Participants: Brenda Walsh
Series Code: 11HC
Program Code: 11HC000004
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00:49 Well, good morning and just welcome to our first meeting
00:52 here on Friday at the great Homecoming Camp Meeting 00:57 in West Frankfort, Illinois. 01:00 And we just are so happy that you're here. 01:03 And people say: "Where are you? 01:05 In Thompsonville or are you in West Frankfort? " 01:07 Actually we're in West Frankfort because that's where we get 01:10 our mail address and that's... We're right at the line. 01:14 So if you step over one way you're in Thompsonville 01:17 you go the other way you're in West Frankfort. 01:19 But it's kind of confusing to people when they are sending 01:22 their mail to West Frankfort for me to talk about their being 01:24 in Thompsonville. So we've decided 01:28 from now on we're just going to talk about West Frankfort 01:30 and... and leave it that way. 01:33 It's a little easier and less complicated. 01:35 I won't get so much mail asking "Where are you? " 01:38 as a matter of fact. 01:41 But we are just really excited about this Homecoming 01:45 Camp Meeting because we started out last night. 01:47 Three hours! What a service. 01:52 And I've had so many people tell me how blessed they were. 01:55 Two inspired, Holy Spirit- directed messages 02:01 and some music that was just really inspired as well. 02:06 And we really enjoyed that music. 02:10 Our speaker this morning is certainly no stranger 02:14 to you folks. Brenda Walsh, who is the head of 02:18 Kids' Time and is an author who has written a number of books 02:23 has just completed book 5 02:27 of her new Aunt Brenda's Bedtime Stories. 02:32 And that is just selling like you would not believe! 02:36 People are buying it, and there'll be 5 volumes available 02:39 now for Christmas. And so many people 02:42 have been anxiously awaiting that. There've been 2 out 02:45 already now, and they're going ahead with the other 3. 02:48 She just finished I think last night or right away here 02:53 the last story for volume 5, so it goes to press 02:58 immediately at Pacific Press 03:01 and will be available November 1. 03:05 So start looking forward to getting the first five 03:09 and getting them out to your children, your grandchildren, 03:12 friends, neighbors. I know that you're going to really 03:16 appreciate those... those inspiring stories. 03:20 They really really are. 03:21 We're also happy today to have Tim Parton with us. 03:25 I asked Tim just before we came on... 03:27 Somebody said: "Is he related to Dolly? " 03:30 And he said: "Not yet. " 03:33 And so I... he thinks somewhere 03:39 even closer than Noah that there's a tie back there. 03:44 With all that music ability from her family and 03:48 from Tim, I think there has to be a tie 03:52 between these musical families. 03:55 And Tim is going to bring our special music in a moment. 03:58 Again I want to mention that Brenda is our speaker. 04:02 Right after Tim brings us that music 04:05 we're going to go immediately to her. And she's going to be 04:08 speaking on the subject Out Of Your Comfort Zone. 04:12 And I hope that you will receive 04:17 a real blessing from this. 04:20 And I also know that you'll get a chance, those of you 04:26 that are here, to visit with Brenda afterwards. 04:29 And we'll have a little break - about 30 minutes 04:32 before our next program - 04:34 and so you'll have an opportunity to talk with her 04:38 and ask her some questions. 04:41 Before we go further, I would like for us to have 04:46 a word of prayer. Shall we bow our heads? 04:48 Father in heaven, we thank you, Lord, 04:52 that You have given to us Your Holy Spirit. 04:57 That You speak to us through that Spirit. 05:03 Speak to us this morning, Father. Speak to our hearts. 05:08 Speak to our minds and let us know that You are near. 05:14 We thank you for the blessings we've already received 05:18 here at this Camp Meeting 05:19 and we pray that You'll continue to be here in a powerful way 05:23 throughout this weekend. Thank you, Lord. 05:27 Bless those that are here. 05:29 Bless those who have to be at home today. 05:33 And may they each receive a portion of Your Spirit. 05:39 We pray in Jesus' name, Amen. 05:43 Now Tim Parton with a song Vessel of Mercy. 06:19 Make me 06:22 a vessel of mercy. 06:28 Father, make me 06:33 a vessel that's true. 06:40 Fill me 06:44 with love and compassion 06:48 and fashion my heart to be 06:55 a vessel worthy 06:58 of You. 07:03 Lord, I want to be 07:06 all You want me to be. 07:08 Your service is my desire. 07:13 I so want to know You 07:16 and in Your love grow 07:19 with heavenly power. 07:24 I yield my life to You; 07:27 I'm willing to be used. 07:29 Wherever you bid me, I'll go. 07:34 So Lord Jesus, daily 07:37 I pray that You'll break me 07:40 that Your love I might show. 07:46 Make me 07:50 a vessel of mercy. 07:56 Father, make me 08:00 a vessel that's true. 08:07 Fill me 08:10 with love and compassion 08:15 and fashion my heart 08:19 to be 08:22 a vessel worthy of You. 08:29 Oh, fill me 08:33 with love and compassion 08:37 and fashion my heart 08:42 to be 08:44 a vessel worthy of 08:48 You. 08:52 Sing this with me: 08:53 Lord, I surrender 08:58 all. 09:01 I surrender all. 09:09 All to Thee, my 09:14 blessed Savior... 09:18 I surrender 09:22 all. 09:28 I surrender 09:33 all. 09:41 Amen. 09:47 Thank you, Tim. I surrender all... 09:49 that's really where it all starts, isn't it? 09:52 Until we really surrender everything to Jesus 09:55 we're lost. 09:57 When we really, really love Jesus, 09:59 when we really fall in love with our heavenly Father, 10:04 we can't help but want to share Him wherever we go. 10:07 You just really are shining and you are so excited. 10:11 When we have the blessed truth and we have so much to share 10:14 we just want to witness and tell everybody. 10:16 We want to work for Jesus. 10:17 But did you realize how important it is 10:20 that we're not just running around doing what we want to do? 10:24 It's critically - vitally - important that we're doing 10:27 what God wants us to do. 10:29 In fact, turn in your Bible to Matthew 7: 21-23 10:34 and I want you to just, you know, underline that in your 10:38 Bible. You know, get your highlighters out. 10:40 And go to it often, because I can tell you 10:43 this will, alone... this verse alone... 10:46 will change your life. It changed mine. 10:49 I'm going to paraphrase right here 10:52 because in Matthew 7:21-23 10:56 we are told that unless we are doing the will of our Father 11:00 it is for nothing. And He says we could be 11:04 out baptizing in His name, doing many wonderful things, 11:07 but unless we are doing what God wants us to do 11:11 it is for nothing. He'll say He never knew us. 11:14 We could be out in India passing out Bibles 11:17 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 11:19 We could be out here, you know, in New York City 11:22 and working in a soup kitchen. 11:23 We could be doing all kinds of... passing out literature 11:26 everywhere. We could do wonderful things, 11:28 but unless God told you to do it it is for nothing. 