Participants: C.A. Murray (Host), Lemuel Vega (Host), Shelly Quinn (Host), J.D. Quinn (Host), Brian Collier, Steven Todd, Sylvester Yarbough, William Bumphus, Steve Bewley
Series Code: FIN
Program Code: FIN000010
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00:01 Hi, I'm C.A. Murray. And this is Free Indeed.
00:05 A different kind of ministry. 00:07 The men and women that 00:08 you'll meet in this particular program 00:10 have found Jesus in very trying circumstances. 00:15 They're gonna tell you their story. 00:16 Their own personal journey of their walk of faith. 00:20 We haven't changed their music 00:21 and we haven't changed their words 00:23 because it's their personal testimony. 00:26 It's their walk of faith with Jesus Christ. 00:29 So you're gonna meet some people, 00:30 some men and women, who've made 00:31 some mistakes in their lives, 00:33 but they're trying to change that 00:35 through the power of Jesus Christ. 00:37 You'll meet men and women who have found 00:40 as we have found that freedom is not really-- 00:43 doesn't have much to do with way you are. 00:46 It is more what you are. 00:48 You'll find as they have found, 00:50 that in Jesus you can indeed be free indeed. 01:10 We're calling today's program 01:12 "Amazing Grace and Redemption." 01:14 In fact, that's the first song 01:15 you'll hear the prisoner sing. 01:17 Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, 01:19 that saved a wretch like me. 01:21 I once was lost, but now am found. 01:24 Was blind, but now, I see. 01:27 Those words written centuries ago by 01:29 a slave-ship captain have freed so many individuals 01:32 over the eons of time. 01:34 They've become a rallying cry for those 01:36 who believe in the second chance, given to us by God. 01:40 You're gonna meet Brian today and Steven, 01:43 Sylvester, Steve, and a wonderful sermon 01:47 by William Bumphus, a former offender, 01:50 who is now free in his heart and in his life 01:54 and is trying to free his fellow offenders, 01:57 from the life of crime and a life of prison. 02:00 You're gonna hear how he was trapped 02:02 and how God has set him free. 02:04 Then we're gonna hear message from Shelley Quinn 02:06 and an appeal by J. D. Quinn all in an effort 02:10 to say to those who are trapped, 02:12 you can be free in Christ Jesus. 02:18 Amazing Grace. I think about Amazing Grace, 02:22 I think about Jesus Christ. 02:24 I wonder how if it was for God to send His only Son. 02:28 God, and He died for our sins. 02:30 And we'll talk about amazing. 02:32 Let's just think about how amazing God was in-- 02:34 in showing His love for us to Jesus Christ. 02:40 Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound 02:52 That saved a wretch like me 03:04 I once was lost but now am found 03:16 Was blind, but now I see 03:28 When--when I heard about Free Indeed 03:30 coming to the facility, I--I had no idea what it was. 03:33 I knew that Mr. Bagger was a part of it 03:35 and I knew that 3ABN was a part of it, 03:39 which I read a little bit about them. 03:42 It was--it was an exciting time. 03:44 A lot of people were really looking forward to it. 03:48 They were--they were looking for-- 03:50 for more blessings from this--from this chapel. 03:53 How precious did that grace appear 04:06 The hour I first believed 04:10 My chains are gone I've been set free 04:16 It was--it was-- it was an amazing 04:18 outpouring of unconditional giving. 04:22 I--I--I was--I was blessed here at the facility 04:26 to be able to experience prison ministry 04:30 and I think that's what really set me on my walk. 04:33 My Savior has ransomed me 04:39 And like a flood, His mercy rains 04:50 Unending love, Amazing grace 05:02 I was able to join the praise team a little over a year ago 05:05 and--and made such an impact in my personal walk with God, 05:10 to be able to use the gift that 05:12 He gave me, to encourage and to lead others to worship. 05:19 That's what I feel my job is as a music minister. 05:23 If I spent an hour I'll be a music minister 05:25 or maybe worship person and to-- 05:28 to be up here on this platform 05:31 and then watch the congregation 05:33 worshipping God in this place, 05:36 where there is just a lot of people think 05:40 there is not much reason to worship anything, 05:43 is really uplifting. 