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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Rick Howard

The Omega Deception

You don't know how good it is to be here.

For those of you who didn't hear, last Friday night when I got here from the East Coast, I got up then in the Chula Vista Church for the first lecture, and I'm sitting in the pulpit and I'm getting my computer set up, and I had a heart attack.

But anyway, I've never really thought that I would say, thank God for a heart attack.

But the things that have developed since that took place, God's hand was in it.

And it has helped me to be able to determine what to do about the rest of the medical issues that began the day that I began to write this book.

Honestly, when I started to write this book, right from the start, it was 1 thing after another, Diabetes, prostate cancer, 11 pulmonary embolisms, you know, walking around for a month not able to breathe, not knowing what it was.

Paralyzed left hand, lumbar spine from, you know, just went and, you know, but it's okay.

Thank God I get to share a little in the sufferings of Christ.

He went through, when you look at what he went through for us, and I'm gonna talk about that a little bit.

You know, I've learned through this whole thing here at the end of over 30 years of ministry, I've learned more lessons in the last 2 years than in the previous 30 about patience, about waiting on the Lord, about prayer, about waiting for doors to open by His providence and not because I can figure everything out myself and I know how to do it, you know.

Every part of this has been a blessing no matter what, including, you know, this heart attack came at a time, here I am, I didn't know what I was going to do in September when I said to myself, Rosalie and I, my wife, Rosalie, where are you?

She's as much a part of this project, if not more, than me, because I can't write.

I scribble, and then she took the words that I write and turned it into English so people can read it, you know.

And we met, a little sidetrack, we met because her brother was a lead guitarist in the rock band I played in 40 years ago.

We'd practice over his house, and she was 14 and I was 18, and we'd kind of be looking at each other, and I'd say, Rick, she's 14 years old.

So we just looked at each other for 4 years.

We lived far apart on Long Island, and you don't meet people.

You know, we probably lived 5 miles apart with a million people in between.

And the way it happened that we met, through somebody who knew her brother who played the guitar and they came into my house and jammed, God's hand was in it.

I knew later on because She's a perfect pastor's wife.

But because of the heart attack, we have now a health plan figured out that wouldn't have happened if that didn't happen.

You know, I went to the hospital here and Dr.

Grace was, you know, a surgeon, a physician, and it all turns out that they took care of me here at Loma Linda the other day.

I had multiple tests and my heart is improving already just in 1 week.

And the thought is that all the damage will come back, hopefully, you know.

And as a result of it, we know what we're doing.

I'm not going to take any speaking engagements past mid-September, and then I'm going to take care of myself for a couple of months and get well.

Again, this whole tour in California was done with, you know, it was just done.

And the people who set this up were a part of this book getting published.

Because 2 years ago, I said, Lord, I'm not going to push to have this book come out.

You bring it out when you're ready, because I knew the contention that would arise over the issues that are in the book.

And I said, I don't want to make this book come out when it shouldn't come out.

And the first I heard was when a publisher called me and said, we want to print it.

It was all providential, every bit of it, not involving me, but the person out here that was involved in getting the ball rolling and calling Dwight Hall from Remnant Publications, and then they called me.

I said, well, I don't have any money right now, but if God's hand is in this, let's see what happens.

The next day, I get a call from an old friend who inherited millions.

This is after a year and a half of waiting and praying.

So I know the book is out now because God has chosen this time to deal with the issues that many of us have been frustrated about.

You know, this is God's church and it's not perfect.

The wheat And the tares grow together, right?

And the tares are no reason for us to consider leaving, going somewhere else.

This is a remnant church, and it's going through, the ship is going through all the way.

So don't jump off it because you see problems in it.

Jesus, another sidetrack, Jesus is in perfect control of his church.

So if there's something happening in the church that's frustrating, that you know is wrong, Jesus permitted it to be there.

Nothing in this church exists without his permission that it will exist in his church.

Nothing sneaks behind his back into the church.

So for us to get upset and angry at the church because there's problems in the church.

Matter of fact, maybe he permitted them for a reason for revival.

So revival is generated from it, you see?

It drives us back to study and that's what's going on.

All the problems, you see problems in the church, wrong, false teachings, people doing things they shouldn't do, who are at high levels in administration, don't get so upset that you think it's time to leave.

And don't do anything about it without prayer, watching, waiting.

If you feel convicted you need to speak to someone, do something about some error that you see.

You pray and you wait for the Lord to open the door.

And I know that this has been going on for 30, 40 years.

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The Omega Deception

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