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CAILIN: Welcome everyone to
Faith and Purpose podcast.

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

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transformed by an extraordinary God.

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

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for my friend Jesse Duke.

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

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

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As a disciple of Jesus.

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

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

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

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

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

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and inspiration for our own faith walk.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Here's Jesse with today's guest

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Welcome, everybody, to
Faith and Purpose podcast.

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

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

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He also leads a team of
ministers in juvenile prisons.

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

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from the Postal Service after 39 years.

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

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two sons and three grandchildren.

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

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Welcome Mike.

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Thank you for coming to tell your story.

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How are you doing today?

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Mike: Very good, Jesse.

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How are you getting along?

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

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Well, thanks for asking.

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

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getting younger by the minute.

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Amen to that.

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

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

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with the Lord, let's get started.

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

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I will include part of you.

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

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and who we are and where we came from.

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

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live in the state of Florida.

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

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at that time, he was overseas.

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

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

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

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

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

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every church that she was involved in.

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

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And we grew up singing, Jesus loves me.

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

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

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

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

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And in that time span, we
attended churches, primarily

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

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

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Daddy was secretary treasurer.

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

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We were there physically.

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Okay.

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We were there physically.

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And I won't say I was there spiritually.

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All right.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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12, I did that, but unfortunately the.

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

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says the cares of this world got involved.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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And it was a piece of cake.

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

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start digging in for more information.

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

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helped lead me to where I am.

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

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

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made bad choices and they are in prison.

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

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

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

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The seed was planted to be a teacher.

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

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And it was modeled before me.

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

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

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are in prison, uh, come from prison.

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

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

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

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

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Same as smoking cigarettes and all that.

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You don't understand.

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You see somebody else doing it.

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

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we become what we see, so to speak.

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

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attitude at the age of, uh, 15.

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

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

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

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

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but you know, that was the thing.

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So.

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

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

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And so he did.

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

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

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

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music teacher had me sit in seat five.

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

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

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And me and a buddy of mine were suspended.

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Another guy was totally kicked
out of school because he

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had been in so much trouble.

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

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that there was a problem with me.

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

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me away from that influence.

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

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environment, but it's the heart.

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And so there was still
deception in the heart.

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

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baseball, had the opportunity to.

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

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baseball and did not perform well.

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

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So anyway, I married my
high school sweetheart.

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We immediately started a family.

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

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

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

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We were, I was in for a job change.

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

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he was a retired postal, uh, employee.

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

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

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daughter and the grandchildren.

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

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

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Well, I did.

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

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

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

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

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to my current employer.

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

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

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with daddy and seek daddy's advice.

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And at that time I was not a Christian.

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

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

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

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

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is in heaven to this day.

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

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every six months, if possible.

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

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

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

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He was just sick as a dog.

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Woke up that morning sick as a dog.

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

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

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I am and I'm not going to budge.

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

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Come forward.

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

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I mean, he was sick as a dog.

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So I got up and went forward.

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And this is no kidding.

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This is one of those life moments.

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

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about 800 people in this church.

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

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And it was huge.

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full of people.

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

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

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

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and she didn't take the steps down.

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

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

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I said, yes, ma'am.

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You go figure.

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

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the Lord in a productive manner.

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That was, that was it.

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

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Mm-Hmm.

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All of the guilt.

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

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Mm-hmm.

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

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

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

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Yeah.

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

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

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and said here, you know, and all that.

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

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prayer, a committal prayer.

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

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

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

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Wow.

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He was.

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

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No, it was all about you.

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

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

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

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

00:16:40.133 --> 00:16:44.273
the post office, and I retired after
39 years with the post office myself.

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

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

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

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We took the boys to church.

00:17:08.493 --> 00:17:14.463
We actually sent them to a
Christian school in Jacksonville.

00:17:15.543 --> 00:17:18.303
And so I knew the right way.

00:17:19.013 --> 00:17:23.653
And so the boys at that time were,
I think, seven and five years of

00:17:23.653 --> 00:17:25.333
age when I gave my life to the Lord.

00:17:25.343 --> 00:17:27.063
Then I became active in church.

00:17:27.778 --> 00:17:32.838
Eventually became a Sunday school
teacher and myself and then was on

00:17:32.838 --> 00:17:36.978
the church board and did all these
kind of glorious things as it were.

00:17:37.468 --> 00:17:40.238
And then, and then they went on.

00:17:40.278 --> 00:17:45.998
I would like to say that my boys did
well as far as following in the footsteps

00:17:46.048 --> 00:17:55.138
of The Christian father, but like me,
they, they did just the, as it say, the

00:17:55.138 --> 00:17:57.178
left road instead of the right road.

00:17:57.178 --> 00:18:00.708
And they've had their
challenges over the years.

00:18:00.758 --> 00:18:02.998
And both of them now stand in a.

00:18:04.388 --> 00:18:08.498
Position of having a relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ, which is

00:18:08.508 --> 00:18:17.028
good, but I will say that after they
graduated and we became empty nesters

00:18:17.078 --> 00:18:22.478
and I started a construction company
while I was working for the post office.

00:18:23.068 --> 00:18:27.998
And had a business going on
one hand and working for the

00:18:27.998 --> 00:18:29.648
government on the other hand.

00:18:30.248 --> 00:18:34.488
And the scripture says a double minded
man is unstable in all of his ways.

00:18:34.488 --> 00:18:39.818
And so there's, there's challenges
that come forward in every situation.

00:18:40.408 --> 00:18:44.828
And I was able through the
construction business and the roofing

00:18:44.838 --> 00:18:46.528
business to have extra income.

00:18:46.578 --> 00:18:50.878
And I provided the worldly.

00:18:51.218 --> 00:18:52.618
Things for the boys.

00:18:52.968 --> 00:18:53.848
Cars.

00:18:54.428 --> 00:18:56.528
The oldest one went to college.

00:18:58.858 --> 00:19:00.888
Of course he had to borrow
some money to go to college.

00:19:00.888 --> 00:19:02.568
We didn't have all the money to do it.

00:19:02.568 --> 00:19:05.448
But we gave him the, the opportunities.

00:19:05.448 --> 00:19:09.098
In fact, he, the oldest one, did
graduate with his master's degree

00:19:09.108 --> 00:19:10.628
from Oral Roberts University.

00:19:11.863 --> 00:19:19.603
In psychology, but anyway, so through
that, we had had the money and I wasn't

00:19:19.603 --> 00:19:24.013
paying attention and you have to remember
this and this is a good instruction

00:19:24.063 --> 00:19:27.703
and through all of my challenges and
I'm trying to keep this thing short

00:19:28.183 --> 00:19:32.053
so we can help out the listeners
in as much as I'm going to get to.

00:19:32.483 --> 00:19:36.143
A section of understanding here
that's going to for all you

00:19:36.143 --> 00:19:38.043
listeners out there as you listen.

00:19:38.043 --> 00:19:41.523
I do want you to take notes when I
give you the scriptures and write them

00:19:41.523 --> 00:19:45.963
down because what's going to happen
is when you go back and you read the

00:19:45.983 --> 00:19:51.823
scriptures and understand my testimony
will reflect back on you like Paul's

00:19:51.823 --> 00:19:53.963
testimony in the, in the epistles.

00:19:54.253 --> 00:19:59.113
About his examples and his challenges,
and many of us refer back to what Paul

00:19:59.123 --> 00:20:01.183
did, what Peter did or whatever else.

00:20:01.473 --> 00:20:05.373
And we can find soltis and understanding
and how we're supposed to move.

00:20:05.863 --> 00:20:10.303
The words of Jesus written in red
give us soltis and understanding of

00:20:10.303 --> 00:20:12.333
how to chart our course properly.

00:20:13.043 --> 00:20:17.123
But anyway, the old saying is this, no
baby, nobody holds your baby like you do.

00:20:19.173 --> 00:20:21.823
And I got too big for my britches.

00:20:21.833 --> 00:20:28.643
Um, Always, always made a comment
that I had a bad business owner

00:20:28.933 --> 00:20:30.433
and that's why I went bankrupt.

00:20:30.743 --> 00:20:34.093
Well, the business owner was
me, you know, but I hired a

00:20:34.093 --> 00:20:36.063
fella and put my trust in him.

00:20:36.113 --> 00:20:42.763
And again, we were making money and he
began not paying attention to the jobs.

00:20:42.773 --> 00:20:47.253
In one week, one week, I
lost two major contractors.

00:20:47.833 --> 00:20:53.033
They provided me with 6,
000 a month income one week.

00:20:53.413 --> 00:20:54.583
I lost both of them.

00:20:55.053 --> 00:20:58.663
And when you lose somebody, because
they don't give a rip about you.

00:20:59.558 --> 00:21:01.228
They don't give you a second chance.

00:21:01.328 --> 00:21:05.438
I mean, that's it, you know,
and I lost two, two contractors.

00:21:05.438 --> 00:21:10.088
And from that, so I eventually
had to close the business down.

00:21:11.228 --> 00:21:12.878
I did not declare bankruptcy.

00:21:12.878 --> 00:21:17.758
I closed the business down and
mortgaged my house, extra land.

00:21:18.428 --> 00:21:23.088
And I paid off all of my suppliers that
I, and I just didn't do any more business.

00:21:24.358 --> 00:21:29.228
And here's the, here's the part, I mean,
this, that was a challenging thing.

00:21:29.238 --> 00:21:32.778
And it, and you've heard the
stories about depression and.

00:21:33.393 --> 00:21:39.043
Now, Satan can challenge an individual
and there may be people out there that

00:21:39.043 --> 00:21:41.623
have gone through some serious things.

00:21:41.653 --> 00:21:46.863
Now look, when you know, death
is, is a tragic situation.

00:21:46.863 --> 00:21:49.223
It's a life changing moment for anybody.

00:21:49.613 --> 00:21:55.383
They say divorce is just as traumatic
as death, not only on the individual.

00:21:56.058 --> 00:21:59.518
getting the divorce but the
children and those around them.

