1 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:05,680 Hello and welcome to the Arise Church Podcast. 2 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:08,800 We are so glad you're here and want to thank you for joining us 3 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:11,840 today for the audio version of our Sunday morning message. 4 00:00:12,120 --> 00:00:15,240 We want to invite you to join us in person at our Sunday morning 5 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:17,680 celebration every Sunday at 10 AM. 6 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,360 We are located on Old Jenks Rd. in Apex, NC. 7 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:26,400 Well, hi, my name's Terry Austin. 8 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:30,280 And my wife Beth, you see her sometimes. 9 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,840 And we had the privilege of being the parents of our 10 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:38,520 pastors, Ty and Lilia, and they're traveling. 11 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:44,480 And so I was asked to share my testimony today. 12 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:48,400 We're going to talk about the 1st 20 years. 13 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:53,640 And before we get there, Tim, you were talking about our 14 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:59,160 generosity and and how when God gives us seed, it can help 15 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,680 others. We have a, a lady in our church 16 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,040 from Jamaica. Anybody seen Jamaica in the news 17 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,520 recently? So she contacted us and 18 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:15,040 contacted the church and, and we worked just communicating, 19 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:17,920 trying to and and it's ongoing process. 20 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:23,320 It's not a one day fix, but we gave some monies the church did 21 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,240 to help her family because she has a lot of family still in 22 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,080 Jamaica. So I got a picture this morning 23 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:32,800 and I just saw it before service. 24 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:34,280 I didn't. It would have been nice if I 25 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:38,760 could have got it up there, but by helping one family, they 26 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:47,960 helped 17 families have food. And sometimes in the grand scope 27 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:53,440 of things, 17 families and all the devastation you see may not 28 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:57,400 seem like a great significance, but you guys applauded it 29 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:01,160 because for those 17 families, it's very significant. 30 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,360 And it's not just the food that it puts on the table, it's the 31 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:13,400 hope that's delivered in Christ. And so as I go into my testimony 32 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:18,920 this morning, I've, I've done notes and I got about two weeks 33 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:24,560 notice and that was too long. Do you know how much I can 34 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:30,120 meditate on in two weeks and how many messages that I can put 35 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:34,040 together? And so I, I put down some notes, 36 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,960 but, and, and I had a conversation with our 13 year 37 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:41,880 old and 15 year old grandchildren. 38 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:46,040 I didn't include Jewel that they were going to hear some things 39 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:52,160 that are going to be some dark moments in my life, but also in 40 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:58,000 the life of the Austins. And I want to say first and 41 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:02,840 foremost before I share that I speak from a place of victory. 42 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:08,320 So don't come up this morning say, oh, Terry, we're so sorry. 43 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:14,920 No, God has worked to good those things which the the enemy meant 44 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:20,840 to destroy and had used in generations to destroy families. 45 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,440 God has used it to where I can now testify. 46 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:29,960 And I have seen children in homes like what I experienced 47 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:36,200 who got hope that God could one, rescue them and redeem their 48 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,520 life from destruction and use them. 49 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,120 That when people talked about God having a purpose and a plan 50 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,560 for you, a future and a hope that it included them. 51 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:53,400 Even though many times sociologists and scientists and 52 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:58,520 folks say if you come from this kind of home, there's no hope. 53 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,520 And I traveled with a couple of other men in our church and we 54 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:08,280 discovered that all three of us came from similar broken 55 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:11,800 situations. But we're not broken anymore. 56 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:17,120 God has worked it to good because we now love him and 57 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:19,040 we're now called according to his purpose. 58 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:24,080 And like in Joseph's life, what the enemy meant for evil, God 59 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:28,120 used for good. And so we come from that place. 60 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:33,560 So I want you to know that. I want you to understand that. 61 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:38,840 And then I also want you to to hear this verse. 62 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:44,800 It says this is in heaven and John's there and he's receiving 63 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:49,160 this revelation. And in Revelation 12/10 and 11, 64 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:53,400 he says, then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven now 65 00:04:53,400 --> 00:05:00,400 salvation and strength and the Kingdom of our God, the power of 66 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:06,240 his Christ have come for the accuser of the brethren who 67 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:11,880 accused them before our God day and night has been cast down, 68 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:16,880 and they overcame by the blood of the Lamb. 69 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:21,440 Do you know you can go to a lot of churches? 70 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:23,640 And when they all came by the blood of Lamb. 71 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:25,960 Amen. Yes, yes. 72 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:30,680 Thank you for the blood, all the blood of the Lamb and the word. 73 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,520 The testimony. Yeah, we used to have testimony 74 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,160 nights, but we don't want to glorify the devil. 75 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:42,760 Remember, my testimony is not glorifying the devil. 76 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,880 I'm speaking from a position where the devil's been defeated. 