:16 and he uses the Bible says those who are not.
34:19 They are not in the group, they are not group. And when
34:26 he call those disciples he wasn't calling people
34:30 that came out of the Levitical system down in
34:33 Jerusalem, those men who were so qualified,
34:37 those men who had studied so much, he didn't
34:40 call them. He called these fisherman. Now poor no
34:46 I don't believe they were poor and let me tell you
34:50 why I don't believe they are poor. Uneducated yes,
34:53 without any question, but I believe they were hard
34:57 working dynamic promotional type
35:01 individuals, entrepreneurs. Now, I'm gonna tell
35:05 you why I believe this, they say I went to sight
35:08 the componium that has been excavated when I first
35:13 started going over to Israel they had not
35:15 excavated that sight yet and then it was excavated
35:19 by Dr. Harold Wise, Dr. Harold Wise
35:21 is the head of archeology at Notre
35:24 Dame, University and he excavated this site. Now
35:30 the amazing thing about Dr. Wise is that I had him
35:33 as a professor at Andrew's University. At
35:36 that time, they had a very strong archeological staff
35:40 at Andrew's and they really didn't have a place
35:43 for Dr. Wise. Dr. Seekford Horn was their and others, so
35:48 Wise would teach some classes at Andrew.
35:50 Andrew's when he started teaching up at St. Mary's
35:53 in at Notre Dame and soon they saw the ability
35:58 of this devote Seventh Day Adventist
36:00 Archeologist and he has become the leading, one
36:05 of the leading archeologist in the
36:06 country. He is a Seventh Day Adventist, a lot of
36:09 good Seventh Day Adventist archeologist in
36:12 the world today and this is one of the best. He was
36:16 the one that wrote the article in the Barr
36:19 Magazine Biblical Archaeological Review, I
36:22 know all of you read that on a regular basis and
36:25 believe it or not, I do occasionally read it.
36:28 But this article was so interesting about Peter's
36:33 House. I've been there, it's big this is not a little
36:40 House. Now I don't believe that this house was built
36:43 after Peter start preaching the gospel, I believe it
36:46 was built with proceeds before he started
36:50 preaching the gospel. Oh! You said, I thought
36:53 he was a fishermen. Listen, Peter went out there
36:56 with the hookin and a warm. He was out there with a net,
37:00 they were in business and the amazing thing about
37:06 this business is that according to Malcolm Kardia
37:09 who is one of the foremost experts in this
37:13 particular area in Jerusalem, I've to spend lot of time with
37:17 him and we go over on Holy land trips he goes
37:20 along as our guide, but according to him he
37:25 believes that these men had developed a market
37:29 for the fish. There is one particular species is
37:33 found only in the sea of Galilee. For this
37:36 market and these fish were being taken to Rome, now
37:41 you know how it is when servicemen came to
37:44 your country, you go I remember when I was
37:46 living in Shreveport, you go down to
37:48 Barksdale Air Force Base and
37:50 you will see all kinds of Vietnamese restaurants
37:52 right down there why? Because when these men, where
37:55 stationed overseas in Vietnam. They develop a
37:58 taste for Vietnamese food and so that's a very good
38:02 market. These men who had serve time in Vietnam
38:05 they may not be as many there
38:06 in the house that are used to
38:07 be, some of those guys are not in the service
38:09 anymore, but they were really like that food. And
38:15 the Romans liked that delicacy that they got that
38:19 fish and so they had developed some type of
38:23 process, it could have been smoked, it could have been
38:25 salted, it could have been combination whatever,
38:28 but they would put them in the barrels and they
38:31 would sell them to Rome. You see they were just
38:34 out fishing for fun, they were fishing for money
38:40 and doing well with it, and somebody says what
38:43 makes you think that they are doing so well with it.
38:46 Well, I want you to go with me back to John.
