Buddhist Monk's NDE From Suicide, Visit to Hell, & Heaven

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From the time that they pronounced me dead was

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a good 45 minutes. They cut my clothes and then

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they paddled. My heart, my heart had stopped

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and I could see people screaming and crying but

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I didn't realize that was actually my physical

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body because I was somewhere else. The only thing

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that I could feel if you could imagine absolute

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love and peace, there wasn't anything else to

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be felt. I was greeted by people I'd known in

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the past. I'm back home again. Incredibly safe

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and felt at home. Welcome, welcome to Round Trip

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Death, everybody. And I'd like to welcome from

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SoCal today, Steve King. How are you, Steve?

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I'm doing really well, Eric. It's a blessing

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and honor to be here on your show. Well, thank

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you. Hey, I didn't warn you of this up front.

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But one thing that I like to ask each of our

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guests is if they'll tell just a little bit about

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themselves, if you just take one to two minutes,

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just so our listeners get to know who they're

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talking to. And then I'll lead you through some

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questions to talk about your NDE. Sure. Yeah.

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My name is Steve Kang, married to a lovely wife

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of eight years. She's a professional pianist.

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I work in the local church. I was a radical Buddhist

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trying to reach Nirvana, had a near -death experience

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of heaven and hell, and now I work as a pastor.

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I also work, you know, a normal job as well.

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So I love, I believe God loves all people and

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I love life and I'm very diligent in doing the

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work of God, including being with you. Well,

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we appreciate you being with us. I had read your

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story quite a few weeks ago and I'm glad we could

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finally get together. So let's just jump right

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into it. I would like a little bit of your history

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about being Buddhist and then Tell me what led

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up to your NDE. Yes, so as a Buddhist, Eric,

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I had grandparents who were Buddhist on both

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sides. They did an arranged marriage from my

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mom and dad. They met in the temple. Because

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back in those days, a lot of our current grandparents

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still went to the temple religiously. And I was

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born, so from birth, I was in the temple. I was

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at the age of six, though. Unlike maybe some

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of the other kids, I was asking the monks and

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myself, why is there injustice in this world?

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Why is there some poor, some rich, some powerful,

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some powerless? Why is there evil and good? And

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how do you reach heaven? How do I become right

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with God? And the monks told me I need to pray

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a million years. And I said, oh my gosh, a million

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years to reach eternal life? And they go, yes.

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And I was like, I better start now. And they

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go, yes, you better start now. So out of fear

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of not wanting to be judged and perish, I was

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in the temples praying eight hours a day, Eric,

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on the weekends. I was in the temple. I brought

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the, I wasn't just a nominal Buddhist. When I

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do something, I go all in. I was a radical Buddhist.

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I had the Buddhist beat on, stared at the statue.

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I remember praying many, many hours. In high

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school, when I went back to Korea, I remember

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waking up an hour before school, like bus came,

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because we had school buses in Korea. I went

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to an international school in South Korea, and

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I would pray to the monks, the monk's prayer.

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The Buddha wrote the rules and laws on the wall.

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So yeah, I was a very devout Buddhist before

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I met God at the age of 19. How old were you

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when you had your near -death experience? I was

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19 years old, Eric. I had my whole life planned

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out. My parents were pretty well off. I went

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to a very good private college called Claremont

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Colleges, Pomona College. But I remember my near

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-death experience happened at the age of 19,

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going into the sophomore year. Okay, and this

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was a suicide attempt, right? Yeah. Should I

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describe how it led to that? Yeah, but let me

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just, I love to throw out a little disclaimer.

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For listeners, when we're talking about something

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like suicide, that really a sensitive topic,

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just want to let people know upfront, we're going

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to be discussing that and some some pretty rough

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things, but we won't go into too much detail

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or or too much graphic about it. So, OK, you've

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been forewarned. Steve, tell me what led up to

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it, because, you know, you were having a pretty

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good life. So what went wrong? Yeah, my life

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was pretty good. I went to a great school, good

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private school in Korea. But one thing that really

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I was always afraid of as a Buddhist, Eric, was

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I was afraid of death, I was afraid of demons,

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and I was always afraid of the dark. And because

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in Buddhism, I was taught that all my issues

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is a result of my previous life sense. And I

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was like, man, what was I in my past life? And

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they're like, you know, nobody knows. You can

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find out by meditating more. So I'm like, I guess

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I did some good in my... previous life, which

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I don't believe in anymore. But at the time,

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I was living a normal life. But the Asian financial

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depression crisis happened where my dad, who

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was super wealthy, went from riches to rags.

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And then I had no tuition, no place to live.

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So I ended up living in a drug dealer friend's

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house. And then we ended up getting high every

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day. So I don't remember being sober, Eric, that

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whole summer of 1998, the whole summer of 98,

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June to September. I don't think I was sober

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for one day. While in one of those parties, I

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smoked a very heavily laced drug called the death

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bowl in the street language. It looks like marijuana.

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So I'm like, I'll get high today. By the way,

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I've been drug free for 25 years. Congratulations

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on that. Thank you, sir. Yeah, I don't need that

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anymore. I get high on the most high for free.

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So I smoked this bowl. And I stayed up for 10

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straight days, Eric. It was laced with heroin,

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cocaine, PCP, meth, you name it. And I felt so

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weird after smoking that I lost the track of

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time. I lost the track of, I couldn't read one

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sentence in a book. My brain was so damaged.

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My anxiety, fear level just went up the roof

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and I didn't see for 240 hours. Around the eighth,

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ninth day, a spirit came to me and I thought

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it was a good Buddhist god. And he didn't come

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to me, you know, the devil came to me, but he

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didn't come to me with pitchforks and horns.

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He came to me, Eric, and said, you know, and

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you're having a hard time right now. I said,

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yeah, I feel like I already died. I looked in

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the mirror. I looked at my eyes and the white

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lens was like not visible. It was a very scary

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time. And this evil spirit is speaking to me

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and he goes, if you lay down your life for me

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and commit suicide, cut yourself open and give

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yourself to me, I will give you 50 ,000 less

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years of hell. Mind you, I haven't slept in many

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hours. You start losing your mind around the

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third, fourth day, fifth day. And it sounded

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like a good deal at the time. I thought the Buddhist

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God visited me. So I went to, I wrote my mom

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a letter saying, Mom, I failed you in this life,

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but hopefully in the next life, you know, we

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can meet together. And she read that letter and

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she was weeping. And I remember when she went

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into her bedroom on the 10th day of being up,

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I went to their kitchen and I grabbed the biggest

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knife I could find and all in the hopes of going

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to heaven. I got on my knees and I I put the

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knife and I'm about to stab myself to go to heaven

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while high. And my mom walks out of her bedroom.

