Participants: C.A. Murray (Host), Lemuel Vega (Host), Brian Eldridge, Thomas Harmon, Willie Simon
Series Code: FIN
Program Code: FIN000024
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00:01 Do you know what it is to give yourself away,
00:03 to give yourself totally and completely to Jesus Christ? 00:07 Do you know that you can only be happy in Christ 00:10 when you give Him you'll 00:13 and everything and all you have? 00:16 Brain Eldridge, knows what it is to give yourself away. 00:21 Lemuel Vega knows what it to give yourself away. 00:24 The men in the scoop know what it is 00:26 to give yourself completely to Jesus. 00:28 I submit to you, you will only be happy, 00:32 you will only be content, you will only be complete 00:35 when you give Jesus what He demands 00:38 and He deserves and that's all of you. 00:57 I'm free indeed. 01:01 I give myself away. 01:03 The Bible says in the Book of Romans 12th Chapter. 01:07 He says, "I beseech you, I beg you, 01:11 I empower you, I had admonish you." 01:15 Amen, He says it right? 01:20 He--I beseech you brothers by the mercy of God 01:23 to present your bodies a living sacrifice. 01:26 Holy and acceptable which is our reasonable, 01:30 reasonable, reasonable service. 01:33 How many want to give yourself away to Christ? 01:35 Hallelujah, come on. Hallelujah. 01:38 The things that landed me in prison 01:42 was I was out there being a knucklehead. 01:46 I don't do drugs, I don't drink, I don't smoke. 01:51 I just had certain things that I was doing out there 01:55 that weren't really you know, nice. 01:59 You know, I didn't want any one to see 02:01 a bad part of me 02:03 as when everybody can see the good part of me 02:04 but I had demons that I was working with 02:08 and that's what got me here. 02:10 And I just wish, you know, I had-- 02:15 had to let my mom and dad down. 02:17 That's what I feel, I let my mom 02:18 and dad down, my daughter. 02:23 The old Brian 02:26 was more immature, 02:30 widely. 02:33 The old Brian was basically out 02:36 for selfish at needs and selfish self. 02:42 In the new Brian I have calm down lot more. 02:46 I smile a lot more even in prison. 02:53 And I am more well rounded, well rounded 02:57 and more mature and I'm more-- 03:02 I'm more spiritual. 03:04 You know, I believe that 03:07 before I ask God for things now I'm able to listen to Him 03:13 and He already has got to say because He speaks to me 03:16 through different people 03:17 and different programs and different stuff. 03:19 So, the new Brian is, is a lot more matured, 03:23 a lot more spiritually grounded. 03:27 I was-- when I was on the streets I was, 03:34 I was just kind of bowed in out there. 03:37 I didn't have any real direction 03:40 as to where I was going and what I wanted to do 03:43 and I asked the Lord and, you know, I asked the Lord, 03:46 you know, because I was, you know, I knew of God, 03:49 I knew of Jesus and I asked the Lord I said, 03:51 well put me in the right place. 03:54 I was in Atlanta at the time 03:56 and I believe God speaks to me through people 03:59 and one day this woman said, 04:01 well, Brian you do music 04:05 may be the reason why you can't keep a job 04:07 is because God wants you to do music. 04:10 And I said, that's it 04:13 and so I start new job working 04:15 and write my songs and write music. 04:18 Well, everything was okay until all of sudden these, 04:22 you start doing stuff 04:23 and then you hit a brick wall again 04:25 and I said well, what I'm I suppose to do now. 04:29 And usually I look for answer and I didn't get one. 04:35 Probably starting to think I got one not 04:37 but I have seen now my uncle came to me and he said, 04:40 I need you do some songs for my church 04:42 and I, I did them but I did them all 04:46 you know, haphazardly because I wasn't really, 04:49 you know, into church music. 04:53 Yeah, I like to write music, I write songs, 04:56 I started of when you are writing lyrics 04:59 and writing then I brunched off in writing, 05:03 you know, playing the piano 05:04 and then I started putting piano music 05:06 to my lyrics and from then it just open straight up 05:11 because I know how to program music 05:14 and I did my studio engineering, and I sang a lot of my stuff, 05:17 I was--I was kind of like a triple threat 05:21 because I didn't need any one in there 05:24 and people would tell me 05:26 well, you should play for the church 05:27 and you should play for this and you should play for that. 05:30 And I'm like well, I wasn't really filling there 05:32 because I can really get into, 05:35 you know, writing spiritual songs. 