1 00:00:02,580 --> 00:00:09,040 - Well, good morning. 2 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:10,200 Good chilly morning. 3 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:13,280 It's good to be in the house 4 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:14,880 and for joining us on live stream. 5 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:16,980 I'm so glad you're joining us today 6 00:00:16,980 --> 00:00:19,440 and I'm glad that we have the means to connect 7 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:21,500 through live stream when we're out of town 8 00:00:21,500 --> 00:00:23,200 and I know some people are traveling, 9 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:24,580 so we're glad for that. 10 00:00:24,580 --> 00:00:26,840 As you guys come and give, 11 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:29,560 I just wanna make a couple of announcements this morning. 12 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:33,480 First of all, Wednesday is Christmas Day. 13 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:35,640 It is here, yeah. 14 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:39,880 And man, I'm so excited to celebrate the Lord 15 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:41,300 with you on Wednesday. 16 00:00:41,300 --> 00:00:44,640 Would you please make a plan to come and be with us 17 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,440 on Wednesday at 11 a.m., 11 to 12? 18 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,800 I promise we will get you out of here at 12 or before 19 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:53,440 'cause I know that you have family plans, 20 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:55,600 but I'll tell you there's nothing better 21 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:58,120 than coming and worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ 22 00:00:58,120 --> 00:00:59,360 on Christmas Day. 23 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:03,520 So come and be a part of that very special gathering. 24 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:04,680 We are excited. 25 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:08,120 We are excited about what the Lord is going to do. 26 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,000 Following Christmas Day, we've got a group 27 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,880 who's going to Mexico on a mission trip 28 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:14,380 and so if you're a part of that group 29 00:01:14,380 --> 00:01:15,840 in any shape, form, or fashion, 30 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:16,720 would you guys come up here? 31 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,760 We wanna pray a blessing over you guys 32 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:21,660 as you travel and go. 33 00:01:21,660 --> 00:01:26,960 If you guys just wanna come right up here. 34 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:30,160 And this is the, is this 30? 35 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:35,160 30th trip, 30th year, 30th year, multiple trips 36 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:39,820 to Brother Ray and so just so grateful for you guys 37 00:01:39,820 --> 00:01:44,320 going to Mexico and putting your hands to work to help them. 38 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:47,320 Would you guys stand and stretch your hand over this group? 39 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:52,600 Father, I thank you for your goodness and mercy 40 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:54,720 in our lives and I thank you, Lord, 41 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:59,280 for the capable, enabled hands that will go into the field 42 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,920 this coming week, Lord, and will do your work. 43 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:03,560 I ask, Lord, that you would give 44 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:05,560 each of these traveling mercies. 45 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,020 I pray, Lord, that you would speak clearly 46 00:02:08,020 --> 00:02:10,600 to their hearts, God, and my experience, God, 47 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,080 has been that when I go on a mission trip, 48 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,000 though my aim is to be your hands and feet, 49 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,840 that boy, you do a huge, you place a huge deposit in me 50 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:21,720 and so I'm asking, Lord, that you would place 51 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:24,160 a deposit in each one of these as they pour out, 52 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:26,280 that you would pour in and, Lord, 53 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:28,660 that they truly will be changed, Lord, 54 00:02:28,660 --> 00:02:30,480 as they go and they come. 55 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:32,960 Father, we thank you, Lord, for what you're gonna do 56 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,960 in advance, may there be some eternal repercussions, 57 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,640 wonderful eternal repercussions by what these guys 58 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:42,740 are going to say and do in the next week. 59 00:02:42,740 --> 00:02:44,340 We love you today, in Jesus' name, 60 00:02:44,340 --> 00:02:45,880 and everybody said amen. 61 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:47,720 Would you guys commit to pray for them 62 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,440 over the next week as they go and we'll get a good report, 63 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,480 I believe when they come back, it will be great. 64 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:58,720 Well, we are, we're in the third week 65 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:03,640 of a three-part series entitled God with Us, 66 00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:07,240 and we have spent the entire year talking 67 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,400 about the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit really 68 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:11,720 has been at work, He truly has been, 69 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:14,120 and you're going to get a taste of that today, 70 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:16,520 and guys, when we lean in and we tune in 71 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:18,440 and we listen to the Holy Spirit, 72 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:20,780 you just can't explain extraordinary things 73 00:03:20,780 --> 00:03:22,040 in the way that they happen. 74 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:25,000 This morning, Pastor Justin is gonna close out our series. 75 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:26,680 Would you welcome Pastor Justin? 76 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:30,280 (congregation applauding) 77 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:31,120 - Morning. 78 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:34,940 You didn't know this was gonna be your Christmas gift, 79 00:03:34,940 --> 00:03:37,160 was me all month, did it? 80 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,520 Well, Merry Christmas, here it is. 81 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,480 Before we get started, I got something I wanna share 82 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:43,680 with you guys. 83 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:47,860 Pastor Kevin mentioned that on January the 12th, 2025, 84 00:03:47,860 --> 00:03:51,260 we're going to be having our vision casting service. 85 00:03:51,260 --> 00:03:53,800 Now, I have the distinct honor and privilege 86 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,300 of shepherding the men's ministry here at Springhouse, 87 00:03:57,300 --> 00:04:00,500 and we just closed out our Pursuit AIM meetings 88 00:04:00,500 --> 00:04:03,160 with a chili cook-off and crowned a winner 89 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,640 of the golden spoon, and it has been brought 90 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:08,320 to my attention, there may or may not have been entries 91 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:12,360 submitted that were crafted by the wives of the men 92 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:16,880 who has submitted their offerings. 93 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,780 And I don't think that you should not get the credit 94 00:04:20,780 --> 00:04:23,820 you deserve for bringing the chili, 95 00:04:23,820 --> 00:04:26,640 and so what we've decided to do is we're going to level 96 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:29,300 the playing field and we're gonna accept all entries 97 00:04:29,300 --> 00:04:33,860 and crown a new church-wide chili champ in 2025. 98 00:04:33,860 --> 00:04:37,000 And so you guys can, you can battle it out in the kitchen 99 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,520 or you can do it however you wanna do it, 100 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:42,980 but it's a QR code and it's also up on our registrations 101 00:04:42,980 --> 00:04:43,820 in the church app. 102 00:04:43,820 --> 00:04:45,380 If you would like to enter your chili 103 00:04:45,380 --> 00:04:47,500 into the chili cook-off, there would be a prize, 104 00:04:47,500 --> 00:04:50,500 I don't know what it is yet, but, and a trophy, 105 00:04:50,500 --> 00:04:51,940 and I don't even know what that looks like yet, 106 00:04:51,940 --> 00:04:55,740 but I will crown a chili champ in 2025, 107 00:04:55,740 --> 00:04:57,780 and it may or may not be the wife of somebody 108 00:04:57,780 --> 00:05:00,740 who submitted something for our Pursuit Men's Ministry. 109 00:05:00,740 --> 00:05:02,900 So if you're interested in being a part 110 00:05:02,900 --> 00:05:04,660 of the chili contest, you need to register 111 00:05:04,660 --> 00:05:06,540 so we know how many we're gonna have 112 00:05:06,540 --> 00:05:08,960 and we can supplement and get all the other things. 113 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:10,660 But also, that's gonna be a part 114 00:05:10,660 --> 00:05:12,060 of our vision casting service, 115 00:05:12,060 --> 00:05:15,060 and so you're gonna wanna be here to hear 116 00:05:15,060 --> 00:05:16,480 where the Holy Spirit has plans 117 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,140 for taking each individual ministry 118 00:05:19,140 --> 00:05:21,480 as we collectively move in synergy 119 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:23,580 as part of the body of Christ, right? 