Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY210066A
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00:01 As you're well aware,
00:02 we're living in unprecedented times. 00:05 Join us now for Today special program. 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Mending broken people 00:23 I want to spend my life 00:29 Removing pain 00:34 Lord, let my words 00:39 Heal a heart that hurts 00:44 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 00:55 I want to spend my life 01:00 Mending broken people 01:15 Hello, friends. Welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:17 My name is John Lomacang, 01:18 and I have my beautiful co-pilot with me, 01:20 my wife, Angela. Good to have you here, honey. 01:22 I'm happy to be here. 01:24 Praise the Lord for another beautiful day. 01:26 And we thank you for tuning in today. 01:29 That's right. 01:30 And we're going to be talking about a program 01:32 that I know is going to challenge you 01:34 because each one of us has a purpose in life, 01:37 but not everyone knows what that purpose is. 01:40 And I'm just going to narrow it right there. 01:42 We're going to be talking about 01:44 how every one of you can get involved 01:45 in some aspect of working for the Lord. 01:49 And our guest today is no stranger to 3ABN, 01:52 and I'd like to go ahead 01:53 and just give you a peek at who he is. 01:55 I'm not going to talk about what he's going to do 01:57 and what he's doing, 01:58 but good to have you here, Steve. 02:00 It's good to be here with you at 3ABN, 02:02 one of my favorite places to come. 02:03 That's right. Always good to have you. 02:05 Anytime you come and people might say, 02:07 "I know exactly who Steve Dickman is." 02:09 But we have a little twist today, 02:11 so we're going to hold off on that. 02:13 But thank you for being willing to come 02:14 and be a part of the family on a continuous basis. 02:17 No problem. 02:18 Well, just to get to the point, honey, 02:20 what music do we have today? 02:21 This song is a beautiful song 02:24 and this is something we all need. 02:26 And it's called Give me Jesus by Layke Jones. 02:40 In the morning when I rise 02:44 In the morning when I rise 02:48 In the morning when I rise 02:52 Give me Jesus 02:56 Give me Jesus 03:00 Give me Jesus 03:03 You can have all this world 03:07 But give me Jesus 03:19 And when I am alone 03:23 Oh, when I am alone 03:27 And when I am alone 03:30 Give me Jesus 03:34 Give me Jesus 03:38 Give me Jesus 03:42 You can have all this world 03:46 But give me Jesus 04:03 And when I come to die 04:07 Oh, when I come to die 04:11 And when I come to die 04:15 Give me Jesus 04:19 Give me Jesus 04:27 Give me Jesus 04:34 You can have all this world 04:38 You can have all this world 04:42 You can have all of this world 04:46 But give me Jesus 05:05 Thank you, Layke. And thank you, Tim. 05:08 Both of those young men 05:09 are very good ministers of music. 05:11 Yes, beautiful. 05:12 And the song is very appropriate 05:14 to what we're talking about today 05:15 because what we're talking about today, 05:17 we need... Jesus. 05:18 We need Jesus to be actively operating in 05:22 and through our lives. 05:24 And once again, good to have you here, Steve. 05:25 It is certainly good to be here with you today. 05:28 Now give us a little bit of your background. 05:29 A lot of people when they see you say, 05:31 "Oh, I know Steve from ASI." 05:34 You were the President of ASI at one time, 05:36 but just bring us up-to-date on what's happened in your life 05:40 and how you've allowed the Lord to still continue to guide you. 05:44 So I served as President for ASI for six years. 05:47 That's three two-year terms 05:49 and that was, you know, a little opportunity for me, 05:53 I call it, in other words, a little challenging. 05:55 But God is good. 05:57 And when I started that work with ASI, 06:01 I almost complained to the Lord and said, 06:02 "Lord, this is a little much." 06:04 But He told me, "No, I have this under control here. 06:08 Don't worry about it. I've got it under control." 06:11 He said, "Even the young men are going to fall down 06:13 and get weary, 06:14 but those who wait upon the Lord 06:16 are going to renew their strength." 06:18 So that's God's promise to me 06:20 and God has been faithful, and really love ASI. 06:24 I'm no longer serving as President 06:27 but I love ASI. 06:28 It's a great concept and it's a powerful ministry. 06:31 However, in the last few months of my service with ASI, 06:35 I was approached 06:36 by Outpost Centers International, 06:38 OCI to ask if I would serve as the new President for OCI. 06:43 Steven Grabiner, the former president 06:45 was stepping aside. 06:46 They were looking for someone to fill that slot. 06:48 I had been serving as Chairman of their board 06:50 for about 10 years 06:52 so I was already very familiar with the organization. 06:56 And the Lord, kind of, set this up in a way 06:59 because the relationships that I had 07:04 built as President of ASI, 07:07 really were transferable to the work of OCI, 07:11 and so it was a God thing. 07:14 I wasn't looking for something to do 07:16 in addition to what I was already doing, 07:18 but God said, "No, I want you to serve here." 07:21 And so I said, "Praise the Lord. 07:23 Let's do this together." 07:24 Okay. Okay. 07:25 Now, why is there a need for an organization 07:28 such as OCI? 07:30 Well, think about it for a moment, 07:32 we have a world with 07:33 almost 8 billion people on it now 07:36 according to the latest population statistics. 07:39 We're talking about a planet with about 8 billion people. 07:44 On that planet, we have an organization 07:47 called the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 07:49 We have about 21 million or 22 million members now. 07:53 Praise God for that. Amen. 07:55 But do you know that since January of 2021 07:59 until the present time, 08:01 about 64 million new people have arrived on planet earth? 08:05 Oh my! 08:07 That's not just the arrivals. 08:10 That's the arrivals minus those who have passed. 08:14 So that's the net gain in population 08:17 over the period of what, nine months, 10 months. 08:21 So that's a lot of people arriving on planet earth. 08:24 When you compare that number 08:27 with the number of Seventh-day Adventist, 08:30 it's about three times more 08:32 than we have the Seventh-day Adventist, 08:33 and that's just in the last 10 months. 