Participants:
Series Code: AFNB
Program Code: AFNB002224S
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00:02 - [Announcer] This presentation is brought to you
00:03 by the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry. 00:09 - After losing his godly mother, 00:10 when he was just seven years old, 00:12 John began to hang out with the wrong crowd. 00:15 Disturbed by his delinquency, 00:17 his father, a sea captain, 00:19 began taking him along on ocean voyages, 00:22 but John's life soon spiraled 00:24 into increasingly bad behavior. 00:26 After being pressed into the British Royal Navy, 00:29 John gave up on God entirely. 00:32 He adopted atheism and he loved tormenting Christians 00:35 with his blasphemy. 00:37 Consumed with anger and hate, 00:39 the rebel's life overflowed with misery and despair. 00:42 Eventually he signed on as a crew member on a slave ship, 00:46 but through a strange turn of Providence, 00:48 John became a slave himself. 00:51 When finally rescued, 00:52 John continued in his reckless lifestyle 00:54 of cursing, fighting and drinking, 00:56 but all of this dramatically changed 00:58 during a terrifying storm at sea 01:01 when John Newton, the author of the best loved hymn, 01:04 "Amazing Grace," finally acknowledged his need of Christ. 01:08 John Newton's dramatic and famous conversion 01:10 certainly isn't unique. 01:12 I personally know of thousands of remarkable accounts 01:15 of people from all ages 01:17 who've experienced total transformation 01:19 through the incredible power, love, and grace of Christ, 01:23 myself included. 01:24 I invite you now to join me 01:26 as I share my own personal testimony, 01:28 and I pray that you'll be blessed. 01:34 Everybody in life wants to be happy. 01:38 And many people in the world think that happiness 01:40 comes from either physical pleasure, 01:43 or, "If I could be wealthy enough," 01:46 or, "If I could be more beautiful or more popular 01:48 than I'd have real happiness." 01:50 And so many people go through life 01:52 dissatisfied with what they do have 01:55 wanting something else, 01:57 and I've learned that happiness 01:59 does not come from those things. 02:02 Now I'll start by giving you a little background, 02:04 tell you about my parents briefly. 02:07 Mother and father were as opposite as you could get. 02:09 My mother grew up Jewish background, 02:12 but she wasn't practicing. 02:14 My father grew up with a Baptist background, 02:16 but he pretty much became an atheist after World War II. 02:18 He was a pilot, captain in the air force 02:21 and flew in Europe during World War II, 02:25 but he became very successful. 02:28 He started buying army surplus planes 02:30 and built it into an airline delivering cargo, 02:34 then delivering passengers, 02:35 and at one time he owned two airlines. 02:38 He knew a lot of very wealthy, powerful people 02:41 like Howard Hughes and others in that business, 02:44 and he grew into a multi-millionaire. 02:49 Started in LA, moved the business to Miami, 02:52 had a company called Batch Air. 02:54 Now, here he is, this is wife number four, 02:57 meeting Pope John Paul II. 02:59 If you got enough money, you can... 03:00 He met presidents and he knew a lot of people. 03:02 He was a philanthropist, gave a lot of money away, 03:07 but that's not where happiness comes from. 03:09 My dad used to drink himself to sleep every night. 03:12 He was so stressed. 03:14 Jesus said, "A man's life does not consist 03:16 in the abundance of things he possesses." 03:19 The Lord tells us, "Do not lay up 03:21 treasures on earth for yourself." 03:24 In our garage, we had Rolls-Royce. 03:28 This is not my dad's Rolls. I just grabbed one online. 03:31 He had a white Rolls-Royce, a Maserati, 03:34 stepmother had a Jaguar, Ferraris, 03:38 I mean, they had all the toys. 03:40 Had fighting, coldness, unhappiness in the family, 03:43 and I thought, "What's the purpose of life? 03:46 Nobody seems to be happy." 03:49 "Thieves break through and steal. 