Sharing good news of great joy to all people,
Elation Church. I'm going to give you several
statements, and then I'm going to share my story.
That's typically what I do when I go for a one
-day deal. I've been doing this for over 40 years.
I was traveling at one point over 300 days out
of the year, and now it's a little over 200 days
out of the year, which I could retire. I'm not
going to. I don't know how these preachers retire.
I'm going to do this as long as I can do it.
And I'm not going to let age be my gauge or whatever's
going on. So for you that need to know, everybody
say wow. Yeah, everybody say wow backwards. Yeah,
like the ones that paused, like the letters had
changed. So if you say it forwards or backwards,
it's still. If you say it upside down, yeah,
it would be mom, not wom. So everybody say wow.
So I'll introduce myself a little bit. I'm a
little calm now. I'm sure I'm going to get loud
in a few moments. So I'll say a few things. You'll
say wow. I'm married. Just celebrated August
17th, 53 years, being married to my first wife.
Somebody will get that later, I promise you.
I have two boys. They're ugly. When they were
born, the nurse said they were cute. She lied.
They look like lizards. There was blood everywhere.
I have 10 grandkids. And as of July the 30th
of this year, I am now a stinking great -grandfather.
I have a great -granddaughter, and I've met her
only once, so now I'm a great -grandfather, freaking
me out. And then I have a dog named Fluffy, and
my boys think that I love Fluffy more than them,
and I do. I do. She wants a biscuit. They want
my money. I love Fluffy. She poops in my backyard.
They pooped on my life. Can I get an amen? I
love Fluffy. So that's my family. For you that
got to know, March of this next year, I'll be
74 years old. And I've been doing this a long
time. I'm in good shape for the shape I'm in.
I used to run three miles a day. I now take my
car. I feel better, get there faster. I'm just
kidding. I do work out. I try to take care of
myself as best as I can. And Dean and Gany, you're
not going to meet. And Jeffrey, you're not going
to meet finer people. The worship that you get,
a lot of churches don't get the worship you get.
And if you notice, they do everything right.
They do everything right. And so I pray one day
that you will be in that new building and pray
one day that you'll be that lighthouse on this
street. And I pray that you just, you know, found
people. I want to give you some stuff to write
down. By the way, these are 18 note cards that
I've taken from my pastor. And so we run around
24 ,000 or more. We have three campuses. Our
main campus runs about 16. And so we have service
on Saturday night at 5 and 4 on Sunday morning.
So if I get to be home, I'll go Saturday night
because we get the whole thing. And then I'll
go to the 2 o 'clock service on Sunday because
we get the whole thing. And so even though he's
going to preach the same message, I know I'm
going to get something different. So these are
just 18 note cards. I don't know how many I have,
but I take notes. Everybody say note takers or
history makers. And if I was you, I would start
writing stuff down every chance you get. And
I realize on my phone, I've got my Bible. I do
a quiet time on my phone. I'm reading through
the chronological Bible this year. And I'm on
200 and something days now. And then I also do
another devotional. So I spend about an hour
just in my time, me and the Lord, sometimes more.
And I'm always writing stuff down. And so I would
encourage you to start taking notes. I mean,
they offered you those little notebooks, and
I would encourage you to do that. This is my
11th preaching Bible. Now, I realize you can
have it on your phone, and that's great, but
there's nothing like a paper copy of the Scripture.
And so this is my 11th. My other 10 Bibles I've
already signed to my grandkids. I don't know
what I'm going to do with my great -granddaughter.
That's way down the road. But this Bible here
is my 11th preaching Bible, and it will go to
my son who's a pastor in Oklahoma. And I say
I'm going to give it to him. If I pass away,
get to be with Jesus, which I'm ready to do that,
this Bible will be his. So note -takers, I hope
that you'll say this a lot, note -takers are
history makers. and I would encourage you, write
stuff down every chance. And this is why, because
every now and then I get to watch you guys online.
I watch my son online, watch my pastor as well.
And I would just tell you that you can go back
and look at your notes in the week. That could
be your quiet time. My son actually, on his Facebook
page, he puts the notes from his messages. and
he encourages his families to have family time
and discuss the sermon. So I would encourage
you to do that if you would. But anyway, I just
wanted to show you that what he said is true.
You want to take notes. It's important. Let me
give you a couple of thoughts before I get into
Scripture. God has a purpose for everything.
I'd write that down. God's got a purpose for
everything. He's got a purpose for our pain.
And we need to live life with an eternal purpose.
I'm going to say that again. We need to live
life with an eternal purpose, not a temporary
purpose. There's so many messages. And here's
the difference between me and Dean. He's got
to come up with messages every week. I don't
have to do that because I'm always in a different
place. Now, I do have plenty of messages. But
the bottom line, I still need the same anointing
that they need. I need that same anointing. But
they've got to come up with stuff every single
week to give to you. I just need to make sure
that I preach the right messages. Amen? So I
want to give you, let me give you that statement
again. God has a purpose for everything, number
one. And God has a purpose for your pain. And
then the last one is we need to live life with
an eternal purpose, things that last. And that's
just important. Bad assumption in this gym that
everybody in this room is saved. Bad assumption.
No doubt in my mind, I believe now there's a
greater chance of everybody in this room being
saved than in a building that's running 4 ,000.
