THE TIME IS NOW

Admittedly, I feel we’re at the stage of the journey that reminds me of when Jesus moved His ministry to Galilee. For about a year and a half, He worked mostly in Judea, with little to show for His efforts. People there were heavily influenced by the religious leaders of the day, none of whom would acknowledge Him as the Messiah. But when John the Baptist was taken prisoner, Jesus understood it was time to take it to the next level.

The Lord decided to work in the coastal cities of Capernaum and Bethsaida, and as He did, His message was “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Yes, Daniel 9 had now come true, and the end of the age was at hand.

Similarly, after working hard and praying harder for so many months, “the time is at hand to believe in the gospel.” The new development with Direct TV carrying the meetings is a huge question mark full of possibilities. We’ve implemented and continue to work on ways to reach those untold thousands that would watch without us knowing.

But I must give you a brief report on the just-finished Astonishing Discoveries in the Land of the Bible archaeology series. If you tuned in eight days ago, you might have panicked just like we did. The production team at the Media Center always does a test an hour before they air something live. When they noticed our team in Nashville was not calling, they called at 6:05 inquiring about it. The person that answered misread the clock, thinking it was 5:05 and simply said it’s not for another hour. That was interpreted by the person in California to mean the entire broadcast was an hour later, so he set the server for 7:30 CDT instead of 6:30 CDT. When 6:30 came, we started and thought we were live—625 churches had opened their doors to this event!

Lo and behold, no archaeology program was on. So, the churches started to call us, frantically. Nashville called California to get us on satellite, but it took an extra six minutes because of the new server. So, 16 minutes into the program, we were finally on. As you can imagine, a number of guests and members had left by that time, which is extremely unfortunate yet understandable.

How does one analyze such a far-reaching human error, something these professional people just don’t do? Our leadership team believes perhaps the Lord does want to surprise us with unexpected good, because we’ve met our share of difficulties and discouraging mishaps. I’d like to think that God’s power will be perceived as even greater when compared with so many things going array (many of which I did not write about in this blog).

The truth is that at in Nashville at least, people responded to the meetings very well. We had over 200 guests come, although we wished for more. But many told us how they are planning to be back for the main series next week. The meetings were an encouragement to the members as well. And one evidence that things went well in spite of that first night disaster is the fact that we had a major spike in the order of Bibles and other resources for the meetings, in addition to new churches signing up.

So, here are the matters that urge earnest prayer by everyone who loves God and His mission:

1.       Pray for the Blimp. A large blimp is circulating over the Nashville freeways with a 74-foot long banner written in bold letters: PROPHECIESDECODED.COM. This is unusual advertising and a bit costly, but our hope is that a number of the 100 to 200,000 people that will see it decide to register and show up. Pray for good weather, and perhaps the opportunity for the city press to notice and write about it, thus giving us more exposure.

2.       Pray for the Handbills. The handbills will begin to arrive in people’s homes as early as tomorrow (Friday). There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of pieces all over the country we pray angels go with to impress people to respond. Pray that those most ready to receive the Three Angels’ Messages will be deeply impressed to attend. Pray that all the participating churches may have encouraging numbers on opening night.

3.       Pray for the Church Members. Here is our greatest need for prayer. Evangelism is hard work, no matter how you slice it. And enemies do not only come from the outside, but, sadly, often from the inside. Pray that the Spirit of Jesus may overpower selfish and worldly interests by members in every church that wants to do evangelism. Pray that the devil be not allowed to take advantage of members’ lack of love to others. Pray also for the strength and courage of the often few dedicated members who are and will be involved in NET outreach. And pray for neutral members to get off the fence and decide to help other members, even if love for the lost is something they have yet to experience.

4.       Pray for the Music. We have secured the musical ministry of a number of good people, such as Committed, Charles Haugabrooks, Jennifer LaMountain, and Steve Darmody, among other artists from the Nashville area. Our prayer is that each song will be something the angels would sing along, and that the Spirit may use music for salvation. Pray for Gale Murphy as she coordinates all this.

5.       Pray for the Social Media Efforts. Facebook, You Tube, Vimeo, and other social media outlets is what we’re using to try to get the word out, especially to millennials (young adults). Please pray that a number of them can respond to the invitation to come to the church, not only to watch it at home. When young people look to God to fill their empty hearts, God’s miracles in their lives are nearly instant and often explosive.

