The Carter Report presents
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The Living Word
around the world.
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Hello, friend. I'm John Carter.
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Welcome today to
The Carter Report.
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What a program
we've got for you today.
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My special guest is the man
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who ministers to the
gangs of Los Angeles.
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There are more than a 100,000
young people in these gangs.
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His name is
Pastor Willie Garcia,
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formerly the lead
singer of The Midniters.
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Stay with us,
you're gonna be blessed.
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Hi, I'm John Carter.
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My wife Beverley and I
were watching television
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the other night,
watching the news,
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American news.
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They told us that the Church
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in North America
is actually shrinking.
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They said that
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atheism is the fastest
growing religious movement today
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in North America.
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And people are saying,
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"What on earth can we
do to save the Church?"
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Well, of course,
Christ died for the Church,
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he saved the Church.
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But what they mean is
how can we keep the Church
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as a vibrant force
in the world today,
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in Australia, in
America, and in Europe,
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and in the rest of the world?
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Let me tell you a little story.
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John Wesley was one
of the greatest preachers
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that the English-speaking
world has ever heard.
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John Wesley came upon the
scene of the Church in England
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a few hundred years ago
when the Church was dying.
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Like the Church today,
it was a shrinking Church.
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But the people in the Church
were in a state of denial.
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They refused to
accept the reality
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that the Church was dying.
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John Wesley did something
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that other people
said couldn't be done.
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He revived the Church
through public evangelism.
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Did you hear that?
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He started to preach
Christ. He preached the Bible.
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And he preached out
of doors and indoors.
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And the Church was saved.
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Not only did he
save a lot of souls,
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the souls of sinners,
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he saved the
souls of the saints.
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Please join me, my
friend, in evangelism.
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It's what Jesus did.
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Write to me, John Carter,
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post office box 1900,
Thousand Oaks, California.
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In Australia, write
to me at the address
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on the screen at
Terrigal, in New South Wales.
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Join me, my friend,
in preaching Christ.
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Join me in public
evangelism around the world.
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Thank you, in Jesus' name.
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Welcome today to
The Carter Report.
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Pastor Garcia, welcome today.
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Thank you, Dr. Carter.
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We're absolutely honored
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to have you with
us on our program.
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You've been with us to
Africa, and more recently,
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to Papua New Guinea.
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Yes, yes.
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That's where you saw
the beautiful white dove
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that came into the meeting
as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
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Yes.
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Now you were telling me
just a little while back
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as we were interviewing
you a little earlier on today,
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you were telling us about your
involvement with the Midniters,
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Thee Midniters.
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The money, the glamour,
the alcohol, the heroin,
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the cocaine,
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you were telling me
about the day that came
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when you wanted to end it all
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because life was just miserable.
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Unbearable. Unbearable.
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And you were going
to take some heroin.
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Yes.
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You're gonna take it
and you were going to die
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because you were
finished with it.
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And then the telephone rang.
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Yes. Tell us what happened.
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I answered the
phone reluctantly.
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But on the other end of the line
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was a young man
that I knew very well.
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And he just began to speak
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to me about coming to
hear him, his band play.
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He told they were
recording television shows.
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When he said
television, my antenna went up,
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'cause I was an
opportunist all my life.
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You know, the world says
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opportunity never knocks twice.
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But since I've
become a Christian,
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I know that God
is always knocking--
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Yeah, knocking all the time.
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At the door of
your heart, always.
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And this was God knocking.
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I didn't know it yet,
but this was God knocking.
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So Tony, I agreed to go with him
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out to Tucson, California.
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And I ended up
at Channel 40, KTBN.
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Didn't mean much to me
when I turned the corner
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and I saw the call
letters because before,
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uh, the couple that bought
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that television
station, owned it,
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I knew the guy that
owned Channel 40, Huggy Boy.
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He was the local DJ.
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Huggy Boy? Yes.
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And, uh, it was a dance show
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and he'd play
records and interview people.
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So I said, "Well,
this is great, man.
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Huggy Boy's here.
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You know, I'd book some gigs
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and may be I can crank
another year out of my life."
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But when I arrived
there, it was so much different.
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Uh, the band was great.
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It was the best
music I had ever heard.
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I didn't know anything
about-- Why was it good?
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Because it was
anointed by the Holy Spirit.
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So this was Christian music?
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Yes, it was.
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But it was, it was salsa,
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it was, it was
very contemporary.
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Uh-huh.
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You know, and these were
guys that I knew, these were--
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Now you've got a Latino
background, haven't you?
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Yes, yes.
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That's sort of in
your soul, isn't it?
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It's in our DNA. Yes, sir.
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Yeah, so... Yeah.
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See, I'm just a poor old Anglo.
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But it moves you
too. Yeah, it does.
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And so the music was just,
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it was the best
sounding music I'd ever heard.
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And so I started
thinking right away,
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"There must be some way,
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man, if I can
sing with this band
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and get on these
television shows.
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You know, that would
really be something."
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And so over the
course of two weeks
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of going with him every
day and trying to weasel my way
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into being a part of this
show or part of this band,
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I got exposed to the
Gospel of Jesus Christ,
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because it was a television,
a Christian television program.
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Uh, an
evangelist from Argentina,
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Elmer Bueno,
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and he was the
host of this program
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that was called Buenos Amigos.
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But that didn't sound like
anything like Church to me.
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It just sounded
like good friends,
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you know, getting together.
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That's what that
means, good friends.
