Participants:
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202134S
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00:47 >> Welcome to It Is Written
00:48 Canada. 00:49 Thank you for joining us. 00:50 Our special guest on It Is 00:52 Written Canada today is Jerry 00:54 Shiel who we spoke with last 00:57 week and this is part two. 00:59 He was telling us about how he 01:00 grew up on the streets from 01:02 the age of 16 and then ended 01:04 up getting in trouble with the 01:06 law because of drugs and 01:07 violence and was in and out 01:09 of jail. 01:11 >> But then Jerry hit it big 01:13 time working as a model in Los 01:15 Angeles and Dallas until God 01:18 showed up while Jerry was 01:20 sitting at a river in Dallas, 01:22 Texas. 01:23 Jerry, thank you so much for 01:25 joining us again on It Is 01:27 Written Canada. 01:28 >> Thank you, Mike and René, 01:29 it's a pleasure. 01:31 >> So, Jerry, take us back to 01:33 that river experience that you 01:34 had where God was obviously 01:37 speaking to you, gave you an 01:39 experience there, but then you 01:40 prayed for a sign that He 01:43 would either leave you where 01:44 you were in the modelling 01:46 industry or take you 01:47 somewhere else. 01:48 >> Yes, I was early for an 01:50 appointment with an 01:51 advertising agency and there 01:52 was a river and I just was 01:54 spending some time in there, 01:55 just hurting, and I had a 01:58 spiritual moment, well, longer 02:00 than a moment, but I surrendered 02:04 to the Lord there and it was 02:07 such a beautiful experience. 02:10 And then I was wondering what 02:13 should I be doing. 02:15 Should I be staying in that 02:16 industry or going back to 02:18 Canada and that-- I was 02:21 praying for a sign and the 02:23 sign was is that the work 02:25 would all dry up. 02:27 And what was happening at that 02:29 time, Kim Dawson, they were 02:30 spending a lot of money 02:31 promoting me and the work was 02:32 coming in so that was gonna be 02:34 a true sign. 02:35 And the work did dry up. 02:38 What I did is I went to the 02:40 office where I had my head 02:42 sheet on the wall with our 02:45 pictures, I took that down and 02:47 I had written on another piece 02:49 of paper, "A person with beauty, 02:53 "but without a sound judgment 02:55 "is worthless like a gold ring 02:57 in a pig snout," and I put it 02:59 on the wall there and I left. 03:01 >> So, Jerry, you're out of 03:03 the modelling industry, did 03:04 you feel like going home? 03:06 >> Yes, I actually went to my 03:09 folk's place in Saskatchewan, 03:11 Ituna, Saskatchewan and went 03:13 to visit with them and it was 03:15 really good because it was a 03:17 time when we were spiritually 03:19 connected and we would have 03:22 devotional time together which 03:24 was beautiful, then also, I 03:28 recall, I don't know if it was 03:29 TV, radio, whatever, but 03:31 somehow I got an invitation 03:33 from It Is Written. 03:35 And what I did is, they were 03:37 offering to purchase the It Is 03:40 Written Heritage Bible so I 03:44 bought this in 1978. 03:46 It was the first Bible I ever 03:48 bought and it's the only one 03:49 I've ever purchased and I 03:51 still have it today. 03:53 >> That's wonderful. 03:54 So, Jerry, can you tell us 03:56 what it was like having family 03:58 devotions and getting into 03:59 spiritual conversations with 04:01 your parents again? 04:02 >> It was good, you know, to 04:04 talk with Dad on the spiritual 04:07 level and with Mom, I'd go to 04:09 church with them which was 04:13 interesting because it was the 04:14 first time I actually really 04:15 wanted to go to church. 04:17 I went back to Port Dover, 04:20 Ontario and that's where I 04:21 lived a lot of the time on the 04:23 street where I was raised in 04:24 that area and the Lord was just 04:27 leading, even when I was in 04:29 Saskatchewan I was praying, 04:30 you know, what I should 04:31 be doing. 