Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY210069A
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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 01:14 Hello, friends, welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:16 I'm John Lomacang and I have my lovely wife with me. 01:18 Good to have you here, honey. I'm happy to be here. 01:22 I am blessed to be alive in these last days 01:25 and I know you are too. 01:26 That's right. 01:28 And today our program is entitled Jumping Off 01:30 The Edge. 01:32 You probably wonder what on earth is that. 01:34 You have to stay tuned to find out. 01:36 We're not even gonna let them see who our guests are yet. 01:38 Not yet? Not yet. 01:39 But we do want to thank you for your prayers 01:41 and your financial support of 3ABN as we continue going 01:44 and growing getting ready for the coming of our Lord 01:47 and we're excited about that too. 01:49 But today you're going to be challenged, 01:51 you might say I'm living in the safe zone of ministry, 01:54 the safe zone of life and you might be saying 01:57 God needs to do something in my life like get me 02:00 to jump off the edge and you'll find out 02:01 what that is because our guests have done that 02:04 and you'll find out how tremendously God 02:06 is diversifying their ministry to reach a pool of people 02:10 that really represent our entire world. 02:12 Yeah, and I'm excited about the program. 02:15 That's right. 02:16 We're gonna learn a lot, and we're going to show you 02:18 how you can get involved in ministry. 02:21 And jump off the edge. 02:23 I love that. Okay. 02:25 Who do you have for music, honey? 02:26 Okay, we have Lady Love Smith. 02:30 She's gonna share a song entitled God Gave The Song. 02:44 You ask me why my heart 02:50 Keeps singing 02:53 How can I sing 02:58 When things go wrong 03:03 For since I've found 03:07 The source of music 03:12 I just can't help it 03:16 'Cause God gave the song 03:22 Come walk with me through fields 03:28 And forests 03:31 We'll climb those hills 03:35 And still hear that song 03:40 For even hills 03:44 Resound with music 03:49 But they just can't help it 03:53 'Cause God gave the song 03:59 And I see I see 04:02 Because Because 04:04 I'm happy I'm happy 04:08 And I see I see 04:11 Because Because 04:13 I found the source 04:18 Of music 04:21 And I just can't help it 04:26 'Cause God gave the song 04:30 For since I've found 04:35 The source of music 04:39 I just can't help it 04:44 'Cause God gave The song 04:52 God gave The song 05:04 Thank you so much, Lady Love. 05:06 We appreciate that song, God Gave The Song. 05:09 God is the giver of every good and perfect gift 05:12 and Lady sings that so beautifully. 05:14 Thank you for that good segue because this couple, 05:20 Charles and Karen Byrd, by the way, 05:23 glad to have you here today. 05:24 Amen. What a privilege to be here with you all again. 05:27 Yeah, you are no strangers to 3ABN, 05:30 but today you're going to kind of show us 05:32 how God encouraged you to bungee jump in ministry. 05:36 That's the phrase I like to use, 05:38 jumping off the edge, it's kind of like bungee jumping. 05:40 Yeah. But we want to know who you are. 05:41 There's someone that may be tuning in for the first time. 05:45 And they want to know who are the Byrds. 05:47 I know you're a ministerial couple, 05:50 you've pastor in, you were pasturing for many years. 05:53 Tell us about yourself? 05:58 Which one? 05:59 We went into pasturing in 1986, 06:04 from deaning, from being... 06:06 He was an assistant dean at Blue Mountain Academy 06:10 and then went into pasturing 06:11 because he did have a religion degree. 06:14 And I was a dental hygienist for many years, 06:17 as long as well as the pastor's wife. 06:21 It's a job in and of itself being a pastor's wife. 06:24 So we've pastured in Pennsylvania, 06:27 and on the island of Saipan as a missionary pastor 06:30 and hygienist. 06:31 And then we stepped out of pastoral ministry 06:36 into Life Talk Radio for. 06:38 Charles was the first live call and talk show host 06:41 of the life Talk Radio Network, Life Quest with Charles Byrd 06:45 at that point in time, that was in '93. 06:49 And then back into pasturing... 06:52 Pastored in Upper Columbia Conference, 06:55 Washington Conference, pastored in Wisconsin, 06:59 for about 10 years, had a call to go to Hawaii or Wisconsin. 07:04 What a tough choice. 07:06 Anyway, we went to Wisconsin. 07:09 Yeah, yeah, that I was feelings too. 07:12 I called Karen and I said, I said, 07:14 would you like to go home? 07:15 And she said home? 07:17 I said, well when you consider home, what do you think of? 07:20 And she said... Wisconsin. 07:23 I said, Yeah. She said... 07:25 Well, let's go to Hawaii. 07:29 The Lord turned our hearts. 07:31 That night, we spent the night in prayer. 07:33 And the Lord called us to Wisconsin. 07:36 And I have to say 07:38 that when you follow the Lord's leading, 07:40 He does things. 07:42 There would be no In Search of the Truth, 07:45 which aired on 3ABN and in Hope Channel, 07:47 there would be no Thunder in the Holy Land 07:50 if I hadn't been in Wisconsin. 07:52 So that's where it all got started for me. 07:54 So radio ministry kind of again. 07:57 And then we most recently 07:59 were pasturing in Grants Pass, Oregon. 08:02 I was a senior pastor of the Grants Pass 08:04 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 08:05 We'll talk more about that a little bit later, 08:07 but until we jumped off the edge again. 08:11 Okay. 08:12 And you had formerly done a program 08:15 called Thunder in the Holy Land. 08:17 Talk about that briefly? 08:18 Well, Thunder in the Holy Land 08:20 was not actually made for television, 08:23 even though it's aired wonderfully on 3ABN 08:25 and we partnered with 3ABN on that project for years. 08:28 Yes. Thankful for that partnership with 3ABN. 08:32 3ABN was very supportive in us ramping up 08:36 to that Thunder in Holy Land. 08:37 And while we were living in Israel 08:39 for four and a half months, 08:40 they even did a Skype interview 08:45 from the Holy Land. 08:47 So living in Bethlehem was pretty exciting. 08:50 Every night they would have concussion bombs go off and, 08:55 but we enjoyed living in Bethlehem. 08:56 We enjoyed making Thunder in the Holy Land 08:58 while we were living there. 09:00 What does that mean Thunder in the Holy Land? 09:03 Why thunder, the word thunder? 