TheDrifter

00:10“People called you the drifter”

I was told that people called you the drifter. Why is that? Because I couldn't do anymore what God asked me to do. What was your solution? To leave, going away. Where did you go? It does not matter, wherever I can hide. How long will you hide? It does not matter, I don't care I can hide forever. So you don't have any feelings? Nothing. Nothing. I have zero desires. What is your plan? I don't have any. It does not matter.

00:55“Are you afraid of dying?”

Are you afraid of dying? No. I don't care. Are you sure? Are you sure? I hate God. I think I want revenge. Can I ask

01:08What really happened

you, what really happened to you? I was happy with my life. I thought I will have everything I wanted to have. I was doing everything God asked me to do, but he was becoming more and more difficult because of the rigorous demands of obedience to the letter. I felt trapped without any liberty and just forced to obey.

01:31Dreaming of independence

Then is when I began to dream with my independence and freedom and one day his demands were too much for me and I quit. I laughed loud, yelling, "Finally I am free to do whatever I want!" Immediately I began to do all the bad things I lived in restriction to do. So I thought I will do all that they told me not. It gave me pleasure, but more than anything I wanted to make it so clear to everyone that I was out. I did many things thinking that God will knew about it, and I thought this is my ultimate message of defiance. But it confused me that rather than enjoying it slowly, all those bad things began to bother me and made me more and more angry and cruel. What happened then?

02:17Then the nightmares began

Then is when my nightmares began. Unexpectedly, I began to have very strange dreams about my past life until the day when I went away. Those dreams were pointing more and more towards that day when I went away. I woke up sweating and breathing heavily and sometimes even crying.

02:38Numb and empty

How are things recently? Recently. I spent a lot of time alone in silence. I found myself staring at nothing with my eyes fixed on nothing without blinking. And perhaps I stopped breathing, and suddenly the wet tear going down through my cheek touches my lips, and when I taste the salt I shake my head and wake up. I am not taking good care of myself neither of my things. It seems like everything is falling apart. I basically do the very minimum with my responsibilities. I can't sleep in the night. I am so tired during the day. Nothing motivates me or inspires me, not even upset me because I am numb. I am so empty that it feels then the oxygen I breathe goes so slowly inside my lungs that it is like, "Shh!" if it's asking for permission to get in. What? I didn't say anything. I was just watching you. You looked like you were snoozing.

03:50“So you are a drifter?”

So you are a drifter? I guess so.

03:54“I'm tired and I want to come back”

But honestly, I'm tired and I want to come back. Really? That is great. Do you think it's possible? Yes, certainly. Do you think that I have any chance? Yes, of course. Okay, let's do it. What do I do?

04:14God is Almighty: He rules, we obey

You begin by understanding that God is Almighty. And He is in full control as King of the Universe. He rules. We obey. And that was the beginning of your problem. What do you think about that?

04:29Nothing good outside of Him

I always knew it. Even when I was really away, I knew that I was just hurting myself. But deep down, I wanted to hurt Him. I understand He rules and now I am okay with it because there is nothing good outside of Him. He really controls everything for real. I see that He is the King and He domains. I don't want to be away from Him because lacking His love is the worst thing anyone can experience. Especially when you know how it feels to dwell in His presence and you leave Him. I don't want that ever again. Very good. He is willing to have you back.

05:05Jonah, Adam, David

Can I tell you a couple of stories? Yes, please talk to me. Well, Jonah is one example of those. He was told to do something for God and He didn't do it. Adam is another story. David is another story different, but they are great stories. I know those are horrible stories, but beautiful at the same time.

05:30The son who left his father's house

But my favorite story is the son who left his father's house with money inherited while his dad was still alive. And he messed things up entirely. What is he? I was some kind of ungrateful child. I am okay just to be received as his slave.

05:51The father was waiting

No need because the father came to see you returning day after day until this day that you wanted to come back. And that is the most important thing.

06:15Someone told you about God

If you are a drifter, someone told you about God and the church when you were young. Where is that person now? Are they still alive or have they died? And if they have died, are they in heaven or in hell? What do you think? You know that many people don't think about those things. They just think whenever we die, that's it. There is nothing else. There is no afterlife.

06:48The immensity of the universe

So when you think about the immensity of the universe, all these galaxies, among the galaxies, one particular one, the Milky Way, and precisely there, this beautiful planet of ours, do you think that all this just happened to be because there is one creator? You know about that. Now let's talk about other things. It is time.

07:24The timeline, from Noah until now

When you think about what we know as facts, the flood with Noah, and then we hear about Abraham, David, the times of the Lord Jesus, the Roman Empire, and then even farther, would you think about empires like Napoleon, or the time when America became a country, Hitler until now, and the rest?

07:59The timeline is a mystery too

Do you realize that actually the timeline is a huge mystery as well? The universe is vast. We know that. In the timeline, moving back and forth with all these details, we know there has to be a God, an eternal God.

