Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Lemuel Vega
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000187A
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00:01 Stay tuned to meet a man
00:02 who spends every Christmas in prison. 00:04 My name is Yvonne Lewis 00:06 and you're watching Urban Report. 00:31 Hello and welcome to Urban Report. 00:33 My guest today is Lemuel Vega, 00:36 he's the president of Christmas Behind Bars 00:38 and he is on fire for Jesus. 00:41 Welcome to Urban Report, Lemuel. 00:43 Thank you, sister. 00:45 You've been here a few times before 00:46 and every time you come, I just love it. 00:49 It's such a blessing 00:50 because what you're doing is it's so impactful, 00:55 it makes such a difference. 00:56 Tell us about Christmas Behind Bars. 00:58 What is it? 00:59 Well, you gave me a nice introduction, 01:01 president of Christmas Behind Bars, 01:02 but it says in the Word of God 01:04 in Matthew 25:31. 01:05 It says, "When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, 01:09 and all the holy angels with him, 01:11 then shall he sit upon his throne of his glory: 01:13 And before him shall be gathered all nations: 01:16 and he shall separate them one from another, 01:18 as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:" 01:20 So we want to be on the winning side, 01:22 amen. Amen. 01:23 Praise God. For sure. 01:24 Christmas Behind Bars is a prison ministry 01:26 that was ordained by God, 01:30 been in prison myself for some years 01:32 and the sad reality is, 01:33 Yvonne, prison doesn't change someone's life. 01:36 Prison doesn't have the ability to, 01:37 and I've told the inmates time and time again, 01:39 if you take a hound dog 01:41 and chain him up to a telephone pole, 01:43 and you tell him not to chase a bunny rabbit, 01:44 you can beat that dog, you can starve that dog, 01:46 you can whip that dog, whatever you want to do, 01:48 but when you let that dog go, he's probably going to... 01:51 Chase the bunny. 01:52 Chase the bunny rabbit 01:54 and so we were born with the sin nature, 01:55 were born with that sin nature, 01:57 unless we got a power greater than ourselves, 01:59 we have no ability to change. 02:01 And so the world is bringing all kinds of medication 02:03 and programs to people 02:06 who have been incarcerated 02:07 telling them this is the way but if God's not in it, 02:10 this is not going to happen. 02:12 If God be for us... 02:13 Who can be against us? Who can be against us? 02:15 So what you're saying is 02:17 all of those things are like a band-aid. 02:18 That's right. 02:20 Because they're not getting to the root, 02:21 everything needs to get to the root 02:22 cause of something, 02:24 like what is the root cause of this behavior, 02:27 it's sin. 02:28 Right. Sin is the root cause. 02:29 And what can change sin? 02:31 What can wash away my sin? 02:33 The shed blood of Jesus Christ. 02:34 Right. 02:35 You know, I had about four years clean 02:37 maybe something like that, 02:38 and I went to the hospital 02:39 because I had this really bad pain. 02:41 It was terrible. It's awful. 02:42 They called the doctor in I was in ER. 02:44 and the doctor tells me they did some x-rays says, 02:46 he's going to admit me to the hospital for a few days, 02:49 and I said, "For what?" 02:50 And he said, "Well, 02:51 we're going to give you morphine 02:53 or demerol treatment for a few days." 02:54 I said, "No, sir" I said, "I'm a drug addict," 02:56 and I said, "You can't." 02:57 He said, "I thought you were in a lot of pain." 02:58 I said, "Sir, I am, I'm in terrible pain, 03:00 but if you give me morphine or demerol today." 03:02 I said it, "On Monday morning, 03:04 my body ain't going to know 03:05 that I don't need that, I can't, 03:07 not supposed to have it." 03:08 And so this doctor educated in medicine. 03:11 He said, "Oh, yeah. 03:12 I used to smoke cigarettes 03:14 and if I would smoke a cigarette today, 03:15 it would make me..." 03:17 I said, "Dude, thank you very much." 03:18 And I went home and laid down. 03:19 My wife got me two Tylenol and I prayed 03:21 and the pain went away, so God is good. 03:23 So, prison ministry is near and dear to my heart 03:26 because there is no help by locking 03:29 the person away for x number of years. 03:31 There is no change available there. 03:33 I got out of prison, 03:34 struggled with drug addiction for 12 years. 