On today's show.

The greatest decision I ever

made was to give Jesus

everything, the good, the bad,

and the ugly.

[MUSIC]

Welcome to the 700 Club

Canada. I'm Brian Warren.

And I'm Laura-Lynn Tyler

Thompson. It's great to be

with you today.

Thanks for joining us. Have

you ever thought that you've

done something so bad that

there's no way you can be

forgiven?

Well, today you'll see two

incredible stories that

showcase forgiveness is

always possible.

To start us off, in our first

story, Abner Fillero spent

much of his life in a gang

and trapped in violence. He

didn't feel guilty for what he

did. Find out what changed

after he went to prison.

Watch this.

[MUSIC]

I knew every day either it

was me being killed or it was

me killing someone or going

to prison. Those were the

three things I expected every

day when I woke up.

Abner Fillero spent much of

his life in a gang, trapped in

a vicious cycle of violence.

Abner was five when his father,

a pastor, left him, his mother,

and his brothers for another

woman. He knew only one

way to cope with the feelings

of abandonment and rejection.

He's the person I looked

up to. He's the person I

worshipped. He was my

everything. I tried to block

the reality of my father's

not coming back. I didn't know

how to go about it. I didn't

understand it. I was too

young.

But as Abner watched his

mother struggle to provide

for her family, he became

angry and violent.

Violence got me what I

wanted. It got me protection,

a way of me releasing my

stress. The higher the level,

the easier it was for me to

sleep at night.

Abner was kicked out of every

school he attended, and by

sixteen had joined a gang.

The gang was my family.

It was the way I found my

finances, my protection. We

all believed in the same

thing iolence.

For the next ten years,

Abner was in and out of prison

more than thirty times for

armed robbery, assault, and

a number of other violent

crimes.

I was miserable. I wanted

out, but I didn't know how to

get out of it. This is who I

am. This is what I do. It's

my destiny. Either I'm going

to die or I'm going to spend

the rest of my life in prison.

Then at twenty-six, Abner

was arrested for possessing a

weapon while being a convicted

felon. He was sentenced to

seven years in a maximum

security prison.

I didn't know guilt. I

didn't know remorse. I

didn't know emotions. It

umb to--

00:03:26;19

to who I was.

With little more than a year

left in his sentence, Abner

got caught up in a prison

brawl, and as a result would

serve the rest of his time in

solitary confinement.

Twenty-three hours locked

down a day, seven days a week.

I hit rock bottom. It felt

like me committing suicide

would be the easy way out.

Then one day, a guard passed

him a Bible.

And I just threw it to the

side. But for twenty-four

hours a day, seven days a week,

I knew that Bible was in my

cell. It was almost saying

like I'm here. God is here.

Eventually, he picked it up

and started reading.

And I started struggling

with myself. I'm the worst

of the worst, and could there

be a God that can forgive me

right now. And it was a tug-

of-war of which way do I go

in life and how do I go about

it?

Abner says while he was

reading the Bible one night,

he started seeing things.

I saw fire like I was burning

like everything around me was

on fire. And I got on my knees

and I cried and cried and

cried. I can't be like my

father because my father was

a Christian and a pastor.

That's not me. I will never

be like my father. And the

Lord was calling me saying,

got you.

You know, you're looking for a

father, and I got you. I'm

your father. So it was like

for one point in my life, for

once in my life since I was

five years old, someone

appreciated, someone loved

me. So it was like a ton of

bricks gone. It was like gone.

That washe day that

the process started.

In the two years after his

release, Abner tried to live a

godly life. But when he

couldn't find work, he got

discouraged and slipped back

into old patterns. He got

busted for robbing someone and

landed in jail for another

three years.

I started cleaning my act up.

No more crimes. No more

crimes. So I got on my knees

and prayed and I give you what

I have left. Once again, God

freed me.

Abner says God also freed

him from his anger and helped

him forgive his father. Today

he's married and has a son,

and he shares his story at

churches and prisons telling

people that God is always with

them.

I see Jesus now as my Father

figure. I had a Father the

whole time that was looking

out for me, that was protecting

me, and it wasn't that he left

me. It was that I took the

blindfolds off.

[MUSIC]

Laura-Lynn, when you listen

to Abner and he said, "One of

three things would happen.

I was going to either kill

someone, someone would kill

me, or ihisould be a

violence." He just knew

violence, violence, violence.