09:05 Well, every episode in Thunder in the Holy Land 09:08 is a teaching of Jesus. 09:10 And so every time Jesus opened His mouth 09:12 that caused a storm of controversy. 09:15 I and my Father are one, stone Him. 09:18 And so we wanted to lift up Jesus. 09:20 We wanted every Bible study to be a teaching of Jesus 09:25 something He taught, something He believed. 09:28 Because I thought, if we can't agree on what Jesus said, 09:31 and we're claiming to be Christian, 09:33 you know why Jesus said love everybody? 09:36 Well, I do except for Muslims. 09:39 Well, then you're not a Christian, 09:40 because He said, love everybody. 09:41 Everyone. Good point. 09:44 But then you also were creating some tools. 09:46 Talk about those tools, 09:47 because I remember you and I talked about that once. 09:50 I saw you at a pastors' meeting, 09:52 as you were introducing Thunder in the Holy Land 09:55 about how that tool could be effective in evangelism. 09:58 Talk about that briefly? 09:59 So the intention of thunder was to be not a video for 3ABN, 10:03 although they've used it wonderfully. 10:05 It was meant to be a Bible study for local churches. 10:08 And we did something very unusual, something very unique. 10:12 We built it from the ground up even in Israel. 10:15 So that a local pastor could replace me as the host, 10:18 and then it would become their video series. 10:21 So if you are out giving a Bible study 10:24 when you got near the end, you'd say, 10:25 would you like to meet the host of the series? 10:27 Oh, can I? Yeah. 10:29 The host is a personal friend of mine. Really? 10:31 And the next week, they bring their pastor. 10:33 And the beauty of that is as the pastor's teaching truth, 10:36 the church members are loving on the people. 10:39 And it was designed from the ground up 10:41 to be a Bible study series 10:42 and that's the intent of Thunder in the Holy Land, 10:46 small group Bible studies, and it's been powerfully used. 10:50 One pastor said in one year 10:52 he had 53 baptisms using Thunder. 10:55 Another pastor said to me, he said, you know, 10:59 he said, "We believe in evangelism. 11:01 It was up in Canada. 11:03 We do evangelism in Canada," he said, 11:06 "And it's not unusual for us to have one baptism, 11:10 sometimes two, often none." 11:12 And so he came and got inserted, 11:16 taught his church family to use it, 11:18 they started 19 small groups. 11:21 When it was all said and done, they finished up with about 16 11:24 and they had 19 baptisms. 11:27 They did it again and had 14 baptisms. 11:29 Anyway, in two years, he had close to 50 baptisms. 11:35 And now it's the church members who are involved. 11:38 It's the church members and in a day and age 11:40 when pastors are multitasking, as pastors do, 11:45 and multi churching. 11:48 It's up to the church members to win souls. 11:52 And that's the only way we're going to get here. 11:53 If we wait for the pastor, the evangelist, 11:55 the professional, we're never going to get there, 11:59 the church members have to be anointed. 12:00 Every Christian is to be a co-worker with God 12:05 and be a part 12:07 of the great gospel commission. 12:12 As church members, it's our responsibility 12:16 to ask the Lord, how He wants us 12:18 to be a co-worker, and some people call us and say, 12:21 this is something I could do. 12:23 I don't necessarily know all the answers to everything, 12:25 but I could gather a group together, 12:28 I could push the button for play 12:32 and then just ask them what their impression was, 12:36 and help them understand what they said. 12:40 Because when you talk about what you just listened to, 12:43 and you connect the facts with your heart, 12:48 with your impression, and then it makes a deeper, 12:50 the Holy Spirit works deeper there. 12:52 Our High Calling, page 299 says, 12:54 "Every true Christian will feel 12:56 that he has something to do for the salvation of souls." 12:59 And I challenge myself, I challenge the listeners, 13:03 if you don't have any burden for souls, 13:05 just double-check, you might not be a true Christian, 13:07 you may have a name, a label like love everybody, 13:11 well, except for a next door neighbor, he's such a jerk, 13:13 you know? 13:14 Well, you may not really be a Christian, 13:16 you just may have the title. 13:18 And my Amish neighbor used to say, 13:19 oh, them are named Christians. 13:22 I still do. 13:23 I still pray, Lord, give me because we can only receive it 13:26 from the Lord, a love for souls. 13:29 And I was really touched not too many months ago 13:33 when we received a donation in the mail. 13:37 And I discovered it was a prisoner. 13:40 He gave a donation 13:42 from whatever he can receive in the prison. 13:46 Probably watching 3ABN, saw Thunder. 13:50 Yeah, I think he was watching. 13:51 He just really appreciated Thunder and would love to have 13:54 a Bible study with it, and so forth. 13:56 And so, I said, connect me with your chaplain 14:00 and let's see 14:02 how we can legally get it into your library. 14:05 And so we did. The chaplain requested it. 14:08 And so now that's in their library 14:11 so they can have personal Bible studies. 14:14 That's such pet peeve, isn't it to get the people to work. 14:17 So many people put all the work on the pastor. 14:20 It's the members who ought to work together. 14:23 You know, what I like about that 14:24 is it's an evangelistic series, 14:27 and the pastor is the one presenting it. 14:30 But as you said, all the members have to do 14:32 is put that in whether it's a DVD 14:35 and just press play, and then people ask questions 14:37 afterward and then they are learning as they go along. 14:40 And they're engaging... 14:43 Engaging the people 14:44 And those questions are all prepared to just take them 14:47 and walk through. 14:49 That's good. 14:50 But you talk about inserting hosts. 14:53 How many people have you inserted since this started 14:56 'cause pastors and all that? 14:58 Nearly 100. Oh. 14:59 Nearly 100 pastors, 15:00 evangelists, conference workers, 15:03 laypeople have come. 15:05 We've had churches that didn't have a pastor. 15:08 And they said, pastors come and go, 15:09 we're going to get inserted, 15:11 you know, and so they just came and got inserted into Thunder. 15:14 What about languages? 15:15 Are there in different languages? 15:18 Unfortunately, Thunder is not in any other languages. 15:23 Although it is, I will jump in here and say, it is subtitled. 