SpeakLifeAZ
The testimony of Jesus in, with, and through everyday people like us. A father and son who were addicts for over 20 yrs. You name it, WE DID IT, TOGETHER!!!! we used to use drugs together now we share about what God Has done for us to encourage the body of Christ and anyone else who may listen to this that is feeling hopeless and empty. LISTEN TO OUR STORY...and the testimony of others who feel led to share with you.... GOD BLESS YOU....TODAY WE CHOOSE TO SPEAK LIFE AZ!!!!!!!!!!
SpeakLifeAZ
Chris A. Testimony
"If you're out of second chances, Pastor Chris Appleton's story will change your perspective forever. From facing death at the hands of bikers to being miraculously hidden by God, his journey proves no one is beyond redemption.
The son of a counterfeiter who faced nine life sentences, Chris grew up with abuse, abandonment, and addiction as his constant companions. By eighteen, he was a homeless meth addict who woke up naked in bushes after a drug-fueled birthday, disappointed to still be alive. But what happened next defies explanation—a divine encounter at a recovery home where men took turns praying over him continuously for three days, resulting in complete deliverance.
Chris takes us through his transformation from drug dealer to minister, including his painful failures and powerful restorations. Now pastoring a growing church in Maricopa, Arizona, he shares profound insights about kingdom purpose, leadership development, and what he calls "passing on clean oil" to the next generation.
His most powerful message comes from experience: "Failure can really launch you into a greater understanding of what we're doing." Like Peter, who denied Christ but later led thousands to salvation, Chris demonstrates how our greatest failures can prepare us for our most significant impact.
Whether you're struggling with addiction, facing seemingly impossible circumstances, or simply wondering if God can use your broken past, this raw testimony offers hope that will ignite your faith. God doesn't just save us—He positions us for kingdom impact beyond what we could imagine."
all right, everybody. Welcome back to the speak life az podcast testimony of jesus and everyday people. I'm your host, eddie, and always with me is my son, roddy, jesus what up, dude?
Speaker 2:let's go bro. Are you ready?
Speaker 1:I'm stoked man I know we always say it dude, but this one here is going to be pretty cool, bro, you know, I mean just with the history and stuff like that, it should be, uh, pretty interesting this one.
Speaker 2:For me, man is a special. Um, yeah, I had some good times with my brother. Uh, I really, I really grew a lot and learned a lot in our season together and whether we had man. But, yeah, this is good. Well, tell me who you brought, bro. We got my brother, pastor chris. What's up, man?
Speaker 1:hey, pastor chris, thanks for coming on, brother thank you thank you god made it very clear to us to honor his kids every time we get them to come on and uh. So we just want to take a moment and just say thank you, brother. Like I said before, we know you're busy man. We know you pastor a church out in Maricopa. You got a lot of things going on, so it is an honor to sit down with you and each time we get a yes from God's children, it's an honor, brother, because we've encountered some people who don't think they have a story and don't want to share, or they're private and don't want to share. So each time we get a yes, man, it matters to us, bro. So thank you very much. Yeah, thank you. I'm blessed to be here. Yeah, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for me, friend, when I got the message from you because I know I had reached out a couple of times and I know it's just, you got a lot going on in life and when I finally got the message and it was like, hey, bro, I'm ready for the speak life az. I was like, yes, dad, you're not gonna believe who's ready man, um, but but for me, this just man that was special in our time that we had together in california. Um, it was some good times and some rough times and some iron sharpening, iron man, but I, I, just I for me to you. I don't know if I ever have had the opportunity to tell you truly how much those, those years in that home really affected me. Um, and so, truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, man of God, um, because that's what you are and that's what I experienced in my time with you. Yeah, amen, um, let me just let me pray real quick and we'll kind of just get into this thing man.
Speaker 2:Um, jesus, man, Holy spirit, I just thank you for what you're getting ready to do, god. I thank you so much for your son. God, thank you for all you've brought him through. Jesus, god, I thank you for where you're taking him a general in your army, god, one that's loving your people back to life, one that's positioning your people so they can walk in power and freedom in this life. God, thank you. So I just thank you for your story, because he's been the pen in your hand all these years, god, you've been writing this story. So I thank you just for vulnerability.
Speaker 2:I pray for an honesty God. I pray for whoever's listening and whoever's watching this that the anointing is so strong on this God. I pray for whoever's listening and whoever's watching this that the anointing is so strong on this God that people can't help but say, man, if you can do that for Chris, you can do that for me. So, Holy Spirit, just release the prophetic and open it in Jesus name, Amen, amen.
Speaker 2:So so, friend, when you actually for those listening and watching, pastor Chris was actually one of the ones that I reached out to when God kind of gave us this Speak Life AZ. He helped us to kind of take the steps to get this thing started. It's grown into what it is now today, all through God's grace, man, but you were one of the first ones that I contacted. So thank you, um, for believing, because a lot of times, man, when you get an idea or you feel like you get something from god, you doubt or you're like really god me, um, and then so for having a man of god believe in you and say, yes, bro, go run with this thing, um, it's just thank you thank, thank you.
Speaker 2:But so when God gave this to us, it's the Speak Life AZ podcast. It's just the testimony of Jesus and everyday people. Doesn't matter if you're like yourself out in Maricopa and you're a pastor in a flock and you're a senior pastor in a church and you've got a congregation you're leading. Or like dad down at the muffler shop cutting and welding on cars and hanging out with the gruff and rough folk. Or like my down at the muffler shop cutting and welding on cars and hanging out with the gruff and rough folk. Or like my working in facilities and maintenance man getting it sunday ready and so people can come in and get the life change. We've all got a story. Yeah, we've all come from somewhere. Yep, um.
Speaker 2:So I think just the the couple of different things that we want to specifically get from you today, friend um. We want to know, know who Chris is, who Chris Appleton is, where you came from, what your childhood was like, what it was like growing up Was God in the home, me and dad working in recovery? We know that a lot of times, the stuff later in life that we have to go through healing and really get close to God and the Holy Spirit, with a lot of that trauma happens in childhood, so totally let the Holy Spirit lead you into that. But I think the coolest thing we want to get today, friend, is your encounter with Jesus, when Jesus became so real to you that you could not deny that God is real, that he loves you, him so real to you that you could not deny that God is real, that he loves you and he has a plan for your life, Um, and and that that's different for everybody.
Speaker 2:It's personal man. The way that he got you in a prison cell, me, he met me in team challenge, um. So we want to know where Jesus met you, um. And then, after, how your life changed after your encounter, um, because looking in the Bible you always say, dad, that transformation is the evidence of life change, it's the evidence of somebody actually having an encounter with God man. Is that life change? So, after your encounter, how your life changed. And then, at the very end, Pastor Chris, we want to get what you're hoping for in the future, because we got a big God man, and we want to pray for you and what you're hoping and believing God for. But then our listeners actually do too. They come into agreement in their own time and they pray for you. Yeah, man.
Speaker 1:So what was it like growing up, chris brother?
Speaker 4:Well, before we get into it, I just want to say thank you for having me on and you know it is a blessing and just to see what God is doing with you guys and with you, rowdy, you know. Just see you traveling around, ministering, doing what God's called you to do. I'm under the understanding that you're going through Bible college.
Speaker 2:I graduated, I mean graduated, I mean graduated. Come on a bachelor's in theology brothers in theology.
Speaker 4:I mean that's huge. And and just to just to see that progression is, uh, I'm, I'm a fan of the podcast and um, just to you know, see this grow and it's going to continue to grow and um, you know, I'm, I'm blessed to be a part of it. So I just wanted to say that and you know, just say thank you to you guys and um, I'm, I'm, uh, I was looking forward to it and you know, looking forward to it so this is good, now childhood, okay, so so I guess.
Speaker 4:I can let you know kind of about my family before we get into kind of my childhood, before my dad left, when I was five. Okay, so I was raised by a single mom. My dad, he was a gangster, wow, so he was running and gunning. Actually I mean he was, they were doing counterfeit, they were doing, uh, heroin, they were doing you know running, you know he, when he was uh, so the guy that he ran with was, um, an escape like government trained rogue assassin.
Speaker 4:The guy was like his right hand man and he would always tell my dad, my dad's bubba bubba, they ain't gonna arrest me. Yeah, the government wants me dead. Yeah, like they're gonna kill me. Yeah, so if we ever get popped, just know they're not gonna arrest me. Yeah. And my dad was like, ah, you know you're crazy, but this guy was, you know he wasn't wrapped too tight. I mean, he would, uh, keep a knife soaked in cyanide overnight.
Speaker 2:So the slice would kill you from the poison.
Speaker 4:This guy was nuts and uh, but he knew computers like back before when they were just starting out he knew computers, he was government trained, like he knew counterfeiting all this stuff. So they were making counterfeit checks, money, and then you know drugs, all this stuff, my dad and his right. So where was all this going down at this good question yeah, no, it's a new mexico, washington, I mean he just basically all up and down arizona new mexico you know uh, california, washington, oregon.
Speaker 4:I was born in springfield, oregon okay and then he was um, so anyway, okay, that's what you were born into, my dad. So they uh, they're selling 250 000 worth of counterfeit money to these undercover fbi agents.
Speaker 4:They're dressed like bikers, they got they got drawn on them right they're drawing my dad and his friend both have their hands up right, and these dudes black suits, black ties walk in, shoot my dad's friend in the head, just like he said, and leave the fbi to clean it up. So, whoever these guys were, left the feds to clean this mess up, right? So there was a rico act because of the racketeering, everything they were involved in, and they arrested 60 co-conspirators.
Speaker 4:But where we're, like, uh, involved with my dad's enterprise, so he had 60 people, plus his right hand man who was killed by whoever those guys were, yeah and um, wow. So all 60 people had nine. They. They found nine bodies stuffed in barrels.
Speaker 1:Oh geez.
Speaker 4:Um, like all this stuff was happening. So they were giving up my dad. A life sentence per body that they found, and uh he was facing he, so he was looking at nine yeah. Not only the counterfeiting, but nine bodies and all 60 of the people that were involved uh, pointed to the guy the government killed and just said oh, it was all him. Oh, wow. So instead of doing uh, you know nine uh life sentences, he wound up only doing nine years federal time for the counterfeiting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:Well, that, uh my's celly was a guy named ralph mcguire. Ralph mcguire's son, his name's toby mcguire. He was the first spider-man, so the first spider-man's dad and my dad were cellmates in prison okay so toby mcguire toby mcguire goes to visit his dad right and I never wanted to see my dad in prison. I didn't want it on the books that I ever even saw him or visited him, because I didn't want anybody asking me anything yeah and so, anyway, he went to visit his dad and gave him a tony robbins book.
Speaker 4:Right, tony robbins is a self-help guy, yeah and uh. So that book ralph mcguire says here, bubba, I'm not gonna read it. Well, my dad was dyslexic and he plowed through that book and that book changed his life while he was in prison. So while he was in prison, he got inspired by that book and wrote his life story. So everything I just shared with you, the reason why I can share it with you on a podcast- is because it's a book.
Speaker 4:You can actually find the book on Amazon. It's called running out of road by Robert Melvin Appleton. Really, and uh, it kind of goes through like that part of my history as far as from my dad him just being wild Right. So my cousin, uh, who kind of ran with him, right, um, he said the best thing that ever happened to you is that you weren't raised by him. Wow, and so that was just you know interesting, because I went through a lot yeah, he was probably like where's my dad?
Speaker 4:not having a dad you know, knowing, but I guess there were situations that would happen where he was involved in keeping me protected and I didn't even know about it when you were a kid, did you know he was? That no, no, no no your mom, kept that from you a little bit. My mom kept all that from me, just said that because he was um a backslidden preacher as well.
Speaker 1:So what happened was your dad was yeah, really my mom and my dad used to tour around.
Speaker 4:My dad would write plays and she would sing. My mom was a beautiful singer and they that's how they met was in church, yeah, and he was like doing good for a season met her and then they took off. Is that where your girls get it from, um?
Speaker 2:that's where he gets it from. Probably I've never seen somebody, bro usher, in the presence of god in a way with this man. Just it's amazing. I don't know if I've ever really heard you sing oh up in bwena park man when, yeah, pastor ruben would give him a sunday and it just.
Speaker 2:There's just something spelt, he's just his. I don't know if it's the voice, it's just the anointing, it's just how god made him. But apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, man. Amen, wow so, amen, okay, um, dang. So when you were, when you when your dad left?
Speaker 4:were you and?
Speaker 3:your mom still going to church.
Speaker 1:Amen, wow so, amen, okay, dang. So when you were, when you, when your dad left, were you and your mom still going to church.
Speaker 4:So, yeah, so I was raised in church, right, so my mom, I was raised in UPC, which my mom it's. It's a United Pentecostal, yeah, oh, so it's the real church.
Speaker 3:You know, that's how I was raised.
Speaker 4:I was raised around.
Speaker 3:I mean it's fire, but they you know, women have to wear long dresses, can't wear makeup, I can't show my elbows, type of thing you know just all that stuff
Speaker 4:that it was real religious, yeah and uh. So I was raised, you know, as, as a young kid I was raised in church, but the enemy had a strategy against my life. You know, really, even though I was raised in church, like you know I he was the devil, was trying to get me to have a hard heart against God.
Speaker 4:There were different situations that would happen where, you know, not only just being raised by a single mom, but then I wound up with a stepdad. He was, he was a decent guy and uh, but there was a time where we were, we lived down the country in outwater california. I'm I'm a northern cali. I was born in springfield, oregon, um which, and then we grew up. I grew up in stockton, modesto, outwater merced you know those towns where? Where I grew up.
Speaker 3:I um so anyway, uh, we're seven child.
Speaker 4:No, no, I have, uh, I have a older brother, he's a, he's a security. He does like high level security for high level assets. I guess you could say so, he owns a, owns a uh security company. And I have another brother, uh, he's seven foot two. Jeez, he's a. He's a professional fighter. He just fought Um, they do these karate combat fights and he fought an NFL guy and knocked him out pretty bad so you're the little guy.
Speaker 4:I'm the runt of the family. We'll invite everybody to come eat you're pretty tall yourself, he's huge.
Speaker 1:And then I have cousins 6'9, 6'10 you ain't no little guy, that's a little guy, that's a little guy.
Speaker 4:I'm the front of the family, so anyway, I was seven years old and we lived in Outwater and there was a lady from the church that my mom had come watch my sister and I and I was seven years old, my sister was five and we were playing I don't know if you remember those little plastic record players that have those stick records. We were playing the record and it was telling a little story or whatever it did, and the lady came up and said turn that off. And I said well, me and my sister are playing with our record.
Speaker 4:you know we weren't bothering anybody, yeah, and she said turn that off and I said well, I don't think we need to do that right as a seven-, 7-year-old kid. Well, she grabs the cord, rips it out of the wall and she just starts beating me and my sister with this cord this lady from the church and she starts beating us with this cord. My sister got so scared she peed her pants and the lady started trying to beat my sister for peeing her pants.
Speaker 2:She's only 5 years old, so I stood in the way and I'm like stop, stop, you know.