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Yes, Buenos Amigos.
His name was Elmer Bueno.
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And what Elmer Bueno was doing
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was introducing
us to his friends,
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and his best
friend Jesus Christ.
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Over the course of two weeks,
besides hearing great music,
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I heard these stories,
not just from ex-convicts
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or prostitutes
or ex drug-addicts.
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But I heard stories of people
involved in corporate America,
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doctors, lawyers, who
had abused their privilege
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and their position in life.
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And every story
that I heard, Doctor,
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for over the course of
two weeks was different.
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But the ending of
every story was the same.
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So they were talking about
the transforming grace of God.
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Yes, they were. And
I'm just right there.
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And this got into you?
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It got into me but also,
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my self-righteousness
was always preventing me.
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"I don't need this stuff." Yeah.
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You know, I'd hear
these stories and I'd say,
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"As bad as you
were, you needed Jesus.
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But not me, I never
palmed a silverware.
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I never hung out in the
shadows with a baseball bat
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to take
somebody's jewelry, you know.
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As bad as you
were, you needed Jesus.
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But not me, I
could afford my habits."
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That was my thinking.
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But the Holy
Spirit was working on me.
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Tell me about the
moment when you came to Christ,
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when you became
born-again Christian.
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I went with the
band to a prison camp
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in the San Dimas Mountains
called Camp Afflerbaugh.
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They invited me to go with them.
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And I went on the condition
that if they'd let me sing,
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I would go with them.
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I said, "Now is my opportunity."
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And so they looked
at each other and said,
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"Sure, bring your charts."
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And so I did.
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I went with them up
to Camp Afflerbaugh.
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And when I got there,
they prayed, and I said,
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"Oh, this is gonna
be like that TV show.
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They're gonna start
talking, they're gonna do..."
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So I went and I sat
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way in the back
of the auditorium
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as they brought in 77 prisoners.
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I know because I heard the count
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when they brought them in.
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And I sat way in back
where nothing they did
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or said would
have any effect on me.
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And after hearing about 20
minutes of this great music,
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my friends, guys
that I grew up with,
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that I knew, guys that
I used to get high with,
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began to tell their
story in 25 words or less.
00:08:51.63\00:08:55.76
And I went "Wow!"
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You know, man,
Bobby needed Jesus.
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He was called "el
terror del barrio."
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of the neighborhood.
00:09:07.21\00:09:08.54
Goodness.
00:09:08.58\00:09:09.91
Because Bobby
was the type of guy
00:09:09.94\00:09:11.28
that would stand in the shadows.
00:09:11.31\00:09:12.85
He was a heroin addict.
00:09:12.88\00:09:14.32
And he would
take whatever you had.
00:09:14.35\00:09:16.18
He'd bash your brains
out. He'd bash your brains out.
00:09:16.22\00:09:18.09
And so when I heard his story,
I said "Wow, that's good."
00:09:18.12\00:09:20.92
And he was
redeemed. And he was redeemed.
00:09:20.96\00:09:23.29
Then I heard
another young man, who,
00:09:23.32\00:09:25.93
his father is a judge
and his mom is a doctor.
00:09:25.96\00:09:30.37
Grew up in a very
upscale, we call it the
00:09:30.40\00:09:32.90
"Beverly Hills of East
L.A.," Montebello, California.
00:09:32.93\00:09:35.54
Yeah.
00:09:35.57\00:09:36.91
And he grew up, and
when he got up to speak,
00:09:36.94\00:09:39.07
I said "Man, I've heard some
heavy stories over the two...
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What's Bobb-- What's
Chuck Bayo gonna say?
00:09:42.21\00:09:44.65
What's he gonna say?"
00:09:44.68\00:09:46.01
This kid, he's had
it all, all his life.
00:09:46.05\00:09:48.38
And he simply said,
00:09:48.42\00:09:49.75
"You know, I grew
up pretty well-to-do.
00:09:49.78\00:09:52.52
Both parents doing well."
00:09:52.55\00:09:55.59
He says, "But it doesn't matter
00:09:55.62\00:09:56.96
what spectrum of
life you come from.
00:09:56.99\00:09:58.99
If Christ is not
the center of it,
00:09:59.03\00:10:01.36
you're not living at all.
00:10:01.40\00:10:02.96
Every day is another
step closer to death."
00:10:03.00\00:10:04.97
What were you thinking?
00:10:05.00\00:10:06.33
I didn't...
00:10:06.37\00:10:07.97
I really wasn't
thinking, Doctor.
00:10:08.00\00:10:09.90
I was being bombarded
by these real life stories,
00:10:09.94\00:10:13.27
living proof that my
friends, guys that I knew,
00:10:13.31\00:10:17.25
were not like they used to be.
00:10:17.28\00:10:19.85
Eventually, this crazy preacher
from National City, California,
00:10:19.88\00:10:25.92
who was just doing a
little prison ministry there
00:10:25.95\00:10:28.39
with a couple of his boys.
00:10:28.42\00:10:29.76
They drove down.
00:10:29.79\00:10:31.13
They heard the band playing,
00:10:31.16\00:10:32.49
so they came over
to the auditorium.
00:10:32.53\00:10:34.03
And one of the
guys recognized him,
00:10:34.06\00:10:35.90
his name was Kalki Duenas.
00:10:35.93\00:10:38.40
And they said,
00:10:38.43\00:10:39.77
"Kalki, you want to
make the altar call?"