00:22:00.048 --> 00:22:03.318
Well I tell you what when you pour
everything into a business and that and

00:22:03.318 --> 00:22:10.048
you put your your identity in a business
when you lose that it is death and buddy

00:22:10.048 --> 00:22:15.958
I went through depression and if there
was ever a scripture that would have given

00:22:15.978 --> 00:22:20.568
you permission to commit suicide and still
make it to heaven I think I would have

00:22:20.568 --> 00:22:26.613
done it but you can't and that's your
pride wanting you to go in there and Do

00:22:26.613 --> 00:22:31.383
yourself in because of the way that you
had things planned and it didn't work out.

00:22:32.013 --> 00:22:32.543
Right.

00:22:32.543 --> 00:22:37.493
And, and if you lose your identity,
like you mentioned, that's an open

00:22:37.503 --> 00:22:39.233
door to that kind of thinking.

00:22:39.753 --> 00:22:40.123
Oh yeah.

00:22:40.123 --> 00:22:45.673
I'm in prayer groups with professional
athletes now with doctors and I'm

00:22:45.703 --> 00:22:50.413
in several different prayer groups
and the athletes will tell you, you

00:22:50.413 --> 00:22:54.443
know, when they lost, when they lost
their identity, when their physical

00:22:54.443 --> 00:22:55.963
body couldn't perform anymore.

00:22:56.573 --> 00:23:02.023
When they lost their identity,
they were like a boat on the water

00:23:02.023 --> 00:23:04.973
without any power, just floating
around and being tossed around.

00:23:05.503 --> 00:23:10.883
Then I found myself in that
position, but, and here's the thing.

00:23:13.113 --> 00:23:16.333
So I'm floating around in this and
back when I was making money in the

00:23:16.333 --> 00:23:19.913
construction business, I joined the
Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship

00:23:19.923 --> 00:23:24.853
Association, which was a great, it
is still, but what back then was a

00:23:24.853 --> 00:23:29.853
super, uh, organization was Deema
Sukkarian is the founder of it.

00:23:30.383 --> 00:23:34.643
But anyway, I met a man by the
name of Stan Reed, who was a member

00:23:34.643 --> 00:23:38.443
of, and for those that listen to
this thing, if you ever knew Dr.

00:23:38.443 --> 00:23:38.983
Homer G.

00:23:38.983 --> 00:23:43.323
Lindsay, Jr., who was the first,
the pastor of First Baptist

00:23:43.393 --> 00:23:46.693
Jacksonville, uh, back in its heyday.

00:23:46.853 --> 00:23:48.183
I mean, and Dr.

00:23:48.183 --> 00:23:49.413
Lindsay was a great man.

00:23:49.413 --> 00:23:54.473
Well, anyway, Stan was his prayer
partner, and Stan, as we come to find

00:23:54.473 --> 00:24:00.223
out later on, won the bronze star in
the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

00:24:00.903 --> 00:24:06.483
He was about five foot, six, five
foot, six and a half, maybe depending

00:24:06.483 --> 00:24:07.923
on what shoes he's wearing that day.

00:24:08.473 --> 00:24:12.443
And might've weighed 130 pounds,
but he was a double black belt.

00:24:13.503 --> 00:24:19.063
And this guy, unassuming white haired
grandfather, soft smoking voice.

00:24:19.063 --> 00:24:21.973
And the first thing he'd ask
you is, do you know Jesus?

00:24:23.253 --> 00:24:25.463
Well, and I give you this update now.

00:24:25.473 --> 00:24:28.713
He also, I met him in the
full gospel businessman.

00:24:28.773 --> 00:24:35.623
He also was the jail chaplain at our local
county jail and been that way for years.

00:24:36.153 --> 00:24:40.023
Well, anyway, so when I closed my
business down and going through this

00:24:40.043 --> 00:24:44.753
depression time, I get a phone call
from 1 of the contractors and said

00:24:44.753 --> 00:24:48.583
that a roof that I put on a lady's
house that she had lost 100, 000

00:24:48.583 --> 00:24:50.683
dollar paint because the roof leaked.

00:24:51.348 --> 00:24:52.848
And they were ready to sue me.

00:24:53.648 --> 00:24:57.888
So here I am with my tail behind
me, having to go over there and

00:24:57.888 --> 00:25:06.058
meet with this owner who lost this
100, 000 painting because of water

00:25:06.078 --> 00:25:08.018
had dripped on it from the chimney.

00:25:09.718 --> 00:25:13.158
Well, the short story of that, it was
the chimney leak and not the roof.

00:25:13.818 --> 00:25:16.598
So I didn't have to pay for it,
but I didn't know that at the time.

00:25:16.688 --> 00:25:19.308
So here I am, tail tucked between my legs.

00:25:19.843 --> 00:25:24.243
So to speak and I'm driving over to
Fernandina over there to face the music

00:25:24.243 --> 00:25:30.563
so to speak and so There's a local
Hardee's restaurant And I said, you

00:25:30.563 --> 00:25:34.503
know, I'm gonna give me an ice cream
cone I had 25 bucks in my pocket a 20

00:25:34.513 --> 00:25:39.473
bill and a 5 bill So I pulled in there
and have you ever put out a fleece?

00:25:39.493 --> 00:25:43.143
You know, this is what God if you want
me to do this I'll do this, you know,

00:25:43.283 --> 00:25:47.973
you put these fleeces out and all so I
said all right if I can If I can get that

00:25:47.973 --> 00:25:50.223
ice cream cone, it'll, it'll be okay.

00:25:50.423 --> 00:25:52.553
There won't be nobody in the drive thru.

00:25:52.553 --> 00:25:55.143
So as I'm driving down the road,
I can see the drive thru over

00:25:55.143 --> 00:25:56.373
there, and there's only one car.

00:25:56.373 --> 00:25:59.533
I said, hey, I'm gonna pull in
there and get me an ice cream cone.

00:25:59.573 --> 00:26:02.713
Pull around there, and there's six
cars backed up giving their order.

00:26:03.053 --> 00:26:04.353
So I said, this ain't it.

00:26:04.363 --> 00:26:08.583
So I drive around, and I say to myself,
all right, if the second parking spot

00:26:08.583 --> 00:26:12.193
is open, I'm gonna, I'm gonna pull
into that parking spot and go inside.

00:26:12.903 --> 00:26:15.523
Now, now, come on, you gotta hear this.

00:26:16.823 --> 00:26:17.853
So what happens?

00:26:17.933 --> 00:26:20.983
You get around the corner, second
parking spot's open, so I pull

00:26:20.983 --> 00:26:23.573
in there in a park and go inside.

00:26:24.023 --> 00:26:26.143
And here's the point of
this little short story.

00:26:26.723 --> 00:26:28.223
Stan Reed was standing there.

00:26:28.463 --> 00:26:32.513
He didn't remember me from Adam's
house camp because I hadn't been

00:26:32.513 --> 00:26:35.983
to a meeting in six or seven years,
so he didn't remember who I was.

00:26:36.993 --> 00:26:41.243
But I had enough sense to know
this, that the seed you sow

00:26:41.253 --> 00:26:42.573
is the seed you gonna reap.

00:26:43.053 --> 00:26:45.923
And so I had 25 bucks in my pocket.

00:26:46.363 --> 00:26:51.183
I took that 20 bill out and I folded it
up and I gave him a Pentecostal handshake.

00:26:51.983 --> 00:26:55.473
You know, and I said, I said,
here, brother Reed, this is,

00:26:55.553 --> 00:26:57.203
this is for the jail ministry.

00:26:57.223 --> 00:27:02.103
And that man grabbed my hand and
I reintroduced myself to him.

00:27:02.113 --> 00:27:03.083
He said, Oh yeah, Mike.

00:27:03.083 --> 00:27:08.763
He said, then he, he takes his
left hand and lays it on my wrist.

00:27:08.773 --> 00:27:12.123
So now he has my right hand
with both of his hands.

00:27:12.483 --> 00:27:13.263
And he says.

00:27:13.653 --> 00:27:15.313
Uh, what you doing Sunday night?

00:27:16.203 --> 00:27:18.323
And I said, well, I'm going to church.

00:27:18.383 --> 00:27:20.843
He said, come out to the
jail and give your testimony.

00:27:21.563 --> 00:27:27.243
Well, his, his assistant chaplain
was the mechanic that owned the

00:27:27.383 --> 00:27:30.573
local garage over there that I
used to get my trucks and vehicles

00:27:30.583 --> 00:27:33.753
worked on and buy gas from as well.

00:27:34.123 --> 00:27:36.313
And I knew that he was
assistant chaplain out there.

00:27:36.313 --> 00:27:38.278
I said, okay, I'll come
out there and give.

00:27:38.498 --> 00:27:39.598
And this is no kidding.

00:27:40.578 --> 00:27:46.598
As soon as I walked in past the vestibule
into the confinement area, it is like

00:27:46.598 --> 00:27:49.418
somebody laid a trench coat on me.

00:27:50.128 --> 00:27:57.868
A coat, I kid you not, was almost like
Elijah's mantle being placed upon Elisha,

00:27:57.868 --> 00:28:01.083
as it were, when he threw it down.

00:28:01.533 --> 00:28:04.503
But anyway, it was, it was
almost that same presence.

00:28:04.563 --> 00:28:09.353
And even as I tell this story now,
I can feel that man coming on me.

00:28:09.753 --> 00:28:13.933
And I knew that I knew that I
knew that I knew that I knew I was

00:28:13.933 --> 00:28:15.143
right where I was supposed to be.

00:28:15.823 --> 00:28:20.193
And as a matter of fact, that
was 26, almost 27 years ago.

00:28:20.903 --> 00:28:24.763
And as I tell people often, I never
went back to my church on Sunday night.

00:28:24.833 --> 00:28:30.113
Well, every Sunday night I was
out there and then eventually they

00:28:30.183 --> 00:28:31.923
asked me to do the Wednesday nights.

00:28:32.573 --> 00:28:33.913
Because they had two different nights.

