From Prison To Purpose
n this powerful testimony message, guest speaker Avaristo Garcia shares his journey from generational addiction and nearly twenty years cycling through juvenile detention, jail and prison in Waco, Texas, to finding freedom, healing and purpose in Jesus Christ.
Avaristo shares about growing up watching addiction and absence play out in his own father and brothers, numbing himself to guilt and grief, and accepting incarceration as "normal," before sharing how his life began to change through the steady, patient love of his wife who prayed for him for years, even while he remained distant and resistant to God.
His testimony traces his turning point at the altar, a moment of surrender through worship and preaching that led to true transformation, and the restoration that followed as God rebuilt his marriage, restored what addiction and prison had stolen, and gave him back his identity as a husband and father. This message is a powerful reminder of God's redemption, restoration and faithfulness for anyone struggling with addiction, generational cycles, broken relationships or feeling too far gone to change.
Amen, church. We're gonna stand up and worship Jesus this morning. Who's grateful to be brought from death to life? Amen. We are grateful people. We wanna enter His gates with thanksgiving this morning. So we're gonna read a scripture. It's gonna be on the screens to help us enter it. So let's all read this out loud together. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. Amen. Lord, we're thankful to be redeemed. We're thankful for your salvation. We're thankful that you're here among us, Lord. We wanna worship you, Lord, and acknowledge your presence in the room. God, we glorify and magnify and bless your name. Amen. Let's sing this together, Blessed Assurance.
♪ Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine ♪ ♪ He's been my fourth man in the fire time ♪ ♪ Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood ♪ ♪ Washed in His blood ♪ ♪ And what He did for me on Calvary is more than enough ♪ Come on, let's sing. ♪ So I trust in God, my Savior ♪ ♪ You will never fail, You never will fail ♪ ♪ You will never fail, oh I trust in God, my Savior and one ♪ ♪ You will never fail, You never will fail ♪ ♪ Perfect submission, all is at rest ♪ ♪ I know the author of tomorrow has ordered my steps ♪ ♪ So this is my story, this is my song ♪ ♪ I'm praising my risen King and Savior all the day long ♪ ♪ So I trust in God, my Savior and one ♪ ♪ You will never fail, You will never fail ♪ ♪ So I trust in God, my Savior and one ♪ ♪ You will never fail, You will never fail, oh I trust in God, my Savior and one ♪ ♪ You will never fail, You will never fail, oh I trust in God, my Savior and one ♪ ♪ You will never fail, You will never fail, oh I trust in God, my Savior and one ♪ ♪ And I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him, I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered, I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered, that's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪
♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him, God ♪ ♪ My Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail, my trust in God ♪ ♪ My Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail, I sought the Lord and I sought the Lord ♪ ♪ And He heard and He answered, I sought the Lord and He heard ♪ ♪ And He heard and He answered, I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him, I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered, that's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him, I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ And I sought the lord ♪ And I sought the Lord Sing it this morning church ♪ If you trusted the Lord in your life once Sing it out Believe Him with all your might If the Lord that you're speaking to today He's the Lord that answered your promise yesterday He's gonna answer it today And He's gonna answer it tomorrow Amen That's why I trust Him That's why I trust Him
I sought the Lord And He heard, and He answered I sought the Lord And He heard, and He answered I sought the Lord And He heard, and He answered That's why I trust Him That's why I trust Him I sought the Lord And He heard, and He answered I sought the Lord And He heard, and He answered I sought the Lord And He heard, and He answered That's why I trust Him That's why I trust Him God, my Savior, the one Who will never fail He will never fail I trust in God My Savior, the one Who will never fail He will never fail I trust in God He will never fail He will never fail I trust in God My Savior, the one Who will never fail He will never fail
Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. We adore You, Lord. You are the Lord of Lords. You are exalted in this house, Lord. Amongst this people in Your church, Lord. We adore You, Lord. We adore You, Lord. Jesus is Lord. You can have first place in my heart. I will have no other gods before You. Jesus is Lord. He's the Lord. Oh, worship me in my house. We will serve You. We will love You. King of kings, worthy Lamb, who is like You. There is no one. Jesus is Lord. You can have first place in my heart. Oh, I will have no other gods before You. Jesus is Lord. He's the Lord. Jesus is Lord. He's the Lord. You can have first place in my heart. Oh, I will have no other gods before You. Jesus is Lord. Hallelujah. There will be no other God beside You.