77 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:53,040 So. But what it does say that my 78 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:59,520 testimony can do is help they overcome not just me, overcome 79 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:04,240 others who maybe need to be reminded and encouraged to what 80 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:07,600 God's done for them and what he will do for them. 81 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:13,480 It it it is a multiplication. It's a seed, that song that can 82 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:18,920 go for generations of setting people free when they hear the 83 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:26,200 testimony of one who has been rescued and redeemed from the 84 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:30,400 destruction that the that the enemy had reaped over 85 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,080 generations. And I keep using that word, 86 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:38,240 folks, because there's some generation stuff in the past, 87 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:48,560 Austins, that we don't see with the present generation and our 88 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:52,720 children and our children's children and their children. 89 00:06:54,080 --> 00:07:00,600 May His favor be upon you to 1000 generations and your family 90 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,960 and your children and their children and their children. 91 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:13,200 It's awesome. I won't see 1000 generations 92 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:15,040 here, but you know what? I'm going to be waiting for him 93 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:17,880 in heaven and greeting them every how, every how long he 94 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:19,920 tarries. I'm just going to keep welcoming 95 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:23,480 Austin's and, and whatever name they take when they get married, 96 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:24,960 we're just going to keep welcoming them in. 97 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:34,280 So, so when I say the 1st 20 years, we're going to go a 98 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:41,080 couple years before I was born, my mom was one of three girls 99 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:43,080 and, and I want to share this just a little bit. 100 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,160 Her mother did not teach them how to cook. 101 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,400 My grandmother was an incredible cook, but she did not teach her 102 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:56,120 daughters to cook. And so you know what they 103 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:01,880 learned on their own, but they were never as good a cooks as 104 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:09,040 their mother. Also in my mother's house, I 105 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:11,760 never my grandparents. They helped raise my brother and 106 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:14,520 I and you'll understand why in just a few minutes. 107 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:18,960 But I never remember hearing a Bible verse. 108 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,880 I never remember there being a devotion time I never remember 109 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:25,840 talking about. And their last name was Brown. 110 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:31,000 And the Browns don't do that because God's Word says or the 111 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,880 Browns do this because God's word says. 112 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:39,320 There was a term that was used last week that that hit me when 113 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:43,520 I was looking at this. There were no gatekeepers in the 114 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:47,640 Browns. Well, on my dad's side of the 115 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:53,560 family, he didn't know his grandfather and his father had 116 00:08:53,560 --> 00:09:00,400 served time in prison in the last five years of his father's 117 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:02,800 life. They didn't talk because the 118 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:07,080 only time my grandfather called my dad was when he was drunk and 119 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,280 it was the middle of the night. And dad said, why can't you ever 120 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:15,000 call me when you're sober and in a decent time a day? 121 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:17,840 And he said, don't worry, you'll never hear from me again. 122 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:23,040 And he didn't. Consequently, when my paternal 123 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:28,200 grandfather died, Dad was the only of his children. 124 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:31,880 They took any responsibility to go see what needed to be done. 125 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:36,600 And he asked if I would go. And so the first funeral that I 126 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:40,440 ever did was my paternal grandfather, and I had to ask 127 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:44,960 his name. I never remember meeting him, 128 00:09:45,560 --> 00:09:49,640 though my older brother said that we did. 129 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:56,760 That was generational. My dad didn't know his 130 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:58,720 grandfather. I didn't know my grandfather. 131 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:10,600 I know my grandkids. The curse has been broken. 132 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:13,560 You got to laugh so you don't cry. 133 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:20,920 You also just want to look at the devil and say we stopped it. 134 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:28,640 So when my mom was 15 she found herself pregnant. 135 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:35,360 How many believe 15 is pretty young, especially if you have a 136 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:46,080 15 year old? And so it's like 1958, she's 15, 137 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:54,560 she's pregnant, my dad's 17, and they get married when she's 16. 138 00:10:54,560 --> 00:10:59,560 She was about six weeks into her 16th year when they get married. 139 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:05,760 Dad's still 1720. Days after dad turned 18, he 140 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:12,400 became a father. So mom 16, Dad 18. 141 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,480 The only reason she got her high school diploma was because she 142 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:20,680 had three aunts that continued to teach her. 143 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:25,080 They were teachers and so they continued to teach her and she 144 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:29,200 got her high school diploma, not a GED, actually, her high school 145 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:31,800 diploma. My dad went into the Navy, I 146 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:34,040 think it was like 2 year mandatory service. 147 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:41,720 He went into the Navy and so mom's got this little baby and 148 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:44,040 her parents are helping raise this baby. 149 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:51,960 And then when she's 18, she has a second baby. 150 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:57,960 Me, Dad's 20. I'm born a few days before he's 151 00:11:57,960 --> 00:11:59,920 discharged. So I'm a cheap baby. 152 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:02,360 My brother and I were cheap babies. 153 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:04,480 That's, that's the way the story was told to us. 154 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:07,440 We were cheap babies. That was the last time we were 155 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:12,680 told that we were cheap. From there on out, we just seem 156 00:12:12,680 --> 00:12:17,040 to get more expensive. And so when my dad came out of 157 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:19,040 the Navy, somebody encouraged my dad. 158 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:22,360 And I want you to hear these two things that my dad was 159 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:27,840 encouraged in. Someone encouraged my dad. 160 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:30,960 And of course, he had the GI Bill to go to college. 