03:51 Rust and moth corrupt," the Bible tells us. 03:55 So that's dad's side. 03:57 Mom, I don't know how they ever got married. 03:59 He was a Republican. She was a Democrat. 04:02 He was a redneck from Oklahoma. 04:04 She was a hippie from New York City. 04:07 That's maybe why they divorced 04:08 when I was three years of age. 04:10 It didn't last that long. 04:12 But mom was very talented. 04:14 She did not have much formal education, but she could sing, 04:19 she could write. 04:20 She was an attractive lady. 04:21 And she started writing songs for Elvis Presley 04:24 when she was still a teenager, 04:25 and recorded two or three with Elvis. 04:27 But she had songs that were in movies like "Stagecoach," 04:31 and she knew people like Frank Sinatra, 04:35 and Andy Williams recorded her songs, 04:38 and she wrote some standards. 04:41 She was an actress. 04:42 If you've ever seen the movie, "The Ten Commandments," 04:44 mom had a really little part in that movie. 04:47 And I'd tell the kids, I said, "There goes grandma." 04:49 That was it. (audience laughing) 04:52 But she did some acting in a couple of movies in Hollywood. 04:57 At that time she started having kids, 04:59 and so she gave that up and she became a film critic. 05:05 And I'm condensing her whole life very quickly, 05:07 but she was the president of the Film Critics 05:10 in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. 05:12 And in that position, it's a very powerful position 05:14 because she knew everybody in Hollywood. 05:17 If a movie came out, 05:19 and they spend millions of dollars on these movies, 05:22 if the film critic gave a bad review, 05:25 then their income went down, 05:28 and so they were always afraid of the power of her. 05:31 She was a film critic on "Good Morning America," 05:34 and replaced Rona Barrett. 05:36 And I just threw in a few pictures. 05:37 I could just sit here all day and show you pictures of mom. 05:40 But like here's mom with Muhammad Ali, 05:43 with Sir Paul McCartney, 05:46 Sylvester Stallone, Natalie Wood. 05:48 Some people think she looked a little bit like Natalie Wood. 05:52 Roger Moore, he was one of the James Bonds, 05:54 Sally Field, who's still alive. 05:57 There's mom with Clint Eastwood, and Paul Newman, 06:00 and Benji the Dog. 06:02 I dunno if anyone remembers that. 06:04 So I just show you these to let you know 06:06 that when I was with mom... 06:07 Now dad, I was born in Burbank, California. 06:12 Dad and mom split. 06:13 He ended up moving his business to Miami Beach. 06:15 Mom moved to New York City. 06:17 My brother and I moved around 06:19 through these different places. 06:22 When she died, she was all alone. 06:25 And we saw growing up these people that had lots of money 06:29 and they had lots of influence and fame, 06:32 and we knew some of them, that good looking, 06:36 wealthy, healthy, miserable, killed themselves. 06:40 And I used to think, "Why? 06:43 Does life have any purpose?" 06:46 And so that was the thing that struck me. 06:49 Then I decided I'm just going to, 06:51 I'm going to try and have all the fun I can. 06:55 I saw this commercial where it said, 06:59 "You only go around once in life. 07:00 get all the gusto you can." 07:02 I thought, "All right, well, I'm going to die having fun. 07:04 I'm going to just have as much fun as I can 07:07 and just go out enjoying myself." 07:09 And I started to live a very reckless life. 07:11 I began using drugs. 07:12 I started smoking when I was 13, 07:14 'cause mom and dad both smoked 07:16 and I'd just take their cigarettes. 07:18 Then mom used to smoke pot. 07:23 And one night she said, "Now well Doug, 07:24 I know that you're going to end up 07:25 being exposed to this out on the streets." 07:28 And she said, "I'd just as soon you did it here at home." 07:30 So she started to smoke pot with me 07:32 two or three times a week, or hashish, 07:34 and we'd eat ice cream and watch TV. 07:39 But you know, and so when I was with mom, 07:41 I began to use drugs at home, 07:43 and then when I was with dad in Florida... 