He Had a 10% Chance to Live | From Tragedy to Miracle Testimony | Caleb & Jeremy Freeman #ButGod

All right, man, it is so good to be with you guys. Hey, last one, best one, Caleb, right? Oh, yeah. Is it best? Are y'all the best, yes or no? That's what I'm saying. Now, I'm Jeremy, this is Caleb. And you're totally stealing my lines because I'm pretty sure I was the first one to say last one, best one. Okay, right there. You stole, I stole it from you, my bad, my bad, my bad. But I'm Jeremy, this is Caleb, and we are so honored to be with you. We love Battle Creek Church. Seriously, Pastor Alex and I go way back. I first met him when I was 16 years old. He was my small group leader at youth camp, all right? And that summer, I gave my life to the Lord. Our lives have been intertwined all these years since then. But I remember this about Pastor Alex. When we played rec at youth camp, he was the most competitive guy on the field, all right? So that has not changed about Pastor Alex. We just hope you know that, I know you feel blessed to have him as your pastor, but what God is doing at Battle Creek Church, there are churches not experiencing this. People's lives are being changed. The Word is being preached, incredible worship.

We just give God praise for what he's doing here. So we celebrate that. So thankful to be a part of that with y'all today. Now, Caleb and I, I'm a pastor in Newcastle, Oklahoma, First Baptist Church in Newcastle. Caleb and I, though, get the privilege of traveling some, sharing this amazing story that you're gonna hear today. And so if I was gonna title this anything, I would say it's your story for God's glory. Everybody in this room has a story. The question is, are you using that story for God's glory? And we pray today that every person here could recognize Jesus as the center of your story, and you need to use that for God's glory. But Caleb, it's gonna be a great day, right? It is gonna be a great day. I'm 24 years old. 24. I lived my Taylor Swift year. Taylor Swift year. 22. 22, that's gone. And then it was my Michael Jordan year, 2033. And now I'm in the middle of my Caleb Brimmon year, which is 24. 24. That's Caleb Brimmon year, because that is my favorite number. There you go. So Caleb is 24.

My wife and I have seven children. My oldest is 25. Mary just had her first baby, so we're grandparents. And I'm officially the best uncle in the world. That's it, that's it, that's it. So we have kids all the way down. Our youngest is 10, so we have a lot of kids in between. Chaos surrounds our house all the time. Yeah, well, a lot of people say they're crazy. I say, they're not just crazy. They're also pretty stupid. Oh, goodness. Delete, delete that. All the kids, delete that. Oh, okay, all the kids, delete that. Unless you're talking about my dad. Yeah. Well, hey, so anyway, Caleb was, eight years ago, he was 16 years old, junior in high school, Newcastle High School. He was on the varsity basketball team. He was actually the number one cross-country runner at Newcastle High School. State qualifier his freshman and sophomore year. Just living life very normal. One December day, December 19th of 2017, he was on his way to a University of Oklahoma basketball game. Trey Young was playing back then. Everybody's going to these games.

It started raining. His truck hydroplaned as he was driving into the middle of Interstate 35. In a semi-truck weighing 75,000 pounds, T-boned Caleb directly on his side. Caleb immediately suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, was given less than 10% chance of survival. 90% of people with Caleb's brain injury never regained consciousness. He was in a coma for eight long weeks, and then God chose to wake him up, which is a huge part of our story. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. And I'm still here. You're still here. So what I feel like that means is semi-truck zero. Caleb Berman's brain? One. He's one and O. There you go. He's one and O. Caleb, you guys, we have seven kids, and before the wreck, Caleb was our most shy, quiet, reserved child. That ship has sailed, okay? And it's gone. Caleb, like, he loves to greet people. He's the self-appointed greeter in our church.

Also at Walmart. I'm not the self-appointed at a lot of things. That's true, yeah. We were at Walmart the other day, and some guy was leaving. Caleb's just greeting people, and he pulls out his receipt and says, am I supposed to show this to you? Caleb says, bro, I don't work here, right? But he's greeting everybody, and that's what he does. Yeah, one of my biggest goals these days is to put that Walmart greeter's chain. That's right, yeah. But Caleb has a lot of fun in life, and we're gonna get into the guts of the story here in a moment, but Caleb can wake up every day, and he can be really frustrated with his life. I'm gonna share more. for this at the end, but our family's been through some really hard things. Our story is not one that we ask for. It's one that God has given us, and we're trying to use our story for God's glory. Caleb, we had a son that had cancer and was in the hospital 300 days between 2012 and 2013. He passed away in 2013. Four years later in 2017, Caleb would have his wreck. His younger brother, Clayton, was in the car with him, and Clayton suffered a concussion.