11:33 He will say: "I never knew you. 11:36 I don't know who you are. " 11:38 So that's why it's so important that we are so prayed up 11:41 that we are so totally connected to our heavenly Father. 11:45 We have a passionate prayer life 11:47 so that we are walking with Jesus 11:50 and we are listening to His voice 11:51 and we're doing what God wants us to do. 11:55 Let me share with you that unless we allow God... 11:58 And I loved Tim's song this morning. 12:01 I Surrender All... it's one of my favorite songs 12:03 because unless we're totally surrendered we can't do this. 12:06 But unless you allow God to push us way out of 12:09 our comfort zone - some place that we are just not comfortable 12:13 being - unless we're way out of our comfort zone 12:16 we're not really leaning on Jesus. 12:18 Who are we leaning on? 12:20 We're leaning on self. 12:22 And it's vitally, critically important - 12:24 you just read Matthew 7:21-23- 12:26 that we are doing what? The will of our Father. 12:31 So it is really truly when we are out of our comfort zone 12:35 that we're leaning on Jesus and not on ourselves. 12:38 Now sometimes... I can tell you that can sometimes be 12:41 an uneasy place to be. Oh sure, we'd love to 12:44 do the things that we're comfortable with 12:46 because, you know, we feel good about that. 12:48 And it's a little uneasy feeling when you're out here 12:52 because you are totally dependent on Jesus. 12:54 That's actually... When God asked me to produce Kids' Time 12:58 you can't believe how out of my comfort zone 13:02 I felt because I'd never produced a program. 13:06 I'm not a producer. "God, why did You choose me? " 13:08 I had been in front of the camera many times. 13:11 I've been singing with my sisters on 3ABN for years, 13:13 and I had done cooking shows with my sisters. 13:16 I was used to that. I started playing the piano 13:19 for churches when I was eight years old 13:21 so I was used to being in front of people. 13:22 I'm comfortable doing that, "but Lord, 13:25 I don't know anything about being a producer! " 13:29 But guess what God says? 13:30 He doesn't want me to know everything. 13:33 He's going to give me what I need to know 13:36 every step of the way. 13:37 God's not going to call you to do something 13:40 that He's not going to totally equip you with everything 13:43 you need to do the job. 13:45 He's not going to call you and then just leave you hanging. 13:48 Isn't that awesome? 13:49 So He's going to give us what we need the minute we need it, 13:53 the second we need it. 13:54 We just need to lean on Jesus. 13:57 Sometimes, you know, I think it's easier to say that; 14:01 it's easier for me to tell all of you that. 14:03 But I tell you there's some places that God has led me 14:06 have been so far out of my comfort zone 14:08 that I mean I have to be praying constantly 14:10 to be able to say: "Yes, Lord, 14:12 I'm willing to do what You want me to do. " 14:14 And one of those times was 14:18 when God called me to go to a prison. 14:23 Now, I'd never been in a prison. 14:25 In fact, I never knew how hard it was go get into a prison... 14:29 unless you committed a crime. 14:31 And several years ago a little girl 14:35 came to Kids' Time. The Make A Wish Foundation 14:39 had granted her wish which she wanted to come 14:41 and be on Kids' Time with Miss Brenda. 14:43 And her name was Sarah. 14:45 Some of you might remember little Sarah 14:47 that came here to 3ABN. 14:49 And after she came, I became very close friends with 14:52 her and her mom. And in fact, 14:54 her mom Denise is my Sharing Time coordinator 14:57 for Kids' Time, and of course, little Sarah is my production 15:00 assistant. And so we became very close friends. 15:03 And not long after Sarah came I was invited 15:07 to come out and speak... out in Idaho. 15:09 They lived in Idaho at Pocatello, Idaho. 15:12 In fact, Denise had asked me if I would come out 15:14 because they wanted to raise money for an uplink station 15:17 so that the whole city of Pocatello, Idaho, 15:20 would be able to learn about Jesus and get 3ABN. 15:23 Her sister lived down there, and she was really wanting to 15:26 witness to her sister as well. 15:27 And I agreed to come. 15:29 So not long after they had announced that I was going to be 15:32 speaking out in Pocatello, 15:36 they... I got an e-mail from someone called Carrie Avery. 15:41 And the e-mail went something like this: 15:43 "Dear Miss Brenda, I... my name is Carrie Avery. 15:45 I'm in charge of prison ministries for our church here 15:50 and we have a high-security prison here in Pocatello. 15:53 It's a woman's prison, 15:55 and I gave some of your books Battered to Blessed 15:58 to the prison. In fact, they are the most-checked-out books. " 16:02 She said, "there's a waiting list. As soon as someone 16:04 returns it, it's already going to the next person 16:05 on the list. " She said: "I can't tell you... " 16:08 She said: "I have a Bible study 16:09 one hour a week with women 16:12 and I can't tell you how blessed they are. 16:14 Please, would you come to the prison and speak? 16:16 I feel like your testimony would be a real blessing. 16:19 Many of the women are here because they came from 16:22 such battered and abused homes 16:24 and situations. " And she said: "I think that your message 16:27 would be a message of hope if you would be willing to come. " 16:31 And since I was... No, I wasn't the one that 16:34 was... he had booked my trip, I called up Denise 16:37 and I shared with her the e- mail and I said: "Look, 16:40 is there any convenient time for me to come that... " 16:42 They want me to come and speak to the women there at... 16:45 Friday afternoon when I'm out there. 16:48 Would it be possible? " 16:49 And Denise said: "You know Brenda, honestly, " 16:51 she said: "By the time you get here. 16:53 You aren't going to get here till real late Thursday night. " 16:55 She said: "Friday morning we have to wait for my husband 16:58 to come in on the plane. And by the time he comes in - 17:00 he probably gets in around 10 if the plane's on time - 17:03 we'll have barely enough time to drive the four hours 17:06 down from Boise, Idaho, down to Pocatello 17:09 and get there before sundown. " 17:10 She said: "There's really not going to be enough time. " 17:12 Well, I pray about everything. 17:14 I had prayed before I made that call to Denise. 17:16 So I trust in God's perfect will. 17:19 And so I said: "OK, Lord, well I guess that's the answer. " 17:22 I had prayed about it; this was my answer. 17:24 And so I e-mailed Carrie Avery and I told her that 17:29 I was very sorry. That I had checked; that the timing 17:31 wasn't going to work out. Perhaps they could book me 17:33 another time to come out just for... to speak at the prison. 17:37 And so I didn't think about it again. 17:39 You see, when I told you I didn't know how hard it was 17:42 to get into prison I didn't know that it takes a long time 17:45 to get a security clearance. 