So there is a greater chance. The question is,
Do you know that you're saved? I'm going to give
you three thoughts in my story. Now, if you came
to leave at a certain time, you should have stayed
home. You should have watched Joel Osteen. Nobody
ought to be that happy. That dude needs to have
a bad day. But here's the deal. My hope is that
you leave this place different than you came.
Who would have ever dreamed that... this family
would leave North Carolina to come here. And
then for me, the hell that I grew up in, that
I would end up being in the same place. God's
got a purpose for everything that happens in
our life. Three things. Write these three things
down. I'm going to give them to you. God and
the devil have a plan and a purpose and a blueprint
for your life. I'm going to say it again. God
and the devil have a plan. a purpose, and a blueprint
for your life. You just got to make sure you're
on the right plan with the right purpose and
the right blueprint. That's the bottom line.
There's a lot of messages I would love to have
preached today, but this is where I'm heading,
and my story is in this as well. About an hour
and 45 minutes from my house, in fact, I'll be
doing a... some kind of a camp, a weekend camp
in Kerrville, Texas. I don't know if you've read
the news or saw the news, but Kerrville is about
an hour and 45 minutes from my house. I was home
on July 4th when 27 little girls, 8, 9, and 10
-year -old girls, and the head of the camp there
and several counselors were drowned. There were
over 134 people that ended up dead. I still think
there's two that they haven't found. That's about
an hour and 45 minutes from my house. They were
at a camp that day. They weren't planning on
dying that day, but it happened. About an hour
from my house in Uvalde, Texas, a young man walked
into a school. and shot 21, two teachers and
19 children, brutally murdered an hour from my
front door. That's just two events. And then
you saw this guy that went to the Catholic school
just recently and killed an 8 -year -old and
a 9 -year -old, I'm sharing this for a purpose,
and wounded 17 others. I think there are two
that are still in critical condition. So we act
like we got all the time in the world when all
we got is right now. That's all we got. And so
Psalms 39, I didn't give this to them, but Psalms
39, you can look at it later. You can read verses
four through seven. Basically says this, our
days are numbered. I was in a little fender bender.
This guy just stopped and it just happened. But
I can't tell you how many wrecks. when I left
my home to where I am here that I saw that were
pretty bad wrecks on the way here. So he says
that our days are numbered. He says, remind me
that my days are numbered, how fleeting my life
is. You've made my life no longer than the width
of my hand. An entire lifetime is but a moment
for you. And then he says, we're merely moving
shadows, Psalms 39, 6. All are busy rushing ends
in nothing. So, Lord, where do I put my hope?
In verse 7, our only hope. is Jesus Christ. So
God and the devil have a plan, a purpose, and
a blueprint for our life. Psalms 139. If you'll
go there, Psalms 139 and verse, oh man, they're
putting, I'm not used to all this technology
stuff. Chapter 139, but it's verse 12. Even in
the darkness, now watch this, God has a plan,
purpose, blueprint for your life. Even in darkness,
I cannot hide. From you. To you the night shines
as bright as the day. Darkness and light are
the same. But look at verse 13. You've made all
the delicate inner parts of my body. And knit
me. I have a t -shirt. I didn't set anything
up. But I have a t -shirt. One of my shirts.
And on the front it says your mama is pro -life.
It's a great shirt. On the back it says we're
fearfully and wonderfully made. And so I want
you to notice what he said. He said, you made
all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit
me together in my mother's womb. And mine says,
thank you for making me wonderful complex, but
I like it where it says, we are fearfully and
wonderfully made. Your workmanship is marvelous,
how well I know it. You watched me as I was being
formed in utter seclusion, verse 15. I was woven
together in the dark of the womb. You saw me
before I was born. Look at verse 16. And every
day of my life was recorded in your book. Every
moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
Everybody say God and the devil. I feel like
we ought to yell or scream or something. It's
just so quiet. But here's the deal. You're looking
at a dude that... I had no family, no friends,
no future, and no faith. And here's the sad part
of my story. I've written three books. Again,
I didn't bring all that stuff in. But my new
book is called Choices 101. The choices we make
will affect family, friends, future, and our
faith. Every choice we make will affect those
four things in your life, in a good way or a
bad way. I have a shirt that also says, people
make choices, choices make people. On the back,
we're one choice away from a different life.
In fact, let me give you this statement. The
direction of your life is also a reflection of
your heart. And then I like this. The choices
we make today determines how we'll live tomorrow.
And so we've got to be heavenly minded. We've
got to be eternal minded. How can we be a light
and salt in a lost and a dying world? I had nine
stepfathers growing up. I was in jail at 15,
suicidal at 10 after one of my stepdads beat
me with the switch, cleaned the blood off my
legs, grabbed a small bottle of aspirins. Don't
know that anybody wants to die, but they want
the pain to stop. Took my first drink of alcohol
at nine. See, here's the sad part of my story.
There were churches all around us, but nobody
knocking on my door. And so I want you to understand,
you're looking at a dude that's got every reason
to be atheist, agnostic. I got every reason to
flip God off or to cuss God out. But God had
a, everybody say plan, purpose, blueprint for
my life. Just as well as the devil had a plan.
a purpose, and a blueprint for my life. The last
verse that I'll end with will make sense. Two
voices, two choices, two plans, purposes, and
blueprints. My dad was a gutless man, knew how
to make a baby, didn't want to be a daddy to
a baby. 38 million kids in America have no idea
where their real father is. And these numbers
are probably higher now. But 19 million kids
in America have never seen their real dad. 24
different schools, nine stepfathers. I've slept
in bars and cars and streets and alleys, backyards,
garages. My mom was an alcoholic, would beat
me and my sister. I'm the oldest of eight siblings.
