0:00:05.276,0:00:07.592 Psalm 105:5 says, 0:00:07.592,0:00:10.432 "Remember His wonders which He has done." 0:00:10.432,0:00:14.452 So it is a good thing for us to remember 0:00:14.452,0:00:17.029 and to think about what God has done 0:00:17.029,0:00:18.986 in our life. 0:00:18.986,0:00:21.642 I grew up in a home 0:00:21.642,0:00:24.424 where my family took me to church 0:00:24.424,0:00:26.966 basically every time the doors were open. 0:00:26.966,0:00:30.296 So the reality of God was in my life 0:00:30.296,0:00:32.159 from infancy upward. 0:00:32.159,0:00:34.244 There was never really a time in my life 0:00:34.244,0:00:37.229 where my parents didn't [br]make me go to church. 0:00:37.229,0:00:38.781 Through that time, 0:00:38.781,0:00:42.388 there was conviction of sin. 0:00:42.388,0:00:44.078 There were times especially when 0:00:44.078,0:00:46.195 revivalists would come through, 0:00:46.195,0:00:48.322 and I would have an emotional experience. 0:00:48.322,0:00:50.334 And I would realize the reality of hell. 0:00:50.334,0:00:54.147 Realize where I was at. 0:00:54.147,0:00:55.419 So I would walk an aisle, 0:00:55.419,0:00:56.998 pray a prayer, 0:00:56.998,0:00:58.902 and make a decision 0:00:58.902,0:01:01.307 that never seemed to really last. 0:01:01.307,0:01:03.230 People make jokes about this, 0:01:03.230,0:01:05.865 but I actually believe that at my house 0:01:05.865,0:01:08.501 in Alabama, there are at least 0:01:08.501,0:01:10.856 two Bibles where I have, 0:01:10.856,0:01:12.922 "I, Mason Vann, was saved..." 0:01:12.922,0:01:14.539 and the date. 0:01:14.539,0:01:16.893 And signed it, so I wouldn't doubt it. 0:01:16.893,0:01:18.184 So that's a reality. 0:01:18.184,0:01:20.831 That's not just a joke that people make. 0:01:20.831,0:01:22.546 I have at least a couple of those. 0:01:22.546,0:01:24.507 So that's kind of the realm 0:01:24.507,0:01:25.695 in which I grew up. 0:01:25.695,0:01:28.266 And I can remember the final time 0:01:28.266,0:01:29.602 in that period of my life 0:01:29.602,0:01:31.876 that I came under conviction. 0:01:31.876,0:01:33.868 A revivalist had come through, 0:01:33.868,0:01:35.602 and made a very emotional appeal, 0:01:35.602,0:01:37.261 and yet God was dealing with me 0:01:37.261,0:01:39.754 on a certain level. 0:01:39.754,0:01:43.748 So that thought came over me 0:01:43.748,0:01:45.641 that I am not right with God. 0:01:45.641,0:01:47.367 And I need to be right with God. 0:01:47.367,0:01:49.309 And that every [br]profession that I'd made 0:01:49.309,0:01:50.674 up until now was not real 0:01:50.674,0:01:52.866 and I needed something that was real. 0:01:52.866,0:01:54.729 So I went forward once again. 0:01:54.729,0:01:56.010 And this time, I decided, 0:01:56.010,0:01:57.936 this time is going to be real. 0:01:57.936,0:01:59.995 I am really going to make an effort 0:01:59.995,0:02:02.405 this time to be a Christian. 0:02:02.405,0:02:05.299 So, I think I printed it again 0:02:05.299,0:02:07.003 in the back of my Bible 0:02:07.003,0:02:09.690 that I was saved on this date. 0:02:09.690,0:02:12.417 So I started diligently trying 0:02:12.417,0:02:14.034 to read my Bible. 