Speaker 4:And so I ran my sister into a room and, uh, I I told my sister shut the door, lock it, and I stood in front of the door and this lady's beating me trying to get to my sister I'm standing there taking the beating and then I had this star wars belt on and it had like a star wars belt buckle. She ripped that belt off me and started hitting me with the buckle right Damn dude. And she's chasing me around trying to like, saying she's going to kill me and this.
Speaker 2:From the church, from the church.
Speaker 4:All over the record yeah.
Speaker 1:Remember what the record was.
Speaker 4:No, I mean, I don't.
Speaker 2:All I could think of was that old devil music.
Speaker 4:So she starts ripping my clothes off and she starts trying to get me naked. Beat me up naked. I don't know how much you listen and you want me to share on this podcast.
Speaker 1:Whatever?
Speaker 4:you agree to share, brother, I'm naked and beaten and bloody from the buckle of that thing. Holy crap, dude. She beat the heck out of me, yeah, and then asked me if I've ever had sex before.
Speaker 2:What the?
Speaker 4:hell dude.
Speaker 2:Wow bro you from the church I was seven years old.
Speaker 4:Wow, dude and I, I got up and I I ran out of there and she left me and my sister there. She just left, wow, and that was one example of abuse that I went through as a child you started off by saying that that the enemy, even though that's even from your call that yeah the enemy wanted to have a hard heart against the church I had um, I've been in situations where there were ushers, that, uh, one usher grabbed me by the neck, you know, and I was a mouthy kid.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean, I was dealing with even just the from that situation. There was others, yeah, of you know, not having a dad. Yeah, abuse, you know different situations. So, yeah, I wasn't, I was a troubled kid. Yeah, yeah, yeah and and uh. So even at a young age, the enemy was really trying to destroy my life. Now that situation was dealt with. There was another. I won't get too much, that's one I can share, I won't get too graphic.
Speaker 4:There's other stuff that's pretty wild that you wouldn't even know that. All from church people, uh, the other one was just no, or just random people it was.
Speaker 2:This was another random situation yeah, yeah, as you were a child, though as I was a child, this is actually at seven years old.
Speaker 4:I went through three just in the year of being seven years old.
Speaker 3:Oh wow, Three very traumatic, like prominent abusive situations that I was in in the year seven, like the enemy wanted to take me out at the year of seven.
Speaker 4:And so I started, like as a young child, digging into the things of God, yeah, and really just went the other way, as opposed to blaming the church, and just digging in and saying you know, and I started learning the Bible. Wow, I started memorizing. You know, we did this thing called Bible quizzing in the church. I was nine years old. I was part of this Bible quizzing where we had to memorize like Romans. Yeah, right. So Romans, chapter 1, verse 1. Paul, serving to Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle of God.
Speaker 2:Romans chapter 1, verse 2.
Speaker 4:All the way through Romans, wow.
Speaker 2:Come on, buddy, old men's home stuff.
Speaker 4:And then we'd tour around and they do like these. We were number two in california, two team and we'd tour around and you'd go against other churches, yeah, yeah in the upc, yeah yeah and oh, so you're still at that well, I'm still in part of upc. We had moved out of outwater okay well, my stepdad was a decent guy. He was a manager for carl's junior yeah and him and his brothers robbed the carl's junior that he worked at and they cleaned the safe out and disappeared so now I'm raised by a single mom, again right, and we live, you know, in the hood just disappeared.
Speaker 2:They were just gone. Gone one day he's there one day he's not, yeah, and I love. One day he's there. One day he's not, yeah, and I loved him. You know he's a good man.
Speaker 4:Yeah, he took care of my mom and you know they would argue and stuff, but it wasn't like volatile, yeah, you know, just marriage stuff, and he was good to my sister. Yeah, he was just gone, Wow. And so now we're single mom again and in the ghetto we're a rough neighborhood.
Speaker 1:Predominantly Mexican neighborhoods.
Speaker 4:Right no it was African American. I was really like the only white kid. That's how I learned freestyle and roast jokes and all this stuff.
Speaker 2:I was the only white kid.
Speaker 4:So it was like fighting my way in fighting my way out, yeah and then eventually just became part of the community. I was a part of and but I mean I don't want to move too fast. So, um, I wound up going with my uncle, staying with him for a while. He took really good care of me awesome, you know, awesome uh guy and and he was trying to get me going and this and that.
Speaker 2:But is this your mom's brother?
Speaker 4:my mom's okay okay, well, he sent. I went back with my mom and then we were living in in modesto and like a real rough area. Yeah, and at 12 years old I just I started like I was done with God. I went from being like nine having my bible going to public school with a bible on me. Wow, going to public school like telling my teacher if she don't repent you know, like in class.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you need to repent to eventually that stuff just getting chiseled at and chiseled at and chiseled at. And you know, by the time I was 12, I was hard against God, hard against church. My heart was completely. It was lost at a very young age.
Speaker 1:When you say chiseled at, are you talking like rejection, like chiseled it away, just chiseled People just trying to share with them and them putting you down and stuff like that.
Speaker 3:Everything, yeah, man, everything, everything. The world Fights and the world.
Speaker 4:You know trying to fit in, and where do I fit in?
Speaker 2:You know all of that.
Speaker 4:Yeah bro All of it, just slowly, and I could easily just blame this and blame that, but it was just. It wore you down, it was me eventually yeah wears you down. Ultimately, I, just I, I couldn't take, you know, I just had to escape. So my mom, really you know, I started using drugs at 12 years old, 13, I was already using meth, using hard drugs, man running but is that what your?
Speaker 2:your? The other boys in the neighborhood were too. The other kids. Yeah, we were just all. Whatever you could get, you'd just do it.
Speaker 4:So I was just lost. So, 15 years old, my mom came home one day and my house because she was a live-in home health care aide, so she had sent me back to my uncles. Let me um, well, she had sent me back to my uncles. Let me say this she sent me back to my uncles. I was like 14, 15, I was 10th grade. I started playing basketball. So I fell in love playing basketball. I was pretty good at it and I was morning, noon and night playing basketball.
Speaker 2:Playing basketball, yeah were you tall, like you are okay, so you were a bigger kid, all right. Yeah, pretty tall, you know six three I think.
Speaker 4:So you were a bigger kid. Yeah, pretty tall, you know, 6'3", I think.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, yeah, as a 15-year-old, yeah.
Speaker 4:And then I just I got done. I dropped out of school at 10th grade. I've never gone back, so I really respect that you. You know I dropped out.
Speaker 4:I just stopped going to school, I stopped caring and it just like all the pain just eventually. So now I'm back with my mom in back in the ghetto and I'm my house is the party house now and I'm just full on out there. So my mom gets home one day. There's music going right, we've got these speakers going. She's a live-in home. Okay, these speakers going, she's a live-in home. Out there there's kids everywhere you name it Doing everything. It's just insane.
Speaker 2:Hey mom, welcome home.
Speaker 4:And she just knocks over the speakers. Oh wow, and it's just like one of those moments. Everybody stops.
Speaker 2:I can totally picture it. I can see it too.
Speaker 4:And she just goes, packs her stuff, takes my sister and leaves, goes. You want this house, you can keep it. Wow, and she didn't tell me where she was going. So at 15, I'm on my own. So at the first month of that it was like, yeah, you know the house, yeah, yeah, yeah, until they're like boarding that up the house. Yeah, yeah, yeah, until they're like bills and boarding that up food you know, yeah, the police come and everybody got to go.
Speaker 4:And you know now what am I gonna do? Wow, dude, so I'm on the streets at 15. I don't know where my mom is, I don't know, I'm on my own, literally on my own, yeah. And so there was this guy I knew and I would uh run product for him. You know, yeah, and uh, I was a white kid, so I dress normal. Yeah, put a little backpack on it, be pull up full of one thing, go back, trade the other backpack, walk back you know just doing this and cops ain't gonna suspect nothing from a little white kid you know.
Speaker 4:So it was. That was the situation I was in, wow but you were able to take care of yourself I had a little money and then he, uh, he opened a garage up, okay, yeah, and so I had like a nice garage and I had a little car, you know a nice little bmw car that he said I could use, and and uh, and I had this nice little like one bedroom it was a garage back in the back converted into like a an apartment.
Speaker 4:So I have my own little place there. And then, uh, he was clicked up or something Right, and so I was at his house. And well, one day he goes, come on and come with me, and he's got these like bleached Band-Aids on the tip of his fingers and he's like we've got to go see my PO. I'm like all right. So he's trying to like, I guess, pass a drug test or something.
Speaker 4:And he's got a 78 Cutlass Supreme. You know, dayton's and all that, we're rolling, dayton's and all that we're rolling, and uh, and we get there and then his PO comes out and says, uh, do you have a driver's license? And I didn't. But I go, yeah, he goes, all right, you're gonna take the car home, I'm keeping them.
Speaker 3:I go okay oh wow.
Speaker 4:So we're rolling and I remember the song I was playing. I was playing a song called called how Do you Want it? By Tupac yeah.
Speaker 2:How do you want it?
Speaker 3:Come on bro.
Speaker 4:And it's bumping. You know, I'm rolling this car home. I'm on the direction where I'm supposed to go. Well, his uncle somehow found me, wow, and rolls up behind me. He's got a carload of dudes. And he's like you pulls up and then I might pull over. And he's he's like where are you going? I said I'm taking his car home. He said what happened? I go, I don't know. The po said take the car home taking the car home yeah, he goes all right, and if I would have answered anything off yeah I'm done, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, they ain't gonna find chris appleton.
Speaker 4:No, no, and so you know, made took the car home and then he's like all right, you're gonna watch the house here and I'm 16, 17, okay his wife is here, his children are here, whoa whoa this guy's in going to prison?
Speaker 3:yeah, I don't know what I'm doing yeah and uh.
Speaker 4:I was 16 and uh okay, up quick man yeah, you know, so I don't know what to do. Yeah, so I'm just there, and then there's customers and situations, and you know, and I'm trying to just stay out of the way, yeah and uh, wow who was doing the transaction?
Speaker 2:his uncle yeah we're all connected, man, it's a family business. You know how it is buddy you know so anyway.
Speaker 1:So here what were you doing there, just chilling?
Speaker 2:I was there, man it's just watching the house, big kid making sure everything's good, you know I got something on me case something.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Da da da, you were just there to make sure everything was good, right.
Speaker 4:Wow bro.
Speaker 1:Look like I know what I'm doing, wow.
Speaker 3:And I didn't.
Speaker 2:I didn't you know and just stay alive.
Speaker 4:Pretty much you know because he really did care about me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he really did. Yeah, yeah, because he could have kicked you out, he yeah because he could have kicked you out. He could have, not the uncle I'm talking about. Oh, okay, the guy. Yeah, he really did. He went to prison.
Speaker 4:He really did care about me. Yeah, he was a good dude, yeah, and so, anyway, now I'm there and I make a biker mad, oh geez, so you know, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:So that you know, oh, yeah, yeah, so that's what happened there. Yeah, so in a situation where I find myself, uh, running for my life, yeah, that's real there bud like honestly yeah the guys who were looking for me did not want to beat me up. No they want to make me disappear, yeah, and so, um, I found myself. It was crazy because I had a place that I would go hide in case we ever got raided.
Speaker 4:So there was a situation. Uh, there was a whole thing I would do in case it how's it going to go yeah. Yeah, Let the pits loose. And do you know all this stuff?
Speaker 4:yeah, yeah, this in the backyard, you know, and then yeah, yeah so I use that protocol to ditch these guys and I didn't realize it. But here I am, it's two in the morning and I'm in this side yard and I'm listening and watching these guys look for me yeah, trucks and bikes and everything. But I was. I I knew that these guys didn't use meth, so I had that. I'm gonna be up.
Speaker 4:Yeah, they're gonna finally tire out yeah, yeah and and uh, I look up and the place I'm hiding and I didn't even realize it was a church, oh my God dude.
Speaker 4:God was protecting you. And I'm at this church. Wow, it's 2 in the morning. My life's at stake. Yeah, I'm at this church. I'm listening to these guys go. He's got to be around here somewhere. Yeah, and God hid me. Yeah, god hid me. Wow, he hid me. Wow, and they it was like three houses down there was where they lived. Yeah, I watched them eventually park, still throwing a fit, still mad, eventually start drinking. I watched the whole situation of God. It was like I was invisible, watching them tire out. Wow. So I called my mom. I said Mom, I know you don't care, but if you do not come get me, I'm not going to live tomorrow. Yeah, I'm done. Wow, if you don't come pick me up and she goes, good, I hope you learned your lesson.
Speaker 2:Damn dude.
Speaker 4:And I said Mom, I know that I've manipulated before.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:I know that I'm a liar. I know that I've manipulated before. Yeah, I know that I'm a liar. I know that I deserve you to tell me this right now. Yeah, but if you don't come pick me up, this is the last conversation we're going to have. Yeah, I'm a dead man, I can't hide. Yeah, and she just hung up.
Speaker 1:Oh geez.
Speaker 4:So then my cousin calls me right back. He's like where are you at?
Speaker 2:So she called him yeah, okay, and he came.
Speaker 4:he's a military guy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, came pick me up, got me out of there, yeah.
Speaker 4:This all went down in Modesto. Wow, bro, yeah, wow.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And where was your mom at?
Speaker 4:She was in Stockton Really, so it wasn't too far down the road. Yeah, and so the whole. I'm going to change Mom.
Speaker 3:That's it no more drugs.
Speaker 4:You know I'm going to do it.
Speaker 2:I'll be good. When you were on the phone and you were saying it, those were really your intentions, but it just once you come into it.
Speaker 4:So then I'm there, stockton, stockton. No, you know, I mean we ran back and forth, okay, anyway, are you at your uncle's? No, I'm at my mom's.
Speaker 2:She had a one-bedroom apartment.
Speaker 4:Wow, and I'm on the couch. Yeah, and I just start doing the same old wow, you know there was a dude that lived in the apartments and you know you recognize yeah it's a spirit, yeah, and we just clicked, yeah, you know, and then we just started running. Then I'm gone all the time yeah I remember one time I came home, I'm on acid and all this different stuff and my mom's face is going where were you? Oh my God, you know what?
Speaker 3:I mean.
Speaker 2:I'm like Mom.
Speaker 4:You know what I mean. I'm just like Mom, I'm just going to try to lay down. No, tell me where you were. So it didn't last long with my mom. Now I'm in parks. I don't know as many people in Stockton. Yeah, and so it's just the same old thing.
Speaker 4:And, if not worse, you know where. I'm just trying to scrounge around to survive. So, 18, I'm a circle of friends, I mean, I don't want to get into everything that was happening, but I was basically. I was there, was this girl I was living with. That didn't work out, it was okay. I guess I can't explain a little bit, okay.
Speaker 2:So this is gonna be crazy oh yeah, this is your life, bro. Okay, that's really what it is staying with this girl.
Speaker 4:her mom was a witch, okay. Her mom chopped all the tips of her fingers off Sacrifice.
Speaker 2:Sacrifice, blood sacrifice, dang the girl you were with.
Speaker 4:Yes, her mom would sit in the living room, chop the girl's fingers off or the mom's Her own fingers, oh, wow, wow.
