Learning to Trust God – Paul Volk

Paul Volk, born around 1948–1949, is an international Christian speaker and certified health educator. After surviving a near-fatal drug overdose, he dedicated his life to Christ and to helping others prepare physically and spiritually for His return. He has shared the Gospel and principles of healthy living in more than 30 countries, appearing on 3ABN, Trinity Broadcasting Network and international satellite television. His remarkable testimony reveals how God transformed a broken life into a worldwide ministry of hope.

Well, it’s much warmer here than where I’m from. I’m from Alaska, and for the last five years or so, every winter I leave for somewhere I can thaw out. So, I’ve been to Hawaii, Texas, North Carolina, and several other places. I left this time in October because I was invited to go down to *It Is Written* in Chattanooga, and then I spoke at our college there. Then I spoke in Alabama and Georgia, and I arrived here in Florida in January—first at St. Petersburg, and I’ve been here since then. Now I’m staying in Cape Coral. I’m looking to see if God wants to open a door for me to relocate here to Florida. I want to be in a place where I can be not just effective, but most effective, because I believe we’re living in a time when Satan is being most wicked, and his rampage is just unbelievable—what I see going on everywhere. So, I’ll be praying about where God would have me, where I can do the greatest amount of good for others, and bring glory to Him.

The title of the sermon this morning is “God’s Testimony,” because it really is all about God and what He did for a man like me. A world-famous theologian was about to retire from the seminary where he taught for many decades. Many pastors, evangelists, and students from all over the world gathered together to bid a fond farewell to this much-beloved professor. The banqueting hall was packed, and as he approached the rostrum, a hush fell over the crowd. Notepads were ready, tape recorders were taken out, and he said these words: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” And he sat down. That was it! Like that. Say it with me: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Do you believe that? I’m not convinced. Do you believe that? That sounds better.

Religious Background

Now, to give you a little bit of my background: my father was a Roman Catholic, my mother was a Methodist Sunday school teacher, my brother an elder in the Mormon Church, and I went to Baptist Bible school. So, we had a lot of “churchianity” as I was growing up, but I really didn’t know Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. You and I have two critical needs in this lifetime, and depending upon how well and how often those two needs are met, they will determine our quality of life while we’re here on this earth. The first need is to receive love. The second need is to give love. It is through Jesus Christ that we receive more love than we ever thought existed, and then because of that, we’re able to give more love than we ever thought possible. 1 John 4:19 makes that very clear: “We love because He first loved us.”

Now, the Lord knocks at the door of our heart many times to try to get us closer to Him—have you noticed that? I noticed it all through my life. The first time I gave my heart to the Lord, I was in third grade at a Baptist Vacation Bible School. I was so excited and so happy, I skipped all the way home. That was my first encounter. But the Lord and I had several others because I had some detours and interruptions from the devil.

Trusting God

How can we learn to trust God? That is exactly what this presentation will be about. My name is Paul Volk. I am the director of the Jefferson Center in the state of Washington.

Earlier we discussed this most important subject. By following only the other principles of health, a person can become merely a healthy sinner. Without placing our trust in God, they will have no real significance.

How are we to trust God? How can we develop this relationship so that we know that God is leading us? We can gain this kind of trust in the same way that we learn to trust people. It begins by establishing communication. This is the foundation of our relationships with other people, in our marriages, and in all our needs. It is also the foundation of our relationship with God.

Communicating with Him is called prayer. Prayer gives us wonderful experiences.

Larry’s Two-Week Experiment With God

When I was studying at a Christian college, my roommate had been watching me from the beginning. He watched what I did and how I reacted to different situations. Finally he said, “Paul, how do you do it?” “What do you mean?” I asked. “You seem very devoted to God. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and you are still kneeling beside your bed praying. Or you get up in the morning several hours before I do and pray again. How do you do it?”

“Well, Larry,” I replied, “I don’t know. It comes from God.” “Can I have that kind of relationship with God and that kind of trust?” “You know, Larry, I’m going to suggest something simple—something that worked in my case. For two weeks, I would like you to spend fifteen minutes every day reading the Bible and praying. And a miracle will happen. By the end of those two weeks, something will happen in your life. I don’t know whether it will be good or bad, but God knows what you need.”

In James 4:8 there is a promise: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8. You can take one tiny step towards God, and when He sees it, He will take a huge step towards you.

You certainly have nothing to lose by trying. And if nothing happens during those two weeks, you can throw the Bible away, because it will mean that God does not keep His word.

Then he answered, “Are you telling me that if nothing happens during those two weeks, I can forget this whole Christian business?” “Yes, Larry. Because if God hears your prayers, He must also answer them.” “All right, Volk, I agree. I’ll do it. For the next two weeks, I’ll spend those fifteen minutes every day.”

On the first morning Larry got up earlier and spent fifteen minutes with God. A week passed and he said, “Paul, half the time has already gone. If nothing happens in my life within another week, I’m throwing away the Bible and leaving the church.” “All right, Larry.”

“Only three days left, Paul! In three days my time is up. I have done what we agreed every day.” “Yes, Larry.” “Two days left, Paul. Just a little longer and it will all be over.” “That’s right, Larry.” “Only one day left. Tomorrow my two weeks are over.” “Yes, Larry, I know.”

The next morning the two weeks were over. But Larry said nothing. He simply got up and began reading the Bible. Another day passed. The next morning Larry again said nothing; he simply read the Bible. And so an entire week passed, and I wondered what was happening.

A few days later, while I was reading the Bible in the morning, Larry woke up, looked around the room and said, “You know, Paul, my two weeks are over.” “Yes, Larry, I know.” “Do you know what I discovered?” “No.” “I can’t live without God.”

And that was exactly the point! Dear listener, you cannot live without God either. Your life will be full of disappointment, anger, frustration, pain and sadness. Without God you will always feel an emptiness. You cannot live without Him.

God Is Faithful to His Promises

God promised in the Bible that He will meet you. “Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24. God is calling you if you are listening to this programme, and He promises that He will do it.

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6. As you listen to this programme, God begins His work in you, and He will complete it if you allow Him to. He has promised to do it.

As soon as I became a Christian, a text from Isaiah 50:4 became fixed in my mind. I have always held on to the promise given there: “He awakens my ear morning by morning, He awakens my ear to hear as the learned.” Isaiah 50:4. This verse says that God wakes you every morning so that you can spend some time with Him.

How much time should you give Him? Some of you may only be beginning, so you can start with a two-week trial and devote fifteen minutes each day. Some should extend this time to thirty minutes or even an hour. But if you expect greater benefits, you can devote even more time to it.

