Participants: C.A. Murray (Host), Lemuel Vega (Host), Mulissa Sue Fioster, Steven Foster Sr., April Overbey
Series Code: FIN
Program Code: FIN000017
|
00:05 Hi, I'm C.A. Murray and this is "Free Indeed."
00:09 I'm standing in front of part of the original wall 00:12 for the Michigan city prison. 00:14 This wall dates back to 1860, just about the time 00:19 the United States was beginning to engage in the civil war. 00:23 We've been locking people up for an awful long time, 00:25 not only in this country but in the history of mankind. 00:28 But as long as mankind has been locking people up, 00:32 Jesus has been setting people free. 00:35 That's what "Free Indeed" is all about. 00:37 It's the idea that you can be free even behind prison walls. 00:41 That if you are in Jesus, you are free indeed. 00:59 I'm free indeed. 01:03 Exercise is a very important part 01:06 of the inmate program in these facilities. 01:09 Baseball, basketball, jogging in pairs, 01:12 the exercise room, the weight room, 01:14 all of these are very, very important parts of inmate life. 01:19 Getting out, getting a little fresh air, 01:21 having a little fun with friends. 01:23 On today's broadcast we're going to meet Steven Foster, 01:26 a young man who is on that field right now 01:28 getting a little exercise. 01:29 But more than just the exercise 01:31 he's taken time to get Jesus in his heart. 01:34 He's changed his life. 01:36 And you're going to meet him today 01:37 and hear a little of bit from his mom 01:40 and a little more of his testimony. 01:42 You'll also hear a little bit from Lemuel Vega 01:44 as we spend some time together looking at a changed life. 01:49 Exercise changes the physical life, 01:51 the Bible and the Word of God changes the spiritual life. 01:58 My son, I got a phone call 02:05 saying that my son was on TV 02:11 and they got him for murder. 02:14 And I said, no, not my son. 02:17 My son wouldn't do that, not Steven. 02:19 He's a good kid. 02:22 You know, he's got a kind-- a real kind heart. 02:26 And I kept saying no, Steve won't do that. 02:31 And then I turn on the news 02:35 and I see my son's picture on the news. 02:42 For people out there who's got kids it's hard. 02:48 And plus if you get them locked up 02:52 it's hard on you as a parent, 02:56 as any parent who have to go through it. 02:59 And I don't want to see any parent 03:02 or any kids have to go through 03:06 what my kid is being going through 03:08 and what he is going through now 03:10 because he had to spend so much time in prison. 03:13 The roughest part about being in the penitentiary 03:16 is not being able to always call home when you want to, 03:22 not being able to reach out and hold your little ones. 03:29 It's the part about just missing out, 03:32 missing that family time, 03:34 the little moments in life that you can't get back. 03:39 Steven, it's a blessing 03:40 to be here with you in this penitentiary. 03:42 Can you tell me a little bit about your life 03:44 and who is Steven is and why you're here? 03:47 Before coming to prison I was lost, 03:51 addicted to drugs, addicted to alcohol, 03:55 very angry, struggled with my anger my whole life. 04:00 I took it upon myself to always get in trouble. 04:04 I never cared about anything in the world 04:07 until I came to prison and I gave my life to God. 04:12 When I was 23 years old I had my own family. 04:19 I had a pretty happy life, 04:21 but I was abusing drugs and alcohol. 04:25 And it all started with one bad night. 04:28 Things didn't go my way. 04:30 So I thought I would stay out. 04:32 And while I was staying out that night, on my way home 04:38 I ended up getting into a fight with a guy 04:41 and accidentally killed him. 04:46 For me, I didn't know I had killed him. 04:50 But when the police came and got me, 04:52 I found out that I did. 04:54 And it changed my life, losing everything before my eyes. 05:00 I lost my family, I lost my freedom. 05:03 Did you--were you raised in a Christian home? 05:06 No, I wasn't. 05:07 Who began to tell you in the penitentiary about Jesus? 