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male announcer: This
presentation is brought to you
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by the friends of the
Amazing Facts ministry.
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Doug Batchelor: I praise
God because I was a slave.
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It controlled my
time. It took my money.
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It--at the end of the day,
it had to be part of my day.
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It was like I
associated it with comfort.
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It was almost
emotional, but I was addicted.
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Doug: I'm going to be sharing
something very personal with you
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and making a confession.
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You've heard it said before:
confession is good for the soul,
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but very bad for the reputation;
and that may be the case today.
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But your pastor was addicted and
involved in substance abuse for
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over 30 years.
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Yeah, you guys--they
got the substance there
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on the screen right now.
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Now, you think I'm
kidding, but I had a very
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serious problem with
an addiction to ice cream.
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Now, when I get done, you
describe--you let me know what
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you think that--if
it fits the definition.
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I don't know exactly when it
began, but I know it started a
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long time ago.
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And my substance abuse
started innocently enough.
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And I want to make it
clear right from the beginning.
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I'm not saying
that ice cream is a sin.
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Is that clear?
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But it got to the
place where it was for me.
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The Bible says in 1 Corinthians
10:31, "Therefore, whether you
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eat or whether you drink,
do all to the glory of God."
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And I certainly was not
doing it to the glory of God.
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Now, I don't know if any of you
remember a day where years ago
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they had an ice cream man
that would go up and down the
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neighborhood and a bell would
ring and a song would play.
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I don't remember
what the song is.
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Anyone remember
the Good Humor man?
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Do you have happy memories
on those hot summer days
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and you'd hear that music?
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It was like the gates of
heaven had opened up, right?
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And you'd hear that music
playing and this little white
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truck would come out, and
all the kids would crowd into
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certain set spots in the street
and just about throw themselves
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in front of his vehicle.
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And he would step
out, and usually he was
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friendly, and there
in the truck he had his
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dried ice, it was
always so amazing to me.
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He showed me a piece of the
dried ice and the fog billowing
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out, and he'd pull
out these exotic treats.
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And I remember some of my
favorites were--they had one
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called a rainbow rocket.
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It was a double popsicle.
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Had two sticks
that went up through it.
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You could break it in
half and share with a friend.
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So I often would
split a rainbow rocket.
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I'm sure it was full of
colors and chemicals and
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things, but it was delicious.
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It's probably all corn syrup.
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They had another one that
was orange with vanilla inside.
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It was an orange
popsicle with vanilla, anyone?
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They still make
those? But it goes way back.
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And I remember that it
was so important to me.
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I couldn't understand why my
grandmother would not give me 10
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or 25 cents, it's all it
was back then, every day.
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And she said, "It's a treat.
You can't have it every day."
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And I am ashamed to tell
you that I vividly remember
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stealing money
from my grandmother.
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She--this is one of
my earliest memories.
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She hung her black leather
purse over the doorknob of her
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bedroom, and inside her purse
she had another little purse
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that had one of those very
difficult snaps on it that you
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had to twist.
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It was the change purse.
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And she caught me one day.
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I don't know how
many times I did it.
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More than once.
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That's where my
life of crime began.
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It was for ice cream money.
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Do you see?
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And then I went to live with
Dad, and that's when it really
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started to get serious, is--
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in Florida, we actually
had--I know you don't think of
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Miami Beach having
milkmen, but we had a milkman.
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And I looked up online to
see they're still in business.
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The company was
called McArthur Dairy.
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And they would bring the milk
to the door, and my stepmother
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would fill out a form
and--wasn't every day, but like
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every other day he
would bring the order.
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But this was really neat.
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In Miami Beach, the milkman not
only brought milk, they brought
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fresh-squeezed Tropicana orange
juice in a jar, a glass jar,
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and they would
squeeze it that day and you'd
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get fresh orange juice--
and they brought ice cream.
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Now, we always knew when he was
coming because you can't leave
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your ice cream out on
the porch for very long.
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And--you know, I didn't--I
was living with my dad and my
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stepmother and my stepbrother.
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My brother was sick, and I was
struggling during those years.
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One of the treats for me was I
would take a half a pint of ice
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cream and pour in Tropicana
orange juice and mix it all.
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It reminded me of those orange
things the Good Humor man had.