07:45 This is actually a Google Earth photo 07:48 of the island that dad lived on. 07:50 It's still there today, Sunset Island Number One, 07:52 and he had that house on the top of the picture, 07:55 right on the water with the dock, 07:57 and had security guards that kept you 08:00 from going on the island. 08:03 Had a butler, a maid. 08:06 Dad had a bar in the house bigger than some bars 08:08 you might find in a city. 08:09 So whenever I wanted to go drink, 08:11 my friends and I would go drink all we wanted. 08:13 And so I learned how to drink with dad. 08:16 And he never realized it was missing 08:19 because the butler kept replacing it 08:21 thinking dad was just drinking more. 08:23 And so my friends and I would often party during the day 08:27 and I started drinking. 08:30 And by the way, all drugs are bad, 08:34 but more of my friends have died from alcohol than anything. 08:38 And I just mention that because I encounter Christians 08:41 every now and then that think drinking a little bit is okay. 08:44 I'll tell you friends, 08:45 one outta seven people that drinks becomes an alcoholic, 08:47 and it's just caused all kinds of misery in our society. 08:51 Christians shouldn't drink anything, any alcohol. 08:55 But then I started getting into more and more trouble. 08:57 I ran away from home the first time when I was 13. 09:01 Went up to the hills. 09:03 I always felt drawn to the hills. 09:05 Ran away the last time when I was 15. 09:07 Dad said, "I don't know what to do with you." 09:08 I was just getting into trouble 09:10 with the police and drugs, 09:13 and I'm condensing the story. 09:15 I left home. 09:17 This is actually a picture from when I was 16 years old, 09:19 a passport picture, and just started hitchhiking. 09:22 I went from Florida to Maine. 09:25 I had lied on my driver's license, 09:28 I'm born in 57. 09:29 I turned the seven into a two on my learner's permit. 09:32 I used that permit to get one that said I was born in 1952, 09:35 which made me old enough to buy alcohol and to get a job. 09:38 So I moved to Boston with some very undesirable friends 09:43 and we began to break into homes and to steal, 09:46 steal cars, steal televisions, 09:48 and it was getting a little more heavy duty. 09:51 And I had a part-time job as a security guard 09:54 during that time. (audience chuckling) 09:55 I know, it's really bizarre. 09:56 And I never stole from the people I was guarding, 09:58 'cause I thought, "Well, they're paying me. 10:00 They trust me. That wouldn't be right." 10:03 But I had a friend who was a security guard 10:05 and he knew about my day job. 10:07 See, I'd guard places at night, 10:08 I'd steal during the day 10:10 'cause if you walk out of someone's apartment 10:11 with a TV during the day, 10:12 they think you're moving. 10:15 You do it at night, you look suspicious. 10:17 My friend, he found out about what my day job was 10:23 and he said, "Doug, your karma's going to get you." 10:26 I said, "You going to turn me in?" 10:27 He said, "No, no, your karma's going to get you." 10:28 I said, "What's karma?" 10:30 He said, "Whatever you do, it comes back." 10:32 I said, "Ah, there's no God. 10:33 There's no such thing." 10:35 He said, "You'll see." 10:38 And I started watching. 10:40 You know, that principle is actually in the Bible 10:42 where it says, "Do unto others 10:43 as you would have them do unto you. 10:45 And with what measure you mete, 10:46 it'll be measured back to you." 10:49 You call it on the street, 10:50 "What goes around, comes around." 10:51 I said, "Nah, there's no God." 10:54 He said, "You'll find out." 10:55 I don't know if he was praying for me or what was happening, 10:57 but not too long after that, 10:59 I woke up in my apartment in Boston 11:02 and my door was open and my TV was gone, 11:06 and my radio, and you should have seen, 11:08 I was so indignant, I called the police and said, 11:10 "You gotta track down these thieves. 11:12 What's happening to our neighborhood?" 