6.       Pray for the Nation. I have asked the Lord to move in our division in some way that people may perceive searching Bible prophecies may have answers for them. Remember that Adventist meetings for the weeks following 9/11 a decade ago were full of searching people. I’m interested more in people seeking for lasting solutions than in curiosity seekers, but the Word sown in always better than the Word not sown.

7.       Pray for Me. As Paul plead before the Ephesians, “pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,” (Eph 6:19) I ask you the same. A number have told me they are doing so. We knew a year ago that this would be an all-consuming project. Yet, I still planned to have some of August and some of September to work and revise my messages. Well, that time has come and gone, used with even more urgent matters. But Jesus can still help me. May His message and His love shine through and through.

Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for NET 11. The time is now. Let’s storm heaven so God may open its windows and pour out a blessing beyond our expectations.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel”

(Mark 1:15)

The Power of Prayer

It is time to honor the Lord by recognizing some answers to prayer. Here we go.

1. Protection in Italy. Lisa and I spent two weeks there on a research "vacation." We did rest, not much, but some. But I drove nearly 1,000 miles in a little car in Italy! That means narrow highways, dangerous drivers, mountain roads, etc. We did have a couple of scratches which, amazingly, didn't seem to bother the car rental. One of the highlights was visiting the Waldensian valleys where so long ago faithful, Bible-loving people gave their all for Jesus. God was good to us.
   
2. Book Publishing on Time. Yesterday, I got a note from Pacific Press saying they won't be sending the blue line for the author's read for Decoding Bible Prophecy because they have to print the book over this weekend, in order to make it! Well, I trust there won't be too many mistakes, and I'm very grateful we'll have this book in time for the NET meetings, and for churches to use. God answered our prayers. Just over three weeks ago it seemed impossible to pull this off!
   
3. The Madison Campus Leadership. Putting on something like NET 11 in one's church is enough to cause a revolution, or a revolt, whichever may be the case. With so many training events, and changes needed at the live site, it takes great patience and grace to accommodate for the sake of a national audience. The pastors at Madison Campus and a number of the lay leaders have been very gracious working with us. May the Lord repay their sacrifice with many new souls for the kingdom!
   
4. Russell Burrill. Russell has been our NET manager since nearly the start, and he has been a God-sent to me. NET management involves a myriad of details, contacts, phone calls, and follow-throughs. It was a God-inspired thought to ask him to help us. Thank you Russ.
   
5. NET on Direct-TV. Yes, this was confirmed a few days ago. As you know, Hope TV had decided months ago to forgo showing the NET meetings on its premier channel because of plans for different programing, now that Direct TV is involved. The entire series would only be shown on the Hope Church Channel instead. I was disappointed, but we accepted it. In addition, we weren't able to convince 3ABN to carry the NET this year. It's a complex issue. Anyway, we kept praying. God seems to have bigger plans than originally imagined because the NET on Hope TV (Direct TV) will have a potential viewership of millions! We praise God for this development.

So, two major items for prayer now.

1. THE ARCHAEOLOGY MEETINGS. They start this Wednesday, for the next five nights. I believe there is a high level of expectancy for these meetings. The handbills went out two days ago. Please pray that many of those getting the handbills will be impressed by the Holy Spirit to attend. Pray that the 625 or so churches showing it will have a wonderful experience getting to know their guests. Pray for Michael Hasel and I as we present, and for the media people and the equipment so things will go without a hitch. My sincere hope is that 25 to 33% of the guests coming to these meetings will transfer to the prophecy series two weeks later. This is a great series to bring people to your church. May God's people be mobilized for outreach!
   
2. THE NATIONWIDE STRATEGY. Due to this new development of having NET on Hope TV/Direct TV, we decided we needed a nationwide strategy, even if that was not in the budget. Somehow, we need to give the thousands that may be watching totally disconnected from a local church the opportunity to respond to what is being said, or to what the Holy Spirit is prompting them to do. We're creating a nationwide registration process which should really benefit the churches. Through an AIM 800 number, we'll give people the chance to call in and talk with a counselor that will help them spiritually, pray with them, and steer them to a local SDA church. We'll be making three book offers at different times during the series. This is the first time in SDA history that we have such large viewership potential for a NET series. Pray that Jesus may be in total control of me as the speaker, of the musicians, of the MCs, and any other person who comes before those cameras.

And even though I'm not adding it in the list, oh, how I wished a few more churches would choose to air these meetings and take advantage of all these resources! May God's loving will be done in all of our lives!

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save;

nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear."

Isaiah 59:1