08:36 So the work before us 08:37 of getting the three angels' messages 08:39 to the entire world is huge. 08:42 It's not going to be done by human power, 08:44 we know that. 08:46 It has to be a God thing, 08:47 but human beings have a part to play. 08:50 We must do our part. 08:52 And so OCI... 08:59 Is a laypeople really. 09:00 The essence of it is it's a lay-led organization 09:04 with the capacity, the opportunity to work 09:09 in every part of the world 09:10 as long as we have good relationships 09:12 with the church. 09:13 Right. Okay. 09:15 And so, OCI wants to inspire this generation of laypeople 09:20 to help finish the work of spreading 09:22 the three angels' messages to the world. 09:25 When you're in ministry, 09:26 and I think you can probably identify with this. 09:28 A lot of times 09:29 if you're by yourself doing something, 09:31 you think maybe your problems are your problems, 09:33 and you're the only one 09:34 that has these kinds of problems. 09:35 Right. 09:37 However, when you get together with a family of people, 09:39 other ministry people and began to talk, 09:41 you realize that problems are problems 09:44 and they run the gamut. 09:46 They're essentially the same across the ministry lines. 09:49 All right. 09:50 So it's a real encouragement to you. 09:52 And so OCIs are family of ministries, 09:54 who have a passion to support the work 09:56 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 09:58 to help accomplish mission. 10:00 The current strategic plan 10:03 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is, 10:05 I will go. 10:06 That's the theme of it, right? Yes. 10:07 I will go. 10:09 Well, we believe 10:11 that the laypeople need to be saying that differently. 10:14 They need to be saying not, "I will go," 10:16 but they need to be saying, "I am gone. 10:19 I am on my way." 10:20 Yes, I like that. Amen. 10:22 That I had the challenge. 10:24 I'm not going to say at some future time 10:26 I will do this. 10:27 I'm going to say, "Now is the time. 10:29 Let's do this now. 10:31 I'm on my way." Right. 10:32 So you don't wait for some crisis, 10:34 like a evac team or to happen to say, 10:38 "Okay, well now, the hour has come to go 10:42 and get involved." 10:43 So that's describing the mission of OCI 10:46 to work along with the organized church 10:48 around the world, maintain good relationships. 10:51 And what actually does OCI do? 10:54 Let's just focus on that 10:57 because we say, "Okay, 10:58 if they work in along with the church, 11:01 what makes the difference between the two of those?" 11:04 Okay. 11:06 So OCI, the function of OCI 11:09 is to be able to help supporting ministries 11:14 led by laypeople in every country of the world 11:18 to actually have sustainable lay ministries. 11:22 Now, when you look at lay ministry, 11:24 a lot of times people look at it and say, 11:27 "Well sure, if someone would give me a budget, 11:30 I could do such and such." Right? 11:32 The concept of OCI is the Paul concept. 11:36 Take your tent making skills, go to where God calls you, 11:40 and begin to minister to people. 11:42 Paul supported himself. 11:45 Laypeople that have skills of business 11:48 and entrepreneurship and other things 11:51 can be effective in ministry while supporting themselves, 11:55 and it doesn't take the budget away from the church. 11:59 Given this 8 billion people that we need to reach 12:02 with the three angels' messages, 12:04 that's a pretty high task. 12:06 It's going to take more money 12:07 than the Seventh-day Adventist Church has. 12:09 It's going to take more people than our currently pastors. 12:14 If we said, "Well, let's just pay 12:15 people to do it." 12:16 There's not enough money. 12:18 If we said, "Just let the pastors do it." 12:19 There's not enough pastors. 12:21 There's about 22,000 ordained pastors 12:23 within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 12:25 wrapped around this globe 12:26 in different parts of the world, 12:28 so there's just not enough. 12:29 That's right. 12:30 We need to involve the laypeople. 12:32 I remember somebody sent me a letter once 12:34 because I made a statement on air, 12:37 which I think it fits right here. 12:39 I said, "I need less members and more workers." 12:43 And somebody took me to task on and say, 12:45 "You know not everybody's worker." 12:47 I tend to defer on that 12:49 because Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, 12:53 created in Christ Jesus for good works, 12:57 which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in." 13:01 So it's like saying, "I have 60 employees, 13:06 but only 22 of them work." 13:11 Well, you better quit paying them then. 13:14 Exactly. 13:15 Can you have 40 employees just taking up space 13:18 because 20 of them know what they have to do 13:20 and they just do it? 13:21 We have 50 employees, but only 20 of them work. 13:24 What kind of company success would you look for? 13:27 And I think a lot of people... 13:29 And my wife and I because we've been in ministry 13:31 for as many years as a pastor and pastor's wife. 13:34 We have seen that 13:36 a lot of people just like sermons. 13:38 They like good programs. 13:40 They like good music. 13:41 It's like all the people that come to the restaurant, 13:43 but none of them want to cook. 13:44 And not that they have to cook but everybody has... 13:47 If I'm hearing you correctly, 13:48 the mission is not just for the pastors. 13:50 No. 13:51 The mission is for those who are called by God. 13:53 You know I say it this way. 13:55 You can take your Bible 13:56 and I challenge you to do this if you're watching today. 13:59 Pick up your Bible, go from Genesis to Revelation, 14:04 read the Bible and find out 14:07 if the people in the Bible 14:09 were the only ones called by God. 14:13 No, the Bible was written for all people in all time. 14:16 It's God's message to me today. 14:19 And so when I read verses of Scripture, 14:21 like John 15:16, 14:24 and God spoke to me through this verse, 14:26 and He said this. 14:28 He said, "You have not chosen me, 14:32 but I have chosen you." 14:34 You know sometimes I think we get that turned around. 14:36 We think, "I'm doing some favor to God 14:39 by giving my service to Him or something." 14:41 You know, that's backwards. 14:43 It is. That's right. 14:44 No, God found me, 14:46 He chose me and it was His work. 14:51 When I cooperate with Him, 14:54 there's this transformation of my thinking 14:57 that He says, "I didn't just choose you." 15:01 The verse goes on to say, "But I ordained you. 15:04 You should go and bring forth fruit 15:07 and that your fruit should remain." 