161 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:39,080 And so my dad went to college. Now he's got two kids at home, 162 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,360 he goes to college and he takes three jobs. 163 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:51,000 But my dad excels in the field of education and in his early 164 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,640 30s gets his doctorate of education. 165 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:59,320 And when he retires from education, he's the associate 166 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:02,760 Superintendent of Guilford County Schools, which is one of 167 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,200 the largest school systems in North Carolina. 168 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:11,800 Very prestigious position. My dad was also encouraged while 169 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:17,680 he was in high school and in it from there on out to officiate 170 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:24,560 baseball, basketball, football, any sport that he could get paid 171 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:26,640 to be a referee. He did. 172 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:34,080 And again, in his young 30's, the ACC had a lot of guys 173 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:36,520 retiring, so they were looking for officials. 174 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:42,680 And my dad being encouraged and being mentored now and 175 00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:47,360 officiating becomes AACC basketball and football 176 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:51,520 official, which we all know which was the more prestigious 177 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:56,800 position. But it was the NFL that very 178 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:00,600 quickly had a lot of guys retiring and needed some 179 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:04,600 officials. And so Dad, I think just barely 180 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:13,640 40 years old, is hired by the NFL and excels in the NFL and 181 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:21,440 does 26 years of officiating in the NFL and does 3 Super Bowls. 182 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:26,320 He's got the bling. It's called a ring. 183 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:33,240 They're whopping big. And so my dad is recognized in 184 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:38,200 airports and all kinds of places because he excelled in the two 185 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:43,360 areas where someone encouraged him and mentored him. 186 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:54,240 No one encouraged or taught my dad how to be a father. 187 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:00,000 No one encouraged or taught my mom how to be a mom. 188 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:08,400 And what's sad is, do you know that's true of a lot of people? 189 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:17,040 And we may bash the mom and the dad, but really, it's kind of 190 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:26,960 like, so you taught him how to succeed and work, but you 191 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:33,400 weren't interested in his soul. But see that responsibility is 192 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,400 not given to the field of education or the field of 193 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:39,680 officiating, though you would hope that there would be people 194 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,360 in those fields who are letting their light shine. 195 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:50,680 So last week when Pastor Ty was encouraging us to be gatekeepers 196 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:57,120 first for your family, mom and dads, don't just make sure your 197 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:02,400 kids get a good education so they can get a good job and they 198 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:06,120 can make good money and they can be successful according to what 199 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:10,440 the world calls success. But train a child up in the way 200 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:13,040 that they should go, that they should not depart from it. 201 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,520 Understand that you've been given the role in the to be a 202 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:23,800 gatekeeper of their life. So that when we had a child and 203 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:30,120 he wanted to do something stupid, we said no because 204 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:32,840 you're going to hear some of my testimony. 205 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:41,080 I know stupid and my parents practice some stupid and we got 206 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:47,080 some pretty bad results. But I didn't just say no in my 207 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:53,480 own wisdom, I had learned some things through some people who 208 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:57,320 let their light shine. So when I'm thirteen years old 209 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:01,240 and we're going to go quicker now, so when I'm thirteen years 210 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:05,599 old, I go to basketball camp at Campbell University. 211 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:08,240 I paid for half of it. My dad paid for the other half 212 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:11,000 because it was sports. He invested in sports. 213 00:17:11,599 --> 00:17:15,800 Just telling it like it is. So, so I go to basketball camp 214 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:19,839 and and you know, it's fun. It's it's awesome. 215 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:22,960 You know, you're there with a bunch of 13 year olds and, and 216 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:25,280 you feel like you, you got no care in the world. 217 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:28,240 In the morning you get on a bus and you go play basketball. 218 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:30,760 In the afternoon you get on a bus, you go play basketball. 219 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:33,640 In the evening you get on a bus, you go play basketball. 220 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,000 It's awesome. And they got a ice cream machine 221 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,280 in the cafeteria and nobody's there to tell you you can't have 222 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:42,240 it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 223 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:50,560 It's pretty awesome. And I get home in Biltmore and 224 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:56,440 our house is empty. I should back up. 225 00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:59,600 So when I was 10 years, seven years old, my parents got 226 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,920 divorced. At 10 years old, my dad moved 227 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:04,520 about four hours away to Greensboro. 228 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:10,600 And This is why I should look at my notes. 229 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:16,600 But then so when they got divorced, OK, I was 7. 230 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:22,440 So it's like 1968. And as far as I can remember, I 231 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:26,880 was the only person I knew whose parents were divorced. 232 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:34,600 There was a stigma. And people said, your parents 233 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:36,880 are going to go to court and they're going to fight and 234 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:39,040 you're going to have to decide who you're going to live with. 235 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:43,720 And, you know, they just, and my dad taught in the elementary 236 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:46,520 school I was going to. So everybody knew our business. 237 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:54,360 So at 10 he moves. At 13, I come home from 238 00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:56,280 basketball camp and the house is empty. 