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Experience the life-changing messages from the Church of God’s annual Winterfest youth gathering. These are the sermons, moments, and voices that have shaped generations of young believers — now available anytime, anywhere.
We about to have some fun. I've got my beautiful family here with me. Come on, somebody. Where they at? They're my girls. Come on.
I've got some of my team here with me. We made a long drive, and I tell you what, it was worth it because watching you guys worship is one of the most beautiful things I've
ever seen.
Because there's a generation that's waking up. You don't want the fake stuff anymore. You want the real, tangible presence of God.
You want God to be who he is in your life
and he wants to be the God of the good,
the bad and the ugly.
Do you understand?
Like some of us, if we were very honest,
we're walking around with things
we were never meant to carry.
We'll respond to an altar.
We'll bring it to an altar.
But here's the reality.
We'll pick it back up and take it back to our seats.
Altars are simply a place of sacrifice.
The Lord wants to take some things away
that you've never been meant to carry.
Listen, some of you in this room,
you think you have the ability to fix you.
I'm here to tell you the good news
is you don't, but I know who is.
And I want to introduce you to him.
His name is Jesus.
I come to you guys by way of Canton, Ohio.
Shout out to my home church, Woodlawn Church of God.
I know they are tuning in.
I'm excited, man, to be in a place
where we can open up the word of God
because this is a blessing.
You don't understand.
I've got friends that are in the underground church in China
and they are running for their lives.
You are going to be hunted for what you believe.
There are many of us in this room that if we were honest, we would say, man, I would die for Jesus.
Raise your hand if you would die for the gospel.
Raise your hand.
Put it up nice and high.
If you're willing to lose your life for this.
You see, there's a lot of us that are willing to lose our lives.
But here's my question.
How many of you guys are really willing to live for it?
Like to really live for it.
Like Romans 1.16 says, for I'm unashamed of the gospel.
It is the power.
Everybody say power.
It's the power of God unto salvation.
I think sometimes we look at the men and women of God with microphones,
and we don't understand that God has actually called you.
Because if you've got breath in your lungs, it means God wants to use your voice.
You don't have to be an evangelist to share Jesus.
People who share Jesus, it's simply because they've fallen in love with somebody,
and they can't help but tell people about them.
Have you fallen in love with them?
Or have you fallen in love with a counterfeit Jesus?
but today we're gonna talk about the real thing so father i pray for this word that as it goes
forth that you would do what only you can do in jesus name amen you guys are good brother
now listen y'all i'm gonna be very honest the bible says in revelations 19 10 the spirit of
prophecy is the testimony of jesus that word testimony in hebrew is adu listen note takers
are history makers. Pull your notepads out if you got to. Listen, come to services like this
every single day with a level of expectation. Don't just come here to have a good time. Come here
to dig into the word and to learn and to grow because here's the reality. We are living in a
world where there are so many people that are talking about Jesus on TikTok, but they don't
actually know. You see, a lot of us get our theology off of TikTok, but if I don't understand
how to go to the book myself, if I don't understand how to read the word of God, how to rightly divide
the word of God, then I'll never be able to walk according to what the word says because I'm
listening to someone else's revelation. So when people start talking about scriptures, listen,
write them down and study them. Pastor talked about it last night. She says, you are going to stand
before God Almighty by yourself someday. You know what's not going to work on that day?
What my pastor said. Well, my youth pastor said this. You've got to understand that you are equipped.
I don't care if you're 12 years old. Guess what? God uses 12 years old. I've seen more 12 years
is all on fire for Jesus than ever before. You don't have to let your age limit you from being
able to discern the word. Listen, raise your hands right now if you've ever struggled with reading
the Bible. Come on. If we can't be honest here, you'll never be honest anywhere. Raise your hands
if you struggle with remembering what you read in the Bible. Come on, it's discouraged us, right?
Raise your hand if you struggle with having the discipline to get into the word every single day.
Raise your hand if you struggle with hearing the voice of God.
You see, this level of honesty is actually going to open the door for transformation to take place in your life.
You've got to understand that transparency leads to transformation, but vulnerability is what opens the door.
You see, I think the reality is this.
It's not that we struggle with hearing God's voice.
We struggle with reading what he wrote.
You see, some of us beat ourselves up because we don't remember what we read in the scriptures.
Listen, you don't remember what you ate six months ago, but it still nourished you.
Some of us fall asleep reading the Bible.
You ever beat yourself up for falling asleep when you read the word?
Oh, man, I fell asleep again.
Listen, I believe our father loves it when we fall asleep in his arms.
You've got to understand that God is inviting you into a love relationship with him that is unlike anything you've ever experienced in this world.
