Christ Un-barred - EP 87 - Afraid of Freedom... it happens

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ All right, guys. We are here. Hey, guys. In outer space. Not in outer space. Remember, there's no mic in front of you. We're home. So that whispering ain't gonna work. It ain't gonna work. Okay. So, guys, we're recording this on our phone. We are here at home. We're gonna explain why. But not only are we recording at home, we're recording on our phone. So normally on our phone, we have that little microphone in front of us. So it is Friday. Usually we do this on Thursday. And you want to explain? No, you can explain, because we got home on Friday last week. And then Saturday, we had a busy day. And then Sunday was service.

And then Monday was a chaotic day. Yeah, so Monday, which is usually our day off, we had a meeting. And we were driving to the church. And two minutes away from the church, there was workers, city workers. And basically, one of them ran right into us, right on Sharon's side. And I can, should I show them a picture? No, I don't think we should. I think maybe just talk about it. Okay. So basically, we got hit. We got T-boned. Yeah, and it hit right on Sharon's side of the door, right where she was sitting at. And because of that, threw our week off, obviously. Sharon ended up in the ER that night. We both ended up at the doctor's the next day. And anyways. It has been an eventful week, guys. Yeah, been feeling banged up. It took a lot for us to get through Wednesday Bible study, especially for Sharon, because she had to worship. You know, she got the brunt of it. Me, I'm a passenger. I did get hurt, but she, it hit right where she was at. And so ever since Wednesday, you've pretty much been home resting,

just trying to recuperate. And yeah, so that's why we're doing this video late. But we're okay in the sense of we're alive, you know, but don't feel so good. Yeah. Um, anything else? No, that's it. So just bear with us, give us a little grace. If we kind of get through this a little bit quicker and we cut it a little bit short today, guys. So please bear with us. They're getting us late, because they should have got this video this morning. Yeah, yeah. So it is kind of my fault, guys. You know, I've been just very nauseous and my head's been hurting a lot. So I've just been just really taking it easy for the last, I think maybe the last three days, more and more. I've just been more in pain. So David's been kind of just letting me rest more and more. Yeah, yeah. So we're not even sure what's gonna happen with their vehicle yet. And so we're just here. Yeah, we're in a rental. Yeah. We're in a rental. We don't even know if the car's completely totaled or not. They haven't told us if the frame is even any good anymore.

So we're still waiting. The blessing is it's fully insured. Yeah. The car was fully covered. So something's gonna come of it. So we're gonna go ahead, guys, if you guys don't know, if this is your first time watching what we do, we upload our Sunday services, we upload our Bible studies, and then we do these podcasts to basically acknowledge all the letters that we get. Every single letter gets read. Every single letter gets acknowledged. Here and there, I've gotten people. People saying, hey, I didn't hear my shout out, but I remember shouting you out. So you probably aren't watching everything. Uh-huh, you're missing some stuff. Because we don't miss stuff. I mean, maybe two or three over the last year and a half, there may be some. At the beginning, at the beginning, because we weren't doing shout outs at the beginning. So that could have been towards the beginning that you probably got missed at the beginning. But I hope you guys enjoyed. You know, me and David, last night, we laid here and we're like, you know, we never really got a chance to watch what they watched from the road trip.

And we sat here and we watched it. The last road trip. Yeah, this last road trip to Reno. And we just sat here and we watched it. We watched whatever it is that you guys would have watched. We watched it along as well. And it was such a fun trip. I kind of got an idea of what it is exactly that you guys watched too. And it felt so peaceful just to watch the trees, just to watch the roads. The snow. The snow. And just an idea to get to know people. The talent show. Yeah, just everything. And I get it now. I kind of get it. I kind of understood why it is that the road trips are so important. Because I really enjoyed it. I just really enjoyed just watching nature and just watching the roads and just watching the little banter and just watching all of that. I really did, guys. You know, I was just laying here and just wrapped in my blankets and just, you know, just resting and resting my head and just watching it with David.

And we really truly enjoyed it. So I hope you guys do enjoy, you know, the road trips and just the talking and just the little things that we do do. We definitely try to do our best. And what I really love is when you put in the little history stuff. Oh, the history. And then the clip of Bonanza. Yeah, I thought that was really cool. I love all of that because of, they get to learn a little bit of the history of the places that we go. And one thing I turned to David, I just turned around to David and I looked at him and I'm like, wow, you know, they're really getting to go places, probably places that some people have never gone to. And I think that's pretty awesome because there's even people at our church that get to go places with us that they've never even gone to. Yeah. And I think that's pretty amazing, you know. Whether it be through video or whatever, but y'all get to go places, you know, and me and him, we get to go to new places and you guys are expanding that in us. You guys are making us wanna go to new places and just do new things.

And I think that's pretty amazing. So you guys are expanding our horizon as well. So thank you for that. And then I put that clip of the bear. Oh, yeah. That takes cookies. Yeah, that was really cool. Yeah. Yeah, that was really cool. That was amazing. I didn't know you had did that. Yeah. So I thought that was really cool. So future road trips, hopefully we feel better. And I don't know what's gonna happen with our car because that's how we were gonna go to the snow because it's a four by four. Yeah. That's another thing, guys, is the fact that we have a big American made car, I think is truly because Sharon is here. Because if it had been a small, little foreign, cheap made car. I would not be sitting here right now, guys. Yeah, because we got hit by a Ford F-250 work truck right at Sharon's door. And that SUV, man, stayed solid. I told David, you know, because I hit my head against the door, the window, and my whole right side, guys.

And I just sit here and I think I'm angry at the same time because we weren't at stops, we weren't at no lights or anything. It was just negligence. And it makes me angry because I'm like, what was this person thinking? You know, but at the same time, I'm so thankful. I'm thankful that my husband has us in a big car because if it would have been a small car, you know, I would have not been here. I would have broken bones. And me with the brain surgeries, with everything that I've gone through in the past, I would not be here, you know? So I'm just really thankful. Yeah, I mean, it wasn't like- Like, it didn't crush it. You would've been here in this world, but you would've been probably laid up in the hospital. I would've been laid up in the hospital. You wouldn't have been dead. Yeah, I wouldn't be talking to them right here, right now. Yeah, and here's the thing, right, is that when we would go get cars, and you know, those SUVs aren't cheap, but I remember at times, Sharon would be like, you sure, you sure you wanna, you know? And I'm like, I want us to be safe. I've always said that. I want us to be safe.

We drive a lot, and I want a big car. That way, if something happens, we're as safe as possible. You know, I've always said that. And look, look what happened. You know what I mean? And it proved that whatever a car payment is, now it's like it was worth it. And then another thing that was happening right at that moment, guys, that just really, really did shatter my heart was at that exact moment that all that happened. We got the news from my brother. My brother was supposed to be released at 4.45 on that same Monday, which our time, his time, would have been earlier at that time. And they ended up doing the appeal on him exactly around that exact same time that that accident took place. So the government has 30 days to appeal the judge's judgment on saying that he's an American citizen. And they have 30 days to decide. And on the last day, in the last two hours, they ended up doing it. So they're appealing the judgment, the judge's judgment for whatever that means. And it just crushed our family. It really crushed our family because we were waiting for him to walk out those doors. And it's crazy because as I sat there just quietly,

just looking at that broken glass, and it was crazy because I seen, I was telling David, I seen all that shattered glass and everything. But the thing was is that as shattered as that glass was, and it was tempered glass, but it wasn't broken. It didn't break into pieces. And I'm like, man, as shattered as we can be, as human beings, sometimes we can be so shattered and everything, but we're not completely broken. And I looked at that. It's like we can go through so much in life and we can be so shattered. We can be so broken, but we're not falling into pieces. And whether or not we are, the Lord always puts us back together. And I just sat there and I remember that we had just gotten the news and then that happened. And I just looked at that glass and I'm like, you know what? We are broken, we are shattered, but the Lord will always put us back together. And I just know that he still has a plan. He still has a plan for him. He still has a plan for me. He still has a plan for us. And I recognize that that glass did not break all over me. And I'm like, Lord, thank you so much

that you still have a plan for my brother. You still have a plan for me. And I realized that. So man, I'm just thankful. I'm still thankful. I still have peace in my heart. And I just know for a fact that he ain't done. He ain't done with anything. Amen. Wanna get into these letters? Yes, let's do it. All right. We don't got a whole lot of letters, but enough. This first one is from Miles Melton, Tennessee Colony. It's a whole bunch of prayer requests. Beautiful. A whole stack. So thank you, brother. Keep them coming. Next one is Antonio Jake in Chaparro, New Mexico. And I just wanna say, keep writing us and just pray requests for his family, the incarcerated, those who are incarcerated, the soldiers that are serving right now, and our enemies. Amen. We always have to pray for our enemies. Amen. Thomas Franklin, remember the one with the eye issue? He's almost, he's waiting to get released and all that.