0:02:14.034,0:02:15.936 One of the times before that, 0:02:15.936,0:02:18.650 I had come under such [br]intense conviction of sin, 0:02:18.650,0:02:20.627 that I went downstairs in the basement 0:02:20.627,0:02:22.108 and went into a corner 0:02:22.108,0:02:24.284 and I sobbed for hours. 0:02:24.284,0:02:25.369 As a matter of fact, 0:02:25.369,0:02:26.581 my father came down there 0:02:26.581,0:02:28.128 and asked me [br]what was going on. 0:02:28.128,0:02:29.766 So that's kind of the reality 0:02:29.766,0:02:31.731 of the level of [br]conviction that I was under. 0:02:31.731,0:02:32.724 But this time, 0:02:32.724,0:02:34.215 it was going to be different. 0:02:34.215,0:02:36.150 So I set to reading the Bible 0:02:36.150,0:02:38.332 and to praying the best that I could. 0:02:38.332,0:02:41.398 Every night I would light a candle, 0:02:41.398,0:02:42.993 turn off all my lights, 0:02:42.993,0:02:45.086 and light a candle by my bed, 0:02:45.086,0:02:47.809 so that I would read [br]my Bible by candlelight, 0:02:47.809,0:02:50.473 because that felt more spiritual. 0:02:50.473,0:02:51.917 That's a funny thing, 0:02:51.917,0:02:53.558 but it really helps us to realize 0:02:53.558,0:02:55.424 what's going on with a lot of things 0:02:55.424,0:02:56.547 like Catholicism, 0:02:56.547,0:02:59.462 and people that use lighting 0:02:59.462,0:03:02.134 and soft music and things like that. 0:03:02.134,0:03:03.582 My life was propped up on 0:03:03.582,0:03:06.338 things like reading [br]my Bible by candlelight. 0:03:06.338,0:03:09.989 It gave me the feeling that this was real. 0:03:09.989,0:03:11.661 But as soon as the candle went out, 0:03:11.661,0:03:13.389 there went my spiritual life also. 0:03:13.389,0:03:15.233 Well, this began to fade. 0:03:15.233,0:03:17.814 And this is about 12 or 13, 0:03:17.814,0:03:20.081 and I was very much into baseball, 0:03:20.081,0:03:22.797 sports and athletics and things like that. 0:03:22.797,0:03:25.191 My father is actually in the Hall of Fame 0:03:25.191,0:03:27.528 in a college in Alabama. 0:03:27.528,0:03:29.825 So he was really [br]pushing sports and things. 0:03:29.825,0:03:32.823 So I was heavily involved in these things, 0:03:32.823,0:03:34.808 and began to run around in these circles 0:03:34.808,0:03:37.310 with people that were into sports. 0:03:37.310,0:03:41.642 And we as a crowd began to move away from 0:03:41.642,0:03:43.909 all that we had grown up under. 0:03:43.909,0:03:45.469 And we began to get into things 0:03:45.469,0:03:47.925 that we knew that we should not be doing. 0:03:47.925,0:03:50.215 And so, I kind of, in my mind, 0:03:50.215,0:03:52.382 walked away from the whole church scene. 0:03:52.382,0:03:54.302 Even though I was still going to church, 0:03:54.302,0:03:55.635 and things like that, 0:03:55.635,0:03:57.863 I knew that I wasn't real. 0:03:57.863,0:03:59.750 But I kept going to church 0:03:59.750,0:04:02.069 because I was trying to [br]ease my conscience. 0:04:02.069,0:04:05.563 Well, about 14 and a half, 0:04:05.563,0:04:07.879 this conviction came back. 0:04:07.879,0:04:09.142 And it came back this time 0:04:09.142,0:04:11.243 with such reality, 0:04:11.243,0:04:13.573 such an unshakeable 0:04:13.573,0:04:15.266 hold on my life, 0:04:15.266,0:04:16.407 I could not do anything 0:04:16.407,0:04:17.630 to get away from it. 0:04:17.630,0:04:19.014 During that time, 0:04:19.014,0:04:20.598 most people's perception of me 0:04:20.598,0:04:22.606 was that I was a tough guy. 0:04:22.606,0:04:24.957 I was a guy who had very little emotion. 