Yes. All through his life

you could see these different

moments and all it kept leading

to was nothing but feeling

like he wanted to, you know,

end it all in the middle.

Yeah, and, you know, that

is commonly what happens when

we begin to live in darkness.

Yeah.

And when we begin to live

by our own understanding.

The Bible says there is a way

that seems right to man, but

the way ends in destruction.

You know, this is so critical

because when we choose God

and when we say I invite you

to come into my heart, just

like Abner, God begins to now

do something that Second

Corinthians 5:17, and you can

say you're talking a lot about

the Word but that's exactly

how you begin to reprogram

your life. Because it says

if anyone is in Christ and that

means getting into Him, they

are a new creature. Old

things pass away. All things

become new.

Right.

But it doesn't happen right

away.

Right.

The salvation starts right

away, but the change takes

place over time.

Well, sure, and, you know,

for most of his life, he didn't

see God as someone who loved

him. He didn't see God as a

Father-figure.

Right.

He-he thought that God had

rejected him. And in the very

end, he says, you know what?

od had never rejected

me. I just took my blindfolds

off. There are some people

today who have blindfolds on.

You are misreading the love

of God. You see, if you're

here, He has protected you.

Amen.

He has kept you from the

violence you've been

That's correct.

e's

protected you from the drugs

that could have caused an

overdose. He has protected

you from the situations where

you have turned a blind eye

to God. And once you take the

blinders off and you see that

His love is overpowering, you

will never be the same.

And you know what? You

hat?

f it

were not for the Lord who is on

my side.

Right.

I mean that's what I say

sometimes now, cause He takes

care of babies and fools, and

I don't know which one I was

more of. But I know that God

if He's done it in our life,

He can do it in your life as

well. And I'd like to get

something into your hands. I

want to pray for you as well.

Costs you absolutely nothing.

It's A New Day. The same way

that Abner got his new day,

you're going to get your new

day as well. And God will give

you a do-over as well.

Remember, it starts now that

Christ comes into your heart.

Jesus comes into your heart,

but it's going to take a

process, and you're going to

have to reprogram, get the

Word of God. But let's do some

business with God and let's

believe today is the day that

your new day starts. Pray

this prayer with me. He's not

concerned about your words,

but He's concerned about your

heart. Jesus, I need you. I

have sinned. I have broken

your commandments, once,

twice, ten times over. But

I'm asking you now to come

into my heart. Forgive me of

my sin. Make me the person

you want me to be. In Jesus'

name. Amen.

Amen. I pray that that has

resonated with your soul

today. I pray that you'll take

your blinders off and you will

receive that.

I felt like it went beyond

prison gates.

Right.

I don't know who that was.

We're not just throwing

flowers over the fence or

sliding food under the bars.

I'm telling you, whom the Son

sets free is free indeed.

Is free indeed.

Today is your day of freedom.

Call the number on the screen

and say, "Pastor B, I received

it, and by the grace of God I

am what I am."

Well, you know, most drug

users don't plan on becoming

addicts, and neither did Amy

Lambert. Take a look at this.

So cool.

[MUSIC]

Most drug users don't plan

on becoming addicts. But it

happens all too often. Amy

Lambert was stunned when it

happened to her. Her story

begins when she was ten. She

grew up in a Christian home.

Then her parents divorced.

Tears were flowing down my

face and I didn't really

understand what was going on

but all I knew was like my

whole world was falling out

from underneath me. And I

went through just a whirlwind

of emotihere wasas

a lot of anger, a lot of

bitterness, and mainly, you

know, the anger that I had in

my heart, I mainly turned it

towards God more than anyone

else.

And her anger led to

something more.

There was something on the

inside of me that just became

filled with rebellion, and I

ran away from God as fast as

I could run away from Him.

And I wanted nothing to do with

Christians or Christianity or

church. I just wanted to be

completely done with it.

She reached out to her

friends who had a ready

solution.

I stayed at one of my

friend's house and we snuck

out of the house. We met

up with some boys out in the

field in the middle of nowhere.

And the hat I thing that

did was prescription drugs.

They had pain pills. I didn't

know how to deal with all the

emotions that I had inside.

And so to do drugs was a way

of escape. And by the time I

was thirteen years old, I was

introduced to cocaine,

marijuana, LSD, basically

anything I could get my hands

on, and it was a very quick

progression.

She made it through high

school, hiding her drug use

from her parents. She moved

out after graduation, and it

wasn't long until she found

even harder drugs.