00:28:33.913 --> 00:28:34.613
They did it all.

00:28:34.643 --> 00:28:36.743
So I did Wednesday nights for years.

00:28:37.333 --> 00:28:42.663
And then, when I retired from the post
office in 19, I became the chaplain.

00:28:43.393 --> 00:28:47.753
Chaplain Reed, the older man, he
eventually passed on and went to glory.

00:28:48.313 --> 00:28:52.513
And then, Chaplain Patterson, who
was my mechanic, took his place.

00:28:53.033 --> 00:28:56.123
And he just recently
passed away this past week.

00:28:56.693 --> 00:28:58.363
I was gonna ask you about him.

00:28:58.363 --> 00:29:00.203
I hadn't heard his name in a long time.

00:29:00.203 --> 00:29:01.093
Yeah, yeah.

00:29:01.513 --> 00:29:04.853
Unfortunately, he went on to
be with the Lord last Saturday,

00:29:04.853 --> 00:29:06.323
and it's not unfortunately.

00:29:06.663 --> 00:29:12.863
But from a standpoint, I'm missing my
buddy, but he's in glory, son, and I was

00:29:12.863 --> 00:29:15.173
with him four days before he passed away.

00:29:15.803 --> 00:29:20.773
And I know that some of the listeners out
there don't understand and may not have

00:29:21.063 --> 00:29:25.663
an understanding of speaking in tongues
and that relationship with, as Paul.

00:29:26.113 --> 00:29:32.133
When only Paul said I speak in tongues
more than you all will anyway, and the

00:29:32.133 --> 00:29:37.023
final moments of brother Patterson's
life as I was sitting there, he would

00:29:37.033 --> 00:29:39.933
be talking to me and then all of a
sudden he throw his hands up and start

00:29:39.933 --> 00:29:42.513
praising the Lord and start speaking.

00:29:43.043 --> 00:29:46.793
Well anyway, having said that about
getting involved in a jail ministry here's

00:29:46.793 --> 00:29:50.823
here's the scriptures that I want to leave
with everybody in your understanding.

00:29:51.448 --> 00:29:57.458
From that aspect of being engaged in the
chapel, uh, in the chaplaincy and running

00:29:57.458 --> 00:30:05.738
into guys that are at life's end of
situation down, you know, lost everything

00:30:05.748 --> 00:30:08.238
you're in jail and I'll put in there.

00:30:08.238 --> 00:30:11.018
Here's the, here's the difference
between jail and prison.

00:30:11.018 --> 00:30:12.408
Jail is when you're arrested.

00:30:12.438 --> 00:30:13.618
You hadn't been charged.

00:30:13.618 --> 00:30:14.648
You're waiting to go to court.

00:30:15.038 --> 00:30:17.758
You're trying to manipulate
your way out of everything.

00:30:17.768 --> 00:30:19.058
You're coming up with all this.

00:30:19.068 --> 00:30:21.018
So you're all the time making excuses.

00:30:21.328 --> 00:30:24.398
So you find a lot of people
that get jailhouse religion.

00:30:24.398 --> 00:30:26.838
You know, they they've been
caught and want to straighten up.

00:30:27.088 --> 00:30:27.928
They're looking something.

00:30:27.928 --> 00:30:29.278
So they're bargaining with God.

00:30:29.278 --> 00:30:30.568
They're putting those fleeces out.

00:30:30.958 --> 00:30:34.448
You know, God, you get me out of this
situation and such and such, you know,

00:30:34.838 --> 00:30:38.318
there's two places in the world where
there's more prayers prayed in the back

00:30:38.318 --> 00:30:40.468
of a taxi in the back of a patrol car.

00:30:41.118 --> 00:30:45.168
So every one of these guys, they'll,
they'll, they'll pray and come

00:30:45.168 --> 00:30:49.468
into a semi face with the Lord,
but in through this and all my

00:30:49.468 --> 00:30:51.958
experiences, I started studying.

00:30:52.403 --> 00:30:56.433
And all of my life experiences led
me up to be in the jail ministry.

00:30:56.433 --> 00:31:00.273
And the jail ministry has opened
my eyes to a way far greater

00:31:00.273 --> 00:31:02.893
things than, uh, will occur.

00:31:03.883 --> 00:31:09.483
Now, if we go through to understand
adversity, I want you to write this

00:31:09.483 --> 00:31:11.963
scripture down and I'm going to
read it to you in the King James

00:31:12.083 --> 00:31:13.763
Version so that you can hear it.

00:31:13.783 --> 00:31:17.583
And then as the listeners come back
in, they can understand some of this.

00:31:17.583 --> 00:31:23.873
It's found in 1 Corinthians chapter
10 and verse number 13 in King James

00:31:23.873 --> 00:31:25.873
reads, There hath no temptation.

00:31:26.378 --> 00:31:35.328
Taken to you, but, but such as is
common to man, but God is faithful.

00:31:35.948 --> 00:31:36.698
Oh, is that true?

00:31:37.608 --> 00:31:44.268
Who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that you are able but with the

00:31:44.308 --> 00:31:50.388
temptation also make a what make a
way to escape that you may be able

00:31:50.428 --> 00:31:59.448
to bear it now to shorten that up
everybody right the rain falls on the

00:31:59.448 --> 00:32:04.478
just and the unjust okay life situation
happens god doesn't throw anything

00:32:04.488 --> 00:32:07.048
on us To punish us or anything else.

00:32:07.048 --> 00:32:09.458
I want you to get that
from an understanding.

00:32:09.698 --> 00:32:11.608
God doesn't punish us for anything.

00:32:12.358 --> 00:32:18.808
We, we make the decisions and we put
ourselves in situations and it is

00:32:18.898 --> 00:32:21.698
us that, that is the culprit of it.

00:32:21.728 --> 00:32:23.788
God is there with us all the time.

00:32:24.068 --> 00:32:27.048
Many times His Holy Spirit is
trying to direct us away from

00:32:27.058 --> 00:32:30.378
making those bad decisions and
we make a decision not to listen.

00:32:30.828 --> 00:32:31.178
Okay.

00:32:31.218 --> 00:32:32.238
Right, right.

00:32:32.588 --> 00:32:35.008
And so, and here's the thing.

00:32:35.218 --> 00:32:37.048
God never punishes people.

00:32:37.338 --> 00:32:39.428
He never chastises people.

00:32:39.478 --> 00:32:41.918
We bring the punishment upon ourselves.

00:32:42.403 --> 00:32:45.693
Okay, now the way of escape
that this scripture is talking

00:32:45.693 --> 00:32:47.203
about is the scripture.

00:32:47.543 --> 00:32:52.403
He's already answered our challenging
situation in the scripture, and

00:32:52.403 --> 00:32:56.463
it is up to us to get in there
and dig it and find it out.

00:32:56.463 --> 00:32:59.213
It's just like when you've got
a problem with an automobile

00:32:59.213 --> 00:33:00.483
or any type of equipment.

00:33:00.993 --> 00:33:05.473
You can go to the shade tree mechanic who
has some general knowledge, but the OEM,

00:33:05.483 --> 00:33:10.443
the original equipment manufacturer has
made a manual and you go to that manual

00:33:10.473 --> 00:33:15.503
and it is going to tell you exactly what
to do, where to go, step by step process,

00:33:15.683 --> 00:33:19.253
and you're going to fix that car, that
dishwasher, whatever it is, you're going

00:33:19.253 --> 00:33:23.483
to fix it through that OEM manual, and
it's the same thing it is with the Bible.

00:33:23.483 --> 00:33:28.093
God has already put everything that you
and I need into scriptures, you're We just

00:33:28.103 --> 00:33:30.053
have to go to the manual and find it out.

00:33:30.533 --> 00:33:32.663
And he doesn't withhold anything from us.

00:33:32.663 --> 00:33:37.603
He says, when you ask of me, I
will give it to you liberally.

00:33:37.873 --> 00:33:39.893
I will give you the information liberally.

00:33:39.983 --> 00:33:41.583
We just have to be patient.

00:33:41.583 --> 00:33:42.363
But here's the thing.

00:33:42.563 --> 00:33:43.703
He can see our heart.

00:33:44.053 --> 00:33:46.983
Am I trying to manipulate God
just to get this answer and get

00:33:46.983 --> 00:33:50.043
myself out of a jam, you know,
and all this other kind of stuff.

00:33:50.463 --> 00:33:53.303
God can see what the
intent is of our heart.

00:33:53.733 --> 00:33:56.053
In fact, that's why Lucifer
was kicked out of heaven.

00:33:56.493 --> 00:33:59.723
It says that iniquity was
found in your heart and boom,

00:33:59.723 --> 00:34:00.853
he kicked him out of heaven.

00:34:01.093 --> 00:34:03.413
See, God knows what the
intent of our heart is.

00:34:03.733 --> 00:34:07.923
Many times he walks with us through
that situation so that we can

00:34:07.923 --> 00:34:10.143
recognize where we are deficient.

00:34:10.813 --> 00:34:12.213
And how we need to approve.

00:34:12.233 --> 00:34:15.473
That's what a, an athletic
coach trainer does.

00:34:15.663 --> 00:34:17.313
It sees where we're deficient.

00:34:17.323 --> 00:34:23.193
It helps us to work muscle groups in
different areas in order to strengthen

00:34:23.193 --> 00:34:25.413
our core, to strengthen ourselves.

00:34:25.413 --> 00:34:28.523
Many times we have back problems,
shoulder problems, leg problems,

00:34:28.853 --> 00:34:30.503
and it's caused from a core problem.

00:34:30.533 --> 00:34:34.013
Your stomach muscles are not
holding your skeletal frame right.

00:34:34.423 --> 00:34:38.173
And that's the same way it is in the
scriptures and the understanding.

