The following program
discusses sensitive issues.
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Parents are
cautioned that some material
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may be too candid
for younger children.
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Welcome to the New Journey,
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where we meet real life people
with real life testimonies
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and real life
working ministries for Jesus.
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I'm your host Aaron Chancy.
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Come join us on a New Journey.
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Welcome to The New Journey.
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We have an exciting
program, a powerful testimony
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by a young man
named Joshua Ward.
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Joshua, we want to thank
you for being on the program.
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I appreciate it.
Thanks for having me.
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All right, let's jump
right into the questions
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since we don't
have that much time.
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Real quick, where are you from,
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and what was it like growing up?
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I'm from Knoxville, Tennessee.
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And I mean, how it
was growing up for me,
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you know, I
never knew my father,
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I don't even know his name.
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And you know at the age of six,
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started smoking weed at
the age of six, you know,
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because my father
wasn't there in the home
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and there was no one there
to discipline me, you know,
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my mother, she
wasn't a bad mother
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but she wasn't a
Christian mother,
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so she was a single mother
trying to raise three bad kids
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in the projects, so I
just wasn't listening.
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So, you know, I
ran to the streets
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and that's where I would
seek, you know, to have fun
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and, you know, do what I do
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and I would run
up to the dope boys,
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and they would kind of
take me under their wing,
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so they would have me
selling drugs with them,
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smoking with them,
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I'd be out till 5
o'clock in the morning.
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I remember, they
would start fights
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and everyone circle
around and I would just be there
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and you know until it
was over, they'd be like,
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"Josh, go do this, go do that."
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So I did it.
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And like I said, I
would sell drugs for them too
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because the cops are not
going to stop a six year old.
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You know, so
I'll be six years old,
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running around with
pocket full of rocks,
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pocket full of money,
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and just about
everything you can be exposed to
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as an adult, I was
exposed to as a child.
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I mean, you know,
naked women, drugs, fighting,
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stealing cars, just
out there being, "Wow."
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Wow.
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And all of this, a
lot of this started
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at the age of six years old?
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At the age of
six years old. Wow.
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So I'm sure you've seen a lot
of things over your lifetime.
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Yeah.
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All right, now
do this, talk about
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some of the negative influences
but also on the flip side,
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talk about some of
those positive influences
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in your life as well growing up?
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Okay.
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Well, I just
gave you the negative.
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Yeah, whole bunch of them.
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Positives, man,
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it's hard, it's sad
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but I really have to
think to answer that question.
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Yeah.
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I mean, the Holy Spirit...
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Guide you along the way.
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Okay, okay. There we go.
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So like as bad as
I was, and even know
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what I was doing
what I was doing,
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every time I would see a
televangelist come on TV,
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I would pray to
myself to be saved
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but even when I'm
out on the streets,
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running around,
disrespecting, just being crazy,
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every time I would
hear televangelists on TV,
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I would pray to be saved.
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And, of course,
you know my mom let me,
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you know the church
comes to her sometimes
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and, you know, get
the young children,
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let them go to church,
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so you know,
that was a little...
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Even though I didn't
grow up in the church
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or even grow up in a
spiritual family at all,
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there was always a
spiritual aspect there,
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you know, I would ask
myself, "Why am I here?"
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I would look up, look
at the sky and be like,
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"What is the purpose of this?"
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And you know, I would
listen to televangelists on TV
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and things of that nature.
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And the Lord later
on, like when I ended up
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going to group
homes and stuff like that,
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even though it was hell,
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there would always be a few
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like, God would
always have an angel,
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I have a certain
staff member there
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that would speak life into me.
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Wow. Okay, okay.
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So you had, every now and again,
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there were some
positive influences.
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Yeah.
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How important do you think it is
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for people growing
up in your instance,
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growing up in a hood,
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six years old and
selling drugs, using drugs?
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How important do you
think it is for a young person
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to have a positive
influence in their life,
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that positive role model?
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It's extremely important.
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I mean, it's almost everything
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because a young
person gets their view of God
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from their parents or
the first people they see,
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you know, like you
watch a cartoon or something,
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a chicken hatch, and
the first person it sees,
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"Momma, momma.
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Daddy, daddy."
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So a young person,
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that's why the
devil wants to take out
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the father in the home.
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See, I'm not
going to preach but,
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so the first person
that a young person sees,
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they're around as young
that has about 70% chance
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of how they mould, and
how they're going to be
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when they grow up in life
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because that's the
first person they see,
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so that's who they get
their ideas from life from.
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Their idea of who God is,
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so if there's no
one positive there,
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they're just going to follow
after what they've been taught.
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Yeah. Okay, okay.
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Now you mentioned that
you were selling drugs,
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using drugs,
different things like that.
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What were some of
the specific drugs
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that you were using and
selling at that young age?
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I was, you know,
crack rocks, you know,
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not a big time dope dealer
but you know the dope dealer
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will buy balls and stuff,
break them down, given to me.
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And I was smoking weed,
I wasn't selling that, man.
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I started smoking
weed at the age of six,
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and I will smoke
like ten blunts a day.
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I will just be
hot the whole time.
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So I never did anything
white though because as young,
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I would see their
crack heads, and I was like,
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"I ain't never
going to be like that."
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So I learned
that from a young age,
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I ain't will be walking around
like that but as I was young,
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weed, I did a
little bit of pills too
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but mainly just weed.
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Even a little bit of
drinking but I was a smoker,
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that's what mainly what it was.
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Okay, now what
motivates a person though
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because for me, I was around 15,
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somewhere between 13 and
15 when I started smoking,
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drinking, and
different things like that.
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But for you, you
were six years old.
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And I haven't really
met many six year olds.
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Matter of fact, I
have a six year old child,
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and he's never
been around smoking,
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drinking, or anything.
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At six years old,
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you're supposed to
be watching cartoons,
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you know, maybe
in a first grade,
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kindergarten,
something like that.
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What started that out for you,
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smoking and things
like that at six years old
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when you're supposed
to be playing with toys?
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I understand, and
that's an interesting question
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because I would do that.
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I would play with
toys. I would watch cartoons.
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And I've always liked school
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like, my teachers
would tell me, you know,
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because I'll make straight A's
with the desk at the teacher.
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So my teachers would tell me,
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they would be
like, "You're smart.
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You like school but you just...
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Most brothers like,
you don't like school."
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I always had that
desire in me to learn,
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I've always enjoyed that.
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I really don't know,
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I thought about
it like I set down,
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I've talked to my
mother, you know, my father,
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my step father you know to
one of my little sister's daddy
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that was pretty
much there in my life.
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You know, I have to ask
Jesus one day because I don't...