Speaker 4:So all her fingers were no fingernails, just tips, yeah, wow, just tips, yeah. And she would flip through the Bible and in the living room and she would just have nothing on except like a shirt. She'd sit there flipping through a Bible and then she'd come in and go Chris, come here. And I'm like I'm okay. She goes, no, no, no, come here. I have to tell you something. Do you want to know what the name of the antichrist is? And name of the antichrist is? And she would like go off on the stuff and I'm just like so anyway, we're staying. This is where I was staying. Wow bro, this lady was full-blown witch, her um. And then we had all these youth, like young people, and we all lived there, yeah, so it was like everywhere, just parties and fights and this and that, and then we'd just be running and gunning man dealing drugs out of there and I had a place I could crash, so it was just it was without getting into everything that happened there.
Speaker 4:That was a crazy spot, demonic, crazy, demonic spot Wow. So, as far from you can, as far as you can get from God in a short period of time, wow.
Speaker 2:When people, when people, when we, when we church people talking with the church, and he's talking about don't be in certain places and around certain things. This is the very thing we're talking about don't go there yeah, dang, running from god wow.
Speaker 4:And when she said that, I, you know, I knew, like I knew I was called. Yeah, and here's this lady. Where am I? You know this witch? Yeah, far from God as you can get. I didn't take part in her stuff. You know I'm not sitting there doing witchcraft, but I might as well. You know sorcery, drugs, it's all the same. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Did you ever see her call anybody else and talk about the Bible to her?
Speaker 4:Oh yeah talked about the bible tour. Oh, yeah, yeah, wow, yeah. So you know I'm in, I'm into psychedelics.
Speaker 2:Marilyn manson, you know music, you know, it's just all this stuff, right, just infiltrating the mind.
Speaker 4:I will want to hallucinate.
Speaker 4:I want that's the step I want to do so, just to push forward a little bit to 18. That's my life, yeah, and I'm done. On my 18th birthday, um, I literally wanted to die. I said I'm done. And this is six years after I backslid at 12 years old, yeah, you know, and from the time I was seven, it was like 11 years of getting me to a point where it was like a breaking point. Yeah, from seven till now, I've just done with church, done with, done with life, and so on my 18th birthday, I was on like every, it was 18, I I was.
Speaker 4:I did shrooms acid, meth, cocaine drinking just all of it hallucinating.
Speaker 4:I saw the Grim Reaper come out of the wall and yeah, so I'm like wanting to die, so I'm at this, I'm at this thing and I'm sitting on this chair and then they, they bring out this cake, right, and all these friends are singing happy birthday to me. But I thought they were mocking me and I thought they were trying to kill me. So there was an ax, like in the room, like over there, and I'm like, if I'll, I'll grab this ax and I'm going to kill them before they kill me. What's going on in my mind? Lost my mind.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're tripping, bro, yeah.
Speaker 4:Lost my mind. I'm sitting there and I'm not talking to anybody and it's happy birthday to. Is what's going on, yeah, in my mind though there's flickering flames off of the candles on their faces. Yeah, and it's demons. Yeah, and they're mocking me and tormenting me. Like happy birthday to you. This is your last day. Wow, we got you this is what's going on in my head wow and so I grabbed that axe and I jump up and I, all you devils are gonna die and I scream and everybody's like what, you know, like what?
Speaker 4:you know, and and they're, and I just I, I snapped out of it, yeah, and I took off running down the street in Stockton, california, and I had an ax in my hand. Wow, and that's the last thing I remember is running down the street in the middle of the night and then light hits my eyes the next day and I wake up and I'm butt naked in some bushes Wow.
Speaker 2:Wow, bro, and I'm mad that I woke up. Yeah, I'm mad. Wow, I remember those mornings. Yeah, why? Yeah, another day, what?
Speaker 4:why I tried. Yeah, can't even die, right, yeah you, yeah, damn. So I'm gathering my stuff, putting clothes on. I'm out in the middle of this neighborhood. It's naked dude, you know Stockton.
Speaker 2:Stockton.
Speaker 4:And two weeks after that there was these people that I knew and their mom was a supervisor nurse. She was an RN, she ran a hospital at night, so she worked graveyards so people would go hang out there. They didn't have anywhere else to go. We'd go hang out, drink, party this, and that they had a pool, a place you could sleep. And so I was going there at night. You know when days that she was working, I was there. Well, one morning she catches me there and she, I jump up. I'm like, oh, I'm sorry, you know, I had a Mickey's bottle there, a mess. I'm like I'm sorry, I start to get dressed like I didn't mean.
Speaker 2:You know, I had a Mickey's bottle there A mess.
Speaker 3:I'm like.
Speaker 4:I'm sorry, I start to get dressed. I didn't mean to disrespect your home. She goes no, no, no, no, no. Come sit down. I go, no, no, no, no you know it's okay. I'm sorry and I'm trying to leave. She goes, come sit down, come working.
Speaker 2:Graveyard makes me breakfast, wow and she's making I go, so he's gonna poison me. I'm done, she's gonna kill me I'm dead.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you know, and uh, she makes herself a plate, makes me a plate. She sits down at the table. You know it's bacon eggs yeah, smell good yeah she says and I'm moving the food around with my fork like I'm not eating first yeah this lady poisoned. She takes a bite.
Speaker 4:She goes, go ahead, come on, yeah. And then she says why are you here? And I said, well, um, I'm here because I don't, I don't have anywhere else to go, to be honest, and I'm sorry she goes. I know a place you can go. She goes, they'll feed you, they'll take care of you, they ain't gonna charge you nothing. She goes, you can go there. And I said, okay, she goes, there's just one catch she goes you gotta give your heart to Jesus and I go.
Speaker 4:Well, I did that a long time ago when I was a kid. She goes, there's just one catch, she goes you've got to give your heart to Jesus and I go. Well, I did that a long time ago when I was a kid. No problem, religion I did religious stuff when I was a kid and I didn't know God was, you know, setting me up for something big something life-changing.
Speaker 4:So she says, okay, you know, I'll take you over there. And she was taking me and her son, who I was hanging out with, yeah, and we both. He starts packing up and he's like I'm not going, no, no, no, I go. Come on, man, be cool, let's just go, let's check it out. You know, and I'm sure she appreciated that, yeah, and I went in the restroom and I did a whole bunch of meth, bro, I've had that time I'm like I don't know where I'm going, but I'm going in, I'm getting suited.
Speaker 2:I don't know what's.
Speaker 4:I did a whole bunch.
Speaker 2:I'm not going to remember a thing.
Speaker 4:And I go in, there's this pastor. His name is Pastor Dan and he's doing bible study and she takes me to victory life oh my god I'm 40 west rose street in stockton, california wow and I walk in and he goes leave your stuff right there at the door. It's cool. We'll go through it later. Come have a seat. Yeah, and I sit down on this couch and he's sharing. And I'm looking around the room and it's all these older dudes.
Speaker 4:Man, I'm 18, I'm around like these 40 year old cholo dudes, I'm like what is going on here, man, this is wild yeah and he's teaching a bible study, and I don't want to say he was boring.
Speaker 4:No, I'm joking get him pastor dan the last thing I should have done, because of the amount of meth that was in my system, was fall asleep, yeah, and it was like God just put me to sleep, wow. And when I woke up, I was in a bed, and this is in 97, okay. I was in a bed and there was a guy next to my bed, this gangster looking guy, yeah, and he's praying over me while I'm asleep. Wow, I was in a bed and there was a guy next to my bed. He's a gangster-looking guy, yeah, and he's praying over me while I'm asleep. Wow, he's like God, heal him, god, I mean praying, praying in the Holy Spirit, praying over me. And I looked at him and he goes go back to sleep, man, you're okay, go back to sleep. So I just went back to sleep, yeah. And then I woke up. There's a different guy next to my bed and he's reading the Bible out loud over me while I'm sleeping. Go back to sleep, wake up. There's another, there's different.
Speaker 2:Every time I wake up and they're like you need to use the restroom Shower.
Speaker 4:Clean up, come back, just come back to bed, you're all right hour. Clean up, come back, just come back to bed. Wow, you're all right. It would feed me. Come back to sleep. And every time I woke up it's a different guy. Dang god, that's special. And that was three days. Wow. It was like when paul was blinded, yeah, and waited there three days on the way on the, on the way you know. That street called straight, I believe it was. He was blinded and he was there three days waiting for the scales to come off his eyes. Wow, and after that three days, when I came out of that, I never touched drugs again. Wow, bro, I never touched it again. I was I'm not gonna say that I was, I'm not gonna say that it was like, uh, I was perfect because I was an 18-year-old mess. Yeah, buddy, but I was delivered from drugs.
Speaker 1:Them men fought for you bro.
Speaker 4:They fought for me. Them men fought for you, dude. They fought for me.
Speaker 1:They fought for your spirit, they fought for your soul. Bro, that moves my heart, dude. Yeah, it really does.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what we're going to do. Dad in our home for our men.
Speaker 1:They didn't know you from Adam Brown. They took the time to do that, yeah 24 hours a day.
Speaker 4:There was someone next to my dad, amen, that first three days.
Speaker 2:Every new man Dad, every new man buddy, yeah, so good. Thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so wow. Then you know I I was just in the home. Yeah, I never, I'd never been to jail and the closest thing I was was I went to Modesto Psychiatric Center because I got kicked out of Henshaw Middle School twice in one year for violence and the SARB school attendance review review board. I flipped out in front of them, threw a chair, did all that and they stay this dude's crazy.
Speaker 2:Send me the psych ward so they put me in my deso psychiatric center and that place was his whole that's the closest I've ever been to like in an institution.
Speaker 4:Okay, okay, okay, so anyway, so dang bro, here I am in the home now wow I'm around guys who come from prison come from jail and they're showing me the, showing me the ropes like hey this is, this is, you know, this is how we do it and I, I start to learn.
Speaker 4:Well, it was just um, so much happened. I mean, I don't know what all you want me to share as far as the home is concerned, but you know that was. It was a home that Pastor Ruben had sent to Stockton. Pastor Ruben had sent a man named Pastor Ben. Pastor Ben, was he heart of a lion man? Yeah, he. I don't want to get too much into his.
Speaker 2:I mean, you have to share his story, but he was, you know, just so for all of our listeners and everybody who's watching when he's talking about Pastor Ruben and he's talking about victory life. Some of you guys have previously heard on past testimonies about my time in the men's home. That's what I was talking about earlier with pastor chris. Our time it was in the 2015 to about 2017. Um, it was a three-year period, but it was in the men's home. Yeah, um, and living in a community in a men's home, there's just something special about it that god uses it in a way that, unless you're in that position or in that place, it's hard to comprehend. It's hard to understand because it's so much iron, sharpening iron and just really getting chiseled and broken off man. But men's homes are special and that's really our heart, you know, is to have something like that in the future through Speak Life.
Speaker 1:I can't tell you how many times I told Ryan I'm like dude, you're blessed, bro. The fact that you don't I mean I know this is not going to sound good but the fact that he didn't have nothing tying him down not that my wife and kids tied me down, but the fact that he didn't have nothing holding him, that he could go to those homes and spend that time with men of God, teen Challenge, spend that year in Teen Challenge those were opportunities that I wish I could have had, but I had the family, so I don't want to make it sound like I don't like my family. I love my family. You know what I mean. But I would have loved to have that opportunity before I had my family.
Speaker 1:Yeah, to have that time and men's homes like that, or in teen challenge like that, because I saw what it did for him, you know I mean, and so much so that I went and visited you guys but just I don't know, I just I can just see those men over you, brother, while you were through those three days, and I could just, I don't know, man, that's such a beautiful sight to see men, Cause men are different bro, men are different.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. And when you get these men that are interceding and praying and and and just speaking the word of God over another brother, yeah, yeah, I mean that's freaking awesome dude. Yeah, those are men. Yeah, but the world out here is trying to portray as men. That's false dude. You know what I mean? Yeah, that's men right there that go to battle for each other, who intercede for each other.
Speaker 2:That's the heart of God. Yeah, that's a man that are after God's heart man.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah. So after that three days, we're going to church. Now I grew up in church. That was like fire, right, big, beautiful building. Yeah, all the UPC church, big, beautiful, okay, thousands of people. Oh wow, pulpit, big, beautiful, the best preacher. I didn't grow up in small, I grew up in like big, fancy, best preachers in the country, best preachers in the world, music arrangements, like everything top notch. And so I'm thinking, oh, we're going to church.
Speaker 3:Okay, cool, let's do this Right.
Speaker 4:And we jump in this van Come on bro, and we roll up to this neighborhood in Southside Stockton.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and I'm talking like ghetto, yeah, and I'm looking around. I'm like I don't see no church around here. And we roll up to this house yeah, come on. We get out of the van. I'm like, where's the church? Yeah, so what's in here? Come on, come on, man. We go in and we walk through the house and all the guys are in a single file line, yeah. And we go in to this garage yep, it's converted smaller than yeah, what you got here.
Speaker 4:Yeah, way smaller yeah, yeah and I remember there's a green carpet pulpit and there's a tape deck with a little speaker wow, wow, bro, and I'm like this is church. Yeah, you know this ain't this, ain't what I'm used to. Yeah, and the pastor gets up there and and he plays some Ron Canole. You know what I mean. Lift him up, your name is lifted. You know he's playing this Ron Canole stuff on a tape deck man, and he stops the tape and then switches to a different tape and it's a different song.
Speaker 3:That's great.
Speaker 4:And I'm like this is interesting. And then he starts preaching man and I'm like this is interesting. And then he starts preaching man and he starts preaching. I don't remember exactly what the message was, but I remember at the end he said you should not be here, you should be dead, but God spared your life and it's not by accident that you're here today. Yeah, and you need to respond to god. Wow, today everything's gonna change. And this is after the three days. Yeah, I'm awake now. Yeah, and now it's just like god just reached down into the deepest part of me, just pulled a bunch of stuff out, man, while I'm sitting in that chair and I'm crying in my seat. Yeah, and I remember I just went down to that altar man and that green carpet. I put my face down on that carpet and I just I didn't say nothing, I just started weeping, just weeping and howling, bro, yeah, buddy.
Speaker 4:Howling.
Speaker 3:Probably sounded like I don't know man, I'm howling.
Speaker 4:Big old kid man weeping broken just left a pile of tears.
Speaker 3:That's real, bro, yep.
Speaker 4:And that's when my life changed. Wow, bro, because it wasn't religion, it wasn't fancy, yeah, it wasn't a spectacle, man, it's just the gospel, it's just me, and god this green carpet in this garage and south side stock.
Speaker 2:Yeah buddy. Yep, you know, and yeah, buddy.
Speaker 4:Yep, you know, and something changed in me and so I started progressing. Yeah, you know, learning and things were happening.
Speaker 2:And then yeah, they start raising you up in the home.
Speaker 4:Well, yeah, and just learning, learning. And then we meet this man. He rolls up in this van. It's a black van, it's this guy man. He gets out of the van, comes up to me, goes hey Rev, how you doing, I love it and I go. This guy called me.
Speaker 3:Rev.
Speaker 2:Either Rev or Bishop. I'm white trash. I'm a trucker, I'm a felon. I'm not me Rev. Either Rev or Bishop. I'm white trash, I'm not a Rev. You got the wrong guy for Rev.