05:10 You don't just come here and they give you a pass 05:12 and it says God and you get connected. 05:14 How did that happen? Volunteers like you. 05:16 Volunteers come in. That means a lot, doesn't it? 05:19 Yes, sir. Brother, I understand the value of volunteerism 05:23 because when I was here I was on AA count letter. 05:25 And there would be a blizzard. 05:26 There would be 6 inches of snow. 05:28 And the AA sponsor would always show up. 05:30 And I was like, wow. And it meant so much. 05:32 So it's a blessing. Tell me about that. 05:34 It couldn't have been just from a volunteer. 05:36 Tell me what began to spark that interest in God. 05:39 I started to look at myself, see my own anger, 05:43 see who I was, see who I was being. 05:46 I wanted to be a better person. 05:48 God wanted me to be a better person. 05:50 I wanted to do God's will. 05:53 And God just started opening up doors 05:55 when I gave it all to Him, when I gave up the drugs, 05:58 when I gave up the alcohol, 06:00 when I started to work on myself, 06:02 God did it for me. 06:03 Amen. Kind of like Jonah. 06:05 Jonah looked at his situation, looked where he was at 06:08 and he decided to try God even though he ran from God. 06:12 Did somebody give you a Bible or--how did that work out? 06:15 I don't know how it worked out in prison. 06:17 I mean, it's different now. 06:18 You bring in decent Bible set that we like, 06:22 that we enjoy, that we can get into. 06:25 I got a Bible that says free on the inside. 06:28 Free on the inside. Do you know what? 06:29 We want to thank our sponsors for them Bibles 06:31 because we ain't got a million dollar credit card. 06:34 It's many, many, many, many sponsors 06:36 who made this Christmas behind bars packages possible. 06:39 It's many, many sponsors 06:40 that's made this "Free Indeed" program possible. 06:43 It's many, many sponsors 06:44 that donated the satellite dish for your prison 06:47 that you can get 3ABN in your cell now. 06:49 Is that a blessing to you? Amen. 06:51 That's a blessing. Do you watch 3ABN in prison? 06:53 Yes, I do, every Sunday 7:00 p.m. 06:55 Yeah, oh, "Free Indeed," Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. 06:59 Praise God. Free Indeed. Free Indeed. 07:01 If you don't know it, "Free Indeed" 07:02 is on the channel here, 7 o'clock and so God bless you. 07:09 Would you look out there, Steven, 07:11 and I know there is some hurting people out there in the world 07:14 that don't know about God. 07:16 Would you share? 07:18 For the people out there in the world 07:20 that have no hope, that are addicted to drugs, 07:24 have a anger problem like I did, 07:27 I want to tell you, don't loose hope. 07:30 Trust in God. Give in your heart. 07:33 He'll give you all the love that you need 07:36 to be able to love someone else and love yourself. 07:40 God will be with you. I promise. 07:43 When I think about holding on to Jesus, 07:45 I think about all the times that I've been through 07:52 from a kid going through abuse, 07:58 from a child growing up being so angry, 08:02 not knowing how to control my emotions, 08:09 just from being in here, being in the penitentiary 08:13 and knowing that at any time I could call on to God 08:20 and I could hold on to Jesus. 08:23 I know He always hears my cries. 08:27 And I know that I always have to be faithful, faithful to Him. 08:32 And I will always be a better man. 08:36 Knowing that my son's in prison 08:40 and to other parents out there, 08:46 just keep the faith and just pray to God to guide your kids 08:52 and help your kids to lift their hands up to God 08:57 and have God get a hold of them like they got hold of my son 09:01 and turn their life around, 09:03 like my son is turning his life around now. 09:06 Because now my son has turned his life completely around 09:10 and he is not doing drugs. 09:12 He is not on drugs. 