05:48 Sylvester Yarbrough, would you please 05:50 come up here, Sylvester? 05:51 This is your first time-- this is your-- 05:54 the first time he was imprisoned 05:55 was for robbery and attempted murder. 05:56 Yes sir. Okay. 05:57 This is your second time down. 05:59 So the first time you didn't like-- 06:01 it didn't like go real good. 06:02 So now you got a ten to five. 06:04 But you have a message for the believer 06:05 and the non-believer. 06:07 Would you please share that with us what that is? 06:09 Yes, sir. I first give it out to God, 06:11 who's the leader and inherit my life. 06:14 You know, once I heard a song that says, 06:15 "I don't believe He brings me this far to leave me." 06:18 I believe that God, He closes one door, 06:20 and He opens another. 06:22 About two and a half years ago, 06:24 I was lost in sin and I was catch in a case, 06:27 drug dealing case. 06:28 They put me in Marin County, 06:30 and Marin County is a rough place, 06:32 very rough jail, one of the roughest jails we got. 06:35 We got two of them. 06:36 But anyway, God was with me 06:38 and He end up putting me in a one of the-- 06:40 a nicer dorm in the jail. 06:43 In this dorm, they were having prayer circles every night. 06:47 First I didn't want to go, 06:48 but I had a friend who coerced me into going. 06:51 I was going because my friend wanted me to go. 06:53 But one night, I decided to go because I wanted to go. 06:56 You know, I mean, now this particular night that 06:58 I wanted to go, God stepped and He blessed me. 07:01 Stepped into my heart. My hands raised up. 07:03 I started crying. I gave it over to God. 07:05 He started blessing me. 07:07 I'm proud to tell you guys to this day 07:08 I'm still doing a prayer circle over my dorm. 07:11 I'm running a prayer circle every night. 07:12 God is still working miracles in me. 07:14 You know, I mean, He's a good God. You know, I mean. 07:17 When God stepped into my life, I started working miracles. 07:20 I started doing things, you know, what I mean, that 07:21 I never thought I would do. 07:22 I made up with my baby mama. 07:24 You know, so many of us have problems with our baby mama. 07:27 I wrote her a letter, and I told, 07:28 "Look, I'm sorry for what I've done. 07:29 You know, what I mean. Please, forgive me. 07:31 She started writing me back. 07:32 Now we have a beautiful relationship. 07:34 God is a good God all the time, 07:35 you know, what I mean. I'm here to caress. 07:37 I'm talking to the believer and a non-believer. 07:39 Sylvester, what would you share with the person 07:42 suffering with drug addiction or alcoholism 07:44 in the world today, that maybe doesn't believe in God. 07:46 Can you share a moment of hope with them in closing? Yes, sir. 07:51 To those particular people, I like to say, 07:52 God died on cross especially for you. 07:55 You know, I mean. That's what He came. 07:56 He came to serve not to be served, you know, I mean. 07:59 So God is a good God. He came to die. 08:01 He died on cross, just for you, 08:03 for your drug addiction. 08:04 He can do all things-- we can do all things 08:05 and Christ would strengthen us. Amen. 08:08 If a--if a person is willing to submit to the Lord, 08:13 He opens so many doors. 08:16 I never in my wildest dreams ever thought 08:18 I'd be on television to begin with. 08:21 I never thought I would be singing worship songs. 08:25 That's going to go around the world. That's just amazing. 08:29 I just still can't really, 08:31 I guess, 'cause I haven't seen it. 08:34 Other than, you know,what we do it and I haven't it. 08:36 I just haven't really. It still boggles my mind. 08:40 That I, an inmate, in Indiana, would in some small way--that 08:45 that I could in some small way make an impact 08:48 on someone in a foreign country. 08:50 It's just amazing. Just amazing. 08:54 So I first went to prison when I was 17. 08:57 They didn't send me to the juvenile facility. 08:59 They sent me to a men's facility Putnamville. 09:03 A 17 years old. Amen. 09:04 And when I got there, I found that is 09:06 where my friends were. Amen. 09:08 So you know, I didn't--I didn't learn. 09:10 And they wanted to know. 09:11 But they didn't want to learn anything. 