17:47 And I didn't... But I... And I didn't know how difficult 17:50 it was. Why there's even a mandatory 3-week class 17:55 that you have to take just to learn the rules 17:58 about the prison. Didn't know that either. 18:00 So I don't think anything about it. 18:02 I go on with my life. 18:03 And Carrie Avery gets my e-mail and she was so impressed 18:07 that I was to be at that prison that she didn't take that 18:10 for... as a no at all. 18:11 She went to her church. 18:12 She asked the ladies at the prison. 18:14 She asked the prayer bands and prayer meeting to please 18:17 pray that God would provide a way 18:20 for me to be at that prison. 18:22 And they prayed every day. In fact, she had found 18:24 four prayer warriors that prayed every single day 18:27 just for that. They didn't pray for anything else... 18:29 just that God would provide a way 18:31 and open the prison door for me to speak at that prison. 18:34 Well, I didn't know anything about it, but two 18:37 weeks before... before I was scheduled to go out 18:40 I'm going through my e-mail. I have, you know, 18:44 so much e-mail coming in that if I get an e-mail 18:46 I want to get if off my in box right away 18:48 and move it. Either delete it or file it or something. 18:51 I see that Carrie Avery's e-mail popped up again. 18:53 And I thought: "What is that? I should have deleted that, 18:56 you know, months ago. How did that end up there? " 18:58 And I started to delete it again 19:00 but I was compelled to re-read it. 19:03 And when I read that e-mail again 19:06 I do not know how to tell you any other way except 19:08 that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt 19:11 God wanted me at that prison. 19:13 And I... I was so strong that I picked up the phone 19:17 and I called Denise. I said: "Denise, I don't know 19:19 how to tell you this, but I know that God wants me 19:21 at that prison. Can you tell me... are you sure 19:24 that there's not any way that I can go? " 19:26 And she said: "Well, Brenda... " And she went through the whole 19:29 scenario all over again 19:31 of why there wasn't going to be enough time. 19:32 I said: "Well, what if I flew in 19:37 earlier on Thursday? " I said: "I know I'm scheduled to tape" - 19:41 and I was supposed to tape on Thursday 19:44 and I never ever cancel, so don't you guys tell on me - 19:48 but I said... I said: "What if I cancelled Thursday's taping" 19:52 and I said "and I fly out there and get there Thursday 19:56 and then we can, you know, go on Friday? " 19:58 And she said: "Well, I guess that would work. " 20:01 She said: "Well, are you sure you want to do that? " 20:04 And I said: "You know, I don't normally do that - 20:07 in fact, I've never done that" - 20:08 I said: "but when God's telling me to do something 20:10 and God says 'Go' I go! " 20:12 And so she said: "Well OK! " 20:14 So that's what I did. I flew out there 20:17 and sure enough Friday morning her husband Ivan... his plane 20:21 came in early. His suitcase was the very first one on 20:24 the baggage carousel. That never happens to me. 20:27 And we literally just flew down there that 4 hours. 20:31 We got there ten minutes before 3 o'clock. 20:34 See you have to be there right... Her time for her 20:37 Bible study was 3 PM to 4 PM... very firm. 20:40 And so Carrie was already there with two of her ministry team. 20:44 And as soon as they saw me we hugged, we had a quick prayer 20:47 and we walked in. Now I've got to share something with you 20:49 that's an important part of this story. 20:52 When... Before I flew out there 20:55 I... before I was cleared... I want to share with you 20:59 the miracle story of why I was even able to go. 21:02 Because when I called Carrie Avery back and told her that 21:05 I felt like God wanted me to be there 21:07 she was like "Praise the Lord! " 21:09 But she knew that it would take a miracle. 21:12 You see, I didn't know... she knew. 21:14 And so she had called up Denise and she said: 21:17 "Denise, " she said, "I'm so excited that 21:19 Brenda's coming. " But she said: 21:21 "even months ago if she would have said 'yes' 21:23 it might not have been time to get her a security clearance. 21:26 But now it's two weeks before she's going to come" 21:28 and she said "we need a miracle. Will you pray with me? " 21:32 And so Denise said: "Absolutely. " 21:35 So they prayed, and when they got through praying 21:37 she asked... Denise said: "You know, 21:40 there's one thing I could tell you" she said "that 21:42 might help. I don't know if it will help because... " 21:44 she said "my brother-in-law is the assistant warden 21:47 at that prison BUT he is not about God at all. 21:52 In fact, he's kind of anti. " 21:53 And she said: "We're not even allowed to talk about God. " 21:55 And she says: "I've tried to get a 3ABN dish in there 21:57 for years and he wants nothing to do with it. " 21:59 And she said: "So I'm not sure it would help 22:02 at all if you mention my name, 22:04 but... " she said... 22:06 "one place, a soft part he has in his heart, is for his little 22:10 niece Sarah. " And she said: "When Sarah came back from 3ABN 22:16 and she wanted to show her uncle her being on Kids' Time 22:20 she crawled up in his lap and her uncle actually watched 22:23 the video of Sarah on Kids' Time. " 22:25 And she said: "And while he was watching 22:29 tears were rolling in his eyes and he said he had 22:31 an allergy problem. " 22:35 She said: "So I know he's got a soft place in his heart 22:38 for little Sarah. " She said: "Maybe if your mentioned 22:40 that this Miss Brenda - if you get to talk to him, I can't even 22:43 give you the number 'cause, you know, it'd cause problems 22:45 in the family" - and she said: "and no assistant warden 22:48 lists his number. " So she said: "If you can get to talk 22:50 to him and you tell him about, you know, little Sarah, " 22:53 she said: "and that this Brenda Walsh 22:56 is the same "Miss Brenda" that helped his little niece, 22:59 it might make a difference. Don't know, but it might. " 23:02 So Carrie got on her knees and she started praying. 23:05 And she prayed and she prayed and then she made the 23:08 phone call. Then she said: "Lord, how am I going to get 23:11 the phone number? " She called the prison. 23:13 Nope, can't get the phone number of an assistant warden... 23:17 could only get the main number. 23:18 So she happened to think: "Well, it doesn't hurt 23:21 to check the phone book. " 23:22 And there's the phone number right in the phone book. 23:25 So she says: "Thank you, Jesus. " 23:27 And so she gets the phone number out 23:28 and she dials it up, and a little girl answered. 23:31 And she said: "Hi, this is Carrie Avery. 23:34 I'm a friend of your aunt Denise. 23:35 I'd like to speak to your dad. " 23:36 She said: "Oh, he's not here. He's at work... 23:39 here's his number. " 23:41 And so she takes the number down and now she's praying again 23:45 and she calls the number and she gets his voice mail. 23:49 But it's still his personal voice mail. 23:51 So she leaves a really long message 23:53 about who she is, what she wants, 23:55 and why she feels that Brenda Walsh would be a blessing 23:57 to the women at that prison. 