Mike Self

What is Faith & Purpose?

Ordinary people who have been transformed by an extraordinary God tell their stories of what happened and what their lives are like now.

CAILIN: Welcome everyone to
Faith and Purpose podcast.

Each episode of this podcast contains the
personal testimony of an ordinary person

transformed by an extraordinary God.

My name is Caitlin and I'm
here to introduce this podcast

for my friend Jesse Duke.

Jesse is a husband, father, author,
life recovery guide, lay counselor,

and small group leader, but his
most important role is disciple.

As a disciple of Jesus.

Jesse created this podcast to help other
believers tell their faith stories.

We'll be hearing the personal
testimonies of all sorts of people

who have one thing in common,
Jesus has transformed their lives.

Jesus used parables because he created
us to learn best through story.

And as we listen to how God has worked
in others lives, we find encouragement

and inspiration for our own faith walk.

Whether you are already a believer, or
just a curious seeker, we believe that

as you listen to these stories, you will
be encouraged on your own faith journey.

We are sure that God can speak to you
through one of these episodes, and that

you will see that our Heavenly Father
truly works all things together for

our good, When we simply love and trust
him if you are currently going through

a trial We believe that you will come
to see that your troubles Heartbreaks

and failures are not gravestones, but
stepping stones into new life in Christ.

Here's Jesse with today's guest

Welcome, everybody, to
Faith and Purpose podcast.

Today, we have my friend Mike
Self to share his faith story.

Mike's been a jail chaplain
for many, many years.

He also leads a team of
ministers in juvenile prisons.

He's an active member of Gideon's
International, and in 2018, he retired

from the Postal Service after 39 years.

He's been married to his wife,
Mary, for 52 years, and they have

two sons and three grandchildren.

As you'll hear, he has the gift of
teaching, among other gifts of the Spirit.

Welcome Mike.

Thank you for coming to tell your story.

How are you doing today?

Mike: Very good, Jesse.

How are you getting along?

How's Miss Becky getting along
and the rest of the crew?

Well, thanks for asking.

Becky's doing really good,
Hannah's thriving, and I'm still

getting younger by the minute.

Amen to that.

Well, I'm real interested
in hearing your story today.

Whatever you want to tell us
about your life and your walk

with the Lord, let's get started.

Well, I thank you for the
opportunity, first of all, and

I will include part of you.

And Miss Becky in this, in this, but I'll
give you a little history of who I am

and who we are and where we came from.

Currently, at the point of
this podcast, I'm 70 years old,

live in the state of Florida.

And when I was, I was born in 53
and my dad was in the Korean War

at that time, he was overseas.

So we lived with my mother's mother
and father in Mobile, Alabama.

That's where I was born
and way back in the day.

And so from that point, while dad
was overseas, I had the influence of

a big mama growing up and big mama
was totally sold out to the Lord.

She was always taught a Sunday school
class and did the children's church and

every church that she was involved in.

And all of our grandchildren are
going to know John 3, 16, okay.

And we grew up singing, Jesus loves me.

And so from that point early on, that's
probably the first words I ever said.

You know, but anyway, so at the, once
daddy was out of the air force, he

was an air traffic controller and was
transferred to Jacksonville, Florida.

And with the government, and we lived in
the Jacksonville, Florida area since 1958.

And in that time span, we
attended churches, primarily

two, two churches, both in the
Assemblies of God denomination.

Mama was a Sunday school teacher
and in the choir, so was Daddy.

Daddy was secretary treasurer.

So every time the doors
were open, we were there.

We were there physically.

Okay.

We were there physically.

And I won't say I was there spiritually.

All right.

I could do the stuff and I,
I knew the, knew everything.

But it wasn't until I was 12 years old
that there was an evangelist come through

by the name of Vanderplug, and he was a
Polish guy and crazy as anybody can be.

And I felt the Spirit of God and
conviction at the age of 12, and I ran

to the altar sincerely because in our
church, though, it was small on Sunday

nights, everybody went to the altar
because you had to confess every one of

your sins that you had done the whole
week, you know, you, you felt that the

power conviction in it, when you got up
there, if you hadn't had a good scene,

you lied, made up a scene, confess it,
you know, so, so anyway, at the age of

12, I did that, but unfortunately the.

Like it says in Mark chapter four, the,
in the parable of the seed, the sower, it

says the cares of this world got involved.

And so as I became a teenager, I
went the way of rebellion, as it

were, grew up playing baseball, as
a matter of fact, little league.

Junior League, Pony League, and then I was
fortunate enough to make the high school

baseball team, so sports was a good,
good part of it, and riding our horse.

And here's the funny thing about
it, in as much as that I was saved

at 12, our church had a program
where you became a junior teacher.

And I was asked to, at the age of 14 to
go back in and be a junior teacher with

another gentleman with an older gentleman
as a trainer to teach Sunday school.

And it was a piece of cake.

But you know what, when you start reading
from a teaching standpoint, you actually

start digging in for more information.

And I think that was the seed
that was planted in me that

helped lead me to where I am.

As in the introduction that you gave me in
the very beginning, I am a jail chaplain.

Now I am in charge of a team for
teaching juvenile prisoners who have

made bad choices and they are in prison.

And one of the things that we stress is
teaching and mentoring these young men.

And I'll, in my story, you'll
hear how we get to that point.

But at the age of 14, I think it's where.

The seed was planted to be a teacher.

Now I did see daddy do it,
mama do it, big mama do it.

And it was modeled before me.

And many times we become what we see
and model, and in the prison system,

I can say that over half, if not three
quarters of the men and the boys that

are in prison, uh, come from prison.

Families who the father, the uncle, the
grandfather, there's somebody in the

family and it's in the prison system
and it's been modeled before them.

And they become that drunks become
drunks, watching other drunks drink before

them, not thinking, not understanding
how that alcohol can grab it.

Same as smoking cigarettes and all that.

You don't understand.

You see somebody else doing it.

But you don't understand the reality
of how it can grab you and, uh, so

we become what we see, so to speak.

And so anyway, fast forward a little
bit, I, uh, I, uh, in my rebellious

attitude at the age of, uh, 15.