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I thought she was sleeping when she comes out.

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She sees the whole thing. She calls 911. And

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this was at the city of Irvine at the time. So

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the cops and the police and the paramedics even,

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I think they came right away and they put the

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knife down. And the evil spirit goes, it's now

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or never. And the cops are there. the evil spirits

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here and he's like, you better go now. So I went

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for it and I cut my neck open. I cut my stomach

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open. I don't want to lift up my shirt right

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now, but there's a scar which many people saw

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and the scar right here. And I was cutting myself.

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The police jumped on me. They took the knife

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away. And it was such a painful time. Now the

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whole living room was bloody red. Oh, by the

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way, in America, about I think roughly a hundred

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people commit suicide every day. In South Korea,

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my home country, 40 people commit suicide every

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day. So there's two countries. This is not weekly

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or monthly. It's a daily average. So I was going

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to become a statistic, and I did for eight hours.

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I was gone for eight hours. But before I was

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unconscious on Earth, going from consciousness

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to unconsciousness, I have what's called OBE,

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which is out of body experience. So my spirit

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leaves my body and I see myself but I'm here

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and I'm going from eternity to the present world

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and I come out and I see myself but instead of

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going up I start sinking and it was a very fearful

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feeling. I didn't expect that because in Buddhism

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I don't believe in hell. They don't teach you

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about hell and heaven. It's all about reincarnation.

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But here I am sinking into some hole and it felt

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like I was in an elevator roller coaster just

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sinking going down but never going back up. And

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the grandpa was looking for guidance, like, where

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are we going next? But he's gone, so I couldn't

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ask him for any questions. But after falling

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for about five minutes, I remember landing in

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a place, just like a big thumb, boom, boom, and

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I land. And I look around, and this is not heaven.

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This is not what I thought I was going to end

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up in. And I'm in this place of just red, purplish

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soil and rocks. There's no plants. There's no

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light. It's very dark. And I landed there, and

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it's filled with so many people. There's people

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to my right, to my left, in front of me, behind

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me, and I'm like, and I was in so much pain.

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I was in so much pain, I could not ask the person

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in front of me, hey, how you doing? What's your

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name? And the spiritual, physical, emotional,

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intellectual pain that I felt in hell was just

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a lot worse than earth. So I went from having

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a bad time on earth to having a worse time in

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hell. And mind you, I don't even believe in hell.

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But here I am in hell, and for the first time

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in my life, I supernaturally knew in my conscience

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that I'm a sinner and a bad person while I landed.

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Now, when I was on Earth, I never killed anybody.

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I sold drugs, but it was only marijuana. Someone's

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gotta sell weed. I don't remember hitting anyone.

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I was a good person in my eyes. But when I died,

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or rather was unconscious in your death experience,

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I knew I was a sinner. And number two, I knew

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I was going to be here forever, Eric. I knew

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this was an eternal place for me to be. And it

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was just so weird. I just supernaturally knew.

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And then when I looked up, there's demons, and

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they're not real small. They were huge, with

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cakes on, walking around. And I knew they were

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in charge of this place. And I looked to my left.

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There's a cliff. I looked down. It's just all

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rocks. And there's no plants. There's no light

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there. And I experienced eternal separation from

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God from a firsthand point of view, from my own

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heart. So I know that hell is real, Eric. Let

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me ask you a question right here. A lot of people

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that I talk to have had a heavenly experience,

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and they talk about this feeling of oneness and

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this amazing love. They just can't even describe

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the love of God that is just so profound. Tell

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me how you're feeling at that point, because

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I have a feeling it's an opposite. Yeah, hell

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was the opposite. Because on earth, you know,

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God gives grace and mercy even to the righteous

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and the wicked, it says in the Bible, meaning

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He blesses all people, you know, because it's

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life. But in hell, there's not even one percent

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of God. I did go to heaven nine months later.

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I can share about that with you as well. Lord

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have mercy on me. He took me to heaven nine months

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later, which was life -changing and healed me

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from all the trauma of hell. But in hell, you

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got to understand, hell is a place where God

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judges the wicked. and whoever follows the devil

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or doesn't believe in Jesus goes there. So I

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was a Buddhist monk saying, I'm going to become

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God. I don't need Jesus. God is for weak people.

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And I was one of those prideful guys. So when

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I was in hell, everything I felt pain -wise on

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earth, fear, anxiety, condemnation, guilt, powerlessness,

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was just multiplied like a hundredfold. It's

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the only way I can describe it. So I was trying

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to escape pain and I committed suicide, but now

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the pain just got worse. So hell is what a pastor

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describes the perfect judgment of a perfect God

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against His perfect enemies. It's total perfect

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judgment from the infinite Creator that judges

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wicked. And I was wicked at the time because

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I didn't have relations with God, Eric. Sorry,

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I'm a little speechless here for a second. Yeah,

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I was too when I first encountered that place.

00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:27.500
Yeah, just give me an idea of what happened next.

00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:32.299
Did it end at this point? Yeah, Noel, it's a

00:12:32.299 --> 00:12:33.639
different ending because I'm here in front of

00:12:33.639 --> 00:12:38.940
you. So my mom who had one Christian friend who

00:12:38.940 --> 00:12:40.899
avoided church and Jesus her whole life with

00:12:40.899 --> 00:12:44.019
me, who programmed me not to go to church, sees

00:12:44.019 --> 00:12:46.120
her own son praying to Buddha his whole life

00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:48.419
and attempting suicide and she's like, something

00:12:48.419 --> 00:12:50.799
is definitely not working. Our religion is not

00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:52.399
working. Something's wrong. So she goes, you

00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:54.340
know, she humbles herself for the first time

00:12:54.340 --> 00:12:56.980
and she calls her Christian friend and she says,

00:12:57.080 --> 00:12:58.980
this is spiritual warfare. My mom goes, spiritual

00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:02.100
what? She calls eight of her intercessor friends

00:13:02.100 --> 00:13:04.659
and pastors, Eric, and they came rushing into

00:13:04.659 --> 00:13:07.399
the ER at UCR Medical Center, UCR Medical Center,

00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:10.500
from a local church called Grace Ministries International,

00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:14.139
where two years later I got baptized, and then

00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:15.960
eight years after that I became the youth pastor

00:13:15.960 --> 00:13:18.480
there. Isn't that amazing how God redeems? They

00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:21.299
came and they prayed for me during this operation.