239 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,240 I later found out we were skipping town. 240 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,840 We moved in with my aunt and two cousins. 241 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:09,520 So there's my mother, my older brother and myself, and then my 242 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:13,360 aunt and our two older cousins. They were older than my brother 243 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:19,720 and they were very rich. They had 16 acres, 6 bedrooms, 4 244 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:23,520 bath, swimming pool, movie stars. 245 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:34,400 Beverly Hills, actually Flowery Branch, GA Chestnut Mountain. 246 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:36,880 The mailing address was Flowery Branch. 247 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,160 You heard of either one? Falcons fans. 248 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:45,400 They are now in Flowery Branch. But we moved there because she 249 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:52,440 had become a a widow and she had space and she was going to take 250 00:19:52,440 --> 00:20:00,600 care of her younger sister. But that home was empty and void 251 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:06,040 of any light. It was even darker than what we 252 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:14,040 had known at 13. What little bit of a gatekeeper 253 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:16,120 there may have been, there was none. 254 00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:25,240 When I was 13, I don't know that anybody cared where I was or 255 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:32,640 what I was doing. See, where there are no 256 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:39,520 gatekeepers, darkness invades. I want you to remember that 257 00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:43,480 because, you know, sometimes we'll hear a message, you know, 258 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:45,920 that's really good. You know, like pastor teach on. 259 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:52,360 He taught on being gatekeepers and, and it can just go off of 260 00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:58,120 our back and we just don't really capture the significance 261 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:01,520 and the importance of it because it was an Old Testament story 262 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:07,040 and we don't have gates. You go to is it foxtail coffee? 263 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:12,760 I, I went there Friday and there was a bunch of people, some of 264 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:15,000 them work for the town of Apex. They were having like their 265 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,080 staff meeting at the coffee shop. 266 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:21,680 I'm like this, this is like a gate where people go in and out. 267 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:26,400 We used to have business card meet the pastors at Starbucks. 268 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:30,880 Sorry, OK, it was before they went off the deep end. 269 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:35,560 But but we used to meet the pastors at Starbucks Wednesday 270 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:37,960 night at 7:00. That was our Wednesday night 271 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,840 church service. That was our initial point, 272 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:43,400 where people could get to know us. 273 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:48,080 But where there are no gatekeepers, darkness invades. 274 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:57,960 So now being left to being raised by two, no, no 275 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:03,160 boundaries. You know 16 and 18 year old 276 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:11,810 cousins when I say no, no boundaries, they knew no 277 00:22:11,810 --> 00:22:15,970 boundaries. One of the cousins took me to 278 00:22:15,970 --> 00:22:19,760 middle school to register because we had moved to their 279 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:23,080 house. My mom got a job, she didn't 280 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:26,520 take me to the school and and they had this application and 281 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:28,960 I'm trying to fill it out. And they said, what do you want 282 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:34,800 to do after after high school? And I put I want to go to 283 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:40,760 COLLEDGE. Anybody know what that spells? 284 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:43,240 Anybody know what it doesn't spell? 285 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,080 So guess who got put in all remedial classes? 286 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:54,560 And the problem was this. Midway through, they realized I 287 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:57,160 couldn't spell, but I was really good at a lot of the other 288 00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,960 stuff. But it was too late and I had to 289 00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:06,400 play catch up all through high school that that's one of the 290 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:08,640 areas. So that's an area where you can 291 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:10,760 say, oh, wow. I mean, you know, they didn't 292 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:13,720 even take him to sign him up for school, didn't bring his 293 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:20,000 records, No, but that's nothing compared to didn't raise him in 294 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:26,160 the admonition of the Lord, didn't use the word of God to 295 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:31,800 train him up. Didn't point him towards Jesus 296 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,720 as being savior, healer, baptized with the Holy Spirit 297 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:38,000 and coming King as some people heard in the pathways class. 298 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:44,280 Didn't nurture their spirit, didn't create boundaries. 299 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:50,440 See, that's what gatekeepers do. And where there are no 300 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:55,280 gatekeepers, darkness invades. And so when I'm 16, my mom gets 301 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:59,280 remarried to a guy 20 years older than her. 302 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:05,160 At least when she wasn't around, it didn't really impact me 303 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:08,280 negatively. You know, as far as an 304 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:10,400 independent 13 year old would feel. 305 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:16,800 But now I had to go live in the house with this stranger and my 306 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:20,520 mom and go to a different high school than what I had finally 307 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:28,400 gotten grounded in. And I, and I understand the 308 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:32,000 challenge now that this man faced a little bit more than I 309 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:36,080 did back then. About two months into their 310 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:40,080 marriage, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. 311 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,560 My brother's in the Navy. I'm living in a house with a 312 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:51,560 stranger, though I had a bedroom at my aunt's house and spent 313 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:54,600 more time there probably than in my mother's house. 314 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:58,800 But I watched my mother begin to deteriorate. 