00:10:39.80\00:10:42.67
And he agreed.
00:10:42.70\00:10:44.04
So he came out and he
just called all of the...
00:10:44.07\00:10:45.57
he called the sinners,
that we were experiencing.
00:10:45.61\00:10:49.18
And I'm including myself
now, in this group, right?
00:10:49.21\00:10:51.18
Yes, yes.
00:10:51.21\00:10:52.58
And that we're
experiencing the consequence
00:10:52.61\00:10:54.98
of our
disobedience and our rebellion.
00:10:55.02\00:10:58.85
You know, and we
deserve what we're getting.
00:10:58.89\00:11:02.12
And if it wasn't for
the grace of almighty God
00:11:02.16\00:11:05.23
and his unconditional
love, I wouldn't be here tonight
00:11:05.26\00:11:08.66
to tell you that
there is a way out.
00:11:08.70\00:11:10.70
So you went forward?
00:11:10.73\00:11:13.40
March 16, 1980. I
could not resist...
00:11:13.44\00:11:16.40
March 16, 1980?
00:11:16.44\00:11:18.04
1980.
00:11:18.07\00:11:19.41
Sunday night, about 8 o'clock.
00:11:19.44\00:11:21.34
You actually walked
down? I walked down.
00:11:21.38\00:11:23.65
I tried to get out
of that auditorium.
00:11:23.68\00:11:25.58
Yeah, go out the back.
00:11:25.61\00:11:26.95
But to no avail, even
though I got out the door.
00:11:26.98\00:11:29.42
Now somebody was
pulling you down.
00:11:29.45\00:11:30.95
I couldn't leave.
I could not leave.
00:11:30.99\00:11:32.72
That was the spirit of
God. It was the spirit of God.
00:11:32.75\00:11:34.86
We've seen that
many times, haven't we?
00:11:34.89\00:11:36.59
We have. He set me up.
00:11:36.62\00:11:38.73
It was a set up.
00:11:38.76\00:11:40.16
I believe that God
had March 16th, 1980,
00:11:40.20\00:11:43.03
circled on his
heavenly calendar.
00:11:43.06\00:11:44.73
Yeah, written
down from all eternity.
00:11:44.77\00:11:46.33
"At an appointed
time," says the Lord.
00:11:46.37\00:11:48.70
So you went down the front?
00:11:48.74\00:11:50.17
I went down front. I came--
00:11:50.21\00:11:51.54
What was going
through your mind?
00:11:51.57\00:11:53.04
I don't know because when--
00:11:53.07\00:11:57.21
I didn't know this happened.
00:11:57.25\00:11:58.68
Tony says that
when he looked around,
00:11:58.71\00:12:00.42
he saw me walking towards
00:12:00.45\00:12:02.12
the prisoners
and Kalki like this,
00:12:02.15\00:12:05.15
walking through the
audience with my hands up.
00:12:05.19\00:12:07.89
And I reached a point
00:12:07.92\00:12:09.26
where I just felt like
I couldn't walk anymore.
00:12:09.29\00:12:10.93
And I felt like I was being
00:12:10.96\00:12:15.06
punched in the stomach.
00:12:15.10\00:12:17.00
That's the way I felt.
00:12:17.03\00:12:18.37
I felt like somebody was
just punching me, you know.
00:12:18.40\00:12:21.30
And I could hear
myself inside, yelling, "God!
00:12:21.34\00:12:26.24
If you're real,
00:12:26.27\00:12:27.61
if what they're
saying about you,
00:12:27.64\00:12:29.31
Jesus, is true, do it for me.
00:12:29.34\00:12:32.11
But don't jump me off.
00:12:32.15\00:12:33.58
I need to know
that you're real."
00:12:33.62\00:12:35.82
And God did it for you.
00:12:35.85\00:12:37.19
I didn't even
know I was praying.
00:12:37.22\00:12:38.69
But God understood
the cry of my heart.
00:12:38.72\00:12:40.89
Was that the change that night?
00:12:40.92\00:12:42.89
That's when it
occurred, it occurred.
00:12:42.92\00:12:44.66
I went there, Dr. Carter,
with $250 a day heroin habit,
00:12:44.69\00:12:49.33
over $500 a day in
cocaine and alcohol abuse.
00:12:49.36\00:12:52.87
I was an abuser of every thing.
A lot of money for those times.
00:12:52.90\00:12:55.14
A lot of money, the
high times, I had it all.
00:12:55.17\00:12:58.21
And now you have
become a tremendous pastor
00:12:58.24\00:13:02.88
for the gangs of Los Angeles.
00:13:02.91\00:13:04.91
You go into places
I'd be scared to go.
00:13:04.95\00:13:09.58
And you go there
00:13:09.62\00:13:10.95
and you minister
to these young people
00:13:10.99\00:13:14.06
who are without hope and
without God in the world.
00:13:14.09\00:13:17.46
But God, in 1980,
00:13:17.49\00:13:20.30
reached down His
hand and He touched you.
00:13:20.33\00:13:23.47
Yes. Yes, he did.
00:13:23.50\00:13:25.27
And by His grace, I've been able
00:13:25.30\00:13:28.40
to take the same
message that converted me,
00:13:28.44\00:13:31.57
that opened the
eyes of my understanding
00:13:31.61\00:13:35.01
to the grace of God.
00:13:35.04\00:13:36.68
We'll be back after this break.
00:13:36.71\00:13:38.78
We're gonna talk about
the gangs of Los Angeles.