00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:24.360
While I'm in hell, on earth the doctor was...

00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:27.120
He was a specialist that flew into the emergency

00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:29.460
room or drove in and he was tying up all the

00:13:29.460 --> 00:13:31.299
blood vessels. But while they were doing the

00:13:31.299 --> 00:13:33.279
surgery, my blood pressure and heart rate just

00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:35.259
kept dropping and he actually told my mom he

00:13:35.259 --> 00:13:37.059
might not make it. It would be a miracle if he

00:13:37.059 --> 00:13:39.440
makes it. They did two surgeries over a period

00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:43.600
of eight hours or so and I ended up coming to

00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:45.679
life. And when I woke up, the doctor said, Steve,

00:13:45.779 --> 00:13:47.980
it's a miracle you're here. It's a miracle you're

00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:49.860
here. And while this was happening, the surgery

00:13:49.860 --> 00:13:52.399
and the operation, the eight intercessors and

00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:54.720
pastors, Eric, They were praying for me the whole

00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:57.000
time. I am so grateful for them because I never

00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:59.480
met them. They don't owe me anything. They were

00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:02.419
strangers. But because they were lovers of Jesus

00:14:02.419 --> 00:14:04.679
from a Spirit -filled church that prayed and

00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:07.120
went for the lost, they came to the hospital,

00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:09.460
and here I am standing before you. And right

00:14:09.460 --> 00:14:11.899
before I woke up, this is another amazing part

00:14:11.899 --> 00:14:14.259
of the testimony, right before I woke up from

00:14:14.259 --> 00:14:16.820
hell, thank God I'm not there anymore, because

00:14:16.820 --> 00:14:19.480
I believe prayer and intercession changes the

00:14:19.480 --> 00:14:22.460
fate of nations and people. In Buddhism, we're

00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:24.860
fatalists, like you deserve your fate. In Christianity,

00:14:25.539 --> 00:14:28.580
in biblical faith, you can change fate through

00:14:28.580 --> 00:14:30.299
prayer. I see it all the time, like God's about

00:14:30.299 --> 00:14:32.639
to judge somebody. He's about to judge Sodom

00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:35.460
and Gomorrah. King Hezekiah and somebody prays,

00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:37.519
or King Hezekiah prays, Abraham prays, and somebody

00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:39.440
prays, and God changes his mind. So you know

00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:42.120
what? I will relent. You humble yourself and

00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:44.740
pray. So the prayers of these saints that prayed

00:14:44.740 --> 00:14:46.740
for me at the hospital, I believe brought me

00:14:46.740 --> 00:14:49.799
to life. I opened my ass, but before I do, I

00:14:49.799 --> 00:14:51.440
don't see Jesus at the time, Eric, because I

00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:53.820
didn't see him yet. He didn't reveal himself

00:14:53.820 --> 00:14:56.379
to me, but I heard his voice. He said, Steve,

00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:58.600
I love you. No more drugs and no more Buddhism.

00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:02.080
And I'm just like, what is this feeling? Who

00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:03.919
the heck is that? Because I never went to church

00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:06.460
in my life. I was the antichrist. I brought people

00:15:06.460 --> 00:15:08.399
from the church to the temple. I repented of

00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:11.580
that, by the way. And I always thought Christians

00:15:11.580 --> 00:15:13.960
were just a bunch of hypocrites. You've got to

00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:16.159
be really stupid to believe in Christianity.

00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:19.299
But here I am, before the Lord of Lords and King

00:15:19.299 --> 00:15:21.960
of Kings, the only Savior of mankind." And he's

00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:23.500
like, I love you. And I was like, oh, shoot.

00:15:24.539 --> 00:15:27.320
Who is this? He didn't even say, like, I am Jesus

00:15:27.320 --> 00:15:29.820
Christ. It was a new voice, you know, because

00:15:29.820 --> 00:15:31.919
Buddha never talked to me during my 19 years

00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:35.059
of praying. Oh, I opened my eyes. I'm surrounded.

00:15:35.139 --> 00:15:37.960
I have like tubes and staples all over me. I'm

00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:40.539
surrounded by these amazing pastors and intercessors,

00:15:40.539 --> 00:15:42.940
and they led me in the sinner's prayer. So that

00:15:42.940 --> 00:15:44.519
day, Eric, I prayed the sinner's prayer, not

00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:47.240
once, twice, or three times. but 10 times to

00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:48.779
make sure I don't go back down to hell. And I

00:15:48.779 --> 00:15:50.559
described to them what I saw and they said, Steve,

00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:53.519
that is hell. And I said, how do I not go there?

00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:55.759
And they go, say the sinner's prayer. So that

00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:59.620
was my introduction to Christianity. Wow. Now,

00:15:59.620 --> 00:16:01.519
did you immediately tell them everything that

00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:04.059
you had seen? I didn't tell them everything,

00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:07.059
but I told them a very brief overview because

00:16:07.059 --> 00:16:10.100
I was so tired from losing blood, getting whacked

00:16:10.100 --> 00:16:13.049
by the bat, not sleeping for 10 days. going through

00:16:13.049 --> 00:16:15.669
the surgery. But I told them I saw a place that

00:16:15.669 --> 00:16:18.549
was utterly dark, filled with people and demons

00:16:18.549 --> 00:16:20.269
everywhere. And they're like, Steve, we think

00:16:20.269 --> 00:16:22.789
you went to hell. And that was enough for them

00:16:22.789 --> 00:16:25.450
to lead me in prayer. Actually, the first thing

00:16:25.450 --> 00:16:26.870
they said was they looked in my eye and said,

00:16:27.269 --> 00:16:29.730
Satan be gone. And I attempted suicide. Maybe

00:16:29.730 --> 00:16:31.909
I was still demon possessed. And I told them,

00:16:31.909 --> 00:16:34.009
I'm not the devil. And they go, OK, good. Now

00:16:34.009 --> 00:16:36.090
let us lead you in the Lord's prayer. Do you

00:16:36.090 --> 00:16:38.590
want to accept Jesus? I said, yes, I do. And

00:16:38.590 --> 00:16:40.470
they're like saying that, you know, you have

00:16:40.470 --> 00:16:42.210
to lead people in the sinner's prayer. After

00:16:42.210 --> 00:16:44.029
three times, I said, can I just have the piece

00:16:44.029 --> 00:16:46.129
of paper? Just give it to me. And I prayed it.

