Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Dwayne Caines, Wayne Caines
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000093S
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00:00 Are you ready for the ultimate encounter?
00:04 Well stay tuned to meet the man that wants to take you there. 00:07 My name is Yvonne Lewis and you're watching Urban Report. 00:31 Hello! And welcome to Urban Report. 00:33 My guest today is Pastor Lionel Martell, 00:36 pastor of the Omega and Shalom SDA churches in Connecticut. 00:41 I know Pastor Martell personally and I know that he loves to 00:44 present the gospel at every opportunity. 00:47 Some of our viewers have never experienced Jesus 00:50 or don't know anything about Him. 00:52 If that's your situation, this program is for you. 00:56 If you're already a believer, you're going to get some new 00:59 insights into the Word of God today. 01:02 Welcome Pastor Martell. 01:04 Well, it is certainly a real joy and a really great privilege 01:08 to be able to share what I perceive to be one of the most 01:11 amazing, miraculous, life-changing experiences 01:15 of my life: that is my personal encounter with my Lord and 01:19 Savior Jesus Christ. Well we can't wait to hear it. 01:23 We can't wait to hear it. Let's talk a bit about... 01:25 about your journey and where you're from. 01:27 Where were you born? I was born in Harlem Hospital 01:31 in Manhattan, New York City 01:32 and raised partially in Spanish Harlem, South Bronx, 01:35 West Bronx... all round about. 01:37 So you were raised in the "hood" so to speak. 01:40 Yep. In the "hood. " And so coming up as a child... 01:46 Let's first look at your childhood 01:48 coming up as a young boy in the inner city. 01:52 What was that like for you? 01:54 Well, there's one word that encapsulizes it all, and that 01:57 one word would be wild. At that time I was... 02:00 I was like... "up to no good in the hood" you know. 02:03 Running with gangs. Into everything under the sun. 02:06 All of that was mad fun to me 02:09 and, you know, until you come in contact with Jesus. 02:13 But I'm going to let you take a little lead on that 02:15 and then I'm going to go into that in more detail. 02:17 OK, so when you say you were "up to no good in the hood" 02:20 which I love that phrase. 02:22 I might have to borrow that from you. 02:24 You can have it. 02:25 "Up to no good in the hood... " unpack that. 02:29 Like when you went to school... Let's start with elementary 02:31 school. When you were in school, were you applying yourself? 02:36 Because you express yourself really well as an adult. 02:39 Were you reading? Were you applying yourself 02:41 when you were in elementary school? 02:43 I was always very interested in intellectual pursuits 02:46 as a kid. I did exceptionally well in elementary school 02:50 but then as I started to tran- sition onto the higher levels 02:53 of education - high school - of course we got off the beaten 02:57 path. And I got involved in gangs and just the deterioration 03:00 that you would find in the average ghetto. 03:03 Yeah, you know, one of the things, Pastor Lionel, that... 03:07 that we see so often is that our young boys 03:12 are in a situation where they don't have a really good... 03:16 they don't have a father image or they don't have a mentor 03:20 or they don't have anybody to teach them about being a man. 03:24 Were you an only child? Did you have other siblings? 03:28 Were you in a two-parent household? 03:30 What was your household like? 03:32 Well, I wasn't the only child 03:35 but indeed I was a fatherless child 03:38 and more or less just left to the mercies of the environment 03:42 which at that time in the early 1970's 03:45 in that era was highly terri- torial with different gangs. 03:49 Those were the days of the Black Spades, the Glory Stompers, 03:52 the Javelins, the Peacemakers, 03:54 the Social Sevens, the Spanish lords... all over. 03:57 I mean, the Black Spades alone had like 103 divisions 04:01 and they were right... all the way almost up into my apartment 04:04 practically. But it was days of war: 04:08 of rumbles, of shooting and killing and stabbing and drugs. 