05:37 I just wasn't really that spiritual 05:39 and I guess this you know, God need to sit me down 05:44 and say well, I want you to do this. 05:46 And He has a way of making you do, 05:47 whatever He wants you to do. 05:49 So, now, I'm writing more spiritual songs 05:51 and I write more, you know, writing a lot, 05:56 lot a lot better than I used to do. 06:00 My life is not my own to you I belong, 06:06 I give myself I give myself to You. 06:14 Before I came to prison I was on a way of doing something. 06:19 I had meetings that I had to set up, 06:22 that I had set up with people 06:25 you know to listen to my music and start. 06:27 You know, I had singers that were coming in 06:29 and wrappers that were coming in, 06:31 wrapping on my stuff. 06:33 And come into prison kind of like shut that all down. 06:39 It everything ended so quickly 06:46 and I wasn't really ready for it 06:48 because I didn't want to come here. 06:51 It wasn't like I was out there 06:53 robbing people and killing them. 06:55 I mean the stuff that I did was real stupid 06:57 but I didn't, I didn't know it would bring me here. 07:01 Believe me, if I had known 07:03 I cut that stuff off long period 07:06 but you know, it hasn't stopped me from writing, 07:10 It hasn't stopped me from, from you know, creating. 07:15 It hasn't stopped me from doing any of that. 07:17 I Give My Self Away, that song it means a lot to me 07:23 really because when I think about, 07:28 you know, how I use to be 07:30 and what I ask of the Lord, you know, to do for me 07:36 I used to give myself to every thing else 07:39 and now, you know, I find myself writing for the Lord. 07:43 So, now He says, you know I guess by me writing 07:48 for the Lord that's how I give, 07:50 you know, I give myself away Him. 07:52 Because I use to give myself away to, to women 07:56 and, you know, trying to please them 07:58 and trying to please all these other people 08:01 all these producers, all these writers, 08:03 all these technicians and every thing 08:06 but now, all I got to do is just please Him. 08:08 So I have to worry about anything else 08:10 so I just gave myself to Him now. 08:12 Amen, let's make this declaration 08:14 this morning to give ourselves away. 08:32 I give myself away 08:39 I give myself away 08:43 So You can use me 08:47 I give myself away, 08:53 oh Lord I give myself away 08:58 So You can use me 09:02 I give myself away, 09:07 oh Lord I give myself away 09:13 So You can use me 09:17 I give myself away, 09:22 oh Lord I give myself away 09:28 So You can use me 09:31 Here I am Here I am 09:36 Here I stand Lord, 09:41 my life is in Your hands 09:48 Lord, I'm longing to see 09:55 Your desires revealed in me 10:01 I give myself away Lord, I surrender, 10:09 oh Lord I give myself away 10:12 So You can use me 10:17 I give myself away 10:22 Lord, I don't want to leave you Lord 10:24 I give myself away 10:27 So You, can use me, 10:33 oh Lord Take my heart Take my life 10:39 As a living sacrifice 10:45 All my dreams 10:49 All my plans 10:54 Lord I place them in Your hands 11:00 I give myself away 11:05 Lord, I surrender all I give myself away 11:11 So You can use me Jesus 11:15 I give myself away 11:19 I don't want my way tomorrow 11:23 I give myself away 11:25 So You lead the way 11:32 My life is not my own 11:36 To You I belong 11:39 I give myself, I give myself to You Oh Lord 11:46 My life is not my own 11:50 To You I belong 11:54 I give myself, I give myself to You 11:59 Oh Lord My life is not my own 12:04 To You I belong 12:08 I give myself, I give myself to You 12:16 My life is not my own 12:19 To You I belong 12:21 I give myself, I give myself to You 12:25 I give myself to You 12:30 My life is not my own 12:33 To You I belong 12:39 I give myself, I give myself to You 12:46 Amen. Hallelujah. 