0:04:24.957,0:04:26.785 I had a very quick temper. 0:04:26.785,0:04:28.204 So most people thought of me, 0:04:28.204,0:04:31.413 probably, as a person who would never 0:04:31.413,0:04:34.215 show any kind of sorrow or remorse 0:04:34.215,0:04:35.533 or anything like that. 0:04:35.533,0:04:36.917 Well, little did they know, 0:04:36.917,0:04:39.467 that every night when [br]I came home from their parties, 0:04:39.467,0:04:41.567 and I came home from [br]hanging out with them, 0:04:41.567,0:04:43.044 that I would cry my eyes out 0:04:43.044,0:04:45.591 for about one to two hours each night, 0:04:45.591,0:04:47.074 under the reality that 0:04:47.074,0:04:49.690 I am not right with God. 0:04:49.690,0:04:51.898 My profession of faith is worthless. 0:04:51.898,0:04:53.682 Those Bibles with the date in them 0:04:53.682,0:04:54.777 are worthless. 0:04:54.777,0:04:57.014 Despite everything else around me, 0:04:57.014,0:04:59.173 I am not right with Christ. 0:04:59.173,0:05:00.629 And if I go tonight, 0:05:00.629,0:05:03.016 I will die under the wrath of God. 0:05:03.016,0:05:05.620 So, every night it was [br]basically the same routine. 0:05:05.620,0:05:06.988 I would cry myself to sleep. 0:05:06.988,0:05:08.664 And right before [br]I would go to sleep, 0:05:08.664,0:05:10.261 I would pray the [br]sinner's prayer again, 0:05:10.261,0:05:12.404 because that's what I [br]was taught growing up. 0:05:12.404,0:05:14.125 That's how you became a Christian. 0:05:14.125,0:05:15.756 You prayed the sinner's prayer. 0:05:15.756,0:05:21.470 And so this continued for about two years 0:05:21.470,0:05:24.643 that I was in this state of reality 0:05:24.643,0:05:27.552 and such intense conviction. 0:05:27.552,0:05:29.738 Well, my temper ended up 0:05:29.738,0:05:31.611 getting me in trouble. 0:05:31.611,0:05:35.985 And without going into [br]too many gory details, 0:05:35.985,0:05:37.834 I got into a fight with a guy 0:05:37.834,0:05:39.082 from a neighboring city. 0:05:39.082,0:05:40.462 All my friends were supposed 0:05:40.462,0:05:41.637 to come to this fight, 0:05:41.637,0:05:44.482 and I was clearly smaller than this guy, 0:05:44.482,0:05:48.002 and so the plan was that [br]I basically start the fight 0:05:48.002,0:05:49.932 and then you guys come and help me. 0:05:49.932,0:05:53.302 Well, that is not how the plan worked out. 0:05:53.302,0:05:55.102 God was pursuing me. 0:05:55.102,0:05:57.876 And God providentially, looking back now, 0:05:57.876,0:05:59.531 as a Christian I can see, 0:05:59.531,0:06:01.314 God was closing in on me 0:06:01.314,0:06:02.819 at this point in my life. 0:06:02.819,0:06:04.551 And so, needless to say, 0:06:04.551,0:06:05.852 I lose this fight. 0:06:05.852,0:06:07.961 And I am running for my life. 0:06:07.961,0:06:10.341 Literally, I am running for my life. 0:06:10.341,0:06:11.556 And for two weeks, 0:06:11.556,0:06:13.544 I'm hiding out from everyone. 0:06:13.544,0:06:17.508 And all these people are looking for me. 0:06:17.508,0:06:19.877 Well, providentially, the youth group 0:06:19.877,0:06:21.365 at the church I went to 0:06:21.365,0:06:23.914 was going to South Carolina. 