03:37 I went to treatment and the doctors tell me, 03:39 I need methadone and I need antabuse. 03:42 I said, "No, dear I don't need." 03:44 I said, "I didn't come here to get high." 03:45 I threw my narcotics in the parking lot that night 03:47 at 10 o'clock walked in the treatment 03:49 and they want to put a band-aid on me 03:50 when I was fixing to die. 03:52 I kneeled down, and prayed 03:53 and asked God for help in my life, 03:55 and by God's grace 03:56 this prison ministry started one year later 03:59 after I committed my life to Christ. 04:01 And I want people to know, 04:02 I want our viewers to know 04:03 to commit your life to Christ for me was as simple as saying, 04:07 "Dear Jesus, please help me. 04:09 I want to quit but I can't." 04:11 So it's not some long drawn out prayer. 04:13 It's a desire for change. 04:14 It says in the Word of God in Matthew 5:6, 04:16 I think it says, "Blessed are they that hunger 04:20 and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." 04:23 So whether they're red, 04:24 yellow, black, or white, 04:26 Christian, Muslim, atheist, incarcerated, 04:29 we all hurt the same. 04:31 It's terrible. 04:32 It's painful. It's awful. 04:34 And God is the only one 04:35 that can begin to mend that brokenness 04:37 that sin has created in our lives since children. 04:40 And I think is great that you said that it... 04:43 You don't have to have some long formal, 04:46 oh thou that art, it's not about that. 04:50 It's about talking to your friend, 04:52 talking to your friend 04:53 that is the King of the universe. 04:54 Amen. 04:56 So you can come before him, you know, and just say, 04:58 "I don't even know how to talk to you. 05:00 I don't even know 05:01 what to say but help me, help me. 05:04 Show me what to say." 05:06 And God's Spirit will begin to help that person 05:09 to pray and open up to God in a whole new way. 05:13 Amen. 05:14 Harrisburg, Illinois a few years ago, 05:16 we had a 16-year-old child. 05:18 We were there, 05:19 we were sharing the ministry of Christmas Behind Bars. 05:23 We gave all the inmates a gift package, 05:25 and there was this one inmate in segregation and he said, 05:27 you know, they're just crying, just crying, he says, 05:29 "I'm tired of the gangs. 05:31 I'm tired of the drugs and I want change for my life." 05:33 And so he sat on the picnic table, 05:35 I just kneeled down right there 05:36 and I had prayer with him and I said, 05:39 "Now you pray," 16 years old he says, 05:41 " I don't know how to pray." 05:43 I said, "Brother, I said, Jesus is your friend." 05:45 I said you talk to him just like your friend." 05:47 You Know, you know how to ask your mama 05:49 when you want something. 05:50 You know, how to ask your daddy 05:52 when you want some. 05:53 You know how to ask adult man 05:54 when you need another pile of dope. 05:56 So we know how to speak and converse to one another 05:57 to convey a message to somebody. 05:59 He's standing at the door knocking, waiting, 06:01 asking you today, to come to him just as you are. 06:05 When we come to Christ, that's called justification. 06:07 You come to him just in your sins, 06:09 just in your situations, 06:10 whatever it is, no matter how painful, 06:12 no matter how unmanageable, no matter how lonely, 06:14 no matter how desperate, 06:15 you just call out to Jesus 06:17 just as you are and that gives him 06:18 the opportunity to come in 06:20 and be your attorney to be your friend. 06:22 That's right. 06:23 And we have to invite him. Amen. 06:25 It's different from Satan 06:27 who just barges in just, you know, 06:29 just does whatever he will, now Jesus is a gentleman. 06:33 That's right. 06:35 He is going to wait for you to invite him 06:36 and then once you do, 06:37 he said, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." 06:40 I'm knocking at the door of your heart. 06:41 Amen. 06:42 I'm knocking, now open the door. 06:44 And if you open the door, 06:45 I'll come in and I'll sup with you, 06:48 I'll come in and share with you. 06:50 We will get to know each other. 06:52 When you eat with somebody that's an intimate act, 06:54 you know, you're going to break bread with somebody, eat. 06:57 That's an intimate thing. 06:58 Jesus said, "I'll come in, I'll sup with you, 07:02 I will give you your needs, just open the door." 07:06 And so that's what you do with Christmas Behind Bars. 07:10 You take information, and you take gifts to inmates 07:14 and you are inviting them to open the door to Jesus. 