1 00:00:15,070 --> 00:00:15,070 Teen Pathways 2 00:00:19,750 --> 00:00:21,380 Hello and welcome to Teen Pathways. 3 00:00:21,420 --> 00:00:24,280 My name is Cheri Peters. Has God ever wowed you? 4 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:28,050 Has God ever come into your life and just changed everything? 5 00:00:28,090 --> 00:00:31,420 Today we're going to talk about a situation, we're going to meet 6 00:00:31,450 --> 00:00:34,470 a young man that God did exactly that with. It's an exciting 7 00:00:34,500 --> 00:00:37,340 story as soon that I saw this young man for the first time, 8 00:00:37,380 --> 00:00:40,190 I just smiled and said: we have to have him on the show and so 9 00:00:40,220 --> 00:00:42,680 it's a blessing to me that he is even on the show. 10 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:46,500 And before we start I'd like to introduce you to the entire 11 00:00:46,530 --> 00:00:50,280 group, and how about say your name and when did God become 12 00:00:50,310 --> 00:00:51,190 personal for you? 13 00:00:51,220 --> 00:00:52,030 Can we start over here? 14 00:00:52,070 --> 00:00:56,430 My name is Jennifer Black and I have known God all my life 15 00:00:56,460 --> 00:00:59,090 ever since I was a baby and sometimes I'm closer to Him, 16 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:00,780 than other times. 17 00:01:00,820 --> 00:01:05,870 My name is Jeremy and I say God became real to me 18 00:01:05,900 --> 00:01:08,990 about 4 or 5 months ago. 19 00:01:09,030 --> 00:01:12,890 Hi, my name is Leon Chann and I think the first time 20 00:01:12,930 --> 00:01:15,650 God became real to me, was when I started having Bible 21 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:17,360 prayers at school. 22 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:21,330 Hello, my name is Avalla Goodin and God has been real to me 23 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:22,620 all my life and I hope it gets better. 24 00:01:22,660 --> 00:01:27,450 Hi, my name is Tag Garman and God's always been real to me but 25 00:01:27,490 --> 00:01:32,050 I think I got real with Him when I was 18 senior in highschool. 26 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,430 Hello. My name is Michael Paradise and I've known God 27 00:01:35,470 --> 00:01:38,750 all my life but I get to know Him better every day. 28 00:01:38,790 --> 00:01:43,870 Hey, I like that. I got that. Ok, so it sounds like everybody 29 00:01:43,900 --> 00:01:48,910 has a relationship with God and I even, there's different 30 00:01:48,950 --> 00:01:52,760 views on what people have said like you said that it comes and 31 00:01:52,790 --> 00:01:55,580 goes and that kind of thing and sometimes it's strong and 32 00:01:55,610 --> 00:01:58,620 other times I just do with that it's not so strong, 33 00:01:58,660 --> 00:02:01,690 and I like what you said Tag, can you repeat that again? 34 00:02:01,730 --> 00:02:05,650 I said that I think God's always been there and he's been real, 35 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:09,260 but I got real with Him and I think I made a decision to say: 36 00:02:09,300 --> 00:02:12,850 ok, I'm going to listen to Your voice now instead of running 37 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:14,260 from it, when I was a senior in highschool. 38 00:02:14,290 --> 00:02:16,390 At 18 and that was just a few years ago. 39 00:02:16,420 --> 00:02:20,200 So there is a difference. 40 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:22,790 Yeah, there is a difference. God is constant. I think 41 00:02:22,820 --> 00:02:25,310 He's pursuing us with a passion. 42 00:02:25,350 --> 00:02:29,710 And we turn the stereo off or we go a little faster, 43 00:02:29,740 --> 00:02:34,030 maybe kill a few braincell, or watever to try to shut Him out. 44 00:02:34,070 --> 00:02:37,790 But He's always there ready to say: come on man, let's get real 45 00:02:37,820 --> 00:02:40,660 together. 46 00:02:40,700 --> 00:02:44,640 Talking about that kind of thing is really interesting to me, 47 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:48,590 as Jeremy I saw you for the first time while I was runnig that 48 00:02:48,620 --> 00:02:51,980 group, a Wednesday night Bible group. And during that group 49 00:02:52,010 --> 00:02:54,690 we decided to show a program called Penticost 2000 50 00:02:54,730 --> 00:02:58,410 and in that program we were just on fire with this preacher 51 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:00,380 and he was every night doing his preaching, 52 00:03:00,420 --> 00:03:02,290 and all the sudden one night we came as a group, 53 00:03:02,330 --> 00:03:04,900 there were some some people that had just got out of prison and 54 00:03:04,930 --> 00:03:09,100 and some people, actually two people that were heavy duty 55 00:03:09,130 --> 00:03:12,020 drug dealers at the town that I live in and they just turned 56 00:03:12,050 --> 00:03:14,910 their life over to God and they're now studying the Bible 57 00:03:14,940 --> 00:03:17,240 it's kind of a cool thing and we were watching 58 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:21,150 the video thinking that Steven Louis is going be on and we're 59 00:03:21,180 --> 00:03:22,560 going to hear more about him and all the sudden he says 60 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:26,900 tonight we're going just do these testimonies or stories from 61 00:03:26,930 --> 00:03:30,680 different teens or different youth. And our reaction, 62 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:34,230 I hate to tell you, our reaction was we really work and to him 63 00:03:34,260 --> 00:03:37,600 it was like: you know, it's going to be good, 64 00:03:37,630 --> 00:03:40,860 and it's like, you know, because this guy was like on fire, 65 00:03:40,890 --> 00:03:44,050 really convicting and when you came on, I was moved. 