Vance Boelter, the suspected shooter, is an evangelical minister

[ultralite001]

64. Vance Boelter... posted sermons online... A transcript of his "testimony"

This sermon, "Living for God," begins w/ Boelter's "testimony"...
[beginning at 49:17-01:27:05]
It is broadcast w/ parallel translation in French...

VIVRE POUR DIEU - Fr. VANCE BOELTER (Docteur)
ceflabornematadi.officiel

Streamed live on Sep 26, 2021
[beginning at 49:17-01:27:05]

Thanks, brother.

Thank you. Thank you.

I feel the presence of the Lord in this place.

Could you pray with me, please?

Jesus, we thank you for this day. We thank you for every person gathered here, and for every person that would hear this service today.

We pray you watch over them, watch over us, and may the words that I share be pleasing in your sight this morning. Amen.

Thank you for allowing me to be here with you this morning. It's an honor to be here, and I thought I would start by sharing my testimony... how I came to be a Christian.

I was raised in a church since I was the smallest child. I believed in the Bible. I believed in God. I tried to live a moral life. I didn't drink, didn't smoke. Didn't swear. Didn't cuss. I respected my parents, but there was something missing.

When I was a young man, I worked at a factory. It was a vegetable canning factory. I was 17 at that time, and I worked with a man who talked about God all the time.

I would talk about God once in a while or if I found myself in a difficult situation, I would pray, but this guy talked about God all the time.

And I had... There was a hunger stirring in my heart, so every time I went to work, I tried to work right next to that man, and I would ask him questions.

I would ask him questions about God, about faith, about things in the Bible, and I started reading the Bible. I'd read it in the morning before I went to work. I took it to work, and at break I would read the Bible, and I'd get home, and I'd read the Bible after work... and there was this stirring in my heart.

One day at the plant there was a break down, and they sent us away for an hour. This man was from another town. He was from another city -- the guy I worked next to... So I asked him, "What are you going to do for this hour? We can't work."

He said, "There's a lake not far. I'm gonna go there, and I'm gonna pray, and then I'll be back."

And I started thinking, "What would you talk to God for an hour about?" And I saw that he had a relationship with God I didn't have.

It was either than night or a few nights after that when I got home. I started thinking about my life... How I tried to be a moral person... But I asked myself this question: "Who am I living for? Am I living for God, or am I living for myself?"

I was a moral person. I tried to be a moral person, but there were benefits to that. If you're an honest person, people will treat you well. If you're a moral person, there are benefits to that.

If you respect your parents, there are benefits to that. And I looked at my life, and the answer to that question was, "I'm living for me. I'm not living for God."

And when the reality of that hit me, I -- I wept, and I cried. I cried and I cried and I cried. I never cried so hard in my life. I probably wept for a half hour. For a long time, I wept... I cried, and I got on my knees, and I prayed, "God,"... And I remembered every thing I heard in the church services growing up, and I thought of everything Jesus did for me, and I said, "I'm so sorry. Forgive me, God, for living for myself and not for you."

And I said, "Jesus, if you forgive me of my sin and save me, I'll live for you for the rest of my life."

And the presence of God came in that room, and I knew I was right with God, and He changed that selfish person into a person who cared about other people first.

And that encounter with God is just like it happened yesterday. And there became a fire in my heart to live for God, and I went and I had a pamphlet printed of my testimony, and I went around my home town and I knocked on every door. I gave them my pamphlet. I said, "This is what Jesus did for me. He changed my life, and he can change your life, too."

I would save my money so I could go to other places and tell people about Jesus. I would take as many pamphlets in the language as I could. That was usually about 10 thousand pamphlets, and I would go to the places that a lot of people didn't want to go to.

In the Middle East, I went to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Southern Lebanon, and I would give pamphlets to everybody I could, and the only time I would stop is when someone came up with a gun and say, "You need to come with me."

Israeli police stopped me. Israeli army. Palestinian soldiers. UN troops and private security. But I just wanted to tell people about Jesus and what he did for my life.

Living for Jesus isn't easy. When we had... Pastor [xxx] said I had four, but I have five children.

First we had a daughter, and we thought of all God's grace he has given to us, so we named our first daughter, Grace. We had another daughter. God gives you grace, and then you need to have faith. We named our second daughter, Faith. When God gives you grace and you respond with faith, it results in hope. We had a third daughter. Guess what we named her? Hope. Then we had a boy... a son... and I'll tell you why we named him. But our last daughter... our fifth child... we named Joy.

