April 12, 2019 Show with Bobby McGee on “A Prisoner Set Free Returns to Prisons to Proclaim the Only Message that Truly Offers Eternal Freedom”

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Live from the historic parsonage of the 19th century gospel minister George Norcross in downtown

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Carlisle, Pennsylvania, it's Iron Sharpens Iron. This is a radio platform in which pastors,

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Christian scholars, and theologians address the burning issues facing the church and the world today.

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Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 tells us iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

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Matthew Henry said that in this passage, we are cautioned to take heed with whom we converse and directed to have in view in conversation, to make one another wiser and better.

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It is our hope that this goal will be accomplished over the next two hours, and we hope to hear from you, the listener, with your own questions, and now here's your host,

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Chris Arnzen. Good afternoon,

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Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity living on the planet Earth who are listening globally via live streaming at ironsharpensironradio .com.

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This is Chris Arnzen, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Friday on this 12th day of April 2019.

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And my first -time guest today has a lot in common with me. We both serve our one true

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Lord, God, and Savior and King, Christ Jesus. We are both graduates of Hebron Colony Ministry, which is a

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Christian alcohol and drug recovery ministry located in Boone, North Carolina, and we had the privilege of meeting each other there a number of years ago when

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I was still a resident at Hebron Colony Ministry. And Bobby McGee and his wife

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Nan visited to bless those in attendance at Hebron Colony Ministries, both the staff and the residents there, with their music ministry, with Bobby's preaching and teaching, and just the wonderful Christian fellowship that we enjoyed with them.

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And Bobby McGee is a singer, songwriter, musician, evangelist, and co -founder and director of Christ Song Ministry, a ministry supported in part through the partnership of Hebron Colony Ministry.

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And today we are going to be discussing, A Prisoner Set Free Returns to Prisons to Proclaim the

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Only Message that Truly Offers Eternal Freedom. And it's my honor and privilege to welcome you for the very first time ever to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, Bobby McGee.

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Most good welcome, brother. I just feel overwhelmed with your gratitude, and I feel overwhelmed to be able to be in this platform, so I thank you for considering me for this program.

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The pleasure is all mine, brother. And first of all, before we go into your personal testimony, tell us a bit about Christ Song Ministry.

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We founded Christ Song Ministry in 97. I was released from the

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Virginia prisons in 95, and felt a calling to go back into the prisons.

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I had already been saved, and my music had changed from worldly or secular music to a

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Gospel platform, and I didn't know that God had me on a path to go back into the prisons on this scope.

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When I first felt called to go back in, I didn't want to go back in. I'd served a number of years, and prison was something

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I wanted to put behind me. But the Lord called me to go back into the prisons, and so in 97, we did our first prison.

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We were working full -time jobs then, and we were saving money for the weekends, and we would go out of town on the weekends and do prisons, but we didn't ever believe or know that we would be doing it on a full -time level.

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And 11 years ago, we had to make a decision to either tell the prisons no, or to tell our jobs no, and so we worked notices, and we gave our jobs up, and we incorporated and got our 501c, and 10 years later, we're in 38 states.

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It's just, it's an overwhelming, this journey, this whole journey has just been amazing to be a part of.

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I would have never dreamed that this could have been possible for me, and so I just, sitting here today,

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I'm so grateful to my Lord and Savior for even giving us a vision of Christ's song. Amen.

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And I'm going to tell our listeners a bit about Hebron Colony Ministry, and if you care to add anything to it, but I think it's an important ministry to bring up during our interview, especially since you and I are both graduates of Hebron Colony.

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And I, other than, of course, first and foremost, our Lord and Savior and King, Jesus Christ, I owe my life to Hebron Colony because I believed the

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Lord used them to save my life physically. But Hebron Colony, if you, who are listening, are battling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol, or you basically have any kind of an addiction,

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Hebron Colony, I cannot sing their praises highly enough. They are located in Boone, North Carolina, in the gorgeous mountains of Boone, North Carolina, surrounded by forests, and just a breathtakingly gorgeous area.

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And this is a ministry that began after World War II by a

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Presbyterian minister, a minister who actually was a conservative Bible -believing

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Presbyterian pastor in Charlotte, North Carolina, and his denomination that he was in became overrun by liberalism.

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And when this pastor wanted to leave the denomination, the congregation that he was pastoring refused to leave with him.

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So he packed up and left. And since he saw so many men returning from the war,

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World War II, as drunkards, he had a burden upon his heart to start a ministry for men that had addiction problems.

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At that time, it would have been primarily, if not exclusively, alcohol. And that is how

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Hebron Colony began. And it's the oldest running Christian rehabilitation or recovery ministry for addicts, still running in the

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United States. And they also, for years, have been operating a sister ministry for women,

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Grace Home in Santee, South Carolina. And the beauty of Hebron Colony Ministries, one of the beauties of Hebron Colony Ministries, is that it's free of charge.

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They only require a $300 deposit, which is refundable. That deposit is if you need pharmaceutical items while you were there, if you get sick, they need that deposit for those items.

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But if you never use them, you get that money returned to you. But of course, the best thing about Hebron Colony is that it is a

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Bible -based ministry. And it's really a men's discipleship ministry that is focused on getting the lost saved and also getting the backslidden restored and to see true repentance occur.

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And as you may remember, Bobby, the 12 steps never come up.

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It's really that when you're there, what is spoken from the pulpit has very little to do with addiction.

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It is really just the Bible is preached, and men are called to repent and follow Christ. And the

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Lord used this ministry mightily in my own life, and of course, Bobby McGee's as well.

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Well, first of all, let me just make sure I mentioned the website of Hebron Colony.

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If anybody is listening, whether you are a man or a woman, because as I said, they have two facilities, one in Boone, North Carolina for men, and one in Santee, South Carolina for women.

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Go to HebronColony .org, HebronColony .org. In fact, I would ask of you to pray for someone.

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I'm not going to mention his name, obviously, but a friend of mine who fell back into a serious level of drunkenness, he backed out of going to Hebron and is going to a secular facility that is a lot shorter time span where he has to stay there.

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And of course, they're not going to be offering any biblical counsel to him, so I don't even know for certain if he's going to go through with going there.

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But please pray for this individual who professes to be a believer. Please pray that the

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Lord grants him true repentance and that he does go to Hebron, which is the best place for him to go rather than some psychiatric rehab place where they're just going to probably drug him up and do little else but manage his day -to -day activities.

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But going back to you, Bobby, let's start with your personal testimony going all the way back to how you were raised, the kind of religious atmosphere, if any, that existed in your home.

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And then what providential circumstances our Sovereign Lord raised up in your life to draw you to Himself and save you?

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Yes. Well, I was born up near the

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Tennessee and North Carolina line, and it's way up in the mountains. And for those of you who know what white liquor is or corn liquor or white lightning or moonshine,

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I have ancestors that have made moonshine for years, and it was in my family from my great -grandparents down to my grandparents down to my father.

