Testimony of Pastor Arthur Branner ll on 13/10/2018: Family Worship Service @ Winson Green Church

good morning and happy Sabbath once again it is a joy privilege to be in the house of Lord what do you say I want to take just a few minutes to share with you in a short synapses the story of my testimony something that occurred just only in 2003 beginning with year 2003 well before we do let's power it so father in heaven pray that you would condescend to this place give us ears that we might pray that the glory of Madonna on us your word declares that we gain the victory over the enemy by the word of our testimony may when I share with you inspire me to inspire others to retrieve their testimony and to live by this strength their love once again recognize that you will do exceedingly and abundantly this is my fervent and earnest prayer in the name of Jesus was 2003 I had received a phone call was my mother on the other hand my 36 year old brother was in trouble son your brother is in the hospital I said yes mother that's typical he goes in and out she said no it's different this time so I got a plane my wife and I and went walked in the hospital room to see someone unconscious someone a faint figure of who I knew him to be and while there my brother had contracted of course leukemia as a result of his lifestyle practice and while there the doctor came in the room and told my mother and I would have a difficult decision to make that he was to either stay on life support we would need to make a decision to withdraw my mother is a God for London assess the attendants who reared me in the church we know together great and felt that Dhamma in his own power would not need necessarily the assistance of equipment to keep my brother alive we made that tough decision and decided that he could be removed from the life support it was December 23rd 2003 325 in the morning that I watched my brother who died in front he was my only sibling staring very difficult for me to see that praise the Lord he was someone who was in his journey his walk with the Lord it would have be then that I would eulogize my own my father would come he and I together went to pick out a suit he would wear in his casket it would be 33 days later that I would be driving home after a board meeting in one of my churches in my only church at that time it was my mother she says son where are you I said I'm on my way home she said pull over I need to talk to you and she said no better yet son why don't you call me when you get home I said well I said you're really frightening me what's what's going on she said son pull over so I did she shared with me then that son I don't know how to tell you this but your father was in a tragic plane accident and died within the matter of about a month half of my family had died needless to say my heart was in despair as I contemplated what had happened my heart weary with the burden of the loss heavy lungs a brother whom I loved so dearly and my father who was a tremendous mentor in my life it would then be only a few short months right after that that I would be called as the United States chaplain to go to war in Iraq here with my heart heavily laden with the burden of my loss and then now facing the fact that I could myself even die you can only imagine how I must have felt as the day's ticked off that I was soon go overseas before leaving one of my church members gave me a momentum had songs 91 on it it became my assurance as I went to the place of war can I cause your progesterone and let you know that even though I was a soldier in the Lord's army that you likewise are about to face war for the the Bible declares in Revelation the 12 chapter verse 17 the dragon is wrong with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed very soon beloved we are all about to face war but we are heading for a time of trouble and so it was I went to my time of trouble with Psalms 91 close to my bosom I made it the theme the promise that I would hold near to my heart as I walked through the days and ticked off the month come find me to my end there my time there in Iraq I did something a little different that perhaps most chaplains spirit of god moved upon my heart to make a list of all 184 soldiers in my battalion and each day I would pray the promises of God over their lives I knew their situations with them so the burden of their lives was the burden of my heart I had to quickly as I entered into war with the heaviness of my father my brother upon my heart I had to go through the steps of healing quickly because I said Lord I can't afford to have my mind weed upon my bird I must be available for the men that I was ministered to and so God in His goodness brought instant healing to my heart and I was able to focus my mind on the task before me and so that's what I did I began to labor in crack each day 26 men I would pray for each day until the end of the week and I would start that journey all over again it would be our first convoy I was moved upon my heart to go out and to pray with the men before they went out on their convoy and was some unknown reason no I know their needs it was the power of the Holy Spirit that that old men moved about my heart to pray Psalms 91 with those men as they were about to go out and as they went out little did we know they would be intercepted about halfway through their journey with an eye an improvised explosive device the account of one of the soldiers who had came back from that event later on that evening said as I seen this blue truck parked on the side of the road I began to be suspicious and before I knew it I watched this vehicle filled with bolts and screws and nuts and all planes of shrapnel he said I see them explode in front of me in a big mushroom cloud and I knew that the vehicles ahead of me would be blown to smithereens but let me tell you about the power of the god of songs thank you why the first sergeant who stood in the turret right there in front of the vehicle as the vehicle exploded with a huge mushroom cloud every