God gives you grace. You express faith. That results in hope... and joy. Amen.

I made a promise to God when I was a young Christian in school... I went to college, I met a believer who discipled me and taught me much about Jesus. His name was David Emerson. About a year later, after I met him, he told me... He was so excited... that he said, "I am going to Africa. I am going with a ministry, and we are going to dig wells for people because they need good water, and then we'll share the gospel."

And I remember the summer he left for Africa, he stopped by to see me in my hometown... to see me one more time before he left, and I felt I should get him to pray for me and bless me.

He went to Africa. He was in Zimbabwe. He sent me letters. He was engaged. He was so excited about God and the Gospel. A short time later people did not want them in the area, so they lied about them, and they said that they were communists, and my friend did not believe in guards or security because, he said, "If somebody comes and they don't know God, and they get killed by security, they're lost."

People came to their farm site... where they were living... and they didn't want to use guns because guns were too loud, so they came with machetes, and they killed everybody. My friend, his fiancee, and about 16 other people. Only two children survived. They hid. They called it the New Adams Farm Massacre. I said, "It was called the New Adams Farm Massacre." They said it was the worst massacre since the Rhodesian war in that country.

I saw it on the news when I was in America, and I cried because I knew on this earth I would see my friend no more, but I would see him again because he knows Jesus, and I can tell you, There was no bitterness in my heart toward the people that killed him. No bitterness. Because I knew if those people that did that horrible thing... if those people that killed them... if they had known Jesus... they wouldn't have done that. So I felt compassion for those people.

I share that story because following Jesus isn't always easy. Me and Pastor [xxx] were talking about the disciples that Jesus had. Eleven of the twelve died horrible deaths... serving the Lord. Some people, especially in America, say if you follow Jesus everything will go good for you. That's not in the Bible. It's not there.

Everything in the Bible is true, and it works for every person everywhere. In communist countries, you tell people you're going to serve Jesus... they may take everything you own and throw you in jail or throw you in the streets. So, if it doesn't work for people in the communist countries, I don't put much stock in it.

But Jesus is always faithful. He knows the number of steps you will take in this life, and, if you're supposed to go over there in this life, He'll make sure you get there. What's important is that every step that we take in this life... be they many or few... that every one is done for Jesus. Amen.

If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Matthew 14. This is where the Bible talks about Jesus walking on the water and Peter. How many people have heard of this story before or read it? I think many people have heard this.

It says, in Matthew 14, verse 22: "Immediately afterward He compelled the disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away."

"...He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

"But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.

"And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.

"When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, 'It is a ghost!' And they cried out in fear.

"But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.'

"Peter responded and said to Him, 'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.'

"And He said, 'Come!' And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.

"But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!'

"Immediately Jesus reached out with His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?'

"When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.

"And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, 'You are truly God’s Son!'"

The Bible doesn't say what motivated Peter to ask that question. We don't know if the Lord put it on his heart or just on his own he wanted to say it. The Bible doesn't tell us that.

But Jesus responded to Peter, and He said, "Come!"

And Peter walked on the water.

Peter didn't look around in the boat to see what all the other disciples were doing. He wasn't worried what they thought or what other people would say. He just wanted to be with Jesus.

And Jesus responded.

Sometimes we may find ourselves in a boat. It may be right after something terrifying happens. But we will never go wrong if we do something and attempt something that's gonna get us closer to Jesus.

A lot of people look at this story, and they talk about the doubt. They talk about the sinking. I look at this story, and I see the walking on the water... because... because he was moving towards Jesus.

Every one of us are going to be in a boat at some time. Maybe your boat is... You haven't given your whole life to Jesus yet. Maybe you're a moral person... a good person... in the eyes of this world. Maybe you don't drink... Smoke... Don't cuss... But if you haven't given your whole life to Jesus, there's going to be an emptiness inside. That may be your boat today. Maybe you're here this morning, and only you would know this.

People thought I was a Christian before I was a Christian. They looked at the outside, but God sees your heart, and He knows... and you know... who you live for... and I implore you this morning to ask yourself, "Who am I living for?"

And if it's not Jesus... You need to get out of that boat... and you need to head towards Jesus... because He died on the cross for you... He shed all His blood for you...

And Jesus said, "It's finished."

All the work is done. In the Bible, in Revelation,it says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." A person painted a picture of that. Jesus knocking, and in the picture there was no doorknob. No handle. The person asked the painter... He said, "You forgot to paint the doorknob... a handle...to open the door." And the painter said, "The door only opens from the inside."