Speaker 4:Come on, buddy, I didn't tell him that, I just said well, you know, I didn't even say nothing, I just got probably beat Red and just was like all right, you know, and it's Pastor Reuben, raina man, wow man.
Speaker 4:First time I ever met him, wow. And all he said was how you doing ref? Yeah. And I was just like this is different, yeah, it's just different, yeah. So we, uh, we are having service at that time and it was the church was on California street in Stockton, california, so it's downtown rough area. On one side was a bar, so we're a storefront. One side there's a bar. On the other side there's a porno shop.
Speaker 3:And here's a church right in the middle.
Speaker 4:Wow, so the guys, you know customers, go right into the bar, right into the porno shop and skip over the church for whatever reason, right, there's sin.
Speaker 4:And then it was just crazy man. So you know, here's pastor ruben's in town. Yeah, we're bringing them in. So we got these, uh, choir robes and we did that. Kirk branklin song stomp yeah, and I'm wearing a choir robe. But we're doing this whole thing. You know, pastor ruben's there trying to make something special you know it's probably a mess, but we you know we're we're loving jesus love the men's home man, but he preached a message on revival and something changed in me.
Speaker 4:So then we went to conference. Now I'm 19 and we go to conference and the conference is at this place called the West Cove Theater in West Covina, california, and that's where Pastor Rubin had it. He had a church at that time but it was two huge theaters and it was a conference. I heard Ray Kirkland preach for the first time. I never heard he preached the message I still remember it was called Leviathan.
Speaker 4:One of the craziest messages I've ever heard. Tracy Jones, the first time I ever heard him preach Pastor. Heard him preach, pastor tracy jones. He's in houston, texas. He preached a message called stay in your lane.
Speaker 3:I remember he said don't try to fill another man's shoes because they may be too big and they may be too small. Stay in your lane. Oh, come on, somebody that'll preach.
Speaker 4:So all these awesome preachers, man yeah, and I heard, uh, one of the pastors and he went to be with the lord. He called me out and I'm wearing a donated shirt to the men's home, whatever it is, whatever sparkly shirt would fit me, to try to look like I was saved at this conference. And he says he's a father to the fatherless. Wow, wow. He said whoever your pastor is, he's not just your pastor.
Speaker 3:He's your father.
Speaker 4:Wow, God's given you a father. Wow, and he didn't know me. Yeah, and that's still to this day. I was 19 years old. Wow, that night that was during the day that night, Pastor Ruben gets up to close the conference and the message that he preached was titled God Can Use you Despite your Weaknesses. And he preached this message that changed my life completely. And he said those of you that are called of God, you feel God called you. Come down to this altar. And I went down to the altar and I felt the call of God on my life. Wow, this kid that went through abuse, turmoil, pain, loneliness, homelessness, addiction, violence, drugs, all of it should not be here.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And he said hey, despite all those weaknesses, god can use, you Come on. And I also remember he did a donkey noise. It was like spot on donkey noise. I can't do the donkey noise man, but it's pretty awesome, and so he's the best man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Gosh bro.
Speaker 4:So I go back and I graduated in Stockton. Wow, right, I graduate and graduated. The home I'm working now, I'm working security. At that time we would go into apartment complexes, right. So how we? We didn't sell chocolates in Stockton. Yeah, we'd go into apartment complexes, clean out all the drug dealers, gang members and all that and then fix the apartments up and then rent them to good people. Yeah, wow, so it was an interesting.
Speaker 2:I learned a lot. That's an interesting way to make money for the home.
Speaker 4:Bingo. So, I could tell you a couple of stories about what happened to those. So, um, I had an apartment at three different complexes. I had my own apartment because I would have to go, you know I was 24 hour security.
Speaker 2:So.
Speaker 4:I just pop in the middle of night just check on stuff, make sure it was good. And this is crazy area, man. Yeah, you're in Stockton, bro, and I'm 19. Yeah, you're in Stockton, bro, and I'm 19. And so one night this guy's banging on the front door His name was no Good. He's banging on the front door and I kept it locked overnight.
Speaker 2:Are you talking about in the apartment or in the home? At the apartment, not at the home.
Speaker 4:The guys at the home are at the home.
Speaker 2:I'm the one that's kind of overseeing the apartments You're working now. Graduated yeah, not at the home. The guys at the home are at the home. I'm the one that's kind of overseeing your apartments. You're working now graduated, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:And he says I said hey, I can't let you in, man, it's too late, you got to come back tomorrow. He goes. I was up there right now. He goes, I just forgot my stuff. You know, let me just go grab my stuff real quick, I'll come right. I promise I'm not doing and I go, I go. All right, man, I'm going to wait right here, go ahead. So he went up, came back down real quick. He goes. See, I just needed this and I go. Okay, and he goes. You know what, chris, one day you're going to reach me and I go.
Speaker 4:Well, I said I'm not really trying to reach you, man, I said God is, and he's gonna do whatever it takes to get your attention. Come home, have a good night, and then he he just looked at me. Well, two weeks after that he got hit by a diesel truck dang oh geez and dragged three blocks. Damn, all his stuff was spilling out. They had to like keep him to hold it in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and he was all wrapped up man, you never know when god's trying to get you man dang so I didn't hear about this until after he survived it.
Speaker 4:Whoa, so he survived whoa and whoa he rolls up on me on a bike and the whole side of his face is all like grafted. He just looks like a Spider-Man, villain, ear, masked and everything. And there was a glow on him bro. He looked beautiful, yeah, wow. And he rolled up to me smiling.
Speaker 2:Jesus.
Speaker 4:And he said man, there you are, I've been looking for you and he rolls up, he goes. I'm sure you heard about what happened. He goes. All I could think about in that hospital was that night and what you told me he goes. And I gave my life to Jesus in that hospital. Come on, man, I'm never looking back. Come on, that was just one story of how God would just.
Speaker 4:Yeah, buddy, you know there was another time I would leave my windows open and there were guys that were out you know they're walking back and forth and I'd leave my windows open. I'd be praying every day, god I thank you for this neighborhood and you know, just praying for the neighborhood and praying for people walking by and they would hear it and see it yeah, well, this guy comes, he goes, hey you
Speaker 4:come here and I went out and it was like I he was by himself, I thought but there were like a whole bunch of dollars. Oh, they're going to jump me, yeah, all right.
Speaker 4:And I just looked at him and I go what's up, bro? And he goes you better be for real. And I'm okay. What does that mean? He goes well, you better be for real, because we're all watching you. And I go I'm glad to hear that you're watching me, man. Yeah, I said because you know there's people in your family that are praying for you. Wow, you know they're praying. You know you don't belong out here, man.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:You see a young man and they're praying and you know you're supposed to be doing the same thing and he goes no, no, no, no, I go. Thank you, joe, I didn't get jumped that day.
Speaker 2:Praise God, but you know so it's just a matter of like having the Holy Spirit gives you what to say at the right times to keep you out of harm's way.
Speaker 4:You know. So we go to that conference and then I come back, you know, and I'm doing that. I graduated the home and we're working these apartments. We're doing all this and I was able to get my mom her own apartment now and she wasn't paying anything.
Speaker 2:It was good.
Speaker 4:All this stuff happened and then I'm working for this security company on top of this, so I got rent free.
Speaker 2:I'm working security.
Speaker 4:I'm building a little account. Someone gave me a car. I got a car given to me Like all this stuff's blessings Was that, and was that the red one? No, this was a 95 chevy cavalier that I had to hold a bungee cord to keep the door shut when I turned the corner.
Speaker 2:So it's not anything spectacular, but it was my blessing. We all gotta start somewhere.
Speaker 4:Yeah, this is uh but, um, you know, it's so, man, I could see you six, five in a cabin.
Speaker 1:Yeah, in a cabin. You know, come on, praise God, get on in here, girl.
Speaker 4:No, I'm joking, but it was you know.
Speaker 2:You're building a life for yourself, but you're in a good place. You're submitted. You're going to church, bro, you're helping other men. Come in and learn the way. You're working multiple different things to keep you busy, because people like us need to stay busy. Man, uh, man. This you're able to say. Now you're helping mama, exactly god. So how old are you at this time?
Speaker 4:1920., okay, okay, just about to turn 20. And God tells me, clear as day Quit everything and go to California. Really Be with Pastor Rube, really Clear as day. Yeah, so where were you? I was in church, same place, helping. Helping, but up north. I was in church, same place, helping, but up north I was in.
Speaker 3:Stockton Okay.
Speaker 4:And God told me to go to La Puente. Okay, Okay. So I go tell.
Speaker 2:Pastor Ben.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, the family and everybody I've been close with. They're my family. Yeah, and there's so much that happened. It's years of closeness.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:And I said God's calling me to go to Southern California. And there was one of the brothers and I said it this way. I said God told me to go to California to be with Pastor Ruben, and he goes, this guy. I still remember these words and this guy's still around. So I'm not going to name who it was.
Speaker 2:Amen.
Speaker 4:But if you're watching, you know who you are. You know who you are bro.
Speaker 2:I'll send you the link. No, we've already talked, I've already you know, we've had it.
Speaker 3:I wouldn't bring it up if it wasn't healed.
Speaker 4:Amen, and I just said well, he said Pastor Ruben wouldn't have anything to do with a guy like you.
Speaker 2:Damn bro man. He said you just stay here.
Speaker 3:Dang.
Speaker 4:Pastor Ruben, don't have time for a guy like you. Yeah, god, and I said well, I said you just confirm that I know I'm here. I know, yeah, it's good, that's real good, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And I said and God told me to do this, and there's nothing I can say or anyone can say yeah, I just have to obey God. Yep, so I sold all my stuff. I sold the car, yeah, I sold everything I had. And I bought a one-way bus ticket. Oh, wow, you ain't coming back to la puente. Yeah, and it dropped me off in el mani. That's the closest I could get. Have you ever been to?
Speaker 2:la puente before never wow.
Speaker 4:The only thing I went to is conference of west covina, that's it oh my god, I, we were there with the home and this, and that. It wasn't like I don't know anything. Yeah, stockton's, northern California, stockton's.
Speaker 1:Northern Modesto.
Speaker 4:Stockton, merced. I lived all through there, all right.
Speaker 3:Ghetto bro ghetto Never been to Northern California.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:It's wild out there, so the um, so I buy this one way, I, and then to make sure that I couldn't have, a backup plan. He's literally that account, I closed it and I gave all the money to my mom. Nice, I said spend this. Yeah, use it for what you want. Yeah, I gotta, I gotta, obey god. Yeah, one-way bus ticket, packed all my stuff and there I go, yeah so you literally show up.
Speaker 2:You got no extra funds to if it you. This is where I am. God, you called me here. Here I am I'm homeless again.
Speaker 4:Wow, no backup plan, wow. And I knew one guy there and um, and then I knew pastor edgy, but that was before he was a pastor. Yeah, he was. He was the home director at this time and I I just showed up, so none of the guys really knew me and they're checking my stuff. You know, I went through the whole thing.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, you know checking all my stuff. Check those socks, bro you never know what's in there, you know just but I'm, I'm there to obey god.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and for the first three months I didn't talk to pastor ruben, I didn't talk to anybody, I was just there. Yeah, three months it took to talk with pastor, because it was some a lot without unpacking everything with Pastor, because it was a lot Without unpacking everything that happened. There was just a lot that was happening when I showed up.
Speaker 3:Crazy stuff.
Speaker 4:And so the first conversation I had with Pastor Ruben, he said bullets are flying. He says dig a trench and get into it. He said what I mean by that is humble yourself and stay low. And I was just like that's the first conversation I had with him, you know, and it wasn't even like hey, I came from Stockton, I came, you know, it was just simply that. And then he got in his van and drove off, that was it, and to a certain extent, that's all I needed to hear, which is all right, cool.
Speaker 4:Take a trance, Get low man and so I'm working in the home and you know doing stuff in the home there and trying to just be a blessing.
Speaker 2:Did they have candy crew down there?
Speaker 4:Oh, just be a blessing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, did they have candy crew down there?
Speaker 4:oh, yeah, yeah you ain't clearing out apartments down here. I'll tell you my first trip on candy crew. Okay, I'll tell you the first time I ever sold candy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then you can share yours.
Speaker 4:Oh geez well I'm sure it was a blessing, but, uh, my first time ever selling chocolates. I go with with this guy, right, and he's old gangster dude, yeah, and he, uh, they gave me a box of candy, just one box of seized chocolates. It was like, I think, 24 in a box, which is nothing Right. And and, uh, he's goes in front of a store and this dude takes his backpack and uses it a pillow and puts a chocolate like on his next to him, kind of open, and lays down in front of the store. And it's not saying anything to anybody, he's just laying there. And I go, I'm watching and I'm like how's this guy gonna sell these? So I went up to him and I go, hey, would it be okay if I took a walk and tried to go talk to some people around here and see, he goes, you can do whatever you want. And then he just like laid there. So 20 minutes later, bro, I come back with an empty box. Come on, bro.
Speaker 2:And the candy's gone. Well, there's a way.
Speaker 4:And he goes where's your candy? I go, I sold it. He goes what I? I go I sold it. He goes what I go? Yeah, I sold it. I said I don't know how you expect to sell this stuff laying here, bro. And he goes do mine. I go, all right, I'll be right back Went.
Speaker 2:and he goes all right, don't call the home, they want to hang out. But if you call the home, you get more candy. You got to sell more he goes.
Speaker 4:Let's just wait and they'll come pick us up eventually. I go. We have more time. We could probably sell more candy. I love the new brothers man and he goes he's like looking at me, like I go, just call them up.
Speaker 3:Tell them we're done.
Speaker 4:And so he calls it home. And they brought us more chocolates, went and sold those Because no one was doing it. Yeah, wow, everything was fresh territory, man, yeah, I didn't know. Now, looking back, oh, my God, this was. No one was doing walks like that. That's how they were trying to sell. Yeah, you were the wow.
Speaker 2:Bro, you brought the candy walks into the dang. You really are the original as far as on that crew.
Speaker 4:Yeah, okay okay, I mean I'm sure there were other ideas of how to fundraise chocolates but, they weren't. He didn't teach me it, right yeah.
Speaker 1:Wow, bro, that's a gift in itself, bro, yeah, just talking because I went with him. I went to the first place and was like I'm like you're good, you can do this. I'm like I couldn't do it. Yeah, I couldn't do it. It takes a special person to be able to walk up to a complete stranger.
Speaker 2:You just got to know that they're not rejecting you. They're rejecting Jesus in you. But I know it's one thing to walk up and share Jesus with somebody but to sell some chocolate. It's a different ballgame brother.
Speaker 1:You're but to sell some candy it's a different ball game, brother you're.
Speaker 2:You're not just sharing jesus, you're selling something, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a different ball, you gotta get something from him. I've seen this dude just sell it like like nothing. Oh yeah, he's a killer but I knew not to call the home for more chocolate.
Speaker 1:I would not do good on a candy yeah, so what happened was we sold all that candy too.