04:32 I was thinking about the 04:34 ministry and the Lord was just 04:35 leading me to restitution to 04:38 first go and make things right, 04:41 same as with the watermelon 04:42 and I did. 04:45 And I'd go and see a person, 04:46 but there was sometimes a 04:48 little bit of anxiety, but it 04:50 was beautiful 'cause I'd spend 04:52 time with study and devotion 04:54 first in the morning and 04:55 the Lord would just give me an 04:56 encouragement. 04:57 I'd go see the people that I 04:59 had robbed and some I knew, 05:01 most of them I knew, some I 05:03 didn't, and I just said that, 05:05 you know, "I robbed you, broke 05:06 into your places," whatever, 05:08 and I had money and "I'd like 05:09 to give you this money." 05:11 And they'd ask me what 05:13 happened in life and they just 05:14 said, "No, keep the money, 05:15 "keep on doing what you're 05:16 doing." 05:17 Then one day the Lord put on 05:19 my heart go see this individual 05:21 I mentioned about in the 05:23 previous episode where this 05:26 ex-drug-dealer, where he did 05:28 something and I went and did 05:29 something and I sat in the 05:30 county jail and I was 05:31 thinking, you know, I was gonna 05:33 kill him and I really wanted 05:34 to kill him. 05:35 And the Lord put on my heart 05:38 to go see him and to ask for 05:42 forgiveness. 05:43 And the other thing is is that 05:45 I was not to mention anything 05:46 that he did because that's not 05:48 true forgiveness. 05:50 And he was reluctant to see me 05:52 then he said, "OK," I went 05:54 over to his apartment in the 05:55 hallway and he had a big empty 05:57 Texas Mickey in his hand in 05:59 case something happened and I 06:01 just said, "Hey, man, I 06:03 apologize for what I did to 06:05 you, I was wrong," and I took 06:08 out money and I gave him money. 06:11 And he was surprised, the look 06:12 on his face was amazing, he 06:14 was surprised and I gave him a 06:15 short testimony of what's 06:17 happening in life. 06:18 There was some individuals I 06:21 was staying with in Langley 06:23 and these were serious drug 06:25 guys, serious people, and I've 06:28 seen what they would do to 06:29 people if they messed with 06:30 them, but I still had this 06:32 thing of stealing and I knew 06:34 where the stash of drugs were 06:37 and I stole the drugs back in 06:39 the-- before my experience, 06:41 right, accepting the Lord. 06:42 And the Lord put on my heart 06:44 to go see this person and I 06:48 said, "OK," so, you know, I go 06:49 and I'm hitch hiking to BC and 06:52 I go and I can't find the 06:56 person and-- but what these 06:58 guys did, OK, when they caught 07:01 me previously before I went to 07:04 Dallas, they caught me and 07:07 they chased me out of a 07:09 building and I ran and I 07:11 finally gave up and I went, 07:13 they got me down on the ground 07:15 and one had a big stick and 07:16 they said, "Well, let's kill 07:17 him," the other said, "No, 07:19 let's just poke his eyes out." 07:20 But for some reason they 07:22 stopped, but they knew it was 07:26 me that did it, but they 07:28 stopped. 07:29 So the Lord put on my heart to 07:31 go see if I can find these 07:32 guys and I couldn't find them. 07:35 When I couldn't find the 07:36 people, those ex-drug-dealing 07:39 guys, to make things right, I 07:41 was out hitch hiking 'cause I 07:42 knew I had another charge on 07:44 me and the police pulled me 07:46 over and they looked me up and 07:50 they said, "Yeah you have this 07:51 charge," and I said, "Yeah, I 07:53 know I have to deal with this. 07:54 And it was a pretty serious-- 07:55 with violence. 07:57 [MIKE] So even though Jesus 07:58 had forgiven you, you still had 07:59 things in this world you had 08:01 to deal with, right? 