0:06:23.914,0:06:26.540 The year before, I had went with my friend 0:06:26.540,0:06:27.984 to South Carolina. 0:06:27.984,0:06:29.416 We met some people up there. 0:06:29.416,0:06:33.109 So I thought, I have to get out of town. 0:06:33.109,0:06:34.002 So what I'll do, 0:06:34.002,0:06:36.172 I'll catch the bus up there. 0:06:36.172,0:06:38.161 And my friend and I will [br]hang out with these people, 0:06:38.161,0:06:39.975 and when the youth [br]group comes back, 0:06:39.975,0:06:42.054 we'll catch a ride on the way back. 0:06:42.054,0:06:43.774 So that was the plan. 0:06:43.774,0:06:45.601 So you should have seen the shock 0:06:45.601,0:06:49.124 on the youth group's face, when I, 0:06:49.124,0:06:51.046 the pagan of the school, 0:06:51.046,0:06:53.961 show up on the church bus, 0:06:53.961,0:06:55.746 going to South Carolina. 0:06:55.746,0:06:59.096 I mean, these people were dumbfounded. 0:06:59.096,0:07:01.211 A dear brother at the time, 0:07:01.211,0:07:03.268 who had some discernment. 0:07:03.268,0:07:05.308 He began to pray for me. 0:07:05.308,0:07:07.284 He was the youth leader at that time. 0:07:07.284,0:07:09.396 And he began to pray for me. 0:07:09.396,0:07:10.777 He knew that I was just 0:07:10.777,0:07:12.895 in a world of mess. 0:07:12.895,0:07:14.308 So, we go up there. 0:07:14.308,0:07:16.787 And throughout this time, 0:07:16.787,0:07:19.713 and especially through those two weeks, 0:07:19.713,0:07:22.906 I had been able to, so much of my life, 0:07:22.906,0:07:24.816 drown out the voice of God. 0:07:24.816,0:07:28.876 See, I hated when I [br]had to lay my head down 0:07:28.876,0:07:31.167 on a pillow. 0:07:31.167,0:07:32.722 Because then the voice of God 0:07:32.722,0:07:33.981 would come rushing back. 0:07:33.981,0:07:35.623 So if I wasn't listening to music, 0:07:35.623,0:07:36.529 I was at a party. 0:07:36.529,0:07:38.490 If I wasn't at a party, [br]I was talking to a friend. 0:07:38.490,0:07:40.096 If I wasn't talking to a friend, 0:07:40.096,0:07:41.348 I was doing something. 0:07:41.348,0:07:43.569 I would do absolutely anything 0:07:43.569,0:07:45.628 to avoid silence. 0:07:45.628,0:07:47.336 Because when silence came, 0:07:47.336,0:07:49.044 the voice of God came back 0:07:49.044,0:07:51.112 rushing into my life saying, 0:07:51.112,0:07:53.126 "You're not right with God." 0:07:53.126,0:07:55.400 "You know you need to be converted." 0:07:55.400,0:07:57.694 So, this whole thing with this fight, 0:07:57.694,0:07:59.317 and my support system for 0:07:59.317,0:08:00.965 drowning out the voice of God 0:08:00.965,0:08:02.162 with my friends, 0:08:02.162,0:08:04.948 all came crumbling down, 0:08:04.948,0:08:07.545 and here I find myself on a trip 0:08:07.545,0:08:11.162 to South Carolina. 0:08:11.162,0:08:13.691 During that time in South Carolina, 0:08:13.691,0:08:16.416 I don't really have [br]any recollection that 0:08:16.416,0:08:18.791 I was making another decision 0:08:18.791,0:08:20.721 that I was going to follow Christ. 0:08:20.721,0:08:22.913 I did not go up there with the mindset 0:08:22.913,0:08:24.960 that I'm really in trouble 0:08:24.960,0:08:27.723 and I need to make another decision. 