Participants: C.A. Murray (Host), Lemuel Vega (Host), Dexter Burns, Portia Westfall, Brittany Morgan
Series Code: FIN
Program Code: FIN000022
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00:13 I am "Free indeed."
00:18 Justification is instantaneous credit 00:20 for the righteousness of Christ 00:22 given to us at the moment 00:23 When we given our hearts and our lives to Him. 00:26 Sanctification is a life long journey of making 00:29 ourselves what God has declared us to be 00:32 at the point of justification. 00:34 It is a growing in grace and a growing in Jesus Christ. 00:38 When we use terms like justification, 00:41 sanctification, righteousness, holiness, 00:44 we don't usually acquaint them with the kinds of things 00:47 that go on inside prisons and yet the truth is that 00:51 men and women are being justified, 00:54 they are being sanctified, they are being made righteous 00:57 and holy even inside prison. 00:58 Men and women are giving their hearts to Jesus Christ. 01:02 Dexter is man, who has given his life to Jesus. 01:05 He's put the past behind him. He's put the old man behind him. 01:09 He's taken on a new name, a new title, 01:11 a new mentor as it were. 01:13 That mentor, Christian, child of God, 01:16 one who is like Christ. 01:19 Holiness is so good to me that holiness gave me power, 01:24 holiness gave me hope, holiness gave me my life back, 01:28 holiness brought people that, you know, 01:31 they show me a lot of love, that I can be loved 01:33 even though I committed a crime. 01:36 You know, when I thought everybody had left me. 01:38 And holiness just brought my whole future back. 01:40 Now, you know, I don't have to worry about looking back 01:42 over to things that I had done. 01:44 Now its a new beginning for me 01:46 and I think that's what holiness did for me. 02:01 Holiness, holiness is what I long for 02:09 Holiness is what I need 02:15 I just want to be holy 02:18 Holiness, holiness 02:21 is what You want for me, for me 02:29 So, take my heart and mold it So, take my heart and mold it 02:37 Take my mind, transform it Take my mind, transform it 02:45 Take my will Jesus, my will Lord Take my will, conform it 02:53 To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord 03:05 Faithfulness, faithfulness is what I long for 03:13 Faithfulness is what I need 03:19 I just want to be faithful 03:21 Faithfulness, faithfulness is what You want for me, for me 03:33 So, take my heart and mold it So, take my heart and mold it 03:41 Take my mind, transform it Take my mind, transform it 03:49 Take my will, hallelujah Take my will, conform it 03:57 To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord 04:08 Brokenness, brokenness is what I long for 04:16 Brokenness is what I need 04:21 I just want to be broken 04:24 Brokenness, brokenness is what You want for me, for me 04:35 So, take my heart and mold it So, take my heart and mold it 04:43 Take my mind, Jesus Take my mind, transform it 04:51 Take my will, Hallelujah Lord Take my will, conform it 04:59 To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord 05:06 So, take my heart, Hallelujah Jesus 05:11 So, take my heart and mold it 05:15 Take my Take my mind, transform it 05:23 Take my will Take my will, conform it 05:31 To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord 05:38 So, take my heart, Hallelujah So, take my heart and mold it 05:46 Take my mind oh, Lord Take my mind, transform it 05:53 Take my will Take my will, conform it 06:01 To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord 06:08 To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord 06:16 To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord 06:27 Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah 06:35 Well, when I came to prison, 06:37 you know, I was kind of, you know, up set, 06:40 not mad at the people but mad at myself 06:42 because the way my family brought me. 06:45 And then I got in Messiah one day and I had a bible 06:50 and I've decided to pick up that Bible. 06:52 Now I pick up that bible it started take me back 06:54 how my parents raised me 06:56 my mind and that's when I started reading 06:58 and dedicated my mind and heart to those words 07:01 what, what God was saying, you know, to me. 07:03 And God has said it me, you know-- 07:07 well, He explained everything to me, 07:10 the good part and the bad part. 07:12 So He told me and gave me a choice. 07:14 He said, I can even choose death or choose life. 07:17 So I ended up choosing life 'cause God has chosen me. 07:21 From there I've never looked back. 07:23 With old Dexter? 