I remember the first time
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I visited a
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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I didn't come to
listen to the preacher
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or listen to an evangelist.
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To tell you the truth, I
came to create such a ruckus
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that the police
would have to come
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and remove my
girlfriend and a friend of mine
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and I figured that way
they would never ask me
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to come to that church again.
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Stay tuned, I'll tell you
a little bit more about it.
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You know, God speaks to
us in three different ways.
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You may be you have
heard about this before
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but He speaks to us through
His written word the Bible.
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And another way God speaks to us
is through the things of nature.
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And then the third
way God speaks to us
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is through the book
of life experiences.
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In fact, I like to
think about the Book of Acts
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is still being written today.
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I've heard people say well,
you know, back in Bible times,
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well, brothers and sisters,
we still live in Bible times
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and the Book of Acts
is being written today.
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And as we talk about the
book of life experiences,
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I'm sure all of us can look back
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and we can see how God
has worked in our lives.
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In fact, I'd like to
think that God is working
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in the lives of
every single individual.
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Often times as we look back
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we can see like the mile
post markers along the way
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where God is actually led us
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and we can see how He worked
in different circumstances.
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A Bible verse for today
kind of goes along with that
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because I'm gonna be
sharing with you a little bit
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about how God has led in my life
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and often times I wonder,
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you know, why
should I share anything
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about how God's led in
my life, I'm nobody special.
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The same time as I've shared
with different people about
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what God has done
in my life they said,
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you know, I
really appreciate this.
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This really helps me
a lot and so I thought
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I would take the
time to share with you
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in this
presentation a little bit about
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how God has led in the
past and got us to the point
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where we are
today in the ministry
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and in my life in particular.
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Like I say I'm nobody special.
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I ask myself what in the
world am I even doing here?
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But here I am and
here I am to share with you
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what God has done.
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You look in the
scriptures in Romans 7:22-24
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is a verse that I have
read over and over again
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through my experiences
in becoming a Christian
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and I couldn't help
it to relate with this.
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It says, "For I
delight in the law of God
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after the inward man,
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but I see
another law in my members
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warring against
the law of my mind,
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bringing me into
captivity to the law of sin
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which is in my members.
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O wretched man that I am!
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Who shall deliver me
from this body of death?"
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I'm sure a lot of
you can relate to that.
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In one hand you
know what's right
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and on the other hand you have
this tug going on in your life.
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It's pulling you in
a different direction
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and you cry out to
God, O wretched man,
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who will save me
from this body of death?
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You know, really a lot of people
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are looking for
spiritual realities,
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deep down inside,
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yeah, even kids are
looking for spiritual realities.
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I know when I was a kid I
was believing in God and--
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well, I'm talking
about being a kid,
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I'm talking about being
four, five, six years old
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I believed in God.
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In fact I remember many
times laying down in my bed
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and praying that
kind of prayer that when,
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now I lay me down the sleep,
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I pray that
Lord, my soul to keep,
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you know how that prayer goes.
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But as I got older
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some significant
things started to happen.
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I remember when I
was about six years old
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I stood outside
in my parents house
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and I looked up to
the sky and I said,
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I don't believe You exist
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and I did believe
that with all my heart.
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It's kind of an unusual thing
maybe for a kid six-years-old
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to say that they
don't believe in God.
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But I gotten to the point,
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I'd seen so much by the
time I was six, seven years old
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that I was
completely turned off.
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I turned my back on God
and I basically said to myself
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I don't believe in God
and I'm just gonna go out
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and have a good time.
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But what was it
that turned me off?
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You know, I'll
tell you what it was.
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It was the hypocrisy
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that I often saw in
many different Christians.
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I remember in one of
my dad's best friends,
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his name was Bean.
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There was a Bean family and
they went to this one church
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and they had a
revival take place
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and they
invited our family to go
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and I'd never
gone to church much
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when I was a
kid and I went there
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and the revivalist was speaking
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and there was all
this excitement going on
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but the sad thing was is that
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at the end of
the revival meeting
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when the revivalist left,
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he left with my
dad's best friends mother.
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He abandoned two
boys and a father.
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And I just looked
at that and I thought,
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it's wrong, it's hypocrisy,
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I can't believe this man
was preaching in a church
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and then he took off
with this man's wife.
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And then our
next door neighbors,
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the exact same thing happened
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and this lady ran
off with a pastor.
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And as a little kid
just looking at this,
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I was thinking to myself,
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you know, this is
just a bunch of hypocrisy
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and then to top it off
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I remember turning on
the TV on Sunday morning
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and there was these
television evangelists.
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Of course I need to
be a little bit careful
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as I talk about this
because I'm on television
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but I'm just trying
to be real with you.
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I turned the television and
looked at the TV evangelists
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and I would think, you know,
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these guys are
bunch of hypocrites.
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You know, and I was
just young boy watching this
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and I honestly can say
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that I don't really necessarily
believe that completely now
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because I
looked at these people,
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I thought to myself,
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a lot of these people
are just out after money
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and they are simply
out after trying to control
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and manipulate people.
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And so I basically wrote God off
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and I said I don't
want to have anything
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to do with Christianity.
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I don't want to have anything
to do with religion at all.
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I remember riding
my bike as a young boy.
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And you know, as
you're going through life
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you can see all these
different things happen
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and you start
putting these pieces together
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and those pieces can
be for good or for bad
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but I remember riding my bike
and I had this favorite place,
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there was all
these sidewalks around,
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all these really
cool looking buildings
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and there was these
statues and turns out
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that this was a big
catholic church complex
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and they had a big
statue of the Virgin Mary there
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and some rectory and a
school and a big huge church.
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And the
interesting thing was is that,
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one day when I
was riding my bike
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and I was flying around
on these different trails
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I stopped and I noticed
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that there was a whole
line of big black cars parked.
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And I was thinking to myself,
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oh, these look like mafia
cars or something, you know.