66 00:03:44,090 --> 00:03:49,550 I was touched and so I prayed that somehow we could get you 67 00:03:49,580 --> 00:03:52,220 on this show and be able to share with us as a group. 68 00:03:52,260 --> 00:03:55,760 And when I ran into your father, and your father said: 69 00:03:55,790 --> 00:03:56,800 you know, I'll talk to him and see what he says 70 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:59,880 and you said yes, I just want to say: welcome and thanks 71 00:03:59,910 --> 00:04:00,640 for coming on. 72 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:06,710 It's no problem, I'm glad to be here. Before those meetings 73 00:04:06,750 --> 00:04:11,440 I had been in drugs, I didn't listen to my parents anymore, 74 00:04:11,470 --> 00:04:16,090 and my friends, I'd just hung out with them all the time, 75 00:04:16,130 --> 00:04:21,650 and I was drinking all the time. When I went to the first meeting 76 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:22,230 that night, 77 00:04:22,270 --> 00:04:25,020 First of all, wasn't that hard because your mom teaches Bible. 78 00:04:25,050 --> 00:04:29,700 Yeah, my mom, the whole time I was out in the road, she just 79 00:04:29,740 --> 00:04:34,630 she constantly prayed and asked me to go to church, I mean she 80 00:04:34,660 --> 00:04:39,240 just did everything she could, because I had before I started 81 00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:45,870 being in the world, I had gone to church and my dad was 82 00:04:45,900 --> 00:04:52,420 a pastor and it wasn't fulfilling me anymore so I started doing 83 00:04:52,460 --> 00:04:56,610 other things to try to fulfill that. And I don't know, when I 84 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:57,530 went to that meeting, 85 00:04:57,570 --> 00:04:59,760 Hold on, because I can't get over that. Your dad being a pastor, 86 00:04:59,790 --> 00:05:03,180 your mom teaching Bible, and was there a part where you 87 00:05:03,210 --> 00:05:06,570 just said: "this is just too much" or "I'm not interested", 88 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:11,460 From being a Christian to the world? 89 00:05:11,500 --> 00:05:15,180 Well, yeah, what made you to say: "hey, I'm going to start doing 90 00:05:15,210 --> 00:05:17,890 drugs" or was it friends or what shift? 91 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,530 I went to a private school that my dad owned. 92 00:05:20,570 --> 00:05:25,340 It was a Christian school, I went there through 8th grade. 93 00:05:25,370 --> 00:05:28,950 And then I went to a public school in 8th grade. 94 00:05:28,980 --> 00:05:32,530 When I was in that private school I made straigt As 95 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,040 I was just, I loved God and everything was fine, 96 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:38,780 when I went to this public school and I had all these 97 00:05:38,820 --> 00:05:41,940 friends, we were always going out and doing things, 98 00:05:41,980 --> 00:05:45,030 my grades started falling right there in 8th grade, 99 00:05:45,070 --> 00:05:51,040 so when we got in the highschool, my grades just continually went 100 00:05:51,070 --> 00:05:55,640 downhill, I was just doing, I don't know what made me do 101 00:05:55,680 --> 00:06:00,220 want to do all that, besides the fact that I just was sick of 102 00:06:00,250 --> 00:06:04,340 everybody pushing this down my throat and it didn't make sense, 103 00:06:04,370 --> 00:06:08,770 something just didn't end up, so I just set for good, 104 00:06:08,810 --> 00:06:13,010 I don't want to deal with this anymore. So, ok, now back to 105 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:17,170 to Pastor Louis, the first night I went to these meetings, 106 00:06:17,210 --> 00:06:24,120 well, before that he saw me at work, he acted like he had known 107 00:06:24,150 --> 00:06:27,830 me for 5 years or something. He was like: "man you've got to call 108 00:06:27,860 --> 00:06:32,610 God in your life" and I was thinking: "you don't me or what 109 00:06:32,650 --> 00:06:37,330 I'm doing, how can you say this?" My mom finally talked to 110 00:06:37,370 --> 00:06:40,680 me: "do you want to go to one of the meetings?" and I liked it, 111 00:06:40,710 --> 00:06:43,480 it wasn't bad, I actually learned something. 112 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:46,470 I thought I had known everything and that it was getting boring 113 00:06:46,500 --> 00:06:48,890 and I was hearing it from my dad more than anyone else, 114 00:06:48,930 --> 00:06:54,040 this guy was saying the same things but it made sense now. 115 00:06:54,070 --> 00:06:59,150 So the second night I went, I wish I could remember the 116 00:06:59,180 --> 00:07:01,880 topic, but I don't. But man, I just got convicted. 117 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:04,790 I knew what it was because once again I've been in that before, 118 00:07:04,820 --> 00:07:09,250 so I knew what the feeling was, that was inside of me, 119 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:11,070 but I didn't want to go with it. 120 00:07:11,110 --> 00:07:12,830 What do you mean: convicted? 121 00:07:12,870 --> 00:07:19,910 It felt like guilt. Or, like you were ashamed of what you 122 00:07:19,940 --> 00:07:21,110 were doing. 