1 00:00:00,880 --> 00:00:03,200 In the name of the Father of the Son and the Holy Spirit, I mean 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:08,240 beloved priests, deacons, sub beacons, lectors, and the 3 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,200 faithful that are gathered here at this 38th annual Youth 4 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:13,400 Conference. Thank you for the invite. 5 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:15,000 It's a pleasure to be here with you all. 6 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:19,040 You get to know you all exchange stories and just see obviously 7 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:21,600 our brothers and sisters in Christ over here in the United 8 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,640 States for thank you. A few months ago, Robbie Gennard 9 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,880 reached out and asked if I'd be willing to give my testimony and 10 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:32,840 it was a very emphatic yes. For me, it always is. 11 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,760 And if ever I'm asked to give my testimony or share my journey 12 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:39,480 with people, whether it's 110, the church or with the school 13 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:43,080 back in Sydney, Australia, I always oblige and say yes. 14 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,800 And the reason for that is because as you can see, I don't 15 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:48,920 call it a testimony about myself. 16 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,520 Steve Moltata. I actually got a testimony about 17 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:55,280 God's purse, will and time because I worked through this 18 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,920 story, this journey about my life. 19 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,840 You'll see how God moves and how he plants seeds and how He wore 20 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:04,720 things. I, like you, want to reflect as 21 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:08,080 I speak tonight about your journeys of Christ, your walk 22 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:12,960 with God, your families, church, and how you are growing up here 23 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:17,720 in the United States of America. So that is my home. 24 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:21,840 Saint Peter and Paul Parish in Sydney, Australia is the place 25 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:25,120 in which I fell in love with the Church of the East and that is 26 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:29,560 me on the left hand side at my ordination last year, September, 27 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:31,840 into the rank of Sub Beacon Hupajapa. 28 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,360 I'll call it the second greatest day of my life. 29 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:38,760 The first thing my baptism and my wife and children come are 30 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,480 that the God comes first. But I'm sure she might be 31 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:43,400 impressed with that. But OK. 32 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:47,520 So my name is Stephen Khalil Murkova and for those of you who 33 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,040 speak Arabic, Murtada is not an Assyrian name because I'm not 34 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:53,360 Assyrian. I was actually born into a 35 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,840 Muslim family, so my mom and dad are both Islamic. 36 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:58,360 I was raised as a Muslim household. 37 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:01,960 My parents come from a Shia and Muslim background. 38 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:05,000 So you follow your father's footsteps and that's a Shia. 39 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,680 OK, so my journey though begins in 1969. 40 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:12,400 So for those of you who are good at mathematics, I can assure you 41 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:15,440 I'm not 60 years of age. That is the year my father came 42 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,200 out to Australia as a 19 year old man. 43 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:22,320 So for you in your youth now, you can imagine that your 44 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,440 mindset, you want to explore, you want to Kyle Finns. 45 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:28,760 And as I talk tonight, I want you also just bear in mind, I'm 46 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,040 going to mention a few things that as Christians we shouldn't 47 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:36,320 be doing, but I want to mention them so you understand that we 48 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:38,040 are presented with lights and death. 49 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,080 We have to achieve life, not a road that leads to destruction. 50 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,240 So my father came out when he was 19 to Australia or a 51 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:48,680 adventure, left his salmon pine and he fell in love with a 52 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,640 woman, an Australian woman. And he obviously with his life 53 00:02:52,640 --> 00:02:55,200 doing his things as an adolescent man. 54 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,080 Obviously we know that that is not right because, you know, she 55 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,160 become one flesh and they leave mother's house and father's 56 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:04,680 house. OK. 57 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:08,120 So he realized after a few years that she's been unfaithful to 58 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:12,080 it. And for my father, this meant 59 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,200 that all Australian women don't have a good moral. 60 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:22,080 And after that he actually went back to Lebanon and married my 61 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:25,000 mom, which is his first cousin, which is very customer. 62 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:29,400 And he brought my mom back to Australia and they were chalk 63 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:33,040 and cheese because my dad had assimilated into the Australian 64 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,040 way of living. So he went back and married my 65 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,960 mother, drove her back out to Australia and my father 66 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:42,520 assimilated into the country. My mother did lot. 67 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:46,800 She had that typical Muslim mentality, which was that it was 68 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,080 her nationality of being Lebanese, that Islam came first. 69 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,520 But the hypocrisy was that they didn't pray, they didn't fast. 70 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,880 I'd actually never set foot into a mosque until 2015. 