09:12 You know, a man can only do what a man want to do. 09:14 God can't violate your will. 09:16 It's up to us, amen, 09:17 to be persuaded by the Spirit of God 09:20 and whatever persuaded by us, what we always become. 09:23 So I wanted to live a life of crime. 09:25 I don't want to do nothing else. You understand. 09:27 And so I studied with those youngsters, 09:30 and who is open to that life of crime. 09:31 And of course, I got out. 09:32 You understand, I came back at age 19, 09:35 on a broken down robbery charge 09:37 and didn't know nothing about Jesus. 09:39 Nobody in my family ever was born again. 09:41 Nobody was sane. Everybody was crooks. 09:44 And so when I came back at 19 years old, 09:46 you understand, you know, 09:47 I got hooked up with a organization, 09:49 called the Nation of Islam. 09:50 I'm talking about myself. Amen. 09:51 And so I got into that. 09:53 And that was my religion if you will. 09:54 But then I got hung up also, you understand, 09:57 first time I ever put drugs in my arm, 09:59 heroin was in Putnamville on at--at 19 years old 10:03 and they used to have a dorm-- there used to be dorms there. 10:05 Dorm 4 and they hit me on my arm with some-- 10:08 heroin, you understand, 10:09 and that began 13 years of heroin addiction. 10:12 And so when I got out of there, 10:13 you understand what I'm saying, 10:14 I just, you know, got back in to that lifestyle. 10:17 Doing all my crime and everything, 10:18 you understand and not looking for 10:21 Gees or anything-- Jesus or anything like. 10:22 I guess, just trying to get all the money I can get. 10:23 You know, what I mean, straying as high as I could get. 10:26 And then I wound up, you understand, 10:28 going to the federal joint. 10:29 I went to Terre Haute Federal Penitentiary you understand. 10:32 By this time I was the youngest guy there. 10:33 I was 23 years old. It was my third time down. 10:37 And they had stated, you understand, 10:39 that any hope of me ever been anything else, was very dismal. 10:44 Anti-social behaviors what they said, 10:45 you know, and that's because 10:47 every prisoner had certain time. 10:48 I mean they had a time in a whole, in the dungeon 10:50 and they're placed so that they can hide out at, amen. 10:53 And so when I got there, you understand, 10:54 I mean, I just looked around 10:55 and I seen that all the religion 10:57 and all I had learned and all that, 10:59 still got me in penitentiary 11:00 so I made up my mind then that there was no God. 11:04 And so I say if he's a God, I'll meet him when I die. 11:07 And I say I know my problem is 11:09 and probably you've been there too. 11:10 I say my problem is I'm a doffing, I'm uneducated. 11:13 Always get a wrong girl and live in wrong neighborhood. 11:17 So I feel--so I would know only about two years. 11:19 I said now give me some education 11:20 so it'll give me a good job. Right? 11:21 That's what you say get your education. 11:23 So I said give me education so can 11:24 I give me a good job, when I get out. 11:26 And my family wanted nice square girls. Amen. 11:29 And then we go move way out, 11:30 we bowl them, people down on a corner 11:32 'cause I come back to penitentiary. 11:34 Well, I did and I got my GED. Amen. 11:37 Didn't want it, but I got it anyway. 11:39 But I lost that shield while I was in there. 11:42 I took all the weed I could get. 11:43 You know, what I mean. 11:44 Took so much acid in it that I literally tripped out. 11:48 And thought that I was gonna be discovered--be discovered 11:51 as the first black Picasso. Amen. 11:53 But anyway, you understand, 11:54 so finally, one day they let me out. 11:57 Which was a shock to me when they let me out 11:58 'cause I was locked up in block down 12:02 when they let me-- when they let me out. 12:04 And before I got home, they'll say that was already had. 12:08 And then of course out there what I say, 12:10 they're going to find me, find me a nice girl 12:12 that would put a life, we moved way up. 12:14 But the problem is not anybody else. 12:16 The problem is us. And so even that did good. 12:19 Got me a job for the first time in my life. Amen. 12:22 I worked a job nine months, 12:23 didn't shoot no dope except on the weekends, amen. 12:27 And I thought everything was going fine. 12:29 Everything was going fine you understand and then, 12:32 one day I get a knock on a door, amen. 12:34 And the guy wanted me to take him to get some dope. 12:37 And, you understand what I'm saying 12:38 I couldn't stand to see people sick. 12:39 You understand what I'm saying. 