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And it is something in the mountains that has been a stronghold. I see it on TV today.

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I watch these moonshine shows, and they don't give the full story because there's children suffering in those homes, and I was one of them.

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My father was a World War II vet and a Korean War vet, and he suffered from post -traumatic stress before post -traumatic stress was attributed to the military, and my father turned to alcohol to cover the memories.

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It doesn't excuse his behavior, but it explains why he turned to alcohol.

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I remember his screams. I remember his dreams. Unfortunately, when he drank, he became very violent, and so I watched my father beat my mother as I was growing up.

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My father at one point did some things that I'm not going to bring up because this is on air, but I will say that he did some things that sociably is certainly unacceptable, and one of my older sister ended up leaving home because of it.

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My mother ended up separating from my father and moved us down to Charlotte, North Carolina, which for me was a whole change.

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I was raised in a little mountain community. All of a sudden, I'm in a big city with a single parent, two of my older sisters.

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In 1968, I was 10 years old, and that era was not a say no to drugs era, and both of my older sisters got into the drug and biker lifestyle, worked in bar rooms all over the

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South, and so that's how I was raised. When my mother would work and have to leave town for weekends, she would leave my sisters to babysit us, me and my little sister, and they would have parties at the house, and I can remember 11 and 12 years old, people offering me pot, alcohol, pills, which led me to a very crazy place at a very young age.

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At 13, I was strapped to a bed at a place called Huntersville Diagnostic Center, which is a youth jail.

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At 14, I got my first prison number, and my last name is McGee.

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I was the 16th person at this prison, and so I was in 16, and I was released when

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I was 16 years old, and while I was still 16, I got another number in North Carolina, 110580S, and that led me to turn 18 in prison, and right before my 21st birthday when

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I was released, while I was still 21, I ended up with my first Virginia sentence, and a new number there, 131193, which was the first of three sentences in Virginia.

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I ended up with another number there, 156125, came back to North Carolina with another sentence, 0269204, what that made me was an

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IV drug user, with seven prison sentences, with 22 years done on the inside in some of the hardest security prisons in the

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South, no hope. I was told that I would never be able to stay out of prison, that I would never have a functional relationship, that I would die a drug addict, that I had no future left.

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I've been indicted with a habitual felon indictment twice. Society's answer was to lock me up and throw away the key.

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So that's my past up to the point to when I got saved. Praise God, and so tell us how you discovered

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Hebron Colony Ministry in Boone, North Carolina, where you and I both went, of course, at different times.

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You were already a restored brother in Christ when

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I met you, because you were visiting to bless those there with your musical talent and with your preaching.

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I was still a resident, so I was in the process of being restored to sobriety and to a right relationship with the

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Lord and to his church. But tell us about how you found

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Hebron Colony and also how you came to the point where you knew you needed to be there.

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Well, I guess the start of this was in 1989. I was getting ready to be released from the

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Virginia system, and I decided I was already turned 30 in prison. I got my

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GED. I took some college classes, psychology and sociology classes. I was trying to figure out why

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I couldn't stay out of prison, why I wanted off drugs. I was tired of being an

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IV drug user. I was tired of drinking. I was tired of that life, and I was trying to figure out how to change.

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And so I learned all the terms and concepts. I learned all the red flag warnings from the 12 -step programs, had a pocket full of phone numbers, and was released.

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I actually wanted to be a substance abuse counselor when I was released. That was my goal.

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Within nine months, I was back in jail with an armed robbery charge, which they lowered to common law robbery.

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And right before Thanksgiving of 1989, I got out on bond.

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They set my court case for the second week of January, and what I figured

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I would do was spend Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's around my little family I had left, save my money, and I planned on going on the run right before my court case.

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That's what I always did. I've run all my life from the law, from my pain, from my addictions, and that's all

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I knew how to do was run. And right before Christmas, I told you that I wasn't raised in a

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Christian home. I didn't believe a virgin could have a child. I thought that this religion thing was nonsense.

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I just wasn't raised like that. I'd never seen a nativity scene, and it was right before Christmas.

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And Christmas was always when my dad would get drunk and cause scenes at our house every holiday, but certainly

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Christmas. My point is, I'd never seen a nativity scene, and I wanted to see one.

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And so I pulled up in a church lot that had a nativity scene and was walking around looking at the nativity scene, had three people approach me, and one of the men told me that a verse in the

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Bible said, for all had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. To me, it sounded like he was calling me a sinner.

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And brother, to be honest with you, it made me mad. I was trying to see a nativity scene. I wasn't trying to get preached to in the parking lot.

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So I got in my car and I left. I got maybe 20 to 30 minutes away, and a most incredible thing happened.

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And I didn't hear this with my ears, but brother, I heard it loud and clear. They told me to make a

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U -turn and go back to the church. Well, I didn't want to go back to the church because I had been rude.

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When I left, I told them I didn't want to hear what they were telling me, but I didn't say it near that nice.

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I didn't want to have to face that when I went back to the church. But when I pulled back in, and it's been almost an hour now since I left and came back.

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And when I pulled back in, the same three people that I were rude to was standing there waiting for my car.

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And it's an hour later, brother. And here's what they told me. Bobby, we knew you were coming back, that we had been praying for you.

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And it hits me, brother. They stood at the top of the hill watching the end of the drive, waiting for my car to come back in almost an hour.

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They didn't go back to their costumes. They didn't go back to the nativity scene. They stood their ground praying for my car to come back.

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And brother, I came back. And when I came back, I heard the truth of the gospel.

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And I heard that when Jesus walked this earth for the three years he did ministry, that he walked with men just like me.

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I didn't realize. I thought that Jesus would have been with all the princes and all the robes and all the bling and gold and the palaces.

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I didn't realize that he came for sinners and that I was one and that he came for people just like me.

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And the man showed me in the Bible where Jesus was amongst a bunch of alcoholics and prostitutes and that the religious sect was scorning him, talking about, look at your savior down there with all the prostitutes and drunkards.

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And Jesus himself said, this is who I came for. That it was the sick that needed the doctor.

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And brother, I was sick and I know it. So I asked the Lord. I said, Lord, I don't understand all this.

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And I didn't. But I said, I know I'm a sinner. And I said, if you will forgive me.

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And I said, Lord, if you will come into my life, into my heart and make me a different person.

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I'm tired of being who I am. And brother, I prayed it with every ounce of hope I had.

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And he changed my life. Well, after doing all the years I've done in prison, I was a saved man.

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I didn't have a clue how to live. I just didn't have a clue. With that said,

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I stumbled and I fell and I stumbled and I fell. I'd do good for 60 and 90 days and I'd relapse and go back.

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And I heard about Hebron. And Hebron was about two hours from where I lived at in North Carolina.

