With decades of serving the Lord in ministry, Dr. Stanley is full of stories and advice for the generations coming after him. In this interview, Andy Stanley invites his father to share the most important lessons he’s learned over the years as well as what keeps him motivated to continue preaching the gospel. No matter where God has called you to serve Him, you’ll find encouragement to seek His will and inspiration to obey God and leave all the consequences to Him. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to www.intouch.org/watch

[Music]

hi I’m Andy Stanley and today we are

celebrating someone near and dear to all

of our hearts you know him as dr.

Charles Stanley I Colin dad

[Music]

four decades ago we started in touch

ministries to lead people worldwide into

a growing relationship with Jesus Christ

throughout the years we’ve seen God’s

greatness his love and his blessings in

such awesome ways that we just want

everyone to know him so let’s open God’s

Word and seek Him together next on

InTouch the influence of a godly life an

85th birthday celebration so first

things first happy birthday this weekend

you turn 85 so here’s that here’s the

question everybody asked people on a

birthday so how does it feel so how does

it feel to be 85 years old now that

there’s a difference when I was 80 75 70

I feel fantasy all know well one of the

things that all of you need to know is

that 85 my dad is still a senior pastor

at First Baptist Church of Atlanta and

have a funny story to tell about that in

a minute and is you’re also serving

functioning every weekend as the

president of in touch ministries and

whereas most people have retired from a

single career years ago you are still

maintaining two very very important

positions but the question that

everybody wants to know is how long are

you gonna do this and I say it that way

because that’s how people ask me they

they watch you on television they’re

like you know he’s just been doing this

and and nobody’s in a rush for you to

stop doing anything but that’s kind of

the question is like how long is he

gonna do this so dad how long are you

gonna keep going well I’m gonna keep

doing it until God tells me to do

something else and right now I have no

reason to think that I wouldn’t keep

going and somebody physical how long as

long as God gives me the strength the

energy and the message yeah

and you have some pretty strong opinions

about retirement anyway have you you

want to share those well retirements not

in the Bible except for the priest and

after he served from 25 to 50 then he

had to retire at 50 and what a

retirement just 25 years of working and

then

he could assist the other priests in

knowing what they were doing there’s

nothing in the Bible about us retiring

and I think God intends for us to live

as long as possible and to be fruitful

as long as we possibly can and to be

energetic and God wants our life to

count to the last day and that’s my

prayer and the thing is even if you were

to retire you wouldn’t become inactive

you you would still be doing something

productive because you’ve always been

productive and so the fact that you’ve

been able to not only continue to be

productive but continue to work and to

continue to function in these incredible

organizations that in one case you

helped found really is inspiring to a

whole lot of people who in their minds

65 just kind of sort of like an end and

to be 85 and to still be doing what

you’re doing really is inspiring to a

lot folks but not too long ago my dad

called me and he said he said he said

Andy you know I would like to find a

pastor who’s a little remember this he

said Andy I would like to find a pastor

who’s a little bit further ahead of me

and ask them some questions remember

that and I said that I hate to break it

to you

there aren’t any there are there there

are no pastors that are ahead of you

that are still you know you know the

lead pastor in a local church and you he

sort of said yeah I thought that might

be the case but then you said I’ve been

I said but if you were to find one what

would you ask them do you remember what

you said not really

yeah well I’ll never forget it because

as a pastor it was very discouraging to

me you said I would ask that person does

it ever get any easier that’s right does

it ever get easier I’m thinking okay

you’re about to be 85 and it’s still

hard work and you were talking

specifically about sermon preparation

and you just wondered is it ever going

to get easier and the thing that

reminded me of that I think most folks

don’t know about you is that as many