12:40 But I don't want nobody know what I was doing, 12:42 so I told him, "No, man. 12:43 I'm not taking you get no dope. 12:44 I stopped, get a black folk, you know. 12:46 But he kept on begging, you understand, 12:48 so I went on and took him to get some dope. 12:50 Well, and next thing I know to come 12:52 running out of dope man's house. 12:54 They would end in stuck up the dope man in my car. 12:57 Now well, my car, how many do of us 12:59 got to have my car now, right. 13:01 So we have a man which is a half of it. 13:02 All I got was some cocaine and some heroin. 13:05 Anyway I go down on the street to sell that 13:07 and come to fan, and they got a contract on me. 13:09 I ain't ready to deal with that. 13:11 So make a long story short, you understand, 13:13 I locked myself up in my house, me and the girl, 13:14 you understand, with all this dope. 13:16 Now you know, what happened? 13:18 Three weeks later, we had to break the apartment 13:19 ourselves, amen, 'cause I had shot all the dope. 13:22 So then I hit the street, you all understand, 13:24 and finally after two years, they catch me and my partner 13:28 back at the man's driveway 13:30 with all his merchandise in our car. 13:32 Well, I go on the road, I was on the road for four years, 13:34 amen, married this girl, you understand, 13:36 'cause a wife can't tell on her husband. 13:38 And then over to her sister's house, 13:41 we get a little argument, 13:43 'cause I'm talking about everybody 13:44 and her sister winded up shooting me. 13:46 But when she shoot me, and now-- now I can't go to the hospital, 13:49 'cause I'm on the run. Right? 13:50 But now I got this stuck on my mind. 13:52 I got to kill the girl. 13:53 I mean, you don't shoot no player in legal. Right? 13:57 And so I'm planning on that, you understand. 13:59 In the meantime they know it, so they set me up. 14:01 And I moved to my mother's house, you understand. 14:04 I stole the girl's car and I'm planning on 14:06 sticking up this bank in the morning. 14:08 And if I get away with it, I may leave town. 14:09 If I don't, you understand, then they go, 14:11 I'm just going have a shoot out, 14:12 'cause I'm not going back to penitentiary. 14:14 The girls called the police on me. 14:15 Next thing, I know police 14:16 come in there, bust the whole house. 14:18 I'm down to jail. It's over. 14:21 My partner already got two 20s out of it. 14:23 I've been on the run for four years. 14:24 So you know, I ain't going nowhere 14:25 and here I am in a state like that. 14:28 And I hear the gospel. 14:31 I'm in a jail and so a preacher comes down in here 14:33 and he gets to talking about how give your life to Jesus Christ 14:36 and everything will be all right. 14:37 Well, I wanted everything to be all right, 14:39 but I didn't believe in Jesus. 14:40 I didn't believe in the Bible. 14:41 But I wanted a prayer so I got to pray anyway. 14:44 He didn't lead us in those sentences of prayer anything. 14:46 Anyway I get to the jail. 14:47 I found out they've decided to give me 60 years. 14:50 They'll give me 20 for the theft, 10 for--I mean, 14:53 10 for a theft, 20 for the burglary, 14:56 and 30 years for being habitual criminal, 14:58 and they're going run it, wow. 15:00 It means, I may had do to 10, 15:01 then do to 20, and then do to 30. 15:04 And I'm lying up in there like that, but here's the key. 15:06 There was a Bible study going on in a sale block. 15:09 And End Brothers reached out to me, saying, 15:11 Shane that was unsay to heathen 15:14 and began to share the gospel with me 15:15 and in about a week, you understand, 15:17 I'm arguing with them, I wanted what they had. 15:20 I couldn't understand the gospel, 15:21 didn't understand the Bible, didn't understand, none of it. 15:23 But I see they had some peace in their life. 15:25 They was facing electric chair. They had capital crimes. 