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It's like I just came out
with just some type of anger
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and just...
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I will say this,
"I've always liked adventure
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and excitement,
you know, fighting,
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like because before
I even thought about
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becoming a Christian, I
read the book of Revelation
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because it's dealing
with last day events.
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So I will say,
I've always had a lean
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and a push towards danger
and just I don't know, man.
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Just an excitement for things
that aren't right all the time?
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Yeah. Okay, okay.
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Now let's talk
about media for a second?
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All right.
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You know, you
have a great testimony
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but media plays a big part
on young people's lives today.
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And from your point of
view, from your standpoint,
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how much of an
impact do you think
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like secular hip-hop, TV shows,
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different things
along those lines
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has on young people today?
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Oh, it has, I mean,
an extreme influence
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on young people.
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See, because what
the devil is doing,
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he's creating an
entertainment generation
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like, I watch it
when I go to church,
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now there's nothing
wrong with using your phone
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for the Bible, I have it
but I'll see a pastor say,
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"Everyone got their Bibles?"
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Everyone says yes,
they'll raise up their phone
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like that's how
thoroughly deceived we are.
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He didn't ask
if you had a phone,
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he asked you if you had a Bible.
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And they won't raise it up.
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And what it does,
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if you don't
raise your children,
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the TV will, the
rappers will, the internet will.
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So what's happening is parents
they'll take their children,
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don't want to deal with them,
"Sit down and just watch TV
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while I cook and
clean, and all that."
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So what's happening
is that's raising them,
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that's
instilling values in them,
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that's instilling
the way they think,
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it's programming them.
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And their
result of what they see
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and you know and everything
they're looking at and hearing,
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and things of that nature.
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You know, music and
media is very powerful
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because it's really, you know,
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God can use it to
advance the gospel
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but the devil uses it too
like, these rappers you think,
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you know these
different rappers,
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we don't want to
name names but you know
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what I'm talking about.
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These brothers have gifts,
think if they were preachers.
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You know, the
charisma that they hold,
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the way they can hold a
crowd, the way they use words,
00:08:47.46\00:08:50.56
so it's the
devil's version of...
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I sincerely
believe with all my heart
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that it's one of his top threes,
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if not number one tools
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the way it's
attacking the final generation.
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It's his way of
spreading the gospel.
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We go to church
and hear sermons,
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we read the Bible,
00:09:04.97\00:09:06.31
he play somebody a sinful movie,
00:09:06.34\00:09:07.68
a sinful song, and
it's preaching to them.
00:09:07.71\00:09:09.84
Matter of fact, they
tell you in their songs.
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Oh, yeah. Yeah, they do.
They outright and tell you.
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Exactly right, exactly right.
00:09:14.15\00:09:15.72
It's extremely impactful.
00:09:15.75\00:09:18.15
Okay, now let's transition
00:09:18.19\00:09:21.32
back to your
early childhood life.
00:09:21.36\00:09:23.63
And you went through the
juvenile detention center,
00:09:23.66\00:09:26.26
you went through group homes,
00:09:26.29\00:09:28.03
you went through
mental institutions,
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talk about the transition
as through all of those?
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Okay, well, like I said earlier,
00:09:32.33\00:09:33.70
because I was so wild, you know,
00:09:33.74\00:09:35.57
my mother couldn't
control me so she saw me
00:09:35.60\00:09:37.51
over from states custody...
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Okay, so how old were
you when she signed you...
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Nine. Nine years old. Okay.
00:09:40.54\00:09:41.88
So from 9 to
14, I'll be generous
00:09:41.91\00:09:44.65
and say I probably spent
about a year of there free,
00:09:44.68\00:09:47.12
rest of it, was
straight locked up.
00:09:47.15\00:09:48.58
So I pretty much spent
my whole entire childhood
00:09:48.62\00:09:50.35
locked up.
00:09:50.39\00:09:51.85
And it was hell on
earth, but you know,
00:09:51.89\00:09:54.79
I praise God for it
because if it didn't happen,
00:09:54.82\00:09:57.49
I wouldn't be right here
talking to you right now.
00:09:57.53\00:09:59.43
So I had the Lord, you
know, what He's doing in my life
00:09:59.46\00:10:02.76
reminds me of Joseph, you know,
00:10:02.80\00:10:04.20
what he had to go through
for the Lord to set him up,
00:10:04.23\00:10:06.13
being sold into
slavery by his brothers
00:10:06.17\00:10:07.50
and things of that nature
00:10:07.54\00:10:08.87
but, I mean, it
was rough like, man,
00:10:08.90\00:10:11.21
I could spend the
whole segment just on that,
00:10:11.24\00:10:13.91
just a couple of points
to kind of bring it out like,
00:10:13.94\00:10:17.31
you know, they used to
strap me down the beds,
00:10:17.35\00:10:19.08
shoot me up with
Thorazine, putting nets over me.
00:10:19.11\00:10:22.28
I remember, when the
side of my face was nothing
00:10:22.32\00:10:23.82
but raw skin where
they just rubbing it
00:10:23.85\00:10:25.19
against the carpet.
00:10:25.22\00:10:26.55
They had me on six pills a day,
00:10:26.59\00:10:28.29
diagnosed me with
all these disorders,
00:10:28.32\00:10:29.96
bipolar, this and that, I
wasn't crazy, I was just bad.
00:10:29.99\00:10:34.36
You're not going
to tell me what to do
00:10:34.40\00:10:35.73
no matter who you are.
00:10:35.76\00:10:37.17
And you know,
straight jackets you know,
00:10:37.20\00:10:39.63
they had me in all
those, they used to make a sit
00:10:39.67\00:10:41.00
against the wall, get a
chair and look at the wall
00:10:41.04\00:10:42.80
for like up to a week.
00:10:42.84\00:10:44.37
I actually taught
myself how to read doing it
00:10:44.41\00:10:45.91
because all you could do
is read or write, you know,
00:10:45.94\00:10:47.61
they would have us
on this point system
00:10:47.64\00:10:49.14
where they would watch
you all day with a chart
00:10:49.18\00:10:50.71
and write down
everything you do,
00:10:50.75\00:10:52.71
and at the end of the
day, they would tally them up
00:10:52.75\00:10:54.68
and if you hit a certain
level, you got privileges,
00:10:54.72\00:10:56.55
if you didn't, you
didn't get no privileges.
00:10:56.58\00:10:58.75
And if you were
on the worst level,
00:10:58.79\00:11:00.12
you had to sit against the wall.
00:11:00.16\00:11:01.66
And so I constantly
went through that you know
00:11:01.69\00:11:03.39
my whole entire
childhood and you know,
00:11:03.43\00:11:04.93
that's how that was.