120 00:05:23,580 --> 00:05:26,000 Big C Church, little C Church, 121 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,240 we're all moving together in the kingdom, amen? 122 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:30,520 So that's before I get started. 123 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:35,520 Now, this morning's gonna be a little bit different, okay? 124 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:37,940 We have two passages that we're gonna read. 125 00:05:37,940 --> 00:05:39,920 I'm not going to teach from these passages, 126 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,340 but these passages encompass everything 127 00:05:42,340 --> 00:05:44,560 that I'm gonna share in this testimony this morning. 128 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,940 So if you're able, please stand with me 129 00:05:47,940 --> 00:05:50,080 and we're gonna go ahead and read these two passages 130 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,280 of scripture and then I'm gonna share with you, okay? 131 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:55,880 Here we go, this is out of Isaiah chapter 40, 132 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,380 this is verses 28 through 31, 133 00:05:58,380 --> 00:06:00,580 then we're gonna jump over to Revelation 21. 134 00:06:00,580 --> 00:06:01,420 Here we go. 135 00:06:01,420 --> 00:06:05,720 Have you not known, have you not heard, 136 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,540 the Lord is the everlasting God, 137 00:06:08,540 --> 00:06:11,240 the creator of the ends of the earth. 138 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:15,560 He does not faint or grow weary, His understanding 139 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:19,600 is unsearchable, He gives power to the faint, 140 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:24,280 and to Him who has no might, He increases strength. 141 00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:27,500 Even youth shall faint and be weary, 142 00:06:27,500 --> 00:06:30,560 and the young men shall fall exhausted, 143 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:34,760 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. 144 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,100 They shall mount up with wings like eagles, 145 00:06:38,100 --> 00:06:42,300 they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk 146 00:06:42,300 --> 00:06:45,540 and not faint, and Revelation chapter 21. 147 00:06:45,540 --> 00:06:50,700 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, 148 00:06:50,700 --> 00:06:54,720 for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, 149 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:59,260 and the sea was no more, and I saw the holy city, 150 00:06:59,260 --> 00:07:03,540 New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 151 00:07:03,540 --> 00:07:07,100 prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, 152 00:07:07,100 --> 00:07:10,880 and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 153 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:15,500 behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. 154 00:07:15,500 --> 00:07:19,480 He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, 155 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:23,240 and God Himself will be with them as their God. 156 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,640 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, 157 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:31,040 and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, 158 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:35,560 nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things 159 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,640 have passed away, Father, I thank you for your word, 160 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:41,640 and I thank you for the life that it brings. 161 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,900 God, I thank you for the opportunity to share your goodness 162 00:07:45,900 --> 00:07:48,520 and your glory from this platform today. 163 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:50,760 I ask that your anointing would rest on me 164 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:55,080 as I share with your people that our hearts would be open 165 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:57,680 to an encounter with you this morning, 166 00:07:57,680 --> 00:07:59,960 that we would see you clearly, 167 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:02,800 that we would hear you clearly, open hearts, ears, 168 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,100 minds, eyes, to see you in all of your goodness 169 00:08:06,100 --> 00:08:07,720 and splendor. 170 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:09,680 Father, we love you and we thank you. 171 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,680 It's in the powerful name of Christ, I pray, amen and amen. 172 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:13,840 You guys can be seated. 173 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:20,920 This entire series has taken shape and revolved 174 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:23,520 around this idea of waiting. 175 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:27,560 Let's see, Advent season, we're waiting the return, 176 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:32,560 the coming of our Messiah, and the first week that I shared 177 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:37,920 I explained about all of the prophecies concerning Jesus, 178 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:42,880 and the prophecies of his birth, his life, his death, 179 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:47,880 and how because Jesus fulfilled every one of those prophecies 180 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,480 the word can be trusted. 181 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:52,360 God can be trusted. 182 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:54,760 That has to be foundational. 183 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:59,760 That has to be at the very bottom of your theology 184 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,320 is that I can trust God. 185 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:04,560 Because there are going to be things in your walk 186 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:09,080 that you do not understand, or you do not want to do. 187 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:11,520 You may buck and kick and scream, 188 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:13,520 but when you can trust him, 189 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:15,820 then you will have the grace to walk through it, 190 00:09:15,820 --> 00:09:17,740 even if he's pushing you through it, 191 00:09:17,740 --> 00:09:22,220 or dragging you through it, or carrying you through it. 192 00:09:22,220 --> 00:09:25,960 But at the very least, you have to be able to trust God. 193 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:27,560 You have to. 194 00:09:27,560 --> 00:09:30,360 And the prophecies fulfilled in the birth of Christ, 195 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:32,760 his life and his death and resurrection, 196 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:37,160 ascension and his seated at the right hand of God, 197 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,240 ensure that we can trust him in his word. 198 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:44,000 And then last week, I shared about the difference 199 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,040 between waiting with our hands in our pockets, 200 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:51,960 and active waiting, hope becoming expectation. 201 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,560 Hope that transforms into an expectation 202 00:09:55,560 --> 00:09:57,280 that God is who he says he is, 203 00:09:57,280 --> 00:09:59,280 but I believe, I probably shouldn't sing that, 204 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,880 but I look directly at my wife and she's like, stick! 205 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:03,720 Do it. 206 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,680 We're just saying, I believe you are who you say you are, 207 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:09,040 y'all do what you say you do, right? 208 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:14,040 That's an expectation that's predicated on trust. 209 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:15,800 You hear me, okay? 210 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:21,760 Today is taking that, the prophecies, 211 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:27,820 the truth of who God is, in this active waiting season, 212 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:30,760 and how we fix our eyes on the prize, 213 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:32,760 just like the joy that was set before him, 214 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:35,720 and we wait on his return to take us home, 215 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:38,960 and that he will fulfill his promise, amen? 216 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:45,840 Last week, I mentioned about being in trouble, 217 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:49,360 and in need of a pardon, do you remember that? 218 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:52,620 Okay, I got up here and I mentioned that I was in trouble, 219 00:10:52,620 --> 00:10:55,920 and I need a pardon, and I mentioned this being a Hail Mary, 220 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:58,480 and I didn't give you guys any context about anything. 221 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:00,160 I didn't give you any background information, 222 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:02,800 I just hoped you were currently up to date, 223 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:04,660 or you might have heard it through the grapevine, 224 00:11:04,660 --> 00:11:06,880 or you might have went back and Facebook stalked me, 225 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:10,080 but what is this, and you won't find nothing but sports, 226 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:14,200 and cooking, and live videos, and woodworking, 227 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:15,880 you're not gonna find it there. 228 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:17,920 So I need to give you guys a little bit of context 229 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:20,680 so that you can understand the magnitude 230 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:23,960 of what God has done, is doing, and will do in my life, 231 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:28,180 because it impacts the kingdom, it impacts the kingdom. 