15:29 And he was talking about Jesus Christ 15:31 that made a difference in their life. 15:32 If I give my life to Jesus Christ, 15:33 and hear what they told me, I won't get no 60 years. 15:36 I mean that sounds good. Amen. 15:39 That's what the Bible calls good news. Amen. 15:41 And so after about a week, arguing with them, 15:43 I finally asked a guy, man how will I get to be like you? 15:46 And I thought, thought he is going 15:47 to teach me some real deep. 15:48 He said, man, all you got to do is ask 15:50 Jesus Christ to come in to your heart. 15:53 I said, okay, well, how do you know Jesus is alive? 15:55 And how do you know that the Bible is the only word to God? 15:59 Well, being good Christians, they quoted Romans 10 and 9. 16:02 They said, man, the Bible said, 16:03 that if you will confess with your mouth to Lord Jesus, 16:05 believe me, in your heart that God has raised 16:07 him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 16:09 Then that sounded good, but in the religion 16:11 that I was in, I didn't believe that God 16:12 will raise you from the dead, amen. 16:14 'Cause I, you know, I just didn't believe that. 16:16 But I knew they still had something. 16:18 So I was okay, man, break that down for me. 16:21 And he broke it down like that. 16:22 He said man, here's what that means. 16:23 That means if you ask Jesus Christ 16:25 to come in your heart and He don't come, 16:28 then it means, He's not alive and the Bible's alive. 16:31 He said but if you're serious about it, 16:32 you ask Jesus Christ come to your heart and He does come. 16:36 Then it means, Jesus is alive 16:37 and the Bible is the only word of God. 16:40 Right then, at JIC I made my mind above the fan 16:42 and I found myself is Jesus who we say He is. 16:46 And I prayed and as Jesus Christ come to my heart, 16:48 what everything that's in me and when I prayed that prayer 16:50 I knew that I knew that I knew that I knew 16:52 that I knew that Jesus is alive 16:55 and that the Bible is only word of God. 16:59 As I stayed in that word, I told my attorney man, 17:02 tell him, you know, I mean, I plead guilty, 17:05 I'm looking for a deal, 'cause I'm guilty 17:06 I'm believing God for a miracle. 17:08 He said well you need a miracle. 17:09 He said they're gonna prosecute you 17:10 to the fullest extent of the law. 17:12 We had three pre-trails, you know, what I'm saying, 17:14 go down, come back until you following the third one. 17:17 My attorney said, man, may even there is God? 17:20 He's called they said, they'll drop that 60 17:22 and give you five years. 17:24 I screamed at him, "Hurry up go get them papers, 17:26 you know, before they change their mind." 17:28 But then I remembered the girl. 17:29 You know, the girl sneezed on me, right? 17:31 She was on the second floor. 17:32 Before I got born again, 17:33 I'll try to have something done to her. 17:35 But now that I'm saying I love everybody, amen. 17:37 So I say, no, tell them, I'll take that five, 17:39 if they cut the girl loose, amen. 17:41 But if they don't cut the girl loose, 17:43 tell them, I'll still take that five. 17:44 How am I doing, I'm talking? Amen. 17:46 And they wind up giving me four years. 17:49 I went to Michigan City, rubbed my Judge 17:51 a lot after I got there. 17:53 Ten months later, you understand, 17:54 I went to court and they released me 17:56 on short probation, on the grounds they believe 17:58 that I was a born again Christian. 18:00 Now that has been 33 years ago. 18:02 I had no dope in 33 years, no alcohol in 33 years. 18:06 Met my wife, when I got outside, 18:08 been married 33 years, amen. 18:10 I traveled all over the world, 18:11 talking about Jesus and nobody pays me a dime. 18:14 I'm here to let you know today, 18:15 and encourage you that Jesus is alive 18:19 and if you want a change in your life 18:20 that's all the way going to go. 18:22 The only way He's going come is by you having 18:24 a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 18:26 And so I pray, you understand, 18:28 as they close this program that the law being spoke to you 18:31 in some way, may be in music, 18:33 you understand sub mile say it, 18:34 that make you a quality decision for Jesus Christ today. 18:37 God bless you all. Thank you. 18:43 Steven, this program is called Free Indeed. 