23:59 And then she calls the religious activities director 24:02 and left him the same long message. 24:04 She didn't hear anything... didn't hear anything. 24:07 And so she waited as long as she could. 24:11 She knew it was a Friday. She said 24:12 everyone was going to go home for the weekend. 24:14 She couldn't possibly wait for that. 24:15 So she called again and left another big old long message. 24:18 And within 30 minutes the religious activities director 24:21 called her. Now one thing I also learned with this experience 24:25 is that prison is all about rules 24:27 and nobody likes breaking them. 24:28 And so he was not... The prison activities... 24:34 religious activities director said: 24:36 "Is this Carrie Avery? " And she said: "Yes it is. " 24:38 And he said who he was and he said... 24:40 He said: "I don't know who this Brenda Walsh thinks she is" 24:43 he said "but" he said "I just got a call from 24:47 our assistant warden and he said that she wants to come 24:50 and speak at our prison and he told me 24:52 to just make it happen. " 24:55 Amen! 24:57 Two weeks before I'm supposed to go! 24:59 And he said: "But you let her know" he said "that she's 25:03 not going to be no celebrity or movie star here. " 25:06 He said: "You let her know" he said "that she's going to be 25:08 subject to search like everybody else 25:11 in every orifice. " Oh! 25:13 I don't know about you, but it didn't sound real good to me. 25:16 And he said: "And I need this and I need this and I need 25:19 this document and I need it now! " 25:22 So when she called and shared all that information with me 25:26 I was really out of my comfort zone. 25:31 And I had to do some praying: "Lord, make me willing. 25:33 Make me obedient, and make me joyful about it. " 25:36 And so you can imagine. Now we're here 25:40 walking into the prison. God opened the prison doors. 25:43 And I am going to be honest with you, I was a little bit 25:46 nervous about that orifice thing. 25:48 And so I had all that checking and all that security. 25:50 And I just... I'm praying the whole time 25:52 "Oh, Lord, please. " And I had my Bible with me. 25:55 I had taken book marks and I had my business card with me. 25:58 And... And I have it with me, and we walked in the prison 26:01 and a big loud voice said: "Step right over here. " 26:04 And it was a glassed in area and a little drawer like a bank 26:08 comes out. "Put your driver's license in here. " 26:10 So I went over there and I put my driver's license in there. 26:14 And he said: "Sign on the log. " 26:16 And I went over there and I signed on the log. 26:18 And he said: "All right, " 26:22 he said to the other lady, he said: 26:25 "Step inside. " And all of a sudden, this really 26:29 heavy metal door - electric - just creaked open. 26:34 He goes: "Step inside. " 26:36 So I stepped inside. It went "BANG! " 26:40 The next door opened. "Step inside. " 26:43 I stepped inside and so did Carrie and her friend. 26:45 "BANG! " Next one opened and "BANG! " 26:47 I mean I was like... And Carrie's going like this. 26:50 They didn't check nothing. Nothing... nothing! 26:54 They didn't fingerprint me. 26:56 They didn't screen me... they didn't check nothing. 27:00 Isn't God good? And I wasn't asking any questions either. 27:03 She said "Come, " and boy I was going! 27:05 I said: "I'm not going to go back and ask why. " 27:09 And I followed her to where the worship area was 27:12 where their worship room was. 27:13 Already a long line of people had been coming out of there 27:18 and I'm wondering why they're going the other way. 27:21 And some of them were ladies. As soon as they saw me 27:24 they recognized my picture from the book. 27:25 And they were like: "Oh, Miss Brenda, we're so... 27:28 we're so sorry there's not enough room. " 27:30 She said: "We wanted to come and we didn't get here 27:32 early enough. " And they were already turning away. 27:34 What I didn't understand is that when every chair is filled 27:37 that's it. You have to go. 27:40 And so there were several women that were crying 27:43 as they were leaving 'cause they weren't going to be able to go. 27:45 And all of a sudden a very big tall woman, 27:49 very stocky with short hair, 27:51 walked right past me and right past all the women that were 27:54 going out and walked in the room. 27:55 And I walked right in after her and I saw her go 27:58 to the middle of the room. She went to the aisle 28:00 and she just stood in front of one of those chairs. 28:03 And that lady that was sitting in that chair shot out of 28:06 there like a bullet. 28:07 And she just left and that lady sat down. 28:09 I was "whooo. " 28:11 And I knew that God had a special message for that lady. 28:16 And I started praying for her right then. 28:18 Carrie announced me to speak. 28:21 They only give you one hour so time is precious. 28:24 And so I got up 28:27 to address the ladies there. 28:30 And when I give my testimony 28:33 I don't give it just to be giving it, and I don't 28:35 give it very often. I have to know God is impressing me 28:38 to give my testimony, because to tell my story 28:40 of being an abused wife and terrible domestic violence 28:45 I have to re-live it. 28:46 So to tell you about it I have to re-live it, 28:48 and it's one of the most difficult, painful things I do. 28:51 And whenever I give my testimony 28:53 I have people all over the world that are praying for me. 28:58 I have women in Africa that fast and pray 29:01 the whole time that I'm giving my testimony. 29:04 In fact, just two weeks ago I was in Loma Linda University 29:07 and I gave my testimony, and there were so many prayer 29:10 warriors that kept letting me know they were lifting me up 29:12 in prayer. Well, now I stood before this group of women 29:17 and I began to tell them my story of being a battered wife 29:21 in my first marriage. 29:22 And as I shared the painful details... as I described 29:27 being pulled by my hair and being thrown across the wall. 29:30 Being kicked and kicked and my ribs broken. 29:32 To be... Every blow that I was describing you could see 29:35 these women were physically just wincing in pain 29:38 re-living their own pain. 29:40 I have never given my testimony 29:43 to a group of people that more fully understood 29:46 what I was talking about than these ladies right there 29:49 in that room. And I started noticing that one woman - 29:53 that big woman that had sat in the middle. 29:56 And when she had first sat down she had one arm around this 29:59 chair and one arm around this chair. 30:01 And she had a very hard look on her face. 30:03 But as I began to share my story 30:08 one arm went down then the other went down. 30:11 And before I finished there wasn't anybody that wasn't 30:15 just sobbing. When I share my testimony 30:18 I usually share a lot more than what's in the book. 30:20 And I share whatever the Holy Spirit is telling me 30:23 and impressing me to share. 