15:08 That's right. 15:09 God's idea is 15:11 that every single person has been called to ministry. 15:14 I mean, you can read it in Peter, 15:16 you can read it in Isaiah, you can read it in Jeremiah, 15:19 you can read it in almost every book of the Bible, 15:22 every story is speaking to us as individuals. 15:26 And Jesus Himself didn't let us off the hook. 15:30 When He was ready to leave, what did He say? 15:32 He said, "Go ye..." Who's ye? 15:34 Why stand you gazing? Yeah. 15:36 It's time to do something. That's right. 15:38 And so this idea 15:40 that every single individual has been called 15:43 is something I think we've missed just a little bit. 15:46 That's right. Wow! 15:50 Now, looking into the future, 15:52 what would you envision for OCI? 15:57 So, OCI has a vision 16:00 and the vision is that there would be a network 16:05 of sustainable lay ministries 16:07 in every country of the world. 16:10 Now, 235 countries are identified 16:14 by the United Nations. 16:16 The Seventh-day Adventist Church, 16:18 by the most recent statistical report 16:20 has a work in 212 of those countries. 16:24 That means there are 23 countries 16:26 with no Seventh-day Adventist identified work or presence. 16:31 Now, is it possible there could be a believer, 16:33 a Seventh-day Adventist in some of those 23? 16:35 Yes. 16:37 But is there a thriving network of lay ministries 16:42 working in those countries? 16:43 The answer is no. 16:45 Now, some of them are pretty tough. 16:47 I mean, think about it. 16:48 Just say, North Korea 16:50 and see what comes to your mind. 16:51 Oh, boy. 16:52 Say Iraq, say Iran, say Syria, say some of those names 16:57 that are just kind of stunning. 17:00 While when you look at the presence 17:02 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 17:05 in the 10/40 Window, it's pretty minimal, 17:08 honestly. 17:09 That's right. 17:10 I mean, 550 million people 17:14 scattered across 20 something countries 17:17 and really, only three or four of those countries 17:20 have a very minimal presence 17:24 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 17:27 So when you think about what people are doing, 17:30 and how that work is going to go forward... 17:33 A couple of days ago, as a matter of fact, 17:34 maybe two or three days ago, 17:36 we were reading a devotional together, 17:38 and it was by a man by the name of Oswald Chambers. 17:41 And he said, "How dare we talk 17:44 of making a sacrifice for the Son of God? 17:47 He saved us from hell and total destruction 17:50 and we talked about making a sacrifice for Him." 17:53 But in fact, what you're saying is, 17:55 the Lord has called every one of us. 17:57 The "Go ye" or the "Go" is not for the pastors, 18:03 or the people that are highly trained 18:05 because every one of us can be involved 18:08 in some capacity or the other, 18:10 which will take me to this question. 18:13 How does OCI operate to help facilitate division of OCI? 18:19 So OCI has three strategies. 18:22 We've tried to narrow it down so we can focus on the things 18:25 that we think are really important. 18:26 The first strategy we believe will be successful, 18:30 is to inspire this generation of laypeople 18:35 to get engaged in mission. 18:38 So how do we inspire laypeople? 18:40 It's first of all, to help them understand their calling. 18:45 So programs like this, 18:46 and other opportunities for the OCI leadership team, 18:51 to help encourage laypeople that they can do something. 18:56 Everyone can do something. 18:58 Everyone is called to mission, inspiring them with that idea. 19:02 So the inspiration is something that... 19:06 In all of these things that I'm going to mention, 19:08 I want to just say, first of all, 19:10 these are not human task. 19:12 They are God things. 19:15 When's the last time 19:16 a human was really able to inspire another human 19:19 to do something for God? 19:21 You know, you hit the nail on the head 19:23 when you said, 19:25 "This sacrifice that Christ has made 19:28 is the real inspiration. 19:30 It's the real inspiration." 19:32 So as we read the scriptures, 19:35 and as we see God doing what He has done for us, 19:39 we realize there's nothing we could do 19:42 that would even put a pebble in the water 19:45 to make a wave of some nature compared to that. 19:48 So there's really nothing we can do, 19:51 but God through us can do things. 19:53 Yes. 19:54 So to inspire this generation of laypeople, 19:57 we can do something together. 19:58 Praise God, right? 20:00 Praise God for the opportunity. 20:01 Amen. 20:03 You know, I think there is an element 20:04 of sacrifice to it though, and that's God ordained. 20:08 Yes, it is. 20:09 It says that we are called to this fellowship with Christ 20:13 in His sacrifice, 20:14 and that's where our highest joy will come from. 20:17 People want to be happy, go do something for God. 20:20 That's right. 20:21 That's why the Apostle Paul, Romans 12, 20:23 "Present your body as a living sacrifice." 20:26 And a living sacrifice, 20:28 really, if you think of the word sacrifice 20:30 in and of itself, 20:32 is in fact, giving of oneself. 20:34 That item of sacrifice, 20:37 it does not belong to itself any longer. 20:39 It is being offered to God. 20:42 And so when we live our lives as a living sacrifice, 20:45 we're saying, as Paul says, 20:47 "You know that you were bought with a price." 20:49 So if somebody purchases you or purchases your freedom, 20:54 or are paying you an eternal dollars, 20:57 how much do you owe that individual? 20:59 At what point can you really return enough to say, 21:02 "Well, I've already paid my debt. 21:03 I know you're giving me eternity, 21:04 but I think 60 hours is enough. 21:06 I'm done." 21:08 That's why it always irritates me... 21:09 My wife knows this 21:11 because I like to do my frustrations at home. 21:14 He does. 21:15 But it always irritates me when people say, 21:17 "Well, I know I filled in office last year, 21:19 but I just want to relax this year. 21:20 I don't want to do anything this year." 21:22 He wants some time off. What? 21:23 Yes. It's like... 21:24 So, what if Jesus took time off? 21:27 "I really don't feel like doing much ministry this year. 21:30 I don't have a three and a half year stand 21:31 but I need one year just to chill out in Capernaum. 