00:16:46.250 --> 00:16:47.690
And I was like, remember, I was like, I was like

00:16:47.690 --> 00:16:50.049
praying it myself over and over again. Yep, September

00:16:50.049 --> 00:16:54.009
of 1998. So we've heard the big wide scope of

00:16:54.009 --> 00:16:55.850
what happened after that and big changes you

00:16:55.850 --> 00:16:58.210
made in your life and stuff. But on a day to

00:16:58.210 --> 00:17:00.509
day basis, like, were you in the hospital a long

00:17:00.509 --> 00:17:03.730
time? Did you feel kind of lost or did you feel

00:17:03.730 --> 00:17:06.410
like you immediately had a direction to go in?

00:17:06.890 --> 00:17:08.910
Yeah, I did not have an immediate direction.

00:17:09.009 --> 00:17:12.250
I was still recovering physically. I was in the

00:17:12.250 --> 00:17:16.009
after, I think it's called the care unit for

00:17:16.009 --> 00:17:17.829
a few more days. They even put me in the mental

00:17:17.829 --> 00:17:20.950
hospital for a few days to get evaluated. This

00:17:20.950 --> 00:17:22.710
guy attempted suicide and they're like, oh, he's

00:17:22.710 --> 00:17:25.210
normal so they released me. I'm back in my house,

00:17:25.390 --> 00:17:27.869
but I'm out of school. I'm not fully recovered.

00:17:28.750 --> 00:17:31.069
So the Christians kept visiting my home with

00:17:31.069 --> 00:17:34.140
baked goods and Bible studies. And I remember,

00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:36.220
I was like, what's next? You know, I'm just,

00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:38.259
it's like time off, right? The Lord gave me a

00:17:38.259 --> 00:17:40.180
few months off from September to January when

00:17:40.180 --> 00:17:42.680
the next semester starts. So for the next few

00:17:42.680 --> 00:17:45.059
months, I read the Bible, but it was so hard

00:17:45.059 --> 00:17:47.720
to understand. I was like, what is it? What?

00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:50.220
It's just so many books. What's the Old Testament,

00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:52.859
New Testament? Thank God that the pastors and

00:17:52.859 --> 00:17:54.839
small group leaders, the people visiting at the

00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:56.859
hospital even, they kept visiting me, Eric, and

00:17:56.859 --> 00:17:58.579
taught me the truth of the scripture little by

00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:00.319
little. But I still told them, you know, something's

00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:03.869
missing. I said, I get it and I saw hell, but

00:18:03.869 --> 00:18:06.089
what's next? And they go, we believe you need

00:18:06.089 --> 00:18:08.430
to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And I said,

00:18:08.609 --> 00:18:11.190
baptized in the what? Like in water? And they're

00:18:11.190 --> 00:18:13.289
like, no, this is different. We want you to be

00:18:13.289 --> 00:18:15.549
filled with God's Spirit. So they suggested I

00:18:15.549 --> 00:18:18.029
go to a prayer mountain that the church was running.

00:18:18.210 --> 00:18:20.609
So Grace Church had a Grace Prayer Mountain back

00:18:20.609 --> 00:18:22.750
then there. So I go to the prayer mountain and

00:18:22.750 --> 00:18:25.609
there was an amazing pastor there who had service.

00:18:25.809 --> 00:18:27.670
It's like a monastery, modern day monastery.

00:18:28.089 --> 00:18:30.549
but it's a Protestant Christian, 6 a .m., 11

00:18:30.549 --> 00:18:33.230
a .m., 8 p .m., and I'm there, and He laid His

00:18:33.230 --> 00:18:36.130
hands on me on November 28th. And now I'm like

00:18:36.130 --> 00:18:38.150
listening to three sermons a day. It's like my

00:18:38.150 --> 00:18:39.910
first sermon ever, so I'm kind of understanding

00:18:39.910 --> 00:18:42.490
Christianity. It's all about Jesus dying for

00:18:42.490 --> 00:18:45.089
my sins on the cross, and I have to live a new

00:18:45.089 --> 00:18:48.089
life. But, you know, I'm still a little sick,

00:18:48.089 --> 00:18:50.549
still out of it. But when the Holy Spirit baptized

00:18:50.549 --> 00:18:55.069
me on November 20th, 1998, roughly nine weeks

00:18:55.069 --> 00:18:58.519
or so, 10 weeks after the event happened, I remember

00:18:58.519 --> 00:19:01.500
feeling just fire go through my body. I started

00:19:01.500 --> 00:19:03.700
speaking in tongues. I didn't even know what

00:19:03.700 --> 00:19:06.480
was going on, but this pastor put his hands on

00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:09.200
my head and said, God bless Steve, Lord. And

00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:11.740
Jesus said, Amen. I got filled with fire. That

00:19:11.740 --> 00:19:14.680
day I slept so well, like I felt like my body

00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:17.599
got rejuvenated. And little by little, Eric,

00:19:17.619 --> 00:19:20.599
just to encourage the listeners, it was a gradual

00:19:20.599 --> 00:19:25.039
healing, progressive revelation and gradual understanding

00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:27.279
of God. It wasn't like, now that you saw hell,

00:19:27.559 --> 00:19:30.079
Now you go preach the gospel. There's situations

00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:32.579
like that, but for me, it took me another three

00:19:32.579 --> 00:19:35.079
months just to understand the gospel and to understand

00:19:35.079 --> 00:19:37.740
church. And then in June, I saw heaven, but I

00:19:37.740 --> 00:19:38.980
don't know if I should go into that right now

00:19:38.980 --> 00:19:42.640
or... Yeah, let's go for it. So, you know, so

00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:44.539
I get baptized in the Spirit. I come back to

00:19:44.539 --> 00:19:46.839
school in January, back to Pomona College, thinking

00:19:46.839 --> 00:19:49.099
everything has to be fine and dandy. I hope this

00:19:49.099 --> 00:19:51.859
also encourages new believers and seekers. I

00:19:51.859 --> 00:19:53.680
thought I'd be like this holy guy, not tempted,

00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:56.869
but I started smoking again. drinking and partying

