[rope creaks] [woman] there's nothing else like it. [man] amazing and fun life. [man] it was the perfect dream. have you ever thought about what's the most prizedpossession, or the most valuable possession that you own? maybe it's your home; maybe it's your first car; or a tv;
or a relationship that you have. but have you thought about what it would be like if you lost it? [rope snaps] (scott smiley) i was independent and proud of it. i was sure about life and i knew that i could take on the world. (mark outing) i was unstoppable; untouchable. a not to be messed with
type of guy. (laura klock) i was in trouble and i didn't knowwhat to do. [engine revs] (mark) there was a problem. i have all of these things, and suddenly they're losing their value to me. sometimes you don't knowhow valuable something is until it's gone.
(laura) i was scared, i didn't know how bad it was gonna get. (franklin graham) the bible says "what should it profit a manif he should gain... "the whole world, and lose his own soul?" ♪ (mark outing) you can spend six-ninety nine and get yourself a good juicy burger. get you some fries and some onion rings.
and that'll be a piece of heaven. come to mark's outing and eat our burger, and if you don't like it, i'll give you all your money back if it ain't the best burgeryou ever ate. you'll often see me sometimes when it really gets busy rushing to the back, throwing on an apron
just beginning to move fast, talk fast; it's just exciting. but when i look back on my life, you know, i've had enemies in my life, a lot of enemies, and it really, really got way out there. i've done things that i'm ashamed to even share.
it'd be a club brawl, it'd be a fight. it'd be a shootout. whatever it took-- i had a group of guys that we wanted to be rappers. our name--pko--it was actually like drug weights; you know, like pounds,kilos, ounces. the desire to succeed was at such a high rate that i woulda sold my soulto get to the top.
we got ourself in a bunch of... hairy situations. [helicopter rotors thump] (scott smiley )forty souls were under my care and i was in charge of one of alpha company's three platoons. almost every day we were attacked by improvised explosive devices--
bombs in the road,bombs in cars. snipers. the injuries were constant and always fearful. on april 6, 2005, woke up and read the intelligence report. it said to expectsuicide car bombs. i was kind of upset because that was the same intelligence report we had the day prior, and a soldier was very seriously injured. so heading out into the city
i just nonchalantly told my squad leader, you know, it's been about seven months since i saw my wife, and i really miss her. not even being married a year, we were separated. my first anniversary was spent in a war-torn country, in iraq. (tiffany smiley) the day he deployed was like, it's, it's so surreal. you go out to this field and you see all the soldierslined up,
and then they load onto these buses and... [voice breaking] you don't know. (scott) as we were heading out into the city, just on a normal patrol, our mission to find a suicide bomber, was able to speak withmy commander. he gave me some intelligence reports that we were getting, that you know, go a little north,
told me to stay off the main highways. i spotted a suspicious vehicle that the back of the car was a little lower than the front and the rules of engagementsay you can't just shoot someone because you're scared. [shouting] get out of your car! (scott) he looked over his shoulder, raised his handsoff the steering wheel, and shook his head no.
[shouting] get out of your car! now! (scott) he let his foot off the brake... [shouting] stop now! (scott) i then shot two rounds in front of his vehicle. [shots fire] and this time,he didn't raise his hands. [bomb explodes] (laura klock) my pain wasn't easy to see; it was hidden.
i got my first motorcycle when i wasprobably 9 years old. when i was riding, i could be singing, making up songs, or crying or screaming. and jumping ditches,and stuff like that. my motorcycle didn't care. my parents were going through a really tough time and as they were fighting i heard them say that i wasn't planned.
it made me question my life, you know, like, was i wanted? is there a purpose for my life? like, why am i here? i just causedso much trouble. so outwardly, i was a good kid. but there was the other side of me that was just hurting. [sighs] when i was sixteen,
i suspected i was pregnant. i took the pregnancy test and it was positive. i was in trouble, and i didn't know what to do. there was a part of me at that timewhen i found out that wanted that baby; something of my own, to love and maybe give the love that i didn't feel like i was receiving, and yet...
i decided to get an abortion. the procedure was done and when i lookedover at the counter, i saw my baby. and i don't know whythat happened other than uh, it'll never go away. i'm never gonna forget that day. so i tucked it away.