Be exalted here. Be exalted, Jesus. Be exalted, Jesus. Name above, name above. Lord of creation, Lord of the nations, Lord of everything. Lord of creation, Lord of the nations, Lord of everything. Oh, You are Lord. I bow before You. No one besides You. Jesus, You're my King. Lord of creation, Lord of creation, Lord of everything. I bow before You. No one besides You. Jesus, You're my King. Oh, Jesus, You're my King. Oh, Jesus is Lord. You can have first place in my heart. Oh, I will have no other gods before You. Jesus is Lord. You can have first place in my heart. Oh, I will have no other gods before You. Oh, Jesus is Lord. He's Lord. He's Lord. There is no other God. We will have no other gods. ♪ Search us, Lord, search us, Lord ♪
♪ Oh, Jesus is Lord ♪ ♪ You can have the first place ♪ ♪ I don't have the first place ♪ ♪ I will have no other gods before you ♪ ♪ Before you, Jesus is Lord ♪ Sing that again. Let them have the authority in your heart. ♪ Jesus is Lord ♪ ♪ You can have the first place in my heart ♪ ♪ I will have no other gods before you ♪ ♪ Jesus is Lord ♪ ♪ Your name is the highest, your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ Above all thrones and dominions, all powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all, above all thrones and dominions, all powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name is the highest, your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all, above all thrones and dominions, all powers and positions ♪ ♪ Above all thrones and dominions, all powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all, sing it again ♪ ♪ Your name is the highest, your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all, above all thrones and dominions, all powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all, above all thrones and dominions, all powers and positions ♪ ♪ When the angels cry... Holy all creation's prize ♪ ♪ Holy, you are lifted high, Holy, hallelujah. ♪ ♪ Holy, holy for us, your name, your name. ♪ Hear your people, hear your people sing. ♪ Holy to the king of kings, holy you will always be. ♪ ♪ Holy, you will always be, holy, holy forever. ♪ ♪ You will always, you will always be, holy, holy forever. ♪ ♪ You will always, you will always be, holy, holy forever. ♪
♪ You will always, you will always be, holy, holy forever. ♪ Sing Lord of creation. Oh! ♪ Lord of creation, Lord of the nations, Lord of everything. ♪ ♪ I bow before you, no one beside you, Jesus you're my king. ♪ ♪ I bow before you, no one beside you, Jesus you're my king. ♪ ♪ Lord of creation, Lord of the nations, Lord of everything. ♪ ♪ I bow before you, no one besides you, Jesus you're my king. ♪ ♪ Oh, oh Jesus you're my king, oh Jesus is Lord. ♪ ♪ You can have the first place in my heart, yes you can. ♪ ♪ I will have no other gods, no other gods. ♪ ♪ For You, Jesus is Lord ♪ ♪ You can have first place in my heart ♪ ♪ For I will have no other God ♪ ♪ For You, Jesus is Lord ♪ ♪ You can have first place in my heart ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus is Lord, He's Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus is Lord ♪ Lord, search us. Lord, we say with our mouths that You are the Lord. We believe it in our hearts, Lord. Search us, search this room, Lord. Clear out any idols, Lord. Reveal to us what Your heart loves. We wanna please You, Lord. We wanna bring You an offering that is pleasing to You. Let incense rise here among us, Lord. Purify like You do, like You always do, like You always have. We bring You our love this morning.
♪ Jesus is Lord, He's Lord ♪ ♪ And when you walk into the room, everything changes ♪ ♪ Darkness starts to tremble at the light that You bring ♪ ♪ And when you walk into the room, every heart starts burning ♪ ♪ Your heart starts burning and nothing matters more than just to sit here at Your feet and worship You ♪ ♪ We worship You, Jesus, and we love You, Lord ♪ ♪ And we love You, and we'll never stop, we can't live without You, Jesus ♪ ♪ We love You, and we can't get enough, all this is for You, Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, it's all for You, Jesus, every word ♪ ♪ And when you walk into the room, sickness starts to vanish ♪ ♪ Every hopeless situation, it ceases to exist ♪ ♪ And when you walk into the room, the dead begin to rise ♪ ♪ Because there is resurrection life in all You do ♪ ♪ So we love You, and we'll never stop, we can't live without You, Jesus ♪ ♪ And we love You, and we can't get enough, all this is for You, Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, it's all for You, Lord ♪ ♪ So come and consume all we are, we give You permission, our hearts are Yours, we want You ♪ ♪ We want You, come and make that your prayer this morning ♪ ♪ Come and consume all we are, we give You permission, our hearts are Yours, we want You ♪ ♪ Oh, we want You, Lord ♪ ♪ Come and consume all we are, we give You permission, our hearts are Yours, we want You ♪ ♪ We want You to come and consume God, all we are ♪ ♪ We give You permission, our hearts are Yours ♪ ♪ We want You Lord, we want You to come ♪ ♪ So come and consume God, all we are ♪ ♪ We give You permission, our hearts are Yours ♪ ♪ We want You, we want You ♪ ♪ So come and consume God, all we are ♪ ♪ We give You permission, our hearts are Yours ♪ ♪ We want You, we want You Lord ♪
♪ And we love You, and we'll never stop ♪ ♪ We can't live without You, Jesus, and we love You ♪ ♪ And we can't get enough, all this is for You, Jesus ♪ ♪ And we love You, and we'll never stop ♪ ♪ We can't live without You, Jesus, and we love You ♪ ♪ Jesus, and we love You, and we can't get enough ♪ ♪ All this is for You, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, and we love You, and we'll never stop ♪ ♪ We can't live without You, Jesus, and we love You ♪ ♪ And we can't get enough, all this is for You, Jesus ♪ Psalm 97 says, the Lord reigns, let the earth be glad. Let the distant shores rejoice. Clouds and thick darkness surround Him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world. The earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His righteousness and all peoples see His glory. Just a stunning reality of who Jesus is that mountains melt like wax before the Lord. And I don't know what mountain you might have today that you're like, I don't know how to get to the top of this mountain, top of this mountain of anxiety or the top of this mountain of bitterness I've been fighting or the top of this mountain of fill in the blank. And the word for you may be that you don't have
what it takes to scale that mountain, but you can bring that mountain into the presence of the Lord and watch it melt like wax. His presence does what our efforts fail to do. And I just want you to close your eyes again and you might just identify, bring that mountain to the Lord, point it out. He's very familiar with mountains, He made them all. But He stares at those mountains that you're feeling consumed by and His heart breaks for those because those were mountains He didn't want to be in the life of His daughters and sons. And that mountain of addiction, that mountain that has been overwhelming you, Father, we thank you that it's in your presence that these mountains melt. And we ask Lord Jesus that you would open up our eyes to be aware of the presence of God and the kingdom of God among us. And Lord, would you deepen our surrender today to relinquish control, to be able to find satisfaction in you regardless of how life goes and to be able to sit here in your presence and know that it's in your presence that these mountains start coming down. So we are so grateful. We are so grateful for the cross that the veil has been torn.