71 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:04,280 In 1980, I came along and as you can see, I lived a pretty 72 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:07,040 average lifestyle. My mom and dad love me very 73 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,280 much. Photos and mindful birthdays are 74 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,000 all the same. Just as you explore and and and 75 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,760 celebrate. I had my cousins that were out 76 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:18,120 here with me, and I've got to tell you that Christ was 77 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:19,760 actually in my life from the very beginning. 78 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:22,680 From a young age, I used to celebrate Christmas. 79 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,200 I had a Christmas tree in my bedroom, but I didn't celebrate 80 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:27,800 Christmas with Christ in the picture. 81 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:30,040 It was just gift giving. Merry Christmas. 82 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:35,080 My friends were all Christian. My mom used to get angry because 83 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:36,400 she'd save you. Why don't you have Muslim 84 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:38,040 friends? Why don't you have Lebanese 85 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:39,320 friends? I did. 86 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,120 Predominantly. They were Crystal Islanders, 87 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:46,280 Vietnamese and my mum said to me when you grow up you'll marry a 88 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:49,480 Lebanese Muslim woman, which I did not. 89 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:51,960 I used to tell her that I'm going to marry an Australian and 90 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:56,600 it used to really grate her. The relationship with my father 91 00:04:56,600 --> 00:05:00,840 was amazing. For you who have siblings, think 92 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:02,600 of the things you do with your brothers and sisters. 93 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,160 That was my dad because I'm the only Charles I say wahid in in 94 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:09,640 Arabic. OK, so my dad was my brother and 95 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,360 everything that I did with him was amazing. 96 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,440 Sports Archive. I could confess in my father and 97 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:18,400 talk to him because he understood the Australian 98 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:20,320 culture. Whereas my mom, although she 99 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:21,680 loved me and I love her very much. 100 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:28,880 You know, we butted heads a lot. I never went to a mosque that 101 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:30,760 prayers that I learned were in scripture. 102 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:34,800 The sedpa, right? To those of you not buddy, it's 103 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:36,600 like a standard pray that you recite. 104 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,840 I never did the Ricard. I never prayed as Muslim pay. 105 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:45,520 In fact, how I used to pray was I'd say the Befetta and I used 106 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:49,600 to conversate with the Lord. I say Lord forgive my parents, 107 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,520 Lord forgive me. Well, bring my dad back from 108 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:57,600 work safely. As I became a teenager, I 109 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:02,400 started to put God to the side, which is synonymous with 110 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:07,040 Christians as well, but starts to take second say for some of 111 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:09,800 us. I used to start thinking, well, 112 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:14,240 does God really exist? If he does, why is there wars? 113 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:18,360 Why is there murder? Why is there all the error and 114 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:22,240 mistakes in the world? So I started from a young age of 115 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:26,720 teenage, you started to delve into like agnosticism, atheism. 116 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:34,240 And when I became a young an adult man in Australia at the 117 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:38,520 age of 18, when you can legally drink and go out and party, it's 118 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:42,280 exactly what I did. I rebel, but in the secular 119 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:45,640 world, it's celebrating, right? Because it's cool to go out and 120 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:48,480 get drunk or do drunks and party. 121 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:56,160 That's what I've been. 2001 comes along and just to give you 122 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,960 an insight into how I grew up, when the World Trade Centers got 123 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:03,080 attacked here in America, I woke up that morning to see my mom 124 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:06,840 yelling at the TV along the lines of Down with America, 125 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:11,960 cursing them, cursing the hue. So I grew up hating Israel. 126 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:15,200 I grew up hating the hallucination because you know, 127 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,720 as a young child you are a protest of your environment. 128 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:23,640 Lebanon is bordering Israel. So I had this hatred for him and 129 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,360 I actually I celebrated and enjoyed the Third Reich and he 130 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:33,040 that was my mind. So something else that happened 131 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:39,080 in 2001 is I met my wife Nick at my work and she's Australian. 132 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:41,160 And guess what? He's also a pre she. 133 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:43,920 So most people intend for like, give his testimony. 134 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:48,760 So that's why you convert it. Definitely not. 135 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:51,840 When I told my mom and dad that I'd met this woman and she was 136 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:55,440 Australian and she was a Christian, my dad's thoughts 137 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:57,680 were, well, he's having a bit of fun, it would be OK. 138 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,840 My mom was like, well, what's wrong with your own people and 139 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,560 your own stuff? So it started to take again was 140 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:06,960 fair. I was really close to my dad 141 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,200 growing up and I was right. She was starting to fracture. 142 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:15,440 When I brought her home and introduced her, things started 143 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:21,480 to go South and I decided to make a decision that if you 144 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:24,520 aren't going to accept my wife, I want nothing to do with you. 145 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,000 My pride, I was filled with pride. 