All you have to do is be willing to give him everything that you are.
You see, I grew up in a situation of so much brokenness, so much pain.
I grew up in a home, man, where unfortunately my dad decided to leave before I was born.
So immediately you've got to understand an identity crisis was created.
I didn't feel loved.
I didn't feel seen.
I didn't feel valuable.
I didn't feel like people actually loved me
because the people that were supposed to love me the most
were absent.
Does anybody understand what I'm talking about?
I grew up in a world in California
where I was in so much pain and brokenness
and my brothers and my sisters,
everybody has different last names.
So the only thing I wanted to do was escape.
You see, there are some of us in this room,
all we want to do is escape our reality.
That's why we turn to drugs.
That's why we turn to alcohol.
That's why we turn to giving ourselves away.
You see, we give ourselves away
because we're looking for somebody
to tell us that we're good enough.
We're looking for somebody to validate us
instead of finding our validation in the word.
And so the only thing I found my validation in
was this game of football.
Come on, somebody.
Any football fans in the house?
Oh, yeah.
I said, are there any football fans in the house?
What territory is this?
Make some noise if you're a Tennessee Titans fan.
Father God, I pray for every single Titans fan in the room.
But I found this game of football.
The reason why I love the game is because I can run to them and run through them.
Yes, your boy played running back.
I played it at a high level in high school.
I was a star recruit.
I got many different scholarship offers, but I was a knucklehead who didn't graduate from high school.
I had so much pain and brokenness at home.
You see, the reality is this.
I had this appearance where everything looked great on the outside like many of us today.
Like, we look so good on the outside, but on the inside, we're hollow and we're broken.
You see, people didn't understand this, but I had suffered so much bullying,
and I remember there would be times where I would be asleep at home,
and my mom would wake me up because of her trauma,
and she would begin to beat me,
and I didn't understand why a person
who's supposed to love you would do the things
in which she did to me.
The Lord sent me here to be very honest today,
because if I'm not willing to be honest,
what happens is there's a generation
that will continue to walk around in brokenness.
They'll continue to walk around with all these scars
and all these open wounds and not really believing
that God can redeem them or restore them.
But you've got to understand that he is who he says he is,
and he's trustworthy.
And so as I played the game, and I remember when I was in the eighth grade,
where are my eighth graders there?
Raise your hand if you're in eighth grade.
Got a lot of eighth graders here.
Eighth grade was the first time I began to cut myself.
You see, I remember getting in trouble, and I got hurt pretty badly,
and my pain was so severe, I wanted to take my pain back into my own hands
and control my own pain.
There's some of us in this room that we do that every single day.
And that was the first time I began to cut myself.
But on the outside, I looked great.
On the outside, I was a star athlete and everything was going great.
I was a football player with all these scholarship offers, but I was hurt on the inside.
There's so many of us in this room that were walking around with so much hidden pain and so much hidden sin because we're afraid of what are they going to think about me?
But I'm here to tell you today that God is who he says he is.
So as I kept just playing the game of football, I got a chance to go to this itty bitty school that many people in this room probably have never heard of called Malone
University.
Anybody ever heard of Malone University?
they're like nah bro I'm sorry that's just not I never heard of it but it's in Canton Ohio
and I love going to Ohio now listen I'm a Cali boy I grew up in in California and the way that I
grew up there was no snow I grew up by the ocean and and as I grew up man I remember just seeing
the Pacific Ocean as my backdrop but I went to Ohio and I got introduced to this thing called snow
oh no I don't like snow I did not like the snow I remember my first day seeing snow I was so excited
I ran outside, I put my tongue out, it was crazy.
And then that lasted for about three minutes.
And ever since then, man, me and Snow
have had a love-hate relationship, mostly hate.
Have not liked it, but I got a chance to play ball.
We've got a picture of me my senior year at Malone.
Your boy was in shape.
Come on, somebody.
Yeah, come on.
Listen, we serve a miracle working God, I believe.
I seen you move.
He moved the mount.
I believe he can do it again, amen?
You see, I did so well my senior year.
I got a chance to work out in front of a lot of NFL teams, but before that, I went to this thing
called the Senior Bowl. Your boy was in shape. Listen, my motto was run to him and run through him.
I had so much pain and anger and resentment on the inside of me. Anybody that would get in my way,
it was my mission to hurt them. I finished sixth in the country in rushing. I did so well,
I get a chance to work out in front of all 32 NFL teams, and we've got a picture of me at the combine.
All right, y'all, come on. Listen, here's what we're about to do. Hold on. Hold on. Before you clap,
Before you clap, we're about to pray an important prayer.