Giving God a Tithe of Our Time

In 1991 I began a six-month tour of Europe. I gave lectures in Russia and several other European countries. On 17 September that year I was resting on a mountainside in Yugoslavia. As I rested there reading my Bible, I sensed God’s voice saying, “Paul, we need to be especially close now, so that you can reach these people with the whole message of mental, physical and spiritual health.” “Yes, God, I know.” “Then, Paul, we need to spend a great deal of time together.” “Yes, Lord, You know that since my baptism I have found time for You every day.” “But Paul, now we need to spend even more time together.” “All right, Lord, I will do whatever You want. This time is Yours, Lord.”

“Paul, I would like you to begin giving Me a tithe of your time.”

Christians know about tithing money. But have you ever given a tithe of your time? A tithe of time? Ten per cent of twenty-four hours? For Bible study and prayer?

“But how am I supposed to do that?” Then I said, “Lord, if You want a tenth of my time, You will have to help me do it. I give it to You.”

From that time on, God has always been faithful. Every day He helped me spend the proper amount of time alone with Him.

Let us calculate how much one tenth of twenty-four hours is. It is very interesting. Ten per cent of twenty-four hours is 144 minutes.

144 is an unusual number. In Revelation a special group of people who remain very close to Christ is described. They are called the 144,000.

God said, “Six days you shall labour and do all your work.” And six days contain 144 hours. It is remarkable how God uses numbers. He says to us: You have 144 hours to do your work. Give Me only 144 minutes from each of those days, and give Me the seventh day completely.

Perhaps you are not yet ready to give a tithe of your time. But you can begin with fifteen minutes each day for two weeks. Then you can double that time or add an hour. Eventually you may begin to tithe your time.

Helena Popov and Her Son Dmitri

During my first stay in Russia, I participated in Bible lectures. The meetings were held in the Palace of the Soldier. Before each Bible lecture I gave a fifteen-minute health presentation.

When I came onto the platform, Dr Helena Popov was sitting in the tenth row on my left. She had come to the meeting only to improve her English. She was not interested in God or Christianity.

But when she saw me speaking about health, she looked very animated. It turned out that I reminded her very much of her son, who was also interested in health and devoted to Christ. She came to those lectures every day and was deeply moved by this Christian health message.

By the end of the meetings she was ready to dedicate herself to Christ and be baptised. When she made that decision, she gave me several keepsakes.

She told me that a month earlier her son had been doing military service. One evening he was returning to his unit in a truck with other soldiers. At one point the truck hit something and overturned, crushing her son Dmitri to death.

She also told me that her son had been sincerely devoted to Christ and very interested in health. Looking at me, she said, “You reminded me of my son. I was deeply moved.”

She also gave me his photograph and said, “I want you to take this photograph and preserve the memory of my son. I am giving myself to Christ because I want to follow in my son’s footsteps and be with our Saviour Jesus Christ. And Paul, I look forward to the day when my son, you and I will meet together. We will be a wonderful group of friends.”

On the back of the photograph she wrote: “For Paul—the man who gave me hope. This is my son, my pride, my happiness, my life, my sorrow, my Dmitri.”

The Family Bible and Seventeen Years in Siberia

She also gave me their family Bible. She said that her great-great-grandfather used to read it to the children in the evenings. This Russian Bible consists of three volumes because it has large print and thick paper.

Every evening her ancestor would take one of those volumes and read to them. The other two were hidden. Unfortunately, the neighbours upstairs heard him reading the Bible and informed the militia. The officers burst into the flat, lined everyone up against the wall, including the children, and tore the volume into tiny pieces. They took him to Siberia and imprisoned him in a labour camp.

The other two volumes remained hidden. That man spent seventeen years in exile and died. He was tortured and beaten, and finally froze to death in Siberia because of his faith in God.

This caused Helena to stop believing in God. She thought that if things like this happened to believers, and if God did not care for His people, she wanted nothing to do with Him.

As her son grew older, however, he became increasingly interested in Christianity. He said, “Mum, I would like to have a Bible.” She replied, “We have two volumes of that book, son. You can take them.” And she gave him the two surviving volumes.

Because those volumes contained the book of Genesis, Dmitri discovered there that God intended fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts for our food. So he became a vegetarian. Through learning the Word of God, he continued to grow in his Christian experience.

“Paul,” Helena said to me, “I want you to take one of these two remaining volumes of our Bible. It is more than 150 years old. You probably will not be able to take it out of the country because they will regard it as a national treasure and will certainly confiscate it.”

So I put it into my suitcase, and when I went through customs, the officer did not even ask me to open my suitcase. So that Bible is with me today. No one asked me any questions.

It is a privilege for me to open the very same Bible for whose reading Helena’s ancestor was persecuted—to open the same Bible that her son Dmitri read and through which he was converted.

I believe that one day we will all meet together in the kingdom of heaven, if we keep the faith.

Bibles Soaked With Tears and Blood

Helena also told me, “Paul, tell the people in America that our Bibles are soaked with tears and blood. This book is very dear and precious to us, and we pay a terrible price for it.” “Yes, I know,” I said.

Our Bibles, by contrast, are covered with dust because we do not value them so highly. A great price was paid for this book. That is why I treasure it.

When we devote time to God and spend it with this book, He fills us with power. Through this book God influences people with such power that even the Communists are afraid of it, because they know what it can do. And if they know this even though they are atheists, how much more should we Christians know it?

Every day we should allow God to work upon us through this book, so that through this holy book we may become holy people.

Learning to Trust God Through Experience

How can we develop trust in God? In the same way that we learn to trust people—by doing things together.

God began teaching me in various ways how to trust Him. One of the most effective methods He used was teaching me to trust Him through dogs.

Have you ever been bitten by a dog? If so, you will understand me better.

Dog Story Number 1

Once my friend and I were walking in the mountains. When we had come down, we suddenly saw a large German shepherd that began running straight towards me. And the Lord was saying, “Trust Me, Paul.” But instinctively I bent down and picked up a stone. When I was about to throw it at the dog, I noticed that the stone was very small.

I quickly realised that it was definitely time to pray. “God, help!!!” Then suddenly the dog’s owner appeared and shouted at it.

So Doug and I continued walking in the mountains. At one point Doug said, “You know, Paul, I think you should trust God more. When you saw that dog—” “Yes, Doug, I know.” “You shouldn’t have picked up that stone. You should have trusted the Lord.” “You’re right, Doug, I know.” Then he said, “You know, Paul…” “Doug!” I said. “What were you doing then?”

When the dog attacked us, my friend Doug had been standing behind me, hiding in fear.

Dog Story Number 2

One day I went for a walk after a meal. That helps the food digest better. As I walked along with my hands in my pockets, I saw a woman open the door of one of the houses. A moment later a large brown Doberman stood in the doorway. It looked out into the street and saw dinner—that is, me. So it charged towards me.