146 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:31,080 So that's just stopped off from my parents for 13 years. 147 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,400 I said if you don't accept her, then I will not interview with 148 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:38,919 you. So red flag #2 I moved out with 149 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:41,440 my mom. Well, they don't do right as 150 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,560 Christians, even in Islam, we're not meant to do that. 151 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:50,080 But I did that. So I moved out, living life, 152 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:54,200 everything was grand. And then in 2006 I was to get 153 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,200 married. And my wife is an Anglican 154 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:02,120 Christian and I rang my dad. I've been writing letters to my 155 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:04,480 dad for several years since I moved out. 156 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:08,000 Trying to reconcile how to make peace never worked because it 157 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:13,640 always flash. I rang my dad and said look, I'm 158 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:16,680 getting married. And his first words were where? 159 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,480 And I said in the church because she's a Christian. 160 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:25,240 And his words were why of why are you giving up your faith to 161 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:29,560 be, you know, submitting to her and her purpose of Nissan? 162 00:09:30,680 --> 00:09:32,320 Where's the his hypothesis coming from? 163 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:33,680 Because you don't even practice real quick. 164 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:38,640 Why does it matter? And his words were to me, I'll 165 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:42,560 translate it. But when you break a cup, you 166 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:44,640 can never piece it back together, correct it. 167 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,200 And that crushed me because my father was essentially saying to 168 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:49,720 you, what if he'd throw my wife away? 169 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,920 So I hung up and I was essentially I made, I drew the 170 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:59,480 line in the sand and said, well, I want nothing to do with you. 171 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:01,480 And he refused. They refused to come to the 172 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:04,920 wedding. Now the next question people 173 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:07,920 tend to ask was how did you get married in the church as a 174 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:10,440 Muslim slash atheist slash agnostic? 175 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:14,360 So I met with the pastor of the Anguism church, my wife's 176 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:16,320 church, and he asked me the question. 177 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:20,560 He said, what do you believe in? I said, look, I believe in 178 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:22,920 something bigger than us because remember, it's atheism slash 179 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:26,960 agnosticism. I wasn't decided what do you 180 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:28,000 believe? And I said, look, I believe 181 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:32,680 there's something bigger than us, but I don't label it as God. 182 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:37,880 So do you believe in Jesus? I said no in fatique, right, 183 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:42,520 because I wasn't a Christian. He said, OK, do you believe in 184 00:10:42,680 --> 00:10:44,880 design or evolution? I said definitely not evolution. 185 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:49,680 I said, OK, well I can work those out now. 186 00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:52,560 We know in our church, in the Apostolic churches, that 187 00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:55,800 wouldn't fly, would it? Is how can a man who doesn't 188 00:10:55,800 --> 00:11:00,120 believe or a woman marry a Christian partner in the church 189 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:05,320 because they're unequally out. It doesn't work, but he was 190 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,440 willing to do it. And I got married in the church 191 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:11,960 and everything was great. Years went by. 192 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:16,920 Not everything was rosy because look, my, my, my, my Martin. 193 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:18,760 Sorry. My wife and I would argue 194 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:23,240 whenever Christianity came into a picture if she mentioned 195 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:28,040 Christ or God, I used to say to her if I don't want to hear it 196 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:32,680 because if the Devons tremble at the name of Jesus and she was 197 00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:34,760 mentioning that to me, it raged me. 198 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:37,400 But I'd storm out of a room. I didn't want to hear it and 199 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:45,000 then I'm going to be OK. So now Fast forward to 2004 and 200 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,720 three huge things happened in my life. 201 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,560 The first was my wife said to me, we haven't filed. 202 00:11:53,680 --> 00:11:57,600 The second, my dad rang me and said we're moving back to 203 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:03,960 Lebanon, but OK, how, why? And he basically said to me, my 204 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:08,040 uncle, his brother said you have nothing left in Australia for 205 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:11,120 your son doesn't speak to you, come back and die in the country 206 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:13,760 you were born. So my dad took the opportunity 207 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:17,400 and said, all right, so I actually went and saw them the 208 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:22,040 night before they left walk through the house thinking I'll 209 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:24,960 never see them again in 13 years of not talking to each other. 210 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:28,280 So I hugged my dad and I hugged my mom and essentially said 211 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:33,520 goodbye. The third big thing that 212 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:36,120 happened was, and this is timeless of the world, top 213 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:39,880 soccer club by the name of the Western Sydney Wanderers was 214 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:42,560 formed in Australia. For those of you who enter your 215 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:44,600 football. If how on earth does this have 216 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:46,880 anything to do with God, the church and the Church of the 217 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:50,080 east? Well, as I said, remember how 218 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:53,200 it's on his perfect will and assignment of things happen. 