0:08:27.723,0:08:29.946 I had already seen enough at that point 0:08:29.946,0:08:32.033 to know that it was [br]going to take more than 0:08:32.033,0:08:33.915 me just praying another prayer 0:08:33.915,0:08:36.287 for something real to happen. 0:08:36.287,0:08:40.802 And so, the first two [br]days were pretty normal. 0:08:40.802,0:08:43.862 I don't even really [br]remember much about them. 0:08:43.862,0:08:46.293 About the only thing that I remember 0:08:46.293,0:08:49.479 is the very last night before we were 0:08:49.479,0:08:52.798 to leave and go back the next day. 0:08:52.798,0:08:55.725 It seemed to be a really emotional time. 0:08:55.725,0:08:57.775 And I can remember a little bit that day 0:08:57.775,0:08:59.637 of thinking about some of these things 0:08:59.637,0:09:01.145 about I'm not right with God, 0:09:01.145,0:09:02.865 I need to be right with God, 0:09:02.865,0:09:05.304 but I feel absolutely powerless. 0:09:05.304,0:09:08.332 And so during that night, 0:09:08.332,0:09:10.216 like I said, typical emotional time, 0:09:10.216,0:09:11.528 everyone bowed their heads. 0:09:11.528,0:09:15.519 So, out of courtesy, I bowed my head. 0:09:15.519,0:09:16.928 And I do remember thinking 0:09:16.928,0:09:18.371 when I bowed my head, 0:09:18.371,0:09:21.679 I need something real. 0:09:21.679,0:09:24.786 I can't explain what happened. 0:09:24.786,0:09:27.271 But somewhere between the time 0:09:27.271,0:09:29.425 of bowing my head 0:09:29.425,0:09:30.605 and when I looked up 0:09:30.605,0:09:32.580 and opened my eyes again, 0:09:32.580,0:09:34.147 the only thing that I could see 0:09:34.147,0:09:37.453 was the glory of God [br]in the face of Christ. 0:09:37.453,0:09:39.087 All of a sudden, 0:09:39.087,0:09:41.907 the wilderness had become a pool. 0:09:41.907,0:09:45.374 And the love of God came 0:09:45.374,0:09:47.277 rushing into my life. 0:09:47.277,0:09:48.986 It overwhelmed me. 0:09:48.986,0:09:51.425 I could not be helped. 0:09:51.425,0:09:53.730 The youth leaders didn't know what to do. 0:09:53.730,0:09:56.075 Because I was crying my eyes out. 0:09:56.075,0:09:59.327 I had such an overwhelming sense 0:09:59.327,0:10:00.954 that I'm free. 0:10:00.954,0:10:02.041 I am free. 0:10:02.041,0:10:02.938 This whole thing. 0:10:02.938,0:10:04.203 This whole burden of sin. 0:10:04.203,0:10:06.338 Two years of the wrath of God 0:10:06.338,0:10:08.026 closing down on me. 0:10:08.026,0:10:10.741 All of my sins are gone. 0:10:10.741,0:10:13.133 And Christ is no longer this 0:10:13.133,0:10:15.630 religious figure that's way back there 0:10:15.630,0:10:17.096 2,000 years ago 0:10:17.096,0:10:19.005 carrying lambs around [br]on His shoulders. 0:10:19.005,0:10:19.985 All of a sudden, 0:10:19.985,0:10:22.265 He is the risen Son of God, 0:10:22.265,0:10:23.553 and I love Him. 0:10:23.553,0:10:24.785 And I want to follow Him. 0:10:24.785,0:10:26.334 I don't ever want to sin again. 0:10:26.334,0:10:28.143 I don't ever want to do anything 0:10:28.143,0:10:31.195 that would offend [br]love that is this precious. 0:10:31.195,0:10:34.582 And so that was that night. 0:10:34.582,0:10:38.281 They wisely sent me back to my room 0:10:38.281,0:10:42.070 and said you need to pray. 0:10:42.070,0:10:43.569 I misunderstood that. 0:10:43.569,0:10:45.655 Because I had grown [br]up under the mentality 0:10:45.655,0:10:48.453 that you had to pray [br]and ask Christ into your heart. 