WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:05.919 Hello, and thanks for joining us today on Pastor Rick's 2 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:09.519 Daily Hope. This is the Bible teaching ministry of Rick Warren, 3 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:12.839 and today we are continuing in a series called the 4 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:16.519 Miracle of Mercy. Rick will show us how God's mercy 5 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:20.399 can lift your guilt, heal your wounds, and transform the 6 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:23.280 way you live. And now the final part of a 7 00:00:23.320 --> 00:00:26.760 message called God can use anybody. 8 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:30.640 You know here at Saddleback Church. The letters in our 9 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:32.799 name S A, D, D, L, E, B, A C K. 10 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:36.119 Every letter represents a value. We've taught on this many 11 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:39.240 times and many of you remember that the S stands 12 00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:43.679 for second chance, Place of Grace. This is a place 13 00:00:43.719 --> 00:00:46.320 where we give people a second chance. This is a 14 00:00:46.359 --> 00:00:48.880 place for people who want to start over. This is 15 00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:51.920 people a place for people who want a fresh start. 16 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:57.119 That's the miracle of mercy. That's the grace place. And 17 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:01.000 I want you to hear an example of madic example 18 00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:05.840 of starting over a place of grace. Danny Dushane is 19 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:07.400 going to come out in just a minute and share 20 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:11.200 his dramatic story. He was a double lifer in prison 21 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:14.840 for thirty two years. He is going to lead our 22 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:21.760 Mercy ministry to prisons, to prisons, and you know two 23 00:01:21.799 --> 00:01:26.120 and a half million people Americans are incarcerated in a prison. 24 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:28.799 We want to start a Saddleback Church in every prison. 25 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:31.319 And I thought, who could better know how to do 26 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:35.439 this than a guy who spent thirty two years in prison. 27 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:40.480 And so I want you. Thirteen years ago Danny actually 28 00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:43.359 gave his testimony here at Saddleback. He was in prison 29 00:01:43.400 --> 00:01:46.599 at the time. We couldn't videotape him. We couldn't even 30 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:48.599 take a picture of him at the time, but they 31 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:50.560 allowed us to call on the phone and I played 32 00:01:50.599 --> 00:01:53.040 that phone call to hear and so he's back to 33 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:55.079 give his testimony a second time. I want you to 34 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:58.120 give a new, warm welcome to our newest pastor at Saddleback, 35 00:01:58.200 --> 00:01:59.840 Danny Dushane. Give him a warm welcome. 36 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:18.840 God bless you. Hello, Saddleback family. 37 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:23.400 My name is Danny Dushane, and I would like to 38 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:25.120 share with you how God. 39 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:29.639 Has shown me great mercy and how. 40 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:33.639 God, because he is merciful, is able to use anyone, 41 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:37.719 even in the most unlikely places. I would also like 42 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:40.319 to share how being part of a small group is 43 00:02:40.360 --> 00:02:44.240 a powerful way to experience God's mercy and to show 44 00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:47.719 his mercy to others you know, as Pastor Rick just said, 45 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:50.960 I've been part of the Saddleback family since two thousand 46 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:52.759 and three and. 47 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:53.680 Thirteen years ago. 48 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:57.360 I shared part of my story with you through a 49 00:02:57.400 --> 00:03:01.199 taped phone call from the prison that I was in. 50 00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:07.080 But that's getting a little ahead of my story. I 51 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:10.120 grew up in Reading, California with my mom and stepdad 52 00:03:10.439 --> 00:03:14.120 and five brothers. One thing I remember about my childhood 53 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:16.240 is that I had a lot of freedom to do 54 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:19.479 whatever I wanted to do. I was a latch key kid, 55 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:22.240 and by the fourth grade I was spending entire summers 56 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:22.960 by myself. 