219 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:57,600 So this club is born, it's partying with atmospheric 220 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,600 football, it's active support and flares and united. 221 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:04,040 And that's what my life became. Because when you have a void in 222 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:07,160 your life, you don't have God in your life, you live in the 223 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:08,840 flesh. That's what I was doing. 224 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:13,520 So this club's born. My parents have moved overseas, 225 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,320 my daughter's born, and the next few years are great. 226 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:19,560 And I meet these people, I don't know if you've heard of them. 227 00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:23,200 They're called the Siri. A lot of Assyrian supporters in 228 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:25,280 the western city, Wanderels. And I got to know about the 229 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:27,920 whole show. I got to know about your church, 230 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:33,320 although I has to say I didn't really scare, but I got to know 231 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:36,520 the people. And I met a gentleman who became 232 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:41,440 my godfather by the month, David, and things were great. 233 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:50,480 Now at about 2013 fourteen, Daesh, ISIS, ISIL was wreaking 234 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:56,240 havoc in the Middle East and I had grown to detest Islam 235 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:00,360 throughout my life because of what happened with my fan, the 236 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:04,560 hypocrisy, you know, the double standards. 237 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:08,560 So seeing on the news and reading and now having this new 238 00:14:08,560 --> 00:14:13,400 friendship group, the whole heap of Assyrians like it hit home 239 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:18,040 but not in a God like manner. Just you feel moved and 240 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:23,960 compassion towards your friend. And one night I was reading the 241 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:27,160 newspaper and I was reading about what was going on, the 242 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:31,360 killing years, you know houses being signed with the noon and 243 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:35,200 out of like nowhere the thought that I never thought went into 244 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:39,240 my head did. And that is why he's so much 245 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:44,360 turmoil, murder, wars, corruption in the world. 246 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:51,280 And I was always a person who wanted truth, like, curious. 247 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:57,800 So I'm thinking truth. I'm not thinking cost. 248 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:01,760 But the next thought that came into my mind was, you know, 249 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:03,400 things from the Islamic perspective. 250 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:05,880 Mind you, I've never had the put on. 251 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:07,760 I don't read Arabic. But going up in it, you 252 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:13,200 understand, Why don't you open the Bible and look for some 253 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:16,160 truth in there, which I never thought would ever happen 254 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:19,840 because if you mentioned Christ or Bible or Zod or anything, I 255 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:24,440 said I would run. So I funded the thought for a 256 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:27,960 little bit. I told my wife and she was 257 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:29,840 ecstatic because she's thinking he's going to become a fish. 258 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:31,800 Slow down. It's not about you. 259 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,720 It's about what I was I'm seeking through. 260 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:40,400 So I ring my friend and I said to him, Fab, I want to see you. 261 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:43,520 I went over to his house. He's laying on his bed and I 262 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:45,960 said I want to read the Bible. And he literally sat up and the 263 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:48,560 first thing he said was why, followed by praise Zoe. 264 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,000 And he looked at me and he said this is from Donald. 265 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:59,520 If he knew, I didn't know. So I told him why and I said 266 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,520 where do I start? And he said you need to start at 267 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:06,720 Matthew, skip the genealogy and continue reading. 268 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:08,880 I thought, that's a bit strange. Why would you mention that to 269 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:11,840 someone wanting to read, right? And he tried to get me a Bible. 270 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,600 I said no, I want to do it on my own because I'm all or nothing. 271 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:19,480 I'm 110% or nothing. So I went to a bookstore. 272 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:25,000 I bought a new King James Bible and began reading. 273 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:28,680 And when my wife and child would go to bed, I start reading at 274 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:32,680 night and I opened to Matthew. I look at the genealogy and it's 275 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:34,480 bigot, bigot, bigot, bigot, bigot. 276 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:37,200 I flipped it because I understood why he said that and 277 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:39,880 continued reading. But I read slowly because 278 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:42,640 remember, I'm I'm wanting truth. I'm wanting for some something 279 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,520 to jump out and grab. It wasn't about Christ. 280 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,040 And as I'm reading as the next three days, I'm reading and 281 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:53,960 taking it in. And don't don't forget growing 282 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,880 up I celebrated Christmas in gift giving. 283 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:01,120 I said put into a church at the age of 9 before I'd said put 284 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:03,520 into a mosque. I knew the prophets. 285 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,720 There's the prophets I mentioned in the Quran in Islam, but 286 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:10,839 they're just, they're skewed right. 