21:36 No, we have to. 21:38 There's a passage I want you to share 21:41 this, John 9:4. 21:42 You brought that up. 21:44 "I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day. 21:49 The night cometh when no man can work." 21:52 It is coming. 21:54 You know reality night, we associate with darkness. 21:59 And if there was ever a time in earth's history 22:02 when it looks dark around us spiritually speaking, 22:05 I think it's now. 22:07 Amen. 22:08 I mean, just have to listen, you don't have to listen. 22:11 You hear it, 22:13 whether you want to hear it or not. 22:14 The world is a pretty dark place 22:17 spiritually speaking, 22:18 and it seems like everything has gone off the rails. 22:21 I know. 22:22 You know, what an opportunity to be a little light? 22:25 What an opportunity 22:26 to put some light in our corner, 22:29 you know, hold up our candle. 22:31 Even if it's just a candle, let's hold it up. 22:33 A little light, yeah. 22:34 You know, Steve, I want to bring this point out 22:36 that you paint so beautifully 22:39 because our audience, those who are watching 22:40 and listening to the program, 22:41 I'm sure they're part of the vacuum of the world. 22:44 Everybody is a part of the vacuum. 22:46 What is that vacuum? 22:47 Get up every day, go to work, get my work done, come home, 22:50 get my paycheck at the end of the week? 22:52 As a young man... 22:55 You know the story where the young man, 22:57 his father said, 22:59 "When are you going to make an impact on the world?" 23:01 And he said, "Which world?" 23:03 And so that's the reality. Many people want the impact. 23:06 What is the standard dream of everyone, 23:09 live your life, get an education, get a job, 23:12 get a nice house, get married? 23:15 And what was the question he kept asking him? 23:16 He kept saying, "Then what?" He said, "Well, get a job." 23:21 Then what? Get married. 23:23 Then what? Get a family. 23:25 Then what? Have some children, I guess. 23:28 Then what? Retire. 23:31 Then what? I don't know. 23:34 And so with the father... 23:35 The young man kept asking his father, 23:37 "Then what?" 23:38 And he said, "Dad, I want to make an impact 23:40 on the next world to come, not just this world." 23:44 And there are many people that are in that vacuum of, 23:47 they get two cars in the garage, 23:49 they got the house. 23:50 And maybe some of you, 23:51 depending on where you are in the world, 23:53 may not have even those things 23:54 but you are so busy getting ready for this world 23:57 and all that has to offer, 23:58 and pulling everything out of the bank 24:01 that you need to enjoy your vacation 24:02 and all those things that we forget 24:05 that one of our main concerns and OCI is involved in this. 24:09 I'm a pastor. 24:11 We want to work along with people like you 24:14 to inspire our membership and every age group, 24:18 that you may not be able to do everything 24:20 but you can surely do something. 24:22 Speak to that. Even if you could pray. 24:25 Even if you could... Say it honey. 24:26 Even if you could pray, even that. 24:28 That's right. You can do something. 24:29 You know, God doesn't call us 24:31 all to the same work. 24:33 No. 24:34 And that's good because then we would be kind of... 24:37 It would be pointless 24:38 for all of us to be doing the same thing. 24:40 I have friends 24:41 that have been inspired to do things in ministry 24:43 that I would not even consider. 24:48 I'm just going to take this opportunity 24:50 to tell this little story right now. 24:52 I was going to tell it later, but I'm going to tell it now 24:54 and share it now because it fits right here. 24:56 I was just in Bolivia recently. 24:58 And we were doing 25:00 a South American OCI retreat there 25:04 for the ministries. 25:05 And one of these ministries that came 25:08 was Gospel Aviation Mission. 25:11 They fly an airplane 25:12 to the remote highlands of Bolivia 25:15 and minister to those people there. 25:17 Now, they live at elevations that we avoid. 25:21 Usually, when you go above certain number of feet, 25:23 you put an oxygen mask on. 25:24 Right. 25:26 But in Bolivia, the Andes Mountains there, 25:29 there are some very high places. 25:33 There were some Bible workers. 25:35 They're working at, two young ladies, 25:38 at 8000 feet elevation. 25:41 Okay? Working at that. 25:43 They're working there in a region 25:45 where it's very difficult to get from place to place, 25:49 so they had to learn to ride motorcycles 25:52 to go from place to place. 25:54 The plane can come in and service and bring things, 25:56 but it can't go from place to place like that. 26:01 Now, if you're a young lady, 26:03 and trying to do Bible work 26:05 at 8000 feet riding a motorcycle 26:08 in a very difficult situation, 26:11 you think "That's good, that sacrifice," right? 26:14 That's enough. 26:15 That could be enough right there. 26:17 Just do that. 26:18 So they committed a year to do that 26:20 and it was time for them to decide 26:21 whether they should commit another year 26:23 or what they were going to do. 26:25 Well, they said, 26:27 "If we're going to stay another year, 26:28 we only have one request." 26:31 And that request was, "Send us someplace harder." 26:35 Now, that humbled me. 26:39 I said, "Lord, what am I doing? 26:43 Am I requesting someplace harder 26:45 to sacrifice for you? 26:47 Or do I think what I've done is enough?" 26:52 This idea that everyone has a place, 26:55 these two young ladies 26:57 have found their spot as it were. 26:59 They're ministering to the, some of the least of these 27:03 in this very difficult region, 27:06 and they say, "Lord, just one more thing, 27:08 just send us someplace harder." 27:11 And to think about that, 27:12 and they're two young men 27:14 that were working like at 12,000 feet 27:17 and that's where you should wear an oxygen mask. 27:18 Oh, yes. You're just about to pass out. 27:20 At 13, you need it for sure as there's no options. 27:24 Yes, but no, they're working at 12,000 27:28 feet ministering to these people. 27:31 And you're thinking, 27:32 "That some of the hard places of the earth, 27:34 where the gospel needs to go. 27:36 Though, these souls are just important to God 27:38 as any other souls." 27:40 Now, not everybody is going to be called to do that. 27:42 That's right. True. 27:44 Okay, they don't have... They're not equipped. 27:45 I'm not equipped to be honest. 