00:19:56.869 --> 00:19:58.210
again, Eric. Can you believe that? I'm getting

00:19:58.210 --> 00:20:00.930
high again. Because somewhere in the Bible, I

00:20:00.930 --> 00:20:03.289
read God is merciful. And I was like, He'll forgive

00:20:03.289 --> 00:20:06.250
me, right? So I'm like driving and I'm getting

00:20:06.250 --> 00:20:09.009
into car accidents. Every time I go out, it was

00:20:09.009 --> 00:20:12.150
scary. Steve, welcome to being human. We do stupid

00:20:12.150 --> 00:20:15.009
things. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. We need a savior

00:20:15.009 --> 00:20:17.509
every day. So he looks at, so my non -Christian

00:20:17.509 --> 00:20:20.109
friends look at me and they go, Steve, how come

00:20:20.109 --> 00:20:21.849
you're saved? And we heard your story, like everyone

00:20:21.849 --> 00:20:24.450
on campus knows about it. Oh, how come you're

00:20:24.450 --> 00:20:25.990
still getting high with us? You're a Christian

00:20:25.990 --> 00:20:27.349
now." And I go, yeah, you're right. I shouldn't

00:20:27.349 --> 00:20:28.490
be here. And they're like, yeah, you shouldn't

00:20:28.490 --> 00:20:30.650
be here anymore. Like they were preaching at

00:20:30.650 --> 00:20:32.950
me and they don't even know Jesus. So I felt

00:20:32.950 --> 00:20:35.329
so guilty and my church friends are like, come

00:20:35.329 --> 00:20:37.130
to church with me. And I was like, yeah, you're

00:20:37.130 --> 00:20:39.829
right. I need to go to church. So this gradual

00:20:39.829 --> 00:20:42.509
sanctification took another six months from January

00:20:42.509 --> 00:20:46.569
to June. But I was like, you know what? Yolo,

00:20:46.670 --> 00:20:49.150
let me party it out one last time. But every

00:20:49.150 --> 00:20:50.670
time I try to go to the world, the Lord would

00:20:50.670 --> 00:20:53.210
get me in a car accident, rebuke me, my Christian

00:20:53.210 --> 00:20:58.009
friends rebuke me. And I think I broke or surrendered

00:20:58.009 --> 00:21:01.789
more in the month of June, June of 1999, the

00:21:01.789 --> 00:21:05.430
summer of my sophomore year in college when God

00:21:05.430 --> 00:21:08.170
showed me a trip to heaven. He gave it to me.

00:21:08.190 --> 00:21:10.049
He showed me heaven, Eric, the heaven in the

00:21:10.049 --> 00:21:13.930
book of Revelation 20, 21, 22. When I least deserve

00:21:13.930 --> 00:21:16.509
it, when I least expected it, it's called grace.

00:21:16.569 --> 00:21:19.319
It's called amazing grace. None of us deserve,

00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:22.319
you know, the free gift of eternal life. It's

00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:24.700
literally a gift undeserved. And that makes human

00:21:24.700 --> 00:21:26.900
beings go, wow, I am thankful because we were

00:21:26.900 --> 00:21:29.920
created to thank and worship God. Thank and worship

00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:32.640
Him all the time. So here I am in this dream.

00:21:33.339 --> 00:21:37.099
I see heaven. I'm standing on top of a hill.

00:21:37.700 --> 00:21:40.799
And there is the most beautiful meadow and valley

00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:44.059
I've ever seen. I look up, the most beautiful

00:21:44.059 --> 00:21:47.619
sky. I was like, wow. And I hear an angelic choir.

00:21:47.829 --> 00:21:51.269
just worshiping God. And I knew it was angels,

00:21:51.450 --> 00:21:55.109
Eric, because the voice level, the quality, the

00:21:55.109 --> 00:21:58.329
depth, the joy, the beauty cannot be humans.

00:21:58.950 --> 00:22:02.069
Humans, not even the greatest soloist, baritone,

00:22:02.230 --> 00:22:04.990
Italian opera singer cannot sing like that. There's

00:22:04.990 --> 00:22:07.549
a worst bring the father. And I look up and I

00:22:07.549 --> 00:22:12.500
see this huge light and it speaks to me. And

00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:14.859
I knew it was God the Father. And he didn't go,

00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:16.779
you know, Steve, like, you know, I like your

00:22:16.779 --> 00:22:19.500
hair. He's not like chit chatty. He just said,

00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:24.579
Jesus Christ is my beloved Son in whom I am well

00:22:24.579 --> 00:22:28.480
pleased. Listen to him. Listen to him. Listen

00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:30.099
to him. Later on, because I haven't read the

00:22:30.099 --> 00:22:31.720
Bible too much at this time, but later on when

00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:33.319
I started going to seminary reading the Bible,

00:22:33.539 --> 00:22:36.059
like almost every day, Eric, Jesus actually says

00:22:36.059 --> 00:22:38.720
that three times out of the four gospels where

00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:42.210
God, when Jesus is being baptized, When Jesus

00:22:42.210 --> 00:22:45.309
prays, the Holy Spirit falls when He's baptized,

00:22:45.710 --> 00:22:48.369
the Kingdom of God comes because Jesus is the

00:22:48.369 --> 00:22:51.170
Kingdom of God. Wherever He is, God is there,

00:22:51.210 --> 00:22:53.589
the Father and the Son are one. And I remember

00:22:53.589 --> 00:22:56.549
hearing His voice. I saw the glory of the Father

00:22:56.549 --> 00:22:59.349
and I felt His love for me, Eric. And I was like,

00:22:59.349 --> 00:23:01.710
you know what? This is where I belong. And I

00:23:01.710 --> 00:23:03.750
want all my loved ones to experience this. I

00:23:03.750 --> 00:23:05.930
want my mom, my dad, my brother, my ex -girlfriend,

00:23:05.970 --> 00:23:08.490
even my enemies sometimes, my friends who hurt

00:23:08.490 --> 00:23:11.269
me. I want them to experience the exact same

00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:14.180
perfect peace and presence of God because in

00:23:14.180 --> 00:23:17.599
His presence, there was and is and will be a

00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:21.299
fullness of joy and peace to the maximum capacity

00:23:21.299 --> 00:23:24.680
humans can experience. So I said, wow, I saw

00:23:24.680 --> 00:23:27.240
heaven. And then I saw the New Jerusalem, Revelation

00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:31.859
20, 21, this huge city made of pure translucent

00:23:31.859 --> 00:23:35.880
gold. The whole city was gold coming from heaven.