287 00:17:10,839 --> 00:17:15,760 As I'm reading, I get to about Matthew chapter 10 verse 343536. 288 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:21,599 And as I'm reading it says do not think that I came to bring 289 00:17:21,599 --> 00:17:24,280 peace on earth. I've not come to bring peace, 290 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:28,480 but a sword, for I've come to set a man against his father, a 291 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:31,680 daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her 292 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:34,040 mother-in-law. And a man's enemies will be 293 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:40,240 those of his own household. So when I read that, the first 294 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:43,400 thing I thought of, well, if this is Jesus, why is he 295 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,440 bringing a sword? As in Islam, you comfort by the 296 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:52,560 sword, convert or be killed. But I didn't look at it like 297 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:55,120 that. I look at it as a sword pieces 298 00:17:56,080 --> 00:18:00,600 I'm teaching, seek, seeking truth, and the sword cuts to the 299 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:07,720 very core and 35 through to 36. Well, that's what was happening 300 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:10,880 in my household because my wife was a Christian and when I 301 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,840 brought her into my life, her faith divided my household. 302 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:22,280 It crumbles everything that I have news and I read that three 303 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:28,080 or four times and the first thing I said when I read that 304 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:40,720 was Lord Sagivable, which took a lot of party for because I 305 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:42,400 wasn't seeking him, I was seeking truth. 306 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:50,720 That's and I said, Lord, forgive me forever being arrogant and 307 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:53,400 cursing me. It's a blackboard where to curse 308 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,760 God would do this. Why would you do this? 309 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:59,080 So would you do that? And I'm alone. 310 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:04,520 My wife and Charles are asleep. And I knelt, I prostrated and I 311 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:11,440 prayed and I prayed with Christ on my mind because I knew that 312 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:13,040 was truth. And that was written 2000 years 313 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:15,120 ago, but it's aligning with my life. 314 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:24,150 How's that possible? So in an instant, it wasn't a 315 00:19:24,150 --> 00:19:25,390 picture, it wasn't anything fancy. 316 00:19:25,390 --> 00:19:29,840 It was a quiet moment. It was a quiet moment that I 317 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:36,040 felt convicted and understood and I'm all or nothing. 318 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:39,080 Remember that? So when I woke, when my wife 319 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:41,520 woke up and I told her, she was ecstatic and we're both crying 320 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:46,040 wimpy. And my search straightaway began 321 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:49,400 to look for a church over the next couple of days because I 322 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:55,320 wanted a church now being all nothing. 323 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:59,680 I knew what the Protestant movement was, evangelical 324 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:02,440 churches were. And I started researching 325 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:05,200 Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and everyone kept coming up 326 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:07,920 Orthodoxy. I found a church, the Ansiokun 327 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,720 Lebanese Church, as his Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy. 328 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:14,120 Ring, my friend, tell him you're coming to joke with me on 329 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:18,240 Sunday. He without doubt came on the way 330 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:20,640 to this Eastern Orthodox Church. He's telling me about the 331 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:24,280 parable of the prodigal son and how it's sort of, you know. 332 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:26,080 Look at what's happened with you. 333 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:29,400 You're returning to the Lord. You walk into this church and 334 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:33,240 the sermon that day and remember our calendars don't wanna, but 335 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:36,480 the lectionary readings aren't the same and the sermon was 336 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:39,240 about the particles are so my friend looked at me like in 337 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:43,360 complete awe right now. To me it was just like a hand. 338 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:44,520 I just want to listen to the sermon. 339 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:48,320 Relax, right. So afterwards you spoke to the 340 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:50,720 priests of a winner. He introduced me. 341 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:52,840 He said this is my friend. He's a Muslim, wants to convert. 342 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:58,800 Had a conversation with him and he was very, very nice man, 343 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:04,480 don't get me wrong, but very methodical, meticulous, and I'll 344 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:09,120 say sterile in that it was you have to become a CAD If you you 345 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:11,360 must come to Bible studies. I said, I'm there. 346 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:14,360 I'll be back next week. We jump in the car, we drive 347 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:16,960 away and my friend says to me next week I want you to come to 348 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,200 the Church of the East. I'm like, never heard it really 349 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:23,080 like it known the name for, for the Syrian people, but don't 350 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,520 know much about it. Question for me is, is it 351 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:26,200 Orthodox? Is it? 352 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:29,480 Of course it is. Listen, I'm there, go home, 353 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:32,600 start researching heresy, Mother of Christ, all this stuff's 354 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:35,080 coming up. I'm what's this? 355 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:36,760 I'm trying to find the true church, right? 356 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:40,640 So I ring him and tell him and he says, tells me all about it. 357 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:43,800 And I said, OK, I'll, I'll come Friday. 