 It's amazing to be a part of this men's ministry and it's amazing to be a part of this day And I welcome everybody who's here today. What a blessing it is to see so many people out here You know what the amazing thing is is that as pastor David was mentioning society has really dumbed us down as men and The theme of our conference is to walk worthy You know, we look at TV commercials and we're too dumb to buy a house. We look at TV commercials were too dumb to buy a car We're not even mentioned as a spiritual leadership in our in our families anymore because Society has just dumbed us down But to see all the men here today who have decided to walk worthy and even the men that gave their lives to Christ today Is a testament that God is still at work in the heart of men and that's the amazing thing So as pastor David mentioned my name is John Matta one of the staff ministers here I tell pastor David he really lowered his standards higher than me The connection I have with pastor David goes quite a few years back When I was six years old, he had a home Bible study at my parents house And I was only six years old and so they had my parents there and and he had some people there And you know what the cool thing about that today is that in our living room today I have a mask off where pastor David used to sit like a crime scene And I have candles all around it And I charge brothers and sisters to come five bucks to come check it out And that's how my wife and I are able to go get yogurt or dessert after dinner But we have a history and it's amazing to see and I don't remember too much But it's amazing to see what God had started to work then and to look what he has done now And to have conferences for men to come to walk worthy And so what a blessing it is another thing It's cool is is my daughter is this about the same age as When pastor David met me and then now I'm full circle. I'm here and I'm here sharing with you guys And so that's an amazing thing And and it's always good to look back to see what God is doing here today You know, I was raised in a Christian home. I had parents that did a great job raising me I had parents that loved me I had parents that showed me the ways of Christ and they showed their way through Christ through how they loved me and All through my high school years. I was really active with my church at that time But then I went away to college or to school and That's where things really started getting a little weird for me. I fell in love with the world You know in 2nd Timothy and 2nd Timothy chapter 4 verse 10 Paul describes Demas is forsaking him For the love of the world and I too fell in love with the world And looking at this looking from it at from this point now seeing the heartbreak and and the devastation that caused my family my parents And so what I like to do is just share a little bit about that time, but I want to Take the time and parallel it to the prodigal son and Luke chapter in 15 Because it was a relation that I can have with the prodigal son Because with my parents providing such love for me and raising me in such a good way that I demanded my way or the highway and I went the way of the world. I Begin to live my life as wasteful living as it says in Luke chapter 15 13 Where it says in not many days later the younger son gathered all together journeyed to a far country and There wasted his possessions with wasteful living and That was me. I Begin drinking. I Begin having carnal relationships. I Begin abusing drugs and Before you knew it. I was a slave to methamphetamine Any way or any way you can use I was using Any way you can get high I was doing and it controlled my life for many years It controlled my life where and everywhere possible where I was a slave to this drug It's amazing to think back What we would do I know some of us in here have the same testimony probably even bigger But what we would do for that drug And so my challenge is to you guys is what are we doing instead? Are you using the same? Drive that we had to use drugs to serve Jesus to serve our families to serve our children Do we have that same desire? Because we know all know that that lifestyle leaves nothing but brokenness and destruction We know what it does. It's chews us up and spits us out Nobody wanted me around. I was a thief When I would go to people's houses, I wouldn't the first thing I would look for is what can I steal? I needed to support my habit. I Needed to do whatever I could to do what I ever had to do in order for me to be where I needed to be I Would steal I stole from my parents. I Stole from my sister. I stole from family members. I was in a deep famine Spiritual famine in my life, you know looking back to the prodigal son It says when he spent all there when he had spent all there was arose a severe famine in the land And he began to be in want Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country and sent him into the fields to feed the swine You know, I went from this place where I was raised in the home and now he became a citizen of this lifestyle a Citizen of brokenness a citizen of destruction severed relationships. Nobody wanted me around. I remember sitting in the back of my Truck that I had taken from my dad and just sitting there and not knowing where to go Not knowing what to do and there was this famine that was in my life I was in a deep spiritual horrendous dark place full of anger full of hatred And I don't need to go in the details of what went on. I'm giving the G rated version I told