315 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:04,760 It gets better people, it does, but part of it. 316 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:08,920 I said share your testimony of the 1st 20 years because those 317 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:12,840 of you that are regular here, you see the fruit of what God 318 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:17,720 overcame. He done good. 319 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,760 Just to show you I finally got the English class down. 320 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:26,600 You know he, he done good again. If we don't laugh, we'll cry. 321 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:37,120 After my junior year, for whatever crazy reason, it was 322 00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:40,040 like why don't you go live with your dad for the summer so you 323 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:45,720 can get to know him. Well, I have a younger brother 324 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,760 that has a different mother and he lived with my dad and I found 325 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:54,080 out he didn't really see my dad any more than I did and they 326 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:58,760 lived in the same house because dad was a workaholic. 327 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,680 Because see, Jesus didn't break the cycle in his life. 328 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:09,480 So he wasn't an alcoholic, but he was a workaholic and he 329 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:13,320 excelled it. And he could use the excuse that 330 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:15,920 he was providing for family or who was doing this. 331 00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:20,040 But if he had been trained to be a husband and trained to be a 332 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:22,800 father, he might have understood there's a little bit more 333 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:26,120 required than just bringing money home. 334 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,920 And dads, if you see yourselves in any of these pictures, just 335 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,840 take it that Jesus is saying today would be a good day to 336 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:42,800 make some adjustments. Moms, today would be a good day 337 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:46,280 to make some adjustments, but all of us who are believers in 338 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:49,360 Jesus Christ should hear the part that's coming up. 339 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:58,880 So while I'm at my dad's that summer before my it's actually 340 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:04,240 after my senior year in high school and it's before I go to 341 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,720 the University of Georgia, they diagnosed my mom with cancer 342 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:11,360 again, back then, they just kept taking parts. 343 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:22,360 And I didn't know what to do, so the main thing I did was just 344 00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:27,760 not be around. So I go to the University of 345 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:29,760 Georgia my freshman year of college. 346 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:32,840 I'd already started junior college because I hated high 347 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:36,680 school and I got out early. But I go to the University of 348 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:38,360 Georgia. Oh, let me tell you something 349 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:39,400 that happened in the high school. 350 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:42,280 I got to tell you about a gatekeeper that at least in one 351 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:45,200 way help me, though not spiritually. 352 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:47,640 I had an English teacher, me and English. 353 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:51,360 There's something about it. I had to take at least I I 354 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:53,560 needed five more credits to graduate. 355 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,120 If you take any credits, you have to take an English. 356 00:27:56,680 --> 00:28:01,040 So I'm my senior year, fall semester, high school, I go, I'm 357 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:02,880 taking English and I'm flunking it. 358 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:07,240 Halfway through the semester, I'm flunking the one class I 359 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:10,840 have to pass to get out of that stinking school. 360 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:13,160 And guess what? I'm flunking it. 361 00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:16,080 And the English teacher knew my family. 362 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:19,400 She knew what was going on. She knew I didn't like the 363 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:21,080 school. I'm going to tell you a little 364 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:23,880 bit about the school. I had a lot of friends of 365 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:28,520 different shades than me, but the second high school I went 366 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:34,280 to, everybody was my shade or lighter and they did not like 367 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:39,800 anybody any darker than me and kicked in my car door because I 368 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:44,800 still had friends of different persuasions. 369 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:48,880 So there's a lot of reasons you wouldn't like it. 370 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:58,120 And so this English teacher, she says, Terry, I know what you're 371 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:01,480 going through at home. I know you don't like it at this 372 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:08,560 school, but I will not give you a passing grade. 373 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:12,880 You have to earn it. That's a gatekeeper. 374 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:18,480 That's like if somebody doesn't help this young man. 375 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:26,320 No, he must apply himself. Even in desperate or bad 376 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:29,840 situations. He may never learn that. 377 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:33,320 You have to. You have to push through. 378 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:40,520 I ended the class with ACI, made all A's after she told me that. 379 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:44,240 So the the capacity, the ability was there. 380 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:47,280 It just took somebody to draw it out. 381 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:53,120 So I go to the University of Georgia. 382 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:55,600 This man that I don't know, that's married to my mother 383 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,600 says, hey, I was a member of a fraternity. 384 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:01,160 You should join a fraternity. You can make friends. 385 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:07,480 Well, you can buy friends. And since he was paying, I 386 00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:12,240 figured, OK. And then these friends, they 387 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:19,520 provide a lot of beverages now. All the homes I lived in, there 388 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:23,400 were beverages, but I never partook of them. 389 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:34,720 But all of a sudden I'm like, yeah, and, and, you know, if we 390 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:37,560 sit down at a restaurant, I'll drink a gallon of tea. 391 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,840 I'll drink 5 glasses of water. I'm going to, you know, I just 392 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:44,320 drink. Well, some drinks have a 393 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:46,040 different effect than other drinks. 394 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:49,720 And then I had a couple of friends from high school. 395 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:55,960 They like to partake too. And so I, I met some new 396 00:30:55,960 --> 00:31:02,360 friends, not people, but products and, and I was quickly 397 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:06,160 becoming an alcoholic and alcohol had a depressing. 