09:13 And he was telling me that he passed a drug test 09:17 and he is bragging about it. 09:18 He said, "Mom, guess what." I said, "What?" 09:21 He said, "I passed the drug test," 09:23 and he said, "I might not have ever passed a drug test before, 09:27 but you know what, I can now. 09:28 By the grace of God I could pass the drug test." 09:31 And I told thank God. 09:33 And so now he's, you know, he's almost like a preacher. 09:40 Because he preaches to me sometimes, you know, 09:43 Craig come back to me, like I preach to him. 09:48 So now he is trying to come back to me 09:49 and he is trying to help me keep my faith going. 09:53 And even though he knows I'm having a hard time 09:57 and it's rough for me because my son is in prison. 10:01 And it's going to be rough for anybody 10:05 who's got kids in prison, I mean, rough. 10:09 And I wouldn't want anybody to go through 10:11 what I've been through, no one, because it's not easy. 10:33 When your way grows dreary 10:38 And it seems that the load is too heavy 10:45 Grab a hold to the anchor which is the Lord 10:52 He will bear what you can't bear 10:56 Just put your trust in Him 11:00 Hold on Hold on 11:06 And keep the faith Keep the faith 11:12 Don't give up 11:17 He'll be there 11:20 When times get rough 11:28 Hold on to Jesus He can hear your cry 11:33 Stay strong The righteous won't be denied 11:37 When things are going wrong 11:39 He can turn it right 11:42 Hold on tight 11:44 Hold on to Jesus 11:46 When I was a young man Yeah 11:51 My momma, she told me What did she tell you, Sam? 11:55 You're gonna go through some trials and tribulations, son 12:00 Life won't be easy 12:03 But let not your heart be troubled 12:06 No, no, no, no 12:08 And whatever you do, put your hand 12:14 In my God's unchanging hand 12:16 And I know He will see you through 12:20 And keep the faith Keep the faith, son 12:23 And don't you ever give up 12:26 No, no, no, no, no 12:29 He'll be there I know he'll be right there 12:32 When times get rough 12:39 Hold on to Jesus He can hear your cry 12:44 Stay strong The righteous won't be denied 12:48 When things are going wrong 12:50 He can turn it right 12:53 Hold on tight 12:55 Hold on to Jesus 12:58 Whatever you're going through 13:01 Whatever you're dealing with 13:04 I recommend, I recommend to call on Jesus 13:10 He'll see you through 13:11 Yes, He will 13:13 Hold on to Jesus 13:14 Midnight hour, trouble all around you 13:18 Yeah 13:21 You can't find your way 13:23 I recommend you call on baby boy yeah 13:26 Yeah, Lord 13:29 Hold on to Jesus 13:32 When you can't figure it out 13:34 Pour out your heart, yeah 13:36 Whenever it seems things could fall out of place 13:39 Call on Jesus Christ 13:41 Yeah, Lord, I know He will see me through 13:45 Hold on tight 13:47 Hold on to Jesus 13:49 Hold on to Jesus He can hear your cry 13:53 Stay strong The righteous won't be denied 13:57 When things are going wrong 14:00 He can turn it right 14:02 Hold on tight 14:04 Hold on to Jesus 14:06 Hold on to Jesus He can hear your cry 14:10 Stay strong The righteous won't be denied 14:14 When things are going wrong 14:16 He can turn it right 14:18 Hold on tight 14:25 I want to refer you to a text of Scripture 14:28 which doesn't seem like it means too much 14:31 when you just read it 14:33 but it's really a very powerful text of Scripture. 14:36 It's found in Matthew 27:36. 14:39 It simply says, "And sitting down 14:42 they watched Him there." 14:44 It doesn't seem like much. 14:46 Sitting down they watched Him there. 14:49 But it's talking about Christ on the cross. 14:52 It's talking about the people who put Him on the cross 14:55 after they nailed Him to the cross, 14:57 after they lacerated His flesh, 14:59 after they beat and bruised His body, 15:03 they sat down to check Him out. 15:08 They sat down and watched Him. 15:13 I wonder what they saw. 15:17 I saw a program on "60 Minutes" some time ago. 15:20 It says that there are a number of people in the United States 15:23 who have a disease 15:25 that doesn't allow them to recognize faces. 15:29 It was on recognition of faces. 15:31 There are mothers who don't recognize their own children. 