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And then I rode my
bike a little further
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and I put on the brakes and
I looked into this open door
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and I saw a bunch
of men dressed in black
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and I thought
that's kind of strange
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and I was kind
of looking in there
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and these men
were smoking cigars
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and they were drinking whisky
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and then I
realized this is the church,
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those are religious men
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and it was just another one
to those things along life's way
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that just really tuned me off
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to wanting to have anything
to do with Christianity,
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just didn't seem right.
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You know, all
of us are searching
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for some kind of identity.
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Everybody wants to be
somebody as the old song goes,
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we all have our role models,
we in a sense all wearing mask
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and we want to deal
with our insecurities
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by hiding behind our masks.
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Young people often times
and probably very guilty of that
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but as adults we're
pretty good at doing that too,
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you know, putting on our mask
and pretending to be something
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and it's the way they make
us feel better of ourselves,
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you know, if we can
look good to other people
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or we can model somebody
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and fit into a
certain type of way
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people respect a
certain individual
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and that way you can
feel good about yourself.
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And as a young kid I was dealing
with those insecurities too.
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I wanted to be somebody
and I was trying to decide,
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who will be role model?
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And I didn't have
a lot of role models
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but one thing I
did have was my father.
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And my father played music.
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In fact my dad used to play
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in the 3C camps
during the depression.
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He traveled
around with his guitar
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and played barn dances.
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He was raised playing music.
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I remember I was
just a toddler growing up
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between crawling
around and walking
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and crawling around between
my father's tip tapping toes
00:07:53.60\00:07:56.25
as he was playing
old Hank William songs
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and Marty Robbins and
some of these old songs
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and I started playing music
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when I was six
years old in fact.
00:08:02.55\00:08:05.18
In fact, the
very first instrument
00:08:05.21\00:08:06.71
I learned how to play
was this one right here.
00:08:06.74\00:08:08.98
This is called a
Supro slide steel guitar
00:08:09.01\00:08:12.99
and I was six years old
when I started playing this one.
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And lot of people may
be have never seen before.
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This is a Hawaiian steel
guitar or electric dobro.
00:08:17.72\00:08:21.53
But at the age of six
I got into playing that
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and then by the time I
was, oh, 11, 12 years old
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I became very serious
about wanting to be a musician.
00:08:28.70\00:08:32.65
And I tell you why I
wanted to be a musician.
00:08:32.68\00:08:35.00
Because in the 70s rock
stars where the ones who,
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it seemed to me had
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all the good
things happening for them.
00:08:41.12\00:08:42.66
I mean, after
all they had girls,
00:08:42.69\00:08:44.31
they had cars, they had drugs
and they didn't have to work,
00:08:44.34\00:08:47.42
all that he had
to do was play music.
00:08:47.45\00:08:48.77
And I was thinking to myself,
00:08:48.80\00:08:49.83
hey, what a way to
beat the system, you know.
00:08:49.86\00:08:53.18
Well, every young
man wants to be popular
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and to have money
and cars and girls
00:08:55.82\00:08:57.59
and that just seemed to be
the icon of who I wanted to be.
00:08:57.62\00:09:02.13
And so I pursued my dreams.
00:09:02.16\00:09:04.10
I pursued the cars.
00:09:04.13\00:09:05.19
In fact at one
time I had 13 old cars,
00:09:05.22\00:09:07.90
all pre 1940 cars,
some of them street rods,
00:09:07.93\00:09:10.26
some of them are
antiques and classics.
00:09:10.29\00:09:11.64
I got guitars.
00:09:11.67\00:09:12.70
I had amplifiers and
when I was at the age 17
00:09:12.73\00:09:16.36
I lived in a music store
00:09:16.39\00:09:17.83
and played in five different
bands at the same time.
00:09:17.86\00:09:20.53
You see I was achieving my goal,
00:09:20.56\00:09:22.97
yet, down inside
I was still empty
00:09:23.00\00:09:25.61
and I was in need of something.
00:09:25.64\00:09:28.87
Hey, I'll tell you what.
00:09:28.90\00:09:30.65
I was just been on
having a good time,
00:09:30.68\00:09:33.26
but was it in
all those good times?
00:09:33.29\00:09:37.35
Why is it that seems
like in all those good times
00:09:37.38\00:09:40.59
they always get ruined somehow?
00:09:40.62\00:09:44.57
You know, some
people have uffa expression.
00:09:44.60\00:09:47.34
Man, I had a really
good time last night
00:09:47.37\00:09:49.13
but I can't remember what I did.
00:09:49.16\00:09:51.04
What kind of a good
time is that you can remember
00:09:51.07\00:09:53.08
what you did the next day?
00:09:53.11\00:09:54.56
And then I remember one
time when I was a young boy,
00:09:54.59\00:09:56.51
and I was probably
about 15, 16 years old
00:09:56.54\00:09:59.49
I got into drugs pretty
heavy and staying out all night
00:09:59.52\00:10:02.63
and 3 o'clock
in the morning down
00:10:02.66\00:10:04.04
behind some old
buildings in the city
00:10:04.07\00:10:05.92
where I lived there was a guy
00:10:05.95\00:10:07.54
who was high on drugs
00:10:07.57\00:10:08.60
and pulled out a
big butcher knife
00:10:08.63\00:10:09.83
and he was gonna kill
us and I had a talking down
00:10:09.86\00:10:11.83
and take the
knife away from him.
00:10:11.86\00:10:13.25
You know, hey,
we were just trying
00:10:13.28\00:10:14.31
to have a good time, right.
00:10:14.34\00:10:15.97
And then there was the guy
that was in the back of van
00:10:16.00\00:10:18.03
that died from a drug overdose.
00:10:18.06\00:10:19.87
We had to take
him to the hospital
00:10:19.90\00:10:21.07
and they had to shock him
and bring him back to life.
00:10:21.10\00:10:22.96
But hey, you know, we were
just looking for a good time
00:10:22.99\00:10:26.63
and I had that opportunity
many times of talking down.
00:10:26.66\00:10:30.13
My friends they
were high on drugs,
00:10:30.16\00:10:31.46
they are freaking out
00:10:31.49\00:10:32.52
and may be they just
having a good time, right.