398 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:09,680 Do you know if your life's already messed up, you don't 399 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:15,400 need any help being depressed? And I was becoming very 400 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,480 depressed. Also during this time, my high 401 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,320 school sweetheart, I had a high school sweetheart. 402 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:23,200 We were on and off for three years. 403 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:26,800 You know, you just know you're going to get married. 404 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:31,640 You know, she's the one. Her parents went to church and 405 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:35,360 sometimes she went to church with them and it took them three 406 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:40,200 years to finally decide I was not good for their daughter. 407 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:44,880 Parents, open your eyes. You're the parent. 408 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:51,360 Guard the gate. Keep guys like me unsaved out. 409 00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:03,160 So my freshman year college, she's told she can't see me 410 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:07,560 anymore. My mom is like really getting 411 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:12,920 bad and I'm getting really drunk and I'm getting really 412 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:17,240 depressed. I did some, you know, so there's 413 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:20,920 there's some signs when you realize that when it's 11:00 in 414 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:24,520 the morning and you're mixing, there's your sign. 415 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:28,480 When you wake up in the morning and you don't know how you got 416 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:32,200 home, put your cars out in the driveway, there's your sign. 417 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:37,840 When you wake up in the morning and you have your arms instead 418 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:43,520 of around a person porcelain, there's your sign. 419 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:49,040 And in all my brokenness, because now it was all 420 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:57,440 manifesting, there were two friends from high school. 421 00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:04,160 Their maiden names were Kathy Bell and Donna Barrett. 422 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:08,560 And I do not know how the conversations came about. 423 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:16,880 I don't know who initiated them. I don't know how it just 424 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:23,560 happened, but one day they looked at me and they said, 425 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:30,320 Terry, we can't help you. You need Jesus. 426 00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:36,880 Would you come to church? I had been to church. 427 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:41,880 I had been to their church. I never remember anybody telling 428 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:47,040 me, I'm 18 years old, broken, that I need Jesus. 429 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:53,000 Like there was something that he could do that nobody else could 430 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:58,960 do. There's there's a blurp on 431 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:01,160 Facebook. I can't remember if I shared it. 432 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:04,920 There's some things only Jesus can do. 433 00:34:12,139 --> 00:34:15,300 And so I went to church. The very next time I went to 434 00:34:15,300 --> 00:34:20,820 church, it was in an evening and there was a 16 year old young 435 00:34:20,820 --> 00:34:23,380 man preaching a week long revival. 436 00:34:24,199 --> 00:34:27,480 He had started when he was 12, sharing his testimony. 437 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:32,280 And I don't know how you get prepared to speak to all ages at 438 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:37,679 the age of 16. Bobby, you talked about somebody 439 00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:43,320 finding their voice. This young man had found his 440 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:51,800 voice, and he's up there, and I have no clue what he said, but I 441 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:56,199 know what God said. I want you to do what he's 442 00:34:56,199 --> 00:35:04,320 doing. And that night, I found this a 443 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:07,040 song. Later in life, Kathy Bell 444 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:10,720 married Steve Curse. Her name's Kathy Bell Curse. 445 00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:13,200 They have a son named Adam Curse. 446 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:16,080 And I was at a men's retreat, and I heard this song. 447 00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:20,560 And lo and behold, I'm like, I got to find out how to get this 448 00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:24,720 song and I look and one of the four guys that wrote that song 449 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:33,760 is Adam Curse. I just like lone in my sorrow 450 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:38,640 and dead in my sin. That was the first line. 451 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:46,640 I'm like, that was that 18 year old and then it goes into it. 452 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:50,960 Then death was arrested and my life began. 453 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:54,440 See, not only was my mother dying, not only was I becoming 454 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:57,720 an alcoholic and depressed, I had a place picked out where if 455 00:35:57,720 --> 00:36:03,560 I drove my car off the road between University of Georgia 456 00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:08,520 and home, it could look like an accident and nobody would have 457 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:17,040 to feel like I took my life. But then Jesus arose and death 458 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:25,280 was arrested, and my life began. Oh, your grace so free washes 459 00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:30,960 over me. You have made me new. 460 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:38,720 My life began with you. It's your endless love pouring 461 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:45,160 down on us. I heard that song and I was 462 00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:48,960 like, death was arrested. That's exactly what happened. 463 00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:55,280 But you know what? I'm convinced it never would 464 00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:58,720 have happened because the Bible even says it. 465 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:07,720 How can they believe in whom they have not heard? 466 00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:14,760 And how can they hear unless someone preach or share the 467 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:20,040 gospel? And how will somebody preach or 468 00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:23,480 share the gospel if they're not sent? 469 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:31,360 You see, part of what we want to see happen at Arise Church, it's 470 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:35,920 not only that we make disciples, but that we make disciples that 471 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:39,520 make disciples, that we're equipped with the good news. 472 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:43,760 That takes salvation to people. That takes freedom to people. 473 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:46,520 That takes restoration to people. 474 00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:52,000 That takes deliverance and hope to people, restoration to 475 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:56,440 people. That sees people filled with 476 00:37:56,440 --> 00:38:05,000 life. It's not just so people can have 477 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:15,480 good jobs, a better community, no, people are dying and going 478 00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:20,400 to hell, but people are. They're being destroyed. 