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It was really good,
but it got to where my
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stepmother started saying,
"Who ate all the ice cream?"
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Because I was eating
all of the ice cream.
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I mean, I started doing it every
day, and I really enjoyed it.
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It was the highlight of my day.
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But then things really turned
from bad to worse 'cause summer
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came and I needed to find a job.
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And guess where I got a job?
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I got a job
working at Baskin-Robbins.
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Karen and I were in
Miami Beach not too long ago.
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I took her by, tried to find
where the old ice cream shop
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was, and I guess it's not
there anymore in Lincoln Mall.
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But I worked at "31 Flavors,"
and the owner was Lee Scott.
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And I remember when he hired me,
I was only like 14, 15 years old
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and I said--when he was hiring
me, I said, "Now, I'm just
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wondering, are we
allowed to eat the product?"
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He said, "No problem."
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He says, "You can
eat as much as you want.
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You'll get tired of it."
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I never even got
close to getting tired.
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He had--now, you know,
Baskin-Robbins is called 31 not
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because they've got 31 flavors.
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They guarantee having 31 flavors
in the store at any given time.
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They have hundreds of flavors,
and we had new flavors rotating
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in all the time.
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And I'm not kidding you, I would
eat a pralines and cream banana
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split for lunch and then I'd
have a hot fudge mocha sundae
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for dinner.
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And it's amazing when you're
a teenager what you can do to
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yourself, and you
feel indestructible,
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but I really was--
it was getting bad.
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I mean, I ate a
lot of ice cream.
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And the problem was I was not
only now a user, I was a dealer.
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But I worked there until I ran
away from home, and--then it was
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hit and miss on the road for
a little while with ice cream.
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But even when I moved up
into the mountains in a cave, no
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refrigeration obviously.
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It--very long way to
town, grueling height, but it
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was the desert.
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Back then, they had
Thrifty's drugstores everywhere.
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I don't see
Thrifty's drugstores.
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Evidently,
they're out of business.
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I don't know if you can
still get Thrifty's ice cream.
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But in all their drugstores,
they had an ice cream counter.
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Do you remember?
Well, I'm not kidding.
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Do any of you remember
when it was a nickel a scoop?
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And you could get a
triple scoop for 15 cents.
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Go try and find that.
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But when you're
living in a cave in a desert,
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you got no refrigeration.
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The highlight for me was to go
panhandle and see if I could get
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15 cents.
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I would beg on the street
and say, "Could I please have 15
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cents for something to eat?"
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I didn't tell them what I
was going to eat, but it's true.
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I would spend my last
15 cents on ice cream.
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And I remember--I
wasn't the only one.
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A lot of the street
people, it was a big deal.
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And there were others
that were living in the desert.
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Most of them lived
in the first valley.
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I lived way back in the canyon.
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And I remember I was hanging out
on the street one day with my
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friends and some kid had walked
out of Thrifty's with a triple
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scoop of ice cream.
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And he wasn't paying attention
and the ice cream guy at the
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counter--you know, at Thrifty's
when you got your ice cream, the
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same guy that worked the cash
register, he worked the counter,
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and he didn't always know
what to do with ice cream.
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And so he didn't press--that
first scoop has to get pressed
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down into the cone or
it can become detached,
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and he had a triple scoop.
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And this kid walked out on
the street and he turned and the
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thing fell off the cone.
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But it landed--not flat, it
landed still intact with three
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scoops like the Tower of
Pisa, sticking straight up.
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And the kid began to cry, and
the parents, "Oh, come on in,
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we'll get you another one,"
and they walked in the store.
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I'm standing there with my
friends and we're looking at
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that, and I said, "You
know, only part of that hit the
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ground, kid
didn't even lick it yet.
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And if he did lick
it, the part he licked is
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the part on the ground;
the other stuff is still good."
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And while we were processing
that, before I could act on my
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thought, my friend Richie got
down on all fours and he began
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to eat the ice cream
off the street like that.
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Really I didn't do it, but
I thought about it because I
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thought, "That's some perfectly
good ice cream that's going to
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waste right now."
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And I was mad that Richie did
it first because I really had it
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pretty bad.
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And I wouldn't just eat one
triple thing of ice cream, I
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would eat one when I arrived at
town and then later in the day
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I'd get another one before I
went up the hill, and that would
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have to last me.