57 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:26.479 My parents had nice homes and cars. 58 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:28.479 And I grew up thinking that the goal of life 59 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:33.840 was just having nice things. Possessions became a substitute for 60 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:38.400 loving relationships. This way of thinking led to insecurities and 61 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:42.599 difficulties in standing against high school pressures. I started partying 62 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:45.560 on the weekends and discovered how easy it was to 63 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:47.960 make friends because I was the one who had the 64 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:50.759 car and had the freedom to throw a party while 65 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:51.759 my parents were out. 66 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:54.199 Shortly after I turned. 67 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:57.240 Sixteen, I came home from school one day and my 68 00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:00.879 parents were sitting with a friend with thousands of in 69 00:04:00.919 --> 00:04:04.560 cash spread out on the kitchen table. I was told 70 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:06.960 that they were going on a business trip to Peru 71 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:09.639 and that I would see them at Christmas. So I 72 00:04:09.719 --> 00:04:11.639 was left to take care of my eighteen month old 73 00:04:11.639 --> 00:04:15.439 little brother, who with the help of some family friends, 74 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:19.720 but my parents did not return from that trip. Instead, 75 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:23.120 on Christmas Eve nineteen seventy nine, I learned that my 76 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:27.959 parents had been arrested in Mexico for smuggling cocaine. This 77 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:31.199 was a total shock, since my parents were neither drug 78 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:34.759 users nor drinkers. The news that my parents were in 79 00:04:34.839 --> 00:04:38.720 jail in another country filled me with fear, but soon 80 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:41.879 my fear turned to anger to cope with all the 81 00:04:41.879 --> 00:04:45.160 painful emotions I felt. On that Christmas Day, I drove 82 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:47.839 to a parking lot and got high in my car. 83 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:53.160 Getting high gave me temporary relief, and I remember committing 84 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:57.839 myself to a life of getting high every day. Little 85 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:00.720 did I realize that the decision to start my fear 86 00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:04.279 and anger and soothed myself with drugs would become an 87 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:07.839 addiction that would imprison me. Long before I went to 88 00:05:07.879 --> 00:05:11.319 prison at sixteen years old, I didn't know if I 89 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:14.480 would ever see my parents again, and feeling abandoned as 90 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:18.360 a teenager, I stuffed all my pain using drugs and alcohol. 91 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:22.439 I became more and more impulsive and began a downward 92 00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:27.079 spiral of one bad decision after another. I started committing 93 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:30.360 crimes to support my drug habits. I was expelled from 94 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:34.759 school and then lost my new home as well. I 95 00:05:34.839 --> 00:05:39.480 take full responsibility for my self destructive decisions. There were 96 00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:42.439 people around me who loved me and tried to help, 97 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:45.879 but I quickly became addicted to my way of dealing 98 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:48.959 with all my loneliness and pain. I was already in 99 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:53.040 prison to my way of life. Two years later, my 100 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:56.360 mother was released from prison and tried to reunite our family, 101 00:05:57.240 --> 00:06:00.639 But at eighteen, I was already a dual addict alcohol 102 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:04.240 in marijuana. I began to dread going to sleep at 103 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:06.600 night if I didn't have something to drink and smoke 104 00:06:06.639 --> 00:06:07.199 in the morning. 105 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:09.800 My life was out of control. 106 00:06:10.279 --> 00:06:13.040 I robbed and stole and hurt others because I chose 107 00:06:13.079 --> 00:06:17.759 to please myself. As my debts piled up, I struggled 108 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:20.639 to keep myself supplied with an increasing need for alcohol 109 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:24.319 and drugs. I was reckless and never worried about getting 110 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:27.240 caught for my crimes, and I certainly didn't consider the 111 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:28.839 consequences to others. 112 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:31.160 I was only thinking of myself. 