I have a half -brother that died from needles
at 40, lost. Two half -sisters lost, alcoholics
along with their kids. Another half -brother,
I think he's finally won the drug battle. and
doing much better, making better choices. I've
got another half -brother who went to prison.
He got out of prison years ago, started making
better choices. I helped him get his first book
published, and that he speaks in the business
world. I have a half -sister I know nothing about.
I may have other siblings I know nothing about.
And my baby sister, when I found her, well over...
I don't know how long ago it was now. But when
I found her, she was 40 years old. Her 12 -year
-old little boy, watch this, was crumpled and
crippled over. He was in a walker. And bar some
miracle, he was born that way because of my sister's
choice to do drugs. You see, we act like the
choices we make just affects us. It doesn't.
Last week, I spoke in three public schools. I
spoke to about 1 ,800 kids. Just a motivational
deal. And then I invited them to come hear my
story at night. And many of them did come. And
we had a great, great, great time. The sad part
of what I do in schools is I can't talk about
Jesus. I can just tell them I made a choice that
changed my life, but I still have to make choices
to keep my life changed. Every day, one choice
away from a better life or a bitter life. You're
here today because you made a... When you leave
here, you're going to make more. And you're always
one away from a different life. I mean, this
is a great place to be. The saddest part is empty
seats. They got 300 chairs they'd love to bring
in here. And they get here about seven. I don't
know who helped set up, but they set all this
up. And you would think we were going to speak
to about 3 ,000 people today. But it's all about
a perspective. It's an eternal perspective. not
temporary. God's more concerned about the eternal
things in our life than he is the temporary things.
Amen? So everybody say God and the devil. We're
not used to talking. No, he does pretty good
with it. Have a plan, a purpose, and a blueprint
for our life. The question is, are you on the
right plan, right purpose, and blueprint? And
let me give you this thought, by the way, as
I get into my story. I saw this on Facebook,
Dean, and I've shared it. There was a youth pastor
who did a little survey. He said, do you know
that if you read your Bible three days or less
a week, listen to this statistic, if you read
your Bible three days or less a week, there's
a great chance you're not going to pray very
much, you're not going to share your faith, you're
not going to volunteer, you're not going to serve,
you're not going to give, you're probably not
going to try to win people to Jesus. There's
a great chance of that. But if you read your
Bible four days or more a week, and by the way,
I'm in the Bible every day. There's not a day
goes by I'm not in the Word, even if I don't
feel like it. But if you read your Bible four
days or more a week, there's a greater chance
that you're going to serve, volunteer, love,
pray more, share more. You're going to tithe.
You're going to give. When I get home, I'll tithe
on what I get. from where I've been these last
couple of weeks. And there's a greater chance
that you're going to tell somebody about Jesus.
I can't help. I mean, I got these bracelets that
glow in the dark. I got a key that I've been
wearing about 10 years. I don't even know what
this key goes to. I ain't got a clue. But nobody
ever asked me about the cross, but they always
want to know. It's a conversation. Dude, what's
up with the key? And the key to my life is the
cross. You know, I got tattoos. I know I probably
should have got bracelets. But they're conversation
pieces. I'm almost, when I checked in the hotel,
they saw these bracelets. Hey, tell me about
your bracelets. So I'm looking for avenues to
share my faith with other people. All you got,
listen, we got too many secret agents for God.
Listen, it ain't no secret. My neighborhood knows
where I stand with Jesus. I mean, I want you
to understand the people where I go to restaurants,
my wife and I, when my boys graduated and left,
my wife decided she would never cook again, and
she's done well. So we eat out a lot, and we
frequent some of the same restaurants, and the
reason being we get to witness to waitresses.
We've had them come to our church. We've seen
them give their life to Christ. So I'm not asking
you to do something I don't do. Can you imagine
if next week, if every one of you decided to
bring one person next week? I'm not a math person.
I studied all night to make a high F. I wasn't
smart. I got two brain cells and they're fighting
with each other right now. But you know what
I figured? If everybody here brought one person
next week, the crowd would double. And that's
not deep. But see, we just come to church. to
get rather than to give. And let me just say
this to you. How many of y 'all have people in
your life that are not Christians? Raise your
hand. How many of y 'all care about those people?
Do you care enough to get them here? You see,
I'm telling you, there were churches all around
me. My mom would drive, again, I'm the oldest
of eight. When I found my baby sister, her 12
-year -old little boy could barely walk because
of her drug use. She had hepatitis C, cirrhosis
of the liver, became the person she hated. She
became my mom. I've slept in bars and cars and
streets and alleys, but watch this. I'm fearfully
and wonderfully made. And my mom told me all
my life that I was a mistake. My dad didn't want
me. She didn't want me. I mean, we cost her too
much money. We'd be better off dead. I slept
on a floor next to my baby sister's bed from
the age, can you imagine? From the age of 10
to 15, I slept on a floor in our school clothes.
Remember, 24 different schools, which means I
was always the new kid. So I got beat up and
bullied at home. I got beat up and bullied at
school. If you're listening, say yes. I'm not
boring you, right? See, so here's the deal. I
grew up with a lot of hate. Is it raining? I'm
so glad we're in here. We need rain in Texas.