We've had all of these challenges in our life, Caleb could wake up every day, and he could focus on all the things he's lost. He could focus on how unfair and how hard life is, but he's choosing not to do that. Well, the way I see it is like, we all have a choice every day. We can either look at our life, everything we've lost, or the things we don't have. Like for me, it would be like the ability to run, the ability to play sports, or the ability to talk to no more. If I just look to those things every day, of course I'm gonna be depressed, of course I'm gonna be discouraged every day, but that's not what Jesus Christ is leading me to do. He's showing me that he's left me on this earth with a lot of things that I have now that I didn't have before the wreck. Like this boldness, or this passion for Jesus. Whenever I focus on those things, I realize this life really isn't that bad. I can really live the life God has called me to live. Let's go. That's awesome, bro. That's a good word. So good. So we wanna have a little fun first because we love to tell this story. This just illustrates Caleb's personality.

But about two years after the wreck, Caleb was still in a wheelchair and a walker, especially when we would travel. Caleb got invited to go speak in Kentucky. I couldn't go with him. He's 18 at the time. His younger brother, Clayton, is 16. And Clayton says, dad, I'll take him. I should have known better not to let these two go by themselves. Well, what were you thinking? I wasn't clearly. You sent me and my younger brother, Clayton, to the airport alone. Like, something bad is gonna happen. Yeah. And it's not our fault. It's not your fault. It's yours. It's mine. So Clayton's pushing Caleb in the wheelchair. They go through security. They go into a little store. They're gonna get some snacks. And Caleb believes when he gets an idea, he has God's given permission to act on it. And we're learning not every idea should be acted on. But I have reasons above that to be true. Because I do have a brain injury. So that's a very real thing.

So whenever I get an idea, if I don't act on it right then and there, I'm gonna forget. So who's the jerk that way? Who's the jerk that way? The whole world, when they get to see my great idea, I must act on it. So by acting on my ideas, I feel like I'm giving this world a gift. Giving this world a gift. Well, let me tell you about this gift. So Clayton- And I'm a very generous person. So Clayton's pushing Caleb in the wheelchair. They get into the store. Caleb gets an idea. What'd you do to your brother? So I remember very distinctly. There was one female cashier and a couple of other couples or something around. So Clayton's pushing him in the wheelchair. And out of nowhere, I get an idea. So I just stand up, start walking around saying, oh my goodness, it's a miracle. I can walk again. You can walk again, yeah. This guy, he faked a miracle in the airport, okay? Clayton had no idea what he was doing. Caleb gets up and he's shaking people by the shoulders saying, it's a miracle.

I can walk again. Yeah. And then the cashier was too silly and puzzled like, what the heck are you doing? So I looked at her and I said, do you not get it? I couldn't walk. But now I can. It's a miracle. And this is life with Caleb. We could sit up here and do comedy for the next hour because so many stories. But here's what he does. After that happens, he always takes a minute and then says, can I share my story with you? And he's learned that everybody's in a hurry, but they'll give him about 60 seconds. Caleb can share his whole story in 60 seconds. It's amazing. And after he does that, we've led people to the Lord, prayed with him in the middle of their journey or their suffering, because Caleb doesn't wanna waste anything. He wants to use his story for God's glory. Well, what I'm noticing about people in the school today is every single person you encounter, like no matter who it is, they have some barrier up in front of them or unable to share your story or unable to encourage them until that barrier comes crashing down.