123 00:07:21,150 --> 00:07:24,220 That's interesting. It's interesting how some people 124 00:07:24,260 --> 00:07:27,260 guilt is the only way that they can convert over. 125 00:07:27,300 --> 00:07:31,870 I felt the same way. And Peter in the Bible. He heard the cock 126 00:07:31,910 --> 00:07:35,540 three times or watever. And sometimes it takes that guilt, 127 00:07:35,570 --> 00:07:39,170 look at what Jesus had done, look at that sacrifice that I 128 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,360 took in vain, that turns people over. 129 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,490 I went to step groups and one of the sayings is: 130 00:07:45,530 --> 00:07:49,260 maybe they have a hit rock bottom. And that sense of guilt 131 00:07:49,300 --> 00:07:52,830 and that you don't have anything left that is really of any value 132 00:07:52,860 --> 00:07:56,540 is that and that's the same thing is that where you're going 133 00:07:56,570 --> 00:07:58,110 to turn on that point than turn to God. 134 00:07:58,150 --> 00:08:01,170 I dont't think I had hit rock bottom, I don't think I was 135 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:02,330 anywhere in hit rock bottom. 136 00:08:02,330 --> 00:08:04,960 Did your mom? 137 00:08:04,990 --> 00:08:12,430 But I had gone as far as I wanted to go. One of my friends 138 00:08:12,460 --> 00:08:18,120 came over about a week after I had changed my life back 139 00:08:18,150 --> 00:08:23,490 over and giving it back to the Lord. And he was one of my 140 00:08:23,530 --> 00:08:28,800 good bodies, going around in parties, and he came over, 141 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:34,030 and the farthest that I had gone that was, the worst I think that 142 00:08:34,060 --> 00:08:40,290 I had done, was that I smoked wign on a regular bases. 143 00:08:40,330 --> 00:08:43,620 And he was one of the regular people that I mostly did that 144 00:08:43,660 --> 00:08:46,920 with and he came over by a week later and that was so hard, 145 00:08:46,950 --> 00:08:48,920 he said: "Jeremy do you know what I did last night?" 146 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:53,710 And I said: "Well, there's no time with you" and he was like: 147 00:08:53,750 --> 00:08:58,470 "oh, man I smoked 40$ with a crack. And man, that just, ah! 148 00:08:58,500 --> 00:09:01,600 Because I just told him about what was going on with me 149 00:09:01,630 --> 00:09:04,660 and I didn't know what to tell him after that. 150 00:09:04,700 --> 00:09:08,660 I didn't know what to say to him, or how to confront him 151 00:09:08,690 --> 00:09:11,970 about: "why don't you come to church with me?" 152 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:14,840 Just try it. 153 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:17,670 Because it sounds like you sensed the pack, you know 154 00:09:17,710 --> 00:09:21,370 you are heading for trouble. More than you propably know 155 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:22,450 right now. 156 00:09:22,490 --> 00:09:25,040 Right. See I'm glad that I got out when I did, because 157 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:29,130 if I hadn't, I propably would have smoked 40$ with the crack 158 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:30,250 within that night. 159 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:30,910 Exactly. 160 00:09:30,950 --> 00:09:33,800 So God is just an awesome God. 161 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,850 So let me to ask, I want to get back to it, when did you 162 00:09:36,890 --> 00:09:39,870 change and what happened? When you were at the meeting 163 00:09:39,900 --> 00:09:40,600 and you were feeling convicted? 164 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:46,130 Right. Ok. I went home that night my parents my mom asked me 165 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:47,610 what I thought about it that night and I told them 166 00:09:47,650 --> 00:09:53,010 I felt something and I knew what it was, I felt I was being 167 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:55,800 convicted and she said: "That's good. Would you like 168 00:09:55,840 --> 00:10:00,300 to pray?" And I said: "sure." So the next day I went to work, 169 00:10:00,340 --> 00:10:04,270 and pastor Louis was there so she had him and myself going 170 00:10:04,300 --> 00:10:08,200 in another room and we prayed. And I gave my life back to the 171 00:10:08,230 --> 00:10:10,470 Lord. 172 00:10:10,510 --> 00:10:12,570 And so you you took your religion from being shut down 173 00:10:12,610 --> 00:10:15,030 your throat to something you were seeking after? 174 00:10:15,060 --> 00:10:17,410 Because he made it, I mean he just made it so much 175 00:10:17,450 --> 00:10:20,500 clear, when it was being shut down my throat it didn't seem 176 00:10:20,530 --> 00:10:22,040 like it was making sense. 177 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:24,060 I'm sure especially being like a pastor's child or 178 00:10:24,100 --> 00:10:26,660 or being under the influence of the religion all your life, 179 00:10:26,700 --> 00:10:29,700 maybe you took it for granted. Because I know in my own life, 180 00:10:29,730 --> 00:10:32,360 I've been a Christian all my life, and sometimes they feel 181 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,140 like: you need to do this, you need to do that and that's not 182 00:10:35,180 --> 00:10:37,890 actually what the religion is, it's what you feel inside and 183 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:38,830 what you feel for God. 184 00:10:38,860 --> 00:10:40,480 Amen. 185 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:44,590 I just wanted to know like when you were going to private 186 00:10:44,620 --> 00:10:46,060 school in the 8th grade and you were making good grades, 187 00:10:46,090 --> 00:10:48,090 and when you started going to public, 188 00:10:48,130 --> 00:10:50,820 I just wanted to know: did God ever try to talk to you 189 00:10:50,850 --> 00:10:51,780 in those times? 190 00:10:51,820 --> 00:10:55,520 Oh, yeah, because I was still going to a church. 