12:51 Amen. Let's pray. 12:54 Father God, we just praise You and thank You, 12:56 for Jesus for the power that we receive from Him. 13:00 We ask now Lord, that You would speak to our hearts 13:04 because we need to hear a word from You 13:07 and only You and we thank You in Jesus name, Amen. 13:11 Sticks and stones may break my bones 13:14 but words will never hurt me. 13:17 How many have heard that? 13:20 Yeah, how many think that's true? 13:22 That's a lie. 13:25 Okay, it is a lie like most of those things 13:31 it's a lie there is power in words. 13:36 Words are extremely powerful. 13:38 In fact next to the love of God 13:43 the most powerful thing in the universe is a Word. 13:49 Earth was created by the Word of God. 13:55 Paul, Paul in his letter to young Timothy, 13:59 when he is trying to give him some instruction 14:00 before he took over the church he said, preach the Word. 14:07 John began his gospel by saying in the beginning 14:12 was the Word 14:15 and the Word became flesh and lived among us. 14:19 So there is power in a Word, in fact the Bible says 14:22 the only thing that God exults above His own name is His Word. 14:30 So, that's power, power, power in words. 14:35 In fact words are so powerful-- let's look at some of them. 14:38 Matthew Chapter 12, see a preacher 14:43 and a microphone is a dangerous combination. 14:47 And I'm trying to get to Matthew 12:34. 14:51 In fact let's turn to verse 35 save a little time. 14:54 Bible says, Matthew 12:35. 14:58 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart 15:03 brings forth good things, 15:05 and an evil man out of the evil treasure 15:09 brings forth evil things. 15:12 But I say to you that for every " what? 15:17 "Word that men may speak, 15:21 they will give account of it in the day of judgment." 15:24 Every word. 15:27 "For by your words you will be justified, 15:32 and by your words you will be condemned." 15:39 God is saying, your salvation hinges 15:45 on what comes out of your mouth. That's right. 15:49 God is saying, we've got to use our words 15:52 to build up or to tear down. 15:56 We got to build up with our words. 15:59 Your words will be weighed by God, 16:03 so we must speak the truth and love. 16:05 I had a lady come to me years ago 16:07 I pastured in New York City. 16:08 My last church was 2,000 members. 16:11 So you get all kind of stories 16:12 when you are pastoring 2,000 people. 16:15 I had a lady come and she said, 16:16 you know, my husband don't know how to fight. 16:20 He is, he is give himself to Jesus 16:24 and he forgot how to fight. 16:27 And he said, I didn't, I dint forget how to fight. 16:30 He said, I just got to new mind. 16:33 And with my mind, my new mind I got a new mouth. 16:40 With my new mind came a new mouth and a new heart. 16:44 So I don't say anything. 16:46 So you see her way of fighting was 16:48 when you're mad anything that comes into your heart 16:51 ought to come out of your mouth. 16:53 And he was saying when you get a new heart, you get a mouth. 16:57 So I don't fight like I use to fight, 16:59 I don't argue like I used to argue. 17:01 I don't try to tear down everything out. 17:03 Think of saying I don't say. 17:06 I have a sermon, I wish I had time to preach. 17:08 It is a hour sermon, it is a whole hour, 17:10 called arguing with God. 17:15 I'll teach people how to argue with God 17:20 like you can argue with God. 17:25 But he said, with my new mind comes 17:27 my new mouth and my new heart. 17:30 So there is power in our words, 17:34 one of the tests of our Christianity 17:37 is that the words that we-- we say now have meaning 17:44 and power 17:45 and are used to build up and not to tear down. 17:49 And when, when Christ is in the heart-- 17:51 you see the Bible says, "Let the redeemed 17:53 of the Lord say so." 17:56 Use your words to say so 17:58 and it's important that you say so. 18:01 Heard a story years ago, 18:03 lady took her husband to the lawyer. 18:07 They have been married 25 years. 18:09 She said, I want a divorce 18:13 and then the lawyer said well, why does he beat you? 18:16 No, no. Does he starve you? 18:19 No, no. Does he not feed you? 18:22 Said no. Is he unkind to the kids? 18:26 Said no. Then why you want a divorce? 18:30 She said, I have been married to this man for 25 years 18:36 and only one time in 25 years 18:39 has he said, that he loves me and I can't take it. 18:44 I want a divorce. 