Speaker 4:so now I'm feeling like cool, you know, and I wasn't, you weren't allowed to make phone calls. Yeah, but I called my mom because I hadn't talked to my mom and I had been there months, months, yeah, but so I called my mom. I said mom, I'm good, everything's fine. I don't know. And I got convicted Because I know this guy's not going to say nothing. Yeah, but even though I just sold all this funds, I raised all these funds. I still broke the rule. Yeah, hello, come on, compromise.
Speaker 2:Compromise, compromise.
Speaker 4:So I went back and I said, hey, tell on yourself, wow, pastor Edgy, pastor Edgy, he was in the home, he was the home director.
Speaker 3:He was the home director oh wow.
Speaker 4:And I said hey, you know he goes hey good job today.
Speaker 4:And he was, you know, he was excited and I said, oh, thank you, pastor. I said I just got to confess something to you. I said I called my mom when I was out there and he goes you did I go. Yeah, he goes. All right, you got to discipline, I go. Okay, discipline at that time was the brick pile, oh God. So it was this pile of bricks about this high and just from that sign all the way over here, this big pile of bricks, and you had to pick the brick up, wash each side of it with a brush, stack it over there and then pick it back up, wash each side of it and put it back where it was. So you move the whole pile over and then move the pile back where it was, so I was out there for a while me, and then the blessed part about it was the guy that went out there with me because he didn't, uh, say anything.
Speaker 4:Yeah, he was on the brick pile with me. So now I got this guy in trouble. First time I ever fundraised he's out there just like mad, you know. So anyway, that's good stuff.
Speaker 4:That was my first time on candy crew and uh, you know so there were times where, oh, yeah, man, you know like the van would break down, yeah, you know, and it's just like, okay, and then you're on one side. I'm not a mechanic, so get me under the hood to fix that thing's not going to work. Yeah, but I see a shopping cart right there and there's boxes of chocolate here. Yeah, let me throw all these chocolates in the shopping cart and hit the road come on give me a partner and we'll go sell this. You guys fix that van.
Speaker 2:See you later.
Speaker 4:You know. So it was just you know that type of where you know you're called, but are you willing to do whatever it takes?
Speaker 3:you know so so that's where.
Speaker 4:That's where all that was. I mean there's a lot that happened in the homes. You know, just the home is the home man.
Speaker 1:The home is the home man you could do a whole thing, just on the men's home. Oh yeah, you know and but you know, men living in close proximity like that, I'm sure it can be pretty challenging, man.
Speaker 4:I mean, one time we had this brother that you know he wasn't in the home but he thought he would help by bringing guys. That you know he wasn't in the home but he thought he would help by bringing guys. Sometimes they think they help by bringing you know these guys. You have to, in certain aspects, you have to vet them a certain way, make sure they're ready to follow the rules and do what you know God wants them to do. Just bringing anybody it does.
Speaker 3:Sometimes it can hurt more than it helps.
Speaker 4:This guy brought five escapees from the downtown LA LA mental institution bro.
Speaker 3:So they were all like on the run.
Speaker 4:Big dudes too. This one guy, big giant dude, bro, and he puts all the weight we have on the back, puts it all on the bar and is curling it. Rah, rah, rah. I mean curling this stuff. I'm just like what is going on?
Speaker 3:Stupid strength bro.
Speaker 4:How are we going to confront this and deal with this guy? You know?
Speaker 2:How long were you in the home? How long were you in the La Puente home?
Speaker 4:Well, all together from 97. I mean, I feel like I'm still in the home. Come on, baby, I mean it's just kind of like how I live. You know, the regimen of discipleship is a part of my life.
Speaker 1:So you were around because you said when you first went to Stockton it was Victory Life.
Speaker 4:Yep.
Speaker 1:So you were around when it became Living Word.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so it went Victory Life, and then it went. Then we were in Baldwin Park, right, the home was in La Plante, and that was Victory Life. And then it went. Then we were in Baldwin Park, right, yeah, the home was in La Plante, and that was Victory Life, yeah. And then Pastor Ruben got a church in Buena Park, yeah, yeah, that was on fire, yeah. And then it went from on fire and then Living Word, oh right, oh okay. And then that's when they Living Word, and that's when he just started sending out churches.
Speaker 2:Living Word Christian center.
Speaker 4:And so that's yeah, I was around for all that transition, all that stuff.
Speaker 2:He's a son, bro. He's literally a son, exactly yeah.
Speaker 4:I tell people all the time I'm not a saint, I'm a son, that's it.
Speaker 1:When he first went over there. Of course I had to do some research because I wanted to make sure he was in good hands, you know, I mean, and man, I found a picture of him on the top of a bus pastor ruben, yeah, yeah, back in larry reed back in like the 70s, preaching the gospel from the top of a bus bro and I was just like wow, this dude.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's some good stories out there about him that you can find if you look for him, and just a really good dude bro you can tell he's really got a good heart for god and just loves men.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean, yeah I had one of those same encounters that, uh, pastor chris had at a conference with him. Um, it was my. It was, uh, 2015. Oh, what was that? It was the black shirt. I forgot what the theme was for that year, man, but that was the conference that, um, I met Chase at and reached, teach, sent men, and so well.
Speaker 2:That's the vision um, but it was the one where I went up and me and Chase. We were up there at the altar and Pastor Ruben came over to us and just patting us men of god, men of god, men of god, men of god. That's all he just kept doing to us yeah, that one broke and every one. It was like the hand of god more, more, whoa dude. Yeah, I love you, pastor ruben, if you watch this man.
Speaker 4:Thank you for everything yeah, yeah, yeah, truly life-changing, you know, yeah now we get to do it for others.
Speaker 2:Buddy, come on. Yes, you're gonna have another men's home.
Speaker 1:Baby, yeah, yeah eventually come on bro did you ever get to be a director of a men's home?
Speaker 4:I never was a director. Um, I, I had a home, I planted a church, we started with the men's home, but they, I had a director that worked the home and I was the pastor. It was a church plant so basically you know, but um, I was never like assigned to uh, be the home director for pastor ruben. Yeah, never wasen, never got that honor. I was more of the guy doing the youth ministry. I was a youth leader, youth pastor and then I was a worship leader.
Speaker 1:I can see you were a youth pastor, right. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:And then I was a worship leader for nine years. Did you know worship and building worship teams and writing songs?
Speaker 2:doing all that type of stuff.
Speaker 4:And you know one thing that in that I did was I. I failed pretty big, you know, and I don't really I mean I talk about it. I mean I talk about it, but I was the guy that kind of like had all the potential and had all the training, had all the discipleship. God moved in my life, god anointed me and I was preaching and doing this, all this stuff, and took all that training, all that development and failed with it. You know, on a big stage Really, where everybody knew Really, yeah, wow, yeah, and I you know, I fell into sin with the woman.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we took off it. L wow, one day I'm preaching, doing this, doing that. Next day I'm telling pastor ruben uh, pastor, I'm about to get married because I can't live in sin. Wow, wow, he's like what? Come home, what are you doing? Come home I said I can't, pastor, I messed up, I fell into sin and in my mind, because of you know, I didn't want to like stain Pastor.
Speaker 1:Yeah, come on, I'm like I got to make this right. Yeah, there was honor there.
Speaker 4:And it was one time yeah, looking back, I should have, just you know, did what he said yeah, repent and just come home, come on yeah, but I, I just like it was too big I held myself to a higher standard of like, okay, let me fix this, and that cost me 13 years of marriage, yeah, and a beautiful blessing of my kids came out of that marriage my first marriage and there's healing there and forgiveness there and all of that.
Speaker 4:But I now weigh every decision and every relationship and every choice that I make on whether or not this is going to cost me another 10 years, come on oh that's so good. Wow, and is this going to cost? Me 10 years, yeah, or is this going to push forward the kingdom of god? Come on, man. And everything I do is it's strategic it's calculated. Now it's strategic and perfect, calculated yeah.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 4:I can't afford. So I was the son that took everything and banged his head against the wall. Yeah, until now, like, okay, I got all the training, I got all the equipment. Yeah, I just stopped banging my head against the wall. Come on, come on, buddy, you know what I mean. Yeah, so I just stopped banging my head against the wall.
Speaker 4:Come on, you know what I mean, yeah. So let me tell you, I wound up, you know working, I wasn't, you know, of course. I was sat down and all that stuff, yeah. And so I was like, well, let me find a job. So I found this job in Stockton, yeah, and it was for a paper mill and was rotating shifts. It was good money. It was a union job, rotating shifts meaning I would work a certain amount and they'd switch your schedule.
Speaker 4:You're always rotating the schedule, yeah but it was 2 in the morning. I got promoted quick. I went in there and it was just like they gave me my own section. After a couple months I had my own section. I was driving a front loader and I was feeding this conveyor belt. No one was on my case. All I had to do was keep this thing fed.
Speaker 2:Do your job. It was good, yeah, it was 2.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it was, and here it was two in the morning, bro, and I know I'm called to preach man.
Speaker 4:I know I'm called to minister man, I know I'm. I know what I'm called to do. Yeah, and here I am, at two in the morning and the paper mill did recycle magazines and there's as high as the ceiling of porno magazines piled up around me. Jesus, and I'm feeding this conveyor belt full of porno magazines. At two in the morning and I just started weeping. I got one of my doughnut here. Why am I doing this? Yeah, you know like this is crazy. Yeah, and it's just like I woke up.
Speaker 4:I said, all right, whatever I got to do, I'm going to go back. Yeah, I'm going to go back. I'm going to face it. I went back. I just humbled myself. I said, pastor, you know I'm here, I'm sorry. Yeah, I made a myself. I said, pastor, you know I'm here, I'm sorry. Yeah, I made a mess. Can you help me clean it? Yeah, and he did. Man, he put his arms around me, gave me the time I needed. Yeah, wow, that's special. Yeah, so that led up to 2009. God began to restore my life and I lived a block from the church, so I was there for everything. Yeah, working there for everything. And before well, actually before that I was getting back involved in ministry.
Speaker 1:So by the time you were gone, you weren't going to church and stuff I was going to church, but I was in Stockton.
Speaker 4:I went back to Stockton. I wasn't backslidden, I was just not in my place. Hello and I don't want to get in. I may want to start preaching on something about placement. I'm not here to do that. I'm here to share a story right, dad loves it about placement you know I'm not here to do that.
Speaker 1:I'm here to share a story.
Speaker 4:right, I'll take a little preaching, Dad loves it Just because people are in church don't mean they're in place.
Speaker 3:Come on man.
Speaker 2:Come on Finding placement is everything.
Speaker 4:Think about Rowdy, you know, you're not just here in church. You found your place.
Speaker 4:Yep, and that's everything, yep, all the results of kingdom progression. That's happened because you found a place here. Thank you, god. It's a beautiful thing. Yeah, so I was out of place. I knew what I was called to do, but I wasn't in placement. Yeah, so 2009, I'm seeing god move and God do all these things and people are getting sent out, churches being planted, and I'm like, man, I know I'm called a pastor. Yeah, I know I'm called, and this is years after the failure. Yeah, so all that's clean. And I go up to the pastor and I'm like, hey, when's it my?
Speaker 3:turn.
Speaker 4:You know, and I know what it is to be loved enough to say it's not your time. Yeah, it's not your time. It's not your time, yeah, it's not, you're not ready.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:You know, and I would just watch people get anointed sent out, anointed sent out, and here I am yeah, come on yeah. You know and so that was a challenge, because a lot of times we, if we don't get that, yes, we send ourself.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 4:People don't hear what they want. They just find somewhere else that will tell them what they want to hear they go rather than being sent.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:We got to stay in our place. Yeah, stay in placement, it's good.
Speaker 1:It shows how much you were submitted to Pastor Ruben, the fact that you respected his authority and his position that you allowed him to have over your life. We've got to allow people to have position over our life. People don't just have it. We allowed them to have that place. You can see how you allowed him to have that place and you respected his, his authority and his position in your life to sit there, even when he was telling you no council to be like okay, all right you know what?
Speaker 1:I mean, that's hard bro. I commend you for that, bro well, you know it's.
Speaker 4:It's hard if you don't have an understanding of who your leader is, yeah, and what they really have, yeah, like to impart and deposit into your life. Come on, you know, when we don't see the value, yeah, in the mantle, yeah, like we should, yeah, we buck, yeah, but I, I see the value we think they're holding.
Speaker 1:Oh, they're all trying to hold us back. They're trying to hold me.
Speaker 4:Exactly so what I'm trying to say is this man is I thank God for failure? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:Because the Bible says a righteous man falls seven times. You know, and I've probably done more than that. Oh yeah, you know, and just to know that, even in the past, all those pains, all those hurts, all that abuse, all those situations to my youth where I tried to die, to you know, ministry going through the process and development and hearing nose and not, you know, all of that is part of all that pain, is part of the package.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, and failure is not wasted if we learn from it. That's right. You know what I mean. There's lessons to be learned in failure too, as much as there is in the growing and the advancement in what we're doing. There's lessons in failure too, if we'll let it teach us.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know a lot of people they want. They take failure as just like a blow, yeah, and they let it change them in a bad way when it's. If you learn from it and grow from it. Thank you, you know what I mean. It has its purpose, yeah, I mean yeah, yeah, and it looks like it had its purpose in your life. You know now you make calculated decisions. You know what I mean? Oh, yeah, so it wasn't absolutely for nothing.
Speaker 4:You know, right, yeah, yeah, and, and it's you know, just to see that you know, and it's to, uh, my main thing and this is what I talk to my team about, people that are close to me, yeah, you'll hear it. I talked to my family about it is passing on a clean oil. Yeah, and that when the oil hits every generation, the bible says that how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. Yeah, it's like the oil that flows from the head to the beard, and collects in the end of the garment so
Speaker 4:it's. It's the head, the beard, yeah, and the more that it touches, the more potent it becomes. And what happens is when there's generations that the oil is hitting, it's losing potency and it should gain potency, wow, and we're not passing a clean oil. We're. We're just it's getting fogged up with our own ideas, our own way of doing things, and and my main objective is to prepare a place and to pass on a clean oil for the next generation and and the I guess, lack of a better term a crucible of failure that I went through. It developed my ability to recognize when I'm tainting new oil and how to, how to keep it clean, keep that pure, keep that purity going, and and that's something that you have to really contend for, especially nowadays, because it's just churches sloppy oh yeah, you know it really is and and um, so praise the Lord man. That's why I, um, I hold myself to a higher standard, because I know what it is to just allow compromise to destroy everything.
Speaker 4:You know and it didn't destroy everything, because we're still here.
Speaker 2:We learn, just like you said it didn't?
Speaker 4:I learned how to be strategic, and we're seeing the fruit of it.
Speaker 4:We're seeing the fruit of it. I always share this, peter. How could Peter look the people in the eye? Picture who he's preaching to? He's preaching to thousands of people that saw Jesus. They saw Jesus beaten bloody, wearing a crown of thorns. He's standing there in this robe, they're mocking him and they say hey, do you want to have Barabbas or do you want Jesus? I said give us Barabbas, crucify him, dang man, crucify him. We want Barabbas. How do you preach to that crowd Unless you stood by a fire and watched him being taken away and denied him yourself? Wow, and Peter knew what it was to look Jesus in the eye At the very time Jesus said hey, before the cock crows three times, you're going to deny me.