We get to come with confidence to the throne of grace in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. You can take a seat So thankful for our worship team leading us week in and week out um, just so grateful for their attentiveness to the lord and Ability to bring us all into god's presence such a beautiful beautiful uh experience here together At this time of our service that we want to Take our offering and so if our ushers would come forward and if you would like to give there's multiple ways it'll be listed there on the screen and uh, just want to again as always thank you for being such a generous people and continuing to to give and to serve and Um even had a guy recently just say man. This tithing thing is new for me But I I want to I want to give and I want to do this Um unto the lord with great joy and so even just hold me accountable send me a text so I can start giving I was like that's kind of awkward, but i'll do it, you know, and and and send it He's like i've been waiting for this text. You told me you were going to send it I've been waiting and excited to start tithing and giving to to feel like i'm owning the vision of this house So thank you for being that kind of people and uh, i'm going to pray for our offering now lord We thank you that you are an abundant giver and a generous father and as we Give our tithe just as a reminder that all is yours We ask that you have blessed these These gifts use them To advance the kingdom in our city in our nation and the nations of the earth in jesus name. Amen amen Well, I wanted to give everybody a little heads up about an opportunity that's going to be coming very soon that maybe some of you Participated in it's something that we call family camp and family camp occurs every labor day weekend and We just thought we'd show pictures of everybody sitting on this side of the room today and so Uh dressed up in their favorites, but she had to throw the lapes and some snow outfit snowman outfits as well um Then family camp there's just nothing like it as you can tell from these pictures
I mean it is a time where families get to just take over uh, this entire t-bar m camp and in new bronze falls and I mean kids are joking and laughing and throwing pies in our children's pastor's face and dancing up and down We have single moms and families that come single dads and families that come Uh people who've never been before just a way to build community to laugh but then also to pray together see god together adults get some time together and So do the the kids and it's just a beautiful beautiful time And so if you have never been for family camp We've got room for about 15 more families to come And jump in with us and you can go to this qr code to find out more information or stop by the connect center At the end we'd love to have you i'll be speaking this year blair and I'll be there And we'd love to have you come join us for labor day weekend If that's something that you are interested, um sign up we got room for 15 more spot Families, and we'd love to have you there Sound good All right. Well, hey, uh, we are excited to continue on this summer with our series We're going to do a little bit something different instead of teaching through proverbs today We are going to um offer up a testimony because we believe that the scriptures are true that talk about the fact that There is power When we hear the power of a testimony, right? How do we overcome the blood of the lamb? the word of our testimony You've you've if you've been coming to antioch for a while You've heard myself and jason ramos talk about different prison ministry stories That we've encountered by going into the different units that we go in And every time we go we get a chance to partner with different friends around the state and there's one couple specifically that we've gotten to Join with their names are alvaristo and angelica garcia. They pastor a church in mcgregor But uh every one of these events alvaristo is actually in charge of these and then he'll get up and he'll Share at these different events and we just had one of these at the cofield unit Uh, which is the large one of the largest men's prison unit in the state of texas and a group of friends
We all got to go to minister to these guys and their their team Uh there in the unit led worship for us and then we had different services We went sell to sell and alvaristo told me this morning that um on saturday morning 81 men Came forward to get baptized and to give their lives over fully to jesus powerful time And in all of these events um alvaristo who you see there on that screen He gets up and he'll share his testimony and every time I think to myself I think i'm going to give my life to jesus again, you know, and uh, just one of those stories of incredible transformation So we ask alvaristo and angelica if they would come this morning and if alvaristo would share his story Uh with us and so he volunteered to do that and so we are so grateful that he's here So I expect a lot of amens out of you guys All right All right So that he will feel like family when he comes to share so alvaristo come to the stage this morning share your story And any give him big warm welcome. Hallelujah. Come on somebody, let's give it up for the Lord, Antioch Waco. Amen. First and foremost, I just want to give God all the honor and the glory. The Bible says that the mercies of God, they are new every morning. So it went my alarm clock that woke me up, that Jesus, he woke me up, amen. And it doesn't matter what time of the day it is across the world, and we know somewhere it is nighttime, but the Word of God is true, and it's morning in the Spirit, and it is a new day, amen. Also, I just want to give thanks on behalf an entire Antioch Waco family for inviting me out. And as always too, I want to honor my beautiful wife over here to the right of me, Angelica. Just stand up real quick Angelica, amen. And who just supports and be there. And also for my brother Carl, for inviting me out. And Carl, I was thinking, I think this is the first time that we met outside of prison. So every time that I have any kind of interaction with Carl or Jason, it's always in prison. We see each other in the prisons, and it's such an honor. But yes, today I just want to share a testimony, amen, of what God has done in my life, where God has took me out of, and where God has brought me in. And in Revelations chapter 12 and verse 11, and
God's Word is so true, it says, and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. And the last part I love, it says, and they loved not even their lives, even unto death. And I want to tell you, when I read that, the last part where it says, and they loved not their lives, even unto the death, it reminds me so much about the Apostle Paul. You know, before he became Paul, he was something else, and persecuting, and doing all those things. But when he had an encounter with Jesus, his life was changed, and he knew right then, he was told that he would suffer for Christ, and he loved even unto death. He did not stop, amen. And so, yes, my name is Alariso Garcia, and I was born right here in Waco, Texas. And one of the things that reminds me, especially about Antioch, Waco here, is that we grew up in this, around this neighborhood, and I could just remember seeing the old HEB with the big arc on top of the building, in the entryway. And my brother and I, my brother that's right above me, we used to sell newspapers in the 80s off of 17th and 18th Street. And we would sell the newspapers just to get the tips, and we would give those tips, after we bought our candies to my mom, to help pay for the groceries, because you know, the food stamps ran out. And so, we used to be out there selling those newspapers every Sunday, every Sunday morning. But never would I imagine in my mind, that running around throughout this neighborhood, and coming through the parking lot, the old HEB, that God will allow me to come one day just to share His goodness, and this greatness of what He has done inside of my life. I shared this because, as I shared a bit of my testimony, for me it was the normal. And normal to me was that it wasn't a broken home. It wasn't just a home of drugs, and violence, and alcohol, and abuse. For me, that was the normal, because everybody else around me in the neighborhood, and everybody else in school, they came from the similar backgrounds, and similar families. So, I never took anything in my life, looking up, of all those things, as any kind of pity, or any sadness, or anything. Because once again, I say, that was the normal. That was just everyday life. And as I look back now, I never hold any reservations, or anything like that, or unforgiveness towards my mother, my father. Because the way that they had