15:35 They've got something in their brain 15:38 that doesn't allow them to recognize a face. 15:41 You can sit and talk with them. 15:44 Turn your back and then turn your face to them again 15:48 and they don't remember who you are. 15:50 It's a disease. 15:51 They also said that about 50% of the population 15:55 who know you, your own parents, 15:57 your own siblings, your wife, your husband, 15:59 if you turned your picture upside down, 16:03 they wouldn't recognize you. 16:05 It's a very interesting thing about mental, 16:09 the work of the mind and facial recognition. 16:14 There are a number of universities 16:16 who have come out with studies that say that 16:19 people who are considered good-looking 16:23 are treated better than people who are not good-looking. 16:29 It is no coincidence that 16:32 a cute girl or a handsome guy gets treated better 16:37 than someone who is considered not so cute. 16:41 They've also said that it is no accident 16:45 that most of the successful con artists in the world 16:50 are good-looking and well dressed. 16:54 Now you can hustle somebody in a pair of jeans. 16:57 But if you want to get the real big money 17:01 you got to be good-looking and well dressed, 17:05 because we will accept a lie from a person 17:09 simply on the basis of their looks. 17:13 If somebody beautiful enough comes in here would align, 17:19 scientists say you'll buy it 17:21 simply because it is come from a pretty face. 17:25 Mm-hmm. 17:29 We are, in our world today, over impressed with looks. 17:37 It's true. 17:40 A suit and a tie trumps a T-shirt and jeans. 17:45 Cosmetics, a seven billion dollar industry. 17:52 Folks trying to buy stuff to make themselves look good. 17:56 Cosmetic surgery, that's plastic surgery, 17:59 200 million dollars a year. 18:03 Cutting and pasting and tucking 18:04 and whatever else they do. 18:09 Hair color, 7 to 10 million dollars. 18:14 I don't have to worry about that. 18:17 10 million dollars just buying hair color, 18:19 mustache color, hair color for men, 18:22 all that kind of stuff. 18:24 In Isaiah 53:2 it talks about Jesus. 18:28 Here is what it says. 18:30 "He has no form on comeliness and when we see Him 18:34 there is no beauty that we should desire Him." 18:39 I'll tell you a secret. 18:41 I have a problem with pictures of Jesus 18:44 that try to make Him look too cute. 18:47 Personally I don't like those pictures 18:50 that try to make Him look like 18:51 He just stepped out of a beauty salon, you know. 18:53 Every hair in place 18:55 and that's not the Jesus that I envision. 18:59 Like, I don't envision the Hollywood Jesus. 19:02 Now don't get me wrong. 19:04 I don't think Jesus was unattractive. 19:08 But the Bible seems to indicate 19:10 he wasn't the kind of guy who was so good-looking 19:13 that people would say, "You know what, let's follow Him 19:15 because He is such a handsome guy." 19:17 If you follow the Lord, if you follow the Master, 19:23 it was because of the message, not the messenger. 19:27 The Bible says man looks on the outward appearance. 19:31 Man is impressed with the looks. 19:34 God looks on the heart. 19:38 So God sees beyond your looks. 19:41 And then Jesus said in His own words, 19:42 "The words that I speak to you, they are spirit, they are life." 19:46 Not about the messenger, it's about the message. 19:51 You see we live in a first glance society. 19:54 People talk about love at first sight. It's a lie. 19:58 You cannot love what you do not know. 20:01 You can lust at first sight. 20:04 You can get turned on at first sight. 20:06 But you can't love what you don't know. 20:10 That's why a lot of people say I love Jesus. 20:12 You can't love Jesus unless you know Jesus. 20:15 And you can't know Jesus 20:17 unless you put in the time with Jesus. 20:19 Jesus is not a quick fix, 20:22 instant Burger King have-it-your-way kind of God. 20:27 To love Him, you got to know Him. 20:29 To know Him, you got to put in the time with Him. 20:36 So if you just glance at your Bible, 20:38 it's not gonna help you. 20:40 You got to dig for gold. 20:43 Gold doesn't lie on the surface. 