191 00:10:55,550 --> 00:10:58,020 With one of my good, he's still a Christian, 192 00:10:58,060 --> 00:11:02,130 I mean this kid is, he's the only person that I can 193 00:11:02,170 --> 00:11:06,020 look at out of all my friends and say that guy really does 194 00:11:06,050 --> 00:11:07,520 love the Lord. He's the only one... 195 00:11:07,550 --> 00:11:08,770 Of all your friends just one. 196 00:11:08,810 --> 00:11:12,460 Because I have other friends that claim to be a Christian, 197 00:11:12,500 --> 00:11:16,920 but their actions just don't show me anything that they are. 198 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:21,350 So I was still going to church with him, but after church 199 00:11:21,380 --> 00:11:23,310 I would go out to a party somewhere. 200 00:11:23,350 --> 00:11:25,270 You know, it was just like: "Oh, I'm going to church 201 00:11:25,300 --> 00:11:27,470 again. It wasn't... 202 00:11:27,510 --> 00:11:29,790 So it was like practising religion versus really having 203 00:11:29,820 --> 00:11:30,750 a spiritual walk? 204 00:11:30,780 --> 00:11:31,910 Right. 205 00:11:31,950 --> 00:11:33,180 I mean there's really a difference between knowing 206 00:11:33,210 --> 00:11:38,600 the man, I mean Jesus, the man. He is the man! 207 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:42,880 And going to church and going through rituals and... 208 00:11:42,910 --> 00:11:47,160 Right it just seemed like it was it seemed like it was 209 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:51,380 repetitious. It was the same thing every church service. 210 00:11:51,420 --> 00:11:55,580 The pastor got up and he didn't pray, he bragged about everything 211 00:11:55,610 --> 00:11:58,810 that he had. 212 00:11:58,850 --> 00:12:01,930 Was it the people that turned you off, in some way the people who 213 00:12:01,970 --> 00:12:05,020 were being hypocritical maybe, and saying one thing and doing 214 00:12:05,050 --> 00:12:07,850 other, just disguised your emotions. Is that part of what... 215 00:12:07,890 --> 00:12:10,660 Because the same exact people that were being hypocritical, 216 00:12:10,690 --> 00:12:15,180 were the ones who tried to shut down my throat. And so I was 217 00:12:15,220 --> 00:12:17,410 like: you guys aren't doing that. You're not even doing it, 218 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:19,660 why should I? 219 00:12:19,700 --> 00:12:20,970 That's a powerful statement. 220 00:12:21,010 --> 00:12:23,350 It is powerful and somebody that's a little older, 221 00:12:23,390 --> 00:12:28,070 than you guys, not a lot, but it's you know, really, what I 222 00:12:28,110 --> 00:12:31,930 learned, is people like you to get real in the church. So often 223 00:12:31,970 --> 00:12:35,720 we get disgusted with that. I mean it happened to me, 224 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:38,780 when I was at school, I was disgusted with the hypocricy that 225 00:12:38,810 --> 00:12:42,200 I saw. We all smile and say: "How are you doing?" 226 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:45,230 "Fine. How ar you?" When we're really not fine, I really want 227 00:12:45,260 --> 00:12:49,060 to say I'm hurt inside. As an adult or whatever, 228 00:12:49,090 --> 00:12:52,860 I look: "Man we need you in the church, don't leave." 229 00:12:52,890 --> 00:12:55,340 "you got to hold to God, come and be real. 230 00:12:55,380 --> 00:12:59,830 And show us what it means to be real." That's what we need. 231 00:12:59,870 --> 00:13:03,650 That's what made me want to come back was, this guy was, 232 00:13:03,690 --> 00:13:07,440 this guy was actually being real he had been where I was, 233 00:13:07,470 --> 00:13:10,610 he could actually tell me and help me along, 234 00:13:10,650 --> 00:13:14,070 other than these people saying "he does drugs, I don't want 235 00:13:14,100 --> 00:13:16,930 to mess with him.' 236 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:19,720 He had a history also? 237 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:22,410 Oh, yes. His history was much much worse than mine. 238 00:13:22,450 --> 00:13:25,960 And I praise God that he got he got converted, because 239 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:29,480 if he hadn't been there, there's no time where I would 240 00:13:29,510 --> 00:13:31,940 be today. So I just praise God for that. 241 00:13:31,980 --> 00:13:36,050 And I praise God that He can work so miraculously 242 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,400 through other people. I mean through myself. 243 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:44,070 See we need your help because we get confused sometimes, 244 00:13:44,100 --> 00:13:47,710 Cheri with kids doing drugs. That's such a terrible thing. 245 00:13:47,750 --> 00:13:51,330 It is a terrible thing. It can destructive. It can kill you. 246 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:54,290 But in the ame time so can pride or envy, the root of 247 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:57,220 bitterness, we're told in the Scripture, can destroy 248 00:13:57,250 --> 00:13:58,010 you. 249 00:13:58,050 --> 00:13:59,310 Lying and gossip. 250 00:13:59,350 --> 00:14:03,090 Lying and gossip and all these things are destructive to our 251 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:06,440 soul. But we can point easily at a drink or at a drug, 252 00:14:06,470 --> 00:14:07,830 or at somebody that's got an obvious problem. 253 00:14:07,870 --> 00:14:11,160 And sometimes we need to say: "hey, wait a minute," 254 00:14:11,190 --> 00:14:12,850 he's a person, too. 255 00:14:12,890 --> 00:14:14,580 And you know what I learnt? And now I'm coming back 256 00:14:14,610 --> 00:14:17,470 because I was a heroin addict for ten years. 