07:18 Oh, amen. 07:19 We were in... 07:21 We were in this huge prison, it wasn't, it was last year, 07:24 we were in this huge prison and it's a voluntary program 07:28 that inmates come out to the program, 07:29 they don't have to come so. 07:31 So the chapel is full of inmates, 07:32 it's a last program 07:33 and I have the chaplain come up to me 07:35 right before the program started 07:36 and inmates were already seated, 07:37 already started talking to me, 07:39 chaplain come up and he whispers in my ear, 07:40 he says, "You got the main Muslim, 07:42 the main Muslim leader in the whole prison 07:44 in the service here." 07:46 And I'm thinking, "Why are you telling me that." 07:48 And we talked and then we did the program, 07:50 we talked, we closed with prayer. 07:51 All the inmates left but there were two inmates 07:54 sitting in the middle of the chapel 07:55 and they come walking up to me 07:57 and the big guy says, 07:58 "Hey, would you have prayer for my mama, 08:01 she's really sick." 08:03 We go in the back room, 08:04 we kneel down, we had prayer, 08:05 she got cancer and you know I had prayer for, 08:08 I said, "Lord, we know you can heal, 08:09 nevertheless not our will." 08:10 And he left, 08:12 chaplain come running up to me said, 08:13 "What did he want? What did he want?" 08:15 I said, well, he wanted to have prayer. 08:16 He said, "That's the guy." 08:17 And I'm thinking, "Wow, Lord, what a awesome opportunity." 08:20 But the guy left, I said, 08:21 "I'll probably never meet him again. 08:23 He's gone left." 08:24 And then just a few weeks ago sister, 08:25 we were in that same prison 08:27 and I'm thinking about this guy, 08:28 I don't know his name. I don't know his number. 08:30 I don't remember what he looked like. 08:31 Right. 08:33 Last service in the prison, 08:34 the last day, the last program 08:36 this man came walking up to me and he said, 08:38 "You probably don't remember me." 08:40 He said, "But last year you had." 08:41 I said, "Yes," 08:42 I said, "I had prayer with you about your mom." 08:44 I said, "How she doing." 08:45 And he said, "Mama doing so much better." 08:48 He said, "I'd like you to have prayer with me this year, 08:51 I'm thinking about being a Christian." 08:52 Wow. 08:54 So the fruit that was in, 08:55 the seeds that were sown 08:56 begin to produce hope or a spark in his life 08:59 and now he want to have prayer. 09:01 He's considering being a Christian 09:02 and so wherever they are, 09:04 we all hurt the same and Jesus is the answer, 09:06 the common denominator 09:08 for the pain of sin in our world. 09:09 There's some pictures that maybe we could show, 09:11 I don't know if we have time for those. 09:13 Oh, sure. 09:14 Let show them. Okay. 09:16 Tell us what is that? 09:17 This picture here is actually the cell house, 09:18 where I spent my years in a maximum security prison, 09:21 and now I'm on the steps of that 09:23 ministering to the inmates, 09:25 so we have opportunity to go into that prison. 09:26 The next picture here is just kind of one of the corners 09:30 where I'd see from day to day, 09:31 it looks really, really rough and it was a, 09:33 it is a maximum security prison, 09:35 it's an old prison. 09:36 But now the next picture here, this is phenomenal. 09:38 This is actually my wife 09:40 and we're standing in the guard's hall 09:42 and she would come and visit me in the prison. 09:44 Every two weeks, she'd come and visit me. 09:46 She'd send me letters of encouragement, 09:48 "Don't give up, God loves you, you're not forgotten." 09:50 So God has brought up a full circle, amen. 09:52 Yes, amen. 09:53 So, and I know he's kind of done 09:55 some neat things in your life, 09:57 because you come and helped us at a prison in Indiana. 09:59 And it was such a blessing. 10:00 I loved it, 10:02 it was a women's prison in Indiana, 10:04 and it was a Christmas program. 10:06 That's right. 10:07 And you had some other volunteers there, 10:08 and Jason and I went and we gave our testimonies, 10:11 and I saying... 10:13 Amen. 10:14 And always just such a beautiful experience, 10:15 I mean really it's... 10:17 for me it waters my spirit to be able to share 10:20 what Jesus has done with women that are hungry 10:24 to know what Jesus can do for them. 10:27 What, how he can change their lives, 10:29 so it was, it was a wonderful experience. 