232 00:11:28,180 --> 00:11:33,180 So, 10 days after I turned 18, 233 00:11:33,180 --> 00:11:39,360 welcome to adulthood buddy, I got in trouble. 234 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:41,960 I actually was in trouble before that, 235 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,560 but I got arrested 10 days after I turned 18, 236 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:50,200 and I received felony charges, and unless you're a felon, 237 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:51,880 you don't know how big of a deal that is, 238 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:53,720 especially when you're an 18 year old kid. 239 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,480 Now I'm not saying that I was not guilty, 240 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:58,980 that's the problem, I was guilty. 241 00:11:58,980 --> 00:12:01,720 I am guilty. 242 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:03,820 I'm here to tell you today, I was not innocent, 243 00:12:03,820 --> 00:12:05,760 my mom used to try to encourage me, she'd be like, 244 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:07,600 "Baby, Paul was in prison too." 245 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:09,920 I was like, "Mom, Paul wasn't selling weed." 246 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:12,920 (audience laughing) 247 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:18,520 I understand what you're trying to do mom, I get it, 248 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,600 but that's not the same, Paul was preaching the gospel, 249 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:24,920 and he got beat up and drug out of town, right? 250 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:26,840 I'm trying to hear the gospel, now that I'm in here, 251 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:28,280 everybody go to jail and get saved. 252 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:30,140 You know you could have done that at home, 253 00:12:30,140 --> 00:12:31,240 anybody that goes to jail, they're like, 254 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:33,580 "I got my GED and I'm lifting weights now." 255 00:12:33,580 --> 00:12:37,080 There's a Planet Fitness 10 minutes from here, okay? 256 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,680 You ain't gotta go to jail to do that, I'm glad you did, 257 00:12:40,680 --> 00:12:43,040 but you can do that here. 258 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:49,980 There are certain things that happen when you are a felon, 259 00:12:49,980 --> 00:12:52,240 and if you've ever filled out an application 260 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:55,580 that when you get so far down on that job application 261 00:12:55,580 --> 00:12:59,500 or any kind of, an application for anything, 262 00:12:59,500 --> 00:13:02,360 there's always that one little box that says, 263 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,880 have you been convicted of a felony, right? 264 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,520 And most of you check, no I've not, and then you move on. 265 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:11,160 But for those of us that check yes, 266 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:15,680 they put a whole section below that and says, 267 00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:17,340 well tell us all about it. 268 00:13:17,340 --> 00:13:21,200 And I'm like, I don't know that Papa John's needs to know 269 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:24,360 about, you don't need to know about my, 270 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:26,160 I ain't gotta explain myself to you, 271 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:28,520 I just won't work here, right? 272 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,420 You have to do that, there are certain things 273 00:13:30,420 --> 00:13:34,240 that they take away, they take away your right to vote. 274 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:36,480 Okay, when you're a felon, they take away your right 275 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,560 to vote, they take away your right to own a firearm, 276 00:13:40,560 --> 00:13:43,600 they take away your right to travel, they restrict travel, 277 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:46,720 you can't get a passport, and depending on where you live, 278 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:50,440 like I live in Smyrna, there's a city ordinance that says, 279 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:52,460 you can't coach little league. 280 00:13:52,460 --> 00:13:56,140 You say, oh my, I'm guilty. 281 00:13:56,140 --> 00:13:59,760 And the problem is, you don't often understand 282 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:04,760 how far and how long the consequences will last. 283 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,260 My sin took me further than I wanted to go, 284 00:14:08,260 --> 00:14:10,800 kept me longer than I wanted to stay, 285 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:13,200 and cost me more than I was willing to pay. 286 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:16,800 But that's what happens. 287 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,220 So the crazy thing about not being able to coach 288 00:14:22,220 --> 00:14:25,240 little league in Smyrna is I'm a foster parent. 289 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:29,480 I can raise your kids, but I cannot coach them. 290 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,760 Do you hear what I'm saying? 291 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:35,680 Like, you could go to jail, and I can't 292 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:37,480 be singing kids to me. 293 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:39,120 I won't. 294 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:42,960 I'm full, there's no vacancy, there's no room for Jesus. 295 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:45,520 There is no room in the end, don't call my phone, 296 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,580 but justice and foster care, absolutely not, we're full. 297 00:14:49,260 --> 00:14:50,540 [audience laughing] 298 00:14:50,540 --> 00:14:52,620 Serious, we do it all the time, breaks my heart. 299 00:14:52,620 --> 00:14:54,580 My wife gets texts all the time, hey, can you take 300 00:14:54,580 --> 00:14:56,220 two, three, five, six, seven, eight more? 301 00:14:56,220 --> 00:14:58,020 No, we're gonna put 'em. 302 00:14:58,020 --> 00:15:02,060 I can't coach 'em in little league. 303 00:15:02,060 --> 00:15:06,680 Sin will cost you. 304 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:12,420 And you don't know, you never know in the moment 305 00:15:12,420 --> 00:15:14,800 what that cost is gonna be. 306 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,740 We always think, oh, it won't be that bad. 307 00:15:17,740 --> 00:15:19,980 The Word says the wages of sin is death, 308 00:15:19,980 --> 00:15:21,960 but because you don't physically die immediately, 309 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:23,340 you think it's not that bad. 310 00:15:23,340 --> 00:15:26,580 I didn't die, did I die? 311 00:15:26,580 --> 00:15:31,820 Not physically, but the Word is true. 312 00:15:31,820 --> 00:15:37,220 So that was 10 days after I turned 18, so I'm 41. 313 00:15:37,220 --> 00:15:40,100 My whole life, this has been my experience, 314 00:15:40,100 --> 00:15:42,580 I have died a civil death. 315 00:15:42,580 --> 00:15:45,380 You don't get to participate, you just get to hang out. 316 00:15:46,340 --> 00:15:47,820 You don't get to participate, you don't get to make 317 00:15:47,820 --> 00:15:50,900 no decisions, you don't have a say in anything, bud. 318 00:15:50,900 --> 00:15:53,260 You just participate, you don't get to be involved 319 00:15:53,260 --> 00:15:55,300 in the world system. 320 00:15:55,300 --> 00:15:58,940 Well, that's fine, I'll just adopt the kingdom system then, 321 00:15:58,940 --> 00:16:02,000 and live over here parallel with you guys. 322 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:06,880 So several years ago, about three years ago, 323 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:10,200 I think it might have been around Christmas, 324 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,220 it was some kind of break because April and Aubrey 325 00:16:12,220 --> 00:16:15,340 don't just have days off like that to just go do something. 326 00:16:16,220 --> 00:16:21,100 April and Aubrey Davis wanted to get with me and Jess, 327 00:16:21,100 --> 00:16:24,180 and we were gonna go to the shooting range in Murfreesboro. 328 00:16:24,180 --> 00:16:26,340 It's a great idea, right? 329 00:16:26,340 --> 00:16:29,220 And we go up there, and we go in the range, 330 00:16:29,220 --> 00:16:31,300 and I don't have anything, I'm just coming in with my hands 331 00:16:31,300 --> 00:16:35,740 in my pocket, and we get there, and of course, 332 00:16:35,740 --> 00:16:38,700 you're filling out the paperwork, and there's that box. 333 00:16:38,700 --> 00:16:42,380 Have you been convicted of a felony? 334 00:16:42,380 --> 00:16:45,440 And so I just clicked yes, I'm not buying a gun, 335 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:47,820 I'm not even shooting the guns, they're shooting the guns. 336 00:16:47,820 --> 00:16:50,900 And the lady comes out, the sheriff was like, 337 00:16:50,900 --> 00:16:53,220 "You can't even be in the building, sir." 338 00:16:53,220 --> 00:16:57,440 And I'm like, "My bad, what do I, hang on, I'll leave." 339 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,980 She said, "You gotta go right now, get out. 340 00:17:00,980 --> 00:17:02,420 "You can't even be in this building, 341 00:17:02,420 --> 00:17:06,820 "you'll get us in trouble for being in here, you." 342 00:17:06,820 --> 00:17:09,680 I was like, "Okay, so I'll go out in the parking lot, 343 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:10,640 "and I'll tell them y'all go ahead 344 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:12,020 "and just stay in there and do your thing." 345 00:17:12,020 --> 00:17:13,180 They was like, "No, we're not gonna leave you 346 00:17:13,180 --> 00:17:15,420 "out here in the parking lot." 347 00:17:15,420 --> 00:17:18,280 So instead, we went and got breakfast, 348 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:22,660 and I had secretly been trying to reach out 349 00:17:22,660 --> 00:17:24,400 to different attorneys about, 350 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,440 well, I know I can't get it expunged, you know, 351 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:31,300 not everything is able to be just expunged off your record. 