18:46 And you're getting ready to be free indeed 18:47 'cause you fixing to go home. Yes, sir. 18:49 What would you like to share to that 18:51 alcoholic that's still suffering in society today? 18:53 Well, I would like to share our hope that, 18:57 by something I may say or something that's 19:00 happened in my life, keep you from having say 30 years, 19:03 to realize that, there's hope. 19:06 There's promise and maybe if you come out of the bottle, 19:11 come out of the streets, and you can be a ray of hope 19:13 for somebody else and somebody else's life. 19:16 Steve, is that hope for you through Jesus Christ-- 19:18 Yes, sir. As your personal savior? 19:20 But Steve, I know--I know that you're fixing to go home soon 19:24 and the Lord has opportunity for each and everyone of us 19:26 starting in here and He'll transfer 19:28 that out to the free world. 19:29 God bless you and thank you very much. 19:31 Thank you. 19:35 You know, I watched you, as you filed in here. 19:38 And I'm glad I did because right now the light is 19:41 blinding me where I can hardly see your faces. 19:44 But I'll tell you something as I watched you 19:46 walk in here, you know, what I saw? 19:49 I saw somebody's brother. Many of you are my brother. 19:54 I saw somebody's husband. I saw somebody's son. 20:00 And I know I saw God's sons walking through here. 20:06 John 3:16, The Bible said, "For God so loved the world 20:12 he gave his only begotten son." 20:17 When we think of grace, Jesus Christ 20:21 is the greatest gift of grace 20:24 that God has ever given to human kind. 20:28 And He gave him why? So that none-- 20:33 Whoever would believe in Him, should not perish. 20:38 He's not just talking about perishing here now. 20:41 He's talking about perishing for eternity. 20:44 But He says, whoever believes in Him should not perish. 20:48 But would have everlasting life 20:51 for God did not send His son into the world 20:54 to condemn the world, to say you're guilty. 20:58 He sent him into the world, that through Him, 21:02 we might be saved and rescued from this darkness. 21:07 It says, "He who believes in Him is not condemned." 21:13 If you believe in Jesus, society may have 21:15 condemned you for what you've-- 21:18 wrong choices you made, but if you accept Jesus, 21:22 God accounts His righteousness to you. 21:25 And God does not condemn you. 21:27 He finds you innocent, because Christ 21:30 perfect record of obedience is accredited to your account. 21:34 He took his sins, our sins and put them on Jesus 21:39 at the cross and gave Jesus perfect record 21:42 of righteousness to us. Hallelujah. 21:46 The Bible says in James 4, 7 and 10. 21:50 "Submit yourself to God. 21:53 Resist the devil, and He will flee from you. 21:59 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. 22:03 Cleanse your hands, you sinners, 22:04 purify your hearts, you double-minded. 22:07 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord. 22:10 And he will lift you up." 22:12 There's a scripture that says, 22:14 "God gives grace to the humble." 22:18 Maybe that's why, it's so hard for us to accept grace. 22:23 It's because it's hard for us to humble ourselves. 22:27 I want to share one of my favorite scriptures 22:29 in the short time that I have left. 22:32 It's from the Prophet Micah and is Micah 7:7 through 9. 22:36 He says, "Therefore I will look to the Lord, 22:38 I will wait for the God of my salvation, 22:41 my God will hear me. 22:43 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy, when I fall, 22:47 I will arise, when I sit in darkness, 22:49 the Lord will be a light to me. 22:51 I will hear the indignation of the Lord, 22:53 because I have sinned against Him, 22:56 until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. 23:01 He will bring me forth into the light, 23:04 and I will see his righteousness." 23:07 There's one other quick scripture I want to read. 23:13 A lot of you have received that light. 23:15 Some of you will be getting out to go 23:18 and share that light or to share the light here. 23:21 I want to read to you from 23:23 Philippians 2, I begin with verse 13. 23:27 It says, "It is God who works in you 23:30 to will and to do His good pleasure." 23:32 You can't change yourself. 