07:25 Oh, man, he was always into a whole bunch of stuff. 07:28 You know, he was into all types of things, 07:30 martial things into this world. 07:32 You know, anything you would name I had done it, you know. 07:36 But now the new Dexter, now experienced the world 07:39 why Jesus had made a good heaven and home for me. 07:43 So I don't have to worry about going that, you know, 07:46 to the deepest part of the world. 07:47 You know and I'm saying now I'm in the light, you know. 07:50 So I thank God for what He had done for me, 07:53 bringing me to the light, you know. 07:58 Sister as my wife was visiting with you, 08:01 she had a desire when we came here 08:03 as we setting up to go and visit the women. 08:06 And you told me this not the first time we met. 08:08 Could you tell me little bit about that? 08:10 I was in Grand County jail, 08:12 I'm not sure if it was in '98 or in 2002. 08:16 Some years ago. Yeah, a lot of years ago. 08:20 Those bags, those sacks of goodies 08:23 meant as more than just the food 08:25 and the soap and what's not-- 08:27 meant more to us that was in the sack 08:29 and the items themselves. 08:31 There was also scripter in the sack, 08:34 a letter, a Bible and it meant, I mean, 08:37 that we have never got those things 08:40 from anyone that other then God. 08:44 Because God brought you people to us 08:46 that gave us a faith. 08:49 Well, may be not faith but hope there could be faith. 08:53 You know, it gave me hope that may be, 08:55 how I am terrible lost. 08:56 May be that, you know, as mad I was, 09:00 down He still cared which kind of made me mad. 09:04 I mean, you know, it's hard to accept something 09:06 that you don't want to accept but you're made to accept it. 09:09 You know, I mean, I wanted that bag of goodies 09:12 so therefore I had to believe that there was a reason 09:14 behind that bag besides the goodies. 09:17 They didn't get there by themselves. 09:19 You know, people of God brought them to me. 09:21 Praise God. 09:23 And it was neat, I mean, I never had anything 09:25 do with God before then but I did get-- 09:27 at that time I did start reading the Bible and such. 09:30 So it brought you a bit of hope 09:31 that you were in that situation 09:34 and people would come in and bring you some things. 09:36 Oh, yeah, it was great 'cause I dint get any-- 09:38 at that time I had no money, no commissary, no nothing. 09:41 And I was at a point where I was spoiling my life 09:43 and a woman that hung herself 09:44 and we took her, me and bunky took her down, she was dead. 09:47 And that's exactly what Sergeant Malone 09:49 just shared here. 09:50 The Christmas is the loneliest time 09:51 of ones incarceration 09:54 and somebody hung themselves in that block. 09:55 Yeah, cell next to mine, me and my bunky 09:57 is the ones who took her down. 09:58 And see, that's what the devil wants. 10:00 He wants to drive us to desperation 10:02 that will stick a needle in our arm. 10:04 That will just check out. 10:05 I was on my way to prison at 18 years old 10:07 and I remember one night up in my room, 10:09 I took--I dumped the whole bottle of pills up, 10:13 drunken the whiskey and I remember falling asleep 10:16 and I said it's over now. 10:18 I don't have to worry about tomorrow. 10:20 I don't have to worry about the pain. 10:21 I don't have to worry about going to prison. 10:24 And so I too was on the brink of checking out 10:28 and, sister, I'm sorry that you had to experience that. 10:30 But I'm grateful that you've experienced the hope 10:32 and the power of Christians coming in to let you know 10:35 there's hope in your life. 10:37 So that package meant more to you than just commissary 10:39 even though you didn't believe in God. 10:40 Right, yes. 10:41 I was raised my dad is agnostic 10:44 and I never ever went to church ever, ever. 10:48 My dad's family was, I mean, their God was hateful 10:54 and vengeful and scary so that didn't appeal to me. 10:57 My dad was agnostic, you know, 11:00 he told me he didn't think there was a heaven. 11:03 My mom never went to church although she believed, 11:06 she does never went church 11:11 and I just started looking at there are people 11:12 that call themselves Christians 11:16 and I looked down, and thought they were worse 11:19 than some of the people they didn't, 11:22 and I thought them hypo-Christians 11:24 instead of hypocrites. 