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But you know, it's not advertised. Right. And I'd never heard of it. How did you hear of it? And there was a man that I had done ministry with at one point that had told me that he was backsliding and that he went to a place called

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Hebron and it gave him something to stand on, is what he said. And I realized I need something to stand on.

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And they took me in Hebron that were leery at first because the admissions director said that he felt like I'd leave within six weeks, that I think that I didn't need to stay the whole 10 weeks.

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Well, I did. I stayed the whole 10 weeks. In fact, I still live there today. And it's been 11 years since I graduated.

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And now I live there and I'm able to minister to the men. But what Hebron did for me, it didn't come in there and tell me how bad an addict

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I was. I already knew that. It didn't come in there and tell me all these phone numbers to call and how that I needed to figure out this red flag and that red flag.

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What it told me was that Jesus Christ could make me a new man. And that the old could be passed away and that I could be a new creation is what the word told me.

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And I took that to heart, brother. And I believe that for 10 weeks, I sat up in the chapel in Hebron under Pastor Holder and I paid attention.

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I didn't laugh and giggle like some of the others did. I paid attention because my life depended on it.

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Amen. And the word of God got into my heart and it's not ever left me. And 11 years down the road, brother, there's not been any more felony charges.

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There's not been any more drug addiction. There's not been any more alcohol. There's nothing but ministry today.

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If I would have just known when I was in my 20s or 30s that this was the truth,

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I wouldn't have spun my wheels for so long, but I just didn't know. Amen. And I'm sure that you can testify to the fact that Pastor Holder does not put up with people giggling and making fun of the word of God being preached in the

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Hebron colony. If he hears or sees you messing around, you will be escorted out the door if you don't leave voluntarily and you will be chastised in some way.

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And of course, if you continue being a disruption, they don't tolerate much of that there.

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In fact, as far as the consumption or intake of drugs and alcohol, if you're caught once, you are just out.

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That's right. So I think it should be that way. That doesn't mean that you can never come back, but you start from ground zero when that happens.

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I'm going to read a text of scripture before playing one of your songs that you have recorded because it's applicable to the song that I'm about to play.

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Ezekiel chapter 36, starting in verse 22, we read,

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Thus says the Lord God, It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.

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I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned amongst the nations, which you have profaned in their midst.

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Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when

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I prove myself holy among you in their sight. For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land.

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Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.

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Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.

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I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

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I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will be careful to observe my ordinances.

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And I think that's a perfect way to introduce one of Bobby McGee's songs that I'm going to play now,

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Heart of Stone. I hope you are blessed. Look into my eyes, tell me what you see.

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Is there love, is there peace, is there tenderness, is there compassion inside of me?

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Or do you still see something that once made blood run cold?

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As I step into this new man that somehow kills the old,

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I learn to love a weapon that once was a heart of stone, a heart of stone.

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Sometimes all the hardest, when

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I lay inside the cell, the thoughts that race through my mind, sometimes it's a living hell, so I cry out to the risen

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God, before I go insane. Please take away the heartache and take away the pain.

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Wash me with your living water and make me pure again.

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To the God of mercy who takes away my sin, reach out to your soldier, put me on my feet again.

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My eyes are fixed on glory and I know this ain't my home.

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Since you came into my life, it took this heart of stone, this heart of stone.

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There's times in this place, though the shackles on my feet, that I arise out of the bondage.

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Yes, I step out of my defeat and I get a glimpse of heaven and what awaits me there.

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When I trust in my father and cast upon him my care, so if there's tears of joy streaming down my face, well, try not to stare.

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To the God of mercy who takes away my sin, reach out to your soldier, put me on my feet again.

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My eyes are fixed on glory and I know this ain't my home.

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Since you came into my life, it took this heart of stone, this heart of stone.

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Look into my eyes, tell me what you see.

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Do you somehow see the mercy that he's first showed me?

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Tell me, can you see my savior, the one who set me free?

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This heart of stone, this heart of stone, who set me free? This heart of stone, this heart of stone, who set me free?

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Who set me free?

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This heart of stone, this heart of stone, who set me free?

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Praise God! That was Heart of Stone by Bobby McGee, my guest today.

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And we're going to be returning to our discussion with Bobby McGee after our first station break.

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If anybody would like to email us a question with a question for Bobby McGee, just send it to chrisarnzen at gmail .com.

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C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail .com. Please give us your first name at least, your city and state of residence, and your country of residence if you live outside of the

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USA. Please only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter. And I could readily believe that because of the topic we are addressing today, being freed from addiction, also just being freed from sin in general, because all sin without the covering of the blood of Christ will send any man, woman, or child to hell.

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And we praise God that he has mercy, and he has grace, and he has provided a sacrifice.

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And if you have a question that is of a personal and private matter, then you please feel free to send it in anonymously.

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In fact, I would insist that if you're bringing up a particular person in your life and it's about a personal matter, then we would insist that you would remain anonymous or keep them anonymous anyway.

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But we look forward to hearing from you and your questions at chrisarnzen at gmail .com. chrisarnzen at gmail .com.

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Don't go away. We will be right back after these messages from our sponsors with more of Bobby McGee.

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41:17

Welcome back. This is Chris Arnzen. If you just tuned us in, our guest today for the full two hours, with a little less than 90 minutes to go, is

41:23

Bobby McGee, a singer, songwriter, musician, evangelist, and co -founder and director of Christ's Song Ministry, which is a ministry supported in part through the partnership of Hebron Colony Ministry, the nation's oldest continually running recovery ministry, alcohol and drug recovery ministry, located in Boone, North Carolina, with a sister ministry in Santee, South Carolina, for women.

41:52

And we are discussing today, A Prisoner Set Free Returns to Prisons to Proclaim the

41:58

Only Message that Truly Offers Eternal Freedom. If you'd like to join us on the air with a question of your own, our email address is chrisarnzen at gmail dot com.

42:06

chrisarnzen at gmail dot com. C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail dot com. And please give us, as always, your first name, city, and state, and country of residence if you live outside the

42:15

USA, and only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter.

42:21

Bobby, if you could tell us about your first experience going back into prison, this time as a minister of mercy rather than as an inmate.

42:36

Oh, well, it's been kind of hard after doing the time that I did.

42:43

I mentioned about psychology is something that a lot of people would know about is something called conditional response.

42:51

And conditional response is basically when you live in an environment for X amount of years, then you respond to that environment.

42:58

Well, with that said, after doing 22 years inside, when I step back into the gates, it hits me very hard.

43:07

It causes anxiety attacks, nausea. I did a whole lot of time in some real hard prisons.

43:13

So with that said, it was challenging to go back in in the first place. But God has continued and is continuing in this process of freeing me from even the memories and the things that attach itself to me that I relate to as prison being bondage.