15:28 Is that the right word? 15:29 And so, the hearing impaired have really enjoyed 15:33 having that available because it is subtitled. 15:38 So we have a version of that for the hearing impaired. 15:40 And as a result of Thunder, 15:42 which has been smuggled into countries 15:47 that it shouldn't be allowed into. 15:49 In fact, when I lived at an orphanage, 15:52 one of the orphans in that very orphanage 15:55 is working now in some closed countries. 15:58 And he asked, "Can I take this into the country 16:01 and make copies quietly there?" 16:04 And many Bible studies are happening 16:06 in closed countries using Thunder in the Holy Land. 16:09 And as a result of it being not only in America, 16:12 but it's literally being used around the world now. 16:16 We've been asked over and over and over and over, 16:20 can we have something like Thunder in our language? 16:23 And I had a quick, very easy answer for that. 16:27 No, we can't do that 16:29 because I had to raise $450,000, 16:32 I had to get a crew together, I had to go to Israel, 16:34 I had to live in Bethlehem for four and a half months. 16:36 You can't just replicate that over and over and over. 16:40 So I know it can't be done. 16:42 And I'm pretty smart. 16:44 That's why I know these things. 16:46 Until one morning, I'm reading from my Bible, and it says, 16:49 is anything too hard for the Lord? 16:52 And, of course, that's a rhetorical question. 16:55 I know what the correct answer to that is and I bowed my head, 16:59 and I confessed, I said, "Lord, I'm sorry, 17:02 because nine times I've told people no." 17:05 Nine times I've told people no. 17:08 And Your verse says, it can be done. 17:12 I know it can't be done, but that's my limited knowledge. 17:16 You have all knowledge. 17:18 So I said, "How could it be done?" 17:20 And He began to speak to me. 17:22 And the first thing he said was, 17:24 don't take Mohammed to the mountain, 17:25 bring the mountain to Mohammed. 17:27 In other words, do it all green screen, 17:29 don't take them on location, 17:30 bring the location to the studio. 17:32 Okay. 17:33 And so I thought, okay, yeah, 17:34 but you still have camera operators. 17:36 That's a big expense, if you're talking language 17:38 after language, after language, all that salary. 17:41 I say, now, if there were such a thing as cameras, 17:44 that just knew where to be by themselves. 17:46 I've never heard of such a thing. 17:48 But if there was such a thing that a camera would move around 17:50 and zoom in and zoom out low or high. 17:53 Anyway, I thought about it, I thought about 17:55 the different pieces that would be needed to put something 17:58 like this together, 17:59 you can't do it post-production. 18:00 No. Because post-production eats you alive. 18:04 So Karen and I got on a plane, 18:05 we flew to Las Vegas 18:06 to the National Association of Broadcasters 18:10 and we found out that 18:12 everything that God had impressed me 18:14 with had been created. 18:16 Everything, even to the level now 18:19 where you don't even have to push the buttons 18:21 to tell the camera to go to the next place. 18:23 That will be prompted in the teleprompter, 18:25 as the script goes by the cameras will just go 18:28 where they're supposed to go. 18:29 Look at that. So we now know we can do it. 18:33 We can do this new series and the new series has a name. 18:38 It's called I Met God. 18:41 Matter of fact, we have a picture 18:42 that kind of illustrates that. 18:44 Let's just check that out here. 18:46 It's the series we're working on. 18:47 It's in a four-part series, I Met the God of Health, 18:51 I Met the God of Science, I Met the God of Prophecy, 18:54 and I Met the God of Relationship. 18:56 And it'll be 13 episodes 18:58 of each of those which will end up being 52 episodes, 19:02 one for every week of the year. 19:04 What kind of topics do you have that lead someone 19:07 to make their decision to follow the Lord? 19:09 Well, there's a whole raft of people all around the world 19:12 who don't believe in a Creator God, 19:14 not just atheists. 19:16 And so, I Met the God of Science will help them 19:19 to see that 19:21 there is a living real God. 19:25 I Met the God of Health, there are so many people 19:27 all around the world, 19:29 and more people in the advanced countries 19:31 than in the second world, third world countries 19:35 who are eating simpler and healthier, 19:38 but it seems like everybody who gets to America 19:40 and where all these processed foods 19:42 they become unhealthy and God speaks to us through our mind. 19:46 And if we end up in a place where we're unhealthy, 19:52 then how do we meet that God? 19:54 So we have a series on health. 19:57 I Met the God of Prophecy, 19:58 there's only two reasons we believe, 20:01 and one is experience, 20:04 but a Buddhist has an experience, 20:07 a Muslim has an experience, a Mormon has an experience, 20:12 they have a burning in their bosom. 20:14 But just because you have an experience doesn't mean 20:16 it's valid in relationship with the God of creation. 20:19 That's right. 20:21 You know, so we want them to have an experience 20:24 that's based on the truth 20:26 and that truth is narrowly focused on prophecy. 20:29 Because if I can tell you 20:31 what's going to happen tomorrow, 20:32 the next day, the next day, the next day, 20:34 if I can tell you what's going to happen 100 years from now, 20:36 1000 years from now, 20:37 and I'm dead on right how do I do that? 20:40 Because there's a God and He knows, 20:43 and so you base it on something that's immovable. 20:46 Today, I'm having a bad hair day, 20:47 I'm having more and more of those, John. 20:53 And so, it doesn't matter how I feel today. 20:57 One of our great supporters, love him to death, 21:02 just lost his wife. 21:05 He went to the hospital 21:07 and while he was in the hospital, 21:09 his wife dies. 21:11 So it's a double whammy. 21:13 I love this family to death. 21:15 You could say where is God? 21:17 Well, why doesn't He understand? 21:19 Why would He allow that to happen to me? 21:21 And we have these bad days, not just because of hair, 21:24 but because of real-life circumstances. 21:26 That's right. 21:27 And when you know that there's a God 21:29 who nothing takes Him by surprise. 21:31 Nothing is out of His will or out of His hand. 21:36 When you know that God, it'll carry you through there. 21:38 When you're thrown to the lions, 21:40 you're still faithful. 21:42 That's right. 