00:13:38.81\00:13:41.28
God has his time and
his place for everything.
00:13:43.99\00:13:49.32
And the time and the place now
00:13:49.36\00:13:52.23
is Latin
America, including Cuba.
00:13:52.26\00:13:56.36
Time magazine talks about
00:13:56.40\00:13:58.50
the second
Protestant Reformation
00:13:58.53\00:14:01.54
and describes how
hundreds of thousands,
00:14:01.57\00:14:05.01
even millions of Latinos
00:14:05.04\00:14:07.88
are coming to
the Gospel of Christ.
00:14:07.91\00:14:11.65
I'm not an armchair theologian.
00:14:11.68\00:14:14.22
I'm speaking
according to experience.
00:14:14.25\00:14:16.89
I have seen it with my own eyes.
00:14:16.92\00:14:20.56
Recently, we went
down to El Salvador.
00:14:20.59\00:14:24.69
There I spoke in the
largest football stadium
00:14:24.73\00:14:29.60
in Central America
00:14:29.63\00:14:30.97
with the biggest crowd
that that football stadium
00:14:31.00\00:14:32.63
had ever, ever seen.
00:14:32.67\00:14:34.74
They came not to
see a football match
00:14:34.77\00:14:37.74
but to hear about
the blood of Christ.
00:14:37.77\00:14:41.14
Millions are coming
to a knowledge of God
00:14:41.18\00:14:44.25
in Latin America.
00:14:44.28\00:14:46.85
Doors are opening in Cuba.
00:14:46.88\00:14:50.22
Who knows, we may
be going to Cuba soon.
00:14:50.25\00:14:54.02
As the doors open,
by the grace of God
00:14:54.06\00:14:57.36
we are going to
step through those doors.
00:14:57.39\00:15:00.56
And we want you to step
through those doors with us
00:15:00.60\00:15:04.77
and be part of our team
for such a time as this.
00:15:04.80\00:15:09.10
Please write to me,
friend. Don't put it off.
00:15:09.14\00:15:11.57
Write to me,
00:15:11.61\00:15:12.94
John Carter,
post office box 1900,
00:15:12.97\00:15:16.61
Thousand Oaks, California 91358.
00:15:16.64\00:15:20.55
In Australia,
write to me at Terrigal,
00:15:20.58\00:15:23.65
New South Wales.
00:15:23.69\00:15:25.95
Be part of the
second Reformation.
00:15:25.99\00:15:29.62
Join us and see
the miracles of God.
00:15:29.66\00:15:34.26
Amen.
00:15:34.30\00:15:36.03
Welcome back to
The Carter Report.
00:15:45.04\00:15:47.04
My guest today is a man of God
00:15:47.08\00:15:49.78
who works on the streets
of Los Angeles with the gangs.
00:15:49.81\00:15:54.68
He goes to
places you wouldn't go,
00:15:54.72\00:15:57.29
and I wouldn't go.
00:15:57.32\00:15:59.15
But he goes there
because God takes him there.
00:15:59.19\00:16:02.26
God protects him.
00:16:02.29\00:16:03.73
Pastor Garcia,
00:16:03.76\00:16:05.86
you were telling us how in 1980,
00:16:05.89\00:16:08.86
you went down the front,
00:16:08.90\00:16:10.23
there were a bunch
of prisoners there.
00:16:10.27\00:16:12.37
You weren't one
of those prisoners,
00:16:12.40\00:16:13.87
but it was being held
on one of those places.
00:16:13.90\00:16:15.90
Yes.
00:16:15.94\00:16:17.27
And there was an
old-fashioned preacher,
00:16:17.31\00:16:19.34
and he made an altar call.
00:16:19.37\00:16:21.61
And you felt as
though your heart
00:16:21.64\00:16:23.55
was gonna be
pulled out of your chest.
00:16:23.58\00:16:25.11
Yes. You went down the front.
00:16:25.15\00:16:27.62
You want to tell us
something about that.
00:16:27.65\00:16:29.45
Doctor, I realized that
night that I was more locked up.
00:16:29.48\00:16:34.52
I was more
incarcerated than the men
00:16:34.56\00:16:37.13
that were doing
time in that prison.
00:16:37.16\00:16:38.53
Yeah, the men in
the jackets. Yeah.
00:16:38.56\00:16:40.03
I looked around at their faces
00:16:40.06\00:16:42.16
and they seemed to
have a sense of hope.
00:16:42.20\00:16:44.80
Yes.
00:16:44.83\00:16:46.17
And they had a
good sense of hope
00:16:46.20\00:16:47.54
because one day
they will be paroled.
00:16:47.57\00:16:48.90
Yes.
00:16:48.94\00:16:50.27
One day they'll
receive probation.
00:16:50.31\00:16:51.64
They'll get a green slip.
00:16:51.67\00:16:53.01
Their name will be called
00:16:53.04\00:16:54.38
and they'll step out of
the gate of that penitentiary
00:16:54.41\00:16:56.14
and they'll sense freedom.
00:16:56.18\00:16:58.21
Did you know, somebody said,
00:16:58.25\00:17:00.08
"The death of hope always
leads to the hope for death"?
00:17:00.12\00:17:03.65
That's right.
00:17:03.69\00:17:05.02
And if you don't
have hope in your soul,
00:17:05.05\00:17:06.59
a lot of people out there
00:17:06.62\00:17:07.96
haven't got any
hope in their souls.