23:34 You've got to have God working in you. 23:38 And he says, "Do all things 23:40 without complaining and disputing." 23:42 That's a little difficult, isn't it? 23:44 But then He says, "That you may become 23:47 blameless and harmless children of God 23:50 without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse world. 23:55 You shine as lights in the world, 23:59 holding fast the word of God." 24:02 As we, you know, the moon doesn't have a light of its own. 24:07 The moon only reflects the light of the sun. 24:09 But as we turn our eyes to the sun of God, His light, 24:16 His glory would be in us and we can reflect that 24:20 and I want to challenge you today 24:23 to share the light, that God has shared in your life 24:27 and we find that light in His word. 24:31 This word is a light to our feet, 24:33 and a lamp to our path. 24:35 And I thank you so much for being here today. 24:40 One of the lessons that I missed growing up, 24:44 it says, "Draw near to God and then He will draw near to you." 24:51 The way that I understood it somewhere or the other, 24:54 God you prove yourself to me. 24:57 And once you prove yourself to me, 24:59 then I'll grab--I'll jump on the train and ride with you. 25:03 Boy, I was deceived. Don't be deceived. 25:07 Draw near to God, which takes that step of action. 25:11 And if you don't know what I'm talking about it's very simple. 25:14 Father, I just give myself to you. 25:16 If your will just let me know. 25:20 I love this particular phrase here, 25:21 and I use it all the time, every moment. 25:23 I give you permission to work in my life. 25:28 I give you permission and then-- 25:31 then just step back and see what He does. 25:36 Give Him permission, I love you my brothers 25:40 and there's something special we're all brothers. 25:43 We're all broken inside someway or the other. 25:46 Our responsibility is just to merely 25:49 be there to encourage, no more no less. 25:54 And then hold on, because the Lord's gonna tell you. 25:57 He's gonna use you, then you're gonna 25:59 find yourself sobbing sometime. 26:03 They were right. You did have a plan for my life. 26:07 Thank you, Jesus, that I took that step of action 26:11 and gave you permission to work inside of me. 26:16 Some of you may know my name is Lemuel Vega. 26:18 And I work with Christmas Behind Bars Outreach Ministry, 26:21 which carries the gospel message 26:23 literally around the world, 365 days a year. 26:26 We've come to a really critical point. 26:29 We need Bibles at this point and we are asking for your help. 26:33 Do you have any idea as how we can get 700 Bibles 26:36 every month, to put into these people's hands? 26:39 We have a warehouse, it's been donated. 26:41 And we have skids of material in that warehouse. 26:45 Bibles, the skid is empty. 26:47 700 every month and we need your help. 26:49 A new Bible costs $3, 3 simple dollars. 26:53 To put a brand new Bible into these people's hands. 26:56 Is there anybody here 26:58 that would like a Bible, but don't have one? 27:08 We're trying to get more Bibles, brothers. 27:10 Little children brought in dollars. 27:13 One girl gave a $100, a young girl 27:17 that these Bibles could be purchased. 27:20 So if you don't have one, 27:21 please pray that we can get more Bibles. 27:25 You can contact us at ChristmasBehindBars.org or 27:30 Facebook.com/ ChristmasBehind Bars. 27:36 At this point, we're asking for your help 27:39 combined with God's grace I know that the word of God 27:42 in these inmates many of them, 27:44 will be in the kingdom of heaven, 27:45 because you were willing to serve in this capacity. 27:47 Thank you very much. 27:56 Put down 37 years. 37 years now. 37 Years. 28:00 And you say, you've seen 28:01 a lot of church groups through here, but what? 28:03 First time I've ever seen 28:04 anything like this, especially the testimony. 28:07 It's the first time you ever seen anything like this. 28:10 So, you know what, it's not me though, man, I'm just-- 28:13 Oh, I could tell it by your testimony-- 28:15 Yeah, I mean, it's a Lord working on our life 28:18 and He'll do for you, what He's done for me. 28:21 He'll do for me, what he did for Noah. 28:24 He'll do for you what He did for day and night. 28:26 So there's no limitations on God. |
Revised 2014-12-17