And he asked if it snows in California. And in the mountains, it snows. So if you look at a map along the whole east side of the whole state, there's a long mountain range, all the way from the north, all the way down to LA. That's the Sierra Nevada. It snows up there. That's where Lake Tahoe's at. That's where Truckee is at. That's where Yosemite National Park is at. So it snows up there, but us, we live in the valley, so it doesn't snow there. It's very rare that we'll get a little bit of ice here and there. Yeah, so it doesn't snow. But thank you, brother, for asking. Good question. Hector Vasquez, Beto Unit. We've been there. And he has a baptism. Question and I did address this. I wish I knew what video I addressed it on I'm not sure if I even titled it that or just talked about it because I have a question I never heard anyone talk about it's about baptisms. Can someone baptize themselves? If like they just for some reason they never got an opportunity. I just talked about that actually like three or four weeks ago You did and I did a whole video about it and I explained and I wish again you're gonna have to search through it It's it's in the last month or so. So I'm guessing it was probably in January Yeah at the beginning of January. Yeah, 2026, I believe if not Maybe December, but I think it was January and if not, there's a person who's doing the baptizing Do they have to have been baptized themselves or can anyone baptize? I mean I would say It should be a believer. I wouldn't say a non-believer can baptize you

Should they be baptized themselves? It depends. Are you guys gonna baptize each other? And if it is then one person is not gonna be baptized. So I think that's fine To me, it's about being believers Or can anyone baptizing if they're not a believer? Yeah, so Hopefully I answer that question, you know, I baptize in the name of Jesus Some baptized in the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost to be honest with you I know some people make it a big ol issue. It's not an issue. It's what's what's in your heart You know, what is in your heart? So Jose Casas, Abilene, Texas thank you so much for your words and he's like man, you know, I love watching, you know you guys and He wants a godly wife You know, he's praying for a godly wife and praying for that He'll give you the desires of your heart All I want to say to you is that this is really important because this is why being yoked to somebody You a yoke is remember how those ox they have that thing in their neck They have to be going the same direction Because if you're not it ain't gonna work, you know, so that's why the Bible says that because if not Then you or her are gonna pull each other and somebody yeah, and somebody's gonna submit to the other You know and many times man men We get really dumb, you know, and I'm women too Actually, it goes both ways or I have seen a godly woman or godly man. They get with somebody that's not godly And they get pulled back into the world You gotta be really careful with that one. And here's how the devil will lie to you. Oh You'll you'll get them saved You'll get them say eventually they'll come to the Lord eventually, but the thing is that you can't save anybody. Yeah Chansey Cox she got switch, you know from you guys switched from because last time we got her letters remember there in Chowchilla She got switched over to Corona yeah, and so We are glad to be hearing from you, yes, the transfers are hard

And it has been cold. It's been so cold. It's cold right now in this room, you know I'm so sorry that that they didn't have like a sweatshirt for you and man, you know But listen, like you said 120 days left Just get through it. Just get through. I'm a very I get cold so easily So, I know exactly what you what you what you're going through because it's Literally when you get cold and your body feel cold he feels cold and your bones feel cold It hurts. Yeah, it hurts Absolutely, and then they and then they didn't have enough sweatshirts for her to get one That is rough. All I want to say is that we pray that your last hundred and twenty days Boom goes fast in the name of Jesus fast that way you can Stay warm move your body move your body around so you can get warm Yeah Valerie Adams Nashville, Tennessee Man, I don't have my I'm not in the spirit to do that. I can't even do it, right? So but my chest my chest everything like hurts guys like My chest my chest everything like hurts guys like from the seatbelt to my neck to my arm it's just I'm out of it guys. I'm so sorry. So Valerie from Nashville Thank you, you know, I know Sharon is motherly She is motherly and we appreciate you. We appreciate your words and and your kind kind words Thank you so much Thank you, ma'am eric hartman, dallas, texas, but it's Tulsa Oklahoma so who knows where that is but you got a joke hopefully you're up for a joke babe you ready yes I'm ready what do racehorses eat fast food cuz they're racehorses maybe you like this one what did one yogurt playing chess say to his opponent you're playing yogurt you play you'll play oh you'll play that's good yeah it is a good one and then he had a question do you do I think the concept of original sin inhibits our love of God yes we cannot love God the way he loves us and that is proven in the Gospel of John at the very

end this is why Jesus asked John do you love me he asked him three times and we don't catch it in English but when you look at it in Greek there's different types of love in Greek there's a copy which is a perfect love there's Phileo which is a brotherly love that's why like Philadelphia is called the city of brotherly love because using the Greek word Phileo Philadelphia there's different types of love in Greek Phileo is the way you can y'all be a brother gap is a perfect love and so in actuality in the Gospel of John when Jesus asked Peter do you love me he was saying do you a gap in me do you love me in a perfect love and see Peter just denied him three times so he can't say that back and he's like Lord you know I Phileo you I love you like a brother and then Jesus asked again Peter do you a gap a me and Peter once again says Lord you know that I Phileo I love you like a brother and and so finally on the third time that's why we don't understand in English because on the third time Jesus is do you love me and the Bible says that Peter starts weeping and as you're reading it in English you're like why is he crying for because every time Jesus asked him do you love me in a perfect love Peter could never match up to it so in the third time Jesus says Peter do you Phileo me in other words he came down to his level he came down to his capacity of love and that's what made Peter cry and he says Lord yes I Phileo you so there's because of our or were our state of born in sin because of that we could never love God and I think I compare that because I remember my mom and dad telling me when I was young they said you will never understand how much we love you until you have your own kids yeah and that is so true that is very true so you will never understand many things until we go through it yeah and I'd be like no I love you guys you know and they're like no you don't understand yeah because when you're a parent when you're that's a different thing you know so here's a Spanish one from Adelie Arcilla plan plan Carte orange California so it's in Spanish Okay, thank you very much for your letter. What does it say? Danny and his wife? Yeah, I'm not sure.

I'll give it to Armando. We can't hear you say that. Tom T Kemp wrote it to Amanda and Anthony so we're gonna make sure we get it to that's Mateo's parents yes all right Jose Castro in Santa Barbara California great great great letter thank you so much and of course you'd be accepted into any church if you grew up Catholic if you you know no church is gonna ask you that I think what we were talking about with Pastor Thomas was about church transfers because a lot of times there's people that cause trouble in a church and then they go to cause trouble in another church and they cause trouble in another church that's more in the context of what Pastor Thomas is talking about because remember Pastor Thomas came into the podcast room so he's asking a question about that now as far as if we said something negative about President Biden okay because you had asked me like a sincerely like I thought it wasn't okay to talk politics I gotta remind you John the Baptist was calling out Harrod because of his his relationship to his wife Herodias and John the Baptist was calling him out that's what why do you think they beheaded John the Baptist because he was talking against the political figure at that time I've always said this though that I've always prayed for my president whether it was Trump whether it was Biden whether it was Obama but if something if we see that is ungodly then we're gonna say it now I for me I think there's a place for it and a place not for it which is to me it's not behind the pulpit but if I'm in the podcast room and I'm sharing with somebody or like because Pastor Thomas was talking about how things were under Biden yeah and then he talks about how things were for Trump that it made it better in his country you know we were given we were given our opinion yeah we were given our opinion and I don't think there's nothing wrong with that we have to continue to pray for our leaders and sometimes it's hard man it's it's hard it's hard to pray for governor I think all our presidents are held accountable and I think the same way we speak about one president we can speak about our any president that is in

office whether it be Biden Trump it doesn't matter because they're all held to a certain standard you know and I think we got to pray for them all each the same but as Christians we can't act blind either no we can't okay Charles D Shattuck in Bonny Tara Missouri and you know he was mentioning about a book so yes please send the rough draft yeah I'll check it out because he's authoring a book and stuff and everything that you were asking thank you for reaching out and I would be interested in looking at it don't rewrite the whole thing like you said just send the rough draft I'm fine with that Vincent a Montoya Gatesville Texas they look at this card remember how some of sometimes we get cards where everybody signs it you know so you had a lot of people sign it Hughes unit Z pod faith-based dorm so many of you thank you so much for the kind kind beautiful words we do try to take their Mondays off doesn't always happen like this Monday we got rekt into you know we tried to we were on our way to an important meeting yeah we were on our way to a meeting well technically we here's the thing right normally we take Mondays off that meeting was supposed to happen later on in the week but you were supposed to go be with Ashley so we moved that meeting to one day and then I didn't even get a chance I'm sure she understood that but yeah so you had to give her a rain check yeah so she's still got it once she feels better I'm gonna make sure she goes in my daughter's birthday yeah David they put a stamp right on your name where it says Atlanta Georgia yeah so says David our ID er I can't read the rest because they stamp your name let me see did you write it here no our OD maybe RI Rodriguez no this is writer or ID er I don't know I can't it could the Cobb County Jail Decatur Georgia but thank you so much it's like a postcard yeah yeah thank you I'm sorry they put the they kind of covered your last name Eric Hartman McAllister Oklahoma and another card really nice card and thank you for letting us know that you got saved by our content do you this is what we do it for like honestly many of you that are out there right we're here to encourage you but I want you to realize that your letters encourage us sometimes your

letter arrives literally in the day of despair where we feel like just like man I can't do this anymore and all of a sudden we get your letter we're so encouraged and it inflates us back up again you know so you we need your letters don't hold it to yourself you know we need them Brian Gonzalez San Luis Obispo California thank you thank you we would love to get more letters from you we want to hear more from you I don't think he's ever written Brian Gonzalez no yes yes yeah I don't know sounds familiar not to me but either way keep writing us thank you Arizona Department of Corrections in San Luis Arizona and has he wrote shout out jokes questions and a late happy birthday to David. He did his own notes in the back of his own. You're funny. They already know how we do things. Y'all are catching up. Yeah so here it is number one is baptism in name of Jesus considered false doctrine is it not true or not from God well I hope not because I baptize in the name of Jesus but I will say this guys because I know my good friend and good brother in Christ Jeremy from Real Vida he's made some videos that baptizing Father Son and Holy Spirit and he says that baptizing Jesus name is false doctrine I want to clarify something to you I understand what he's talking about because there is a denomination and they're very hardcore in saying you got to baptize in Jesus name if you've been baptized in the Father Son and Holy Ghost you got to redo it again you're not going to heaven unless you're baptized in Jesus name like that's what Jeremy's pushing up against because I don't like that yeah I baptize in Jesus name but I don't like when I and there's people here and there that try to do that whole thing where they try to hit me I'm not knowing how I baptize and real quick their first question is well how do you baptize what does it matter you know I mean and they're like well I just want to know if you're doing it right what do you mean if I'm doing it right what are you talking about you know because they're just very very persistent that this is how you do it and this is the right formula and it can't be done any other way and if you don't do this way you're going to hell and that's what Jeremy is pushing up against and with in that context I'm