00:17:07.99\00:17:09.72
But if you don't
have hope in your soul,
00:17:09.76\00:17:11.59
you're gonna come to the place
where you're gonna want to die.
00:17:11.63\00:17:14.23
Well, you know, my
hope was in this band
00:17:14.26\00:17:16.60
and being able to
sing with this band.
00:17:16.63\00:17:17.97
Yeah.
00:17:18.00\00:17:19.33
But that night, I
heard a message of hope.
00:17:19.37\00:17:21.90
That "God so loved the world
00:17:21.94\00:17:23.84
that He gave His
only begotten Son.
00:17:23.87\00:17:25.77
That whosoever would
believe in Him would not perish,
00:17:25.81\00:17:29.14
but have everlasting life."
00:17:29.18\00:17:30.75
And God better, 'cause He said,
00:17:30.78\00:17:32.51
"For God did not send His Son
00:17:32.55\00:17:33.98
into the world to
condemn the world,
00:17:34.02\00:17:36.65
but that through His Son,
the world might be saved."
00:17:36.69\00:17:40.26
Those words penetrated my heart.
00:17:40.29\00:17:42.92
I lived under
condemnation all my life.
00:17:42.96\00:17:44.96
I was guilty.
00:17:44.99\00:17:46.33
You can remember
that night, can't you?
00:17:46.36\00:17:47.70
I can remember that night.
00:17:47.73\00:17:49.06
I remember those two scriptures
00:17:49.10\00:17:50.87
as if they were
recited to me on a daily basis.
00:17:50.90\00:17:52.93
John, chapter three. Yes.
00:17:52.97\00:17:54.74
John 3:16-17,
00:17:54.77\00:17:57.57
those two scriptures stayed
with me from that day forward.
00:17:57.61\00:18:00.41
The Word of God is
with power, is it not?
00:18:00.44\00:18:02.71
Yes, it is.
00:18:02.74\00:18:04.08
The Word of God is
alive. And it's powerful.
00:18:04.11\00:18:06.68
It's sharper than
any two-edged sword.
00:18:06.72\00:18:08.72
It penetrates to the division
of the soul, the spirit,
00:18:08.75\00:18:11.82
and the joints and the marrow.
00:18:11.85\00:18:13.19
And it's a
discerner of the thoughts
00:18:13.22\00:18:14.79
and the intents of the heart.
00:18:14.82\00:18:16.46
You can see why
God uses this man,
00:18:16.49\00:18:18.73
because he's filled
with the Word of God
00:18:18.76\00:18:20.46
and filled with the Holy Spirit.
00:18:20.50\00:18:22.63
Where did your path
take you after this?
00:18:22.66\00:18:25.37
Well, it led me to church.
Where do I go after this?
00:18:25.40\00:18:29.60
What do I do after
this? I had no idea.
00:18:29.64\00:18:32.71
And my whole concept of church,
being brought up traditionally,
00:18:32.74\00:18:37.71
was not the type of
church I wanted to return to.
00:18:37.75\00:18:41.05
No.
00:18:41.08\00:18:42.42
You know, and so God
used my musician friends.
00:18:42.45\00:18:45.65
They called me.
00:18:45.69\00:18:47.02
They hounded me,
uh, for a whole week.
00:18:47.06\00:18:49.92
Come to church. I got
saved on a Sunday night.
00:18:49.96\00:18:52.49
Yes. And so what do you Monday?
00:18:52.53\00:18:55.63
Monday morning, I woke up.
00:18:55.66\00:18:57.40
There's the challenge.
00:18:57.43\00:18:58.77
And my routine was to
kick my legs out of bed,
00:18:58.80\00:19:04.24
open my drawer, get my wake up,
00:19:04.27\00:19:07.68
just enough to kind of get you--
00:19:07.71\00:19:09.04
What would wake
you up? What was it?
00:19:09.08\00:19:10.41
Just a quarter gram of heroin.
00:19:10.45\00:19:12.51
Of heroin? Yeah.
00:19:12.55\00:19:13.88
You'd start the day with heroin?
00:19:13.92\00:19:15.25
I would start the day with that.
00:19:15.28\00:19:16.62
And that would get you going?
00:19:16.65\00:19:17.99
And that would get me going.
00:19:18.02\00:19:19.35
A little cocaine.
00:19:19.39\00:19:20.72
Oh, goodness.
00:19:20.76\00:19:22.09
You know, a double cognac.
00:19:22.12\00:19:23.46
That was my routine.
00:19:23.49\00:19:25.79
Roll about 20 joints,
stick them in my pocket.
00:19:25.83\00:19:28.33
You know, the Gospel saved you.
00:19:28.36\00:19:29.73
Because you look so good.
00:19:29.76\00:19:32.27
I'm telling you,
you look so good.
00:19:32.30\00:19:33.84
I'll tell you.
00:19:33.87\00:19:35.20
You know, if this
hadn't happened to you,
00:19:35.24\00:19:37.51
you would have
been dead years ago.
00:19:37.54\00:19:39.01
I'd be dead.
00:19:39.04\00:19:40.91
I'd be in prison or
in an insane asylum.
00:19:40.94\00:19:44.48
That's where I would be.
But not three at the same time?
00:19:44.51\00:19:46.51
Not all three.
00:19:46.55\00:19:48.98
Now tell me about
some of the areas in L.A.
00:19:49.02\00:19:55.02
where you can
go, where I can't go.