Speechless, I watched it growling as it ran towards me. At the same time I could hear its owner screaming hysterically. I thought it must be some kind of guard dog. I felt that this time I was going to end up in hospital. Perhaps there was someone in the hospital to whom I was supposed to witness—a patient, doctor or nurse?

In spite of this, I kept walking down the street. A moment later, when the dog was about to bite my hand and I thought my bones were about to be crushed, the dog suddenly stopped and turned back towards the house.

I breathed again and said, “That was very close this time, Lord. Thank You, Lord, thank You. I am learning to trust You. The more we experience together, the more I see Your power in it.”

Dog Story Number 3

When I was studying at a Christian college, my friends and I formed a close-knit group of twelve people. We were called “God’s team.”

After we finished studying there, we did not see one another for some time, so we decided that it was time to meet again. But I learned that Kathy, who had belonged to our group, was living with a man and had turned away from God.

I said, “Let’s invite her to our gathering and encourage her to renew her friendship with God.” When we did, she joyfully said, “Yes! I’ll come. It will be wonderful for us to be together again.”

We met in California at my grandfather’s house. It was wonderful. We sang hymns and shared our experiences. When it was time to rest, Kathy—the girl who had left God—said, “I’m going to take a little walk. It is a beautiful moonlit evening. I’ll be back shortly.”

When she said that, I thought it was an opportunity to talk to her. So I said, “Kathy, I’ll go with you.” And we began what became a walk lasting several hours.

We started sharing everything that had happened in our lives. After a while Kathy said, “I have to tell you about my new boyfriend. We are together now. He is so wonderful. I would like you to meet him. He is one of the best students at the university, and every girl would like to be with him.”

I said, “Yes, Kathy, I’m sure he is. In fact, he must be more extraordinary than Jesus.” “What do you mean?” she asked. I replied, “Didn’t you leave Jesus for this man?” “I’m not going to give him up!” she said. “He is too wonderful to me and I love him too much.” “All right,” I said.

We continued walking until suddenly we heard a huge dog barking. As it came closer, we heard it barking louder and louder. Seeing this, Kathy hid behind my back and watched the dog from behind me.

When the dog was already very close, not knowing what to do, I instinctively said, “In the name of Jesus Christ, calm down!”

At that moment the dog suddenly twisted in mid-air, turned around and ran all the way back home whimpering.

Kathy jumped out from behind me and said, “I have never seen anything like that in my entire life!” “And I have never done anything like that in my life!” I replied.

“Kathy, why do you think God performed that miracle?” She thought for a moment and said, “I know why. Just like that dog, I also ran away from home and was running towards destruction. And in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I now have to turn around and go back home.”

Then Kathy and I knelt together on the dirty road, where she once again gave her heart to Jesus. When she returned home, she told her boyfriend, “You have to leave. Jesus has come back into my life.”

God has wonderful methods, and with power He teaches us His lessons. When we do different things together with God, something extraordinary begins to happen.

Learning From Other Christians

One of the things that helped me learn to trust God was observing other Christians. I remember one such experience that made a deep impression on me. It happened not long before I became a Christian.

My aunt was one of the people in charge of the Miss America pageant. Because of that, I had the privilege of escorting Miss America. It was quite an exciting experience.

Because I was not a Christian at that time, I took part in all the parties and receptions. My friends and cousins were very envious. They were excited by the fact that I was with a former Miss America.

But although she was very beautiful, and although being in the immediate surroundings of Miss America—with the press and television—was a very exciting experience, Christian women possessed something that even Miss America did not have.

Diana and the Beauty of a Christian

I am thinking especially of a certain young woman devoted to Christ whom I met at a reception. Her name was Diana. During that reception she was sitting at the piano. I will never forget it. I could not take my eyes off her. There was a kind of radiance about her.

Her eyes shone in a way I had never seen before, not even in Miss America. As I kept staring at her, I thought it would be good to become acquainted with her. So I asked my friend to introduce us.

We began talking and got to know each other a little. There was something special about her to me, especially because at that time I did not know many girls who were Christians. I chose my words very carefully and finally asked whether she would go out with me. She agreed, and we arranged a time to meet.

But when I was about to leave for our date the next morning, I discovered that my car had broken down. So I phoned her and said, “Diana, we have to cancel our date because my car has broken down.” But she said, “That’s all right. I’ll come and pick you up in my car.”

“Oh no!” I thought. “She is going to have to meet my roommates!”

They were very wild fellows. They smoked heavily and drank alcohol. Their language was rough.

I put down the phone and said, “Listen, you punks, you have to behave! A girl who is a Christian is coming here in a moment. No bad language, and I don’t want to see any alcohol here.” “Okay, Paul.” “I’m begging you—behave. She really is a very special girl.”

“Paul,” they replied, “not long ago you were with Miss America. How can some girl be special compared with her?”

Soon Diana arrived. But as she came up the stairs, we could hear a strange knocking sound. “Paul,” my roommates asked, “what is that strange noise?” “Quick!” I answered. “That’s Diana! Be quiet and behave.” “But what is that knocking?” “Ah,” I said, “I forgot to tell you. Diana had polio and she wears metal braces on her legs.” “Polio?” they said. “Steel braces?”

A moment later Diana knocked at the door. I opened it and invited her inside.

It was as though the sun had entered the room.

My roommates looked at one another and then at me. Their jaws dropped in amazement, just as mine had when I first saw her.

I went into the kitchen for a moment. My roommates followed me and said, “Hey, doesn’t she have a sister?” “I don’t know,” I said. “I’ll find out later, but right now Diana is with me.”

The Inner Beauty That Comes From God

Christians have something special within them. They really do.

Because when you learn to trust God, when you communicate with Him through prayer, and when you study His Word, people will see something special in you—something that even Miss America does not have.

That inner beauty can come only from God. Trusting God will give you beauty and joy that you will find nowhere else in the world. You will find it only in the heart of a Christian—someone who truly knows Jesus because every day he or she spends time with God.

Such a person looks to Jesus and comes to know Him through His Word, and witnesses about Him in every aspect of life—through the voice, the expression on the face, and the way other people are treated.

It is something wonderful, and it can become your experience too, if you learn to trust God every day of your life.

A Divine Appointment on an Aeroplane

I remember one time in particular, I was heading for college from Alaska to go down to Washington. Back in the ’60s, when you got on the airplane, there was no assigned seating, for those of you who remember. You just sat wherever you wanted. I would always try to be one of the last to get on, because when I got on the plane, I would look around to see if there were any young ladies sitting by themselves. I got on the flight that evening, and back on the left-hand side next to the window, there was a young lady sitting by herself. So, I worked my way to the back, came upon her, and said, “Is anybody sitting here?” She said, “No.” I said, “Do you mind?” She said, “Go ahead.” I sat down, and we began our three-and-a-half-hour flight from Anchorage to Seattle.