38:48 The 21st Chapter and you remember that this is after
38:54 the resurrection of Jesus the disciples Peter gets really
38:58 impatient and he says I am going fishing what he
39:02 is saying is I thought we were going to take over the
39:04 country because that's what they had thought
39:07 was gonna happen. I thought there was going to
39:09 be a rebellion. But now Christ has been crucified
39:12 yes we have seem him a couple of times, we don't
39:14 know what's going on. I am going back to my
39:15 Business, back to what I know, back to what I can
39:20 do, and I've got to put bread on the table and so
39:25 he went back to fishing. Now the Bible says that
39:31 night they caught nothing sounds like
39:33 another night doesn't, they caught absolutely nothing and
39:39 then as they come in they see somebody over their on the
39:44 shore cooking fish, have you ever, ever got that
39:52 scene in your mind. Jesus fixing breakfast wouldn't
39:58 you love, well that's a another scene I want to see,
40:00 I want to see that one. Jesus fixing that breakfast
40:05 and he calls out to the disciples, have you got
40:08 any fish and they said no. And he said cast your net
40:12 on the other side. And immediately the Bible
40:15 says they knew it was the Lord. And that net was filled
40:19 even they brought it in, they even tell you how many
40:22 it says in verse 11 chapter 21 Simon, Peter went up
40:26 and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, a
40:31 hundred and fifty-three; and altogether there were
40:37 so many, but the net was not broken. Hundred and
40:41 fifty-three that's quit a catch, I don't know how many
40:45 would go on the barrel, but that several barrels of fish
40:48 prepared they can go right to Rome and make some
40:52 money. And yet Jesus had breakfast with them
40:56 and then Jesus said something. He said Peter
41:00 do you love me more than these. Now when I used
41:07 to read that I thought he was telling about other
41:09 disciples, you love me more than, but he didn't
41:11 care that much about James and John those
41:14 guys. You just look at the stories and you can
41:17 see that there shouldn't be any question about that
41:20 also is it that a little bit, Oh! That's not, that's kind
41:25 a sick. If Jesus is saying do you love me as much
41:30 as love these guys, doesn't sound like much
41:33 doesn't? Doesn't sound right, what Jesus is saying
41:37 is do you love me as much as you do making
41:41 money. Do you love me as much as you do the
41:45 fishing business? Do you love me and are you
41:49 ready to give all this up? You said you are gonna
41:51 give it up once, you are going back to it now.
41:54 Do you love me as much as you do the things of
42:00 this world. Then he says feed my sheep, I have a
42:07 job for you to do and I want you to do it. And
42:12 you see all of a sudden that starts to make sins
42:14 and Peter and Andrew and James and John were
42:21 back into the business of the gospel spreading the
42:25 gospel these men that knew how to get the fishing
42:28 business and getting fish all the way to Rome.
42:30 These entrepreneurs, these ASI guys you know
42:35 for 25 years I didn't have one of these, I had to
42:40 preach just by the power of the Lord and by
42:44 permission one at a time to preach because I was
42:50 working for a company that I owned preaching
42:54 the gospel, yes, but doing at over the auspicious of
42:59 ASI. Now you see this is the way these men were
43:05 the real power of our gospel began with self
43:08 supporting people, promoters, business
43:12 people that's what these men were you see that's
43:17 what Danny was, Danny was a carpenter, he was a
43:21 Contractor, don't let him make you thank you, he
43:23 was just a simple carpenter, he was doing all kind of
43:26 contracts and everything else, but he was a
43:29 carpenter. God called, his ministry started with
43:34 about a hundred dollars you see how god blesses.
43:39 He start off with a few fish and what happens it
43:44 just keeps multiply. God keeps doing something
43:48 about it, you see this is why I get so excited
43:51 about 3ABN, 3ABN was not something that came
43:55 down from above and was put what I'm talking
43:58 about as far organization when it concern was not
44:02 just something that we are promoted, it was
44:06 something God rose and took up and it rose up
44:10 from the bottom and it is continued to grow that's
44:15 why we need to support it and stand with it and help
44:19 this ministry to continue reaching people, if you go
44:22 back and you look at the growth that has happened
44:26 in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church you will see that
44:28 the great mushroom of growth has happened
44:32 after we went on satellite television after 3ABN
44:36 began, after we began to preach on Sabbaths
44:39 because they showed us how to do it. All the
44:42 other ministries that take place today are
44:45 taking place because 3ABN showed the way.
44:49 We have to got to remember that my friend,
44:52 they have shown us how to do it. It is a fantastic
44:58 story. Danny I tell you we need to keep telling it
45:01 over and over again because sometimes we
45:03 forget it, you about to become an institution. You are been
45:06 around so long, people start thinking of you an
45:08 Institution, it is a faith ministry, a faith ministry
45:11 that is one that our people have gone along with the
45:21 Lord to make happen on this earth and I
45:25 am so thankful for it. We look at these, these
45:28 Fishermen, we look at Peter. Now sometimes,
45:30 we get worried about Peter because we want to
45:32 make sure that we don't let people think we think
45:35 he was the Pope, you know that, we can't put Peter
45:39 down. Now listen, Peter was the leader of the church. Paul
45:42 was the writer and see because Paul wrote so
45:45 much we read it we think Paul was the leader of the
45:48 church. Paul was not the leader of the church. He
45:50 was never really in with the leadership, I mean
45:53 this fascist, he was gather held the court when they
45:57 stoned their best friend Steven, and even though
46:00 they kind a get over they never could
46:02 told me forget it. And you will see it rising
46:05 up every once in a while Paul was the rider.
46:08 Peter didn't write much, but peter was the leader.
