 Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to Unfiltered. Pastor David, welcome. Good to be here. Pastor, just a brief question. Why is it so important to you to teach God's Word? You know, that's been an issue that we have, not so much an issue. That's been something that has been part of our conversation every time we speak, really, and one form or another isn't it, John? I mean, as a pastor and as a Calvary Chapel pastor especially, I have a great deal of belief that it's the Word of God that transforms lives. You know, I believe that we as pastors ought to be aware of our days and obviously we should, as pastors, be able to provide biblical direction in terms of how to deal with the issues that we find ourselves facing and even to the part where we should speak sometimes on the national issues, not as political experts, but as people who are capable of communicating things that relate to the everyday experiences of the average American in our state and city and all of that. So all of that is a given, but the bottom line is, I am thoroughly convinced that it's only the power of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit that transforms lives. And I've seen that over and over again over the years. And just yesterday, I received a message from a young lady who at one time had been in our church and had been in our church for many years until she got married and moved to another area and began attending another fellowship, even though she told me in her message that she still will turn on our radio program, not so much a radio, our programs like this and our teaching program from our web page. And she still does listen. And she said, I still call you my pastor and I speak of you as you have been all these years. She was involved in women's ministry. She was involved in various things. But here's why. And I thought it would be sweet to be able to share a little bit about this with our listeners today. She wrote and she said that she wanted to let me know her testimony. And she shared how that she had been born to a 16 year old young girl. Her father was a rock and roll musician, that she grew up around drugs all her life. And that at an early age she began to get involved in drugs. And when she was around 19 or so, she had been strung out for eight months. She had been doing meth every day several times a day. She said she had gotten to the point in her addiction and usage that a doctor had said to her, if you try and quit completely all at once, it can shock you. You can even die. So she said, well, what's using continuing life? It doesn't matter. And she just continued to habitually use and she did several times a day for eight straight months. She said I lost my lost weight. I lost everything. And then one day she says I was driving and I saw on a billboard 107.9 and I thought, what is that? I turned it on and I was listening to a pastor and the pastor was beginning to speak on some things and see if I can find it. She says one night I saw a sign that said 107.9. I was curious. So I checked it out. I heard a sermon about vessels of honor and dishonor. It was 3 a.m. I'd been drinking and getting high all night. Having accepted that, that's how I was going to die. I knew I couldn't quit. I just partied hard. The doctor told me it would be impossible to quit on my own. I would seizure, go into cardiac arrest. I heard that pastor talk about being, about having to be smashed and put in a fire to become pliable. I instantly felt a warm like honey, wax like substance. It seemed to be oozing from my head, my fingertips, toes. I was instantly sober. A few hours later I drove to Calvary Chapel Chino Valley. I'd been invited there. You see, I was raised in darkness but as I was listening to you speak, I was sure someone called you, told you about my life. She said, I've tried to find that sermon many times but she said I was so, so overwhelmed that I was crying. As crying so hard, strangers were reaching over from the pew and touching me to try and encourage me. She said, when you gave the invitation, I went forward. I got on my knees and I gave my life to Jesus. He changed my life. I knew God loved me. I prayed that day for withdrawals to be so horrible that I'd never go back to drugs. But he took away my addiction. I didn't feel not one thing, no shakes, no sweat, no temptation, desire to return to that drug or any any other drug for that matter. I used to get high multiple times a day. I couldn't go a few hours without a hit. I had a miracle. I attended your church for years. I had to, I moved from the Inland Empire. I call you my pastor. With the Holy Spirit and through your teachings, I obtained a firm foundation in my walk. I served there, did women's retreats, conferences, celebrated holidays. She's now married. She has three children and she's serving the Lord. John, you understand that? You went through that. I understand it to a degree. I went through something similar where there's an emptiness that only Christ can fill. There's a loneliness that only he can fill. There's just a need that only God can fill and it comes through the gospel. That's why I get upset at people who are going to churches that proclaim the sounds to be Christian churches who aren't really teaching, who are caught up with whatever the mood of the day is, whether it be politics or whether it would be, you name it, issues of some sort. That's why I get upset at that, John, because it's the gospel that set you free. It was Jesus Christ who set the apostle Paul free on that road to Damascus. It was Jesus Christ who set that Ethiopian free as he was returning from Jerusalem, empty from worship. It was Jesus Christ who reached the Samaritans. It was Jesus Christ who reached the household of Cornelius and Cornelius. It's the gospel that changes lives. Why do I insist on that? Because it's the only thing that changes lives when you see by faith and embraced and God transforms and forgives people of their sins. Nothing else does that. That's why I do this. Amen. Well, thank you, Pastor, for sharing that. We see many instances like you talked about in the Bible, the maniac, a lot of the different people that give their life to Christ are at an encounter with Christ. That's touching. That's where the gospel is being taught. Well, Pastor, thank you again so much for sharing that. God blessed this young lady who's written that and now has a family and serving the Lord. We do want to invite you guys to come join us on our Wednesday evening service at 7 p.m. Pastor, you're taking us through Romans 14. We'll go through the chapter tomorrow. So invite your friends and family to come and join us. We do look forward to seeing you. We'll see you again on Thursday for Unfiltered. Thank you for tuning in and God bless you.