11:13 (audience laughing) 11:15 And I started watching, and everything I did backfired. 11:18 I would steal something, and my friends were all thieves, 11:21 they'd steal it from me. 11:23 Or I'd steal something while I was drinking or high, 11:25 and then I'd forget where I hid it 11:27 and I'd wake up and I couldn't find it. 11:29 Or I'd risk my life to steal something, 11:31 and it was broken. 11:33 I'd steal a stereo and plug it in, 11:35 it didn't even work. 11:37 And you know what finally convinced me was a small thing. 11:39 I didn't just quit stealing cold turkey. 11:42 I tried to taper off, 11:45 'cause I noticed that I went to someone's house 11:47 and I stole a box of Krusteaz Instant Pancake Mix. 11:51 And I did it because I was very health conscious. 11:55 I'm drinking and using drugs and smoking, 11:57 but I only wanted whole wheat pancake mix 12:00 because I was very health conscious. 12:02 (audience laughing) 12:03 And so I stole this person's pancake mix, 12:06 and it cost $1.19. 12:08 The blue stamp of the price was on the top of the box. 12:10 That very same day, 12:13 some friends went through my place 12:14 and they took my jar of Tang Instant Breakfast Drink. 12:17 Anyone remember that? - [Audience Member] Yeah. 12:19 - And I had a brand new jar, 12:20 and there on top of the jar it was stamped $1.19. 12:23 and I looked at the pancake mix, 12:24 my friends had drunk my whole jar. 12:27 It was gone, and there was an empty jar with a lid 12:30 and I thought, "Crime doesn't pay. 12:32 There must be a God." 12:34 Once I realized there was a God, 12:36 I thought, "Wow, I better start searching." 12:40 Don't go anywhere, friends. 12:41 In just a moment we'll return 12:42 for the rest of today's presentation. 12:45 Did you know the Bible is the only book 12:47 that has remained on the best seller list year after year? 12:51 Why? 12:52 People everywhere testify there's something 12:54 in the words of the Bible that can transform your life. 12:58 But where did the Bible come from? 13:00 And what's the best method for studying it? 13:02 And is what it says really reliable? 13:04 We have an inspiring free guide we like to give you 13:07 that explains the history of the Bible, 13:09 and why you can always trust what it says. 13:12 It's called, "The Ultimate Resource." 13:15 And you'll also learn how to study the Bible 13:17 and how its teachings can impact your daily life 13:20 in many positive ways. 13:22 To get your free copy, 13:23 call the phone number on your screen 13:25 and ask for offer number 104, 13:28 or visit the web address. 13:29 And after you read this resource, 13:31 make sure and share it with a friend. 13:34 Well, let's get back now to today's presentation 13:37 and learn some more amazing facts from the Word of God. 13:41 I wasn't interested in Christianity 13:42 because I said, "Aw, they're all hypocrites." 13:44 I was looking at Christians. 13:46 Friends, if you want to find out what a Christian is, 13:48 don't look at Christians, look at Christ. 13:50 - [Audience] Amen. - People will let you down. 13:51 Jesus will never let you down. 13:53 - [Audience] Amen. 13:54 - And I said, "Oh, the Protestants in Ireland 13:56 are blowing up the Catholics, 13:58 and the Catholics are killing the Protestants, 13:59 and they all say they love Jesus. 14:01 He says, 'Love your enemies,' 14:02 and they're trying to kill each other. 14:04 They're all hypocrites." 14:05 And this is back during the Beatles era. 14:07 So I started getting into Eastern religions. 14:10 I was just searching through the whole gamut. 14:11 I got into Hinduism, and Buddhism, and I was meditating, 14:19 got into the spiritual science of DNA, shakti, 14:23 transcendental meditation. 14:26 Tried to mix it a little with the Jewish Kabbalah 14:28 and some of the Rosicrucian teachings. 14:31 And I just made this big old potluck stew 14:33 of all these different religions trying to find God. 14:37 Had gone to Catholic school, 14:40 but I was so confused. 