Pastor David that I was gonna give a bragemony instead of a testimony That the fish was gonna go from this big to that big But then I wouldn't have a job on Monday morning. So but anyone who's here knows The lifestyle that's involved when you become a slave to anything and this was an ongoing cycle It was something I've I would get in I would get clean. I would fall out I would get clean I would fall out and it just seemed like Lord. I need your I need your I need your power. I Begin using drugs intravenously And it was even a point where I was even getting high anymore is just to maintain and it was a It was just bondage. It was horrible. It was a lifestyle that was just sick And in my heart I was crying out to the Lord because I had the severe famine in my life I had the spiritual darkness that was a big hole in my life And all I wanted to do is just be away and I thought in my life, you know, I'm either gonna die I'm gonna be in prison or I'm gonna be a druggy all my life Those are the three options that I had It was an ongoing cycle of going to jail Coming out going into a men's home coming out going to jail And it just seemed like the cycle was going deeper and deeper and deeper now was tired of it, you know, the last time I had Gone to jail. I could easily picked up three to five years easily easily for the charges that were charged against me I had decided in my mind that that what I'm gonna do is if I'm gonna go that to jail May as well just go make a name for myself So I had remember I got taken in it was overnight. I Got got up the morning didn't eat breakfast and by dinner time I wanted to find out who was the one kind of running the place in there because I just wanted to get my food Train crack them over the head and just start making a name for myself If I'm gonna do this time, I might as well go for it But something miraculously happened. I was released the next morning For the charges that I was charged to be released the next morning was a hand of the Lord This is all happened last week you guys, so please forgive me I began to feel the Holy Spirit tugging at me. I've been lit believe started listening to Christian radio. I started listening to K wave I started reading the Bible a little bit. I felt this tugging and That was the time my parents were really praying for me The family members that are I know that are watching right now were praying for me And in verse 17 where when the prodigal son says he came to a point of realization like hey in my father's house I can go there and I can at least be a servant. I Was like if I get back to the Lord, I know he will give me the strength to become clean If I just get to church Getting out of jail I knew I had to do the right thing. I knew this was time That my time was running out with God's grace and that I had to do something or I would be too far out For me to even come back The church I was attending at that time I would I would come to church. I would backslide. I would come to church I would backslide and Things weren't working for me and I was getting frustrated in and one day my dad said to me Hey, why don't you go to pastor David's church? I was like yes So I started coming You know what the amazing thing is you guys It's 11 years to this date June 7th June 2nd 2007. I was one of these men who came and surrendered her life to Christ It was one of those messages that pastor gave David gave and it just really struck me to the core Where the Holy Spirit really started working and saying I need to do a work in you and I came forward and rededicated my life that day 11 years today and Now I'm honored to be on staff Who would have ever thought? Jesus did my challenge. It was the it was the and my challenge for you is to get involved It was the ministry of lion tamers. It was the ministry of of being around men It was the men's ministry the lion tamers ministry sitting under pastor David Or is what gave me the tools? That I needed that Jesus within is in his awesome power is able to restore and so I want to encourage you guys to get involved with With our men's ministry to get involved with the different things that God has provided I had some slides here my for some reason not coming up, but we have We have men small groups We have softball We have a weekly breakfast that we get together and do as men We have man-to-man on a quarterly basis We have all these different things for men to come together as iron sharpens iron because you notice as raw was saying we need each other We need each other and Men and God has called you guys to be men of God To be men of your home To be men of your families to be men of your children to be the priest in your home God has called you. I Thank you for allowing me to share this time You know it it says here at the end of As the father is talking to the son It says bring the fatted calf here and kill it for and let us see for this with my son was dead And as alive again, he was lost and is found and they began to be married God wants to do a work in all of your lives This is just one story of the transformational power that God has done throughout this whole church and God is going to continue to do a work in all of your lives So when everybody to stand up and I want you to repeat I want us to all recite in unison one scripture second Corinthians 5 17 you guys ready if any man's in Christ He's a new creation Old things have passed away Behold all things become new. That's a promise. Amen. You guys. Thank you. You guys can sit down You guys can have a seat