Speaker 4:You're going to deny me. And now he's looking the very people in the eye Pentecost that said crucify, let his blood be on us and our children. And because he knew failure, he was able to minister to the people Come on, they killed Jesus.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's good. And by the end of that day, 3,000 were added 3,000.
Speaker 4:Yeah, Wow, 3,000 of the very people that said man we want Barabbas.
Speaker 2:Yeah, wow, that's powerful man.
Speaker 4:So failure can really launch you into a greater understanding of what it is that we're doing Truly. That's good, because if you think about Peter before Pentecost, before he ministered, right when he failed Jesus, he was by a fire. The Bible says he was warming his hands by a fire. There's Jesus walking by and uh, he, he says.
Speaker 3:And they say hey, don't, aren't you one of his? No, I don't know, I don't know yeah.
Speaker 4:Aren't you? So no, I didn't, I don't know. Yeah, aren't you. And then someone, and then he starts cussing. Yeah, I don't know Right. And at that time then the rooster goes off. Yeah, he's like man this was right.
Speaker 4:So now think about that. That's the last time he saw Jesus, yeah. And now, later on, he's on a fishing boat. Back to the old ways. He's fishing all night. The Bible says he's naked on the boat with his homeboys Something weird about that, you know. And he's naked on this boat and he hears a voice say, hey, cast your nets to the other side. Yeah, and he's like that boy sounds familiar. He jumps out of that boat, goes over to Jesus and what's Jesus doing? Jesus has a fire built. Wow, jesus met him at the very place he failed. Come on, he failed at a man-made fire, yeah, and he was restored at a fire that Jesus built.
Speaker 2:Come on, oh, you don't want to hear me.
Speaker 4:Come on somebody.
Speaker 2:So think about this.
Speaker 4:Then he says, hey, do you love me? Yeah, he says you know I love you. Feed my sheep. Do you love me, you know I love you. Feed my lambs yeah, do you love me, you know I love you. He asked him that the same amount of times that he denied him Dang, so now he's revisiting the place that he failed.
Speaker 3:His failure Yep.
Speaker 4:And saying hey, let's Making it right. Wow, dude. So now he met Jesus God. He says you love me, feed my sheep. Yeah, now he's able because he knows what it is to fail, but he also knows what it is to be restored. Yeah, and he's able because he knows what it is to fail, but he also knows what it is to be restored.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and now he can look at the people in the eyes, come on and there's a power behind what he's saying because he failed, that's so good man.
Speaker 4:So whoever's watching this man, maybe you've failed, yeah, maybe, maybe you've gone through it, maybe you're in the middle of that situation right now. Come on, are you gonna stay next to the man-made fire, or are you gonna meet jesus at the fire that he's built for your life? Come on, it's so good. Hey, yeah, do you love me? Yeah, feed my sheep. Wow.
Speaker 2:Praise the lord, praise the lord, that's good so your failure, bro, is, from what I can hear, man, one of the things that led you into your purpose, to where you are. I had a divorce you know that whole. Thing.
Speaker 4:There's a whole lot there we can unpack, but I'll just say it was a divorce. God moved me, you know, so I went back.
Speaker 2:You did get your blessings out of it, your kiddos man. Absolutely Incredible.
Speaker 4:Amen.
Speaker 2:They're in the church now with you and on the worship absolute your daughter leads worship, doesn't she?
Speaker 1:yes, she's absolute beast her and paul davis you had paul davis on the show, yeah they're a team, yeah I'll tell you what come on.
Speaker 4:I don't even have to do anything, they just come on, hey, god gave you people, let them do what they do, bro, god doesn't. You heard that right. What does it? You heard that right. What is it?
Speaker 1:You just heard that come out of your own mouth, right.
Speaker 4:I know.
Speaker 1:I just want to make sure you heard that. Thank you God.
Speaker 2:All right then.
Speaker 1:He learned that lesson. He's learning that lesson right now.
Speaker 2:Hey, you got to take your hands off the stuff and let the team do it.
Speaker 1:buddy, it's hard for somebody.
Speaker 2:I'm learning that in this season now, where you literally got to let these people just do the stuff, man.
Speaker 1:I don't have to do it. He's the master leader of CR here at our church and God gave him a team. Great team, a team that he needs to trust. Let them do things and empower them. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's so. It's incredible once you start learning team building. Yeah, it really is because, you know, guys like us, right that know what we're able to do, yeah, and just we feel like it'll slow us down if we have to. You know, let me just get it done. Yeah, yeah, but.
Speaker 1:But great leaders develop leaders.
Speaker 4:Yeah, when you learn that delegation, and it happens in the spirit. Develop leaders. Yeah, when you learn that delegation, and it happens in the spirit, yeah, it happens. And when it happens in the spirit, it really does. You pass something on, oh yeah, and then all of a sudden you just see everything functioning and that's where we're at. Even you know, my first, uh, the first mandate in the spirit as far as our church plant in maricopa was, you know, just start with your family. Yeah, it's great, and so I got my family around a fire Come on.
Speaker 4:And we built a little fire in the backyard and I said hey guys, god told me to start a church. Come on, it's time. And I said it's going to be us. And Vanessa wasn't married at this time. We had little baby Judah. It was us. And I said I don't know if anyone's going to show up, Um, but that's not why we're doing it. I said the first year, if it's just our family, that's all God wants, amen. So we're just as a family, we're going to start doing worship. We're going to start just like if the church was full. We we're going to have services. Come on, as a family.
Speaker 4:That's great, come on, and we're not going to worry about if anybody shows up. Come on Now. God had different plans, of course, you know. And then we I thought we were going to do it on our house and there was a church that opened, gracious Community of Hope. They were gracious enough to open, yeah, so, um god, we had someone sow a seed into the ministry and we paid six months of rent.
Speaker 3:So I'm like, okay, we got six months, let's see what happens you know so we just paid six months.
Speaker 4:I just put all the money that was given. I just put it all toward the building come on, that's right and um, and people just started coming. You know, we called it a sunday night power session, and so that was the first mandate. Then the second mandate, second year, going into the second year, was to build the team. Yeah, and so it was like not worried about growing. Yeah, as a matter of fact, at the beginning stages, uh, we grew fast, grew fast. It was not growth, though. It was like swelling.
Speaker 2:Yeah, swelling means something's wrong right, you got punched and your eye swells up. That's not good.
Speaker 4:A muscle growing takes time. So I I would tell the church I'm like you know, I love that you're here, but some of you don't belong here. Yeah, so I'm going to start preaching until this thing shrinks down to where God wants it. Yeah, and I started just preaching like what God was telling me, and sure enough, you know boom boom boom.
Speaker 4:And it was not surprising, because I knew that's what needed to happen. It was like he's, you know, hedging the bush, and so then the next thing was to build a team. And so I started building a team, you know, and I was working and doing, you know, doing ministry, working full-time family, the whole thing. And God said, quit and go sell banana bread. And I'm like, okay, back to this again, making six figures.
Speaker 3:You want me to stop doing that To sell banana bread for the church.
Speaker 2:Wow, okay, lord, yeah.
Speaker 4:All right so then I'm the type where I know what God's going to do, so I will obey it.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:But I have a wife. So I'm going babe, uh guess what. God told me to stop working and sell banana bread, and so you know you can ask her how she responded and um so I was out there in the streets every day yeah, in the heat, you know whatever just out there doing it, yeah, and um, I walk into this gym. It's a box out in maricopa you're doing in chandler, I'm everywhere.
Speaker 2:I'm fundraising everyone, okay okay.
Speaker 4:So I'm in a boxing gym here in Chandler and I walk in there and there's this kid there, young man, and I say hey guys, I'm raising funds, I'd like some banana bread. Here's a flyer, you know, we have our nonprofit and all that stuff and he says I don't want your bread, you can have this $5.
Speaker 3:I'm like all right.
Speaker 4:And then he uh, he started that's your church you go to. I go, yeah, go to church there. He goes I can't find a church out here. And he starts talking to me. And as he's talking, the Lord told me just sit down. So I just sat down. There was a chair and this kid talked to me for 45 minutes straight. Man Didn't take a breath. Just, I can't find a pastor, no one gives me the time of day. And no, no, no, no, no. He's saying all this stuff and I just listened to him. Wow, you know, I'm sitting there just listening to him, yeah. And then at the end he goes that's your church, right, and I go yeah, that's my church. He goes who's the pastor of that church? Well, to be honest with you, I'm the pastor of the church. And he goes what? You're the pastor of this church and you're out here selling banana bread. I go yeah, actually I am.
Speaker 2:And he goes that's it.
Speaker 4:He goes. I'm coming to visit this church, amen, and I go. Can I say something? He goes, yeah, I said if you want to visit a church, keep doing what you're doing. I said what you need is a father. When you're ready for accountability, then come see me. Wow. So, good and I walked out, wow, and he hasn't left since.
Speaker 2:Praise God.
Speaker 4:But, and then he's, you know. So that was just one of the results of obeying God. Yeah, is it? You know, was it financially like just the best move? As far as finances are concerned? Not necessarily, but the people and the results that's what matters. And so that you know we just started building the team and you know we of course we met Paul Davis, who you've had on the show and his wife Natalie and their family, just their treasures to me, wonderful people you know, and they're they're literally family, they're my neighbors, I mean
Speaker 4:they're three minutes away, you know, just, and um, there's countless others. I could just start naming stories of how like. I'll give you another example we, um, I was in my room, I was praying in my room and this light filled my room and it was like a silhouette. It was like I thought it was an angel kind of doing this move here like a violin in my room and I'm like, oh cool, an angel's in here. You know, I've had angelic visitations before.
Speaker 3:It wasn't like yeah, you know I don't pray. God bring an angel. You know I don't do that.
Speaker 4:But they, they come yeah, you know when that veil gets removed and you're in that realm, and so it was like an angel and it was good. And uh, a friend invited me to this home, a prayer, me prayer meeting. He's like hey, come check out this prayer meeting. I'm like all right, cool and uh. So I go in there and it's these elders, you know like white ladies, elder white ladies, and I'm like I don't blue hairs.
Speaker 2:I don't fit seasoned.
Speaker 4:Seasoned, this is probably not for me, praise God, you know. So I sit down and I'm there, you know, and and they start asking me questions, you know, and I'm, like yeah, I'm starting the church here.
Speaker 4:You know God's moving and praise the Lord and and they said, okay, we're gonna start now. And then they just like stomach punch, bro in the spirit, just wow, started worshiping and playing the piano, singing. They're all dancing around in this room and, like it was the glory fell dude, it was powerful. Well, the lady whose house it was. She gets a violin out and she starts doing the same move that I saw in my room a week before and I'm like this is crazy, like God was preparing me for this. So I'm like, okay is crazy, like God was preparing me for this, so I'm like, okay, I have to say something.
Speaker 4:So I said what God had told me to say was that he's restoring the tabernacle of David. And the tabernacle of David wasn't the first tabernacle. Solomon's was the most beautiful, moses's was first. But in Acts he says I want to restore the tabernacle of david. If you look at that tabernacle it was a makeshift tent because they brought the ark of the covenant back from the philistines into the land and that's when he danced naked before the lord. He had worshipers around that, uh, around the Ark of the covenant 24, seven. It was the only old Testament tabernacle without a veil. Yeah, I love it. So I shared all that.
Speaker 4:She wrote a book on the tabernacle of David. So she had written a book on all of it. It was just crazy, bro. Like God told me to share that specifically. And so you know, here we are like barely had a worship team and we've got this classically trained violinist that's just amazing Gone all over the world. She traveled with. Guess who she traveled with, which is crazy. Guess who she traveled with, which is crazy. Those old tape decks with Ron Canole. Wow, she played violin on those recordings with Ron Canole. She toured. That's crazy.
Speaker 1:What you were listening to in Stockton.
Speaker 2:Now she's in your church. You're in a prayer meeting at her house. Come on, man, that's a.
Speaker 3:God, buddy, it was wild stuff. That's fantastic, fantastic. So there's a story, you know.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we could share, but I this is the what's beautiful about what god's doing is you know, a lot of people pray. What happens in the church goes into their home. Yeah, and with my prayers, what happens in our home floods into the church. That's great. It starts in our family. We've got teenagers that are just on fire, teenagers that are in prayer in their room.
Speaker 2:They're reading their Bible.
Speaker 4:They're praying for people at school, they're doing all this stuff and we're hearing stories where we have man, it's fire, and that fire is spilling off into the church. Not like man. I hope this really what happens in our church happens at home. No, it's the opposite. Come on, man, and it's been beautiful, you know, it's been beautiful to be able to, you know, just come through all this stuff and then just to see what God's doing.
Speaker 1:Now it's you know, I ask a lot of our guests that grew up in church Jesus, did your parents just go to church, or was it in the home too? You know what I mean? Oh, and I think A lot of our testimonies, bro.
Speaker 2:they just see God is only in church.
Speaker 1:It was just seen in church Home's completely different and to hear what you're saying now, I'm like that's how it has to be, that's how it's got to be.
Speaker 1:See, we think we've got to come to church to get filled and to go back to the week. You know what I mean. That's not how it is, man. If you're truly a practicing Christian, you're getting your stuff at home, you're reading, you're worshiping, you're praying at home. For me, I come to church on sundays to serve. I don't come here to get filled on sundays, I get filled monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday it's a good day, buddy I come here to serve god's people and those who might be walking in for the first time you know what I mean, yeah it's what it makes me think of pastor dave and pastor sheree.
Speaker 2:yeah, man, and what are? What are? Anybody who knows them and is doing life with them? It's, they're the people with the integrity and character. People you see on Sunday and stage under the lights same person you're going to see on Wednesday morning at their house, when they're dealing with Tori. That's the beautiful thing, man.
Speaker 4:And to speak to that when I was in church. You know, my mom raised me, you know, and One thing that that ministry was known for is prayer. I was a kid that was brought to all-night prayer meetings. I would get home from school and I'd hear my mom in the room with the door shut, weeping, praying in the Spirit, speaking in tongues, not for five or ten minutes hours.
Speaker 4:Single mom, single mom wow living the best she could, yeah, doing the best she could, yeah. And one thing that my mom taught me through all of that is how to get a hold of god. Come on, like any of like. Of course it's pastor ruben and the anointing that I've received from him, but there is a rooted, there's a cultivated soil and root system from my mother in her prayer life. She's a very prophetic woman. For example, when I met Rosa, you know I had met her and things were going good. We weren't, you know, really like even officially dating, yet my mom calls me. Who's the girl?
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, okay.
Speaker 4:That'll be mine and she said God told me to tell you it's okay, oh wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what Amen. You know Amen. So I was like all right, Wow.
Speaker 4:So you know. So my mom, you know Amen, so I was like all right, wow, so you know so my mom, you know, and it's rare nowadays man to see true praying people. Yeah, man, True praying mothers true praying fathers man that aren't just a Sunday, but it's a daily spirit, hunger, understanding of getting a hold of God and keeping that habitation, that flow of habitation.