46:12 You think he is not let me tell you something you
46:16 go home tonight this afternoon sometime you
46:20 want to eventually go home because we can't
46:23 feed you forever you know that, but when you
46:27 do go home you get your Bible out and you will
46:29 find it all the disciples are mentioned a total of a 129
46:33 times, out of a 129 times 86 times it mentions
46:41 Peter, all the other 11 are mentioned 43 times, if you
46:48 doubt me go count it. Peter has mentioned
46:52 twice for every one time all the other 11 are
46:56 mentioned. Now this does not mean that he was the
47:02 first Pope, he was not there in that popes. They didn't
47:03 have Popes away down on the line and the
47:04 church had really got narrow back, before they
47:07 had popes, but he was the leader of the early church.
47:13 Now they all did things together, he wasn't
47:15 detecting things, he was leading with the power
47:18 that God had given him the personality that God
47:21 has given him. And that's the kind of leader
47:25 God choosing, Jesus chose him, he knew all
47:30 about Peter when he chose him, he knew all
47:34 about David when he chose him by the way, he
47:36 even knew the mistakes that David was
47:38 gonna make and he chose him in the way, do
47:42 you remember that. Sometimes you want to
47:44 slap somebody down, you want to talk about
47:46 somebody who has been used by God. You
47:50 remember that God chose them knowing that
47:55 they might trip up, a wood trip up, but he is the one
48:00 who restores he did it for David and he does it. God
48:05 is the great restore. And he is Peter, Peter
48:10 somebody, I've people come to me and say I'm
48:13 just like Peter are you, I think this is a quite a guy
48:16 seems why he denied the Lord, yes, but remember before he
48:20 denied the Lord he had a sword and tried to take on
48:23 the whole Roman army. So we don't give him
48:26 credit for that always got him denying Lord, we
48:28 forget about Pentecost when he preached in
48:31 front of everybody, he could have been killed
48:32 right there three thousand accepted the gospel, we
48:36 forget about Peter doing that, we forget about his
48:39 challenging that Roman legion, he was confused
48:41 when he denied the Lord because he started to kill
48:45 that guy and the Lord, in fact you know he got his
48:48 ear, but the only reason that you read about the ears
48:52 that man moved his head. If he had moved his head
48:54 you've not heard about the miracle the Lord put
48:56 that head together. That may not have
48:59 been a miracle, but that's a one you would have heard
49:01 about, but he moved and Peter was trying his best
49:06 and then the Lord repute him for that he
49:09 thought what I am last suppose to fight, what I
49:11 am suppose to do? And he became confused and
49:16 then he denied the Lord and his confusion, but Peter
49:20 what a man he was, you look at James and
49:23 John, sons of thunder. You see the Lord by the
49:26 way he gave Peter that name. Peters name was
49:27 Simon, he gave him the name Peter Cephus
49:30 means a little stone, and he said you're just a little
49:35 rock you think you are tough but you not all at tough. I
49:38 think the Lord like to give people names. He gave
49:41 James and John the names of sons of
49:43 thunders, their father name was Zabdi, his
49:46 name wasn't thunder? Where did Jesus get it,
49:51 you remember that time when they wanted to go into
49:53 that village they had this custom, they were going
49:56 to a village at night, get permission they would buy
49:58 food, they would cook and they would eat, they
50:01 would eat their serve at night, they would have a
50:03 little bit leftover for breakfast in the morning,
50:05 then they will take what little bit was left, put it in
50:08 a knapsack walk during the day and eat that for lunch
50:11 and they repeat the process that night, but you
50:14 couldn't take 70 or 80 people into one of these little
50:17 villages without getting permission they will think
50:19 it was invasion. And so they sent somebody in, so we
50:24 would like to come in spend the night and the
50:28 word came back go out we don't want you. Now
50:33 the Lord was very turned and head on what did James
50:36 and John said bring fire down from heaven
50:38 destroy them Lord. What kind of fellows were those, I
50:44 mean you want to go a place and hold a
50:46 evangelistic rally or something Danny and
50:49 they say well you know we're really, we're really
50:51 don't have bring fire down from heaven
50:53 destroy them. I don't think we would do that
50:57 would we? But James and John did they were also
51:04 ambitious, they wanted to be on the right hand, the
51:08 left hand and they got their mom because they
51:10 thought that Jesus really had a kind of soft spot for
51:13 the mother and they said mom you ask him
51:15 because Mom did, she said you don't hear them
51:17 saying no mom don't say that we don't hear that.