As bad as I hate to say it, I was kicked
out of, in my sophomore year, I was

suspended from school on December the
20th, 1968, because I was drunk at school.

Now my, the story is, and I don't even
think I've shared it with my parents.

And so if my mother's listening,
just plug your ears for a moment,

but you know, that was the thing.

So.

I had a buddy of mine and he
could get some liquor and so.

He could pay an old drunk to run into
the store and, and buy the liquor for us.

And so he did.

So I decided to take a fifth of
whiskey to school in my trumpet case.

And believe it or not,
I'm not a trumpet player.

I was in the eighth grade band and
there was four trumpet players and my

music teacher had me sit in seat five.

Because I was such a bad influence, but
I used that trumpet case to carry that

liquor in and there was several of us
that got snookered over that liquor.

And me and a buddy of mine were suspended.

Another guy was totally kicked
out of school because he

had been in so much trouble.

But having said that, that is
what led my father to realize

that there was a problem with me.

And he actually moved us into
a little country town to get

me away from that influence.

Well, you can, you can take,
you can take and move the

environment, but it's the heart.

And so there was still
deception in the heart.

But anyway, went to a new school,
did well in sports and football and

baseball, had the opportunity to.

try out or to at least advance
towards some lower level of

baseball and did not perform well.

So it just wasn't in the
understanding to do that.

So anyway, I married my
high school sweetheart.

We immediately started a family.

And as of this recording,
we've been married 52 years.

We have two sons, but in that I did
the up and down thing as a father.

And here's how I came
back to faith in the Lord.

We were, I was in for a job change.

I was working at a shipyard in
Jacksonville and, and my in laws were,

he was a retired postal, uh, employee.

And he had, he was looking
out for his daughter.

He wasn't looking out for me,
but he was looking out for the

daughter and the grandchildren.

I don't know if you've ever been in
a situation like that, but anyway,

he said, he said, you need to put
your application in the post office.

Well, I did.

And they actually took the test,
passed the test and all that.

Then it had to come to
the decision of, okay.

You know, show up for orientation
and they gave, it was two weeks out.

So that means that I was going
to have to give my notification

to my current employer.

So I went to see him visit my father and
mother and sister who lived in Columbus,

Georgia, as a matter of fact, and went
up there just to visit him and to talk

with daddy and seek daddy's advice.

And at that time I was not a Christian.

And the pastor of the church, dad
moved up there after he retired to

be a business agent for our former
pastor, who was my childhood pastor.

And this man, him and his
wife are just great people.

She unfortunately, well I
don't say unfortunately, she

is in heaven to this day.

And he's still over in West
Florida, which I go to see once

every six months, if possible.

And for sure, once a year, I
go by and see him, see him.

But anyway, so he was preaching that
morning, great message, great message.

But our youngest son was
sick and he couldn't go.

He was just sick as a dog.

Woke up that morning sick as a dog.

So the wife stayed home with him and
the rest of us all went to church.

And in that altar, it was a great
message, but you know, I'm, I'm who

I am and I'm not going to budge.

I don't know if you've ever been in that
category that you want to stand in for.

Come forward.

Well, I wanted my son
healed because he was sick.

I mean, he was sick as a dog.

So I got up and went forward.

And this is no kidding.

This is one of those life moments.

And as I was walking down the center
aisle, you kind of understand there's

about 800 people in this church.

It was the biggest church, Assemblies
of God church over in Columbus, Georgia.

And it was huge.

full of people.

And so here I am walking down at center
aisle and there was probably 2025 people.

I don't really recall the number, but
the aisle was full and the pastor's

wife was sitting on the platform
and she saw me coming down there

and she didn't take the steps down.

She jumped down off the platform
and met me at the altar.

And she said, Mike, did you
come down here and get saved?

I said, yes, ma'am.

You go figure.

That was the furthest thing from
my mind was giving my life back to

the Lord in a productive manner.

That was, that was it.

As soon as I said that, I
started crying like a baby.

Mm-Hmm.

All of the guilt.

All of the, all of the, you can't classify
it as anything else other than guilt.

Mm-hmm.

Come flooding through my mind and
my understanding every 'cause I, I

knew the way, the whole nine yards,
I could tell you each and every

situation where I had went wrong and
all that was cataloged in my mind.

Yeah.

And it just hit and it, and it just
hit the expression button and buddy.

I was crying like a baby and snot where
she had to get, she had to get a tissue

and said here, you know, and all that.

And I knelt down at that point
in time and said a rededication

prayer, a committal prayer.

And I'm in it, I'm in it at that time.

So we went, we, and here's the
thing, this is, this is it.

When we got back, when we arrived back
at the house, Sean was outside playing.

Wow.

He was.

Had you, had you gotten to the
point of asking for healing for him?

No, it was all about you.

I did say this, I did say this, after all,
God, I, I, I, I did say I came forward to

pray for Sean, and sister prayed a short
prayer for him, and that was it, that was

it, and so that was at the age of 27, when
I made that commitment, and I would like

to say it, and you come back, I changed
jobs, things were new, went to work for

the post office, and I retired after
39 years with the post office myself.

And, and that was that that was a trip in
itself, but in that, when I recommitted

my life to the Lord and all that, and my
boys were young, I had always now look

ever since they were small, even though
I wasn't where I was supposed to be.

We took the boys to church.

We actually sent them to a
Christian school in Jacksonville.

And so I knew the right way.

And so the boys at that time were,
I think, seven and five years of

age when I gave my life to the Lord.

Then I became active in church.

Eventually became a Sunday school
teacher and myself and then was on

the church board and did all these
kind of glorious things as it were.

And then, and then they went on.

I would like to say that my boys did
well as far as following in the footsteps

of The Christian father, but like me,
they, they did just the, as it say, the

left road instead of the right road.

And they've had their
challenges over the years.

And both of them now stand in a.

Position of having a relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ, which is

good, but I will say that after they
graduated and we became empty nesters

and I started a construction company
while I was working for the post office.

And had a business going on
one hand and working for the

government on the other hand.

And the scripture says a double minded
man is unstable in all of his ways.