113 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:34.360 All this came to a crisis when I was part 114 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:40.839 of a crime in which two men were killed. Thankfully, 115 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:43.759 I was quickly arrested in September of nineteen eighty two, 116 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:48.279 which I also call being rescued. Sitting in a county 117 00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:51.480 jail before my trial. It took about three weeks to 118 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:55.560 withdraw from the drugs and alcohol, but once I became sober, 119 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:59.319 the full weight of my crimes came crashing down on 120 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:04.560 my conscious I was overwhelmed with depression and remorse. As 121 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:07.920 I realized how many people I had heard. I believed 122 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:11.560 I was lost and going to Hell. I was truly, 123 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:15.680 truly afraid. It was at my lowest point that God's 124 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:19.279 mercy showed up in my life. God began bringing a 125 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:21.920 lot of Christians to see me, who shared the love 126 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:25.439 and mercy of God with me. At first, this good 127 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:30.079 news seemed over my head. It seemed unbelievable and too 128 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:33.680 good to be true that God loved me and wanted 129 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:36.079 to show me mercy after all I had done to 130 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:40.399 hurt others from growing up, I honestly did not know. 131 00:07:40.360 --> 00:07:42.480 How to trust. 132 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:45.199 I had lived too long pretending to be something on 133 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:49.839 the outside while being someone else on the inside. But 134 00:07:49.959 --> 00:07:52.720 the message of God's mercy eventually got through to me. 135 00:07:53.319 --> 00:07:56.160 I learned that Jesus could give me a fresh start, 136 00:07:56.800 --> 00:07:59.959 changing me from the inside out, not from the external. 137 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:04.199 I learned that God was concerned about me personally, even 138 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:07.759 after making such a wreck of my life. I decided 139 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:10.319 to open up my life to Jesus and begin to 140 00:08:10.360 --> 00:08:14.199 serve him with whatever kind of life I had left. And, 141 00:08:14.279 --> 00:08:17.079 knowing my crimes, I didn't expect the rest of my 142 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:22.720 life to be very long. On November seventh, nineteen eighty two, 143 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:26.680 in a county jail, waiting my trial, I asked Jesus 144 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:30.639 to forgive all my sins come inside, and to take 145 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:35.080 charge as the lord of my life. At this point, 146 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:38.440 I'd like to say again thank you to Mandy, to Aubrey, 147 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:42.200 and to Carol, who shared God's message of mercy and 148 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:45.919 grace with me. The Bible says in Romans four twenty 149 00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:49.799 that where sin increase, grace increased all the more. 150 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:52.159 And I rapidly grew spiritually. 151 00:08:52.200 --> 00:08:54.879 While in the county jail, I was hungry to know 152 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:57.440 more about this God who had shown me love and mercy, 153 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:00.720 and I wanted him to use me in prison. 154 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:04.639 Graciously, God blessed me with mentors. 155 00:09:04.200 --> 00:09:07.799 Spiritual fathers and spiritual mothers who took the time and 156 00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:11.120 raised me in the Lord. At my trial, I was 157 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:14.559 convicted and given a double life sentence for two deaths, 158 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:17.519 and as a nineteen year old, I was sent to 159 00:09:17.559 --> 00:09:22.399 prison for life in August nineteen eighty three, never expecting 160 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:26.960 to see the outside world again, but I was thankful 161 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:31.919 to be in Christ and inside I had been liberated. 162 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:33.120 Let me make this clear. 163 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:36.759 I never expected that I would ever be paroled, but 164 00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:39.639 I was free. 165 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:40.000 Now. 166 00:09:40.039 --> 00:09:43.000 I could describe many examples of ministry and hardships from 167 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:47.080 life inside. But let me just say I'm Danny Dushane 168 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:52.879 and not Andy Dufrey from the Shawshank Redemption movie. And 169 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:58.360 I have to say that movie. It's really just a movie. 170 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:00.240 But I do want to tell you how so I 171 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:04.240 became part of this saddleback church while in prison, and 172 00:10:04.279 --> 00:10:07.519 how God used purpose driven small groups to transform the 173 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:12.120 lives of many inmates and brought a spiritual revival in 174 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:15.440 our prison that resulted in the birth of a new church. 