My drug addiction escalated

to a point where I would

literally inject anywhere from

twenty to thirty times a day.

I mean it was just such a dark,

dark period in my life. The

lived in

these crack motels, lived in

abandoned buildings, lived,

you know, sometimes out of my

car and would just from

daylight till dark I was a

needle junkie. Wasn't a party

girl. I was a needle junkie

and I used in order to survive.

And I remember, you know,

looking at people that would

be in the grocery store and

looking at people on television

would so envy

them because they were normal,

and they could function without

having to wake up and put a

needle in their arm.

Amy became a dealer, but it

wasn't enough to support her

habit. So she exchanged sex

for drugs.

I think about being this

young teenage girl who got

involved with a drug dealer

that was about fifty-five

years old, and he basically

became my sugar daddy.

And there are moments in the

darkness that only God knew

about where I would cry

would literally be in these

moments where tears would

be coming down my face, and

I would be in the moment and

I would in my heart I would

saying, "God, rescue me from

this. I do not want to live

this lifestyle." I felt so

degraded. I felt less than

human, didn't deserve to be

alive. But I would still in

through my tears in the

darkness I would cry out to

Him to save me.

One night, Amy tried to

shoot up and she completely

missed the vein.

So my arm had swelled up

the size of a grapefruit, and

I had to call my mom on

Monday morning and say,

"You need to come and pick

me up. I'm in bad shape."

They put me into the

emergency room. The doctors

ran tests on my body, and

they brought my family into a

room and they said, "Of the

stages of drug addiction, your

daughter is at the last stage

before death, and you guys

need to prepare for her

funeral."

Doctors operated on Amy's

swollen arm, and she had to

stay in the hospital for a

week. While she was there,

a group of women from a

nearby church paid her a

visit.

They just started ministering

to me. And one lady in

particular who would later

become my spiritual mother,

she said, "Amy, can I pray for

you?" And I said, "Yes." I

had nothing left to lose. And

when she began to pray, it

was like God downloaded the

message into her, things that

there's no way that she could

have known about. She started

to read my mail. And although

I was nineteen years old, I was

street hard, I learned how to

survive. It was like deep on

the inside I was just a broken

and hurting little girl. And

I'll never forget her asking

me the question and it was so

powerful to me because I had

that church background, and for

years in my life, I thought I

was okay because I knew in

my head John 3:16. I knew

that Jesus died on the cross

for my sins. But it was like

God pulled the veil off of my

eyes, and I realized in that

moment, I am so lost. And

she said, "Amy, are you ready

to surrender your life to Jesus

Christ?" And I called on the

name of Jesus and I meant it

with all of my heart, and that

was the beginning of my road

towards transformation.

Amy committed to a one-year

recovery program at Mercy

Ministries in Louisiana.

Before I came into the

program, I remember feeling

like I didn't care whether I

lived or died. I just had this

like his guilt and this shame

that just hung on me. But I

came to this realization. No.

He really does have a hope and

a future for my life.

Five years later, after

working with several other

ministries, Amy started her own

recovery outreach, Hope

Uprising. She speaks to

thousands of young people every

year who are hungry for the

life-changing message of the

Gospel.

And I tell you right now, the

greatest decision I ever made

was to give Jesus everything,

the good, the bad, and the

ugly.

I remember many nights where

I would be in these crack

motels and I'd flip on the

television and there's

Christian television, and it

was like penetrating me. It

was speaking directly to me.

And one thing that I can say

is that you are turning on this

television broadcast for a

reason and for a purpose.

And if Jesus Christ can save my

life and deliver me from

multiple addictions, then he

can do the same thing in your

life.

[MUSIC]

You know, that was really the

turning point for Amy when

those women said to that

street hard young lady, "Are

you ready to call on the Lord?"

You know, that is the big

question that we all have to

answer. Because until we're

ready, until we get to the end

of our self, until we hit rock

bottom many times, we will

not invest in the solution that

will bring us absolute freedom.

hat she said

is she felt broken. She was

a broken girl and she felt

completely worthless after her

years on the street and all

of the things that happened to

her. Because drugs and abuse

or substance really completely

took her self-respect away.

The Bible says something about

that though, and I love it

because he Psalmist in

the 51st Psalm. It's one of

the he most powerful Psalms.

It says, "The sacrifices of God

are a broken spirit and a

broken and a contrite heart.