sermons as you’ve preached as many

probably you know thousands of sermons

that you’ve preached every time you’re

getting close to Sunday you sit down and

basically start from scratch and that

never gets easier does it

never gets easier in fact you usually

start went on when do you start

preparing Sunday afternoon before next

Sunday yeah I come home on Sunday

afternoon and after I take a little now

I get in a study and I just start asking

God to show me what’s next that maybe I

already know and but I want to study

that particular passage of Scripture and

I’m just as excited on Sunday afternoon

as I was on Sunday morning because I’m

always learning something and God’s

doing something in my life so you know

I’m profiting from it all the time and I

wouldn’t want it any other way and when

I think about whether it’s easier or not

the hard part isn’t the preaching of it

probably the hardest part is to asking

God to show me what’s next what there

was the question you have to always ask

is what is the need that would you can

get up and spin out something but the

question is what’s the need what do

people need to hear what is God trying

to say and I think this is the part

that’s important this makes you keep

your heart clean pure committed to the

Lord so you can be sure that you’re

listening to him that you’re hearing for

yourself first of all and then for

somebody else and you you’ve never taken

your foot off the gas when it comes to

ministry and if you were to see his

study at home you would think you were

walking into the office of a 45 or 55

year old CEO

I mean his calendar his post-it notes

your Bibles your files I mean it’s it is

it is a it’s a war room for somebody who

is actively day-by-day still in the game

is still preparing fresh things and

still responsible for two very large

organizations one of the stories I grew

up with was when you were in seminary

and you had grown up around a specific

type of preaching but you didn’t

necessarily want to emulate that type of

preaching and then while you were in

seminary you drove from Fort Worth over

to Dallas and went to First Baptist

Church Dallas and everything got clearer

for you on that Sunday morning do you

mind sharing that story yeah

dr. Chris will preach on a wire tape

that’s before we have these plastic

tapes and I thought I would hear this

man preach so my wife and I were just

friends at that point she had a car and

I didn’t ask if she’d take me a Dallas

and listen listen to this man preach so

we did it made such an indelible

impression on my mind heart because I’ve

came from Virginia where a lot of people

were liberal and the preaching was

rather dry frankly and so when dr.

Criswell opened the Bible he opened it

to romans chapter 5 verse 1 – he said

the title of his message is this grace

wherein we stand and then he started I

can hardly tell you this about Wiebe

they kind of effect it had on me I

thought his mouth and my response was

God I knew there was a man somewhere who

could preach like this because he

inspired me motivated me and I would say

even to this day of all the pastor’s

I’ve heard never a lot of them that that

be crystal was probably not probably he

was one of the greatest and he inspired

me more than anybody in all of my life

when it came to preaching he was true to

God’s Word he had power he was

enthusiastic he was excited about it and

I knew that he believed every word he

was preaching and so when I think about

that people who have affected my life my

grandfather spiritually but they made

crystal when he came to preaching I’ll

never forget that first message and the

awesome indelible impact it had on my

life

and he would never have imagined that’s

sitting out there and that big

congregation it was big back then was a

young seminary student who would one day

preach to far more people in far more

languages in far more locations than he

could ever dream of but God used him to

give you a vision for your future and

the thing is dad as I think about me and

my generation of

pastors and leaders that’s what you’ve

done for us it’s the very same thing

whether it’s louie giglio or there’s

there’s dozens of young men and young

women in ministry today and if they were

to be interviewed and if they were to be

asked you know what was the moment where

the veil kind of lifted and the you know

we were able to see our future in a way

that perhaps we haven’t seen it before

there are thousands of people in

ministry your name would be the first

name that was the kid that was mentioned

your your name would be a part of their

story so how interesting that what dr.