358 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:46,440 I ring him and say I, I don't think I'm going to come. 359 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,040 I I sort of changed my man back and forth and I knew he was a 360 00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:52,320 bit upset about it, but in the end I said I'll come, why not? 361 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:58,160 What do I want to lose? So on that Sunday we walk into 362 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,360 Saint Peter Room for parish and we sit up at that back right 363 00:22:01,360 --> 00:22:04,760 hand corner and he says to me, this is what's going to happen. 364 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:07,440 The Purdens are going to open the priest in the name of the 365 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:09,400 Father Son the Holy Stuart Bishamasha. 366 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:11,400 Yeah. And Piruma Bismar giving a 367 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:14,400 priest. I'm like try and caper in since 368 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:16,640 that current opened, our priest was Madhavan Yaman. 369 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:21,640 At the time it was Ravi Nilos. And since the current opened and 370 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:23,520 he said in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy 371 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:27,160 Spirit, and I saw the shamash standing there, I knew that was 372 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:31,200 home straight away. Because the liturgy, the 373 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:35,000 reverence from the people sitting there, what you, the 374 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,160 reverence you show for your church and God. 375 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:40,040 And the other thing is, do Muslims have icons and 376 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:44,120 portraits? No, I'm simply in that church 377 00:22:44,120 --> 00:22:47,120 with my focus fixated on the frost on the wall. 378 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:52,000 So for me, this church fit in perfectly because my ascension 379 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,800 was sipped out on the divine worship. 380 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:57,960 Not to say that the icons are a bad or anything like that. 381 00:22:57,960 --> 00:22:59,680 So iPhone, that's all that, that's fine. 382 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:05,440 But it really hit home for me afterwards will go into 383 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:08,560 fellowship. I meet Rabi Marvin Yaman and he 384 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:11,040 come up to me and he shook my hand with three kisses as we do 385 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:13,560 in the Middle East. And he said, Steve, it's so nice 386 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:15,760 to meet you. And it was so warm and genuine. 387 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:18,440 Whereas in the Orthodox Church it was very much thought. 388 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:24,760 He said, I want to see you and we start to be catalyzed next 389 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:26,760 Wednesday. Bible studied every week. 390 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:30,320 One hour spent like mad. And the questions I would ask 391 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:33,600 him as I'm sure some of you ask your priests about life, you 392 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:36,320 know, I'll think back, you know, and kind of get embarrassed the 393 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,280 questions I asked, but that's what he was there for our 394 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:40,600 tattoos. Wrong, Robbie. 395 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,600 I said to him, I want to get the tattoo of the youth here. 396 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,000 He said you want to get God's name on your chest. 397 00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:52,120 Yeah, all right, but I have tattoo, but I covered them up 398 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:53,120 now. But I don't believe. 399 00:23:55,400 --> 00:24:00,720 And when he explained to me why, and it's I understood now. 400 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:03,200 I started dialoguing with my parents because Christ says you 401 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:05,600 must forgive your enemies. And my parents were my enemies. 402 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,640 And I started talking to my dad. He's moved to Lebanon. 403 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:11,680 On WhatsApp, I tell him about my journey. 404 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,800 My dad said to me, you do what you want, son. 405 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:17,160 I believe in the prophets. I believe in the Saints. 406 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:19,760 But Jesus is not the Son of God. But you do what you want. 407 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:27,120 Come June 2015, I ring my dad. I'm having a chat with him and 408 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:29,240 he tells me my mother is quite sick. 409 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:33,040 And when I get off the phone, my wife looked at me and she knew. 410 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:34,680 She said, you want to fly to Lebanon, don't you? 411 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,440 I said I do, that's because I need to go and make peace. 412 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,320 I need to go and forgive me I have to because that's what the 413 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:43,240 teaching is. So that night hook flights to 414 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:47,160 fly out of strata. Wednesday I meet up with Mahd 415 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:51,040 and I tell him. He says I want to anoint you and 416 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,160 I want to pray on you because where you're going coming from 417 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:55,600 Islam as a Christian, you don't know. 418 00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:58,480 So that's close. Friday morning 10:30 our 419 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:01,000 meeting. He anoints me, he preys on me. 420 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:03,920 I got him to seal my daughter as well because she was bad guys in 421 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:06,240 the Anglican Church. I had them. 422 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:09,680 I said Chola, I'll see you too. At 3:30 my dad rang and told me. 423 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:17,240 My mum thought so I was going forgive and I think and I've 424 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:28,200 been and my wife thought that I would unravel but I didn't. 425 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:32,360 I said to her it's OK. She asked me the question, what 426 00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:34,040 are you going to do if I asked if you're a Christian? 