Bottom line is this. My mom told me all my life
I'd be nothing to nobody. So I slept on a floor
next to my baby sister's bed because my mom worked
at bars and clubs. And when my mom would come
in late at night, 2 or 3 in the morning, if I
heard her, can you imagine? I'd wake my baby
sister up. We'd slip out the back door, depending
upon where we lived. We would hide in a garage,
a street, an alley, a park, a backyard. My mom
would pass out. We could slip back in, get in
our beds, and get a good night's rest. And then
we'd go to school. And I didn't run into any
Christians at school. I'm sure they were there,
but nobody told me about Jesus. Nobody invited
me to their church. I got no family, no friends,
no future, no faith, but I am fearfully and wonderfully
made. I think it's Jeremiah 29. You can go there.
Jeremiah 29, 11. Very powerful verse. And in
Jeremiah 29, notice what he said. When I pause,
will you speak? For I know the... See, a minute
ago when he was talking about the offering and
everything, I saw some things that I just needed
to highlight for me. My wife and I, I just got
back from Africa, if you can imagine. I got back
from Africa. It'll be two weeks past Monday.
And I got back on Tuesday, left on Monday from
Kenya, saw over 200 give their life to Christ.
In Africa, I spoke two days to preachers, trying
to share with them how to give an invitation,
how to draw the net, how to present the gospel.
Spoke in another church that I didn't need an
interpreter, praise God. And in the middle of
my message, there were two monkeys that showed
up in my sermon. I've had dogs and cats, never
had a monkey, but they're there. I don't know
if they got saved, but maybe they were listening.
But when I finished, I got home. I left on Monday,
didn't get home until Tuesday. And then my wife's
in the hospital Friday, and I'm on the road again
Saturday. See, here's the deal. I grew up with
a lot of hate and a lot of pain. And my mom told
me all my life that I was worth nothing. Nobody
really wanted me. That's what I grew up in. And
are you ready? I didn't run into any Christians.
And I know there were kids that went to church,
Bible study. And me and my sister, you know,
you had the cowboys. I didn't want to be a cowboy.
They're weird. Some people smoke cigarettes.
Cowboys eat them. You'll get that later. I wasn't
an intellectual. I wasn't athletic. I had athlete's
foot one time. I don't know if that counts. But
you're looking at a dude that just didn't fit.
And notice what he said. For I know the. Come
on, be strong. For I know the, I have for you,
says the Lord. There are plans for good, not
for disaster, but to give you a future and to
hope. Can we go to the next verse? I don't know
if you can get that up there. Look at it. No,
no, go back. No, I was talking about Jeremiah.
Here it is. Let me read it. All right, that's
all I get. Here it is. Jeremiah verse 12. In
those days when you pray, I will listen. Everybody
say if. Do you know that the word if is used
1 ,800 times in my Bible? He could do a whole
series on the word if. You look at the word life,
and in the middle of the word life is the word
if. Man, if my people, if you want to be my follower,
if you walk in the light, if you love. If is
a big word. And notice what he says here in verse
13. He said, if you look for me wholeheartedly,
you will find me. I will be found by you, says
the Lord. I will end your captivity, restore
your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations
where I sent you and bring you home again to
your own land. God and the devil have a plan,
purpose, and blueprint for your life. Now go
to John chapter 10. Now go to John 10. We're
going to camp here for a few minutes. Powerful
one verse, very powerful verse in John chapter
10. If you're listening, say yes. We moved to
California. I was seven. My sister was five.
I don't know why we moved. This will be the hardest
part that I share, and here's the sad part of
my story. When I started doing school assemblies,
and I've done over 20 ,000, I'd love to come
back here and get in this school, be with sixth,
seventh, eighth graders, and invite them here,
whether it's Sunday morning, Saturday night,
whatever we could do. But over 20 ,000 school
assemblies, not counting Christian schools, private
schools, alternative schools. And do you know
that when I started doing this over 40 years
ago, I would ask how many students came from
a divorced or broken home? And out of 800 kids,
I bet you there wasn't 20. Now I ask the same
question out of 800 kids. 70 to 80 % of students
in public schools come from divorced and broken
homes. 50 % live in single -parent homes. 30
% don't live with either one of their parents
at all. There are a lot of Ken Freemans in our
life. And we've got to figure out, by the way,
this is a good group this morning. Jesus only
had 12, and they were weird people. Think of
what he could do with you if every week you got
a Ken Freeman here. If every week that person
that you care about, you said, you know what?
Go to church with me Sunday. We'll go to lunch
afterwards. I promise you, if you can get people
here, they're going to hear the gospel. You see,
worship is our life. It's not a song. And you'll
never worship a God that you don't know, and
you can never worship a God that you don't serve.
When I was in Africa, man, I didn't understand
their language, but I worshiped. It's not knowing
a song, it's knowing a Savior. Amen? We moved
to California. I'm seven, my sister's five. My
mom woke me up. She said, I'll see you in three
days. I'm going to go party. My mom left us with
an ex -boyfriend, made another. Woke up to my
baby sister crying. I fell back to sleep. When
I looked in the bunk bed, usually a dream or
a nightmare, my sister was weeping, and it wasn't,
I'll be careful here as best I can. I watched
as this dude did horrible things to my baby sister.
And for my sister and my two half -brothers and
myself, the abuse that we went through, you can't
imagine. You can't even imagine. And then we'd
go to school and get beat up and bullied. Nobody
reached out to us. We didn't dress very cool.