21:43 When you're sold as a slave and then thrown into prison 21:45 for not going to bed with the boss's wife. 21:47 That would never work on television. 21:48 That's true. 21:51 When you have those hurtful experiences 21:54 where people say things that are hurtful, 21:59 then you just... 22:00 You have an anchor because that God of prophecy, 22:02 He knows me. He knows me by name. 22:04 He cares. Amen. 22:06 Also over the last year in the series, I Met God, 22:09 what has happened in the production aspects 22:11 of that, to help diversify that for soul-winning 22:14 around the world? 22:17 In the I Met God Project, 22:19 there have been some major developments. 22:21 I was here just about a year ago and now it's a year later. 22:25 So what's happened? 22:27 Well, first thing, God sent a whole troop of volunteers 22:30 that basically sat down with me on a regular basis said, 22:33 okay, what are you going to do now? 22:35 Because he's pasturing and also... That's right. 22:37 That's true, yeah. 22:39 We needed that. 22:40 And here's the really exciting miracle story here. 22:45 One of my elders in my church came to me 22:47 and he came to my office, says, Pastor Byrd, he said, 22:50 "We need to think about world missions." 22:53 And I said, "That sounds like a great idea." 22:56 "So I tell you what, you put a proposal together, 22:58 bring it to the board, and I'll support you." 22:59 Okay. 23:01 So a month later, he comes to me, says, "Pastor Byrd, 23:03 we need to be doing some for world missions." 23:06 And I said, "That's a great idea." 23:09 "Put a proposal together, bring it to the board, 23:11 and I'll support you." 23:13 So about a month later comes to me says, "Pastor Byrd, 23:15 we need to be doing something for world missions." 23:18 In other words, you do it. 23:20 You've pastored long enough to know, 23:22 that's what this means. 23:24 And I said to him, we've had this discussion. 23:27 You put a proposal and he says, "I can't do that. 23:31 I'm not comfortable with that." 23:32 I said, "God gave you this burden. 23:35 You put it together, I will support it." 23:39 So I put the weight on him. So he did. 23:42 He got a group of about 28 members 23:44 of the church together, they talked about this 23:46 and in the process of this timing, 23:49 he asked me about the I Met God Project. 23:51 He's telling me about come on over, 23:53 he invited me home for lunch 23:55 and we went to his house and he says, 23:56 "Tell me about I Met God." 23:57 So I told him that it's a Bible study 23:59 for the languages of the world that can be quickly reproduced 24:02 into another language for 10 cents on the dollar 24:06 and reproduce it over and over and get it out. 24:08 Just give it to them. They can reproduce it. 24:10 Pastors can use it, church members can use it, 24:12 put it on to whatever, 24:13 they can use it on their cell phones, 24:14 they get, it's there to use. 24:16 Right. So he says that's world missions. 24:20 Okay. 24:21 So when this group of 28 got together 24:22 they chose three projects. 24:25 They wanted to raise $6,000 for God pods 24:28 for Papua New Guinea through Adventist World Radio. 24:33 And they wanted to raise $10,000 24:35 to build a school in India. 24:38 And because they asked me, 24:39 "How much is your project going to cost?" 24:41 And when I told them, they about fainted, 24:42 and they said, "We're not going to set a goal for your project, 24:44 we'll just raise whatever we can." 24:47 And so when they launched this project, 24:50 they launched it just as COVID shut everything down 24:53 which is a very bad time to start a fund raising project 24:57 when you can't even go to church. 24:59 And, but that's when we started by faith. 25:03 And by the end of the year, 25:06 they hadn't raised 6000 for Papua in New Guinea, 25:09 they'd raised eight. 25:11 And they hadn't raised $10,000 to build a school in India, 25:15 they'd raised 12. 25:16 Amen. 25:18 And then for the I Met God Project 25:21 they had raised $35,000. 25:24 Amen. Amen. 25:26 And then December at the end of the year, 25:28 when you always are stressing out 25:30 about your church budget we were in the black by 14,000 25:34 and our score was in the black. 25:36 Ellen White says that if we will make world missions 25:39 a part of our ministry as a local church, 25:43 then there will be a reflex action 25:45 that will take care of the local church. 25:47 That's right. 25:48 The home finances of that church will be taken care 25:50 of when we focus on mission. 25:54 So when the church started 2021, 25:57 they picked four projects, 26:00 and since the beginning of January 2020, 26:05 we've now raised $187,000 for I Met God. 26:10 We have a $75,000 grant that has been given to us 26:15 if people will match it. 26:18 And the Lord has blessed us 26:22 because the local church said, 26:24 we want to think beyond the local church walls. 26:26 Wow. Praise God for that. 26:28 Now, the studio contribution, talk about that, 26:30 and we have some pictures, but lead us into that? 26:33 So, so... 26:35 Let me start first. Go ahead. 26:38 One of the other things that we started doing 26:40 with our volunteer team, they said, 26:43 we should have united prayer weekly, 26:46 just praying weekly for this project, 26:48 because nothing really happens unless you're praying 26:52 and so every Friday we would, 26:54 and this was during COVID and so forth. 26:56 So we have the blessing of zoom 27:00 and so we would get together and we would pray and pray. 27:04 I had a whole list of gathered all list of guidance, 27:09 you know, Bible verses, and Him guiding our steps, 27:13 Bible verses. 27:15 And so we would just go through these verses 27:17 and claim the promises and claim the promises 27:19 and claiming the promises and thanking Him 27:24 for what He was doing behind the scenes 27:26 that we didn't know anything about. 27:27 That's right. 27:31 On that line, Our High Calling, page 298 says, 27:34 "When the human will cooperates with the will of God, 27:37 it becomes omnipotent 27:40 and the worker can make opportunities." 27:43 And that omnipotence isn't just for us. 27:46 It's to make things happen 27:48 that no one's even ever thought about. 27:50 In fact, that quote starts out, 27:51 "We are nearing the close of earth's history, 27:53 soon we shall stand before the great white throne. 27:57 Your opportunities for work will soon be past. 28:00 Therefore work while it's called today. 