257 00:14:17,500 --> 00:14:21,520 And so my background is really different and coming into the 258 00:14:21,550 --> 00:14:24,510 church, my first thing was, is that, for one I hid my 259 00:14:24,550 --> 00:14:27,790 background because I didn't want to be judged. That was 260 00:14:27,820 --> 00:14:30,690 a big thing and I was afraid that if they knew who I was 261 00:14:30,730 --> 00:14:33,570 they wouldn't accept me. And so then when I started to like 262 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:37,050 say who I was and watching the different responses 263 00:14:37,090 --> 00:14:40,610 and just watching people live their life, I saw the hypocricy 264 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:44,130 stuff and God convicted me really heavy and He said: you know 265 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,610 what? If you've ever seen somebody hypocritical, 266 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,450 in your church raise your hand. Ok. Ever? Ok. 267 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,220 Have you ever been hypocritical? Raise your hand. 268 00:14:53,260 --> 00:14:56,560 And so I thought: wow! I can raise my hand in either side. 269 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:59,870 And so He said: you stop! And He was talking to me, he 270 00:14:59,900 --> 00:15:02,640 said: you stop being hypocritical, you stop doing 271 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:05,570 that and it will have a ripple effect and maybe then she'll stop 272 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,030 in a way, he likes her, so maybe he'll stop and 273 00:15:08,070 --> 00:15:11,090 and then you'll stop and the only way that we're going to change 274 00:15:11,130 --> 00:15:14,120 the church is to say: you know what? Never again am I going 275 00:15:14,150 --> 00:15:16,460 to be hypocritical as to the extent that I can, 276 00:15:16,500 --> 00:15:18,780 I'm going to be real with you and even if it means I'm not 277 00:15:18,810 --> 00:15:21,120 perfect, but I will be real and you could trust that. 278 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:25,320 And one of the thoughts that I had, when I was going through 279 00:15:25,350 --> 00:15:29,560 this changing process, I can say, I was, you know, I've seen 280 00:15:29,590 --> 00:15:33,730 all these people being hypocritical, and it wasn't God, 281 00:15:33,770 --> 00:15:37,560 it may have been God that told me: you don't want to be like 282 00:15:37,590 --> 00:15:41,350 them, you don't want to be doing one thing and then go tell 283 00:15:41,380 --> 00:15:44,970 somebody something else. And I just felt real strongly 284 00:15:45,010 --> 00:15:48,570 that I shouldn't do that. And I've tried since then not to 285 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:50,740 I'm not perfect, 286 00:15:50,780 --> 00:15:52,890 That's nice to know. 287 00:15:54,390 --> 00:15:55,510 You had to ask him at least. 288 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:02,740 No, I just and I... 289 00:16:02,780 --> 00:16:05,050 I have to say something about my being perfect because I 290 00:16:05,090 --> 00:16:08,720 think this, I decided, ten years ago I felt like I got a call 291 00:16:08,750 --> 00:16:12,410 from God on my life. And so, ten years ago. 292 00:16:12,450 --> 00:16:15,570 And so I prayed about it and I looked around and I looked 293 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:17,430 at people that I thought were perfect and I thought 294 00:16:17,470 --> 00:16:23,210 ok, Lord if I get through, when I get through 24 hours a perfect 295 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,480 behaviour, I'll know it's time to step into the ministry. 296 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:29,990 And so then ten years later He's like: Cheri and I'm thinking 297 00:16:30,030 --> 00:16:33,470 ok, Lord, when I get through 15 minutes perfect behaviour, 298 00:16:33,500 --> 00:16:35,310 and so when you say that: "I'm not perfect", 299 00:16:35,350 --> 00:16:38,090 I think that the expectation we have, is somehow I'm going 300 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,830 to say yes to God, yes to the Holy Spirit and then the next 301 00:16:40,860 --> 00:16:43,850 minute I'm going to be perfect and God says: you know, 302 00:16:43,890 --> 00:16:46,600 You'll be perfect when I come back, Jesus says: "When I 303 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:49,860 come back, you'll be perfect and till then you will be like 304 00:16:49,890 --> 00:16:53,600 dealing and processing stuff and changing and transforming 305 00:16:53,630 --> 00:16:57,310 and they call it sanctification I'll be sanctifying myself 306 00:16:57,340 --> 00:16:59,470 and every day I'm going to learn something different. 307 00:16:59,510 --> 00:17:04,550 And about the hypocricy thing, I went on a crucade with pastor 308 00:17:04,580 --> 00:17:11,670 Louis after I had changed and we went down there in 309 00:17:11,700 --> 00:17:12,710 the 7th day Adventist church down there. 310 00:17:12,750 --> 00:17:15,940 That whole island had been a 7th day Adventist island. 311 00:17:15,970 --> 00:17:17,410 I mean they all kept the sabbath. 312 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:18,220 Where did you go? 313 00:17:18,260 --> 00:17:22,670 It was Rarotonga, it's down by New Zealand, it's part of the 314 00:17:22,700 --> 00:17:24,650 Cook Islands, it's French-Polonesian islands, 315 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:29,790 it's down in the southern part. 316 00:17:29,820 --> 00:17:30,790 Was it fun? 317 00:17:30,830 --> 00:17:35,410 That was awesome.The people, let me finish my story. 