Latest / Millennial Mustard Seed / S4 46. Sammy Diaz – War, Faith & the Military Heart

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S4 46. Sammy Diaz – War, Faith & the Military Heart · Millennial Mustard Seed

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Hello, folks, this is Princess, you are listening to the
0:04
millennial Mustard Seed, pod casts.
0:06
Thanks for listening. Don't forget to share with your
0:08
friends. I stopped wearing a very tough
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spot. I think that what we're doing
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right now is a great benefit and virtue because it's an
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end-around between this whole corrupt informational system
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media system. We claim to believe in a God who
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spoke the universe into existence and literally raised
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himself from the dead. And yet, we're not going to
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believe that anything else exists in the spirit realm, even
0:37
though his word tells us that they do, Their bodies weren't
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permitted to go to sleep, like humans do, and there weren't
0:44
permitted to go to heaven. So they wander the Earth.
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You know, I've seen as turn black to unknown tongues being
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spoken. These Giants were love way up in
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the highway. We out Graves.
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The young man was hiding in the trees, the way.
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For one of these 12/4 to come walking down the back and they
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would kill a dragon. Then people start to get
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weapons, I start to get armor, they start to build cities.
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They saw the fortify their cities now, God looks down, and
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there's violence everywhere. The battle this war that we are
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at, is not against each other. It's against these
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principalities in these rulers in, these are cons in high
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places. It's really worthwhile to read
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the Bible yourself, fear is one of the primary drivers of mind
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control because we have to take every thought captive and
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resist. Beer.
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You're going to have a testimony that is a Justice case against
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the kingdom of darkness. Welcome back to the show
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everybody I was on a bit of a mini Hiatus, they're
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intentionally and unintentionally but I'm glad to
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be back. I've a few episodes that I've
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been sitting on. I've been editing and getting
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prepared for you guys. So tonight I have sammedi as
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here. Sammy is a friend of mine but
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more importantly he is a soldier.
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Sure Sammy served our country. He was born and raised in Puerto
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Rico. You joined the military when he
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was 18 years old. He found himself in Kuwait for
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training and then right into the Middle East into the war and
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this is an episode where Sammy just shares.
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His story, the condition of his heart, just his journey and what
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it's like to have been a man of war and how it's not always
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understood by our neighbors and other people.
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Oh, and our lives. And our really think that this
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is a great discussion. I love, Sam's heart.
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This is just an excellent episode.
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I'm not going to waste any more time.
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We're going to get right into this one.
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I'm ready. You guys ready?
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Welcome back to the show. I have an excellent episode in
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store for you guys. I got Sammy Diaz here.
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It's an honor to have you here on the show.
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God bless you. I always good to reconnect with
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you. I know that you made an impact
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on my life and I'm hoping by doing a show like this, we can
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capture conversation and experiences just sharing ideas
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and the journey of our lives. With each other can help
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somebody else, who may be in a dark place.
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So Sam, give us your Your testimony and just kind of lead
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us into how you ended up where you are today and man, well,
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yeah, it all started, I was in Puerto Rico as a young child.
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I decided to join the military. That was something that always
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kind of caught my eye and I didn't feel really valued, you
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know what I mean? I didn't feel like I was doing
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something with my life and I wasn't really good at school and
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stuff like that. So the military was something
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that always caught my eye. So at 18, I joined I did basic
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training in Fort Benning, Georgia joined the Army infantry
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and then I deploy 2008, I deployed to Iraq but in a couple
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of months in Kuwait training before they led me into Iraq and
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Iraq. I spend roughly about a year and
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yeah, I mean it was something very impactful because
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throughout training that's where I really cuz I didn't really
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have guidance before getting into the military.
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So I didn't really Know what I was getting into it until I got
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to like basic training, God was with me from day one, even
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though I didn't really, I wasn't really living the Christian
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life. But now that I look back at it,
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it was like, God was with me every step of the way.
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And it's so amazing because even in Fort Benning Georgia.
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When I started my training, I got in contact with a chaplain
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there. So while I was doing training
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for infantry, you know I this chap.
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And I just caught his eye and we started talking, he started you
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know, getting the messages, I was able to even help him with
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the music at the services they used to do on Sundays and for me
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it was like it was so weird because it was like something
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that I thought would never happen you know and I wasn't
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really living a life for Christ at that time, but he just always
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called me, you know? It was giving me like glimpses
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throughout that. I like I said I further then
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deployed and and that's where it Is like a culture shock training
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is never going to prepare you for the real thing, you know.
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So that's something that really impacted me when I when I went
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out there it was like this is a total different world from what
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I'm used to and again, you know, God was with me every step of
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the way. There were times, I felt very
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lonely. There were times that I felt
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like how how can I overcome this and how could I be able to be
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successful and have the heart to do what Doing in this place
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where it's like, I felt alone, the moment I was, you know,
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about to leave the wire or do the missions.
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I had to do it was just like, God was there with me and just
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guiding me every, every step of the way.
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Every, you know, every Mission, every training, every everything
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that I had to do, and everything that I had accomplished, it was
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like, right. At that moment, I would just
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gain that confidence and every time I put my uniform on door
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anytime before we left the wire was like, all right, this is
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What I have to do this is there's you know I have no
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choice. So it was like it pushed me to
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become just a better me to do. What I had to do as I'm
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listening to you. It makes me think of David.
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David Soldier. Like most people think
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Christians are like these really soft guys, that are just really
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good boys and they follow all the rules.
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But I mean, personally, the way that I feel about it is you got
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to be tough to be a soldier in the spirit, but you got to be
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tough to be a soldier in the Physical Realm.
