I remember one time, when I was a teenager, I was in a Christian youth group, and the
youth leader asked us, this was like, these church, don't go to a liberal church, it's
just stupid.
But, you know, we were going to some liberal NIV church when I was a teenager, and the
youth group was so stupid, like just the, they didn't teach the Bible, it was just all
this weird, I don't even know what it was.
But anyway, we're in this Sunday school class, just imagine like a teenage Sunday school
class youth group, and this was like the discussion of the day in the Sunday school, was like,
would you rather like just have grown up as a Christian, like born and raised Christian,
grown up in church and just stayed, you know, or would you rather have lived like this really
like grown up as a heathen and lived this really worldly sinful life and then come to
Christ later in life, because then you'd have this powerful testimony, you know, about how
God cleaned you up and, you know, brought you out of this horrible life of sin.
And I kid you not, I was the only person in the youth group that said I would rather be
born and raised a Christian and live a Christian life the whole time.
And you know what?
I'm sorry, but that just shows that everyone else was being foolish.
Why would anyone say, oh, it's better to grow up heathen?
It's better to, because you have this powerful testimony.
You know, last time I checked the gospel of Jesus Christ was the power of God unto salvation.
Not your testimony.
Last time I checked the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone
that believeth.
The Bible says the preaching of the cross is to us that are saved is the power of God.
The cross, the death, the burial and resurrection, it's about Jesus.
It's not about you.
It's all a go, man.
I was snorting so much cocaine and I was in jail and I was in prison and I held the gun
in my mouth every single day to blow my own brains out, I was so miserable and then God
reached down and saved a poor wretched, vile, lost soul like me.
Folks, that's not what it's about, my friend.
You know what it's about?
It's about God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
You know, when I go out soul winning door to door, I don't tell people my life story.
I tell people Jesus' life story, okay?
Now look, I understand that if you have lived a very sinful life that God could use you
to reach other people who are in that same life because God can take that which was meant
for evil and turn it to good.
They meant it for evil, God meant it for good.
God can take something that's bad and spin it into something good for those who love
him.
So basically, yeah, let's say you have been a drug addict, then yeah, God could use you
to basically reach out to another drug addict and say, "Listen, man, it's not too late for
you because if God saved me, God can save you too."
Amen?
But isn't it stupid to say, "Well, I just wish I'd been a drug addict so that I could
say that."
I mean, folks, that's ridiculous.
That's absurd.
Like, you know, I kind of wish that I had one of these radical testimonies, you know.
Folks, I've never wished that for five, I've never wished, like, man, I kind of wish I'd
been, you know, on drugs or drunk or foreign, you know, before I knew better, can I do all
that stuff and then I could have this real powerful testimony?
You know, it sounds kind of prideful, like, it's just all about your testimony or something.
And look, hey, you, obviously God, you know, will bring us across people's paths where
our past experiences, you know, we can minister to them because we've gone through the same
things and, hey, you've been on drugs, I've been on drugs or whatever.
I get that.
But imagine the foolishness of going into a teenage youth group and even asking such
a stupid question.
"What do you think's better?"
And then all the dumb teenagers are like, "Yeah, I think that's better."
So they're not being taught anything.
Let me tell you something.
Going out and doing drugs and committing fornication, committing adultery, getting drunk.
You know what?
You do permanent damage to your life, permanent, permanent damage, folks.