18:47 So the lawyer looks at him and said, 18:50 my brother what's, what's your story? 18:53 He said, I told her at the weeding, 18:58 that I loved her and I would love her forever. 19:03 Now, she is a bright girl. 19:06 I though she would understand 19:07 if I change my mind I'll let her know. 19:20 Let the redeemed of the Lord say you got to say so, 19:24 there is power in your word. 19:26 And if you love the Lord you got to say Him, 19:28 I love the Lord. Amen. 19:33 That's what He told, He told Timothy preach the word, 19:35 preach, preach the word. 19:38 Tell the truth and tell the truth in love. 19:42 You know, the Book of James and 3rd chapter 19:44 He talks a lot about the word. 19:46 Talks about the tongue, talks about how a little ship 19:50 is controlled by a little tiny rudder, 19:53 little tiny rudder control that big whole ship. 19:55 It's a same way with your mouth. 20:00 With your tongue, little tiny tongue 20:03 can set continents of fire, can burn cities down. 20:07 That have people shooting and killing one another, 20:10 can get you in a whole heap of trouble 20:14 or it can free your soul. 20:19 It's power in your words. 20:23 My last text is Colossians 4:6. 20:26 I like this one, I really like this one, 20:29 I'll close with this. 20:36 Latter says, "Let your speech always 20:41 be seasoned with salt, 20:45 that you may know how you ought to answer each one." 20:51 Now here is the truth. 20:53 Everybody is not always gonna be thoughtful 20:57 when they are speaking to you. 21:01 Everybody's words are not always gonna be kind. 21:06 Sometimes people are gonna say things to you 21:09 that are just plain stupid. 21:16 Amen. 21:17 Yeah, sometimes people are gonna say 21:19 stuff that they really are to just keep their mouth shut. 21:22 And sometimes they just plan. 21:24 You know, some may say, hey how are you doing, ugly. 21:27 Now they just plan. 21:30 Some days that's funny. Come on. Amen. 21:36 And some days that ain't funny. 21:41 So if you decided yesterday, we have to laugh, 21:44 but today I don't have any mood for that. 21:46 And the day you are not in a mood for it, guess what? 21:50 That's a day you won't get it. 21:54 Yeah, because the devil knows you are not in a mood for it. 21:58 You know, you know the Lord never sleeps 22:00 never slumbers you know that. 22:02 You know the devil never sleeps never slumbers either. 22:05 So the day when you get up, 22:07 I was telling the guys in baptism class 22:08 you have bad days, you get up, 22:10 as you get out of bed 22:11 and this is going to be a bad day. 22:12 And the day you don't need to be bothered 22:14 is a day somebody is going to push you to wrong way. 22:16 And say or do something that's where you got one nerve 22:19 they are gonna pluck it, that last nerve. 22:23 That's the time when Colossians says, 22:26 "Let your speech be seasoned with salt." 22:31 So before you haul off verbally 22:34 or physically give Jesus a chance. 22:39 Yeah, give Jesus a chance. 22:42 Get a new mind, praise God gave new mouth. Amen. 22:46 Amen. Keep you out of trouble. 22:49 But more than that, more than that, 22:50 more than that it gives you a chance to show who Jesus is. 22:58 Give you a chance to show 23:00 that you not the person you used to be. 23:05 I used to think that there was 23:08 something to be gained by fighting. 23:12 When I was younger, I was blind through sixth grade. 23:17 Went to blind school, Braille and the whole thing. 23:19 Got little sight in sixth grade 23:20 and went to public school for the first time. 23:22 But I had glasses that are so thick, 23:24 that were so thick, you know, thick, 23:26 thick glasses make your eyes look like peas. 23:28 You know, little thick, thick glasses Coke bottle. 23:31 I have got all the names. 23:33 I was constantly fighting, 23:34 you know, just somebody said, you got slap her 23:36 because you have you know-- you say always fight. 23:43 I would come and ask them what's the matter with you, boy? 23:45 You know, just calls out, tour up, you know always fight 23:48 and always lose it. 23:51 You know, it's always good but my head would-- 23:54 I am gonna tell you the truth, 23:55 that I'm the-- I had I had 23:57 when I was in the sixth grade 23:58 Frances Craig almost beat me to death. 