352 00:17:31,300 --> 00:17:32,740 People's like, "Why don't you go get expunged?" 353 00:17:32,740 --> 00:17:34,540 Well, it's not that simple. 354 00:17:34,540 --> 00:17:37,260 Some things you can't just go and pay $100 355 00:17:37,260 --> 00:17:38,240 and it's over with. 356 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:40,460 Sometimes you can't just do something 357 00:17:40,460 --> 00:17:44,500 and then just expect somebody to be okay with it. 358 00:17:44,500 --> 00:17:47,200 Can't lie to someone and expect the relationship 359 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:48,500 to stay the same. 360 00:17:48,500 --> 00:17:53,200 You can't explode in anger and expect the relationship 361 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:54,460 to stay the same. 362 00:17:54,460 --> 00:17:56,900 You can't go steal from Kohl's and expect it 363 00:17:56,900 --> 00:17:59,020 just to be like, "We'll give it back." 364 00:17:59,020 --> 00:18:01,820 This ain't 1953 anymore. 365 00:18:01,820 --> 00:18:06,300 The shopkeeper, go give the candy bar back, right? 366 00:18:06,300 --> 00:18:07,460 At least that's what I see in movies, 367 00:18:07,460 --> 00:18:09,140 I wasn't around back then, you know? 368 00:18:09,140 --> 00:18:10,540 [audience laughing] 369 00:18:10,540 --> 00:18:14,300 So I had been trying to see if I can call people 370 00:18:14,300 --> 00:18:16,540 and maybe I can get an attorney that will help me 371 00:18:16,540 --> 00:18:18,140 get my rights back. 372 00:18:18,140 --> 00:18:21,640 I just need my rights, my rights. 373 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:25,220 My rights, I want them back. 374 00:18:25,220 --> 00:18:27,860 I want my rights back and I'd call and I'd say, 375 00:18:27,860 --> 00:18:30,500 "We don't do that, call Knoxville." 376 00:18:30,500 --> 00:18:31,340 And I'd call Knoxville. 377 00:18:31,340 --> 00:18:33,460 "We don't do that, call Nashville." 378 00:18:33,460 --> 00:18:36,020 "We don't do that, call Murfreesboro." 379 00:18:36,020 --> 00:18:37,280 "We don't do that, call Memphis." 380 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:38,700 I'm done calling people. 381 00:18:39,420 --> 00:18:41,200 And I just say, "You know what, that's fine. 382 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:42,620 It's not gonna happen. 383 00:18:42,620 --> 00:18:43,780 I'm not calling people. 384 00:18:43,780 --> 00:18:44,740 I'm done with this. 385 00:18:44,740 --> 00:18:46,620 They're not gonna give me my rights back." 386 00:18:46,620 --> 00:18:48,940 And April said, "Why don't you call Lukowitz? 387 00:18:48,940 --> 00:18:50,620 He's an attorney and he does this." 388 00:18:50,620 --> 00:18:53,380 I don't even know Lukowitz like that. 389 00:18:53,380 --> 00:18:55,100 And you don't even know Lukowitz, it's fine. 390 00:18:55,100 --> 00:18:56,820 It's not important. 391 00:18:56,820 --> 00:19:00,100 But I called the guy for some advice 392 00:19:00,100 --> 00:19:01,280 and he does legal stuff. 393 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:03,420 I mentioned this in the first gathering, right? 394 00:19:03,420 --> 00:19:06,060 He does legal stuff, but he's not like 395 00:19:06,060 --> 00:19:07,500 a criminal legal stuff, okay? 396 00:19:07,500 --> 00:19:10,340 So like criminals should never call other criminals 397 00:19:10,340 --> 00:19:11,520 for legal advice. 398 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:16,460 Bottom line, I understand you might've got your law degree. 399 00:19:16,460 --> 00:19:18,260 You've been in prison for 20 years, 400 00:19:18,260 --> 00:19:20,580 but that's a little bit different. 401 00:19:20,580 --> 00:19:23,420 But the problem is we do that all the time. 402 00:19:23,420 --> 00:19:27,700 In the kingdom, we only wanna go to people 403 00:19:27,700 --> 00:19:30,540 who have walked through what I've walked through. 404 00:19:30,540 --> 00:19:32,580 Let me tell you right, Barbie does not have to walk 405 00:19:32,580 --> 00:19:34,140 through drugs and alcohol addiction 406 00:19:34,140 --> 00:19:35,700 to be able to minister to me. 407 00:19:35,700 --> 00:19:38,060 I've gotta stop only trying to reach out to people 408 00:19:38,060 --> 00:19:40,740 who can sympathize with me instead of people 409 00:19:40,740 --> 00:19:44,220 that can empathize because they hear from the Holy Spirit. 410 00:19:44,220 --> 00:19:47,300 Bunch of criminals going to other criminals for advice. 411 00:19:47,300 --> 00:19:49,420 It's what we do. 412 00:19:49,420 --> 00:19:52,260 But this guy's not a criminal, okay? 413 00:19:52,260 --> 00:19:54,440 So I go to him and he says, 414 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:57,460 I just wanna put that out there 415 00:19:57,460 --> 00:19:58,420 'cause he might be listening. 416 00:19:58,420 --> 00:19:59,580 He's not a criminal. 417 00:19:59,580 --> 00:20:01,220 At least I don't think he is, okay? 418 00:20:01,220 --> 00:20:04,420 And he says, "Look, this is ludicrous." 419 00:20:04,420 --> 00:20:06,620 He said, "Why don't you just ask for a pardon?" 420 00:20:06,620 --> 00:20:08,580 I'm like, is that even a thing? 421 00:20:08,580 --> 00:20:10,980 He goes, "Who do you ask for a pardon?" 422 00:20:10,980 --> 00:20:12,780 I don't know anybody that's got a pardon. 423 00:20:12,780 --> 00:20:14,380 Do you know anybody that's been pardoned? 424 00:20:14,380 --> 00:20:15,220 Do you? 425 00:20:15,220 --> 00:20:17,020 Other than the one guy on Shawshank Redemption. 426 00:20:17,020 --> 00:20:18,380 That's the only guy I know. 427 00:20:18,380 --> 00:20:21,860 That, you know what I'm talking about. 428 00:20:21,860 --> 00:20:23,940 Does anybody, do you personally know somebody? 429 00:20:23,940 --> 00:20:25,900 I don't even know, is that a thing? 430 00:20:25,900 --> 00:20:28,700 I don't even know like that could be done. 431 00:20:28,700 --> 00:20:31,540 He said, "Yeah, just ask for a pardon." 432 00:20:31,540 --> 00:20:33,340 And the more research I've done, 433 00:20:33,340 --> 00:20:36,200 that's what I realized, that's the only option I have 434 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:38,060 to ever get this taken away. 435 00:20:38,060 --> 00:20:39,620 That's why I said it's a Hail Mary. 436 00:20:39,620 --> 00:20:40,860 I have one play. 437 00:20:40,860 --> 00:20:42,860 Everybody run as far as you can. 438 00:20:42,860 --> 00:20:44,780 I'm gonna throw the ball as far as I can 439 00:20:44,780 --> 00:20:46,500 and I'm gonna pray somebody comes down with it 440 00:20:46,500 --> 00:20:47,620 in the end zone. 441 00:20:47,620 --> 00:20:49,020 I can't get it restored. 442 00:20:49,020 --> 00:20:50,580 I can't get it expunged. 443 00:20:50,580 --> 00:20:52,900 It only can be pardoned. 444 00:20:52,900 --> 00:20:54,500 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 445 00:20:54,500 --> 00:21:00,500 So that was in 2022, early 2022. 446 00:21:00,500 --> 00:21:05,500 So in April, I got a application for a pardon 447 00:21:05,500 --> 00:21:10,280 and it is about this thick. 448 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:11,180 I know you can't see that. 449 00:21:11,180 --> 00:21:13,060 That's about five millimeters. 450 00:21:13,060 --> 00:21:14,160 Okay. 451 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:16,880 And included is like things like you have to have 452 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:20,660 like five character references, right? 453 00:21:20,660 --> 00:21:23,700 And these need to be people who are like business owners 454 00:21:23,700 --> 00:21:26,420 or pastors or people like with influence. 455 00:21:26,420 --> 00:21:28,600 You wanna have, you don't want your next door neighbor 456 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:31,780 to write a character reference for you. 457 00:21:31,780 --> 00:21:34,540 He's never asked me to borrow anything 458 00:21:34,540 --> 00:21:37,220 and always brought my tools back and his wife got, 459 00:21:37,220 --> 00:21:38,780 you know, you don't want that. 460 00:21:38,780 --> 00:21:40,940 Okay, I mean, it's not bad, but. 461 00:21:40,940 --> 00:21:44,940 So you have to have five character witnesses. 462 00:21:44,940 --> 00:21:48,020 You have to have copies of all your certificates 463 00:21:48,020 --> 00:21:51,780 or degrees or things that you have accomplished 464 00:21:51,780 --> 00:21:54,000 along the, however long it's been. 465 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,140 You have criteria of how long it has to be 466 00:21:56,140 --> 00:21:57,080 since you've been in trouble. 467 00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,780 You have to have dispositions of anything you've done. 468 00:21:59,780 --> 00:22:01,940 Like have you, did you do your probation? 469 00:22:01,940 --> 00:22:03,400 Did you pay off all your fines? 470 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:06,220 Or like, have you, do you have any traffic tickets? 471 00:22:06,220 --> 00:22:08,940 Or you like driving, like it's a, 472 00:22:08,940 --> 00:22:11,540 there's a lot of criteria for it. 473 00:22:11,540 --> 00:22:13,860 And I submitted my application. 474 00:22:13,860 --> 00:22:18,180 I brought it down to the border parole in downtown myself, 475 00:22:18,180 --> 00:22:20,420 this big old packet I'd worked on for months. 476 00:22:20,420 --> 00:22:24,060 And the lady that took my packet couldn't care less. 477 00:22:24,060 --> 00:22:25,260 I was so excited. 478 00:22:25,260 --> 00:22:27,800 I was like, here it is, my application report. 479 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:28,640 She's like, all right, good. 480 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:29,480 I'll throw it over here with the rest of them. 481 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:31,520 I was like, dang, lady. 482 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:32,780 She really wasn't like that. 483 00:22:32,780 --> 00:22:35,380 But that's the feeling was like, it's insignificant. 484 00:22:35,380 --> 00:22:41,180 So about nine weeks later, 485 00:22:41,180 --> 00:22:46,180 I get a letter that says, hey, we received your application. 486 00:22:46,180 --> 00:22:48,080 We'll look at it eventually. 487 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:50,780 Great. 488 00:22:50,780 --> 00:22:54,680 Now what do you do in the process? 489 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:58,800 What do you do in the waiting? 490 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:01,860 Well, I just stood and put my hands in my pocket. 491 00:23:01,860 --> 00:23:05,480 'Cause I didn't know what to do. 492 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:06,640 I don't know what to do. 493 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:12,100 I got a phone call in November of 2022. 494 00:23:12,100 --> 00:23:15,560 And it was this guy who's like, hey, 495 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:18,840 they told me to call you and I'm supposed to interview you 496 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:20,200 over the phone. 