you wipe off your tearsand you get up, and you didn't talk about it again. i didn't realize that i was taking a precious gift and throwing it away. (franklin graham)the bible says, "what should it profit a man, "if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul? "or what should a man give in exchange for his soul?" what do we mean by soul? you see, the bible says that
the lord god formed manfrom the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul. the soul lives in the body and it looks out through the eyes, it listens through your ears. we'll never burythe real you. the soul is compared by christwith a value of the whole world. and if you just tookthe value of all knowledge--
let's say all universities-- your soul is worth more than that. let's say you could take all technology. your soul is worth more thanall the technology in the world. your soul is more valuable than all the military power in the world. your soul is more valuable than all of the gold, all of the world's currencies. one soul is worth more...
one soul... than all of the value of the world combined. and a person could wake up one morning, and realize that they have gained the world, but they've lost their soul. [light switch snaps off] it wouldn't be anything for me to have ten to fifteen thousanddollars in my pocket. it became more than just rap.
now it's really about drugs. once we got to that situation, things took off. we began to makea lot of money. porsches, benzes, big dookie chains that cost a lot of money. diamond rings, watches. houses, we began to buyvery, very popular night clubs. at that time i thought this is it, this is the life.
gaining cars, girls, jewelry. i was having a lot of fun. it seemed like the party was all good. hanging out with the buddieswas all good. but then i'm laying in my bed at night. it's me and my conscience. and my conscience is saying, this is not well. and me thinking-- lemme go buy something. i buy a porsche.
i get excited for it for a week. but it wouldn'tleave me alone that somethingwasn't right. there was a problem. that thought of not being satisfied just wouldn't go away. (laura) i wasn't satisfied with who i was. i was carrying horrible guilt and shame. i didn't spend a lot of timealone with myself
because i didn't likethe thoughts that came. when everything would catch up with me i would change my scenery. and i would move awayor change the situation, or the changethe relationship. i had my daughters and... [sighs] two divorces later,i was a mess. i really had a desireto make things better. i did the best i could to tryto be a really great mom.
as my daughters start to get a little older, i just hit the wall. i came to a point, i think,where i was just tired. and i knew i was falling. it was like having the rug pulled out from under me and i didn't know what to do next. i mean, i didn't know what other tricks there were that i could try. and so, i sent my daughters away with my family,
feeling like i wasn't even sureif i was gonna see them again. and they don't know that. i felt terrible. but that's how much i was preparing for what was... gonna come next. i got on my motorcycle and rode from cabo, mexico to the tip of seattle. the stops along the way
were filled with screaming and crying. no one even knewthe depth of it. someone said to me, you ride that motorcycle like the devil's chasing you. it was true. i felt worthless, and i just wanted to feel different than that. [engine stops] get out of your car!
[phone rings] (tiffany) i woke up in the middle of the night with the phone ringing, excited, thinking it was scotty. but instead, it was scotty'scommander on the other line. and he started sobbing, he said, tiffany, i'm so sorry. scott's been hurtreally bad. there's shrapnel in his eyesand in his head.
when the doctor called me and he told me, you know, we removed his eye. we're gonna probably haveto remove his other eye. and that's when i, i don't even rememberthe conversation after that. i just sobbed. probably for days. (scott) my world was black. i woke up in walter reed army medical center,
thousands of miles from where i was supposed to be. i didn't know where i was, i didn't know what i was doing. and i realized that i'd never be able to see again. the president of the united states of america has awarded the purple heart to first lieutenant scotty michael smiley, united states army for wounds received in actionon 6 april 2005...
given under my hand... [voice fades out] (scott) when i was done crying, my grief quickly turned to anger. i thought i had quote/unquote checked every block to be a christian, and still god had allowed me to be blinded. i felt god was responsible
and that i was gonna make god pay somehow, some way. i denied god. i remember one of my best friends coming in the room and asking me to say a prayer. and i said, no, i don't knowhow to pray, nor do i know who god is. i turned my back on him. and i just sunk into depression. i was just a broken man,
lying in my bed,blind, useless. i felt i had no value. why is your soul valuable? the soul is valuable because it's eternal. "we fix our eyes not on what is seen," the bible says,"but what is unseen. "for what is seen is temporary, "but what is unseenis eternal."