I wore glasses back then. That was not a cool
deal. I wasn't athletic. I was always the new
kid. He grabbed me by the arm. My anger turned
to fear, slung me to the bottom of the bed, and
it was my turn. You see, that happened because
my dad mayday. Watch how it works. My mom mayday.
Her ex -boyfriend mayday. And here's where I
share this in public schools. Here's what I tell
students. Sometimes, like me, you've got to live
with the consequences of your parents, your families,
your classmates, your workers' choices. One choice
away from a different life. Romans 6 .16, you
ought to read Romans 6. 23 verses, powerful chapter.
You ought to read it. Christian life's about
life and death. The Christian's life is about
freedom and bondage. It's about wages and rewards.
But listen to Romans. It's one of my bracelets.
Romans 6 .16 says, Don't you realize whatever
you choose to obey becomes your master? You become
its slave. You can choose sin that leads to death,
or you can choose to obey God and have a righteous
life. One choice away from a different life.
It all started in the garden. Everybody say thank
you. Yeah, I'm giving you more. I'm giving you
as much as I can. Adam and Eve, do you understand,
had one wrong choice. And if you don't think
it messed with you, read Romans 5 .12. Because
of one man, Adam, and his sin, all of us became
sinners. That's why we needed Jesus, the second
Adam. Amen? If you're listening, say yes. My
mom came home three days later. We rushed into
the living room, wrapped our arms around my mom's
legs. I'm looking up at her. I'm going to tell
my mom what I think this guy did, what he probably
did to others. He's already drinking a bottle
of beer. He gets in the car and leaves. My mom
kicks us off our legs because she was pretty
drunk. We passed out on the floor, or we slept
on the floor. The next morning, I went into my
mom's room. It's a little bit bigger bottle than
this. And on my mom's nightstand, she had a warm
bottle of whiskey with a shot glass. Now, I haven't
had a drink of alcohol over 50 -something years
I've been clean. Yes, I can have a beer. Yes,
I can have a glass of wine. But I've chosen to
be an example, not an excuse. And what we do
in excess, kids are going to, excuse me, what
we do in moderation, kids will do in excess.
Just drink a bottle of water or a Diet Dr. Pepper.
It'll change your life. I want you to understand
that I began to tell my mom what I thought happened
after she drank that shot glass. Got us to the
hospital. My sister stayed. They arrested the
dude. He did go to prison. And from the age of
7 to 20, 13 years, I lived in a prison of guilt,
shame, and blame for 13 years. I was 20 when
I realized. What happened to my sister was not
my fault. We moved from California back to St.
Louis. That's when I wake up with a knife to
my throat, mom's whiskey breath in my face. I
didn't hear her come in. She's going to kill
me and my sister. I begged and cried. She dropped
the knife in the ground, and we got to live one
more day. My sister began to run the streets.
I moved to Texas, born in Virginia. Just got
to Texas as quickly as I could. As I drove in
with my two half -brothers because I wanted to
take care of them, my stepdad married another
woman just like my mom. She began to beat me
like my mom. I was real small growing up, real
small. So I was easy prey to get beat up. After
a year or so, maybe longer, I don't know, I packed
my suitcase. I'm not advocating this. And I lived
in the streets for about three days. And then
family started letting me live with them. Everybody
say God. devil, have a plan, purpose, blueprint
for my life. According to Psalms 139, we're fearfully
and wonderfully made, scheduled and planned each
day of our life. According to Jeremiah, I know
the plans I have for you to prosper, not to harm
or hurt you, give you hope and a future. And
then John 10 .10, look at that one. The thief's
purpose, I'm not lying to you, is to steal, kill,
and destroy. Now, I'm going to tell you, the
devil's real. But if you know the Bible, 1 John
4, 4, greater is he that is in than he that is
in the. You read James, James in chapter 4, he
says, submit yourself therefore unto God, resist
the devil, and he's got to go. We got to quit
blaming stuff on the devil. Can I get an amen?
Can you imagine getting a flat tire and you're
getting ready to change it and you're upset because
you think the devil gave you a flat tire? You
really think he's in the pits of hell going,
this will be good. You know why you got the flat
tire? I'd write this down. This is deep. Got
a hole in it. The devil and God had nothing to
do with the flat tire. After the flat tire, the
devil wants to have something to do with it,
as well as God. You'll understand that in a few
moments. My story just keeps going. I mean, here
I am, a great -grandfather, and you're looking
at a dude that should be a wife -beater, child
-abuser, drug -user, and I should be an alcoholic.
But 50 -something years ago, this coming October,
56, 57 years ago, I'm living on a couch. This
family took me in. I'd been living with different
families. Finally, I got this couch. A football
player gets me to go to church. There were girls
and foods. I was into chicks and chickens, so
I went. Y 'all are laughing. I walked in the
back of that church. I was going to sit in the
back row. I found out you want to get a good
back row, you got to get there four or five days
early. My first time to go to church, I joined
the youth choir. I could cuss wallpaper off a
wall, and I'm in the choir. Big old football
players hugging me. I didn't even know they're
mamas. I don't know how I became their brother.
The girls hugged me. Hallelujah. I thought that
was good. Now I'm giving you the short version.
You can just go online and look. Bottom line
is... October of 1968, gas was 13 cents a gallon.