I need every hand to stretch forth towards me, everybody.
Come on, I need the kids, the babies.
Come on, people with the cameras, everybody online.
I need every single hand stretched forth towards me.
If I don't see your hand, I am going to be offended.
Come on, let me see them hands.
There we go.
We're about to pray a prayer.
All right?
I want you to repeat after me.
Say, Jesus.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
See, listen, we've got to stir up our faith, okay?
Say, Jesus.
Jesus.
Help Marcus get back in shape.
In Jesus' name.
But my whole entire life, I was so excited to play this game at such a high level because I just knew I had the ability in me.
The Dallas Cowboys moved me to fullback at the combine.
You got to understand my entire life, the way that I grew up.
I grew up oftentimes sleeping on a mattress because our house would get shot up because of gang violence.
The only thing I wanted to do was get my family out of a broken situation.
I want to escape, and it's crazy.
I had no idea really who God was.
I would hear these things about God, but most of us in this room will look at God the Father
through our earthly father's expression.
If our father is absent, we think that God is absent.
If our father is abusive, we'll think that God is abusive.
If we think our father doesn't care about us, we'll think that God doesn't care about us.
But I'm here to call out every single lot that a generation has believed, because if
we're believing God for revival, it's time to grab a hold of the truth of the word of
God.
And he is who he says he is.
What's crazy is God will divinely set you up
without you realizing it.
Did you know that?
Malone was a Christian university.
Isn't that just like God?
I remember taking hermeneutics and theology
and Old Testament and New Testament.
I remember taking all these classes.
I was like, okay, I'll learn about this guy
if I have to learn about him
in order to be eligible for football.
But as I continued, it's crazy how all that head knowledge
stayed up here for so long.
There's a lot of us, man, that some of us are Bible quizzing champions.
Any Bible quizzing champions in the room?
I know my wife is.
Come on, somebody.
I'm bragging on her.
Church of God, Bible quizzing champion.
But we'll consume the word so much and we'll gain so much knowledge.
But the Bible says knowledge puffs up.
It's not so much about what you know.
It's about what you become.
If that 18-inch journey from your brain to your heart doesn't take place, I don't care what you know.
Do you know that demons know the scriptures?
did you know that like you know what's crazy is the devil doesn't actually mind that you're
sitting in a service like this he doesn't care but what he cares about is if that journey begins
to take place where it goes from your brain to your heart then he knows he's in trouble
and I believe today that's what's going to happen so as I kept playing ball I didn't
I remember signing with this agency out of Indianapolis,
and I'm getting ready to get drafted,
and my dreams are coming true, and I'm so excited
because the thing that I want the most
is about to take place.
I am so pumped up.
You gotta understand, my entire life
built up to this moment.
I'm 23 years old, in the best shape of my life,
and the Indianapolis Colts, they texted my agent.
They said, yo, if Marcus is around in the sixth round,
we're gonna pick him up.
They liked the way that I could play the game,
and so I'm having this big draft party,
and everything is going great.
I'm excited.
All my friends are there.
Nobody in Malone history had ever been drafted.
I'm pumped up because the thing that I wanted the most was taking place.
You see, my relationship with God was something that I, like, I didn't really care about,
but I knew that I needed it because I thought that God was a genie.
I thought that if I could pray to him, that he'll give me what I want.
That was my entire framework because I didn't truly understand what the gospel was.
I thought that if I prayed and I said something, that he would do it.
And so I'm sitting at this house, and I'm looking at my cell phone,
and I want everybody in the room just leaning with me.
Come on, lean forward, lean forward.
Come on, lean with it, rock with it.
Come on, if you know that song, you better be at the altar today, okay?
Come on, lean with it.
Some of y'all laughing a little bit too hard at that, amen?
It's okay, we're going to talk.
But I want you to lean forward.
So I'm looking at my cell phone in this posture.
And I'm looking at my phone and the culture on the clock.
Oh boy, am I excited.
Because my life is about to change.
I get a text from my agent, he says, get ready, Marcus.
Everything's about to change.
My heart was racing.
Doo-doo.
Doo-doo.
the pick is in
and as I look down
and I look up at the TV
and everyone's looking at me like you're looking at me now
and the Indianapolis Colts
drafted somebody else
and what I heard in that moment
is what a lot of you guys are hearing today
is that nobody wants you
nobody sees you
nobody cares
you're not good enough
you guys can sit back.
See, as I grabbed a hold of that lie,
it became my truth.
I didn't understand that God was for me.
I didn't understand that he had a plan for my life.
I didn't understand that because the world
that I was living in rejected me.
And so the only thing I continued to do
was throw myself to the gang.