00:10:32.55\00:10:34.96
And then you had the
good time of your friends
00:10:34.99\00:10:36.59
breaking into your
car, into your apartment
00:10:36.62\00:10:38.38
and stealing things from you,
00:10:38.41\00:10:40.35
just having a good time.
00:10:40.38\00:10:42.62
One of my friends name Tex
00:10:42.65\00:10:44.17
and five of his
buddies were in a Volvo
00:10:44.20\00:10:45.78
and they were driving
down this road really fast
00:10:45.81\00:10:48.30
and they slammed into a tree
00:10:48.33\00:10:49.58
driving about 95
or 100 miles an hour,
00:10:49.61\00:10:52.49
three of the
men in that car died
00:10:52.52\00:10:54.21
in that tragic
accident and he broke 12 bones.
00:10:54.24\00:10:56.88
He was on
crunches for over two years
00:10:56.91\00:10:58.29
and had multiple surgeries.
00:10:58.32\00:10:59.40
But, hey, we were just
trying to have a good time.
00:10:59.43\00:11:02.98
You know, and then I can
think about all my friends
00:11:03.01\00:11:05.61
who some of them
died from drug overdoses,
00:11:05.64\00:11:08.26
they are mentally disabled
00:11:08.29\00:11:10.20
and from the
drugs they have taken
00:11:10.23\00:11:11.66
and they were just
trying to have a good time.
00:11:11.69\00:11:15.93
I had a incident
that just happened,
00:11:15.96\00:11:17.70
just actually
about two years ago.
00:11:17.73\00:11:19.41
I went and visited one
of my old musician friends.
00:11:19.44\00:11:21.57
You know, we're
getting up in our 40s now
00:11:21.60\00:11:23.70
and I stopped in a music store
00:11:23.73\00:11:25.08
where he worked
and his name is Pete.
00:11:25.11\00:11:27.52
And I said, hey, Pete,
00:11:27.55\00:11:28.81
I just want to
ask you a question.
00:11:28.84\00:11:30.75
So what happened
to Jeff so and so?
00:11:30.78\00:11:33.54
Oh, haven't you
heard he's in rehab.
00:11:33.57\00:11:35.58
Well, what happened
to so and so the drummer?
00:11:35.61\00:11:37.33
Oh, didn't you hear
he died of drug overdose.
00:11:37.36\00:11:39.48
Oh, what happened to so and so?
00:11:39.51\00:11:41.12
Oh, don't you
know, he's in rehab.
00:11:41.15\00:11:42.37
Well, what about this
girl used to sing in our band?
00:11:42.40\00:11:44.66
Oh, don't you
know she's in rehab.
00:11:44.69\00:11:46.33
And I looked at him and I said,
hey, Pete, how are you doing?
00:11:46.36\00:11:48.07
He said, hey, I quit drinking,
you know, a couple of years ago.
00:11:48.10\00:11:51.29
And I was thinking, you know,
00:11:51.32\00:11:52.71
I could have just been one
of those people on the list
00:11:52.74\00:11:54.76
if that's the
channel or direction
00:11:54.79\00:11:56.36
I would have just
kept going in my life.
00:11:56.39\00:11:58.41
And then I remembered
the story of the pastor's son
00:11:58.44\00:12:01.00
who ran into a bridge indictment
00:12:01.03\00:12:03.23
and he ended up in a
wheel chair, you know.
00:12:03.26\00:12:05.58
He's just trying
to have a good time.
00:12:05.61\00:12:07.51
You know, you stop and think
about it all this good time
00:12:07.54\00:12:09.54
that people are trying to have,
00:12:09.57\00:12:10.76
sometimes it's
just totally crazy.
00:12:10.79\00:12:14.09
You know, why is it that Satan
is a master at having us forget
00:12:14.12\00:12:18.85
about all these good times?
00:12:18.88\00:12:21.40
You know, for some
reason he's we're being lied to,
00:12:21.43\00:12:24.51
we're being
fooled in the thinking
00:12:24.54\00:12:26.47
that we're really
having a good time
00:12:26.50\00:12:27.75
when we were really miserable.
00:12:27.78\00:12:29.23
And yet we continue to pursue
it and pursue it and pursue it
00:12:29.26\00:12:33.15
and God is speaking
to our hearts saying hey,
00:12:33.18\00:12:35.08
there's a better way,
come this way and walk in it.
00:12:35.11\00:12:38.17
In fact in
Proverbs 4:19 it says,
00:12:38.20\00:12:40.20
"The way of the
wicked is as darkness,
00:12:40.23\00:12:43.11
they know not at
what they stumble."
00:12:43.14\00:12:45.66
And that's so true
because I know in my own life
00:12:45.69\00:12:47.87
I was stumbling through darkness
and I was trying to find answers
00:12:47.90\00:12:51.92
and at the same time
00:12:51.95\00:12:52.98
I was totally
turned off to Christianity,
00:12:53.01\00:12:54.74
I didn't want to have
anything to do with churianity
00:12:54.77\00:12:56.59
or Christianity or
anything like that.
00:12:56.62\00:12:59.06
And something
significant happened one time.
00:12:59.09\00:13:01.43
You see, my brother who
is five years older then me,
00:13:01.46\00:13:03.54
he met this gentlemen
who claimed to me warlock.
00:13:03.57\00:13:06.28
Now some of you maybe have
never heard of a warlock before,
00:13:06.31\00:13:09.06
but warlock is a man who
claims to be a male witch
00:13:09.09\00:13:12.31
and my brother
started whizzing with him,
00:13:12.34\00:13:14.28
he was quiet an elderly fellow
00:13:14.31\00:13:15.96
and he gave my
brother this old book
00:13:15.99\00:13:17.87
and he brought it to me and say,
00:13:17.90\00:13:18.93
hey, Jeff, check out this book
00:13:18.96\00:13:20.04
and I kind of
like antique things
00:13:20.07\00:13:21.49
and I was looking at it
and I was looking though it
00:13:21.52\00:13:23.95
and I see--
00:13:23.98\00:13:25.01
saw in this old book was
published about 1850s, 1860s.