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And I'm going to ask you when you were talking about the
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training you trained in Kuwait, but you said it never really
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prepares you for the real thing. What was going on?
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Like, in your mind. How did you deal with the
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reality of here? I am.
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I'm a trained soldier and I'm over C, and now, everything is
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engaged in clicked in. Like what did that feel like?
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Well, I'm gonna go a little back what you said about, okay?
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And and I think that is so awesome because it all has to do
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with your heart. You know you have to take heart.
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So that's the decision. You have to make it in that
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moment. Like I was okay, I got my
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training. I know what, what to do, but in
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that moment I have to make a decision, okay?
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Am I going to follow through? Am I going to take heart?
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Am I going to do what I have to do?
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Or, you know, am I gonna back out?
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Am I just gonna, you know? So and that moment it's like,
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okay, this is a defining Factor. Am I gonna do it?
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Am I not? You know, so you have to and
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it's and it's kind of like taking a step of Faith because
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you don't know what's going on and it's so many things go
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through your mind. It's like okay.
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What, what if we got in a fire fight over?
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Everything is just it's such a rush.
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But, like I said, it's a decision that you make right on
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the spot. Okay.
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I'm going to take heart, I got to do this.
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And once you do it, it's like, there's no turning back.
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That's, that's it. You're going for it.
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And it's kind of like, that's something that I really, really
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loved about my experience in the military because it pushed me to
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do something. I never thought I was capable
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of, doing never saw myself like, oh, I have I have this courage
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like little old me. I'm here and I have, you know,
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all this equipment, I'm ready to step out into war and it's like,
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wow, like it gives you and the more you do it.
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Obviously the more confident you become but it's still a
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decision. Every time you leave that wire
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you have to make and it all starts with your heart.
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That's how you you're able. You're able to become successful
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in that part where like you see in the movies.
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You know. You see these guys just making
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these decisions. Is right on the spot and they're
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under so much pressure, but they're still able to operate,
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you know, under that pressure. And and like I said, once you
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make that decision, it's tunnel vision.
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It's go time and there's no turning back.
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So it all starts with your heart, our soldiers in this
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country dealing with know, like, the precious that they've been
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put under that the world doesn't understand what has happened to
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them. So they treat them or box them
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in like a normal person. You just met Compartmentalize
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and they, you're just like, oh yeah, you serve, okay, whatever.
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But it's like that, that's a warrior.
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That's a soldier. Now, the Bible talks about
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there's no greater love than if your friend is to lay down his
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life for you. Yeah, and all soldiers, in my
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opinion, nobody made any one, go to the military.
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That's a choice. Like you said, You said some key
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things also saying about figuring out.
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I have what it takes. I can make it manhood from God's
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perspective, the heart. Mmm, that's the key to this
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episode of right now is just dealing with the heart.
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And I want to hear more about your story, where do you want to
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plug Us in as to like your time over in service the transition
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coming out a service? You know, how you got into
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Ministry yet once I got over their boots on the ground.
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Again, it was a culture shock, it's a whole different world and
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a lot of times you know where we are kind of ignorant to that
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fact. So a lot of people think about,
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you know, the Middle East like you know, Iraq Iran.
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And it's just like, oh well you know, this is just war is just,
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this is just that and and and it's just like, why don't we
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just take care of them and just blow them up or just do this and
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do that? But when you get there and you
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meet the people like I was able to break bread.
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Bread with the Iraqis and and they're awesome people people
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that there's certain Muslims like Shiites sunnis, you know,
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extremist Muslims have a little more liberal.
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So but these are peaceful people women out there especially there
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they're very you know into service you know and and they
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take pride in that. So these are people that are so
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they're very good genuinely. Good people that are actually
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peace. It's just this group, kind of
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kind of makes them out to look a certain way that they're not so
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that that really was the culture shock for me because I'm just
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thinking about all, we're ready for war.
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And this is what. And then I look and it's like
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you see these children and you see the women and it's like,
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these are peaceful people, that have no choice, they really
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don't, you know, and like you spoke about freedoms where yeah
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in a lot of things. We could we don't have the
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freedoms as we say we do and in certain aspects, but in other
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aspects, we really do we, you know, we could go to church
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freely, we could praise God freely.
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We could not go to church or we could, you know, make whatever
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decisions we want to make out there.
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They don't have those types of freedoms.
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So it's like they have freedom to a certain extent and that's
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pretty much it. So we kind of have this mindset
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of them. Just like they have the mindset
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Us, you know, because to them they look at us and it's like
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all these guys are just Rebels, you know?
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And I mean they they don't have any, they don't have any sense
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of discipline they don't, you know, so it's like we're
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contaminating their mindset, you know, so it's like we don't look
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at it that way, you know what I'm saying?
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So so that was kind of like a culture shock for me.
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So when I left every time I left the wire, especially the first
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time is like, okay, I'm ready. For war.
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They're they're trying to blow us up there trying to kill us
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but now it's like I see people and women and children cheering
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us on as we're going. And I'm seeing these people just
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just peaceful and, you know, and it's like, I'm like what, what
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is really what it, what is the real purpose now?
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What is really going on? What is, you know, and that kind
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of opened my mind. And it kind of blew me away
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where it's like, you know, it's it's not about Out our
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perspective, let's say it's kind of like a gave me an
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understanding of where they're coming from and why they feel
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the way they feel. So what I was able to do or what
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God allowed me to do and and, and experience was putting
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myself in their shoes. What would I do?
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If I was wondering if I live that way, if I was raised in
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that type of country. What would I do?
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How, what would I have become? You know what I mean?
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So it's like, wow, like it's It's, it's a choice that they
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don't have, that's, that's what they're grown in.
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So, it's like, you know, it's a better understanding.