14:42 And it was during this time 14:44 my father flew up to Boston. 14:47 He said, "Doug, you've gotta go back to school." 14:49 He said, "Your brother's sick." 14:50 He said, "I've got these companies." 14:52 He said, "You're just throwing your life away. 14:53 You must get an education." 14:55 And he said, "I found a school I think will make you happy." 14:57 I said, "I'm not going back to military school." 14:59 Back then they had no girls. 15:00 Since then they actually have girls 15:02 at New York Military Academy now. 15:03 They had none back then. 15:05 I said, "I'm not going back to an all boy school." 15:07 And he said, "I found a school. 15:08 It's actually two boats that sail around the world. 15:13 It's called 'Flint School Abroad.'" 15:15 He says, "There's girls on the boat." 15:17 And he said, "You'll go water skiing. 15:18 You'll see all the world. You'll have adventures." 15:22 I thought, "Well, all right." 15:23 So right from there he flew me to Genoa, Italy. 15:28 And I'm at the school, they were in Naples, 15:31 and put me on this boat, 15:33 and I found out I'd been tricked a little bit. 15:35 This is actually from the website, 15:37 a picture of the school, the two ships that we sailed on. 15:42 It was a school for the children 15:44 of wealthy politicians and millionaires 15:46 that had gotten involved in drugs or some cult 15:49 to get them out of their environment 15:51 and to try and straighten them out through isolation. 15:54 Very expensive, very sophisticated. 15:56 And they teach atheism. 15:59 They indoctrinate you with atheism. 16:01 They show you films of Darwin. 16:03 You're always reading Ayn Rand books. 16:04 I mean it was... 16:06 And now I'm very religious. 16:08 Now I'm meditating trying to find God in my DNA. 16:12 I was playing my flute down in my cabin. 16:14 And I sort of rebelled. 16:15 I got into a lot of trouble. 16:17 One thing I learned though 16:18 that I thought was very interesting, 16:19 is even though now everyone on board 16:21 claimed to be an atheist, 16:23 we were sailing from Northern Africa 16:25 over to Spain just before Christmas, 16:29 and we encountered a terrible storm. 16:32 And I know on a map the Mediterranean 16:34 doesn't look very big, but if you get out in the 16:36 middle of it in a storm, it looks very big. 16:39 And the waves got to be 25, 30 feet. 16:42 And the bow of the ship was going through the waves, 16:44 and parts of the wave would roll across the boat 16:47 and things were washing overboard. 16:48 The wind picked up. 16:50 It was like a hurricane and the sail ripped 16:52 and the boat's rocking back and forth. 16:54 So you go below deck and everybody's bunks 16:57 and books and things were all tossed helter-skelter 17:00 in the bottom of the ship. 17:01 And everybody was seasick. 17:04 And the captain was seasick. 17:07 And the water was very cold, 17:09 and the captain said, 17:10 "Look, if you get blown overboard, 17:12 we need to let you know, 17:13 you have to be very careful 17:14 because we can't turn around and get you. 17:16 We will mark the spot. 17:18 But in this storm, if we turn around we'll capsize." 17:20 I mean, it was that scary. 17:22 What do you think atheists do in a storm 17:24 when they think they're going to die? 17:26 Nobody needed any lessons. 17:29 And everybody knew what to say. 17:32 So, and I was praying too. 17:34 And they're all making promises. 17:35 People know what to confess when they're about to die. 17:37 They don't need any... 17:38 They know what's wrong. 17:40 Well, about this time, 17:45 when they gave us Christmas break, I took off. 17:48 I said, "I'm never going back to this school again." 17:51 I went home. 17:52 I sold everything I had to my brother, 17:53 and I took off and I started hitch hiking from Miami, 17:57 Florida, to California. 17:59 My grandparents lived in Desert Hot Springs. 18:00 And I had found a cave when I was 15 years old 18:03 hitchhiking around the country. 18:04 Found a cave and I thought, 18:05 "I'm going to go move back up in that cave. 18:07 I'm going to now find God in nature." 