raised us, was the way that they were raised. And to them, they were just doing the very best they could, as far as what they knew only. And I want to tell you, when I came to Christ, I found out what true forgiveness was, amen? And somebody spoke something over me today, and it has been resonating over the past several months, and it's just... You know everything that I've ever been through and throughout my life and all the people that hurt me or heart me I'm over it like the enemy has no shackles or no authority to hold me down By my past or anything like that I have been made free in Christ and I'm gonna tell you when I got hold of the scriptures I found some good news and and I found out it's just not the Gospels of the New Testament That's good news I found out everything in the Old Testament was also good news for a shadow of good things to come And and I found out this that my true identity It was even called before the foundations of the world. The Bible says that he chose me that I was chose before the foundations of the world that I was predestined to be holy and to be blameless in Christ come on somebody a man and so that doesn't go just for Alvarito Garcia but that goes for everyone that has been created a man and now I Will share this for about over 19 and a half years And it wasn't in just one complete setting but over 19 and a half years I was in out of juvenile systems and I was in and out of jail and Different drug programs and prison and in and out of all of those things and I want to just tell you this is that I was a very angry and Bitter person because the way that I was raised and the things that was inside of me and now I'll share this with you My father and all my father's brothers and all my cousins and even my brothers They they all been to jail and they all been to prison and I'm the youngest out of four and So I seen my life like this. Well, they've all been to prison They've all used substances in their lives. And so I said so that's what I'm gonna be as well Because this is the normal and everybody else is doing it and I did not realize that there was scripture That says that life and death are at the power of the tongue
And so I was speaking those things of my life But in Proverbs 23 in verse 7 the Bible tells us this it says for as he think it in his heart So he is so I was only becoming what I thought that I will become and So that's the why the way that my life Projected in and out of juvenile systems in and out of the boys homes in and out at TYC in and out of jail And then out of prison and as I said, that was the normal but I'm gonna tell you things begin to change Even though I begin to spend many many more years of in and out When I was 15 years old there used to be a place at Highway 6 in Waco And it was called Cody's if anybody's in the 90s area You will know what I'm talking about and it was a place for youth and teens to go and listen to The worldly music there wasn't no kind of alcohol there But I happen to go one there one night on the Monday and I had seen one of my cousins and my cousins told my cousin told me this I'm gonna introduce you to three of my friends which were all females and And I walked up and he introduced me to them and one of them just jumped out of nowhere and says hey do you want to go dance and And we went out there. We didn't dance and we changed phone numbers and the very next day she had called me and You know talking and she goes. Hey, do you want to meet me at the Richland mall? I was like, yeah, I'll reach out I'll meet you at the Richland mall and and we get ready to hang up and she goes well bye I love you, and I said you love me You just barely met me last night and she goes no she goes I love you she goes one day you will be my husband and That is Angelica right here Now as I go further I have to give you the real side note about it is That as we got to know each other she told me that since she was a little girl growing up She says that she always wanted to marry a Mexican with green eyes And so I just happened to be the Mexican with green eyes
that first night to meet her and I thank God for that because I Didn't know at the time when she told me that that the Bible says that when a man Finds a wife. He finds a good thing and attains favor from the Lord hallelujah somebody and So we Start our journey together, and throughout that, I was in and out of juvenile a lot of our relationship, but Angelica would just stay there. There would be times that she would actually drive my mother up there to the juvenile to go visit me, and Angelica would say, I would just wait in the parking lot, and I rode the windows down, and just hoping that if you was on the rec yard, that I could just hear your voice. And she stood there by my side. Now, Angelica, we become pregnant with our oldest son, and I still hadn't opened my eyes. You see, we weren't raised in church. I was brought into my father's, his sister's home, and they were believers of Christ, and my aunt tried to teach me the things of God, teach me about Jesus, but there was a difference. I began to know about Christ, but my heart was so lost and gone that I never made the decision to be in Christ, and so there was the difference where the world had called me, and I understand why the world called me,
and why I answered the world, and now this is something that I practice now daily, and it's very important for believers is that whatever we feed ourselves the most with, I'm not talking about food, but whatever we feed ourselves the most with, that's where the strongest at. That's the strongest inside of us, and I never filled my things with the things of God, or the spirit things of God, and Angelica's, she's pregnant, and she gives birth to our son, and when he was two months years old, my past caught up with me some things, and they sent me to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and I go to prison, and when I go to prison, I go and I'm gone for right about five years, and I get out of prison, and I stayed out for four months, and I went right back, and I was gone for like 18 months, and I get out of prison again, and then I'm like, I promise I'm gonna do well, everything's gonna be fine, I'm gonna stop doing all the things that I'm doing, let's make this family, make it work together, and I'm out for 10 days, and during the 10 days that I was out, then Angelica gets pregnant with our second child,
and then I go right back to prison again, and now my second child, he's born while I'm in prison, and I could just remember hearing stories, and for me, I didn't feel any emotion behind it, like I didn't feel guilty, I didn't feel bad about anything, I was just going through those emotions of, hey, this is what everybody else is doing around me, and I remembered that I used to, growing up, I would hear my father talk with his brothers and things, I used to hear my father talk about when he was in prison, and he was on a prison called the Ferguson Unit, and he would share all his stories, the war stories and everything, and he was bragging about those things, and so guess what I thought in my mind? Man, I wanna go to Ferguson Unit, because regardless of everything that my father had ever done, it's like I wanted to be just like him. I looked like him, got the same color eyes as like him, and I had the same name, and so I wanted to go to Ferguson Unit because he went to the Ferguson Unit. Well, on that third trip to prison, guess where they sent me? They sent me to Ferguson Unit,