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You know, I used to wonder why
was it so important to me, and I
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later found out
there was a study.
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Believe it or not,
there's medical research.
00:10:35.10\00:10:38.17
"Journal of Clinical
Investigation," this is a study
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done in 2011.
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A team of researchers led by
Lukas Van Oudenhove, University
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of Belgium, they were publishing
images of brain activity during
00:10:47.88\00:10:53.08
times of sadness, and they
had 12 volunteers that had their
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brain scanned with an MRI and
also agreed to have a feeding
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tube put into their stomach.
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Then they were shown images and
played some neutral or sad music
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and shown neutral or sad images,
and then they would rate how
00:11:09.70\00:11:12.77
they felt on a
scale of one to nine.
00:11:12.80\00:11:15.04
And when they were feeling sad,
they would then inject in their
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stomachs a solution.
00:11:17.74\00:11:19.44
Some of them
got a salt solution.
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They didn't know what
was going in their stomach.
00:11:20.88\00:11:23.55
Some of them would get a fat
solution that would be similar
00:11:23.58\00:11:26.75
to what you would find in
ice cream, and then they would
00:11:26.78\00:11:29.72
evaluate them afterward.
00:11:29.75\00:11:31.72
And they found out in almost
every case those who were sad
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after being given the
fatty solution, it says
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the effect was significant.
00:11:37.96\00:11:40.13
In a pharmacological sense,
the fatty solution reduced the
00:11:40.16\00:11:44.33
intensity of sad emotions by
almost half, which is about as
00:11:44.37\00:11:48.37
much as any prescription
antidepressant can achieve.
00:11:48.40\00:11:53.01
And so you are wondering
why you thought ice cream
00:11:53.04\00:11:55.28
was comfort food.
00:11:55.31\00:11:57.55
They finally done
research to say it actually does
00:11:57.58\00:12:00.88
work as an antidepressant.
00:12:00.92\00:12:03.59
So I guess you could say I was
addicted to antidepressants, but
00:12:03.62\00:12:07.62
it came in the form of
Haagen-Dazs, and it was
00:12:07.66\00:12:11.69
pretty serious.
00:12:11.73\00:12:13.73
Now, you think I jest.
00:12:13.76\00:12:15.73
Doug: Here at
Amazing Facts International,
00:12:16.40\00:12:18.53
we strive to reach the
world with the amazing truths of
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the Bible and
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Simply follow the
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And once you read it, be
sure to share it with a friend.
00:13:00.61\00:13:03.35
Doug: You know, the
Bible says that a little bit of
00:13:04.58\00:13:08.08
certain things is okay, but
something can be taken to an
00:13:08.12\00:13:12.99
extreme and it becomes sin.
00:13:13.02\00:13:16.26
Ecclesiastes 10:17, "Blessed are
you, O land, when your king is
00:13:16.29\00:13:20.86
the son of nobles, and
your princes feast at the proper
00:13:20.90\00:13:23.37
time--For strength
and not for drunkenness!"
00:13:23.40\00:13:27.57
I mean, it was
to excess with me.
00:13:27.60\00:13:30.24
And then even when I moved
out of the cave, I lived for a
00:13:30.27\00:13:33.04
while--I had a meat
business, lived in Palm Springs.
00:13:33.07\00:13:36.31
I am not kidding you.
00:13:36.34\00:13:37.91
I would eat ice cream every
night, and I would more than
00:13:37.95\00:13:41.32
once eat a half a quart.
00:13:41.35\00:13:44.75
And then even after I moved into
the hills in Covelo and I got
00:13:44.79\00:13:47.72
baptized, this is when it,
I think, got really serious.
00:13:47.76\00:13:53.93
You know, when you give up your
addictions and you only got a
00:13:53.96\00:13:56.36
few left, you overcompensate.
00:13:56.40\00:13:59.70
And as I gave up the drugs and
the smoking and the drinking,
00:13:59.73\00:14:04.64
all I had left
was the ice cream.
00:14:04.67\00:14:07.64
Then you really go overboard.
00:14:07.68\00:14:12.05
And I remember living up in
Covelo, I would quote the Bible
00:14:12.08\00:14:16.25
and I'd say, "God
is taking us to a land
00:14:16.28\00:14:19.75
flowing with milk and honey.