00:11:04.96\00:11:06.29
I could go into more detail.
I remember, man, I used to...
00:11:06.33\00:11:08.56
Because I'm
going off on the staff,
00:11:08.60\00:11:09.93
or I'm fighting them,
you know spitting on them,
00:11:09.96\00:11:11.83
they restraining me
but I would go to my shower
00:11:11.87\00:11:14.74
and you know I didn't even
have a relationship with God,
00:11:14.77\00:11:16.84
but there's one
thing I want you to see,
00:11:16.87\00:11:18.61
like I said earlier, if
this wouldn't have happened,
00:11:18.64\00:11:20.61
I never would
have came to the Lord
00:11:20.64\00:11:21.98
because I'm hardheaded.
00:11:22.01\00:11:23.35
And so, you know
because we have sinful natures,
00:11:23.38\00:11:25.51
if everything is going our
way, we would never see God.
00:11:25.55\00:11:27.72
But I developed my
prayer life through that.
00:11:27.75\00:11:30.59
Like for example,
00:11:30.62\00:11:32.15
I'm going through
all this with the staff
00:11:32.19\00:11:33.56
fighting them and all this,
00:11:33.59\00:11:34.92
but at the end of the
night, when I'm in the shower,
00:11:34.96\00:11:36.29
I look in the
mirror and be like,
00:11:36.32\00:11:37.66
"God, if I knew my life
was going to be like this,
00:11:37.69\00:11:39.19
I won't even want to be born."
00:11:39.23\00:11:40.60
Because even
though I'm off the chain,
00:11:40.63\00:11:42.53
I really don't see
what I'm doing is wrong.
00:11:42.56\00:11:44.17
Yeah, exactly.
00:11:44.20\00:11:45.53
Do you get what I'm saying?
Oh, yeah. I understand it.
00:11:45.57\00:11:46.90
I don't see that
what I'm doing is wrong.
00:11:46.94\00:11:48.70
You know, I was
on the hood is like
00:11:48.74\00:11:50.07
some kids go to Disneyland,
00:11:50.11\00:11:51.44
I go out there to
smoke, and run in the streets.
00:11:51.47\00:11:53.27
That's what
you're supposed to do.
00:11:53.31\00:11:54.64
So I was like,
"God, like, what is this?"
00:11:54.68\00:11:57.71
You know, and I would really
mean it in my heart, like,
00:11:57.75\00:11:59.11
"God, let me out,
and I'll be good."
00:11:59.15\00:12:00.62
But every time I would
get out, I would just...
00:12:00.65\00:12:03.18
But really in my
heart, I really meant it like,
00:12:03.22\00:12:05.72
"Lord, if you let
me out, I'll be good."
00:12:05.75\00:12:08.12
And I would cry
like, "God, why am I here?
00:12:08.16\00:12:10.79
This is hell."
00:12:10.83\00:12:12.46
But I was
developing a prayer life
00:12:12.49\00:12:13.86
because I won't even
talk to God before that,
00:12:13.90\00:12:15.63
even though,
I'll pray to be saved,
00:12:15.66\00:12:17.00
but you get the
point I'm making.
00:12:17.03\00:12:18.37
Oh, yeah.
Definitely, definitely.
00:12:18.40\00:12:19.73
Now let me ask you this.
00:12:19.77\00:12:21.40
Being that you spent a
lot of your childhood life
00:12:21.44\00:12:25.07
between juvenile
centers, group homes,
00:12:25.11\00:12:28.58
mental institutions,
things along those lines,
00:12:28.61\00:12:31.51
how does that affect
you later on in life?
00:12:31.55\00:12:35.15
The Lord is still
delivering me from that
00:12:35.18\00:12:36.82
because it gives you...
00:12:36.85\00:12:41.12
You don't trust nobody.
00:12:41.16\00:12:43.09
Let alone Jesus himself
edges, and it makes you...
00:12:43.12\00:12:46.49
It's hard for you to really
come out and be the person
00:12:46.53\00:12:49.93
that the Lord called you to be
00:12:49.96\00:12:51.97
because growing up
like that, you can't...
00:12:52.00\00:12:54.80
You know growing up in
the streets or locked up,
00:12:54.84\00:12:57.01
you can't be yourself.
00:12:57.04\00:12:58.54
Yeah. Oh, I know it somehow.
00:12:58.57\00:12:59.91
Because if you're
yourself, you get dealt with.
00:12:59.94\00:13:02.81
So you can...
00:13:02.84\00:13:04.18
Well, you know, if you
grow up in a Christian home,
00:13:04.21\00:13:05.55
a loving home, you
know, stuff like that,
00:13:05.58\00:13:06.92
you can be who you are
00:13:06.95\00:13:08.28
'cause people love
you for who you are
00:13:08.32\00:13:09.65
but growing up in
situations like that,
00:13:09.68\00:13:11.02
you have to be a certain way.
00:13:11.05\00:13:12.39
Exactly.
00:13:12.42\00:13:13.76
Because the certain
way is the only thing
00:13:13.79\00:13:15.12
that's tolerated.
00:13:15.16\00:13:16.49
So the effect of that is
when you get older and you know
00:13:16.52\00:13:20.30
you're in
environment of Christian school,
00:13:20.33\00:13:21.90
and Christian environment,
00:13:21.93\00:13:25.77
you have to feel
safe in your psyche
00:13:25.80\00:13:28.40
in order to be
who you want to be.
00:13:28.44\00:13:30.27
You know, God created us
to be loving people, you know,
00:13:30.31\00:13:32.37
to be servants but growing
up in situations like it,
00:13:32.41\00:13:34.81
it does something to your brain
where you don't trust nobody
00:13:34.84\00:13:37.08
and you always have a
defense, you know like,
00:13:37.11\00:13:40.08
I could feel like I'm
talking to my friends or stuff
00:13:40.12\00:13:42.28
and I'm talking to
them, they say something
00:13:42.32\00:13:44.05
and I'll start going off.
00:13:44.09\00:13:45.59
It's like, "Josh, I'm not
trying to attack you, you know.
00:13:45.62\00:13:48.12
I'm not trying to attack
you, I'm just talking to you."
00:13:48.16\00:13:50.26
So it creates a
survival instinct.
00:13:50.29\00:13:53.09
It creates of, you know,
00:13:53.13\00:13:54.63
survival of the
fittest type mindset,
00:13:54.66\00:13:57.30
a paranoid type
mindset, and the mindset
00:13:57.33\00:13:59.23
where you're always
defending your ground
00:13:59.27\00:14:02.00
and not just being who
you are, does that make sense?