00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:40.130
Just like the Bible says, 2 ,000 stadia by 2

00:23:40.130 --> 00:23:42.210
,000 stadia by 2 ,000 stadia. It's a distance

00:23:42.210 --> 00:23:44.670
from Texas to New York. It's a perfect cube.

00:23:45.410 --> 00:23:47.369
It looked like a triangle looking up, but the

00:23:47.369 --> 00:23:50.049
city came down and I saw the heavenly Jerusalem

00:23:50.049 --> 00:23:52.230
that the saints of God reign for a thousand years.

00:23:52.369 --> 00:23:54.789
It talks about it on the scripture. And I was

00:23:54.789 --> 00:23:56.890
like, wow, who needs money when you're going

00:23:56.890 --> 00:23:58.730
to live in that thing? Like God has all the wealth

00:23:58.730 --> 00:24:01.109
in the world. Wow. And I was just worshiping

00:24:01.109 --> 00:24:04.029
it. And I woke up and I said, I just saw heaven.

00:24:04.170 --> 00:24:07.049
I saw the rivers, the meadow, the grass. I saw

00:24:07.049 --> 00:24:10.289
the new heaven and new earth. And I opened my

00:24:10.289 --> 00:24:11.990
eyes and I said, you know what, I can't keep

00:24:11.990 --> 00:24:14.130
partying. I think something's gotta change. So

00:24:14.130 --> 00:24:16.309
after a series of more car accidents, after that

00:24:16.309 --> 00:24:18.490
dream, I stopped partying, Eric. I said, Lord,

00:24:18.490 --> 00:24:21.130
I surrender. And I went to be a full -time missionary

00:24:21.130 --> 00:24:24.069
in China. A year later, I just moved. I quit

00:24:24.069 --> 00:24:26.650
school. I just moved to China. Okay, a couple

00:24:26.650 --> 00:24:30.190
of quick questions. First one is, I hope you're

00:24:30.190 --> 00:24:34.430
okay answering this. You said that you saw the

00:24:34.430 --> 00:24:37.690
glory of God. What exactly does that mean? Does

00:24:37.690 --> 00:24:40.930
that mean you saw a godly person? What did you

00:24:40.930 --> 00:24:43.210
see? Yeah, I didn't see his face. I didn't even

00:24:43.210 --> 00:24:45.369
see a body. You know, I know some friends who

00:24:45.369 --> 00:24:47.150
saw the Father like sitting on the throne and

00:24:47.150 --> 00:24:48.769
they saw his feet and all that. I didn't see

00:24:48.769 --> 00:24:52.490
none of that. I just saw an emanating like sun

00:24:52.490 --> 00:24:55.849
-looking light and in this light he spoke. I

00:24:55.849 --> 00:24:58.549
just knew it was God the Father because he called

00:24:58.549 --> 00:25:01.630
Jesus the Son. I didn't see a figure or like

00:25:01.630 --> 00:25:05.589
a throne or even or like a hair or face. I just

00:25:05.589 --> 00:25:09.000
saw light. emanating at me. And the light spoke,

00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:12.740
and I knew it was God the Father. And when He

00:25:12.740 --> 00:25:16.400
spoke, the voice was so authoritative, rushing

00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:19.960
of many rivers. It's so warm and authoritative.

00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:23.140
It's God, the Most High Voice. And when I heard

00:25:23.140 --> 00:25:25.339
His voice, it wrecked me. I will never forget

00:25:25.339 --> 00:25:28.480
it. It was 25 years ago, 26 years ago, and I

00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:32.000
still can go back to that experience like it's

00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:34.069
happening right now. That's interesting that

00:25:34.069 --> 00:25:37.329
it can sound both warm and authoritative at the

00:25:37.329 --> 00:25:40.549
same time. Yeah. And I think that's why Jesus

00:25:40.549 --> 00:25:43.230
Christ said, I came full of grace and truth.

00:25:43.849 --> 00:25:45.910
He came filled with grace and truth. Some people

00:25:45.910 --> 00:25:48.869
say, lovey -dovey, you know, God loves everybody.

00:25:48.890 --> 00:25:52.509
He does, but He's also holy. Truth is not evil.

00:25:52.690 --> 00:25:56.009
Truth is what is the, what is fact. God is holy.

00:25:56.069 --> 00:25:58.470
He is still King. He's my dad. He's your dad.

00:25:58.859 --> 00:26:01.240
We can be intimate with Him, but He's still the

00:26:01.240 --> 00:26:04.500
highest president, highest king of all. All creation

00:26:04.500 --> 00:26:05.980
worships Him. So it's kind of weird because we

00:26:05.980 --> 00:26:08.579
like His kids, but we still worship Him and He's

00:26:08.579 --> 00:26:10.279
our dad. It's like there's different modes. I

00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:13.019
feel like we can have the son -kid -baby moment.

00:26:13.059 --> 00:26:15.519
We can have the bond -servant -master moment.

00:26:15.539 --> 00:26:18.380
We can have the creation -creator moment. There's

00:26:18.380 --> 00:26:21.319
so many facets to our relationship with the Father.

00:26:21.720 --> 00:26:24.779
I feel like the human beings are created to experience

00:26:24.779 --> 00:26:28.940
all of that, to be intimate. and worshiping and

00:26:28.940 --> 00:26:31.900
surrender to God because He's the Creator, we're

00:26:31.900 --> 00:26:35.660
the creature. And we were, I'll be very frank

00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:38.859
with you today, and every day, we were created

00:26:38.859 --> 00:26:42.099
to worship. We were like, I feel like my DNA,

00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:45.380
my heart was made to worship. If we worship the

00:26:45.380 --> 00:26:48.319
wrong thing, end up all funky and weird, if we

00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:51.500
worship God, we become like Him, holy. We become

00:26:51.500 --> 00:26:54.339
whom we behold. And God says, when you see my

00:26:54.339 --> 00:26:56.940
son Jesus, you saw me. So it's like, He's also

00:26:56.940 --> 00:27:00.450
human. His son is, so we can interact with him.

00:27:00.529 --> 00:27:02.849
He's very compassionate. He's very merciful.