0:10:48.453,0:10:51.001 And so I go back to my hotel room 0:10:51.001,0:10:53.206 once I can kind of compose myself some. 0:10:53.206,0:10:55.623 And I began to try to [br]pray the sinner's prayer. 0:10:55.623,0:10:58.416 But I was much like the prodigal son 0:10:58.416,0:11:01.879 when he returned to his father. 0:11:01.879,0:11:03.768 You know, on the [br]way returning back, 0:11:03.768,0:11:05.482 he had rehearsed this speech 0:11:05.482,0:11:07.075 that he was going to give 0:11:07.075,0:11:09.218 to his father when he got back. 0:11:09.218,0:11:11.183 And basically what happens is, 0:11:11.183,0:11:12.922 when the prodigal [br]actually shows up, 0:11:12.922,0:11:15.302 the father cuts him off [br]halfway through the speech 0:11:15.302,0:11:17.167 and says I don't [br]want to hear all that 0:11:17.167,0:11:18.377 you can do for me. 0:11:18.377,0:11:20.132 I'm glad you're home. 0:11:20.132,0:11:21.720 And so that's the way I felt like 0:11:21.720,0:11:23.296 praying the sinner's prayer. 0:11:23.296,0:11:25.386 It's like I'm asking Christ [br]to come into my heart 0:11:25.386,0:11:26.265 and He's saying, 0:11:26.265,0:11:28.264 You don't have to... I'm here. 0:11:28.264,0:11:29.160 I'm here. 0:11:29.160,0:11:30.650 I'm a living reality. 0:11:30.650,0:11:32.530 Your sins are done. 0:11:32.530,0:11:33.791 Your sins are done. 0:11:33.791,0:11:37.332 And so there was joy unspeakable. 0:11:37.332,0:11:40.066 And my life was totally different. 0:11:40.066,0:11:41.320 I made a phone call. 0:11:41.320,0:11:43.005 I believe it was that night[br]or the next day, 0:11:43.005,0:11:44.607 to all the people that I'd [br]gotten into a fight with 0:11:44.607,0:11:47.167 and said I don't care what [br]you do when I get back home, 0:11:47.167,0:11:49.822 I have become a Christian now. 0:11:49.822,0:11:53.592 Which, what do you say to that? 0:11:53.592,0:11:56.306 But I want to say something 0:11:56.306,0:11:57.452 about this whole thing 0:11:57.452,0:11:59.429 because there was joy unspeakable. 0:11:59.429,0:12:01.139 And there was so much happiness. 0:12:01.139,0:12:03.979 but I went through several months, 0:12:03.979,0:12:05.668 maybe even a couple of years 0:12:05.668,0:12:06.977 of darkness in a way 0:12:06.977,0:12:10.484 over this whole issue [br]of the sinner's prayer. 0:12:10.484,0:12:14.085 You can hear guys preaching against that, 0:12:14.085,0:12:15.810 and you can think, 0:12:15.810,0:12:17.543 maybe you're overemphasizing this 0:12:17.543,0:12:18.870 a little too much. 0:12:18.870,0:12:21.710 Maybe you need to back off a little bit. 0:12:21.710,0:12:23.712 Well, that hurts people. 0:12:23.712,0:12:25.916 Bad doctrine hurts people. 0:12:25.916,0:12:27.016 And it hurt me. 0:12:27.016,0:12:29.017 And here's the way that it hurt me. 0:12:29.017,0:12:31.269 For months and like I said, 0:12:31.269,0:12:32.610 maybe even a couple of years 0:12:32.610,0:12:34.211 after I was saved, 0:12:34.211,0:12:36.764 I left almost every meeting I was in 0:12:36.764,0:12:38.420 about halfway through the meeting 0:12:38.420,0:12:41.293 and went to a Sunday school room 0:12:41.293,0:12:43.347 and would pray the sinner's prayer. 