18:10 And so I did that. 18:13 On my way across, I got stuck hitchhiking in Oklahoma. 18:17 Now this is Christmas time and it was freezing cold. 18:22 And I had come from Florida and I wasn't thinking, 18:24 and I've got this thin windbreaker jacket 18:27 and no warm clothes, 18:29 and the weather is below freezing 18:30 and I'm out on the interstate begging for a ride. 18:34 And I thought I was going to die out there. 18:35 And I spent hours out there and nobody would pick me up. 18:39 I was hungover from drinking and playing pool. 18:42 The day before, 18:44 I'd lost all my money in making silly bets. 18:47 And I became very desperate. 18:49 I was a pretty rotten person. 18:52 I said, "Lord," I prayed. 18:55 I said, "Will You please help me?" 18:56 I didn't even know how to pray, 18:58 I prayed the simple prayer. 18:59 I asked God for four things. 19:01 I said, "Will You please help me get a ride 19:04 to where I'm going?" 19:05 I still had like 1500 miles to go. 19:08 "Will You please help me get some food, I'm hungry." 19:12 I said, "Please help me get some money. I'm broke." 19:15 And I said, "Please give me a ride with someone normal." 19:18 Because hitchhiking, I kept getting 19:19 picked up by crazy people, or they had ulterior motives, 19:23 or they were drunk and nearly scared me half to death. 19:27 As soon as I finished praying, 19:28 the next vehicle stopped and picked me up, 19:31 took me 1500 miles to the door of Palm Springs 19:34 of where I was going. 19:36 Fed me all the way out. I didn't ask him to. 19:40 He gave me $40 when he dropped me off that I didn't ask for. 19:43 I also did not ask for him to preach to me 19:46 all the way from Oklahoma (audience laughing) 19:47 to Palm Springs, California. 19:50 This guy was a born again Christian. 19:51 So when I prayed for a ride, God said, 19:53 "I'm waiting for the right ride, Doug." 19:55 This guy picked me up and he's just very nice. 19:57 Whenever we stopped to eat, he said, 19:59 "Let me buy your food." 20:01 I had to listen to him or jump out of the car. 20:04 And so, you know, I pick up hitchhikers 20:05 and I witness to 'em now. 20:07 I still do that. 20:08 And I find it helps if you wait until you're doing about 65, 20:11 and then you make your gospel presentation. 20:13 (audience laughing) 20:14 And then you turn and look at them 20:15 and then you accelerate and say, 20:17 "Would you like to accept Jesus?" 20:18 (audience laughing) 20:20 No, I do, I still pick up hitchhikers. 20:21 I don't do that, though. 20:25 So this time now I was going to find God through nature. 20:28 And this is some pictures that my brother 20:29 actually took of when I was... 20:31 I'm 17 years old at this point. 20:33 And I went up to the cave and... 20:39 I found a cave that was, 20:40 it was several thousand feet above Palm Springs. 20:44 And then you go back down in this valley 20:46 and right by the cave there was water. 20:49 The mountain was 11,000 feet. It's Mount San Jacinto. 20:52 There's actually a picture of it. 20:53 I think it's the next picture there. 20:55 So water always came down by the cave. 20:58 And it's a very isolated spot 21:00 even though you're in Southern California. 21:02 And I lived in the cave, I never wore any clothes. 21:05 It was warm. 21:07 And I thought, "I'm going to find God in nature." 21:08 And I even had a Bible argument, "Adam and Eve were naked. 21:11 This is God's plan." 21:12 Now I went to town, I put clothes on, 21:14 'cause you don't last very long 21:15 walking around like that in town. 21:16 But one time I did go to town and I forgot, 21:18 but that's another story. 21:20 (audience laughing) 21:21 So I would panhandle, I'd play the flute, 21:24 and I'd dig around in the dumpster. 21:27 Now think about this. 21:30 When my grandparents found out and they told my father, 21:33 they said, "Doug is getting his food 21:35 out of the garbage behind the market." 21:37 My father worked so hard so that we would not be poor 21:40 like he was during the Depression. 