with Jeremy I'm not against Jeremy at all I love that brother you know but I think that he is I know I don't think I know that's what he's pushing against because I've heard the people that are pushing against him so I've done a whole explanation on the reason we do it is not because of a denomination not because of anything else but because this is what I see historically they baptize in the name of Jesus historically they didn't baptize and father son always built to Holy Spirit till later I have people in my church that have came from other churches they've been baptized in father son and Holy Ghost I would never tell them to be rebaptized that is silly to me because the fruit of their walk is evident I have met people that are baptized in the name of Jesus and they're straight devils I have met people baptized in father son and Holy Ghost they are straight devils I have met people baptized in father son and Holy Ghost and the fruit is evident I've met people baptized in Jesus name and the fruit is evident so yeah so hopefully that answered your question is it true if you remove or add words to the Bible it stayed in the Revelation that it's wrong yeah we got to be careful if we remove words or add words but again man everything's context because somebody hit me up I did a clip a little clip of my sermon last week where I say that the Spirit of God was hovering over the destruction you know that little clip I showed and somebody goes it never says in Genesis that the Spirit hovered over destruction because they didn't see the whole sermon and all I wrote or reply and I was very kind I didn't I don't argue guys I don't argue on a debate I don't answer back mean I just said look at the original Hebrew when it says darkness and that darkness means destruction you know but I get it the person just saw the clip didn't see the whole thing and so they're like wait a second they never said the Spirit hovers over the darkness I mean over over the destruction it says over darkness yeah so that's why I'm not gonna like try to win I'm just like yeah look at it in the Hebrew I said it nice yeah because they don't know they didn't watch the whole sermon but yeah um let's see Oh shout out to building 8 Baker Pond Dakota unit in Yuma Arizona and his

homeboy chowder and what and here's some jokes what is it a joke yeah what do you call an old snowman water what do you get if you cross a snowman and a dog frostbite and why do mummies enjoy Christmas time they appreciate the wrapping of gifts good letter yeah Good letter. All right, Raymond Santos, Jester, three unit, Richmond, Texas. We love that you guys like the pirate names. This is this is the letter that made us go back and watch the pirate name video last night. We did. Yeah, we were reading it. And I'm just like, what video was that? And we're like, that's the orange. The Orange, California road trip. And we went to that and forwarded all the way to the park, to Morro Bay, and we were laughing all over again. Yeah, it was good. Yeah. Pirate names. Enoch Phillips, Charleston, Missouri. Like, I don't know what my note means, but there's a joke. And once I read the joke, I remember. Ready. There was a pastor who was new in town and he was going door to door, inviting people to his church, and he knocked on this one door and he could tell someone was home, but no one would answer. So he took his business card out and wrote on the back of the scripture reference, Revelation three, 20, and he left it in the door. The next Sunday after service, an usher handed him the same card and said someone left it at the church. And under what the pastor had written was a scripture

reference, Genesis three, 10. Well, Revelation three, 20 says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens the door, I will come in. And Genesis three, 10 says, I heard your voice and I was afraid because I was naked. That is funny. That is funny. But the other thing that you had said was, oh, yeah, I remember now the letter. Are you saying that he used to be addicted? Remember, we were reading this and all of a sudden he said that he that the Lord completely delivered him. We read this last night, I believe. And man, praise God. And then and then he had that dream of me. Yeah, it's on the other. Yeah, that's yeah. You remember another letter? Yeah. So but yeah, man, a complete deliverer. Praise God. Yes. Praise God. So let's see. You had a question. Exactly why we do what we do. Yeah. You had a question. Can your worship team sing the song that goes like this? Jesus is here to bless all his children. We don't know what song. I don't know what song that is. I have to look up those lyrics. Yeah. Number two, I keep asking you if you can do 10 pushups for I'm not going to do no pushups, man.

I'm 54 years old. Has nothing to do with the age, but he probably can't do them yet. Yeah. Not that bad. I could do 10. Yeah. Yeah. OK. I can't do 50. Matthew 20, 19, Jesus tells his followers to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. Why did Paul and the other disciples disobey Jesus by only baptizing? They didn't disobey. They did disobey at all. I've never heard anyone. I've never heard anyone take it like that. That what Jesus said, because what's interesting is Jesus is baptized in the name. And it's interesting because he doesn't say in the names. He says in the name. So what's the plural name of the father, of the Holy Spirit? You know, so to me, there's no there's no there's no disobeying of Paul or anybody else in baptism at all. I don't see that. That's interesting. He said that because I've never heard anyone say like that. Juan M. Chavez, High Desert State Prison, Susanville, California. Thank you so much for your letter. Continue to write us. God bless you. Daniel Powell, Bledsoe Correctional Complex. I think that's what it says in Tennessee. And thank you so much for for writing us, introducing yourself.

You know, he's a first time writer. We appreciate it. And good to meet you. Amen. Yeah, good to meet you. Hopefully we will get more letters from you. Angel Torres, French Robertson, Abilene, Texas. He said happy late birthday to me. He turns. Well, actually, no, he turned 42 February 1st. So that was just four to five days ago. Oh, man. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, Angel Torres. Happy birthday to you and to everybody else who turned an extra year. Yeah. So happy birthday. And then I'm really we are sorry to hear about your passing. We did pray for her. We got to continue to pray for the sick, you know, but unfortunately, everybody has an expiration date, but we don't ever. Give up hope, we continue to pray for healing. We don't stop, you know? And I like your ministry names, you said. I'm not gonna say your ministry names because sometimes other people will take them, but they are good names, you know? And also, in Genesis 22, one, because you had said, I thought God doesn't tempt people. In Genesis 22, one, it doesn't say God tempted.

It said he tested. So I think if anything, maybe do a deeper study in the difference between tempt and test. So I think that's different. Back's hurting? Yes. Okay, we only have a thousand more letters. Gabriel A. Borelli, Florida State Prison, Rayford, Florida. Shout out to FSPF Wing. And yeah, just keep writing us what you were saying about Puerto Rico and about starting a work there. We gotta know each other more. So the only way that'll happen is if we continue to correspond and just keep writing us, brother. And I love that you wanna do something in Puerto Rico. Yeah. That's beautiful. Puerto Rico! Si no hablan coño. I don't know how they talk. They talk fast. Puerto Ricans, I know, they talk real fast. That's how Hondurans speak. Yeah? Yes, that's how they speak. Yeah. Okay. Salatheo A. Green, Stiles Unit, Beaumont, Texas. Again, thank you for saying happy birthday to me.

Yours was the 12th, so the next day after me. Yeah, happy birthday. And a question on pork. I eat pork. You gotta understand that the Old Testament, you gotta understand that the Old Testament, they were told not to eat pork. There's a lot of reasons not to eat pork, especially back then, because with that refrigeration, pork goes bad really quick, huh? And you can get sick from it. Parasites. Yeah. Do I consider that now? I don't. I eat pork a lot, actually, carnitas and pork rinds and things like that. Shrimp, because you're not supposed to eat shrimp. You're not supposed to eat lobster. Shellfish, I guess that they call it. But thank you. Congratulations on our daughter's marriage. Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you. It's beautiful. Okay, Lawrence, Tracy, Jonesboro, Arkansas. Thank you for the nice artwork in the front. Let me cover this. Nice little rose there.

By the way, I did start the Christ on Bard Facebook page. Oh, yeah. And I did start putting a few things on there and I am uploading. I'm gonna go back and I'm gonna upload all the artwork. I'm gonna upload the books. I did upload one book on there already. The children's book. Yeah, the children's book. And I'm gonna upload everybody's books that has been sending them. I'm gonna upload those on there. I love it. We have so many people following us on there already. They're starting to follow us. It's just a place where I'm gonna be able to put your artwork on there. I'm gonna put some poems on there. I got excited. I got excited since I've been laying, since I've been laying and resting. I've just been on there, just putting stuff on there. I put some of the resources on there. So it's a place where your families can go get some of those resources for some of those Bibles and some of the stuff, some of the resources that you guys sent. Yeah, that's what I've been doing, guys. Like if I'm gonna be resting or laying down and just trying to get better,

I made it already. So, yeah. So tell your families that have Facebook to find it. What's it called? It's the Christ on Bard. It's Christ on Bard and Christ on Bard. Oh my gosh, I might as well just look at it. Well, while she's looking for it, I wanna finish this, Lawrence Tracy. You know, seriously, I needed this letter. We needed to hear this letter. Thank you so much for the encouraging words. We appreciate you and hopefully you keep writing us. That is a really nice rose. I'm not sure if you did it or if you had somebody else do it, but it's really nice work. I learned to draw in prison with pencil and then I did work like this and then I eventually started painting. You found it? Yeah, it's Christ on Bard Prison Ministry by HORC, which means House Arrest Church. So, yeah, you'll see it on there. The big old Christ on Bard and then it'll be the little picture. It's a picture of myself and David in the podcast room. But yeah, it's exciting, guys. It's exciting. Deshaun Truitt, Sussex Correctional Institution, Georgetown.