08:02 [JERRY] I had that one charge, 08:03 I knew I had that to deal with 08:05 yet and what they did is they, 08:08 after taking me to jail, they 08:10 were gonna fly me up to 08:11 Kitimat and I was with a 08:14 detective going on a small 08:15 plane in handcuffs and there 08:17 was just a few other people on 08:19 the plane. 08:20 And it was pretty embarrassing 08:21 going on a plane with handcuffs 08:23 and I remember going into the 08:24 plane and the tactical point, 08:26 you sit at the window. 08:29 So I sat at the window and he 08:30 was in the aisle side and the 08:32 handcuffs and we're just 08:33 talking and I start sharing my 08:36 testimony with him, what has 08:37 happened in life and whatever 08:39 and after sharing that with 08:40 him, he just looked down at 08:42 the handcuffs and he looked at 08:44 me and he goes, "We don't need 08:45 those, do we?" 08:47 And I said, "No," but he said, 08:50 "Before we land, these go back 08:53 on," and I said, "Yes," and I 08:55 agreed. 08:56 So we just had a really good 08:58 visit together. 09:00 And then what happened is I 09:02 had to go in front of the 09:04 judge and the judge asked me 09:07 what's been happening in my 09:09 life and they went off all my 09:11 charges previous in my record 09:14 so what's been happening now 09:15 and I told him, I gave him my 09:17 testimony, respectfully, in 09:19 the courtroom and... 09:24 the judge said to me, he said, 09:29 "What I'm gonna do is give you 09:30 a fine," and I knew he could've 09:33 given me some good jail time, 09:34 more jail time for this. 09:37 And he said, "Can you pay for 09:39 this fine?" 09:40 And I said, "Yes." 09:41 And, but he said this: "Failing 09:44 to appear is automatic, I 09:47 have no choice, I have to give 09:48 you this jail time for this." 09:50 And so I said, "OK," you know, 09:52 and I went to jail to do that 09:54 time and it was a totally 09:55 different experience when, 09:57 before when I'd go to jail, a 09:59 lot of people I'd be looking 10:00 for who I knew and whatever it 10:02 was and you're meeting people. 10:03 This time it was just like, I 10:05 just wanted there, if I meet 10:07 somebody, hallelujah, but it's 10:09 gonna be about a testimony of 10:10 Jesus, right? 10:12 Then I got out from there and 10:15 I went back to Port Dover, 10:18 Ontario and I saw that there 10:22 was a bakery for sale. 10:24 >> And so did you decide to 10:25 get this bakery? 10:27 >> What I did is I looked at it 10:30 and my sister said and 10:34 brother-in-law said that if I 10:36 got someone qualified to bake 10:40 then they would sign for me 10:43 and which they did. 10:44 So I got the bakery. 10:46 >> Did you have any challenges 10:48 in your spiritual walk? 10:50 >> I'd always spend time in 10:52 the morning, you know, with 10:54 the Lord, my devotional time, 10:55 because I wanted to and I-- 10:59 what was happening, I could 11:01 tell myself, I was sliding 11:03 a bit. 11:04 I'd go, "Oh, I'm just gonna 11:05 drive into town," you know, 11:07 "and then I'm gonna have my 11:08 devotional time." 11:10 And then I was, "Oh, I'm just 11:11 "gonna go and get the dough 11:13 going in the mixer," and then 11:15 I was just gonna let it rise 11:17 and all these stages, then I 11:18 was forcing myself to have a 11:20 devotional time. 11:22 And I was finding myself, I 11:24 was becoming very legalistic 11:26 and I was actually seeing the 11:27 faults in people. 11:28 Things I didn't see before. 11:30 I'd see 'em, but my attitude 11:31 was different, I was really 11:33 judging them. 11:35 And I'd start slipping away. 11:37 And I end up getting married. 11:40 >> And how did that 11:41 relationship go? 11:42 >> It ended up in a divorce, 11:44 like, four years later. 