AMEN 2018: Call to Service

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Adventist Medical Evangelism Network (AMEN)

Plenary

Brian Schwartz

Motivation for Service: The Explosive Power of the Gospel

Elvin Adams

The Primary Thing is the Primary Thing

Stephen Wright

All People are Worth the Investment

Dafne Moretta

My Story, His Faithfulness

Tash Ching

Purposed in His Heart

John Bradshaw

The Power of One

Testimonies & Mission Reports

Naren James

Spiritual Entrepreneurship: In Search of Investors

Mark Finley

Loving Service: The Heart of the Early Christian Faith

Thank you, dear God, I'm grateful to be here at this AIMing conference, 14th annual AIMing conference.

So exciting to hear the developments, the international scope of this organization, and the impact it's having on the individual lives of the individual patient, medical and dental.

So we just want to praise you, invite your presence now as we share, let's help be hidden and let you come forward.

So, all right, investment is a hot topic.

Ford magazine published the richest man in the world.

Bill Gates was once 1 of them, founder of Microsoft, follower of Warren Buffett back in my days.

He's actually was just $150 billion, maybe a little less after the stock market went down.

But nevertheless, the richest man in modern times.

And I, too, have been an investor back in the year 2000.

And I'm talking spiritually and materially.

Back in the year 2000, I came out of a very deep depression, literally, spiritual, mental, because I had just started medical practice and I went through a severe financial downturn to the point that I actually was depressed for months.

And I came out of it, it was actually a close to bankruptcy situation, you can read about, you can actually listen to audio verses there.

So I kind of learned from that, that basically we are all stewards, We own nothing.

Everything we have and everything we think we are is actually His.

It's a trust from Him, and that is what I took out of that.

I returned to the Word for direction, and 1 of the texts that really came home to me was the 1 in Matthew 7 where it says, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on a rock, and you know what happened to the man who didn't, who built on sand.

So essentially it was saying, those who hear these words and act upon them.

And so I, I took that seriously and I decided I was going to implement the, the gospel as, as much as possible with the Lord's help.

And so I reaffirmed my commitment to stewardship.

It led to a revival in my personal life and my family life and my practice life.

That's where actually the inception of what I think AMEN started, my own personal life, because basically I began to realize my mission field was in the practice with the individual patient, not in church as personal ministries leader, which I was.

And it was really quite revealing because it really energized my practice.

And I think any AMEN members will tell you that.

It truly made me come to a tremendous sense of satisfaction in medical practice, which I never had before.

So I think it's something that I really learned.

And I was impressed in studying the testimonies and Ministry of Healing that really we needed to share this.

So that led to a luncheon at ASI in Cincinnati in summer 2004, which led to the first gathering of modern day medical evangelists at Cajara Springs, Georgia in the year 2005, Elder Finley spearheaded that.

He actually encourages, he said, you come together and I'll come and speak.

So he spoke and that's when we launched A-Man as an organization in the spring of 2005 and we organized that first conference in the fall right here in San Diego, and it was quite an experience because we, like the guy was talking about in the Philippines, we had nothing either.

We went in that conference not knowing how we were gonna fund it even.

And the Lord worked out everything so today we're here 14 conferences later.

So anyway, I served as the first president for 3 years, and then an additional 2 years an appointed board member.

But I want to tell you about the example of the Israelites.

In Deuteronomy 8, 1 to 3 is an interesting text, which is interesting.

Jesus quoted it in his very first temptation, and you shall remember the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness to humble you and test you in what is in your heart.

Whether you would keep his commandments or not, He humbled you, he allowed you to hunger and fed you in a manner which you did not know nor did your fathers know." What did he do it for?

He did it so that you will understand that man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord." So, I got to ask you this question, did God need to know their hearts?

He didn't need to know the hearts, they need to know their own hearts.

He was basically getting to the point, hey, you don't know your own heart.

I led you to the wilderness, I made you hungry, I allowed you to be hungry, I allowed you to be thirsty, I provided man, I provided water from the rack because I want to make sure you understand you don't know your own heart.

I don't even know your heart, I know your heart, I want you to know your own heart.

And that's basically what he was getting at.

The fact is, you don't know your own heart, I don't know my own heart.

It is real, it is tangible, because we think we know our hearts, We're self-deceived so often.

And only in returning the will to Him do we get to know our own hearts, because it is a voluntary thing.

Well, the year 2016, I decided to do just that.

I realized that everything I did was literally tainted with self.

I was basically, everything I did has something about me.

Even in ministry, it was about me and my involvement in ministry.

It was with Naren James and his involvement in ministry.

I just began to realize, it was a lot of it was really about me.

So I got on my knees a lot and started praying, Lord, I really don't know my heart.

I really want to focus on what is important to You.

And so, I got to ask you the question, your engagement in ministry, your efforts in ministry, which I'm talking to leaders here, by the way.

I've sat at every table here throughout this weekend.

I can tell you every single person is a potential leader in a man, a potential board member, president, whatever.

You are all leaders in your own capacity.

The reality is I prayed seriously and I said, Lord reveal to me what is your priority because I am focusing on my priority.

And he revealed to me 1 important thing that I, I guess I should have known this as a seven-day Adventist, probably not new to you.

The most important thing to God, in my opinion, is His character.

I mean, in the end, the whole great controversy is about God's character.

Is he who God says he is or is he who Satan says he is?

And every day in our lives, by our actions and our words, we determine whether we believe God or not.

Every day you're faced with that same question.

So I wanted to give something back to God.

After you observe the love of God, you feel impressed.

You cannot help but want to return something.

The problem is, There is nothing to return.

There is nothing to return because you have nothing.

Everything you have is his, including your professional capacity, your talent, your licensure, whatever it is, your board certification.

Series

Plenary

Spiritual Entrepreneurship: In Search of Investors

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Plenary

A Personal God

49m

Everything Depends On

1h

Testimony

1h 5m

In the Spirit and Power

1h 22m

ECYC 2012: Plenary Sessions

The Almost Christian

54m

GYC SE 2012 Plenary Sessions

Why Is There Evil?

1h

Filled by God's Spirit

03 Filled by God’s Spirit

1h 8m

There is Hope

Coming and Going

52m

Leadership in an Immoral World: Inescapable Culpability

42m

Plenary

Truth Only

51m

What If I Fail?

52m

Plenary

The One Thing Jesus Can’t Give You

55m

Sound Doctrine