21:43 His father died when he was seven, 21:45 and he and his brothers had to work so hard 21:46 to fight off poverty, and he thought, 21:49 "I never want my kids to do that." 21:50 They said, "Doug is getting his food 21:52 out of the garbage can." 21:53 How do you think that made him feel? 21:56 That just broke him. 21:58 How do you think your Heavenly Father feels 22:00 when He gives His Son to save you from sin, 22:02 and we go to the devil's dumpster for happiness? 22:06 That breaks His heart. 22:07 It's not going to satisfy you. 22:09 Well, the miracle that I didn't share with you... 22:11 Oh, by the way, here's a picture. 22:12 I'm in my cave with my cat, Stranger. 22:16 I found one picture where I had my clothes on. 22:18 Thought I'd share that with you. 22:19 (audience laughing) 22:21 The miracle is in my cave, 22:23 somebody had left a Bible in the cave. 22:25 When I moved into the cave, other people had camped there. 22:27 There was soot on the ceiling, 22:28 and there was some old sleeping bags, 22:30 and pots and pans, and a Bible. 22:33 Well, I didn't pay much attention to it, 22:35 but after about six months, 22:36 I thought, "I'm going to read the Bible 22:37 so I can argue with Christians." 22:39 'Cause I kept meeting these Christians, 22:41 and I thought they were so ignorant. 22:43 I said, "No, you're just... 22:44 I believe in reincarnation." 22:45 And they were just... 22:47 I said, "Bible's been changed. 22:48 You can't believe the Bible. It's fables and fairy tales." 22:53 So I said, "I'm going to read the Bible 22:55 so I can argue with them," 22:56 'cause I felt ignorant. 22:57 They'd say, "Are you born again?" 22:59 I thought, "What do they mean?" 23:00 "Are you washed in the blood?" 23:02 And I thought, "That was gory. What are they talking about?" 23:04 So I began to read the Bible, 23:06 and I got bogged down in the Old Testament. 23:09 Someone said, "Doug, you need to go to the New Testament." 23:12 So I went to the New Testament, 23:13 and I read Matthew, Mark. 23:15 I read about Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 23:18 Every day I'd make banana bread 23:19 from the day-old bananas I got from the market, 23:22 and I'd eat banana bread and I'd read the Bible. 23:26 And I kept saying, "This can't be true. 23:28 No, this can't be true." 23:29 But a voice kept telling me, "This is the truth. 23:31 And just the teachings of Jesus." 23:34 I finally came to the same conclusion as C.S. Lewis. 23:37 He says, "You really, when you encounter Jesus, 23:39 you've only got three options. 23:40 He's either a liar, He's a lunatic, or He's Lord." 23:46 - [Audience Member] Amen. 23:47 - And I said, "Well, He's not crazy, 23:49 'cause He said the most profound things 23:50 I've ever heard. 23:51 He's not a liar because He could've lied to save His life." 23:54 Everything He said resonated with truth. 23:57 "My only option is this man was telling the truth 24:01 that God became a man to save us from our sins." 24:05 And then I knew what that meant 24:06 is that I needed to ask Him to save me. 24:10 And while I was only 17, 24:12 I had a pretty good record of sin. 24:15 And so up there in the cave I got on my knees 24:16 and I said, "Lord, I'm a mess. 24:19 But if You would forgive me 24:21 and give me some purpose for living." 24:22 I was a number one first class zero. 24:26 I was running around in the mountains, 24:27 eating out of garbage cans, 24:29 using drugs, drinking, stealing, 24:31 thought I was spiritual, 24:34 long hair and a beard. 24:35 I mean I was just a big zero. 24:37 I said, "Lord, if You give me some purpose for living," 24:41 and He came into my heart and began to transform me, 24:45 and I felt so happy, I felt a peace and a joy 24:48 that now every time someone came by my cave hiking, 24:50 I started giving Bible studies. 24:52 First Bible studies, I had no clothes on. 24:55 (audience chuckling) 24:56 But they didn't have any clothes on either. 