Dr. Sandy Toyne
$1.00
Dr. Sandy Toyne delivers a gripping testimony-driven message on remembering God’s Word, your identity in Christ, and His sovereign plan through every season of life.
Description
Lest We Forget Overview
In this powerful message delivered on August 29, 2023, Dr. Sandy Toyne shares a deeply personal testimony spanning nearly seven decades of walking with God. Drawing from 2 Timothy 3:15-17 in the Passion Translation, she reminds believers of the urgent need to return to the Word of God — especially in perilous times filled with political confusion, media noise, and spiritual distraction. With warmth, humor, and raw honesty, Dr. Toyne recounts pivotal moments from her life: her first steps into a Baptist church at age four, receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a teenager, leading five children to salvation, preaching her very first sermon at seventeen and watching her alcoholic father walk the aisle, and a dramatic night in a college dormitory when the Holy Spirit kept her from backsliding. Each story carries the same central theme: God never forgets His own, and neither should we forget who we are in Him. This sermon is an urgent, tender call to remember your foundation in Scripture, your identity in Christ, and the irreplaceable responsibility each believer carries to live the Gospel — not just preach it.
Lest We Forget Outline
- 00:00 – Introduction and Opening Prayer: Dr. Toyne introduces her message titled ‘Lest We Forget,’ shares the confirmations she received that morning, and opens in prayer asking for the Holy Spirit’s anointing over her words.
- 04:30 – The Foundation: 2 Timothy 3:15-17: Reading from the Passion Translation, Dr. Toyne anchors her message in Paul’s exhortation to Timothy to remember the holy Scriptures and remain grounded in the Word of God during perilous times.
- 10:00 – A Testimony Rooted in Church History: Dr. Toyne begins her personal journey, recounting her first visit to Calvary Baptist Church at age four and her early experience of the sinner’s prayer in a Pentecostal Holiness Church at age five.
- 17:00 – The Baptism of the Holy Spirit: A vivid and humorous account of receiving the Holy Spirit as a teenager — including pouting at the altar, praying through the night, and eventually discovering years later that her first words in tongues meant ‘Look, look what God is doing’ in the Congolese language.
- 25:00 – Leading Others to Christ and Its Cost: Dr. Toyne describes bringing five neighborhood children to church as a teenager, witnessing all five saved, and later learning that two met tragic ends — a sobering reminder of the eternal weight of every act of witness.
- 31:00 – Preaching Her First Sermon at Seventeen: At seventeen, Dr. Toyne preached her first ten-minute sermon, and her father — a WWII veteran struggling with PTSD and alcoholism — walked the aisle and gave his heart to the Lord for the first time.
- 36:30 – The Night She Almost Backslid: In one of the most gripping moments of the message, Dr. Toyne recounts the Valentine’s Day night she tried to backslide, ended up in a college dormitory, and declared her identity in Christ before a room of stunned strangers — ultimately meeting the man she would marry 52 years later.
- 44:00 – God’s Better Plan and Final Exhortation: Dr. Toyne closes by urging the congregation to take a step back, seek God again, return to Scripture, and remember who they are in Christ — not according to politics or media, but according to the living Word of God.
Scripture References
2 Timothy 3:15-17
Key Takeaways
- The Word of God is your greatest weapon in perilous times — reading the New Testament consistently will sharpen your spiritual discernment and keep you anchored when the world grows chaotic.
- God always confirms His word: when the same message comes through multiple voices in one service, pay attention — the Holy Spirit is speaking directly to you.
- Your personal testimony carries eternal weight; you may never fully know the impact your witness has on the souls God places in your path.
- Knowing who you are in Christ is a spiritual defense — declaring your identity in Him out loud can stop the enemy’s plans in their tracks.
- God’s protection over your life often works through your own mistakes and detours; His plan is not derailed by your worst moments, only redirected toward something better.
- Every believer is personally responsible for knowing the Word of God — you cannot outsource your spiritual maturity to a preacher, a church, or a movement.
- The presence of the Holy Spirit in a congregation is not automatic; it is cultivated through laboring in the Word, worship, and genuine love for God and people.
Lest We Forget Notes
Remembering What You Were Taught
The Passion Translation of 2 Timothy 3:15-17 is the backbone of this message. Paul urges Timothy to remember what he learned from his grandmother, his mother, and his mentor — because the Word imparted in youth becomes the anchor that holds in spiritual storms. Dr. Toyne applies this directly: in a time of political upheaval, media manipulation, and doctrinal confusion inside the church, the believer’s first and most urgent response must be to return to Scripture. Not to commentary, not to social media, but to the living, breathing Word of God that empowers, corrects, and perfectly prepares every servant for every assignment God gives.
The Holy Spirit Is Personally Interested in You
One of the most tender observations Dr. Toyne makes is that in some churches, the Holy Spirit seems interested only in those on the platform — but in a Spirit-filled congregation, He is interested in every single person in the room. This presence, she emphasizes, does not arrive simply because someone sings a song. It is the fruit of leaders and members who have labored in worship, in the Word, and in love for God and people. She calls the congregation to never take this presence for granted, and to recognize the price that has been paid for it to dwell among them.