00:34:39.538 --> 00:34:44.565
Having said that, one of the greatest,
because time is growing short here, one

00:34:44.565 --> 00:34:50.618
of the greatest passages of scriptures
that scripture that I have discovered is

00:34:50.628 --> 00:34:56.838
the book of Ephesians, the entire book,
and I might say Mark chapters four and

00:34:56.838 --> 00:35:02.348
chapter five, and maybe at some given
point in time in the future, we can have

00:35:02.348 --> 00:35:08.918
a part two and go into this, but into
any kind of depth, but right now, Jesse's

00:35:09.798 --> 00:35:14.788
Uh, desire is for encouragement for
those lives for you listeners that are

00:35:14.788 --> 00:35:20.628
listening to us now when I was challenged
as a custodian, I was working evening

00:35:20.628 --> 00:35:25.408
shift with the post office and, uh, in
a, in a young lady that was a part time

00:35:25.408 --> 00:35:28.088
employee where I was at the post office.

00:35:28.638 --> 00:35:33.178
Said, said, Hey, aren't you
my, my pastor's mailman?

00:35:33.178 --> 00:35:35.268
Aren't you, aren't you the mailman?

00:35:35.958 --> 00:35:36.658
What it was.

00:35:36.658 --> 00:35:41.578
I was a mailman for 13 years and
there was a pastor of a church and

00:35:41.578 --> 00:35:43.778
I delivered the mail to their house.

00:35:44.738 --> 00:35:49.408
And occasionally I would visit this
church on Friday nights or whatever, as

00:35:49.408 --> 00:35:54.078
a mailman and everybody got to know me
as the mailman, nobody knows my name,

00:35:54.078 --> 00:35:55.828
but I can go to that church that is day.

00:35:56.558 --> 00:35:58.548
30 years later, and I'm the mailman.

00:36:00.128 --> 00:36:05.178
And so this girl, she says, you know,
she says, we pray in the month of

00:36:05.178 --> 00:36:08.238
July, 24 hours a day at the church.

00:36:08.638 --> 00:36:09.938
Won't you come pray with us?

00:36:10.618 --> 00:36:14.018
I said, I, so I did in the first year.

00:36:14.028 --> 00:36:17.398
It was good when I'd get off at work,
1130 at night, I'd go to that church

00:36:17.398 --> 00:36:18.798
and pray for 30 minutes to an hour.

00:36:19.698 --> 00:36:21.408
The second year that I went.

00:36:23.028 --> 00:36:27.818
I had an, my, our son had graduated from
Oral Roberts University and Oral gave

00:36:27.818 --> 00:36:32.058
him a signed copy of his autobiography
and I read the autobiography and in that

00:36:32.058 --> 00:36:38.618
Oral Roberts was told by God, he said,
when he became a pastor, he said, he

00:36:38.618 --> 00:36:45.238
said, if you'll read Matthew, Mark, Luke,
John and Acts on your knees for 30 days.

00:36:45.988 --> 00:36:47.228
are for a month.

00:36:48.038 --> 00:36:51.578
There is where your ministry is
found and there are the miracles that

00:36:51.578 --> 00:36:53.208
you will perform in your ministry.

00:36:53.208 --> 00:36:55.568
This is when Oral Roberts was in his 20s.

00:36:55.728 --> 00:36:57.808
He was just getting started in a ministry.

00:36:58.243 --> 00:36:59.303
Well, hold on a second.

00:36:59.353 --> 00:37:03.833
Let's say that, say the books again,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.

00:37:04.013 --> 00:37:04.443
Yes, sir.

00:37:04.443 --> 00:37:05.463
The first five books.

00:37:05.513 --> 00:37:07.513
You got to understand first five books.

00:37:07.553 --> 00:37:10.443
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are
the first four of the New Testament.

00:37:11.073 --> 00:37:15.873
And that's telling, giving, that
is Jesus exemplifying everything.

00:37:16.763 --> 00:37:17.223
Okay.

00:37:17.273 --> 00:37:18.613
He's giving the examples.

00:37:18.633 --> 00:37:19.403
He's showing.

00:37:19.693 --> 00:37:22.303
He's showing all of us the kingdom of God.

00:37:22.743 --> 00:37:27.553
And then the book of Acts is
when Jesus is not around anymore.

00:37:27.553 --> 00:37:31.853
And then those that were listening
had to ante up themselves

00:37:31.893 --> 00:37:33.463
and do the things of God.

00:37:33.923 --> 00:37:35.993
I'll ask you this little
technical question.

00:37:36.383 --> 00:37:38.743
When is a child no longer a child, Jesse?

00:37:39.083 --> 00:37:41.013
When is a child no longer a child?

00:37:42.483 --> 00:37:45.463
When he's responsible for himself.

00:37:46.703 --> 00:37:48.363
No, you know the true answer to that?

00:37:48.913 --> 00:37:52.273
A child is no longer a child
when the parents are dead.

00:37:53.203 --> 00:37:59.083
Oh, but see, he sent, he gave, he, he gave
a Holy Spirit, so he really wasn't dead.

00:37:59.083 --> 00:38:00.163
I mean, that's the way I see it.

00:38:00.163 --> 00:38:04.303
Well, no, I, well, yeah, , but, but
what I'm saying is a child is no longer

00:38:04.513 --> 00:38:06.433
a child when its parents are dead.

00:38:06.433 --> 00:38:09.493
Now the child has nobody to go
back to, and they're grown up.

00:38:10.408 --> 00:38:13.998
They're on their own, you
see, they're on their own.

00:38:14.008 --> 00:38:16.568
And that's what happened when Jesus left.

00:38:16.668 --> 00:38:19.778
Now, the disciples were on
their own and then they have

00:38:19.778 --> 00:38:21.288
to start scratching their head.

00:38:21.288 --> 00:38:22.148
What are we going to do?

00:38:22.198 --> 00:38:23.868
Peter said, I'm going
to go back to fishing.

00:38:24.568 --> 00:38:27.578
And then when, when, when, when
the price came back, he said,

00:38:27.628 --> 00:38:29.218
go get Peter and everybody else.

00:38:29.218 --> 00:38:33.518
And I huddled up and they, they
had another 40 days of experience.

00:38:33.518 --> 00:38:34.398
And then he told them.

00:38:34.888 --> 00:38:39.358
Go to the upper room or go wait for
the endowment of power of the Holy

00:38:39.358 --> 00:38:41.188
Spirit and they were there for 10 days.

00:38:41.188 --> 00:38:45.638
You have to understand 10 and what
the significance of the number 10

00:38:45.648 --> 00:38:48.228
is that was the day of Pentecost.

00:38:48.248 --> 00:38:49.628
That was the 50th day.

00:38:49.658 --> 00:38:54.708
50 represents Jubilee in Scripture,
and that means nothing missing,

00:38:54.708 --> 00:38:57.438
nothing broken, all things
returned to the original owner.

00:38:57.923 --> 00:39:02.163
And anyway, Oral Roberts was told to read
the first five books of the New Testament.

00:39:02.163 --> 00:39:06.353
The first five books, the number
five in scripture represents grace.

00:39:07.273 --> 00:39:14.083
So in that grace, those five, what I've
termed the five books of grace, Matthew,

00:39:14.093 --> 00:39:20.813
Mark, Luke, John, and Acts, you learn by
example of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

00:39:20.873 --> 00:39:24.713
And then you, you do the own job
training in the book of Acts.

00:39:24.763 --> 00:39:27.953
And there's where parents, educators.

00:39:28.948 --> 00:39:30.798
I'm speaking to the audience now.

00:39:30.848 --> 00:39:35.748
Let me tell you what you do the same
thing and it will be revelatory to you.

00:39:36.218 --> 00:39:38.648
But back to my story, I
remember reading that.

00:39:39.408 --> 00:39:44.718
So when I went to this church to pray,
I got on my knees and I said, Lord,

00:39:45.448 --> 00:39:48.138
all right, what do you want me to read?

00:39:48.148 --> 00:39:51.808
What do you want me to do as a
devotional during this time of

00:39:51.868 --> 00:39:54.038
prayer in the month of July?

00:39:54.918 --> 00:40:00.268
And it come to me just like I'm talking
to you read the book of Ephesians.

00:40:00.348 --> 00:40:04.168
So what I did is I had my Bible with
me and they're on my knees when I

00:40:04.168 --> 00:40:08.548
would get off work and I would go to
this church and pray at night that

00:40:08.578 --> 00:40:12.828
and I didn't stay long and just to
make everybody feel comfortable.

00:40:13.178 --> 00:40:16.018
Sometimes when you pray and
you're tired, what do you do?

00:40:16.958 --> 00:40:20.008
You wake yourself up snoring as
you're sitting there praying.

00:40:20.008 --> 00:40:22.578
I don't know if anybody's ever done that.

00:40:22.578 --> 00:40:25.618
And you, and you look down at your Bible
and there's drool marks down there,

00:40:25.618 --> 00:40:27.658
you know, and it wasn't tear marks.

00:40:28.353 --> 00:40:33.953
So, anyhow, and so I would read, sometimes
I'd fall asleep, but I'd usually spend an

00:40:33.953 --> 00:40:38.853
hour, uh, because what did Jesus say to
the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane?

00:40:38.873 --> 00:40:40.823
Could we not tarry with me one hour?

00:40:41.243 --> 00:40:43.593
So the goal was always
to be there one hour.

00:40:44.313 --> 00:40:46.783
Sometimes I made it, sometimes
I didn't, just depending,

00:40:47.013 --> 00:40:48.313
but, but that was the goal.

00:40:48.313 --> 00:40:50.763
So anyway, I was reading the
book of Ephesians and let

00:40:50.763 --> 00:40:51.903
me tell you what, I did it.

00:40:53.008 --> 00:40:54.868
I read it during that time period.

00:40:54.868 --> 00:40:57.088
Every time I'd get off work, I'd go in.

00:40:57.098 --> 00:41:00.828
So five days a week for that, for that
month of July, I read that tongue.

00:41:00.858 --> 00:41:04.498
And let me tell you what
it opened my understanding.

00:41:05.328 --> 00:41:07.558
It opened my understanding.

00:41:09.288 --> 00:41:11.348
Many of us have situations in life.