427 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:37,840 And my response to her back then in 2015 was I won't deny the 428 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,240 Lord before man because he will deny me full of thought and she 429 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:43,880 freaked out. She thought, what are you 430 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:45,960 saying? And she's a Christian all her 431 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,960 life, but now she's hearing and living. 432 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:52,840 So I boarded the plane. I landed in Beirut and buried my 433 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,160 mom all nights up. I hadn't seen my dad in three 434 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:59,160 years. It was bittersweet, Kevin and 435 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:03,440 the people around him, because he was in tears, holding to man 436 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:05,840 up. But where's the compassion? 437 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:11,240 So I buried hers. And I spent three days, about a 438 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:14,560 week with my dad. But he said to me, you want to 439 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:16,720 go and see mom? And I said, yeah, I walk into 440 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:20,640 the room where she was on the journey, deceased, and they have 441 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:25,480 the ritual of washing the body. And I walked in and I took a 442 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:29,520 knee before her. And you know, we pray with our 443 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:32,400 arms open and so do Muslims. And they often say to you, why 444 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:34,960 does Jesus pray like this? He's coupled up from us the 445 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:39,640 other way. So I knelt down and I was 446 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:41,560 praying in the name of the Palestine hospital. 447 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:45,560 And I read the Lord's Prayer in son of my mom's body. 448 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:52,680 And I stood up, my eyes were closed and I I lifted my hand up 449 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:54,840 to crush myself in front of all the women in that room. 450 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:58,680 I didn't care but I knew the truth but I didn't know that my 451 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:02,360 dad had walked in standing next to me and as I lifted my hand 452 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:05,080 after he just grabbed me and said son let's go outside and 453 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:09,160 let the women mourn a hidden. I wasn't across myself When I 454 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:12,040 told him about a week later he said thank God you didn't do 455 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:14,280 that because I would have. It's a hyperbole that would have 456 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:17,400 slaughtered up you and me Bo meaning it wouldn't have gone 457 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:21,880 down too well. I spent a good week or so with 458 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:25,160 my dad and I spoke to him and we rekindled our friendship. 459 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:29,120 And it was amazing. And I took the Bible for him and 460 00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:32,320 I wrote a passage in the on the front cover and I gave him a 461 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:37,720 icon of Saint Fistapa because my dad grew up. 462 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,120 When I was growing up, my dad used to wear a pendant of a man 463 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:43,640 holding a cross around his neck. And I asked him, why do you wear 464 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:45,400 that if we're Muslim? That doesn't make sense. 465 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:48,520 And he said he's a patron site of Safe Travels because he used 466 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,920 to travel a lot and someone gave it to him that meant something 467 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:53,600 for him. So he still wore it. 468 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:58,600 So I saw him at the airport. I hugged him and I said, Dad, 469 00:27:58,600 --> 00:27:59,960 I've left you something in his drawer. 470 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:04,680 And I came back to his soda. And when I landed, he texts me 471 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:08,280 saying thank for the Bible, make sure you read it. 472 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:15,840 I came back. And just on that note, I took my 473 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:18,600 dad to my shadow bed, Saint Charbel's Monastery in Lebanon, 474 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:21,920 because I wanted to visit it, right, being Lebanese and a huge 475 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,200 St. in the church. And I went into the room and I 476 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:26,520 prayed. And then I came out and I said 477 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:29,680 to my dad, come in. And my dad came in and he sat 478 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:34,320 there praying and he spent a good few minutes in there and 479 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:38,280 just watching him. I had hope, thinking possibly, 480 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:39,760 could it be? I don't know. 481 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:45,120 And that's the last bottle I have written. 482 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:55,000 When I came back, August 20, 2015, I was baptized as Stephen 483 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:58,240 Mortada because that's the name my dad gave me when I was born. 484 00:28:58,240 --> 00:28:59,960 I was born Stephen Khalil Mortada. 485 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,360 My mom wanted Khalil. My dad said no, he's a Westerner 486 00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:06,640 growing up in a Western country, so he's speaking with Stephen. 487 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:10,440 I'm glad he did. So was that by Stephen Mortada? 488 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:13,720 I couldn't fit into the font because it's an infant's font, 489 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,920 right? And when people look at that and 490 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:19,120 they start questioning, I said, it's not the water, it's the 491 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:21,400 Apostolic succession and the laying on of the hand up here. 492 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:26,520 What I couldn't do for nine months as a catechuman was 493 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:31,000 partaking korbana, right? So you've seen it when someone 494 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:32,680 stands up and you have to walk past me. 495 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:36,120 And I said to my friend Fab, I said, I pray that everyone sees 496 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,480 me not moving and doesn't take for granted that they can come 497 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,640 here and eat and drink because it hurt. 498 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:46,480 It hurt that I couldn't Kamaki on that day. 499 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:51,720 I ate to the first Pilandra and wet. 500 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:56,880 I think you can see Marv smiling very happily there. 