04:13 And I didn't get involved in everything under the sun 04:15 but I did get involved in the gangbanging part of it. 04:20 And I'm only here today because of a miraculous 04:24 marvelous experience of deliverance that was wrought 04:27 through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 04:29 Yes, and I want you to unpack that for us. 04:32 I just want to kind of take us up to that point a little bit 04:35 further. So in the inner city... because, you know, if you're not 04:40 raised there, if you don't have that experience, 04:43 you don't really know the dangers of just getting up 04:48 and going outside. The dangers that you confront 04:52 as especially a young male. 04:55 Because the gangs are trying to pull you in 04:57 and you have street life that's trying to pull you in. 05:01 And so all of that was converging upon you 05:05 and you made certain choices as a young male. 05:09 Correct? You decided to get involved with the gangs. 05:12 It's almost like survival, though, isn't it? 05:15 Well that was really the name of the game: survival. 05:17 Because in those days because the areas were... 05:20 were predominantly territorial 05:22 you felt the need to have some kind of protection, 05:26 some kind of security, so you associated with a gang. 05:29 This way if anything would happen to you, 05:32 one of your family members, you would have some kind of 05:35 serious backing. So I tried to associate with the strongest 05:39 gang in existence at that time in the area. 05:41 Yeah, I mean, it is such 05:47 a crisis and it's such a systemic issue 05:51 in the inner city because there aren't a lot of options. 05:55 And you choose... you tend to choose the option 05:58 for survival... that you feel is the best - yes - 06:01 option for survival. So... And that's what you did. 06:04 So you got involved in gangs, in that lifestyle. 06:09 Unpack that a little bit more for us before we find out 06:13 how you were taken out of that. 06:16 Well in that lifestyle means that once you get involved with 06:18 the gangs, of course, you know you're subject to rumbles, 06:21 fighting, killing, stabbing, shooting. All that kind of stuff 06:23 you're subject to. And you know just one day something happened 06:28 really crazy and I felt that God delivered me. 06:32 A bright light actually shone on me. 06:34 In fact, it covered that entire block 06:37 and I felt it. To me it was perceived as a frozen frame. 06:40 And it seemed like every time I was supposed to be stabbed, 06:43 shot, killed... something of this order... 06:46 like I was supernaturally delivered. 06:48 And so eventually it came to a crucible 06:52 and a critical point or apex in my life 06:56 where I had to make a decision. 06:58 Wow! That is to follow God's way or to continue the way 07:01 I was going only to interface premature death. 07:05 Wow! So you knew that if you continued along that same path 07:11 you were going to die or go to prison 07:14 because that was what was happening all around you. 07:16 Correct? Yes... sudden death 07:19 and certain death would have occurred. 07:22 But I was miraculously delivered. 07:25 How? And every day my song is plenteous redemption. 07:29 Oh, because one time I went up against 07:32 a certain group... I'm not calling names of individuals 07:36 or groups, but a certain group by myself 07:38 because of something that was done. And they were prepared. 07:44 They had guns out on me 07:45 and I didn't have a gun at the time. I just had... 07:49 Actually I had a slat from underneath my bed. 07:53 And they were pointing the guns at me 07:56 and this soft light covered... flooded the entire area 08:00 and I walked away untouched. 08:02 And so since I had been like getting delivered all along 08:05 I was wondering what... I became very curious about 08:07 this power that seemed to keep delivering me 08:10 at the last moment and snatching me out from the 08:13 auspices of premature death and the grave. 08:16 So I realized afterwards that it was... that it was Jesus Christ. 08:21 Now look at... Oh man, Pastor, look at what God did. 08:27 God all along had a plan for you. 08:30 Yes, yes. All along there was... 08:32 You... I was talking to a guest recently 08:37 and he was talking about his experience in gangs 08:41 and that lifestyle, and he said he was not a mistake. 08:46 You were not a mistake. 08:48 None of us were mistakes. God had a plan for all of us. 08:52 And so this plan that God had for you 08:56 you had no idea. You were out there gangbanging 08:59 but you saw this light. This light came into the situation 09:04 and you were able to just walk away? 09:07 While people were pointing guns at you, you were able 09:09 to walk away. In the same area where maybe hundreds of friends 09:14 were killed. Wow! 09:16 And that's why I'm really touched up to this very day. 09:20 Now the thing that really amazes me about those experiences 09:24 back then is that while I was doing what I was crazy enough 09:28 to do back then, what I saw myself doing back then 09:33 back then God saw me doing what I'm doing now. 09:38 That's right; that's right. 