But that's no problem for God, as I've seen. He will use my humor in a way to just totally bring that barrier crashing down. Or I'm able to share my story or encourage them in a way I never would have been able to without it. That's right. And that's the whole point. Like, so the Apostle Paul in the book of Philippians, you know, Paul's writing Philippians from prison, which by the way, Caleb's got this whole book memorized. It's amazing. But the Apostle Paul's writing this, and listen to what he says. What's your excuse, dad? What's your excuse, pastor? Okay, Philippians 1.12 says this, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. Paul wrote that from a prison cell. In other words, Paul was saying, my suffering is serving something greater. And that's exactly what your story should do. Your story serves a greater story. And again, we didn't ask for this. We didn't ask for the suffering God's allowed into our life. And we want to use it, though. We want to steward that well. And so Caleb takes every opportunity to point people to the Lord Jesus Christ as best as he knows how. Now let's go back to the accident. Before you go back, I've just got to say something. I mean, I haven't said this in either of the two other series I've ever done.

Which makes me really nervous. So this is some bonus material for y'all. But this chair, I've got to address this chair. Most chairs, they're pretty good. I get the job done. But this chair, this chair is like a vacation for my rear. Yeah. You know, welcome to my life right here. As I told the pastors beforehand, my job is to keep the train on the tracks. And you do such a good job. Thank you, son. So anyway, going back to December 19th of 2017, I called Caleb. I had been given tickets to the OU game. I'm a pastor. I did a funeral that morning. The funeral director gave me the two tickets. I called Caleb, and I said, do you want the tickets? He said, yes. So I said, I'm going to meet you at this restaurant. I'll give you the tickets, and you can go from there. So I pull in. I gave Caleb the tickets, and he went out and turned to the right, and I turned to the left. And literally, I drove 10 minutes down the road, walk into my house, and my phone rings, and it says Caleb Freeman. So I answered it. Hello? But Caleb was not on the other line. It was a man. And the man says, sir, do you have two sons?

And I remember, even to this day, I kind of get chills, because it was so alarming to me. Who are you? Why do you have my son's phone? He said, do you have two sons? I said, yes. He said, they've been in an accident. How quickly can you get here? And I remember thinking, I just saw Caleb. So we get in the car. My wife and I were driving to the accident scene, and the man keeps calling me. Every time he calls me, it's a little more urgent. I heard my son Clayton in the background, so I knew he was OK. But I said, let me talk to Caleb. And he kept deflecting. Well, finally, he said, sir, I'm not a medical professional, but I can tell you your son is still breathing. I was like, what? What do you mean still breathing? I just saw him. We get to the accident scene, and they made Emily and I, my wife and I go over to the first ambulance where Clayton was. He had a concussion. He was in and out. He was in shock. He could not remember anything. But Caleb was in the other ambulance. He did not know this at the time, but they had resuscitated him. They had put in a breathing tube. They had called in the fatality team.

They weren't expecting him to live, even on the ride to the ER. And the EMS worker said, go. He's been doing that 25-plus years. He said he's never seen someone have that kind of head trauma and survive. My wife and I get to the ER. It's absolute panic. But this is where God steps in in a unique way. We'd been there about 10 or 15 minutes, and a woman came running in. She had on a white outfit, and she had blood all over her. She came running up to my wife and I, and she said, are you Caleb's parents? We said, yes. She goes, my name's Jolinda. I'm a certified CPR-trained instructor. I saw the accident, so I pulled over to help. She ran across the highway. She was the third person there on the accident scene, beat the EMS workers. She said, I want you to know, I climbed into the truck, because it was still pinned up on Caleb's side. She goes, I stopped the bleeding. I cleared his airway. And then she said this. She didn't even know who we are. Talk about boldness. She said, but more importantly, I'm a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. She said, I prayed for over your son from head to toe, and God has told me your son is going to live. How about that? How about that? I mean, truly, God stepped in, and we know what it's like to pray for something

and it not go the way that you want. We prayed for our son Trey, for God to heal him on earth. God chose to heal him in heaven, which is the greater healing. But God was doing something different with Caleb. There he laid in a coma. And that means so much to me, because I was in a coma, so I couldn't do anything for myself. And while I was just laying there, she was lifting up my name to the only one who could heal me of this situation. Even more than the medical supplies, even more than the doctors. They couldn't do much for me. It was going to have to be Jesus. He was stepping in to do all he could do. That's right. So about 10 days after the wreck, Caleb opened his eyes. We thought, oh, good, he's waking up. Well, then there was no responsiveness. Caleb, blink your eyes. Squeeze my hand. Give me a thumbs up. No responsiveness. So the lights were on, right, but nobody was home, is the old expression. When we moved our whole family to Denver, Colorado, to a specialty hospital there, in eight weeks after the wreck, he would sit there in his wheelchair and just stare into space every day. Eight weeks after the wreck, one day his therapist said, Caleb, can you nod your head yes? And what did you do? Like a boss, he nods his head. It was like God said, now's the time. These doctors thought we were crazy. They were like, this poor family is in denial. This kid's never waking up, but guess what? But God has the final say, isn't that right? So God, he woke Caleb up, and I mean, little did we know how much he was going to wake him up, right? He woke him up in a way that we