piece of while he stood there in front of the place like every piece of shrapnel went behind him and made a silhouette of him without one piece touching they had arrived back in peace Cap'n and began to I had to process that event with them and so they began to share with me it was so its own instrument instrumental for them to talk about it as a chaplain it is my responsibility to preserve them from post-traumatic stress disorders so they must decompose them but or I should say they must decompress and talk about the event to preserve them from post-traumatic stress disorder and as they begin to talk about it the last soldier finished his testimony looked a soldier in that room I reminded them that before they mounted their beers the chapter little bit up his voice toward heaven and called on the name of Jesus to be with him when they went out they began to be strangely worn with the fact that God was real many of them who had no relationship with God begin to do so sometimes would come I'm fast-forwarding through the events friend we had a lottery system and each soldier had to pull from the Hat to determine when he would go on R&R rest and relaxation for two weeks in the middle of this term I was one of the first to pull his name from the Hat and one of the first to go on R&R it would be there in Houston Airport the Messiah would approach me as I was seated there visibly shaken but I could see that he was relieved in his countenance to be able to talk to a chaplain because you see many soldiers they go to war they will not go sit down with a psychologist to talk about their burden and their pain of those events that trouble their spirit anymore what can a psychologist say that will relieve the heart of a soldier they've never seen their best friend dad they've never stood in a foxhole but they will speak openly to a chaplain and soul specialist Jeffrey set there next to me and said chakra I've been waiting for a long time to talk to somebody about what my eyes have seen we were on the MSR the highway heading to Fallujah we were in a sixth man or I should say six vehicle convoy headed my way we haven't the tactics of insurgents that it was typical for them to lay bodies on the street oftentimes soldiers to stop the convoy many at times they would lace the body with explosives and so he said chapter we drove and as we were in the middle of this convoy we have to see what seemed to be something live in the street we stopped in the first two vehicles the soldiers came out of the vehicles an approach would seem to be a uniform of an American soldier he said amongst them was the sergeant major the first sergeant and a sergeant and as they drew closer sergeant major look and he seen the soldier and as he got closer he seen that the nametag on that uniform was the same as his he something realized it was his not so he he he kneels down and they stopped him sergeant major don't touch don't just don't don't touch him don't don't touch his body it might be a trap she's expel around in his corpse what father would adulterate his son's remains by doing such and open love that I want to tell you that when he shared this story with me it reminded me of one of the most well known and profound scriptures that most of us are acquainted with John 3:16 for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life and he nailed down the Sun cradled him and he said chaplain I want five of my friends this art major and First Sergeant disappear maybe see the God love you so much he left me so much that he sent his son to have war on earth he came to his own and his own received and Mattie was rejected and despises of men and it was a sin when his son died on the cross and was as I would hope that soldiers handed embrace him and together tears streaming down our eyes as I provided the ministry of residence to him went on my R&R Leif came back and I began to minister to our soldiers had to go for a short stint to Landstuhl Germany to get some medical procedures done some minor things but doctor and before leaving I had a visit from my battalion commander who said something that was so odd yet strangely warming to my heart he said chaplain listen you go get what you need time and you hurry back and I looked at him and he said yes he says I cannot run this battalion without you this was a man who was a nominal Christian at best but he recognized somehow the value a prayer for you see there were many things that began to happen the soldiers as they would go out I would pray with him in the morning and they would come back to be for example at this one particular afternoon I heard the knock at the door and one of the soldiers PFC Jones who comes to my door and I could see that he was visibly shaken up but he said chaplain can I speak to you for just a moment sure come money he said chaplain I want to thank you for praying for us this morning he said because when we went up as we were heading to his hand area we were heading down a dirt road and just on the other side of the hill unbeknownst to me there would be three huge craters in the middle of the road and I ad had just exploded before we came and he said watch we got over the crest of the hill and those who were behind me couldn't see except the first vehicle right in front of them there was so much dust created being on that dusty road he said oh I could do is jerk my wheel and somehow he said I had no control somehow to be a profoundly all these space available to fit where they would not where the vehicle would not enter into that creature he said those behind me instinctively they did the same thing they jerk their will and they went through with safety he said on the way back we decided to men that center hole he said it was 8 feet deep and 20 feet across he said had we hit that all of us when a clydie and we would have died thank you Jeff for praying for us it would be there from that point forward every day I would hear the knock at my door chaplain we're not going out unless you break for us and it became my habit to pray