00:19:55.06\00:19:57.99
Well, I go right into
00:19:58.03\00:19:59.49
the barrios of East LA, Moravia.
00:19:59.53\00:20:02.63
Into what?
00:20:02.66\00:20:04.00
The neighborhoods.
00:20:04.03\00:20:05.40
And what did you just call it?
00:20:05.43\00:20:06.77
Barrios. Oh, barrios.
00:20:06.80\00:20:08.27
Yes, into the barrios.
00:20:08.30\00:20:09.90
I'm getting good on my Spanish.
00:20:09.94\00:20:11.27
Yes, you are. And-- So
you go into the barrios.
00:20:11.31\00:20:13.41
I go into the
barrios where they hang out,
00:20:13.44\00:20:15.38
where they play
handball, you know, where we--
00:20:15.41\00:20:18.15
Is that rough?
00:20:18.18\00:20:19.71
Yeah, it's rough.
00:20:19.75\00:20:21.08
It's rough. It's a rough life.
00:20:21.12\00:20:23.55
It's-- you see groups of people
00:20:23.59\00:20:27.99
confined to a four-block area.
00:20:28.02\00:20:30.66
That's their neighborhood.
00:20:30.69\00:20:32.03
Why do you say they're
confined to a four-block area?
00:20:32.06\00:20:33.40
Because they're afraid to
go out of their own territory.
00:20:33.43\00:20:37.23
They have enemies.
00:20:37.27\00:20:39.23
They can't go
out of four blocks?
00:20:39.27\00:20:41.10
They can, but it's
dangerous for them.
00:20:41.14\00:20:43.71
Yeah, they may not come back.
00:20:43.74\00:20:45.07
They may not come back.
00:20:45.11\00:20:46.44
And nowadays, it doesn't matter.
00:20:46.47\00:20:47.84
They'll come
into your neighborhood
00:20:47.88\00:20:49.21
if they want you bad enough.
00:20:49.24\00:20:51.11
Your enemies will
come looking for you.
00:20:51.15\00:20:53.01
And they carry guns?
00:20:53.05\00:20:54.38
They carry guns,
knives, you name it.
00:20:54.42\00:20:56.18
And I'm told there's more
than a 100,000 gang members.
00:20:56.22\00:20:59.15
Those stats, the ones that--
00:20:59.19\00:21:01.29
And I looked them up last night.
00:21:01.32\00:21:04.03
The stats that we have,
00:21:04.06\00:21:05.43
the most recent
stats are from 2005.
00:21:05.46\00:21:08.40
I think it's
escalated to the point
00:21:08.43\00:21:10.83
where even the statisticians
can't keep up with the rate
00:21:10.87\00:21:14.84
of the numbers of individuals
that are joining gangs.
00:21:14.87\00:21:18.84
When you go into
these neighborhoods
00:21:18.87\00:21:21.41
where it's tough,
and rough, and dangerous,
00:21:21.44\00:21:25.08
why do they let you in?
00:21:25.11\00:21:26.68
My reputation with
the Midniters precedes me.
00:21:26.72\00:21:30.25
I made friends with a
lot of people over the years,
00:21:30.29\00:21:33.46
you know, at
weddings, at backyard parties.
00:21:33.49\00:21:37.36
So lot of the
guys, they know me.
00:21:37.39\00:21:39.33
The gang members
know you? They know me.
00:21:39.36\00:21:41.36
They've inherited their
parent's record collections.
00:21:41.40\00:21:46.74
And so-- And they respect you?
00:21:46.77\00:21:48.27
They do. They do.
00:21:48.30\00:21:50.01
And I respect them.
00:21:50.04\00:21:51.47
You respect them? Yes.
00:21:51.51\00:21:52.91
And that's the key,
isn't it, one of the keys?
00:21:52.94\00:21:54.28
Yes, it is.
00:21:54.31\00:21:55.74
Because they're
made in the image of God.
00:21:55.78\00:21:57.25
You know, that's
interesting, Doctor,
00:21:57.28\00:21:59.98
because, you know,
there are no sides.
00:22:00.02\00:22:02.02
There are no
enemies where we come from.
00:22:02.05\00:22:04.45
No.
00:22:04.49\00:22:05.82
Because we've been
called to embrace everyone.
00:22:05.85\00:22:07.82
Yes, we've been redeemed.
00:22:07.86\00:22:09.19
God embraces everyone,
and that's the message.
00:22:09.22\00:22:11.49
And we're all
sinners. We're all sinners.
00:22:11.53\00:22:13.29
All in need of grace. Yes, yes.
00:22:13.33\00:22:15.26
We've all fallen short.
00:22:15.30\00:22:16.63
So you go into an area
where it's rough and tough.
00:22:16.67\00:22:20.37
Yes.
00:22:20.40\00:22:21.74
They've got guns
and they got knives.
00:22:21.77\00:22:25.27
What do you do?
00:22:25.31\00:22:27.18
Well, first I'll get permission.
00:22:27.21\00:22:30.78
I'll call someone that I know...
00:22:30.81\00:22:32.15
That's a good move.
00:22:32.18\00:22:33.52
And I tell them,
00:22:33.55\00:22:34.88
"Eh, is it okay if I come down?"
00:22:34.92\00:22:36.82
You know, and they'll
say "Well, yeah, come on."
00:22:36.85\00:22:38.99
You know, and then I always take
00:22:39.02\00:22:40.36
a little boom box
with me, you know.