00:14:02.04\00:14:04.47
Oh, yeah. It
makes a lot of sense.
00:14:04.51\00:14:06.41
Now you mentioned that
your mother has signed you
00:14:06.44\00:14:09.58
over to the state
at nine years old.
00:14:09.61\00:14:12.05
Where was your
father at this point?
00:14:12.08\00:14:14.52
Oh, I don't...
00:14:14.55\00:14:16.95
I told you I never met
him. I don't even know his name.
00:14:16.99\00:14:18.72
Now my little sister's
father came into the picture
00:14:18.75\00:14:21.26
a few years later
and he's been, you know,
00:14:21.29\00:14:23.19
pretty much like
my father since then
00:14:23.22\00:14:24.93
but my biological father,
00:14:24.96\00:14:27.83
I just don't even know
his name, I never met him.
00:14:27.86\00:14:30.57
But one thing I
will, you know, my mom,
00:14:30.60\00:14:32.03
even though she signed
me over to State's custody,
00:14:32.07\00:14:34.54
she will still come get me
on passes and take me home,
00:14:34.57\00:14:36.47
she is going to control me,
00:14:36.50\00:14:37.84
a lot of people
when they got son over,
00:14:37.87\00:14:39.21
their parents
never came back for them.
00:14:39.24\00:14:40.58
So it wasn't like that,
she just couldn't control me
00:14:40.61\00:14:43.38
but she always came back for me,
00:14:43.41\00:14:44.75
pick me up, you
know, let me come home.
00:14:44.78\00:14:46.41
It just, you know.
00:14:46.45\00:14:47.78
How did you feel
as a young person
00:14:47.82\00:14:49.58
when your mother
signed you over to the state?
00:14:49.62\00:14:51.19
And the reason I asked that
00:14:51.22\00:14:52.65
is I used to
work in a group home
00:14:52.69\00:14:54.46
for a little bit
of time and you know,
00:14:54.49\00:14:56.16
it'll be young kids who
you know eight years old,
00:14:56.19\00:14:59.09
six years old, range
all the way to 17 who were,
00:14:59.13\00:15:03.47
you know signed
over to the state.
00:15:03.50\00:15:05.47
And you know they wouldn't
really have any parents.
00:15:05.50\00:15:08.00
Matter of fact, a
lot of them didn't know
00:15:08.04\00:15:09.37
their biological parents.
00:15:09.40\00:15:10.74
And you could tell
that certain things
00:15:10.77\00:15:12.97
weren't all the way
right with them per se.
00:15:13.01\00:15:16.01
So looking back on
that, how did that affect you
00:15:16.04\00:15:19.11
that your mother
signed you over to the state?
00:15:19.15\00:15:21.18
And then on top of
that you don't even know
00:15:21.22\00:15:22.88
who your father is.
00:15:22.92\00:15:24.25
Oh, I was angry.
00:15:24.29\00:15:26.15
I mean, I was hot
00:15:26.19\00:15:28.82
because I felt
betrayed, you know,
00:15:28.86\00:15:30.33
because in my mind,
00:15:30.36\00:15:32.03
I don't care
how bad my child is,
00:15:32.06\00:15:33.43
I'm not going to
start over but then again,
00:15:33.46\00:15:34.80
I'm a man too, I'm
not a single woman.
00:15:34.83\00:15:37.43
And I look back on
it now and I love her
00:15:37.47\00:15:39.77
because I want to
be and matter of fact
00:15:39.80\00:15:42.40
and I see, like I said,
she always came back for me.
00:15:42.44\00:15:45.64
She didn't just
say, "I'm done with you.
00:15:45.67\00:15:47.01
I'm signing, you're
never going to see me, no."
00:15:47.04\00:15:48.38
You know what
I'm saying? Oh, yeah.
00:15:48.41\00:15:49.74
But at the time, I was angry.
00:15:49.78\00:15:51.18
I mean, I hated
her like, because, man,
00:15:51.21\00:15:54.82
I mean you're a child,
00:15:54.85\00:15:56.18
and your mother signed you over?
00:15:56.22\00:15:57.89
So, yeah.
00:15:57.92\00:16:00.62
Actually my father,
00:16:00.66\00:16:01.99
I never really thought about it.
00:16:02.02\00:16:03.36
It just never...
00:16:03.39\00:16:04.73
I didn't ever think about it.
00:16:04.76\00:16:06.09
Okay.
00:16:06.13\00:16:07.76
Now being that you went
through the group homes,
00:16:07.80\00:16:10.53
the juvenile centers,
the mental facilities,
00:16:10.57\00:16:14.70
and you didn't know your
biological father growing up.
00:16:14.74\00:16:18.31
Do you think it's
important for young kids today
00:16:18.34\00:16:20.94
who go through
these same situations
00:16:20.98\00:16:23.24
that don't know who
their biological father is,
00:16:23.28\00:16:26.11
biological mother,
whatever it may be,
00:16:26.15\00:16:29.15
do you think it's
important for the parents
00:16:29.18\00:16:31.02
if they know
where their child is
00:16:31.05\00:16:33.25
to come and find them
and reconnect with them
00:16:33.29\00:16:36.66
or to let them know the reason
00:16:36.69\00:16:38.36
why they signed
them over to the state
00:16:38.39\00:16:40.10
so that they can get
a better understanding
00:16:40.13\00:16:41.73
of the whole situation?
00:16:41.76\00:16:43.10
Yes, 100%,
00:16:43.13\00:16:44.77
because one thing that's truth,
00:16:44.80\00:16:46.87
no matter how
much a child is angry
00:16:46.90\00:16:50.21
because their
parents were not there,
00:16:50.24\00:16:51.94
a child always wants
to meet their parents.
00:16:51.97\00:16:54.11
No matter if their
parent was a crack head
00:16:54.14\00:16:55.91
or whatever,
00:16:55.94\00:16:57.28
no matter what the
situation, a child always...
00:16:57.31\00:17:00.48
We're built like that,
God built us like that.
00:17:00.52\00:17:02.38
A child always wants
to meet their parents,
00:17:02.42\00:17:04.25
so even if the parent
was completely in the wrong,
00:17:04.29\00:17:08.09
the child is going to
want to meet their parents
00:17:08.12\00:17:11.19
even if they react
negatively in the beginning,
00:17:11.23\00:17:13.03
they want it.
00:17:13.06\00:17:14.40
It's a fact,
it's a biological...
00:17:14.43\00:17:16.16
We're built like that.
Definitely. Definitely.