We barely got into the air, and she started sharing with me about her love for God. I thought, “Oh, great, I got a Jesus freak.” That’s what we called them back in the ’60s. I said, “Well, I’m not opposed to that. That’s not what I had in mind, but I’ll go ahead and listen to her.” As we began to land at Seattle Airport, she said, “Paul, there’s a couple of things I must share with you, because I may never see you again.” I said, “Okay.” “First of all, I am scared to death to witness, but I made God a promise that if He would bring somebody into my path, I would share my faith. When I got on this jet this evening, I sat down beside this window and prayed: ‘Father in heaven, if there’s somebody on this flight that needs to know the saving blood of Jesus Christ and the power of the cross…’ Before I finished that prayer, a voice interrupted. I looked up, and it was you. So, you and I have a divine appointment this evening.” I said, “Okay.”

She said, “Secondly, I believe one day you’re going to become a Christian. I can tell by your excitement, by your enthusiasm, and by your joy that God is going to fulfill that when He comes into your life.” I said, “Yeah, you all say that: ‘You’re going to become a Christian, you’re going to be one of us.'” She said, “No, no, no, I believe you’re going to become a Christian one day, and when you do, I’m going to tell you now, there’s going to be one thing you’re going to regret.” I said, “One? I could tell you a half a dozen right now: I can’t smoke this, I can’t drink this, I can’t go there, I can’t do that.” She said, “No, no, no, there’s only going to be one thing you’re going to regret.” I said, “Well, lay it on me. I’ll tell you if you’re right or wrong.” “Paul, the one thing that you’re going to regret when you finally become a Christian is that you didn’t do it sooner.” And you know, she was absolutely right. The only thing I ever regretted was that I wasted the first 23 years of my life destroying not only myself, but everyone around me.

The “Love Me” Game and a Near-Fatal Overdose

I was involved in a very pathetic little game. Some of you may know this game; some of you may still be playing the game. I call it the “Love Me” game, and it goes something like this: “Hi, my name is Paul, and I want to have lots of friends. So, I’ll smoke what you smoke, I’ll drink what you drink, I’ll wear what you wear, I’ll listen to what you listen to, and I’ll go where you go. Just love me, be my friend, I want to have lots of friends.” I got pretty good at the game. I had a lot of so-called friends, but this game nearly cost me my life, and I’m going to share that with you right now.

I was living in Tucson, Arizona, which is just over the Mexican border. My roommate had gotten some marijuana in from Mexico, and unbeknownst to me, it was laced with angel dust. Now, it was not one of God’s angels; it was a fallen angel, also known as PCP. It’s actually an elephant tranquilizer, and it can tranquilize humans to a dead stop. After a couple of hits of this marijuana, my system started to go crazy, and I got scared. I left the party, went back into my bedroom, and pulled up on the bottom drawer because I remembered what I had shoved down there: a Bible. This is where you go when you’re in over your head.

I laid down on the bed with the Bible against my chest. I knew I was dying; my system was shutting down. As my eyes got heavier and heavier, I had one last prayer: “God, if you’re real, if there really is a heaven, and there really are angels, then let me live to see the morning sun. But if there’s no God, no heaven, no angels, and all of this is a fairy tale, then I’ll just die tonight and it won’t make any difference. But if by chance you’re real, and you let me live to see that morning sun, I promise to find you.” My eyes finally closed for what I thought was the very last time.

I was unconscious for hours, and then I woke up, Bible still against my chest. Brothers and sisters, I believe the reason I stand here today is because of the power that this book represents. As I began to gather my thoughts, I remembered that last prayer: “God, if you’re real, let me live to see the morning sun.” I reached behind me where the curtains were, and I pulled the curtains open. The glory of God shot across that room, and I began to laugh and cry at the same time. I said, “God, you’re real! There really is a heaven, there really are angels! You’ve let me live to see the morning sun, and now I’m going to find you!”

Searching for God

But I didn’t know how. So, I walked out into the living room, and I opened up the Yellow Pages in the phonebook under “Churches.” There was no listing for “God,” and so every Sunday I went to a different church. I was going to start with Assembly of God and go all the way to Zion Lutheran Church if I had to. Every Sunday, I would go to a church, sit in the back, and listen—10 minutes, 20, 30. I’d say, “No, He’s not here. I know when He’s here; He came into my room.” Next Sunday, I’d go to another church. Next time, another church. I kept scratching them out of the phonebook. Months went by. The Lord wanted to see that I was very determined.

Now granted, I was doing all the things that were not best for me. I was still going to nightclubs, but I was not drinking alcohol—that’s another story. God takes us a step at a time, right? I was getting to bed by midnight, which was good for me—four o’clock was usually my check-in time. Yes, I was a life insurance agent at the time, and I lived in a very plush condominium called The Apple. Interestingly enough, we had sand volleyball courts, jacuzzis, saunas, whirlpools, wine and cheese parties—you name it. Everything prodigal sons love, only this was a very fancy pigpen.

That fall, I was supposed to go back to Atlantic City with my aunt. My aunt was one of the directors for the Miss America Pageant, and she said, “When you start getting into your 20s and I see you’re ready, I’m taking you to Atlantic City with me, and I’m going to introduce you to all my director and producer friends in Hollywood. You’re going to be a celebrity; I have no question in my mind you are going to be a star.” The Lord knew that, and the Lord knew this was the year. So, in order to prevent that from happening, He let me experience what was going to be out there, and that was the overdose.

Finding Biblical Truth

So, every Sunday, month after month: different church, different church. One day, I came home to the swinging-singles pigpen where I lived, stepped inside the center courtyard, and saw there was a brochure on everybody’s door except mine. The devil was still busy! So, I figured it was time and place for a party, so I went to the neighbor’s door and stole his brochure. I opened it up and saw, “Well, this is a big, fancy, four-colour brochure, and it’s talking about Bible subjects.” I knew this wasn’t the corner church photocopying them in black and white; this was part of a chain, a franchise. So, I thought, “Which one is this?” Because I had already scratched the numbers out of the telephone book. But there was no name on it, so I called them up on the phone and said, “What denomination are you?” She said, “Oh, we’re just a God-fearing church.” I said, “I know you all say that. I’m checking you out, you’re not checking me out. I want to know what denomination you are.” She said, “Why don’t you just come one night to the crusade? If you don’t like it, you never have to come back again.” “Are you Jehovah’s Witnesses?” “No.” “I’ll come.”