Speaker 1:That's why the Western culture's church is in trouble is because of that. Right there, yeah, you got people who are coming to church on Sunday checking a box off and went to church. They're showing up in their fancy little clothes and their nice little cars and they want to be seen and have their status. But as soon as they get home, it's back to drinking a beer and watching football and smoking their cigarettes and cussing and going back to living in the world. And then Sunday comes around again, they put on their nice clothes and they show back up and check their box and people see that. People see that the world sees that when we profess to be a Christian but yet monday through saturday, we're living in the world, yeah, and professing to be christians while we're living like them, yeah why wouldn't anybody what?
Speaker 1:difference. People see that and they're like what do I need god for you live the same way. I do right. Why do I need god?
Speaker 2:yeah, you smoke, you smoke and cuss and drink just like me.
Speaker 1:So what do I need to go to church for? You're meaner than I am at least I got my sunday. I can sit here and watch football and drink beer and I don't have to go over there and pretend I'm something you know I mean it's real, bro, jesus, it's real, that's true.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean yeah, and then we wonder why china is the girl fastest growing church in the world. You know, I mean places like that. Yeah, because we're over here we can't even drive 30 minutes to a church, because I've got to drive 30 minutes to a church. Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:A church that's alive is worth the drive people. It trips me out.
Speaker 1:I told people all the time I'm sure glad I found God later in my life because I see people that are my age who grew up in church all their life and they're dead.
Speaker 2:They don't seem happy. They're dead spiritually, bro.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's spiritually bro they just come and show up and do the thing and there's no spirit in it. You know what I mean. It's like I don't want to be that.
Speaker 2:It's just what we do, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, help us God, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:People look at me and Ryan and they think we're crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they think we're like super crazy.
Speaker 1:I'm like dude and where we're at.
Speaker 2:It's like, of course we're going to tell everybody about Jesus and be excited.
Speaker 1:Think about everything else.
Speaker 2:We used to tell people about bud.
Speaker 3:We were loud for the devil. We're going to be loud for Jesus buddy, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:That trips me out, dude. So how did you guys get to the school, man? You guys got a nice little thing going.
Speaker 4:Now I see, okay, that was a miracle. Yeah, to be honest, that was a miracle we were. You know, there were five churches ahead of us in that city. Some of them had been going a lot longer you know and all of that. So we were on the list. Fifth down on the list Should not.
Speaker 2:So you're at the night church. That the people opened up their building in the evening and blessed you with, and you're fifth on the list for this school. If there's a school open, that's worth using we're fifth in line, okay.
Speaker 1:Well not just for one school, for any school, any school that opens up in Maricopa.
Speaker 2:You're fifth in line, wow yeah and there was other schools.
Speaker 4:Okay, wow, so I wasn't worried about it. You know, I just said okay, lord.
Speaker 3:You're good with your Sunday nights, with what we're doing.
Speaker 2:Sunday night we've got a team.
Speaker 4:I'm not concerned with being Sunday morning. What's the point? Just so we can say we're Sunday morning.
Speaker 3:It has to be God.
Speaker 4:That's good.
Speaker 1:Is there a set time for church? No, just making sure, not at all.
Speaker 2:Just want to make sure you know a lot of people like going to their Sunday morning church. Yes, a lot of people do like.
Speaker 4:Sunday morning. But we're just. You know I like that. Yeah, no, If we had capacity and we had, you know it would not be closed. Come on, buddy, there's stuff like this going on all the time. Yes, Come on, buddy. There's stuff like this going on all the time. Yes, I love that we're here on a Saturday at the church and we're doing you know something's going on every day. Oh yeah.
Speaker 4:Something should be happening. Oh yeah, it's really good. So, oh. So, anyway, this sister in the church spirit led, she starts calling all the principals and the lady that's the administrator of the school district. She said that there's no school, that no church would be allowed to use Wells Middle School. The principal is against it, he won't have any church there. So we're like, okay, so that was empty. And they said he's turned against having churches there. Wow. So, sister from the church, she starts calling all the principals. She gets a hold of him, says hey, we're a church here and we're looking. You know he goes. I would love to partner with the church.
Speaker 4:Oh my god, god saved it for you he said just just reach out to Nancy and let her know that I'm okay with it, and you guys can move it. Wow. And so I'm like you know, okay, all right, cool.
Speaker 4:So we reached out to Nancy. We filled all the paperwork out, made, you know, payments, did everything we had to do, got it all. Actually, we didn't make any payments. We filled out all the paperwork for approval and they approved it. He signed off on everything. We're approved. Wow, it's going to be this much. Da, da, da, yeah. And and I just said, okay, now I'm going to wait. And I waited two months to see if they would hold it. Wow, and I'm like I'm not going to move ahead of God. Yeah, I want to wait until I know. This is what God wants. Yeah, and uh. So I reached out to her and I said are you guys still holding the school? And she goes yeah, as long as you want, we'll wait, it's yours. Wow, that's the lord. And this was after two months.
Speaker 1:I waited, yeah and so I said okay, we're gonna do it, wow.
Speaker 4:So then we moved from sunday nights, we moved to sunday mornings, yeah, and if you go back and watch the streams you'll see like the first one, yeah, it's bad right. So we just kind of slowly improve every so if you just go watch, you'll see like a slow progression of getting things kind of in order the best we can yeah and uh lw copa check it out and there you know there's no way.
Speaker 4:yeah, you could do this without a team, come on. And that's why the Lord said build a team, come on. And now we got, like we got this coffee station, yeah.
Speaker 3:This 19-year-old.
Speaker 4:19-year-old kid. He's a boxer, One of the kids from the gym. Yeah, he comes every week and he sets up. He calls it master brew.
Speaker 2:Amen. He sets up his own, amen.
Speaker 4:His whole thing comes dressed real nice and he passes out coffee. I told him um every first time visitor gets a coffee on the house and then it's like he has a coffee and donut for every first time visitor and then everyone else.
Speaker 1:they kind of pay, you know for the coffees and it's good, you know he's he partnered with this brand called Nisi?
Speaker 4:uh, like Jehovah Nisi and it's a coffee brand called Nisi. It's pretty good, shout like Jehovah Nisi and it's a coffee brand called.
Speaker 1:Nisi.
Speaker 2:It's pretty good, shout out Master Brew Nisi. Come on, come on Kingdom.
Speaker 4:And he just, he loves God man, Amen. He'll do the announcements he's 19.
Speaker 2:Come on man, he's a blessed kid.
Speaker 4:Come on, and then we have a visitor station.
Speaker 2:So when they come in and we have a little gift bag for them.
Speaker 4:Come in and we have a little gift bag for them and you know just things that that's really we have to like make it as presentable as we can because we don't, you know, there's not a lot of money and resources yet you know, and all that we're, but what we do I said the little we do we're going to do it. Quality yeah, it's great.
Speaker 2:A little bit we have, we're going to make it quality, make it nice yeah, so that's been good.
Speaker 4:So then we had our first service there, you know, and everybody was excited, and then it's just been growing, you know it's been been watching, as I see more people each time I watch bro yeah, I'm gonna go faster.
Speaker 2:More benches coming out, bro.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah you definitely got a call on your life, bro. Yeah, you're definitely an anointed man of god, and the few times that I've heard you preach, I'm like just to fire, bro you know what I mean. So, just like you, like he said, stay in your lane bro. Yeah, do your thing stay in your place. I'm gonna watch this, just god, just pours in more resources you can ever imagine bro pursuing it to be your own building. Yeah, it's coming, bro it's all gonna.
Speaker 2:it's gonna be open every night of the week. Yeah, there's going to be missions and sending people all over the world.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, oh yeah, bro, oh yeah. I can't wait to see what living where Maricopa looks like in a few years. Bro, yeah, it's going to be crazy. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And you know, this year challenging because I'm working full-time and God told me to go back work, so I'm working full-time. Family, I've got a three-year-old, my son Judah. All teenagers, all you know, everybody, all this stuff going on in the house from every level, um, and it not challenging in a bad way, just challenging like getting making sure I don't get, cause there's comes a point where you kind of get taken by the comforts of life, you know you got a nice house and you got comfortable income.
Speaker 4:You got things that you know and it could be easy. And and I literally have come to a point where I I ferociously attack my own comfort zone. I do not allow myself to be comfortable. And I, I, I just stay in that flow of kingdom operation. And so, uh, you know, vanessa and gray got married. Yeah, that was beautiful. And then, um, I've been working to become a four square minister, four square license, and that's a whole oh yeah I mean if you did theology, bachelors in theology, i'm'm sure it's compared, it's a lot, it's a lot.
Speaker 4:And there's essays and this and all this book work.
Speaker 2:We had six months of the four-square paperwork with Pastor Bill. Yeah, it's a lot. Yeah, it's a lot.
Speaker 4:And it's a whole, like all these modules and all this stuff.
Speaker 1:We were down to a couple meetings. Yeah, basically I was down on my board, I had a couple of meetings to be.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we were. Basically. I was down on my board, I was ready to the board and I fell on my face.
Speaker 3:Relapsed over and over and over again.
Speaker 4:Really Interesting yeah.
Speaker 2:I had to go through 2019. It was my failure to lead me to where I am today. Brought me to this place in 2020.
Speaker 3:Come on Best.
Speaker 2:thing that ever happened to me my failure.
Speaker 4:That's it. Yeah, that ever happened to me my failure. Yeah, that's it. Yeah, it's beautiful. Yeah, so that's that happened I, I completed it. Come on now. And, uh, I did the final interview. Yeah, you know all of that stuff. And then, um, now it's like they're presenting it to the board of directors and all that people and it's it's one of the first things that I'm. I'm thankful for it, but it's because I finished yeah I finished it Come on that's big for someone like me.
Speaker 2:You never finished high school. You never finished. People see me and they don't know right, all the pain.
Speaker 4:Come on and just see me and think, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:He's talented, he's like you don't know the hell I've been through dude.
Speaker 4:No idea, that's real, bro, you know and it's when I say I shouldn't be here, I mean it. Amen, you know, and God had a different plan, and now I'm so glad you know, and just the understanding of it's all him, it's all him. Yeah, it's all him, man, and so here we are. I guess there's and I'm open for correction on this, if anybody Googles it or whatever, but I think it'll be the first four-square church ever in the city of Maricopa.
Speaker 2:So that's like ground, of course.
Speaker 4:First. Living Word Church but also the first four four square of that huge denomination where we're actually breaking new ground.
Speaker 4:Come on for that denomination as well come on man and so that's kind of a position that'll give us distinction in the city as maricopa four square, come on, you know, living word arizona, maricopa four square church, and and that's you, you know. I mean we had the mayor at our church, which was wild, come on. And we did this couple, same lady I told you about. She found these people that make crosses, the one that called the principals Sister Julie, she's on fire, man. She's awesome and she found these. They made this seven-foot cross on wheels so we can transport it in and out.
Speaker 1:Great.
Speaker 4:It's all white and I'm like what do we do with this cross? You know what I mean? Yeah, it looks nice, but what do we? And? And we can't have a prayer wall because we're at a school, so we write names on the cross.
Speaker 2:So it's wheel it in on Sundays and people it's got.
Speaker 4:It's covered in names. Okay, so check this out to open that up. It's covered in names. Okay, so check this out To open that up. We had the mayor write the city of Maricopa on the cross. The first name that was written on the prayer cross was the city of Maricopa, written by the mayor, and then, the youth of Maricopa, written by a council member.
Speaker 4:They were both there for that service to kind of open the prayer cross and then so that that day we wrote a brother's name on the cross yeah, I didn't write it, tyler did the guy I met he wrote this name. The next week that guy's name that he wrote on the cross came to church. Wow, god dude, and then now he's bringing his family. Come on on.
Speaker 3:And it was just you know.
Speaker 2:Only.
Speaker 4:God. So we got a prayer cross Come on, bro, come on. I love that.
Speaker 2:So does Teen Challenge. I didn't know that they got a big old prayer cross bro. That's pretty cool. They write names on it, we write it on the cloth and then we'll go up and we nail it to the cross.
Speaker 3:And then they'll have some services where then it's red over all of it. I love that. Yeah, I, yeah, that's, that's awesome.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah. So that's what we, that's what we got going.
Speaker 3:I love the prayer cross idea, so that's a blessing bro yeah.
Speaker 4:So, man, you know we're, we're, uh, we're going into year three and we just you know we're, we're staying.
Speaker 1:Do you have?
Speaker 4:a men's home? Not yet, not yet.
Speaker 2:But I will we're going to open a home? Yeah, you will, buddy. You know we're going to do all that. You know what it does, man? Yeah, it just. It does so much for not only the men but the church. Yeah, yeah, it's just a blessing.
Speaker 3:Usually that's how you.
Speaker 4:When I pioneered, I would start with home usually, but God had a different way. He wanted me to start with my family and we started as a family.
Speaker 2:It starts with the home. Yeah, it starts with the home, not a home.
Speaker 4:So it's been good.
Speaker 1:Come on now. I love watching you, brother. Like I said, you're definitely anointed man and God's got plenty for you. Man, give us some things you believe in, god for us to say yeah yeah personally in your own life, in your own family and and with the church man. Give us like a 5, 10 year, 20 year thing. Well, um, something we can share our faith with and yeah, we can pray for you.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean, of course a home is involved. We're going to to open homes and all of that. It's to plant churches.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, wow. You want to plant churches, you want to amen Amen brother.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that's so. It's Apostle, chris. Yeah.
Speaker 4:I don't know.
Speaker 2:I just know we're going to plant churches.
Speaker 3:It's rev bud. Yeah, it's rev bud, yeah All right, that's the vision that we're a part of is to reach, teach mend and send All right.
Speaker 4:And you know, I told the team. I said some of you are going to be the arrows and some of you are going to help me make them. Yeah, and either way, you know this church is a bow. Yeah, and we're going to God's going to start to give us strategic targets in the spirit cities and we're going to plant churches. I'm not looking to have a huge. You know, you've got these mega churches where there's 20 staff pastors listening to a guy preach for 20 years and they take no territory except you know everybody's pockets stay fat.
Speaker 4:But I say, if you're sitting here 20 years and you know you're called, you're in disobedience.
Speaker 1:Yeah, come on.
Speaker 4:Don't sit here and listen to me preach for 20 years. When you're called to take a city, do something, let's go Jesus. So anyway, that'll preach.
Speaker 1:I think that's. The one thing I really loved about living word was the fact that there's 100 churches and they're all fairly small. You know what I mean. None of them are mega churches.
Speaker 2:If Pastor Reuben wanted a mega church, he could have a mega church. You know what I mean, but it's not his art.
Speaker 1:How are we empowering people when, like you just said, you've got a big church with 20 pastors? How are you really empowering anybody to?
Speaker 2:Taking territory from the enemy man.
Speaker 4:Yeah. So that's the vision is to work. You know, not this way too far, I want to go the other way. Yeah and uh, that's kind of a strategy. Well, not kind of. It's just, I saw it in the spirit yeah, what god has me in this region for yeah and um, and that's what we're going to do. We're just going to raise couples. I mean, if you see these young guys, man, they're on fire. You know, I don't know if you, if you get a chance, go back to. There's a service. We had the young gun takeover, yeah, buddy, and my daughter vanessa, bro, that sister right there on some worship bro, yeah, so it's just, you know, doing, doing what I've been trained to do, yeah, and that's to raise, raise couples and plant churches.