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So now, I'm not looking with eyes of hatred, or, or eyes of
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judgment now. It's like, I'm looking with
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different eyes. It's like, wow, these people are
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they're suffering. They, you know, dis is a cry for
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help, you know, I now look at all the freedoms that we have,
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and, and, and sometimes when we have, when we're so blessed,
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especially in abundance. We don't look at what other
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people go through. Just like you were saying, like,
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people don't understand veterans and what they go through.
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Yeah, because you're so blessed. You didn't have to go through
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War, you didn't have to go through certain types of pain,
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so you don't have that understanding.
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So your mindset, it's kind of narrow to that.
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And and I think that's what how it's affected us as Christians.
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A lot of times that, you know, we do kind of become judgmental,
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and not understanding other people's pain just because
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Because we haven't gone through, it doesn't mean that other
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people are, you know what I'm saying?
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Like, you know, my pains and hurts like I have my pains and
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I've gone through this experience with the military but
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there's certain things I have an experience from another person's
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perspective. So I have to kind of like open
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my mind and carry that in my heart.
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Now again, that's another type of decision.
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I have to make being out there. Now, am I going to be
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narrow-minded and just be like, well, this is how we do in
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America. Erica.
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And this is how it is, or am I going to have the mindset of?
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Wow. Like they don't have those types
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of freedoms. Women are treated very badly out
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there they have, it's even worse for them.
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So what is my mindset? You know what?
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And that's something that that overall worse than any Mission.
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I've done. I believe that was the hardest.
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Other than excuse me. No, you go, brother other the
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wars that the fighting aspect of it, that was probably the
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hardest for me. Honestly, maybe it was probably
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different for another Soldier but for me that was the hardest.
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It was like just seeing this whole world seemed abused
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seeing, you know, how they lived and it's like it just it blew my
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mind and and to see women how Women were mistreated children
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and it's like, there's to this day like II still at times dream
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war. Or when I see it on the news,
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just like, people have no idea how it is to live in that type
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of environment. And I think that's very sad that
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the media or, or what we see, or what they try to portray is far
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from the truth. It means commotion.
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Why you seeing these people are suffering that are crying for
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help that, you know, in the conditions that they're in
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absent from the freedoms that we have here in this country, did
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that help you with really learning about the broken and
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contrite spirit, the Lord doesn't reject, did it help you
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just like, actually look at the Bible differently by seeing a
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group of people in that condition.
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The definitely definitely, it helped me understand.
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How blessed I was. It just opened my mind and it
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opened my heart to love in a different way.
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See the thing is when we talk about Christianity and we talk
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about our beliefs and especially Jesus, you know, I've been, I've
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been really studying the New Testament and really studying
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the life of Jesus. I'm like, you know, Jesus was
18:41
about, it's just love and I studied And I the last I just
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finished cutting the Romans and even Paul said it, he was like,
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if you just follow one commandment, you follow all
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which is love thy neighbor as thyself.
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Sometimes us as Christians, sometimes we forget, it doesn't
19:00
say love die. Christian brother, as thyself.
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It says, Love Thy Neighbor, doesn't matter what religion you
19:06
are. It doesn't matter what culture
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you come from, it doesn't matter if, you know, it doesn't matter,
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it loves die neighbor. Now, if If you know we We All
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Fall understand and there's certain things that yeah, you
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know, that we could say that. Okay.
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I can't really be a part of but that doesn't take the love out
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of it. Now, for the most part they are
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Muslim doesn't mean I'm not going to love them because
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they're Muslim or or maybe Catholic or maybe an atheist,
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I'm gonna love them. That's it.
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That's the commitment we have. So that opened up my mind to
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like, I I feel for them. Is there terrorists?
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You know? Out there.
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And and yeah, you have these dangerous aspects of.
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Yeah, you could think about it, but for the most part now that's
19:59
kind of like set aside. And now I'm like, I want to
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defend these people or aspect of like, oh, I'm going out there
20:06
and I'm gonna fight this word out all.
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This is like now that step to the side.
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Now, I'm instead of being prideful instead of feeling like
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I'm, you know, I'm humbled in a way, you know, and God was able
20:20
All to, like, take that kind of Pride out of me.
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It's like, no, you you're, you have no idea.
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You know what I mean? So, it kind of humbled me and,
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and like I said, it gave me heart, but most importantly, it
20:33
gave me love. And, and that's why it was it
20:38
helped me to operate and how I'm operating now is that I'm
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operating in love, and it's given me a better understanding
20:44
of accepting people as who they are.
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It is what it is. You can't, you know, Whoever
20:51
comes by me. If I can spread the gospel, I
20:53
spread the gospel but the most important thing of all is the
20:56
gospels of if. And the Corinthians says in
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First Corinthians chapter 13, it talks about love.
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You can have all the gifts, you could be the most the wisest
21:06
person on Earth. You can speak tongues.
21:08
You can speak prophecies it even says you could do Miracles but
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if you don't have love It's not worth it.
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So again it's another Choice apart.
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So when I'm out there, it's like it God gave me that kind of
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like, all right this is this is what's going on now.
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You could be like most people go out there, do your job, come
21:31
back and you feel still feel or you could use that, you know,
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you could, you could, this is, this is and, and that's why I
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feel so blessed, even though it was, it was probably the hardest
21:43
time in my life. But I feel so blessed that God
21:46
gave me that opportunity to live that.
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And, and to experience that and to look, like I said, just to
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open my eyes and give me that revelation of loving people.
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And like you said before, which I think you're absolutely right
22:06
of manhood because manhood are, you know what they want a man to
22:11
be, it's like, you know, physically strong and, you know,
22:14
In the like button, the word a true man just like David is
22:20
having harm but to have heart you have to have love.