00:14:19.79\00:14:22.39
God believes in ice cream.
00:14:22.42\00:14:25.76
This is heavenly food."
00:14:25.79\00:14:27.73
I mean, why would He say that
He's going to take them to a
00:14:27.76\00:14:29.73
land of milk and honey--and then
I went to the store and I found
00:14:29.76\00:14:32.50
Haagen-Dazs honey vanilla.
00:14:32.53\00:14:34.37
I said, "Praise the Lord.
00:14:34.40\00:14:37.41
This is biblical."
00:14:37.44\00:14:40.14
And I had Scripture for it.
00:14:40.18\00:14:43.41
But, you know, there is a
verse that says if you found
00:14:43.45\00:14:46.41
honey--Proverbs
25:16, "Have you found honey?
00:14:46.45\00:14:49.55
Eat only as much as you
need, lest you be filled
00:14:49.58\00:14:54.09
with it and vomit."
00:14:54.12\00:14:56.99
Some things that are good, that
are meant to be a treat, that
00:14:57.03\00:15:00.33
God would bless,
you can do to excess.
00:15:00.36\00:15:03.97
Now, this is a very important
principle of what I'm sharing
00:15:04.00\00:15:06.10
with you today.
00:15:06.13\00:15:07.47
And I know you're laughing, and
I'm meaning for you to, and some
00:15:07.50\00:15:10.37
of what I'm saying is tongue
in cheek, but I'm sharing this
00:15:10.41\00:15:13.21
odyssey with you
because it relates to real life.
00:15:13.24\00:15:16.34
What I'm sharing with you is
true, I'm not making this up.
00:15:16.38\00:15:19.25
I mean, I was addicted.
00:15:19.28\00:15:22.22
Now, I'm embarrassed to tell you
this, but when I traveled and I
00:15:22.25\00:15:29.82
stayed at a hotel, one of the
first things I'd do is I'd find
00:15:29.86\00:15:33.70
out where's a 7-Eleven.
00:15:33.73\00:15:36.03
When I was going to a hotel
to do a meeting and Bonnie said,
00:15:36.06\00:15:40.20
"Well, they've got a shuttle
that goes to the airport,"
00:15:40.24\00:15:43.17
I'd say, "Well, I'm
going to need a rental car."
00:15:43.20\00:15:46.21
"Well, we won't need--"
I said, "Well, you know,
00:15:46.24\00:15:47.54
I might need to get
something to eat and--"
00:15:47.58\00:15:50.68
But you know
what I was thinking?
00:15:50.71\00:15:52.65
Hotel was too far
away from ice cream.
00:15:52.68\00:15:55.18
Was at this conference
center, and I needed a
00:15:55.22\00:15:58.42
car so I could get ice cream.
00:15:58.45\00:16:02.96
And then when I realized
that here I had rented a car and
00:16:02.99\00:16:06.33
Amazing Facts' supporters were
paying for me to have a rental
00:16:06.36\00:16:08.70
car so I could get ice
cream, I felt guilty and
00:16:08.73\00:16:11.03
so I refunded the money.
00:16:11.07\00:16:12.77
And it occurred to me that
ice cream cost me $35 a pint.
00:16:12.80\00:16:20.24
I'm not
kidding. It was that bad.
00:16:20.28\00:16:23.24
Only once or twice did I order
room service; $8 for ice cream,
00:16:23.28\00:16:28.98
and then you want to tip the
person who brings it 'cause I'd
00:16:29.02\00:16:31.49
tell them, "Please hurry."
00:16:31.52\00:16:33.12
Because they'd bring
it to you all melted and
00:16:33.15\00:16:34.49
then it's no good.
00:16:34.52\00:16:37.89
Then I realized this
is just starting to--
00:16:37.93\00:16:39.86
"This has gone too far," I
thought, "I got a problem."
00:16:39.89\00:16:43.23
And so I started
praying about it.
00:16:43.26\00:16:45.33
I said, "Lord, I got
to stop eating ice cream."
00:16:45.37\00:16:48.40
Certainly anything that is
preoccupying my day--my father
00:16:48.44\00:16:52.81
was an alcoholic, and I
think I've got that nature.
00:16:52.84\00:16:56.81
My father would plan
his day around alcohol.