11:47 We had a son and that's where 11:48 it was a really hard time in 11:50 my life and it was a-- I was 11:53 just losing that closeness 11:55 with the Lord. 11:57 >> So the bakery was really 11:59 taking up a lot of your time. 12:01 >> It was, what I was doing is 12:03 I'd get so "busy doing God's 12:06 work," you know, and that 12:09 became first, the work became 12:12 first, talking to other people 12:14 came first, my quiet time with 12:17 the Lord was secondary, even, 12:19 it got to the point where I 12:21 really didn't even want to, 12:22 I'd go to church, but I wasn't 12:24 really interested in it. 12:26 I'd still go and sometimes 12:27 even speak, but I knew, in my 12:31 heart, I was slipping away. 12:34 >> So you were really making 12:35 your work your saviour... 12:37 >> Yes, yes. 12:38 [RENÉ] ...and not Jesus your 12:39 saviour. 12:40 >> Always keeping the Sabbath. 12:43 >> So, Jerry, you then left 12:44 the bakery? 12:46 >> Yes, and I moved to Alberta 12:49 and I was doing just odd jobs 12:52 that I could get and then I 12:55 had an interest in massage 12:57 therapy and so I enrolled in 12:59 the massage therapy. 13:01 They accepted me even with my 13:02 low grade 8, they said, 13:05 "Let's just see how you can 13:06 do," and I scored high in the 13:08 practical, low in the written 13:09 and they said, "OK, you can 13:10 come in." 13:11 And so from there, I end up 13:13 having a successful business 13:15 in downtown Calgary, a number 13:17 of businesses in that work. 13:19 I travelled for about seven 13:22 years with Olympic athletes 13:24 doing their therapy with the 13:26 team, I was the therapist for 13:27 the Jamaican Olympic team in 13:29 Barcelona in 1992, I developed 13:32 an ergonomic software program. 13:34 So I was doing this, the money 13:36 was coming in and my ego was 13:37 still up here, but all that 13:39 time I had a hole, I had a 13:41 hole in my heart. 13:43 And at that time, also, that I 13:46 actually was seeing a lady and 13:50 we got pregnant and I didn't 13:55 know what to do at that time 13:58 and so what I did, as I look 14:02 at it, the selfish thing and 14:04 she was in agreement to have 14:07 the abortion and I did, too. 14:10 And the sad thing is is that 14:12 the day that the baby was 14:14 being aborted, I was on a-- 14:17 'cause I went back into the 14:19 drug scene again and crazy 14:22 lifestyle, that I was on the 14:26 stand testifying on behalf of 14:29 a drug dealer I knew, 14:31 supporting him, while the 14:35 little baby was being aborted. 14:39 And that, after that I would 14:40 just numb me, and I was 14:42 actually, that would numb me 14:44 when I'd actually see a parent 14:46 with a little baby and I'd 14:48 just numb myself more and it 14:50 just put a deep, deep hole 14:52 into me and I'd just say, 14:55 anybody thinking of doing 14:56 that, really give it some 14:58 thought because the 14:59 consequences after, if you do 15:02 grow spiritually, it's gonna 15:04 bother you until you actually 15:08 learn about forgiveness. 15:10 >> So you were drifting away 15:12 from the Lord. 15:13 >> Yes, and it was a real 15:15 drift and what happened is I 15:19 moved up to Barrhead and 15:21 that's actually where my 15:23 ex-wife and I separated, it 15:25 was in Barrhead. 15:26 And I went there and I was in 15:33 with a gentleman, Marius, we 15:35 were staying in this house and 15:38 I just had no interest in 15:40 studying the Bible anymore. 