Oh, thank you so much for letting me be here! Thank you, Pastor. It was so cool growing up in this church, and getting saved here, getting baptised by Pastor Reilly, and little [inaudible] camp, freezing cold summer days that we had at camp, my whole family getting baptised when we were little, and, um, I want to tell the Master’s Commission students that, um, uh, just be amazed.
The umbrella of this church here, where God is going to send you from this church. Believe me, I know what I’m saying, where God has sent me from underneath the umbrella of this church throughout the state, and Alaska is all over the world map right now. There’s something going on in Alaska where, you know, we get calls in our office all the time from national media outlets and international media outlets just wondering what’s going on in Alaska. And I think there’s something going on here with where you all are going as Master’s Commission students and now graduates and what’s going on in the state of Alaska.
And a lot of people are looking at the state for our vast wealth that we, uh, are embracing right now. We’re the richest state in the union in terms of natural resources: our oil, our gas, our minerals, the gold that we have under the ground. We’re very very rich. But our most important natural resource of course is our people, and I’m thinking what I need to do is strike a deal with you guys as you go throughout Alaska. I can do my part in doing things like working really really hard to get a natural gas pipeline, about a $30 billion project that’s going to create a lot of jobs for Alaskans, and we’ll have a lot of energy flowing through here. And pray about that also. I think God’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that.
But I can do my job there in developing natural resources and doing things like getting the roads paved and making sure our troopers have their cop cars and their uniforms and their guns and making sure our public schools are funded, but really all of that stuff doesn’t do any good if the people of Alaska’s heart isn’t right with God. And that’s going to be your job. As I’m doing my job, let’s strike this deal, your job is to going to be to be out there reaching the people, hurting people throughout Alaska, and we can work together to make sure that God’s will be done here. Um, let me go back to growing up here in this church. So many good memories here, Ed. I remember when you first got here too. And here I’m looking at your son Devon going, “You kind of look like him when you first got here.” Ha ha! And who am I to talk though, all those years ago? But
Todd and Christy, this is before they got married and I remember you guys hooked up at the Alaska State Fair, ’cause Christy, she was our, um, she was my nanny when my kids were real little and now my kids are real big. I have a new little one but my oldest, my son Track, he’s a soldier in the United States Army now. He’s an infantryman, and, um, so Track also sends his love to his former nanny Christy. And Track — pray for our military. He’s going to be deployed in September to Iraq. Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right also for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending out on a task that is from God. That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God’s plan.
So bless them with your prayers; your prayers of protection over our soldiers. And speaking of Track also, he just turned 19 and when he turned 18, right before he enlisted, he had to um, get his first tattoo. I was like, “Nah, I don’t think that’s real cool, Son,” until he showed me what it was and then I said we did something right, ’cause on his calf was a big old Jesus fish. So that was OK. And then on his shoulder was, then he had to get another one on his shoulder, a big old map of Alaska with “the Valley” inked in the middle of it. But I was, “that’s enough with the tattoos, son!”
But, um, so, having grown up here, and having little kids growing up here also, this is such a special, special place. The Assembly of God here has been a real center point in the Valley for all these years, and the Valley has been a center point for the state of Alaska. So what comes from this church I think has great destiny. And I say this to the Master’s Commission students who have been here under this umbrella, who are going to be sent out now and bringing people in.
And I just say bless you. And you guys are just a bunch of cool looking Christians also. Ben, I don’t know you well yet, but looking at you I bet people are thinking they’re going to be interested in Jesus Christ through you because of the way you look: this red-headed Sasquatch for Jesus! You look good!
Times are really changing, and with the change looks even change. And that’s something that I noticed about you guys: hip and, uh, uh, uh, creative. I see a lot of creativity in all of you.
I just want to bless you, and oh, because I didn’t know if I was going to get here tonight, I flew in from Juneau last night and I fly again to Juneau tomorrow. So I didn’t prepare anything, thinking my schedule wouldn’t allow me to be here. But I have a word, but really I’m cheating ’cause it’s a, I think it was given to me today but I’m going to give it to the Master’s Commission students because I think it’s so applicable to they are headed. And this word was given to me, bless his heart, by Pastor Ed Kalnins this morning at our big Valley-wide church service.
It was called Ephesians 1:17, and this is what I want to pray over you guys too: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give to you a spirit wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, and that spirit of revelation also including a spirit of prophecy, that God’s going to tell you what is going on and what is going to go on, and you guys are going to have that within you, and it’s just going to bubble up and bubble over and, and it’s going to pour out over the state of Alaska. Again, good good things in store for the state of Alaska. Let us pray for God’s will to be done here, for all of your destinies to be met in this state.
There’s been so many words, Ed, over the state of Alaska, we being the head and not the tail, and, um, I see things now in the works it seems like, things like, that’s coming to fruition. Things are perculating! Things are coming along, and just, you know, uh, praying for an outpouring of God’s spirit here, that revival to be here in Alaska. So all you Master’s Commission students and all of your supporters, all of your friends and family and, um, your friends in this community and, um, throughout the state of Alaska, may you touch them all, and may Alaska be blessed through all of you guys, and I love you guys, and thank you so much for dedicating your lives to Jesus Christ! Thank you!
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