iShare 2014: Light

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Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Seminar: From Darkness to Light: Overcoming Sin and Addictions

Adam Patel

Rescuing “P.O.W’s” (Reaching People with Addictions)- Part 1

Taariq Patel

Rescuing “P.O.W’s” (Reaching People with Addictions)- Part 2

Virna Santos

Loving as Jesus Would

Again, I want to encourage everyone in the back to move forward.

And I'm gonna try to accomplish 2 things here.

First, not only, I'm gonna try to share my testimony.

And my second goal here today, by God's grace, is I'd like to share with you about the homosexual community and what we don't understand and how can we reach them, including our friends and our family.

So if you can, before I even continue, please bow your heads with me as I ask for God's guidance and power.

Dear Father in heaven, Lord, I just want to just want to thank you so much, Father, for such an opportunity to testify of what you've done.

And Lord, I know what you've done in my life, you can do with everyone.

I ask Father that you open our hearts and our minds to hear this message that you've prepared, dear Father.

May we sit face to face with you right now.

May we leave this place changed, dear Lord, transformed by your love.

This is my prayer, dear Father, and I ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to speak through me and to hide me behind thy cross Lord for it is you that will be lifted up I pray this in Jesus name let everyone say amen amen wasn't that a blessing the Patel brothers amen praise the Lord I think they covered it a lot.

I actually heard a version of their testimony at the Army Bible Camp at Leone Meadows, and I was really blessed, and I was really looking forward to what God was preparing through them for iShare.

The title of my presentation today is Loving as Jesus Would, The people pleaser.

You know, 1 of the inspirations that me and my sister, and that's another note too, my sister was supposed to do this presentation with me, but as some of you might know, my sister has systemic lupus, and when lupus attacks, it really takes you down.

So even in the midst today if you can whisper a prayer for her.

She's in good spirits, God is good and she's resting and God has called me to share this message with you.

What inspires me and my sister with this story?

Because we've gotten a lot of people tell us, wow, it takes a lot of courage to share your type of testimony, especially in a day, in days like this now, right?

In the political climates that we face now.

Our confession of His faithfulness is heaven's chosen agency for revealing Christ to the world.

We are to acknowledge His grace, His grace, as made known through the holy men of old.

By that which will be most effectual is a testimony of our own experience.

All day, all this afternoon you've been hearing testimony after testimony after testimony.

Isn't it powerful when you hear what Christ can do in someone's life.

We are witnesses for God as we reveal in ourselves the working of a power that is divine.

Straight out of the mouth of our prophet.

In God's Word we find in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 verses 3 and 4.

If you can go there, 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 verses 3 and 4.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies.

And God of all comfort who comforts us in all our tribulation.

That we may be able to comfort those who are in some trouble, any trouble, With the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

What a privilege God our Father has given us, brothers and sisters.

That through our own trials and tribulations and the mere fact that we reach out to God for comfort, that very comfort can be that same comfort we can share with somebody else.

I was born in the Philippines And we immigrated to the United States, to California, to Southern California when I was about 2 and 1 half years old.

We weren't here for quite that long yet until something started to happen in our home that went on for about 3 years without anyone knowing.

My mom still has a very hard time looking at this picture because all she sees is the sad face, the sad eyes in this picture.

You see, I was violated by a distant relative for 3 years in secret, sexually violated.

This was a time where I felt my vision of the world, the way I perceived the world and everyone around me was skewed.

And I struggled throughout my childhood, liking girls.

I would get down in the dirt and play marbles with the boys.

My uncles used to get mad at me for being that way.

And I grew up just struggling, struggling, went throughout elementary, junior high, and what plagued me was just fantasies.

I was caught up in the fantasy of picturing being with another woman.

And another thing was going on in my life.

You see, my mom caught the perpetrator when I was 6 years old.

What mother knows what to do in a situation like that?

We weren't created to deal with something like that.

We weren't created to be single moms or single fathers.

We weren't created to deal with sin, brothers and sisters.

We don't know what to do when something happens.

Adam and Eve ran and tried to hide themselves and covered themselves.

So my mom, my poor mom, broken as she saw this sight in front of her, her child, having been Touched and violated at such a tender age.

I remember the first thing was running up to her and asking her mama, are you mad at me?

And my mom said, no, but just go lie down.

And I felt at that time, I felt like my mother didn't want to touch me.

And this is what I grew up with, thinking that it was always my fault.

So I grew up with this struggle, and this was our home.

The only times we could get a hold of him or get to touch or have some sort of relationship with our father was when we would go out to eat.

So my father being disengaged, my mom in her manic depressive state, up and down, me and my sister clung to the times where she had clarity.

We clung to her when she was loving and available and connected with us.

But throughout my life, I still struggled with these fantasies of wanting to be loved by another woman.

When my mom caught the perpetrator, she kept it a secret for 2 years from my father.

You see, brothers and sisters, if there's anything to learn about sin and addiction in anything, that Satan thrives in secrecy.

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Series

Seminar: From Darkness to Light: Overcoming Sin and Addictions

Loving as Jesus Would

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Michael Carducci Weekend

01 Bows and Ribbons: TRANS-formation

1h 7m

The Law of Love & Sexuality and Purity

1h 51m

Plenary Sessions

God Invented Sex

1h 34m

Power of the Everlasting Gospel

The Covenant’s Promised Blessings!

1h 18m

Engage

1h 16m

GYC 2013 Seminar: The Gay Puzzle: Loving Gays to Christ

01-Knowing the Difference

58m

Michael Carducci Weekend

02 All Wrapped Up and Where to Go?: Who’s Salvation Is It Anyway?

1h 13m

Unraveling the Gay Spin

1. Transgender vs. Transformation

1h

LGBTQ Issues and the Church

1h 14m

Babylon, America, and Bible Prophecy

06 The Lawless City of Babylon

1h 18m

Sound Doctrine