And so there's, there's challenges
that come forward in every situation.

And I was able through the
construction business and the roofing

business to have extra income.

And I provided the worldly.

Things for the boys.

Cars.

The oldest one went to college.

Of course he had to borrow
some money to go to college.

We didn't have all the money to do it.

But we gave him the, the opportunities.

In fact, he, the oldest one, did
graduate with his master's degree

from Oral Roberts University.

In psychology, but anyway, so through
that, we had had the money and I wasn't

paying attention and you have to remember
this and this is a good instruction

and through all of my challenges and
I'm trying to keep this thing short

so we can help out the listeners
in as much as I'm going to get to.

A section of understanding here
that's going to for all you

listeners out there as you listen.

I do want you to take notes when I
give you the scriptures and write them

down because what's going to happen
is when you go back and you read the

scriptures and understand my testimony
will reflect back on you like Paul's

testimony in the, in the epistles.

About his examples and his challenges,
and many of us refer back to what Paul

did, what Peter did or whatever else.

And we can find soltis and understanding
and how we're supposed to move.

The words of Jesus written in red
give us soltis and understanding of

how to chart our course properly.

But anyway, the old saying is this, no
baby, nobody holds your baby like you do.

And I got too big for my britches.

Um, Always, always made a comment
that I had a bad business owner

and that's why I went bankrupt.

Well, the business owner was
me, you know, but I hired a

fella and put my trust in him.

And again, we were making money and he
began not paying attention to the jobs.

In one week, one week, I
lost two major contractors.

They provided me with 6,
000 a month income one week.

I lost both of them.

And when you lose somebody, because
they don't give a rip about you.

They don't give you a second chance.

I mean, that's it, you know,
and I lost two, two contractors.

And from that, so I eventually
had to close the business down.

I did not declare bankruptcy.

I closed the business down and
mortgaged my house, extra land.

And I paid off all of my suppliers that
I, and I just didn't do any more business.

And here's the, here's the part, I mean,
this, that was a challenging thing.

And it, and you've heard the
stories about depression and.

Now, Satan can challenge an individual
and there may be people out there that

have gone through some serious things.

Now look, when you know, death
is, is a tragic situation.

It's a life changing moment for anybody.

They say divorce is just as traumatic
as death, not only on the individual.

getting the divorce but the
children and those around them.

Well I tell you what when you pour
everything into a business and that and

you put your your identity in a business
when you lose that it is death and buddy

I went through depression and if there
was ever a scripture that would have given

you permission to commit suicide and still
make it to heaven I think I would have

done it but you can't and that's your
pride wanting you to go in there and Do

yourself in because of the way that you
had things planned and it didn't work out.

Right.

And, and if you lose your identity,
like you mentioned, that's an open

door to that kind of thinking.

Oh yeah.

I'm in prayer groups with professional
athletes now with doctors and I'm

in several different prayer groups
and the athletes will tell you, you

know, when they lost, when they lost
their identity, when their physical

body couldn't perform anymore.

When they lost their identity,
they were like a boat on the water

without any power, just floating
around and being tossed around.

Then I found myself in that
position, but, and here's the thing.

So I'm floating around in this and
back when I was making money in the

construction business, I joined the
Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship

Association, which was a great, it
is still, but what back then was a

super, uh, organization was Deema
Sukkarian is the founder of it.

But anyway, I met a man by the
name of Stan Reed, who was a member

of, and for those that listen to
this thing, if you ever knew Dr.

Homer G.

Lindsay, Jr., who was the first,
the pastor of First Baptist

Jacksonville, uh, back in its heyday.

I mean, and Dr.

Lindsay was a great man.

Well, anyway, Stan was his prayer
partner, and Stan, as we come to find

out later on, won the bronze star in
the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

He was about five foot, six, five
foot, six and a half, maybe depending

on what shoes he's wearing that day.

And might've weighed 130 pounds,
but he was a double black belt.

And this guy, unassuming white haired
grandfather, soft smoking voice.

And the first thing he'd ask
you is, do you know Jesus?

Well, and I give you this update now.

He also, I met him in the
full gospel businessman.

He also was the jail chaplain at our local
county jail and been that way for years.

Well, anyway, so when I closed my
business down and going through this

depression time, I get a phone call
from 1 of the contractors and said

that a roof that I put on a lady's
house that she had lost 100, 000

dollar paint because the roof leaked.

And they were ready to sue me.

So here I am with my tail behind
me, having to go over there and

meet with this owner who lost this
100, 000 painting because of water

had dripped on it from the chimney.

Well, the short story of that, it was
the chimney leak and not the roof.

So I didn't have to pay for it,
but I didn't know that at the time.

So here I am, tail tucked between my legs.

So to speak and I'm driving over to
Fernandina over there to face the music

so to speak and so There's a local
Hardee's restaurant And I said, you

know, I'm gonna give me an ice cream
cone I had 25 bucks in my pocket a 20

bill and a 5 bill So I pulled in there
and have you ever put out a fleece?

You know, this is what God if you want
me to do this I'll do this, you know,

you put these fleeces out and all so I
said all right if I can If I can get that

ice cream cone, it'll, it'll be okay.

There won't be nobody in the drive thru.

So as I'm driving down the road,
I can see the drive thru over

there, and there's only one car.

I said, hey, I'm gonna pull in
there and get me an ice cream cone.

Pull around there, and there's six
cars backed up giving their order.

So I said, this ain't it.

So I drive around, and I say to myself,
all right, if the second parking spot

is open, I'm gonna, I'm gonna pull
into that parking spot and go inside.

Now, now, come on, you gotta hear this.

So what happens?

You get around the corner, second
parking spot's open, so I pull

in there in a park and go inside.

And here's the point of
this little short story.

Stan Reed was standing there.

He didn't remember me from Adam's
house camp because I hadn't been

to a meeting in six or seven years,
so he didn't remember who I was.

But I had enough sense to know
this, that the seed you sow

is the seed you gonna reap.

And so I had 25 bucks in my pocket.

I took that 20 bill out and I folded it
up and I gave him a Pentecostal handshake.