30:25 And as they were crying I felt like 30:30 um, I needed a moment too. 30:33 And... because it's very emotional. And so 30:35 I stopped for a moment to compose myself 30:38 and I just went over to the piano and I started playing 30:41 Amazing Grace. I needed just a minute. 30:44 And as I was playing that song 30:47 those women started singing. 30:49 They sang that song so beautifully 30:51 that I don't think I've ever heard the song sung 30:54 in a more beautiful and meaningful way. 31:00 And when I finished playing I stood before them 31:03 and I said: "I want you to know 31:07 that I don't care why you're here. 31:11 I don't care what crime you've committed. 31:13 I don't care what you've done, 31:15 and more importantly God doesn't care. " 31:17 I said: "Jesus loves you. 31:21 I want to tell you right here today 31:25 the reason that I stand before you today isn't to parade 31:30 my... my pain in front of you. 31:32 The reason I came today 31:35 is to show you how you can be free. " 31:39 And just about that time I imagine all those guards 31:41 looking in those closed circuit TVs were going: 31:43 "I knew we shouldn't have given her a security clearance! 31:46 She's planning a jail break! " 31:50 I said: "I want you to know how you can be free in Jesus: 31:54 by surrendering your hearts right now. 31:58 You may never see the light of day. You may never 32:01 get out of this prison, but you can be free in Jesus. " 32:07 And I urged each one of them to make that commitment 32:10 right then and there. I urged them to give their 32:13 heart to Jesus. To start living and shining for Him. 32:16 Yes, even right here. God may have placed you here 32:18 for a particular reason. If you surrender your heart to Him, 32:20 God can use your life to glorify Him. 32:25 And when I finished I prayed and I prayed for each one of them 32:28 that God would give them the courage to fully surrender 32:31 their hearts and lives to Him. 32:34 And when I finished praying 32:36 there wasn't a dry eye in the place. 32:38 And I just felt impressed... 32:40 I got down... I went over and the very first person in the row 32:44 I went over and I just gave her a hug 32:46 And I whispered in her ear "Jesus loves you. " 32:49 And then I went to the next person and did the same. 32:51 And the next person. And I saw Carrie Avery just shoot up 32:53 out of her chair in the back of the room 32:55 and all of a sudden just sat right back down. 32:57 And I went from person... from lady to lady to lady. 32:59 And I went from row to row to row. 33:01 And I gave each one of them that personal message 33:04 that Jesus loves them. 33:07 And when I... all the other ladies stayed sitting down, 33:10 but when I got to the one where that big tall lady 33:13 that had the attitude problem in the beginning 33:15 all of a sudden she just stood right up 33:18 and she just grabbed me. My nose went right here. 33:23 That's what happens when you're short. 33:25 And she just held on, and just when I thought - 33:28 it was wet under there - and just when I thought I 33:29 couldn't hold my breath a second longer 33:31 she lets me go and she pulls me out and she looked at me 33:34 and she said: "Are you sure Jesus loves me? " 33:37 And I said: "Yes, I'm sure Jesus loves you. " 33:41 "Are you sure He loves me? " 33:43 She goes: "Everybody here's going to tell you they're 33:45 innocent. They're going to tell you they didn't do it. 33:47 I'm going to tell you I did it! " 33:50 She said: "Sixteen years ago" 33:54 she said "I was a nurse at a hospital. 33:57 And I came home early because the census was low and 34:01 they didn't need as many nurses and they sent me home early. 34:04 And I came home unexpectedly 34:06 in the middle of the afternoon 34:09 and caught my husband doing something horrible 34:12 to my 4-year-old little girl. " 34:13 And she said: "In the shock and the horror of it all " 34:16 she said "I went over" and she said "I got his gun 34:20 out of his holster because he's a policeman 34:23 and I shot him and I shot him and I shot him. " 34:25 She said: "I did it! " 34:28 She said: "Now do you still think Jesus loves me? " 34:31 And I said: "I KNOW Jesus loves you. " 34:36 Ended up in the armpit all over again. 34:42 She was sobbing. 34:45 You know, all of a sudden there was this big loud buzzer 34:50 that sounded. And it startled me, and... 34:53 and I said: "What's that? " 34:55 And the ladies all said: "That's movement now. " 34:57 "Wow, they even tell you when to do that here, " 34:58 I said. "Oh, no, no... not that kind. " 35:01 I said... you know, I'm a nurse... And they said: 35:02 "No, no, no. It's just that that's the only time 35:05 you can move in the hall. When that buzzer sounds 35:07 and then you've got 3 minutes till the next buzzer 35:09 and nobody can be in the hall except during those 3 minutes. " 35:13 Hardly anybody got up. 35:14 They stayed. They missed their supper hour 35:16 and stayed another hour with me. 35:18 Not allowed. And so I was able to have personal individual time 35:23 with each one of them. They shared their stories. 35:25 I had individual prayers with each one of them. 35:26 I told them all about Kids' Club. 35:29 I told them to sign their kids up for Kids' Club 35:31 and sign up for lessons too and that way they could 35:33 do the lessons back and forth on the phone with their children 35:36 and help spiritually feed their own children. 35:38 I gave them my business card. I said: "Look, 35:41 when you have telephone privileges and you need a prayer 35:45 call me. I'll pray with you on the phone. " 35:47 We had so many... I heard story after story. 35:51 Women wept. It was a revival like I've never seen. 35:54 You know, when I left the prison 35:58 I didn't even know till I got home 36:00 all the miracles that God had done 36:03 to provide and open those doors for me to be at that prison. 36:06 And in fact, Carrie Avery... I wrote about this story 36:09 in my book Passionate Prayer. 36:10 It's called Opening Prison Doors. 36:12 And if you've already heard that story 36:14 and you think "OK, I know what she's going to say next, " 36:16 you're going to get the rest of the story today. 36:19 OK? So just bear with me because 36:22 it was such an incredible letter that Carrie wrote to me 36:26 afterwards. And I printed the entire letter - 36:28 e- mail - in the book because I wanted you to be able to see 36:31 all the things and the miracles that God had done 36:34 for me to be at that prison that day. 36:36 First of all, touching is absolutely not permitted 36:41 of any kind... not even a handshake! 36:42 And I was hugging every one of those women. 36:44 You see, I had missed that mandatory 3-week class. 36:48 I didn't know better. 36:50 But if the Holy Spirit told me to do it, it wouldn't matter... 36:52 I'd do it anyway! 36:54 As long as it's God telling me what to do, I'm going to do it. 36:57 And she told me from one detail to another 37:02 how God had literally broken every single rule 37:05 to make it possible for me to minister to those ladies 37:09 at the prison. I was blown away. 37:12 Well then the next year I got a phone call. 37:15 This is not in the book, folks, OK? 37:17 So now you guys that have already read it 37:18 can pay attention. 