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Now with that comes everything else.
22:27
Just like when he defeated Goliath now you can see God gave
22:31
him courage. She was courageous young man.
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But why I really did he defeat Goliath?
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What would she defend it? You know, when he before even
22:42
going and defeating Goliath when he defeated the bear, the lion
22:46
that nobody even knew about what was he doing?
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What what how did he take heart? Where did it all?
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Start it started with love love of his sheep.
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He was defending sheep. It was love of his country.
22:57
Once he defend defeated Goliath, love of Israel.
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Love of God. So that's what gave him the
23:03
courage to overcome that fear because I'm sure it's fear came
23:08
to him, but He overcooked, he came in through, love Jesus
23:13
Christ, did everything. He did even dying across
23:16
suffering, something that that, I mean to carry and to Bear.
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Everybody say, I mean, if that's not courage, I'd, there's
23:27
nothing more or no, greater example, of Courage, of being
23:32
such a man than that, but he did it out of love.
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You know? So now I have that Revelation
23:42
and and and and now the what I try to do and I thank God for
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is, yes, I want my, I want to be like David.
23:50
I want to be a man after God's Own Heart, but I want to do
23:55
everything I do out of love and that's something that I got.
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Has given me the blessing to to live that way to carry those
24:04
those fruits to people. So when people see me, Me and I
24:08
thank God. You see me with tattoos?
24:10
They see me with this is kind of different.
24:11
You're not your normal pressure, but there's something about you.
24:15
There's something like, you know, the world especially at
24:18
work. I work in the production field
24:20
now and, and they see me, and I'm like, okay, I'm doing this
24:24
doing that. And it's like Sam.
24:26
You always have a smile. She'll how can you be?
24:29
So, at ease, when all hell is breaking loose.
24:33
And it's, and it's and I love that and I tell my guys on time
24:37
like, I have peace at the end of the day, you know, I have love
24:42
for you guys. Like I just I just carry myself
24:46
different, you know? And I've allowed God to take
24:49
over my heart and I take heart, but when you start out, because
24:53
in the Bible also said, God is love.
24:55
So if you really have God, you have loved.
24:58
So if you walk in love, everything else comes through.
25:01
So ever, I'm gonna have the courage.
25:03
I'm gonna have the piece, I'm gonna have a joy.
25:06
I'm gonna have the wisdom I'm gonna get 0 so it gives me those
25:10
a character of a true man you know and in everything I do if I
25:17
do it out of love I mean there's it's unbreakable.
25:21
So it makes me actually stronger with giving out of Courage,
25:25
giving you the strength and that's what I was kind of
25:28
hinting at in the beginning because when I first met you,
25:31
you had, you know, you had a glow in a presence to you like I
25:34
didn't even see the tattoos, I didn't see like it.
25:37
Just like y'all there's something different about this
25:39
cover because I knew there was something different about me.
25:41
And I knew the way that people were treating me in the Box,
25:44
they were putting me in because, hey, man, I'm kind of a big
25:46
dude. I got tattoos, you know, I shave
25:48
my head. I got a beard, I got scars on my
25:50
face. So people look at me and they're
25:52
like this guy. So when I see other people but
25:55
really the glow, the glow. Yeah.
25:58
And how love actually like when I started saying in the
26:02
beginning, when people get this idea of like the, the church,
26:07
Church. Most of the time.
26:08
People think about the building. I think about the people.
26:14
And you got people in the building that belonged to the
26:19
church that are that are judging people based upon what they look
26:22
like on the outward appearance. We know the scripture says, God
26:24
sees the heart, not the outward appearance as men and that's why
26:28
I think we're going to see a generation of people.
26:30
Start to rise up that are going to have big muscles or they got
26:34
tattoos. Or maybe they had some
26:35
piercings, you know what, maybe they got some really bad scars,
26:39
or maybe they have some touch, they've been disfigured by some
26:42
way, and Your people in about our wow, this person looks like
26:45
this, but we got to look beyond that.
26:47
We got to look at the heart and then, observe, right?
26:51
Because if you look at the fabric to someone whose life
26:52
you're going to start to find out.
26:54
Yeah this is a room. This is a room, this is somebody
26:57
I want to connect and this is why I wanted you on the show
27:00
because you talking about what needs to be heard.
27:03
There's people out there, there's going to be soldiers out
27:05
there, listen to this issue. Be secular people who have a
27:07
family member who been through War who maybe never looked at
27:10
them like they deserved and any just head nod and Silent prayer
27:15
of yo, I see you, I see you. Yeah.
27:19
And you love brings about courage.
27:23
Yeah, instead of this love, as in this man be pamby, soft
27:30
version of love that people think Christianity belongs to
27:33
but it takes a lot more love to go into enemy territory.
27:36
Recognize and change the way that you think about who you
27:39
thought was the enemy and see them as people who need love
27:44
right man. This see I got goose bumps right
27:46
now because for me, I'm just thankful.
27:50
I'm just thankful to be able to share your story to hear this.
27:53
Story and for other people to have the opportunity here.
27:57
Because love like you said saying if we don't have it
28:01
nothing else matters. And it can look message icons
28:04
that can look messy. I believe in process transfer
28:07
like slow and long transformation.
28:09
I don't think everybody's a apostle Paul.
28:12
Wherever you know, it's like they're trying to kill you and
28:15
then they're loving you in a way that we don't even understand.
28:17
But some people are called to that.
28:20
Some people yeah called yeah. Yeah.
28:23
I mean you know the thing that's the thing and Society, you know
28:31
like you were saying about you know, the manhood and all that
28:34
sadness just you know the reality of it is just the
28:38
hardest thing to do is the right thing.