00:17:16.20\00:17:18.10
Now you spent pretty
much your young childhood
00:17:18.13\00:17:23.30
in between those facilities.
00:17:23.34\00:17:25.07
How old were you
00:17:25.11\00:17:26.44
when you got out of
those kind of facilities?
00:17:26.47\00:17:28.51
Fourteen.
00:17:28.54\00:17:29.88
Fourteen, okay.
00:17:29.91\00:17:31.25
Yeah.
00:17:31.28\00:17:32.61
When I hit 14, I
made up in my mind.
00:17:32.65\00:17:35.05
I was like, "Look, I'm
tired of being locked up."
00:17:35.08\00:17:37.19
You know, I wasn't trying
to be a Christian or anything
00:17:37.22\00:17:39.15
but I was in my mind,
00:17:39.19\00:17:40.52
I'm going to go
through high school
00:17:40.56\00:17:41.89
because I knew I was smart.
00:17:41.92\00:17:43.26
So I said, "I'm going to go
to high school, go to college,
00:17:43.29\00:17:45.59
find me a fine
wife, make some money,
00:17:45.63\00:17:47.63
and just lay back.
00:17:47.66\00:17:49.00
Yeah, okay.
00:17:49.03\00:17:50.37
So that was my...
00:17:50.40\00:17:51.73
I'm tired of running the
streets and getting locked
00:17:51.77\00:17:53.10
because I spent my
whole child locked up,
00:17:53.13\00:17:54.47
I didn't want that anymore.
00:17:54.50\00:17:56.14
So that was my mindset,
00:17:56.17\00:17:57.51
when I hit 14, and
I kind of matured too.
00:17:57.54\00:18:00.41
So got a little
bit more self-control
00:18:00.44\00:18:02.64
because used to, I
didn't have no self-control.
00:18:02.68\00:18:04.25
I would just go off on
anybody who looked at me wrong.
00:18:04.28\00:18:05.78
But you know, the older you get,
00:18:05.81\00:18:07.15
you get more self-control.
00:18:07.18\00:18:08.52
So that was my
mindset when I hit 14.
00:18:08.55\00:18:10.19
So from 14 to 17 was
actually the longest streak,
00:18:10.22\00:18:13.46
like a straight span
that I had spent free
00:18:13.49\00:18:15.72
since I was nine years old
00:18:15.76\00:18:17.09
when I went through high school.
00:18:17.13\00:18:18.46
Okay.
00:18:18.49\00:18:19.83
So did you
graduate from high school?
00:18:19.86\00:18:21.20
Yeah, graduated.
00:18:21.23\00:18:22.56
So you graduated
from high school,
00:18:22.60\00:18:24.90
did you go back into
the streets at that point
00:18:24.93\00:18:26.87
or what happened?
00:18:26.90\00:18:29.14
I never went back in
like I was when I was young
00:18:29.17\00:18:32.11
because when I was young, I
was off the chain, you know,
00:18:32.14\00:18:34.58
I got better
acting the older I got.
00:18:34.61\00:18:36.64
Most people get
worst the older they get,
00:18:36.68\00:18:38.95
but I got
better the older I got.
00:18:38.98\00:18:40.32
And I wasn't back in
the streets, you know,
00:18:40.35\00:18:42.32
because after I
graduated high school,
00:18:42.35\00:18:45.39
there's actually a story in that
00:18:45.42\00:18:46.86
because a lot of
people in high school is like,
00:18:46.89\00:18:48.52
"Damn, Josh, I
remember you used to be
00:18:48.56\00:18:49.89
the hardest little
thing on the streets.
00:18:49.92\00:18:51.26
Now you're
walking around with books,
00:18:51.29\00:18:52.63
what's wrong with you?
00:18:52.66\00:18:54.00
So, you know, they
would try to fight me and
00:18:54.03\00:18:55.36
step to test me
to see, you know,
00:18:55.40\00:18:56.73
if I still had or
whatever, you know, yeah,
00:18:56.77\00:18:58.10
I win some, lost some.
00:18:58.13\00:18:59.47
And actually, I ended up
going back to the group home
00:18:59.50\00:19:01.67
when I hit 17,
00:19:01.70\00:19:03.04
because I ended up
robbing this truck driver,
00:19:03.07\00:19:04.57
because I was trying to
show you that I was still hard,
00:19:04.61\00:19:06.17
you know, young.
00:19:06.21\00:19:09.61
But I was able to
finish high school
00:19:09.64\00:19:12.78
through the group home.
00:19:12.81\00:19:14.15
And that's
actually where I first felt
00:19:14.18\00:19:15.52
called to the ministry
because when I was there,
00:19:15.55\00:19:17.49
a minister came
and gave a Bible study,
00:19:17.52\00:19:19.05
you know, it's
voluntary, no one has to go.
00:19:19.09\00:19:21.26
Okay, before you
touch on that point,
00:19:21.29\00:19:22.89
we're going to get that point,
but first before we get to
00:19:22.92\00:19:26.03
how you felt the
call to ministry,
00:19:26.06\00:19:28.10
what was the
defining point in your life
00:19:28.13\00:19:30.57
because for me,
there was kind of like
00:19:30.60\00:19:33.87
a defining point where I
hit rock bottom in my life.
00:19:33.90\00:19:36.20
And I was just fed up.
00:19:36.24\00:19:37.57
I was tired of
running in this circle,
00:19:37.61\00:19:39.84
tired of being incarcerated,
tired of using drugs,
00:19:39.87\00:19:42.94
the fast money
wasn't fun anymore,
00:19:42.98\00:19:44.85
the women weren't fun anymore,
00:19:44.88\00:19:46.21
none of the
stuff was fun anymore.
00:19:46.25\00:19:47.88
What brought you to
that rock bottom point
00:19:47.92\00:19:50.49
that said you know
what, I need to make a change,
00:19:50.52\00:19:53.22
what was it and how
old were you at that point?
00:19:53.25\00:19:58.26
That's a tough question
00:19:58.29\00:19:59.63
because it was a
progression of events.
00:19:59.66\00:20:01.00
Well, talk about
the progression...
00:20:01.03\00:20:02.36
You know, there
were many rock bottoms.
00:20:02.40\00:20:03.73
Okay.
00:20:03.77\00:20:05.10
You know, there
were many rock bottoms.
00:20:05.13\00:20:08.40
Like I said, when I was 18,
in the group home, I was like,
00:20:08.44\00:20:11.01
"Look, I don't want to spend
my life locked up anymore."
00:20:11.04\00:20:13.88
So the minister came and
I'm answering the question,
00:20:13.91\00:20:15.88
he came and he
gave the Bible study
00:20:15.91\00:20:17.51
and you know
after the Bible study,
00:20:17.55\00:20:18.88
he asked me to pray for him.