These, God, you will not

despise." Literally what God

is saying, a broken heart and

a contrite spirit, something

that's been ground to powder,

when you get to the point

where you've been pulverized,

that's when you're ready to

say, "God, now it's none of

me, but it's all of you."

That's what you have to do if

you really want to get off the

drugs, if you want to get off

the he substance. And I want

to get something into your

hands because you can be free.

It costs you nothing.

1-855-759-0700. And I'm going

to ask you now to pray this

dangerous prayer for the blast

that lasts that the Holy Spirit

would come inside of you.

Today I believe God can give

you a new day. Why don't you

do some business with God?

Pray this prayer. God, I'm

tired and I'm sick and tired of

being sick and tired. Now,

Lord, I surrender. I forgive

everyone who has hurt me

and who has betrayed me as

I would have you forgive me.

And I give my body to be a

temple, to be a vessel of the

Holy Spirit. Please come into

renounce

Satan, and I receive Jesus.

[INAUDIBLE] Father, in the

name of Jesus, everyone that

has prayed that prayer, I plead

the blood of Jesus, and Lord,

we put the enemy to flight

and we call now freedom into

this house. In Jesus' name.

If you prayed that prayer,

1-855-759-0700. Today God

did battle on your behalf.

Coming up after the break,

Laura-Lynn opens the Bible

with some encouragement just

for you.

[MUSIC]

And I could feel the air

coming out of my body.

Gip's brain was destroyed.

It was like someone stabbed

me in my stomach.

He was not breathing. He

had no heartbeat. It's over.

What are we even praying

for now?

There is a power beyond

ourselves that can do anything.

Medicine cannot explain this.

It's a miracle.

To see him open his eyes

was something I thought I was

never going to see again.

Miracles. Experience God's

power in your life.

[MUSIC]

I want to talk to you today

about how obedience leads to

your miracle. Are you willing

to believe God for something

that seems impossible? There

were ten lepers in Luke,

chapter 17. They had a

hopeless condition that there

was no possible way for them

to resolve. They had all been

lepers for a very long time and

nothing was going to change

that. They were outcasts and

their situation was despairing.

For some of us, we may have

been facing a difficult trial,

even for just a few months,

and it still seems like it's

been forever. We look at

it in the natural and we cannot

see how it will ever change.

But just like in the lives of

these lepers, you see when

Jesus passes through, it is

time for a miracle. As Jesus

made his way towards

Jerusalem and passed through

the area of Samaria, the lepers

knew that something was going

on that was out of the

ordinary. They had heard that

this man named Jesus, well He

was healing people across the

country, and news of His fame

had reached their ears. For

the first time in their whole

lives, they realized that

miracle-working power was in

their vicinity, and they sure

needed one. In fact, Jesus

would be the only possible

solution for their despair for

the rest of their entire lives.

They did exactly what we

would do when we get

desperate. When we have

no other conceivable answer

but Jesus, I don't know about

you, but I start crying out

loud like they did. Jesus,

Master, have mercy on us.

Help us. Now in the

Scriptures, there are many

accounts of Jesus doing what He

does best, healing, restoring,

raising dead things to life.

But on this occasion, Jesus

did something very unusual.

He simply told them to go

show yourself to the priest.

He did not ask them what

their problem was. He did not

instruct the disease to leave.

He did not address their

problem in any way. Instead,

he gave them a command that

they needed to obey in order

to be made whole. And

frankly, it didn't even make

sense. Why would they simply

go and show themselves to the

priests? They wanted healing,

not to go for a walk and see

the priest. They'd already

seen the priest before. What

is it like when you come to

Jesus with your crisis and He

does not acknowledge it but

rather asks for your obedience?

You see, for these lepers and

maybe for your situation today,

Jesus may ask you to surrender

in adherence to His request

with such abandon that although

it does not seem like the

plausible solution, He is

asking you to step out in

faith. The Bible says in

Luke 17:14. "And so it was

that as they went they were

cleansed." As they obeyed

God, He healed their situation.

Today, if God tells you to do

something in faith, even if

it does not make sense, choose

to step out in faith and watch

what God will do to bring

healing, to bring restoration,

and to bring power back to

your life.

I believe the time has come

to begin a battle of

annihilation.

They divided my land. They

divided the land of God.

These three weeks people

felt like there is going to be

a second holocaust.

I started this job ten months

ago. Now you want me to plan

an entire war in two days?

Yes.

People are very motivated.

But to say that there was no

fear is telling a lie.

You're scared until the first

shot. The minute the first

shot is being fired, you're

bent on completing your

mission.