0:12:43.347,0:12:44.480 Because I thought, 0:12:44.480,0:12:45.806 Lord, You're so real to me, 0:12:45.806,0:12:47.338 but I cannot be saved 0:12:47.338,0:12:49.445 because I was taught that the way 0:12:49.445,0:12:50.946 that you become a Christian is 0:12:50.946,0:12:53.678 you pray, ask Christ into your heart, 0:12:53.678,0:12:54.931 and then God saves you. 0:12:54.931,0:12:57.052 Well, none of that happened. 0:12:57.052,0:12:58.470 All that happened to me was 0:12:58.470,0:13:00.988 I bowed my head and at some point 0:13:00.988,0:13:04.512 God shown the light of the knowledge 0:13:04.512,0:13:06.495 of the glory of God in the face of Christ 0:13:06.495,0:13:07.376 into my heart, 0:13:07.376,0:13:09.418 and I was converted. 0:13:09.418,0:13:12.220 And that's basically the [br]way that it happened. 0:13:12.220,0:13:13.437 And so, like I said, 0:13:13.437,0:13:15.998 this went on for a couple of years. 0:13:15.998,0:13:20.557 And what brought me out of all of that, 0:13:20.557,0:13:22.420 was someone gave me a tape 0:13:22.420,0:13:23.635 by Paul Washer. 0:13:23.635,0:13:25.279 And this was back before the days 0:13:25.279,0:13:27.127 when everyone knew Paul Washer. 0:13:27.127,0:13:28.502 And it was a tape of Paul 0:13:28.502,0:13:30.936 preaching on Hosea 4:6 0:13:30.936,0:13:31.776 where it says, 0:13:31.776,0:13:35.880 "My people are destroyed [br]for a lack of knowledge." 0:13:35.880,0:13:39.223 And somewhere in the midst of that sermon, 0:13:39.223,0:13:44.463 he mentioned Jeremiah 17:9 where it says, 0:13:44.463,0:13:46.258 "The heart is desparately wicked 0:13:46.258,0:13:48.011 and deceitful above all things, 0:13:48.011,0:13:49.794 who can know it?" 0:13:49.794,0:13:53.224 God made that verse real. 0:13:53.224,0:13:54.700 God brought that home to me. 0:13:54.700,0:13:56.992 I didn't hear anything [br]else he said after that. 0:13:56.992,0:13:58.655 Because I realized, 0:13:58.655,0:14:01.773 God began to unpack that verse in my life. 0:14:01.773,0:14:03.159 And He began showing me, 0:14:03.159,0:14:06.070 if my heart was desparately wicked 0:14:06.070,0:14:07.618 and deceitful above all things, 0:14:07.618,0:14:10.386 and myself - I can't even know it? 0:14:10.386,0:14:14.354 There was no way I [br]was going to save myself. 0:14:14.354,0:14:15.721 So all of a sudden, 0:14:15.721,0:14:17.410 these verses started becoming real. 0:14:17.410,0:14:19.185 Matthew 1:21, 0:14:19.185,0:14:20.673 "You shall call His name Jesus, 0:14:20.673,0:14:22.457 and He will save His people 0:14:22.457,0:14:23.842 from their sins." 0:14:23.842,0:14:26.192 I realized what happened that night. 0:14:26.192,0:14:28.448 I didn't save myself. 0:14:28.448,0:14:30.878 God saved me. 0:14:30.878,0:14:32.357 We're not saved by deeds 0:14:32.357,0:14:33.874 done in righteousness, 0:14:33.874,0:14:35.495 but by His mercy. 0:14:35.495,0:14:37.076 And so what happened that night, 0:14:37.076,0:14:39.428 is that God in His mercy 0:14:39.428,0:14:43.173 opened my eyes to see [br]the preciousness of Christ. 0:14:43.173,0:14:46.461 And that vision so raptured my heart 0:14:46.461,0:14:47.992 that I wanted to follow Christ 0:14:47.992,0:14:50.673 all of the days of my life. 0:14:50.673,0:14:56.102 And so that's what the [br]Lord has done for me. 0:14:56.102,0:15:00.068 Amen.