09:40 In other words, while I was gangbanging back then 09:43 God saw me teaching and preaching the gospel now. 09:47 God saw me visiting the sick now. 09:49 God saw me doing evangelism now trying to win souls 09:53 and build up the kingdom. So He saw me doing now 09:57 what, you know, I was doing back then. 10:00 What I saw myself doing back then. 10:02 I would never have dreamed 10:05 of doing now back then. 10:09 You know, if someone had told you that in 2014 10:14 you were going to be preaching the gospel, 10:16 you were going to be on fire for Jesus Christ, 10:18 you were going to be a pastor you would have said: 10:21 "What? Are you crazy? No way! " Am I right? 10:24 Yes, I would have said: "You're totally out of your mind. 10:28 I'm not religious. I'm not going to say that there's no God 10:33 in the sky but I don't see myself doing that in the future 10:39 at all. " So... OK. 10:42 So now, take us back to... You had this experience. 10:47 You realized that something is up here 10:51 'cause there's no reason why some light should shine down 10:54 on me and the guns that were pointed at me 10:57 didn't go off and I was able to walk out from there. 11:01 Did you at that point begin to seek God? 11:04 What was going on with you? At that point... At that point 11:08 the very next day I went up to my sister's house. 11:12 She lived... We were living at 511 East 150th Street 11:16 between Brook and St Anns in the South Bronx. 11:18 She lived on the 5th floor; we lived on the 3rd floor. 11:21 My cousins lived on the 1st floor. 11:23 The very next day I went up to her apartment on the 5th floor 11:26 and I... We were very close. 11:28 My sister was like a second mother to me. 11:31 And I said to her: "You know, something strange happens to me. 11:34 Every time it's time for like to go for a rumble 11:38 or some crazy thing happens where somebody is shot, 11:42 stabbed, killed, I'm almost like not around. 11:46 Without trying to duck it, without trying to dodge it 11:50 it's just like the circumstances just seem to be 11:53 maneuvering me elsewhere. And whenever I am there 11:56 I'm supernaturally protected. " 11:59 And my sister practically ignored what I was saying 12:03 and said to me: "Listen... " 12:06 she said, "just recently I joined a book club. " 12:09 As if I would be interested in something like that? 12:12 Of course not. 12:14 And I was like: that was sort of rude of her 12:17 to just totally ignore me 12:19 and start talking to me about books! 12:22 So she said: "Guess what I purchased? " 12:25 And I said: "What's that? " 12:26 She said: "A Bible. " 12:28 I said: "Oh, she's got to be joking now. What would she 12:31 be telling me about the Bible? 12:32 I'm not religious; I'm not a spiritual person. 12:35 Why is she telling me about the Bible? " 12:37 And she said: "In fact, I need you to help me 12:41 to maybe translate or understand this passage. " 12:45 And I was like: "Is she kidding me? " 12:48 And she turned to this scripture, passage of scripture 12:52 over there in the book of Matthew where it says: 12:54 "And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter 12:58 neither on the Sabbath day. " 13:01 Now I was a little taken aback when she said that 13:05 because... I'm older now but I went back in my mind 13:09 to the age of 7. My mom, she used to make us 13:12 stay upstairs on Sundays after church and read the scriptures 13:16 and keep Sunday holy. 13:19 And I was really angry about that because 13:22 sometimes the windows would be open and you would hear 13:25 all the street fun, you know, coming through the window. 13:27 People playing skelsy, stick ball, butterscotch, 13:30 and just seemed like they were just having a world of fun 13:33 out there while I've got to be upstairs praying and reading 13:36 the scriptures. So I was so upset one day that I took 13:40 the Bible and I sort of slammed it down on the bed. 13:43 And it popped open to Exodus chapter 20. 13:47 And my eyes landed on verse 8... dead smack on verse 8 13:51 where it say: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 13:55 Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work 13:57 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. 