I kept working out the Oakland Raiders call.
They wanted me to try out his tight end,
but I'm barely six foot tall,
so the idea of blocking very large men
bigger than me was terrifying.
And so I continued to hold out for an NFL opportunity.
And I signed my first professional contract
playing in the Arena Football League,
and I was excited.
But listen, I met a beautiful young lady, y'all.
Come on, somebody.
Listen, y'all.
See, here's the thing.
I'm about to help y'all out real quick, okay?
I know some of y'all fellas came here today
hoping that you were gonna meet your wife, okay?
Stop it.
The only person you need to meet is Jesus.
Ladies, hear me when I say this.
I'm talking today.
Hear me when I say this, ladies.
Just because he shows you attention
doesn't mean he has the right intention.
Uh-oh.
I'm gonna be very honest.
Ladies, if he's not worshiping at the altar,
he's not the one.
And if the first way he communicates with you
is sliding into your DM,
Run away.
Run.
Fellas, yes, I'm hating, and you guys are going to judge me for this, but I do not care, okay?
I'm training for the NFL down in Texas, and I met this beautiful young lady, y'all.
I tell you what.
I tell you what.
She was something different.
She was a pastor's kid, so I had to come correct.
Bishop, I had to come correct.
And so here's what I did.
I slid into her DM, but don't you judge me.
Stop it.
Stop, stop, stop.
Stop the judgment.
I was training for the NFL in Texas, and I didn't see her in person,
so the only way that I could was sliding into her DM.
This is the day and age where we put everything on Facebook,
and she broke up with some dude, so I knew this was my chance.
So here's what I did.
I slid into her DM, and I said,
Hey, girl.
I just want you to know
I'm praying for you
y'all may laugh
but we've been married
11 years now fellas
if you pray
she will stay
if you pray
she will stay
so she's with me on this journey
of playing football and everything is going great.
I'm playing ball in Texas
and we're engaged to be married.
2014, I get a chance to work out for the Dallas Cowboys
and I'm excited because my entire life
built up to this moment.
Everything I wanted was about to happen
and you just gotta imagine,
I'm 26 years old at the time
and I'm ready to play the game at a high level.
But you see, unfortunately in this workout,
they made me do some drills
that I wasn't quite prepared for.
And as I went to block a gentleman,
I completely dislocated my shoulder.
I cracked my clavicle.
I tore my rotator cuff and I tore my labrum.
And in one moment, my career was over.
So Winterfest, I've got a question for you.
What are you going to do when the thing
that you want the most doesn't happen?
Like, where are you gonna turn?
Some of you would say, Jesus,
but what if you don't know how to turn to Jesus?
What if your foundation is rooted in something
that can be taken away?
Where do you turn?
You see, I would actually try to regurgitate someone else's revelation.
I would try to regurgitate what my pastor said.
Okay, well, God's got a plan for my life, but I didn't read it for myself.
Well, God loves me, but I didn't read it for myself.
Well, God is for me, but I didn't read it for myself.
They would talk about the promises of God, but I didn't actually go to the word of God
and actually understand that there are actual promises of God.
And so my entire life goes up in shambles in a moment,
but the one thing that I did was the doctors prescribed me pain medication.
And for the first time in my life, I could take something that made me feel good about myself.
For the first time in my life, I could take something that made the depression go away.
For the first time in my life, I could take something that actually made me want to get out of bed in the morning.
So as I continued to struggle, I didn't struggle at first.
I took them as prescribed, but then I took them for 1,173 days.
And I became a completely deceived drug addict where I lost everything.
You see, I got hurt by a team, so I was on injury reserve, so I was getting paid every single week to get high.
I was so broken.
But the Bible says they have an appearance of godliness but deny its power.
I knew how to fake the front online.
I knew how to quote the scriptures.
I knew how to post the scriptures on Facebook so people thought that I was saved.
Does that sound familiar today?
That we know how to quote the scriptures, but do I know how to live the scriptures out?
There's many of us, man, we'll quote it with the best of them.
but what happens is our ability to quote
and our ability to memorize,
we've actually taken on this thing
called the religious mindset,
but what I believe the Lord wants to do today
is he wants to break forth the religious mindset
and he wants us to walk in
humility again
and to come back to him as children would to a father,
but you've got to understand
that you aren't that sweet, but Jesus is.
You know you're not the hero of your story?
Jesus is.
But what I wanted to be more than anything, you guys,
is I wanted to be a dad.
Remember how I told you my dad left?
I wanted to be a father to my child
and my wife gets pregnant.
And we had all these friends.
We went to a Christian school.