28:04 And with the help of God, every true believer can see 28:07 where there is work to be done. 28:10 And when the human will cooperates 28:12 with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent, 28:14 the worker can make opportunities. 28:16 So the opportunity that came to you 28:18 was hold on to your home or sell it, 28:21 and let's talk about that 28:23 as we lead into these three pictures. 28:24 I want you to see that audience for those on radio 28:28 they'll hear about it, but tell us what this is? 28:31 We had a beautiful home in Oregon. 28:34 Karen's mom moved in with us when we moved there, 28:36 we bought a home so that it had an ADU, 28:39 additional housing unit in it. 28:41 It had a big garage that had been carpeted and heated. 28:45 We used that for the ministry office. 28:48 And Karen led out in all of that 28:50 while I continued to pastor. 28:58 One year ago, 28:59 we'd lived there for three years. 29:01 Karen's mom passed 29:03 and it hadn't even been a week 29:07 and I saw this blurb come up on my computer 29:10 and it was like from Zillow or something, 29:12 and it says your house is worth 29:13 160,000 more than you paid for it. 29:16 And I said, "Karen, do you realize 29:18 that if we sold the house now, we could take that money 29:20 and put it to I Met God?" 29:22 And, of course, it's been not even a week 29:24 since her mom has passed? 29:25 Yes. And she said... 29:27 Don't even talk to me about that. 29:30 And I recognized I was probably out of line in that and I said, 29:33 "Sorry, honey, I won't talk to you about this." 29:37 And, but I kind of kept working on it quietly. 29:41 And about two weeks later, she recognizes 29:43 I'm still working on it and she said... 29:46 When I said don't even talk about it. 29:48 I met don't even think about it right now. 29:51 I'm the executive to my mom and you know this is. 29:54 Oh, yeah. I said, "You didn't say that. 29:56 You said don't talk." 29:57 I wasn't talking, I respected that. 30:00 So finally after we had 30:01 the memorial service for her mom, 30:03 and the dust had settled a little bit, 30:06 we actually brought in a realtor 30:07 and the realtor said, 30:09 "No, your house is not worth 160,000 30:12 more than you paid for, this property and land 30:13 is worth 180,000 more than you paid for it." 30:17 So we had a serious conversation 30:19 and as soon as you put your house up for sale, 30:23 you don't know where God's gonna take you. 30:24 He may leave me right there in Grants Pass, 30:27 which would have been fine with me. 30:28 I enjoyed the church. I enjoyed the congregation. 30:31 I was doing ministry, 30:32 we were having a wonderful time with him. 30:34 So I could have stayed there with them in the Cave 30:36 Junction Church and my associate pastor, 30:38 we were, well, it's good. 30:40 Could have done that but if you sell it, 30:43 you don't know what the Lord is going to do with you. 30:45 And I said if he moves me away, I can't move now. 30:49 So I said I can't move until August, 30:51 so we put everything on hold. 30:53 And finally, we brought in a realtor 30:55 and the realtor came in and said, "No, 30:56 your house isn't worth 180,000 more than you bought it for, 31:01 it's worth 250,000 more than you paid for." 31:05 And that's when I said, "How good are you really?" 31:09 and she gave me this look like, 31:11 and I said, "No, really, 31:12 how good are you at what you do?" 31:13 She says, "I'm pretty good." 31:16 I say, "Okay, up that 25,000, give it another 10%, 31:20 make it 275,000 and you can list it." 31:22 She said, "We can do that but if you do, 31:25 you're gonna have to start coming down 31:26 that price right away if it doesn't sell." 31:28 Right. And I said, "You go ahead and list it." 31:31 And you prayed. And we prayed. 31:33 And my prayer was, "Lord, I don't need to leave here. 31:35 I'm already in ministry. 31:36 I don't need to jump off the edge here on anything. 31:39 I'm good here but if you want this money 31:42 to go to the I Met God Project, you can sell it." 31:46 So Thursday, they listed it, two people came Friday, 31:50 three people came Saturday night, 31:51 we had a full price no contingency offer. 31:55 Really? 31:56 So we dare not be Ananias and Sapphira. 32:00 That's what I was thinking. 32:02 And so all that money has been set aside 32:05 for the building of the I Met God studio. 32:07 It isn't going to be enough but if I give my all, 32:12 maybe some other people will give some, 32:14 and we can make this a reality. 32:17 It's beautiful. What about the five acres? 32:19 Let's talk about that? 32:21 Well, here's the next big miracle. 32:24 Where should we go? 32:27 Well, we were offered five acres 32:30 and I'd sent out a newsletter that said... 32:33 That's you there standing on those acres. 32:35 On the five acres. 32:37 I had said to the Lord, "Lord, I don't know 32:40 what land you're going to have us 32:41 have but can I have a view?" 32:43 You can always ask? 32:45 If He puts me in the middle of a valley, that's fine. 32:47 But you know, I asked, 32:50 that property is right on top of a hill. 32:52 What? Five acres free of charge on top of a hill. 32:56 But that still doesn't mean 32:58 that's where we're supposed to go. 32:59 That just means there's an offer on the table. 33:01 So some of our church family talk to the Milo Academy 33:06 to see if they would want us to set up our ministry 33:09 on the campus here. 33:10 So they were working on that. 33:12 And finally on Friday, 33:14 a week before we had to be out of the house with no decision 33:18 made of where we're going, they call and said, 33:22 you know, we can't make this happen. 33:25 Our plan, of course, had been we're gonna make a decision, 33:29 you know, whatever God shows us by the end of July. 33:32 So we have a month to know. 33:38 We just love our congregation. 33:39 We're trying to be sensitive to the Lord's leading 33:40 loving our congregation it kept getting delayed. 33:43 They were saying, "How about this, 33:44 how about that, you know?" 33:46 And we're like, "Okay, let's check that out." 33:48 And so, I began packing, saying, "Lord, I don't know 33:53 when I'm going to open this box again 33:55 or where this box is going. 33:57 That faith move, you have to get that faith move going, 33:59 so that you can move in the direction 34:01 that God already sees you're going to be going. 34:04 That's something that's vitally important. 