10:32 What would you say to the viewers 10:33 because they've done...? 10:35 When you go to prison, you made headlines 10:37 and it's for the negative. 10:38 What would you share with the viewers about 10:40 how these women were 10:41 because they were like really bad 10:43 supposedly by society standards to be put in the prison? 10:45 But how did you feel and sense their spirit? 10:49 Oh, beautiful. 10:50 I mean they look like they're just regular women. 10:56 I don't mean that in a pejorative sense, 10:58 in a negative sense, 11:00 I mean that there wasn't anybody that 11:02 looked like some know, 11:04 raving lunatic or some terrible criminal. 11:08 They just looked like women that were incarcerated. 11:12 Women who were broken, 11:14 women who were hurting, 11:15 women who could smile, 11:18 women who would appreciate 11:20 just a word of encouragement, just a song, 11:23 that can point them to heaven. 11:26 For me it was like, 11:29 it was such a blessing to be able to share 11:33 what God has done for me 11:34 and know that they were 11:36 so appreciative of receiving it. 11:38 They just, they just appreciate your being there 11:41 and they're hungry for it. 11:43 They need it. 11:44 One of our friends 11:47 who is also in prison ministry said, 11:49 "People are either in prison. 11:51 Either they're going to have Christ or crime." 11:55 Right. 11:56 You pick, as Christians we want to give them Christ. 11:59 And that's what you're doing them, 12:01 when you go into the women's prisons, 12:02 when you go into the men's prisons, 12:04 you are bringing them not just literature, 12:07 you're bringing them gifts too. 12:09 And so many times they don't have any family. 12:12 They have nobody visiting them. 12:14 People have given up on them, right. 12:15 Absolutely. 12:17 For some this will be the only visit they get. 12:20 For some they don't have money on commissary, 12:22 they can't buy things in the prison, 12:24 and so it's just a beautiful thing 12:25 through our sponsorship 12:27 of the Christmas Behind Bars ministry. 12:28 You know we're able to give them 12:30 sometimes toothbrush, toothpaste, 12:31 soap, shampoo, 12:32 and you know you would think 12:34 that the prison provides that for them 12:35 and some prisons do, 12:36 but it's called an indigent toothbrush, 12:38 and so after you brush your teeth 12:39 about four or five times, 12:41 the bristles are all flat and it's just of no value. 12:43 So it's just a blessing to give them tangible gifts, 12:46 and at the same time let them know 12:48 that there's hope for their life... 12:50 And these are things we take for granted. 12:51 That's right. 12:53 You know, 12:54 we take our toothbrushes for granted. 12:55 That's right. 12:57 We take soap and deodorant for granted. 12:58 Right. 12:59 And yet these are things that are so important. 13:01 I want to go back a bit to the Muslim 13:04 because look at how God used you... 13:07 Praise God. Yes. 13:09 When you prayed for his mother and his mother got better. 13:13 So he was able to see that that prayer was answered, 13:16 that prayer that you prayed 13:18 in the name of Jesus was answered. 13:20 So now, his heart is softened. 13:22 Now he's open to more, 13:25 he is considering being a Christian, 13:27 so we want to ask you viewers to pray for that man, 13:30 pray for him, pray that 13:32 God will continue to move on his heart, 13:34 to open his heart to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 13:37 And more and more people are like that 13:40 if we can just share this word with everybody in there. 13:45 I mean my heart just breaks for those that are incarcerated 13:49 because so many times they're like throwaways 13:51 Amen. 13:52 And the first year, you know, 13:53 I don't remember him praying, we prayed together. 13:56 Now just a few weeks ago, 13:58 we kneeled down in the same room 13:59 in the back of the auditorium there, 14:01 and I prayed and I said, "Now you pray." 14:03 And he did pray. 14:05 You know, he shared a few words 14:06 and my wife sent him a study Bible. 14:08 Thanks to our sponsors that make Bibles possible. 14:10 So now he has a study Bible and it's just, 14:13 we just leave it in the Lord's hands, 14:14 so it's a real blessing. 14:16 Amen, amen. 14:17 There's a few more pictures if we have time for those. 