37:21 It'll probably be in another book. 37:24 But they asked me to come back and speak 37:27 at the Pocatello church. 37:28 And there was a new prison ministries leader. 37:34 Called me up and said: "Brenda, would you please come out 37:37 and" she said "come out and speak again at our prison? " 37:40 Now my book Passionate Prayer had just come out 37:42 and I thought I was going to get to come out there 37:44 and speak about all the things that... all the miracle stories, 37:48 all the answer to prayer stories. 37:49 I can keep you here all day long just talking to you about Jesus. 37:53 I could. And so you don't think I could? 37:55 Trust me, I get passionate when I talk about sharing Jesus. 37:59 And so I think that's what I get to go out there and to 38:02 pray about... I mean talk about. 38:03 So I said: "Yes. " I go out there all booked, 38:06 ready to go again. And when I walked in the prison 38:10 the lady said to me - the prison ministries leader - 38:14 she said: "Brenda, " she said "last time there were 38:16 so many women that were not allowed to be here. 38:19 Please, would you give your testimony again? " 38:22 And immediately I just felt inside: "Lord, I'm not prepared. 38:26 I don't even have my prayer warriors praying. 38:27 They don't even know. " And I started to panic. 38:30 But remember when I told you about how God's never going to 38:32 call you to do anything 38:34 unless He's going to be there for you. 38:37 He's not going to leave you hanging? 38:38 And immediately as I'm speaking to the Lord and I'm panicking 38:41 because I wasn't prepared, I wasn't emotionally prepared, 38:44 I wasn't prayed up. I said: "Lord, how can I do this? 38:46 I can't do this. " And God said to me: 38:50 "Brenda, I'm enough. " 38:53 I said: "But I don't have prayer warriors praying. " 38:55 "Brenda, I'm enough. " 38:59 And I had to surrender and I said: "OK, Lord. " 39:04 And so when I went there, sure enough... the whole place 39:06 was packed. And again, I gave my testimony 39:12 and stood before those ladies. And I watched 39:15 the Holy Spirit penetrate the hearts of these precious 39:19 ladies who were so hardened before. 39:22 You could just see the Holy Spirit softening their hearts. 39:24 And when I finished I did the same thing... 39:27 even though I knew better. I hugged every single woman 39:29 throughout the whole place. 39:33 And when it was over 39:37 Carrie said: "By the way... " She makes announcements. 39:42 "Brenda has two hours to speak today. 39:44 The assistant warden says she's going to take it anyway 39:46 so we're just giving her two hours. " 39:52 And I had a chance to visit and minister to the women again. 39:55 And three women came running up to me as soon as we had 39:58 finished. And they were crying and they said: 40:00 "We had to come and be here tonight. We begged to come. 40:03 We're the only three that were here last year 40:05 but we begged to come because we wanted you to know 40:08 that last year when you left 40:11 we committed our hearts to Jesus 40:14 and we wanted you to know that we are now baptized 40:16 Seventh-day Adventists and we wanted to tell you ourselves. " 40:19 Amen. And I was praising the Lord 40:22 and I was just crying. I said: "Thank you, Jesus. " 40:25 And they said: "Yes, we were baptized right there. " 40:28 It's just this box. I thought it was a communion table. 40:30 I didn't... hadn't seen anything... 40:32 I guess the lid comes off and you stand inside. 40:35 They fill it up with water. The pastor actually stands 40:37 on the outside of it to lower them into the water. 40:39 I had never seen anything like that. 40:41 Didn't even know it was a baptismal tank. 40:43 And I was praising the Lord. 40:44 I have so many wonderful opportunities to witness. 40:47 I was thanking Jesus for the opportunity 40:52 to come to that prison that I had been so fearful of. 40:58 Well, the next day I met the Pocatello... 41:03 'cause that was a Friday... 41:04 The next day I met the Pocatello church 41:06 and I spoke there. And when I was through 41:08 I was at the door greeting everybody as they were leaving. 41:11 And all of a sudden Denise comes running up to me. 41:15 She says: "Brenda, Brenda, you've got to come now. 41:16 You've got to come now! " And I said: "What? " 41:18 She goes: "My brother-in-law is here. " 41:21 "My brother-in-law came to hear you speak today. " 41:24 "My brother-in-law who said he would never have anything 41:26 to do with God is here! " 41:27 And I said: "I'm so sorry, folks, I've got to go. 41:29 I'll be right back. " And I followed Denise 41:32 all the way, and there he was. She was afraid he was going to 41:33 leave through the side door. 41:35 And as soon as she introduced me I did what any Micheff sister 41:39 does: I gave him a great big old hug. 41:40 And I said: "Thank you so much 41:43 for allowing me to be at your prison. " 41:46 He had that allergy problem again. 41:51 He said: "No, it's me who thanks you. " 41:54 He said: "I'd have to be deaf, dumb, and blind, and stupid, " 41:58 he said "not to know that God did something special 42:01 when you were here last year. " 42:03 He said: "In fact, I told them you've got a security clearance 42:06 for life! " 42:09 He said: "You are welcome any time at my prison. " 42:13 He said: "I don't know" he said "what happened" 42:14 he said "last year when you were here" 42:16 he said "but I had so many women 42:18 sign up and begging for Bible studies. " 42:20 And see, I knew from talking to Carrie that 42:22 she had to fight to get that one hour a week. 42:24 And he said: "But so many people were signing up for Bible 42:29 studies" he said "that I had to give them 2 hours a week. 42:31 That wasn't enough, so I gave them two days 42:34 with an hour a week and another hour. 42:35 That wasn't enough, So I gave them 4 hours a week. 42:37 Now they've got 3 days a week 2 hours a day 42:40 and that's not enough. " 42:43 And I had donated quite a few of my Battered to Blessed 42:46 books 'cause I had heard there was a long waiting list. 42:48 Sometimes they had to wait months before it was their turn 42:49 to read. So I had donated a whole bunch of books 42:52 to the prison and they said they are still not enough 42:54 that they were being so checked out. 42:56 Because there's also a lot of people that come and go 42:58 so there's always new people coming in. 43:01 And I was just... I was overwhelmed 43:04 and I just gave him a great big hug and I just said: 43:05 "Thank you. Thank you so much. " 43:08 And he said: "Let me tell you what" he said 43:11 "any time you want to come back" he said 43:13 he said "you're welcome at my prison. " 43:15 And I said: "Well, as a matter of fact... " 43:19 I said: "I would love to bring my sisters. " 43:22 I said: "My sisters and I sing. 43:24 Would you allow us to do a concert? 43:26 Come back and have a concert? " See what he didn't know was 43:28 whenever my sisters and I give a concert 43:30 it's not just up there singing. 