My Story

Here's the story about Mark Anthony's Testimony, aired on TBN back in these days.

Transcript

00:00you know I think I got introduced to smoking marijuana when I was like 13 years old really

00:09just hanging around their own crowd got introduced to it and obviously that led to hardest drugs

00:13cocaine you know prescription pills was a huge you know issue I had and really just making those

00:20choices and that that kept spiraling down I kept getting worse and worse I mean I remember growing

00:26up in church you know in the south and we had to go to church because you know that's what everybody

00:30did that was that was mandatory to go to church but I never had a relationship with God I never

00:35prayed I never read the word probably the the lowest point in my life is on my mom's birthday in 2004 being

00:49strung out on cocaine and being in the intensive care room with my aunt and my sister and watching

00:56my father pass away right in front of my eyes and being 18 years old and watching my father grasp

01:03for air and and pass away right in front of me that was that was the lowest point of my life when I lost

01:09my father it's even harder to you know come up with words and how to even share about that but that was

01:17my lowest point my breaking point if you will or I knew that I was lost

01:22my life spiraled out of control until I was at the very bottom really about to to die didn't didn't want

01:38anymore and one month later I found myself in in the county detention center in jail broken lost I'm

01:49just a teenager just lost my father no hope in my life and my mom she would always pray for me and tell

01:55me that I had a call upon my life to help people and to preach the word and she was praying for me to

02:01go to Teen Challenge this one-year Christian rehab place there were some pretty serious charges man

02:10and they were going to send me to prison for four to six years and but thank God they gave me all to

02:15made them to go I could do that or I go to Teen Challenge for one year and so obviously I chose to

02:21go to Teen Challenge I got delivered from drug addiction through really like in a practical way it

02:30really wasn't some you know where it was like some you know some lightning bolt came down or God just

02:35said you're delivered it was me going to a place that taught me how to pray you know that taught me

02:40how to read the word where I got discipled or where somebody really explained you know the Bible to me

02:46like in a way that I can understand it you know so I could apply it really to my everyday life you know

02:50waking up and just throughout the day just having that relationship with Jesus and just a real not a

02:55very religious way not because I had to you know but because I had a desire to want to change I

03:01didn't want to live like that anymore and so I think for me as I worked with the Lord you know and

03:07put my work in too and I think that's where my freedom came from my spiritual father Saudi Bianca

03:15actually who led me to the Lord from Sandhills Teen Challenge he got saved I think 35 years ago he

03:22was strung out on cocaine and he walked into his mom's house and his mom was watching TV and Christian

03:28television and while he was sitting there how cocaine he gave his life to Christ watching TV 35 years ago

03:37and that's the gentleman that mentors me that led me to the Lord and so without Christian television who knows

03:44if I would even have the chance to got saved I got you know had a whole new life so that's just very

03:49interesting to think about the impact and the legacy of TVN is it's pretty strong man it's pretty strong

03:56it's crazy thinking you know for me looking back I never would thought that I would become a minister

04:03or be your preacher I had no that was never a desire for me to be some preacher I never thought I would

04:08ever do that I was always the wild kid and you never know what God's going to do with your life

04:13and how he can use your story you know my story is the grace of God that Jesus can take somebody that

04:21is screwed up that's lost that has nothing that's in jail that's broken that's on the verge of maybe

04:27taking their own life Jesus can take that life and he can touch that life and he can use that to change

04:33other people that's what he wants to do and so that's what I would say is then go for it man you know I mean

04:38if God has put stuff in your heart dreams and purpose and visions don't hold back man go for

04:44it and you know I think you'll be surprised at how God will use your life