501 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:09,480 Now in 2018 I got to serve on some Eddie and in 2018 my dad 502 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:12,000 rang me in January and he said I've got cancer. 503 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:14,360 I had bladder cancer. You've been smoking more than 504 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:18,680 four, six months later, on a Friday afternoon, he rang me and 505 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:21,760 I was having a chat with him and he was breathing heavily. 506 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:28,800 And I he said to me, son, look after your wife, your daughter. 507 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:32,560 And if anything happens to me, never come back to this country 508 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:36,080 with my uncles. And I've got husbands with 509 00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:39,400 Canvola and how to get the ammo, which is a movement in Lebanon. 510 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:42,080 You can't trust these sick and to death. 511 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:46,800 That's a promise I would beat. The next day I got a phone call 512 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:58,240 from my uncle and saying. Now the privilege of being on 513 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,200 the committee is that you have the keys to the church. 514 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:04,560 And that's exactly where I went. And I sat in front of the altar 515 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:08,640 who wept, but I had hope there. You know, the same prayer that I 516 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:13,320 prayed to these days, that on his deathbed, in the same manner 517 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:15,880 that I said, Lord, forgive me, he's. 518 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:27,040 And we don't know, the Lord said I'll have mercy. 519 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:30,560 Honour who? I'll have mercy if I see him, if 520 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:33,640 I'm worthy to enter and I see him, praise God. 521 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:37,880 If I don't, then through the Scriptures we know how you enter 522 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:41,280 the Kingdom. And if he made his bed, he lies 523 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:42,960 enough. I'm comfortable with that 524 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:49,880 because you know what? The treaty last year in 525 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,440 September, the second greatest Depuvian. 526 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:59,160 I've been asked by our priest if I was interested in becoming a 527 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:02,000 beacon, Mr. Marsha and I had to think about it. 528 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:04,400 I've been doing Bible studies, taking Bible studies for the 529 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:08,280 last five years, preaching all by the grace of God. 530 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:10,800 And as we're saying this morning, we don't boast in it, 531 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:15,960 but we boast in the Lord. So when my priest asks, I said, 532 00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:18,200 let me think and pray and fast about it. 533 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:22,960 And I said yes, because of the surgical life is different to 534 00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:27,280 teaching, right? God bless our priests and the 535 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:29,480 Shamata and all those in the clergy. 536 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:33,800 It can be tough, but it's a blessing of amazing. 537 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:40,040 So I was lifted into the altar with my good friend the Shamasha 538 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:44,560 Robert. And people ask me what's it like 539 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:47,120 coming from where you come from to stand in the altar? 540 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:53,080 And I simply said in this, on the day of my baptism, just my 541 00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:56,120 ordination, just like every other liturgical service, every 542 00:32:56,120 --> 00:33:00,160 Raza, when the prayer of absolution Messiah is read out, 543 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:03,160 I got to kneel in the altar for the first time. 544 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:07,680 And as His Eminence Marmilius was reciting that Messiah, I 545 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,920 kept thinking, God said to Moses, Take off will sandal. 546 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:12,840 The ground you stand upon is hallow. 547 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:16,680 It's holy. Yet what am I doing in here? 548 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,520 This is sacred, It's consecrated, it's set apart. 549 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:26,480 So I knew you. You have to say that you have to 550 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:28,520 change your life. You have to change the way you 551 00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:32,800 are. I owe everything that I have to 552 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:36,280 God because I have my standing. And obviously I wasn't a 553 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:38,960 Christian when I met them, was my wife and my two children. 554 00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:43,880 My journey has brought my wife closer to her faith that my 555 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:45,920 youngest was baptized in the Church of the East. 556 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:48,160 My wife attends to Church of the East. 557 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:54,280 Saint Paul talks about being transformed and a renewal of 558 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:55,920 mine. It has to happen. 559 00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:59,120 You can no longer walk the way you used to walk when you choose 560 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:04,720 to walk with Christ. I'll end with this. 561 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:08,159 I always emphasize that you are blessed to be part of the Church 562 00:34:08,159 --> 00:34:10,159 of the East. You're born into it. 563 00:34:10,159 --> 00:34:13,040 I wasn't. This isn't a biased opinion I 564 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:17,280 could search. Don't take it for granted. 565 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:21,280 Don't take Bourbana for granted. Every Sunday you are blessed to 566 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:24,239 eat and drink, to ask for forgiveness. 567 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:26,320 You're blessed with the church that is so rich. 568 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:28,719 We heard from Doctor Bling today. 569 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:35,480 So cherish the church. Cherish your faith. 570 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,880 We make mistakes, but his hand is always extended to pick us 571 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:43,639 up. God bless you all.