11:26 And I thought I don't want to be part of that, 11:29 you know, I could be just fine doing what I was doing 11:33 and not pretending to be someone I'm not. 11:35 And that's what I've done since then, I mean, 11:38 except for the short period of time that I did 11:40 tried to do right and be right 11:44 but I've been mad at God for a long time, 11:47 longer than I really thought I was. 11:51 I'm mad at God. 11:53 You're mad at God but let me tell you something. 11:55 God has brought this program, 11:57 God has brought these packages. 11:59 And, sister, God is wanting to woo you 12:02 and wanting to call you 12:03 and wanting to help you and wanting to-- 12:06 you've lost a couple of children on this journey. 12:08 Yeah, I buried two kids, they were killed in a car accident. 12:12 Had a mother daughter weekend with my oldest daughter. 12:14 I took the two youngest kids to his parents house, 12:18 for the weekend not knowing he was there. 12:22 He didn't tell me he was there. 12:24 He wasn't supposed to have contact with them 12:26 at all and they went to a Euro Club meeting that night 12:31 and he had keys-- spare keys to their car, 12:33 but they didn't know he had 12:35 and he drove in the town drunk and killed my kids. 12:39 Probably the worst day in my life. 12:46 I wouldn't be here if I waiting for my oldest daughter. 12:50 It's hard. 12:57 I don't know where they are since December 8, 13:02 I wanted it so bad. 13:06 But I have my other daughter 13:08 and I didn't want her to think she wasn't enough 13:13 but you shouldn't have to bury your kids. 13:20 When Free Indeed came to this facility the other night, 13:25 it was unbelievable to me 13:26 'cause I don't go to the church services. 13:30 I don't doany of that 'cause I'm a firm believer 13:34 but I'm not gonna ride the fins 13:36 and you gave me a new life, 13:40 a new way of look at things and I've almost picked Bible. 13:45 I mean, I know I'm going to and it scares me. 13:47 I don't know if I'm ready but I've tried prayed, 13:50 I prayed for the first time 13:51 and I can't tell you in how many years. 13:54 you know, and that's what's it meant to me. 13:59 Christ has to be your further friend 14:02 and it starts with a personal relationship. 14:05 We don't know Jesus, we've not met Jesus 14:07 but Jesus has been here tonight. 14:09 He's calling you and He is saying, sister, I love you. 14:12 Can I help you with this pain? 14:14 Will you give Me your heart? 14:16 And that's a personal calling for you and for me tonight. 14:20 Jesus wants to renew, need to renew my commitment 14:22 to heaven this day and He wants you 14:25 for the first time to say, dear Jesus, will You help me? 14:30 Is that the desire of your heart tonight? 14:31 Yeah. Let us pray. 14:34 It's what I need I just want to be broken 14:41 Brokenness, brokenness is what You want for me, for me 14:52 So, take my heart God So, take my heart and mold it 15:00 Take my mind, Jesus Take my mind, transform it 15:08 Take my will oh, Lord Take my will, conform it 15:16 To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord 15:23 So, take my heart, Hallelujah 15:25 So, take my heart and mold it 15:32 Take my Take my mind, transform it 15:39 Take my will conform it Take my will, conform it 15:47 To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord 15:55 So, take my heart, Hallelujah So, take my heart and mold it 16:03 Take my mind oh, Lord Take my mind, transform it 16:10 Take my will Take my will, conform it 16:17 To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord 16:25 To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord 16:33 To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord 16:44 Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah. 16:57 Let's pray. 16:58 Father God, feed us now 17:01 because we're thirsty and hungry 17:04 and we thank You in Jesus name, amen. 17:07 I think one of the greatest gifts 17:10 that comes with surrendering your life to Jesus 17:13 is the ability to overcome natural 17:18 and cultivated tendencies towards evil. 17:23 When you give your life to Christ, 17:26 you get control of yourself. 17:30 Now the truth is everything that makes you, you, 17:34 you are not necessarily responsible for. 17:38 Some of the stuff that makes you, you, 17:42 you got from your parents. 17:44 Amen. Amen. 17:46 Yeah, you've got hair color and eye color 17:49 and a lot of other physical thing 17:52 but scientists are telling us 17:54 that also a lot of the mental stuff 17:58 that makes you, you, you inherited from your parents. 