34:05 A lot of times people are wanting to get the answer 34:08 and then thank the Lord for it. 34:10 But you got to sometimes thank God for it 34:13 and get the answer later on. 34:14 Yeah. 34:16 And one of our mottos has been, 34:17 and we've used it several other times in our ministry 34:20 is one that Charles on a poster years ago, 34:24 God cannot guide a stationary object. 34:27 That's right. And so, so that's why we're okay. 34:31 We're willing to just uproot. 34:32 And whatever you want, Lord, You guide us and we... 34:36 I had a list of all the guidance verses 34:39 that I could find. 34:40 And He can't guide a stationary object 34:43 but if we were in motion, so to speak. 34:45 He can guide. 34:46 So it was a week, 34:48 I think he actually maybe seven, 34:50 six days maybe before we actually had to be out 34:53 of the house. 34:54 So I got a call Friday morning saying, "You know, 34:56 we'd love this to happen, but it's not going to happen." 34:58 I said, "That's fine." 35:00 That afternoon, like one or two, 35:04 I get a phone call from my conference 35:07 saying this is unusual, 35:10 but we're gonna pay for your move to Tennessee. 35:13 What? Yeah, that is unusual. 35:16 And that's a big expense. Yes. 35:20 And I called my brother and I said, 35:22 "I'm moving down to Tennessee." 35:24 That morning he had driven out to the country 35:28 and he saw a little for rent sign so small, 35:30 you could hardly read it. 35:33 And he knew that there was really nothing to be had. 35:35 So he drove out there. 35:36 And the guy was there working on and secured 35:38 that farm for us. 35:40 And that night as we were walking into church, 35:42 he called us and said, "I got a house for you." 35:45 So in one day, this isn't gonna work. 35:48 This land is free. 35:49 We've got a house for you and we're paying for the move. 35:51 Exactly. Talk about that? 35:53 What was provided? 35:54 What did the Lord provide for you on that? 35:56 So we've got to free acre, free five acres, 35:59 we got a free move and we've got a house to rent 36:02 until we get our place built. 36:05 And God did that. 36:08 You know, He's God. Amen. 36:11 And so we're building a studio that can be, 36:16 where we can produce language after language. 36:19 In other words, it'll be 52 episodes. 36:22 So for each language, 36:23 we need three young people 36:25 kind of like Thunder in the Holy Land. 36:26 I like that. 36:27 And a host and we will and, of course, we'll probably, 36:31 in some cases, we might need in unless we have the privilege 36:34 of bilingual we may need an interpreter 36:39 and then also for each language group, 36:45 we are going to do as much as we can make graphics 36:48 glitter their culture, 36:52 graphics that match their culture. 36:54 And so they will receive a Bible study 36:59 with their own people speaking their own language 37:02 with that graphics that match their own culture 37:06 as much as possible. 37:07 Now some free office space was provided, let's just... 37:11 Free office actually space was provided, 37:13 you have some pictures about that? 37:15 Yeah. Oh, yeah. Beautiful. 37:16 So we got to Tennessee and Bake Crafters found out 37:20 that we needed office space. 37:21 And so they donated this big office 37:24 to hold all of our office space free of charge 37:27 until our place gets built. 37:30 God did thing after thing to confirm that things like 37:34 when we arrived there, we needed a truck to put 37:36 all the studio stuff on because it was mixed 37:38 with our house stuff. 37:39 And one of the ministries there loaned us 37:43 like a Ryder truck and parked around free of charge. 37:46 And then after we moved into the office, and we said, 37:50 "Boy, what are we gonna do with all this other stuff." 37:51 We had tried for two months ahead of time to get... 37:57 Climate-controlled storage. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 37:59 And we couldn't find anything. 38:01 And so we finally found one place 38:03 that had a little tiny one. 38:04 And it wasn't enough. 38:06 But I said, "Karen, call them and see 38:07 if that's still available." 38:09 And she called and they said... 38:10 "No, I'm sorry, that isn't, 38:12 but just last night one came available 38:15 that's twice that size." 38:18 And she says, "Its first come first serve." 38:20 I said, "I will be there right away." 38:22 She says, "Well, don't speed I'll save it for you to come." 38:25 So just little miracle after little miracle. 38:27 Right at the moment, at the very day 38:29 we needed it because we had to return that truck. 38:34 This is good. 38:35 We used to sing a song you may not get it when you want it, 38:38 but it's right on time. 38:40 And that was right on time. 38:42 What are you needing to propel this project forward? 38:47 Well, right now we have a $75,000 matching grant. 38:51 Oh, yes, yes. 38:52 That we are just praying, Lord, 38:55 can we match this by the end of the year? 38:59 And so, we're also in the building process, honey. 39:04 So in the building process, and this has happened here 39:07 at 3ABN, it's happened when I, me and my congregation 39:10 of 30 members built over a million dollar complex 39:13 in Wapato, Washington for the Native Americans. 39:16 What? 39:17 A church of 30 doesn't usually take on that kind 39:19 of an endeavor, but they move forward in faith 39:22 and God sent people, He sent Maranatha there. 39:26 And I think there are builders out there who says, 39:28 "Hey, I can help build you a studio. 39:30 I've got equipment, I've got tools. 39:32 I've got supplies." 39:35 And, of course, people volunteers, 39:38 but never, there's never enough prayer. 39:41 And every one of our 3ABN family can pray for us and say, 39:44 God, help them. 39:46 I am reminded of James Dobson's son one day he said 39:49 that he was working in the house 39:51 and suddenly realize it was too quiet. 39:53 And so his son Ryan was very, very small. 39:57 So he went looking for Ryan, and he went to his bedroom. 39:59 He could tell Ryan had been there but Ryan wasn't there. 40:02 And so he looked off of the house 40:04 and he was too small to get out of the house, 40:06 but he was not in the house. 40:07 So he went to the door opened it up 40:09 and there was Ryan in a construction truck 40:11 across the street. 40:12 So he runs across the lawn 40:15 and as he's coming up behind Ryan, he can hear Ryan talking. 