43:30

Because I realized today that the very prisons that I go back in are many of the prisons that I did time in.

43:38

And if it wouldn't have been for those prisons, I wouldn't be having this conversation with you today. Because I certainly couldn't have lived like I lived for the 22 years that I was inside.

43:49

If I would have been a free man, I would have been dead from drug overdoses or violent crime. So I look at prison as a place that God used to save my life.

43:59

With that said, when I walk in there today and I see two, three hundred men in front of me that are hard men, we go into high security prisons.

44:10

And when I see the same void of hope that was in my eyes and their eyes, it enables me to be able to talk to them in a manner that can't anybody else talk to them.

44:24

Because I've walked in their shoes and they've walked in mine. And they know that when I talk to them that I'm telling them the truth, how

44:31

I see it from my heart. And that it's changed me. So when I walk in today,

44:36

I'm not going in there with the same attitude or I'm not even the same person that I was.

44:43

And it doesn't affect me on that side, but physically it can still get to me.

44:49

But on the, if it's such a greater call, I wish that the listeners that are listening today could see the inside church, how healthy the inside church is and how strong and centered and focused that the incarcerated church is today.

45:07

The Bible speaks of that he's forgiven much, loves much. And brother, the day that I realized in reality that God had not only washed my sins, but he had put them in a sea of forgetfulness that never again will they be used against me.

45:26

Once I realized that those were behind me and that I'm not under that condemnation anymore, it's made me fall in love with my

45:34

Lord. And that message that I can share with other brothers and sisters that are on the inside is being very infectious.

45:44

There's hope in the word of Jesus Christ. There's hope in the Bible. Even though that I didn't believe it for so many years,

45:53

I just, it was my errant thinking. The word of God is not a fable.

45:59

The story of Jesus is not a fairy tale. It is the very foundation that has set me free and given me any kind of life to live today.

46:08

And what I try to do is share that with the men and women on the inside. Praise God.

46:14

So how many prisons, if you can remember, have you visited with the message of the gospel since you were yourself released and eventually not only saved, but restored to a right relationship with God?

46:29

Can you give us somewhat of an estimate of how many prisons you've been to and how many times you've returned?

46:38

We go into approximately 100 prisons a year across this country.

46:43

We're on the road approximately 10 months out of the year. In the last 10 years, let's see here.

46:53

In the last 8 years, we've done 843 prisons across the country.

46:59

Wow. In the last 8 years. Now in the last, since we started, I could estimate somewhere around 10 to 15 ,000.

47:10

Wow. I mean 100, excuse me. Okay. That's still a big number.

47:18

Yeah. So when you go into the prisons, I'm assuming that you minister both with song and with preaching and teaching?

47:26

Yes, that's correct. I'm a singer -songwriter, and we've got four CDs. One is self -titled,

47:33

Under Bobbie McGee, and the rest are under Christ's Song, which is our ministry. And two of the

47:40

CDs, which is the second one, Arise and Be Counted, and then the last one, which you played

47:46

Heart of Stone off of, is pretty much geared to the incarcerated church. With music, you'll hear a story, and those stories are stories of my life.

47:58

So my music, when I go in and the music the Lord's given me, it tells the same story along the testimony of my testimony.

48:05

So I'm able to use the music that God's given me, along with the word that Hebron helped get inside my body here, so that it comes into my mind when

48:17

I need it, and able to use the preaching and the word of God and the music to all tell a story that not only tells my story, but also tells about the freedom that I've found in Jesus.

48:29

So when you do this, when you go into a prison, who is assembled there?

48:35

Are there all kinds of people in regard to their interest in hearing the gospel?

48:41

Like, for instance, obviously there are church services in prisons, but there are also times when people gather for entertainment, and so I'm not sure which one.

48:51

Obviously you're not there to entertain, but they might put you in a venue that was meant, at least in the minds of the prison inmates, for entertainment, since it involves music.

49:02

But is it both? Is it either or? No, it's either or. We go into situations to where there is a chapel.

49:12

Some of the prisons are of such high security that they don't have chapels. They don't have gymnasiums.

49:20

Some of the prisons are so high security that they don't even have a chow hall. The inmates are fed in their cells.

49:27

They live in their cells 23 plus hours a day. And so when we have to do some services because of security, we can't do it six men at a time, because that's all they can have together.

49:39

And each of these men will be in individual cages that are three by three by seven foot, so that's about the size of a phone booth, and they're fully chained.

49:49

And they're inside this cage with a locked door and a piece of plexiglass locked on top of that so that they can't spit on you or whatever.

49:57

And then we're told we can have an hour with them. And so it's a very challenging ministry.

50:05

There are times that we go into the chapels and we have services that are geared as Christian services, and when we do, we oftentimes find that we have people of all color, of all faith, or no faith in our services.

50:25

We put out flyers before we go in, the chaplains do, and it explains a little bit about my testimony.

50:32

And when they see that I've been locked up for the amount of years I was locked up, a lot of times they get curious.

50:38

And they'll come just to be curious about a guy that had been locked up 22 years that's come back into their prison.

50:46

And it leaves us a venue of people that's just all kinds that we can present the gospel to.

50:54

And, brother, we've seen men and women saved of various other faiths that fall under the conviction of a holy

51:01

God. We've seen God take and separate the nonsense. Because, you know, we serve a holy

51:08

God. He is merciful, and He's compassionate, but He's holy, and He's mighty.

51:15

And we see God separating things inside. And when the truth of the word comes, it penetrates men's and women's hearts, even the hardest of them.

51:24

Praise God. We're going to play another one of your songs, and then we're immediately from there going into our midway station break.

51:31

Our midway station break, to remind our listeners, is longer than normal. Because Grace Life Radio, 90 .1

51:38

FM in Lake City, Florida, airs Iron Sharpens Iron Radio twice a day in a prerecorded format.

51:43

And they require this midway section to air their own commercials and public service announcements to localize

51:50

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio to Lake City, Florida. So while they air their commercials, we will be airing our own that are heard globally.

51:57

So while we're doing that, please write down the information provided by our advertisers, so you can more successfully and more frequently patronize them.

52:05

Because we rely upon the dollars from the advertising of our faithful sponsors.

52:12

If they stop advertising, if they were all to stop advertising, we would not be able to move on and exist any longer.

52:20

So one way to make our advertisers stick around is if you continue to patronize them, and they see that their money is bearing fruit from their advertising on this program.

52:33

Also use this time to send in a question to Bobby McGee at chrisarnson at gmail .com.

52:40

And remember to give us your first name, city, and state and country of residence if you live outside the

52:45

USA. And only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter. And now, before we go to our midway break, here is another song by Bobby McGee, Be a

52:58

Soldier. When the night is cold and long, help me

53:28

Father to stand strong. And for the coming dawn

53:38

I long to sing this song, this soldier's song.