Criswell did for you you through the

years have had an opportunity to do for

thousands and thousands and not just

church leaders but a lot of pastors and

a lot of church leaders so this is where

we got off the birthday subject let’s

talk about birthdays now these days when

people wonder what to get you for your

birthday the the category everybody

knows the category is photography

equipment your your your passion in life

beyond preaching is photography and

you’ve been able to use your photography

for ministry it’s not just a hobby but

you’ve been able to blend your hobby in

with ministry can you tell us a little

bit about how you got interested and

again how you view photography as it

relates to ministry because this is a

big part of what you do and who you are

well what got me started was I was going

to Haiti on a mission trip and it

doesn’t how long ago nineteen sixty

something three yeah 60 1963 I was going

to Haiti on a mission trip there were 17

pastors and so my wife said would you

you should take my camera with you I

said well and she had a she had the

finest camera you could buy in those

days she says here’s what you do because

I didn’t know what to do with it

I said she said just set it on suit that

speed is 125

the aperture is 16 and just leave it

there and I shot every picture that way

I came home with these awesome fantastic

photos that surprised me to death that

got me started and then since then it’s

become a big part of your ministry and I

think a lot of your television audience

doesn’t know but sometimes on Sunday

mornings in church before you begin your

sermon you’ll show a picture and then a

tat

devotional to that or the you know why

that picture means so much to use that’s

something you can tell us a little bit

about how that got started because it’s

a very it’s a very powerful image when

you again combine photography with with

words well the way you got started was I

was preaching on Isaiah chapter 40 and

when the Bible says we man up with a

wings as Eagles not been to Alaska and I

had watched this eagle for a little

while and so when he swooped down one

time and picked up a fish with his claws

and the pudding behind it and kept going

then I happened to have gotten him just

at the right moment so one Sunday I was

preaching on Isaiah 40 so I showed that

so people said well why don’t you show

us some of those other things pictures

you you’ve been going all over the place

and we haven’t seen those so I just

started showing him week after week and

I had a little story of each one of them

and then one of the things I remember

probably most is one Sunday I showed a

photo of an wrecked sailboat and I was

on a little island there was a mile

around and I came up on this old

sailboat that was damaged and some guys

are working on it not thought maybe I’ll

shoot that then I thought nice no I can

do that I walked him out the next day

and I thought yes I am so I took time to

photograph the sailboat and I didn’t

think anything else when I got home we

were showing photos of other places

we’ve been and so the next week I was

sitting in a restaurant and this lady

walked over she was a waitress and she

said that she said chalcedony with

yellows and yes ma’am she said I want to

tell you something she said last Sunday

you showed this photo of the sailboat

and she said I was sitting in the second

row right on the end I came to church

totally discouraged I had no hope of

anything in my life and as far as I was

concerned it was about to be all over

and I just happened to drop him that

Sunday she wasn’t didn’t used to come to

church she said when you made this

statement at the end of your sermon and

you showed that picture you made this

statement that when you saw them working

on the boat you knew that one of these

days that sailboat was sailing in she

says when you said szeliga the Spirit of

God yet all of them she said you got

straightened me out sitting right on the

Pew and it’s all of a sudden I saw

myself not as a wreck but as a sailboat

and I was going get out and make things

happen in my life she says that one foot

of absolutely changed my life so that’s

one of the things it motivates me I’m

always looking for something and one

other quick story if I might

it’s your birthday you can tell as many

stories as you know well you all have

seen this picture but maybe not heard of

the story I was down in Charleston and

so I won the warden end of the beach

they got into the beach and it was all

trees up and down the beach so walked a

little ways and all of a sudden I saw

this tree out in the in the ocean

probably at least 75 feet or more and it

was a big tree but no leaves

not too many I’m sorry and I still then

thought to myself how is it growing in

salt water and I thought about all the

storms tornadoes hurricanes floods you

name it and all of a sudden this phrase

hit me still standing its roots were so

deep and its body was so strong that all

the storms with all the power that’s

found in a hurricane

that’s that tree is still standing

and I thought god that’s what you do to