00:13:25.04\00:13:29.25
As I was
flipping though the pages
00:13:29.28\00:13:30.56
I saw how you
could influence people,
00:13:30.59\00:13:32.65
you could have magic powers,
00:13:32.68\00:13:34.02
you could do out of
the body projection,
00:13:34.05\00:13:36.11
you could even
summons a spirit guy.
00:13:36.14\00:13:38.53
But, as I started
reading through this book,
00:13:38.56\00:13:41.04
you know, I talked to myself,
I have a bunch of hokey pokey,
00:13:41.07\00:13:43.55
you know, it's not
anything truth of this.
00:13:43.58\00:13:45.02
I don't believe in a God,
I don't believe in a devil,
00:13:45.05\00:13:46.67
I don't believe in spiritual,
00:13:46.70\00:13:47.73
but it was interesting
looking through this book.
00:13:47.76\00:13:50.10
And out of curiosity I
went into a bookstore one time
00:13:50.13\00:13:52.60
and I was looking around
00:13:52.63\00:13:53.66
and I saw this book
called a Satanic Bible
00:13:53.69\00:13:55.51
by Anton LaVey
and I stole the book,
00:13:55.54\00:13:57.97
I shoplifted it, I took
it and I was reading that.
00:13:58.00\00:14:00.57
Down inside I thought this is
just a bunch of monk you know.
00:14:00.60\00:14:04.01
And then one day I
decided to try and experiment.
00:14:04.04\00:14:08.27
In this experiment I
decided to do something
00:14:08.30\00:14:11.74
that was in this whole book.
00:14:11.77\00:14:13.34
And that experiment basically
to summons the spirit guide,
00:14:13.37\00:14:16.13
I thought that would be cool.
00:14:16.16\00:14:17.39
I would like to see one,
00:14:17.42\00:14:18.63
you know, some kind
of spirit guide appeared
00:14:18.66\00:14:20.25
and talked about how you can
go through this whole ceremony.
00:14:20.28\00:14:22.31
And I'm not gonna
tell you what I did
00:14:22.34\00:14:23.59
because I certainly
don't want to encourage
00:14:23.62\00:14:25.14
anybody to try this.
00:14:25.17\00:14:27.22
But it was the beginning
of an awakening for me that,
00:14:27.25\00:14:29.43
hey, may be
there's a possibility
00:14:29.46\00:14:31.81
that there is some kind
00:14:31.84\00:14:32.87
of spiritual
dimension in this world
00:14:32.90\00:14:33.93
that we're gonna have to
content with or deal with.
00:14:33.96\00:14:35.49
So I did this
thing, I made a circle
00:14:35.52\00:14:37.14
and I went through
this whole ceremony
00:14:37.17\00:14:38.99
and did some stuff.
00:14:39.02\00:14:40.09
You know, I
followed the prescription
00:14:40.12\00:14:42.20
and then finally
came the magic moment
00:14:42.23\00:14:44.25
where I sit down by the
circle and read this Latin chat.
00:14:44.28\00:14:47.56
You know, it's-- you're gonna go
00:14:47.59\00:14:51.17
through this mumble jumbo thing
00:14:51.20\00:14:52.71
and I sit there in suspense
and I watched and waited
00:14:52.74\00:14:55.56
and you know, what happened?
00:14:55.59\00:14:56.96
Nothing, nothing happened.
00:14:56.99\00:14:59.24
And I close the book
and I wiped the circle,
00:14:59.27\00:15:01.67
I talked to myself, it
was just a bunch of bunk,
00:15:01.70\00:15:03.79
you know, so silly.
00:15:03.82\00:15:05.46
It was fun to try
it and it was summer
00:15:05.49\00:15:07.60
and school was out and I
didn't have anything to do
00:15:07.63\00:15:10.80
and I went over and laid
down on my bed and took a nap.
00:15:10.83\00:15:14.18
In those days my hair
was down to my shoulders
00:15:14.21\00:15:16.46
and when I woke up I went over
00:15:16.49\00:15:17.97
and started combing
my hair in the mirror
00:15:18.00\00:15:19.85
and I was combing
my hair in the mirror,
00:15:19.88\00:15:21.39
I looked into the mirror
00:15:21.42\00:15:22.69
and all of a sudden
my face started to change
00:15:22.72\00:15:26.03
and there was somebody else
on the other side of that mirror
00:15:26.06\00:15:28.52
looking at me and I
turned and I looked away
00:15:28.55\00:15:31.22
and I looked again and
that same face was there.
00:15:31.25\00:15:33.64
And I turned and
looked away and I thought
00:15:33.67\00:15:34.86
what's happening
am I not awakened?
00:15:34.89\00:15:36.60
And I looked again and
that same face was there.
00:15:36.63\00:15:39.07
I ran out into the living room
00:15:39.10\00:15:40.45
and I looked
into this big mirror,
00:15:40.48\00:15:41.61
my parents had in
their living room.
00:15:41.64\00:15:42.77
I looked into the mirror
and that same face was there
00:15:42.80\00:15:46.54
and all of a sudden I had
my heart pounding in my chest,
00:15:46.57\00:15:49.66
I thought, you know,
what can I do I can't go
00:15:49.69\00:15:51.67
and tell my parents that hey,
00:15:51.70\00:15:52.79
I'm seeing a
strange face in the mirror.
00:15:52.82\00:15:54.82
I can't tell my
friends they would think
00:15:54.85\00:15:56.20
I was crazy and my
parents would probably send me
00:15:56.23\00:15:58.01
to some kind of
counseling or something.
00:15:58.04\00:15:59.95
So I didn't know what to
do and I just kept it secret.
00:15:59.98\00:16:03.83
And my brother
came to me and said,
00:16:03.86\00:16:05.22
you know, I've been having a
lot of weird things happening.
00:16:05.25\00:16:07.12
Have you been having
strange things happening?
00:16:07.15\00:16:08.57
I said yeah.
00:16:08.60\00:16:09.63
And I started talking to him
00:16:09.66\00:16:10.84
and we started
to comparing notes
00:16:10.87\00:16:12.16
and he told me
about how you know,
00:16:12.19\00:16:14.38
he would be in the bathroom
00:16:14.41\00:16:15.46
and all of a sudden
he would hear this sound
00:16:15.49\00:16:17.67
and he turn around the
hot water would be going,
00:16:17.70\00:16:19.69
full blast and he
hadn't turn it on.