40:17 Ryan is laying on the back of the truck 40:19 his feet dangling out in space 40:22 and Ryan is saying somebody helped the boy. 40:27 So that's my prayer. Somebody helped the boy. 40:30 Amen. 40:31 And, you know, you talk about the builders, 40:33 the builders supply, the Lord provided, 40:36 volunteers to help get the work-ready 40:38 and then even this Ryder truck 40:42 to get the storage space you needed, 40:45 but the Lord gave you a larger storage space. 40:49 But those who are watching our program 40:51 we want to make sure that they could find a way 40:52 to get involved in this because I Met God Project 40:56 has so much that's connected to it and try to put something 40:59 like this together with diversities of languages 41:02 and similar to the Thunder in the Holy Land Project, 41:07 you want to make it palatable for the local churches, 41:11 and also different places around the world. 41:13 So what kind of challenge could you put out 41:15 to those who are watching the program that may, 41:18 you know, get them excited to say, 41:19 this is what I want to be able to do to push forward 41:22 the I Met God Project? 41:24 I would say the first thing is pray, 41:26 Lord, what do You want me to do? 41:29 Because we are counseled so much that we all as Christians, 41:34 all as saved by Jesus Christ are to be involved. 41:39 And so, that's really... 41:42 We really don't even know. 41:45 We're taking one step at a time. 41:47 I mean, yeah, we have, we finally, you know, 41:49 have plans made for, you know, 41:52 what the studio is going to look like, 41:55 and a couple of our few offices. 41:57 And so, we are just going okay, 42:00 Lord, what's the next step? 42:03 And we are so grateful for viewers 42:06 and just people we don't even know 42:08 who have been inspired to call and donate. 42:12 It's been such a blessing. 42:14 Donate their time, donate resources, donate funds. 42:18 Christian Services says, "Every power of God's servant 42:21 is to be kept in continual exercise to bring many sons 42:25 and daughters to God." 42:27 Every power? Every power. 42:29 And so when people... 42:31 I can remember when the Maranatha came 42:32 to our building project in Wapato, 42:35 it was so cute because I called them and said, 42:37 "Hey, I got a project, I need your help on." 42:39 They plan a year to two years in advance. 42:42 And they said, "When do you need it?" 42:43 I said, "We need you in three weeks." 42:45 And they laughed and they said, "Well, guess what? 42:48 We had a project all planned. 42:49 Everyone's ready to go, it got canceled. 42:52 We'll bring the whole group to your church." 42:54 Okay, the Lord cancels. 42:56 And as these people got out of the car, 42:59 and they would shuffle like they were... 43:01 Well, some of them were in their 90s. 43:03 Some of them were in their 80s. 43:04 And I'm thinking, "Oh, dear, oh, dear." 43:08 Those people were smart. They had worked for years. 43:12 Maybe they didn't have the get up and get 43:14 that they used to have, but they were smart 43:16 and they could build stuff, customize stuff, change plans. 43:20 It didn't cost us extra. 43:22 It was amazing what they did. That's right. 43:26 Say that again, honey. I said Gideon. 43:28 Yeah. 43:29 The Lord narrowed down the army and sent you 43:32 the quality workers. 43:34 He did. 43:35 And, you know, when somebody's at 80 43:36 they have a lot of experience that they've been building 43:38 for a long time, carpenter's finishing, 43:41 carpenter's people that have those skills. 43:43 They work smart. 43:45 And I want to go back to the financial aspects 43:46 of it because I've been kind of tracking 43:48 as you've been going through the program, 43:50 how they bring in $35,000 when the guy kept saying, 43:54 but pastor we need to do something. 43:56 And you said, bring a proposal, 43:59 and the money's kept going up and up and up and up. 44:03 And then the sale of your home 44:05 that you so graciously acquiesce to, sadly, 44:09 after even losing your mom. 44:11 But now let's, let's go back to that 44:13 because I want our viewers to know 44:15 what they can do in an action to try 44:16 to because you talked about a $75,000 grant, 44:19 but that's based on people being able to match. 44:22 Okay. 44:23 So look at that camera and kind of, 44:26 both of you just gonna challenge some of those. 44:28 If you're listening in your car, 44:30 please do not pull over and look for a camera 44:32 but if you're listening, this also applies to you. 44:34 Yeah. Okay. 44:36 Well, I want to thank you so much for all those 44:40 who have given and have been touched 44:42 by and they've called us 44:44 and said we heard about that program. 44:47 We watched the program that you did last year. 44:49 And we were just so impressed with that 44:51 and I just appeal to you that you asked the Lord, 44:55 how can I participate? 44:57 How can I give? 44:58 Some people start an investment program, 45:00 some people say, well, I'm going to, you know, 45:04 if they're crafty, they make something 45:05 and they sell and they use that or they plant something 45:09 and just an investment project. 45:11 There's any number of things that people can do 45:13 in an investment project, 45:14 and that way you're involved in helping the Lord 45:19 with a great commission. 45:20 You know, God says, I've called you 45:24 to be My light in a world that's dark. 45:27 And we can do that in so many different ways. 45:30 We can do that in so many different ways. 45:32 You don't have to make a studio, 45:35 you can go to your next-door neighbor with a loaf of bread. 45:37 It isn't always big things. 45:40 But I've discovered that God actually delights 45:44 when we demand from Him His very best. 45:47 And so we've been praying 45:48 for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 45:49 We're asking you to pray for the outpouring 45:51 of the Holy Spirit on the I Met God Project 45:54 that He will send wisdom, He will send people. 45:57 You know, when I created Thunder in the Holy Land, 45:59 I had no background in videography and yet, 46:03 some people have told me 46:05 it's one of the best programs they've ever seen. 46:07 How can God take someone with no experience in fund raising? 46:11 How can God take someone with no experience in videography? 46:15 How can God take someone with no experience in scriptwriting? 46:19 When Lonnie Malashenko came in, he got inserted into Thunder 46:22 in the Holy Land. 46:23 I asked him what he thought of the script because I, 46:26 being the baby of the family and nervous about my product. 