15:41 And I took out this Bible bag 15:44 that I had made in Port Dover, 15:46 Ontario in 1979 and I remember 15:49 moving from that house, I just 15:50 took it like this and I just 15:52 throw it to him, to Marius, 15:53 and I said, "Here, do whatever 15:54 you want with it." 15:56 And he took it. 15:57 And I took this Bible and I 15:59 put it in a box and that Bible 16:03 stayed in the box for close to 16:05 24 years and I was just going 16:09 deeper in a hole in my 16:11 spiritual walk. 16:12 The beautiful thing is that 16:15 even when I was going to the 16:17 bar, you know, we were looking 16:18 and doing this history of 16:20 music in the Highwood area, 16:21 High River area and I had one 16:23 spot left for a musician and 16:26 someone told me about this 16:27 bluegrass gospel singer, Mary 16:31 Ellen Goslin, and I said, 16:32 "OK," and I remember I was the 16:34 passenger in the vehicle and I 16:35 went and got a case of beer, I 16:37 was drinking beer all the way 16:39 to this bluegrass Christian 16:41 festival and I got there and I 16:44 met her and I told her about 16:47 this spot we had left over and 16:48 she goes, yeah, she would 16:50 do it. 16:50 And see, I was interested in 16:52 gospel music, but I wasn't 16:53 walking with the Lord then, 16:54 you see? 16:56 And one day she said to me, 17:02 she said, "If you died today, 17:04 do you know what would happen?" 17:06 And I said, "Well, kinda." 17:08 And she says, "That ain't good 17:10 enough." 17:11 So the Holy Spirit used her in 17:13 the parking lot to reach me. 17:16 And one day when I was working 17:19 on construction, I was on top 17:21 of a rooftop and I was knocking 17:24 down a chimney and at this 17:26 time, hurting, I was hurting 17:28 in my life, I was even 17:31 driving, I remember driving 17:32 home from the job one day, 17:34 drinking a bottle of vodka 17:35 straight, I was just numbing 17:37 myself out to kill that pain. 17:39 I never liked the taste of 17:41 alcohol, I just drank it to 17:42 numb myself out. 17:44 And I was on top of that 17:46 rooftop and the Lord just 17:49 touched my heart. 17:51 And I remember when I was 17:53 there on my knees, knocking 17:55 this chimney down, I had that 17:57 same experience of surrender 18:00 that I had in Dallas where I 18:02 surrendered all to the Lord. 18:04 And what I did is I had this 18:05 bucket, this bucket right here 18:08 that I would carry the bricks 18:09 with and throw over the side 18:11 the building. 18:12 I turned, after praying and 18:14 accepting the Lord in my life 18:16 and singing, I took out my red 18:18 marker and I wrote on here, 18:20 "June 32, June the 8th, 2009." 18:26 And you know what, it was the 18:28 day I re-surrendered to the 18:29 Lord. 18:30 And from that day, even though 18:32 I was dealing with the 18:34 pornography, I was dealing 18:35 with all these issues, and 18:36 that big hole that was in my 18:38 life, that day my life changed. 18:42 And I never went, by the grace 18:43 of God, the Lord was leading 18:45 me, but it was actually 18:47 spending time again, spending 18:49 'cause I wanted to, you know, 18:52 spend time with the Lord in my 18:53 devotional time and it was a 18:56 real blessing and growth. 18:59 Yeah, 2010, my first camp 19:01 meeting after accepting the 19:03 Lord on that rooftop. 19:05 I was in the ABC, I was 19:06 looking at some books and I 19:08 felt a little poke in my rib 19:09 and I turned around and this 19:11 guy goes, "Do you remember me?" 19:13 I said, "Yeah, Marius!" 19:15 And it was the guy who lived 19:16 in that farmhouse, the guy I 19:18 threw the Bible bag to. 19:20 And we talked and he goes-- he 19:21 was single when we lived in 19:23 that farmhouse, he goes, "Come 19:24 meet my family." 19:26 So I went in his motor home and 19:27 met his family, we were 19:28 talking and he goes and he 19:30 comes from the back of the 19:32 motor home and he brings his 19:34 Bible bag out and he goes, "Do 19:37 you remember this?" 19:40 I did and I actually sat there 19:41 and I cried. 19:43 And we were looking, we talked 19:45 about it and I remember after 19:46 going from the motor home, 19:48 we'd go and talk to people and 19:49 I saw Don Corkum, I said, 19:51 "This is the guy we gave the 19:52 Bible bag to," you know. 19:54 And you know what the amazing 19:55 thing is is that he said to 19:56 me, he says, "When I get the 19:59 buckle fixed," he says, "it's 20:01 "gonna go back to its rightful 20:03 owner." 