51:20 She said when you come into your kingdom can
51:22 one of my boys be on the right hand, one on the
51:24 left. Jesus said you don't know what you are
51:29 asking, you see when you came into his kingdom
51:32 there was a man on the right, man on the left with
51:35 their own crosses. Jesus, Jesus said no, sometimes
51:41 we get turn down for what we ask for and we
51:45 need to be thankful, but James and John, we look
51:49 at Andrew, Andrew a quite man. Remember
51:51 it was Andrew that found Jesus first and he
51:54 had brought his brother Peter, Andrew worked
51:56 one of the time it was Andrew that found that
51:59 boy defeating the five thousand and he
52:01 brought that boy with a bread and the fish and
52:05 they feed that 5000 you see Andrew working one
52:09 at the time, Peter is up there working with the
52:10 whole crowd talking in three thousand are
52:13 accepting and so forth, Andrew talking to the
52:16 individuals. Now we look at these and we see
52:21 that Peter was the first of these, no actually James
52:28 was the first to die he was the first murder of the
52:32 12th, first murder of the 12. His brother John he
52:38 lived to die natural death, but he suffered. He was
52:42 treated in such a way that I'm sure that he wished
52:46 many times that he had gone ahead and gone to
52:50 sleep like those before. We look at Peter, when it
52:54 came time for Peter to be crucified what happened?
52:59 He said I'm not worthy to be crucified the way
53:03 that my Lord was crucified. He said I am
53:09 not worthy to die like he did and so he requested to
53:16 be crucified outside there. They put him on a cross
53:20 up side down, and then there is Andrew you
53:28 know Andrew, Andrew was a shy person
53:32 sometimes I run in the individuals and they say I
53:35 can't preach by the way next year I'm hoping
53:39 that our church we are going to have a year of
53:42 mission and we are going to organize and we are
53:47 going to take a group overseas and we are
53:51 going to preach and some of you gonna preach that have
53:54 never preached before then you gonna preach precise.
53:57 Some of you are Andrew's and you don't see yourself
54:02 as preaching, but God knows he can use you and
54:09 then we look at what Andrew did. Lot of
54:15 people wonder whatever happened to Andrew?
54:17 Whatever happened to him. There is not a whole
54:21 lot in scripture about him and so we have to
54:25 go to secular history to find out what we can
54:29 about Andrew that will tell you that I have
54:35 found some information, there are some conflicting
54:39 stories you will hear different stories about
54:42 what happened to Andrew and where he
54:44 went, but the one that I have chosen to believe
54:49 and it really comes down to that is that when I went
54:54 to Kiev to hold a crusade in Kiev,
54:59 Ukraine I saw there right near the
55:04 Napo river a statue of Andrew and I asked them
55:11 why do you have a statue of Andrew here? And they
55:18 said well you know the story is that Andrew came up
55:23 to Napo river stopping along the way to preach
55:26 the gospel, when he got to keep, he was witnessing the
55:31 people one on one with people and he became
55:35 acquainted with the wife of the governor of the
55:38 region and he talked to her about Jesus Christ.
55:44 Told her what Christ could do in her life and
55:49 she accepted Jesus as her personal savior. And when she
55:56 did that her husband became very, very angry.
56:00 And he had Andrew arrested, he brought
56:05 Andrew in and he gave him an opportunity to
56:10 declare that he didn't believe in Jesus Christ.
56:13 He gave him an opportunity to retract all
56:17 that he had said, but Andrew stood fast and he
56:23 would not do it. Amen. And then finally, the
56:29 Governor said alright then you will be
56:32 crucified, you will be crucified just like this
56:38 Jesus that you are talking about this Jesus who you
56:42 claim was crucified on a cross went into a grave
56:45 and was resurrected, you will be crucified in the
56:49 same way. And Andrew said I'm not worthy to be
56:57 crucified as he was crucified. He said I'm
57:01 not worthy to be crucified like my brother was
57:03 crucified upside down, I'm going to ask you to
57:09 crucify me on an X. Now the X in those
57:14 days was the true sign of Christianity it
57:19 stood for Christies, there were also the fish as the
57:24 sign, but the axe was even more the cross did not
57:28 become a sign really until that much later. But the
57:32 Christies just the first letter
57:35 X, which was the letter for
57:37 Christies and so they put Andrew on that X. Now
57:44 the death of the cross sometimes took a long
57:47 time. You remember Jesus when he died on
57:50 cross he lived only a few hours, but my friend it
57:53 was not those nails that cause his death, it was my
57:59 sins, my sins alone were enough to kill him
58:05 because of the separation that he felt from the
58:10 father and then you add your sins to it and that's
58:15 quit a load right for all of us and then you add
58:20 the sins of the world everybody picked up and
58:25 placed upon Jesus and that's what killed him. And so,
58:31 Andrew, Andrew said I'm going to have to preach because
58:40 people came and they would yelled him. And they
58:42 would jeered at him and they would say things and
58:46 finally Andrew had mounted a poppet and
58:49 he began to preach. And tradition tells us that the
58:53 church in that area was born from the preaching
58:58 of Andrew right there on that clots in Kiev.
59:05 My friend Jesus is calling you to be his team, to be
59:17 his servant and for him to be your king.


Home

Revised 2014-12-17