and I found out on the very next day that I did not wanna be on the Ferguson Unit. That was a hot prison, and they didn't feed very well, and it wasn't what I wanted, and I was like, I think I need to start changing about what kind of father did I want, and this is true, and like God, before I even accepted, God began to speak inside of me, and now I wanna tell you something. In prison, I was lost. I was in darkness. There was a lot of things that I can't speak about, just things that I've done that are so terrible, terrible, but I wanna tell you throughout that life and living in darkness, and I was one of those, I persecuted Christians. If you was happy and you carried the Bible, I was envious and I was jealous of your happiness, and I would knock your Bible out your hand, and I was gonna do everything I can to do to persecute you, and I didn't even know the Apostle Paul's story when he was sold. I was just following that same path, but God began to do something, and look, I turned out to a chapel service one day because they said the Mike Barber Ministries was gonna be there. Mike Barber Ministries is a very big prison ministry, and when he goes in, he takes these real smelly,
Good free word bars of soap because in prison they give you a bar soap about this big and it makes you itch You don't have any kind of smell to it And when this ministry come they come out this big bar soap and I was like, that's the only reason why I'm gonna go I'm gonna just go down there and look I'm still not seeing Where I was chosen that that Jesus did something similar and that when he had to be a crowds they was gonna get fed He will he would draw people to feed them and Mike Barber ministries will draw people by giving them a bar of soap And so I turned out one day to that Chapel service and I'm sitting in the very very back and a Group comes in a free world group and they come in and and they were worshiping in the lady That was worshiping. I'm sitting there in my mind and now I have a conversation with God I didn't know how to go to God in Jesus name. I'm looking at the lady worship and I just said in my mind I was like, oh God if I ever get out of prison, I said that's what I want right there God I won't be a church lady I want her to be able to sing and I want her to be pretty just like that lady God. I Said this I didn't close the prayer in Jesus name. I Did not know that the Bible says that while we were yet sinners That Christ died for us in my sin Christ heard what I had prayed and now years go by and I get out of prison and I did not know that at The very end of my sin is right about a year before I'm getting out Angelica she Comes to know the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal saver. She gets saved And but I I didn't know this she she had she hadn't shared that with me And so I get out of prison and I go home I paroled back to where she was living there in McGregor and I step in I'm just getting out of darkness I'm still in darkness and it's like I step in our home and it's like a football stadium light in the soul house Like there's God's Radiance and glory is in the house She's got worship music playing around and I don't listen to worship music and she's praying and and we sit down to eat and
She wants to hold hands With me her and the kids and wants to pray for the food and I'm like man, this is strange Like this is not the Angelica No and I don't know what's going on with this woman and And praise God this and God this and we're gonna go to church and go I'm not doing none of those things I do not know what's going on with you in and It's not to be funny, but I kept hearing her say this She kept saying I just want to make more love with God I just want God to love me more. My mind was thinking something else I was like, what do you mean that you just want more God's love like I was like That's an occult church y'all are going to I Didn't understand the love language of God of what she was saying and Angelica, but just begin to be faithfully going to the church and Raising up the kids in church and and I did not want to go and and I did not go to church I didn't want to have nothing to do with with God. I would hear Throughout my prison sentence and there would be men of God in the prison and they will come and visit my cell when I had just been going crazy and acting out and doing all of these things and they were like Because a lot of times they call you by a nickname or your last name and they'd be like Garcia Why are you so mad? And why are you so angry? Jesus loves you and There'll be a demonic manifestation and I will run them away from my cell But there was a few bold ones and they would just stand the ground and say no like Jesus loves you No, we don't I lost everything. I failed already. I failed at being a husband. I failed as as being a father I'm an absent father I'm not even there to provide and in this ain't the God that that's a loving God Let it create that and they would say no you could get it all back. I like no, I can't get it all back like How's God gonna give all this back? I said look All of this I've lost already even with my first son
You know I missed him coming out of diapers and I missed his very first steps and I missed his first words and I miss You know the first day of school. I missed the birthdays and Christmas and thing I missed all of that and and now I repeated it now I miss it all with my second child and in these men will boldly stand up to me be like no every stone The Bible says, in the book of Joel, it says that God will restore. And I didn't comprehend what they meant by that. And I would argue with them. I said, what do you mean God's gonna restore? Yeah, God will restore it. I said, you mean to tell me that when I finish my prison sentence, I'm gonna get out and my kids that are already big, talking and walking and everything like that, that they gonna shrink back to little babies again? This was the understanding that I was getting from that. And I would just push them away and I'd run them off. And as I'm out of prison, and for the next eight years that I was out of prison, I was in and out of jail, I didn't go back to prison, but I was more absent as a father. I was more absent as a husband. My way of feeling that I was being a husband and my way that I felt that I was being a father is, hey, I pay all the bills. I put the food on the table and I give you money to take care of yourself. So I felt, hey, that was my job. I'd done what I was supposed to be doing
and I was missing it. And I will tell you that I would leave and I would leave my home for a week at a time. And I wouldn't tell Angelica where I was going. And if she tried to call me, I wouldn't answer. And it wouldn't only be a week, but there'll be time, I'll be gone for two weeks. And when I showed up back at home, I would act like there ain't nothing wrong. And I would just walk right in like, hey, everything's okay. And I'm gonna tell you, Angelica would complain about these things. And she would go to our pastor who's with the Lord now, and she would tell the pastor, he's never home, he don't do nothing. And I never see him no more. And there's people telling me that they seen him with this woman or this person and doing all these things. And they're telling me he's never gonna change. I need to leave him. And the pastor will be such a shepherd. God is love. God doesn't hold the wrongdoings. Love is patient, love is kind. He says, no, Angelica, what you need to do, be faithful. And every time they call for prayer and every time they call for the altar call, Angelica, you go intercede and you believe God for your husband. She says, I really have to do that?