The dude said, are you tired of running? His
name was Freddy Gage. I started crying. I didn't
cry in front of people. But see, the thief's
purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy. Every
six minutes in America, there's a murder. Every
eight minutes in America, there's a rape. One
in three women, usually a date rape. Every 15
minutes, someone dies because of somebody drinking
and driving. It used to be 90. Every 16 minutes,
someone will take their own life and probably
didn't want to die. And children under the age
of five will be beaten to death by somebody they
love. Are you all listening? That's why we've
got a world that's dying to go to hell. We've
got to give them a reason for heaven. We ought
to be the difference. They don't read Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John. They read me and you. We're
the Bible that people read. Are they closing
the book? Are they asking more questions? Bottom
line is I got saved that night. I'll never forget.
School system found out I had no legal guardian.
I had to go back and live with my mom in St.
Louis. The football player's name was Jeff that
got me to go to church. I didn't run into another
Jeff. And then I call them my Jesus parents.
In one of my books, they write the foreword.
and they were the minister of music at the church
where I was saved in Corpus Christi. They moved
to San Antonio to another church, and I went
to St. Louis. They sent me a one -way plane ticket.
I can count on two hands the choices I made to
where I am right here today. They changed throughout
the years, but I chose to get on that plane,
one -way ticket. They took an Hispanic girl coming
off of drugs. She got the extra bedroom. I got
a camper shoved up in a carport. I thought it
was a condo. Now I'm giving you the short version.
The thief's purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy.
You look at the abortions, the murders. You look
at our political garbage. I'm just telling you,
we're in a mess. I think our country is better
than it's ever been. I don't know who you voted
for. I don't really care. But I think we're in
better shape than we've ever been. But the four
years before this, I'm 73, so I've seen a lot
of presidents. It was probably the worst four
years I've ever seen in America ever. And I'm
not talking about a man. I'm just talking about
politics. But can I tell you this? We don't need
a politician. And let me just tell you this.
A politician ain't going to make America great.
God can. And we've got to be praying for those
people. See, I'm in this Bible every day. When
you're in the Word every day, you're going to
pray more. You're going to reach out more. You're
going to listen better. You're going to love
more. You're going to serve more. Man, who can
I tell about Jesus today? The little fender bender
I had, I got out. I said, hey, listen, my foot
slipped off. I gave them all the insurance stuff.
And I took a few minutes to say, hey, listen,
I'm getting ready to preach this weekend. I guess
my sermon just now started. So I got to tell
them a little bit about Jesus and a little bit
of my story. It was an incredible conversation,
but we had to have a wreck for it to happen.
You see, the bottom line is. I was able to graduate
from high school, two years of college. I've
written three books, two boys, ten grandkids,
a great -granddaughter. I was able to forgive
my mom because forgiveness is a... I watched
my mom laying in bed. I wiped the blood from
her eyes, skin turned yellow, body bloated. For
14 years, I loved my mom as best as she'd let
me, but my mom died lost, never got saved. Found
my dad. After 42 years, my dad got throat cancer,
bone cancer. I was able to lead my dad to the
Lord 12 days before he died. You see, here's
the deal. Your story, just everybody's got a
story. But are you on the right plan with the
right purpose and the right blueprint? I'm going
to give you the biggest ripoff in just a moment.
On this arm, you're going to see my first tattoo.
I probably should have got a bracelet. But my
grandson, Trey, this year would have graduated
from high school. You would think I've been through
enough. And at the age of seven, we couldn't
beat leukemia. Our loss was heaven's gain. This
other one, if you go to pray for Caleb Freeman
or go to hashtag but God, his older brother Caleb
was in a horrible wreck about seven years ago.
They pronounced him dead. He was in a coma for
about two and a half months. He now walks without
a walker. He's still going to all kinds of therapies
in incredible shape. Him and my son travel and
speak. They spoke at Falls Creek this year, 6
,000 students. So he's still in front of people.
I'm praying for complete healing that one day
he'll run again. He walks like a drunk. It's
awesome. We love it. So here's what I'm saying.
There's a purpose for our pain, and God's got
a purpose for everything. Amen? Romans 8, 28.
For all things work together for those who love
God and are called according to His purpose.
Now, before I close, the second part of John
10. Jesus, I love how the New Living reads. He
said, my purpose is to give you a rich, satisfying
life, but I like it where it says, my purpose
is to give you life. That's salvation. But then
he said, and life more abundantly. Everybody
say upgrade. See, you know what I believe? I
never thought I'd ever say this, Dean, and you've
heard me say it before. There's more than just
getting saved. Nothing wrong with getting fire
insurance, but if that's all you got. And you
know what I tell people? If all God is going
to get out of you is Sunday morning, and that's
all God gets, you probably ought to get saved.
I mean, you've got small groups that you ought
to be a part of. I lead a small group in my church.
We have about 12 in our group. Don't stop listening.
So Jesus said, my purpose is to give you a rich,
satisfying life. You know what I noticed about
John 10 .10? Two voices, a deceptive voice and
a voice of life and truth. Two choices, two blueprints,
two plans, two purposes. I want to give you this
statement. I believe the biggest ripoff, everybody
point to your head. I'm trying to be careful
with your time, not really. Everybody point to
your head. Say you can know about God. Point
to your heart without knowing God. Point to your
head. You can know about God's love. Heart without
knowing God's love. 18 inches. You can know a
lot. In 1 John 5, 13 said these things are written
that you might know you have everlasting life,
not hope. In 1 John 5 chapters, the word K -N
-O -W is used 34 different times. That's the
one thing you ought to know. I think my wife
and I are going to make it. You know, I bought
her a little pebble when we got married. It's
all I could afford. And then I gave her the rock
for our 20th anniversary. I think we got a shot
at it. Ten grandkids and a great -granddaughter.