318 00:17:35,450 --> 00:17:39,420 The first night we went out and, because we were inviting 319 00:17:39,450 --> 00:17:41,430 people to the meetings, so we decided to go to a 320 00:17:41,470 --> 00:17:45,170 7th day Adventist church. Well, we went and they were all 321 00:17:45,210 --> 00:17:48,920 playing volleyball and I walked up to this guy an I started 322 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:52,640 talking to him and trying to converse him and coming to 323 00:17:52,670 --> 00:17:55,520 the meetings. and I just, he started talking and I 324 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:58,220 just almost passed out, because the alcohol was coming up 325 00:17:58,260 --> 00:18:02,660 his breath. And I'd come to find out, some of the locals around 326 00:18:02,690 --> 00:18:05,010 there told me that most of the 7th day adventist churches 327 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:09,470 the people don't take it seriously, they get drunk 328 00:18:09,510 --> 00:18:13,870 all the time and go to church. That's what they do. 329 00:18:13,910 --> 00:18:18,550 And I'm glad I went down there because that's a life-experience 330 00:18:18,580 --> 00:18:21,340 that I'm going to be able to keep with me. 331 00:18:21,370 --> 00:18:24,060 What did it tell you? What did it teach you? 332 00:18:24,100 --> 00:18:29,030 It taught me that being hypocritical or saying that 333 00:18:29,070 --> 00:18:31,810 you're a Christian and not doing that, can be dangerous to 334 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:35,750 the people that maybe have just come to God, 335 00:18:35,790 --> 00:18:40,060 or are coming back to God. It can be a life decision 336 00:18:40,100 --> 00:18:44,610 for them, whether they're going to go ahead and go with the 337 00:18:44,650 --> 00:18:48,810 flow and follow God and continue to love Him or whether they're 338 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:49,950 just going to go back to the same old thing, 339 00:18:49,990 --> 00:18:54,800 that they were doing before. But when I look back, 340 00:18:54,830 --> 00:18:59,570 my past, I don't see anything that I could go back to. 341 00:18:59,610 --> 00:19:05,230 There's nothing there that would that would satisfy more than 342 00:19:05,260 --> 00:19:06,470 what I have now. 343 00:19:06,510 --> 00:19:08,280 You know Jeremy, that relates to me because in my life 344 00:19:08,310 --> 00:19:10,780 I moved to a new Christian environment, 345 00:19:10,820 --> 00:19:15,130 a new school and it changed me personally, because my 346 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,650 relationship with God, there's words what I expected 347 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:22,140 it to be and it changed me because my spirituality 348 00:19:22,170 --> 00:19:25,850 went down more, because they discouraged me, 349 00:19:25,890 --> 00:19:28,840 you're talking about the other Christian kids discouraged 350 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:31,800 you? I mean you go to Christian school and you have some 351 00:19:31,830 --> 00:19:32,880 expectations or... 352 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,890 Yes, I had high expectations of them, but through Jeremy's 353 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:40,050 story, he's inspiring me to make a stand for Christ. 354 00:19:40,090 --> 00:19:42,570 I need to make a stand in order to bring them up in order 355 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:44,400 to bring myself up. 356 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:49,780 That's exactly what my thoughts are on. I want to be real so 357 00:19:49,810 --> 00:19:53,160 when other people look at me they don't think, 358 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:55,930 he's not, you know, he says he's a Christian, but he's not 359 00:19:55,970 --> 00:19:58,630 doing anything to show me that he is. That's exactly what 360 00:19:58,670 --> 00:20:01,070 I was thinking about those people and that is what I do not want. 361 00:20:01,100 --> 00:20:04,380 I want to say something. So you're saying I want to be real, 362 00:20:04,410 --> 00:20:06,630 because I want somebody to be able to look at me and 363 00:20:06,660 --> 00:20:09,210 getting encouraged. And you're not saying anymore that I 364 00:20:09,250 --> 00:20:12,030 want to be real, because my parents want me to be real. 365 00:20:12,070 --> 00:20:14,850 I want to be real because my church expects me to be real, 366 00:20:14,890 --> 00:20:17,770 What you're saying is: I want to be real, I don't want to damage 367 00:20:17,810 --> 00:20:21,420 somebody that is looking for hope. Anybody relate to that? 368 00:20:21,450 --> 00:20:24,740 Yeah, that's what being real is all about. Being real is 369 00:20:24,770 --> 00:20:28,030 walking down the street and you're like: hey what's up? 370 00:20:28,060 --> 00:20:30,960 God loves you. If you got that in your heart, 371 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,080 you really are real, like I know a lot of people that are, 372 00:20:34,110 --> 00:20:38,200 and there are a lot of people right here. And I know that 373 00:20:38,230 --> 00:20:40,130 when you got that inside, there's no way that you 374 00:20:40,170 --> 00:20:43,770 can't tell the world about. That's right you're not ashamed. 375 00:20:43,810 --> 00:20:47,380 Because you're real. You feel it and everybody around you 376 00:20:47,410 --> 00:20:50,000 knows it, because they're living it with you. 377 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:53,110 And the best way to show is to your friends, tell them, 378 00:20:53,150 --> 00:20:56,940 talk to them about God and bring them to Bible classes. 