497 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:24,020 And I'm going to record a statement for you 498 00:23:24,020 --> 00:23:29,020 about your whole life story for the last 21 years. 499 00:23:29,020 --> 00:23:30,380 Okay, great. 500 00:23:30,380 --> 00:23:31,800 He said, I'll call you tomorrow. 501 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:33,180 He calls me tomorrow. 502 00:23:33,180 --> 00:23:34,160 I'm in the shop. 503 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:35,280 It's November. 504 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:36,960 So all the doors are closed. 505 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:38,780 And it's a monsoon. 506 00:23:38,780 --> 00:23:41,120 And if you've ever been in a monsoon in a metal building, 507 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:43,080 you can't hear anything anyways. 508 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:45,760 And so I'm trying to tell this guy my story. 509 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:48,640 And this is what we did for 45 minutes. 510 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:49,800 So I started going to church. 511 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:50,800 Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. 512 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:54,980 So I started going to church. 513 00:23:54,980 --> 00:23:55,820 Okay, next. 514 00:23:55,820 --> 00:24:00,560 And then God made me, and then God made me. 515 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:02,020 I finally got so fed up. 516 00:24:02,020 --> 00:24:03,540 I was like, and then I changed my life 517 00:24:03,540 --> 00:24:05,660 and I never looked back, right? 518 00:24:05,660 --> 00:24:06,580 I was done with it. 519 00:24:06,580 --> 00:24:08,500 45 minutes of this. 520 00:24:08,500 --> 00:24:11,260 And then God, I said, okay. 521 00:24:11,260 --> 00:24:12,260 So I said, what now? 522 00:24:12,260 --> 00:24:14,260 He said, well, it's not up to me. 523 00:24:14,260 --> 00:24:17,180 I just am typing this up so that I can send this 524 00:24:17,180 --> 00:24:20,700 to the higher ups and they will read it 525 00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:23,480 and determine if they even want you to come in 526 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:25,080 to be interviewed. 527 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:26,500 It felt like American Idol. 528 00:24:26,500 --> 00:24:29,600 Like you're just, like you show up, you dance, 529 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:31,920 and they're like, I'd like to see you come back. 530 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:32,840 You come back. 531 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,780 And then I go and I do the interview and they're like, 532 00:24:35,780 --> 00:24:38,080 we'll let you know if we want you to come in 533 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:38,920 for an interview. 534 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:42,840 That is November of 2022. 535 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:46,780 In June of 2023, are you tracking the months? 536 00:24:46,780 --> 00:24:50,380 In June of 2023, I get a letter certified male. 537 00:24:50,380 --> 00:24:53,860 It says, hey buddy, you have an in-person interview 538 00:24:53,860 --> 00:24:57,880 with the entire board of parole next month in July. 539 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:00,320 This is it. 540 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:02,260 This is the time. 541 00:25:02,260 --> 00:25:04,980 They said you can bring as many people as you wanna bring. 542 00:25:04,980 --> 00:25:07,700 You can bring whatever witnesses you wanna bring. 543 00:25:07,700 --> 00:25:11,060 So we went in July to the board of parole 544 00:25:11,060 --> 00:25:13,640 and I brought 37 people with me. 545 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:16,280 You know how I know? 546 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:18,100 'Cause they all wrote their names down on the fan. 547 00:25:18,100 --> 00:25:19,740 I was signed in. 548 00:25:19,740 --> 00:25:23,260 37 people showed up on my behalf. 549 00:25:23,260 --> 00:25:26,180 And what's crazy is we're all waiting in this room 550 00:25:26,180 --> 00:25:28,700 for this hearing and they had a paper and they was like, 551 00:25:28,700 --> 00:25:32,820 hey, sign this side if you think that Justin Beshears 552 00:25:32,820 --> 00:25:34,540 would need to get a pardon. 553 00:25:34,540 --> 00:25:36,520 And so everybody's writing their name down, 554 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,260 signing their name, and then Johnny G, Pastor Jonathan, 555 00:25:39,260 --> 00:25:40,860 as you called him, I call him Johnny G, 556 00:25:40,860 --> 00:25:42,700 been friends longer than we've been pastors. 557 00:25:42,700 --> 00:25:46,780 Johnny G notices, he says, oh no, we signed the side 558 00:25:46,780 --> 00:25:49,700 that says we don't want him to get a pardon. 559 00:25:49,700 --> 00:25:50,740 (laughing) 560 00:25:50,740 --> 00:25:53,540 And I was like, sir, no, sir, no, no. 561 00:25:53,540 --> 00:25:55,720 And he was like, look, he was like, it's fine. 562 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:57,160 I was like, it's not fine. 563 00:25:57,160 --> 00:26:02,020 No, we did not come this far to have it ruined 564 00:26:02,020 --> 00:26:03,220 on a technicality. 565 00:26:03,220 --> 00:26:06,920 You got 37 people showed up as non-witnesses for you. 566 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:08,740 (laughing) 567 00:26:08,740 --> 00:26:11,260 No, absolutely not, we're not giving you a pardon. 568 00:26:11,260 --> 00:26:12,700 You had almost 40 people show up. 569 00:26:12,700 --> 00:26:14,720 You said, no, this guy's nuts. 570 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:17,520 You know what I'm saying? 571 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:22,520 So, at the hearing, there is seven seats. 572 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:29,460 There's seven board members. 573 00:26:29,460 --> 00:26:32,840 And the chair, the chairman is sitting in the middle, 574 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:34,900 and there's all this board of parole, 575 00:26:34,900 --> 00:26:36,700 and then there's two court reporters, 576 00:26:36,700 --> 00:26:38,660 and then a stenographer, and there's this little bitty 577 00:26:38,660 --> 00:26:41,480 rickety table in the front of them. 578 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,820 And then there's the audience where you guys are at. 579 00:26:44,820 --> 00:26:48,140 And it's at my wife and me and Pastor Kevin, 580 00:26:48,140 --> 00:26:52,500 and for over two hours, they asked me about the last 581 00:26:52,500 --> 00:26:56,940 20 years of my life in 17 different ways. 582 00:26:56,940 --> 00:26:59,740 The same question four different ways. 583 00:26:59,740 --> 00:27:02,020 And they're asking me stuff like, well, tell us about 584 00:27:02,020 --> 00:27:04,460 this traffic stop in 2005. 585 00:27:04,460 --> 00:27:07,380 And I'm like, I don't know. 586 00:27:07,380 --> 00:27:09,480 What does the report say I did? 587 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:11,380 Then I probably did that. 588 00:27:11,380 --> 00:27:14,460 I don't remember, it's 2005. 589 00:27:14,460 --> 00:27:15,300 You know how I slept? 590 00:27:15,300 --> 00:27:16,640 I got kids now. 591 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:19,260 You know? 592 00:27:19,260 --> 00:27:21,020 I don't know what day it is now. 593 00:27:21,020 --> 00:27:22,260 I just know I'm here. 594 00:27:22,260 --> 00:27:29,780 And so, we go through the whole hearing, 595 00:27:29,780 --> 00:27:32,840 and I had just asked Pastor Kevin to testify. 596 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:34,540 I said, I just want you to share. 597 00:27:34,540 --> 00:27:38,020 I don't want people to come up like a school board. 598 00:27:38,020 --> 00:27:40,180 I don't want everybody to come up and do that. 599 00:27:40,180 --> 00:27:43,140 I just, Kevin, would you share? 600 00:27:43,140 --> 00:27:46,140 And Kevin shared at the end, and he was nervous, 601 00:27:46,140 --> 00:27:47,540 'cause he didn't want to ruin it for me. 602 00:27:47,540 --> 00:27:48,380 You know what I mean? 603 00:27:48,380 --> 00:27:49,660 He's like, we've got to the live shows. 604 00:27:49,660 --> 00:27:51,840 We don't want to get him booted off now. 605 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,740 It's a big deal. 606 00:27:54,740 --> 00:27:55,620 I've been grilled. 607 00:27:55,620 --> 00:27:57,980 I mean, I'm having to testify, and I'm having to tell you, 608 00:27:57,980 --> 00:27:58,820 you guys, you know what? 609 00:27:58,820 --> 00:27:59,860 Yes, I did that. 610 00:27:59,860 --> 00:28:04,220 I mean, they're reading my mail in front of this room 611 00:28:04,220 --> 00:28:06,900 of people that only know me from church, are you hearing me? 612 00:28:06,900 --> 00:28:10,140 And now my life is exposed in front of them. 613 00:28:10,140 --> 00:28:12,220 They're saying, well, he did this, and he did that, 614 00:28:12,220 --> 00:28:14,180 and he's guilty, and you know what it sounds like? 615 00:28:14,180 --> 00:28:16,020 There's a scene that I've read in the Bible 616 00:28:16,020 --> 00:28:17,780 where you appear before the throne, 617 00:28:17,780 --> 00:28:19,020 and there's an accuser that says, 618 00:28:19,020 --> 00:28:20,660 and he did this, and he did that, 619 00:28:20,660 --> 00:28:22,460 and he did this, and he did that. 620 00:28:22,460 --> 00:28:27,820 And they're just listening to it, of all the stuff. 621 00:28:27,820 --> 00:28:30,780 And Pastor Kevin gets up there, and he says, 622 00:28:30,780 --> 00:28:34,320 look, guys, here's something you need to know. 623 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:38,520 Justin didn't just go start fostering kids, 624 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:40,780 or become a small business owner, 625 00:28:40,780 --> 00:28:43,100 or I didn't ask him to be on staff 626 00:28:43,100 --> 00:28:45,400 so that we could pad his resume, 627 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:47,500 so that we could come in here and look good 628 00:28:47,500 --> 00:28:50,060 in front of you and ask for a pardon. 629 00:28:50,060 --> 00:28:52,180 He's doing these things because God 630 00:28:52,180 --> 00:28:55,220 has radically changed his life. 631 00:28:55,220 --> 00:28:57,540 So whether you give him a pardon or not, 632 00:28:57,540 --> 00:28:59,420 he's not gonna stop doing it, 633 00:28:59,420 --> 00:29:02,060 because he never started doing it for that. 634 00:29:02,060 --> 00:29:07,500 Are you living your life to prove something to someone, 635 00:29:07,500 --> 00:29:09,940 or are you working from the cross? 636 00:29:10,940 --> 00:29:14,380 And he said, guys, I'm asking you to give him a pardon, 637 00:29:14,380 --> 00:29:16,120 but if you don't, he's not gonna stop, 638 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:19,180 he'll go back to work, he'll dry his eyes, 639 00:29:19,180 --> 00:29:22,560 and he'll go back to work, and he'll keep doing it, 640 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:25,180 'cause that's not why he's doing it. 641 00:29:25,180 --> 00:29:28,660 And for that reason, I think you should give him a pardon. 