Yes, he's the one that, like, seriously, he's like, you should know Delaware. Yeah, thank you for your photo. He's a man, you act like I'm in Japan or something. I know. But he had a question and thank you for the photo. We would love for you to come play the keyboard. Oh my God. I hope it ain't to visit. I hope it's to be a part of the worship team. To stay. I'm not sure if you're talking about just visiting and playing once. But you do have a couple questions. Am I allowed to shout in HORC? Man, you better shout. He says, I know all churches don't tolerate praise breaks, but do you? Man, if the Holy Spirit has you shouting, then you better shout. What I don't do is I don't cause people to fake it. If you watch any of my sermons, do you ever hear me say, amen? Can I get an amen? Can I get an amen? I don't do that. Because to me, that's, well, you know, for me, maybe I'm not speaking for everybody, I feel like that would be for my own ego. You know, I'm not trying to rile people up, but man, sometimes the Spirit of God goes, man, you guys see my dad will get the flag and start running? Like, that's not on cue. That's just him. That's just him, yeah. Number two, if I was to one day be your keyboardist or organist, do you allow the musician to back you while you preach?

I would probably say no, but until the end, as I'm coming to my conclusion, heck yeah. That'd be awesome. That would be awesome. Yeah, but I think it would throw me off if it was during the sermon, but I would say, because I consider a sermon like the runway, the plane takes off, but as it's coming and landing, man, if you want to play that keyboard, then go for it. I think that's it. Deshawn Truitt, a.k.a. The Keyboardist. Amen. We are currently looking for musicians, though, guys. Yeah, always, man, always. Yes. Bobby Foskey! Aw, thank you for doing it, babe. Sorry, Bobby, I wasn't feeling so great to do it. Madison Correctional Institution. He has a joke, though. He said, shout out to Jimmy Trejo, and he's like, Sharon, are you going to sing Married, Did You Know? You still want me to sing it? Hold this for a second. He has a joke here. Okay. What do you call a room that has no doors or no windows? A mushroom. Okay. I think that's it. That's his joke. And a shout out to Jimmy Trejo.

We already gave it to him. Aye, yi, yi, mushroom. Okay. Bobby Foskey! Again, Madison! Wow, wow, wow! That was a dud. Wow, wow, wow, wow! That sounded like a broken cat. Oh. But in all seriousness, this letter, he's talking about being down so long. And being afraid of freedom. Yeah. You know, being afraid of freedom. And I remember when my date came up to release, I still remember the brothers. We prayed together. We had breakfast for the last time together. And it was just waiting for them to call my name. And then they finally called me, man. And my heart started beating like crazy because I didn't want to fail the Lord. And I remember standing at, they told me, go stand at the gate and wait until it buzzes. And I just, I never thought I would come to that moment. And I was afraid. And I was just praying. I was like, Lord, you know, help me. Because I don't know what it's going to be. I don't know what it's like to serve you in the free world. And I don't want to fail you. And it was scary. And even weeks after that and even maybe a couple months after that, things were awkward.

I felt like I didn't belong anymore. And that was only six years. You've served a whole lot more than that. So even at six years, I felt out of place. I felt like, remember that movie Back to the Future with Michael J. Fox? Like I feel like I went somewhere else, came back. And even though I came back to where I was, things felt off. And I just want you to prepare your heart that that's normal. But I think even for those who are in the free world that have been, you know, like, I've been serving the Lord since I was, you know, 16 years old. And it's really weird because I came to know the Lord, and I came to... A church, you know, a church family. I don't know anything else besides church, guys, like a church family. I don't know anything else. I only know how to serve and how to be in ministry, and I came to know a church family at a really young age, but it was my place of refuge, you know. It was a place where I never wanted to leave, you know, and that's all I've ever known my whole life. And I kind of, now I go, now looking back in retrospect, I just kind of think to myself, Lord, why did you separate me? Like, I didn't even get, like, like my immediate family. I don't even know them as well as I know church families, you know, and I don't know what it is to live a life of not serving Christ. Yeah. Like, I don't know what that's like anymore. Like, I don't know how to do things without God in my life, and I don't, I wouldn't know what that life would look like, you know. Like, I can't, like, I can't just go get a job and allow the job to overtake me not going and being part of a church family and take me away from that or going somewhere and living somewhere and it taking me away from a church family or from ministry or anything. Like, I can't live without the Lord in my life. I don't know what that's like anymore. Like, my whole life revolves around Christ and only Him. Like, I don't know what that's like. Like, I can't breathe without my life around Christ. And how do you relate that to him feeling afraid? Because in the same way, in the same way, like, like, he's afraid. Like, I'm afraid to, I'm afraid as well, like, you know, to, to experience new things, you know. It's like, we, we, we go through that also in the free world, you know, because we're afraid to experience new things. I don't know. It's just, it's weird. Yeah. But I think that, um, it's scary. It's really important to get plugged in, find a church, find somebody

who understands, find a church with a prison ministry. And I don't mean like a full-blown prison. I mean, a church that maybe there's other convicts or that understands that or ex-convicts that understand that life, get ahold of us immediately. A lot of you guys, you guys have no idea how many times we get messages saying, Hey, I just got out. And, and, um, I've had conversations. I'll call. I'll, even if they can't come to Modesto, remember that brother in Texas? Yeah. There's been a few that have contacted us, but we, we haven't heard back from them again. But the thing is, is to stay connected. And even if we were to be able to do something through Zoom or through, you know, online so that we can stay connected, you know, don't stay disconnected. Once you've reached us one time, you think like, okay, well, I, I got in touch with them and that's it. No, stay connected. You know, staying connected is the important part. And maybe we can start building something from that connection. And I think that's what's important and staying connected. Sean Hunt, Fresno County Jail. And, uh, the, Oh, remember he was saying that we, on the San Francisco road trip, we passed by the halfway house he was at and the apartment he was at. What a trip. Out of all the streets in San Francisco, that's a big city. Yeah. The Lord took us that way just so that you can see all that. And we just happened to go by him. That's crazy. Uh, Jonathan Santoyo, uh, Corcoran, California. Thank you. Thank you so much for your letter. Thank you. We're almost done. This is really uncomfortable. Yeah. Uh, Victor J Perez, Coffield unit, Tennessee colony. And, um, he has a joke. Oh, it's stuck. Okay. So this is my first letter. That's the smallest letter ever. Yeah. Your joke was longer than your letter. Really short letter. And the joke is longer. Remember we were laughing about that. So there's a 95 year old man fishing and he heard a voice and the voice said, pick me up. Looked around and again, the same voice, pick me up. He looked down. It's a friend of mine. He looked down. It's a frog. So the man picked him up and the frog says, kiss me. And I will turn into a princess. The old man puts him in his pocket. No, the frog replies, kiss me. The old man says, why do I want a princess? I want a talking frog. I Guess we women are too. We're too much trouble Well, well, well, that was good

Another one if I step on a cereal does that make me a serial killer? I've heard that one before but it's always that's a funny one. All right, that's a good one Sarah Rodriguez, Chowchilla, California releases in October and Not too far You know this this letter really really touched a sister because nobody should feel alone Nobody should feel like they have no support. I get it some not everybody has mom and dad or siblings out there But we are here when you get out Fresno is not far. No, it's not sister If you have it in your heart, you're gonna make a way and you're gonna find a way and I promise you There are sisters at house arrest that will embrace you man. They we are your family. They will be your family. They will They will have open arms to you. Am I right? Yes. So yes, you have a family You are not alone and keep writing us keep writing us. Yeah. Yes. I'm gonna put you on our prayer list, too I will steam Pena Garza unit East Unit Bville, Texas Loves the content loves Jesus. Hey, man, that's a good letter to my in my book, but thank you. I was Dean Thank you. Keep writing us Rafael Orozco penitentiary of New Mexico, Santa Fe and Sent you that recipe of a cheesecake has a sheet of prayer requests Happy birthday to your 11 year old Amalia and hopefully I'm saying that right She turned on on the 14th of January as a birthday. Well, happy birthday, Amalia and Jalissa 10 years old Birthday as well. No. Oh, no, it's 10. Okay, but Hopefully your daughters get to see this Rafael because this is proof that you do think of your daughters all the time You were sharing you're sharing your heart to us on this letter about how much these these girls mean to you man That is a special. Yes. Yes Andrew Alfaro Corcoran, California Releases soon in June and I own that's not too far from here. So that means we're gonna expect you here He said he's gonna visit with his mom wants to share his testimony with us in person. Can't wait for it, brother Andrew Alfaro, make sure you come through and come down. June is actually our bike ride June 27th is our bike ride in our annual bike ride Lorenzo Gomez jr. John B. Connelly unit Kennedy, Texas

Thank you for that resource But the stomach stuff and all that and he gave a prophetic word to Amanda that she's gonna have two sons Because God gives a double portion. Amen. Amen I'm sure they'd be happy to hear that that family loves babies. Yes, they do Leonard G. Valdez Cameron, Missouri Question where was Lazarus for four days? I could give you a whole everything but honestly, it would just be opinion. The Bible doesn't tell us So I can't make anything up out of thin air just to sound smart We don't know we don't know brother very nice to know that brother Derek on Newcastle, Indiana Man, this was awesome. How are you? I love the way that you shared about the principal You need to keep sharing that to other brothers or whoever shared that with you. Yeah, I want to put this up Yeah, that would be nice to put in the college too. Yeah, that is really really nice And last three letters Jimmy Trejo Wow, did I do better? Yeah, you did it better. Oh good job. Yes. Yes Yes, yes All right, Jimmy Hurry up get home. Oh, hey, you're supposed to give it to me. Okay, let me do it again Thank you Rude Armando E Sanchez McConnell unit Dville, Texas Look at this You didn't see this Look all these people that signed it. Happy birthday Yeah, he had everybody sign it in the Cairo's that's mine Thank you, thank you so much and Shout out to Jimmy Trejo that is so cool He's taking a culinary class, but it's even further than just cooking like he's taking a thing how to run a restaurant. Oh Nice. Yeah, and he's taking a cooking class It's cool because they had, um, I guess like do a mock inspection. Oh I guess I can't ever work for them since I don't cook.