28:41
It's easy to follow a trend. It's easy to just do.
28:47
Okay, just fall into what everybody else is doing but to
28:49
stand out especially for something that's right that
28:53
takes heart and and again it all falls back into love and I know
28:58
we keep on. It's weird how everything just
29:01
kind of shifted to this but it's the reality and this is what the
29:07
world is going through, and what we're seeing where, you know,
29:10
they're taking the Love out of everything else and everything
29:13
is being driven by emotions by feelings but it's being driven
29:18
by hatred. Most of it.
29:20
You know what's going on with the politics was what's going on
29:23
with all these Trends and everything is so Guided by
29:28
hatred. And, you know, we have to we
29:32
have to set the difference of and and bring again, love to the
29:37
equation. And that's why I kind of like
29:39
the church has kind of fallen out.
29:41
A out because we're kind of so focused on Doctrine.
29:45
We're so focused on. Okay.
29:47
The appearance we're focused on what we think it should look
29:52
like. When God is saying, hey, none of
29:55
that really matters. If you don't have love who
29:58
crucified Jesus. Can we forget about that?
30:02
We were thinking about, it didn't know.
30:04
It was the fastest and who were the Pharisees religious people.
30:08
These people were thinking they were doing God's work.
30:11
They're the ones that crucified the Messiah and they and they
30:15
had the word, they had the word the prophecies were given.
30:19
That's that's who he was supposed to any.
30:21
The word was already out there and he was performing these
30:25
miracles for them to see. They saw it happened but it
30:29
wasn't what they portrayed in their minds, so they didn't
30:33
everything that they did. They thought they were doing it,
30:36
right? Well, we're serving God we're
30:38
you know, we're we're we're In the Sabbath, you know, we're
30:43
honoring that day where, you know, so, and they forgot where
30:47
was the love throughout it all. So that's what Jesus
30:52
revolutionized, the church, and our beliefs, because in the Old
30:57
Testament, it was by sacrifice. Now Jesus said, wait a minute
31:02
now is through Grace and love C heat.
31:06
That's why he took our sins out of it and he paid for it.
31:09
He paid for it all. So, now, it's no longer you have
31:12
to sacrifice this, you, it's not by actions anymore, you're
31:17
already saved by grace. That's our decision.
31:19
We got to be saved. If we want to do, we have the
31:22
love to do it? That's what makes the
31:25
difference. That's what's going to dusted
31:27
the reality of Salvation. We believe in God.
31:31
I believe in Jesus Christ. He is my Lord and Savior.
31:35
Am I gonna love him? Am I gonna honor that if you
31:40
honor again, that one commandment love thy neighbor as
31:43
thyself? I'm never gonna want to kill
31:45
you. If I love you, I'm not gonna
31:46
want to steal from you, if I love you, you know what I mean?
31:49
I'm never gonna have fun false Idols because my love is God, If
31:54
I have love I have God. So I won't have any false Idols.
31:57
I won't if you look at all the you're gonna follow it because
32:01
you already have loved, that's just that's brought out of you.
32:04
So if you really look deep in the word and really look deep
32:07
and what got like, what did God do with the Fig Tree?
32:11
But Jesus passed by the victory. Didn't bear fruit.
32:13
What did he do killed? It was gone.
32:15
It was it was it was useless. How do we bear fruit?
32:20
It's not, it's not so much again.
32:22
We go back to the Corinthians Well, these gifts in this and
32:25
that it doesn't matter if you don't have love is the fruit.
32:29
You know what I mean? He is divine.
32:31
What is it? What is God, got it, it's love.
32:34
So how we're going to reach the people?
32:36
How am I going to go? Or like I said, I was a soldier
32:39
out there and I could just have this mindset of doing what I had
32:42
to do and not have any impact, but how am I going to impact the
32:45
world and bring something different?
32:47
I'm gonna love them and sometimes just the hardest thing
32:50
to do. That's why you have to have
32:51
heart. That's why you have to be.
32:53
Courageous, maybe the world has not received that way because
32:55
you're gonna go against the world.
32:58
But that makes you more of a man than anybody else.
33:03
And even though the world may cast you out, and they did it to
33:07
Jesus and he was the son of God. He performed the Miracles for
33:12
everybody to see, where were the five thousand when he was
33:15
crucified. Wow.
33:18
Where were all the people that he saved and he healed and
33:21
perform all these Miracles where were they?
33:24
When he was getting crucified. Hmm.
33:27
He would Hidden. Where were his disciples?
33:32
You know. He had a he, you know, so you
33:36
tell me that was he was the most courageous man but he had to do
33:42
it by yourself and that's where people, that's where we have to
33:46
another decision. We have to make out of love if
33:49
we love God. For real, are we are able to
33:54
just like the Bible says, I rather be judged by the world,
33:58
then be judged by God. You understand?
34:00
So if you're going to have that love you, Have to understand,
34:04
there's going to be times you going to stand alone and just
34:07
that was out there. And where there were times where
34:09
I felt absolutely alone that I don't have my family, I don't
34:13
have not really my friends. I have my brothers and sisters
34:16
as soldiers. Yes.
34:17
But my mind says completely different from theirs, so Really
34:23
where the kuragin and again it's that's what makes you.
34:29
That's that's what's gonna I think makes you a true man makes
34:33
you to have two character and courage is that, you know, you
34:38
have to understand, you're gonna there's times, you're going to
34:40
stand alone, there's times, where you just gonna you know,
34:44
if you want to be successful in that aspect, That's something
34:49
you're gonna have to face, you know, Jesus did and and yeah so
34:54
that's something that that has molded me.
34:59
I had to go through that desert. You know.