00:16:56.85\00:17:01.25
When he made lunch appointments,
he wouldn't just take a person
00:17:01.28\00:17:04.62
to a restaurant
because he liked the food.
00:17:04.65\00:17:07.29
The restaurant had to first and
foremost have alcohol, then they
00:17:07.32\00:17:11.29
figure out what else they had.
00:17:11.33\00:17:13.36
And then after work,
he'd stop at the bar.
00:17:13.40\00:17:16.13
And if he went on
vacation, it had to be somewhere
00:17:16.16\00:17:18.20
where there was a bar.
00:17:18.23\00:17:20.24
And if he went on a fishing trip
or if he went racing or whatever
00:17:20.27\00:17:22.54
he did, there was always
the ice chest with alcohol.
00:17:22.57\00:17:24.97
His whole life, that was just--
had to be there in the picture.
00:17:25.01\00:17:28.88
And I was realizing ice
cream was doing that to me.
00:17:28.91\00:17:32.31
I'd get on TV in front of
everybody, preach about the
00:17:32.35\00:17:34.88
health message, do a back
handspring, and then go home
00:17:34.92\00:17:37.19
and eat a pint of Haagen-Dazs.
00:17:37.22\00:17:40.42
Yes, sometimes
I'd eat a whole pint.
00:17:40.46\00:17:43.26
The average American eats
42 pints of ice cream a year.
00:17:43.29\00:17:49.00
I was eating about 120.
00:17:49.03\00:17:52.40
I'm not exaggerating.
00:17:52.43\00:17:54.30
And then I'd go to
the doctor, he'd say,
00:17:54.34\00:17:55.84
"Doug, cholesterol looks good.
00:17:55.87\00:17:57.91
Blood pressure okay?"
00:17:57.94\00:17:59.41
I'd say, "Not bothering me."
00:17:59.44\00:18:03.41
And I had all these
rationalizations, but
00:18:03.45\00:18:06.21
I knew I was addicted.
00:18:06.25\00:18:09.32
"How do you know?"
'Cause I couldn't stop.
00:18:09.35\00:18:11.65
I'd spend my last
15 cents on ice cream.
00:18:11.69\00:18:19.56
You know, Jesus talks about
this where He said, "Woe to you,
00:18:19.59\00:18:22.20
scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites!
00:18:22.23\00:18:24.40
You devour widows'
houses, and for a pretense you
00:18:24.43\00:18:26.30
make long prayers."
00:18:26.33\00:18:29.14
In Luke 11,
"Woe to you, lawyers!
00:18:29.17\00:18:31.34
For you load men with burdens
hard to bear, and you yourselves
00:18:31.37\00:18:34.58
do not touch the burdens
with one of your fingers."
00:18:34.61\00:18:36.88
So I'd preach a sermon on
gaining the victory over sin
00:18:36.91\00:18:40.05
when I was a slave.
00:18:40.08\00:18:41.98
Now, I--the reason I
picked this subject--
00:18:42.02\00:18:44.12
and I prayed about this.
00:18:44.15\00:18:45.49
I think the Lord wanted
me to talk to you about this.
00:18:45.52\00:18:48.26
The same dynamics that I
struggled with are real in our
00:18:48.29\00:18:53.06
lives on something
that is a lot more serious.
00:18:53.09\00:18:56.20
Some people maybe
it's not ice cream.
00:18:56.23\00:18:59.63
Maybe it's alcohol.
00:18:59.67\00:19:01.47
There are people that go
to church and they go through
00:19:01.50\00:19:04.74
the motions of being a
Christian and they've got
00:19:04.77\00:19:07.28
an addiction to
shopping, they can't control it.
00:19:07.31\00:19:11.91
They do it for
comfort. It could be some drugs.
00:19:11.95\00:19:15.35
Some people sit at
the computer and they're
00:19:15.38\00:19:16.72
addicted to other things.
00:19:16.75\00:19:18.62
It might be
pornography, and it's like you
00:19:18.65\00:19:22.46
live a secret life.
00:19:22.49\00:19:24.29
There's a lot of different
ways that it plays out.
00:19:24.33\00:19:27.03
Jesus doesn't just come to save
us in our sin; He comes to save
00:19:27.10\00:19:30.60
us from our sin, and He can.