could have never have imagined. Yeah, but I kind of love that too. I bet you do. Because now when I'm acting up, or I'm doing stuff, I know when Jesus will get me in trouble. If my parents are kind of getting mad at me, I can be like, why are y'all getting mad? Y'all prayed for this. We prayed for this, that's right. That's exactly right. It's his ultimate get out of trouble card, but he began to wake up, and it was unbelievable to see the progress. Caleb was in hospitals for eight long months. We ended up in Boise, Idaho. Caleb lost his left ear in the accident. He loves to show that bad boy off, but that- Actually, you know what? I feel like I'm doing this ear disjustice if I just show it once. Okay. Because if y'all could have seen my ear, like when the wreck happened, compared to how it looks now, trust me, you don't want to just show it off too. Right. So I'm going to go and show it off twice. Show him twice. There it is right there. He loves that ear. That's a 14-hour surgery, and they took rib cartilage, and skin grafts, and basically rebuilt Caleb a living ear. But I got to be honest, like in the moment, 75,000 pounds directly to my side of the vehicle, I may have survived that, but that rib cartilage, it was going to take me down. Exactly. So one night, Caleb was trying to say good ... He thought he was dying. He was hurting so bad. He says, Mom, Dad, I love you. He was telling us goodbye. I said, Caleb, you survived the 75,000 pound semi. You're going to survive the rib cartilage. I can't help it. It freaking hurt. It hurt. That's right. But something happened that night that shifted the whole story. Eight months after the wreck, Caleb looks at me and says, Dad, I don't think I'm a Christian. And I thought, what? Does he not remember brain injury? When he was eight years old, he prayed a prayer. I baptized him. I thought I saw evidence of God's work in his life, but it doesn't matter what I think. It's his relationship with God. He said, no, Dad, I remember. Caleb has all of his long-term memory. He remembers his childhood better than I do, which is amazing, right? But that's not the same. Yeah. So Caleb remembers his childhood. He remembers praying. By the way, I was calling you old. You were calling me old. That's right. But he said, Dad, I believe in God, but I don't know that I've given my life to God. And we all know in this room, there's a big difference between believing in God and giving your life to God. Isn't that right? The Bible says even the demons believe. There's a general belief,

but then there's a saving belief. And that night, Caleb said, Dad, I don't know that I've ever truly surrendered my life to Christ. So get this, eight months after the wreck, God would use the hardest thing in Caleb's life to draw him to himself. And that's the night Caleb gave his life to Jesus Christ. Yeah. The way I see is like. Yeah, that's right. That's worthy of that. That's good. That's right. Yeah. The way I see is like, before the wreck, I grew up in church. My dad's a pastor, so I knew all the Bible stories. I knew all the facts. I felt like I settled for information based relationship with Jesus Christ. Yep. Or I really just went from a bad person into a good person. But I felt like Jesus lived the perfect life on this earth, died and rose again. I felt like I was for something more. So whenever this wreck happened, it was the first time I realized all the information, all those facts weren't going to do anything for me. That's why I knew I needed something more. So I gave my life to Jesus more intimately and began my intimate relationship with him. Or I began to spend time with him daily. Yeah. Get closer to him ever since I got. And that's when I really noticed the real difference. I really began to live because Jesus Christ, he had brought my dead heart to life. Dead heart to life, man. That's so good. I like to, I like to use this illustration. I think it's very powerful. If I were to draw a line right down this room, and this side represents Caleb's life before the wreck. He was very alive physically. Could do whatever he wanted to do. Great athlete. Could hop in his car and drive. Could speak the way he always had. I mean, he was totally alive physically, but he was dead spiritually. So he was just existing. He had no purpose in his life. This side is the side representing Caleb's life now. He's less alive physically, limited physically, but God has brought his heart to life and he's never had more purpose than he has right now and the point is this you can be alive physically but until you come into a relationship with God you're just existing and you can be less alive physically but when you come into relationship with God, God can use the hardest things in your life for such significant matters for such eternal matters and what I've seen God do with Caleb listen when God saved him man he flipped him I'm telling you what Caleb's the first person awake at our house every morning he used to hate worship music now the guy won't stop singing he sings as loud as humanly possible at five o'clock in the morning waking up the whole house which I just want to say my family doesn't realize how blessed they are so blessed like I'm giving them a free concert that they don't even have to pay for that's right Caleb sings he's memorized scripture he loves to share the gospel and I'm telling you