175 00:10:16.440 --> 00:10:19.480 God wants to use you by his mercy, and he 176 00:10:19.519 --> 00:10:22.799 will do amazing things with your life, regardless of your 177 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:27.000 past mistakes, if you totally surrender your life to His love. 178 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:31.080 In prison, I read The Purpose Driven Life by Pastor Rick, 179 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.279 and in two thousand and three I contacted Pastor Rick 180 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:36.639 and told him that a small group of about twenty 181 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:40.200 of us inmates wanted to participate in the national forty 182 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:43.759 Days of Purpose campaign that churches on the outside were doing. 183 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:48.399 We thought perhaps fifty men would participate in the small groups, 184 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:51.240 but as we went door to door asking if men 185 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:54.360 in the prison were interested, more than two hundred guys 186 00:10:54.759 --> 00:11:04.360 signed up. Within a few weeks, our prison was buzzing 187 00:11:04.440 --> 00:11:07.799 with cell groups, which had a double meaning in our context. 188 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:13.840 Through the power of these purpose driven small groups studying 189 00:11:13.879 --> 00:11:18.399 God's work together, we began to see radical transformation in 190 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:21.399 the lives of guys we never imagined would respond to 191 00:11:21.399 --> 00:11:24.919 the gospel. God's mercy was at work and we had 192 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:28.600 a new ministry. Then, on August thirty first, two thousand 193 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:31.519 and three, Pastor Rick brought a team of pastors from 194 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:35.000 zaddleback to encourage us and lead a service on the yard. 195 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:39.519 It was amazing for one day, the prison yard of 196 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:52.120 this higher security prison became a saddleback campus. Rick was 197 00:11:52.159 --> 00:11:55.159 given a microphone and he preached to the entire prison 198 00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:57.919 on the yard. Now, for those of you who might 199 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:01.440 worry about your pastor's safety, rest assured that Rick was 200 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:08.240 protected by a single line of yellow caution tape. 201 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:09.639 But I should add. 202 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:15.320 We also had over one hundred men whose lives had 203 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:19.039 been changed through the purpose driven life sitting right in 204 00:12:19.080 --> 00:12:21.399 front of him, and there was no way they'd let 205 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:22.399 anybody hurt Rick. 206 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:23.879 Pastor. 207 00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:26.759 Rick spoke on the road to recovery, then gave a 208 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:30.399 public invitation, inviting men from all across the yard to 209 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:32.600 come and kneel with him in the dirt and pray 210 00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:37.000 as salvation prayer aloud in front of the entire prison population. 211 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:41.559 It was a moment of amazing grace. Then Rick said, we're. 212 00:12:41.399 --> 00:12:45.559 Going to baptize now in front of the entire prison population. 213 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:48.679 So we rolled out a large laundry band filled with 214 00:12:48.759 --> 00:13:02.360 water under the guard tower. That night, more than one 215 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:05.360 hundred men gathered on the prison yard to claim the 216 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:07.679 Sierra Prison as God's holy ground. 217 00:13:08.440 --> 00:13:10.080 As an act of humble reverence. 218 00:13:10.519 --> 00:13:13.320 This group of men stood in his circle in the 219 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:16.600 prison yard, and we all removed our shoes as we 220 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:18.600 began to pray for the men in each of the 221 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:22.840 cell blocked buildings. Together, we officially established a purpose driven 222 00:13:22.919 --> 00:13:26.559 church with a mission and ministry to impact the entire 223 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:31.039 population in faith. We believed that God, in his mercy 224 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:34.480 was going to use us all for his glory. A 225 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:37.240 few months later, Pastor John Baker returned to the prison 226 00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:40.960 and trained our church leaders to be celebrate recovery small 227 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:44.519 group leaders in the prison. We were able to use 228 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:47.919 the prison visiting room and also another building, which gave 229 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:50.840 us the capacity of running sixty small groups a week. 230 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:55.720 I cannot overstate the power of godly small groups in 231 00:13:55.799 --> 00:14:01.039 changing people's lives and that they had never received. For 232 00:14:01.159 --> 00:14:03.600 many guys, being part of a small group was the 233 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:05.840 first time in their lives that they had ever received 234 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:09.639 support to do the right thing. I will say this 235 00:14:09.720 --> 00:14:13.240 to every man, regardless of whether you are behind bars 236 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:17.039 or outside, you cannot be all God wants you to 237 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:20.960 be on your own. You need support, You need a 238 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:23.919 small group. And I'm sure my life would have been 239 00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:27.039 very different if I'd had the support of a small group. 