642 00:29:28,660 --> 00:29:31,820 Then all seven board members, this was the hard part, 643 00:29:31,820 --> 00:29:33,400 all seven of them, every one of them 644 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:35,740 had something they wanted to say. 645 00:29:35,740 --> 00:29:37,380 And it was like, every judge was like, 646 00:29:37,380 --> 00:29:41,660 well, man, I don't know, man, I'm looking at you, 647 00:29:41,660 --> 00:29:43,840 you're fine, but you're doing a lot of, you know, 648 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:45,660 but I vote yes. 649 00:29:45,660 --> 00:29:47,340 And you're just like, oh, okay, 650 00:29:47,340 --> 00:29:48,660 and then you'd get to the next one, 651 00:29:48,660 --> 00:29:52,340 and they go, man, I don't know, I did, man, yes! 652 00:29:52,340 --> 00:29:54,780 And you're like, oh my God, so then you go to the third, 653 00:29:54,780 --> 00:29:56,820 and then just up and down, up and down, 654 00:29:56,820 --> 00:30:00,540 every one of them, unanimous across the board, 655 00:30:00,540 --> 00:30:02,300 all seven said unanimous yes. 656 00:30:02,300 --> 00:30:04,220 And five of the seven said, hey, 657 00:30:04,220 --> 00:30:06,100 there's something you didn't even ask us for, 658 00:30:06,100 --> 00:30:07,620 we wanna get that pardon too, 659 00:30:07,620 --> 00:30:09,820 that way it don't come down the line. 660 00:30:09,820 --> 00:30:11,660 And so it was a unanimous yes, 661 00:30:11,660 --> 00:30:13,660 and we're all high-fiving and cheering, 662 00:30:13,660 --> 00:30:14,740 we're like, what does this mean? 663 00:30:14,740 --> 00:30:17,020 They was like, nothing, it means nothing. 664 00:30:17,020 --> 00:30:20,900 Absolutely nothing, it's not up to us, okay? 665 00:30:20,900 --> 00:30:24,260 We just think you should be pardoned, right? 666 00:30:24,260 --> 00:30:29,380 And so they said, we're gonna send our non-binding, 667 00:30:29,380 --> 00:30:31,620 they made sure to say that word, non-binding, 668 00:30:31,620 --> 00:30:34,940 recommendation to the governor, okay? 669 00:30:34,940 --> 00:30:36,760 And it's up to him ultimately. 670 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:43,220 That's in July, in December of 2023. 671 00:30:43,220 --> 00:30:45,300 I'm out here, I'm holding the doors, 672 00:30:45,300 --> 00:30:47,020 and Mary Sue Bennett walks in and says, 673 00:30:47,020 --> 00:30:48,780 did you get your pardon? 674 00:30:48,780 --> 00:30:50,740 I said, I don't know, I don't know, 675 00:30:50,740 --> 00:30:52,900 do you know something I don't know? 676 00:30:52,900 --> 00:30:57,900 And she said, oh, I saw that they had a ceremony downtown, 677 00:30:57,900 --> 00:30:59,660 and they had a big old dinner, 678 00:30:59,660 --> 00:31:01,940 and they had all these people that the governor pardoned, 679 00:31:01,940 --> 00:31:03,820 and I was like, really? 680 00:31:03,820 --> 00:31:05,460 She said, yeah, I would have thought 681 00:31:05,460 --> 00:31:07,820 she would have been there, I'm like, me too. 682 00:31:07,820 --> 00:31:10,000 (congregation laughing) 683 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,500 And I was friendly with her, but I went, 684 00:31:12,500 --> 00:31:15,120 and I came in here and I looked online, 685 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:16,500 and sure enough, they had a ceremony, 686 00:31:16,500 --> 00:31:17,900 and I went invited. 687 00:31:17,900 --> 00:31:21,380 And I sat in the back corner of this room over here, 688 00:31:21,380 --> 00:31:23,620 by those doors, and I just cried my eyes out. 689 00:31:23,620 --> 00:31:30,120 I felt left out, I was like, 690 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:32,120 God, I did everything I coulda do. 691 00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:33,880 I did everything I was supposed to have done. 692 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:36,280 I did everything, you said yes! 693 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:38,920 They said yes, how did I not get it? 694 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:41,040 You know what I heard? 695 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:42,780 Nothing. 696 00:31:42,780 --> 00:31:47,120 Can you keep waiting and hoping 697 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:49,680 when you don't hear anything? 698 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,480 For 400 years, it was silent! 699 00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:57,000 They waited for the Messiah, 700 00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:59,880 and then when he showed up, they recognized him, why? 701 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:03,240 'Cause they weren't waiting with their hands in their pockets. 702 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:05,340 They had an expectation and a hope 703 00:32:05,340 --> 00:32:06,800 that I don't know when it's gonna happen, 704 00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:08,440 but I'm gonna tell my kids about it, 705 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:09,700 and maybe they'll see it. 706 00:32:09,700 --> 00:32:11,200 And then they told their kids about it, 707 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:14,400 and said, I didn't see it, but maybe they'll see it. 708 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:15,600 So I just kept waiting. 709 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:19,340 That's in December of last year. 710 00:32:19,340 --> 00:32:24,400 Then in October, by chance, my buddy Troy Ross, 711 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:27,100 who connected me with Representative Mike Sparks, 712 00:32:28,300 --> 00:32:30,520 contacted us and said, hey, I've got a meeting 713 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:33,000 with the governor, do you wanna go? 714 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,220 I'm like, absolutely I wanna go. 715 00:32:35,220 --> 00:32:37,460 This is my chance. 716 00:32:37,460 --> 00:32:39,240 Maybe he doesn't have a pen, 717 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:41,080 and that's why he's not signed this. 718 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:44,320 So I put a pen in my jacket pocket, right? 719 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:46,440 Troy will tell you, I had a nice pen. 720 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:48,060 It was a pen Derek gave me. 721 00:32:48,060 --> 00:32:52,200 And Troy brought him across, 722 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:54,040 and we went down to the Capitol, 723 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:56,860 and every door that we tried to go in was locked, 724 00:32:56,860 --> 00:32:59,160 so we walked all the way around the whole Capitol 725 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:00,320 to get in the front door, 726 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:03,780 and we met with the governor in his office 727 00:33:03,780 --> 00:33:07,080 at the same table that generations of governors 728 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:09,600 have sat at, and we just had a little back door, 729 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:13,060 closed door meeting, and he shared some things with us. 730 00:33:13,060 --> 00:33:18,520 And at the end of it, we got to pray over the governor. 731 00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:21,680 And so we laid hands on the governor of Tennessee 732 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:23,560 and prayed over him, that God would give him wisdom 733 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:25,680 that he would strengthen his marriage, 734 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:28,340 that communication and intimacy would be opened up, 735 00:33:28,340 --> 00:33:30,000 that he would shore him up, 736 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,940 as he's got hard decisions to make as he's leading, 737 00:33:32,940 --> 00:33:34,780 as people are coming left, right, 738 00:33:34,780 --> 00:33:36,500 that God would strengthen him 739 00:33:36,500 --> 00:33:38,540 in his role and responsibility. 740 00:33:38,540 --> 00:33:42,840 And then we walked out, kept waiting. 741 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:46,500 My eyes fixed on him. 742 00:33:46,500 --> 00:33:48,880 And then last Sunday, I get up here 743 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:52,100 and I share with you guys that I have had to come 744 00:33:52,100 --> 00:33:54,900 to the point where I release it, 745 00:33:54,900 --> 00:33:56,840 that if it does not ever happen, 746 00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:58,880 I've got to be okay with it. 747 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:01,620 But I can't just be like, oh, well, 748 00:34:01,620 --> 00:34:05,780 I have to be expected and okay if it doesn't. 749 00:34:05,780 --> 00:34:09,580 And that's the interesting dichotomy of the Christian walk 750 00:34:09,580 --> 00:34:10,960 is that you have to be, God, 751 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:13,640 if you don't get in the fire with us, 752 00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:17,540 then you're still good. 753 00:34:17,540 --> 00:34:23,560 But I believe that you will get in the fire with us. 754 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:25,980 (soft music) 755 00:34:25,980 --> 00:34:28,580 I don't know if you guys know this, 756 00:34:28,580 --> 00:34:32,320 but I was not scheduled to speak last Sunday. 757 00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:33,280 I wasn't supposed to be up here 758 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:34,960 doing the whole Advent series. 759 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:37,040 Let me rephrase. 760 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:39,680 I was not scheduled to do it, 761 00:34:39,680 --> 00:34:41,600 but I'm supposed to be doing it. 762 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:44,920 The clip that was on Facebook, 763 00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:46,680 you might've seen a clip on social media. 764 00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:49,100 There's a clip of me sharing that moment 765 00:34:49,100 --> 00:34:51,200 where I released it to God. 766 00:34:51,200 --> 00:34:53,720 That clip was not even the clip that was supposed 767 00:34:53,720 --> 00:34:55,040 to be played. 768 00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:56,520 And yet the media team said, 769 00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:59,420 I feel like we're supposed to play this clip. 770 00:34:59,420 --> 00:35:04,080 And it got 5,000 views and 31 shares 771 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:05,560 and 10 people sent it to governor. 