27:48 Don't send me to 12,000 feet, 27:51 or I will have to take the oxygen mask with me, 27:55 or either that I'll just take one step a day, 27:57 you know, kind of thing. Take one step a day. 27:59 So, you know, 28:01 but everyone is called to something different. 28:03 That's right. 28:04 So to say that we're not called, 28:06 I think, is to say the scriptures are not true. 28:10 So if we're going to agree that the scriptures are true, 28:12 then we're called and each of us to do something. 28:15 Maybe it's to go to your neighbor's door 28:16 and knock on it. 28:17 That actually might require more courage 28:20 than going to the highlands of Bolivia 28:24 if you're really afraid 28:25 of going to your neighbor's door. 28:28 But it can be something simple. 28:30 It could be prayer, just like you said it. 28:32 We need a bank of people who are always praying 28:37 for the work that is going on, on the frontlines 28:41 because Satan is always on the attack. 28:42 Yes, always. 28:44 You're right, Satan is always... 28:45 Always on the attack. Yeah, he never lets up, never. 28:49 Now, how is OCI positioned to help ministries? 28:54 So, one of the primary functions of OCI 28:57 is to help the ministries for sure. 28:59 So we can give counsel, we can give encouragement, 29:04 people that are thinking 29:05 of starting a ministry would call us. 29:07 We've written some documents on how to start a ministry. 29:10 But even if you read those, 29:12 you're still kind of walking in the weeds. 29:14 You need some encouragement along the way 29:17 that yes, if God is calling you step out and do this. 29:21 And so just yesterday... 29:23 In fact, I know 29:24 there were a couple of conversations 29:26 happening from our office. 29:27 Our OCI Vice President, James Hartley told me. 29:31 He said, "I've got two phone conferences 29:32 this afternoon, 29:33 where people want to know 29:35 how to get started in ministry." 29:36 Oh, nice. 29:37 And I got a text message from a young lady I know, 29:39 just a night or two ago, she said, "Please, call me. 29:42 I want to know 29:44 how to get started in ministry." 29:45 So we know there are... 29:48 This need is there for people 29:50 to know how to do ministry more effectively. 29:52 And so OCI helps ministries understand best practice. 29:57 There are some things in ministry 29:59 you shouldn't do, okay? 30:03 And there's some things you should do. 30:05 So we focus on developing the ministries 30:08 and helping them to understand what's best practice. 30:11 How do we see that? 30:12 How do we follow that in the world today? 30:14 How do we, more effectively, work alongside the church? 30:19 Sometimes there's tension. 30:20 It is the business model. Yeah. 30:22 Some of the things that have already been tried 30:24 and didn't work... 30:25 Don't try that again. Don't try that again. 30:27 That's a good one. 30:28 Now, what about Bible studies 30:30 and things like that and tracts? 30:33 Do you supply that or the church? 30:34 How does that work? 30:36 Mostly those come from OCI ministries themselves 30:38 producing things. 30:40 So if you look at the list of OCI ministries, 30:42 there're printing ministries, there are schools, 30:46 there are adult training ministries, 30:48 there are lifestyle centers, 30:50 there are vegetarian restaurants, 30:52 there are... 30:53 You name the, kind of, the radio ministries, 30:56 and you just keep naming 30:57 the different kinds of ministries. 30:59 And out of those 220 ministries, 31:01 there's a lot of representation of different things 31:03 that people are doing. 31:05 So it's a very broad spectrum of people, 31:09 who have started things that God has called them to do, 31:12 and they are now working together though, 31:15 with others. 31:17 I saw the power of this when I was in Bolivia. 31:19 These ministries are, kind of, isolated. 31:21 Some of them working way out in the middle of nowhere, 31:24 the joy that was on their face when they could get together, 31:28 when they could sit down beside someone in ministry 31:32 and say, "Brother, you're got to need 31:34 to pray for me. 31:35 I've got some real challenges right now." 31:38 And to see them praying together, 31:40 laughing together, crying together 31:42 about some other challenges. 31:44 This is the essence of a family that works together 31:48 and OCI provides that platform. 31:52 We organize a regional conference, 31:55 or retreat time. 31:56 We invite them to come. 31:58 So we play that role, train them for best practice, 32:03 but then make sure you get them together 32:05 so that they can share and encourage 32:07 and empower each other through what they're doing. 32:09 So you have retreats. Mm-hmm. 32:11 Okay. I like that. 32:12 I'm listening to that. 32:14 That was a very good question you asked, by the way 32:15 because people think, pastors, for example... 32:20 You know, we have pastors' retreat, 32:23 women's ministries, women's ministries retreat, 32:25 men's ministries retreats. 32:27 So OCI, Outpost Centers International, 32:31 they gather together various times, 32:34 to say, "Well, 32:36 so you're working at 8,000 feet, 32:38 and you want a harder field. 32:39 Tell me what that's like." 32:41 And the other guy says, "I'm a pilot. 32:43 I fly into 14,000 feet, and we drop off supplies." 32:47 And then you begin to realize 32:50 that, "Wait a minute, 32:52 I'm praising God for the commitment I'm making 32:56 because you are at 14,000 feet, I'm just at 8,000." 33:00 Or it could be like you said, 33:02 "It doesn't even have to be at any altitude at all. 33:03 But I've known my neighbor for seven years now, 33:07 I've got to do other than help them cut their grass. 33:11 I got to talk to them about Jesus. 33:12 How do I do that?" 33:14 And some of those are real fears 33:15 that people have, 33:17 that they feel... 33:18 And I've often said, so how would you... 33:21 I could give the answer 33:23 but I want you to do that today. 33:24 How would you encourage a person that said, 33:26 "Okay, what will OCI teach me 33:29 when it comes to reaching my community? 33:32 What could they tell me?" 33:34 So the first thing that we would do 33:36 is we would tell them to pray. 33:38 Okay. Okay. 33:39 Because their calling to reach their community 33:42 might be different than my calling 33:44 to reach their community 33:45 because everyone is gifted individually. 33:47 We know that. 33:48 The second thing we would encourage them to do 33:50 is actually go into the community 33:52 and ask the community, "What are your needs? 