14:00 In it thou shalt not do any work. " 14:02 So I was 7 years old. 14:04 And amazingly enough at 7 I went into the kitchen 14:07 to verify which day indeed was the 7th day of the week 14:10 only to my surprise to discover that Sunday 14:15 was the 1st day of the week and Saturday was the 7th day 14:19 of the week. So with the calendar in my left hand 14:22 and the Bible in my right hand 14:24 I proceeded to march into her room 14:26 and I said: "Ma... " I said... "with all due respect 14:29 to you, " I said, "do you realize that we 14:33 are worshiping on the wrong day? " 14:35 And she said: "What are you talking about? " 14:37 I said: "Well the Bible says Remember the Sabbath day 14:39 to keep it holy. Sunday is the first day of the week. 14:43 Saturday is the seventh day of the week. 14:46 So Sunday cannot be the holy day. 14:49 Can I go outside to play? " 14:54 Yvonne, I could really technically care less about the 14:57 sanctity of the day. Whether it was right or wrong 15:00 didn't matter to me. I just wanted to get out of that house 15:03 and get with the other kids out there on the streets. 15:06 Some skelsy, stick ball, whatever it was they were doing. 15:09 I did not want to be upstairs reading any dead, dry, boring 15:13 literature called the Holy Bible. 15:15 Isn't that amazing how your perspective 15:19 on it has changed so much? 15:22 Like at that point you felt like it was dead, dry, 15:25 and now you can't get enough of it. 15:27 Well because between then and now 15:31 something happened to me. 15:33 A very traumatic personal encounter 15:36 and that's why we call it "the ultimate encounter. " 15:40 Yes, yes, yes... Before you go there, though, 15:42 we have to know - 'cause I know my viewers are going to 15:44 want to know - what did your mom? How did she react to that? 15:48 How did she react to your saying the first day 15:51 is Sunday and the seventh day is Saturday? 15:54 Well she simply drove me out of the room 15:58 like Hurricane Sandy. 16:04 I'm surprised you didn't get a little paddling behind that. 16:08 No... no, she didn't paddle me but she was very upset. 16:11 Yeah... yeah, yeah, yeah. OK, so now 16:15 you are in the room with your sister 16:19 and your sister has asked you to interpret this passage. 16:23 You're going there with a theological question like 16:26 Why am I delivered all the time? 16:28 Why do these supernatural things keep happening? 16:31 and your sister asks you to interpret a text 16:36 which then carried you back to when you were seven. 16:39 So now - yes - what did you do 16:41 when your sister asked you to interpret the text? 16:45 OK, I said: "Now I don't know where it's found... " 16:48 I said: "I'm not religious you know. I'm not no... 16:50 no Bible student and I wouldn't be able to tell you 16:53 where this particular passage of scripture is located, 16:56 but, " I said, "somewhere in there it says 16:59 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy' 17:01 and the seventh day is the Sabbath day 17:04 but I don't know where it is. " I said: "It's somewhere 17:06 in there and it's a part of those commandments. " 17:09 So I began to search for the Ten Commandments 17:13 and I felt a little like ignorant that I didn't know 17:16 exactly where it was to show her what book it was in, 17:19 what verse, chapter, whatever. I just didn't... I had no 17:22 knowledge of the scriptures. None at all. 17:24 She was making us read every Sunday, but I was never really 17:26 paying attention to anything in there. 17:29 You know, my head was not there at the time. 17:31 Right, right. So I began to feverishly look for that. 17:35 And somehow in the process of trying to track down that 17:39 text I began to discover some other things. 17:44 I went to the book of Revelation where it talked about 17:47 the scorpion that had power in its tail to destroy 1/3 of 17:52 the population of the earth and many other passages that 17:55 I began to interpret literally 17:58 that were supposed to be - of course - interpreted 18:00 spiritually... that were figurative - 18:03 but I took them literally. 18:05 So they actually scared the living daylights out of me. 18:09 So I thought that these things were really going to happen, 18:13 you know, to us... to mankind. 18:15 And so I began to seriously read the scriptures. 18:19 At this point, it began to take on new meaning. 