And so, I went to the crusade, and I sat in the back as usual. For the first time, this preacher was opening up the Bible and allowing the Bible to explain itself wherever he went—Old Testament, New Testament. Wow, this was good! 20 minutes went by, 30, an hour, two hours. I came back the next night, and the next night. It was the beginning of a five-week crusade. By the third week, I was halfway up to the front. This was good, this was solid—man, was that great! On that fifth and final week, I was in the front row, paper and pen flying everywhere. I couldn’t believe what I was learning.

Chris McDaniel: Love, Loss and Grief

But on that last week, he brought up a subject I could not accept. He was wrong, and I had proof. Now, for you to understand why I knew he was wrong, I have to take you back to my senior year of high school. We went to a large high school of about 900 students. At the beginning of every school year, all of us guys were walking around on our tiptoes, looking over the new crop of girls that showed up during the summer. I was heading up that north hallway, and a young lady was walking toward me with long brown hair, bright blue eyes, a spring in her step, and a sparkle on her face. As soon as she passed, I followed. I wrote down her room number, ran back to my class, ran back to where I left her, and wrote down her next room number. Well, in two days, I had her whole schedule!

Now, how am I going to meet her? Because I’m a very shy person by nature. God gave me holy boldness, but before that, I was very painfully shy. So, I kept asking around, “Has anybody seen this girl? Long brown hair, bright blue eyes.” Carrie said, “I think I know who you’re talking about.” I said, “Show me. Is that her?” She said, “Yes.” “Introduce us!” So she did. “Chris McDaniel, this is Paul Volk. Paul Volk, this is Chris McDaniel.” Wow, now she knows my name!

So, I would deliberately walk around that school to make sure I was heading in the opposite direction that I knew she had to go. As she was walking toward me, I’d be walking down the hall real cool and say, “Hi, Chris!” She’d say, “Hi, Paul!” And my heart would pound. A few weeks went by, I built up my courage, and I asked her out for a date. She said no. I said, “That’s okay, she knows my name.” A few more weeks went by, I built up my courage again, and asked her out a second time. She said no. You know the feeling! I said, “Well, looks like we’re not going to the prom together.” A few more weeks went by, I built up my courage again, and asked her out a third time. She said no. Strike three, you’re out!

But a few days later, the girl who introduced us said, “Hey, I hear you’ve been asking that Chris McDaniel girl out.” I said, “Oh man, don’t tell anybody! I’m so embarrassed. I got the picture—she doesn’t want to go out with me.” She says, “No, no, no, you know what you’re doing wrong?” “What do you mean?” She said, “You’re asking her for the coming weekend.” I said, “Of course!” She said, “Paul, she’s booked. Every guy on campus is asking her out. You need to pick something farther ahead.” I said, “No, I can’t do it again. Three times, that’s enough.” She says, “No, no, no, ask her one more time, but farther ahead.” I said, “Are you sure?” She said, “We girls talk!”

So, I went home, pulled out my calendar, and picked something one month away: November 11th. I went to school that next day and said, “Chris, there’s this big event going on over at West High School on November 11th. I wonder if you’d like to go?” And she said yes! I got ahold of Mickey and Sheila, and I said, “You’ve got to double date with us on this. There’s got to be four of us. I don’t want to be doing… I can’t do all the talking. You’ve got to do some of the talking too!” Before, I was talking… Can you come with us? “Calm down, Paul. Calm down, calm down. Yes, we’ll double date with you.”

So, I had one month to iron my socks, grow my pimples, and get ready for the event on November 11th! The day arrived, and I was so excited. We went over to West High School. Halfway through, we went to a restaurant to get something to eat. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, Mickey and Sheila jumped out of the car, and they raced to see who was the first one to get to the front door of the restaurant. I saw what was going on, and I said, “Wait a minute!” So, I jumped out and started running as fast as I could to catch up to them. Then I realized Chris was still coming. I said, “Come on, Chris, hurry up!” And she started running to catch up. I held out my hand, she slipped her little hand into mine, and my feet didn’t touch the ground the rest of the day!

And yes, we went to the prom together. This was my senior year; she was two years behind me, a sophomore. Because I was graduating and going away to college, we decided that we would keep a long-distance relationship. She said, “You know, next year I’m going to be a junior, and I’ll be eligible to try out for cheerleading.” I said, “Okay.” She said, “Do you mind if I try out?” And I said, “Sure, why not?” Well, some guys don’t want their girlfriends being cheerleaders because they’re jealous, insecure, or possessive. I said, “900 students, what were her chances?” We only had six varsity cheerleaders. Well, she tried out, and she made the squad! She became one of our six varsity cheerleaders. I was happy for her.

I took off to college. I’d come home in the wintertime at Christmas, and we’d spend the holidays together. Then I’d be back to college. Then she said, “You know, next year is my senior year.” She had already been accepted on full scholarship at a private university—she was very intelligent. She said, “Would it be okay if I tried out for cheerleading again? I really had a lot of fun last year.” I said, “Sure, go ahead.” She did, and this time she not only made the squad, she became the captain—our head varsity cheerleader.

Now every year, we always send our head cheerleader to a camp in California, where thousands of cheerleaders from all over the country come to order the new uniforms and learn the jumps, flips, and yells they’re going to be doing. So, as our captain, she went down to cheerleading camp. I was off to college. I came back home at Christmas time. I remember we were walking down the hallway, and we passed by the trophy case where all the awards and other items were. I was looking at the case, and all of a sudden, I saw a gold baton laying sideways, and her name was engraved on that baton. I said, “Chris, what is your name doing on this baton?” She looked and went, “Oh, that’s nothing. Come on, let’s go.” I said, “No, wait a minute, what is this about? I don’t know anything about this. What is it?” She went, “It’s really not anything, let’s just go.”

So, I grabbed one of the other students and said, “Hey, what’s Chris’s name doing on this baton?” And he said, “Well, didn’t you know? She went to cheerleading camp this year.” I said, “Yeah, she’s our head cheerleader.” “Well, it was there that she was voted the Most Outstanding Cheerleader in the United States!” She never told me that! Do you know why? She was a very humble girl. She said, “You know, we all had fun. They were just really nice to me. Now, come on, let’s go.”

Well, I realized this was the girl that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I wanted her to be the mother of my children. In fact, I had the names of the first two already picked: if it was a boy, he would be Christopher Michael; if it was a girl, Christine Michelle. If the next was a boy, he would be named Robert James, and then she could name all the rest.