us when we’re rooted and grounded in you

and how life is committed to you no

matter what’s it comes our way we still

stay Wow so there are lots of us alone

well through the years many of us have

listened to many many many many sermons

and so what I thought we could do since

it’s your birthday isn’t sort of get out

of sermon mode a little bit and get into

advice mode a little bit so what I want

to do for our last few minutes is I’d

like for you to give advice to three

groups of people we’re gonna start with

folks in their 20s your grandkids age

folks in their 30s and 40s raising kids

busy working on career and then ask the

question what what advice would you give

to people in their 60s and 70s oh but

many of you know some of you perhaps

don’t but you have six grandkids four

grandsons two granddaughters and I have

been privy to the advice that you’ve

given them one-on-one from time to time

and then I remember one time in Dallas

you got everybody together and you had

all the grandkids around the dining room

table and you actually stood at the end

of the table and you didn’t preach a

sermon but you were standing you were in

your position of authority and you just

imparted extraordinary wisdom to you

know my three kids and to Becky my

sister’s three kids so if you were gonna

speak to this generation of 20-something

year olds and early thirty year olds

based on what you’ve seen and what

you’ve experienced what would you say to

that group well I would say first of all

you need to know what your purpose in

life is all about in other words don’t

just float through life in one job own

occupation the other but ask yourself

the question you know what does God want

to do with my life

and I think a lot of people live without

purpose and if you live with that

purpose you manage to get along but

you’re never satisfied you never feel

complete you’re always wondering what’s

gonna happen next and if I’m gonna get

there to not get married and what’s the

next job is gonna be and so there’s no

sense of direction so I would say you

need to major on asking God to give you

direction for your life not just for the

next job but Lord where do you want me

to head in my life what do you want me

to accomplish and God’s willing to

answer that prayer because he desires

that you fulfill his purpose for

creating you so I would say that to the

younger group first of all to maybe the

group thereafter I would say if you are

raising children and so forth

I’d say first of all you’ve got to be

honest

if your children find that you’re

dishonest you’re in trouble so you’ve

got to be honest you’ve got to have a

sense of purpose that you convey to them

you’ve got to have a relationship to the

Lord if you want them to have a

relationship to the Lord

they’ve got to see that and you have to

be careful what you say and how you say

it and you’ve got to be careful about

who your friends are

and so honesty before children I think

it’s very very very important when you

who are their parents when they lose

confidence in you their life gets

shattered up to a point and then

somebody else has to get them back home

he or they gonna wreck and ruin their

life so I thought I’d say parents have

to be very very careful about being

honest true if you say something you

mean it and then when you get 60 or 70

I think what’s the next chapter in my

life Oh what’s the next challenge in my

life what if I want to accomplish now

the idea of sitting around and saying

thank god I’m gonna die only easier to

say that they’ll say I thank you yeah

well I’m fine then fumble around so I’m

gonna retire and I’ve said it enough

times that people know I don’t believe

in that and scriptures on my side you

should live out your life to the last

day doing something that is wise godly

and profitable for you and the people

who know you and when you say retire

it’s not you’re not just talking about

from a career but you’re talking about

more just disengaging from life and

disengaging with any kind of sense of

purpose because there are a lot of

people who get to the end of a career

and in some businesses or industries

there’s a time when you have to retire

right but you’ve just seen too many

people who wants their job and it it’s

like their life ended and they’re there

their purpose ended and you know that’s

what’s the discouraging one of the

things and you touched on this if I

could go back to it when I was growing

up that the thing that you raised me

around was that God has a plan for your

life you don’t want to miss it God has a

plan for your life you don’t want to

miss it when you think about the

you gave our kids your grandkids and the

message to this generation of

20-something year olds for me that was

so powerful that when I was in the I

must have been I was driving so it must

have been in 10th or 11th grade maybe

11th grade in my first quiet time

journal that I still have my first entry

was this and I still have this it said

if I ever have a son I’m going to tell

him that God has a plan for his life

this has served me well or something

along those lines that was my first