you may be big and strong, but i want you to know thatone day our bodies are gonna die. and "it's appointed unto man once to die, "but after this,"the bible says, "the judgment." we'll have to stand before god. god is going to judge sin. god is a holy god. god has standards.
and his standards don't change with culture. sin is disobedience to god's laws and his standards. you see, the bible sayswe have all sinned; come short of god's glory. the bible says that "the wages of sin is death." you see, our sinsseparate us, we're estranged from god, but god loves us and he doesn't want us to beseparated from him.
he wants us to have fellowship with him. but sin is that barrier. your sins block the way. so god devised a plan, and what is that plan? that plan is that "god so loved the world "that he gave his only begotten son "that whosoever believethin him should not perish "but should have everlasting life."
jesus christ took our sins, and jesus said, "i am the way, the truth,and the life. "no man comes to the father but by me." [no engine noise] [crow caws] [laura] i was just running and i ended up in a small town in south dakota, at a friend's custommotorcycle shop.
i was helping him out and he invited me to church one day. and so i thought,[scoffs] yeah, okay. i mean, i went there withno expectations, and actually, probably,a really horrible attitude about it. the pastor was preaching that day about, a heavenly fatherthat loves you. he doesn't care where you've been,
or what you've done. or how you walk into that church. he just loves you. you don't have to earn it. you just can accept it. i believed that was true and that i could be forgiven. washed clean and start over. and the transformationand all of that, i wanted it. that day,
in a clumsy, awkward,tear-filled way, i invited jesus into my heart. [motor rumbles] i felt different inside. and i felt hope rising up. like a motorcycle, god has transformed and rebuilt me. i have watched him redeem my relationshipswith my daughters.
i'm married now to that friend brian. god has blessed me with opportunities to help young girls that were inthe same situation i was in. when you really think about the fact that jesus died on the cross for you, it changes the wayyou look at everything. i'm a different person. i have worth!
like, i have worth. it's so hard to evenput into words. i'm a new person. you see, the bible says god doesnot want to take away life. instead he devises waysthat a banished person may not remain estranged from him. why should we be concerned about our soul? all of us have a soul. every one of us here has a spirit.
and it's either gonna bein the presence of god in heaven or you're gonna be separated from god in hell. you say, but, franklin, do you really believe in hell? i sure do. god says there's a hell. jesus preached on hell. the bible says it's a place of sorrows. sorrowful souls, depression. millions and millions of souls, wailing.
hell is a place of complete darkness. it's a place of unrest. it's a place of memory. you'll remember the opportunities that you had to come to christ that you rejected. and you said, well, not now, but maybe later. i'm not quite ready for that yet. you have an opportunity.
you can settle thisonce and for all. is your soul secure in the hands of god? (mark) well, when you look back on it, there's a hunger in my heart that these things are not filling. that thought of not being satisfied, it just wouldn't go away. i took a liking to a girl, and so i would followthis girl to church.
i went to church and the preacher began to preach about how, unless i had this christ that i was gonna be condemned to hell. the bible says"repent and believe the gospel." i was really blown away by that. i was thinking, me? going to hell? what is this man talking about? you know, growing upin church, sunday after sunday, got a bible, we dressed up.
that's what i thought church was. it's what you do--you put tithes in the basket. that's what you do. and it wasn't that way this time. this time, i'm there and the lord'sallowing me to see my true condition and my true condition is,i was not right with god. that's scary.
you know, it's real scary to just think, i'm at odds with my creator. but this particular time,i began to cry out to the lord. lord, save me,forgive me, help me! and the glorious thing was god did just that. he awakened me; he opened my eyes. god gave me new life. it moves you to tears to know that the loss that a person has to
go through... in life, sometimes, just to, for god to bring 'emto that point, and it moves you to tears to know that people are blind. like i was. the only way--the only truth-- the only life is found in christ. he saves sinners.