So, I was back at college. It was now the first week in March, and I was preparing for some final exams. The telephone rang. It was a friend from back home in Alaska. We talked for a few moments, and she said, “Has anybody from up here called you in the last 24 hours?” I said, “Well, no, I was just home for Christmas, so nobody needed to call.” She said, “Haven’t you heard about the accident?” I said, “Was anybody hurt?” She began to cry. I said, “Chris is all right, isn’t she? Just tell me Chris is all right.” She began to cry some more. She said, “Three of our cheerleaders were coming home from a wrestling tournament, and there was a drunk driver… a head-on collision. Gloria and Cheryl died last night, and I’m sorry to tell you, Chris is also dead.”

I said, “No, no, you get her to the hospital! You can’t give up on her; the doctors can do something. You just get her to the hospital, just take her there!” “I’m sorry, Paul. All three cheerleaders died in a head-on collision.” I said, “You don’t understand!” “I’m sorry, they’re gone.”

I’ll never get to hold my little Christine Michelle. I’ll never get to see my Robbie boy grow up. Because some young person decided they could drink and drive, three girls never got to graduate, never got to have their families. Now you know one of the reasons why I go into the high schools and colleges and talk about drugs and alcohol—because if I prevent somebody else from going through what I had to go through, these girls would not have died in vain.

I dropped out of college and flew home to the funeral of the three girls. After the funerals were over, my parents asked me what I wanted to do, and I said, “Nothing. My life is finished. I have no more plans, I have no more future.” My parents gave me the credit cards, and they said, “You just go where you need to go and do what you need to do, however long you have to.”

So, I flew down to Arizona to stay with some friends of mine. I was there for about two weeks, and suddenly I was awakened in the middle of the night. There was a pink, swirling light that filled my room, and I sat up in bed trying to see where this was coming from. Now, Chris’s casket was a pink, crushed-velvet casket. This was the same color swirling in my room. Suddenly, in the far corner of the room, a white ball of light appeared. I rubbed my eyes and looked very carefully. This small white ball of light began to slowly move to the very center of the room, and as it did, it got larger and larger and larger. And then it stopped.

Suddenly, silver lines began to shimmer up and down inside that ball, and it began to take shape. Suddenly, there was my little cheerleader. I was so happy! I remember walking across the cold floor in my bare feet. I put my arms around her waist, she put her arms around my neck, she kissed me here, and she said, “Please don’t cry anymore. I’m all right.” All three cheerleaders made numerous visits to family and friends with the same message: “We died so suddenly in the car accident, God gave us special permission to come back to our loved ones and say goodbye.”

Truth About Death and the Resurrection Hope

And now, three years later, I’m sitting on the front row of this crusade, and this preacher is trying to tell me the dead know not anything! I said, “Preacher, you know not anything! I have proof, and so do a lot of other people.” And so I had a struggle, I had a decision to make: do I accept what this Word is teaching, or do I go by my own experience? Satan knew that if I went by my experience, he had me, because I had no book to guide me through this life. So, I prayed, I struggled, and I realized that was not Chris who came to visit me—that was a demon. I know now that she’s asleep, waiting for that resurrection morning, and I know that she’s going to come up out of that grave. You see, she was supposed to have gotten baptized at the end of March, but on March 6th, she took her rest in Jesus. So, I’m looking forward to that resurrection morning, as you are also, to once again see your loved ones and your family.

Now, this was a special event that occurred at her 30-year reunion. I went to all of her reunions because, of course, I knew all her classmates. I’d been to the 10th, been to the 20th. On the 30-year reunion, Gwen told me, “Paul, we’re going to do something special this year that we’ve never done before.” I said, “What are you going to do?” “We’re going to go visit the gravesites of all the cheerleaders.” I said, “Whoa, that’s going to be a little tough.” She said, “I know, but we’ve decided we need to go see the girls one more time.” I said, “Okay.” And she says, “I’m going to ask you a special favor.” “What’s that, Paul?” “Some of our classmates still aren’t saved. They don’t know Jesus, and I want you to speak on behalf of Chris. This will be the last opportunity Chris will have to invite her classmates to accept Jesus as their personal Savior.” I said, “Gwen, I don’t know if I can do that.” She said, “You have to do it for her. Do it for Chris.”

So, I prayed about it, and I said, “Okay, we’ll do this.” I ordered cases of *Steps to Christ*, and when we got there to her gravesite, we were singing the songs from the ’60s: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and all those memorable songs that we had. Gwen tapped him: “Now tell them.” So, I stood up in front of those classmates—kids I’d known since I was 15, 16 years old—and I said, “You know, we went to the 10-year reunion, it was great. The 20th was a lot of fun. And now here we are at 30. But there is a reunion coming, my friends, that is going to be grander than all the reunions we’ve ever been to. This little girl is going to come up for that reunion, and she wants to see every one of you ready for Jesus when we get together for the greatest reunion of all. That’s why I brought this book, *Steps to Christ*, to help you take your steps to Christ, so that together as a class, we will find ourselves in the Kingdom of Heaven.” So, I’m looking forward to that day, and I know many of you are as well.

Why I Became a Seventh-day Adventist

Well, as a new Adventist Christian, my family had a lot of questions: “Why another church in our house?” and “Why Seventh-day Adventist?” That’s a good question; it’s a fair question—one I might ask some of you this morning: Why are you a Seventh-day Adventist? I have two reasons. Number one: it has given me the clearest picture of God and His character according to the Bible. If you have a clear picture of God and His character, you have my undivided attention—I want to know God. The second reason why I’m a Seventh-day Adventist Christian is because it has brought the power of the Holy Spirit into my life to help me be the Christian man that God wants me to be. If you can help me have more of this Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit in my life, I’m listening. I want to know God, and I want to be the man He wants me to be.

At the end of that crusade, I received the most important document that I possess. Of all the awards, honors, and recognitions I’ve received in my 72 years of life, this is the most important document that I possess: it’s my baptismal certificate. I believe my guardian angel placed a copy of this at the throne of God on the day I was baptized.

Well, I said, “Lord, this looks really clear, but I don’t know these people real well yet. Maybe they do something kind of goofy once in a while.” I found out you did, but that was beside the point! I said, “Lord, before I start running around and telling everybody about this, I’m going to give you a test. Gideon gave you a test; it’s my turn. I’m going to give you a test, and here it is: I’m going to share this message with four people.” Obviously, God put it on my heart which four, because He knew who was ready: my grandparents and my two sisters I went to high school with. “Lord, I’m going to share this with them, and if this is the clearest picture of You there is, I want all four baptized within one year. If they do not accept it, I’ll keep searching, because we know being a Seventh-day Adventist is not what saves us.” Are we clear on that? It’s your relationship with Jesus Christ, because Jesus said, “Other sheep I have that are not of this fold,” in other churches, that love God. And so, I shared this with all four of them, and obviously, you know what happened: within a year, all four were baptized!

