Chaddock has invited me to come and talk about my testimony on how God found me and also how the Lord has changed my attitude towards my policing and first off I'm Michael Mahal Sookie I've been Officer for 15 years I used to work in district number two I did about 12 years here at number 2 it's at all good 12 years and I'm currently signed to downtown I work out of the warrants squad so right now I'm just looking for people who are wanted on warrants but also assigned right now temporary to the robbery task force and if you hear all the carjackings and things like that so were involved in working on those types of cases that you see about three years ago on a Labor Day weekend 2013 I was home my family was gone on a weekend trip I was home alone is about the middle of a afternoon and I was gonna work some overtime for a brewery game and worked the parking lot I had a bicycle and everything I was kind of running late but I got a phone call I got a phone call from an old friend they haven't talked to in over 20 years and they're just looking for a mutual phone number and through the grapevine I heard that should have met family member that passed away a nephew died at a young age between 17 and 19 years of age and I said boy then what's been very devastating for you your sister your mom I knew them all I didn't know who died but he said it was very devastating a sibling found him dead he was climbing on some rocks found him the next day he was dead and horrible story and began to discuss the death of what had happened and well then she had told me about her sister believed his name was Aaron was reincarnated as a bird all the time I wasn't saved I had my thoughts on God but I thought boy if this is getting her name was sherry if this is getting sherry through her tough time I thought great so be it you know what's what's what's the big deal why is that so bad I thought you know it's a tough time if she believes that her son came back as a bird okay it's getting her through the time well her voice changed not angry not sad it just changed I heard this change in a voice and she said Mike that's not the worst part of it and I thought what is she gonna say that's worse than sibling finding someone dead the way that that happened and she says to me did my sister tell my nephew about God did my sister tell my nephew about God BAM my heart was pierced my head just started spinning after those words I had to run I was running late we took a little bit more briefly she said Mike I talked to my cousin who was a believer and just wanted to know if he went to heaven or not and the Neph and the person she was talking to sounded like this kind of pandered her yes he's in heaven don't worry about it but her voice stuck with me is he in heaven did my sister tell him about God I had to get ready for work I had to shower and everything and throughout that day I they remember going to work I'd worked the parking lot riding a bicycle I must have been about six hours I do the overtime because I want the money I was just just one a guy I just wanted to get out of that baseball game and just go home my heart was sinking Mike's head was just spinning all the thoughts of people who had talked to me about God throughout my entire life just started is going through my head as a child people that I heard talk about God whether it was good or bad my thoughts on God were just coming bits and pieces throughout work-work relations going to homes people on the street hearing just walking past a Bucks game or something and someone passing on a Bible track all these spots just kept going through my head well then thoughts came through my head thoughts of all the time my curse God all the times I mock God all the times I shook my fist at God all the times I didn't believe in God all the miracles that happen in my life that I just shook stuff it just happened it just happened my heart was just spinning that next morning I got up and still my head just spinning what was said did I tell my nephew about God well that next day I wasn't got a cup of coffee I went to a spot you wouldn't apart where I take our dog running and that day I had with me drop it I had a Bible track I had a Bible track that I did not throw away it was given to me by my old partner Tim szalinski Tim szalinski is a believer he put his trust in faith in the Lord and he always tried talking to me it worked about God well one day we got sent to a trouble with a subject off of not too far from here 16th and Beecher it was a gentleman a young man about 20 years of age who they were kicking off the bus they were kicking him off the bus because he was reading the Bible on the bus so he got there security was there the gentleman was very very nice and he just refused to get back on the bus says no no problem guys everything's ok we're gonna make him go back on the bus tell the bus driver he's going back on you can't do this he said no problem I love a few blocks away but he gave me that vital track I just had it here with me but I kept that Bible track something inside of me said don't throw it away I kept it in my visor I went to Whitnall park and I thought to myself did I tell my wife Susan and my son John about God and I didn't I didn't I was 47 and a half years old at that time and I didn't tell him about God I didn't tell Susan my wife and my son and it was at that moment that I knew I was gonna bow down to the Lord and that I was gonna have to cut to answer why didn't you tell your wife why didn't you tell your son about me he showed me everything but I blew it off I didn't listen he and that pierced my heart and that is when the Lord opened my eyes and my ears to my sins of who I was - just just my wicked ways he opened my heart that morning I realized then after reading that Bible track I put my faith in my trust in the Lord afterwards I had a friend my friend Tim also put me about our church that he went to Grace Community Bible Church up on 84th and Beloit I left that day I went to work the next day Tim wasn't there he was there on a Tuesday I saw him I said Tim you will see me in church next Sunday I had never stopped going back [Applause] forty seven and a half years all that was and that's what it took for God to pierce my heart that phone call wasn't no fluke twenty years twenty years I had not talked this person twenty years and just asking for a phone number