33:54 How can we help you." 33:56 To do some surveying, look in your community and say, 33:59 "What's happening here? 34:01 How can we help you?" 34:02 And the third thing we'd encourage them to do 34:04 is actually take that information 34:07 and do something with it. 34:09 At OCI we have the three S rule. 34:11 What's that? 34:13 Now, the three S rule is, 34:15 if God is impressing on you that you should do something, 34:20 don't wait for your first million dollars 34:22 before you decide to do it. 34:23 Okay. I like that. 34:25 Okay? 34:27 If you read the Bible, 34:29 you'll find that God asked individuals, 34:32 "What do you have in your hand?" 34:34 Yes, He does. 34:36 When He came to Moses, 34:37 getting ready to deliver the children of Israel, 34:38 what did He say? 34:40 He said, "What do you have?" "I've got shepherd drives." 34:43 God used that rod to empower ministry. 34:46 Yes, He did. 34:47 When the widow came to find out what she was going to do, 34:51 she's in a desperate situation. 34:53 She doesn't know what to do. 34:54 Her children are getting ready to be sold. 34:58 And the prophet tells her what? 34:59 Ask her, "What do you have?" 35:02 She said, "I've just got some oil, 35:04 one little thing of oil." 35:05 He says, "Oh, no problem." 35:07 He says, "Go and borrow vessels and just pour it out." 35:11 So God uses what we have. 35:13 Yes, He does. 35:14 So if you're thinking about ministry... 35:15 And, friends, I just want to look at the camera now 35:17 and ask you a question. 35:20 If God is inspiring you 35:21 that you need to be personally doing something for Him, 35:25 what are you waiting for? 35:26 So the first S is start soon. 35:30 Okay, start soon. 35:33 All right. 35:34 The second S is this idea of what do you have? 35:37 Start simple, okay. 35:41 So what is it that you can do 35:44 soon and simple? 35:48 It doesn't need to be complicated. 35:51 No. 35:52 Some people say, 35:54 "Well, when I build my lifestyle center, 35:55 I'll start helping people with lifestyle challenges." 35:58 That's a lot of money and a lot of time. 36:00 That's a few million dollars and a property 36:02 and a bunch of staff and that kind of thing. 36:06 Well, how about go to your neighbor 36:07 and pray with them about problems 36:09 they may be experiencing with their health? 36:13 So start soon, start small and start simple. 36:17 Those are the three S's. 36:21 So don't wait. 36:22 Start soon, start small with whatever you have 36:24 and make it simple. 36:26 Little is much when God is in it. 36:28 Yeah, because it doesn't get any better 36:33 if you're waiting. 36:34 No, that's true. 36:35 And, you know, we have that. 36:37 And I'm so glad you identify that 36:38 because we have members at our church 36:41 that are involved that way. 36:43 As matter of fact, I got a text 36:44 from one of my members yesterday. 36:46 And when we were involved in ministry away, 36:50 they said, "We're ministering to our neighbors. 36:54 We introduce ourselves to our neighbors. 36:58 And we found out what their needs are, 37:01 came to find out that 37:03 they were not connected to any particular church. 37:05 The wife was a Christian, the husband wasn't 37:07 and we led the husband to the Lord 37:11 before he passed away." 37:14 And then they said, "Well..." 37:16 So here's my role... I'm kind of using an example. 37:18 Oh, yeah. 37:19 So my role is, "Well, Pastor, 37:22 can you give me some an outline 37:25 of what to say to this couple? 37:28 How to lead them to the Lord." Okay, here's an outline. 37:33 I'll modify this for your personality. 37:36 Okay, "Pastor, they just want a graveside service." 37:38 Do you have an outline for gravesites service? 37:40 Yes, you help with that. 37:41 Okay, great. 37:43 And now I just got a text, 37:45 "Okay, now the wife is remaining 37:48 so she wants you to come and bless her home. 37:51 When could you come with me?" 37:53 Notice that, that's happening right here. 37:55 That's what we're talking about, simple. 37:57 Start soon, start simple, start small. 37:59 It doesn't have to be gigantic. 38:02 And that was a beautiful comparison 38:03 but that's the, kind of, thing 38:05 that we're talking about here today. 38:06 You can say, "Well, I could do that." 38:08 Somebody might say, 38:09 "Well, my neighbor's lawn is always... 38:11 and they're too old to do it." 38:13 Start soon, if they have a lawn, right? 38:16 Exactly. 38:17 "Can I cut your lawn for you?" "Yeah." 38:19 "Can I help you with your groceries? 38:22 I'm going to the store." 38:23 If you live in a rural area, 38:25 and there are people around you, 38:26 "I'm going to... Do you need something?" 38:28 "Sure." 38:29 Just make connections on levels that people have personalities 38:32 to be able to do that. 38:34 That's, kind of, what I'm hearing you say? 38:36 You know, it's interesting that God does not leave us 38:40 to our own devices. 38:42 He gifts us individually 38:45 and then He inspires us with what we need to be doing. 38:49 Many times though, and I'm guilty of this myself, 38:52 I've been hesitant to obey God's command. 38:55 "Oh, Lord, is that You speaking or is that somebody else?" 39:00 It was my thoughts. 39:02 Are these just my thoughts 39:03 or is this You really speaking to me? 39:05 So I think we need to be less hesitant to obey, 39:08 if it's in harmony with God's Word. 39:10 I mean, if we're not going off the rails, 39:13 and we shouldn't be doing that. 39:15 But if it's in harmony with God's Word, 39:17 then we need to move forward, take a step. 39:20 And the children of Israel 39:21 are standing on that side of the Jordan, 39:23 they had to step into the water before the waters would open. 39:25 Oh, yes, they did. 39:27 They had to take a step. 39:28 They had to start that first, that journey was a step. 39:32 Step of faith. 39:34 So I think that's for us too. 39:36 I don't want to run past that 39:38 because here's this huge body of water 39:41 standing before many of us in ministry. 39:45 And we might say, 39:47 "How are we going to get through that ocean of ministry? 39:51 Who's going to move that river?" 39:54 And the Lord says, 39:56 "Well, I'm not going to move it if you're not going to move." 39:58 So if we move, the Lord moves in our behalf. 40:04 He takes care of the obstacles, 40:05 if that's what I'm hearing you say. 40:07 Now, here's another concept I find in Scripture, 40:09 and I find also in the counsel 40:11 we have through Spirit of Prophecy. 