Um, they had to do a, a, a mock, uh, they do like a mock inspection to see if they're doing it right. But this is what's exciting guys. I wanted to explain foodies. Foodies wasn't a thing. And in case you're wondering, what's a foodie. Okay. I don't know if it's because of Instagram or Facebook or social media. Is that back in the day, guys, most of us grew up, like we would go to that burger place cause that's where our dad went. And that's where we would go to this place and get barbecue made it popular. Foodies made it popular. I think it is with Instagram. So what happens is there's foodies now, meaning this is there are people specifically looking for different places to eat. And, and so if somebody posts on Instagram, man, I just had the best taco. This is a foodie place. So meaning they're talking to other foodies. So people that like to try new things will all rush to that taco truck or that taco place or that burger place or that Italian place or that seafood place. So it's popular. It is popular, man. So if you get popular on Instagram or Facebook, whatever food pizza, remember a Phyllis's son had that pizza place in Florida and you have a, um, and all of a sudden people start posting it on their Instagram. People will flood over there cause everybody's a foodie. So that's a big deal. It's a big thing, man. If you learn how to cook, it's a big deal. It's a big deal. It's a lot of red writing. Jeffrey Odell Southern and Desert Correction, Indian Springs, Nevada. Um, and, uh, he sent an art and, um, wanted to introduce himself. Well, good to meet you. Good to meet you. I salute you. Um, why did I do that?

I don't know. Cause you're being weirdo. Yeah. So, um, thank you so much brother. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. So, uh, that's pretty much it. We did it in an hour. What is that? This is a letter from Modesto. It's not a prison. Oh, it's not a prison letter. No. Okay. So guys, God bless you. I'm going to render this right now. That way I can upload it right now so you can get it right now. Well, well, well, well. That was the slow motion one. Okay. Okay. I'm going to go back to getting rest guys. All right. God bless you. See you Sunday. It's going to be part two of Holy Ghost. Oh, nice. Yes, yes, yes. I know that was really good. I really enjoyed the first one. Yeah. You know, now it's like, Oh man, now I got to raise the bar on that one. That was really good. All right guys. All right. Bye guys. We love you. Here we are. It's our Wednesday and our, I don't know. I should have looked up the date when we started this Bible study series on the minor prophets, but today's the finale of it. We have been here for months reading through the minor prophets. But before we get into that I just want to just remind you that is there a reason this, Oh, it's on. Nevermind. Sorry, Benjamin. Um, that here we support missions and uh, and we always ask, you know, $3 a person, $3 a week. Usually we ask on Sunday, but in case you weren't here, you forgot. Uh, it's always a blessing, uh, to be able to support the three missions that you, the, the three ministries that you see on the screen. And, um, and it goes a long way. Same thing with offering for tithing. Um, we announced it on Sunday, but if you miss Sunday and you happen to be here and you're like, Oh, you know, I forgot on Sunday, but now I'm here and this is your place where you're

discipled, you know? So again, we want to thank you also, um, for what you, if this is your place of discipleship. Uh, so we can just get right into the Bible study. Let's bow our heads. We're going to pray for missions. We're going to pray for the offering and tithing. Same thing for those of you that are watching online. Thank you so much. Uh, Lord God, we thank you for this opportunity. First of all, Lord God, for this Bible study to come together for the worship, for prayer. We thank you, Lord. I thank you for missions. I thank you for everything that you're doing through grace international all over the world. And I thank you for the offering, the tithing, every single dollar, let it be multiplied in your hands, Lord God, and use for your glory to further your kingdom. We thank you, Lord. In Jesus mighty, mighty name. Amen. Amen. So also. Oh, real quick, shout out Anthony De La Garza for the super chats. And amen. OK, just wanted to see everybody that's on here. And just shout out to everybody that's on YouTube. I know there's a lot of people on YouTube, also Facebook, and eventually Pando Nidovo for those who are incarcerated. You know, it's been a long time with the Bible study, with all the minor prophets. And it's been a journey, because I think that in the very beginning when we started studying the minor prophets, we started in Hosea. And Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and now we're Malachi, and we're going to finish it off.

I always wanted to do a study like this, because to me, these are the books most ignored in the whole Bible. Everybody jumps to the stories of Jesus, to the Gospels, or we jump to Revelations, or even Genesis, or Exodus, because the Moses, or even the major prophets, you know, Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah. And I feel like these sometimes get skimmed over, and they're so rich. So I hope throughout this study that you have been able to learn. You know, I am a strong believer that when we read the Bible, it's important to understand, first of all, what's the context of it? What is it written to? What is happening? But if it stopped there, then all we're doing is just learning history. But when we take that and say, this is what happened there, but how does this apply to my life today? That is when it becomes living in our life. Because the Bible says that the word of God is like a sharper than a double-edged sword, that it cuts to the marrow of the bone. So I think when we learn history, archaeological finds, Jewish customs, all of that is important, because it helps enrich the scriptures that we're reading. But if we stop there, I think that we hinder what God wants to do in our life. And it's important to apply it to us. And I hope many of you that have, I doubt many of you

have been here through every single week, but regardless, that each week you're gaining something for your life. Because ultimately, that's what we want. I don't want a church full of people that know church history or biblical history. I want a church of people that the word of God has transformed you, has changed you, has matured you, has grown you. Because what happens when we don't have church? What happens if, God forbid, but another country, some churches are illegal. You can't even have churches in some countries. You can't gather with 200 people, 100 people. What happens? But if we start to learn how to read the word, you can be in a group of 1,000, or you can be hidden in a tent somewhere. And you're going to be able to grasp what it is that the word of God is saying to you. And that's what's important here, is for us to grow. That girl Phyllis, thank you for the super chat. And Maribel Hernandez, thank you so much for the super chat. God bless you. And so as we come to a close of Malachi, I want to read it. We're going to finish it quicker than the hour, but we'll get a chance to kind of summarize everything and talk about it. But we are on the Malachi chapter 3, verse 16 is where we left off.

Not many verses left. As you know, I like to read it in the ESV and also in the Message Bible, because it's a lot easier sometimes to read it in an easier translation so we can make sure that we're grasping what it is that the scriptures are saying. So Malachi is the last. Remember, after this book, there's literally 400 years between Malachi. Because if you flip the page, it's the New Testament and Matthew. But understand that that blank page, it's 400 years of silence. God spoke, and he raised up no more prophets for 400 years. Think about that. That's a long time. To put it in perspective, the United States It's only been around for 250 years, and that's a long time. I mean, I don't know anybody here that knew Abraham Lincoln. I don't know anybody here that knew George Washington. I don't know anybody here that knew, I don't even know who the president was in 1900. That's a long time this nation has been around, 250 years, and God was silent for 400? No prophets, no nothing. Why? Because we see that God had given Israel a chance over and over and over, warning after warning after warning. And finally, with Malachi, God was like, I'm going to say this and clearly you don't want to hear me. So since you don't want to hear me, I won't speak.

You ever give the silent treatment or got the silent treatment from somebody? Sometimes that's the worst. It's like, man, just yell at me. Silent treatment is torture. Yell at me, do something, say something. 400 years, God says, you don't want my voice? Fine, then I won't speak. In verse 16, chapter 3, it says, then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. And the Lord paid attention and heard them. And a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. I'm going to read it in the message, same verse, but in the message so we get another understanding, because sometimes it gets hard to understand. And it says, then those whose lives honored God got together and talked it over. And God saw what they were doing and listened in. A book was opened in God's presence, and minutes were taken of the meeting with the names of the God-fears written down, all the names of those who honored God's name. All right, this is one thing I want to say, that even though God was silent after this, there have always been those who honor God. Sometimes we're in situations where it feels like, man, I'm the only one serving the Lord. I'm the only one doing this. But God's like, I have a remnant.

And even though sometimes it seems like the majority goes against God, God will always have a remnant of those, like it says here, that those whose lives honored God. And my thing is this, is that let's be a church that maybe will never be the biggest church in Modesto Island. And hopefully that's not even your goal, because that's not my goal, is I would rather have a remnant of those who just honor God, because if we honor God and we honor each other, then we can move mountains in Modesto. This is those whose lives honored God got together and they talked it over. And God saw what they were doing and listened in. Ain't that awesome? So when we are going to honor God and when we start talking, doesn't that match the verse where Jesus says, any time there's two or three gathered, I am there in the midst? That's what Jesus said. So we see that here in Malachi, that God is basically, he's giving a warning. He's about to stay silent. But he's saying, listen, for those that honor me, for those that are coming together, I see. I watch. I'm listening. God saw what they were doing and listened in. And it says, and a book was opened in God's presence and minutes were taken.