You know, and I said, I said,
here, brother Reed, this is,

this is for the jail ministry.

And that man grabbed my hand and
I reintroduced myself to him.

He said, Oh yeah, Mike.

He said, then he, he takes his
left hand and lays it on my wrist.

So now he has my right hand
with both of his hands.

And he says.

Uh, what you doing Sunday night?

And I said, well, I'm going to church.

He said, come out to the
jail and give your testimony.

Well, his, his assistant chaplain
was the mechanic that owned the

local garage over there that I
used to get my trucks and vehicles

worked on and buy gas from as well.

And I knew that he was
assistant chaplain out there.

I said, okay, I'll come
out there and give.

And this is no kidding.

As soon as I walked in past the vestibule
into the confinement area, it is like

somebody laid a trench coat on me.

A coat, I kid you not, was almost like
Elijah's mantle being placed upon Elisha,

as it were, when he threw it down.

But anyway, it was, it was
almost that same presence.

And even as I tell this story now,
I can feel that man coming on me.

And I knew that I knew that I
knew that I knew that I knew I was

right where I was supposed to be.

And as a matter of fact, that
was 26, almost 27 years ago.

And as I tell people often, I never
went back to my church on Sunday night.

Well, every Sunday night I was
out there and then eventually they

asked me to do the Wednesday nights.

Because they had two different nights.

They did it all.

So I did Wednesday nights for years.

And then, when I retired from the post
office in 19, I became the chaplain.

Chaplain Reed, the older man, he
eventually passed on and went to glory.

And then, Chaplain Patterson, who
was my mechanic, took his place.

And he just recently
passed away this past week.

I was gonna ask you about him.

I hadn't heard his name in a long time.

Yeah, yeah.

Unfortunately, he went on to
be with the Lord last Saturday,

and it's not unfortunately.

But from a standpoint, I'm missing my
buddy, but he's in glory, son, and I was

with him four days before he passed away.

And I know that some of the listeners out
there don't understand and may not have

an understanding of speaking in tongues
and that relationship with, as Paul.

When only Paul said I speak in tongues
more than you all will anyway, and the

final moments of brother Patterson's
life as I was sitting there, he would

be talking to me and then all of a
sudden he throw his hands up and start

praising the Lord and start speaking.

Well anyway, having said that about
getting involved in a jail ministry here's

here's the scriptures that I want to leave
with everybody in your understanding.

From that aspect of being engaged in the
chapel, uh, in the chaplaincy and running

into guys that are at life's end of
situation down, you know, lost everything

you're in jail and I'll put in there.

Here's the, here's the difference
between jail and prison.

Jail is when you're arrested.

You hadn't been charged.

You're waiting to go to court.

You're trying to manipulate
your way out of everything.

You're coming up with all this.

So you're all the time making excuses.

So you find a lot of people
that get jailhouse religion.

You know, they they've been
caught and want to straighten up.

They're looking something.

So they're bargaining with God.

They're putting those fleeces out.

You know, God, you get me out of this
situation and such and such, you know,

there's two places in the world where
there's more prayers prayed in the back

of a taxi in the back of a patrol car.

So every one of these guys, they'll,
they'll, they'll pray and come

into a semi face with the Lord,
but in through this and all my

experiences, I started studying.

And all of my life experiences led
me up to be in the jail ministry.

And the jail ministry has opened
my eyes to a way far greater

things than, uh, will occur.

Now, if we go through to understand
adversity, I want you to write this

scripture down and I'm going to
read it to you in the King James

Version so that you can hear it.

And then as the listeners come back
in, they can understand some of this.

It's found in 1 Corinthians chapter
10 and verse number 13 in King James

reads, There hath no temptation.

Taken to you, but, but such as is
common to man, but God is faithful.

Oh, is that true?

Who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that you are able but with the

temptation also make a what make a
way to escape that you may be able

to bear it now to shorten that up
everybody right the rain falls on the

just and the unjust okay life situation
happens god doesn't throw anything

on us To punish us or anything else.

I want you to get that
from an understanding.

God doesn't punish us for anything.

We, we make the decisions and we put
ourselves in situations and it is

us that, that is the culprit of it.

God is there with us all the time.

Many times His Holy Spirit is
trying to direct us away from

making those bad decisions and
we make a decision not to listen.

Okay.

Right, right.

And so, and here's the thing.

God never punishes people.

He never chastises people.

We bring the punishment upon ourselves.

Okay, now the way of escape
that this scripture is talking

about is the scripture.

He's already answered our challenging
situation in the scripture, and

it is up to us to get in there
and dig it and find it out.

It's just like when you've got
a problem with an automobile

or any type of equipment.

You can go to the shade tree mechanic who
has some general knowledge, but the OEM,

the original equipment manufacturer has
made a manual and you go to that manual

and it is going to tell you exactly what
to do, where to go, step by step process,

and you're going to fix that car, that
dishwasher, whatever it is, you're going

to fix it through that OEM manual, and
it's the same thing it is with the Bible.

God has already put everything that you
and I need into scriptures, you're We just

have to go to the manual and find it out.

And he doesn't withhold anything from us.

He says, when you ask of me, I
will give it to you liberally.

I will give you the information liberally.

We just have to be patient.

But here's the thing.

He can see our heart.

Am I trying to manipulate God
just to get this answer and get

myself out of a jam, you know,
and all this other kind of stuff.

God can see what the
intent is of our heart.

In fact, that's why Lucifer
was kicked out of heaven.

It says that iniquity was
found in your heart and boom,

he kicked him out of heaven.

See, God knows what the
intent of our heart is.

Many times he walks with us through
that situation so that we can

recognize where we are deficient.

And how we need to approve.

That's what a, an athletic
coach trainer does.

It sees where we're deficient.

It helps us to work muscle groups in
different areas in order to strengthen

our core, to strengthen ourselves.

Many times we have back problems,
shoulder problems, leg problems,

and it's caused from a core problem.

Your stomach muscles are not
holding your skeletal frame right.

And that's the same way it is in the
scriptures and the understanding.