240 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:28.399 When I was a teenager. 241 00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:32.559 We followed up the forty Days of Purpose campaign with 242 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:35.480 another saddleback small group study on the Book of James. 243 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:38.960 Then we studied the Purpose Driven Church together and many 244 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:42.279 other small group discipleship studies, and of course, we kept 245 00:14:42.279 --> 00:14:45.879 repeating the Celebrate Recovery step studies and even offered the 246 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:49.879 purpose driven Life again and again to new groups of guys. 247 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:53.759 In our purpose driven Church, we appointed directors for each 248 00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:58.559 of the purposes and basis of membership, maturity, ministry, and mission. 249 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:01.320 As our church continued to. 250 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:04.519 Grow, the climate and atmosphere of the prison changed so 251 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:07.679 much that it began to attract the attention of the media. 252 00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:11.159 Not only was our church growing, but we were having 253 00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:15.159 such a positive influence on the prison that local news stations, 254 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:19.279 then the k Love radio station, and eventually the New 255 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:22.960 York Times reported on the impact of the ministry of 256 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:26.679 a group of guys inmates who had formed a purpose 257 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:30.720 driven church in a prison. One of the big changes 258 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:34.159 was a reduction in violence in the prison. Prior to 259 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:37.639 doing the forty Days of Purpose campaign, racial and gang 260 00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:41.559 violence often controlled the prison. But during our forty Days 261 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:44.559 of Purpose, when we launched all those small groups, not 262 00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:49.240 a single fight or riot interrupted Pastor Rick told me. 263 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:55.440 So. 264 00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:58.080 Pastor Rick told me that the warden called him and said, 265 00:15:58.080 --> 00:15:59.840 what have you done to my prison? 266 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:03.679 He said, everyone is peaceful. 267 00:16:05.639 --> 00:16:08.039 As a result of what was happening in our prison, 268 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:11.399 many other prisons began using the forty Days of Purpose 269 00:16:11.799 --> 00:16:16.960 and Celebrate Recovery programs. They are now both used nationwide. 270 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:19.759 You may not know that each year Saddleback honors churches 271 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:22.879 around the world that are building on God's five purposes 272 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:27.120 by giving those churches the Healthy Church Award. It was 273 00:16:27.159 --> 00:16:30.200 so encouraging to arm men when in two thousand and 274 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:34.279 four Saddleback Church awarded the church we had started in 275 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:37.799 prison with one of the three Healthy Church Awards for 276 00:16:37.879 --> 00:16:38.360 that year. 277 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:49.480 And yeah, that's me. Here's the pastor in prison. 278 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:54.879 With a black eye. All I can say is that 279 00:16:54.919 --> 00:16:58.240 you cannot expect to have a spiritual revival in a 280 00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:04.880 prison without at least some opposition. The media attention given 281 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:08.519 to our church and questions about me and other Christians 282 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:12.359 crossing racial boundaries were causes of several assaults on. 283 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:14.319 Me and our other church leaders. 284 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:18.039 At one point, the prison captain considered moving me from 285 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:21.279 the prison for safety, but God brought us through that 286 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:24.279 time of opposition, and in less than a year of growth, 287 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:27.839 we were granted in an entire two hundred men building 288 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:31.880 cell block to be used by those participating in Celebrate Recovery. 