479 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:26,680 Generations are being destroyed. And if nobody steps in, these, 480 00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:30,440 these two girls were gatekeepers to their friends. 481 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:34,160 And this young man that was preaching, he was, he was like 5 482 00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:36,400 foot 6 and a receiver on the football team. 483 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:38,520 I don't know how that works, but he did it. 484 00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:43,080 But he was a better preacher. And by the time he was like 18, 485 00:38:43,240 --> 00:38:45,480 he had 200 kids in a youth group. 486 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:52,160 A church let him open the church doors like on Thursday night and 487 00:38:52,160 --> 00:39:03,120 do a Bible study when he was 16. Because somewhere there was 488 00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:06,680 something called that. It's not just so that my life 489 00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:12,640 gets fixed, that there's other people out there who need Jesus. 490 00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:18,680 And if I don't have my eyes opened, I won't see them if I 491 00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:21,360 don't take the responsibility as a gatekeeper. 492 00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:26,120 So first and foremost, let me tell you, be the gatekeeper of 493 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:29,200 your heart, but be the gatekeeper of your family. 494 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:34,760 And if your family has been a mess, be the first one that 495 00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:46,120 admits Jesus needs to fix this. Because I got saved when I got 496 00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:50,280 married, I looked for somebody else who was saved. 497 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:55,040 What's interesting, in college, she had an encounter. 498 00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:57,160 She's like, God, there's got to be more to it than this. 499 00:39:57,160 --> 00:40:04,880 And he sent her me. No, first he first he said, 500 00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:06,720 there is. Would you let me show you? 501 00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:10,920 And all of a sudden, her eyes were opened up to these 502 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:14,920 Christians that were on the college campus and a revival was 503 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:16,920 breaking out and she just got pulled in. 504 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:23,320 She received baptism of Holy Spirit praying in tongues on a 505 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:28,680 sidewalk in inside outside of Cone Dorm and McReynolds Dorm at 506 00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:39,270 UNCG. We got married, we had a baby. 507 00:40:40,430 --> 00:40:45,550 We taught him Jesus. He's your pastor. 508 00:40:52,050 --> 00:40:55,450 One time out in Anaheim, I had a picnic with our three grandkids. 509 00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:57,240 I said I want to tell you all a story. 510 00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:00,800 There was a little boy who grew up in a home and he didn't hear 511 00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:04,160 about Jesus. They didn't tell him Jesus 512 00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:08,840 stories and he didn't grow up knowing Jesus. 513 00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:14,600 And things got really bad in his life and some friends told him 514 00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:18,280 about Jesus and he said yes to following Jesus. 515 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:22,200 And then he was in college, he met this girl and she loved 516 00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:25,840 Jesus and they got married and they had a baby and they taught 517 00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:31,080 him to love Jesus. And then he found a young lady 518 00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:35,680 that loved Jesus and they got married and they had three kids. 519 00:41:36,760 --> 00:41:40,560 Here's the Austins. It's a lovely story once you get 520 00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:46,400 past all the brokenness and shame 'cause God brought us a 521 00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:50,680 new life. He brought it in Jesus name. 522 00:41:52,840 --> 00:42:00,600 So I mean I practiced that for two seconds before I sang it. 523 00:42:06,250 --> 00:42:10,650 But my older brother got saved. I got to lead him to the Lord 524 00:42:13,370 --> 00:42:15,290 Beth and I've been married 42 years. 525 00:42:15,290 --> 00:42:17,690 My older brother and his wife who were on a road to 526 00:42:17,690 --> 00:42:19,530 destruction, but God redeemed them. 527 00:42:21,370 --> 00:42:25,440 They've been married 47 years, Carolyn and Jerry y'all been 528 00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:29,600 married 30 years. All of our children have said 529 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:35,200 yes to following Jesus and now our grandkids, though we're 530 00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:39,880 waiting that Carolyn's my sister-in-law. 531 00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:41,400 When she showed up, I'm like come here. 532 00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:46,840 I got to tell you I'm going to be telling some stuff, but y'all 533 00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:52,000 got to meet Caitlin first. See how did a 180 in the Austin 534 00:42:52,600 --> 00:42:58,320 there's still way more room for the generation before us and 535 00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:02,520 there's more room for us to grow in my generation, our 536 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:06,320 generation, but our kids and now our grandkids. 537 00:43:07,720 --> 00:43:14,720 Oh, that seed multiplies. It's worth it's worth being the 538 00:43:14,720 --> 00:43:22,080 one that says started with me. Jesus, thank God I had those two 539 00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:26,320 friends, but also had an athletic director at UNCG who 540 00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:30,280 had he was the college Sunday school teacher. 541 00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:33,600 He invited us to his house on Friday nights. 542 00:43:33,760 --> 00:43:38,920 He was a gatekeeper for college students, gave us a place to 543 00:43:38,920 --> 00:43:43,800 fellowship around our common relationship with Jesus. 544 00:43:44,760 --> 00:43:47,960 He didn't just always preach to us, He gave us a place to 545 00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:51,000 fellowship around our relationship with Jesus. 546 00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:57,600 And in one day when I don't have anywhere to sleep, I knock on 547 00:43:57,600 --> 00:44:00,880 his door and for a month I sleep on his couch. 548 00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:03,480 I'm about 20 years old. For a month. 549 00:44:04,120 --> 00:44:05,760 They had just moved into the house. 550 00:44:05,760 --> 00:44:10,240 There were still boxes and they had a brand new baby and a four 551 00:44:10,240 --> 00:44:16,960 year old and they invited a 20 year old saved, just starting to 552 00:44:16,960 --> 00:44:19,520 get discipled young man, into their home. 553 00:44:21,360 --> 00:44:29,920 And you know what I got to see A husband who loved his wife and 554 00:44:29,920 --> 00:44:34,720 who loved his children with the love of Jesus. 555 00:44:38,080 --> 00:44:43,360 It wasn't by chance God ordained it, but somebody said yes. 556 00:44:44,360 --> 00:44:47,440 Tony Ladd said yes. God later showed me that when I 557 00:44:47,440 --> 00:44:50,840 was a kid, my parents divorced and I would cry on a woodpile 558 00:44:50,840 --> 00:44:54,800 out in the woods, He says. I was there with you before you 559 00:44:54,800 --> 00:44:56,160 ever knew me. I was there. 560 00:44:57,360 --> 00:45:01,160 John Shuford, who would take you to ball games and and let you go 561 00:45:01,160 --> 00:45:04,360 on family vacations and do all those things every once while 562 00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:09,280 you'd go to church with them. That was me being a father to 563 00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:15,960 the fatherless. So I, Terry, I knew you and your 564 00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:25,710 mother's womb. We've had many of people stay in 565 00:45:25,710 --> 00:45:29,910 our home, short periods, longer periods. 