and just asking how is your family what happened and when I heard that voice it pierced me and that is when God opened my eyes in my ears and that is when God had saved me for 12 and a half years as a police officer non-believer I felt I did a good job I thought they went out there I came to work I don't call in sick I'm out there I'm I'm I felt inside I was doing the right things but also had a lot of anger and I had a lot of hate I had a lot of hate with drug dealers I had a lot of hate for the gang members here on the south side I had a lot of hate for the prostitutes out here and I had a lot of hate for the drug users out here I hated seeing what they were doing out here inside I hated them hates not a strong enough word it's how I felt for some of these people especially the gang members I used to wish some of the gang members I used to deal with I'd estimate all the time that I wish I'd when when you hear that shooting called over off of 8th and Lapham yes it's gonna be one of those guys and I'm gonna roll up and it's gonna be their last breath and I'm gonna walk up on him and I'm gonna grab him by the throat I'm gonna say listen so-and-so you're going to hell well at that time what I didn't know that person if I would have done that would have grabbed me by my collar and said you're coming with me Mike because that's where I was going I used to think I was better than a drug dealer I just think I was better than a prostitute I just think I was better than everybody I'm not I am NOT better than a drug dealer I am I am not better than a prostitute I am the same I am just a sinner I am better than nobody in here I am the worst sinner there is so with that the Lord has changed my heart he has softened my heart he has opened my eyes to my sins and he has taken that hate and that anger oh wait I don't have that anger anymore I don't have that hate that's not because of something I read in a self-help book that's not something that I just said I'm gonna change my ways today January 1st 2016 I'm not gonna hit anybody no more no it is God because I realized these people are no different than I am I am one step away from being role reversed role reversed with them I could be me locked up guys worked me in many ways because he's opened my eyes and my ears to like Chad said what we're dealing with our crimes of sin that's how I take his assignments I don't walk in anymore you are a scumbag you are a piece of garbage know what's going on here is sin the domestic violence that's the hitting the physical the stealing the robbing the shooting these are all sins and that is what changed my attitude about policing that's why I'm more the hate is gone I'm more confident when I do I can walk into the home not be frustrated I can get frustrated but not like before okay this is a sinful problem we I can walk in now and say God is not here okay now I can work with that I understand you don't have the Lord let's work with that right now instead of verbally abusing people now if I have a conversation with someone that's that I know it's gonna be going down to jail I will try to give them a Bible track as they run to the cell I try to talk to him open up not everybody I talked to there's got to be a communication there but every person that I've given a Bible track to when they've gone to the cell no one has cursed me no one said take this card and shove it nothing like that some people have cried some people have broke down some people have said no one has ever spoken the word of God to me before in their life and some have said I'm not I don't believe but I'll take the card thank you no one has ever cursed me out doing that I don't know what's happened but when I leave work now instead of cursing instead of hating every person every person that I'm involved in arresting I pray for them I pray that why they're sitting that jail cell that they seek the Lord what better place in that filthy stinking jail cell to seek the Lord that's where I pray for I pray they read that card that I give them and I also pray for the families that they seek the Lord because that person inside there he can be locked up maybe for 10 years 20 years temporary this is just man's court this is just man's court final judgment is with the Lord and that's what matters as we see going on right now we see a lot of anti sediment with the police officers getting shot but also crime throughout if you watch the news is really getting out of hand and what God has done he's open my eyes that this is coming and in Matthew 24 then Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his type of disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple and Jesus said to them do you not see all these things assuredly I say to you now one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down now he has set at the Mount Olives the disciples came to him privately saying tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age and jesus answered and said take heed that no one deceives you for many will come in my name saying I am the Christ and will deceive many and you will hear the hear of wars and rumors of war see that you are not troubled for all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet for nation will rise against nation and Kingdom against Kingdom and there will be famines pestilence and earthquakes in various places all these are the beginning of Sorrows then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake and then many will be offended will be betrayed one another and will hate one another then many false prophets will rise in deceive many and because lawlessness is overseeing will abound the love of many will grow cold but he endures to the end shall be saved and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations and then two will come we see the lawlessness is coming it's not getting any better but we need to spread God's Word but there is hope and in John 3:16 317 for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life for God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to the world through him might be saved that's the answer right there to be saved I just want to end I'm not sure who ever Spieth what it is hopefully we can plant some seeds but if you're not saved by the Lord salvation is the most important thing in the world both now and Hereafter if you are not saved nothing really matters thank you