289 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:36.400 To this day, Celebrate Recovery small groups continued to be 290 00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:40.920 the core curriculum for those in recovery, and in order 291 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:43.519 to live in that cell block, you must commit to 292 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:46.880 be part of Celebrate Recovery, commit to be in a 293 00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:51.640 small group, commit to having an accountability partner or a sponsor, 294 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:55.480 and to complete Pastor Rick's video series on how to 295 00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:59.599 live in fellowship and community with one another. Again, God 296 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:03.680 is used ordinary people in unlikely places because of his mercy. 297 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:08.319 Now I want to personally express my gratitude to Pastor 298 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:11.920 Rick for this letter, his support in the Saddle Backed Church, 299 00:18:12.039 --> 00:18:15.599 and the pastors of Saddleback for their support over all 300 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:21.000 the years, and appreciate them because on Christmas Eve, December 301 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:25.480 twenty fourteen, I was released after thirty two years in prison. 302 00:18:30.200 --> 00:18:31.960 God's mercy. 303 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:36.799 Since my release, I've been writing waves of God's mercy 304 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:40.119 and grace. First of all, God gave me the gift 305 00:18:40.200 --> 00:18:42.519 of a wonderful wife, Susan. 306 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:47.119 We were married a year after my release. You can 307 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:52.920 claps now. 308 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:56.160 Susan and I will be leading a mercy campaign small 309 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:59.440 group in our house that we are calling Welcome Home. 310 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:03.720 After working for a year as a drug and alcohol 311 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:07.519 counselor at a San Francisco methadone clinic, I've been released 312 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:08.799 to finally join. 313 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:09.960 The Saddleback staff. 314 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:13.160 I've been asked to serve as Saddleback's pastor of prison 315 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:18.079 ministries through Celebrate Recovery. As I stand here today, I 316 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:21.799 am aware that I'm only here by God's mercy. I 317 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:25.920 am very grateful for the pastors, the friends, and family 318 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:30.079 that God has shown his mercy through. You know, the 319 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:34.839 Bible says in James two thirteen that mercy triumphs over judgment, 320 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:38.920 and my life is an example of that truth. I 321 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:42.400 know now that God has brought me from the inside 322 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:46.839 out to proclaim that God's mercy is the key to 323 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:53.599 inner freedom. Whether your prison is physical, emotional, spiritual, or relational. 324 00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:57.200 By God's mercy and grace, I will serve you for 325 00:19:57.319 --> 00:20:00.880 jesus sake as best that I am able. This is 326 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:04.799 the most amazing church, and thank you for welcoming me home. 327 00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:05.440 Saddleback. 328 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:13.640 God bless you. Thank you for your mercy. Thank God 329 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:17.599 for his mercy. 330 00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:26.880 Go ahead, God bless you. Bring on you. 331 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:27.839 You're a new pastor. 332 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:41.400 God bless you. This is Susan Love you guys, Thank you. 333 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:46.880 Now. Do you believe me when I say God can 334 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:48.359 use anybody? 335 00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:50.279 Now? 336 00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:53.200 Do you believe that the mercy of God will change everything? 337 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:56.200 And it really doesn't matter where you've been. What matters 338 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:59.680 the direction of your feet right now, I don't care 339 00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:02.160 how how much you've messed up. You're welcome and wanted 340 00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:05.960 at Saddleback Church. And this is a place, the s 341 00:21:05.960 --> 00:21:11.119 second chance, place of grace. And it's all about being 342 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:14.880 used by God. Now, what kept Danny going for thirty 343 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:17.200 two years in a prison? Can you imagine being in 344 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:21.000 a prison for thirty two years? What kept him going? 