08:30People fight with God

Most of the time, what happens is people fight with God. Are you fighting with the Lord God? That is the reality of many individuals today. They fight. They have their own reasons. That's why they went away. Somehow they were connected, but they disconnected, and currently they fight, and that is what I am asking you. Are you in this fight with the eternal Almighty God?

09:12One day you will die

You realize that one day you will die. One day it's going to happen to you, and then here is the thing. What will you say that day to the eternal Almighty God? Would you say that because you were upset, you didn't want to go along with Him, with people, and that's why you abandoned everything?

09:45The house behind me

You see behind me this beautiful house. There are chairs, rocking chairs. There is a swing as well. But if you pay close attention, you will notice that there is a window where you can see through. Here is a bedroom.

10:14The kingdom of God is waiting

Drifters don't think too much about it, but the reality is that that house, that home, that family, the kingdom of God is there waiting for you to return.

10:35There is an end time

Regardless, there is an end times for you, for humans, and for Earth. You know that. Napoleon thought, "I'm going to be here doing whatever I want." Hitler thought the same thing. Many people, even good people. But there is a moment that is the end, and that is what I want you to think. When your end times come, my friend, what are you going to respond to the Lord God about your life?

11:14Eschatology: the study of the end times

According with the Bible, there are many things that are going to happen, not just to humankind, but to this planet. That is what we call, in biblical terms, eschatology, is the study of the end times. It's going to happen, my friend.

11:37Your personal response

But I'm asking about your personal response to the day when you will be in front of the eternal Almighty God. That is what I am truly asking. You know, my friend, that God,

11:57No sacrifices, no fees

He is not asking you to make sacrifices, to pay fees, or to do anything spectacular to prove you are special. That's not the case. You know what He is asking you?

12:19Just believe in Him

He is asking of you just to believe in Him. It's a simple thing. Believe in Him.

12:31Faith comes from the Word

And that requires faith. I have heard people saying to me, "I admire you that you believe such a thing." Like if it's something that I develop on my own, my ability to believe. And the truth is, faith comes every time I go to the Bible, or I hear the preaching or the teaching. That is the power of God. Faith is something amazing.

13:04When you believed

Perhaps you remember in some point in your life that you actually believed. You know, it's so cool when you believe and you have this certainty. God is with me. God is with me. Wherever I go, God is with me. Whatever I do, He hears me. Whatever I say, He is listening to me.

13:37Faith is invisible and powerful

Faith is that ability. It's this powerful energy if you allow me to use the expression. It's super powerful because it is invisible and nothing can stop it if you continue going to the source of faith. The Holy Scriptures, the Bible.

14:01Why we keep broadcasting

The Bible. That is one of the reasons why we are constantly broadcasting. We do it through our own website, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, Rumble, our four TV apps, Apple TV, Roku TV, Samsung TV, and Amazon Firestick TV.

14:24A friend and discipline

One day I was talking with one of my friends here in the city, and so he told me what I do. And I told him about my work as a preacher. And he said that, "So that's why you are so disciplined in your habits because I see you coming in and out of this building very methodically." And I said, "Yes, yes." And I told him, "You know, this is one of the things that I learned from my parents." He said, "You did?" "Oh, absolutely." And then I asked him, "Did you receive discipline from your parents?" He says, "Well, are you asking me how many times did I get beaten by my parents?" "Well, my momma did it until I couldn't grow. That's why I am so short." He said, "Actually, he's got a short guy, kind of cute to me." I told him, "You know, there are some things that I will suggest you to watch. He is not connected with any church. But like anybody else using their phone,

15:42Two messages to watch

he's watching stuff. I will suggest you, for example, these two messages that I have here with you. Unsubscribe Me and Social Exclusion. And here are the URLs for that matter. Of course, I have the QR code. If you want, if you're watching in a big TV, you can just use the QR code. But for those who are watching on a phone, the URL is important. So you go to ws.vchurch.us. And then you choose those messages. I would like to see you there.

16:21Supporting the ministry

For those who are already believers, those who are part of our ministry, I remind you the importance of continue supporting us. Here is the URL as well. vchurch.us/give. Because, you know, there are people who value what we do, and they keep helping us doing our job.

16:47Glad you were here

I am so glad that you were here with me today. And I wish that I will see you soon. Before I leave, I usually include a little humor here that maybe is not too funny for many. But here we go.

17:05A little humor

So I found this guy and I said, "Did you quit your job?" He says, "Well, no, no, I haven't. I just needed to get out earlier today." And I said, "Why is that?" "Well, I was tired." So I asked him, "What is the most challenging thing in your job?" And he said, "Getting up in the morning."

17:32Lazy drifters

You know that there are some drifters that they become extremely lazy. They don't want to do anything. So one day I was talking with one guy like that, and he said, "Well, you know what? In fact, actually I am studying something. I'm doing some research." I said, "Really?" "Well, not a formal research. I was reading an article." "Ah, okay." He says, "Well, no, actually I just saw a headline."

Transcribed from the video and lightly corrected. Spoken words are kept as Dr. Gian said them.