00:27:03.289 --> 00:27:05.529
The other question that I had a few minutes ago,

00:27:05.529 --> 00:27:09.230
I asked you about your actual feelings when you

00:27:09.230 --> 00:27:12.650
were in hell. What were your feelings and emotions

00:27:12.650 --> 00:27:18.549
in heaven? In heaven, I felt accepted, felt home.

00:27:18.710 --> 00:27:22.769
I felt like this is my home. I felt bliss, pure

00:27:22.769 --> 00:27:26.109
bliss, like no worries. Like hell was like anxiety,

00:27:26.170 --> 00:27:30.509
worry, fear. multiplied, heaven was like loved,

00:27:30.910 --> 00:27:35.869
joyful, peace, serenity, glory, exciting all

00:27:35.869 --> 00:27:39.509
at once. It's like no drug and cafe can produce

00:27:39.509 --> 00:27:41.630
that kind of feeling on earth. Sometimes when

00:27:41.630 --> 00:27:43.970
I worship, I get close to that feeling. But when

00:27:43.970 --> 00:27:46.130
I was in heaven Eric, I felt like I was where

00:27:46.130 --> 00:27:48.670
I was supposed to be in my father's bosom. Yeah.

00:27:48.769 --> 00:27:50.430
I felt like this is where I'm going to spend

00:27:50.430 --> 00:27:53.279
eternity. So every day now I live for heaven.

00:27:53.640 --> 00:27:55.660
Every day we pray in the morning one hour, two

00:27:55.660 --> 00:27:58.460
hours, we evangelize souls, go to mission fields,

00:27:58.599 --> 00:28:01.599
serve the homeless, build a church, forgive the

00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:04.259
unforgivable, bless the unblessable, love the

00:28:04.259 --> 00:28:06.740
unlovable, and serve those who can never repay

00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:10.000
us. Take up the cross every day because that's

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:12.680
the only way to go to heaven is surrender. We're

00:28:12.680 --> 00:28:16.180
not saved by works, but this proves we're truly

00:28:16.180 --> 00:28:18.609
repented and saved. I feel like the Lord made

00:28:18.609 --> 00:28:20.970
us to experience all that. And by the way, God

00:28:20.970 --> 00:28:23.829
wants everybody there, Eric. God desires all

00:28:23.829 --> 00:28:27.049
men in heaven. Amen, 2nd Timothy, yes. I couldn't

00:28:27.049 --> 00:28:30.730
agree more. He does not want anyone to go down

00:28:30.730 --> 00:28:33.869
and experience the place where you were. If we

00:28:33.869 --> 00:28:37.230
really are His children, He wants us all to come

00:28:37.230 --> 00:28:40.609
back to Him. Yes, amen. That's really the bottom

00:28:40.609 --> 00:28:44.650
line of His whole plan. How much fear of death

00:28:44.650 --> 00:28:48.269
do you have? Zero I think as a Buddhist I was

00:28:48.269 --> 00:28:50.869
so afraid to die because in Buddhism I was taught

00:28:50.869 --> 00:28:54.309
due to my sin or my past life I'll be born into

00:28:54.309 --> 00:28:58.029
an ant if I wrong somebody a cow I was like man

00:28:58.029 --> 00:29:00.430
if I die, I'm gonna be a pig in my next life.

00:29:00.490 --> 00:29:03.549
Am I gonna be somebody's barbecue? You know,

00:29:03.589 --> 00:29:05.589
so I was McDonald's, you know Big Mac and I was

00:29:05.589 --> 00:29:08.369
so worried and I was so afraid of demons because

00:29:08.369 --> 00:29:10.809
the monks never taught me how to battle demons

00:29:10.809 --> 00:29:13.609
in Christianity You bind that sucker. You're

00:29:13.609 --> 00:29:15.210
saying, Jesus seeing the devil be gone, I'm not

00:29:15.210 --> 00:29:18.269
afraid of you. My Savior fights my battles. Jesus

00:29:18.269 --> 00:29:21.970
is inside of me. So His perfect love casts out

00:29:21.970 --> 00:29:24.930
all fear. Now the last enemy to be defeated,

00:29:25.089 --> 00:29:26.769
according to the Bible, Eric, as you well know,

00:29:26.809 --> 00:29:29.369
and hopefully some of the listeners can think

00:29:29.369 --> 00:29:32.349
about this, is the last enemy to be defeated

00:29:32.349 --> 00:29:35.289
is death because the devil used death, which

00:29:35.289 --> 00:29:38.390
is a result of sin or us choosing to go away

00:29:38.390 --> 00:29:41.059
from God at the Garden of Eden. Death is like

00:29:41.059 --> 00:29:44.539
the ultimate price to pay for not being with

00:29:44.539 --> 00:29:47.380
God. But Jesus took care of all that on the cross.

00:29:47.960 --> 00:29:50.200
So after seeing heaven and hell, Eric, I have

00:29:50.200 --> 00:29:53.000
no fear of death. Sometimes I look at earth and

00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:54.440
I go, man, I experienced everything on earth

00:29:54.440 --> 00:29:56.799
and nothing here for me. I'm just an alien and

00:29:56.799 --> 00:29:59.160
a stranger or a pilgrim just passing through,

00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:01.900
just like first Peter says. And I look forward

00:30:01.900 --> 00:30:03.819
to death. I look forward to heaven. I look forward

00:30:03.819 --> 00:30:06.200
to seeing my maker and saying, Lord, All I want

00:30:06.200 --> 00:30:09.039
to hear from you is, well done, my good and faithful

00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:11.819
servant. Enter into the joy of your Master. And

00:30:11.819 --> 00:30:15.680
my Master is Jesus. My Lord is Jesus. He dictates

00:30:15.680 --> 00:30:18.440
my life. Whatever He wants, I do. What doesn't

00:30:18.440 --> 00:30:22.099
please Him, I fight and say no to, sin and whatever

00:30:22.099 --> 00:30:24.339
He wants. I say, yes, Lord, help me to obey You.

00:30:24.759 --> 00:30:28.059
So yeah, I can boldly tell you with all my heart

00:30:28.059 --> 00:30:30.809
and mind that I have zero fear of death. That's

00:30:30.809 --> 00:30:33.049
why I'm preaching in mosques, preaching in temples,

00:30:33.269 --> 00:30:35.730
preaching at Costco, preaching in the streets,

00:30:35.990 --> 00:30:39.710
byways, opposition, homeless people, drunk people,

00:30:40.210 --> 00:30:41.609
people who hate you, love you, it doesn't matter.