Testing the Message

And I said, “Wow, Lord, that’s pretty good—four out of four! But I did notice Gideon tested you twice, so I want one more. I promise, no more after that. No more, just one more. And here it is… This is the test: I want someone from another faith, another denomination, to tell me that I have found Jesus as a Seventh-day Adventist.” Big order! Well, I could keep you here all night. One was a professor at the Mormon Institute of Religion at the University of Arizona, but we don’t have time for that one because we’re already at 12:20. But I will tell you this one.

I had worked for Nordstrom several times because it pays very well. We not only get a salary, but we get a percentage of what you buy, so I’m going to sell you everything from rug cleaners to… anyway! I was working at Nordstrom several times, and I was working this time during the holiday season, which is great because you guys buy lots of presents. Anyway, it was back in the days when you could smoke. Now that I was an Adventist, I didn’t like cigarette smoke. So, whenever a customer would come up to me, I would ask them to kindly put their cigarette on the ashtray, and then I would slide the ashtray and the cigarette far away, and then I’d come back.

Unexpected Encounter at Nordstrom

This lady came in puffing away. She came up to me, and I said, “Hello, welcome to Nordstrom. How can I help you today?” She says, “Oh, I would like…” I said, “Oh, just a second. Before you start, would you mind putting your cigarette on the ashtray while I wait on you?” She says, “No, that’s fine.” She put it down, and I dutifully set this ashtray and the cigarette down. She said, “Oh, cigarette smoke must bother you.” I said, “Yes, I understand it’ll kill you.” She laughed and she says, “Oh, I take it you don’t smoke?” And I said, “Oh, I used to. I used to do all kinds of stuff. I took drugs, I used to eat dead animals.” But I said, “My whole life has changed.” She says, “Really?” I said, “I get to bed by midnight, I don’t drink anything that bubbles…” She goes, “Really?”

I started telling all these health things, and she says, “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” “Sure, go ahead.” She said, “Are you a Christian?” “Am I a Christian? I’m a born-again, baptized Seventh-day Adventist! I am so excited about my walk with God, understanding His character and His principles, His guidelines in the Bible.” I told her my mother… my father was a Catholic, my mother was a Methodist, my brother was a Mormon, and I went to Baptist Bible school. She said, “I have to ask you another personal question.” I said, “Sure, go ahead.” She said, “Why did you leave the Mother Church?”

Whoa! What does a brand-new baby Adventist tell a Catholic? “The Beast”? No, I didn’t do that! I said, “There are some things that I found contrary to the catechism and Scripture.” She says, “Really? Like what?” I said, “The Bible says, ‘You shall call no man father, save your Father which is in heaven.'” She said, “What else?” I said, “A priest can’t say ‘Ego te absolvo’ or forgive my sins; only Jesus can forgive my sins.” She said, “What else?”

I talked with her for another half hour. She said, “Paul, you have been so open and honest with me. It is my turn now to share with you.” I said, “Okay.” Turns out she was visiting her sister for the Christmas holidays. She was from Europe—Italy, Vatican City. “Paul, I am the most powerful woman in all of Roman Catholicism. I serve on the National Council of Judaica at the Vatican, and I teach the Roman Catholic priests at the Gregorian Pontifical University. And I want to tell you something: you know God. The wisdom you have shared with me in this time together is far beyond your young years to have acquired. You have had an encounter with the Almighty. I would love to take you back to the Vatican with me.” I said, “I’m a Protestant!” She said, “I want my priests to meet you. I want them to see what it looks like when someone has had an encounter with the Almighty. Paul, I agree with everything you’ve told me.” I said, “What?” She says, “At the Vatican, I call no man father, and when I kneel down at night, I ask Jesus to forgive me of my sins, because you’re right: he has no authority to forgive me of my sins.”

I said, “I don’t understand.” She said, “Listen carefully. I can tell by your boldness and your wisdom, God is going to put you on the front line, and you have a very exciting life ahead of you.” Little did I know how prophetic her statement was! According to my frequent flyer miles with United, Delta, Air France, and Lufthansa, I have already flown over 500,000 miles, and it’s 45 countries I’ve been to. Actually, being on satellite, I’ve been to the whole world, haven’t I? I just haven’t been to countries I’ve been to… figure that one out!

She said, “Paul, I’m going to work quietly behind the scenes now, but one day I too will have to take my stand, and when I do, I’m going to join you.” Now she’s out there waiting, along with the rest of God’s children. And you know what they’re waiting for? They’re waiting for you and I to fall so hopelessly, helplessly, desperately in love with Jesus that when they come in, they don’t hear the gossip, the criticizing, the complaining, the compromise—they see Jesus high and lifted up. They’re waiting. And we’re told that when they come in, a number of us are going out. That means you or the person sitting next to you right now this morning may be gone in the next couple of years—myself included—if we don’t stay close to Jesus, because they’re coming. They’re coming! Amen.

I said, “Okay, Lord, boy, did you send me somebody from another church! I got it, I got it!”

I’ve discovered in my travels that in every church, there are about four groups of Adventists: we’ve got “Bad-ventists,” we’ve got “Mad-ventists,” we’ve got “Sad-ventists,” and we have that one little group left called the “Glad-ventists.” They have us outnumbered, but not overpowered, because the Glad-ventists are the ones who have the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Four Kinds of Adventists

So, how do you become a Glad-ventist? How do you stay a Glad-ventist? For myself, I have discovered that there are three things that were most critical for me to be and stay a Glad-ventist. Number one, most important, hands down: a daily devotional life. A Bible that’s falling apart belongs to someone who isn’t. This book will keep you from sin; sin will keep you from this book. Daily devotions! Second thing most critical: I needed to share what I learned from that—amen—to witness. And the third thing was I needed to learn how to clean house. This body is sacred ground: God’s temple. As sacred as this room is, even though I grew up in a medical family—my mother was a nurse—I was not taking care of this temple. And so, I needed to learn a whole new way of living, so that I could be healthy, happy, and holy for heaven, instead of sick, sad, and sinful with Satan—God’s 4-H Club, yes!

Three Essentials for a Joyful Christian Life

Now, when I started making some of these lifestyle choices, my mother, the nurse, was getting upset. She said, “Honey, you’ve eliminated one of the four food groups!” And I said, “No, I’ve eliminated one of the toxic groups.” That’s when I quit meat. Then, when I quit dairy, that was scary for her. She said, “Son, you’ve eliminated two of the four food groups!” And I said, “No, Mom, I’ve eliminated two of the toxic groups. I still have four food groups: fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetables.” Now granted, my people, Adventists, have a fifth one—it’s called dessert, yes!