35:03
It's just like planning to see you know God had to when you
35:08
plant a seed, is you go into dirt?
35:12
You know, you're isolated, you're in the darkness, you know
35:16
what I mean, you have to go through that kind of like
35:18
Process to Spring out and to become what, what, what that c
35:23
was made to become but it's during that process again and it
35:29
all again it all goes back to love it all goes back to to
35:33
making you know, that that real decision of being different and
35:41
and kind of like isolating yourself to become what God
35:45
wants you to become. so, again, when I went to Iraq and I was
35:53
hit with that culture shock, Right then and there I made a
35:57
decision and looked around me and I was like, I don't want to
36:00
just be another Soldier, I don't want to just come out here and
36:02
just say, oh I did this, I did that, and whatever, and go home
36:05
and kind of be, I don't want to take anybody's life, I don't,
36:10
this is not, you know, maybe it my ignorant mindset II, kind of
36:15
like signed up for that. Well, I want to, you know, fight
36:18
more time on this. And that, you know, now it's
36:21
like I want to make a difference, man.
36:25
You know what I mean? I, you know, now that I see it,
36:28
how blessed I really, I really am the opportunities that God
36:32
has given me the mercy that he had, he has had for me, you
36:36
know, I want to make a difference but I don't want to
36:39
just be another Soldier. So that carrying too much
36:42
civilian, life is the same thing, you know, I just don't
36:44
want to be another man out there and just kind of Follow that,
36:48
whatever. Even in the church, I just don't
36:50
want to be another member You know, I just don't want to be
36:53
another person, I believe in God and and I have his
36:56
righteousness. Know I, I want to be more now.
37:00
I've seen it, God has revealed that to me and I want to make
37:04
that decision and how I'm going to do it.
37:06
I want to love people and now I bring that word out to my
37:10
employees to go to wherever I go and I've heard that and he's
37:14
crazy how how people have come to me.
37:16
And they're like, you know, just Prophet came to me several weeks
37:20
ago. She was like, I just I see Jesus
37:22
Through you and I started crying.
37:26
I was like, that is the best compliment and she was at,
37:30
there's just, it's something different and it's not that I'm
37:33
special, is because I'm a whole lot of nothing.
37:37
It's just how I have allowed God really in my heart, and I carry
37:42
out that love. So that's what makes me kind of
37:46
a bit different than a lot of other people, is that I live
37:49
through it. So everything I do.
37:52
Do or I try to do not that. I'm perfect far from it, but
37:57
everything that I try to do, I try to do it out of love and
38:00
when I pray to God, I tell God I just want your will to be done
38:04
wherever you want me to go. I want to go if somebody needs
38:07
help. I if I'm blessed to bless them.
38:09
Amen. But everything I do I want to do
38:11
it alone because just like you said and I love that you brought
38:14
up David because that's he's probably one of my favorites
38:18
because David done some Grime stuff.
38:22
Sing but got that. David was a man after God's Own
38:27
Heart man. That's powerful because love
38:31
covers a multitude of sins. So when you hear about David
38:36
Mann, you don't hear about his faults.
38:38
You hear about what God did through it, you know?
38:41
And and that's what I want to be.
38:43
I just and I tell people the same thing, there's nothing
38:46
special about me man. There really is, and I don't
38:49
want anybody to see that at all. I don't want any Buddy to be
38:52
like old, same old. No.
38:54
I want people to be like that, look at what God did to say, you
38:58
know what I mean? That's why I'm.
38:59
So I was so blown away when that Prophet came to me and said, I
39:04
see Jesus Through you, that's what I want people to see,
39:06
because it's not about me, you know what I mean?
39:09
Just again, when I went out to Iraq, and and I seen this
39:12
culture shy and I'm like, it's not about me.
39:15
It really is it. I don't matter, you know what I
39:18
mean? It's, you know, there's so much
39:20
more so I want people again. I want people to see God for who
39:27
he really is. I want to carry the word not to
39:30
just carry it and to fail to feel like I'm fulfilling my
39:35
purpose or whatever I want people to see how loving God
39:40
really is, and how accepting he is.
39:43
And how, you know, he could take anybody, somebody like me, I was
39:48
just sinner. I, you know, I was lustful.
39:52
I I mean, I didn't think anything of myself.
39:55
I had anxiety, low, self-esteem, depression.
40:00
And I sometimes still battle with at times, I look at myself.
40:04
I'm like, I'm not even worthy, you know, who, who am I?
40:09
You know, but it's so awesome that when you give your heart to
40:14
God for real, like when you get to know God, for who he really
40:18
is, I'm telling you, and you have that love.
40:22
You gotta love yourself. You know, but and there's no
40:26
room for Pride. See, that's, that's the
40:29
difference people. People confuse like that Pride
40:32
for you. Love yourself because you have
40:33
to look at. Not at all you love, you love
40:36
yourself and knowing what you are in God, your value comes to
40:39
God. So you see again other people
40:42
that's why, you know, like Samuel said, well God revealed
40:47
to Samuel when he told him, you know, he he seeks the heart, he
40:51
sees the heart, he doesn't see it, that outward appearance.
40:53
I was before he actually Actually went to foil on David
40:58
and he showed him that and it's funny because his father didn't
41:01
even baby was out there with the she he didn't even that was the
41:05
last person they thought that was gonna be king, you know.
41:09
David you sure like you know, and that's how God operates Lana
41:14
is. It doesn't matter where you come
41:17
from, it doesn't matter what you've been through, it doesn't
41:20
matter, you know, what culture that none of that matters, all
41:24
that Matters is your heart. My God if you if you just open
41:29
your heart and you allow God in, I'm telling you he loves you
41:33
just as you are and sometimes that's another thing that the
41:37
kind of the church we kind of get it confused as like oh well
41:42
I have to I have to, you know, do this and I have to be a part
41:46
to come to Christ. No man you come to Christ.