journal entry so the first time I ever

thought about writing a prayer or having

a quiet time that was that that was the

very first thing that came to mind is is

an 11th grader the idea of having a

purpose in life and that God had

something for me and that I didn’t want

to be messing around and miss it that

was so instructive and then in addition

to that the other thing that you and mom

did is you gave us extraordinary freedom

you gave us so much freedom when I think

back I think it kind of scares me how

much freedom you gave us but you but

this was it was so powerful but not

that’s why I wanted to bring it up for

parents who are listening you

essentially said God is a plan for your

life you’re accountable to God now I’m

not gonna have a bunch of extra rules

because you’re accountable to God and

those two things together we’re such a

powerful combination in our lives and

I’m so grateful for that and it

certainly has been instructive to me as

a parent but every once in a while when

I would be tempted to kind of pull back

a little bit I would remember that I

would think no if you’re gonna send your

kids into the world with a sense of

purpose

along with purpose there is a freedom

that comes with that and one without the

other creates an unnecessary tension in

the home and that was just so powerful I

just didn’t want the audience especially

parents to miss it and then one other

thing talking about you know families

people in their 30s and 40s raising kids

one of the big tensions as you know is

the tension between work and home

there’s a lot to do at work but there’s

a lot to do at home there’s a lot to do

at work and we’ve both seen especially

in pastors families pastors who married

the church and just relegate you know

child-rearing to it a wife or I don’t

have time for that or I’m doing God’s

work and to your credit into my benefit

you

never did that and I don’t know how you

did so well with that you didn’t grow up

with a father your father died when you

were 17 months old 9 months 9 months old

and yet so he didn’t have a role model

but somehow you knew with all the

busyness and the craziness of ministry

and all the pressure and having two

organizations I just want the world to

know in those crazy busiest times you

never missed a ball game you never

missed a special event and and here’s

the thing that’s the overwhelming

especially now that I’m a parent you

remember the summer that we took a

five-week vacation

five weeks five weeks we pulled a travel

trailer what eight and 18 foot 18 foot

travel trailer from Georgia all to

California all over the country five

weeks can you imagine having to be alone

with your kids for five weeks and an 18

foot trailer so I mean it was you know

as fabulous as a kid but now as a parent

I’m like who has time for that but that

was the priority you gave me and gave

Becky and gave our family and so I just

didn’t want to rush by without your

audience knowing that backstory and I

think it’s one of the reasons that I’m

here and it certainly has contributed to

our relationship so I just wanted to say

thanks for that you you’ve got a lot of

those things right ok you got all these

things right you know I can still

remember before you are even able to

think that when you go to this it’s

about 15 years old 14 there was when you

end the vid I didn’t kneel down by the

bed every night and I would always say

this God has a real feel like you didn’t

need to know what I was saying and then

you grew up a little bit and I would

always say Andy remember what God has

will for your life I preached that into

you before you of it I understood what

it meant until you did understand what

it meant and we would talk about it

because I knew that if you settle that

issue whatever it was I had no idea

you’d be a preacher in fact I thought of

that maybe God delivered you that you’re

not going to be one but anyway

I just drilled that into your head and

into a Becky God has a will for your

life and he’ll show you what the will is

if you listen to him and so that was my

primary lesson I wanted you to get and

if you got that one I would be happy

mm-hmm well we got it and I still pray I

tell our churches all the time when I

talk about my growing up here’s and my

personal devotional life I always say I

still pray at this season of my life God

show me you’re playing for my life show

me your will for my life because that’s

not a young person’s prayer that’s a

that’s a lifetime prayer and there are

so many transitions in life whether it’s

which school do I go to who do i marry

what do I do with my kids in this season

you know career it’s we’re all you know

we never outgrow that prayer do we know

and you know I to me your prayer life is

the most important thing in your life

that’s not right nothing else going to

be right and I remember I had a study

out in the backyard in Miami

I remember being down praying one day

and I felt something you know what it

wasn’t something I’m kneeling down

stretched out on this concrete floor and

and now look over that here’s Andy he

sneaked in and he was looking at me well