Having said that, one of the greatest,
because time is growing short here, one

of the greatest passages of scriptures
that scripture that I have discovered is

the book of Ephesians, the entire book,
and I might say Mark chapters four and

chapter five, and maybe at some given
point in time in the future, we can have

a part two and go into this, but into
any kind of depth, but right now, Jesse's

Uh, desire is for encouragement for
those lives for you listeners that are

listening to us now when I was challenged
as a custodian, I was working evening

shift with the post office and, uh, in
a, in a young lady that was a part time

employee where I was at the post office.

Said, said, Hey, aren't you
my, my pastor's mailman?

Aren't you, aren't you the mailman?

What it was.

I was a mailman for 13 years and
there was a pastor of a church and

I delivered the mail to their house.

And occasionally I would visit this
church on Friday nights or whatever, as

a mailman and everybody got to know me
as the mailman, nobody knows my name,

but I can go to that church that is day.

30 years later, and I'm the mailman.

And so this girl, she says, you know,
she says, we pray in the month of

July, 24 hours a day at the church.

Won't you come pray with us?

I said, I, so I did in the first year.

It was good when I'd get off at work,
1130 at night, I'd go to that church

and pray for 30 minutes to an hour.

The second year that I went.

I had an, my, our son had graduated from
Oral Roberts University and Oral gave

him a signed copy of his autobiography
and I read the autobiography and in that

Oral Roberts was told by God, he said,
when he became a pastor, he said, he

said, if you'll read Matthew, Mark, Luke,
John and Acts on your knees for 30 days.

are for a month.

There is where your ministry is
found and there are the miracles that

you will perform in your ministry.

This is when Oral Roberts was in his 20s.

He was just getting started in a ministry.

Well, hold on a second.

Let's say that, say the books again,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.

Yes, sir.

The first five books.

You got to understand first five books.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are
the first four of the New Testament.

And that's telling, giving, that
is Jesus exemplifying everything.

Okay.

He's giving the examples.

He's showing.

He's showing all of us the kingdom of God.

And then the book of Acts is
when Jesus is not around anymore.

And then those that were listening
had to ante up themselves

and do the things of God.

I'll ask you this little
technical question.

When is a child no longer a child, Jesse?

When is a child no longer a child?

When he's responsible for himself.

No, you know the true answer to that?

A child is no longer a child
when the parents are dead.

Oh, but see, he sent, he gave, he, he gave
a Holy Spirit, so he really wasn't dead.

I mean, that's the way I see it.

Well, no, I, well, yeah, , but, but
what I'm saying is a child is no longer

a child when its parents are dead.

Now the child has nobody to go
back to, and they're grown up.

They're on their own, you
see, they're on their own.

And that's what happened when Jesus left.

Now, the disciples were on
their own and then they have

to start scratching their head.

What are we going to do?

Peter said, I'm going
to go back to fishing.

And then when, when, when, when
the price came back, he said,

go get Peter and everybody else.

And I huddled up and they, they
had another 40 days of experience.

And then he told them.

Go to the upper room or go wait for
the endowment of power of the Holy

Spirit and they were there for 10 days.

You have to understand 10 and what
the significance of the number 10

is that was the day of Pentecost.

That was the 50th day.

50 represents Jubilee in Scripture,
and that means nothing missing,

nothing broken, all things
returned to the original owner.

And anyway, Oral Roberts was told to read
the first five books of the New Testament.

The first five books, the number
five in scripture represents grace.

So in that grace, those five, what I've
termed the five books of grace, Matthew,

Mark, Luke, John, and Acts, you learn by
example of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

And then you, you do the own job
training in the book of Acts.

And there's where parents, educators.

I'm speaking to the audience now.

Let me tell you what you do the same
thing and it will be revelatory to you.

But back to my story, I
remember reading that.

So when I went to this church to pray,
I got on my knees and I said, Lord,

all right, what do you want me to read?

What do you want me to do as a
devotional during this time of

prayer in the month of July?

And it come to me just like I'm talking
to you read the book of Ephesians.

So what I did is I had my Bible with
me and they're on my knees when I

would get off work and I would go to
this church and pray at night that

and I didn't stay long and just to
make everybody feel comfortable.

Sometimes when you pray and
you're tired, what do you do?

You wake yourself up snoring as
you're sitting there praying.

I don't know if anybody's ever done that.

And you, and you look down at your Bible
and there's drool marks down there,

you know, and it wasn't tear marks.

So, anyhow, and so I would read, sometimes
I'd fall asleep, but I'd usually spend an

hour, uh, because what did Jesus say to
the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane?

Could we not tarry with me one hour?

So the goal was always
to be there one hour.

Sometimes I made it, sometimes
I didn't, just depending,

but, but that was the goal.

So anyway, I was reading the
book of Ephesians and let

me tell you what, I did it.

I read it during that time period.

Every time I'd get off work, I'd go in.

So five days a week for that, for that
month of July, I read that tongue.

And let me tell you what
it opened my understanding.

It opened my understanding.

Many of us have situations in life.

Many of us have families in life.

Many of us have.

Challenges.

Look, life is full of challenges
and it's how we look at them.

I look at them as a common thing
that's fixing to happen to me.

There's an answer for it.

So I don't get stressed out over it.

If I find myself getting stressed
out, that means that I haven't

done what Proverbs 3, says.

Trust the Lord with all thine heart and
lean not for thine own understanding.

And I'll always acknowledge him
and he will direct your path.

Well, I hadn't done that
if I get stressed out.

But here's what I discovered in Ephesians.

And then after I discovered it in
Ephesians, I began hearing pastors

preach on it and and I'm telling
you, this is something else.

Now, this is Ephesians chapter
1 and this is in the King

James and it's verse number 3.

It says, Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Who half blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

That is one of the things that I
just, I repeatedly tell the adult

prisoners on a consistent basis,
half blessed, half is past tense.

It's already done.

Right.

It's done.

It's done.

It's done.

Half means past.

And the last two words of
that verse are in Christ.

You have to be in Christ to
receive all the heavenly blessings

because it is for those who have
the understanding of belief.

You and I as men cannot, we can, we
can have all the book knowledge we

want, we can even teach on childbirth,
but we cannot teach childbirth like

a woman who has given childbirth.