For those of you, if you've ever been, if you've ever seen a committee, if you've ever seen like in movies, a CEO talking with all of his, not committee. What's the word? Is it a committee? His board, a board. You see guys in movies, they're all wearing suits and women and they're like this long table and it's a board. Every time they have those meetings, there's someone there writing down notes of everything's being said. Yeah, and they're called minutes. Sometimes we will get a letter from Sacramento because here's the thing. Some people try to say they started a church just so they can get money and they're a fake church. So what Sacramento does, the board of equalization, no, no. secretary of state will randomly send a letter and say we require your minutes of May and June because when you have a board meeting you got to have minutes so that's how they keep from people that have fake churches or fake non-profits they're supposed to have board meetings and minutes are supposed to be taken down so it makes it official that meeting becomes official because it's now written down and that's what it uses here it says a book was opened in God's presence and minutes were taken of the meeting so in other words God is writing down what's being said when we honor him and it says and and and I love it because then in the as that book is open it says and the names the names of the God fears were written down so God's like I'm gonna see who is loyal to me and write their names down so I don't forget you know so that's pretty awesome that he uses that that that verbiage it says it wants all the names of those who honored God's name that's why so I'm gonna read it again in the ESV it says those who feared the Lord oh Gerald thank you for the super chat then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another

and the Lord paid attention and heard them and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name okay verse 17 and 18 it says they shall be mine says the Lord of hosts in the day when I make up my treasured possession and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him 18 then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked between one God who serves God between I'm sorry between one who serves God and one who does not serve him okay what does that mean let's read it in the message and get a better grasp of it it says God of the angel army said they're mine they're all mine all these names that are written and they will get special treatment when I go into action I treat them with the same consideration and kindness that parents give the child who honors them and once more once more you'll see the difference it makes between being a person who does the right thing and one who doesn't between serving God and not serving him so we see here as God is is finishing to wrap up he was about to be silent for 400 years but God is saying listen I am not going to leave those who honor me I'm not going to leave those who are loyal to me I'm going to remember those in the times of hardship because you know in United States for instance some years it's great to be a Christian right now it's almost trendy to be Christian you got jelly roll talking about Jesus at the Grammys you know it's kind of a cool thing to be Christian right now but what it's going to happen when it's not because everything's a pendulum everything's a pendulum and what I mean by that or or extremes or or contrast right when you take a picture on your phone and you hit contrast it makes the darks darker and the lights light right that's when you contrast so it separates the dark and the light and makes them extreme so right now the contrast is it's it's kind of cool to be Christian and Christian shirts and Christian this and you got uh actors and and and musicians saying Jesus and and all this stuff but oh that pendulum is going to swing back the other way trust me and when that pendulum does you're going to be hated you're going to be mocked you're going to be made fun of you're going to be attacked people are going to want to destroy you and when you're at that point you're going to feel like man and I'm like watch mark my words megachurches will be no more why do I say that because the people won't go in the masses anymore because now they're going to be hated and it's going to come down because this is what church does it goes up it goes down it goes up it goes down it goes up it goes down and the day will come in the same way like like um I was watching this uh thing this this thing on on news that I don't

know hundreds of Starbucks are shutting down and so we're watching it because it's crazy, right? It feels like Like there's Starbucks in every corner. And it felt like, I remember watching them pop up everywhere. And I'm just like, man, these guys are unstoppable. Like subway was there's a subway everywhere in the Starbucks everywhere. But what happened? The pendulum swings the other way now. So now they built all these Starbucks, but now you see all these little mom and pops coffee shops pop up. And let's be honest, a lot of their coffee is better. They don't taste burnt better service back then you could go to a Starbucks and it was actually couches and chairs. And now there's nothing, you know, you were supposed to get the Starbucks experience, you're paying $8 for a drink. Now it's like, where's the experience, but the price is still up there. But now you've got these little mom and pop shops, little coffee shops, and they're comfortable and they feel homely and they have couches. And, you know, so it's just a better experience. So now you're starting to see this kingdom crumble, you know? So in the same way, you're going to see the same thing. Big churches, nobody's going to fund them because they're going to be made fun of. They're going to, Christians are going to be hated and less and less people are going to go. But here's the beauty of it. You're going to start to see little mom and pop places, pop up places that have the spirit of God in it. Places that maybe they don't have all the sound system this has, and they don't have this and that, but you know what the spirit of God is there.

And you're going to see that pendulum swing. And here's what's going to be crazy is that maybe you're not going to be in a place where there's a thousand people worshiping, maybe going to be a place where there's 20 worshiping, but it's going to be beautiful, you know, and God is saying, I see that you honor me and I'm going to open a book and I'm going to write your names down because I'm going to be there because you still fear me. And that's what it says here in 17. It says, oh, they're mine. They're all mine. And they're going to get special treatment when I go into action. I treat them with the same consideration and kindness that parents give the child who honors them. And once more, you'll see the difference it makes between being a person who does the right thing and one who doesn't, between serving God and not serving him. There was one of my favorite authors named Watchman Knee. He died in prison in China. He was a pastor in China when China was not communist yet in the 1930s. And what started happening was this in China, first of all, they, they started, there was a lot of Christian colleges. And the first thing you saw was young people that were given the indoctrinated with communist thought. See, here's the thing about communism. Is communism replaces, communism replaces God. Because they want you to be all about the government. So they indoctrinated these young people. So the young people start protesting in universities. That's how it started. And then little by little, they chipped away. They chipped away.

They chipped away at the universities. They chipped away at the professors. They chipped away. And pretty soon they took over the universities. So now the universities are now indoctrinated with communism. And now you've got all the universities and all these young people. So now they take it to the streets and they want to push that on the streets. This happened in the forties, but it looks like the news today in America. History will always repeat itself. Always. And Watchman Nee was told that Christianity is now illegal. You cannot preach. It's against the law in China to preach. And then the government said this, tell you what, we are going to sanction churches now. We're going to control the churches and you can be a Christian, but it has to be through government. And now everyone that's a pastor has to go through the government to be a pastor and we'll tell you what you can preach and not preach. So at that point as a pastor, you had to either compromise or go underground. And if you went underground, they could arrest you and put you in jail. And if you went underground, they could arrest you and put you in prison for preaching the word of God. Or you compromise and say, I'll play by the rules government. And they'll tell you what to preach and how to preach. And Watchman Nee refused and he ended up getting arrested, wrote many books that we have today. Many of those written in prison. My favorite. author, my favorite Christian author other than the Bible. And he died in prison because he refused to compromise. At one point, I imagine he probably felt alone. He probably felt lonely, probably felt like nobody would ever read his writings.

But his books are still alive today. The underground church in China is still thriving today. He wasn't the only one, because God wrote the names down of those who honored him. And it's a beautiful thing. But if it happened then in China, we better be careful and never think it can't happen here. So whatever it is, if it's cool to be Christian now, cool. But if it ain't, where are you going to stand? Chapter 4, verse 1, it says, for behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. I'm going to read 1 through 3, and then we'll read it in the message. But for you who fear my name, the Son of Righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be like ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. I'm going to read it in the message, 1 through 3, then we'll talk about it. It says, count on it. The day is coming, raging like a forest fire. All the arrogant people who do evil things will be burned up like stove wood, burned to a crisp, nothing left but scorched earth and ash, a black day.

But for you, sunrise, the Son of Righteousness will dawn on those who honor my name. Healing radiates from its wings. You will be bursting with energy like colts frisky and frolicking. And you'll tromp on the wicked. There'll be nothing but ashes under your feet on that day. God of the angel armies says so. You know, again, we're coming down. It's like if we're in an airplane, God's about to land it. And he's saying his final words, like when you're on a flight and the pilot says his final words, hey, welcome to the destination. We've made it. We're about to land. It's 87 degrees outside. Hope you had a great trip. This is the end right here. And in the end, he says, behold, the day is coming. And it's burning like an oven. This is what we were reading. And so God is like giving this final warning. He's like, make a choice. Make a choice of what it is you want to do. That's why I always say at the end of every Sunday service, is there anyone that would like to give their life to the Lord? Because today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow is not promised. We never know.

We never know. We could live another 50 years, and we could live another five minutes. When I was young, we would go to church in Stockton on Charter Way. Anybody know where Church's Chicken is over there? Yeah, kind of close to Edison High, sort of. It was back then in the 80s. So there was like, everybody was gangbanging, cholos and cholas, and that old school style. And I remember this woman, she brought her son in. And he was just all cholo'd out, big old Dickies on and Pendleton and everything. And he was moved. I was a little kid. And I remember that the pastor called a salvation call. Because I used to look up to these gang dudes. I mean, I'm like, man, I'll be like that when I get old. And he walked up, man, and he had his hands raised. It was a moment for him. And he tells the young man, the young man was the only one that came up at the altar. And so he has the microphone. I don't know if he was an evangelist, a preacher. And he goes, would you like to surrender your life to Jesus right now? And the young man, tears in his eyes, hands raised, he says, I'm not ready, but I promise next week. I was too young, half paying attention, half playing around in my seat.

So that was Sunday. That next Friday or Saturday night, remember he promised to give his life to the Lord the next Sunday. Walks into Church's chicken and charter way. Somebody goes in there and shoots him point blank with a shotgun to the face. Never got that chance again. That was the Lord calling to him. And he never made it to the next Sunday. That's why every time I say that on Sunday, I picture that boy, that young man. I mean, he was an older guy to me, but now he's probably 18, 19 years old. So when I say today is a day of salvation, tomorrow's not promised, I've seen that played out. And the Lord here is saying, listen, the day is coming where you're either going to burn or you're not. That's why he starts off, it's going to be like an oven. But I love this, because in verse 2, it says, but for you who fear my name. Man, however long we live, I pray that you are of the group that fears his name. But for you who fear my name, the Son of Righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings, and you shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. There's this video on YouTube. It's a barn with adult cows that always lived in. You just go on the country roads, and you see cows, and they're always in that filth and dirt.

There's no grass around them. They got to eat whatever hay they give them or grain they live, because they're just piles and piles of manure, and they're just walking around in it. And on YouTube, they had these cows, and for the first time, they opened the barn door, and it was nothing but green grass. They weren't little calves. These were full-grown cows, remember? And when they came out, you would think they're just dumb animals. They started leaping like rabbits, leaping and leaping. It was just an amazing video, because they were so happy, because for the first time, they were let out in green grass, and they were like little kids. These are adult cows, big, old, heavy cows, and they're jumping up and down out of excitement. And it makes me think of that, because look what it says. It says, you shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. Oh. I know you have been through heartbreak, betrayal. People have died that you love. Life ain't the same anymore without that person. Some of you have lost homes, lost jobs. Don't even know how you're going to keep your M.I.D. paid in two days. You don't even know how you're going to pay rent by the 5th. But here's the thing, right? Is that we have to know and understand who we have faith in.