what it's amazing like his heart is worship because that's what happens do we believe this or not if the creator of the universe comes to live inside of you don't you think there should be something to show for that when Jesus Christ invades your heart he didn't come just to make good people or bad people good he came to breathe life into us and when the spirit of the living God comes to live inside of you all of a sudden you begin to get a passion for the things God is passionate about and one of those things is worship Caleb loves to worship which means he wants to sing for you right now okay well what I do is some of this and it's like before the work I hated to sing he did but now I like live to sing he lives it I was always born to sing that's right like I'll have a try on American Idol in a couple weeks now a couple days now or I'm gonna take the world he does not have a tryout on American Idol yes I do like one day y'all are gonna see me on tvs I want to give you an opportunity to say wow that guy came inside our church before he got famous what a guy what a guy so real quick show of hands who wants to see me sing we'd like to hear Caleb sing there it is all right make it quick we're running out of time let's go well the people have spoken there it is let's hear it big guy and you know what my voice can only get me to the front door I know you are thinking but what's gonna win it for me is my harmonica I've learned to play harmonica and that's a pretty pretty sight to see let's see make sure it's flipped the right way there you go okay Charles I made that mistake before sing it up yeah first I got one more voice it's warm yeah I'm just a nobody so it's everybody all about somebody who saved my soul this guy it's amazing here it comes and that's it yeah that's it this guy have a seat here people love me people love you I know do you guys think this guy likes the stage or what my goodness gracious I don't just like this stage there's a difference I was always born to be on this stage Caleb's funny because he's like this everywhere he goes but the truth of the matter is when God radically saved Caleb eight months after the wreck we just began to see everything in his life change because I couldn't do that for Caleb I thought Caleb's greatest need the night of the wreck was what was physical resurrection his greater need was not physical resurrection was spiritual resurrection and when God resurrected his dead heart and breathed life into him God began to give Caleb a passion for him in ways that I've never seen and so Caleb would go back

and finish his junior year of high school which he had to relearn how to tie his shoes and brush his teeth and do all those things you learn to do as a kid then he went into his senior year he got to run a 5k again and it was covered on national news and he graduated right in the middle of a global pandemic he's the class of 2020 and then two years after that he graduated with an associate's degree in college they said he would never walk never talk never eat again but God has the final say in all things last thing Caleb one last thing from you and so I think let me just let me help Caleb with the one last thing from him you know Caleb a lot of people look at Caleb and they say man you must be frustrated your life is so hard your brother's passed away Caleb surely if you could go back in time you would change things what do you tell people oh I say no way whatever changing because because of the wreck my life has a becomes something and never could have become without it. Like the way I look is like all the amazing moments God's allowed me to be a part of are here one moment, then gone forever the next. Or like running a 5K or shooting a basket. Like those are amazing moments. But what I'm saying is get in the turf around the country, share my story, and see people have tickets saved that it shows me. That doesn't just momentarily change their lives. That changes their lives for the eternity. And if I can have a small part in helping people change that for them, that's what I wanna do the rest of my life. Hey, that's good, kid, that's good, that's awesome. Stay here, stay here. Great. But like the apostle Paul said, what's happened to me has served to advance the gospel. And I bet in this room we could go around,

