How A Hotel Room Changed My Life Forever | Jimmy Fortune

[Music] [Music] tennard Jimmy fortune towards saying and performed with the legendary Statler Brothers for 21 years he was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the gospel Hall of Fame in 2008 and 2007 respectively today his new album God and country says it all because our country needs God and needs to know what America was built on there is hope for the future this is his story of unshakeable faith this is today's life Jimmy thank you for sitting down to talk with me today what an honor to be with you well thank you Terry I appreciate that it's good to be here with you today well take me back a little bit when you were with the Statler Brothers I knew it was 1993 I was at Ben with the statue brothers you know for quite a few years and I was going through a pretty painful divorce my father had been diagnosed with cancer and and it was he they gave him about a year to live and I was really having a tough time dealing with all that we were going on the road and we stopped in Little Rock Arkansas but March 1993 I didn't want to leave home because my family life was kind of just in turmoil and on our way to Little Rock Arkansas we got there about 2:00 in the morning it was cloudy and this I mean foggy I couldn't sleep so on the bus so I just got off the bus and I made my way into the hotel room and it was just as depressing hotel I think I can't even explain I was really down I'm gonna leave down about it down as I've ever been in my life at that time couldn't fix things you know and I wondered you know I I knew that I would never commit suicide or anything like that I knew in my heart I'd never do something like that but I understood why people get in that frame of mind sometimes you know Ben they get so far down I would let the hotel room and I was sitting there on side the bed and I just I couldn't sleep I sit there and and I just like I didn't know what to do what to say I wanted to call somebody by did another call and I looked over at the nightstand and the Bible was open there was a Gideon Bible there was open and I just ran over to the Bible and I looked down and it was jeremiah 525 it said it said your sins and your iniquities have kept good things from you man I just I said on inside the bed and I just felt like Jesus was sitting there right there with me I really felt like he was there I was like I know you're here and I know he was saying Jimmy this is my word this is how I speak to you you need to open it up and look at it sometimes and read it this is how I'm speaking to you now your sins and your iniquities have kept good things from you nobody else's name can go in there but your if you're gonna change your life you've got to change it with you and it starts with you you can't change anybody else you can't do anything about anybody else and so and I and I just broke down and I was crying and I felt like I said you know I know you're I know you're here Jesus I know you're sitting right beside me I feel like if I look I'm gonna see you but if I look I'm doubting that you're there and I didn't look I just I said I know you're here and that moment was a defining moment in my life I said I want you to come into my heart clean my heart out don't just come in the living room come into all the places that I have in there and clean every room out and from that moment on he started working in my life and I knew that my life was starting to take a different direction and that was in 1993 so then he began to work in my life that that you know things were changing and I knew it was probably coming to a time when the stouter brothers were going to end and they were going to say we're retiring because I was a little bit younger than they were and I was scared about what I was going to do and but I knew in my heart that God had a purpose for me that all those things had led me to that moment and then I wanted him to come into my heart and be the main part of my life you know and he did and I remember running to to Harold and Dawn and Phil and telling them you know what had happened you know and that even though I was sad in a lot of ways about things that were happening in my life but I had a peace and a joy that I couldn't explain that was it was the more of a power that I could get through this stuff and eventually I lost my father he passed away and first big loss that I had in my family and it was really hard to deal with and of course went through the divorce and everything and started moving on with my life but but God began to change and do a work in me that I that I can't explain today but I saw it happen in my father years ago he was an alcoholic you know I saw him give his life to Christ when I was about 12 years old and he was the worst kind of alcoholic I mean you can't imagine and from what he did me seeing when he did in his life that he didn't run from God he ran to God through my mother's prayers my mother was a big prayer warrior and Oh her for where I'm at today and we all do because our lives were changed by her prayers so many people do run from God yeah mom always said that she said Jimmy no matter what you do in life I don't care what it is don't ever run from God run to God and so that's that's where I do I run right to him every time something comes up in my life boy I mean and I'm on my knees every night and praying for for people and and and people say prayer doesn't matter some people say prayer doesn't matter let me tell you something prayer is the most powerful tool we have in our lives I've seen it I've seen miracles I've seen so many miracles that have happened in my life I've seen miracles happen in other people's lives through someone asking me to pray for them you know so tell me from that point where has God led you well he's led me to this point in my life that spent 17 years now and I've teamed up with Bill Gaither about four years ago it's kind of led me more into the gospel realm than it has the country realm but even though I that's where I kind of came from but this new project God and country that we did I always felt like if ever our country needs God it's now because now after 9/11 when 9/11 happened you know when we all came together well whether you were Democrat Republican or whatever independent well no matter what color we were no matter what religion we were we all came together and prayed and and loved on one another and then it's like every day after that we've getting further and further and further away from God you know and it's like what happened why can't we come together not just when we need God but when we have him and he's blessing us so much and we still forget about God we still you know think that it's like he's not mentioned you know and until something really bad happens why does something bad as that happen for us to turn to God why can't we just love him and love each other like he wants us to everyday and that's why this project that that I did was it's called God and country and it celebrates our freedom it celebrates our independence they celebrates God and what he's done for us feel like this this country was built on four words In God We Trust it was built on those four words and then sometimes somehow we keep getting it getting attacked with those four words people don't want to they don't want to hear it they want to push it away or whatever and I hope that it never happens we talked about you know keeping God in there in our schools and in our courthouses and in there and our lives and on our currency and and probably people get tired of it but I think if we if we let that happen that we really forget about God we're going to be in trouble as a country and so I hope that we always remember that this country was built on faith and hope in Christ Jimmy thank you so much what an honor and I can't wait for people to get God in country well thank you for saying I appreciate it Terry I really do thank you have you taken God out of your world I'm here to tell you that God wants you to seek his face and his truth for your life open the Bible just like Jimmy did years ago he has a message for you and He loves you more and he wants you to share your story of unshakable faith that will give him honor and glory this is today's life I'll see you next week [Music] you

Channel: Cornerstone Television Network

Views: 126,376

Keywords: Pittsburgh, CTVN, Cornerstone Television, Christian TV, Cornerstone Television Network, Christianity, talk show, 700 Club, TV show, Jimmy Fortune, Statler Brothers, gospel, testimony, faith, Today's Life, Terry Squires, jimmy, fortune, music, gospel music, country music, nashville, today, todays nashville, help, god, jesus, saves, jim

Id: x6DMraGYN9E

Length: 9min 27sec (567 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 17 2020