So I said, surely if I get back around enough Christians,
something in my life would change.
Surely if we move locations geographically,
my issues will all of a sudden be handled.
I thought that if I moved and got around believers
that things would change, but boy, was I wrong.
You see, I moved to Ohio and all of my issues followed me,
but this time my drug addiction was so bad
I lied to 38 different doctors
over the span of five months
and got 59 prescriptions.
You see the depths of deception.
I was so deceived.
I was so broken.
I did not feel seen.
I did not feel loved.
And the only thing I wanted to do
was continue to medicate myself.
Does that sound familiar to a generation
where we medicate ourselves with sex?
We medicate ourselves with vaping.
We medicate ourselves with drugs and alcohol.
We medicate ourselves by doing everything
other than what Jesus is calling us to do.
Because we don't want to feel it.
And so the only thing we do is take matters back into our own hands.
But I'm here to tell somebody today, you do not have the ability to fix you.
So as I'm driving around Ohio, I'm buying drugs off the streets.
My drug addiction got so bad, I was an unsafe person to be around.
I would take my little girl with me in the car, and I would go,
and I would sit outside of drug dealers' houses for eight hours
hoping that they would give me drugs.
I was an addict's addict.
The only thing I cared about was getting high.
That's the only thing I wanted to do.
But I would continue to try to regurgitate the word.
All throughout those moments, I had never actually picked up the Bible myself.
I had never read it until one day.
Everybody say one day.
You see, I had warrants for my arrest.
June 16, 2017 is the day that changed my life forever.
My addiction's at an all-time high.
I got charged with three warrants.
They're about to take me away to jail.
The only thing I wanted to do at this time, my suicidal ideation and depression is through the roof.
Like, I don't even want to live anymore at this point.
But the one thing, that's why I said we serve a God as suddenlies.
I could just remember this day like it was yesterday.
I'm sitting at my house.
I'm watching my daughter.
She's a baby at the time, and my wife's late from work, but eventually she ends up coming home.
But she doesn't come home by herself.
She came home with a bunch of policemen.
You see, she called the cops on me because she knew that my addiction was so bad and I was an unsafe person to be around.
and she did whatever she had to do
to create a space for her and my daughter to be safe.
And so they took me away to jail
for the first time in my life
and here's a picture of my mugshot.
I know, I look like Cleveland Brown.
Go ahead, get it out.
You see that smile on my face?
The reason why I'm smiling is because I was so high.
I popped 12 Percocet before I went.
I said, if I'm gonna go to jail,
I'm gonna go to jail high
because I don't wanna live anymore.
and what's crazy is three days later
would be my first Father's Day.
I get released from jail, I go home
and everything is gone.
The only thing that I wanted to do more than anything
was be a dad and you mean to tell me
that everybody that loved me,
everybody that was for me all of a sudden has abandoned me?
And so I came up with this plan
how I was gonna kill myself on my first Father's Day,
which was a couple of days later.
But I'm here to tell a generation
that there is a love of a father
to a child that maybe you've never experienced.
But I remember calling my wife.
I called her about 100 times a day
because she's in hiding at this point.
And the only thing I wanted to do
was FaceTime my little girl.
The only thing I wanted to do
was say goodbye to my little girl.
But she finally picks up
her one five-minute FaceTime phone call.
Can I show you guys a picture of that day?
Here's a picture of that day.
You see, when I looked at my little girl through a screen,
I felt the love of a father to a child like never before.
I looked at Avery, and there she is right there.
I said, Avery, Daddy is going to do whatever he has to do to be in your life.
And the only way that I can accurately say it, y'all,
I checked myself into a faith-based rehab called Teen Challenge.
Come on, somebody.
And the only way to accurately say it,
The only way that does it justice is the devil should have killed me when he had me.
He should have took me out because when I was in the program, all we had for 13 months was nothing but the word of God.
All we did was consume the word of God.
All we did was every single day we read our Bibles and I began to read and read and read and read.
And all of a sudden I found the scripture in Ephesians chapter one, verse six.
And I tell you what.
When I read this scripture, it transformed my life.
I was sitting there, I was struggling, I was an addict,
but I knew that God was for me.
And as I read this scripture in Ephesians chapter one,
verse six, it says, to the praise of the glory of his grace
by which he made us accepted in the beloved.
I could not believe that I was loved and accepted by God.
I could not believe that he saw me.
I was 29 years old, I made so many mistakes,
but you mean to tell me that God is for me?
You mean to tell me that God saw me?
So then I begin to read the Bible more and more.
I'm here to tell somebody today
that the word of God is alive and active.
It's alive and active.
Some of us have been reading this Bible
with the wrong mentality.