00:41:11.378 --> 00:41:13.018
Many of us have families in life.

00:41:13.018 --> 00:41:13.678
Many of us have.

00:41:15.508 --> 00:41:16.378
Challenges.

00:41:17.158 --> 00:41:20.608
Look, life is full of challenges
and it's how we look at them.

00:41:21.298 --> 00:41:24.328
I look at them as a common thing
that's fixing to happen to me.

00:41:24.328 --> 00:41:25.478
There's an answer for it.

00:41:25.478 --> 00:41:26.998
So I don't get stressed out over it.

00:41:27.568 --> 00:41:30.988
If I find myself getting stressed
out, that means that I haven't

00:41:30.988 --> 00:41:32.998
done what Proverbs 3, says.

00:41:32.998 --> 00:41:35.678
Trust the Lord with all thine heart and
lean not for thine own understanding.

00:41:35.678 --> 00:41:38.368
And I'll always acknowledge him
and he will direct your path.

00:41:38.388 --> 00:41:40.288
Well, I hadn't done that
if I get stressed out.

00:41:40.728 --> 00:41:42.958
But here's what I discovered in Ephesians.

00:41:43.438 --> 00:41:47.398
And then after I discovered it in
Ephesians, I began hearing pastors

00:41:47.408 --> 00:41:53.268
preach on it and and I'm telling
you, this is something else.

00:41:53.268 --> 00:41:56.618
Now, this is Ephesians chapter
1 and this is in the King

00:41:56.618 --> 00:42:00.298
James and it's verse number 3.

00:42:00.298 --> 00:42:03.888
It says, Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

00:42:04.703 --> 00:42:13.183
Who half blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

00:42:13.623 --> 00:42:19.663
That is one of the things that I
just, I repeatedly tell the adult

00:42:19.663 --> 00:42:24.663
prisoners on a consistent basis,
half blessed, half is past tense.

00:42:24.698 --> 00:42:25.348
It's already done.

00:42:26.268 --> 00:42:26.608
Right.

00:42:26.738 --> 00:42:27.548
It's done.

00:42:27.588 --> 00:42:28.268
It's done.

00:42:28.278 --> 00:42:28.768
It's done.

00:42:28.818 --> 00:42:30.118
Half means past.

00:42:30.538 --> 00:42:33.808
And the last two words of
that verse are in Christ.

00:42:33.988 --> 00:42:38.878
You have to be in Christ to
receive all the heavenly blessings

00:42:38.888 --> 00:42:43.958
because it is for those who have
the understanding of belief.

00:42:44.958 --> 00:42:49.638
You and I as men cannot, we can, we
can have all the book knowledge we

00:42:49.638 --> 00:42:56.818
want, we can even teach on childbirth,
but we cannot teach childbirth like

00:42:56.818 --> 00:42:58.918
a woman who has given childbirth.

00:42:59.948 --> 00:43:03.728
Now you got to admit that, even
though science is trying to change

00:43:03.728 --> 00:43:05.868
that today, we won't get into that.

00:43:05.948 --> 00:43:08.258
It ain't going to happen,
I can guarantee you that.

00:43:09.033 --> 00:43:13.903
But you see, you have to be in
Christ, and so you can't talk about

00:43:13.933 --> 00:43:18.543
Christianity, you can't talk about the
things of God, unless you have Jesus

00:43:18.563 --> 00:43:23.513
Christ living on the inside of you, and
that's the experience that you need.

00:43:23.623 --> 00:43:25.503
Now, everybody, I want
you to listen to this.

00:43:25.543 --> 00:43:27.333
Now, we're reading from Ephesians.

00:43:27.893 --> 00:43:30.773
Chapter one, we've
already read verse three.

00:43:30.793 --> 00:43:36.563
Now we're jumping down to verse 15
and listen to how I'm going to read

00:43:36.563 --> 00:43:38.053
it to you the way that it is written.

00:43:38.063 --> 00:43:44.723
Then I'm going to come back and read it to
you with the intent and the understanding.

00:43:44.803 --> 00:43:45.283
Okay.

00:43:46.723 --> 00:43:51.013
Picking up at verse 15, it says,
wherefore I also, after I heard of

00:43:51.013 --> 00:43:56.973
your faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ
and the love unto all the saints.

00:43:57.418 --> 00:44:01.128
Cease not to give thanks for you
making mention of you in my prayers

00:44:01.408 --> 00:44:06.158
that the God and father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the father of glory may

00:44:06.168 --> 00:44:10.928
give unto you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of him.

00:44:10.948 --> 00:44:13.918
The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened that you may know.

00:44:14.488 --> 00:44:18.588
What is the hope of his calling and what
the riches of the glory of his, of his

00:44:18.588 --> 00:44:21.998
inheritance and the saints and what is
the exceeding greatness of his power

00:44:21.998 --> 00:44:27.108
to us were to believe according to the
working of his mighty power, which he

00:44:27.108 --> 00:44:31.128
wrought in Christ, when he raised him
from the dead and set him at his own

00:44:31.128 --> 00:44:33.228
right hand with him in heavenly places.

00:44:34.183 --> 00:44:38.153
Far above all principality, power,
might, and dominion in every name

00:44:38.153 --> 00:44:41.493
that is named, not only in this world,
but also in that which will come and

00:44:41.493 --> 00:44:45.253
has put all things under his feet
and given him to be head over all

00:44:45.253 --> 00:44:49.273
the church, which is his body, the
fullness of him that filleth all in all.

00:44:49.843 --> 00:44:52.403
So that's what Paul was
writing to the Ephesians.

00:44:52.443 --> 00:44:58.643
Now, if you have to understand the
Ephesus church and the situation and

00:44:58.693 --> 00:45:03.173
where it was at and all, he, Paul
wrote this to the Ephesians church, but

00:45:03.173 --> 00:45:07.783
he's also writing this scripture for
all of us, even today and all anybody

00:45:07.783 --> 00:45:13.763
that's, that, that is born hereafter
for the future, the Lord, Terry, another

00:45:13.763 --> 00:45:15.743
thousand years, it's for everybody.

00:45:16.353 --> 00:45:19.673
But listen, when you take
the pronoun and you put a.

00:45:19.953 --> 00:45:24.283
Now, in it, listen to what it says.

00:45:24.958 --> 00:45:28.088
And for all you readers, I'm gonna
make Jesse feel good because I'm

00:45:28.228 --> 00:45:32.578
gonna, I'm gonna put his name in
there and listen to what it says.

00:45:32.608 --> 00:45:40.168
Wherefore, I also, after I heard
of Jesse's faith in the Lord Jesus

00:45:40.988 --> 00:45:46.878
and love unto all the saints,
cease not to give thanks for Jesse.

00:45:47.273 --> 00:45:52.743
Making mention of Jesse in my prayers
that the God and father of our Lord

00:45:52.753 --> 00:45:59.693
Jesus Christ may give unto Jesse, the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the

00:45:59.693 --> 00:46:07.333
knowledge of him, the eyes of Jesse's
understanding being enlightened that Jesse

00:46:07.333 --> 00:46:10.753
may know what is the hope of his calling.

00:46:11.023 --> 00:46:15.083
And what the riches of the glory
of his inheritance and the saints

00:46:15.093 --> 00:46:19.073
now when he says when the when it's
referring to his air is talking about

00:46:19.073 --> 00:46:22.613
Jesus and now picking up in verse 19.

00:46:23.373 --> 00:46:30.493
And what is the exceeding exceeding
greatness of his power price power

00:46:30.533 --> 00:46:35.763
to us word who believe, according to
the working of God's mighty power.

00:46:36.178 --> 00:46:40.888
Which he wrote in Christ when he raised
him from the dead and set him at his

00:46:40.888 --> 00:46:42.828
own right hand in heavenly places.

00:46:43.208 --> 00:46:46.428
Far above all principality, power,
mighty dominion, and every name that

00:46:46.428 --> 00:46:50.048
is named, not only in this world, but
also in that which is to come, and

00:46:50.048 --> 00:46:52.668
hath put all things under his feet,
and given him to be head over all

00:46:52.678 --> 00:46:55.798
the church, which is his body, the
fullness of him that filleth all in all.

00:46:55.828 --> 00:47:00.138
Now, here's a little
short story on this thing.

00:47:00.468 --> 00:47:04.168
Nowhere in the scripture does it tell
us to pray for somebody to get saved.

00:47:06.338 --> 00:47:07.168
It never says it.

00:47:07.198 --> 00:47:09.518
There's no verse in the Bible
that says you need to pray.

00:47:09.928 --> 00:47:15.288
For such and such to get say what it
does say right here is that we are to

00:47:15.438 --> 00:47:20.798
pray for the eyes of their understanding
to be enlightened that the spirit of

00:47:20.858 --> 00:47:22.798
wisdom and knowledge come upon them.

00:47:22.798 --> 00:47:23.778
That's what it's saying.

00:47:24.468 --> 00:47:29.528
It says unto you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation and the knowledge of him.

00:47:29.538 --> 00:47:31.268
Who's it talking about of the him?

00:47:31.593 --> 00:47:36.503
of Jesus, the eyes of Jesse's
understanding, Mike's understanding,

00:47:36.523 --> 00:47:40.113
Willie's understanding, Carol's
understanding, being enlightened,

00:47:40.433 --> 00:47:45.493
that they may know what is the hope
of Jesus calling, God's calling,

00:47:45.833 --> 00:47:51.333
and what the riches of the glory
of God's inheritance in the saints,

00:47:51.363 --> 00:47:53.243
Jesus inheritance in the saints.

00:47:54.448 --> 00:47:59.638
Now, in conclusion, I want to say this
much, people don't know this, but as

00:47:59.638 --> 00:48:04.048
I was telling you about how the demand
will come up on me when I came to the

00:48:04.048 --> 00:48:08.448
jail, one of the experiences in the
life that I had was, but Sunday school

00:48:08.448 --> 00:48:12.358
superintendent in my church, he walked up
to me one Sunday and he said, Hey, Mike.