14:19 Yeah, let's get them. Yeah. 14:20 What's that? 14:22 This is secure, maximum security prison, 14:25 and it's a pick up truck, we pull a trailer 14:28 and we're delivering packages, this is at the back gate. 14:31 We should have a couple more pictures 14:33 of just some prisons. 14:34 This is another prison. 14:36 It just shows the security is high, 14:39 but on the other hand, 14:40 God is opening doors in great ways. 14:42 So we can go to many countries and share the gospel. 14:44 But right here in our own community, 14:46 and you know, I told my wife, 14:48 it's been a few months ago. 14:50 I told her on the way to our prison 14:51 very early in the morning. 14:52 I said, "Baby, 14:54 I said, I believe that 14:55 this is one of the last reachable people groups 14:57 in the United Sates of America, 14:59 " because they're in prison, they want change, 15:02 but once they out in the world, 15:04 they're thinking about more foods stamps, 15:05 better job, better wife, 15:06 better car, all this temporal things, 15:09 but when they are incarcerated, 15:10 they hurt, they feel terrible, 15:12 they feel rejected, they feel ashamed. 15:14 And we can go in there and say, 15:15 bro, we love you, it don't matter what. 15:17 It don't matter your nationality, 15:19 your religious, 15:21 we love you and we come for all people. 15:23 And that's the gift of eternal life 15:24 through Jesus Christ, 15:25 he came and died for all people 15:28 that whosoever that every nation, 15:30 kindred and whosoever, 15:32 looketh, believeth in him shall be saved. 15:35 So that's the power of the gospel. 15:36 And if we don't tell them now, 15:38 then they'll die and they'll perish 15:41 without the plan of salvation. 15:43 So we want to go 15:44 and we appreciate your support for that. 15:48 What you're doing is just... 15:50 I mean it's just phenomenal because you're reaching, 15:52 you're doing what Jesus did, 15:53 you reach people where they are, right. 15:56 And then, you know, 15:58 you move forward from there, they need, 16:01 they are hurting, they are alone, 16:03 they are lonely and you're going in 16:06 and you're showing them love and that's what Jesus did. 16:08 And I do want to say something, 16:10 there's many different prison ministries out there 16:12 and we appreciate everyone. 16:13 But a lot of times, folks would go down to a prison 16:16 and they volunteer their time. 16:17 And so they have a designated time, 16:19 you come down here every Monday evening 16:20 or every Friday evening or every Sabbath morning, 16:22 whatever, you come down to prison, 16:24 you have a time slot of an hour 16:25 and 30 or 40 peoples come out of the prison 16:28 out of 2000 that's great. 16:29 So you have a Bible study with those 30 or 40, 16:31 but with Christmas Behind Bars when we go in, 16:33 we've a gift package for the whole 2000, 16:36 the whole 3000, 16:37 the 1700, the 1400, 16:39 so everyone gets invited to come out. 16:42 And by God's grace we're able to put the books, 16:44 The Desirer of Ages, The Great Controversy, 16:46 Steps to Christ throughout the whole prison, 16:48 and I want to tell you the fruit of one book, 16:51 in inmate's hands. 16:52 Yes, tell us. 16:53 We're at this county jail, it's a huge county jail, 16:56 and we're there with some volunteers. 16:57 It's two stories, 16:59 and I had these guys look over the range 17:00 and they locked over and they said, 17:01 "Are you a Sabbath keeper." 17:03 I said, "What you know about Sabbath?" 17:05 I said, "Hold on," 17:06 and I went up there and they got this book. 17:08 The Antichrist Agenda 17:10 by Danny Shelton and Shelley Quinn, 17:12 and they pulled this book out and they said, 17:14 we got the truth. 17:16 We understand, we see what's going. 17:17 I only had a few minutes with him, 17:19 I said, "Brothers, you keep seeking." 17:21 And they were great big dudes. 17:23 I said, "You keep seeking and keep studying. 17:25 I said, God's gonna use you in a mighty way." 17:27 So one book put into these people's hands. 17:29 Multitudes of material going there, 17:31 but one book put into these people's hands, 17:34 they receive the gospel. 17:35 So if any of the viewers want to donate a case of books, 17:38 they can call 3ABN. 17:39 They can say donate Christmas Behind Bars. 17:41 They call 3ABN, they can donate cases 17:43 and we'll get them into the prisoner's hand, so... 17:45 That will be tremendous. 