 Good afternoon pastor David. Hey John. Welcome everybody to a random moment with pastor David unfiltered. You know pastor recently I was with you when a gentleman from our church stopped you and asked you a question regarding something that was written in one of your devotionals and What came out of that was that you realized that eternity was something real So I wanted to ask you today pastor what at what age or at what time in your life Did you realize did you start thinking about eternity because the Bible says that we have eternity in our hearts? so was there any specific event or Something that that when you realize that Eternities for real there was a series of events and and the events that led me to become aware that That You know that time is short was when I began to see friends of mine dying, you know when I was About 18 I was about 18 years old a friend of mine named Ray Kassala Who whom I grew up with I mean I'd known him since we're five years old had been a friend of mine off and on for years Ray went to a party that was across the street from my house and at that party Ray got shot and and died within two or three days And so he was a dear friend to me and that awakened me up Waking me to the fact that even young people die Then I had another guy that I knew who right around the same time who I had Who had died I didn't know he had died But I used to deliver flowers for a florist in the city of Whittier and I had to go to Rose Hills and And as I was going to Rose Hills, I had to take a funeral wreath a casket wreath and place it on the casket That's what I did and and I read the card I just happened to read the card and the name was the name of somebody I had just a week or two before been Partying with that in Whittier and so I thought to myself. Oh, no, he's only 18 years old It couldn't be him and I put the wreath on the casket And I looked in the face of a friend of mine that I had just two weeks before been drinking beer and and Carrying on with and I thought my goodness And then I had another friend all around the same time Who his name was Dave Dave Smith? Who smoked some marijuana drank some alcohol? dropped some acid jump jumped on his motorcycle and plowed right into the the the bumper of a parked pickup truck and died instantly and So these things started happening When I was 18 19 years old John and And I I came to realize that life is short Then I had my own close calls more than one But one in particular I Think was God's a wake-up call when I had taken some Swiss calm downers barbiturates They were called Lily F40s they were a Downer they they they made you sleepy and I drank maybe a well close to Three-quarters of a half gallon. I drank most of it myself and almost died of a poisoning and In my car. I was laying there paralyzed. I couldn't move and I knew a guy He was in a dear friend, but I knew a guy named Freddy Reyes who had died of a barbiturate Alcohol overdose. I had just gone to his funeral. I knew how he died when you died that kind of thing you You get paralyzed you can't move your head to the left or right I mean and you vomit and you'll drown in your own vomit. That's how he died and some of my my Rockstar heroes, you know Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix and Janice Joplin Had died of drug overdoses so I was familiar of that It was around the same time that these people had died and And when I almost died and I was very close to dying I I prayed and I said God help me I'm only 19 years old, you know, so I Had these encounters and then they were getting worse. I was I had I had I Had moved into an area of despair in my life that I actually didn't care if I lived or died John But when I began to encounter close close experiences with death and all I Began to wake up and I started to say to myself I'm too young to be giving up. There's got to be more than this. I I Have to find the reason why I was born in the first place and so within a short time after after nearly overdosing on On the the Reds and the alcohol That's when I came to faith in Christ. Amen and Looking back at all of that God has had a plan in your life Because now you're pastor in our church and we're coming up on a significant date here next week and so We look back at that and and yes eternities in our hearts yet at the same time life is short And your experiences that you've seen with friends, you know, I always think of this pastor I think that all of us have an hour glass on top of our head and since the day we've been born that sand has been pouring out and One day my sand your scent all of our sands will will be Will be done and it's what we do with our lives now, you know And and so well, you know that that conversation that you had outside with that gentleman We just really sparked an interest in that We live today for eternity when we live for Christ every second that you're alive is is a second that That continues on into your future eternities before all of us, right? And so the decision that we make as it relates to Christ is where we're going to spend it You can spend it in everlasting torment or you spend it in everlasting joy It's my choice. The Holy Spirit provokes me woos me convicts me But I ultimately yield to him and so Every person has an opportunity is given opportunity in one form or another to To make those decisions and so it just so happens that I live in a nation that that Was founded on Christian principles in the gospel Hasn't been extinguished here yet So there were those in the Jesus movement the Jesus people who Loved people like me enough to tell us the truth and That's why I really think that if there's anything that needs to begin to to reawaken in the heart of the Church of the 21st century in this day. It's the heart of evangelism It's the heart of understanding That your mother your dad your brother your sister your friend your neighbor whomever Coworker educator They're going to hell if they don't know Jesus Christ and I just don't think people will leave in hell anymore at all even the church doesn't have a sense of urgency John and and That we have to wake up to that because you were pretty bad you you were a bad man you You know you did your time you you you took your drugs you drank you did the bad things that people do and Yet God's grace was over overflowing to you and and he saved you and look at your wife And look at your babies and and look where you are now because of him And so those are the things that that I wouldn't want to to deny people the opportunity to have and and if I don't Share with them about Christ if I don't tell him what he can do if they're not aware of the eternity that awaits him without Christ then Then I'm not doing my job And so I would even hope that some might happen upon this video and and awaken to the fact that without Christ The loss and that he died on a cross to save them and and he could forgive them of every every sin that they've ever ever had and that they could be made an entirely new person with with hope in a future and And and joy that's unimaginable, but you have to turn from your sin You have to confess and repentance to God. I am miserable. I'm a sinner Father I need you and if they do that They can be saved and if you're watching this happen to stumble across this video You've never given your heart to Jesus Christ now is the time amen just as pastor David has shared in and so pastor Thank you for sharing that and and you know, even if you guys know somebody who is Needs to come to church bring them and they may hear the gospel and we do want to invite you guys to come out To our Sunday morning services at 8 30 and 10 45 and maybe the Lord's putting somebody on your heart right now That you can invite to come to church and hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so pastor. Thank you so much for your time Thank you guys for tuning in. We look forward to seeing you on Sunday. God bless you