53:50

Let my strength and portion be to stand strong in the liberty.

54:05

Father that you've given me, this is my plea, my soldier's plea.

54:54

It's long and troubled, and darkness closes in.

55:01

You better reach out for the word of God and feed the man within.

55:08

There's nightmares in the darkness, the enemy prowls around.

55:17

Better arm yourself, be strong my friend, when it all comes tumbling down.

55:25

And be a soldier, and be a soldier, soldier for the

55:34

Lord. You don't just step into battle like a child into the night.

55:49

You gotta learn to put on your armor, son, if you're gonna fight in this fight.

55:58

We've lost some along the way, and I know we'll lose some more.

56:06

Put arm in arm and pray for prayer, we're gonna fight to even the score.

56:14

And be a soldier, and be a soldier, soldier for the

56:22

Lord. Weapons of war are carnal, they're mighty in the

57:09

Lord. Stand strong in holy armor, and let the word of God be your sword.

57:19

If you stumble, ask forgiveness, get back on your feet again.

57:26

If we're gonna run this race, my friend, let us run this race to win.

57:35

And be a soldier, and be a soldier, be a soldier, be a soldier, soldier for the

57:52

Lord. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which

58:04

Christ has made us free. Do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

58:10

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him that has chosen him to be a soldier.

58:30

I will, you will, you will, you will, I will. Box store

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01:01:55

Gary Kimbrough, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Laurel, Mississippi. God tells us in James 1 .27 that pure and undefiled religion is a visit to fatherless and widows in their affliction.

01:02:05

In the providence of God three years ago, I discovered a poor, small church outside Lusaka, Zambia in a township called

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Kabanana, who are taking care of 24 orphans. I found them just at the time when they had lost all their funding.

01:02:17

What was I to do? Could I just say God bless you and walk away? The situation of the children set heavily upon me.

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As I was praying concerning this need, it came to me, I trust from the Lord, to tell the orphans' plight to a broader audience.

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The entire need for their clothing, food, education, and some medical services is $73 per month per child.

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If just 50 of us would give $35 a month, we could meet the need. In fact, Bethlehem Baptist Church will pay the fee to get the funds there, so if you give a dollar, a dollar will get to the orphans.

01:02:43

In this season of hope and giving, will you consider giving hope to 24 orphans? Please send your gift of any amount to Bethlehem Baptist Church, 838

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Reed Road, Laurel, Mississippi 39443 or donate through our website, bbclaurel .com.

01:02:59

Again, the address is Bethlehem Baptist Church, 838 Reed Road, Laurel, Mississippi 39443 or bbclaurel .com.

01:03:09

Thank you. Chris Orensen, host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio here.

01:03:16

I want to tell you about a man I have personally known for many years. His name is Dan Buttafuoco.

01:03:22

Dan is a personal injury and medical malpractice lawyer, but not the type that typically comes to mind.

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Dan cares about people and is a theologian himself. Recently he wrote a book titled

01:03:34

Consider the Evidence for the Bible. Ravi Zacharias wrote the foreword.

01:03:39

Dan also has a master's degree in theology. Dan handles serious injury and medical malpractice cases in all 50 states.

01:03:47

He represents many Christians in serious injury matters all over the country. Dan is an exceptional trial lawyer.

01:03:55

He wrote the test for the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and currently his firm has over 100 cases that have settled for $1 million or more, and in approximately 10 different states.

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In Illinois, his lawyers had the fourth largest settlement in the state's history.

01:04:13

In New York, his case involving a paralyzed police officer made the front page of the Law Journal. If you have a serious personal injury or medical malpractice claim in any state,

01:04:24

I recommend that you call Dan. Consultations are free. There is no fee unless you win.

01:04:31

Dan Buttafuoco's number is 1 -800 -669 -4878. 1 -800 -669 -4878.

01:04:39

Or email me for Dan's contact information at chrisarnson at gmail .com.

01:04:45

That's chrisarnson at gmail .com. My name is

01:04:51

Steve Lawson, founder and president of One Passion Ministries, as well as teaching fellow for Ligonier Ministries.

01:04:58

I serve as professor of preaching and oversee the Doctor of Ministry program at the Master's Seminary in Los Angeles.

01:05:03

I would like to recommend the church where one of my preaching students, Andy Woodard, serves as the pastor.

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It's called New Covenant Church, NYC. They are a Reformed Baptist church that meets in midtown

01:05:15

Manhattan. You can find their service times and location on their website, which is www .ncc

01:05:23

.nyc. They believe in a sovereign God who commands all men everywhere to repent and believe the gospel.

01:05:30

If you're looking for a church that believes in expository preaching, which is simply biblical preaching, in New York City, I'd like to recommend that you visit

01:05:40

New Covenant Church, NYC. Again, their information can be found at www .ncc

01:05:47

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That's liyfc .org. Welcome back.

01:07:08

This is Chris Arnzen. If you just tuned us in, our guest today for the full two hours with a little less than an hour to go is

01:07:14

Bobby McGee. And Bobby McGee is a singer, a songwriter, a musician, an evangelist, and co -founder and director of Christ Song Ministry, supported in part through the partnership of Hebron Colony Ministry, the oldest continually running

01:07:32

Christian drug and alcohol recovery ministry in existence.

01:07:38

And this is located in Boone, North Carolina. I was a resident there, my guest was a resident there, and visited

01:07:46

Hebron Colony with his wife Nan. And they sang for us, they preached the gospel to us, and had fellowship with us, and it was truly a welcome visit that I and most of the residents there at Hebron Colony experienced and enjoyed.

01:08:03

Before we return to our discussion, which is A Prisoner Set Free, Returns to Prisons to Proclaim the

01:08:08

Only Message that Truly Offers Eternal Freedom, we have just a few announcements about upcoming events that we want you to be aware of.

01:08:19

To all of my listeners in the United Kingdom, and especially Northern Ireland, and I do know that we have quite a number of them, starting this

01:08:30

Saturday, the 13th of April, there is a conference that is beginning at the

01:08:37

Covenant Protestant Reformed Church in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, featuring Professor David Engelsma, who has been a guest on Iron Trap and Zion Radio a number of times.

01:08:48

The theme is, The Original Five Points of Calvinism in Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the

01:08:54

Cannons of Dort. And as I said, it starts this Saturday, the 13th of April.

01:09:00

And then we'll ravine on the Wednesday, April 17th, as when it will resume.

01:09:10

And then we will have it again on Wednesday, May 1st. And if you want more information, go to the website of Covenant Protestant Reformed Church of Ballymena, Northern Ireland, at cpf .co

01:09:26

.uk, that's, I'm sorry, it's cprf .co .uk,

01:09:32

cprf, which stands for Covenant Protestant Reformed Fellowship, cprf .co

01:09:39

.uk, and then you will see an area where you can click on the conference, on the theme,

01:09:45

The Original Five Points of Calvinism. Please tell the folks at the Covenant Protestant Reformed Church in Ballymena that you heard about their conference from Chris Orensen on Iron Trip and Zion Radio.