everybody's got stories that have happened in your life. Difficulties, challenges, things you didn't ask for. You know, when my wife and I got married 27 years ago, we had no idea what was coming our way. But the Lord knew. And you can do several things with your story. You can resent your story and live in bitterness, or you can embrace your story and say, God, I wanna live with purpose. I want you to use my life for something greater. Our family has been through it. And our son, Trey, in 2012, when he was six years old, he got real sick. Trey had cancer. And from 2012 to 2013, Trey was in the hospital about 300 days. It's a long time for anybody, much less a six-year-old. In December of 2012, Trey needed to have a bone marrow transplant. My daughter, Brittany, was 12. She bravely donated bone marrow at that time. So they wiped out all the bad cells, and we were hoping that the good cells would go, and they would grow, and Trey would live a normal, functional life. We were hopeful for that. In January of 2013, one month after the transplant, things were going well. We were at the hospital in Dallas, Medical City Hospital, and my wife would stay with Trey part of the week,

and I was in Newcastle. We'd switch. It was about a two-and-a-half-hour drive. So one night, January the 8th of 2013, Trey was laying in his hospital bed, and he wanted to go to sleep early, around six o'clock. So Emily put Trey to bed, and then she went and laid in the window bed in the hospital room. Well, about 10 o'clock, Emily woke up, and just get the picture, my little six-year-old son was laying there with his hands behind his head, and he was kind of looking at the ceiling. Emily said, Trey, are you okay? He said, yes, but would you come lay with me? So Emily came over and laid by him, and they were just talking, and out of nowhere, Trey says to Emily, he says, Mom, he says, am I gonna die? And it took Emily back, because we had not talked about death with Trey, but he was really smart, and he had heard us talking, and he knew the seriousness of the situation, and Emily said, well, Trey, you're not gonna die until God's done with you on the earth, and then Trey said, but Mom, I'm not a Christian, and that always blew me away, because here was my little six-year-old son thinking about death, and whether or not he knew the Lord.

God was clearly working in Trey's life. Well, that night, Emily said, Trey, do you wanna be a Christian? And he said, yes, and we had shared the gospel with Trey his whole life, but that night was different. She said, Trey, you have to know that you're a sinner. You have to admit you're a sinner. Can you do that? He said, yes, and they talked about what sin is, and what it does, and how it separates us from God. She said, Trey, you're gonna have to ask Jesus to forgive you of your sin. Will you do that? He said, yes. She said, Trey, you have to believe that Jesus is the only one who died on the cross and rose again for you. Do you believe that? He said, yes, and then she said this. She said, Trey, Jesus wants to be the Lord of your life. Do you know what that means? And he said, no, and she said, well, Trey, it's like Jesus wants to be your master. He wants to be the ruler of your life. He still didn't get it. Well, then she said this. She said, Trey, it's like Jesus wants to be your boss, and it's like the lights went on in his little six-year-old brain. He says, wait a minute, Mom, you're telling me

that Jesus tells me what to do. She said, that's right. He said, I want Jesus to be my boss. On January the 8th of 2013, we call it Boss Day. Trey said, Jesus, be the boss of my life. From January to August, Trey fought like a champion. Man, they called him Super Trey at the hospital because he fought with such heroic strength. He had faced battle after battle after battle, but he became a little evangelist. If you think Caleb's outgoing, you should have met Trey, all right? We had two Jewish doctors and two atheist doctors, and every day they'd walk in his room. Trey would say, is Jesus your boss? How's that for a conversation starter, right? But Trey was really bold with his faith. When he didn't want to take his medicines, we'd say, Trey, who's your boss? He'd say, Jesus, and take his medicine. He loved the Bible. He would get up and want to copy the scripture. His favorite verse was Psalm 56.3. When I'm afraid, I will trust in you. He would write that down. Trey did the best he could, fighting in the strength that God provided, but his journey continued to get worse. Over the summer, it was up and down. We did everything humanly possible to help him,

believing that God could. asking God to heal him. But at the end of August, things were getting pretty serious. They already were, but even more so. But on September the 1st, I walked into Trey's hospital room and I knew that that was the end. If God didn't step in, he would be with the Lord that day. So we called our neighbor back in Newcastle and we said, hey, can you get our kids and bring them to Dallas? She loads them up and brings them down to Dallas. And there we are. They come in, up in the hospital room. And friends, I've been with many people on their worst day as a pastor. And of course their best days. But this is my situation, my family. And I remember feeling so hopeless and broken. There's nothing I could do to change Trey's situation other than just pray. We were begging God to heal him, consoling my kids and my wife. We're reading scripture, we're singing, we're praying, we're doing all. I'm on the ground pleading with God to heal Trey. Here's Trey in that same hospital bed he gave his life to the Lord in