00:48:12.818 --> 00:48:14.778
He said, I got something
I want you to pray about.

00:48:15.178 --> 00:48:19.068
He said, you know, we do this basketball
outreach and this thing to this juvenile

00:48:19.068 --> 00:48:21.358
prison over there in Jacksonville.

00:48:22.508 --> 00:48:24.948
And he said, we do it
once a month on Saturdays.

00:48:24.948 --> 00:48:27.818
But we were thinking, man, the
Bible says to make disciples.

00:48:28.108 --> 00:48:30.358
We were thinking about
starting a Sunday school class.

00:48:30.808 --> 00:48:33.498
He said, don't you stop
and think about that.

00:48:34.418 --> 00:48:35.358
I said, okay, I'll do it.

00:48:36.263 --> 00:48:38.663
No, no, you need to stop and
pray, but I said, no, I'll do it.

00:48:39.183 --> 00:48:40.793
He said, no, you got to pray about it.

00:48:41.223 --> 00:48:44.053
I said, no, I'll do it.

00:48:44.133 --> 00:48:47.373
Because he knew I was up in
the jail, you know, doing that.

00:48:47.373 --> 00:48:49.603
So I said, I'll do it.

00:48:49.603 --> 00:48:50.363
And he didn't know what to say.

00:48:50.373 --> 00:48:51.973
He said, well, let me
tell you what he said.

00:48:52.023 --> 00:48:54.583
You weren't our first choice,
but the other guy turned us down.

00:48:54.583 --> 00:48:57.393
So I said, so come in second place.

00:48:57.393 --> 00:48:57.863
That's it.

00:48:57.903 --> 00:48:58.523
Now, look.

00:48:59.008 --> 00:49:00.188
Here he says this.

00:49:00.758 --> 00:49:02.698
He tells me this on a Sunday.

00:49:03.748 --> 00:49:08.938
So a buddy of mine was an educator, taught
at a juvenile prison up in Nassau County.

00:49:10.328 --> 00:49:14.698
And at that time, it's no longer in
effect there, but it was Nassau Halfway.

00:49:15.568 --> 00:49:18.858
So I called my buddy up and I said,
hey, I said, do they have anything that

00:49:18.858 --> 00:49:20.558
they do for the juveniles over there?

00:49:21.478 --> 00:49:22.288
He said, yeah.

00:49:22.288 --> 00:49:25.458
He said, there's different
churches come out each week.

00:49:25.888 --> 00:49:28.738
And he said, they'll do something
on a Sunday night out there.

00:49:29.448 --> 00:49:33.128
And I said, Hmm, I said, who can I
find out if I can come over there?

00:49:33.128 --> 00:49:36.128
He said, well, and he gives me
the director's name and by the

00:49:36.128 --> 00:49:37.848
way, his name was Duke as well.

00:49:38.548 --> 00:49:40.198
And, uh, so he gave me Mr.

00:49:40.198 --> 00:49:43.548
Duke's phone number and I called him
up and said, I said, you know, I'm

00:49:43.568 --> 00:49:45.568
such and such, uh, blah, blah, blah.

00:49:45.728 --> 00:49:50.268
And he, uh, I told him I went to
the Nassau, uh, the jail up there.

00:49:50.868 --> 00:49:54.548
And so he said, yeah, he said,
he said, I want you to come out

00:49:54.548 --> 00:49:56.498
when the Presbyterians come out.

00:49:56.828 --> 00:49:59.248
He said, there's a, he said,
there's a couple there.

00:49:59.248 --> 00:50:00.918
He said, it's Jesse and Becky.

00:50:00.928 --> 00:50:05.638
And he said, they make a difference
in the kids lives out of all of them.

00:50:05.638 --> 00:50:07.248
He said, I want you to learn under them.

00:50:07.918 --> 00:50:12.568
So people, I'm telling you the
story of how I met Jesse and Becky.

00:50:13.128 --> 00:50:14.218
And this is no kidding.

00:50:14.228 --> 00:50:19.488
So I'll go out there and I meet Jesse
and Becky, and there's another guy

00:50:19.488 --> 00:50:21.498
that shows up by the name of Jeff Hall.

00:50:22.528 --> 00:50:28.908
And, and so we're there with
Jesse and Becky and we see

00:50:28.908 --> 00:50:30.548
what they do and all that.

00:50:31.078 --> 00:50:32.068
And this is great.

00:50:32.118 --> 00:50:35.318
So I'm thinking to myself, man,
I want to come back next week.

00:50:35.738 --> 00:50:37.058
Jeff and I had never met.

00:50:37.168 --> 00:50:39.338
I said, Hey, you want
to come back next week?

00:50:39.348 --> 00:50:40.058
He said, yeah.

00:50:40.638 --> 00:50:42.818
He said, well, it's a different church.

00:50:42.818 --> 00:50:44.438
I said, yeah, but we'll learn from them.

00:50:45.008 --> 00:50:49.498
So we come back the next week
and the church doesn't show up

00:50:50.378 --> 00:50:52.468
and it's just me and Jeff there.

00:50:53.148 --> 00:50:55.458
And so I remember that.

00:50:57.138 --> 00:50:58.648
And so we started doing it.

00:50:58.703 --> 00:51:02.833
And that was the third Sunday
night or third or fourth.

00:51:02.833 --> 00:51:05.923
I forget which one it was, but
anyway, so we started doing it.

00:51:05.933 --> 00:51:09.873
So the next month when the Presbyterian
and Jesse Becky rolled around,

00:51:10.433 --> 00:51:15.273
we were there to learn more, but
that was the, the understanding.

00:51:15.293 --> 00:51:20.313
And I'm going to close with this,
with this, this statement, we were

00:51:20.313 --> 00:51:25.013
involved in at Nassau halfway house
and we started giving gifts and we

00:51:25.013 --> 00:51:26.553
started doing the Sunday school there.

00:51:26.583 --> 00:51:28.953
So we would come on Sunday
morning, Jeff and I did.

00:51:29.258 --> 00:51:32.748
He went to First Baptist Fernandina Beach,
and I went to my church in Jacksonville.

00:51:33.208 --> 00:51:36.188
And we started teaching a Sunday
school lesson to those boys and

00:51:36.188 --> 00:51:37.878
seeing their lives change, people.

00:51:38.448 --> 00:51:40.248
And here's, here's the thing that got us.

00:51:40.638 --> 00:51:45.758
We would give, the director at that time
said, Can you give some gifts to the boys?

00:51:45.758 --> 00:51:47.088
Can you give them Bibles?

00:51:47.238 --> 00:51:47.688
And so, yeah.

00:51:48.358 --> 00:51:53.258
So what we did is, we fixed up a
shoe box, and put like toothpaste

00:51:53.258 --> 00:51:55.858
and socks and a knit cap in there.

00:51:56.223 --> 00:51:59.723
And it was a Christmas present
and the very first year.

00:51:59.753 --> 00:52:01.933
And I wasn't there because I had to work.

00:52:03.123 --> 00:52:05.903
And Jeff said, when he gave
out those Christmas gifts.

00:52:06.418 --> 00:52:09.218
There's one boy that
would not open his gift.

00:52:09.368 --> 00:52:15.518
He just sat there and held on to that
gift for a good four to five minutes.

00:52:15.528 --> 00:52:18.818
Jeff said everybody had already
opened their gifts, saw what they got.

00:52:18.828 --> 00:52:20.618
They were, and he's still holding it.

00:52:21.438 --> 00:52:25.983
And so Jeff went over to him and said,
why aren't you opening your gift?

00:52:26.763 --> 00:52:31.243
Now, the average age of these boys
are from 14 to 18 years of age, with

00:52:31.243 --> 00:52:33.843
an average age of about 15 to 16.

00:52:34.933 --> 00:52:40.473
This guy said, I have never
gotten a wrapped gift in my life.

00:52:42.323 --> 00:52:46.883
This was the first wrapped
gift he had ever been given.

00:52:47.243 --> 00:52:49.193
And he had to come to prison to get it.

00:52:50.223 --> 00:52:55.953
And ever since then, we give out
gifts in the juvenile prison.

00:52:55.953 --> 00:52:57.613
We give them basketball shoes.

00:52:57.643 --> 00:52:59.573
We give them all kinds of things.

00:52:59.923 --> 00:53:03.323
And the one thing that we give
them to this day is a Bible

00:53:03.763 --> 00:53:05.583
with their name engraved on it.

00:53:06.213 --> 00:53:08.433
And these guys hold on to that Bible.

00:53:08.803 --> 00:53:10.273
Now you've got some that don't.

00:53:10.743 --> 00:53:14.233
But you have to understand the parable
of Mark 4, what I said a while ago.

00:53:14.233 --> 00:53:17.573
So you people read Mark 4 all
the way through, and you read

00:53:17.573 --> 00:53:18.983
Mark 5 all the way through.

00:53:18.983 --> 00:53:22.003
Because it's got more Stuff
in there that you can handle.

00:53:22.583 --> 00:53:27.613
But anyway, we give those gifts
to those boys and those guys that

00:53:27.613 --> 00:53:31.593
get that Bible with their names on
them, it means something to them.

00:53:32.283 --> 00:53:34.043
So anyway, that's my story.

00:53:34.043 --> 00:53:37.683
And you just have to
wrap it up from there.

00:53:37.823 --> 00:53:41.703
Now look, you read out of the King
James and you read it like you've

00:53:41.703 --> 00:53:43.293
read it a thousand times before.

00:53:43.293 --> 00:53:46.913
Now I want to read, just for
the sake of our listeners, I

00:53:46.913 --> 00:53:48.883
want to read it from the NLT.

00:53:48.893 --> 00:53:52.403
That's where, that's where
young folks go, right?

00:53:53.033 --> 00:53:53.433
Yeah.

00:53:53.913 --> 00:53:57.673
I just, I just started using
the NLT about three years ago.

00:53:57.673 --> 00:53:58.363
I like this.