Who do we trust? Because it says, for you who fear my name, the son of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. And you shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. There's hope. There's hope, and sometimes we don't see it. But there's hope in the Lord. There's a light on the other side. And then it goes on, and you shall tread. Head down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. What does that mean? It means all those people that came against you, all those things that came against you, all those situations that came against you, someday the day will come where you will trample over that stuff. Things that seem like mountains to you will be ashes under your feet. And I got to believe that because the Word of God says so. I believe in the Word. Sometimes I got to believe in the Word more than what I physically see because sometimes if we go by what we physically see, it'll drive us insane. It'll drive us into despair. It'll drive us into depression. It'll drive us into fear. And that's where you got to balance it out. Sometimes you got to close your eyes and be like, man, I choose to believe in the promises God gave me. I'm trusting in God. And sometimes that'll be contrary to what we are seeing. But here's the beauty. He's 10 steps ahead of you.

Some days, it's a horrible day. And it's an even worse night. And then you wake up with joy. You're like, why would I feel so joyful? The situation's still there. You know why? Because your spirit saw what God was dropping in front of you, but your mind hasn't seen it yet. And your spirit starts rejoicing already for where you haven't even stepped onto yet. That's why sometimes you're just like, man, I should be depressed right now, but I feel joy. I don't even know why. I just feel happy. Because sometimes, man, your spirit already feels there's something stirring. God is doing something already. But I think the flesh wants to believe in what it sees. But our eyes can only see. I take my glasses off, Johnny. Your face would be blurry, right? So our eyes are limited. Maxine, forget it. That is Maxine, right? Yeah. See, my glasses ain't that good. So I'm limited in my eyesight, but my eyes and my spirit can see way ahead. Why? Because of the Holy Spirit in me. And that's the fight, is I want to fight with what I can see. And God is like, you need to quit doing that and keep your eyes on me, because I'm way ahead of you.

You're worried about your todays, and I'm in your tomorrows and your next months and your next year. So quit worrying about what's happening today. Just trust me. Amen. So verse 4. It says, remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all of Israel. And the message, it says, remember and keep the revelation I gave through my servant Moses, the revelation I commanded at Horeb for all Israel, all the rules and procedures for right living. I love this, right? This is like the second to the last verse. God's about to be silent for 400 years, but I love this reference because he says, listen, don't forget everything way back in the book of Exodus that I told Moses. All the rules, all the regulation, I gave you the law. Don't forget those things. Don't just ignore it. Remember and keep that revelation. That's why it says again, remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb. Don't forget. Verses five and six. It says, behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest they come and strike the land with the decree of utter destruction. The message, it says, but also look ahead. I'm sending Elijah the prophet to clear the way for the big day of God, the decisive judgment day.

He will convince parents to look after their children. children to look up to their parents. And if they refuse, I'll come and put the land under a curse." So the very last moments before silence, God lets him know that Elijah's coming back. We know that that's talking about John the Baptist. The Bible says that John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah. It wasn't Elijah reincarnated. He came in the spirit of Elijah. And the Bible specifically says that John the Baptist came to pave the way for Jesus, to make the way for the Messiah. That's why it says that. I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord. What is that great and awesome day? That the fact that God manifested in the flesh, born through Mary, was about to step into his own creation. That's wild. That's like the painter stepping into his own art. So we see this. So the very last thing we see in Malachi is you could take it as a warning or you can take it as something to rejoice about, depending on what side you're going to be on. Because if you're not doing right, you don't want somebody to come in the spirit of Elijah. But if you're that remnant, if you're that one, if you're the one holding on, if you're the one loyal to the Lord, you're going to be excited about somebody coming and finally paving the way and making the thing straight for the Lord to come. I don't know where the passage is at the top of my head, but there's a verse that, I'm going to paraphrase it, but basically it says, and it doesn't make sense unless you know the custom, but it says that the incense of the parade coming into town, you know incense, right? Like a smoke. You smell it. You could buy incense at the flea market. It says that the incense to those who follow the Lord, it smells like victory. But to the back of the parade, it's defeat. And that doesn't make sense unless you understand what was happening. So what was happening was, remember back then, all women and children were left while your husbands and your fathers and your uncles went and fought a war. That was a scary thing back then. Because if all the men left, all the women and children and elderly were completely helpless. Anybody could come and raid.

Nobody, there was no phones. There was no YouTube. There was no Facebook messenger. There was nothing. There was no way for you to know if your husband was coming back. He went off to war. You had no idea. And all of a sudden, you hear the drums and the dust from an army coming. And you're like, is that our husbands? Our fathers? Or our husbands and fathers dead and they're coming to make us slaves? That'd be scary. So what they would do is they had a certain incense that they would make. Because they knew the incense was going to travel further than the people, right? So if they light an incense and the wind's blowing, you would get the scent of the incense before that arriving army got to your town. So the wives are there. They're like, somebody's coming. Is it our husbands? Or is it our people that are going to make us into slaves? So all of a sudden, they get a scent of the incense. And it was the incense that they knew it was their husbands coming back. So the city would come out. They knew that smell. They understood that smell. So everyone would start cheering. It was a scent of victory. Their husbands are coming back. Their fathers are coming back. Their brothers and their uncles are coming back. It was a scent of victory. But in the back of the parade were the people they took as prisoners. The defeated army. they would smell the same incense. So to the people in the village, smells like victory. But the people in the back, it smelled like slavery. Hollis? Thank you. That's good. Let's read it. 2nd Corinthians 2 15. Okay, let's read it. 2nd Corinthians 2 15 says this. I'll read from 14. It says, But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession. What's a procession? Like a parade. And through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ. To God among those who are being saved, and among those who are perishing, to one it's a fragrance from death to death, and to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's Word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. How many

of you would have read that and never understood what that meant? About the procession, about the scent? Were you raising your hand, Hollis, or are you disagreeing? You wouldn't have understood it. Beautiful though, right? This is why we need to understand the Word of God. You know what's awesome about it? Is that we're the incense. So in the Spirit, that's why people that don't want God hate you. Because they smell defeat. But when you come across, have you ever came across somebody, you don't even know they're Christian, they don't know you're a Christian, but the Spirit bears witness? Because there's a scent in the Spirit that maybe your nostrils can't smell it, but your spirits, man I smell faith in this place. Because it smells like victory. You know, and that's a beautiful, beautiful passage there. And then it became 400 years of silence. You know, we have a little bit of time. And is there anyone that would want to share a couple minutes of maybe this book or maybe this whole series? What has it done for you? If there may be one or two people. Anybody? Are your arms all broken? Because if not, I'll start, I'll keep talking. I got something else to talk about. I just wanted to give a chance. Okay, fine. I'll keep going. Because I did want to mention some other things, because we do have a little bit of time. Is one of the books, Habakkuk, right in the very center, some place, some people say Habakkuk, Habakkuk. I say Habakkuk. He says something really interesting. And since we are wrapped up with the Minor Prophets, I want to teach you something real quick. And some of you know this stuff, but some of you don't. But in chapter two, verse one. And I'm going to, actually, I'm going to bring it up in the message too. Let's see here. There you are. We read through this, I don't know how many months ago. I don't know how long. I'm going to figure out how long it took to read through this whole series that we've been doing from the beginning. Did we start, was it summer or spring? Springtime? Wow, the end of spring. Were we back from Houston already or around that time? OK.

So in Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 1, this prophet says this. He says, I will take my stand at my watch post and station myself on the tower and look out to see what he will say to me and what I will answer concerning my complaint. I'm going to read it in the message. What's God going to say to my questions and I'm braced for the worst? I'll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon and I'll wait to see what God says and how he'll answer my complaint. Why is this important? Because the prophet needed a word. Some of you need a word from God. And you don't got to go to some big old conference. You don't got to go to some so-called prophet. You have the same Holy Spirit as that prophet on TV. You don't got to spend money. You don't got to fly somewhere. God has a way. He knows your name. And if you need an answer, and if you are not hearing from God, and you want to hear from God, I want you to really listen in these next 10 minutes. So Habakkuk, the prophet says, I want God to answer my questions. So you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to go to the lookout tower and I'm going to scan the horizon. And I'm just going to wait to see what God says.

I'm just going to wait. Because here's the thing. A lot of times nowadays, we want to just do things and do things. And our prayers are like, Lord God, I thank you. Protect my family. Watch me at work. Thank you for this breakfast. Amen. In the name of Jesus. And you keep on going. He's like, you never even gave me a chance to speak. We're such in a hurry that our prayer life is one way. We dump all this stuff on God. God, I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know if I'm going to pay my rent and this and that. And the whole time, he's waiting for us to finish so he can answer. But we finish it up, amen, in Jesus' name, and we take off. And we're like, man, God didn't answer me. And God's like, you didn't let me answer. So we can learn from this prophet. He says, what's God going to say to my questions? I'm braced for the worst. He goes, you know what? I'm going to climb to the lookout tower, scan the horizon, and I'm just going to wait. That word, that's a special word, wait. And I'm going to wait to see what God says. So sometimes, man, we need to slow down. God's always going to answer, because maybe he

doesn't answer on your timing. But he's going to answer. Tessie, thank you so much for that super chat. So anyways, then God answers him, right here in verse 2. It says, and the Lord answered me. So he went to the watchtower, he waited, and the Lord answered me. And look what God said. He says, write the vision. Make it plain on tablets. I wonder if it had iPads or Samsung Galaxy or something. Make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. Interesting. In the message, it says, and God answered. He says, write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. For those of you that have been with me long enough, you have been with me while I taught this. Some of you have never heard this. Some of you, it's a refresher. That God is speaking to us every single day. He's always speaking to us. Because there's no more 400 years of silence anymore. Bless you, brother. A lot of us, we think Christianity is as if we're between Malachi and Matthew, as if it's silence. And I'm telling you, God is not a silent God.