I think we're going to make it. I don't know
that. But what I do know, if I die, he were to
come, I'm going to be with Jesus. That's what
I do know. I close with this. A .W. Tozer said
this. He said, if your Christian conversion...
Dean, I'll take a picture of it and give it to
you. If your Christian conversion didn't change
the direction of your life... Listen to this.
If your Christian conversion didn't transform
or change your life... He said, you've never
been converted at all. In fact, here's what he
said. You're simply a victim of a pray this Jesus
prayer, pray this prayer. Do you know that you
can pray every prayer you want, that ain't going
to save you? Not according to Scripture. Romans
10, 9 and 10, if you believe in your, confess
with your, that Jesus is, believe that he raised
from the, he said you'll be saved. You see, salvation
starts right here. And most people are going
to split hell wide open. They knew about him,
but never got changed. Now I know when you're
supposed to grow up, and I told my wife the day
I wear my pants up to my chest, white socks and
sandals, she needs to shoot me. We don't got
to dress like we're dying. You know, the Bible
says in Timothy, don't let people look down on
you because you're young, but can I tell you
about... My age is not a gauge. I've met Corrie
Ten Boom. Anybody know who she is? Sat on a stage
with her twice. One of the most powerful women
I've ever met in my life. And most of her family
was burned and martyred. But she continued to
live. You see, Jesus said, my purpose is to give
you life. And life more abundantly. I was in
Samson, Alabama. Didn't even know where it was.
First Baptist Church. Running 115 or so people.
And Sunday morning, the Sunday before Easter
of this year, 17 people were saved. Two of them
were deacons in the church. They've been deacons
for years. I thought they were just coming to
pray. And both of them walked up to me and said,
Brother Ken, and they both said not hearing each
other, I've known for years that I was lost.
He said, I knew about Scripture and blah, blah,
but I didn't have a passion for the Word. I didn't
have a passion for lost people. Both of them
were baptized on Easter Sunday the next Sunday.
Little teeny church, we probably had 75, 80 people
saved. It was unbelievable. So here's the question
today. Hebrews 9 .27 said it's appointed once
for man to die and after that the judgment. So
we're all going to die. We're all going to be
judged. If Judge Judy is our judge, we're all
going to hell. But are you ready for this? We
all have a destiny. You see, the next funeral
you go to, that's not the end of their life.
It's the beginning of eternity with God or without
God. I just said it nicer. So I got to ask you,
my son prayed a prayer when he was eight, baptized
him. Here's what he told me at 16. And he's one
of the most incredible Christian men I've ever
met in my life. He said, dad, from the end, some
of y 'all are going to do what? What he did for
three years. He said, Dad, from 13 to 16, he
went to an incredible Christian school, a great
church. He had a great dad. Are you ready for
this? He said, Dad, for three years, I knew I
was lost. He was a virgin when he got married.
Never did drugs. Drank with a couple of his dorky
friends. He said, Dad, it wasn't a biggie. He
said, Dad. I knew I was lost. I didn't have a
passion for the Bible. I didn't care if my friends
got saved. He said, Dad, I was disobedient. I
was deceptive. I was rebellious. And then he
said this. He said, I was embarrassed of who
you were as an evangelist. And my son at 16 finally
got saved. My wife grew up in a military home.
She was born in Tallahassee. Married in an Air
Force home, Southern Baptist home. Prayed a prayer
with her dad at nine. And at 20 years old at
Texas State in San Marcos, she got saved at a
campus revival. Came home and told her dad, hey,
dad, I got saved. And he said, but Debbie, I
prayed with you when you were nine. Dad, I remember
you praying with me, but I got saved this week.
90 -year -old great -grandmother in my son's
church. In 2019, right before COVID, we had 15
saved at the 8 o 'clock service when we had 159
for the week. And this woman came forward, 90
years old, great grandmother, walked up to talk
to my son, her pastor. The others were right
here. My son walked over. I said, I'll never
forget this. I need to tell the church what this
lady just told me, who, by the way, just passed
away. He did her funeral three years later. She
said, Brother Jeremy, I've heard your dad preach.
I've been in his church four or five times. He
said, When I was 12 years old, I sat at the back
of the church, and I was sitting with four of
my girlfriends, 12. She's now 90. I didn't hear
one thing that was preached. I hope you all are
listening. See, I know you can hear me, but it
doesn't mean you're listening. And see, when
you have your Bible with you, When you've got
that notebook and you're writing stuff down,
you're engaged. I said, Jeremy, I didn't hear
anything. I looked over. My four girlfriends
were weeping. I mean, weeping. Invitation came.
They all four stood up. So I stood up. I worked
up a few tears with them. Went forward. Prayed
the same prayer they prayed. Got in the baptistry.
She said I was 12 years old. She said, Jeremy,
20 minutes ago, I just got saved sitting right
back there. She said, I'm 90 years old, and I
knew I was lost. You see, when I was 12 years
old, God didn't deal with me. My girlfriends,
what was going on, I just went forward. He baptized
her that night, and about three years later,
passed away. Almost missed heaven. So here's
my question, and we're done. if your heart were
to stop, if you were to die. And here's the deal.