And he said, yes, you do. And now I begin to see this. I didn't know he told her that, but as I would leave and come and go, every time that I would show up at home, two, three, four o'clock in the morning, I would first walk in, the first thing she would tell me would be, are you hungry? Have you ate? And then she would serve me. And there'll be fresh tortillas and there'll be a fresh plate of food. And she'll serve my plate and then my clothes will be ready to shower. And then I could go to bed like nothing ever happened. And this began to be repeated over and over. And now I'm gonna tell you that she began to pray and intercede for my life. I was gone for two weeks, one time in Mexico. And after I came back from Mexico, I'm driving, I remember I'll cross over the border and I'm thinking in my mind, I got like seven more hours. I'm gonna walk inside the house. I'm gonna smell tortillas. I'm gonna have all this food and she's gonna serve me. And I remember when I pulled into Waco, I get in, we were leaving McGregor at the time. And it's like six o'clock in the morning. I walked through my front door
and Angelica's standing in the dining room. And this time I don't smell no fresh beans or tortillas. And I'm looking at her and she got her hands crossed and she's looking at me. And she goes, where you been? I ain't been nowhere. What you been doing? I ain't been doing nothing. Who you been with? I said, I ain't been with nobody. And then we go on and on, we're back and forth. She says, where you been? What have you been doing? Who you been with? And I give her the same answers. She goes, do you know that this past Sunday, when I got the boys ready for church, they said, mom, why do we gotta go to church if dad don't go to church? And I wasn't phased by it. I was like, what do you want? She says, I wanna know where you been. What have you been doing? Who you been with? I can't take it no more. She says, it's the repeated pattern since we were teenagers. And she goes, I'm gonna file for divorce. I'm not gonna do this no more. She goes, you need to get all of your things and leave.
And of course, I'm the man of the house. She goes, no. Where you been? What have you been doing? I said, nothing. She goes, look, I'll tell you what. She goes, we've been having a revival all week at the church. She says, tonight is the last night. She goes, if you go to church with me tonight, I'm not gonna ask you where you've been, what you've been doing, and who you've been with. And I said, I ain't going. She goes, well, who you been with? I said, what time church starts. She tells me time church start, and she feeds me, I take a shower and I go to bed, and I lay down. I wake up, and she's waking me up to get ready to go to church, and when I wake up, I notice that, like, man, I'm like, I'm slimy. Like, what, man, what did I put in my body the night before, and I'm sweating all of this stuff out. And so I get up and almost slip, and I'm like, and this smells like oil. Like, this reminds me of when my aunt was bringing me in church, and they would put that anointing oil on me. Somebody at the church says, when he's asleep, go anoint him with oil and pray over him. But I found out later, here's the part she missed.
They said, just anoint me with it, don't pour the whole bottle on me. And so she prays over me, and she tells me, hey, it's time to get ready to go to church. I said, I'm not going. And she goes, okay. She goes, well, me and the boys, we're gonna go to church. She says, but when I get back, just make sure that you didn't forget anything that belongs to you, so you have no reason to come back. I was like, man, I'll be there, I'm gonna go. I said, y'all go, I'll show up. And they leave, and I went in my backyard, and I just felt like I needed to do something to get me high, and that's what I did. And so I drive to the church, and I still remember, I did hear this about you can come as you are. So I was like, well, if I'm gonna smoke, I can come as I am. And I remember I had these khaki dicky pants on with some slides and a white muscle shirt. I was like, this is the way I'm gonna go to church. I'll be like, come as you are. And I go in that church, and I sit in the very back row, and I said, man, I'm gonna sit in the back, and the reason I'm gonna sit in the back so nobody in that church could come up, try to hug me or shake my hand and say, God bless you or anything like that, try to baptize me or anything like that.
I didn't want none of that. Once the preacher man said, amen, I could be the first one out the door. And I remember I sit down there in the very back, and I'm looking up, and I could see Angelica, my boys in the very front, and she's looking around trying to find me, and of course, I don't want her to see that I'm there. And she sees me, and her and the kids, they go back there, and they sit with me. And in the moment that the worship team begin to worship, they sang the first worship song, the little hairs on my arm begin to stand up. They get into the second worship song, and the hair that I didn't even have on my bald head, it begin to stand up. And now they get into this third worship song, and I still remember the third worship song. It was open up the floodgates of heaven, and let it rain. And halfway through that song, it begin to make me get what I said in my feelings. I begin to get emotional, and that song begin to make me cry. I thought in my mind this. I was like, ooh, I should never went in the backyard, and did what I did. It's got me so up there that it has me in this church crying to their music. I didn't understand that God was doing something. And now look, as they finish worshiping,
the preacher man gets up, and he begin to preach the word of God. And everything he preached, he was talking about me. And it begin to make me mad. He was like reading scripture, and he's reading scripture, and he's got his eyes locked on me. And it begin to get me angry. And so what I did, I was like, the person that's sitting in front of me, I lined my head up with theirs. So he couldn't see me. But the moment that I would line my head up, he'd be like, and God said. And then he'd be like, and God. And so we were going back and forth. And I begin to get angry by it. And I was like, that man's up there using that word of God to shame me. And I was like, here's where I messed up. I'm thinking in my mind, I let her go first to the church. She walked up to the pastor, say, Pastor, my husband might come today. Here's all the things he's doing. And then within minutes, the pastor built a sermon about my life. And so I'd lean over to Angelica, I say, Angelica, when church is over, I'm gonna beat that pastor up in the parking lot.