01:09:55

Then, after that, the conference that's being held right here in the

01:10:01

United States is called Dort 400, and Dort 400 is a conference that is also celebrating the 400th

01:10:11

Anniversary of the Cannons of Dort, and the pastor of the church that I just mentioned,

01:10:18

Angus Stewart, he is going to be one of the speakers at this event, not just the host, like he will be in Northern Ireland, but he's actually one of the speakers at Dort 400, and if you want any more information on this conference, the website is dort400 .org,

01:10:39

and Dort is spelt D -O -R -D -T, D isn't David, O -R, D isn't

01:10:44

David, T, 400 .org. The event is being held April 25th through the 27th, that's just a couple of weeks from now,

01:10:54

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of that week, April 25th through the 27th, at the

01:11:00

Trinity Protestant Reformed Church in Hudsonville, Michigan. And the speakers include

01:11:08

Professor Ronald Kamenga, Professor Barrett Gritters, Reverend Brian Huizenga, Professor Doug Kuyper, Reverend Bill Lanarack, Reverend Mark Shand, and the brother

01:11:23

I just mentioned a little while ago, Reverend Angus Stewart. For more details, as I said, go to dort400 .org,

01:11:30

D -O -R -D -T, 400 .org, and please tell the folks at the

01:11:35

Trinity Protestant Reformed Church in Hudsonville, Michigan that you heard about this conference from Chris Arnzen and Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

01:11:42

Then the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio Pastors Luncheon is going to be held, this is something that I am conducting,

01:11:49

God willing, on Thursday, May 23rd, from 11am to 2pm, right here in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at the

01:11:56

Carlisle Fire and Rescue Banquet Hall. The speaker is Dr. Tony Costa, who is the

01:12:03

Professor of Apologetics and Islam at Toronto Baptist Seminary. He is going to be speaking on how the

01:12:10

Dead Sea Scrolls vindicate the reliability of the Holy Scriptures, and he is going to be doing a

01:12:16

PowerPoint presentation as well on this issue, on this really fascinating subject that I cannot wait to see.

01:12:24

This is a free event for all men in ministry leadership, whether you are a pastor or an elder, and I believe they are in the same office, by the way.

01:12:32

A deacon, a leader in a power church organization, whatever position you hold in leadership whether a church or power church ministry, you are welcome to come absolutely free of charge.

01:12:44

There is nothing for sale there. There is no ulterior motive or hidden agenda. This is an event that began in the 1990s as a result of my sweet, precious late wife,

01:12:56

Julie, having a burden on her heart to bless all the pastors that I knew and held as friends, and she decided, with my permission, of course, that we would forego exchanging

01:13:09

Christmas gifts so that we could bless men in the ministry to a free luncheon near Christmas time, and I agreed, and this began to occur with money from our own pocket, and this ministry grew so big, and so many men came that we eventually had to get corporate sponsorship to help us, and it continues to this day.

01:13:32

After my wife went home to be with the Lord, it still continues, and now we are holding it twice a year, one in the winter, one in the spring, sometimes one in the summer as well, but if you'd like to attend this free of charge, and by the way, nearly every single major Christian publisher in the

01:13:51

United States and the United Kingdom has donated free books, brand new free books for all of the men who attend, so you'll be leaving with a very heavy sack containing a couple of dozen free books, at least, maybe a few dozen, but this is all free of charge, so if you want to come, send me an email to chrisarnson at gmail .com,

01:14:11

chrisarnson at gmail .com, and put Pastor's Luncheon in the subject line, and I will register you right away, and I look forward to seeing you.

01:14:20

Dr. Costa will also be speaking, after he leaves Pennsylvania, he'll be speaking on Long Island, New York, immediately after that, on Friday the 24th of May, Saturday the 25th of May, and Sunday the 26th of May, and I will send you those details as soon as I have all of them, so keep reminding me through emails about those speaking engagements as well.

01:14:44

Then we have an event that I am also going to be attending, God willing, that I'm thrilled about, that's the

01:14:51

Banner of Truth East Coast Ministers Conference. That is held from May 28th through the 30th, that's

01:14:59

Tuesday, May 28th through Thursday, May 30th, in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania at Elizabethtown College.

01:15:05

This is the East Coast Ministers Conference of the Banner of Truth on the theme I Believe in the Holy Spirit, featuring speakers

01:15:12

Jeff Kingswood, Terry Johnson, David Vaughan, Steve Nichols, Michael Morales, and Chad Vegas.

01:15:19

If you would like to register for the East Coast Ministers Conference of the Banner of Truth, go to banneroftruth .org, click on events, and then scroll down to East Coast Ministers Conference.

01:15:34

What I'm thrilled about is the Foundations Conference in New York City, December 19th and 20th in Manhattan.

01:15:44

This is another one of these conferences that I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting to open my presents because they always have phenomenal speakers at this event.

01:15:54

It's run by Sermon Audio, and the speakers include Dr. Stephen J. Lawson, who you just heard moments ago advertising for New York, I'm sorry,

01:16:04

New Covenant NYC, which is a church in New York City that sponsors

01:16:11

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. You heard the voice of Dr. Lawson promoting that church, New Covenant NYC.

01:16:17

He is the founder of One Passion Ministries and one of the finest preachers alive today.

01:16:22

Paul Washer, who is another extraordinary preacher. I am so thrilled he is going to be on the lineup.

01:16:28

Rev. Jeff Thomas, another phenomenal preacher. Rev. Armin Tomasian, who I think is going to be a household name within the next 10 years.

01:16:37

He's a young man with gifts and abilities and wisdom far beyond his years.

01:16:43

And I strongly urge you to go hear him preach wherever you may hear about him speaking anywhere.

01:16:48

Armin Tomasian. Richard Caldwell Jr. is on the roster as well as Andrew Quigley.

01:16:55

If you would like to join me there at the Foundations Conference, the Conference of Sermon Audio, go to thefoundationsconference .com

01:17:05

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01:17:12

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01:19:08

If you are not a member of a church home and you're not prayerfully looking for one you're living in rebellion against God so please rectify that situation.

01:19:16

I have lists of Biblically faithful churches from all over the world need a church home in the subject line.

01:19:27

Also if you're going on vacation anywhere I have helped a number of people find new church homes that they've joined and also churches near where they're vacationing that they have visited.