I was able to forgive my mom. She died lost.
I found my dad was able to lead him to the Lord
12 days before he passed away. My baby sister
was going to kill herself and kill her son. I
called a preacher friend of mine. My baby sister
got saved. We don't think it was on purpose.
I mean, I bought her a brand new set of dentures,
teeth, so she could smile again. I found a lot.
Dean, I called three churches to go. visit my
sister in St. Louis, Baptist churches. You know
what all three of them told me? My sister lived
in the wrong neighborhood. So I found a biker
church. Have Bible, will travel. My sister got
saved. Now, we don't think it was on purpose,
but my sister, about three or four years later,
drank a little vodka one night. She was still
dealing with some alcohol. and took some pain
pills. She had chronic pain, and my sister died
in her sleep. I think she's with Jesus today.
She just couldn't win some of those battles.
So here's the deal. You're looking at a dude
who should be a white beater, child abuser, drug
user, alcoholic. But God had a... and a... and
a... Would you bow your heads? Every head bowed.
The moment that I don't know if they're going
to start playing music. But with every head bowed,
every eye closed. I'm the only one looking. If
you really listened to me today, raise your hand.
If you learned something today, raise your hand.
I'm always learning. So my invitation won't be
long. How many sitting here would say, Brother
Ken, Mr. Freeman, yo dude, now listen to me close.
I'm not asking if you've been christened as a
Catholic, sprinkled as a Methodist. I'm not asking
if you've been baptized in a Baptist church.
I'm not asking about an aisle that you walked,
a church that you joined, or a prayer that you
prayed. I'm not even asking about your commitment
level, how committed you are. How much you know
the word. Husband, wife, I hope y 'all are listening.
And if you're visiting here today, this was a
divine appointment for somebody here. How many
here would say, Brother Ken, Mr. Freeman, yo
dude, if my heart were to stop, if I were to
die. Brother Ken, I know without a shadow of
a doubt that I'm born again. I'm saved. I know
I'm a Christian. Hey, Brother Ken, I know that
if I died, I'm going to be with Jesus. I know
that. Would you raise your hand? I'd be careful.
God, I'd be careful. Put him down. Is there anybody
here? I'm going to come back to you in a moment.
Who would say? Brother Ken, this might surprise
my husband and wife. And I wonder. If there was
somebody here that did what my son did for three
years, you raised your hand one more time, convincing
yourself. But is there anybody here that would
say, Brother Ken, Mr. Freeman, I honestly don't
know that I'd go to heaven if I died. I honestly
don't know that I've ever been saved. But I want
to know. Would you pray for me? Anybody here?
Say, Brother Ken, I'm lost. Okay. Now the sad
part about that is we got to get lost people
here. So can I ask this question before I turn
it back over to Dean and we close? How many of
you here would say, Brother Ken, I know I'm saved,
but I'm going to be honest with you. Lately in
my life, the devil's been ripping me off. There's
been voices in my life. There's choices that
I'm making. Brother Ken, I'm not in the Word
like I should be in my prayer life. I'm not being
the husband, the spiritual leader. How many here
would say, Brother Ken, I know I'm saved, but
would you pray for me? Because lately I feel
like I've been listening to wrong voices, wrong
choices, and I'm not being that person God wants
me to be. Would you raise your hands? Put them
up high. Come on, hold them up high. All over.
Unashamed? Unafraid. Well, here's what we're
going to do. Just for a few moments. I'm going
to ask if you'd say, Brother Ken, I want an upgrade.
Remember he said, I've come to give you life.
But I want to give you life abundantly. How many
of you would say, Brother Ken, I want to know
him more. I really do. Raise your hands. Hold
on. I want to know him more. I want an upgrade.
Put them down. I'm going to pray for you, but
before I do, would you take a moment? Husband,
would you lean over to your wife or your son
or your daughter right now? Put your arm around
them. And would you pray out loud for your family
right now? Would you just say, hey, God, I want
an upgrade as a dad. I want an upgrade as a husband.
God, give me a passion for your word. Would you
do that? Give me a passion for worship to be
a witness. Would you do it, husband and wife?
Just take a moment. Maybe you're single, widowed.
God, give me a fresh, a fresh touch of your spirit.
Hey, God, I want an upgrade today. I want to
know you more and I want to make you known. Hey,
wife, you might want to pray for your husband
right now. Thank God for your husband. Twenty
-seven little girls, their parents don't get
to hug them again. Eight and nine -year -old
in that Catholic school, two parents won't get
them. So hold on to your kids. Hold on to your
family. stay on the right plan, walk in His purpose.
And the blueprint is the Word of God. So Father,
for this church, may You bless this church. I
thank You for Dean, Gayna, Jeffrey, and I thank
You for their families. And God, my prayer is
that You would bless their faithfulness. God,
I pray one day you'd fill this gym up where they've
got to move or add more chairs. I pray financially
you would bless this church. God, I want to thank
you for the worship today, your word today. Now,
God, would you bless these people right here?
Let them get somebody to church next week. God,
let them get a key and put it around their neck,
hoping somebody's going to say, what's up with
the key? But help us to be conversation pieces.
Help us to make a difference in your kingdom.
We'll give you praise in Jesus' name. Amen. Look
this way. You can go to KenFreeman .com and more
of my stories there. You can look up Ken Freeman
books. You can get them online. But I challenge
you. Don't settle for just being saved. Want
more. I always want more. Amen? This online worship
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