17:46 In fact I think we need to tell them how they can... 17:49 What's your website, 17:50 so that they can go and donate financially 17:53 or they can find out 17:55 where to send books or whatever? 17:57 What if they want to volunteer? 17:58 That would be a blessing to have them volunteer, 18:00 they can make cards 18:01 or get involved in their own jail or prison. 18:03 We'd like to help other people network and do that. 18:05 So you're all over the country, right? 18:08 Is your ministry all over? 18:10 Where is it? 18:11 Yeah, Oklahoma, Candes, 18:13 Illinois, Arkansas, Minnesota, 18:15 Georgia, Tennessee, 18:16 new prison coming up in Tennessee, 18:18 Virginia, 18:19 so wherever the Lord opens the doors 18:21 and it's through sponsors that make it possible for us 18:23 to come to their state or their area. 18:24 So you are 100 percent donor supported. 18:27 100 percent donor supported, 18:29 and we're 100 percent volunteer, 18:30 so we don't get paid a dime for what we are doing, 18:32 so every dollar that's donated goes right into the ministry 18:35 so praise the Lord. 18:36 Amen, amen, so what's your website. 18:38 It is ChristmasBehindBars.org. 18:40 Great. 18:42 ChristmasBehindBars.org 18:43 and they can go online and look 18:44 and get my email address or calls us 18:47 or whatever that would be great. 18:48 Tell us, give us a couple of stories of how 18:51 Christmas Behind Bars has impacted inmates? 18:54 Well, there was one lady in the county jail. 18:57 And someone had told her about the Sabbath. 19:00 She got locked up, 19:01 she is in this pod with 10, 15, 20 girls 19:03 and someone told her about the Sabbath. 19:05 Said, yeah, yeah whatever. 19:07 She did something really bad and she got put in segregation. 19:09 So she goes to segregation... 19:11 Explain segregation to those who don't know. 19:13 Segregation means you can't function in the pack. 19:15 You've got to go into this little room 19:17 by yourself with nobody. 19:18 You don't get anything, any privileges, 19:20 all your stuff is taken away 19:21 so you're in solitary confinement 19:23 with a bed, a toilet, 19:24 and your meals come through this little slot, 19:26 no communication with nobody. 19:28 So she got moved from the pod, was told about the Sabbath, 19:31 gets put in segregation lockdown 19:33 and was written on the wall 19:35 about the Sabbath is the Seventh-day of the week 19:37 was written on the wall. 19:39 So she's icon it, she heard this. 19:40 Now she sees it and in her bag, 19:43 she got the Ten Commandments Twice Removed. 19:45 She wrote a letter said, 19:46 "I now know that the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week 19:50 and that's Saturday. 19:51 So praise the Lord. 19:52 So, so little things are going forward 19:54 and that we don't even, 19:55 you know, we don't know about it. 19:57 There have been baptisms, you know, 19:58 people make commitments to Christ. 20:00 Many study Bibles have went out and so it's just, 20:04 it's just phenomenal, it's a great blessing. 20:06 That is so great. 20:08 Did you bring more pictures? 20:09 Do we have more pictures or was that it? 20:10 We have a picture that's really, 20:12 a really solemn picture, 20:13 it's near and dear to my heart 20:14 and we'll look at that picture right now. 20:17 This picture here is what happens to people 20:20 when they die in prison 20:22 if they don't have any family members 20:23 to come and claim their body. 20:25 So it's a graveyard, 20:28 a cemetery outside the prison 20:29 and all these tombstones represent somebody 20:32 that didn't have nobody, 20:34 but if we can just connect them with Christ 20:36 during their time of incarceration 20:38 and if Jesus be for them, who can be against them. 20:42 So if God be for us, who can be against us? 20:45 And so, we want to give them the everlasting gospel. 20:47 We want to let them know there's pardon and forgiveness 20:50 before they're laid to rest. 20:51 Because so many times, 20:53 we go to, we go to memorials, 20:54 and we go to funerals 20:56 and the pastor says all these good words over, 20:58 "Billy Bob that died with a nine millimeter in his hand, 21:01 a pocket full of dope, doesn't kill somebody." 21:04 And the pastor wants to say, he's in heaven now. 21:06 It don't go that way, is today in this life 21:09 that will prepare for the judgment. 