41:50
Just as you are. You going through addiction?
41:54
That's what. I need to go to God even more
41:57
because God says, Hey cast all your burdens on me.
42:01
He's willing to carry it for you, but that's a decision.
42:04
You have to make you understand. That's the love God has for you.
42:09
You have sinned or what he died for you.
42:12
He died for those. He paid the cost it's already
42:15
paid for. See, that's what the cross
42:17
means. You know, still you go and give
42:21
it to God because it's already paid for so salvation.
42:26
That's why it's we're saved by grace.
42:30
Well saved by what we could do. What could I give God?
42:33
You know what I mean? We're just saved by grace is
42:35
already paid for just love and when you have that and you have
42:39
that Revelation, it changes your life.
42:43
So now it doesn't matter what's going on around me, it doesn't
42:47
matter what wars What hatred or this and that is going around
42:52
me, you know what I'm saying? It's much more than that.
42:55
So now I have love. I have got, I have peace.
42:58
I have joy in the midst of the storm, God through.
43:02
I mean, I've gone through hell and back.
43:04
I, you know, and, and it's like, there's nothing that can
43:10
separate me from the love of God.
43:14
And I tell you one thing and now I could say so firmly that I
43:19
don't care what I go through. I don't care what this world
43:22
does. To me, I will still love and I
43:26
was still off my God and I was still of everybody on this
43:30
Earth. You know, I had that Revelation.
43:33
Yes. You know, we have emotions, we
43:35
get angry, we get annoyed but that's never gonna stop me from
43:40
loving, you know, it's just like a child, your Father, you know,
43:44
sometimes the child's pain in the butt, sometimes you have to
43:47
discipline, but does that mean you stop loving them?
43:51
So, this world could do it at once.
43:54
It can hate me, it can cast me out, but it doesn't mean I'm
43:58
gonna stop loving you. So that's, I think where we all
44:02
have to carry yourselves and live by.
44:04
Let's all live by love. You know.
44:06
That's your decision following, if you don't want to follow him,
44:10
don't follow him. If you want to take my word for
44:12
it, take it if you don't, you don't.
44:14
But you know what? I'm gonna love you anyway,
44:15
because God died for you, just like he did to me.
44:18
Jesus went on that cross for you just as much.
44:21
So much for me and God loves you just as much as he loves me,
44:25
even though you don't accept them even though you might not
44:28
believe in him, that's that's a decision you're going to have to
44:31
make but I'm gonna love you anyway and I think that's how
44:34
we're going to get revived them. And I think how we're going to
44:37
see the power of the Holy Spirit.
44:39
And I think that's why I like you said before, there are men
44:41
and women that are waking up to this Revelation that it's we're
44:45
living through up. You want to hate hate, all you
44:48
want. I'm still gonna love you.
44:49
There's power to do that because through love.
44:51
Of, that's God. So if you have love, you have
44:54
God and what more than that. So God is for me who, against
44:59
Lee's right? So nobody's going to break that.
45:02
Love enough entertainment were over entertained.
45:06
People need to be edified with. This is a real man who's been
45:11
through a lot in his life, is shining bright.
45:15
He's not hiding it under the table.
45:19
Who would light a light and put it under a table?
45:21
You put that thing on the hillside.
45:23
So everybody can see it. And then when you have the
45:26
opportunity you give God the glory and that's where we need
45:30
to see men and women doing tonight.
45:32
You guys, I'm a defied by listening to same story.
45:35
There's going to be a part 2. We're going to do a part 2 later
45:38
on this year. We're going to dive back in and
45:41
really just punch the devil in the face with the one thing that
45:44
he can't stand. And that's the Revival of love
45:47
coming back because systematically the enemy has
45:50
tried to desensitize Us in every way to over entertain us in.
45:54
Every way to get, Us distracted and separated six feet
45:58
everybody. We've seen that the last couple
46:00
years, right? Turns and Grain in our minds
46:03
distance because He knows that God is love and those who
46:10
worship God must Worship in spirit and in truth and what are
46:14
the fruits of the spirit love joy and peace patience.
46:19
Kindness goodness gentleness self-control.
46:26
All the things that we really do desire, I know some listeners
46:29
out there. You guys may have been
46:31
traumatized when you were kids. You may have been abused as a
46:34
kid. You guys may have been to war,
46:36
you guys really? You just might have had a simple
46:38
life but dealt with anxiety and been chewed away in your own
46:42
mind as to, I don't know who I'm supposed to be or what I'm
46:45
supposed to do, I feel like I'm walking on eggshells, it doesn't
46:47
matter what you've been through, what Sam is sharing with us.
46:50
Tonight is his heart. And God wants your heart, your
46:55
heart is real estate, that God is more than interested in, he
46:59
left a kingdom and live perfectly and gave himself.
47:08
So he could have a communion with us so he can pave the way
47:12
for Sinners to be made right through the price that he paid.
47:17
Another thing that you said, that's very important that the
47:20
enemy how the enemy attacks is with distractions because the
47:26
one thing that enemy attacks is the mind, you know, there's
47:29
nothing really else he could really do, he's going to he's
47:32
going to go for your mind. So when we talk about anxiety
47:36
that we talked about pressure, if you, if you really want to
47:40
dissect it and if you really want to focus on that depression
47:44
and anxiety, come from the past, Never really from the future,
47:49
you know what I mean? The devil's always going to
47:51
bring something from your passion view.