You've been trying to discern this Bible
with your carnal mind.
Your mind and your ability to read is not good enough.
You need to discern this book by the spirit.
So all I would do, I didn't have money to tithe at the time,
I would wake up every single day.
I said, okay, God, I'm gonna give you the first hour.
Every day I'm gonna read what you said
and I would go and I would speak the Holy Spirit.
you gotta understand
up to that point
I had never read a book in my life
I was still a typical jock
I didn't care about anything other than
playing sports by I began to ask
the Holy Spirit questions because I read a scripture
that talked about he was a helper
I said okay well if you are who you say you are
then change me
I didn't go to rehab just to get off
of drugs
8 years ago I went to rehab to get a completely new
life
happens is when I went to rehab, the Lord invited me to do something that I had never done before.
He invited me to fully die. And I began to open up the word and began to transform my life. And I
said, oh my goodness, I cannot believe God you are who you say you are. Then I found this story
about these three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, where it talked about they weren't
going to bow to culture. I said, okay, wait a minute. Wait a minute. You mean to tell me in the face of
opposition, these Hebrew boys, they are not going to bow? Even if they lose their lives?
you see I was a very literal person
I said okay God like Holy Spirit if you tell me to do it
I'm going to do it no matter what it looks like
you know what the Holy Spirit told me to do
Holy Spirit said plead guilty to your felonies
who thinks that's a good idea
here's the unfortunate reality that we're living in
you see we live in a culture that teaches us
that doing the right thing it's not worth doing
if I get caught or it costs me something
but if God is coming back for a spotless and blameless and holy bride we've got to be a
generation of people that will not bow to what culture says that will look in the face of
opposition and they will declare the goodness of who Jesus is regardless of what happens to them
you've got to be a person that's willing to stand you've got to be willing to stand in the face of a
world that does not like a God you serve and so I said okay Holy Spirit whatever you want me to do
and I stood in front of a judge.
I'm having my brother come and flow with me on the keys.
I stood in front of a judge and I said, okay.
I knew that I did it.
I knew that I made the mistakes.
I knew that everything they say on those papers that I did,
this is pre-trial, you guys.
This is the very beginning.
This is the very beginning
and all I did was stood in front of a judge
and I said, judge, I just want you to know
that every single thing they say on those papers,
I did it.
I'm guilty.
Isn't that each and every one of us today?
Like, aren't we guilty?
Like, aren't we guilty?
And yet God looked down the corridor at the time.
He says, okay, I'm going to send a perfect gift for them.
I'm gonna send my son.
I'm gonna send the one who can die and redeem humanity.
and I stood in front of a judge,
shaking like a leaf,
and I said, God, no matter what,
I know that you're with me.
Even when it doesn't make sense, God,
I know that you're with me.
Even in the lowest moments of my life, God,
I know that you're with me.
Even when it doesn't make sense to those around me,
God, I know that you spoke to me
because there's many people that will tell you
not to do the right thing if it costs you something.
But just like I'm standing in front of you today,
the judge looks at me and she begins to cry.
She said, Marcus,
I've never had someone be that honest in my courtroom.
She said, go back to Teen Challenge.
And Winterfest, I stand before you guys today
without a record whatsoever.
She completely dropped all the charts.
It's the goodness of God.
You see, the Bible says in Jeremiah 31.3,
it's through love and kindness have I drawn thee.
He loves you so much.
You've got to understand that
if you don't hear anything else I say,
that he loves you and he's for you.
And it took me 29 years to realize that God loved me, that he was for me.
And yeah, my dad wasn't who he was supposed to be, but hurt people hurt people.
That as I was in the program, I get so full of the Holy Spirit.
I go back and I was already on fire.
I said, okay, God, whatever you want me to do, I'm willing to do it.
And I began to read and read and read and read the word of God.
And I didn't understand how to read, but I said, Holy Spirit, could you teach me about Jesus?
Could you teach me how to memorize the text?
Some of us want to lean on our own understanding.
We want to lean on our own understanding.
But listen, when you lean on your own understanding,
it's only going to produce pain and death in your life.
We've got to learn how to acknowledge God
and let the word of God be the foundation
in which we build our worldview.
Like if you're struggling with anxiety,
guess what?
There's an answer in the word.
If you're struggling with depression,
guess what?
There's an answer in the word.
If you're struggling with value and suicidal ideation,
there's an answer in the word.
But if I don't consume the word of God,
then I'll never be able to live in the truth.
Because the Bible,
here to tell a generation today. The Bible
is the only thing that has
the authority to tell you who you are.
I don't care what anybody else says.