Learning to Care for God’s Temple

So, I would have to have a blood panel done every year and have it sent directly from the clinic to her house, so that I wouldn’t erase or mark it up. Well, I guess she finally decided I was going to survive.

Now, when I went to London, I was there for three months. By the way, you have a lot of names around here… As I was coming in from London, England, I saw you had Piccadilly Circus and Prince Philip—was it? Is that who you got here? Anyway, I thought, “Wow, there’s a lot of British influence in this area.” But when I got there, Enton Hall Medical Center called me up. This is run by Adventists; it’s a place outside of London where royalty go. I mean, kings, dukes, and duchesses from all over the world come to this place. They grow all their own food around the complex—it’s unbelievable. There was an African prince when I was there, and they told him he could only bring two of his wives, not all 15 of them!

Results of a Vegan Lifestyle

Anyway, when I got there, they rang me on the telly and said, “Mr. Volk, is it true you’ve been a vegan for 10 years?” And I said, “Yes, it is.” “Oh good, we’d like you to come down for some testing.” And I said, “Why?” They said, “We’ve never had a 10-year vegan.” I was Freak of the Week! So, they said, “You just put on your runners and some shorts, and we’re going to hook you up to some electrodes, and we’re going to find out what you’re on about.” And I said, “Well, how much does this cost?” “Well, it’s 150 pounds British sterling, but for you, it’s free because we got one! Now we got one!”

So, I got down there and I got on this treadmill, and they had all these monitors on me. It went into the computer, and some of you may have had a treadmill test. How many of you have had them? You know what happens every three minutes, don’t you? It goes faster, and it tips up higher, and you have to stay on this until you’re 30 seconds before you’ll stop. You say, “30 seconds,” and then they finish off.

This document was the result of that test. Now, I don’t know if you can see the print, but on the bottom right, it said: “High Category of Fitness.” And they said, “Mr. Volk, it’s impossible for you to have done this.” And I said, “Why?” They said, “Only Olympic athletes score this high.” And I said, “Really?” They said, “You’ve got to be the best of the best.” And I said, “Well…” And they said, “Well, quite frankly, you’re too old.” I said, “I’m too old?” When I took this test, I was 35 years old. They said, “Somebody your age doesn’t score this high.” And I said, “Well, they do now!”

And as I already mentioned to you, I’m 72 now. I still feel as I did when I was in college. Life is still an adventure for me. Things are exciting—I like to go places, see things, do things. I mean, I’m just a Type-A personality, full of the Holy Spirit, on fire for the Lord, and I just can’t learn enough and give enough for my Lord Jesus Christ.

So, some people like to say, “Ah, Paul, you’re a health nut. You’re trying to eat your way to heaven.” Now, you can’t eat your way to heaven, even if it’s angel food cake. Devil’s food cake isn’t going to help—why do you think they call it devil’s food? That should be the clue! God said, “Could I make it any clearer? Devil! The eggs…” Okay, we got it, yes.

So, some people like to give the idea that, “Well, you’ve just got good genes.” How can you say that when you don’t know anything about my family tree? My mother, my father, and both of their parents were on heart and blood pressure medications by the time they were in their 40s. I’m the only one in my family anywhere that is not on prescription medications—other than my cousins, but they’re getting old enough now, they got it too. It’s unbelievable.

Family History, Lifestyle and Health

Now, my family happens to be very “fluffy,” too. If you see a family portrait, they point to me and say, “Who’s the adopted one?” So, my grandfather died at 320 pounds. My dad topped out at 280. He says part of the problem was my dad’s profession: he’s a cake decorator. Yes, of course—a lot of grease and sugar! My… actually, my dad is a very famous cake decorator. He’s decorated cakes for four American presidents. Here are two of his presidential cakes: on the top was Eisenhower, and believe it or not, that’s my father decorating a cake for John F. Kennedy here in Florida. Kennedy was coming here to speak, and if you look closely, you will see an alligator on that cake that my dad put for Florida. He also did cakes for President Johnson and President Truman.

Every five years in Germany, they have what’s called the World Culinary Olympics, where the best ice carvers, cake decorators, and chefs come to Germany—thousands from all over the world—to compete. My dad entered that contest several times, and he finally won his gold medal, recognizing him as the number one cake decorator in the world.

In 1976, America celebrated her 200th birthday. The State of California commissioned my father to make the biggest birthday cake in the world, and this three-story, 35,000-pound cake was what my dad made for the Bicentennial. This cake was not in our house, because had it been, my brother and I would have tried to eat it!

My brother, when we were in high school, played football. By his senior year, he was named All-State Tackle, which means you didn’t mess with him because he would eat you! But after high school, he wasn’t on the track anymore, he wasn’t working out anymore, but he kept eating the food he had learned to eat as a teenager—which is why it’s so important for us to get to the teenagers right now, plus their parents, because they buy the groceries. But my brother quit working out, kept eating the way he did, and he kept putting on weight. I took a photograph of my brother and his wife in front of the Christmas tree a number of years ago, and you cannot see the Christmas tree. Both of them weigh over 600 pounds apiece. She died at 620, and I think my brother topped out at 640 pounds. If you would have told them as teenagers, “This is what you’re going to look like as a full-grown adult,” they would have said, “No way, no way!”

But I can tell you people right now, when I go into the elementary schools, over half of those kids are on their way—they’re on their way. Obesity is rampant in our elementary schools. It’s tragic, it’s sad, and I don’t understand why we can’t stop it. We should be able to do it, but we’re not, and that makes me very sad.

So, what I’m telling you is: I don’t care what you inherited, I don’t care what your environment is—if you do the things that God asks you to do, you can reach your maximum capacity. Because good health is being able to use your mental, physical, and spiritual abilities to your maximum capacity, whatever that is. It’s a terrible thing to look back on your life and what you would have accomplished, what you could have achieved, but you didn’t because you made bad choices. Sometimes we make them out of ignorance—I did. Sometimes we make them out of rebellion—I did that, too.

Settled Determination to Prepare for Christ’s Return

So, hopefully we can learn how to do those things that God has asked us to do. I want to close now, getting back to my baptismal certificate. The reason that I’m here in Florida is because of number nine of my baptismal certificate. Number nine states: “I believe in the soon coming of Jesus as the blessed hope, and it is my settled determination to prepare to meet Him in peace, as well as to help others to get ready for that glorious appearing.”

Now, I am just as determined to help you to get ready as I am, and if you allow me that privilege and that opportunity, we can share, study, and fellowship together in Christ, and be the men and women God wants us to be in these final days. Thank you.

VIDEO – God’S Testimony