How God’s classroom in the field is preparing our family spiritually, physically, and mentally.

AdAgrA Conference 2026: Growing Better

<p>How God’s classroom in the field is preparing our family spiritually, physically, and mentally.</p>

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AdAgrA: Adventist Agriculture Association

Neale Shields

Jaclyn Shields

Preparing an “Ark” by Faith to the Saving of Our Family

Heavenly Father God, we are grateful that you have brought us to this place.

We're grateful, Father, for all the volunteers and all those people that have made this conference possible to be a blessing to all of us.

Father God, as we share our testimony tonight, I just pray, Lord, that you would put your words in my mouth and Jacqueline's mouth, Father, so that your people might hear your voice.

Father, your people might hear of your goodness, your mercy, your grace, your power.

Father, that we might be drawn closer to you and to be encouraged to continue on in the path that you have set before us.

Jacqueline has in her hands, can you all identify what this fruit is?

We actually, I suspect that's why we got a call earlier this year.

In fact, I think Therese asked us if we could teach a class on how to grow lemons, to which I responded, I would love to help, but I know nothing about growing lemons.

Nevertheless, these are lemons that we grew, and we would have brought another several hundred this year except for that change in vehicles we had to go to a smaller vehicle which did not allow us to bring very many of these.

How many lemons do you estimate are on the kitchen table?

He says about 600, and that's what's left after others were taken.

Yeah, Well, if someone would like these lemons, I'm gonna...

God has been very good to us in spite of ourselves.

Tonight, we just want to talk to you a little bit about our testimony and some of the things that God has taught us over the last 13 plus years.

1 example, those lemons, 1 of the things that God has taught us and I think 1 of the things that the garden teaches us is that we need to do all that is within our power.

And then we're told that then we can safely ask God to do for us that which we cannot do for ourselves.

And so these lemons are actually grown in a tree greenhouse.

For example, 5 years ago when we had that bad, we had 2 bad snowstorms that year in Texas.

And 1 night it got to negative 3 degrees, which is really unheard of in East Texas.

That night, Jaclyn and I were out there in the greenhouse.

In the morning, putting double bubble on the underside of the greenhouse plastic to try to get a little bit more insulation.

For a short while, just around sunup, it dipped to 28 degrees in that greenhouse.

But we were able to keep alive those citrus trees, mango tree, avocado trees, papaya trees.

And so we did all that was within our power and then we prayed and God miraculously kept that greenhouse warm enough and kept those plants alive even though it did actually get a little bit low freezing.

And so the title of our discussion this evening is Preparing an Ark.

And Thinking about that topic just a little bit, I want to turn our attention to something that I believe that should be on all of our minds who are longing to see Jesus come.

Is there anyone in this room by chance who is longing to see Jesus come?

Nevertheless, we are told that before Jesus comes, we are told that a storm is coming, relentless in its fury.

Now, I'm not talking about this little ice storm that they are predicting.

That will be gone by at least hopefully Monday or Tuesday.

But there is a storm much worse that is coming before Jesus comes.

And so we are told to prepare, and I believe we need to prepare an ark.

Has anyone ever heard of righteousness by faith?

I trust that each of us by this point in our walk know that righteousness by works doesn't work.

Would you like to have righteousness by faith?

We actually looked at this yesterday morning.

Hebrews chapter 11 verse 7 and this is actually on the wall of our house on the inside.

Hebrews 11 7 says that by faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet moved with fear he prepared an ark to the saving of his house." Preparing an ark to the saving of your house.

By the which he condemned the world and became an ear, the inheritor of righteousness by faith.

What did Noah do to become the inheritor of righteousness by faith?

Because God had told him that a storm was coming, relentless in its fury.

And so by faith, all of those men and women in Hebrews 11 did what God said.

Right, faith is not believing that I'm gonna get the job, I'm gonna get the raise, it's believing what God has said He is able to do.

Have you ever thought that in 1 Peter 3, verse 20, God actually says that he could not cause the storm to come until Noah had built the ark?

God has called us to do things, and sometimes we think that we are waiting on God.

But 1 Peter 3 says that God actually waited while Noah prepared that ark.

He could not send the storm until Noah had prepared the ark.

Was that ark built for more than 8 people?

Would you believe me if I told you that there was nothing new under the sun?

If I told you that the thing that hath been is that which hath been done and the thing that is going to be is that which has already taken place, would anyone believe that?

And in fact, I believe that the Bible declares that God can't allow the winds of strife to blow until an ark is prepared today.

John, seeing the winds of strife in Revelation chapter 6, the sixth seal, said, who shall be able to stand?

And God says, don't release the winds of strife until I can seal a people.

We're gonna see that building that ark is actually part of God's plan to save our house and to save us and to seal us.

And so until that ark is built, God cannot release the winds of strife.

And in fact, we talked about this this morning.

He said you can't give what you don't have.

And so we're told many times, including Child Guidance page 164, that our first duty to both God and our fellow men is self-development.

Because we cannot give what we don't have.

Now I wanna pick up again a little bit from Brother Byrne.

I don't know how many of you have your Bibles with you tonight, but Isaiah chapter 28 says something that Brother Byrne really talked about this morning.

And this isn't on the slides because this wasn't planned, but I just...

If you go to Isaiah chapter 28, God tells you, we talk a lot about in the church these days, hermeneutics, but God tells you the hermeneutic.

He says, verse 9, "'Whom shall he teach knowledge "'and whom shall he make to understand doctrine?' Would you like to know God's knowledge, to know what he wants you to know?

Those that are weaned from milk and drawn from the breast, those who are done eating pre-digested food, from speakers, who want to read the word of God for themselves.

And so it says, for precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little.

If you skip to verse 14, and I encourage you to read it later, wherefore hear the word of the Lord you scornful men that rule this people which is in Jerusalem, because you have said we have made a covenant with death and with hell aware at agreement when the overflowing of scourge shall pass through, it shall not come to us.

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Preparing an “Ark” by Faith to the Saving of Our Family

Transcript

Description

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

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Ministerial

From Felt-Needs Outreach to Giving Bible Studies

1h 20m

Plenary Session

Growing Better

54m

Making Sense of Last Day Events

3. The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Latter Rain Power

1h 3m

Medical

The Definitive Place of COVID-19 in Biblical Eschatology

1h

Final Events

07 Satan’s Last Resort

1h 12m

From Slackers to Supermen: The Difference the Rain Can Make

40m

Sabbath School 2nd Quarter 2024: The Great Controversy

12 Earth’s Closing Events

29m

GYC 2012 Seminar: The Holy Spirit Promise

False Manifestations of the Holy Spirit and How You Can be Protected, Part I

59m

God is Love?

20-The Final Warning

1h

ASI Southern Union 2013 Seminars

Releasing the Four Winds and the Sealing of the 144,000

1h

Sound Doctrine