Now you got to admit that, even
though science is trying to change

that today, we won't get into that.

It ain't going to happen,
I can guarantee you that.

But you see, you have to be in
Christ, and so you can't talk about

Christianity, you can't talk about the
things of God, unless you have Jesus

Christ living on the inside of you, and
that's the experience that you need.

Now, everybody, I want
you to listen to this.

Now, we're reading from Ephesians.

Chapter one, we've
already read verse three.

Now we're jumping down to verse 15
and listen to how I'm going to read

it to you the way that it is written.

Then I'm going to come back and read it to
you with the intent and the understanding.

Okay.

Picking up at verse 15, it says,
wherefore I also, after I heard of

your faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ
and the love unto all the saints.

Cease not to give thanks for you
making mention of you in my prayers

that the God and father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the father of glory may

give unto you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of him.

The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened that you may know.

What is the hope of his calling and what
the riches of the glory of his, of his

inheritance and the saints and what is
the exceeding greatness of his power

to us were to believe according to the
working of his mighty power, which he

wrought in Christ, when he raised him
from the dead and set him at his own

right hand with him in heavenly places.

Far above all principality, power,
might, and dominion in every name

that is named, not only in this world,
but also in that which will come and

has put all things under his feet
and given him to be head over all

the church, which is his body, the
fullness of him that filleth all in all.

So that's what Paul was
writing to the Ephesians.

Now, if you have to understand the
Ephesus church and the situation and

where it was at and all, he, Paul
wrote this to the Ephesians church, but

he's also writing this scripture for
all of us, even today and all anybody

that's, that, that is born hereafter
for the future, the Lord, Terry, another

thousand years, it's for everybody.

But listen, when you take
the pronoun and you put a.

Now, in it, listen to what it says.

And for all you readers, I'm gonna
make Jesse feel good because I'm

gonna, I'm gonna put his name in
there and listen to what it says.

Wherefore, I also, after I heard
of Jesse's faith in the Lord Jesus

and love unto all the saints,
cease not to give thanks for Jesse.

Making mention of Jesse in my prayers
that the God and father of our Lord

Jesus Christ may give unto Jesse, the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the

knowledge of him, the eyes of Jesse's
understanding being enlightened that Jesse

may know what is the hope of his calling.

And what the riches of the glory
of his inheritance and the saints

now when he says when the when it's
referring to his air is talking about

Jesus and now picking up in verse 19.

And what is the exceeding exceeding
greatness of his power price power

to us word who believe, according to
the working of God's mighty power.

Which he wrote in Christ when he raised
him from the dead and set him at his

own right hand in heavenly places.

Far above all principality, power,
mighty dominion, and every name that

is named, not only in this world, but
also in that which is to come, and

hath put all things under his feet,
and given him to be head over all

the church, which is his body, the
fullness of him that filleth all in all.

Now, here's a little
short story on this thing.

Nowhere in the scripture does it tell
us to pray for somebody to get saved.

It never says it.

There's no verse in the Bible
that says you need to pray.

For such and such to get say what it
does say right here is that we are to

pray for the eyes of their understanding
to be enlightened that the spirit of

wisdom and knowledge come upon them.

That's what it's saying.

It says unto you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation and the knowledge of him.

Who's it talking about of the him?

of Jesus, the eyes of Jesse's
understanding, Mike's understanding,

Willie's understanding, Carol's
understanding, being enlightened,

that they may know what is the hope
of Jesus calling, God's calling,

and what the riches of the glory
of God's inheritance in the saints,

Jesus inheritance in the saints.

Now, in conclusion, I want to say this
much, people don't know this, but as

I was telling you about how the demand
will come up on me when I came to the

jail, one of the experiences in the
life that I had was, but Sunday school

superintendent in my church, he walked up
to me one Sunday and he said, Hey, Mike.

He said, I got something
I want you to pray about.

He said, you know, we do this basketball
outreach and this thing to this juvenile

prison over there in Jacksonville.

And he said, we do it
once a month on Saturdays.

But we were thinking, man, the
Bible says to make disciples.

We were thinking about
starting a Sunday school class.

He said, don't you stop
and think about that.

I said, okay, I'll do it.

No, no, you need to stop and
pray, but I said, no, I'll do it.

He said, no, you got to pray about it.

I said, no, I'll do it.

Because he knew I was up in
the jail, you know, doing that.

So I said, I'll do it.

And he didn't know what to say.

He said, well, let me
tell you what he said.

You weren't our first choice,
but the other guy turned us down.

So I said, so come in second place.

That's it.

Now, look.

Here he says this.

He tells me this on a Sunday.

So a buddy of mine was an educator, taught
at a juvenile prison up in Nassau County.

And at that time, it's no longer in
effect there, but it was Nassau Halfway.

So I called my buddy up and I said,
hey, I said, do they have anything that

they do for the juveniles over there?

He said, yeah.

He said, there's different
churches come out each week.

And he said, they'll do something
on a Sunday night out there.

And I said, Hmm, I said, who can I
find out if I can come over there?

He said, well, and he gives me
the director's name and by the

way, his name was Duke as well.

And, uh, so he gave me Mr.

Duke's phone number and I called him
up and said, I said, you know, I'm

such and such, uh, blah, blah, blah.

And he, uh, I told him I went to
the Nassau, uh, the jail up there.

And so he said, yeah, he said,
he said, I want you to come out

when the Presbyterians come out.

He said, there's a, he said,
there's a couple there.

He said, it's Jesse and Becky.

And he said, they make a difference
in the kids lives out of all of them.

He said, I want you to learn under them.

So people, I'm telling you the
story of how I met Jesse and Becky.

And this is no kidding.

So I'll go out there and I meet Jesse
and Becky, and there's another guy

that shows up by the name of Jeff Hall.

And, and so we're there with
Jesse and Becky and we see

what they do and all that.

And this is great.

So I'm thinking to myself, man,
I want to come back next week.

Jeff and I had never met.

I said, Hey, you want
to come back next week?

He said, yeah.

He said, well, it's a different church.