21:11 You know we were at the hospital ward 21:13 not so long ago, 21:14 and this, I went in the cancer unit 21:16 and there were three individuals laying in the beds 21:19 and they were all very, very sick. 21:20 The first guy, I began to tell about Jesus 21:22 and the guy said, 21:24 "Oh, I read my Bible every day for half hour." 21:25 But the programs 21:27 he was watching was all the sex 21:28 and the drugs and the drama 21:30 that you see on Main Street 21:31 and I just, there's nothing I could say. 21:34 He reads his Bible but that's his choice. 21:36 Second guy, I walked up to 21:38 and he looked like he should be in a concentration camp. 21:40 His body had wasted away, he couldn't talk 21:43 and what do you say to a man that you've never met before, 21:45 and I just open the Word of God and I begin to read Psalms 23 21:49 and I said, "The Lord is my shepherd, 21:50 " I was right there by his bed. 21:52 And I said, "The Lord is my shepherd, 21:53 I shall not want." 21:55 And something inspired me to ask him, 21:57 "Is the Lord your shepherd?" 21:59 And he shook his head and he begin to cry 22:03 and then I begin to tell him that, 22:04 "Yea, thou we walk through the valley 22:05 of the shadow of death, 22:07 and surely goodness and mercy..." 22:08 and he couldn't even talk 22:10 and I don't know what decision he made 22:11 but as we prayed he clung to my hand. 22:14 And I know that there was 22:15 something more positive than what he had. 22:17 And so, we may never meet these people on this earth, 22:19 but girl, I look forward throughout eternity to looking, 22:23 speaking with the rejected in this society, 22:26 in this life throughout eternity with Jesus. 22:28 Yes, brother, you know, as you were talking... 22:32 First of all the pictures of those graves, you know, 22:35 when you think about 22:36 people going to the grave without knowing about Christ. 22:39 See I think, we think that 22:41 everybody knows about Jesus. 22:42 No, they don't. 22:44 Everybody doesn't know about Jesus. 22:45 We have to take Jesus to them. Amen. 22:48 And even if they die, 22:50 even if they're buried in that cemetery, 22:52 they die in the Lord. 22:54 They'll be resurrected in the Lord. 22:56 They'll be resurrected in Him and have eternity with Him. 23:01 So to me it's like, it's a no-brainer. 23:04 We have to get the word into the prisons. 23:07 They are a captive audience so to speak so, 23:10 they have time to study, 23:12 they have time to learn about Jesus, 23:14 and really, I mean 23:15 not only is it helping them spiritually, 23:17 it's helping us socially because when they come out, 23:21 they are changed people 23:22 if they've gotten converted in prison. 23:25 So now, we won't have recidivism. 23:27 We won't have the same burden on society. 23:29 I mean it's like what. 23:31 it's like what is there to think about? 23:33 We need to get the word in 23:35 and everybody can't go into the prisons themselves, 23:38 but that's why we have programs like 23:40 Christmas Behind Bars 23:42 where you're doing the work, 23:44 you got volunteers to do the work, 23:46 and if people want to volunteer they can, 23:48 but you still are handling that, 23:51 we should support you in that. 23:52 Amen. 23:54 Well, thank you very much. We should support you. 23:55 I had a guy that got out of prison, 23:57 he got a book, he got a packet 23:58 when he was in the county jail, 23:59 he begin to understand reading the Bible 24:01 and he got the phonebook out 24:02 and he looked up at Seventh-day Adventist Church 24:03 and he started sending tithe to the Adventist church. 24:06 He got out, he joined the church, 24:07 he was baptized, 24:09 the church want to have a revival in the community. 24:10 And he said, 24:12 "Before we can have a revival in the community, 24:14 we need to have a revival in the church." 24:15 Oh, wow. 24:17 And so this man was willing to read 24:18 and study the Bible with him 24:19 after potluck and after church 24:21 and we do need a revival in the church. 24:22 And as we are in active service, 24:24 it may not be prison ministry. 24:26 We are in active service for your neighbor, 24:28 babysitting for your neighbor's children 24:29 and helping out, 24:31 active service is what God wants us 24:32 to evangelize the world through one heart at a time. 24:35 So prison ministry is valuable, near and dear to my heart 24:37 because I was there, 24:39 I appreciate your support for prison ministries. 