he came into the worldto save sinners. that's good news. (franklin graham) jesus said, "i have come to seek and to save "that which is lost." your soul is valuable because of the price paid for its redemption. jesus christ paid for your soul with his blood. and the bible says, "for you know that it was not with perishable things
"such as silver and gold that you were redeemed, "but with the precious blood of christ." the bible says, "this is how we know what love is, "that jesus christ laid down his life for us." and you say, but why jesus? because no one elsein history, only jesus christhas taken your sin. he is the one to paythe debt. he paid for itwith his blood.
he was buried for our sins, and god raised him to life. but here's the thing... you've got to bewilling to accept it. you've got to be willing to believe it. and god is patient with us, the bible says. he's not wantinganyone to perish.
but he's wanting everyoneto come in repentance. repent means to turn from your sin. if you come to christ tonight, you've got to be willing to leave your sins. and you say, but franklin, you don't know how, a hold that sex has on my life. i don't think i can do that. oh, yes.
christ will give youthe strength. he will help youto live a life that's honoring and pleasingto god. (scott) i didn't want to ask god to help, and that depression, that, just, stress and just, fear just began to well up. because i was makinga choice to live life on my own. i got transferred tothe blind rehabilitation center where i learned to be as independent as possible.
one of the things thati'd never wanted to give up was physical fitness, going to the gym. i finally was able to work out on my own. one day after finishing a workout, looking for the blind center,i got lost. for over a half an hour, in the hot, ninety degree, palo alto sun. i tried to backtrack. yelling out loud,is anyone here?
but everyone had left. i didn't know what to do nor where to turn. i just threw my stick down in anger. and i cried out to godin a way in which i had not done in months. denying god... there was such an emptiness, and such a lost feeling that i had never known before. and once i knew
that the reasoni was lost, and the reason that i hadno purpose or direction, was because i didn't have christ... i had to repent. i had to ask godto forgive me for denying him. it meant that i was taking responsibility for the choices and the decisions that i made. i realized that god loves me
and that god is there for me and that christ died for me. and i was now able to forgivethe man who blew himself up and it enabled me to have purpose in my life. christ never leaves. but it's us who makethat decision: do we want to choose christor do we not? [cheering]
there was still stress;there was still anxiety. but i truly believe that christ was carrying me. he was holding me and my wife together. [applause] you're soamazing. [sobbing] i love you. god values my soul so muchthat christ died for me.
and it gave me a reason to live life with a purpose. that will never cease. (franklin graham) i have people sometimes say, franklin, does god really love me? yeah, he does. he tells us that he does. he planned you;there is a plan for your life. there's a reason.
(mark) the lord answers prayer. he hears the prayers. like, you can be forgiven,instantly, because of what he didfor us. through asking for forgiveness from our sins, we are able to fully and trulyaccept him into our lives. you know,there's no formula; there's no rituals.
(franklin graham) you have to be willing to accept by faith the lord jesus christ, believing in him, and trusting in him. the choice is yours. you've got to be willingto turn from your sins and invite jesus christ to come into your heart, into your life. if you're willing to do that, god will forgive your sins. he'll heal your heart.
and you can have that assurance that your soul is safe and secure in the handsof almighty god from this night forward, and forever, for eternity. this is your choice. you have to make this choiceyourself. ♪ is this the sparkwhere it begins ♪ ♪ we find freedomfrom our sins ♪
♪ is this the placei finally trust ♪ ♪ your presence is enough to ♪ ♪ speak light in my darkness ♪ ♪ speak life 'til i know ♪ ♪ there's strengthfor my weakness ♪ ♪ slow down,o my soul ♪ accepting jesusinto your heart and committing your life to christ is as easy as prayinga simple prayer.
your can surrenderyour life to christ. you know, you can cry outto the lord right now. today is the day of salvation. jesus christ is alive and he'll come intoeach and every heart that is willing to trust him by faith. and you can do thatright now. you can just simplypray this prayer with me. just say, dear god,i'm a sinner.
i'm sorry, forgive me. i believe that jesus christis your son. i believe that he diedon the cross; that he shed his bloodfor me, and that you'veraised him to life. i'd like to invite himto come into my heart to take charge of my life from this moment forward,forever. and i pray thisin jesus' name.
amen. ♪ you are where my soul finds rest ♪ ♪ you arewhere i lay my head ♪ ♪ your gracelets me catch my breath ♪ ♪ lets me fallinto your arms ♪♪
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