345 00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:27.079 He followed the fifth and final secret of being used 346 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:30.160 by God? And it is this Paul's last secret. Stay 347 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:36.640 focused on eternity. Stay focused on eternity. You've got to 348 00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:40.480 maintain an eternal perspective. That way you don't get overwhelmed 349 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:43.799 by your current problems. The bigger your picture of God, 350 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:47.799 the smaller your problems are. The more you understand what's 351 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:51.440 going to happen in eternity. The less you're bothered by 352 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:54.559 the bad things that happen here on earth. If you 353 00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:56.640 have a big picture of God, you have a small 354 00:21:56.720 --> 00:22:00.640 picture of your problems. And if you lose your eternal perspective, 355 00:22:00.680 --> 00:22:03.039 you forget that it's not about now, it's not only 356 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:07.240 not about you, it's not about now. That then your 357 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:10.599 problems are going to overwhelm you. In Tewod Corinthians, verse 358 00:22:10.839 --> 00:22:15.200 chapter four, verse seventeen, these little troubles, Paul says, are 359 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:18.839 getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make 360 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:23.400 all of our troubles seem like nothing. These little troubles, 361 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:29.920 what shipwreck, prison, sentences, beat five times and all those things, 362 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:35.000 He says, these small problems. That's eternal perspective. When you 363 00:22:35.160 --> 00:22:38.759 understand how short life is, it's not even one hundred years, 364 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:43.720 and how long eternity is. This is small potatoes. And 365 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:46.000 you can put up with all kinds of stuff on 366 00:22:46.039 --> 00:22:49.559 this planet if you know what's going to happen in eternity, 367 00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:52.400 and you know the rewards and the blessing and the 368 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:56.000 joy of being used by God. These little troubles are 369 00:22:56.039 --> 00:23:00.160 getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make 370 00:23:00.200 --> 00:23:03.599 all of our troubles seem like nothing. And then in 371 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:08.039 verse eighteen, he says, so we don't look at the 372 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:10.559 troubles we can see right now. We're going to stay 373 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:13.759 focused on eternity. We don't look at the troubles we 374 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:16.599 can see right now. That's a choice. Rather, we look 375 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:21.079 forward to what we have not yet seen. For the 376 00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:24.319 troubles that we see right now in your life, they'll 377 00:23:24.359 --> 00:23:28.119 soon be over, but the joys to come in eternity 378 00:23:28.359 --> 00:23:33.200 will last forever. Now, friends, there are only three motivations 379 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:35.359 in life. You're going to live your life on one 380 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:39.200 of these three motivations. The first kind of motivation is 381 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:43.400 internal motivation, and many people live their lives based on 382 00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:46.440 eternal motivation. I want to be happy, I want to 383 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:50.680 be popular, I want to be rich, I want to 384 00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:53.680 be loved, I want to be famous. Whatever you got 385 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:57.759 your internal motivation that motivates you through life. Or you 386 00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:01.960 can be motivated not by internal motivation but external motivation, 387 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:06.880 and you're afraid of being fired, or you want to 388 00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:11.160 get the promotion, and it's external care and stick, and 389 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:15.400 it's the reward or the penalty of other people around you. 390 00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:18.759 And you're motivated by what other people think, and that's external. 391 00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:23.000 But the highest motivation in life is not internal motivation. 392 00:24:23.480 --> 00:24:30.359 It's not external motivation, it's eternal motivation. It's being motivated 393 00:24:30.440 --> 00:24:33.759 by the fact that this life is a test and 394 00:24:33.799 --> 00:24:36.599 it's the get ready stage for the real show, which 395 00:24:36.680 --> 00:24:38.759 is going to go on trillions and trillions and trillions 396 00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:42.359 of years in heaven. Now, what is the key to 397 00:24:42.440 --> 00:24:46.640 staying focused now in spite of your problems, Because when 398 00:24:46.680 --> 00:24:49.799 you get tired, you lose your focus. When you get tired, 399 00:24:49.880 --> 00:24:53.039 you forget about eternity. When you get tired, all you 400 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:54.799 can see is all the problems you got right now 401 00:24:54.839 --> 00:24:56.880