00:16:19.72\00:16:21.75
And at night time I
would start having things,
00:16:21.78\00:16:23.28
well, my bed
would start bouncing
00:16:23.31\00:16:25.28
and all of a sudden
I came to a conclusion.
00:16:25.31\00:16:29.27
I realized that there
was a spiritual dimension,
00:16:29.30\00:16:32.38
a spiritual reality
that was beyond the physical.
00:16:32.41\00:16:35.08
You know, in a
sense I was kind of like
00:16:35.11\00:16:37.12
looking at from
the Star Wars approach.
00:16:37.15\00:16:38.97
You know, back in those days
because I didn't believe in God,
00:16:39.00\00:16:41.10
I didn't know
anything about the Bible
00:16:41.13\00:16:42.54
and it was basically that there
are forces of good and evil
00:16:42.57\00:16:46.65
that exists in this world.
00:16:46.68\00:16:47.86
There's unseen forces,
00:16:47.89\00:16:49.02
the spiritual
forces of good and evil
00:16:49.05\00:16:50.90
and they are contending
for the minds and souls of men.
00:16:50.93\00:16:55.95
And at that point
in my life I decided
00:16:55.98\00:16:57.68
that I needed to start
finding spiritual direction.
00:16:57.71\00:16:59.86
I needed to get
away this eclectic stuff.
00:16:59.89\00:17:01.76
I burned the Sanatic Bible
and I got rid of this old book
00:17:01.79\00:17:04.94
and I started looking through
ways to find to change my life
00:17:04.97\00:17:07.73
but you know, I'd said
I never be a Christian.
00:17:07.76\00:17:09.97
So I started looking
at different alternatives.
00:17:10.00\00:17:13.05
In fact, one of those
alternatives was Zen Buddhism.
00:17:13.08\00:17:16.72
And I was reading books
on Zen Buddhism, our new age.
00:17:16.75\00:17:19.50
I was in a rock n roll
band and driving nice old cars
00:17:19.53\00:17:22.36
and hey, that kind of went along
00:17:22.39\00:17:23.72
with the whole
hippy scene of the 1970s.
00:17:23.75\00:17:26.12
In fact we got into
this thing called I Ching.
00:17:26.15\00:17:27.87
Maybe you have heard of that,
00:17:27.90\00:17:28.93
it's the famous 5,000
year old book of changes,
00:17:28.96\00:17:31.45
where they claim to be--
00:17:31.48\00:17:32.60
they claim it to
be 5,000 years old.
00:17:32.63\00:17:34.20
You take the
sticks in the morning
00:17:34.23\00:17:35.67
and you throw
them down in the ground
00:17:35.70\00:17:36.76
and then you look
up how they landed
00:17:36.79\00:17:38.65
and a little
diagram in this book
00:17:38.68\00:17:40.42
and you can predict
your future for the day.
00:17:40.45\00:17:42.09
And of course we were practicing
things like Kundalini yoga.
00:17:42.12\00:17:45.33
But you know one thing
that was interesting is,
00:17:45.36\00:17:47.24
we are trying all
these different ways
00:17:47.27\00:17:49.50
of trying to find a
religious experience.
00:17:49.53\00:17:53.71
I found out that I
had no power over myself.
00:17:53.74\00:17:58.08
I still had a violent
temper. I would smash things.
00:17:58.11\00:18:00.50
I would get
arguments with my girlfriend.
00:18:00.53\00:18:02.63
We were still using drugs.
00:18:02.66\00:18:03.82
Of course these religions
didn't condemn the use of drugs.
00:18:03.85\00:18:06.81
In fact the whole
concept of being young
00:18:06.84\00:18:08.76
was to have a little
good and have a little bad
00:18:08.79\00:18:10.74
and mix them
together and find balance.
00:18:10.77\00:18:12.85
But I couldn't find any
kind of power in those things.
00:18:12.88\00:18:17.22
And so I turned
hesitantly to another source
00:18:17.25\00:18:22.05
and that was the Bible.
00:18:22.08\00:18:23.76
In fact, I asked myself,
00:18:23.79\00:18:24.93
could it be this book
that this book right here,
00:18:24.96\00:18:27.89
this Bible has
something in it to offer us
00:18:27.92\00:18:30.79
that we could actually find
power to overcome ourselves.
00:18:30.82\00:18:34.78
You know, and the
whole time I kept it secret
00:18:34.81\00:18:36.37
because I didn't want
any of my friends to say,
00:18:36.40\00:18:38.07
oh, Jeff, what are you doing,
00:18:38.10\00:18:39.13
becoming a Jesus
freak or something?
00:18:39.16\00:18:41.67
And I had such a hard
time understanding the Bible.
00:18:41.70\00:18:45.53
I would sit and
smoke a Marijuana cigarette
00:18:45.56\00:18:47.50
and I would read
the Book the Romans
00:18:47.53\00:18:48.81
and I was trying to figure
out what is Paul talking about,
00:18:48.84\00:18:50.86
with all these, these and thous
and I look at the Old Testament
00:18:50.89\00:18:53.77
and there was these
bigots and I'd close it
00:18:53.80\00:18:56.14
and I would just be so disgusted
00:18:56.17\00:18:57.39
because I couldn't
understand, you know,
00:18:57.42\00:18:59.52
what it was about and I tell you
00:18:59.55\00:19:00.81
what it's scary to
let other people know
00:19:00.84\00:19:03.09
that you're
interested in the Bible.
00:19:03.12\00:19:04.32
You know, why?
00:19:04.35\00:19:05.38
Because soon as you tell people
00:19:05.41\00:19:07.13
that you're
interested in the Bible,
00:19:07.16\00:19:08.69
you have-- I don't know
how many different Bible
00:19:08.72\00:19:11.53
believing
churches out there saying,
00:19:11.56\00:19:13.76
we have the truth follow us.