20:44 You know, if it was cheap and easy, 20:45 you can get it at Wal-Mart. 20:47 But religion is not that way. 20:49 We work in television. 20:51 Found out something interesting about television. 20:53 They say if you are putting something on TV 20:56 you get 7 seconds to hold on to your audience. 21:02 You got cable television, you got 500 channels. 21:05 You want them to watch your channel. 21:07 The average person will give you 7 seconds. 21:10 He's got that remote in his hand 21:12 and he is clicking every 7 seconds. 21:14 So if he looks at your channel and he doesn't see 21:16 what he wants in 7 seconds, he is gone. 21:18 Because we are in an instant society. 21:20 Folks want it now. But it's not that easy. 21:22 You can't give Jesus 7 seconds, 21:25 because He is not a 7-second God. 21:27 If you want to get out from Jesus, 21:30 you got to put in with Jesus. 21:32 Amen. 21:33 Folks say, well, it doesn't work for me. 21:34 That's because you haven't given Him the time. 21:37 God says if you give Me the time, 21:40 I will give you the grace. 21:42 If you give Me the time, I will give you the glory. 21:44 If you give Me, I will give to you. 21:49 Jesus says you will find Me 21:52 if you search for Me with all your heart. 21:56 So if you haven't found Him, 21:58 may I ask you to do me a favor? 22:01 Look again, but this time, take a long look. 22:06 Not a glance. Take a good long look. 22:11 And He will become more and more beautiful in your life. 22:16 Because He loves you, He died to save you. 22:19 And He wants you, all of you and only you. 22:27 God bless you. 22:34 We are in a women's prison. 22:37 And would you share with me 22:38 a little bit about your life, April? 22:40 I spent most of my life in drug addiction. 22:42 I grew up, like a lot of people said, 22:44 I grew up in an addictive home. 22:45 My mother and father were both alcoholics. 22:47 Later my mother became a drug addict. 22:49 And so it was natural. 22:51 It was just a normal thing for me. 22:52 That's what was going to happen in my life. 22:54 That's what I accepted. That's what I knew. 22:56 I married a drug dealer. We had a beautiful child. 22:58 And that marriage became, of course, abusive in our use 23:02 and our drug of choice was meth. 23:04 And about 8 years into my son's life 23:08 my ex husband went to federal prison 23:09 and when that happened I started shooting up. 23:12 And I've never done that before. 23:13 And for those of you'd have, 23:15 it takes something extreme from you. 23:21 And about a year after that happened 23:23 I walked away from everything I loved including my son. 23:25 And I went to prison. 23:27 I started making meth and went to prison. 23:28 I served 3 years at Rockville, 23:30 when I was in the county jail, 23:31 I accepted Jesus into my life. 23:33 And this man came and he told me 23:35 I could be a princess. 23:36 And all little girls want to be princesses. 23:37 So I wanted to do that. 23:39 And I accepted in my life 23:40 and I meant that with all my heart. 23:42 And I served the Lord and I served Him 23:43 the whole time I was in prison. 23:45 I came out on fire for God. 23:46 Me and my husband were serving the Lord. 23:48 We got into church. 23:50 I was on the praise team. He played the drums. 23:53 We ministered, we traveled, we did that 23:55 and then I got involved in this place called 23:57 the Lighthouse Recovery center. 23:59 It was to help other Christian addicts 24:01 come to know the Lord and stay clean. 24:03 And we did that and I stayed clean 24:05 for about 9 years, close to 9 years. 24:08 And I used to say that I relapsed 24:11 and I had only relapsed for 4 months. 24:14 But when I fell, I can-- and I can remember 24:17 the day the devil kicked my door in. 24:19 I was walking on a beach in Florida 24:20 and for some reason in my mind I thought 24:23 it would be a good idea that I could drink a beer. 24:25 I hadn't drank in years. 24:26 It didn't seem like that big of a deal to me. 24:28 And I did that. 24:30 And it wasn't very long after that 24:31 I got hurt and I got on pain pills. 