566 00:45:37,700 --> 00:45:43,260 Well, when we pastored, Beth would usually come up and land a 567 00:45:43,260 --> 00:45:44,860 plane. She's been doing a lot this 568 00:45:44,860 --> 00:45:46,780 weekend. She didn't want to land the 569 00:45:46,780 --> 00:45:52,300 plane. But I, I covered a lot of 570 00:45:52,300 --> 00:46:00,800 different areas of life. Some of you may have just said, 571 00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:04,840 I know he said that was the Austin's, but that sounded a 572 00:46:04,840 --> 00:46:07,000 whole lot like the house that I grew up in. 573 00:46:08,640 --> 00:46:11,400 If Jesus did that for him, will you do it for me? 574 00:46:12,280 --> 00:46:15,480 The answer is yes. It starts by saying Jesus, I 575 00:46:15,480 --> 00:46:20,120 need you. I can't fix this. 576 00:46:21,560 --> 00:46:28,320 No man, no woman can fix it. I need you. 577 00:46:30,920 --> 00:46:37,560 I ask you, Psalm one O 3 says bless the Lord, O my soul, bless 578 00:46:37,560 --> 00:46:39,840 the Lord and forgetting out all of his benefits. 579 00:46:39,840 --> 00:46:41,720 Who forgives all your iniquities? 580 00:46:42,360 --> 00:46:47,000 Say, Jesus, I need you first because I recognize some of the 581 00:46:47,360 --> 00:46:52,600 symptoms of brokenness that have manifested and it's led to sin 582 00:46:54,160 --> 00:46:58,400 and I need your forgiveness. And he says forgives all your 583 00:46:58,400 --> 00:47:03,560 iniquities. Whoever calls on the name of the 584 00:47:03,560 --> 00:47:06,920 Lord shall be saved. That's right before how can they 585 00:47:07,080 --> 00:47:11,760 believe in him who they've not heard, but now you've heard and 586 00:47:11,760 --> 00:47:15,840 you're like Jesus, honey, some are like what? 587 00:47:15,840 --> 00:47:17,520 What happened to your mom? What happened to your mom? 588 00:47:17,680 --> 00:47:20,240 She she died the day before I turned 19. 589 00:47:21,880 --> 00:47:26,160 I didn't know Jesus's healer. In the 1990s, there were two 590 00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:29,480 ladies in our church that were diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. 591 00:47:30,520 --> 00:47:32,960 Given months to live, they're both still alive. 592 00:47:33,480 --> 00:47:41,400 We got to be a part of a church that says, I'll say the first 593 00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:43,920 name of one of them, Rosa the healed. 594 00:47:44,560 --> 00:47:53,720 You know the old screensaver, they said Rosa the hill, Rosa 595 00:47:54,040 --> 00:47:57,000 the hill. All the members of the church 596 00:47:57,000 --> 00:47:59,720 just kept walking around. Rose of the hill, Rose of the 597 00:47:59,720 --> 00:48:04,120 hill, Sandy the hill, Sandy the hill just shall live and not 598 00:48:04,120 --> 00:48:06,040 die. And they're still alive. 599 00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:13,160 And some people need to know that Jesus still heals today. 600 00:48:14,040 --> 00:48:18,960 It's in his word and I've experienced it in different 601 00:48:18,960 --> 00:48:26,960 areas of my life. And then it says, who redeems 602 00:48:27,680 --> 00:48:34,120 your life from destruction? I shared a little bit of 603 00:48:34,120 --> 00:48:43,560 destruction with you. I have a picture of my dad, my 604 00:48:43,560 --> 00:48:50,720 son Ty, well myself, my son Ty, and my 3 grandkids. 4 605 00:48:50,720 --> 00:48:54,760 generations of Austin's. I don't have a picture except 606 00:48:54,760 --> 00:48:59,240 for my brother's wedding of my mother and I or my dad and I. 607 00:48:59,760 --> 00:49:04,720 What's funny is the one picture I have with my parents is at a 608 00:49:04,720 --> 00:49:06,160 wedding where they're not married. 609 00:49:06,160 --> 00:49:11,400 It's a little bit before my mom passed away, but I got a picture 610 00:49:11,400 --> 00:49:14,640 of four generations of Austin's and it got better with each 611 00:49:14,640 --> 00:49:17,880 generation. I hope my grandkids say it's 612 00:49:17,880 --> 00:49:23,560 better. So some of you may be there, 613 00:49:27,840 --> 00:49:36,080 some of you may be an adult man my age or close and you see 614 00:49:36,080 --> 00:49:40,040 things going on in your kids lives that you know where the 615 00:49:40,040 --> 00:49:48,440 seed came from and you need to find a way first confess to the 616 00:49:48,440 --> 00:49:51,280 Lord and he forgives your sins, cleanses you of all 617 00:49:51,280 --> 00:49:54,320 unrighteousness. But you need need to find a way 618 00:49:54,320 --> 00:49:58,640 to talk to your kids and say, I'm sorry for the destruction 619 00:49:58,640 --> 00:50:01,520 that I entered that I introduced to your life. 620 00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:04,920 I'm sorry for the sin that I introduced to your life. 621 00:50:06,040 --> 00:50:09,120 I'm sorry for the brokenness that I brought into our family. 622 00:50:11,960 --> 00:50:16,120 I can be hard. That's probably like it would be 623 00:50:16,120 --> 00:50:19,760 good for you to start. Terry, What you have something 624 00:50:19,760 --> 00:50:32,420 you'd like to say? I don't know. 625 00:50:32,940 --> 00:50:37,220 Well, let me wrap up with this. Red letters. 626 00:50:38,100 --> 00:50:41,100 There is truth in the red letter. 627 00:50:43,860 --> 00:50:52,720 So what all of us who are followers of Jesus can do you 628 00:50:52,720 --> 00:50:58,240 say, Lord, open my eyes to see the broken around me that need 629 00:50:58,240 --> 00:51:04,320 somebody that will help people know they need Jesus in a very 630 00:51:04,320 --> 00:51:08,680 loving and compassionate way that will bring them out of the 631 00:51:08,680 --> 00:51:10,640 darkness into His marvelous light. 632 00:51:11,920 --> 00:51:14,000 I think I've heard something about that. 633 00:51:14,760 --> 00:51:20,080 What's to say of rise, shine? Your light has come, and the 634 00:51:20,080 --> 00:51:21,880 glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 635 00:51:21,880 --> 00:51:24,880 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth. 636 00:51:24,880 --> 00:51:29,120 Deep darkness, the people don't forget it's not just darkness 637 00:51:29,120 --> 00:51:39,760 Covering dirt covers the people. Where there's no gatekeepers, 638 00:51:40,400 --> 00:51:46,080 darkness invades. But the Lord will arouse over 639 00:51:46,080 --> 00:51:52,360 you, Kathy and Donna, and his glory shall be seen upon you, 640 00:51:54,680 --> 00:51:58,400 and Taria, unbeliever will be drawn to you. 641 00:51:59,520 --> 00:52:02,120 Not quite the way it's written in there, but that's the way it 642 00:52:02,120 --> 00:52:06,840 happens. When we start shining the light 643 00:52:06,840 --> 00:52:15,320 of Jesus, people will be drawn who need him, and they may be in 644 00:52:15,320 --> 00:52:19,040 deep darkness and we may or may not know it. 645 00:52:20,800 --> 00:52:29,920 Father, I thank you. You found this little boy who 646 00:52:29,920 --> 00:52:35,280 was crying and not knowing who he was crying out to, who was 647 00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:39,680 broken and didn't know that there was really as much 648 00:52:39,680 --> 00:52:49,280 brokenness there as there was. And even a decade and years 649 00:52:49,280 --> 00:52:52,080 before he would recognize your voice. 650 00:52:54,200 --> 00:52:57,360 You were showing glimpses of your love and glimpses of your 651 00:52:57,360 --> 00:53:02,880 hope that when his eyes were open, when my eyes were opened, 652 00:53:04,400 --> 00:53:06,560 death was arrested and life began. 653 00:53:10,120 --> 00:53:12,800 Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your goodness. 654 00:53:12,800 --> 00:53:16,360 Thank you for your mercy. But Lord, I also thank you for 655 00:53:17,880 --> 00:53:24,640 laborers. I thank you for a room full of 656 00:53:24,640 --> 00:53:31,400 laborers who will arise and shine, acknowledging that their 657 00:53:31,400 --> 00:53:36,480 light is coming, your glory is risen over them, and that they 658 00:53:36,480 --> 00:53:43,160 have something others need. They know someone that others 659 00:53:43,160 --> 00:53:50,280 need. I thank you in Jesus name, Amen. 660 00:53:54,280 --> 00:53:56,840 We want to thank you again for joining us for the Arise Church 661 00:53:56,840 --> 00:53:58,960 podcast. We hope you were encouraged by 662 00:53:58,960 --> 00:54:00,760 what you heard today. You can find 663 00:54:00,760 --> 00:54:05,560 us.online@arisechurchn-c.com and on Instagram at Arise Church NC. 664 00:54:05,800 --> 00:54:08,960 If you need prayer or support or are interested in learning more 665 00:54:08,960 --> 00:54:12,640 about Arise Church, we encourage you to connect with us online or 666 00:54:12,640 --> 00:54:14,680 in person at our Sunday morning service. 667 00:54:14,920 --> 00:54:16,920 Thank you and God bless. I'm not.