I said, yeah, but we'll learn from them.

So we come back the next week
and the church doesn't show up

and it's just me and Jeff there.

And so I remember that.

And so we started doing it.

And that was the third Sunday
night or third or fourth.

I forget which one it was, but
anyway, so we started doing it.

So the next month when the Presbyterian
and Jesse Becky rolled around,

we were there to learn more, but
that was the, the understanding.

And I'm going to close with this,
with this, this statement, we were

involved in at Nassau halfway house
and we started giving gifts and we

started doing the Sunday school there.

So we would come on Sunday
morning, Jeff and I did.

He went to First Baptist Fernandina Beach,
and I went to my church in Jacksonville.

And we started teaching a Sunday
school lesson to those boys and

seeing their lives change, people.

And here's, here's the thing that got us.

We would give, the director at that time
said, Can you give some gifts to the boys?

Can you give them Bibles?

And so, yeah.

So what we did is, we fixed up a
shoe box, and put like toothpaste

and socks and a knit cap in there.

And it was a Christmas present
and the very first year.

And I wasn't there because I had to work.

And Jeff said, when he gave
out those Christmas gifts.

There's one boy that
would not open his gift.

He just sat there and held on to that
gift for a good four to five minutes.

Jeff said everybody had already
opened their gifts, saw what they got.

They were, and he's still holding it.

And so Jeff went over to him and said,
why aren't you opening your gift?

Now, the average age of these boys
are from 14 to 18 years of age, with

an average age of about 15 to 16.

This guy said, I have never
gotten a wrapped gift in my life.

This was the first wrapped
gift he had ever been given.

And he had to come to prison to get it.

And ever since then, we give out
gifts in the juvenile prison.

We give them basketball shoes.

We give them all kinds of things.

And the one thing that we give
them to this day is a Bible

with their name engraved on it.

And these guys hold on to that Bible.

Now you've got some that don't.

But you have to understand the parable
of Mark 4, what I said a while ago.

So you people read Mark 4 all
the way through, and you read

Mark 5 all the way through.

Because it's got more Stuff
in there that you can handle.

But anyway, we give those gifts
to those boys and those guys that

get that Bible with their names on
them, it means something to them.

So anyway, that's my story.

And you just have to
wrap it up from there.

Now look, you read out of the King
James and you read it like you've

read it a thousand times before.

Now I want to read, just for
the sake of our listeners, I

want to read it from the NLT.

That's where, that's where
young folks go, right?

Yeah.

I just, I just started using
the NLT about three years ago.

I like this.

All right, go ahead.

This is Ephesians 1, 15 through 23.

Yes, sir.

Now, this is Paul.

Ever since I first heard of your strong
faith in the Lord Jesus and your love

for God's people everywhere, I have
not stopped thanking God for you.

I pray for you constantly, asking
God, the glorious Father of our Lord

Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual
wisdom and insight so that you

might grow in your knowledge of God.

I pray that your hearts will be flooded
with light so that you can understand

the confident hope He has given to
those He called, His holy people who

are His rich and glorious inheritance.

I also pray that you will understand
the incredible greatness of God's

power for us who believe in Him.

This is the same mighty power that
raised Christ from the dead and seated

him in the place of honor at God's
right hand in the heavenly realms.

Now, he is far above any
ruler or authority or power

or leader or anything else.

Not only in this world, but also
in the world to come God has put

all things under the authority of
Christ And he and has made him head

over all things for the benefit of
the church, which is us That's it.

And the church is his body It is made
full and complete by Christ who fills

all things everywhere With himself.

So there you go.

Now, that's the that's the NLT to just
sort of Reiterate what you were saying,

if we take the word you out and put in
the name of the person we're praying for,

you know, the prodigal child, the drug
addict, alcoholic, anybody, that this

is the most powerful prayer that we can
pray for them because it's God's word.

And you know, it says, and I
think it's over in Isaiah, that

God's word never returns void.

He's bound.

By his own self, his own
being, to perform his word.

His word's not separate from himself.

I think it's over in Ezekiel.

It says he watches over
his word to perform it.

So his word in our mouth has got power.

So when we pray, This
Ephesians prayer for somebody.

We're really doing something.

Now, for the benefit, since you brought
it up, for the benefit of the listeners,

grab your Bible and go back and turn
to Isaiah chapter 55 real quick.

Yeah.

Isaiah 55.

And, and, and here's the point that I want
the listeners to grasp the word of God.

Yeah, Isaiah 55, and then from your
Bible, we're going to teach the

listeners that God's word never fails.

It cannot fail.

Oh yeah.

Ephesians can't, Ephesians cannot fail.

Now read verses 8 through 11.

All right.

I love this.

This is God talking.

Yes.

My thoughts are nothing like your
thoughts, says the Lord, and my ways are

far beyond anything you could imagine.

For just as the heavens
are higher than the earth.

So are my ways higher than your ways, and
my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

The rain and snow come down
from the heavens and stay on

the ground to water the earth.

They cause the grain to grow,
producing seed for the farmer

and bread for the hungry.

It is the same with my word.

I send it out, and it
always produces fruit.

It will accomplish all I want it to, and
it will prosper everywhere I send it.

Amen and amen and see and that and
that's the guarantee from God himself

that the inspiration that he gave
the Paul to write those words that

we were just talking about that
whoever you and I pray for that.

And when we put their name in there, they
are going to come into the revelation

and the knowledge of who Jesus is.

We may not see it in our lifetime
because God told Abraham when he

took him up on the mountain said
see all the land and territory.

I'm gonna make you your offspring
greater than the sands of the sea.

At that point, he didn't
even have a child.

He never saw the greatness of
the Israeli nation, and he never

saw that, but it came to pass.

We may not see in our lifetime things
and people for who we pray for,

God's Word never, never, never fails.

And it will come to pass,
so be assured on that.

I want to just want to say that, you
know, His Word never returns void.

It accomplishes the thing
for which He sent it.

Now, that means that if we have His
Word in our mouth, it accomplishes

the things for which He sent it.

Because when our words align with His
words, that's, there's power in that.