01:19:37

So please send that email to chrisarnson at gmail .com and put something like I need a church home or something similar and I will help you to the best of my ability with the lists

01:19:47

I have all over the world. And if you want to send in a question to our guest that same email address is the one to use chrisarnson at gmail .com

01:19:57

chrisarnson at gmail .com and send in a question to our guest Bobby McGee. Bobby welcome back to the program and when you are either playing your music and whether you are evangelizing, preaching, teaching, having perhaps more private and intimate conversations with inmates, what would you say from your memory is the mixture or the percentage of prison inmates that are eager and willing and humble to hear what you have to say as opposed to those who mock you, want nothing to do with you, curse you, or just walk away from you.

01:20:38

What's the reception been like over these years? Speaking Chris, it's been positive.

01:20:46

There's been an occasion and several state men say stop me or interrupt me and say what are you preaching?

01:20:57

And I've had a few walk out and my response has been is there anyone else?

01:21:07

And when everybody's remained seated then I go on. And the truth of the matter is that when you have somebody that comes in as a volunteer from the prisons or that feel like they've been called to volunteer to the prisons in any kind of of Christian or religious capacity, when you go in front of a group of men that have been in prison for many years and that's the way it is across our country and you go in and you tell these men that you know how they feel, that you know that they're in bondage, that that you have the answer to that.

01:21:47

Well, you're going to get laughed at and you're going to get scorned because fact of the matter is that you don't know how they feel, that you haven't walked a mile in their shoes.

01:21:57

And when you have another person that has walked a mile in their shoes and that has went through what they went through and they know it, then they give you attention and respect.

01:22:09

And when that happens, we see the Word of God then being able to penetrate some hard hearts.

01:22:15

And we've seen hope come in to the hopeless. It's not about slick talking or some kind of promises that can't be fulfilled.

01:22:26

It's about the truth of God's Word that Jesus came to set sinners free. And when you talk about that to a certain degree, whether there's not a drug addict that could listen to me right now, that you have to tell their sinners they know what they are.

01:22:47

I knew what I was. I just didn't want you telling me what it was. I didn't think it was nobody's business.

01:22:53

But with these men, they know what they are. They're the ones that's living in these cages. And I realize they have victims, but they, too, are victims.

01:23:03

And God sent His Son for those men in the cages just as much as He sent

01:23:08

His Son for the Billy Grahams and the Mother Teresas. We're all sinners.

01:23:15

The Bible says He's not willing that any of us should suffer or perish, that we would all come to repentance.

01:23:22

And with that said, this message is received personally from me very well.

01:23:29

We have occasions where there's violence in our services. You know, we're not in church.

01:23:35

We're not in the free world church doing this. We're in prison. There's many times when we go into the youth prisons.

01:23:42

I'm 60 years old. And the difference between my color and somebody else's color, all these differences that we can continue focusing on, when we go into youth prisons, they automatically see me as an older white man.

01:23:59

But I'm covered in jailhouse tattoos. And I don't like a lot of them. I wish they weren't there.

01:24:06

But when this youth look at some of these tattoos on my arm, the first thing they ask me is, where did you get those tattoos?

01:24:13

And I'm able to tell them, when I was your age, I was in these same clothes that you're in.

01:24:20

When I was your age, I was locked up in the same chains that you're locked up in. And when

01:24:26

I tell them that, everything changes. Their ears become open, their spirits become willing to listen to God's Word.

01:24:34

It's been an amazing transformation, as far as my personal life goes.

01:24:39

But it's also an amazing thing to be used by a holy God in the very same prisons that held you for all those years to be able to help other men and women find the freedom that only

01:24:51

Christ can offer. Praise God. We have an anonymous listener with a question for you,

01:24:57

Bobby. Okay. And the anonymous question is, have you run into horribly liberal and leftist and even apostate chaplains in the prisons who let all kinds of horrible things go on in the worship services, where you might even have drag queens singing and members of the

01:25:18

Nation of Islam speaking, and things that are totally opposite to what the

01:25:23

Bible teaches? I have experienced this. I was wondering if you have. We definitely experience it with most of the prison chaplains that we've worked with.

01:25:36

We work with very good prison chaplains of different faiths that are in the prisons all over this country.

01:25:45

And we have Muslim chaplains that help us advocate for our services.

01:25:51

We have occasion. We have Muslims that are in our services that hear the truth, and we give respect.

01:25:58

We give respect, and we give respect. We don't backpedal on Jesus Christ being the

01:26:04

Son of God. We don't backpedal at all on when somebody—we've had to sign papers,

01:26:11

Brother Chris, just to be quite honest with you—that I wouldn't apostatize in the services.

01:26:21

And, well, we went in and we talked about Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ crucified, and I didn't hear anything bad about it.

01:26:30

Now, the point is, is that even if I would have heard something bad about it,

01:26:35

I'm not going to conform to this world. I can't conform to the world that told me that I didn't have a chance.

01:26:51

I can't conform to the world that told me I was going to die a drug addict. I'm just not going to conform.

01:26:58

I'm going to follow my God that tells me that His Son died for my sins, and that He tells me to be a soldier and to keep this light light, not to confuse it with this world, but to keep the word proper.

01:27:13

And with that, there's a power to change lives. We've seen many chaplains, just like in this world, and we can't say that the free world church is any more together or any more aimed towards God than the incarcerated church.

01:27:30

There's people in the churches across this country who do not know Jesus Christ. Matthew, the chapter in Matthew 7, verse 21, that talks about that in that day, many are going to proclaim

01:27:45

Jesus and say, Lord, we knew you. We served you. We cast out demons in your name.

01:27:51

We saw wondrous works in your name, and what they heard was, depart from me, you workers of iniquity.

01:27:57

I never knew you. So I challenge believers to look and see if you know that you have a relationship with a living

01:28:06

God, not a systematic or ritualistic approach to forgiveness, but a conforming to God's word that knows your center, that knows you need forgiveness if you need direction in your life.

01:28:20

When I did that with my whole heart, I found a change, and that change is bridging the gaps between races, between gangs, affiliations, between violence.

01:28:32

We are seeing people come together right there below New York at East Jersey State Penitentiary at Raleway.

01:28:41

The Church of the Reconciled is one of the largest, strongest churches that I've ever encountered in my life.

01:28:48

I'm 60 years old. I'm not gullible or naive. When I walked in that body of believers six months ago,

01:28:55

I was overwhelmed with the power of the Holy Spirit of all races, murderers, armed robbers that had found the freedom of Jesus Christ, and it's happening all over this country.

01:29:10

It seems like to me that the incarcerated church is more willing to listen to the true gospel that the

01:29:19

Bible has to offer more than the free -world church is willing to conform to the gospel.

01:29:26

Now that's a matter of opinion, and my opinion can be faulty, but that's what

01:29:31

I've witnessed rather across this country. Great. We have Harrison in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, who asked, can you give us some initial basic steps on starting a prison ministry?

01:29:49

Any advice that I would give would be, first and foremost, to make sure self -centered or self -serving.

01:30:00

By the way, brother, I don't know if you're moving your mouth away from whatever mouthpiece or microphone that you're using, but sometimes you fade away and get blurry.