00:22:40.39\00:22:42.62
And I take my tracks--
00:22:42.66\00:22:44.83
So you're gonna do some singing?
00:22:44.86\00:22:46.19
Oh, I'll go, I'll go
00:22:46.23\00:22:47.56
right where there
are at and I'll sing.
00:22:47.60\00:22:50.57
That's how I get
them to come-- What?
00:22:50.60\00:22:51.93
On the street or in the house?
00:22:51.97\00:22:53.47
I'll borrow if I need to.
00:22:53.50\00:22:55.00
I'll take an extension
cord and borrow electricity
00:22:55.04\00:22:57.87
from one of the neighbors.
00:22:57.91\00:22:59.67
And we'll set up right there.
00:22:59.71\00:23:01.04
When you borrow it,
do you ever give it back?
00:23:01.08\00:23:03.31
You're not exactly borrowing.
00:23:03.35\00:23:06.38
Okay, you
borrow the electricity.
00:23:06.41\00:23:08.18
Yes.
00:23:08.22\00:23:09.55
You set up a boom
box, and you start to sing.
00:23:09.58\00:23:11.92
And I start to sing.
00:23:11.95\00:23:13.29
And I sing songs
that they remember me by.
00:23:13.32\00:23:15.96
That's the hook.
00:23:15.99\00:23:17.33
And so they come to the meeting.
00:23:17.36\00:23:18.69
Yes.
00:23:18.73\00:23:20.06
I can't change my testimony,
00:23:20.10\00:23:21.43
so I use the
songs that helped shape
00:23:21.46\00:23:23.06
who I've become to draw them--
00:23:23.10\00:23:25.20
Do you quote scripture?
00:23:25.23\00:23:26.57
Yes, I do. Yes, I do.
00:23:26.60\00:23:28.10
Do you talk about Christ?
00:23:28.14\00:23:29.47
I certainly do.
00:23:29.50\00:23:30.84
And what do they do
when they hear this?
00:23:30.87\00:23:32.77
You know, out of
reverence, they listen.
00:23:32.81\00:23:35.88
They listen out of
reverence. Out of respect.
00:23:35.91\00:23:38.05
They all have this,
00:23:38.08\00:23:41.18
I really do
believe, a fear of God.
00:23:41.22\00:23:42.92
Yes, they do.
00:23:42.95\00:23:44.29
Because, you know,
I'll see some of them.
00:23:44.32\00:23:45.99
You know, as
soon as I mention God
00:23:46.02\00:23:47.46
or I mention Jesus--
00:23:47.49\00:23:49.06
In their souls.
00:23:49.09\00:23:50.43
The interesting
thing is they do things
00:23:50.46\00:23:53.53
that I never ask them to do.
00:23:53.56\00:23:55.73
Like when I asked
them, "Can I pray for you?"
00:23:55.76\00:23:58.83
They'll kneel
down. They'll kneel down.
00:23:58.87\00:24:00.64
I've never asked any of them.
00:24:00.67\00:24:02.27
There are some Anglo churches
00:24:02.30\00:24:03.64
where people don't
kneel down anymore.
00:24:03.67\00:24:05.01
Exactly.
00:24:05.04\00:24:06.37
You know, they're too
righteous to kneel down.
00:24:06.41\00:24:07.74
And they kneel
down. They kneel down.
00:24:07.78\00:24:09.11
And out of respect for who I am,
00:24:09.14\00:24:12.08
who they know me to be,
00:24:12.11\00:24:14.55
and now they're
getting acquainted
00:24:14.58\00:24:16.38
with this new creation.
00:24:16.42\00:24:19.05
And so I share with them,
from the bottom of my heart,
00:24:19.09\00:24:22.12
the two scriptures.
00:24:22.16\00:24:23.49
You put your arm around them?
00:24:23.53\00:24:24.86
Oh, I embrace them.
00:24:24.89\00:24:26.26
I mean, I love them.
00:24:26.29\00:24:28.06
I want them to
feel the love of God.
00:24:28.10\00:24:30.23
We're talking here
about men and women?
00:24:30.27\00:24:31.80
Men and women.
And their little kids?
00:24:31.83\00:24:33.44
Men, grown men,
00:24:33.47\00:24:34.80
with big
moustaches, and tattoos,
00:24:34.84\00:24:37.37
and muscular men, who--
00:24:37.41\00:24:39.91
They've got inside, they've
got a soul, haven't they?
00:24:39.94\00:24:41.84
You know-- It's
crying out for God.
00:24:41.88\00:24:43.45
We're all amazed
00:24:43.48\00:24:44.81
that when we see an
individual like that
00:24:44.85\00:24:46.85
begin to weep.
00:24:46.88\00:24:48.22
And you see this? And I see it.
00:24:48.25\00:24:49.78
And God has used me
in a tremendous way.
00:24:49.82\00:24:51.79
I don't take it lightly.
00:24:51.82\00:24:53.25
I go into the
prisons and I do the same.
00:24:53.29\00:24:55.16
You go into prisons in L.A.?
00:24:55.19\00:24:56.52
I go into the
prisons in Los Ang--
00:24:56.56\00:24:57.99
all over, all
over, wherever I can.
00:24:58.03\00:25:00.83
'Cause that's tough, isn't
it? The prisons of America.
00:25:00.86\00:25:02.50
It is. It is.
00:25:02.53\00:25:03.87
God did something
very interesting for me.