00:53:58.883 --> 00:54:00.983
All right, go ahead.

00:54:01.163 --> 00:54:04.463
This is Ephesians 1, 15 through 23.

00:54:05.443 --> 00:54:05.793
Yes, sir.

00:54:05.893 --> 00:54:06.793
Now, this is Paul.

00:54:06.873 --> 00:54:11.493
Ever since I first heard of your strong
faith in the Lord Jesus and your love

00:54:11.503 --> 00:54:16.223
for God's people everywhere, I have
not stopped thanking God for you.

00:54:16.793 --> 00:54:20.973
I pray for you constantly, asking
God, the glorious Father of our Lord

00:54:20.973 --> 00:54:25.773
Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual
wisdom and insight so that you

00:54:25.773 --> 00:54:27.973
might grow in your knowledge of God.

00:54:28.948 --> 00:54:33.908
I pray that your hearts will be flooded
with light so that you can understand

00:54:33.908 --> 00:54:39.398
the confident hope He has given to
those He called, His holy people who

00:54:39.398 --> 00:54:43.038
are His rich and glorious inheritance.

00:54:44.128 --> 00:54:48.398
I also pray that you will understand
the incredible greatness of God's

00:54:48.428 --> 00:54:50.558
power for us who believe in Him.

00:54:51.303 --> 00:54:55.243
This is the same mighty power that
raised Christ from the dead and seated

00:54:55.243 --> 00:54:59.493
him in the place of honor at God's
right hand in the heavenly realms.

00:55:00.223 --> 00:55:03.903
Now, he is far above any
ruler or authority or power

00:55:03.903 --> 00:55:06.753
or leader or anything else.

00:55:07.223 --> 00:55:12.383
Not only in this world, but also
in the world to come God has put

00:55:12.413 --> 00:55:17.023
all things under the authority of
Christ And he and has made him head

00:55:17.023 --> 00:55:23.033
over all things for the benefit of
the church, which is us That's it.

00:55:23.353 --> 00:55:28.343
And the church is his body It is made
full and complete by Christ who fills

00:55:28.623 --> 00:55:32.323
all things everywhere With himself.

00:55:34.063 --> 00:55:35.053
So there you go.

00:55:35.123 --> 00:55:40.943
Now, that's the that's the NLT to just
sort of Reiterate what you were saying,

00:55:43.353 --> 00:55:48.083
if we take the word you out and put in
the name of the person we're praying for,

00:55:48.113 --> 00:55:53.273
you know, the prodigal child, the drug
addict, alcoholic, anybody, that this

00:55:53.283 --> 00:55:57.673
is the most powerful prayer that we can
pray for them because it's God's word.

00:55:58.963 --> 00:56:02.553
And you know, it says, and I
think it's over in Isaiah, that

00:56:02.713 --> 00:56:04.793
God's word never returns void.

00:56:04.823 --> 00:56:05.753
He's bound.

00:56:06.563 --> 00:56:10.153
By his own self, his own
being, to perform his word.

00:56:10.163 --> 00:56:12.323
His word's not separate from himself.

00:56:13.703 --> 00:56:15.583
I think it's over in Ezekiel.

00:56:15.743 --> 00:56:18.863
It says he watches over
his word to perform it.

00:56:19.493 --> 00:56:22.273
So his word in our mouth has got power.

00:56:22.903 --> 00:56:26.723
So when we pray, This
Ephesians prayer for somebody.

00:56:27.073 --> 00:56:28.243
We're really doing something.

00:56:28.993 --> 00:56:33.443
Now, for the benefit, since you brought
it up, for the benefit of the listeners,

00:56:33.443 --> 00:56:37.983
grab your Bible and go back and turn
to Isaiah chapter 55 real quick.

00:56:38.053 --> 00:56:38.363
Yeah.

00:56:38.463 --> 00:56:39.643
Isaiah 55.

00:56:40.293 --> 00:56:46.328
And, and, and here's the point that I want
the listeners to grasp the word of God.

00:56:46.548 --> 00:56:52.128
Yeah, Isaiah 55, and then from your
Bible, we're going to teach the

00:56:52.128 --> 00:56:54.268
listeners that God's word never fails.

00:56:54.278 --> 00:56:55.328
It cannot fail.

00:56:55.648 --> 00:56:56.208
Oh yeah.

00:56:56.218 --> 00:56:58.178
Ephesians can't, Ephesians cannot fail.

00:56:58.188 --> 00:57:00.508
Now read verses 8 through 11.

00:57:02.068 --> 00:57:02.568
All right.

00:57:03.808 --> 00:57:04.768
I love this.

00:57:05.378 --> 00:57:06.478
This is God talking.

00:57:06.948 --> 00:57:07.458
Yes.

00:57:08.438 --> 00:57:13.078
My thoughts are nothing like your
thoughts, says the Lord, and my ways are

00:57:13.078 --> 00:57:15.348
far beyond anything you could imagine.

00:57:16.178 --> 00:57:18.688
For just as the heavens
are higher than the earth.

00:57:19.178 --> 00:57:24.188
So are my ways higher than your ways, and
my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

00:57:25.068 --> 00:57:27.848
The rain and snow come down
from the heavens and stay on

00:57:27.848 --> 00:57:29.358
the ground to water the earth.

00:57:29.973 --> 00:57:33.753
They cause the grain to grow,
producing seed for the farmer

00:57:33.823 --> 00:57:35.283
and bread for the hungry.

00:57:36.073 --> 00:57:37.903
It is the same with my word.

00:57:38.633 --> 00:57:41.603
I send it out, and it
always produces fruit.

00:57:42.323 --> 00:57:48.593
It will accomplish all I want it to, and
it will prosper everywhere I send it.

00:57:50.103 --> 00:57:55.503
Amen and amen and see and that and
that's the guarantee from God himself

00:57:55.533 --> 00:57:59.363
that the inspiration that he gave
the Paul to write those words that

00:57:59.363 --> 00:58:04.913
we were just talking about that
whoever you and I pray for that.

00:58:04.923 --> 00:58:09.973
And when we put their name in there, they
are going to come into the revelation

00:58:09.993 --> 00:58:11.773
and the knowledge of who Jesus is.

00:58:12.098 --> 00:58:16.588
We may not see it in our lifetime
because God told Abraham when he

00:58:16.588 --> 00:58:19.538
took him up on the mountain said
see all the land and territory.

00:58:19.538 --> 00:58:23.968
I'm gonna make you your offspring
greater than the sands of the sea.

00:58:23.998 --> 00:58:26.098
At that point, he didn't
even have a child.

00:58:27.523 --> 00:58:32.413
He never saw the greatness of
the Israeli nation, and he never

00:58:32.413 --> 00:58:35.613
saw that, but it came to pass.

00:58:35.693 --> 00:58:40.703
We may not see in our lifetime things
and people for who we pray for,

00:58:41.443 --> 00:58:45.193
God's Word never, never, never fails.

00:58:45.423 --> 00:58:48.693
And it will come to pass,
so be assured on that.

00:58:49.173 --> 00:58:52.933
I want to just want to say that, you
know, His Word never returns void.

00:58:52.943 --> 00:58:55.713
It accomplishes the thing
for which He sent it.

00:58:56.323 --> 00:59:01.803
Now, that means that if we have His
Word in our mouth, it accomplishes

00:59:01.843 --> 00:59:03.593
the things for which He sent it.

00:59:03.603 --> 00:59:08.653
Because when our words align with His
words, that's, there's power in that.

00:59:09.033 --> 00:59:14.503
That's how we walk out of our faith, by
using His words to accomplish His will.

00:59:15.183 --> 00:59:15.463
Amen.

00:59:16.463 --> 00:59:16.883
Amen.

00:59:16.963 --> 00:59:18.553
And, and here's the thing.

00:59:18.563 --> 00:59:21.493
Here's an example in Ezekiel chapter 37.

00:59:21.493 --> 00:59:23.253
It's the valley of the dry bones.

00:59:23.253 --> 00:59:26.393
And you've probably heard sermons
about the valley of the dry bones.

00:59:26.973 --> 00:59:31.633
And it says that the Lord took Ezekiel
and put him in a valley of dry bones.

00:59:31.633 --> 00:59:36.433
And he's, and Ezekiel walked around,
he saw the, the, the dry bones.

00:59:36.453 --> 00:59:40.683
It says in verse number one, he walked
around and then it says, and then it

00:59:40.683 --> 00:59:47.958
says, God asking says, can these bones
live and Ezekiel had enough for sense

00:59:47.958 --> 00:59:50.548
about him to know the power of God.

00:59:50.558 --> 00:59:56.718
But he also was showing his
deficiency at that point because

00:59:56.718 --> 00:59:59.448
he told God, you know, Oh Lord.

01:00:00.823 --> 01:00:05.823
Cause he knows that if God asked him
a question, you know, a Lord, rather

01:00:05.823 --> 01:00:09.083
than to put a point blank, yes, yes.

01:00:09.123 --> 01:00:10.433
These bones can live.

01:00:10.443 --> 01:00:13.773
See Ezekiel wasn't sure within himself.

01:00:14.583 --> 01:00:22.463
And so, so God was given him the
opportunity to confess in as much as that.

01:00:23.248 --> 01:00:26.998
I really don't know, but you, I
know you can do it, but I don't,

01:00:27.158 --> 01:00:29.068
I don't know within myself.

01:00:29.068 --> 01:00:31.808
So he was letting Ezekiel know
there was a little weakness there.

01:00:32.448 --> 01:00:37.088
And then he says, okay, I'm going
to train you in essence, what he was

01:00:37.088 --> 01:00:38.528
saying to him, I'm going to train you.

01:00:39.018 --> 01:00:41.348
So, so God gives him the overview of.

01:00:41.738 --> 01:00:46.438
Calling the bones together, calling
the muscles, calling to sin you, and

01:00:46.438 --> 01:00:47.938
then calling the breath into him.