772 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:09,240 I'm like, whoa, easy, no, don't, do not, 773 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:11,200 do not make waves. 774 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:14,640 It's still December, do not do that, right? 775 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:16,620 And they're like, absolutely not. 776 00:35:16,620 --> 00:35:18,840 We're knocking on the door. 777 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:21,700 And then Thursday night, Mario Galleone's at a banquet 778 00:35:21,700 --> 00:35:24,600 and sees the governor from across the room like this. 779 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:26,360 Swear, real sore, ask him. 780 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:28,000 Walk straight up to the governor and says, 781 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,360 hey, pleasure to meet you. 782 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:31,360 I know you don't know me. 783 00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:33,260 You can ask them people about me that you're with. 784 00:35:33,260 --> 00:35:34,100 They know me. 785 00:35:34,100 --> 00:35:35,800 You need to pardon Justin Beshears. 786 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:37,900 And then walks off. 787 00:35:37,900 --> 00:35:44,960 What you don't realize is the whole time I've been waiting, 788 00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:46,960 there's been Mary Sue Bennett writing letters 789 00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:51,960 to the governor on my behalf, right? 790 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:57,120 That you got Mario's going up and saying, 791 00:35:57,120 --> 00:35:58,520 will you forgive the man? 792 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:04,540 There are people that are writing the king on your behalf. 793 00:36:04,540 --> 00:36:09,040 There are people that are knocking on heaven's door for you 794 00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:10,660 and you don't even know it. 795 00:36:10,660 --> 00:36:13,700 And you don't even know it. 796 00:36:15,720 --> 00:36:17,240 I'm not in this alone. 797 00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:21,800 There are people going to the king on behalf of you. 798 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:25,560 Mary Sue and Mario. 799 00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:28,680 If Troy didn't have a radical transformation in my shop, 800 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:31,280 I might not have never met Mike Sparks 801 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:32,960 who set up all these meetings 802 00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:36,760 and has been championing and campaigning for me. 803 00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:38,680 Like you don't know the things 804 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:40,840 that are happening in the process. 805 00:36:45,500 --> 00:36:46,520 It's Sunday. 806 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:48,680 Today's Sunday. 807 00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:51,720 Okay, I want you to understand this. 808 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:56,720 Thursday night, Pastor Kevin texted me and says, 809 00:36:56,720 --> 00:37:01,680 "Hey bud, I feel strongly in my spirit." 810 00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:03,420 And I'm like, stop there. 811 00:37:03,420 --> 00:37:07,360 Don't not, do not start a text 812 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:09,000 with I feel strong in my spirit. 813 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:12,560 I don't have much room to dodge whatever comes next. 814 00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:14,920 Like when you start out with, 815 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:18,520 I feel like the Lord told Jack, no he did not. 816 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:20,180 And I cannot, when I argue, 817 00:37:20,180 --> 00:37:22,360 where's the room to get out of this? 818 00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:27,100 He said, "I feel strongly in my spirit for some reason 819 00:37:27,100 --> 00:37:28,900 you're supposed to share on Sunday 820 00:37:28,900 --> 00:37:31,840 and close out this series." 821 00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:35,320 Absolutely not. 822 00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:40,640 I decline and reject that offer, young sir. 823 00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:42,340 It's Thursday night. 824 00:37:42,340 --> 00:37:45,300 We're rehearsing for Carol's by Candlelight. 825 00:37:45,300 --> 00:37:47,600 And then Friday, I've got to go to work. 826 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:50,180 And then Friday night is Carol's by Candlelight. 827 00:37:50,180 --> 00:37:52,380 And Saturday is playoff football. 828 00:37:52,380 --> 00:37:54,360 The Vols play Saturday night. 829 00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:56,280 They didn't even show up by the way. 830 00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:59,280 That's real life. 831 00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:00,760 I'm looking at my watch going, 832 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:04,200 man, I know you want me to prepare a teaching 833 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:07,520 and do all the PowerPoint and do all this, right? 834 00:38:07,520 --> 00:38:09,820 I don't know if I have enough time to lean in. 835 00:38:10,980 --> 00:38:13,380 It's not that I don't have the time to get the nuts and bolts 836 00:38:13,380 --> 00:38:14,760 they can do the nuts and bolts. 837 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:16,560 Do I have enough time to lean in 838 00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:19,240 and hear what God wants his people to hear? 839 00:38:19,240 --> 00:38:21,800 'Cause this ain't just Justin get up here 840 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:23,520 and tell stories and make people laugh. 841 00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:24,980 It's what is God trying to say to you 842 00:38:24,980 --> 00:38:27,400 and he's trying to speak to your heart this morning. 843 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:28,960 And I'm responsible for that. 844 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:29,800 I ain't got time. 845 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:31,040 Absolutely not Pastor Kevin. 846 00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:36,160 I told him, I said, I will if you want me to. 847 00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:37,840 He said, it ain't about if I want you to, 848 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:39,840 I want you to hear from the Lord. 849 00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:41,640 I said, well, then the answer is no. 850 00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:44,360 I did. 851 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:45,200 I did. 852 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:46,020 You can look at our text thread. 853 00:38:46,020 --> 00:38:47,820 Don't look at our text thread though. 854 00:38:47,820 --> 00:38:50,780 You have to subpoena that, right? 855 00:38:50,780 --> 00:38:54,680 Be like me and Doug, I ain't gonna tell on ourselves, man. 856 00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:55,520 But. 857 00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:59,920 Said I reject that offer. 858 00:38:59,920 --> 00:39:03,760 Friday, I'm at work. 859 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:05,220 I build a cabinet tree. 860 00:39:05,220 --> 00:39:07,960 I'm in Mount Juliet working. 861 00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:10,840 I gotta get a job done before Christmas. 862 00:39:10,840 --> 00:39:16,840 I'm working in these people's house and I get a phone call. 863 00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:20,360 And I say, hello, this is Justin. 864 00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:22,720 He said, hey Justin, this is Governor Bill Lee. 865 00:39:22,720 --> 00:39:27,420 Hey, hey, hey. 866 00:39:27,420 --> 00:39:30,420 (audience laughing) 867 00:39:30,420 --> 00:39:31,740 Hey, hey, hey, how you doing? 868 00:39:31,740 --> 00:39:34,280 Hey, hey, hey, how you doing Governor Lee? 869 00:39:34,280 --> 00:39:35,120 Right? 870 00:39:35,120 --> 00:39:37,820 Oh, you gotta hold on to something, hang on. 871 00:39:37,820 --> 00:39:39,720 And I immediately go outside. 872 00:39:39,720 --> 00:39:41,600 I just, and it's cold. 873 00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:44,240 It felt like it was 20 degrees outside. 874 00:39:44,240 --> 00:39:45,940 He said, hey man, how you doing today? 875 00:39:45,940 --> 00:39:46,780 I said, I'm doing great. 876 00:39:46,780 --> 00:39:49,460 He said, well, I hope I make your day a little bit better. 877 00:39:49,460 --> 00:39:52,480 He said, I have reviewed your file. 878 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:56,500 And I have decided to grant you a full foreign. 879 00:39:56,500 --> 00:39:59,500 (audience cheering) 880 00:39:59,500 --> 00:40:02,040 Now come on! 881 00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:04,000 Come on! 882 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:07,280 Come on! 883 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:10,620 (audience cheering) 884 00:40:10,620 --> 00:40:11,580 Won't he do it? 885 00:40:11,580 --> 00:40:12,840 Won't he do it? 886 00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:16,380 Come on! 887 00:40:16,380 --> 00:40:30,400 And I just started crying. 888 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:32,420 I just cried. 889 00:40:32,420 --> 00:40:35,280 And in his grace, he just listened to me cry. 890 00:40:37,100 --> 00:40:39,280 He just listened to me cry on the other end of the phone. 891 00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:40,340 I said, I don't even know what to say. 892 00:40:40,340 --> 00:40:42,260 He said, you don't have to say anything. 893 00:40:42,260 --> 00:40:44,220 You don't have to say anything. 894 00:40:44,220 --> 00:40:45,920 And I said, to what now? 895 00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:48,940 He said, well, there's some things we're gonna post it 896 00:40:48,940 --> 00:40:50,880 on the Secretary of State's website 897 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:52,960 and then you'll receive a letter from the Board of Parole, 898 00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:54,080 but none of that matters 899 00:40:54,080 --> 00:40:56,100 'cause as of right now, you're a free man. 900 00:40:56,100 --> 00:40:59,100 (audience cheering) 901 00:40:59,100 --> 00:41:06,080 I said, thank you. 902 00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:06,960 He said, Merry Christmas. 