If we break through those

walls now, the whole world

will stand on its head.

To be right here [INAUDIBLE]

and not to go in, history will

never forgive you.

Have you gone crazy? You'll

set the whole Middle East on

fire.

[MUSIC]

Laura-Lynn, what a powerful

time we've had today.

It really is. And, you know,

Brian, I love when you talk

about praying dangerous

prayers. I have prayed some

dangerous prayers in my life

and I have seen God come

through in a magnificent way.

And I think by dangerous

prayers, what we mean is like

you are all in. You are going

to trust Him.

Yeah.

Like it-it might look

terrible today.

Yes.

But it is going to be just

fine if you will give Him,

very bit

of that circumstance that

you're facing, all of that

stuff that you don't know

how to fix. Pray a dangerous

prayer. Say, "God, I'm out of

control her. I give you

control. Would you fix this?

Would you just fix this?" That

is a dangerous prayer

Amen.

because it takes it out of

your hands, puts it in God's.

And that's when He's able to

move.

And that's the first-century

church. That's what they

prayed. And the Bible said,

"And they turned the world

upside down." You know, that's

why we're here every day, five

days a week, to turn the world

upside down for Jesus.

Amen.

And we need your help to

do that. And we would like to

encourage you to become a

partner with the 700 Club

Canada. And as our thank you,

we'd love to get into your

hands this latest premium. And

it's a gift to you called

Miracles.

This DVD contains stories of

a real people. They came face-

to-face with the power of God

and they experienced miracles

in their own lives.

As you become a monthly

partner with the 700 Club

Canada for just twenty dollars

a month, we will definitely

get this out to you. And it

would be such an encouragement

if you'd call now.

1-855-759-0700.

Thank you so much.

Prayer partners are standing

by.

You know, we want you to

experience God's power in your

life. This is why we do this

every single day.

Yes.

You know, there are other

things that we could be doing,

but we know that God makes

a differhat He ist

the one who will infiltrate

that circumstance that you're

facing. He is a miracle-

working God. We believe it's

for today, and we're grateful

that you link arms with us.

Part of us linking arms with

you is also praying with you

and praying for you. And we

thank you for your prayer

nd as well

raise reports.

Man, say that ten times.

Yes, for sure.

But would you put on your

prayer list Louise from Surrey,

BC. Release from unforgiveness.

And Diane from Mercier,

Quebec.

You said that right.

Pray for her son, Sam. He

needs deliverance from drugs.

Okay.

Amen.

Why don't you agree for both

of those?

Father, I just thank you,

Lord, that you are a good God.

I thank you that you have

forgiven us, Lord, so that we

can forgive others.

Amen.

I thank you that our sins are

many, they are great, but

because you died on the cross

for us, we have been forgiven.

I pray, Father, that Louise

would feel in her heart, Lord,

a new ability to walk in

forgiveness for others, that

this situation, we don't know

the details, God, but we know

that it needs a miracle,

In Jesus' name.

a change of heart from you.

In Jesus' name we pray that

you intervene. And for Diane,

God, her heart is burdened for

her son. Lord, Sam is walking

into places and doing drugs.

He's doing things that he

shouldn't be doing. Would

you put a hedge of protection

around about him?

In Jesus' name.

Would you break off that

chain, Lord, that assault of

the enemy against this young

man? We declare it broken

in Jesus' name.

In Jesus' name.

We-we ask that you would

bring him into the company of

great young men and mentors

that will change the course

of his destiny. In Jesus'

name.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

And we pray that for you as

well. If things have been bad,

worse, they're getting better.

Amen.

And this is the power verse

we want to leave with you.

If we confess our sin, He's

faithful and just and will

forgive us of our sin and

purify us from all

unrighteousness.

That's found in First

John 1:9 and you can bank

on it. God bless you. Thanks

for spending this day with us.

God bless.

Now there are more ways to

connect with the 700 Club

Canada online. Like us on

Facebook at

Facebook.com/700ClubCanada.

Find us on Instagram at

700ClubCanada or follow us on

Twitter at 700ClubCanada.

Just email CBA@700Club.ca or

visit us at 700Club.ca.

[MUSIC]

On tomorrow's show.

When I went to church on

Christmas Even in 2004 and

I made that decision to

rededicate my life to the Lord,

I stopped using drugs. I

stopped the drinking. I quit

smoking, you know, all of that

stuff, you know, I just stopped

doing it.