00:25:03.90\00:25:05.90
When I got saved, uh, a
young man in our church,
00:25:05.93\00:25:09.57
he invited me to go with him
00:25:09.60\00:25:10.94
to the
California Youth Authority,
00:25:10.97\00:25:13.11
Fred Stein Allison,
Whittier, California.
00:25:13.14\00:25:15.71
And I went with him.
00:25:15.74\00:25:17.75
He was doing Bible
studies on the cottages.
00:25:17.78\00:25:20.28
And he'd go there
early in the morning.
00:25:20.32\00:25:21.98
He would stay there all day.
00:25:22.02\00:25:23.99
And I started going with him.
00:25:24.02\00:25:25.69
And I did that for four years.
00:25:25.72\00:25:27.92
One day, the superintendent
and the volunteer coordinator
00:25:27.96\00:25:31.49
invited us into their
office and they asked us
00:25:31.53\00:25:36.06
if we would like to get
paid for what we're doing.
00:25:36.10\00:25:39.57
And I told them
"Well, I don't know.
00:25:39.60\00:25:41.04
What do you mean by that?"
00:25:41.07\00:25:42.40
And they said that
00:25:42.44\00:25:43.84
they had noticed
a change in the boys
00:25:43.87\00:25:46.71
that we had been meeting with.
00:25:46.74\00:25:48.28
The Bible talks about it.
00:25:48.31\00:25:50.28
It says the Gospel is the
power of God into salvation,
00:25:50.31\00:25:53.78
'cause everyone who believes,
00:25:53.82\00:25:55.52
to the Jew first and
also to the Gentiles.
00:25:55.55\00:25:58.39
To the Gentiles, yes.
00:25:58.42\00:26:00.06
For in the
Gospel of righteousness,
00:26:00.09\00:26:02.52
from God is revealed
that it's from faith to faith.
00:26:02.56\00:26:05.73
Yes, it is. God has used you.
00:26:05.76\00:26:07.86
God has led you.
God has blessed you.
00:26:07.90\00:26:10.73
God brought you out of darkness
into His marvelous light.
00:26:10.77\00:26:14.20
And in your
body is a warm heart,
00:26:14.24\00:26:20.64
and people can sense it.
00:26:20.68\00:26:23.01
They know that you are
in the presence of God.
00:26:23.04\00:26:27.05
And that is why these
gang members turn to you.
00:26:27.08\00:26:33.02
And we need to pray
that we're going to see
00:26:33.05\00:26:35.42
a mighty movement of God
00:26:35.46\00:26:37.36
among these gang
members in Los Angeles
00:26:37.39\00:26:41.06
as we have already
started to see in El Salvador,
00:26:41.10\00:26:44.33
'cause we were down
there baptizing them.
00:26:44.37\00:26:46.63
Yes. Glory be to God.
00:26:46.67\00:26:48.40
And when we preached with
all those gang members there,
00:26:48.44\00:26:51.04
we weren't afraid.
00:26:51.07\00:26:53.01
Because we were
in the hands of God,
00:26:53.04\00:26:56.01
just as you are
today, my friend,
00:26:56.04\00:26:57.81
if you believe in
the Gospel of Jesus.
00:26:57.85\00:27:00.58
My guest today has been a
very, very special person.
00:27:00.62\00:27:04.05
Pastor Willie Garcia,
00:27:04.09\00:27:06.82
once called Little
Willie of Thee Midniters,
00:27:06.86\00:27:12.13
famous musical group
in the United States here
00:27:12.16\00:27:16.23
that touched the
lives of millions of people.
00:27:16.26\00:27:19.47
But since those days,
00:27:19.50\00:27:21.27
Pastor Garcia has
been touching lives
00:27:21.30\00:27:24.04
through the Gospel of Christ.
00:27:24.07\00:27:26.57
I want to just thank you today.
00:27:26.61\00:27:27.94
You've blessed me
today. Thank you, Doctor.
00:27:27.98\00:27:29.88
You've blessed me today.
00:27:29.91\00:27:31.25
And you've blessed
our television crew.
00:27:31.28\00:27:32.61
You blessed The Carter Report.
00:27:32.65\00:27:34.48
Please write to me today.
00:27:34.52\00:27:36.32
John Carter,
post office box 1900,
00:27:36.35\00:27:38.82
Thousand Oaks, California 91358.
00:27:38.85\00:27:42.52
Write to me at
Terrigal in Australia.
00:27:42.56\00:27:45.09
And if you want
a copy of this DVD,
00:27:45.13\00:27:48.50
just stand with us in evangelism
00:27:48.53\00:27:51.07
and in the
preaching of the Gospel.
00:27:51.10\00:27:53.03
Thank you for joining us
today. And God bless you.
00:27:53.07\00:27:55.94
Yeah, your hope and your future
00:27:58.21\00:28:02.98
'Cause these are the plans
00:28:03.01\00:28:05.81
These are the plans
00:28:05.85\00:28:10.12
These are the plans
00:28:10.15\00:28:14.42
That's God's Word
00:28:14.46\00:28:17.36
Every promise is He And Amen
00:28:17.39\00:28:21.70
These are the plans
00:28:21.73\00:28:26.77
That I have For you
00:28:26.80\00:28:31.94
Thank you, Lord
00:28:36.48\00:28:40.92
Thank you, that you're
restorer of your people
00:28:40.95\00:28:45.92
These are the plans
00:28:45.95\00:28:50.63