18:22 And then eventually I started trying to understand 18:26 better who God is. 18:30 OK, this is wonderful because you see how 18:35 God used your sister to draw you into an interest 18:40 in the scriptures. You had to answer something for her 18:45 and so He drew you into this dialogue with her 18:50 which then drew you further into searching the scriptures 18:54 for yourself. Right. And you developed a real 18:58 passion for the scriptures. 19:01 How did you have the ultimate encounter? 19:05 Because in the process of studying the scriptures 19:09 God began to reveal Himself to me. 19:13 My sister said: "There must be a true church 19:16 somewhere. " And she began to go to different churches. 19:19 And I said: "Well, if there's a true church 19:21 it has to be in harmony with God's will 19:24 at this particular point in time. " 19:27 And I said: "So it has to be in harmony with the plain 19:30 teachings of the holy scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. " 19:33 So she went to different churches, and she would come 19:36 back and tell me about this one, that one, the other one. 19:38 I just stayed... I just kept reading, reading, and comparing 19:41 what she was sharing with me with what was plainly taught 19:45 in the holy scriptures. And then eventually she 19:48 said... you know, she began to tell me about one 19:51 that was observing what I perceived to be 19:54 all of the commandments... all ten of them. 19:57 And I said: "Well let me go down and check it out. " 20:00 It was the Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist church 20:02 located in Harlem Manhattan. 20:04 And I went down there. The pastor got up and he 20:07 started preaching and I felt the Spirit of God 20:09 like very heavily upon him. 20:11 And he was speaking as if God was speaking directly 20:15 through him to me... 20:17 which challenged me to re- investigate the holy scriptures 20:21 but from a different perspective. 20:22 I began to seek for God. 20:25 I began to look for Him in every book and every chapter 20:29 and every verse and every line. 20:31 Studying His providence... the way how He 20:34 reveals Himself through circumstances and the way how He 20:38 orchestrates the affairs of the lives of men. 20:42 And then I came to a realization that this was the power 20:47 that had been with me all along. 20:49 Protecting me, delivering me, shielding me. 20:52 Now all the pieces of the puzzle began to topple into place 20:55 for me. And so I made up my mind to follow Christ. 20:59 I accepted Him and made up my mind to follow Him 21:01 all the way through the watery grave of baptism. 21:05 So that was really a turning point for you, was it not? 21:08 Big time. And I said that from this day forward 21:12 "I am Your servant. " 21:16 And trust me, God chose to just max out on that pledge. 21:23 One day I was in my room in my bed 21:26 and I heard a voice say to me... 21:28 I'm over there at 1125 University Avenue in the... 21:31 in the West Bronx now over in the Highbridge region. 21:35 In my room on my bed and God said to me: 21:39 "Get up. Walk over to the window. 21:43 Draw back the drapes and pull up the blinds. " 21:47 And He said: "As far as your eye can see 21:50 is your field of ministry. " 21:53 God said: "Go work for Me. " 21:56 He said: "Because the fields are whited unto the harvest. " 21:59 And He said to "Pray that the Lord will send workers 22:02 into the harvest. But I need you to work for Me. " 22:05 And of course it became chillingly clear to me 22:09 that He wanted me to try to evangelize all of those 22:11 projects round about that area. 22:14 And so back at the ranch the church that I was attending, 22:18 I had gotten baptized at: Ephesus SDA church 22:22 in Harlem Manhattan. In the basement of the church 22:26 they had just I can't even tell you 22:29 how many family Bible course Bible study lessons there. 22:35 And I was collecting them just by the droves 22:39 and just going from one project to the next - all 13 22:43 floors all 8 doors trying to enroll people in personal 22:46 Bible studies. And I literally covered every project 22:50 in that area from top to bottom 22:54 and the buildings in between. 22:57 And I did this with the Holy Spirit in the presence 23:00 of the holy angels every chance I got between school and work. 23:05 And I could sense them being in the room. You could sense 23:07 the Holy Spirit in my room. You could sense the holy angels 23:10 in my room as I began this new trek ministering to people. 23:14 Guiding me to them; giving me exactly what to say to these 23:16 people. Some were in the process of dying. 