I don't care if it's your mom
or your dad. If they say a lie that's not
aligned with the word of God,
don't believe it. Run away.
Because the Bible
tells you who you are.
In fact, I was reading, I go back to the program, and I'm
reading Luke 15.
And I find this story of a shepherd and a sheep.
And I'm in class, and I'm in the lowest
blows, but I'm reading the Bible and it says, then the tax collectors and the sinners drew near him
to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained saying, this man receives sinners
and eats with them. So we spoke this parable to them saying, what man of you having a hundred sheep,
if he loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost
until he finds it.
And when he has found it,
he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing.
And when he comes home,
he calls together all of his friends
and his neighbors saying to them,
rejoice with me,
for I found my sheep which was lost.
I say to you likewise,
there will be more joy in heaven over one.
Everybody say one.
One sinner who repents
over 99 just persons who needs no repentance.
As I'm in the program,
I read this.
This was the most divine encounter I've ever had in my life.
I'm in the room, and all of a sudden, everybody leaves.
And Holy Spirit begins to speak to me.
And he begins to speak to my heart, and he says, Marcus, you were the lost sheep I left the 99 for.
Never make ministry about numbers.
Every single person has infinite value.
He says, I've given you the ministry of reconciliation.
Then he said, go and win my children.
And then that's why I heard reach one,
a sense of reconciling every abandoned child home.
I ended up graduating the program.
First thing I've ever graduated from in my life.
He said, but I read reach one on my hand and on my notebook
because I said, okay, if God spoke it,
then I'm gonna hold on to what he said.
And I believe it despite,
even when people tried to take it away,
even when people told me that I would never
amount to anything. I held on to the truth of what God said. I held on to it regardless
of anybody around me. And not only is God a God of restoration, he completely restored my family.
We've got a picture of my beautiful family on the screen. Come on, your boy married up.
In fact, really quickly, I'm going to have my girls come up here really quickly. Girls,
Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up.
Come on.
Follow them.
Oh, okay.
Come on, Coda, Coda.
Okay.
The second born, y'all know how they are.
Come on up, girls.
and what I get to be more than anything
like I want you to know that this is a picture
of the goodness of God
I never in a million years people told me I wouldn't amount to anything
they told me I would never be a dad to my kids
but guess what God's word speaks a better word
and it does not matter what people have said
it doesn't matter what you've done
that he is who he says he is.
And every single day I get to live my best life
and be their dad and be husband to my amazing wife
right over there.
You guys good?
Love you guys.
Come on.
So exactly a year later after God spoke to me about Reach One,
he spoke into my heart and all I did was I came home,
my life was restored, but I had a roommate,
his name was Eddie, in the program.
And I remember Eddie was the first person I told reach one.
I told, I said, man, God is going to use me.
I'm going to travel.
I'm going to speak.
I never spoke before.
But Eddie said, yeah, man, Marcus, God is going to do it.
Eddie believed in me.
And I told myself, every time I get a microphone, I'm going to do this in remembrance of Eddie.
So everybody in the room, if you could just close your eyes for a second.
You know, unfortunately, in 2018, Eddie took his life.
And he was struggling and he was hurting.
and he was doing it in silence.
And I told myself every time I grab a microphone,
I'm gonna do this in remembrance of Eddie.
You see, I've struggled with anxiety and depression
and suicide ideation, but here's the reality.
There's so many people in this room right now
that you're struggling.
And I'm gonna give you an opportunity to be honest.
With every eye closed,
I wanna ask you a couple of questions.
If in the last 12 months,
you've struggled with anxiety,
I want you to raise your hand.
you guys put your hands down
with every eye closed
next question
the last 12 months
if you've struggled with depression
I want you to raise your hand
you guys put your hands down
a couple of more questions
listen this is where we can be honest
because what I keep in the darkness
I give the devil license
to use against me
that there is freedom for you today
to learn how to first be honest with every eye closed.
If in the last 12 months you've had thoughts of wanting to take your own life or cut yourself,
I want you to raise your hand.
You guys can put your hands down.
Two more questions.
In the last six months, if you've still struggled with some of those thoughts, I want you to
raise your hand.
You guys can put your hands down.
last question this is where we get so honest
is if you're still struggling with some of those thoughts to this day
I want you to raise your hand
you guys can put your hands down here everybody to look at me
if you don't remember another thing I say
I want you to remember the next couple of moments
that there is a devil out there that's been lying to a generation
he's been a good liar but guess what my God is a better truth teller
that he sees you, he is for you, he loves you.
Listen, I get it.
I was struggling.
I understand what it's like to struggle.