01:30:08

If you could just make sure your mouth is near the mic. Okay. Thank you. I apologize. I would make sure, first and foremost, that it wasn't something that would be self -serving, that I didn't want to go into prison just because I thought it was a good thing to do or it was a

01:30:26

Bible said. I would, first and foremost, make sure that you're called, that you have a calling from Christ.

01:30:35

Be in prayer about it. There's a lot of people that are trying to go into the prisons that aren't being effective because they're going in under their own initiative instead of being called by the

01:30:47

Lord to go in. So I would, first and foremost, check and make sure that that's what you're called to do.

01:30:53

With that said, if you feel that calling, then you have to start approaching prison chaplains.

01:31:01

I would advise to find other prison ministries in your area that are already in the prisons, that are already going, and try to volunteer to go in with them just to get the ball rolling to see if it's something that you're called to.

01:31:16

Just don't jump in at both feet without knowing that you're called to do it. And I would assume asking your own pastors is a very wise choice and perhaps they will support you and get behind you if they don't already have a prison ministry.

01:31:32

We have somebody who has a very similar question, but perhaps coming from the opposite side of the coin.

01:31:41

We have, let's see here, Susan Margaret in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, who says, what are some of the biggest mistakes that people make when they venture into a prison ministry?

01:31:54

And obviously you've already mentioned not praying about it to have God press upon your heart this call to a very important ministry.

01:32:05

So other than that, what would you say are some of the common mistakes, maybe even mistakes you made when you were a rookie at this?

01:32:13

Right. I think one of the requests I hear from the incarcerated body of believers and from the incarcerated church in general is that the people that are coming in to do ministry, everybody that's in prison aren't unsaved.

01:32:31

A lot of people that come in do an evangelistic platform, and I know that evangelism is important,

01:32:38

I'm an evangelist, but there's men and women in there that have been saved 15 and 20 years that are grounded men and women of God, our brothers and sisters in Christ that are soldiers, and they need meat.

01:32:53

They don't need milk, they need meat. So what I would suggest is this, don't go in with an attitude of these are a bunch of babies in Christ, that these are men that need to know the

01:33:04

Lord. A lot of these men and women do know the Lord. They do need the evangelistic side, but they also need to be fed the way pastors feed mature

01:33:13

Christians. Wow, that's a great thing to know. I'll bet you that if I was volunteering to enter in through the gates of a prison, the minister,

01:33:23

I might wrongly assume exactly what you said many people wrongly assume.

01:33:29

Thank you Susan Margaret. Let's see here, we have Arnie in Perry County, Pennsylvania who wants to know, have you ever been physically assaulted while ministering in a prison?

01:33:47

Another good question. There was an occasion in Florida, I'm not going to mention the prison, that we were doing a service and that a fight broke out in the service.

01:34:01

There wasn't any correction staff in the building at all and there was about 50 inmates.

01:34:08

This is what happened. I immediately went and stood in front of my wife and to protect her and then four or five of my

01:34:20

Christian brothers that were in there come and made a semicircle around me to protect me and then my wife both and the rest of the men broke the fight up, got the chairs set back up, everybody sat back down and we went on with the service.

01:34:37

Now that's a little bit different than the conventional church, but at the end of that service we were able to see the

01:34:43

Lord work in a miraculous way. There was been another occasion in a

01:34:49

Florida prison too that we had several different religions come into a service and one of the religions was causing disruptive behavior and there was again no security and there was 200 plus level 4 to level 5 inmates which are some very high security inmates.

01:35:12

One of the Christian men stood up and interrupted the service and turned around and said, this man has come from a long ways.

01:35:22

He spent 22 years in prison. I personally want to hear what he's got to say. Would you please give him respect?

01:35:29

And it was a little, there was quite a bit of tension in there for a couple of minutes, but things died down and we were able to see again the

01:35:37

Lord do some miraculous things. So there is warfare. In Ephesians 6,

01:35:42

Paul tells us about we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and spiritual wickedness and rulers of this dark world.

01:35:51

And prison is a very dark world, but he also gives us an armor and we believe hand and foot that Christ protects us in these prisons and we've seen the evidence of it time and time again.

01:36:03

My wife has never been cursed, has never been offended, has never had a sideways sexual remark made to her, has never been broke, has never been disrespected by any inmate that I can think of in the last 20 years we've been doing this.

01:36:23

Wow. And my point is this, God will set you apart if you're caught into this.

01:36:28

Well praise God. We have to go to our final break right now and I'm going to play another song by Bobby McGee and we will go right from that song into our final break and if you want to send an email with a question do it now because we're rapidly running out of time chrisarnson at gmail .com

01:36:46

chrisarnson at gmail .com and here's All I Needed by Bobby McGee.

01:37:30

I turned to the pills for the answer And in a bottle

01:37:37

I only found insanity What I needed all along was a savior

01:37:49

To set me free Please set me free

01:38:01

Even now I'm hearing his call The one who picks me up when

01:38:07

I'm falling Lord knows that I need you

01:38:13

The prison walls that held me in It's hard to even find a friend

01:38:21

And I'm tired of the way I've been living You know it's true So I turned to the pills for the answer

01:38:34

And in a bottle I only found insanity What I needed all along was a savior

01:38:48

To set me free Please set me free

01:38:54

I make a decision now

01:39:04

Accepting Christ is what it's about And I reckon the time is at hand

01:39:12

So dear Lord please walk with me

01:39:18

Through all my life and eternity And help me

01:39:24

Lord to make a stand And that's what it means to be a man

01:39:34

And I turned away from the pills for the answer

01:39:42

And the liquor that drove me insane

01:39:49

I called upon the grace of my savior

01:39:56

His mercy and his love fall down like rain

01:40:08

If you've been running all your lives And all you've found's been sorrow and strife

01:40:15

Well, let me tell your brothers there's a better way I'm Pastor Bill Shishko, host of A Visit to the

01:40:33

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01:56:27

I'm free from the past Ain't living so fast

01:56:40

Cause I'm free at last And I treat it in a bottle for a bottle, you see

01:56:51

I'm walking with some brothers who believe in like me Ain't trying to make the money, ain't trying to sell the dope

01:56:58

I'm trying to tell this message of forgiveness and hope Cause I'm free at last

01:57:08

No, I ain't living in my past My savior, my care, our cast

01:57:23

Cause I'm free at last

01:57:47

There's always someone that got something to say But I'm gonna walk with my savior today

01:57:54

So if you're feeling lonely or if you're feeling blue Let me tell you brother what my savior can do

01:58:01

He'll make you free at last

01:58:08

He can free you from the past He's the omega of the first and last

01:58:24

Free at last He said

01:58:31

I'm free at last Come on Free at last

01:58:47

Living in the past Cause I'm free at last