23:19 Some have virtually died, but the Lord was able to use me 23:23 to reach these people on time. So He delivered me 23:27 to use me, and He saw me doing what I was doing 23:30 then... He saw me doing that while He was delivering me 23:35 in the world. Amazing! And that's such an important point, 23:40 pastor, because so many people right now listening 23:45 might be caught up into a lifestyle that they don't want 23:49 to be in. Right. And they feel like they're too far gone 23:52 for God to love them. They're too far gone 23:55 for there to be a plan for them. 23:58 But what you're telling us and what your life has demonstrated 24:02 is that you're not too far gone. 24:04 That God can take you... If you're in a gang, 24:07 if you're in a lifestyle, if you're on drugs, 24:09 if you're using alcohol, if you're doing whatever... 24:12 God can take that life, wash it clean, 24:16 and set you in service for Him. 24:19 Which? What is there better than that? 24:21 There's nothing better than that. I don't know if it's 24:24 literally possible to go too far for God to save you. 24:29 Come on pastor! I believe much of that kind 24:31 of thinking is literally imaginary. Come on; come on. 24:35 And the reason why I would dare say all such 24:39 is because if I have to believe that I can reach a point 24:43 where God can't save me 24:46 then I would have to believe that His death on the cross 24:49 for me was a total farce. 24:52 Because why would He come from the third heavens 24:56 through deep space, against the gravitational forces of 25:00 our solar system to be born of a virgin? 25:03 To live, bleed, suffer, die? 25:06 Give up the ghost; shed His precious blood 25:09 to show me how much He loves me? 25:12 Then because of a few bad habits in my life 25:15 or some moment or period of rebellion 25:18 He just turns His back on me and closes out my probation. 25:23 No more mercy; no more forgiveness. 25:25 No opportunity to be delivered and saved. 25:29 I don't believe that. 25:30 I believe that so long as there is life there is hope. 25:35 Yes, yes. So pastor, in one minute 25:40 look into your camera and tell someone out there 25:45 how they can have the ultimate encounter. 25:48 I think the most important thing 25:51 in this world for people to realize 25:53 is that before you turn off the scene of human history 25:57 you have to come to know your Creator for yourself. 26:00 I'll never forget one day I was out there in Brooklyn 26:02 on Ocean Avenue at 11:30 at night. 26:05 I was standing there on the platform waiting for the train 26:07 to pull in. This tall fellow was standing next to me, 26:10 and I began to strike up a conversation to introduce him 26:13 to Jesus. And he said: "Don't try to preach to me. 26:16 I don't believe in God; I'm an atheist. " 26:19 I said to him: "I can tell you in less than three minutes 26:21 and prove to you that you are not an atheist. " 26:24 He said: "That's impossible... I'm an atheist. " 26:27 I said: "Let me ask you a question. " 26:29 I said: "From the day that you were born did you ever 26:32 sink to your knees and say 'Dear God, 26:34 if You exist reveal Yourself to me? 26:37 I need... You owe that to me as my Creator. 26:40 Before I leave this world You owe that revelation to me. ' " 26:43 I said: "Did you ever from since you were born 26:46 give Him an honest clear shot at your life? " 26:49 He said: "No, I have never done that. " 26:52 The train pulled in. We boarded the train 26:55 and for the rest of the time from Brooklyn into the Bronx 26:58 he stood there holding on to the handle of the train 27:02 staring at me, peering through the window 27:05 wrestling with that disturbing question: 27:08 "No, I've never really given Him a honest shot at my life. " 27:12 There are countless number of hearers out there today 27:14 who have never given Jesus a chance 27:17 for the ultimate encounter. 27:21 You need to think about that. 27:23 Yes. Give God a honest shot at your life. 27:26 Yes. God bless you. Thank you so much. 27:28 Thank you so much for sharing that with us. 27:31 Thank you for just giving us your journey. 27:35 It's been such a rich testimony. 27:37 We really appreciate it. 27:39 Well, that's the end of our program for today. 27:42 We sincerely hope that you ex- perience the ultimate encounter. 27:46 Thanks for tuning in. Join us next time 27:48 'cause you know what? It just wouldn't be the same 27:51 without you. |
Revised 2023-10-12