379 00:20:56,970 --> 00:21:00,730 Show them, lift them up, tell them how great they were 380 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:02,700 in the game or omething, just lift them high. 381 00:21:02,740 --> 00:21:08,330 What really got me when I found some people in my life 382 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:10,090 that are very rare with their Christianitiy, 383 00:21:10,130 --> 00:21:15,690 is sometimes they don't say a thing about the Bible, 384 00:21:15,730 --> 00:21:18,790 or Christ, but they live it so much that I know that they 385 00:21:18,820 --> 00:21:21,640 are Christians. It's like when we laugh together 386 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:25,400 and when we hang out together, the laughter is very clean 387 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:29,250 it's not cutting and it's not it's just that I'm hanging out 388 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:33,060 with Christians. So even when you don't actually say: "hey, 389 00:21:33,090 --> 00:21:36,320 do you know God? It's just who you are, people know that you 390 00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:37,560 know God. 391 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:41,890 I know every day in my school I spend a lot of time with the kids 392 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:44,940 a few years younger than me, maybe even just 1 or 2 grades, 393 00:21:44,980 --> 00:21:48,290 and I know they ask me sometimes when they're having problems and 394 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:51,330 say: "how you deal with it when you have this problem?" And I 395 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:54,250 just go: what can I tell them that they will know, yeah, that's 396 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:57,100 what she does every day. And I don't want to give them this 397 00:21:57,130 --> 00:22:01,770 great big advice that sounds good and is all flattery, but they're 398 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:03,900 like: "I've never seen you do that." I want to be very 399 00:22:03,930 --> 00:22:06,000 honest with them, because they're looking up to me in a 400 00:22:06,030 --> 00:22:07,000 big way. 401 00:22:07,030 --> 00:22:07,930 Exactly. 402 00:22:07,970 --> 00:22:11,130 That's what it's about about sharing. I mean, if you're a 403 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:14,780 Christian, you want to share, I mean Jesus shares and He's our 404 00:22:14,820 --> 00:22:18,410 ultimate example, so it's about sharing, if you have it 405 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:19,150 and you're real. 406 00:22:19,190 --> 00:22:22,420 And that's what we're here today for, to share, let other people 407 00:22:22,450 --> 00:22:24,730 know about our religion and what's going on in our lives. 408 00:22:24,770 --> 00:22:26,960 You don't have to make excuses for it. 409 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,400 I don't have to make excuses for being a Christian. 410 00:22:30,430 --> 00:22:34,110 I can be who I am in Christ. 411 00:22:34,150 --> 00:22:37,320 I like the textthat you were talking about is not being ashame 412 00:22:37,350 --> 00:22:39,780 of the gospel, and it goes on the first time I read 413 00:22:39,820 --> 00:22:42,900 similar texts that I know that says: "don't be ashame of 414 00:22:42,940 --> 00:22:45,950 the Gospel, and you're not ashamed of Me and I'm not 415 00:22:45,990 --> 00:22:48,770 ashamed of you when I stand before My Father and talk about 416 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:50,440 you." And I'm thinking, all the sudden I thought 417 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:54,400 Jesus Christ stand before the Father and talking about me? 418 00:22:54,430 --> 00:22:58,350 Hey, did you see Cheri the day? And I'm like: no way! 419 00:22:58,380 --> 00:23:01,910 And what He's giving me and my personal relationship, 420 00:23:01,940 --> 00:23:05,400 since I stop looking at the church's relationship, 421 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:09,350 and who am I in relation to all that, when I just looked 422 00:23:09,380 --> 00:23:11,430 at Him and I, there are times that I just see Him 423 00:23:11,470 --> 00:23:15,830 hanging out with me and changing my life in that sense 424 00:23:15,860 --> 00:23:18,680 and it's so cool! And when it's that real for me, 425 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,390 then it's easy for me to turn around and just laugh and 426 00:23:22,420 --> 00:23:26,580 be that real with you and not be ashamed of Jesus. 427 00:23:26,620 --> 00:23:31,560 Right. Like when I'm feeling it, when I feel God, 428 00:23:31,590 --> 00:23:36,470 the best time for me to share with my friends, 429 00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:42,270 but even when I don't feel Him or I don't feel like I did what 430 00:23:42,310 --> 00:23:47,120 I was supposed to do that day, it helps me then to go and share 431 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:52,010 with my friends about Jesus, because that just it builds you 432 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:56,820 up more spiritually and then you want to get back into it 433 00:23:56,850 --> 00:24:02,020 and then you're right back to where, the first day you met God. 434 00:24:02,060 --> 00:24:07,190 That's how it is for me. If I'm feeling bad, I just want to go 435 00:24:07,230 --> 00:24:11,760 tell or I don't want to, but if I do, it just makes me feel 436 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:13,240 so much better. 437 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:15,130 When you have the real thing it's hard to go back. 438 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:17,090 That's right. 