24:41 But active service wherever they are 24:43 and if they'd like to help, help the prisoners. 24:45 You know they can sponsor us at Christmas Behind Bars. 24:47 Yes. 24:49 That is awesome. 24:50 How does your wife feel about Christmas Behind Bars? 24:52 I know that it's super important to you 24:56 because you had that experience. 24:58 How does she feel about it? 25:00 How much time do we have? 25:03 Got about two minutes. Two minutes. 25:05 Well, my wife visited me every two weeks 25:06 in the visiting room 25:08 so she understands the family side of it 25:09 before we were married. 25:11 Got out of prison, 25:12 we got married about nine months later 25:14 and I wanted to do what was right, 25:16 but I was powerless because I didn't have Christ 25:18 in my daily as my focal point. 25:20 So for the next 12 years of our marriage, 25:21 I struggled with addiction. 25:23 She went through a lot of painful moments in her life, 25:25 weeks, months in her life. 25:27 But when I gave my heart to Christ, 25:29 she was so grateful 25:31 and now to work for the incarcerated is phenomenal, 25:35 to write the letters 25:36 that she once wrote to me to encourage, 25:38 "Don't give up. You're not forgotten." 25:39 So the letter writing ministry and in every aspect of it 25:42 and the ministry grew, 25:44 it started one year with a jail of 350 inmates, 25:46 then it went to 400, 500, 600, 700 25:49 that was about 3000 inmates a year. 25:51 It would always finish 25:53 at Christmas time but Christmas, 25:54 you can't do them all so 25:55 it would be October, November, 25:57 December, September, October 25:58 and she said, "We can't grow no more. 26:00 3000, 5000, we can't grow no more." 26:02 And finally, she said, 26:03 "You know, I just left it up to the Lord." 26:05 So, so now I guess 26:06 it's probably 40, 50, 000 inmates 26:08 that are visited a year through our sponsors 26:11 that make it possible 26:12 and the Lord keeps the doors open, 26:13 so it's phenomenal. 26:15 40 to 50,000. 26:16 Three years ago, three years ago, 26:18 we had the privilege of visiting every inmate 26:20 in the state of Virginia and that was 30,000 inmates. 26:22 Every inmate in the state of Virginia 26:24 received the package from Christmas Behind Bars, 26:26 a devotional book, material, 26:29 that they could send for Bible studies 26:30 and so it's just phenomenal that 26:32 and it's run on a volunteer basis, 26:34 all the people at the warehouse. 26:35 Most of them have gotten packages, 26:36 most of them been incarcerated 26:38 and they come every day to help out 26:40 and volunteer their time 26:41 because they know 26:42 the value that was given to them. 26:44 How beautiful is that. 26:45 And there's no gift that's too small, right. 26:47 No, no. 26:48 Somebody might watching might say, 26:49 "Oh, I only have $5 on my desk." 26:51 We get brand new Bibles 26:52 from Remnant Publication for $3, 26:54 the red letters edition, 26:55 they have some study helps in the back. 26:56 So $3 is, 26:58 is and if you can only give a buck and a half, 27:00 two buck and a half make makes a Bible, amen. 27:02 So, absolutely. 27:04 Amen. Amen. 27:05 Well, thank you so much, brother, 27:06 'cause what you're doing. 27:08 It's you are changing lives 27:10 under the power of the Holy Spirit... 27:12 Praise God. 27:13 And we give God the praise. 27:15 He is using you to change lives. 27:16 Thank you so much. 27:18 Oh, God bless you, girl. For being with. 27:19 God bless you and continue to do 27:20 what you're doing 27:22 'cause we really, really need you 27:24 and what you're doing and Dona, 27:26 give her a hug from me too. 27:27 All right. 27:28 Well, we've reached the end of another program, you know, 27:30 we really need for you to support 27:32 Christmas Behind Bars. 27:35 Send any amount, any amount to them, 27:37 go to the website, you can donate from there. 27:40 But do something, 27:41 even if you can't go to prison yourself, 27:44 you can send something to this program 27:47 and make a difference for them. 27:48 I can't believe our time is up. 27:50 Whenever Lemuel is here, it is just... 27:53 We can just go on and on. 27:54 But may God bless you, 27:56 may He richly bless you 27:57 as you continue to serve Him and join us next time, 28:00 because you know what, 28:01 it just wouldn't be the same without you. |
Revised 2016-10-10