Welcome back! 00:00:13.64\00:00:14.67 You know what I think that just cracks me up 00:00:14.70\00:00:15.84 God works with a little pothead and now I know, 00:00:15.87\00:00:19.02 I know not only did He walk you through that stuff, 00:00:19.05\00:00:22.12 but brought to into theology, 00:00:22.15\00:00:24.29 you are at Andrews University. 00:00:24.32\00:00:26.41 Talk a little bit about that but I want to, 00:00:26.44\00:00:28.50 how faithful was God and what did it mean to 00:00:28.53\00:00:31.38 communicate with Him? 00:00:31.41\00:00:32.68 God has been absolutely amazing through it all. 00:00:32.71\00:00:35.76 I remember one day, I am now up at Andrews, 00:00:35.79\00:00:38.01 I happened to be studying theology. 00:00:38.04\00:00:39.90 I am just praying, just with eyes open and dialoguing 00:00:39.93\00:00:44.20 with God all my bunk and I feel Him impressing me, 00:00:44.23\00:00:47.80 saying, Matthew you need to get baptized. 00:00:47.83\00:00:50.80 I want you to be a baptized follower of Me. 00:00:50.83\00:00:54.01 So I get back home from spring break and call the Pastor 00:00:54.04\00:00:57.78 up and said hey I'm thinking about getting... 00:00:57.81\00:01:00.14 don't even think about it he told me, 00:01:00.17\00:01:01.93 just hop in the water. 00:01:01.96\00:01:03.28 But as I'm not ready, I've got issues... 00:01:03.31\00:01:05.87 Just hop in the water. 00:01:05.90\00:01:07.30 I get baptized March 23 of 1996, 6 months later 00:01:07.33\00:01:11.41 after I met Jesus. 00:01:11.44\00:01:13.46 I call it again, my AAA method from atheist to agnostic 00:01:13.49\00:01:18.12 to Adventist and I remember telling the Pastor, 00:01:18.15\00:01:20.81 Pastor I need to stand out here in the water. 00:01:20.84\00:01:22.99 I just prayed because I had just read in the Bible 00:01:23.02\00:01:25.67 where it said God will cast your sins to the 00:01:25.70\00:01:28.05 depths of the ocean. 00:01:28.08\00:01:29.21 That you are a new creature in Christ. 00:01:29.24\00:01:31.81 - He doesn't even remember them any more. 00:01:31.84\00:01:33.70 Exactly, so please take all my sins. 00:01:33.73\00:01:36.36 Now, I had mentioned pornography and that had been 00:01:36.39\00:01:39.51 my secret sin that no one knew about. 00:01:39.54\00:01:42.08 My secret sin. 00:01:42.11\00:01:44.64 So I begged Him especially please take this out 00:01:44.67\00:01:47.75 of my life, I never went to deal with it again. 00:01:47.78\00:01:50.15 I walked out of there a new creature. 00:01:50.18\00:01:51.80 Now I wish I could tell you today that I've not gone 00:01:51.83\00:01:55.60 back into that issue of my life, but it plagued me. 00:01:55.63\00:01:59.22 I'm trying to be a follower of Christ and Jesus started 00:01:59.25\00:02:02.97 opening the door for me to go tell my testimony 00:02:03.00\00:02:05.22 everywhere 00:02:05.25\00:02:06.28 - and you're still having a hard time with it 00:02:06.31\00:02:07.74 and it was almost like a binge, an alcoholic binging on alcohol 00:02:07.77\00:02:11.83 I would go through these binge cycles and I just want to 00:02:11.86\00:02:15.43 let people know today, that as He grants me the victory of 00:02:15.46\00:02:20.14 what He is revealing to me more is the sins that 00:02:20.17\00:02:22.38 are deeper inside, the pride and just unpacking things. 00:02:22.41\00:02:27.41 - you know what I'm going to say, I'm going to say 00:02:27.44\00:02:29.82 thank you for being on the program and I'm going to 00:02:29.85\00:02:31.71 take it back from you. 00:02:31.74\00:02:32.77 The reason I'm going to take it back from him, 00:02:32.80\00:02:33.93 is that I love the work in progress, I love the fact 00:02:33.96\00:02:37.33 that God steps in and say, I know everything about you. 00:02:37.36\00:02:40.20 Do you think that you're going to stand up and be 00:02:40.23\00:02:42.44 perfect right away? You're not! I love you. 00:02:42.47\00:02:45.50 Everything about you I love and as you stand up, 00:02:45.53\00:02:47.59 and as you trust Me, we will dialogue through this 00:02:47.62\00:02:50.44 prayer, through this communication, and I will start 00:02:50.47\00:02:53.29 opening up everything for you, 00:02:53.32\00:02:55.22 even your lying your manipulating, 00:02:55.25\00:02:57.20 your pride, your sexual sins and 00:02:57.23\00:02:59.61 all that kind of stuff I will give you victory in a way 00:02:59.64\00:03:01.11 that you stand up and say how did You do that? 00:03:01.14\00:03:03.38 How did You do that and sometimes you won't even know 00:03:03.41\00:03:05.58 how He did that. 00:03:05.61\00:03:06.96 But He is faithful and nothing turns Him off about you. 00:03:06.99\00:03:09.35 I just want you to know that and be blessed ask Him. 00:03:09.38\00:03:13.40 Start talking to Him I don't care how you do it. 00:03:13.43\00:03:15.59 But pray. 00:03:15.62\00:03:17.05 Until next time always remember that God is crazy about 00:03:17.08\00:03:20.23 you and me too! 00:03:20.26\00:03:21.29 Bye and God bless! 00:03:21.32\00:03:22.76