I was really serious. And I said, and after I do that, when we get home, you're gonna get it too. And she's like, what's the matter? I said, you told that pastor everything I've been doing. And she's like, I didn't tell him nothing. I said, who did? She goes here's the holy ghost. I said they got ghost in the church I wasn't familiar with the term holy ghost. So now you're telling me a ghost told this man Everything that i've been doing and she's like, no, no, no And I was like, okay so after he finished preaching he does the prayer and in the prayer call and People are going up and i'm sitting there and angelica and the kids go up And i'm looking at the people and they have their hands lifted and some are crying and and some now are speaking languages I had no clue Of what was going on. I was like, man, I do not know what I got myself into over here and all of a sudden the pastor's like He does this he goes. I know there's one more out there And I was like he talking to me I want to tell you what happened I didn't know it was scripture You know when the disciples spoke up the bible says that king agrippa He was almost persuaded As he's beginning to speak those things I felt in my heart I had to go up there. I was almost persuaded To go up there and just all right, go ahead and pray for me But here's what happened I heard another voice So ain't you gonna go out tonight
Ain't you gonna go do all those things tonight? What was happening is this what I said at the beginning is that we're only the strongest And what we feed ourself the most with? I had been feeding myself in prayer in the word of god I always just fed the flesh And so I didn't go up there And church closes and man, I was looking for the pastor I I was still saying I couldn't find pastor. He was gone Gone And so we leave and angelica pulls in the park in the driveway. I'm pulling behind her. She goes inside I go in the backyard. I said i'm going out tonight I'm gonna sit back here and i'm gonna do what I did when I came to church the first time And I did that And out of nowhere now the second time that I say god the first time was many years in prison When I say god if I ever get out of prison, that's what I want. I I want a uh, a wife That's that's a church lady and beautiful and that can sing And so out of nowhere, I just stand up and I was like god. I don't want to get high no more and I walk in the house. I didn't go nowhere. I went to bed and I slept peacefully no nightmares I had nightmares all the time and I wake up and it's sunday morning And what I wake up to is this angelica's looking at me. How you like church? Like I didn't like that church You want to go with me to kid? No, I don't want to go with y'all but with with the quickness in my mind I realized hey, I slept peacefully last night. I feel something different this morning And I didn't want her to know that I felt something And so to let her know that I didn't want to show this because I had full of pride I yelled at her. I said fine because you keep asking i'll go Right And I said in my mind i'm going with her this time I said I ain't gonna put nothing inside my body. I'm about to see if that worship really making me cry
I'm gonna go see and i'm not gonna let her go pull up on that pastor and tell him anything about me And I was like i'm gonna just go and we're gonna stay side by side and i'm gonna see what's real And the same thing happened again On the first song and the second song and the third song begin to touch me And as he began to preach the word of god, I mean look the night before he was just like barely throwing little pebbles at me But that sunday morning through the power of the word of god He was throwing these stones at me breaking down walls and tearing down strongholds inside of my life Through the power of god's word And then he does the altar call And then all the people begin to go up there And he's there calling me. Do you need jesus? You've been running all your life in angelica and the kids up there and and i'm looking I'm looking at angelica and all I could see is the back of angelica's head But I could see the sides of her cheeks And all I could see Was these tears? Coming down And I said man She only praying for one person She praying for me and When I when I felt that I heard I know There's one more out there and I look up in the pastor. He's like this Let me tell you something as I wrap this up I still today Don't remember my walk From the back of that church to the front I just found myself
standing next to angelica Scripture later showed me is that Jesus left the 99 He went and got that lost sheep Picked him up Put him on his shoulders and carried him home That day when my heart says, okay, I Need to go up there Jesus picked me up He put me on his shoulders and he carried me To the altar and he placed me next to the help that was made for me And I look to my left from the right and I'm gonna demonstrate. I'm gonna turn around. I'm standing up there the worship teams there there's people praying Angelica's next to me and the kids and They got their hands lifted and I was like, I guess that's how they pray And I was like, I ain't about to lift my hands all the way up right now. And so I just do this And I I've felt a spirit speaking says I have you in a familiar place I Was like familiar place all the times That I will run for the police and they caught him hands surrender I Found my place in a place of surrender and Here's what I I said to God my third time to speak to God to say God I just said that I said God You ain't got to show me anything. I know you're real. I said God, but will you let me feel? That's all I want to feel. I have no feelings and Immediately when I said that I felt this fire Come from the ceiling To the top of my head through my whole body and it began to make me cry I was like, oh I don't want all these people See me crying Like immediately I went back to my prison days. I'm a gangster. I've been to prison. I'm tattoos I'm a man. We don't cry and I was like these tears are coming down
I said, I'm gonna close my eyes as tight as I can and the tears will go away. I Don't remember how long I stood there with my eyes when I open my eyes the worship teams gone Everybody up there that was praying they were gone. I turn around and they're like you are sitting there looking at me quiet And I was like, oh snap loud And I ran down the middle aisle and Angelica meets me at the end of the aisle and She's crying and she grabs me she says this is what I've been praying for and in that very moment She led me to cry. I confessed Jesus Christ look Here's what begin to happen. We go home Sitting on the couch in the living room she's in the back bedroom and she's singing she leaves worship and God says do you remember? Back in the 90s and you were in prison you said God If I ever get out of prison, I want a woman that is a church woman That's pretty in Scenes he says I heard you It's been answered. Look. She's a church woman She's in there singing and she's still pretty and now look as I talked about restoration The guys would tell me restoration I missed everything of All my children's life. I didn't get to raise them growing up, but I have three beautiful granddaughters Amen three beautiful granddaughters And you can see them in the picture. Those are my granddaughters and with all three my granddaughters I've got to see them born. I got to see their first steps I got to hear their first words their first word that they love the most is Popo is grandpa and I got to be every part of their life