00:19:30.63\00:19:32.90
And you'll have a peace and a
joy when He does that's unlike
00:19:32.93\00:19:35.74
anything you can imagine.
00:19:35.77\00:19:37.24
Romans 6, verse 12.
00:19:37.27\00:19:39.47
This was our memory verse.
00:19:39.51\00:19:41.04
"Therefore do
not let sin reign."
00:19:41.08\00:19:43.88
Now, God didn't say that we're
never going to stumble and fall.
00:19:43.91\00:19:47.72
He says if any man sin, we have
an advocate with the Father.
00:19:47.75\00:19:50.72
What He does say, though, is
sin should not reign over you.
00:19:50.75\00:19:55.22
"In your mortal body, that
you should obey it in its lusts.
00:19:55.26\00:19:58.09
And do not present your
members as instruments of
00:19:58.13\00:20:00.40
unrighteousness to sin,
but present yourself to God as
00:20:00.43\00:20:04.23
being one alive from
the dead and your members as
00:20:04.27\00:20:06.43
instruments of righteousness.
00:20:06.47\00:20:08.47
For sin shall not have dominion
over you, for you are not under
00:20:08.50\00:20:12.27
law but under grace."
00:20:12.31\00:20:14.41
Jump down to
verse 17 in Romans 6.
00:20:14.44\00:20:17.81
"But God be thanked that
though you were slaves of sin,
00:20:17.85\00:20:20.88
you obeyed from the
heart that form of doctrine to
00:20:20.92\00:20:23.59
which you were delivered.
00:20:23.62\00:20:25.15
And having been
set free from sin, you
00:20:25.19\00:20:27.16
became slaves of righteousness.
00:20:27.19\00:20:29.19
I speak in human terms because
of the weakness of your flesh.
00:20:29.22\00:20:32.76
For just as you presented your
members as slaves of uncleanness
00:20:32.79\00:20:36.33
and lawlessness leading into
more lawlessness, so now present
00:20:36.36\00:20:40.37
your members as slaves to
righteousness for holiness."
00:20:40.40\00:20:45.31
And He goes on to say in verse
23, "For the wages of sin is
00:20:45.34\00:20:47.88
death, but the gift of God
is eternal life through Jesus
00:20:47.91\00:20:51.31
Christ our Lord."
00:20:51.35\00:20:53.21
You know, if you look up higher
in the same chapter, Paul says
00:20:53.25\00:20:56.69
in 1 Corinthians chapter 10,
"All things are lawful for me,
00:20:56.72\00:21:03.49
but not all
things are expedient."
00:21:03.53\00:21:05.63
You might even find
something that inherently
00:21:05.66\00:21:07.50
may not be bad, but it is
out of balance in your life
00:21:07.50\00:21:11.90
and it's taking up your time.
00:21:11.93\00:21:14.17
Some people, they are
addicted to a TV program.
00:21:14.20\00:21:20.18
I know it's hard to--
for us to understand it.
00:21:20.21\00:21:23.98
Sometime the things that
tempt you may not tempt me.
00:21:24.01\00:21:26.72
You might laugh at
what was a problem for me.
00:21:26.75\00:21:29.32
"Oh, you got a
problem? I don't understand it."
00:21:29.35\00:21:31.72
But it's not your
problem, it was my problem.
00:21:31.75\00:21:33.39
Who knows why?
00:21:33.42\00:21:35.32
But those same people--I know
people that are Christians, a
00:21:35.36\00:21:42.20
lot of them, and at a certain
time every day they've got to be
00:21:42.23\00:21:47.20
where a TV is or they tape it.
00:21:47.24\00:21:49.70
And they've got to watch
a soap opera because they
00:21:49.74\00:21:52.37
have gotten sucked
into this artificial--
00:21:52.41\00:21:54.38
now, I don't laugh at that.
00:21:54.41\00:21:56.18
I cannot understand how people
will look at these actors going
00:21:56.21\00:21:59.35
through these
bizarre things on TV saying,
00:21:59.38\00:22:02.32
"Oh, no, was it with her?"
00:22:02.35\00:22:04.02
"Yes, it's with her."
00:22:04.05\00:22:05.39
"Oh--but did you
kill him?" "No, I kill--"
00:22:05.42\00:22:07.76
And they're going "Aaah,"
they're crying and they're
00:22:07.79\00:22:09.42
watching all this.