00:20:18.91\00:20:20.42
No one had ever asked
me to pray for them before.
00:20:20.45\00:20:22.55
So I was like,
"Okay, if you want me to."
00:20:22.58\00:20:23.99
And after I got done, he's
like you better be careful,
00:20:24.02\00:20:25.85
the Lord might be
calling you to the ministry.
00:20:25.89\00:20:27.82
I never forget what he
said, he said it's a hard life
00:20:27.86\00:20:29.76
but the blessing
is in the ministry.
00:20:29.79\00:20:31.69
Then I went to juvenile
00:20:31.73\00:20:33.16
and I was telling
the young brothers there,
00:20:33.19\00:20:34.53
because I skip school, you know,
00:20:34.56\00:20:35.90
if we do things the Lord's way,
00:20:35.93\00:20:37.27
we don't have to
spend our life locked up.
00:20:37.30\00:20:38.63
They were like,
"What you want to do?"
00:20:38.67\00:20:40.00
I said, "I don't know.
00:20:40.04\00:20:41.37
Make some money,
you know, get a wife."
00:20:41.40\00:20:42.74
You should be a preacher,
so that was a second time.
00:20:42.77\00:20:44.11
So I really started
to think about it then.
00:20:44.14\00:20:46.11
And the desire was
there even then at 18
00:20:46.14\00:20:48.84
to want to change,
want to follow the Lord.
00:20:48.88\00:20:51.61
But even though
the desire was there,
00:20:51.65\00:20:53.25
I didn't have no power,
00:20:53.28\00:20:54.68
I was still addicted to
drugs, I was still fornicating,
00:20:54.72\00:20:57.89
I couldn't really
break away from my friends
00:20:57.92\00:20:59.65
or the environment
that I was in Knoxville.
00:20:59.69\00:21:02.39
And I had ended
up going to jail.
00:21:02.42\00:21:06.76
And when I was in jail,
00:21:06.80\00:21:08.76
so the desire was
there to want to change,
00:21:08.80\00:21:10.73
to want to get into the
church, you go to ministry
00:21:10.77\00:21:13.03
but I didn't have the
power, ended up going to jail.
00:21:13.07\00:21:15.34
When I was in jail, I
only go back for a second
00:21:15.37\00:21:17.61
because the desire was
there like I said, the weed,
00:21:17.64\00:21:19.64
I would be smoking and
my friends are having fun
00:21:19.67\00:21:21.91
and I'm sitting there and
I'm like it's like Solomon,
00:21:21.94\00:21:24.05
vanity is vanity, all is vanity.
00:21:24.08\00:21:26.01
It's just didn't
have the joy anymore.
00:21:26.05\00:21:28.38
And the Holy Spirit
will say, "Now, look son,
00:21:28.42\00:21:30.32
how long are just going to stay,
00:21:30.35\00:21:32.49
it's not doing for you anymore.
00:21:32.52\00:21:35.89
Like I said, I went to jail,
00:21:35.92\00:21:37.26
and when I was in
jail, I was in the hole.
00:21:37.29\00:21:39.46
And this is where the
really change in point happened,
00:21:39.49\00:21:41.53
you see there's power
in the word, you know,
00:21:41.56\00:21:42.90
Hebrews 4:12,
00:21:42.93\00:21:44.27
sharper than a two-edged sword.
00:21:44.30\00:21:45.63
I read the Bible, I
was in the hole, you know,
00:21:45.67\00:21:47.30
the hole was 23 hours in a cell
00:21:47.34\00:21:49.74
and only one hour out.
00:21:49.77\00:21:51.11
And I was in the
hole for a month.
00:21:51.14\00:21:52.47
So what I did in order
to keep from tripping out,
00:21:52.51\00:21:53.94
I read the Bible page to page.
00:21:53.98\00:21:55.31
I will read the Bible
all night and sleep all day,
00:21:55.34\00:21:58.11
and two verses
that really hit me
00:21:58.15\00:21:59.61
was the Book of Hebrews
where the writer was talking
00:21:59.65\00:22:01.22
about after you've tasted
God and you continue to sin,
00:22:01.25\00:22:03.35
you re-crucify him afresh.
00:22:03.39\00:22:05.09
And I was like, and I could
just picture him in my head,
00:22:05.12\00:22:07.42
that was...
00:22:07.46\00:22:08.82
The other verse
that hit me was Romans 1
00:22:08.86\00:22:10.96
where Paul was
talking about people
00:22:10.99\00:22:12.33
who've never even
heard of the Gospel of Jesus
00:22:12.36\00:22:14.63
but because they
refused the Holy Spirit,
00:22:14.66\00:22:16.63
but what they
know God gives them
00:22:16.67\00:22:18.00
over to a reprobate mind,
00:22:18.03\00:22:19.37
so then two verses,
they're two things for me.
00:22:19.40\00:22:20.77
One, I was like,
"Lord, don't give me over
00:22:20.80\00:22:22.20
to a reprobate mind."
00:22:22.24\00:22:23.57
And two, at that time,
00:22:23.61\00:22:25.21
I realized what sin
did to the heart of God
00:22:25.24\00:22:28.21
because when you're unconverted,
00:22:28.24\00:22:29.78
you don't realize
that sin kills Jesus,
00:22:29.81\00:22:32.71
you're like it's
just fornication,
00:22:32.75\00:22:34.08
we're made to have
sex, what's wrong with that?
00:22:34.12\00:22:35.72
Or it's just a little
blunt, but at that point,
00:22:35.75\00:22:38.02
it really hit me
like it hit my spirit.
00:22:38.05\00:22:41.29
The Holy Spirit showed me
that sin literally killed Jesus.
00:22:41.32\00:22:44.89
And the sins that
I've done in my life
00:22:44.93\00:22:47.16
flashed before my
eyes, and I started crying.
00:22:47.20\00:22:49.23
And I was like,
"God, I didn't know Jesus.
00:22:49.26\00:22:50.90
I didn't know this is what...
00:22:50.93\00:22:52.33
I didn't know what
it's done to your heart."
00:22:52.37\00:22:54.37
And that really,
since that point,
00:22:54.40\00:22:56.74
my life began to change
because the word was in me.
00:22:56.77\00:22:59.51
See, I had the desire
there at 18, but no power,
00:22:59.54\00:23:01.71
but with the word came power.
00:23:01.74\00:23:03.08
Now you got the word, okay.
So you got to read the Bible.
00:23:03.11\00:23:04.45
There you go.