00:19:13.79\00:19:15.26
So do as we tell you and listen
00:19:15.29\00:19:16.90
to our
interpretation of the scriptures
00:19:16.93\00:19:18.47
and you will be saved.
00:19:18.50\00:19:19.72
And that kind of
turned me off too
00:19:19.75\00:19:21.05
because I figured you know,
00:19:21.08\00:19:22.11
if God really
existed that somehow
00:19:22.14\00:19:24.25
He would be able to speak
to my heart through His word.
00:19:24.28\00:19:27.47
And as I
continued reading the Bible
00:19:27.50\00:19:29.35
and looking at the
different books like--
00:19:29.38\00:19:31.21
I kind of looked at
the Book of Revelation
00:19:31.24\00:19:32.84
and the Book of Daniel,
00:19:32.87\00:19:33.90
it's was like the national
enquire of the scriptures.
00:19:33.93\00:19:36.43
And I just be honest with you.
00:19:36.46\00:19:38.33
There was a lot of times
I moved in with my sister
00:19:38.36\00:19:40.33
and there was lot of
times I would be in the basement
00:19:40.36\00:19:41.79
where I had a
recording studio set up
00:19:41.82\00:19:43.39
for playing music
and I'd get on my knees
00:19:43.42\00:19:46.21
and I would pray to
God and I would say God,
00:19:46.24\00:19:48.81
please don't give up on
me, don't give up on me.
00:19:48.84\00:19:51.19
I know that there this
forces of good and evil.
00:19:51.22\00:19:53.79
I know You must exist.
00:19:53.82\00:19:55.47
I'm trying to
find You but, Lord,
00:19:55.50\00:19:57.14
I know I'm not
overcoming things in my life
00:19:57.17\00:19:59.32
that I should overcome.
00:19:59.35\00:20:01.06
I know, I'm doing many things
00:20:01.09\00:20:02.33
that are wrong but
please don't give up on me,
00:20:02.36\00:20:04.91
don't take Your
Holy Spirit from me,
00:20:04.94\00:20:06.41
that was the other
prayer I used to pray
00:20:06.44\00:20:07.66
because I remember reading about
00:20:07.69\00:20:09.20
the work of the Holy
Spirit in the scriptures.
00:20:09.23\00:20:11.82
You know, life is like a road
00:20:11.85\00:20:13.84
with many
different signs along the way
00:20:13.87\00:20:16.09
and Christ is speaking
to each one of our hearts.
00:20:16.12\00:20:18.21
This is the way you walk in it
00:20:18.24\00:20:19.68
and I'm sure as
I was say earlier
00:20:19.71\00:20:21.28
if you look back in your life
00:20:21.31\00:20:22.96
and you look at the
different things that happened
00:20:22.99\00:20:26.27
you can see the mile
post markers along the way.
00:20:26.30\00:20:29.02
You can see the little signs
00:20:29.05\00:20:30.17
where you can see where God
was pointing you this direction
00:20:30.20\00:20:32.20
or bringing you
through experience
00:20:32.23\00:20:34.16
that was happening
over here to show you
00:20:34.19\00:20:37.18
that He was trying to guide you
to an understanding of truth.
00:20:37.21\00:20:40.93
You know, we
blindly stumble along
00:20:40.96\00:20:42.79
but as we look back we can see
00:20:42.82\00:20:44.95
that God is leading you
all this mixed up confusion.
00:20:44.98\00:20:47.55
He's trying to do what?
00:20:47.58\00:20:48.61
He's trying to bring
us to the light of truth.
00:20:48.64\00:20:51.99
And speaking of road signs,
00:20:52.02\00:20:53.29
I remember one
situation that happened.
00:20:53.32\00:20:55.24
I dated this girl when I started
00:20:55.27\00:20:56.62
becoming more
interested in the Bible.
00:20:56.65\00:20:58.48
I was playing in the
band and this girl was--
00:20:58.51\00:21:01.37
her family was a
Pentecostal Catholic
00:21:01.40\00:21:03.94
which I thought was interesting.
00:21:03.97\00:21:05.11
I never heard of
Pentecostal Catholics before
00:21:05.14\00:21:07.49
and she wanted me
to go to mass with her
00:21:07.52\00:21:09.54
and I'd never been
to, well, mass before
00:21:09.57\00:21:11.93
but a strange thing was,
is this mass was at midnight.
00:21:11.96\00:21:15.19
It was called a midnight
mass and I thought well,
00:21:15.22\00:21:17.09
this is kind of creepy actually.
00:21:17.12\00:21:19.76
And we went to this
Prince of Peace Church
00:21:19.79\00:21:22.14
and we went to this mass
00:21:22.17\00:21:23.37
and this church complex
took in a whole city block.
00:21:23.40\00:21:27.77
In fact, I remember exactly
how this church was configured
00:21:27.80\00:21:30.65
because over here was the chapel
where they had the mass service
00:21:30.68\00:21:34.10
and there was this
long glass corridor
00:21:34.13\00:21:35.53
that had a glass wall on it
00:21:35.56\00:21:37.20
and I looked into this
area that was like an open area
00:21:37.23\00:21:39.58
where you actually had a
bunch of plants growing there,
00:21:39.61\00:21:43.22
it was kind of
like an outdoor celery
00:21:43.25\00:21:45.26
and where something and
then over on this one side
00:21:45.29\00:21:47.04
there was
actually a meeting hall
00:21:47.07\00:21:48.98
for where the young people went
and it had a glass wall on it
00:21:49.01\00:21:51.60
and on the other
side it was rectory,
00:21:51.63\00:21:52.71
it was like a big
shape of a hall of square.
00:21:52.74\00:21:56.18
And as I was
standing there I was looking
00:21:56.21\00:21:58.14
because all the young
people were gonna go down
00:21:58.17\00:21:59.68
and they were going to
have like a rock concert down
00:21:59.71\00:22:02.13
in this special
youth meeting hall.