That's how we walk out of our faith, by
using His words to accomplish His will.

Amen.

Amen.

And, and here's the thing.

Here's an example in Ezekiel chapter 37.

It's the valley of the dry bones.

And you've probably heard sermons
about the valley of the dry bones.

And it says that the Lord took Ezekiel
and put him in a valley of dry bones.

And he's, and Ezekiel walked around,
he saw the, the, the dry bones.

It says in verse number one, he walked
around and then it says, and then it

says, God asking says, can these bones
live and Ezekiel had enough for sense

about him to know the power of God.

But he also was showing his
deficiency at that point because

he told God, you know, Oh Lord.

Cause he knows that if God asked him
a question, you know, a Lord, rather

than to put a point blank, yes, yes.

These bones can live.

See Ezekiel wasn't sure within himself.

And so, so God was given him the
opportunity to confess in as much as that.

I really don't know, but you, I
know you can do it, but I don't,

I don't know within myself.

So he was letting Ezekiel know
there was a little weakness there.

And then he says, okay, I'm going
to train you in essence, what he was

saying to him, I'm going to train you.

So, so God gives him the overview of.

Calling the bones together, calling
the muscles, calling to sin you, and

then calling the breath into him.

He tells him what he's going to say
and what he's going to do, and then he

tells Ezekiel, say to the bones, right,
he heard a and he heard a great rattle.

And that's just exactly what you said a
while ago, Jesse, when we used the word

of God in our mouth, it doesn't return.

Voy and Ezekiel is the prime best example.

God spoke, Ezekiel repeated
and it happened and it wasn't.

deviated from at all.

Yeah.

So when Jesus left his
body, he gave us authority.

To do all sorts of things that he
did, and I think most believers

just simply do not believe.

Well, it's, it's been watered down
through inappropriate applications.

Yeah, yeah, there you go.

Inappropriate application
leads to defeat and giving up.

When we first must ask the Lord, trust
in the Lord, ask the Lord, how do

you want me to handle this situation?

When we ask the Lord how to
handle that situation, we learn.

Everything that Jesse is,
he learned from his parents.

In the beginning and
then other influences.

So Jesse is actually learning
from five generations back and you

never knew your fifth generation
grandfather or anything else.

And that's why that we don't
have that power operating in our

lives today, because people that
didn't have great success is.

You can't do this, you can't do that.

Me, I'm still trying every time.

It's like playing baseball.

I didn't quit baseball when
I struck out the first time.

I eventually got the batting
championship when I was 15 years old.

But my batting average was 444
in my senior year in baseball.

But, if I were to give up when I was 9
years old, I never would have that trophy.

But anyhow, that's why the correct
application leads to correct results.

Yeah, that's great.

And never giving up.

Never giving up.

Well, I guess we'll wrap it up and
I just want to thank you for this.

Usually I will ask somebody to give
a piece of wisdom for our listeners,

but you've already done that.

So I'm just going to ask you to pray
for our listeners because somebody out

there really needs exactly the prayer
that God's going to give you right now.

All right, for all of you that have heard
this podcast, understand God is with you.

He's put you here and this podcast
was for you to grow on and look,

we only grow when we share.

You see, and I'm in all sincerity,
it tells us in Galatians, the

seed you sow is the seed you reap.

So what you want to do is sow for
more knowledge and relationship

with the Lord Jesus Christ.

So let's, let us pray.

Let's bow.

Father God, creator of the universe,
we come before you now and thank you

for majesty and beckon how that you've
impressed upon them and you've given

them the wherewithal to do this, the
media, uh, aspect of it, continue to

lead, guide and direct them and all that.

And now as they are sowing into people's
lives, whom they will never meet.

Father, in this podcast, this
day, we have went over things,

uh, that is strictly your word.

You heard a testimony of me and
my walk of faith and walk of

understanding and of all the situations.

But Lord, I do pray the Ephesians
prayer on each and every one of the

listeners and that they may develop
into who you have designed them to be.

None of us are failures.

And I might add, if there are any on
this podcast that have never accepted

you as their Lord and savior, reveal
to them the essence of who you are in

Romans 10, 9, and 10, that they can come
into a faithful relationship with you.

Father, in conclusion.

And we do pray that Ephesians prayer
upon each and every one for their

understanding their eyes of understanding
to be enlightened for the knowledge and

wisdom of who you are to come into them.

And according to number 624 through
26 the priestly the Aaronic blessing.

The Lord bless you and keep you,
the Lord make his face shine

upon you and be gracious to you
in Christ's holy name we pray.

And everybody said, Amen.

Amen.

Thank you Mark for.

for joining us today, and I really
appreciate you doing this for us.

CAILIN: We hope you've been
blessed by today's story.

In case you haven't noticed, there
are no advertisements on this podcast

and we hope to keep it that way.

So if you've heard something that you
think could help someone you know, please

share it using the link in the show notes.

Also, if you will give Faith and Purpose a
positive review on your podcast platform,

you could help more people find it.

You will probably never know how
that small effort can make a big

difference in someone's life.

But our Heavenly Father knows.

Speaking of sharing, if you know a Jesus
follower with a story to tell, please send

them a link to Faith and Purpose Podcast.

It may encourage them to tell their story.

That person may even be you.

Our only criteria is
that Jesus be glorified.

Most Christians don't share their
faith because they mistakenly think

their story is not interesting enough.

Or that it's self centered
to talk about themselves.

Or that they are not competent
to explain the gospel correctly.

But none of that is relevant.

If Jesus has changed your
life, you have a story to tell.

All of our stories are completely unique.

No one has a story like yours, and you
may be the only one who can reach someone

else through telling your experience.

So don't be intimidated.

A story is just that, a true
account of your own experience.

And no one can disagree
with your experience.

When we tell what Jesus has done in
our lives, we are being obedient to his

command to go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature.

It's not about theology, and it's not
about how interesting or special you are.

It's all about Jesus.

So when you're ready to tell how Jesus
has impacted your life, you can let Jesse

know at his ministry website, jesseduke.

net.

There you can download guidelines
that will make it easy to

prepare to tell your story.

Thank you for listening today and Shalom.