20:04 And his wife was telling him 20:06 to get rid of it, it'd been to 20:07 ten different countries with 20:08 him, all over the world, 20:10 wherever he'd go, he had this 20:11 Bible, it meant so much to him. 20:13 So what we did is we, some 20:15 time later, we went back to 20:18 Barrhead, Alberta where we 20:19 lived in that old farmhouse 20:21 where I lost my walk and where 20:23 I gave him that Bible bag and 20:25 what he did is he handed me 20:27 the Bible bag and I took this 20:29 Bible that used to be in this 20:32 bag all the time, the It Is 20:34 Written Bible, I put it back 20:36 into that bag and we've been 20:39 reunited ever since. 20:43 So praise God. 20:44 [gentle guitar musi] 20:51 ♪Softly and tenderly 20:56 ♪Jesus is calling 21:00 ♪Calling for you 21:03 ♪and for me 21:09 ♪At the heart's portal 21:13 ♪He's waiting and watching 21:18 ♪Watching for you 21:22 ♪and for me 21:28 ♪Come home, come home 21:38 ♪Ye who are weary 21:41 ♪come home 21:47 ♪Earnestly, tenderly 21:51 ♪Jesus is calling 21:56 ♪Calling, O sinner 22:00 ♪come home 22:03 ♪♪ 22:10 ♪Earnestly, tenderly 22:15 ♪Jesus is calling 22:19 ♪Calling for you 22:23 ♪and for me 22:29 ♪Earnestly, tenderly 22:34 ♪Jesus is calling 22:39 ♪Calling, O sinner 22:44 ♪come home 22:48 ♪♪ 23:02 >> I can share that in 2020 23:08 I got re-baptized. 23:10 My prayer partner, Don Corkum, 23:12 and I talked about it, so at 23:14 camp meeting on June the 20th, 23:16 OK, I got re-baptized. 23:18 So it was ten years since I 23:20 accepted the Lord that I got 23:22 re-baptized two years ago and 23:24 that was a blessed thing. 23:25 So now it's the ministry where 23:27 I've taken training to do the 23:29 Living Free program so I go out 23:31 and do ministry with that and, 23:33 working with people who are 23:35 dealing with addiction issues. 23:37 At home, before COVID, we'd 23:40 have a men's group, so we'd 23:42 have food and the men were 23:44 talking about things that 23:45 wasn't so much Bible study, 23:46 but it was really talking 23:48 about what's going on in men's 23:49 lives, what's going on. 23:50 And we would always lead to 23:51 the spiritual part. 23:53 So we'd always do that on 23:54 Wednesday nights. 23:55 Friday nights we would have 23:57 potluck at the house and we'd 23:59 be following a study, our 24:00 first one was on forgiveness, 24:02 it was really good. 24:03 So sometimes, the majority of 24:04 the time it's more 24:06 non-Adventists than Adventists 24:07 that come to it. 24:08 Then every third Sabbath we 24:11 would have home church and 24:12 sometimes it would be in the 24:14 house, sometimes it would be 24:16 in the park, other times we'd 24:18 have inspirational movie night 24:20 we'd have popcorn and that. 24:22 And to have the privilege of, 24:24 also now as God's leading, but 24:26 always remembering, having 24:27 devotion first, doing-- it's 24:30 God's ministry, God's mission 24:32 field, it's not Jerry's, OK, 24:34 so that's really helped me, 24:35 getting that perspective, to 24:37 work with young teens that 24:39 have made poor choices and 24:41 they've been charged legally, 24:42 so volunteer with Youth's 24:44 Justice for about eight years 24:46 now, working with teens, and 24:47 also the privilege of going 24:49 and doing church ministry. 24:51 Church ministry and also 24:53 prison ministry, go to the 24:54 prisons and just find out what 24:56 their needs are and minister 24:57 with them, it's beautiful. 24:59 >> Sorry, Jerry, we've run out 25:01 of time, but I know you have 25:02 an important picture there. 