00:22:09.46\00:22:10.83
I've tried to give Bible studies
to people who--they got the soap
00:22:10.86\00:22:12.96
opera on and they say,
"Well, just a minute--ahh!"
00:22:12.99\00:22:16.67
And why can't they
get--I can't understand it, but
00:22:16.70\00:22:19.33
it gets ahold of them.
00:22:19.37\00:22:21.84
And their lives revolve around
that program "As My Stomach
00:22:21.87\00:22:25.47
Turns," or whatever it's called.
00:22:25.51\00:22:28.58
And it takes over their life.
00:22:28.61\00:22:31.21
And for most
people, it's not an issue.
00:22:31.25\00:22:34.08
Now, I don't know
what your temptation is.
00:22:34.12\00:22:37.09
We're all different.
00:22:37.12\00:22:38.65
Some of you are Peter, some are
James, some are John, some are
00:22:38.69\00:22:40.89
Mary, some are Martha.
00:22:40.92\00:22:44.23
The devil knows what it is, and
he wants to get ahold of you so
00:22:44.26\00:22:48.86
that it controls you, that
it sort of becomes the defining
00:22:48.90\00:22:51.70
influence in your life instead
of Jesus being the one who's in
00:22:51.73\00:22:56.17
control of your life, and
at some point--the first step
00:22:56.20\00:22:59.37
is you got to--like
I did, you got to say,
00:22:59.41\00:23:01.31
"This is out of control.
00:23:01.34\00:23:03.31
I got a problem.
00:23:03.35\00:23:04.98
And, Lord, I need Your help."
00:23:05.01\00:23:07.48
And it's not a good witness.
00:23:07.52\00:23:11.29
You know, when--up in the hills
near our cabin, we've got a few
00:23:11.32\00:23:18.43
trees that are
nice-looking trees.
00:23:18.46\00:23:21.40
And I was out walking one day,
and I remember seeing that this
00:23:21.43\00:23:24.83
poison oak vine was beginning
to go up a rather picturesque
00:23:24.87\00:23:30.31
oak tree up there in the hills,
and I didn't think much of it.
00:23:30.34\00:23:35.08
Now, usually poison
oak, it just kind of crawls
00:23:35.11\00:23:37.48
along the ground,
it's not very big,
00:23:37.51\00:23:39.21
or it might get up in the
manzanita bushes a little bit.
00:23:39.25\00:23:41.42
But they are vines, and
unencumbered they will continue
00:23:41.45\00:23:44.35
to grow and they
get pretty massive.
00:23:44.39\00:23:47.52
And a few years later, I went
walking by that same tree and I
00:23:47.56\00:23:51.43
noticed that the poison oak vine
had wrapped around and was going
00:23:51.46\00:23:55.03
up into the tree and that was
creating a lot of weight on the
00:23:55.06\00:23:58.67
branches, taking over
the whole lower half of this
00:23:58.70\00:24:01.37
very big majestic oak tree
which normally would be very
00:24:01.40\00:24:03.91
strong and independent.
00:24:03.94\00:24:06.31
And I realized that something
had to be done or--when the snow
00:24:06.34\00:24:09.44
came, it was going
to-- the weight was going to
00:24:09.48\00:24:11.38
take that tree down.
00:24:11.41\00:24:13.05
All it took was chainsaw and one
cut, and I knew it would die.
00:24:13.08\00:24:20.82
Even though I made the
cut, the vine was still hanging
00:24:20.86\00:24:24.36
there, but I
wasn't worried anymore
00:24:24.39\00:24:26.59
'cause once I knew I made
the cut, it was going to die.
00:24:26.63\00:24:30.50
And sure enough, as time
went by, the vine rotted,
00:24:30.53\00:24:33.34
it blew out of
the tree, and the tree
00:24:33.37\00:24:35.37
continued to
flourish and stand strong.
00:24:35.40\00:24:38.47
Some of us know
we've got tendrils.
00:24:38.51\00:24:40.38
And they start small in our
lives, but they'll continue to
00:24:40.41\00:24:43.55
grow and wrap themselves around
your life and start sapping the
00:24:43.58\00:24:47.02
strength and distracting your
energy and your time from what
00:24:47.05\00:24:50.35
God wants you to do.