with them as they went out and I began to see time of the time at the time stories and accounts of soldiers telling me that they were slimming this death and thank me for prayers thank God for His saving hand upon their lives as they when I hoped little did I know how the strength of Psalms 91 would have its power one day as we were heading out one of the soldiers asked chaplain are you going with us and I said why yes I am why do you ask he says because his head went down he began to kick the ground Suz every time you come out with us we get stopped but the worst things that you could ever experience in a convoy out in war is to come to a complete stop because you become a target quickly one of the soldiers been answered and said yes but every time the chaplain comes with us and we to a stop it's always short of the danger that would have killed us and he scratches him and he thought about it and he said that's right jab you girl you riding me goddess then it would come that the day's ticked up it was time for me to return and I'm sniffing a whole lot we don't have time the days we tick off it was time I had but yep one day in country before returning back to the United States we were heading back from a Dulhaniya the southern region of Iraq heading back up to Baghdad we were about 45 minutes into our journey and suddenly we came upon insurgents on both sides and we were right then in the thick of we pulled up our stop provided support for those who were there of course as a chaplain I sit I don't carry a weapon but as many of my soldiers it always has don't you feel insecure without a weapon I said I told you I didn't have a weapon I carry a New Testament I carry a little small home version by the right here I'm locked and loaded with 66 books I've got more weaponry than you do I said in the midst of a firestorm bullets as if I was city in the piece and most tranquil place in paradise God had stayed and kept me I watched that three men Iraqi soldiers lose their life in that battle it would be then that we would return home and in our return ceremony a battalion commander stood how they didn't give that they backed up for one moment during the course of my time while I was there an Iraqi you won't believe this but I figured these soldiers this might be a real good time to evangelize so you know what I do even against policy I kind of stretched it as long as you're able to advertise what denomination you're from you can do this so I did in the corner I put seventh-day adventists Daniel revelation seminar I preached and listen I didn't hold back I preached every one of our doctrines by the time those soldiers were finished hearing packs dabrander they do about the Sabbath the state of their game i dont preach those little watered-down I know comrades who will preach and don't talk about clean and unclean foods they won't talk about the state of the Dead they won't even talk about the Sabbath and they'll baptize whomever that's not me I said I'm gonna be thankful to God and it being soulless one became an elder in his church and went to study the ministry and the other is a faithful seventh-day adventists even now and God spoke to my heart and said this you lost your brother and your father through your absence because you were faithful you born to into the kingdom for my cause and though it will never replace the burn of my last it was a joy to know the God seen fit to allow this broken vessel to be used to call or two out of the pits of darkness into his mother's as a Fatali commander stood there at our welcome ceremony to speak to all the spouses after we had arrived back home he stood up and made a statement that was profound he said we returned from Iraq every single soldier not one soldier died or had lost now and then he said and I treated that it would be what you said next that would truly impact me to this day you said that it's unheard of four thousand missions no loss of life or limb to be nothing but God so it was the words of this song he they dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty I will say of the Lord he is my refuge my god in him will I trust surely he will deliver thee from the snare of the Fowler and from the noisome he shall cover thee with his feathers and under his wings shalt by drops his truth shall be thy shield and buckler thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night nor the arrow that flies by day nor for the pestilence that won't get their darkness Noah for the destruction that wasteth at noonday four thousand show fall and acts and ten thousand at thy right hand but it shall not come not only with our hands shalt thou behold the reward of the week Kurosawa's named de Lune which is directly even the most high by habitation there shall no evil befall thee neither shall any plague come nigh battle for he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all they shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy foot against the stone thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder the young lion and the dragon shall vow trampled underfoot because he has set his love upon me therefore will I deliver him I will send him on how because he had known he shall call upon me and I will answer him I will be with him in trouble I will deliver him and honor him with long life will i satisfy him and show him my selfish or father we thank you for the blessing of a God who will sustain us during our time of trouble may we put our faith and trust in you Jesus you

Channel: Bible Learners Ministries

Views: 10,463

Rating: 4.7714286 out of 5

Keywords: Bible Learners Ministries, Winson Green SDA Church, Amazing Facts, 3ABN, The Garry Harrison Memorial Fund for Evangelism, Mission To The Cities, Beyond The Veil of Darkness, Dr Esmie Branner, Adventist Book Centre, Sacramento Southgate Seventh-day Adventist Church, scc prayer line ministry, women’s prayer line ministry, Pastor Arthur Branner

Id: ZdssbKSiPog

Length: 29min 47sec (1787 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 15 2018