I understand what it's like to feel alone,
but I'm here to tell somebody today that I see you,
but most importantly, Jesus sees you.
And you're right, I may not understand what you've done,
but I know what he did,
that he went to a cross willingly,
like a lamb to a slaughter, he didn't make a sound.
And everything you don't like about yourself,
He took with him on a cross and died for 2,000 years ago.
So today is a day where we can be honest with what I've struggled with.
We can be honest with where I've been.
We can be honest because here's the opportunity for you.
There's an opportunity to surrender like never before.
All you have to do is be willing to trust that he is who he says he is.
You just have to be willing to trust.
Some of us have come up to altars many different times.
But listen, where you're standing, where you're sitting right now represents Egypt.
It represents who you used to be.
But the children of Israel were created for movement.
And I realize this.
I don't have to let the sin done to me produce sin within me, that there is freedom for you today.
So with every eye closed, I'm going to ask it to you like this.
If you came into this room and you're hurting, and you know it.
You're holding on to something you were never meant to hold on to, and you know it.
On the count of three, I'm simply going to have you raise the fist up in the air or make a fist.
One, two, three.
Simple step of faith.
Just make a fist.
Make a fist.
Now, here's what I'm going to have you do.
If you're willing, I want you to raise that fist up in the air on the count of three.
One, two, three.
Hold them up nice and high.
This is where the rubber meets the road because the fear of man will limit you from being able to surrender to God
because you're, what are they going to think about me?
I'm not inviting you to come up here with your friends.
I'm inviting you to come up here for an encounter with a king who loves you, who sees you, who is for you, who's a God of suddenlies.
But today is a day where we're about to have some eulogies at this altar.
We're about to give the old you a eulogy, and you are going to come alive in Christ like never before.
On the count of three, if you've got a fist up in the air, I want you to stand to your feet.
One, two, three.
Here's where the rubber meets the road.
Where you're standing represents Egypt.
You're created for movement.
It is time to move.
It's time to go.
Do not let the devil keep your feet bound.
Do not let the devil keep you in a place where you used to be.
I'm going to count down from 10.
You don't even have to wait until I start.
You can begin to start walking now.
I'm going to count down from 10.
I want you to meet me at this altar for an encounter with the king who loves you, who is for you.
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
three keep coming don't let anybody hinder your breakthrough two
one if you've got to fight you've got to fight do whatever you have to do it's time to get hungry
again the bible says those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled it is a promise
that you will be filled so father i thank you right now for what you're about to do
god i thank you for a generation that's hungry god you did it in my life eight years ago
and I know that you are who you say you are
and I came up to you at an altar
and all I did was I cried out for a genuine expression.
What I want you guys to do
before people come and pray with you,
I want you to just begin to cry out to God in your own way.
He loves the sound of your voice.
He loves you.
He sees you.
What's your name?
Yes, you.
What's your name?
Layla.
He's been for you your entire life, Layla.
And there's so many things that have come against you
there's so many people.
There's even feeling in my spirit.
There's people in your life that aren't your friends
that have been holding you back.
But Proverbs 27, 17 says,
as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
It's time to let go of those people.
Your heart is so big and so tender
that you love people so well,
but people haven't loved you back.
And that anxiety has become so real.
All it does is tricks you into believing
your future is uncertain.
But guess what?
Today is your day.
The Lord is for you.
And when God is for you, who can be against you?
He sees you.
And I'm telling you, woman of God, today is your day.
So as you guys are praying, we're about to lay hands and pray.
We're about to believe God for and encounter every single person that's praying for people right now.
Can you just lift your hands for a second?
Everybody that's about to pray for young people.
Father, we just bless them right now from the crown of their heads to the soles of their feet.
God, I pray for the fire of heaven.
God, I pray that they would pray as if it's their last time.
God, I thank you that you are who you say you are.
I'm praying for divine encounter, supernatural breakthrough,
and I'm here to tell somebody today,
you're not gonna get in trouble
for talking about your addiction,
that you can deliver that stuff today.
You will not get in trouble because once an addict,
always an addict is a lie straight from the pit of hell.
Today is a day of freedom.
This is going to be a free generation.
So God, we bless them and we commission them now
in Jesus' name, amen.
Amen, all right, we're gonna start praying.
And so what I want you guys to do,
Those who are still waiting, listen, we are going to pray and contend in the spirit.
The Bible says they will lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.
I see some of you crying.
Listen, the Bible says in Psalm 126, 5, those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.
I rebuke toxic masculinity in Jesus' name.
Today is a day of freedom.
Today is a day of freedom.
So y'all, let's go to war in Jesus' name.
Редактор субтитров А.Семкин Корректор А.Егорова