43:32 It's a testimony; it's a witness; it's a concert. 43:35 OK. It's a praising Jesus and it's a soul-winning concert. 43:41 And so he said: "Well absolutely. In fact, 43:43 I'm going to tell you what I'll do. " 43:45 He said: "I'm going to open up the whole gymnasium 43:47 so everybody in the prison can come if they want to. " 43:51 And he said: "I'll hire extra guards to make it possible. " 43:53 I... I... I was just blown away and I said: 43:57 "Thank you; thank you so much. " 44:02 So as he's leaving, I was just... 44:07 You know, they were waiting for me at potluck, you know, 44:08 afterwards and they hate it when the speaker's late 44:10 I guess. So I got it 4 times come up and tell me that 44:13 they were ready to have prayer. And I said: "Go on without me. " 44:15 Spiritual food is so much more important to me. 44:18 But the pastor came up to get me now. 44:21 They got... brought the big guns you know to come there. 44:23 And they said: "You know, you need to come down 44:24 for the potluck. " And I was sharing with him about 44:27 you know I was just overwhelmed. 44:28 And I said: "Let me share with you 44:30 such a praise report. " I said: "Yesterday when I was at that 44:35 prison God did something so amazing. 44:37 God did something so awesome. " 44:39 And I said: "And He allowed me to know 44:41 about three women that were baptized and gave their hearts 44:46 to Jesus because of my visit there last year. " 44:49 And now I had that allergy problem. 44:51 And I said: "I just can't tell you what that means to me. " 44:55 And he said: "Three women? " 44:58 He said: "What are you talking about... three women? " 44:59 I said: "Well that's what they told me. " 45:01 He goes: "I baptized 20 women up there at that prison 45:04 since you were there. " 45:06 I said: "Twenty? I thought it was three! " 45:08 He said: "No, I baptized 20! " 45:10 He said: "I've got more people in my baptismal class. " 45:14 Is that not awesome? Is that not incredible? 45:17 I thought about how often I had feared and not 45:21 wanted to come, and I was thinking about 45:23 having to go through that security check 45:25 and how I had to get fingerprinted 45:27 and I had to go all that... And it's scary being 45:28 in... something that you've never done before. 45:32 And yet God had taken that 45:35 and He had blessed it. And He had touched the hearts 45:38 and God had a reason for me being there. 45:40 Twenty women that were baptized 45:43 and more in his baptismal class. 45:44 Now they've got all these Bible study groups going. 45:46 And I was like praising the Lord. 45:48 I just couldn't hardly believe it. 45:51 Well then the next year 45:55 my sisters and I went back to the prison. 45:57 See, I told you this wasn't in the book. 46:00 And we had the most amazing time. True to his word, 46:04 the assistant warden had the gymnasium... 46:06 By the way, something that had never happened 46:09 and if you get to read the book 46:11 you'll see Carrie Avery's letter. 46:13 One of the things that really impressed me 46:15 the very first time I was there there were four women 46:18 there that were from the Lock Down Unit. 46:22 Not allowed... doesn't happen. 46:23 "Don't even know how that happened, " they said. 46:25 But they were there. 46:28 So when my sisters and I got ready to prepare for the... 46:33 to fly out there for ministry 46:36 we do what we always do and we really, prayerfully 46:40 pray every day that we die to self 46:44 and that we glorify God and that He fills us so full 46:48 of His Holy Spirit that we'll be a powerful witness 46:50 when we go out to minister to these ladies at the Pocatello 46:54 prison. 46:55 You see, we cannot share what we don't have. 46:59 If we are not prayed up, if we are not so closely 47:01 connected with our heavenly Father, we can't share anything! 47:04 You can't share what you don't have. 47:07 So that's why it's vitally important that you are 47:10 praying constantly asking God to fill you 47:13 with His Holy Spirit. 47:15 And you need to do more than that. 47:17 You need to spend that time in His Word. 47:21 God speaks to us through His Word. 47:24 You know so many people ask me... 47:25 They will say: "Brenda, you always talk about 47:28 listening to God and listening to the Holy Spirit. 47:30 How do you really know if the Holy Spirit is talking to you? " 47:35 And I can tell you that's very easy. 47:37 The more time you spend with Jesus 47:41 the more you will know His voice. 47:43 It's like if you have a new... somebody you just meet 47:47 and they call you on the phone for the first time, 47:49 are you going to know who it is? 47:51 No. Even if you met them just once 47:53 maybe even twice, maybe 3... but when you become friends 47:57 and the phone rings and you hear their voice 48:00 you know immediately who it is, right? 48:04 So it is with our heavenly Father. 48:06 The more time we spend on our knees, 48:08 the more time we spend in His Word, 48:11 the more time we spend with Jesus our Savior, 48:15 the more we will know His voice. 48:17 If you are in a position where you are saying 48:21 "I don't really know if God's talking to me or not, " 48:24 then I'm going to tell you: 48:25 find some alone time with Jesus. 48:28 You're not spending enough alone time with Him. 48:30 You need to have that time where you 48:33 are... is set apart. Take that extra time 48:36 to say: "I need to be filled up with Your Holy Spirit. " 48:41 "Lord, I need You in my life. " 48:45 And ask God to cleanse you from all your sin. 48:47 Ask God to strip you of self 48:50 so that people only see Jesus in you. 48:55 One of the most important and beautiful things 49:00 that anybody could ever say to me 49:02 isn't that they like what I'm wearing or some big compliment. 49:05 If they can tell me they see Jesus in me 49:09 that's the most important thing anybody can ever say to me. 49:13 Amen. Because when we are truly 49:17 walking with Jesus, you don't have to wear a sign 49:20 saying "I love Jesus. " 49:22 My daddy used to always say: "If you love Jesus 49:25 notify your face. " 49:29 So you can't help but just shine for Him. 49:31 And sometimes just a tiny smile will make a difference. 49:36 Sometimes when I'm even at an airport going through 49:38 and you see everybody with stone faces, 49:41 they're not even expression, and they're walking 49:43 from one gate to the next and you're making eye contact 49:46 but they're just like this, I smile at them. 49:49 I even had somebody just last week come back and said: 49:51 "Do I know you? " 49:52 And I said: "No, but Jesus does. He knows you. " 49:57 And I tell you... what you can do with just a smile. 50:01 This awkward moment in the elevator with a bunch of people 50:05 and we're just waiting for the floors, and it's a slow 50:06 elevator. Nobody's saying a word. 50:08 I don't... It's an opportunity to witness. 50:11 They can't go anywhere. 50:13 They're right there in that elevator. It's time to witness. 