439 00:24:17,130 --> 00:24:21,020 Yeah, I have to say one thing and this is just a mother thing. 440 00:24:21,050 --> 00:24:24,170 Is your mom thrilled? 441 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,250 Yeah, I think she is. 442 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:29,220 Could you picture his mom, she's been praying, 443 00:24:29,250 --> 00:24:32,060 she's been like stressing out and all the sudden he's saying: 444 00:24:32,100 --> 00:24:37,220 I love God, I want to pray with you and I could imagine 445 00:24:37,250 --> 00:24:41,380 her just saying thank you, thank you, thank you. 446 00:24:41,410 --> 00:24:44,810 And it doesn't matter what age you are as to how real you are, 447 00:24:44,850 --> 00:24:48,320 we can influence each other, we can influence the little tiny 448 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:51,800 children, we can influence the people who are older than us, 449 00:24:51,830 --> 00:24:55,030 our parents or our teachers and everybody. 450 00:24:55,060 --> 00:24:56,750 It doesn't matter. 451 00:24:56,780 --> 00:24:59,170 You know that's so true that you have influenced me 452 00:24:59,210 --> 00:25:00,830 just during the time that we have spent together here. 453 00:25:00,860 --> 00:25:05,210 And so we don't even realize that you are real and that is so 454 00:25:05,250 --> 00:25:09,560 refreshing and I think you know what? I want to stay real just 455 00:25:09,590 --> 00:25:12,060 in case she's looking at me. 456 00:25:12,100 --> 00:25:15,350 And I can think of a few deeds in the past in the Word, 457 00:25:15,380 --> 00:25:18,710 that were young in fact one was Jeremiah. 458 00:25:18,740 --> 00:25:19,370 How old was Jeremiah? 459 00:25:19,410 --> 00:25:23,910 He was just a teenager. I think he was 17 or so. 460 00:25:23,940 --> 00:25:28,370 I think, Daniel, his friends, it's like 461 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:32,130 you guys can shake up the world. This is Teen Pathways, 462 00:25:32,170 --> 00:25:34,940 teenagers can change the world. 463 00:25:34,980 --> 00:25:35,950 Yes. 464 00:25:35,980 --> 00:25:38,210 When you get real, it blooses my heart. 465 00:25:38,250 --> 00:25:42,230 It's a challenge to, you know, hey, we're all tempted, 466 00:25:42,260 --> 00:25:43,580 temptations always are going to follow us, 467 00:25:43,610 --> 00:25:46,060 the devil's always is going to come after us, it's never going 468 00:25:46,090 --> 00:25:49,600 to change while we are on this planet, we have this flesh, 469 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:50,380 he's always going to come after us. 470 00:25:50,410 --> 00:25:53,720 You guys keep me real. It's like: hey, you're watching me. 471 00:25:53,750 --> 00:25:55,400 You're watching Cheri. 472 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,130 How about the text? Anybody know the text: "iron sharpens iron"? 473 00:25:58,170 --> 00:26:04,230 "man sharpens another"? I think that's Proverbs 27:12, 474 00:26:04,270 --> 00:26:08,380 Is it? And how is it? Say again. 475 00:26:08,420 --> 00:26:13,300 "As one man sharpens another or iron sharpens iron" 476 00:26:13,340 --> 00:26:17,940 and that we in ourselves walk through life, if we walk through 477 00:26:17,980 --> 00:26:20,800 life and try to get our spirituality at certain point, 478 00:26:20,830 --> 00:26:23,590 without helping each other, it's going to be almost 479 00:26:23,620 --> 00:26:26,700 impossible, but helping each other, we actually build each 480 00:26:26,730 --> 00:26:29,890 other up. Anybody finding it yet? 481 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,670 Proverbs 12:17. 482 00:26:32,700 --> 00:26:35,370 Can you read it? 483 00:26:35,410 --> 00:26:37,290 "Those who tell the truth, demonstrate righteousness. 484 00:26:37,330 --> 00:26:40,290 but a false witness cannot be trusted. 485 00:26:40,330 --> 00:26:43,220 Callous words pearce like a sword, 486 00:26:43,250 --> 00:26:45,400 but words spoken wise they are like medicine." 487 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:46,870 Is that it? 488 00:26:46,910 --> 00:26:50,220 No. It's Proverbs 26:17. 489 00:26:50,250 --> 00:26:52,930 But that was good. That must have been in the Bible. 490 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,370 Go ahead, read the other one. 491 00:26:55,410 --> 00:26:59,400 "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance 492 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:03,590 of his friend. Whoever keeps the figuetree, will eat its 493 00:27:03,630 --> 00:27:07,750 fruits. So he who waits on his master, will honour his master." 494 00:27:07,780 --> 00:27:10,600 We make a difference in each other's lives. 495 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,200 It makes a difference. It makes a difference how we live, 496 00:27:13,230 --> 00:27:16,560 who we are, and it cannot be, it cannot be, because 497 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,190 we're told, it can, because somebody shut down our 498 00:27:20,230 --> 00:27:23,670 throat, it has to be that I am responding to God, because 499 00:27:23,710 --> 00:27:27,120 I love Him. I felt Him, He's made a difference in my life 500 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:29,710 and He's become real to me, I've become real to Him, 501 00:27:29,740 --> 00:27:32,470 propably like Tag said, more importantly, 502 00:27:32,510 --> 00:27:35,780 and we are Teen Pathways, we could change the world, 503 00:27:35,810 --> 00:27:39,410 you guys can change the world, just reaching out to each other 504 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:43,000 and becoming real. See you next time and thanks for joining us. 505 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:45,510 God bless.