25:04 >> Yes, thank you, Mike. 25:06 What it is is a picture when I 25:08 was a little baby and my 25:11 family sent this to me a few 25:13 years ago. 25:14 And I remember looking at this 25:15 picture and it was always 25:17 difficult for me. 25:18 It was easy for me to forgive 25:19 other people, difficult to 25:21 forgive myself. 25:23 And I remember looking at this 25:25 picture and I remember 25:27 touching the little feet and I 25:28 was saying, "Sorry, little 25:30 feet, where I took you." 25:32 Then I looked at the hands and 25:35 said, "Sorry, little hands, 25:38 what we did." 25:40 Then I looked at the eyes, 25:43 those kind little eyes there 25:45 and I said, "Sorry for what 25:46 "I've shown you. 25:48 "And also for the ears, what 25:51 I've let you hear in life." 25:53 Then I looked at the mouth and 25:55 I said, "Sorry for all those 25:57 things that I've said." 26:00 After forgiving myself and 26:01 looking at myself as a little 26:03 baby, it was so cleansing, it 26:05 was healing for me. 26:09 >> Wow, Jerry, thank you so 26:10 much, that was such a 26:13 beautiful story to see how God 26:15 totally transformed you and gave 26:18 you a clean, a new clean heart. 26:21 So I wonder if you could 26:23 please pray for us right now? 26:25 >> Sure. 26:27 Dear Heavenly Father, we thank 26:29 You, Lord, for Your love, we 26:31 thank You for Your grace, and 26:32 we thank You for Your mercy, 26:34 and we thank You for Your 26:36 forgiveness. 26:37 Lord, we thank You also, when 26:38 You died, You didn't stay in 26:40 that grave, but You came up, 26:42 Lord, and You're saying to us, 26:45 "Rejoice and be joyful." 26:48 Lord, I just give You thanks 26:49 at the opportunity to share 26:51 here today and I just pray if 26:52 there's anybody that has a 26:54 heavy heart, Lord, just reach 26:56 up to God, wherever you are, 26:58 today is the day. 27:00 We thank You, in Jesus' 27:01 precious name, amen. 27:02 [MIKE & RENÉ] Amen. 27:04 >> Thank you so much, Jerry, 27:05 thank you for sharing last 27:07 week and this week with us. 27:09 >> It's been a blessing. 27:11 Thank you very much. 27:13 >> Friends, our free offer for 27:15 you today is filled with true 27:18 stories of everyday people who 27:20 found themselves trapped by 27:22 life, by the consequences of 27:24 poor choices, and by the 27:26 brokenness of others. 27:28 >> Our free offer, The Only 27:30 Hope, may be for you if you 27:33 feel locked in a life of fear, 27:35 anguish, or depression. 27:36 You will be inspired by these 27:38 true stories of people who 27:40 fought the temptation to numb 27:41 the pain with empty 27:43 relationships, addictive 27:45 substances, or destructive 27:47 behaviours. 27:49 Instead, they found hope, real 27:52 hope, the only hope. 27:56 >> We want you to experience 27:57 the truth that is found in the 27:59 words of Jesus when He said, 28:01 "It is written, 'Man shall not 28:03 "' live by bread alone, but by 28:05 "'every word that proceeds out 28:06 of the mouth of God.'" 28:10 >> I met Jerry at a 2012 North 28:12 American Division training in 28:14 Living Free that I was 28:15 conducting that year. 28:17 And when I heard his testimony 28:19 I knew that part of the reason 28:21 that God had our team put 28:22 these kinds of materials 28:24 together was for the 28:26 boots-on-the ground people 28:27 like Jerry. 28:29 The work that he does with 28:30 souls who are hurting, souls 28:32 who need Christ and who need 28:34 the message for this time is 28:36 what we all need to be doing. 28:38 So I'm so thankful for the 28:39 work that Jerry is doing and 28:41 continues to do with those 28:44 with whom he comes in contact. 28:46 So I want to encourage you to 28:47 listen to what he has to say 28:49 and to be blessed by the 28:51 Living Free materials that we 28:52 have put together to save 28:54 hurting souls in a world of sin. |
Revised 2022-05-18