50:17 Smile at them. Let them know. 50:19 I turned around one day to the guy in the elevator 50:21 and I said: "I just want you to know Jesus loves you. " 50:23 And he just started crying. 50:25 He said: "I can't believe you just said that to me 50:26 right now. I can't believe it. " 50:28 You see how good God is? 50:31 So my sisters and I, any time we prepare for ministry 50:33 we are asking the Holy Spirit to fill us. 50:36 We don't just pray once. We don't just pray twice. 50:38 We ask God to bathe us anew, afresh, every single day, 50:42 every single minute, every single second 50:44 so that we can be used to the utmost 50:47 to be soul-winning tools for Jesus. 50:49 When we got out to that Pocatello prison, 50:51 all three of us, and they were setting up our microphones 50:56 and all the women were starting to come in, 50:59 filling up the seats, 51:01 there was one lady that I recognized. 51:06 She was that real tall woman I met the first day 51:10 that big old soggy. I got ready; I took a big breath 51:12 this time... I knew it was coming. 51:16 And she said: "Oh, Miss Brenda, I've got to tell you. " 51:20 She said: "I've been baptized! " 51:23 Amen. And about that time 51:25 one of the other women came up there and she said: 51:27 "She's really such a spiritual leader in our prison" 51:30 she said "this last year. " She said: "She's the one that 51:33 heads up so many Bible study classes 51:35 in the prison 'cause there's not enough... " 51:37 "They only have Bible study" she said. 51:40 "We only have it 3 days a week for 2 hours a day 51:42 so it's not enough time, so I give Bible studies here 51:45 in the prison. " Isn't God good? 51:47 Amen. Isn't that awesome? 51:49 And so I was so excited and then 51:51 I just gave her another big hug. 51:53 We started the concert, 51:57 and in between songs each one of us will take turns 52:00 sharing. So when we finish one song 52:02 the next person will start to share. 52:04 And we share whatever the Holy Spirit is telling us to share. 52:08 You know, I might come in with an idea of what I'm 52:11 going to say, and I can tell you how many times I've done that 52:14 and God has turned me around on a dime 52:15 and I didn't say a thing that I thought I was going to 52:17 talk about. That happens all the time 52:20 because we want to be instant to God's will. 52:22 If you're really praying and asking God to use you 52:25 in a special way... If you say: "Lord, 52:27 let me be instant to Your will. Let me not second guess 52:31 what You're telling me. " 52:34 We miss many divine appointments when we do that. 52:36 Do you realize how dangerous that is? 52:37 If we say, you know, you can hear the Holy Spirit 52:42 telling you "Just smile at that lady that's coming up 52:44 right here. Just give her a nice smile and let her know 52:46 I love her. " And we go 52:48 "Do You really want me to say that? 52:50 I'm actually in a public place and I'm at my work place 52:52 and Lord, You don't really mean that, do You? " 52:55 And in that instant that you're questioning the Holy Spirit 52:58 that second is gone - she's gone - you've missed 53:00 that opportunity. See, but if you're prayed up 53:03 and you're saying: "Lord, use me in a special way, " 53:06 you're saying: "Lord, make me instant to Your will 53:08 that I'm not second guessing Your voice, " 53:13 you will have so many divine appointments. 53:16 And as we were singing and witnessing 53:22 I saw again how the Holy Spirit was flooding 53:25 into the hearts of those ladies. 53:27 And there were four women that were off to the side. 53:32 And true to his word, they had hired a lot of extra guards 53:35 there. And if somebody acts up, they don't get a second chance. 53:39 They are ripped out of there and they are taken out 53:41 right then and there, and you don't get a second chance. 53:44 So if you're acting up at all... 53:45 And there were four women that I felt like were just 53:47 devil possessed because they were rolling their eyes 53:50 and they weren't making enough of a problem where the guard 53:53 saw it yet, but they didn't see what we saw 53:56 looking at them. And I could see them roll their eyes, 53:58 you know, nudging each other. 54:00 And I just started praying for them even while we were 54:01 singing. And in fact, I saw throughout the concert... 54:06 the whole first part of the concert... they were really 54:09 getting worse. And so I started praying more! 54:12 And when my sister Linda was talking, I was 54:14 praying for those four women. 54:16 And I was praying and I was praying. 54:20 And before we finished I saw those ladies 54:25 that had been so sarcastic and had been so rolling their eyes 54:30 and kind of making fun 54:31 I saw the Holy Spirit just open their hearts 54:35 and their faces softened and they were in tears 54:39 before that concert ended. 54:42 In fact, God did something really awesome that day 54:47 because at the very end of that concert, 54:53 um, 54:57 my sister Linda gave an altar call. 55:01 And she pleaded with them that if they 55:04 really wanted to see Jesus, 55:09 if they wanted to have that blessed hope, 55:12 if they wanted to have that peace in their heart 55:14 every single night, that the only healer of hearts 55:17 was Jesus. 55:19 And she pleaded with them to surrender their heart 55:23 and life to Him right then and there. 55:24 And Cinda and I stepped up and we added to the altar call. 55:30 And we pleaded with each one of them. 55:31 And I looked directly at those three women... 55:33 four women that had been struggling. 55:35 And I said... looked right at them. I said: 55:39 "Jesus loves you. 55:41 He died to save you 55:43 and He's coming again soon. 55:45 He's preparing your mansion for you right now. 55:48 But God's not going to force you 55:51 and if you don't choose Jesus 55:55 you're going to be lost... 55:57 eternally lost. " 55:59 And all of a sudden the tears started coming. 56:02 And we said: "If you really love Jesus, 56:08 if you really want to start your life anew, 56:10 if you want to live an abundant life even here in this prison, 56:15 won't you take your stand by coming forward right now 56:19 and surrender your heart and life to Him? " 56:24 All of a sudden you saw one woman stand. 56:26 You saw another person stand 56:28 and another person stand, and pretty soon they 56:30 were just popping up everywhere. 56:33 And over 100 women came forward 56:37 to give their life to Jesus that night. 56:40 And when we were done talking I went over 56:43 and I... I started hugging them. 56:48 I just started hugging them, we started hugging the women. 56:51 And all of a sudden that religious activities director 56:56 that was in the back of the room he was watching. 56:59 All of a sudden he sees it's not the assistant warden 57:00 that had come in... the warden came in. 57:02 And now he knows... we're in big trouble! 57:04 And he looks. He goes "What part of touching... no touching 57:06 don't those girls understand? " 57:09 And he said: "Don't you see? God has done something special 57:13 here tonight? " 57:16 Be brave enough to step out of your comfort zone. |
Revised 2014-12-17