six months earlier, seven months earlier. His eyes are closed, he's so weak. And I'll never forget it as long as I live. Out of nowhere, once again, Trey said, am I gonna die? He just said it, am I gonna die? And I remember thinking, I have no idea what to say to my son at this moment. Because I knew what he was facing. And my wife, the Holy Spirit, so spoke through my wife. She grabbed Trey by the hand and she said, Trey, no. She said, no, you're not about to die. She said, you're about to really live. And about 15 minutes later, he stepped into eternity. Do you know why Emily could say that to my son, our child? Do you know why she could say you're about to live? Because on January the 8th of 2013, Trey went from death to life in his heart. On September the 1st of 2013, he went from death to life eternally. The Bible says, Jesus said, whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. The Christian goes from this life right into eternal life. There's no death for the Christian. For the Christian, this life is as bad as it will ever get. It only gets better from here. For the non-Christian, this life is as good as it will ever get. It only gets worse from here. Our family's story, I wouldn't wish it on anyone,

but at the same time, it's what God's given us. It's our story. And we're trying to use it for the glory of God. I've seen countless people give their life to Jesus because of Trey's story. And the Bible says, all of heaven rejoices when one sinner repents. And I see Trey up in heaven just giving God praise. Trey wouldn't come back if he could. Oh, I miss him every single day. And I live with that hole in my heart. And I can't wait till I see my son one day again in glory, totally healed. I can't wait to see Caleb fully restored in heaven. But that's the hope of the gospel. Jesus gives us hope in death and in life and in every circumstance in between. He's the only one who can do that. The question is, do you have that kind of a relationship with God? Friends, you can show up every week. You can raise your hands. You can sing the songs. You can give your money. You can be baptized 27 times and still be lost. All those things are good, but they don't solve your greatest problem. They don't remove your sin. Only God can remove your sin. Everybody say, but God.

Romans 5, 8, but God demonstrated his love for you while you were a sinner, Christ died for you. Ephesians 2, 4, but God is rich in mercy. Friends, we're all separated from God. Our sin separates us from God. And there's not a thing that we can do to earn our way to God. But God, who is rich in mercy, sent his son, Jesus Christ, to live the perfect life, die on the cross, and be raised from the dead. And the Bible says anybody who would place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ can have a real relationship with God. You can have that relationship today. Can we bow our head together and close our eyes? Every campus, bow your head if you would. Close your eyes just for a moment. And would you answer this question today? Is Jesus the boss of your life? Not just do you believe in him, but have you submitted your life to him? See, the king and the ruler of your heart and life. The Bible says when you give your life to Jesus, you are saved forever. He's got you in the palm of his hands, all your sins are gone. The two most important dates in your life are the day you're born physically and the day you're born spiritually. We've all been born physically in here.

But have you had a spiritual birthday? Have you been born again? Have you said, Jesus, be the boss of my life? If you want today to be your boss day, the day where you say, Jesus, I submit, I wanna lead you in a prayer right now. If today, you've never done this before, I wanna lead you in a prayer. We're all gonna pray together, but some are gonna be praying for the very first time. If today you're ready to submit to Christ, would you pray with me right there in your seat? Would you just, let's all say together, Heavenly Father, I'm a sinner. God, I've sinned against you. And right now, Jesus, I'm asking you to forgive me of all my sin. Come into my life and save me. I believe you died on the cross. I believe you rose again. And right now. As best as I know how, I'm submitting to you as the boss, the master, the ruler of my life. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for saving me. With no one looking across all campuses, if you just ask Christ to save you for the very first time, would you slip your hand up right where I can see it, put it right where I can see it. Oh my goodness. Praise God for that. Let's just give God praise for the salvation he's brought in this place today.

If you guys would look at me just for a moment, Caleb and I, it's been the honor of our life to be with you today. We give God praise for what he's doing. Listen to me. You can trust Jesus in all things. No matter what the world says, no matter what anybody else says, he has the final say. Place your life in his hands. It may not always be easy, but he will see you through. Hashtag, but God. Thank you for letting us be here today. God bless you.