18:04 So what makes you, you, you either got from your parents 18:08 or you picked it up along the way. 18:11 And giving your life to Jesus gives you the ability 18:15 to overcome all of those tendencies. 18:18 Now suppose we were in ship, this is a boat 18:22 and the boat gets hit by a torpedo 18:25 and we're getting ready to sink. 18:29 Now everybody in this room falls in one of two categories. 18:33 Either you're gonna be one of us guys that says, 18:36 you know what, we can deal with this, we can row this. 18:39 Let's, you know, let's get some buckets and bail out the water. 18:42 Let's try to plug the hole. 18:44 Let's row to shore. I can see the land. 18:47 We can do this, we can make it. 18:50 Or you are in that group that says, 18:54 we are going to die. 19:00 And a lot of that is in your genes. 19:02 You know, you get two people the exact same stimuli, 19:06 they respond different ways. 19:08 There are some people here if someone slaps you, 19:10 you gonna think. 19:11 Now do I need to knock him out 19:14 or should I take another route? 19:16 There are others here, someone slaps you 19:18 immediately you gonna slap him back 19:19 because that's you wired that way. 19:22 But giving your life to Christ allows you 19:26 the judgment and the self control 19:29 so that you don't-- you're not on auto pilot. 19:31 You think your way through stuff so it allows you 19:36 to have the strength to control yourself. 19:41 Amen. Amen. 19:42 I got a friend, his nickname is "we dead." 19:48 He is a professor at the seminary 19:51 at Andrews University. 19:54 But years ago when he was a young Christian 19:56 we were in Jamaica driving along a road 20:00 and we had an American car. 20:01 Now American cars have the steering wheel on the left 20:05 but in Jamaica, they drive on the left. 20:07 So that means you're always on the curve 20:09 when you're driving, so in order to pass somebody, 20:12 you got to pull the whole car out on the road 20:15 before you can see if a truck is coming 20:17 'cause they're on the right, you follow. 20:19 So we in the backside, there's a guy on the front seat, 20:22 passenger guy he sleep and so the driver's getting 20:25 kind of impatient so he wants to pass, 20:27 now you pass on the right, so he's got to bring the car 20:30 all the way out before he can even see what's coming. 20:33 So he didn't see a truck for while so he figures 20:35 its time to make my move. 20:37 So out he goes and as we get out there, 20:40 there's a giant truck right in front of us 20:43 and my friend who's now a seminary professor 20:45 but he was a young Christian that then, 20:47 he said two words, we dead! 20:53 And every time I see him he teaches and preaches now. 20:55 I remind him of those days 20:56 when he was a young Christian and he didn't have the faith. 20:58 Now we ain't dead, praise God. We're alive. 21:02 But see, we're wired that way 21:04 and it takes time with Jesus to get the faith 21:08 to be able to deal with the things that life throws us. 21:12 In the natural we are blamers and complainers 21:17 but in John 6:63, Christ says, don't complain. 21:23 Now what does that mean? That means, don't complain. 21:28 Now we need to look at the context 21:29 because there are sometimes when you see things going down, 21:32 you need to complain, amen. Amen. 21:35 There are times when you need to complain. 21:38 But Christ is saying when I'm showing you 21:43 that I'm your Lord when I'm showing you that 21:46 I'm the one driving the bus and not you, 21:49 when I'm taking you through things 21:50 that are going to be for your betterment 21:52 or your growth, don't complain. 21:56 Get on the bus and let Me drive. 21:58 Amen. Amen. 22:00 There are times when you ought to complain 22:01 but when Jesus is moving you through stuff don't complain. 22:06 Just get on the bus and ride. 22:08 A friend of mine, years ago, her son he was six years old. 22:13 He going to school 22:16 and she want to give him a little independence. 22:18 So she would take him to the bus stop 22:20 right across the street from their house, 22:22 leave him there, go back into the house 22:24 and watch him through the window. 22:25 First day of school, he gets on the bus, fine. 22:28 Second day of school, she's in the house looking out the door, 22:31 looking out the window, bus comes up, stops, 22:34 pulls off, he's still standing there. 22:38 And so she said went across the street and said, 22:41 and said to him, what are you doing here? 22:47 Little six years old, put his hand on hip 22:49 and said, I quit school. 