God loves us so much... but He can't choose for you. He died for you. He gave everything for you, and He wants you to be with Him, but the door of your heart only opens from the inside. No one should leave today with that door unopened. Amen.

Because I tell you what... I'm here on a business trip so we can partner with people in the DRC from America... But all the wealth... all the riches... and all the gold in America... and all the gold and wealth in the DRC... If you piled it all up... all the wealth... in America... in the DRC... It's not worth... It's not worth... the value of the person on your left... or the person on your right... or any person you see going home today... That person selling on the street... the vendor... That person's soul and their life is worth more to God than all the wealth in the world because He gave... God gave His only son for every person.

Your boat today may be about something God is calling you to... something the Lord wants to do in your life... or maybe it's something you want to do for the Lord.

Get out of the boat. Step out in faith. Believe God... because this is what I believe... Failing at anything in this life with Jesus by your side is a thousand times more valuable... than succeeding in everything in this life without Jesus by your side.

When Jesus is by your side, you always win. Amen.

Your life may be short on this earth... or it may be long... but you will have succeeded.

When I learned my friend, David Emerson, died in Africa, I made the Lord a promise. I said, "If you ever bless me with a son"... because I was single. I wasn't married at the time. I said, "I will name my son David Emerson." So, when God blessed me with a son, I named him David Emerson Boelter." That's where my son, David, got his name.

Jesus gives us many things. Joy is one thing He wants for all His people. In John 15:11, it says, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full."

The Bible says the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy... Joy is the second thing...

The Bible says the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking... but it's righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

And we should have joy in our hearts. Amen?

Joy doesn't come from the things in this world. I've been to the Middle East and Eastern Europe and I've met many wonderful believers. Many of them spent more of their lives in jail than... than free... but they have a joy in their hearts that the world can't give... and the world can't take away.

And can I be myself today? Can I be myself?

In America, when I think of what Jesus has done for me... How He has forgiven me... How He has forgiven me all my sins. He puts a joy in my heart.

The Bible talks about calves that are born, and they skip around in the stalls. Baby calves that jump... are happy... being joyful... and I get joyful about Jesus.

When I was 17 and I first got saved, I was excited about Jesus... and I'm just as excited about Jesus right here... right now.

And when I get excited, I want to dance. And what Jesus did for me... Ho ho... Ha... Mighty God... He saved my life... Whooo... I'm excited about God. I want to worship him. Almighty God, and He's coming again... And He's got plans... He's got plans... and purposes... for each one of you... and for me...

But we've got to get out of the boat. Stop looking around for what other people are doing. Just get out of the boat. Walk on the water. If you're getting closer to Jesus, you will win. You will succeed.

Thank you very much. God bless you.

* * * * * *
A few other sermons are also posted online here... (translated into English)
https://labornematadi.com/?s=Vance+BOELTE

Like:
Matthew 14:22-33

No child of God should take a step on earth without Jesus.

When we read this passage, we notice that the Bible says nothing about what motivated Peter to say to Jesus, "If it is you, command me to come to you." Jesus simply answered Peter, "Come." Peter stood and walked on the water. He did not look around to see what the other disciples said about him; he simply walked.

It is obvious that if we decide to get up and follow Jesus, men may discourage us, but let us not follow them.

Peter was in the boat with the other disciples without Jesus. If you are in the boat without Jesus you will always have an emptiness in your hearts. So, beloved, get out of your boat and follow Jesus because he gave his life for you, he wants you to be entirely for him and for your hearts to open to him. Even when you experience difficult situations, do not hesitate to cry out to him and he will act (Matthew 14:29-30).

All the wealth of the United States and the DRC put together cannot equal the value of a soul; this is why God, in his love, gave his only Son so that no soul would perish.

Come out, beloved, from your boat (from your routine life without Jesus) and walk with Jesus. If you are with Jesus, you will always overcome; no matter how long you live on earth. Jesus has a wonderful plan for you.

It is better to fail in coming to Jesus than to fail without Him; knowing that Jesus never lets anyone who comes to fail him on the way, he always comes to his aid.

Give your life to Jesus and you will see his wonders in your life!

* * * * *
Comments:
1. Assemblies of God / Pentecostal
2. Uses New American Standard translation of the Bible
3. Does the State Department have this individual's travel history???
4. Will we see his passports for all this oveseas travel he is said to have done???
5. Do copies of the printed "pamphlet" of his testimony exist??? How does it differ from his manifesto???