00:23:04.48\00:23:05.81
So I mean, sin
just started to fall off
00:23:05.85\00:23:07.92
through that word.
00:23:07.95\00:23:09.28
And, yeah, so
that's where, you know,
00:23:09.32\00:23:12.49
the conviction really hit.
00:23:12.52\00:23:13.86
And I still hadn't
found out about Adventism
00:23:13.89\00:23:15.76
or anything yet.
00:23:15.79\00:23:17.13
So make a long story short,
00:23:17.16\00:23:19.83
you know, I had the desire there
00:23:19.86\00:23:21.20
and I started going to this
First Day church for a while,
00:23:21.23\00:23:23.06
and the pastor there,
you know, he used to be
00:23:23.10\00:23:24.47
one of biggest dope
dealers in Knoxville
00:23:24.50\00:23:26.27
and he was giving his
testimony how the Lord hit him,
00:23:26.30\00:23:28.80
how he flushed like $10,000
worth of dope down the toilet.
00:23:28.84\00:23:31.91
And now he was
preaching and since then
00:23:31.94\00:23:33.44
he had been a minister
and that really spoke to me.
00:23:33.48\00:23:35.58
And then the elder came up to me
00:23:35.61\00:23:37.48
and he said, you know,
"You better be careful."
00:23:37.51\00:23:39.95
I'm sorry.
00:23:39.98\00:23:41.32
Elder came up to me, he's
like, "You're going to find out
00:23:41.35\00:23:42.68
what your name means soon."
00:23:42.72\00:23:44.05
You know, my name is Joshua,
it means Jehovah is salvation
00:23:44.09\00:23:45.65
but I don't know it then.
00:23:45.69\00:23:47.02
So I got to study Bible,
00:23:47.06\00:23:48.39
it was like
Jehovah is salvation,
00:23:48.42\00:23:49.76
so I was like, "Okay, okay."
00:23:49.79\00:23:51.13
So the Lord is speaking to me.
00:23:51.16\00:23:52.49
And you know, I would watch TV
and stuff like that, you know,
00:23:52.53\00:23:54.13
these are first
day religious channels,
00:23:54.16\00:23:56.87
and it's like, because I
don't know about Adventism,
00:23:56.90\00:23:59.00
I never heard of it.
00:23:59.03\00:24:00.37
And as you're
talking, talk about
00:24:00.40\00:24:02.14
how you heard
about Adventism as well?
00:24:02.17\00:24:03.91
Okay, I'm getting
there, I'm getting there.
00:24:03.94\00:24:05.27
Okay.
00:24:05.31\00:24:06.64
So I just really want
to get this thought across,
00:24:06.68\00:24:09.78
so you can see the progression.
00:24:09.81\00:24:11.15
Oh, yeah, definitely.
00:24:11.18\00:24:12.51
So it's like the
preacher was speaking
00:24:12.55\00:24:13.88
directly into my life,
00:24:13.92\00:24:15.25
so how we can
see the Lord working?
00:24:15.28\00:24:16.85
When I was
young, He locked me up,
00:24:16.89\00:24:18.22
so I would
develop a prayer life.
00:24:18.25\00:24:19.75
When I was 18, 19,
He put me in the cell
00:24:19.79\00:24:21.72
so I could read
the Bible page to page.
00:24:21.76\00:24:23.49
And then I ended up,
make a long story short,
00:24:23.53\00:24:25.86
I ended up going to prison
00:24:25.89\00:24:27.66
because I was
trying to live for the Lord
00:24:27.70\00:24:29.03
and it was there but I
was constantly being pulled,
00:24:29.06\00:24:31.00
you know, through
my family and things,
00:24:31.03\00:24:32.60
my homeboys and stuff like this.
00:24:32.63\00:24:34.10
So I ended up going to prison
and that's where I found out
00:24:34.14\00:24:35.90
about Adventism.
00:24:35.94\00:24:37.27
So you see the full circle,
the group homes, prayer life.
00:24:37.31\00:24:40.91
Jail, read the
Bible page to page.
00:24:40.94\00:24:43.18
Prison, I found
out about Adventism.
00:24:43.21\00:24:45.01
And I was 20 at this time,
00:24:45.05\00:24:46.38
I was 19 when I went to
prison, aggravated burglary,
00:24:46.41\00:24:48.18
I was supposed to
get a six year sentence
00:24:48.22\00:24:49.55
but I got it two,
the Lord blessed me.
00:24:49.58\00:24:51.39
And when you get a
two, you do ten months
00:24:51.42\00:24:55.16
and the rest of it on probation.
00:24:55.19\00:24:56.86
So I went in there
and I made this a Muslim,
00:24:56.89\00:24:58.56
brother Aaron!
00:24:58.59\00:24:59.93
A Muslim!
00:24:59.96\00:25:01.30
You know, he tried
to convert me to Islam
00:25:01.33\00:25:03.67
but, you know, Acts 4:12,
00:25:03.70\00:25:05.83
"There's only one
name under the heaven for
00:25:05.87\00:25:07.20
which man may be saved."
00:25:07.24\00:25:08.57
Holy Spirit is like uh-uh.
So I was like, "Look, man.
00:25:08.60\00:25:09.94
I can't explain it to
you," because you know,
00:25:09.97\00:25:11.31
Islam is a real
logical religion, you know,
00:25:11.34\00:25:12.97
they have their own
empire, the Ottoman Empire
00:25:13.01\00:25:14.68
all the way up
to the 19th century,
00:25:14.71\00:25:16.04
makes a lot of sense,
00:25:16.08\00:25:17.41
and Farrakhan,
the brother can speak
00:25:17.45\00:25:18.78
but it's deceptive.
00:25:18.81\00:25:20.45
So because I was
really pushing towards it,
00:25:20.48\00:25:23.99
but the Holy Spirit
is like, "Acts 4:12.
00:25:24.02\00:25:26.19
There's only one
name under the heaven
00:25:26.22\00:25:27.56
which man may be saved."
00:25:27.59\00:25:28.92
There you go.
00:25:28.96\00:25:30.29
So I was, "Look, I
can explain it to you,
00:25:30.33\00:25:31.66
but it's, you know, Jesus."
00:25:31.69\00:25:33.03
He was like, "Okay,"
he was mad, you know,
00:25:33.06\00:25:34.40
he's like, you know, he's like,
00:25:34.43\00:25:35.76
"I hate to admit it
but I like you, Josh."
00:25:35.80\00:25:37.30
I never get the brother's
name, it was Anthony Paggie,
00:25:37.33\00:25:38.93
he was in there for 40 years,
he was in there for murder,
00:25:38.97\00:25:42.30
and he said, "Well,
00:25:42.34\00:25:43.77
at least if you're
going to be a Christian,
00:25:43.81\00:25:45.14
be a Seventh-day Adventist
00:25:45.17\00:25:46.51
because they follow
what the Bible says.