He is speaking right here, right now. He is always speaking. And I'm not saying it's always going to be an audible voice or like, oh, you know, God said this, God said that. But he's always speaking. And it's interesting, because what it teaches here is, number one, what does he do? What does Habakkuk do, number one? What's the first thing he does when he wants to hear from God? It says here, I take my stand at my watch post. In other words, he goes, I go to my quiet place. Some of us need to find a quiet place. might be in your gym, that might be in your bedroom, that might be your drive to work. You've got to find the place where you can just be quiet and hear for God. And we're in so much noise and so much turmoil that sometimes we forget that we need even, what does Jesus say? Go to your prayer closet. Even Jesus himself would leave his disciples and go to the mountaintop to pray. Now, if Jesus did that, who do we think we are? So number one, he says, I take my stand at my watch post and I station myself on the tower. Go to your quiet place. What's the second thing he says to do? The second thing is now that he's in his quiet place, he says, I look out to see what he will say to me. This is an interesting verse. I'm not going to take a whole long time,

but I want to teach you something. Interesting verse because it sounds weird because he says, I'm going to look out to see what he will say to me. What do you mean? So are you looking for something visual? Are you looking to hear something? Because it seems like you're looking out, but you're trying to hear what he's going to say. See, a lot of times, many of us don't realize because when you pray, most of us are just seeing the back of your eyelids. Think about that. What do you see when you pray? Just darkness in the back of your eyelids? Because remember, God, it says in the Bible that he gives his prophets visions and dreams. We have seen from Genesis all the way to Revelation, God gives vision. God will show you. He'll show himself to you. You'll see it in a dream. You'll see it in a vision. You'll close your eyes. Have you ever just been praying, all of a sudden, somebody you hadn't thought of pops in your head? You hadn't even thought of this person for who knows how long. All of a sudden, they pop in your head. God gave you a vision. Maybe you should start praying for that person.

You have no idea what that person is going through. Maybe you don't even know how to get a hold of them, but just be obedient. That's just the way it is. Because why? He went to his quiet place. He went on the watchtower. And he's tuning his ears and his eyes. The Bible talks about that we have our ears here, but we have the ears of our heart. We have eyes here, but we have the eyes of our heart. And sometimes, we need to learn to operate and see through that and say, Lord, show me. Now that I'm in my quiet place, show me. It's good to have a list of things to pray for. Nothing wrong with that. But give God moments to say, Lord, you know what? I'm not going to do my list. You show me what to pray for today. And he will start to show you vision. He will start to show you. So it says, I'll take my stand at my watch post. He quiets himself. And now, he's looking to see what God is going to say to him. What's the third thing it says here? So now that he's seen what God tells him, and the Lord answered, write the vision down. Write what you see. So in the message, it says, then God answered, write this.

And write what you see. Write it in big old block letters so it can be read on the run. Some of us need to learn to journal, need to learn to write this stuff down. How many of you that God has told you something, you didn't write it down, and then it happened? And then nobody believes you? You're like, man, I saw this happen. Man, God showed it to me. Yeah, OK. Sometimes you don't believe it yourself. But imagine if you were like, I'm going to quiet myself. Lord, show me. He starts showing you stuff. At the very top, you write the date. And God starts to show you somebody in your family that's going to get saved. God starts to show you how he's going to open up a new job for you that you never thought would ever be possible for you. But this, and this, and this. You start writing this stuff down. Out of all the people in your family, but that one person, God said he's going to get saved. That was the worst person. That was the last person. Like, man, that person is gone. They're a drunk, they're this, they're that, whatever. There's no way they're going to get saved.

That happened to me. I was so mad at one of my brothers. He was hooked on meth for like 17, 19 years. And it was just bad. I was locked up. I'm hearing stories from my family and my brothers doing this and doing that. I was so mad. I was so angry. And one day I started journaling angry. I was just angry. And I'm telling God on my journal, Oh, I can't wait to get out. I'm going to wring my brother's neck. And I'm just, I'm just like, I'm going to kick him out of that. Like I was just going off half a page. Just me ranting, put the date on the top. I need to find that, that journal. I think it's in my parents' house. And then after I just let it all out, I'm like, all right, God. I know you're going to go along with me. You're mad at him too. So I know you're mad. So tell me. I'm thinking God agrees with me. It's a righteous anger. The Lord starts saying in a few months, you and your whole family will know that there's a God in heaven because I'm going to turn his heart toward me and he will cry out to me and he will humble himself to me. And all of the family will know that there's a God in heaven. And I'm like, yeah, that's not what I thought you would say, God. I thought you were going to go along with me and be mad at him.

And instead you're telling me that he's going to give his life to you. And I'm like, that ain't going to, I didn't argue with God, but in my head, even though he knows my thoughts, I'm like, that ain't going to happen. But I just closed it. Three months later, three months later, there's a big old fight. My dad kicks him out, calls the sheriffs. He goes off running in the ranch, runs into the river, you know, the river back at my dad's, sheriffs are looking for him. It was insane. It was crazy. And he ended up in some men's home somewhere in Stockton and no, they, so they, they found him, they took him to a men's home in Hayward and they took him to a men's home in Hayward. My dad's like, if you don't stay in his men's home, I'm calling the sheriffs. I'm calling the cops. They're going to arrest you because of the stuff you're doing, man. He didn't stay there one hour. He ran away, ended up back in Tracy. And that's when my dad called the sheriffs and he's over there running. Anyways, long story short, ends up at a men's home. Those are Sunday service, 17 years in addiction. 17 years. He couldn't break free 17 years wrapped in chains. And what a counselor couldn't do in a year, what a drug and alcohol counselor couldn't break from him. In one instant, he cried out to the Lord. The Lord saved them, filled them with the Holy ghost, started speaking in tongues. He couldn't stop. He cried, he broke down to this day. He's been set free.

Now he has a house. Now he has a wife. He has a beautiful job and a beautiful truck that I'm jealous of. I mean, God has blessed him abundantly. What do you think that did to me when I'm just like six months down the line? Things ain't going right for me. Lord, where are you? You don't hear my prayers. And he's like, go back to your journal. I go back. Oh, this was when I was really angry at my brother. He was, yeah. What did I say? You said that you were going to show my whole family that you were real. Did I show you? Yes, you did. And if I did that, then what makes you think I can't fix you today? That's why journaling is so important. And that is why I just wanted to share that with you is that that's a beautiful passage, Habakkuk chapter two, verses one and two, to go to your quiet place, to tune in to the vision he will give you, write it down on tablets. And then he said, why? So you can run with it. So you can run with it. What does that mean? So you can share the story with other people. What did Jesus do every time he saved somebody or help somebody or cast demons out of somebody? He goes, no, now go and tell the people what the Lord has done for you. You know, and this is how we learn to hear his voice.

And the more you journal, the more you're going to learn to hear his voice and be tuned to his voice. You know, that's why a mother, if a mother loses, you know, like a, Teresa, if you lose Armando at Walmart, which I hope that never happens, but if he starts yelling for you, you're going to know his voice. Out of all the noises, out of all the people talking and the cashiers and this and that, and you hear little Armando, mama, or whatever he calls you from the toy department and you're, you, why? Because you know his voice. You're going to shut everything down because I know that voice. That's my little baby. Well, that's what God does with us when we start to learn his voice. That even in the midst of the chaos, in the midst of life, in the midst of your issues, in the midst of your problems, in the midst of the arguments and betrayals and all this and that, all the noise of life and the news saying this and the news saying that and people protesting, all this and that, but God comes in a still, small voice. But if you learned what his voice sounds like, you will tune all of that stuff out. And the longer you do this, the more you will realize, man, God, you've been talking to me every single day. I just didn't know your voice enough to shut the noise down and to hear you. And if you start to do that, it will change your spiritual life. It will change it. I promise you. And God will speak to you every single day. You know, and I knew we were going to finish Malachi early. So I said, I'm going to throw in this little teaching, just a little, little cherry on top. But if there's anyone here or anyone watching online, if you want to give your life to the Lord, I'm going to say it the way I heard it said to that gang member a long time ago. Today is a day of salvation. Tomorrow is not promised. We never know. Monday, we were driving over here and our car got hit. We got t-boned. Thank God we're here. But what if it was worse? You need to be absent of this body to be present with the Lord. But what happens if that happens to somebody that's not saved? I'm ready because I know where I'm going. We know where we're going. But can everybody say that? Because we never, ever know. And if that is you that's watching online, YouTube, Pando, Edovo, Facebook, or somebody here, if you want to give your life to the Lord,

Romans 10, chapter 10, verse 9 says that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, you shall be saved. It is simple. It is not a complicated thing. It is simple, but it's not a simple thing. It's simple for you because somebody else paid the price on the cross. And if that is you right here, right now, whether here or through the screen, I want you to repeat this prayer after me, but mean it with all your heart and say, Lord God, I repent of all my sins. I believe you died on the cross. And after three days, you rose in power, changed me, changed my heart, and changed my mind. I want to follow your voice for the rest of my life, starting right now, in Jesus' name. Amen. If you prayed that prayer, I want to pray for you in the name of Jesus, Lord. I thank you, Lord God, because you say anytime a sinner repents, that all of heaven rejoices, Lord God. And I thank you, Lord God, that this whole study, if one person got saved, this brother or sister, whoever you are, they got saved, this whole study was meant for you. That's how much God loves you. And I command all chains to be broken, every single thing that has bound you to be broken, and I declare you free in the name of Jesus. Lord God, we thank you, we praise you, we worship you, Lord, in Jesus' mighty, mighty name. Amen.