he was dead what was going on and I

think I didn’t do it for him I think

parents need to hear and but their

children need to hear them pray and you

got working in their life and I think I

look back and you know I just did what I

wouldn’t want my father to do to me and

what I felt like you needed and deserved

and I think we make a big deal out of

raising children well their pens are you

who you start with you start with a God

and you do what God tells you to do

there’s no way view to live in a

household with a true godly parents who

live it out talk it out act it out

without having an awesome eternal effect

on the life and the children and so if I

had done something different than I had

said to you you and I believe me and yet

I I know you were listening and I trust

him I’ll tell you much I trusted Andy

my wife and I were going to New Zealand

for about a month

preaching this Anila and so Andy got his

driver’s license the day before we left

and I but you know what I look back and

think I’m crazy he was crazy that was a

crazy decision because I remember I

still remember when mom’s Catalina big

Ford or beige Catalina and we’re at

Hartsville at the airport I’m 16 I just

got my license and I took y’all to the

airport and dropped you off and you left

the country and there I am it’s at 16 at

Hartsville and I’m gonna drive all the

way back through Atlanta to Tucker

Georgia and again it’s one of those

moments but now as a parent I’m thinking

what were they thinking and it was there

was just this extraordinary trust and

I’ve heard you say Andy I don’t we never

lost a minute of sleep how do you say it

you just you just didn’t worry I never

lost a minute of sleep over where you

were what you were doing and you should

have that’s what’s so amazing you know

we got there eventually but but the

point and all that that I really hope

that you’re hearing is there really was

because of what you said you you started

you know engaging us with that message

that God has a plan for our lives

and with that is ultimately you’re

accountable to God you’re not

accountable to me you’re not accountable

to your mom we’re gonna raise you but

you’re gonna spend more of your life

accountable to God as an individual then

you’ll ever spend with us and we’re just

gonna we’re just gonna start this as

early as possible on this same topic dad

Trust is a stewardship and it’s a

powerful powerful thing it’s a weight

and you handed that to me I’m at a young

age when I turned 16 after you got back

from that trip actually soon as you got

back from the trip you said well you

gotta go get a job and I said how do you

do that you said you just drive around

and find a job here’s the keys go find a

job so I went started working at the

grocery store cleaning the meat

department at night and that’s right so

with that freedom became you know

responsibility and so I you know I’ve

always worked hard I don’t want to miss

this recently we were having a similar

conversation

and I am I said dad what brings you the

most joy and I thought for sure you

would just point at me but you didn’t I

said what brings you the most joy and I

I didn’t know I could have you know I

had several things I thought you might

say and I loved your answer you said

what brings you the most joy is your

personal relationship with Jesus Christ

that’s right and I’d love for you to

talk about that just a bit because

that’s not a thing and that’s something

that’s been a treasured part of your

Christian experience since you were a

young man and here all these years later

you know what brings you the most joy

and it’s still bad well you know when I

was a kid and I’ll start off being a

teenager and delivering newspapers I

live we lived in a very small house and

so I grew up in the Pentecostal church

Holiness Church where you prayed out

loud so I had found me a place to pray

out loud so that had the church it was

about a block up a street from me and I

went downstairs in the basement area and

went back in a classroom had to go

through that three doors to get in that

classroom and I thought well I’m getting

in pray as loud as I want to and so in

my high school years in junior high

school years that’s where I prayed and

that sort of got me in a good habit of

pray and being able to say it as loud as

I wanted to in and I would look back and

then I delivered newspapers so I got up

at 5:30 every morning and so nobody on

the street but me in a small town so I’d

start praying as soon as I walked out

the door and I’d pray all over the

streets and has he got protected me

several times from different things one

of which is I delivered newspapers in

the afternoon in the morning and I would

go up and down that one of the main

thoroughfares through Danville so that

cars coming in every way and I look I

did that about four or five years and I

think back how many times

I got protected me from walking out in

front of a car and I remember this one

that one day I did walk out in front of

one and this screeching halt

and so and sort of settle down this lady

I knew who she was miss Finch she lived

right for hours delivering papers and