00:22:02.16\00:22:05.03
And all these kids
were going in there
00:22:05.06\00:22:06.34
and this rock
band started playing,
00:22:06.37\00:22:07.57
the lights were down
00:22:07.60\00:22:08.63
and I saw people
lightening up cigarettes
00:22:08.66\00:22:10.70
and they were
drinking alcohol in there,
00:22:10.73\00:22:12.53
of course they snuck the alcohol
00:22:12.56\00:22:14.16
in because they
shouldn't be drinking in there
00:22:14.19\00:22:15.56
but it was just like going
to a rock concert or something.
00:22:15.59\00:22:18.19
And I thought this is so strange
00:22:18.22\00:22:19.80
because we just did
this religious service
00:22:19.83\00:22:21.42
that was really solemn and quite
00:22:21.45\00:22:23.50
and this priest
all dress in white,
00:22:23.53\00:22:24.85
was doing this Eucharist thing
00:22:24.88\00:22:26.71
and then all
these kids went down
00:22:26.74\00:22:28.18
into this fellowship
hall and they were down there
00:22:28.21\00:22:29.90
and listening to rock band
00:22:29.93\00:22:31.22
and I was standing there
looking out this glass window,
00:22:31.25\00:22:34.33
looking down in
there and all these kids
00:22:34.36\00:22:35.61
lighting up cigarettes
00:22:35.64\00:22:36.67
and doing this
different things down there
00:22:36.70\00:22:37.82
thinking this just
doesn't seem right.
00:22:37.85\00:22:40.12
And all of a
sudden I looked over
00:22:40.15\00:22:41.73
and there was this
priest standing next to me,
00:22:41.76\00:22:44.25
just, you know, a
stone threw away there
00:22:44.28\00:22:46.15
and he was looking down
00:22:46.18\00:22:47.21
and he was
standing with this gentlemen
00:22:47.24\00:22:48.27
who was in a business
suit dressed very nice
00:22:48.30\00:22:50.40
and they were
looking at each other,
00:22:50.43\00:22:51.46
they had this kind of smirk
on their face and they were--
00:22:51.49\00:22:54.06
had their hand on their
chin and they were talking in,
00:22:54.09\00:22:56.46
they looked almost like
they were saying or thinking
00:22:56.49\00:22:59.60
we finally have the
young people in the church.
00:22:59.63\00:23:02.61
And I don't know, but I
just didn't think it was right.
00:23:02.64\00:23:04.69
There's something
wrong with this whole picture
00:23:04.72\00:23:06.41
and I told my girlfriend,
I said I'll see you later.
00:23:06.44\00:23:08.60
I think I'm gonna go and I left.
00:23:08.63\00:23:11.00
And as I looked back
at that I just realized,
00:23:11.03\00:23:12.81
you know, there was
something wrong with that.
00:23:12.84\00:23:13.99
It was another
thing, it was kind of,
00:23:14.02\00:23:15.70
you know, I was
reaching out for Christianity
00:23:15.73\00:23:17.72
and looking for a
different way of life.
00:23:17.75\00:23:19.15
I was involved with
all these east religions
00:23:19.18\00:23:20.92
and every time I turned around,
00:23:20.95\00:23:22.84
you know, it seemed
like that there was something
00:23:22.87\00:23:24.05
that just turned me off to it.
00:23:24.08\00:23:26.29
In fact I had a situation
00:23:26.32\00:23:28.15
where I was doing
a drug run one day
00:23:28.18\00:23:30.16
and I had to go
to a halfway house.
00:23:30.19\00:23:32.20
You know, that's
a place where people
00:23:32.23\00:23:33.29
who just got out of prison go
00:23:33.32\00:23:34.83
as they are being
introduced back in the society
00:23:34.86\00:23:37.61
and I went
there to meet this guy
00:23:37.64\00:23:38.76
how was supposed
to get some drugs
00:23:38.79\00:23:39.90
and I knocked on door
00:23:39.93\00:23:41.63
and heard a
voice say, come on in.
00:23:41.66\00:23:44.21
And I went in and I
said hey, is so and so here?
00:23:44.24\00:23:47.23
And I heard a
voice say no he's not in.
00:23:47.26\00:23:49.77
I walked into this room,
00:23:49.80\00:23:51.06
it was this man and I'll
never forget this picture,
00:23:51.09\00:23:53.23
this man had long
black hair all the way down
00:23:53.26\00:23:55.49
to middle of his back
and he was not facing me.
00:23:55.52\00:23:58.64
And I said when will he be back
00:23:58.67\00:24:00.11
and gentlemen turned around
and he had a Bible in his hand.
00:24:00.14\00:24:03.78
And he had a long black
beard and I thought well,
00:24:03.81\00:24:06.05
this is a strange sight.
00:24:06.08\00:24:07.49
And I said well,
what are you doing?
00:24:07.52\00:24:09.51
He said, oh, I'm
studying the Bible.
00:24:09.54\00:24:10.92
I said, yeah, well,
what are you studying
00:24:10.95\00:24:13.02
because I was kind of curious.
00:24:13.05\00:24:14.08
And he said I'm studying
the Book of Revelation right now
00:24:14.11\00:24:16.47
and I'm studying chapter 17
00:24:16.50\00:24:18.29
about this woman
riding a scarlet colored beast
00:24:18.32\00:24:20.59
and he said and he
stoked his beard very slowly.
00:24:20.62\00:24:23.58
I'm coming to the conclusion
and this was the church,
00:24:23.61\00:24:26.24
there's was a persecuting
power during the Dark Ages.
00:24:26.27\00:24:28.93
And I like what?
00:24:28.96\00:24:30.50
I talked to myself, this
guy is strange and I just left.
00:24:30.53\00:24:33.70
And about a year
later I got involved
00:24:33.73\00:24:35.41
with what was
called a Shalom House.
00:24:35.44\00:24:37.59
Now a Shalom
House was a coffee house
00:24:37.62\00:24:39.56
that was designed to take
street kids off the street
00:24:39.59\00:24:42.48
and get them down into a place
where you could get them "saved"
00:24:42.51\00:24:45.79
and you speak in tongues
00:24:45.82\00:24:47.44
and it was
Pentecostal coffee house
00:24:47.47\00:24:48.89
it's what it mounted to.
00:24:48.92\00:24:50.28
And what were speaking
in tongues in one room,
00:24:50.31\00:24:52.55
we were dealing
drugs in the other room.