Your Identity in Christ Is Your Greatest Defense
The dramatic dormitory scene in Dr. Toyne’s testimony is more than an entertaining story — it is a theological statement. When handed a shot glass by four young men who had no idea who she was, she did not simply decline. She declared: ‘I am saved, filled with the Holy Ghost, I walk in the light of the Word, and I am called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.’ That declaration stunned the room and changed the trajectory of her life. Believers who know who they are in Christ carry a spiritual authority that disarms darkness simply by being spoken aloud.
The Eternal Stakes of Personal Witness
Dr. Toyne’s account of bringing five children to salvation as a teenager carries a weight that lingers. Within ten years, one had died in a car accident and another had disappeared under horrifying circumstances. She does not recount these events to discourage, but to awaken: every person we bring into the presence of God has an appointment with Him that we may never fully understand. The work of witness is not routine or mechanical — it is eternal, and believers must resist the temptation to treat outreach as a task to complete rather than a holy moment to steward.
God Redeems Every Wrong Turn
Whether it was a Holiness Church that traded grace for rules, a broken relationship that led to heartbreak, or a deliberate attempt to backslide — God was present through every detour in Dr. Toyne’s story. She did not meet her husband of 52 years at a prayer meeting. She met him while sitting on his bed in a college dormitory during her failed attempt to abandon God. This is not an endorsement of rebellion, but a powerful reminder of Romans 8:28 lived out in real time: God weaves even our foolishness into His sovereign and redemptive plan for those who belong to Him.
Personal Responsibility Before God’s Word
Dr. Toyne closes with a pastoral challenge drawn directly from Paul’s letter to Timothy: you are responsible. Not your pastor, not your denomination, not the worship team. When churches were locked down and services cancelled, many believers discovered they had no personal relationship with the Word of God because they had always relied on a service to feed them. This message calls every listener to open the New Testament, read it in multiple translations, write verses on index cards, and carry them through daily life — because God’s word in you is the only preparation adequate for the times ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main message of Dr. Sandy Toyne’s sermon ‘Lest We Forget’?
The central message is a passionate call for believers to remember their foundation in the Word of God and their identity in Christ. Drawing from 2 Timothy 3:15-17, Dr. Toyne urges Christians not to be swept away by political noise or media confusion but to return consistently to Scripture, which empowers, corrects, and prepares every believer for the assignments God has given them.
What Bible passage does Dr. Sandy Toyne preach from in this sermon?
Dr. Toyne reads from 2 Timothy 3:15-17 in the Passion Translation. These verses describe how every Scripture, written by the Holy Spirit, empowers believers through instruction and correction, leading them into godliness and equipping them to fulfill every assignment God gives them.
What does Dr. Toyne say about the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Dr. Toyne shares that she received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues on April 17, 1965, at around age fourteen. She emphasizes that the Holy Spirit is a daily companion and that praying in the Spirit is a lifelong gift that grows richer over the years. She also recounts discovering decades later that her very first words in tongues were a phrase in the Congolese language meaning ‘Look, look what God is doing.’
Why does Dr. Toyne emphasize reading the New Testament repeatedly?
Dr. Toyne shares that the Lord personally instructed her to read through the New Testament in one translation, then start again in another, and to keep repeating this process. Her reason is grounded in the perilous spiritual climate of our times: believers need to know what God says about current events and what His plan is through them, rather than being shaped by politics, media, or medical voices.
How does this sermon address the problem of spiritual complacency?
Dr. Toyne challenges listeners who have grown so familiar with church routines that they no longer see the people around them who need Christ. She uses the example of church members driving to and from services focused only on their own plans, missing the divine appointments in their neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools. She calls believers to look beyond themselves and do the work of ministry with fresh intentionality and love.
What does Dr. Toyne teach about personal responsibility in the Christian life?
Referencing Paul’s exhortation to Timothy, Dr. Toyne teaches that every believer is personally accountable before God for knowing and applying His Word. She warns against blaming a pastor when things go wrong spiritually, and asks what would happen if a church was suddenly shut down — would believers have enough Word in them to sustain their faith? The answer, she argues, must be yes.
Is this sermon suitable for someone going through a difficult or confusing season of life?
Absolutely. Dr. Toyne’s transparency about growing up in an alcoholic home, navigating legalistic religion, experiencing heartbreak, and nearly making life-altering mistakes makes this message deeply relatable. Her testimony demonstrates that God’s grace is sufficient through every kind of pain, and that no detour is too far for Him to redeem and redirect toward His perfect plan.
What does Dr. Toyne say about the presence of the Holy Spirit in the local church?
She stresses that the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit in a congregation is not accidental — it is the fruit of spiritual labor. Leaders and members who give themselves to worship, the Word, and genuine love for God and people create an atmosphere where the Holy Spirit moves freely. She urges believers to treasure and protect this presence rather than treating it as something automatic or ordinary.