01:00:47.938 --> 01:00:51.958
He tells him what he's going to say
and what he's going to do, and then he

01:00:51.958 --> 01:00:56.548
tells Ezekiel, say to the bones, right,
he heard a and he heard a great rattle.

01:00:56.998 --> 01:01:01.228
And that's just exactly what you said a
while ago, Jesse, when we used the word

01:01:01.228 --> 01:01:03.568
of God in our mouth, it doesn't return.

01:01:03.568 --> 01:01:07.318
Voy and Ezekiel is the prime best example.

01:01:07.468 --> 01:01:11.558
God spoke, Ezekiel repeated
and it happened and it wasn't.

01:01:12.783 --> 01:01:14.253
deviated from at all.

01:01:14.863 --> 01:01:15.303
Yeah.

01:01:16.083 --> 01:01:20.273
So when Jesus left his
body, he gave us authority.

01:01:21.008 --> 01:01:26.538
To do all sorts of things that he
did, and I think most believers

01:01:26.808 --> 01:01:28.628
just simply do not believe.

01:01:30.638 --> 01:01:36.668
Well, it's, it's been watered down
through inappropriate applications.

01:01:37.003 --> 01:01:38.333
Yeah, yeah, there you go.

01:01:38.943 --> 01:01:44.213
Inappropriate application
leads to defeat and giving up.

01:01:45.153 --> 01:01:49.253
When we first must ask the Lord, trust
in the Lord, ask the Lord, how do

01:01:49.253 --> 01:01:51.573
you want me to handle this situation?

01:01:51.863 --> 01:01:56.543
When we ask the Lord how to
handle that situation, we learn.

01:01:57.723 --> 01:02:02.173
Everything that Jesse is,
he learned from his parents.

01:02:02.883 --> 01:02:05.973
In the beginning and
then other influences.

01:02:06.303 --> 01:02:11.143
So Jesse is actually learning
from five generations back and you

01:02:11.143 --> 01:02:14.963
never knew your fifth generation
grandfather or anything else.

01:02:14.963 --> 01:02:19.413
And that's why that we don't
have that power operating in our

01:02:19.413 --> 01:02:23.243
lives today, because people that
didn't have great success is.

01:02:23.493 --> 01:02:25.343
You can't do this, you can't do that.

01:02:25.353 --> 01:02:27.863
Me, I'm still trying every time.

01:02:28.543 --> 01:02:29.893
It's like playing baseball.

01:02:29.963 --> 01:02:32.583
I didn't quit baseball when
I struck out the first time.

01:02:33.103 --> 01:02:36.753
I eventually got the batting
championship when I was 15 years old.

01:02:36.863 --> 01:02:40.433
But my batting average was 444
in my senior year in baseball.

01:02:40.833 --> 01:02:46.613
But, if I were to give up when I was 9
years old, I never would have that trophy.

01:02:46.613 --> 01:02:51.813
But anyhow, that's why the correct
application leads to correct results.

01:02:53.393 --> 01:02:54.453
Yeah, that's great.

01:02:54.483 --> 01:02:55.793
And never giving up.

01:02:56.323 --> 01:02:57.043
Never giving up.

01:02:58.613 --> 01:03:03.183
Well, I guess we'll wrap it up and
I just want to thank you for this.

01:03:03.193 --> 01:03:09.243
Usually I will ask somebody to give
a piece of wisdom for our listeners,

01:03:09.243 --> 01:03:10.543
but you've already done that.

01:03:10.543 --> 01:03:16.293
So I'm just going to ask you to pray
for our listeners because somebody out

01:03:16.293 --> 01:03:20.403
there really needs exactly the prayer
that God's going to give you right now.

01:03:21.638 --> 01:03:26.848
All right, for all of you that have heard
this podcast, understand God is with you.

01:03:27.188 --> 01:03:31.898
He's put you here and this podcast
was for you to grow on and look,

01:03:32.118 --> 01:03:33.918
we only grow when we share.

01:03:34.768 --> 01:03:39.378
You see, and I'm in all sincerity,
it tells us in Galatians, the

01:03:39.378 --> 01:03:41.068
seed you sow is the seed you reap.

01:03:41.068 --> 01:03:45.728
So what you want to do is sow for
more knowledge and relationship

01:03:45.728 --> 01:03:46.928
with the Lord Jesus Christ.

01:03:47.613 --> 01:03:48.943
So let's, let us pray.

01:03:48.983 --> 01:03:49.453
Let's bow.

01:03:49.453 --> 01:03:52.593
Father God, creator of the universe,
we come before you now and thank you

01:03:52.593 --> 01:03:57.333
for majesty and beckon how that you've
impressed upon them and you've given

01:03:57.953 --> 01:04:03.893
them the wherewithal to do this, the
media, uh, aspect of it, continue to

01:04:03.893 --> 01:04:05.753
lead, guide and direct them and all that.

01:04:05.753 --> 01:04:10.393
And now as they are sowing into people's
lives, whom they will never meet.

01:04:10.893 --> 01:04:14.813
Father, in this podcast, this
day, we have went over things,

01:04:14.883 --> 01:04:16.363
uh, that is strictly your word.

01:04:17.063 --> 01:04:21.983
You heard a testimony of me and
my walk of faith and walk of

01:04:22.003 --> 01:04:25.363
understanding and of all the situations.

01:04:25.403 --> 01:04:29.793
But Lord, I do pray the Ephesians
prayer on each and every one of the

01:04:29.803 --> 01:04:37.438
listeners and that they may develop
into who you have designed them to be.

01:04:37.748 --> 01:04:39.198
None of us are failures.

01:04:39.908 --> 01:04:44.208
And I might add, if there are any on
this podcast that have never accepted

01:04:44.278 --> 01:04:52.428
you as their Lord and savior, reveal
to them the essence of who you are in

01:04:52.428 --> 01:04:57.818
Romans 10, 9, and 10, that they can come
into a faithful relationship with you.

01:04:58.278 --> 01:05:00.098
Father, in conclusion.

01:05:00.563 --> 01:05:04.063
And we do pray that Ephesians prayer
upon each and every one for their

01:05:04.063 --> 01:05:08.003
understanding their eyes of understanding
to be enlightened for the knowledge and

01:05:08.003 --> 01:05:09.933
wisdom of who you are to come into them.

01:05:10.473 --> 01:05:15.313
And according to number 624 through
26 the priestly the Aaronic blessing.

01:05:16.003 --> 01:05:19.723
The Lord bless you and keep you,
the Lord make his face shine

01:05:19.773 --> 01:05:22.923
upon you and be gracious to you
in Christ's holy name we pray.

01:05:23.273 --> 01:05:24.753
And everybody said, Amen.

01:05:24.753 --> 01:05:26.063
Amen.

01:05:26.063 --> 01:05:27.143
Thank you Mark for.

01:05:27.833 --> 01:05:32.283
for joining us today, and I really
appreciate you doing this for us.

01:05:41.635 --> 01:05:43.855
CAILIN: We hope you've been
blessed by today's story.

01:05:44.325 --> 01:05:48.035
In case you haven't noticed, there
are no advertisements on this podcast

01:05:48.405 --> 01:05:49.955
and we hope to keep it that way.

01:05:50.615 --> 01:05:54.755
So if you've heard something that you
think could help someone you know, please

01:05:54.765 --> 01:05:56.885
share it using the link in the show notes.

01:05:57.715 --> 01:06:02.065
Also, if you will give Faith and Purpose a
positive review on your podcast platform,

01:06:02.495 --> 01:06:04.165
you could help more people find it.

01:06:04.745 --> 01:06:08.805
You will probably never know how
that small effort can make a big

01:06:08.815 --> 01:06:10.405
difference in someone's life.

01:06:10.690 --> 01:06:12.370
But our Heavenly Father knows.

01:06:12.850 --> 01:06:17.700
Speaking of sharing, if you know a Jesus
follower with a story to tell, please send

01:06:17.700 --> 01:06:20.100
them a link to Faith and Purpose Podcast.

01:06:20.580 --> 01:06:22.730
It may encourage them to tell their story.

01:06:23.160 --> 01:06:24.710
That person may even be you.

01:06:25.200 --> 01:06:28.360
Our only criteria is
that Jesus be glorified.

01:06:29.120 --> 01:06:32.620
Most Christians don't share their
faith because they mistakenly think

01:06:32.630 --> 01:06:34.970
their story is not interesting enough.

01:06:35.440 --> 01:06:37.810
Or that it's self centered
to talk about themselves.

01:06:38.230 --> 01:06:42.040
Or that they are not competent
to explain the gospel correctly.

01:06:42.490 --> 01:06:43.750
But none of that is relevant.

01:06:44.140 --> 01:06:47.590
If Jesus has changed your
life, you have a story to tell.

01:06:47.640 --> 01:06:50.040
All of our stories are completely unique.

01:06:50.390 --> 01:06:55.140
No one has a story like yours, and you
may be the only one who can reach someone

01:06:55.140 --> 01:06:57.040
else through telling your experience.

01:06:57.460 --> 01:06:58.810
So don't be intimidated.

01:06:59.200 --> 01:07:03.500
A story is just that, a true
account of your own experience.

01:07:03.915 --> 01:07:06.625
And no one can disagree
with your experience.

01:07:07.525 --> 01:07:11.705
When we tell what Jesus has done in
our lives, we are being obedient to his

01:07:11.705 --> 01:07:15.915
command to go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature.

01:07:16.335 --> 01:07:20.145
It's not about theology, and it's not
about how interesting or special you are.

01:07:20.525 --> 01:07:22.385
It's all about Jesus.

01:07:22.960 --> 01:07:27.660
So when you're ready to tell how Jesus
has impacted your life, you can let Jesse

01:07:27.660 --> 01:07:30.760
know at his ministry website, jesseduke.

01:07:30.800 --> 01:07:31.120
net.

01:07:31.670 --> 01:07:34.690
There you can download guidelines
that will make it easy to

01:07:34.690 --> 01:07:36.230
prepare to tell your story.

01:07:36.760 --> 01:07:39.250
Thank you for listening today and Shalom.