00:25:46.54\00:25:47.88
So the Muslim is the one that
00:25:47.91\00:25:49.24
talking about the
Seventh-day Adventist.
00:25:49.28\00:25:50.61
Never heard of them
my whole entire life.
00:25:50.65\00:25:51.98
He was like, "At
least if you're going to be
00:25:52.01\00:25:53.35
a Christian, be a
Seventh-day Adventist
00:25:53.38\00:25:54.72
because they follow
what the Bible says."
00:25:54.75\00:25:56.08
So he gave me this
book, Antichrist, 666,
00:25:56.12\00:25:58.55
it was breaking
down the Sabbath,
00:25:58.59\00:25:59.92
The 1260-Year Prophecy,
papal persecution, you know,
00:25:59.95\00:26:03.19
2300 Day Prophecy,
the Book of Revelation,
00:26:03.22\00:26:05.49
and like I told you, earlier,
I've always been an action man,
00:26:05.53\00:26:07.76
before I even thought
about being a Christian,
00:26:07.80\00:26:09.20
I read the Book of Revelation.
00:26:09.23\00:26:10.77
And so that's what really
grabbed me about this church
00:26:10.80\00:26:12.83
because it's the truth,
00:26:12.87\00:26:14.20
and it's dealing
with end time events.
00:26:14.24\00:26:15.64
What's going on right now
00:26:15.67\00:26:17.04
whereas most
evangelical churches
00:26:17.07\00:26:18.71
won't even touch that.
00:26:18.74\00:26:20.11
And so I
compared it with the Bible
00:26:20.14\00:26:21.78
and I'm the type of brother,
00:26:21.81\00:26:23.14
if black is
black, white is white.
00:26:23.18\00:26:24.51
If it's a truth, it's a truth.
00:26:24.55\00:26:25.88
So I was like,
"Lord, this is the truth."
00:26:25.91\00:26:27.65
But I had never heard of...
00:26:27.68\00:26:29.28
I was 19 at the time,
00:26:29.32\00:26:31.09
but I had never heard
of Seventh-day Adventism
00:26:31.12\00:26:32.85
or anything.
00:26:32.89\00:26:34.22
So I was like, "What is this?
00:26:34.26\00:26:36.73
I didn't know it
was a worldwide church,
00:26:36.76\00:26:38.26
I didn't know about Oakwood,
00:26:38.29\00:26:39.63
I didn't know about
3ABN or anything like that."
00:26:39.66\00:26:42.46
But what had
happened, one of my friends,
00:26:42.50\00:26:44.50
the Lord had me
call one of my friends,
00:26:44.53\00:26:45.87
and I wasn't even
going to call him, because
00:26:45.90\00:26:47.24
I was like, he's
probably just want to smoke.
00:26:47.27\00:26:48.60
But the Holy Spirit
impressed me, "No, call him."
00:26:48.64\00:26:49.97
So I called him and
he invited me to church.
00:26:50.01\00:26:51.41
I was like, "What!
You invited me to church?"
00:26:51.44\00:26:53.58
You know, because I used
to be hop preaching to him.
00:26:53.61\00:26:55.58
You know, it was not the Lord
00:26:55.61\00:26:56.95
but you know
what's working, you know.
00:26:56.98\00:26:58.31
I understand.
00:26:58.35\00:26:59.68
I was like, "So you're
inviting me to church?"
00:26:59.71\00:27:01.48
He was like, "Yeah, I
met this girl on Facebook,
00:27:01.52\00:27:02.98
so he had met a girl that
was a Seventh-day Adventist
00:27:03.02\00:27:04.95
through Facebook.
00:27:04.99\00:27:06.32
And he's talking about
this Seventh-day Adventist,
00:27:06.35\00:27:07.69
"Oh, you're talking about a
Seventh-day Adventist church,
00:27:07.72\00:27:09.46
don't you know that church
was 10 minutes from my house
00:27:09.49\00:27:11.76
walking distance the whole time.
00:27:11.79\00:27:14.20
So you read about
the Great Controversy,
00:27:14.23\00:27:15.73
tell us about that?
00:27:15.76\00:27:17.23
Well, I read the
Great Controversy
00:27:17.27\00:27:19.30
and I could tell
that it was inspired
00:27:19.33\00:27:21.00
by the Holy Spirit
because when I was in prison,
00:27:21.04\00:27:22.80
I was reading a bunch
of first day theologians,
00:27:22.84\00:27:24.61
and they were good
00:27:24.64\00:27:25.97
but this was
coming straight from God.
00:27:26.01\00:27:27.34
So really convicted me
on the truth of this church,
00:27:27.38\00:27:30.85
and I joined the
church, and I said, "Lord, okay.
00:27:30.88\00:27:33.78
I'm going to be a minister."
00:27:33.82\00:27:35.15
And I desire to go, you
know, to preach the gospel,
00:27:35.18\00:27:37.49
and I wasn't trying to
go to school or anything,
00:27:37.52\00:27:38.89
I'm ready to preach.
00:27:38.92\00:27:40.32
And my elders was like, "No, no.
00:27:40.36\00:27:41.99
You should go to
Oakwood." I was like, "Nah."
00:27:42.02\00:27:43.66
But they told me to go Oakwood,
00:27:43.69\00:27:45.03
so I went to Oakwood.
00:27:45.06\00:27:46.53
I went to Oakwood,
two months out of prison,
00:27:46.56\00:27:48.46
and I've been there since,
I'm getting ready to graduate,
00:27:48.50\00:27:50.97
and by God's grace,
He'll continue to use me.
00:27:51.00\00:27:53.13
And before I go,
I just want to say
00:27:53.17\00:27:54.50
something to people
out there, young people.
00:27:54.54\00:27:55.97
No matter what
you're going through,
00:27:56.00\00:27:57.34
what you're facing,
abusive relationships,
00:27:57.37\00:27:59.34
prison, jail,
there's a purpose for it.
00:27:59.37\00:28:01.61
God loves you and He
can bring you through.
00:28:01.64\00:28:03.31
Amen, amen.
00:28:03.35\00:28:04.85
Josh, we want to thank
you for being on the program.
00:28:04.88\00:28:07.22
Viewers, we
appreciate you to tuning in.
00:28:07.25\00:28:09.75
Be sure to tune in next time
for another exciting program
00:28:09.78\00:28:12.32
of The New Journey.
00:28:12.35\00:28:13.86