24:58 So you know, the Lord meets us where we're at. 25:01 I think, God, He's very patient. 25:04 I was absolutely sincere, 25:05 and I was giving Bible studies to people. 25:07 And then I said, "Lord, maybe You don't want me 25:09 to live in a cave forever." 25:10 I said, "I want to tell people about You, 25:12 but I don't know how that's going to happen." 25:13 I said, "I'm in a cave, but I feel this desire to tell." 25:15 I said, "Lord, if You want me 25:17 to tell other people about You, 25:18 You've gotta work this out." 25:20 So a quick story. 25:21 After I prayed that prayer and I said, 25:22 "Lord, if You want me to tell other people about You, 25:24 I dunno how I'm going to do it, I'm a hermit." 25:27 I go down to town and I call my mother collect. 25:29 I used to check in and she'd say, 25:31 "Just tell me you're alive once every couple weeks." 25:34 So I called mom. She said, "I'm glad you called." 25:36 She said, "Are you going to be at your cave next week?" 25:38 I said, "Yeah." 25:40 She said, "I'm going to come visit you." 25:42 I said, "What?" I said, "You can't get up there." 25:43 She said, "No, no. 25:44 I'm bringing a film crew with a helicopter. 25:47 They want to interview you. 25:49 They think it's interesting that a millionaire's son 25:51 is living in a cave." 25:54 And ABC, I'm sorry, NBC rented a helicopter 25:58 and a film crew. 25:59 They flew me up to the cave. 26:01 This was actually that day in front of the cave. 26:03 They flew mom in with a helicopter. 26:05 This is Bill Applegate. 26:06 It was on national television three times. 26:08 And they said, "Why are you doing this?" 26:10 I was able to share a quick testimony. 26:13 Right after I said, "Lord, if You want me to tell anyone, 26:15 I don't know how I'm going to tell anyone. 26:16 I live in a cave," 26:18 he sends a film crew to my cave. 26:20 (audience laughing) 26:22 That's when I started thinking, "Maybe He will give me 26:25 an opportunity to tell other people." 26:31 - [Announcer] Don't forget to request today's 26:32 life changing free resource. 26:34 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 26:36 you can download a digital copy 26:38 straight to your computer or mobile device. 26:40 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 26:43 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544, 26:47 or visit the web address shown on your screen, 26:50 and be sure to select the digital download option 26:52 on the request page. 26:54 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word 26:57 with Amazing Facts, wherever and whenever you want, 27:00 and most important, to share it with others. 27:05 Have you always wanted to be a Bible expert, 27:07 but never knew where to start? 27:09 Are you searching for answers 27:10 that will bring you joy, peace and fulfillment? 27:14 Then you'll love the Amazing Facts 27:16 "Storacles of Prophecy" Bible study experience, 27:19 now available in 18 languages. 27:21 Featuring 24 easy-to-read lessons, 27:24 the Storacles are packed with scripture 27:26 and step-by-step guidance that will give you 27:29 absolute confidence about what the Bible actually says 27:32 about the Second Coming, the Rapture, 27:34 the antichrist, and the mark of the beast. 27:37 You'll also get the truth about hell and the afterlife, 27:40 and practical insight about grace, salvation, 27:43 and how to truly live like Jesus. 27:47 Even better, it's absolutely free at storacles.com. 27:51 So don't miss out. 27:53 Get started on your Bible Study adventure today 27:56 at storacles.com. 28:01 (bright music) 28:05 Don't forget to request today's free offer. 28:06 It's sure to be a blessing. 28:08 And thank you for your continued support 28:10 as we take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. 28:13 We hope you'll join us next week 28:15 as we delve deep into the Word of God 28:17 to explore more Amazing Facts. 28:24 This presentation was brought to you 28:25 by the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry. |
Revised 2024-02-23