22:52 She said, quit school, you're six years old, 22:54 how do you quit school? 22:56 Why? He said, one, its too long. 23:00 This after one day. Two, is too tough. 23:03 Three, its boring. 23:06 She said boy, you just described life, get on the bus. 23:12 Gentlemen, sometimes its long, 23:15 its always going to be tough, sometimes it's boring. 23:20 You got to get on the bus. 23:22 Amen. Amen. 23:24 You got to get on the bus. 23:26 That's what Jesus is saying. You got to get on the bus. 23:30 Stop blaming and complaining, 23:33 get on the bus and let Christ drive. 23:38 Usually, we get in trouble 23:41 when we try to get in the front seat 23:45 and drive and find out we can't drive. 23:50 Amen. Amen. 23:52 So now you guys get in the back seat 23:54 and let Jesus drive. 23:57 Stop blaming and complaining. 24:00 Take your lumps for things you do. 24:04 Own up and be a man and then put it on Jesus Christ. 24:08 I'll close with this story. 24:12 Farmer, back in the 1800s came with a load of hay to market. 24:17 Hits a bump, axle on the wagon cracks, 24:22 the cart rolls over, the horse is hurt really bad. 24:26 Couple of fractures, neck is actually broken, 24:29 he got a little dog was riding on the cart with him. 24:32 The cart rolled over the dog so that dog is hurt 24:35 and the farmer himself, couple of broken legs, 24:39 something wrong with his pelvis and his arm is broken. 24:42 So when the sheriff comes along, 24:44 the first thing he sees is the horse 24:46 and that horse cannot be saved. 24:49 Broken legs, neck is fractured, so he has to take his gun 24:52 and put that horse out of his misery. 24:57 Then he comes to the dog, the dog is broken up 24:59 the cart has rolled over him. 25:00 He can't save that dog. 25:03 Takes his gun puts the dog out of his misery. 25:07 Now he comes to the farmer. 25:10 He says how are you doing? 25:13 Farmer says never felt better in my life. 25:20 It's your motivation, gentlemen. 25:22 Isn't it? It's your motivation. 25:23 That's why Christ says, "Let this mind be in you" 25:29 which is also in Christ Jesus. 25:30 It's what motivates you. 25:32 Blaming and complaining is not gonna help you. 25:35 Take your lumps for what you do, 25:38 trust Jesus and get on the bus and let Him drive. 25:44 Amen. Amen. 25:45 God bless. 25:57 There's one I really like is Romans 5:3-5 26:01 and it talks about, "Through our tribulations, 26:04 it produces perseverance and perseverance 26:07 will produce character, and through our character 26:09 we'll gain hope." 26:10 And I like that. Praise God. 26:14 What would you say in closing to the people, 26:16 our viewers around the world? 26:19 Actually I have a poem I like to recite if it's okay. 26:22 Amen. Amen. Bless you. 26:25 With God's grace, I remember all the words. 26:29 For so long I didn't know what to do, 26:32 just one more always turned into two, 26:35 then three, then four, I was such a horror 26:38 selling myself to temptation in every way, 26:41 every day just to stay okay. 26:44 Just to stay sane and hide from the pain, 26:47 yet the hurt still ran through my veins. 26:50 I tried and tried to ignore the truth 26:53 and I cried and cried but still it was no use. 26:57 No one heard me. 26:59 So I tried to run away but then, then came the day 27:04 when my tears would come falling and I would go crawling. 27:08 On my hands and knees I went to repent, 27:12 to rise up and move forward with a new hope. 27:15 Without dope to cloud my mind 27:17 and demote my spirit and otherwise it tears us apart. 27:21 The only fix I need now is God's love in my heart. 27:26 He takes away my pain at my surrender. 27:29 He gives me the strength to start a new day 27:32 and the assurity that everything will be okay. 27:35 My future is bright and I no longer have to fight. 27:39 My spoon is dry and my pipe has been broken 27:43 because the Lord my God has spoken 27:45 and I'm finally listening. 27:50 Praise God. Praise God. Thank you. 27:55 We never imagined that blessing or the beauty 27:58 that God would bring out of this endeavor working 28:01 together for the kingdom of God. 28:04 Bringing hope to our brothers and sisters behind bars 28:07 and now our brothers and sisters behind bars are 28:09 actually bringing hope and encouragement 28:12 to our viewers around the world. 28:14 God bless you and we look forward to you 28:17 partnering with us, christmasbehindbars.org. 28:22 Blessings to you until we meet again. |
Revised 2014-12-17