40:13 And that is, God cannot work with us 40:16 if we're standing still. 40:18 Okay, so if you think about that, 40:21 think just of a ship. 40:22 Can you steer a ship if it's standing still? 40:25 No. You can't, very good question. 40:27 It depends on the ship's movement 40:30 for the rudder to have its effect of steering. 40:33 So it's better to make a mistake. 40:35 And I hate to say this, but the truth is in the Word, 40:39 it's better to do something than to do nothing. 40:42 Amen. 40:44 Now, that's challenging 40:45 because what if I do the wrong thing? 40:47 Oh, I see. 40:48 Many of us are afraid, 40:49 "I'm going to make some kind of terrible mistake. 40:51 I'm going to ruin somebody's life. 40:53 Something terrible is going to happen." 40:56 But God, somehow... 40:59 It's better for Him if I'm moving doing something. 41:02 Exactly. 41:03 Then He can say, "Well, that's not exactly 41:05 what I wanted you to do. 41:06 But now I can help you because you did something 41:09 and you learn from that so I can help you. 41:11 We can steer you a little in this direction." 41:13 As Danny says, "The blessings is," what? 41:16 "On the go." Yeah. 41:17 And that's throughout the Scripture, 41:19 the blessing is on the go. 41:20 That's a wonderful concept. 41:22 Let me see, here's another question. 41:26 What is a specific example of a ministry 41:28 and how it could be blessed by joining the OCI family? 41:34 So people might have ministry, 41:36 how could they expand that blessing 41:38 by joining the OCI family? 41:41 Okay, so the first blessing from my standpoint 41:44 is that idea of the family. 41:47 By joining an organization like OCI, 41:52 you are suddenly introduced to other people 41:55 who are doing ministry. 41:57 And while it may not be exactly what you're doing, 42:00 those challenges of ministry run pretty true. 42:05 They're just always there. 42:06 Maybe it's a financial problem. Maybe it's a people problem. 42:09 Maybe it's whatever kind of problem, 42:11 but they're across the board. 42:13 When you get together with your family, 42:15 what does it feel like? 42:18 It's a joyous day, right? Happy, yes. 42:19 I mean, during the last year and a half or so 42:21 has been a lot of isolation through the pandemic 42:24 and we've realized the benefit of being together. 42:28 We can join online, we can do things online, 42:30 we can do zoom, we can do whatever 42:32 but you know, that's not like being there. 42:34 When you get together physically... 42:36 And I'm going to go back to this example in Bolivia. 42:39 We just did this conference that's fresh in my mind. 42:43 There was one of the ministries experiencing a real challenge, 42:47 a very challenging moment in time. 42:50 And the persons were sharing their testimony. 42:52 And they would just begin to weep 42:55 as they share their testimonies, 42:56 some of the challenges they were having. 42:58 And another ministry leader came up beside him 43:00 and they prayed together. 43:02 You know that's the kind of thing 43:04 that can happen in a family, 43:06 where you're together with other people, 43:08 who are passionate about ministry, 43:09 are sympathetic with you. 43:11 So that is an element that 43:14 it's not some, kind of, tangible thing 43:16 but it may be 43:18 the most important thing, actually. 43:19 That's right. 43:21 Now, what other benefits are there? 43:23 OCI is also a channel of blessing, 43:28 when I say that we can receive funds 43:34 and transfer funds to, at this point, 43:38 pretty much every country in the world. 43:39 We have a system in place 43:42 so we can receive donations stateside. 43:44 I see. 43:45 It's not like, "Okay, I want to send some money 43:47 to this ministry I saw on 3ABN and they're in Africa." 43:50 You know, okay, how do you do that? 43:53 Well, the ministry may have a website, 43:55 they may have it all worked out 43:56 and everything may work good. 43:58 But if not, you can go to OCI and say, "Is this person, 44:01 is this ministry a member of OCI?" 44:04 "Oh yeah, they are." 44:05 "Fine, then let me send some funds to you. 44:09 And I want you to transfer those funds to this ministry 44:12 so that they can do this project." 44:15 Oh, fine no problem, we can help you with that. 44:17 I like that. 44:18 And OCI is also the accountability partner. 44:22 So when those funds are transferred, 44:24 we don't just transfer them and say, 44:25 "We wonder what happened with that money." 44:27 We follow up, they have to send a report in. 44:30 They have to say specifically 44:32 what they're going to use the funds for 44:34 and then send pictures or report 44:36 and say, "This project is now complete. 44:39 Here's the picture of the building, 44:40 or here's the orphans smiling after they got water 44:43 or, you know, whatever it is. 44:45 Here's the Bible workers at 8,000 feet, 44:47 distributing toothbrushes to children 44:50 that didn't have toothbrushes," 44:52 whatever it is. 44:53 It gives some accountability to the ministry, 44:56 and to the donors, 44:58 it gives some satisfaction as well. 44:59 Right, they know their funds are not just... 45:01 I know people get phone calls to donate. 45:06 You know so many scams 45:07 phone calls are going on around. 45:09 Even while our sermon is going forth on YouTube, 45:13 people are wanting to have us text money to them 45:16 in their app on their phone. 45:18 You know, "I'm in this particular state. 45:20 I need this, I need that, 45:22 could you send me cash through the cash app?" 45:24 And they got all these ministries to do that. 45:25 And it's kind of like, you know, what's the word used, 45:29 shake you down. 45:31 And I like to... 45:32 I'm listening to partnership, 45:35 that's the one thing that OCI offers help. 45:37 If you have challenges, I talk about my challenges, 45:40 you talk about your challenges, 45:41 we begin to encourage one another and say, 45:43 "I'm praying for you, brother." 45:44 Or we pray right there. 45:45 The other one, physical gatherings. 45:47 That's something that's really encouraging. 45:49 And then funds allocating, 45:51 that's huge because not everybody... 45:54 And we've had those situations where people say, 45:56 "How are you going to send this to that country?" 45:58 We say, "Well, I don't know. 46:00 I mean, somebody donated all these money." 46:01 Like someone we know, 46:02 they are sending money to Africa on a regular basis. 