46:30 He said, "I fired many people who cannot write," 46:33 he says, "this is great." 46:36 And that voice of affirmation when Ron Klusay came, 46:39 I asked him, "So how do you feel about the script?" 46:41 He said, "You did your homework, 46:43 I wouldn't be here if you hadn't done your homework." 46:45 But this is God doing it. 46:47 When I would watch Thunder afterwards, 46:49 I would say that's really a great line. 46:50 I wonder who wrote this? 46:52 Because I didn't take ownership of that. 46:56 God gets ownership of that. 46:58 When the young people would watch me scrambling in Israel 47:01 to get these scripts written, 47:03 because they weren't all written when we got there. 47:04 They said, can we write some 47:06 and God anointed those young people 47:07 to write some of those scripts. 47:09 And it turned out as a powerful tool that has brought hundreds 47:13 and hundreds of people to know Jesus. 47:16 God wants to use you, 47:17 whether it's sharing thunder with your neighbors, 47:19 whether it's praying for the new I Met God Project, 47:22 whether it's taking some of your building skills 47:24 and coming, whether it's just donating to match that 75,000 47:30 and saying, hey, we can make this happen. 47:32 And I believe that if all of our work was volunteered, 47:36 I believe we have enough money to finish the studio. 47:39 If we have to pay for that work, 47:40 that's another thing. 47:42 So pray, like Karen said, "God, what would you have me do?" 47:47 I don't think we actually mentioned where that land is. 47:50 Okay. It's in Cleveland, Tennessee. 47:53 This is not too far from College dale, 47:56 where College dale is. 47:58 But that's where the land is in Cleveland, Tennessee. 48:00 And to donate, it's very simple. 48:03 Our website is very simple, it's QLP, 48:05 just remember by saying quick, 48:07 let's pray qlp.tv 48:12 That's all they have to type in and there's stuff on there 48:16 they can read about and they can watch 48:18 what's, you know, the growing amount 48:21 it's being raised for it and donate. 48:25 Quest line Productions 48:26 is what QLP stands for but we like the quick, 48:28 let's pray because that's our watchword, 48:30 we got to pray about this. 48:32 And we have prayed over so many things, when technical things. 48:35 I'm not a technician, either. 48:37 I'm not a lighting expert, either. 48:39 And we would always say God, 48:40 you got to send some technical angels to help with this. 48:42 And He... 48:44 I think He has some a regular technical angel assigned to us. 48:49 Because as soon as he's in trouble, I say, 48:51 Lord, we need that technical angel again. 48:53 Yeah. 48:54 Well, this ministry is just a faith ministry. 48:57 Now you have a very special offer for the viewers. 49:01 Yes, we do. 49:02 We do for Thunder for the first time... 49:05 For the first time ever, 49:07 because we've been selling it for 325 for years now 49:11 and we're lowering that price to just $99. 49:15 And then we'll take those funds, 49:16 and we'll put them toward the I Met God Project, 49:18 we have a limited supply. 49:19 But as long as that supply lasts, we're knocking 75% off, 49:23 and I mean 70% off, and we will allow anyone to buy 49:27 as many sets as they want for that price. 49:29 How many programs are on there? 49:31 There are 26 episodes 49:34 covering the teachings of Jesus. 49:38 And you can also just download the lessons, 49:41 your paper lessons. 49:42 So if you gonna have a... 49:44 Once you have the videos in your hand, 49:48 you can just go to the website, 49:49 print off however many lessons you need for that lesson. 49:52 And you're free to go. So they are lessons. 49:55 So the people viewing can follow along. 49:57 It's not just a spoon-feeding session, 49:59 it's a time where people are actually ingesting 50:01 what is being talked about. 50:03 You know what I like about your passion. 50:04 Every time I meet you, you always challenge me, 50:07 you always say, hey, when are you going to come 50:08 and be a stand and I'll come and use these videos 50:11 and you excite a lot of people. 50:13 That's why you have more than 100 pastors so far, 50:17 that have been inserted 50:18 in the Thunder in the Holy Land. 50:20 Now you're moving in the I Met God Project 50:23 that's going to be equally exciting, 50:24 looking forward to that. 50:27 All the years of ministry, you know, 50:29 you think about what God can do we have that passage. 50:32 I can do all things through Christ who does what? 50:34 Who strengthens me. 50:36 And you find that when you get to heaven, 50:37 you have a technical angel. 50:39 That's great. This is a lovely project, honey. 50:42 Many people will be in the kingdom 50:44 because of what the Lord has put in your hearts. 50:46 That's right. 50:48 And I know we're going to come back on the other side 50:49 of our news break, but I want to encourage 50:51 our listening audience and our viewing audience. 50:53 I've got to say listening because my wife is radio, 50:55 can't forget that. 50:57 But you've been challenged. 50:58 This couple really did take a faith leap. 51:03 Because when the Lord says 51:04 jump over the edge or jump off the edge, 51:07 He's gonna catch us 51:08 and begin to develop in our hearts and minds 51:11 and lives the things that He's always envisioned. 51:15 Thunder in the Holy Land, you heard about the offer, 51:18 we'll remind you of that on the other side 51:19 of the news break. 51:20 But I Met God, there are many people today 51:22 that need to meet God, the God of science, 51:24 the God of health, the God of prophecy, 51:27 and so many ways that can make a difference in their lives. 51:30 They are part of the Advent movement, that's for sure. 51:33 That's right. 51:34 And so on the other side of the news break, 51:36 we're going to give pastor Byrd and his wife Karen 51:38 an opportunity to challenge you. 51:41 But don't go away, we'll be right back in just a moment. 51:44 We have some closing thoughts 51:45 that we want you to be informed about. 51:47 Don't go away. 51:51 If you'd like more information, 51:52 you can write to them at Quest line Productions, 51:55 PO Box 361, 51:58 McDonald, Tennessee 37353. 52:02 Again, Quest line Productions, PO Box 361, 52:06 McDonald, Tennessee 37353. 52:10 You can call them at 844-777-5788. 52:15 That's 844-777-5788. 52:19 You can find them online.tv 52:23 Or you can email them at inf@qlp.tv |
Revised 2022-01-20