00:24:50.39\00:24:52.42
Now, I'll interpret your silence
to mean that maybe the Holy
00:24:52.45\00:24:59.16
Spirit is speaking to you and
you know that there's things in
00:24:59.19\00:25:02.06
your life that
are out of balance.
00:25:02.10\00:25:04.97
It may be something
that-- outwardly is harmless
00:25:05.00\00:25:08.24
as ice cream.
00:25:08.27\00:25:10.14
It may be
something more serious.
00:25:10.17\00:25:11.57
It might be a serious
substance abuse, or practice, or
00:25:11.61\00:25:16.38
relationship that is unhealthy.
00:25:16.41\00:25:20.22
And you need to say,
"Lord, I can't do this
00:25:20.25\00:25:22.68
without Your help."
00:25:22.72\00:25:24.55
And you come to Jesus
and you confess that you need
00:25:24.59\00:25:27.39
supernatural intervention,
and the Lord can give you the
00:25:27.42\00:25:31.36
victory and you will rejoice.
00:25:31.39\00:25:34.00
And it is so nice when
you can look back and say,
00:25:34.00\00:25:39.03
"Free at last. Free at last.
00:25:39.07\00:25:41.14
Thank God
Almighty, I'm free at last."
00:25:41.17\00:25:44.87
announcer: Don't
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00:25:47.74\00:25:49.04
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And most important
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00:26:17.14\00:26:19.91
male: I just really started
getting involved with crime,
00:26:21.98\00:26:23.78
break and enters,
selling drugs, stealing cars.
00:26:23.81\00:26:26.38
male: All of us were
high, drugs all over the car,
00:26:26.41\00:26:28.45
paraphernalia, pipes.
00:26:28.48\00:26:29.92
female: I was suicidal, I was
developing an eating disorder,
00:26:29.95\00:26:33.12
so, like, all these things
were just coming into play.
00:26:33.15\00:26:36.09
male: One night I was flicking
through my channels in my dorm.
00:26:36.12\00:26:39.96
There was this
guy, this preacher.
00:26:40.00\00:26:41.30
male: By the end of the
program, I had a complete
00:26:41.33\00:26:44.40
understanding of
what's God plan actually is.
00:26:44.43\00:26:48.80
male: I started going through
these Amazing Facts study
00:26:48.84\00:26:51.47
guides and I finished
those, and I was so hungry
00:26:51.51\00:26:54.61
I couldn't put them down.
00:26:54.64\00:26:56.08
male: These series helped me
to see how reasonable God is.
00:26:56.11\00:27:00.75
female: So after doing the
studies and learning the truths
00:27:00.78\00:27:03.72
that I had been learning, I
decided to take that next step.
00:27:03.75\00:27:07.42
male: I thank God for
ministries like Amazing Facts,
00:27:07.46\00:27:10.46
to a great extent the reason
why I am in the church today.
00:27:10.49\00:27:14.36
male: Thank
you. male: Thank you.
00:27:14.40\00:27:15.76
female: Thank you
for changing my life.
00:27:15.80\00:27:18.07
announcer: Written by
the hand of God and spoken
00:27:25.87\00:27:28.91
with His voice, some
words will never fade.
00:27:28.94\00:27:34.98
¤¤¤
00:27:35.02\00:27:43.09
announcer: Get Pastor
Doug Batchelor's 12-part sermon
00:27:43.12\00:27:45.29
series on the Ten
Commandments by calling...
00:27:45.33\00:27:49.66
or visit afbookstore.com.
00:27:49.70\00:27:53.10
announcer: Don't forget to
request today's free offer.
00:27:58.61\00:28:00.74
It's sure to be a blessing.
00:28:00.78\00:28:02.48
And thank you for your
continued support as we
00:28:02.51\00:28:04.88
take the gospel of
Jesus Christ to the world.
00:28:04.91\00:28:07.75
We hope you'll
join us next week as we
00:28:07.78\00:28:10.09
delve deep into the Word of God
00:28:10.12\00:28:12.09
to explore more amazing facts.
00:28:12.12\00:28:17.06
¤¤¤
00:28:17.96\00:28:23.80
announcer: This
presentation was brought to you
00:28:23.83\00:28:25.13
by the friends of the
Amazing Facts ministry.
00:28:25.17\00:28:28.27