46:06 But I said, "To me, it's not safe. 46:09 You need to go through a channel that's safe." 46:11 Why, because they're sending it to an individual 46:12 that they have never met? 46:14 That they don't know? 46:16 And that's not accountability. 46:17 No, that's no accountability there 46:19 and it's dangerous, very dangerous. 46:21 Right and they just send pictures every now and then. 46:23 But we say, "Is this person connected 46:25 with any particular..." 46:26 "No, this is their own individual ministry." 46:28 "How do you know that 46:29 they're using the funds for that?" 46:31 "Well, I take their word for it." 46:32 That's not what we're talking about. 46:34 You can take a picture of anything. 46:35 Thank you. 46:36 So to know them individually, and when a person applies, 46:39 there's a process. 46:40 It's not just that they can apply 46:42 and get approved immediately. 46:43 There's a process. 46:45 We want to know, 46:46 are they working well with the church? 46:47 Do we have pastoral support, 46:49 you know, that this is a ministry 46:50 that's working well and functioning in a good way? 46:54 And so, again, there's some accountability 46:56 to make sure that 46:58 the ministries are really aligning themselves 47:00 with the mission of the church. 47:01 Do you have evangelistic series? 47:04 So we have done projects before 47:06 where we have taken and... 47:09 Number of years ago, 47:10 there's a project like in Honduras. 47:12 We did invite all the OCI ministries, 47:14 let's just all go to Honduras, let's do evangelism. 47:16 So I don't know how many series there was, 47:18 but 20, 30, 40 series of evangelistic meetings 47:21 held in one country kind of a focus. 47:24 We haven't done that in a while but that's the kind of... 47:26 It can be done. 47:29 Mostly at this point, 47:30 we're focused on helping the ministries, 47:32 inspiring additional ministries to get started, 47:35 and giving them tools to empower them, 47:38 and also creating partnerships. 47:40 One of our partnerships that we're very careful with 47:44 is our 3ABN partnership, honestly. 47:46 That's right. 47:48 So we want to have a strong partnership with 3ABN. 47:52 We want to make sure that we're helping 3ABN, 47:55 and that 3ABN in this partnership 47:58 we work well together. 48:00 That's right. 48:01 And so, it's just an example, 48:03 we just recently working in the country of India. 48:07 Now, India is 1.38 billion people, 48:12 okay? 48:13 1.38 billion people, second most populated country 48:17 on planet earth. 48:18 Second. Yeah, second. 48:19 What's first? China's first, 1.42 billion. 48:22 So they're running neck and neck. 48:24 India's population is growing faster 48:26 so they're going to catch up. 48:27 Pretty soon, India is going to be 48:29 the most populous country on planet. 48:31 Okay. 48:32 Well, what are we doing there? 48:34 Do we have a thriving network of sustainable lay ministries? 48:37 No, but we would like to. 48:39 We just formalized an agreement 48:42 with the Southern Asia division, 48:44 to work with them to help do this in their division. 48:47 They want it to happen. 48:48 We want it to happen. Let's work together. 48:51 Let's figure this out. 48:52 How can we help to inspire more laypeople in India 48:56 to do ministry 48:57 because the power is not for Americans 49:00 to go to India and do ministry? 49:02 The power is to help train the people in India 49:05 to do ministry in India. 49:07 In their own culture they understand. 49:08 They already speak the language. 49:10 They already know the culture. 49:11 They already understand the challenges. 49:14 You know, they don't have to go through that process. 49:16 There's a closed country near India 49:18 that we're currently working in that has some real challenges, 49:23 but it is a very closed country. 49:25 But God is opening some doors there 49:27 for ministry through some, 49:31 will say unconventional ways. 49:34 We praise God for that, 49:36 that OCI can be a part of encouraging ministry 49:40 and working alongside places where it's just hard. 49:43 Yeah. 49:44 Before we go to our break, 49:46 I want to ask you a personal question. 49:47 Why do you work with OCI? 49:49 What personal engagement do you have? 49:52 I know you're the President, 49:54 but how is it enhancing your own life? 49:58 You know, when I was praying about 50:00 whether to take on this responsibility, 50:04 I had to have a few prayer meetings 50:06 with the Lord. 50:08 Oh, yes. 50:10 And to analyze, "Okay God, 50:13 You've given me certain gifts and talents. 50:15 You've given me a certain path in life here. 50:18 This seems to be going beyond where I was thinking." 50:23 But as I understood the vision of OCI, 50:26 and as I really prayed about that, 50:29 I realized that God had set this up to a degree. 50:34 And that to say no to God at this point 50:36 would be a very bad thing. 50:39 You know, I felt like God was calling. 50:42 And when I get up in the morning, 50:45 and I think about my day, 50:47 and I pray about what I'm going to do that day, 50:50 I have peace 50:52 because I know the job is much bigger than I am. 50:56 I don't have the skills, I don't have the talents, 50:59 I don't have the abilities to create 51:01 somehow this network of lay ministries 51:03 in every country of the world. 51:05 This is got to be a God thing. 51:07 And to have the opportunity to work alongside God 51:11 in these plans, just it fills the cup 51:16 of knowing that you have a purpose in life. 51:20 I think you mentioned that earlier. 51:22 And what we're going to do is 51:24 I want to just appeal to our viewing 51:25 and listening audience 51:27 because we have another two minutes segment 51:29 on the other side. 51:30 But you've heard that 51:32 the Lord can use you in powerful amazing ways. 51:35 We want you to think about what you've heard thus far. 51:38 And right after our news break, 51:40 we're going to come back with some closing thought 51:42 to give you some impetus ways 51:44 of how you can personally get involved. 51:47 Don't go away, we'll be right back. 51:50 If you would like to contact or know more 51:53 about Outpost Centers International, 51:55 you can do so in a variety of ways. 51:57 You can write to them at 5132, Layton Lane, Apison, 52:02 Tennessee 37302. 52:05 You can call them at 423-236-5600. 52:10 That's 423-236-5600 52:16 or visit their website, outpostcenters.org 52:20 That's outpostcenters.org 52:23 or send them an email, steve@outpostcenters.org 52:28 That's steve@outpostcenters.org |
Revised 2022-01-27