Dear Fellow Laborer with God
What a marvelously bonding time it was for all of us on the team. Many of us first met one another when we showed up at the studio July 15 for a day of set-up before beginning the nine days of filming. It quickly became clear that God had handpicked each person to provide exactly what we needed, and we experienced an instant unity that made our 12 hours a day “in the trenches” unlike anything we had ever known. Ego took a back seat as we rejoiced in one another’s commitment and abilities.
May I suggest that if you are not experiencing similar camaraderie with members of the Body of Christ, you are being deprived of one of the greatest joys of being a Christian, and it is costing you in regard to your spiritual growth. How do I know? Because Ephesians 4:15 and 16 plainly says so. Take a look at it—I’ll wait…Cool, huh?
Our goal was to film four hours a day so that we could finish the 24 hours in six days and have three days for any necessary “do overs,” of which there turned out to be only two out of more than 30 segments. It actually took us seven days to do the class. Segment 1 was by far the most difficult to get just like we wanted, and we finally nailed it on the third try after we had finished all the other segments.
We also wanted to film a stand-alone three-hour presentation on The Administrations in Scripture Chart, which we did, and which we are calling, From There to Eternity. And we filmed another three hours covering every verse in 1 & 2 Thessalonians, which will be combined with the Admin Chart to make a six-hour seminar titled, “The End!” (Times).
Enthusiastically projecting my voice, while of course continually cavorting about, for more than 30 hours in nine days proved to be physically and vocally draining, and on Day 6 we almost had to stop filming due to my vocal condition. But we prayed, and that night God miraculously healed my voice and energized my body so that I could “sprint to the tape.”
Several months ago God led us to Greg Rike Productions, which just happened to be very close to where Franco Bottley lives. Greg, his wife, Paige, and his two employees are Christians, and they not only gave us a very fair price but also went above and beyond in their service to us. They blended right in with our crazy team, we all had an absolute riot, and you will see all their faces in the credits at the end of the class when it is produced.
Assisted by Greg, our own TLTF Trustee Franco directed the production, and it is he who will spearhead the massive post-production editing and graphics job. As soon as possible, we will give you some idea of how long it will be before you can acquire One Day With The Creator, “The End!” (Times), and From There to Eternity. PLEASE PRAY much for the completion of this project, because we believe that what we will make available to the world will truly be life changing.
As to the sterling quality of what we actually did, I will let some of the team members share their testimonies with you.
“We had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work on the crew for the filming of One Day With The Creator, and we can say without hesitation that we are different people for the experience. We spent 9 days hearing 4-5 hours of dynamic Bible a day, and sharing food, fun, and the Word with the family of God. Going back to work Monday was a total culture shock. We discovered we could not but speak of the things we had both seen and heard.
The body of teaching was so clear and concise, so logical and understandable, that the Bible became not a collection of sacred writings, but the living heart of our Lord Jesus and our heavenly Father. We eagerly await the completed product so the whole world may know the great truths of God’s Word. It was a life changing experience that we will never forget, and our hearts will always be knit with the brethren with whom we shared it. We thank God for the faithful men of God through the ages whose blood, sweat, and tears preserved the Word we now enjoy. We are excited to see what the Lord can do with this fabulous class.” (Marc and Maria Dickie)
“It is difficult to express how I feel about being involved in the making of One Day With The Creator. There was so much taught, in so much depth, that I know I will not completely understand the greatness of all we have been given in this Grace Administration until it is shown to us at the proper time. God has made it so simple to receive salvation that it makes me feel extremely humble, and at the same time proud and honored, to be included in the Body of Christ.
I am so blessed to have participated in what I believe was such an important undertaking that I am aching to do more for my God and my Lord. Even after many years in the Word, I now believe ever more strongly in God’s love and His desire to bless us. I know of no one who could have made the Word come alive like John Lynn did. Like the two men on the road to Emmaus, my heart is still burning with excitement because of the truth I heard and the blessing of being a part of His-story.” (Marion Helms)
Here’s a link to an extensive gallery of behind-the-scenes photos now on our website. You can see how beautiful the set was, and the Administrations Chart, etc. CLICK HERE
Recently I’ve read a couple articles about how few Christians really believe that the Bible is what it claims to be: the flawless, God-breathed revelation of the Creator. Without that unshakeable conviction, no one has a chance against the Master Counterfeiter, Satan. Is it any wonder that the Barna Group’s research shows that the fastest growing “faith group” in the USA is the Skeptics, comprised of atheists and agnostics. Their number has doubled in the past 25 years. Of course, because WORDS HAVE MEANINGS, they are not a “faith” group at all. They are a “no-faith” group.
In our postmodern world, the very concept of Truth itself is passé, and that is perhaps the biggest reason why most people’s lives are devoid of meaning, purpose, peace, and joy. You can rest assured that One Day With The Creator enthusiastically proclaims that the written Word of God is, in reality, His heart poured out to mankind, and the only source of Truth. This class will help people stand up with certainty and show others that God’s Word is exactly what He claims it is, and that His promises are true.
A couple months ago it dawned on me that what we are doing by producing One Day With The Creator is giving God something to work with. It will be exciting to see what He can do with it. Of course, the more people who experience it and rave about it to their friends, the more He can do. You may know what He did with a class called “PFAL” from 1967-1987, when something like 150,000 people in 60 countries sat through it, and most found it life changing. Maybe God can use One Day With The Creator to make another “run to daylight” in a dark and dying world.
Understanding the biblical truth that God is not running a big puppet show means that each day of our Christian lives is about us giving Him something to work with. All God wants is for you and me to give Him the opportunity to be GOD. After all, He LOVES being God and doing what only God (and the Lord Jesus) can do. BUT—He must have some human cooperation. Psalm 78:41 tells us that people can limit God by refusing to cooperate with Him and doing what He says they should do. Ditto for Matthew 13:58—Jesus did not do many mighty works in his hometown because of the people’s unbelief.
When God gave man genuine free will, He limited His control of what happens on earth. That’s why Jesus encouraged people to pray that the will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven. Most of what happens is not the will of God. Why did God not stop that demonized fanatic at Ft. Hood from killing those innocent people? Because He could not. Why not? Because He didn’t have enough human cooperation. Did God stop Goliath? Yes, because a teenager said, “Hey, I don’t like that big creep either. Let’s get rid of him.”
God and Jesus are EAGER to do what they can, but they can’t do it unless we do our part. How about this verse, which shows that God cannot do what He loves to do—forgive people—unless they choose to repent:
Jeremiah 36:3
Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, each of them will turn from his wicked way; then [“OH BOY!”] I will forgive their wickedness and their sin.”
In Mark 14:8, referring to the woman who anointed him with oil and washed his feet, Jesus told those who derided her, “She did what she could….” It’s that simple. Doing what you can do enables God to do what He can.
Last year we decided that we could put together a FABULOUS foundational class, and so, with God’s gracious help, we did. The consensus among the team members is that it is exceeding abundantly above all that we asked or thought. We can’t wait for you to see it. In the September FRUIT OF D’VINE, we’ll give you the Table of Contents so you can see the title of each segment. Until then, let us labor for the Master.