00:30:41.730 --> 00:30:43.869
We preach the gospel anywhere, everywhere. Not

00:30:43.869 --> 00:30:45.730
because we're cooler, like we're better than

00:30:45.730 --> 00:30:48.150
them or we want to cause a scene, but we got

00:30:48.150 --> 00:30:50.269
to get the word out that Jesus is Lord and He

00:30:50.269 --> 00:30:52.470
wants to save everybody. He loves everybody.

00:30:53.009 --> 00:30:55.029
All right, very last thing that I'm gonna let

00:30:55.029 --> 00:30:58.210
you go and that is our show is all about hope

00:30:58.210 --> 00:31:01.750
and Giving people hope and there is one person

00:31:01.750 --> 00:31:04.650
out there and it only matters if this is for

00:31:04.650 --> 00:31:08.170
one person That needs some kind of a message

00:31:08.170 --> 00:31:11.789
today. Maybe they lost a loved one Maybe they've

00:31:11.789 --> 00:31:14.769
just had really a rough year with every trial

00:31:14.769 --> 00:31:17.410
you can imagine What kind of message of hope

00:31:17.410 --> 00:31:20.259
do you have for this person? Yeah, Eric. Yeah,

00:31:20.259 --> 00:31:22.240
that's such a good thing. I love how your show

00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:25.279
is about giving hope to people. The God of Mercy

00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:27.980
visited me at my lowest state when I was totally

00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:31.539
hopeless, totally dead, and that's the kind of

00:31:31.539 --> 00:31:35.619
God we have. Now, this message I really pray

00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:38.319
with all my heart in Jesus' name will encourage

00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:41.220
at least one person or even more. The Lord, when

00:31:41.220 --> 00:31:44.339
we come to Him, Jesus, He doesn't ask us about

00:31:44.339 --> 00:31:47.390
all the wrong He did. In the Bible, when he encounters

00:31:47.390 --> 00:31:50.869
tax collectors, even prostitutes, fishermen,

00:31:51.410 --> 00:31:53.349
violent people, he doesn't go, look what you

00:31:53.349 --> 00:31:55.829
did. When he met me, he never said, Steve, you're

00:31:55.829 --> 00:31:58.390
such an idol worshipping Buddhist. I can't believe

00:31:58.390 --> 00:32:00.849
you didn't come to me until now. All he told

00:32:00.849 --> 00:32:04.009
me was, I love you. No more drugs, no more Buddhism,

00:32:04.269 --> 00:32:07.089
Steve, and I love you. And God is telling you

00:32:07.089 --> 00:32:09.849
right now that He loves you. He's not going to

00:32:09.849 --> 00:32:13.109
ask about your mistakes to your past ex -husband,

00:32:13.349 --> 00:32:16.359
your sins, your... all the mess -ups you made,

00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:18.400
He already knows all that, and He has chosen

00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:22.259
to forgive you. So please come as you are, surrender

00:32:22.259 --> 00:32:24.920
at His feet, and no matter what stage in life

00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:26.940
you're in, or you've been Christian or not, what

00:32:26.940 --> 00:32:28.900
religious background you have, just come to Jesus,

00:32:29.480 --> 00:32:33.079
say, Lord, I need you, I need your mercy. Father,

00:32:33.180 --> 00:32:35.099
God, help me, and He will help you. And you might

00:32:35.099 --> 00:32:37.160
be like, what if He doesn't help me? What if

00:32:37.160 --> 00:32:39.960
He does help you? What if He doesn't show up?

00:32:39.960 --> 00:32:42.359
What if He shows up and He will show up? Because

00:32:42.359 --> 00:32:44.740
in Him is always yes and amen. And the Lord is

00:32:44.740 --> 00:32:47.700
asking you to not fear. Fear is a tactic of the

00:32:47.700 --> 00:32:50.119
enemy. The God is telling you today it's going

00:32:50.119 --> 00:32:53.200
to be okay. Do not fear. Do not be anxious about

00:32:53.200 --> 00:32:55.799
anything. Just thank me and let me guide you.

00:32:55.819 --> 00:32:58.539
He says he has you. All he wants is your heart.

00:32:58.579 --> 00:33:00.460
And you might be like, my heart is dirty. It's

00:33:00.460 --> 00:33:02.799
not perfect. Welcome to the club. Eight billion

00:33:02.799 --> 00:33:05.539
people have broken, messed up hearts. But when

00:33:05.539 --> 00:33:08.400
I gave my broken, messed up, idol worshiping,

00:33:08.579 --> 00:33:12.460
suicidal, depressed, zero self -esteem, no value

00:33:12.460 --> 00:33:14.579
for others, heart to God. I said, Lord, this

00:33:14.579 --> 00:33:16.819
is all I have. He said, you know what, Steve?

00:33:17.339 --> 00:33:19.859
It is not clean, but you gave me what you have.

00:33:19.880 --> 00:33:22.059
And he took it, and he gave me a new heart. So

00:33:22.059 --> 00:33:24.099
today, I want to say God bless you with a new

00:33:24.099 --> 00:33:26.279
heart and a new spirit, because that's what Jesus

00:33:26.279 --> 00:33:28.480
does. He's not religion. He literally gives you

00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:30.339
a new heart and a new spirit. He's called being

00:33:30.339 --> 00:33:33.380
born again, and He will take charge of you, and

00:33:33.380 --> 00:33:35.980
He loves you very much. He will never leave you

00:33:35.980 --> 00:33:40.259
or forsake you, in Jesus' name. Amen. You nailed

00:33:40.259 --> 00:33:42.819
it, Steve. Thank you. Thank you, Eric. Yeah,

00:33:42.819 --> 00:33:48.000
thank you for your time. Thanks again for listening

00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:50.460
and sharing this podcast. Don't forget to hit

00:33:50.460 --> 00:33:53.299
the follow or subscribe button and sign up for

00:33:53.299 --> 00:33:56.160
our newsletter at roundtripdeath .com. If you

00:33:56.160 --> 00:33:58.740
want to share your near -death experience, or

00:33:58.740 --> 00:34:00.680
if you have questions or comments about the show,

00:34:01.180 --> 00:34:04.279
send an email to eric at roundtripdeath .com.

00:34:04.619 --> 00:34:06.759
Until then, I wish you everything good that you're

00:34:06.759 --> 00:34:09.159
looking for in this life and the next.