00:24:52.58\00:24:54.49
And I just saw so
many inconsistencies
00:24:54.52\00:24:56.66
and once again just
like when I was a young boy
00:24:56.69\00:24:58.93
I talked to myself, you know,
00:24:58.96\00:25:00.56
Christians are a
bunch of hypocrites.
00:25:00.59\00:25:02.79
And I just got to the
point well, I had enough.
00:25:02.82\00:25:05.53
I didn't want to have anything
more to do with religion
00:25:05.56\00:25:08.53
but something
significant happened.
00:25:08.56\00:25:11.04
One day there was
a knock on my door.
00:25:11.07\00:25:12.38
I was living in this
flophouse of a place over
00:25:12.41\00:25:14.53
by the railway tracks
on the north side of town
00:25:14.56\00:25:16.92
with a bunch of musician friends
00:25:16.95\00:25:19.01
and it was a
rundown kind of like shack
00:25:19.04\00:25:21.38
and there was a
knock on the door
00:25:21.41\00:25:22.75
and this two
nice dressed men said,
00:25:22.78\00:25:25.26
would you be interested in
studying the Bible with us?
00:25:25.29\00:25:27.14
And nobody was around
I said, well, come on in.
00:25:27.17\00:25:29.76
And they came in
00:25:29.79\00:25:30.82
and they were from the
Jehovah's Witness Church
00:25:30.85\00:25:33.93
and they
started sharing with me,
00:25:33.96\00:25:35.15
but they had their own
translation of the Bible,
00:25:35.18\00:25:36.96
it didn't quiet go
along with the translation
00:25:36.99\00:25:38.74
I was using at that time
00:25:38.77\00:25:40.47
and I was you
know, studying with them
00:25:40.50\00:25:42.47
and I studied
with them several times
00:25:42.50\00:25:43.79
and they started sharing
with me about Jesus Christ
00:25:43.82\00:25:45.67
really wasn't God.
00:25:45.70\00:25:47.07
And there was some teachings
00:25:47.10\00:25:49.05
that they were
going through I thought,
00:25:49.08\00:25:50.11
you know, I've
read the Bible some
00:25:50.14\00:25:51.21
and I don't really
quite understand it
00:25:51.24\00:25:52.46
but this just
doesn't seem right to me
00:25:52.49\00:25:54.45
and they quit
coming to visit me.
00:25:54.48\00:25:57.21
Another time I received
another knock at the door
00:25:57.24\00:25:59.28
and there was
some nice dressed boys,
00:25:59.31\00:26:00.73
young boys with suits on
and they came in and they said,
00:26:00.76\00:26:03.01
hi, we're from the
church of Jesus Christ
00:26:03.04\00:26:05.10
and Latter-day Saints.
00:26:05.13\00:26:06.49
And would you be interested
in studying God's word?
00:26:06.52\00:26:08.76
And I said sure and so I
started studying with them
00:26:08.79\00:26:11.22
and after a few lessons I
started asking them questions
00:26:11.25\00:26:14.95
about this guy
called Joseph Smith
00:26:14.98\00:26:17.21
and he found this golden plates.
00:26:17.24\00:26:18.44
So I asked him how heavy
were those golden plates anyhow?
00:26:18.47\00:26:21.50
And he carried him
and translated them
00:26:21.53\00:26:23.35
and it was all
this different things
00:26:23.38\00:26:24.55
they were saying, I
thought to myself, you know,
00:26:24.58\00:26:26.76
this doesn't make any sense,
00:26:26.79\00:26:27.86
this doesn't go along
with what the Bible says.
00:26:27.89\00:26:30.53
And again I was turned off.
00:26:30.56\00:26:32.15
And finally I just
came to point rightly said,
00:26:32.18\00:26:33.88
I've had enough.
00:26:33.91\00:26:35.14
And but yet down inside I
just want to share with you,
00:26:35.17\00:26:38.85
down side I secretly prayed
00:26:38.88\00:26:41.34
that God still
wouldn't give up on me.
00:26:41.37\00:26:43.24
I secretly prayed
that God would still
00:26:43.27\00:26:46.42
somehow enlighten me with
truth but I got to the point
00:26:46.45\00:26:49.21
where I didn't
want to have anything
00:26:49.24\00:26:50.27
to do eastern religions,
00:26:50.30\00:26:51.33
I didn't want to have
anything to do with the Bible,
00:26:51.36\00:26:53.01
I didn't want to have
anything to do with anything.
00:26:53.04\00:26:55.55
And then something
significant happened.
00:26:55.58\00:26:59.50
My parents who had been
church hopping a little bit
00:26:59.53\00:27:02.48
that they were over
religious at the time
00:27:02.51\00:27:05.50
went to a
Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:27:05.53\00:27:08.39
and they went
through a whole set of
00:27:08.42\00:27:10.07
what was called
evangelistic meetings
00:27:10.10\00:27:11.73
at this church
and they were baptized
00:27:11.76\00:27:13.41
into the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:27:13.44\00:27:15.14
Well, my brother and my sister
00:27:15.17\00:27:16.56
and I all thought my parents
00:27:16.59\00:27:17.84
had just kind of
really gone crazy,
00:27:17.87\00:27:20.32
in order to join this church
00:27:20.35\00:27:21.38
because we heard
they went to church
00:27:21.41\00:27:23.13
on the wrong day of the
week and they just seemed like
00:27:23.16\00:27:26.45
I never heard of
Seventh-day Adventist before
00:27:26.48\00:27:28.95
and it was probably
about three four months later.
00:27:28.98\00:27:33.79
I am sorry we're out of time.
00:27:33.82\00:27:35.68
If you would like to see
this complete presentation,
00:27:35.71\00:27:38.12
please write or
call Layman Ministries,
00:27:38.15\00:27:40.74
414 Zapada Road,
St. Maries, Idaho, 83861
00:27:40.77\00:27:46.27
or call 1800-245-1844.
00:27:46.30\00:27:51.03
You can contact us on
the web on the www.lmn.org.
00:27:51.06\00:27:56.68