47:53
If you got through traumatic experiences or you feel a low
47:57
self-esteem, you feel, you know, you feel you're not worthy.
48:01
It's normally something from your past, so just remember that
48:05
God has a bright future. That's why we have to walk in
48:08
faith because we haven't seen it yet but we know what's coming.
48:12
And it's just like now that that will is, is out there.
48:15
He's, I mean, it's plain to to see because he knows what's
48:20
further down the line for him at the end of the day, whatever
48:24
he's trying to do, and we may think, oh well, you know, the
48:27
devil has the upper hand, all he does is because at the end of
48:30
the day, we have the word, which is the truth and we know that
48:33
Jesus is coming again and we know that he has the victory.
48:37
That's it. We went no matter what happens.
48:41
We went. Don't focus on your past, don't?
48:45
Yes, the the trauma. It happened and it's sad.
48:48
And sometimes we think that it's not, it's not fair.
48:53
Give your burdens and cast your burdens on christ-like.
48:58
Give give all those exciting as the depression.
49:01
And I know that that takes heart, it's not easy, it's a
49:04
process, you know. And sometimes people don't
49:07
understand that people may think that since they didn't go
49:10
through that trauma or well depression is just it's a real
49:14
thing. Okay?
49:15
It's a real thing. The give it to God.
49:20
If you're a person that has gone through war and there's a lot of
49:24
veterans that commit suicide on a daily basis and that's
49:27
something that's really attacked.
49:28
Our veterans. I'm telling you, you are you are
49:32
more than what you think, okay? You are very you are valuable.
49:37
Okay, you matter. Okay, you're in this world for a
49:42
reason, for a greater purpose. Don't allow your past to dictate
49:47
your present and your future, you Stand.
49:50
I'm a person right now. Yeah, I've I've had this great
49:54
experience and we talked about all the greatness and what God
49:57
has done. But I'm a person that I suffer
49:59
from depression. I was in, I was in addiction, I
50:02
was homeless, okay? And and my parents passed away,
50:07
I didn't have who to turn to, you know, I mean, I know what it
50:10
is to be, took to go through all of that and it's not that I'm a
50:14
superhero and I have, oh my God, this just strength know if it
50:18
weren't for God, I wouldn't be standing here.
50:20
Because I know what it is to have a 9 millimeter Beretta
50:23
locked and loaded and ready to blow my brains out because I
50:26
just couldn't stand it. But God, I cast it to God and I
50:33
made that prayer and I told god, listen, you know, I cannot
50:36
handle this. It's and that's why Paul says
50:40
that he boast in his weakness. That's crazy.
50:44
When you think about why? Because it's through God's
50:48
strength. So again, when you love God, and
50:52
when you decide to give your heart to God, all your
50:56
weaknesses are because I'm going to become your Strength because
50:59
it's not by your strength is by his, you understand.
51:03
So receive that Revelation and receive that truth, the enemy
51:09
may come and and say this and bring you down and try to
51:13
disrupt what and distracting from what God has planned for
51:17
you, but if you really look into it, he's just bringing your past
51:20
remind him of his future. Read the word.
51:25
Okay? Double, yeah.
51:26
That was my life. Oh yeah.
51:27
I wasn't addiction, look where I am now.
51:31
Look at what God has done. You know what I mean?
51:34
So allow God to mold you okay? Go to The Potter's House and
51:39
allow God to to make a vessel out of you, but not just a
51:44
vessel because an empty vessel is not, doesn't really have
51:49
value. Fill yourself up with the Holy
51:51
Spirit, fill yourself up with love and hope and peace.
51:55
And I'm telling you you're gonna, God is going to bless you
51:58
in abundance that you're gonna pour out.
52:01
That to other lives and you're going to see the True Value that
52:03
you have. Because me what would I have
52:06
thought when I was homeless? And I was in addiction and I'm
52:09
this like I am worthless and now I have the great opportunity to
52:14
be standing right here in front of you, speaking about my
52:17
testimony how good God has been and you know, to be able to be
52:23
an example and a living testimony.
52:26
You know, what would I have thought, you know, what would I
52:28
have thought into being and having the job?
52:31
That I have and you know and to be able to overcome all these
52:35
things, you know what I mean? But that again, it's all about
52:40
making that decision, you know, and it's a process, you know,
52:43
sometimes people can make that type of decisions and their
52:47
life, turns around from one day to the other.
52:49
Sometimes it's a long process, but there's a reason and there's
52:54
a purpose to it. So fulfill that and know your
52:59
value, love yourself. Okay.
53:01
Love your neighbor and and just allow God, to take all those
53:08
hurts, those paints and allow him to convert that into
53:12
something good. Because there's a purpose behind
53:15
it. I'm telling you, you know, just
53:17
like I said, about planting to see we go through Darkness.
53:20
We go through a hard process. But what if he comes out of it,
53:24
you know what I mean? But it depends on you to make
53:26
that decision to be consistent. Be loving bear.
53:30
Those And I'm telling you, you're going to be a blessing
53:33
and everybody has that opportunity because I'm nobody
53:36
special, trust me. So my word to everyone love God,
53:42
you know, God loves you. Just as you are, it doesn't
53:45
matter what you may think, or what you being, you know, you if
53:50
you're an addiction, if you're in, whatever it is, jesus
53:55
carried it on the cross for your sins, have been paid for.
54:01
Okay. You have to make the choice to
54:04
love him. Zoom.
54:07
It was an honor to have this discussion with you.
54:10
Thank you right? Let's keep shining that light.
54:13
Put that thing up on a hill because as the world grows dark,
54:18
we know the answer is love. Coming to you from Southeastern
54:23
Pennsylvania. God Bless America.
54:25
God bless you, goodbye.