24:04 It was a girl, man. 24:06 But first of all she was bigger than me, 24:08 see out weighted me by 50 pounds. 24:10 I means she was, you know, when you up until about 24:12 age 10 girls are bigger than boys. 24:14 And then boys get the little growth fast 24:15 and you pass them. 24:16 So I came out of blind school really skinny real small. 24:20 Frances Craig was well over five feet young, 24:24 she is I guess now she is close to 6 for sure. 24:27 Big girl. 24:29 Big girl and so she made this crack about my glasses. 24:32 You know, so now I got to be a man, you know. 24:35 You know, so then we want to ask she that girl please. 24:44 And I looked back at that how much we do for pride. 24:49 You know, when you got to let Jesus 24:51 you can't beat up everybody in the world. 24:53 You can't fight everybody in the world. 24:55 You got to let Jesus fight those battles. 24:58 And the Bible says, " A soft answer 25:01 turneth away wrath." 25:03 And then it says, "Answer not a fool 25:06 according to his folly." 25:09 So there is power in your words. 25:12 So when you give your mind to Jesus 25:15 and give your heart to Jesus 25:19 you also give your mouth to Jesus. 25:22 And Jesus control can control your mind, 25:25 He can control your heart, He controls your mouth. 25:30 So when you have something to say, say it for Jesus 25:35 and "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." 25:46 Christmas Behind Bars, never dreamed 25:49 when we partnered with 3ABN of the beauty 25:52 and value of a new program called Free Indeed. 25:57 These men and women are behind bars perhaps, 26:00 most of them forgotten by society, 26:02 but not one has been forgotten by God. 26:05 The new program Free Indeed, that you are viewing 26:08 has been a partnership and we thank you 26:11 for being willing to sponsor 3ABN 26:14 and Christmas Behind Bars to bring this together 26:18 for the honor and glory of God 26:20 and for the furtherance of the kingdom of heaven. 26:22 We would like you to be involved on a personal level. 26:25 Please contact us at Christmas Behind Bars, 26:28 we need new Bibles, used Bibles, we need devotional books. 26:32 There is a lot of different aspects 26:34 that you and your church 26:35 can bring this program to your area. 26:37 Because many more people to reach 26:39 and we look forward 26:40 to the kingdom of heaven being full. 26:43 Blessings to you until we meet again. 26:46 I was born in the church but mom and dad got divorced. 26:50 High school kind of swept me away. 26:51 I wanted to be popular and cool. 26:53 And I was going back and forward, 26:54 back and forward, back and forward. 26:56 On one weekend, I went out party 26:57 and a lady came to pick me up, I insisted to driver her. 27:01 And for some reason she let me drive, 27:03 we hit a tree, I woke up in a helicopter, 27:06 I woke up in a hospital bed and next day she died. 27:09 So here I sit now, 27:11 God took me to the very brink of dead 27:13 and let me see face to face how the wages of sin is death. 27:17 Somebody lost their life that night? 27:19 Yes, yes, absolutely. In a car accident. Yes. 27:22 But God's love and His compassion 27:24 her family called me three days later 27:27 and the opened their heart and their home 27:29 when they writes to me, and they come visit me, 27:31 and they totally forgiven me. 27:32 This--this I got big love, that only God can give it. 27:35 I see it I see it in them and it's just so powerful that, 27:39 He could take me from a drug addict 27:41 and actual an alcoholic beyond alcoholic 27:44 I was drunk six, seven days a week. 27:45 I get paid six, seven hundred dollars a week, 27:47 I bowled every weekend. 27:49 We could take that, and actually transform my life 27:53 to the only reason that I-- I live and breathe 27:55 and even have my being now, is proclaim the gospel 27:57 and how I can be free indeed even while I am locked up. 28:01 But there is-- there is many here 28:02 that you men in here are more free 28:03 than a lot men that are out there 28:05 that are locked up, bound up. 28:07 That are bound up we're free indeed. 28:09 He is--He is the God of liberty and freedom of peace. 28:12 Peace that passes anything absolutely anything. |
Revised 2014-12-17