But not only that through that restoration because the book of Joel tells that that I will restore everything you lost But also and there it is right there I will restore the years that you lost Everything that ate that he's going to give it and now for that final slide. I'll tell you this last year I had the honor to go into the prison and take my entire family my sons and their wives and we got to share a platform on one of the women's prisons and That is the restoration of God. I want to tell you this to the men That maybe you failed and like you feel like you can't go back no more There's things that have been broken things that have been lost as a husband as a father I'm gonna tell you the business that God is in is doing the impossible Things and that our God is a God of Restoration in that later part of the scripture of the next scripture. Here's what he says about restoration when he restores He says that we will be satisfied And what that means to me is that God just does not give you back what you lost But he gives you back more What you lost that is who God is a man And look throughout all of the failures of My life and throughout all of the mistakes and maybe some of the husbands here Or maybe even the wives or things happen. You just can't get that back I want to tell you because the Bible says this About that we were chosen and predestined before the foundation of the world and that the good work that God started in all of us Before the before the world was made. I want to tell you this It has never went away. The Bible teaches look it says a righteous man will fall seven times, but he will Arise, and I'm calling everyone you to arise again So may God bless you and may the Lord keep you on my ass on my brother Carl to come up at this time God bless you I Just stay stay standing our our ministry teams are gonna come forward, but it didn't take long but one thing I'll bring so didn't say is when he would go to those services and they would Give those soaps or what away a barista would usually steal like nine of them, you know and take them home
So he felt when he met Jesus he felt conviction for that And so he called their offices and said I've been stealing soap from y'all for years What can I do to make up for it? Can I write a check? Can I come by and they said well? You can join us this weekend and from that day forward He's been going and serving and that's the ministry now that he leads there with Mike barber ministries and and I've just watched him time and time again share this word and As he does hope fills the room just like it did just now Because there's something about hope that when the spirit that can only be birthed by the Spirit of God And we just had a sense this morning that as you heard this testimony There'll be various ones of you that we're gonna lock in and say there's maybe that's my story Maybe that's not my story But regardless I need the hope that the God of the impossible Still steps in and he hears my cries and he answers them and even when I don't understand what he's doing He's using his presence and his power and his love to pursue me And so today if there's anything that you need prayer for our ministry teams are here Even avriso and angelica are up here and others and we'd love to have you come forward and just say if there's an impossibility That you need prayer for they want to join you But it might be that there's something else going on entirely that you need prayer for and they want to be on your team But it also might be that you've never given your life over to Jesus And today is the day that just like avriso surrendered the hands up and said I confess Jesus You are Lord and it wasn't just a forgiveness prayer of I need to feel better from my guilt It's i'm following you for the rest of my life because I want to invite us all to close our eyes and Go to the Lord and if you've never surrendered to Jesus and you want to Then I invite you to pray something like this Lord Jesus I surrender today I believe you are the son of God That you lived a perfect life That you died on a cross And you came back three days later
And I choose to follow you for the rest of my life And Lord for all of my friends that may have just prayed that prayer I ask God that you would fill them with the Holy Spirit just like avriso said the fire would come on their head And they would sense your presence for everybody in this room. Would you just release hope? In Jesus name, we're going to sing this song to the Lord and you can come and and Receive prayer or just right there as you sing this song. Let's make Jesus our Lord and remember his hope Oh Oh praise the God who is trading tears for laughter Pouring out his anointing the oil of gladness A crown of beauty for ashes from shadow valleys to pastures Praise the God who is lifting the heavy sadness Oh, we praise you Lord, we praise you Lord Praise the God, praise the God who's rebuilding the ancient ruins And all our desolate places are good to new here And every dream we have buried, the heavy yoke we have carried The years we thought had been wasted, our God's redeeming So let it go, and feel the joy of surrendering the easy yoke Look ahead and remember, He alone He knows the past and the future, He's on His throne Holding all things together You hold it all together Lord, You hold it all together Oh, so why would I need to worry if the Father loves me The world around me is raging, the God is laughing The sun goes down every evening, but still comes up every morning For those who wander in darkness, the light is dawning So let it go, and feel the joy of surrendering the easy yoke Look ahead and remember, He alone He knows the past and the future, He's on His throne Holding all things together And oh my soul, I give Him glory
Lift Your voice, He's worthy of A shout of praise, a joyful noise, a freedom song Oh my soul, the heavy yoke is gone We sing oh my soul, we give Him glory Lift Your voice, He's worthy of A shout of praise, a joyful noise, a freedom song Oh my soul, the heavy yoke is gone Oh the heavy yoke is gone So let it go, and feel the joy of surrendering the easy yoke Look ahead and remember, He alone He knows the past and the future, He's on His throne Holding all things together So let it go, and feel the joy of surrendering the easy yoke Just look ahead and remember, He alone He knows the past and the future, He's on His throne Holding all things together And oh my soul, I give Him glory Lift Your voice, He's worthy of A shout of praise, a joyful noise, a freedom song Oh my soul, the heavy yoke is gone And oh my soul, I give Him glory Lift Your voice, He's worthy of A shout of praise, a joyful noise, a freedom song Oh, oh my soul, the heavy oak is gone The heavy oak is gone The heavy oak is gone I know there's lots of folks that are still receiving ministry, and we want that to continue on. And I'm going to take a moment just to wrap us up in prayer. But again, if you need ministry, if you need anything, we want to be here for you. But also, if this is one of your first times here, we'd love to connect with you in the Connect Center as we close.
But are you glad you came to church today? Just to be encouraged about how we can find hope in Jesus in the midst of all that's happening. So I want to pray for us. And again, if you'd like to sign up for Family Camp, there's more information for you to do so outside of the Connect Center and the information desk. But let's pray together. Father, we are so grateful that at the name of Jesus, every knee must bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And Lord, we do so today. We honor you, and we lift you up, and we remember, God, that your name is the name above all names. It's the name above addiction. It's the name above hopelessness. It's the name above the mountains that we face. Your name is above all. So we look to your name. We cling to your name. And we bless your name today. And it's in your name that we pray. And everybody said, amen and amen. God bless you. Thanks for being at church today. And we'll see you back next week.
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