903 00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:09,300 And in the ultimate mic drop, he hung up the phone. 904 00:41:09,300 --> 00:41:12,300 (audience laughing) 905 00:41:12,300 --> 00:41:19,600 I shared last week that hope deferred makes the heart sick, 906 00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:22,220 but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. 907 00:41:22,220 --> 00:41:26,740 All of the things that has happened along the way, guys, 908 00:41:26,740 --> 00:41:30,920 you gotta see, man, I sat up here on the last Sunday 909 00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:34,320 and was like, God, I wanna give up, but I can't. 910 00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:36,240 And you know the thing that God doesn't know? 911 00:41:36,240 --> 00:41:38,680 He's like, son, you're so close. 912 00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:41,380 If you only knew how close you were, 913 00:41:41,380 --> 00:41:44,200 some of you are ready to give up on people 914 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:47,680 and God's like, man, they're so close. 915 00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:49,280 Keep writing letters. 916 00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:51,540 Keep going in front of them. 917 00:41:51,540 --> 00:41:52,800 They are so close. 918 00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:54,360 You cannot give up now. 919 00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:56,300 Some of you are right there on the edge 920 00:41:56,300 --> 00:41:58,640 of giving your life to God. 921 00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:00,560 And he's like, you are so close. 922 00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:02,480 You are right there. 923 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:04,960 You imagine the anguish of Jesus in the garden 924 00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:07,000 when he was like, God, I don't wanna do this. 925 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:09,280 God said, you're so close, son. 926 00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:10,660 You are so close, son. 927 00:42:10,660 --> 00:42:14,460 Endure, you're almost there. 928 00:42:14,460 --> 00:42:17,820 There will be a day that he comes for us 929 00:42:17,820 --> 00:42:21,360 and he wipes every tear, but even now our tears matter 930 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:23,400 'cause he says, you're right there. 931 00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:25,600 You're so close. 932 00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:29,600 The process, the waiting, the hope, the expectation, 933 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:31,520 the doubt that came in. 934 00:42:33,240 --> 00:42:35,240 I mentioned that me and Troy got to meet the governor 935 00:42:35,240 --> 00:42:36,080 in October. 936 00:42:36,080 --> 00:42:38,440 I didn't tell you this. 937 00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:42,000 When we sat there, he said, you wanna know 938 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:43,760 what the best part of my job is? 939 00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:46,280 When I get to pardon people. 940 00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:50,560 He said, this is the absolute best part of my job. 941 00:42:50,560 --> 00:42:53,160 He said, I call these men and I listen to them cry 942 00:42:53,160 --> 00:42:54,280 on the other line. 943 00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:56,680 Hello. 944 00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:59,540 Talk about some foreshadowing. 945 00:43:01,760 --> 00:43:03,320 He said, and then it hit me. 946 00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:05,440 Every one of these men are guilty. 947 00:43:05,440 --> 00:43:08,780 Every one of them are guilty. 948 00:43:08,780 --> 00:43:12,400 And there's nothing they can ever do 949 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:14,720 to get it off their record. 950 00:43:14,720 --> 00:43:18,240 They can't work themselves out of it. 951 00:43:18,240 --> 00:43:19,760 It never goes away. 952 00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:21,800 They can't beg their way out of it. 953 00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:23,840 They can't give their way out of it. 954 00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:27,860 You can't live a good life and be good enough 955 00:43:27,860 --> 00:43:28,700 to get out of it. 956 00:43:28,700 --> 00:43:29,940 It's always there. 957 00:43:30,920 --> 00:43:33,680 And there's only one man that can do anything about it. 958 00:43:33,680 --> 00:43:38,520 And all you have to do is ask. 959 00:43:38,520 --> 00:43:43,040 And then he said, and I realize in that moment, 960 00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:45,100 that's what Jesus does for us. 961 00:43:45,100 --> 00:43:48,660 Every one of you are guilty. 962 00:43:48,660 --> 00:43:51,600 Every one of us are guilty. 963 00:43:51,600 --> 00:43:57,080 All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 964 00:43:57,080 --> 00:44:00,320 But the gift of God, the gift, the gift 965 00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:02,320 that we're talking about this season, 966 00:44:02,320 --> 00:44:07,320 the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. 967 00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:11,620 We're all guilty and you can't be good enough. 968 00:44:11,620 --> 00:44:14,540 You can't give your way out of this. 969 00:44:14,540 --> 00:44:17,120 You can't think you're okay enough 970 00:44:17,120 --> 00:44:18,960 to get it off your record. 971 00:44:18,960 --> 00:44:22,760 That sin blemish will follow you your whole life. 972 00:44:22,760 --> 00:44:26,560 And there's only one man that can do anything about it. 973 00:44:26,560 --> 00:44:28,960 And that's Jesus. 974 00:44:29,920 --> 00:44:34,000 And all you have to do is ask. 975 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:38,440 The word says that if you believe in your heart 976 00:44:38,440 --> 00:44:42,900 and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, 977 00:44:42,900 --> 00:44:44,740 you shall be saved. 978 00:44:44,740 --> 00:44:50,480 The last few days it felt like this for me. 979 00:44:50,480 --> 00:44:56,520 I'm serious, man. 980 00:44:57,520 --> 00:45:00,020 You can't see it, or maybe you can, 981 00:45:00,020 --> 00:45:01,800 but you see the guy rounding third? 982 00:45:01,800 --> 00:45:03,800 That's what I feel like. 983 00:45:03,800 --> 00:45:07,660 And everybody is so happy for that guy. 984 00:45:07,660 --> 00:45:09,160 The whole team. 985 00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:12,800 There's a guy that's already collecting 986 00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:14,640 these walk-off home run photos 987 00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:16,440 because he said this is what it feels like 988 00:45:16,440 --> 00:45:18,200 when you enter into the kingdom. 989 00:45:18,200 --> 00:45:20,820 When you give your life to Christ, 990 00:45:20,820 --> 00:45:23,120 we're all celebrating with you. 991 00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:28,360 When we enter into heaven, this is the celebration. 992 00:45:28,360 --> 00:45:32,020 Everybody, the fans, the team, even the umpires, 993 00:45:32,020 --> 00:45:34,240 like man, I can't even believe it. 994 00:45:34,240 --> 00:45:35,300 It happened. 995 00:45:35,300 --> 00:45:42,200 Do you need to be pardoned today? 996 00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:47,200 I have the rare opportunity to be one of the few individuals 997 00:45:47,200 --> 00:45:51,760 that has been pardoned on the earth side and the cosmic side. 998 00:45:53,400 --> 00:45:56,900 (congregation applauding) 999 00:45:56,900 --> 00:46:03,760 I don't even know how to process that 1000 00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:06,520 because I have a real example of what it looks like. 1001 00:46:06,520 --> 00:46:08,100 I know what it feels like. 1002 00:46:08,100 --> 00:46:13,060 And I want you to know what it feels like to be pardoned, 1003 00:46:13,060 --> 00:46:14,600 to be set free. 1004 00:46:14,600 --> 00:46:19,340 You gotta know what it feels like to be set free. 1005 00:46:21,560 --> 00:46:24,080 If you need to be pardoned today, today's the day 1006 00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:25,720 to be set free. 1007 00:46:25,720 --> 00:46:28,440 And there are some of you that are writing letters 1008 00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:31,000 for people and you're ready to give up on 'em. 1009 00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:34,400 You're going to the governor, you're going to the king, 1010 00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:36,820 and you're ready to give up on some people. 1011 00:46:36,820 --> 00:46:39,860 You're right there, they're right there. 1012 00:46:39,860 --> 00:46:41,800 You don't know how close they are. 1013 00:46:41,800 --> 00:46:43,460 You cannot give up. 1014 00:46:43,460 --> 00:46:46,080 So if I could get some brothers and sisters 1015 00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:47,440 to come down here to pray this morning, 1016 00:46:47,440 --> 00:46:50,940 I need the elders and pastors and teachers and leaders, 1017 00:46:50,940 --> 00:46:52,960 and none of us are exempt from this. 1018 00:46:52,960 --> 00:46:54,760 You either need to be pardoned 1019 00:46:54,760 --> 00:46:57,900 or you know somebody that needs to be pardoned. 1020 00:46:57,900 --> 00:47:00,280 We're all active participants this morning. 1021 00:47:00,280 --> 00:47:05,980 So as we worship, two things. 1022 00:47:05,980 --> 00:47:09,120 If you need to be set free, today is the day to be set free. 1023 00:47:09,120 --> 00:47:13,520 If you need a cosmic level of forgiveness, 1024 00:47:13,520 --> 00:47:16,980 there's only one that can do it and that is the king. 1025 00:47:16,980 --> 00:47:19,580 And he is ready to meet you here in this altar space. 1026 00:47:19,580 --> 00:47:22,240 So if you need to be set free, today's the day. 1027 00:47:22,240 --> 00:47:26,260 And if you know somebody that needs to be set free, 1028 00:47:26,260 --> 00:47:29,060 and you ain't been writing letters, 1029 00:47:29,060 --> 00:47:32,460 then today's the day to come down here and pray 1030 00:47:32,460 --> 00:47:35,140 and commit to write them letters for those people. 1031 00:47:35,140 --> 00:47:40,560 To go and petition the king on behalf of these people. 1032 00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:46,880 Today is the day to be set free and celebrate liberty. 1033 00:47:47,480 --> 00:47:50,880 I was a captive and now I'm running free. 1034 00:47:50,880 --> 00:47:53,060 Let's be set free today. 1035 00:47:53,060 --> 00:47:53,900 Amen.