she said chump Stanley don’t get killed

in front of my house and so I look back

and realize how God really did protect

me from just think of it and how many

times I cross the street in four years

of delivering newspapers and so you know

and I because I prayed all the way not I

didn’t pray long way in the afternoon is

too many distractions but to me that’s

the most important thing and when I come

home on Sunday afternoons and as I’m

praying and asking God to give me

direction and I’ve walked through the

house and I pray out loud it’s not

because I think God can’t hear but

that’s just the way I feel no words I

want to express it and I would say to

anybody and I wanted to end in Becky I

didn’t I didn’t say to them when you

need to pray I wanted them to catch it

about watching and seeing what God would

do in their life and I do think that’s

the most important one thing we can do

and mixing it of course with reading the

Word of God because it’s like the

compass you know and that compass is

never wrong that compass is always right

the Word of God and so if I’m asking God

about something then I’m gonna be

praying and I to me the wonderful thing

about about your personal credit life is

and I’m not boasting of that God knows

I’m not but just to think that I can

talk to the Heavenly Father he’s

personally interested in you he knows

all about you

he knows the past present future knows

how long you gonna live

he knows what you what he equipped you

to do best and he’s there to listen to

you talk to him and

and receive from him and someone that

says if you ever heard the gods speak

multitudes of times out loud no he

doesn’t need to speak out loud to me I

just I just wanted to hear what I have

to say and respond and I think it’s very

critical times in my life when prayer

saved me doing the right thing mm-hmm

and I you know you mentioned the house

that First Baptist Church of Miami built

out side in our backyard that

cinderblock house and I would go out to

get him for dinner and I would close the

back door and it wasn’t very far I mean

you know I was a little boy but how far

was that house that little house from

the back of our house 30 feet yeah was

it that yeah 30 40 feet maybe and about

halfway there I could hear him praying I

would hear his voice couldn’t understand

what I would hear his voice open that

door to the shed side before the office

side and he would be stretched out

praying so I just I grew up with that

and to this day I pray on my knees in

the mornings and there’s there’s

something about that posture absolutely

that’s so powerful that I learned from

you and when I talk to pastors I love to

talk about their personal devotional

life because a lot of pastors don’t have

one unfortunately and it’s so funny when

I talk about praying on my knees I can

see the looks on the faces like either I

don’t know what they’re thinking why

would you do that why is that important

does it really matter and I say the poss

we’re we are physical people and our

physical posture says something to us

and it says something to our minds and

our brains there’s a physiological thing

about being on your knees because in our

human experience it is the posture of

submission and I’m absolutely convinced

there’s something to that and you taught

me that and you taught me that that

morning prayer time is where we get

Reese entered it’s you know it’s you

begin the day with I will be done I

don’t know what it is I want to know

your will but at the end of the day

whether I know it or not thy will be

done that one last question dad what do

you want to come to mind when people

think of

if you’re about to leave public life and

people lined up to thank you what would

you want to hear because that’s I think

that says a lot about what you value

most and what you value about your life

so your legacy what you would want

people to thank you for what you want to

be remembered for well I have to be

carefully I answer that I would want to

I would want them to thank me for

the godly life I desired to live in the

truth that I’ve taught them all the

years other ones yeah I don’t like

talking about myself

necessarily I naturally I want everybody

to remember that the key principle is

obey God leave all the consequences Dean

and that I’m genuine and I really and

truly want God to work in people’s lives

and I don’t have any to my knowledge I

don’t have any selfish ambitions I don’t

want to be and I never tried to be

well-known a worldwide known all that

stuff but God’s done a lot in my life

that I would never have dreamed of that

I’m very very grateful and I think

knowing you and having seen you in so

many different environments I think

that’s the word I think you are the most

you’re the most surprised by your

success

you’re the most surprised by the breath

of the ministry and so consequently you

are the most grateful for all that God

has done and we are extraordinarily

grateful for you happy birthday would

you wish him

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RG

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