24:33 And that was it for me. 24:36 Everything came crashing down. I lost my home. 24:39 My husband and I were on the verge of divorce. 24:41 I was using with my 17 1/2-year-old son. 24:44 And I was crying out, God how could that happen? 24:46 How could You allow this to happen to me? 24:49 Not this thing, you know. 24:51 I thought I could have took anything else. 24:52 I could have handled anything else 24:55 but this thing, you know. 24:56 And we relapsed on meth. 25:00 And then it wasn't even one month, we were smoking it. 25:04 The next month we were shooting it. 25:05 The next month we were making it. 25:06 The next month I was in jail. 25:08 And they gave me 12 years, 15, serve 12, do 6. 25:14 And I asked the Lord in that jail, 25:17 I laid in the floor and I said, "Lord I'm broken and undone. 25:21 And there is not much left of me. 25:24 But what there is left of me, if You will use me 25:27 I'll do whatever You ask me to do." 25:29 I did not believe that God could forgive me. 25:32 I thought I was going to hell. 25:33 I thought I had gone too far. 25:35 I went to a church where if you could walk too far away, 25:40 you could jump out of the hand of God. 25:42 And I believed that I had done that. 25:44 I didn't think I could face my Father again. 25:46 I just did not believe that. 25:48 And He lifted me off that floor in that jail where it all began. 25:51 I was in the same jail where I got saved 25:53 and He lifted me up off that floor 25:55 and He still called me His daughter. 25:57 And He's been using me ever since. 26:00 And I was praying tonight before this happened. 26:03 And He just, as plain as day, 26:05 the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, 26:06 "You can't get to the world. 26:08 So I will bring the world to you. 26:12 I will bring the world to you 26:13 because I ran and fought my ministry." 26:17 We all have something that God's chosen for us. 26:20 We all have a call on our lives that God predestined. 26:24 It doesn't matter how far we fall. 26:27 God didn't see me fail. He saw me fall. 26:31 And He reached down in the muck and the mire. 26:34 And He didn't care what length 26:35 He had to go to, to get me back. 26:38 It wasn't about whether He would forgive me or-- 26:40 it was about when I would just come home. 26:44 Today in jail, in this prison, 26:47 I have a true relationship with Jesus Christ. 26:50 And my message would be, no matter how far you've gone, 26:55 it's not too far. 26:57 Your Father sees you whether you make your bed in hell. 27:00 He sees you. He knows that you're there. 27:03 He has a purpose for you. We are not lost causes. 27:07 We are not hopeless cases. We are not. 27:11 It's not a matter of will He use you. 27:14 It's a mater of are you willing to let Him use you. 27:18 Today I'm willing. 27:20 My favorite Scripture is 2nd Chronicles 7:14. 27:23 It says "If my people who are called by My Name," 27:27 today I'm called by His Name, 27:29 "will humble themselves and pray and seek My face 27:32 and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear them from heaven. 27:35 And I will forgive their sin and heal their land." 27:39 Today He is healing my land. He is healing my land. 27:43 And not only healing your land, 27:44 He went to prepare a home for us in the kingdom of heaven. 27:47 Praise God In closing, what would you share 27:49 to those people in the world who have not found 27:51 the promise and the hope that you have today? 27:53 Just cry out wherever you are. 27:56 There is a God and He is real and I am a witness to that. 27:59 In my addiction, even after I'd served the Lord, 28:02 I said that there can't be a God 28:04 that He'd allow this to happen. 28:06 Even if you've spoken those words, 28:07 no matter how far you've gone, 28:09 no matter how far, that's my message, 28:12 is that no matter how far, 28:14 He still will reach down and pick you up. 28:16 He's not a God who is afraid to get His hands dirty. 28:19 He's just not. He loves us. 28:21 He loves me and He loves you. 28:23 God bless you so much. |
Revised 2014-12-17