Speaker 2:So, so I'll come on come on, the anointing just walked in, so you know, that's, that's what we're, that's what we're doing, amen.
Speaker 4:And so you said, over five years and 10 years, 20 years, it's just to um, to uh, advance the kingdom with an understanding that that it's. The kingdom has a system. Yeah, there's a system.
Speaker 4:That heaven has a system, yeah, there's a way to do it yeah, and a lot of times we're in love with the subject matter but we don't know the system. Yeah, so we love the subject matter without understanding how it operates within a system, a heavenly system of operation. Amen, and that's found in the kingdom, amen, you know. So we're just uh doing what god's called and called me to do and, and, um, you know, keep keeping the oil clean, come on, it's good. And uh, keeping, you know, got my. When you ask me these type of questions the way, I think I just start seeing everybody that and I see the direction of what God's going to do.
Speaker 2:So it's too much to answer all at once, except to say that it's not small right, it's global and it's thriving, it's alive, it's moving and it's all him Amen.
Speaker 4:And it's global and amen, amen. It's thriving, it's alive, it's moving and it's it's all him amen, and it's it's all him in the, in the spirit.
Speaker 1:So pastor that we had that was uh taking us through the four square process. This will forever stay with me, man. He had a decent sized property I'm sure you've been there, you've been to pastor bill's church no, no okay.
Speaker 1:So he had this decent sized property, had a small building, maybe you see, a couple hundred people, and we were out walking the property and he stopped and he looked back and he said, hey, the only mistake I made was that was all I was believing god for, and so it always stuck with me in that moment that god's only going to give you what you believe in him for. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:So for me, when I think about that, I think I'm going big dude because if you're only gonna give me what I'm believing for, I'm believing for you got a big guy.
Speaker 4:I mean yeah.
Speaker 1:So I appreciate you going big and thinking global, because if that's what you're believing for, that's what god's got for you, brother yeah, I mean oh yeah, so keep believing, keep pressing on, man, we'll watch. God move, man, that's it so I have.
Speaker 2:So I have to tell you, this friend, that you are going to write many books. It didn't just start with your father. You have a way with words that heaven literally flows through you and in you and from you. So the things that you have that are in you, you, you're literally going to give them to us through these papers, through these books. So I just pray that you can really step into this next season of growth and challenge from God to you in the, in this stretching, because I really feel like that's what it is is a stretching um, but you had to see appleton in that book so that you could know that. Oh, oh, wow, and it's not just one I saw many.
Speaker 2:I saw many, but it just starts with one.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you can find it. It's called throne Throne Room Reflections on. Amazon Jesus Made by Chris Appleton. Come on, it's a devotional. Okay, it's a 30-day prayer journal. Come on.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you can find that there's more coming bud.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's praying from a place of being seated in Christ. It's called Throne Room Reflections. Throne Room Reflections. Throne Room Reflections by Chris Appleton. It's available on Amazon. It's a 30-day prayer journal. Just to get you a focus. It says come boldly before the throne of grace. It never says to leave. So good, wow, a lot of times we come before the throne, and then we go Come boldly before.
Speaker 2:Okay, thanks God, now I'm going to go. Come boldly before. Okay, thanks God, now I'm going to go.
Speaker 4:It's like wait a minute. No one said leave. Amen Said to come here and stay here. That's so good Right.
Speaker 2:Dang.
Speaker 4:So just having that understanding of staying in the throne, yeah, staying in the throne room, amen, and he's prepared a place for us. Yeah, right, so there's that song. You made a way for me, yeah. And so a lot of times, what we teach about, we teach about the cross, the blood that was shed, yeah. And then we teach about the resurrection, the power that happened there, but you don't hear much about the ascension.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And when he actually split all three heavens, yeah, and is seated at the right hand of the father, he's made a place for us. Yeah. He says, now you be seated in christ, yeah, in heavenly places in christ jesus no it's actually a place that we neglect we think we've got to just stay down here and struggle. Yep, but kingdom operation requires seating. Good, yeah, that we stay seated, that's so good. I was, um, and this is my last episode of uh, my, I do a podcast be encouraged and uh, I'm.
Speaker 4:We uh went to california and we were sitting down at the table and this guy happened to be a spacex engineer at the table and he starts sharing that he's actually in charge of the seat of the spacecraft, right, so he builds the seat and a seat, he says, is the most important part of the rocket, because everything that the astronaut needs has to be available at that seat. It's a life support system built into that seat. It's all the buttons he needs to operate the rocket and make sure everything gets where it needs to go. Everything is done from the seat. The seat alone is hundreds of thousands of dollars, just the seat, the rocket itself and all that. But it takes two months to actually build the seat, to put it together.
Speaker 4:Two months, wow, not not including the years of research strategy research, development, all that that it's actually once they have everything ready. It takes two months to put it together and then they test it and they do all this testing and if it's even a fraction of a millimeter off, it fails the test and it I. I started thinking about how important that seat is. Come on that christ prepared for us. Yeah, buddy, you know that we want to go higher in the things of god, but we, we don't find our seat. Yeah, we don't find that placement. Yeah, he's, he's. He's put a lot into an eternal seat for us that we never leave. I heard a pastor say we have war room night and we got throne room night and throne room night prepares us for war. And I said, well, no, the throne room is the war room. We don't leave the throne to go battle.
Speaker 4:We don't leave the throne room to go serve. We don't leave the throne room to go preach. We don't leave the throne room to go serve. Come on, we don't leave the throne room to go preach. We don't leave the throne room to do it.
Speaker 4:We stay seated, yeah, in christ, wow, and he takes us higher. Come on, and you know so, um, in in the garden. It says that he formed man, he breathed into man, and then the bible says that he planted a garden, yeah, and that he placed him into the garden, yeah, so he formed and designed man and then built a place for him to plant himself, yeah, yeah. So everything right. So, when you're talking about even rowdy, where I'm, I'm, I planted myself, here'm in placement here, I'm in my seat here. As a result, theology, degree and God's using you guys doing all this ministry, and this is just the beginning of what God's going to do in and through your life, and it's a result of simply just placing yourself in the seat.
Speaker 4:Come on and letting the rocket do its thing. You know what?
Speaker 1:I mean you letting the rocket do its thing. You know what I mean.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you let the rocket do its thing yeah, it's so good, bro, you know and, and so it's the kingdom is light, and what happens is, when god reveals something to you, he's revealing something to you so you have the ability to function, and what he's showing you and in the the kingdom it's it's light that comes on, and what happens is, you know, if you're in a dark room and someone flips the light on before you can start moving, your eyes have to adjust.
Speaker 4:And it's the same thing in the kingdom as that revelation comes, your eyes have to adjust, so you learn how to function and what God is showing you in the spirit, and, and so, uh, the Bible says thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, meaning that the light comes on to show me where I'm at and as I adjust to that, he helps me get where I'm going. And so that's all a result of the kingdom. And so if you hear anything today, you don't have to leave your seat to do church, you don't have to leave your seat to do ministry.
Speaker 4:As a matter of fact, you can't. You have to stay seated in Christ in order for the oil to stay clean. He's prepared that place, man, he's prepared that placement, he's prepared that place. So, as light comes on, you may not be able to function in that right away. Just let your eyes adjust. Yeah, he'll show you, come on.
Speaker 2:Normally I do it at the end, friend, but I feel like God wants you to kind of just for our listeners or anybody watching. If they need to get right with God, can you just lead them yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, man, maybe the light just came on Jesus, maybe God's showing you that you need Jesus, man, and he loves you and he gave everything for that seat. Yeah, gave everything. He didn't just die on the cross, shed his blood, raise again and then stay here. He died on the cross, rose again, he shed his blood and then ascended. He ascended on high to prepare a place where you can just be seated, be interceded for. He's making intercession for us and and he loves you.
Speaker 4:Today, I don't know what you're going through. The Bible says this it says that he that began a good work in you will complete it, jesus. And I don't know where you were. I don't know what prison cell you were in. Maybe you were on a street corner, maybe you were in a line at Walmart. Someone just told you hey, jesus loves you. Maybe this is the first time you've heard it watching this today Jesus loves you, jesus loves you.
Speaker 4:But there's some of you that you've allowed failure. You've allowed failure, you've allowed struggle, you've allowed pain, whatever, whatever that is to kind of just have you take your eyes off of the Lord. I just want you to know today that he loves you and he's prepared a place for you and he's going to finish what he started in your life, yeah. So if that's you today and you say, hey, I want a fresh start today. I need to start over. I need God to do something. Fresh in my heart, fresh in my life.
Speaker 4:If that's you, just repeat this prayer Say Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask you right now. I ask you right now come into my heart, forgive me for all my sins. I believe that you died on the cross, that you rose on the third day and I believe that you're alive. And right now I confess with my mouth Jesus, the Lord Jesus, and I believe deep down in my heart and I ask you right now to come into my life, make me brand new, turn the light on inside of me. We want to see you In Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 2:Amen, Amen. Thank you, brother, Pray for him. Buddy, Come on man, you know it's a Holy Ghost time, man, when you almost feel stoned or drunk. At the end of it You're like man oh man.
Speaker 1:Father, god, lord, we just praise your holy name, man. We just thank you for this holy time that we got to spend with our brother God. We thank you for just the man of God that he is, lord.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 1:We thank you for the anointing and the calling on his life, god. We thank you, lord, that all the gates of hell that tried to take that calling away from him God did not prevail in Jesus' name Jesus. And I thank you, lord, that as he steps out deeper into his calling God, that the anointing will continue to flow and increase over his life, father God, and I thank you, lord, just for the vision and the dream that he has the homes, the church plants. Thank you, god. The global ministry. God, I heard it earlier. God, he said it was Apostle Chris, so I thank you for Apostle Chris. God. The global ministry. God, I heard it earlier. God, he said it was Apostle Chris, so I thank you for Apostle Chris God.
Speaker 2:Thank you God.
Speaker 1:I thank you for just his yes, his submission, his obedience to be led by your spirit, god. I thank you, lord, for him. It starts in his home, so good Jesus, and then it bleeds over into the church, god, I thank you, lord, for him. It starts in his home, so good Jesus, and then it bleeds over into the church. God, lord, I pray that if? The people are listening. God, we'll take that example and they will duplicate that. God yes.
Speaker 2:God.
Speaker 1:That they will begin to do it in their homes, god, and then let it duplicate into the church. God, tired of just churches being filled with empty people. God, bodies are here but there's no spirit in them. So I thank you, lord, for just changing your people. Holy Spirit, thank you. We're in a season where you're calling your people home, calling your people back to you, god, to lay down their sinful ways, to crucify their flesh and pick up their cross. God, get out, get out. The time is getting short. The time is coming near, god. We're going to call your people home, god, and I don't want to see anybody miss out on that, god. So I thank you for living word, maricopa. I thank you for the team. I thank you for just the anointing over the worship, god. I thank you for the people that are being drawn there. I thank you, lord, that government officials are involved.
Speaker 2:Thank you, jesus, that they're a part of it.
Speaker 1:God, that they see it, they know, this one is different. Yep, they've seen churches come, they've seen churches go, but they see this one and they said this is the one that we've been waiting for.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:That's going to change the youth in our town. God, this is the one that's going to pour out the Spirit of God on this town. Hey Jesus, I thank you for what you're doing in Maricopa, god, thank you for what you're doing at Living Word. Thank you, god, not just Maricopa, but all across the world.
Speaker 3:God All over the world.
Speaker 1:Lord, we praise you for Reuben Raina and just the man of God that he is God the way that he's poured into men and the way that he's just giving men, empowering men to start churches and to be directors in homes. God, I thank you for that same spirit that dwells in Chris God.
Speaker 2:He's going to be able to empower men, god.
Speaker 1:He's going to be able to power couples. He's going to be able to plant churches and send people, god. So I thank you, lord, just for everything you're doing. I thank you that his oil is clean Yep, pure, thank you. Thank you that as it drips off his beard, it just drips clean God, that it falls on good soil, that when it falls off his children onto his grandchildren, that it's still clean, god. So have your way. God, we love you for what you're doing. We just give you honor, praise and glory in Jesus' name, amen. Hey, god, we love you for what you're doing.
Speaker 2:We just give you honor, praise and glory in Jesus' name. Amen. Hey friend, if somebody is listening or they're watching and they want to sow a seed into what God is doing with you, how would they do that?
Speaker 4:LivingWordArizona at gmailcom. That goes right to the 501c3 account. If they want a letter for that or anything like that, we can facilitate that. They would just send that email. But that's Zelle Cash App Venmo, it's all. Just Living Word Arizona. Amen. Amen.
Speaker 2:Can you do us a favor, man, and pray for Speak Life and pray for me and Dad. Yeah, yeah, thank you.
Speaker 4:God Lord, I thank you today for Speak Life, arizona. I thank you for the moment. I was on Candy Crew with Rowdy and he said hey.
Speaker 4:I'm going to do a ministry called Speak Life Arizona, speak Life AZ. And, lord, that seed is planted in good ground and I thank you for the moment that he reached out to me and said hey, I'm going to start a podcast. And, lord, it wasn't just some idea, lord, but it was a heavenly strategy, and that you put your hand on it and you made it what you wanted it. God and Lord, as this continues to grow, as it continues to bear fruit, and then it multiplies and then it brings in abundance, let us handle the fruit correctly, god. So good.
Speaker 4:Thank you god let us position this for multiplication, god, so you can bring the increase, because one man plants and one man waters. But it's you, god, that brings the increase. It's you that brings the, that brings the increase, it's you that brings the abundance. Thank you, lord, and I thank you, lord, that you carefully watch over every seed, whether it's money time, a podcast, a ministry, whatever seed, it is God. You are concerned, you watch, and I thank you, lord, that you're concerned about Speak Life AZ, that you have a plan for it, that you have a purpose for it, and I pray, lord, for just innovation clarity, Confirmation clarity and Lord, that we just walk in step with heaven when it comes to speak life AZ.
Speaker 4:Thank you, god. I pray a special anointing over my brothers. I pray, god, that you would bless their homes, bless their families, bless their jobs, bless this ministry. I pray for LifeLink Church today. God, continue your work, continue to mobilize infantry, needed in these last days, god to reach as many souls as we can for the kingdom of God. I pray a blessing over the pastors here, the leadership team here, every ministry, every operation. It's here, god. Thank you, lord, in the name of Jesus, and we give you praise for it In Jesus' name. Amen, amen, come on.
Speaker 2:Man, everybody, I sure hope you enjoyed this testimony today. I don't know where you're watching or where you're listening from, but if you could, please subscribe to the channels, follow it. You'll get all the future notifications for upcoming testimonies. Maybe you yourself got a pretty cool testimony that you want to come on and share. You can reach out through Facebook, instagram, spotify, apple, youtube. Let us know, man, and we'll get back to you. You can support the show if you'd like to. We can use all the support we can get. Please comment wherever you're at, even just type one word Jesus. It helps. So much for the algorithms and stuff on the back end. Until next time, we're going to continue to speak. Life AZ. God bless you.
Speaker 1:Jesus.